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

[Flint13]

Cowl him!

 

He's called the Doomwall

 

He shouldn't be super mobile, he should look like the tiny, super dense dreadnought that he is. The armored cowl looks like it's protecting his head from anything that may attack his business from above. 

[Nomus Sardauk]

Have you considered halving the pauldron and putting it directly over the helmet onto the arch that frames the head?

 

That seems to me like it might solve your problem.

 

I agree, with a little work you could have the pauldron without affecting the shoulders, easy-peasy.

[recon0321]

Wow the cowl helps a lot...that's a crazy bit list for you war grinder it's great...

[Teetengee]

As I said before, I feel the cowl could work just not this particularly bit as it, I think it is too spiky compared to the shoulders.

[Daemon2027]

Fantastic model. I like the idea do the cowl, but I don't think that piece works.

[Canardwc]

I really like the model with theses pauldrons. It seems very massive, perfect for a chaos terminator.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Kraut, I love the pauldron. I see why you hesitate, but I believe the problem is easily fixed with some GS work inside the pauldrons, to make them look closed off. And especially since YOU like it with the pauldron, I say GO with it. :D

[KrautScientist]

Again, thanks for all the feedback on this matter! I really appreciate it!

 

 

Whoa, that's an almost frighteningly unanimous vote! And it's pretty much mirrored over on Dakka.

 

And now for the terrible part: I..erm...I actually really like the model with the added cowl

 

I need to think about this... -- in any case, thanks for speaking up, guys!

 

You know what they say: 'Don't ask if you don't want to hear the answer." 

 

 

 

Haha, you're probably right. I did ask, after all. But one thing that is really important to me is to point out that, even if I decide to take another route, the feedback provided by you guys is always a huge help. So while it may seem like I am just a contrary bastard, I always try to take valid criticism and suggestions on board.

 

So, what does that mean for the matter at hand?

 

Flint's comment really perfectly sums up my feelings regarding the cowl over the model's head: Not only does it bring him closer in line with actual mk 1 armour, but it also makes the armour look more clunky and cumbersome, which is really the point here. There's also the fact that the shaved down chaos knight pauldron really fits the curvature of the Terminator armour underneath rather closely, and it is also not as big as many of you seem to think: Every ork armour plate I've seen so far is at least the same size, if not bigger, for instance.

 

On the other hand, I do realise that the "emptiness" of the shoulder pads becoming so painfully obvious is a problem that needs to be addressed. So, what to do?

 

As it turns out, the solution was twofold: After thinking about it for quite a while, I realised that I do want to keep the cowl as it looks. So the question was: How to plug those huge holes? Obsidian Raven provided a very good point over on Dakka:

 

To fix the issue of his pauldrons appearing hollow from the top,why not use some well-sized plasticard Rod to add visible Struts to the interior of the pauldron, so that it seems like its deliberately raised off the shoulder as part of the armour design?

 

 

 

 

So far so good! And when I was digging around in the old tool shed just now, I came across this thing here:

 

http://eternalhunt.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/the-doomwall-wip-11.jpg

 

And, for some reason that probably hits at something severely wrong with my neuro-chemistry, I was immediately reminded of the support struts appearing in various pieces of Mk 1 artwork by its texture:

 

http://eternalhunt.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/mk_01_concept.jpg?w=450&h=491

 

So I cut off some short sections from the whole, using them to plug the holes underneath the shoulder pads. My hope is that, when painted silver, they will actually suggest the support structure underneath the pauldrons. Here's how it looks now:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/30/634055-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

 

As you can see, the red parts do a pretty good job of filling the empty space. Plus they could reasonably pass for some hydraulic struts hidden underneath the armour.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/30/634052-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/30/634053-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/30/634054-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

 

Of course it does look a little strange now, with those bright red parts. So here's a greyscale image for you:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/30/634056-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.jpg

 

I have to be honest with you: I think this is a pretty good solution to the problem. But again, even if you're among those whose opinions I have seemingly disregarded, thank you very much nonetheless: Your feedback made me realise I had to address this issue, and has served to make the model better -- at least in my opinion

 

So yeah, as always, let me know what you think!

Edited July 30, 2014 by KrautScientist

[Dragonkin Arenis]

That looks much better, Kraut! Definitely solves the issue.

[JeffTibbetts]

Agreed. While I would have loved to see it as a 'spine' like in Jes's pic, I don't think it would have been right on your model. This does make them look solid, so mission accomplished. 

 

Now, if I may digress, I just want to point out how much I miss the subtle curves Goodwin always added to the leg greaves on his old marines. Some of the RT and 2nd Ed. era stuff had it, but it's totally gone now. Maybe I should try sculpting some greaves like that, but I fear they'd look out of place now. 

