Khorne's Eternal Hunt - KrautScientist's chaotic WIP thread: Fine-tuning Eightbound...

[Battybattybats]

i disagree with some, i think the sword angle is right as it is as it makes for far better visual composition as well as creating a sense of tension in the piece.

[k0nahrik]

I think that your Argel Tal conversion is excellent! It's really taking off, if you'll excuse the pun

 

I've got two minor criticisms, they seem to be echoed here. I definitely agree with everyone that the sword should be rotated 180 degrees so that it slopes towards him, not away.

 

my second (again minor) gripe would be the haft of the guardian spear, I feel the ornate bolter/blade part doesn't mesh particularly well with the haft, which appears to be a sort of crude staff wrapped in some kind of fabric. I think a normal guardian spear haft would have worked just fine, perhaps if you took the normal 'trigger' part of a guardian spear haft and drilled it out, you could slot it into one of those brass tubes I see being used a lot nowadays? That way you'd have the desired length as well as he incorporation of the firing mechanism and also a more consistent appearance across the weapon.

 

and one final thing - less of a criticism, more of a suggestion. Maybe you could use one of the custodes swords, cut at the same angle as the GK one so it sticks out of the ground the same way, and replace the (imo flimsy looking) grip with something without a hand attached?

 

Really looking forward to seeing where you take this conversion, it's looking great so far

[ElDuderino]

I'm looking at this and trying to figure out how you cut the head off Kranon without completely ruining it. Any pictures of the leftover would be appreciated:)

 

Also, where is the collar from? Another DV chosen? it's really well done and i'm not gonna steal the idea at all.

[KrautScientist]

Cheers for the heaps of well-considered feedback, guys! That was really, really helpful!

 

I didn't have time for any hobby-related stuff all week, which made being able to finally get back to my Argel Tal conversion yesterday all the sweeter. So here's the finished conversion ready for painting, cleaned up base and all:

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, I decided to go with my sword idea, after all. Allow me to share a few conversion notes on this decision and the rest of the model that should also make for replies to all the helpful feedback you guys provided:

 

The model's size: I realise that Argel Tal should probably be taller, most likely on par with Forgeworld's Gal Vorbak models. In fact, when I did some research to collect inspiration on how to build an Argel Tal conversion, some of the results I found used one of the Gal Vorbak models as a base. And that seems like an excellent option! In the end, I went with a - possibly more boring - version based on CSM, Chosen and Raptor parts, both because they were what I had to hand, and also because I wanted the model to complement my Khârn conversion, which I think works far better when both models share the same general size -- and if all else fails, Argel Tal still has those enormous wings ;)

 

The Guardian Spear: Chaning the Guardian Spear's haft into something a little less ornate and complicated was a conscious choice because it just seemed to gel better with the rest of the model: The "official" Guardian Spears now wielded by the plastic Custodians are lovely, but they would also look pretty strange on a smaller, CSM-based model, if you ask me. That being said, I did carefully splice in a piece of original haft as per k0hnarik's suggestion -- you can make it out in that last picture, if you look closely.

 

The sword on the base: Now I spent a long time thinking about it, but in the end I returned to my original plan for a number of reasons: One, it provided yet another excuse to include a hideously mangled Ultramarine on the base ;) Two, I like how the position of the sword hints at how it could be Argel Tal's sword -- but it's not entirely clear. Three, let's go with the assumption that it's his sword for a moment: I imagine his fighting style to be crazily mobile and fast. So maybe he was occupied elsewhere, saw an Ultramarine sneaking up on Khârn, threw his sword and is now swooping down to take it back -- and assist his BFF while he's at it. It's not a perfect concept, certainly, but I do think a narrative does suggest itself, given a certain suspension of disbelief.

 

As for the angle of the sword, tilting it to the other side would have made it more plausible, but it would also have interfered with the model's silhouette, and I didn't really want that. The way it looks now is less plausible -- but the composition is arguably better.

 

Oh, and I didn't use an actual Custodian sword because I hate the clunky things -- and they would look even worse when wielded by an Astartes. Expect every Custodian I built to be wielding a GK sword instead of one of those horrible original weapons ;)

 

And finally, because ElDuderino asked: Digging Kranon's head out of his torso was quite the ordeal and required some very careful cutting indeed! I made sure to cut slowly and carefully, making a "V" shape and looking at both sides of the torso: In fact, looking at the rear of the torso piece is really helpful for this, because it shows you where Kranon's actual head should end:

 

 

Be aware, however, that Kranon's head only really works at this precise angle -- it was a bit of a happy accident that it ended up working so well here.

 

Oh, and If digging it out of the original torso hadn't worked out, I would just have used Kranon's horns ;)

 

And yes, well spotted: The teeth on the collar were actually shaved off another Dark Vengeance Chosen (the champ with the cape). I was lucky enough to have some leftover Chosen torso pieces from converting my Iron Warriors killteam.

 

Anyway, as always, let me know what you think! :)

 

[hushrong]

Very, very well done! That mini will be a magnificent centerpiece.

 

Speaking of center pieces will you use Kranon's torso for some other marine? It's ripe for use.

[Vairocanum]

Argel Tal looks great, the new guardian spear works well I think! Definitely looking forward to seeing you paint him up!