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, guys! :)

 

@ JeffTibbetts: Unfortunately, it was too late for the spine idea, with the topknot already glued in place. And I think the two elements would probably have interfered with each other, but oh well -- there's always another chance ;)

 

I see what you mean about the greaves (although I've always found the ones in the artwork above pretty terrible, to be honest...). But wasn't it great when Heresy era amour patterns hadn't been completely codified and any designer was always free to come up with all kinds of crazy variations that could then be explained away as being some kind of ancient prototype? Good times!

[JeffTibbetts]

Cheers, guys!

 

@ JeffTibbetts: Unfortunately, it was too late for the spine idea, with the topknot already glued in place. And I think the two elements would probably have interfered with each other, but oh well -- there's always another chance

 

I see what you mean about the greaves (although I've always found the ones in the artwork above pretty terrible, to be honest...). But wasn't it great when Heresy era amour patterns hadn't been completely codified and any designer was always free to come up with all kinds of crazy variations that could then be explained away as being some kind of ancient prototype? Good times!

 

Yeah. Totally. That art you posted is alright, but certainly not his best work. Anyway, if you look back over RT stuff NO armor was the same. They had similar elements, but even when beakie armor was king there were so many ways to do just the three tubes on the chest. I think the RTB01 style won out by sheer weight of numbers, but usually it was the three hoses going all the way up the chest. Weird shoulder pads, funky panel lines in various places, all kinds of variations on the helmets... It was all par for the course. It made for a sort of ragtag army, but that was the spirit of the game back then. I think Jes was one of the first I can remember that really developed and stuck with a certain style and I love his work. If there's an art continuum in 40K, it's got Blanche on one side and Goodwin on the other. Like sergeant's Barnes and Elias in Platoon. They both represent the world in ways that are forever etched into my memory, but I have to admit I lean FAR to the Jes side, personally. 

[Grizzly_bear]

Hmm, I think that, with a bit of thought, you can probably always find an angle from which to corrupt pretty much any Space Marine Legion/Chapter in any way you want. For instance, the Dornian Heresy sourcebook had the Blood Angels as followers of Nurgle and the White Scars as followers of Slaanesh -- both sounded ridiculous to me at first, but the background was written so well that the Legions' fate seemed completely plausible after reading about it. So yeah, a bit of imagination (and talent for storytelling) is all it takes ;)

 

@ Darth Mustard: Cheers, mate! That is very nice of you to say! :)

 

 

So, another small update today: Having converted that big Chaos Knight modelI thought I’d work on something a tad smaller in order to relax a bit. So I went back to a couple of models I had built earlier, making an addition here and there and touching them up a bit. Today, I’d like to show you two of those models that share quite a few characteristics: Both are Chaos Lords in Terminator armour, both share quite a few common bitz and both are wielding pretty huge hammers — hence the title of this post. So, let’s take a closer look:

First up, an Iron Warriors Warsmith I converted a rather long time ago (back when Warsmiths were still a thing and Warpsmiths did not yet exist). Here’s the old version of the model:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/21/356228-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Iron%20Warriors%2C%20Killteam.JPG

 

This guy was based on the stock Chaos Lord in Terminator armour, obviously, with a couple of custom additions: My idea was to add a few touches that would make the Lord’s allegiance to the Iron Warriors obvious. Among those touches was a huge hammer, built by combining the staff that comes with the Chaos Lord kit and a hammer head from the Ogre Kingdom’s Ironbreakers: My idea was that the stone at the centre of the hammer head had been taken from some fortress razed by the Warsmith — maybe even from the Imperial Palace on Terra?

 

The other slightly eclectic choice was to add a Dark Eldar Talos claw to the model’s right arm: Though the sinister, augmetic look was rather nice, the hand did end up looking a bit too big…

 

Anyway, when I recently came across the model, I realised that both of those ideas had been pretty cool, but that I could do better, replacing those slightly eclectic elements with bitz that would keep the overall look but fit the model better. So here’s the touched up model for you:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/25/632540-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Hammer%2C%20Iron%20Warriors.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/25/632541-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Hammer%2C%20Iron%20Warriors.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/25/632542-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Hammer%2C%20Iron%20Warriors.JPG

 

The Talos claw was replaced with a very cool power claw from the Raptor kit. It may be ever so slightly less sinister, but the proportions seem far more plausible now! The new hammer head came from the Dragon Ogres, and while the weapon still looks like its head could have been cut from the remains of a razed fortress, I think the weapon is now far more befitting a commander of the IV legion.

All in all, the model seems like a more seamless kitbash now, and I am rather happy with that — I should probably make some time for getting this chap painted, come to think of it…

The second model isn’t quite as old: Some of you might remember my attempt to build a model wearing armour inspired by Mk 1 Tactical Dreadnought Armour earlier this year. Here’s the model that came from that attempt:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/29/579390-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne%27s%20Eternal%20Hunt.jpg

 

When we last saw this guy, quite a few parts of him were still provisionally tacked together with modelling putty. I also wasn’t perfectly sure about the weapon in his right hand.

 

Anyway, I am really happy to say that I have finally sorted out the last few rough patches on the model and can present the mostly finished conversion to you today. Take a look:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/25/632543-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Hammer%2C%20Khorne.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/25/632544-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Hammer%2C%20Khorne.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/25/632546-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Hammer%2C%20Khorne.JPG

 

I do of course realise that the armour does not perfectly represent Mk 1 armour, but I still think the sloped shoulder pads serve as a very strong callback to that particular design. In any case, I just wanted to make this armour look like an ancient, artificer crafted piece of equipment, a true relic from the earliest days of the Great Crusade.

 

Beyond the shoulder pads, I tried to incorporate several elements recalling older armour marks, such as the crest of horse hair atop the armour (a callback to the older Cataphractii artwork). I also built a weapon system resembling that seen on the Talon of Horus for the left hand — basically for the heck of it, to tell you the truth, but also because I like the idea that an immensely old and valuable suit of warplate such as this would feature equally impressive integrated weapons.

 

Oh, and you will have realised that the DA maul has been replaced with a Space Wolves thunder hammer: My reasoning behind this is that the stylised wolf head on the weapon would work equally well as a representation of the War Hounds, the original identity of the XII legion. So the hammer is an ancient relic of the legion as well, predating its name change and descent into madness.

 

I also worked on the model’s back quite a bit, using a shaved down old CSM backpack in order to make the armour’s back resemble the reactor section that can be seen on FW’s Cataphractii models:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/25/632545-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Hammer%2C%20Khorne.JPG

 

It has taken a very long time to finish this model, but I am really happy with the result: I imagine this guy to be Lord Captain Lorimar’s taciturn bodyguard, called “The Doomwall”. I actually already have quite a bit of backstory for this guy in the back of my head, but all in its good time. For now, I am more than happy with the hulking, implacable look I have managed to create on the model!

 

Here are both models next to each other:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/25/632547-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Hammer%2C%20Iron%20Warriors.JPG

 

Even though both are based on the same model, I think I have managed to make them look reasonably different, don’t you think?

Anyway, working on these has been rather refreshing after working on that huge Knight model ;)

 

Feel free to let me know any feedback or suggestions you might have!

These two.....these two guys are just awesome.....pure awesomeness....just brilliant...wow

[KrautScientist]

 

Cheers, guys!

 

@ JeffTibbetts: Unfortunately, it was too late for the spine idea, with the topknot already glued in place. And I think the two elements would probably have interfered with each other, but oh well -- there's always another chance

 

I see what you mean about the greaves (although I've always found the ones in the artwork above pretty terrible, to be honest...). But wasn't it great when Heresy era amour patterns hadn't been completely codified and any designer was always free to come up with all kinds of crazy variations that could then be explained away as being some kind of ancient prototype? Good times!

 

Yeah. Totally. That art you posted is alright, but certainly not his best work. Anyway, if you look back over RT stuff NO armor was the same. They had similar elements, but even when beakie armor was king there were so many ways to do just the three tubes on the chest. I think the RTB01 style won out by sheer weight of numbers, but usually it was the three hoses going all the way up the chest. Weird shoulder pads, funky panel lines in various places, all kinds of variations on the helmets... It was all par for the course. It made for a sort of ragtag army, but that was the spirit of the game back then. I think Jes was one of the first I can remember that really developed and stuck with a certain style and I love his work. If there's an art continuum in 40K, it's got Blanche on one side and Goodwin on the other. Like sergeant's Barnes and Elias in Platoon. They both represent the world in ways that are forever etched into my memory, but I have to admit I lean FAR to the Jes side, personally. 

 

 

I really couldn't agree more regarding your point about JB and Jes Goodwin forming a sort of art continuum in 40k: Both have contributed irreplacable artwork and ideas to the setting and are very much my favourite 40k artists too. But I couldn't really choose one over the other: Jes's artwork may be far more accessible, and there's the fact that his art is usually so flawless that it perfectly transitions into miniatures (plus his own models are awesome -- the old '91 World Eaters Marine is still one of the best Khornate models ever). But then JB's such an enormous influence on the whole 40k setting and each of his pieces is so intrinsically 40k, that I could never put him in second place ;) Adrian Smith and Karl Kopinski are runner-ups for me, and let's not forget some of the wonderful retro stuff by Mark Gibbons. So yeah, sorry for rambling ;)

 

@ dorn's fist: Cheers, mate! Glad you like them! :)

[KrautScientist]

Hey everyone,

 

just interrupting our regular programme for a bit of advertising: All those of you who either contemplate starting their own World Eaters force or who already are commanders of the Eaters of Worlds (both in their Heresy and post-Heresy incarnations), let me just point you towards this little community topic recently started by our very own Skull Championess Flint13, with a little support from some other blood crazy maniacs, including yours truly.