[gezabutla]

Your choice in bits is excellent, because your conversions rarely ever look converted.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Well done indeed. It's a lovely cojversion, and your explanation about the interaction with his BFF gave a laugh to boot. :D

[marine7312000]

When I first saw your conversion for Argel Tal, the sword immediately made me think that he had thrown his sword and was now reaching out to retrieve it. The fact that your thoughts were similar was just an added bonus.

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

It's probably one of my favorites. I can see what you're saying about the sword. It would look great either way. What model are those wings from? Looking forward to paint!

[Lexington]

God, this stuff's just incredible.

 

I love the flair, life and motion you get in your models, KS. That Argal Tal's an excellent example, as is the Khârn - they entirely embody the style and character of who they're supposed to represent. You've nailed it, here.

[Hathis]

Damn nice work on  Argel Tal, and the wings looks to be good size to carry him as well, perfect 

[Sagentus]

loving the conversion. great work all round, look forward to it being painted :) 

[bluntblade]

My only issue is that the head's not quite how I picture Argel Tal. I picture something more recognisably mutated from the Mk IV helm, with bull horns. But then it's hard to argue with this quality of work.

[malika666]

Now I'm curious to see how you'll do Erebus!

[bluntblade]

Minus a hand and face? It's what the people want...

[KrautScientist]

Thanks for the many positive comments, guys! I really appreciate it!

 

@ hushrong: Oh yes, I am pretty sure I'll find a good use for that leftover Kranon torso part -- something will come up eventually

 

@ Eldrick Shadowblade: The wings are WFB Vargheist wings, spliced together with Kranon's organic looking backpack.

 

@ bluntblade: I see where you're coming from regarding the helmet, and my original plan was to use one of the Raptor/Warp Talon helmets, as there are actually some helmets in that kit that look like corrupted Mk. IV helmets. But whenever I tried adding one of them to the model, it ended up looking like just another standard Raptor. I then wanted to add Kranon’s horns to the helmet to make it look less vanilla. And gut instinct made me carefully dig out Kranon’s entire head from its original torso and add it to the conversion. And I really think it works rather nicely: It’s not an Mk. IV helmet, certainly, but it does have the daemonic maw. It’s also not a head you see all that often, so it does make the character look more original and “special”, in a way.

 

@ malika666: Hmm, I don't think I'll be doing Erebus anytime soon, mate: The Horus Heresy novels have actually make me dislike the slippery bastard quite a bit -- plus I'd much rather get back to my own characters, seeing how Khârn and Argel Tal have already become quite the distraction...

 

...speaking of which, I couldn't help myself, I had to build a non-mutated version of Argel Tal as well:

 

 

 

 

 

As always, let me know what you think!

Edited May 19, 2017 by KrautScientist

[Augustus b'Raass]

Ha! I feel like what I have with armies needing dedicated objective markers, you have with those awesome custom special characters and their many incarnations - you just need to make them, or the original doesn't feel complete.

Non-angry Argel Tal looks cool. I love how flashy his haircut is. :tu:

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, buddy! :)

 

I'll admit it does feel good to finally create actual representations of characters I loved in the novels ;)

 

As for the head, call me crazy, but I've somehow always imagined Argel Tal as having long-ish hair, even though it probably wouldn't make much sense. And that particular head really came closest to the mental image of the character I've had in the back of my head ever since reading Betrayer.

[thamier]

that Argel Tal conversion is absolutely stunning and puts my raptor lord to shame, you just got a talent for this KS, keep it up i cant wait to see what you come up with next

[KrautScientist]

@ Thamier: Hey mate. I really appreciate the kind words, and I am very happy that you like the Argel Tal conversion that much. I have to disagree, though: While I am really happy with my model, your Raptor Lord is easily one of the best Chaos Lord conversions I have seen so far, so there's really no reason to sell yourself short -- if anything, when building Argel Tal, I thought about whether or not there were some ideas I could nick from your Raptor Lord ;)

[malcharion]

Good job on that Argel Tal dude ! The mutated version is frightening like it should be :)

Not a big fan of the non-mutated Argel Tal head but the way you explain it to be your own mental picture of him make it totally legit to me ;). However seeing him with Khârn just make me wanna do a diorama of the two of them fighting with chains in the WE arena !

But YOU must do it man ! ^^

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, Malchy! Regarding that diorama, don't you go giving me any ideas, mate! This whole thing is already way more of a distraction than I had planned ;)

 

As for the head, I will admit that it's probably a bit of an acquired taste, but yeah, like I said: It's really close to how I've imagined Argel Tal. I might get rid of the braided part of the hair, though -- any thoughts on that...?

[Soric]

Both Argel Tal models are looking awesome Kraut. I wasn't too keen on the glamorous head on the "normal" version of him originally but after looking at it a few more times I think it works. The removal of the braid might make a bit more sense as he'd have to stuff it into his helmet whenever he dons it but that's just a minor concern in realism with regards to a far future, demon possessed, warrior zealot.

 

Again amazing work and looking forward to seeing both versions painted. Might I suggest another character to use the leftover Kranon chest piece for? Erebus ;)

[Lord Commander Eidolon]

I've always thought Word Bearers to be somewhat folically challenged!

 

However, go for that head, it certainly makes him much more unique! I'm struggling to remember Tal's description in the books. Personally I love that head, but the Third Legion do appreciate flowing locks!!