 

We are hoping this topic can become a new home for discussing topics relevant for our great legion, as well as a way of assembling the full might of the XIIth, so go take a look.

 

Thanks for listening, now resuming our regular broadcast! ;)

[Yogi]

You know I googled Scyrak the Slaughterer today and ended up on your blog. I anoint your Khorne's greatest disciple.  (EDIT This was a bout of madness it was another blog)

 

Now this MK I Terminator, let me just say you have captured the feel of the source image you posted magnificently. I do have some feedback. The roman loin cloth just appears to be floating there, if you could find some way to make it appear to be secured perhaps it would improve the model. This feedback is only provided because you are some kind of warp touch madman, eternally chasing the blood gods true form. If it were my own model, I would never bother and just be happy. 

 

I look forward to Doomwall painted. 

Edited August 5, 2014 by Yogi

[KrautScientist]

Thanks a lot for the kind words, Yogi! :)

 

You are right about the loincloth: I originally cut off the small straps to the left and right of the piece when I wanted to make it fit a different model, and now I wish I hadn't ;) That said, adding a small piece of cord on either side now became one of the last finishing touches on the model, so thanks for pointing that out!

 

The other thing left to do was to add the small, etched brass icons to the hammer. And with that, I believe i can call this conversion finished:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/8/2/634805-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/8/2/634806-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/8/2/634807-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/8/2/634808-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/8/2/634809-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/8/2/634810-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Doomwall%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

 

So yeah, next station: the paintstation -- at least that's what I hope! ;)

 

While I was working on a Terminator model anyway, I took the chance to also revisit another model in TDA: You may remember the two Red Butchers I purchased a while ago. One became a character named Raas the Butcher:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/4/30/608007-Cataphractii%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne%27s%20Eternal%20Hunt.JPG

 

And the other one looked like this when we last saw him:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/4/30/608020-Cataphractii%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne%27s%20Eternal%20Hunt.JPG

 

However, there was a problem with this guy: I want all of the Terminators in Captain Lorimar's retinue to be fairly unique characters. And this guy shared exactly the same face mask as Raas the Butcher above -- actually one of my main gripes with the Red Butchers to begin with. What's more, in this case the mask really seems to work against the model's overall pose, leading to a model that's neither here or there composition-wise. So I carefully started cutting (and also swapped in a new arm). Here's what the WIP looks like right now:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/8/2/634811-Cataphractii%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne%27s%20Eternal%20Hunt.jpg

 

Both the face and arms may still be subject to change at this point, but I feel like getting rid of the original head was the right decision!

 

Anyway, let me know what you think! :)

[Teetengee]

Very nice!

[Daemon2027]

He looks really nice. Did you not consider a cataraphractii lightening claw though. They look very brutal and, well, evil. Edited August 2, 2014 by Demon2027

[Montuhotep]

Me Lorimar. Me badass!

[Augustus b'Raass]

Oooooh I like the new one! You did the right thing swapping the head - provided the head is recessed a little more (but with the removal of the blutac this will be solved, methinks - and that axe is simply brutal. Looking forward to seeing him painted! Will he be named after someone too?

[Flint13]

It'd be a shame if, after his centuries of experience and reaving in the name of the Blood God, after wrestling his way to the top of the pile in Lorimar's company, even went to the trouble to assemble an ancient suit of cataphractii plate and weapons of unequaled excellent, he were to be shot in the face.

 

 

In other news, he looks absolutely awesome buddy! Keep up the good work.

[recon0321]

Hahaha flint I almost dropped my iPad I laughed so hard.... Edited August 2, 2014 by recon0321

[Biohazard]

You did the right thing swapping the head and arms mate. He looks a lot more imposing now. I would still maybe look at another head. How about one of the chaos knights or crusher heads? Another little tweak I'd suggest is maybe turning his head slightly towards his LC to make him look as though he's arrogantly striding forwards.

[Augustus b'Raass]

You did the right thing swapping the head and arms mate. He looks a lot more imposing now. I would still maybe look at another head. How about one of the chaos knights or crusher heads? Another little tweak I'd suggest is maybe turning his head slightly towards his LC to make him look as though he's arrogantly striding forwards.

That's actually a really good plan! Maybe this head or this one. The first is as expressionistic as bare head but is actually a helmet and the second is a bad-ass helmetless one.