Isengrin's Forge: A knife in the dark +Havoc+

[Isengrin]

Love him! Impressive as usual

Thanks a lot! 

 

Ah yes, Korpus Festerheart in the 41st millenium.

Fantastic work.

One of the great Adrian Smith pieces! So glad I still have the army book. 

[hushrong]

No rush on scale pics! Especially when you are churning out magic like Korpus here! He is sublime!

 

Seriously loving how you took the DI bits and turned it into brutal killer, both visually and I am sure more-wise.

[Isengrin]

No rush on scale pics! Especially when you are churning out magic like Korpus here! He is sublime!

 

Seriously loving how you took the DI bits and turned it into brutal killer, both visually and I am sure more-wise.

Thanks a lot man! I'm really happy with his rather brutal and menacing look. Now that I have build a slaaneshi and nurgle chosen I will need to complete the quartet. I already got some ideas for a sorcerer who will be borrowing elements from Ygethmor and from an art piece that features a Night Lords sorcerer with scythe and a terminator.

[Pearson73]

What a brute, a real sense of strength and weight in the pose. The art you've taken nods from has come straight to mind when looking at this chap, which means it worked!

[Isengrin]

What a brute, a real sense of strength and weight in the pose. The art you've taken nods from has come straight to mind when looking at this chap, which means it worked!

Many thanks! It's great to hear that the chosen are evocative of the images!

I took a quick snap with my phone for a size comp between the plague chosen, one of my regular truescaled marines and a basic dark vengeance chosen.

[hushrong]

Dannnnng! He’s a big one! I was trying to think scale looking at the axe you used and how a terminator originally wields it. Can’t get over how much of a beast he is. Part of me wants to see a duel diorama of him vs. that death watch character from the old Inquisition line.

 

Thanks again for the scale shot.

[Isengrin]

Dannnnng! He’s a big one! I was trying to think scale looking at the axe you used and how a terminator originally wields it. Can’t get over how much of a beast he is. Part of me wants to see a duel diorama of him vs. that death watch character from the old Inquisition line.

 

Thanks again for the scale shot.

Yeah he's a big hunk of a marine. I'm planning to build a Grey Knights Paladin out of an old obliterator, which would present a good chance for a tasty mini diorama.  You mean Artemis? No idea how they compare, standing at 5cm I think the plague chosen is still at least a head shorter than the Inq54 marine. 

[Isengrin]

5E5E5E; center; padding: 12px 8px 12px 8px; border: 1px solid #DDD; margin-left: 0 auto; text-align: left; color: #fff; text-indent:10px; font-size:130%; ">NIGHT LORDS +++ CHAOS TERMINATOR

After a veritable onslaught of WIP post, the great bell of brushes tolled and it was time to paint another marine. Although a half-painted terror marine was first in line I sneaked in a terminator because painting those big guys for a change is more fun. I have two more of them built as well as a bunch of troops, which shows how many unpainted minis are sitting here, but now I'll focus on the chosen again. The sorcerer is already done and I'll post a pic soon.

Edited March 15, 2021 by Isengrin

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Excellent work on the Terminator.

[Isengrin]

Excellent work on the Terminator.

Thanks a lot Bjorn, appreciate it!

As promised here's a pic of the third chosen who firmly occupies the sorcerer/tzeentch corner of the fearsome foursome. As with his two companions before hime, he was partly inspired by artwork. I tried out paper tissue for the cape for the first time which went surprisingly well and I really liked how easy it was to shape it. But he also looked a mess, being made of a whole range of different material including white metal, resin and all kinds of putty...that's why he's already primed, it made it easier to check for irregularities.

[hushrong]

Sorcerer is looking sweet but I must say bad ass work on the cape!

[Isengrin]

Sorcerer is looking sweet but I must say bad ass work on the cape!

Thanks man! Using paper tissues for the cape is a pretty ingenious method to create cheap, good-looking capes quickly!

I'm close to completing the fourth chosen who is leaning toward the skull-taking persuasion and I'm thinking about adding a few cables to his left side, maybe a vambrace to his as of yet unprotected arm. Khorne conversions often feature a bare arm with even the pauldron left off but I can't bring myself to like it - too unbalanced for my taste - which is why this guy still has both.

[ranulf the revenant]

I think my future nightmares will have some of your miniatures in it, because they are just SCARY(ngly good). Are the shoulder pads from Mastercrafted Miniatures btw?

[Isengrin]

I think my future nightmares will have some of your miniatures in it, because they are just SCARY(ngly good). Are the shoulder pads from Mastercrafted Miniatures btw?

Haha well, that's what Night Lords are all about!  The pads are indeed from Mastercrafted. I've been relying on them for a while now to fufill my need for truescaled pads and I can highly recommend them.

[Hungry Nostraman Lizard]

Oooh your photography box has changed. What's the new set up? Love the 'zerker.

[KrautScientist]

Ah, yes, the old "baby arm on Khornate models" conundrum -- tell me about it ;-)

 

A couple of thoughts:

 

• it's a really iconic Khornate/World Eaters design element, so I definitely get why you would want to use it. It can also work *really* when done correctly.
• My best suggestion here is to go against your better judgement and choose an arm that is actually slightly too big: Yes, you want the anatomy to check out. But that's what leads to the unbalanced look. Going with an arm that is actually slightly too muscular (so it ends up looking just a tiny bit thinner than the armoured arm, even though that's nonsense from an anatomical standpoint) should solve your problem.
• by the same token, while I love the way the model looks with two pauldrons, you should think about replacing the shoulder pad on the unarmoured side with something smaller and more gladiatorial -- by covering up most of the bare arm, you actually lose a lot of the effect.
• and finally, that axe seems slightly weird and not like something you would wield one-handed -- but that's just a pet peeve of mine, double-headed axes on tabletop models often look pretty weird, in my opinion.

On a more general note, the model looks fantastic, though, as does the Tzeentchian guy. Although I would argue the scythe makes him look Nurglite at first glance -- and the way he's holding that scythe seems really, really weird, even for a superhuman Astartes.

 

Anyway, keep up the fantastic work! :)

[Isengrin]

Oooh your photography box has changed. What's the new set up? Love the 'zerker.

Thanks mate! I wouldn't call it a box because my setup consists of a printed out A3 background and not much else.  But I indeed got a new one after growing a bit weary of the old backdrop and not really getting used to my trials with white.

 

Ah, yes, the old "baby arm on Khornate models" conundrum -- tell me about it ;-)

 

A couple of thoughts:

 

• it's a really iconic Khornate/World Eaters design element, so I definitely get why you would want to use it. It can also work *really* when done correctly.
• My best suggestion here is to go against your better judgement and choose an arm that is actually slightly too big: Yes, you want the anatomy to check out. But that's what leads to the unbalanced look. Going with an arm that is actually slightly too muscular (so it ends up looking just a tiny bit thinner than the armoured arm, even though that's nonsense from an anatomical standpoint) should solve your problem.
• by the same token, while I love the way the model looks with two pauldrons, you should think about replacing the shoulder pad on the unarmoured side with something smaller and more gladiatorial -- by covering up most of the bare arm, you actually lose a lot of the effect.
• and finally, that axe seems slightly weird and not like something you would wield one-handed -- but that's just a pet peeve of mine, double-headed axes on tabletop models often look pretty weird, in my opinion.

On a more general note, the model looks fantastic, though, as does the Tzeentchian guy. Although I would argue the scythe makes him look Nurglite at first glance -- and the way he's holding that scythe seems really, really weird, even for a superhuman Astartes.

 

Anyway, keep up the fantastic work!

It's funny how such a "small" change in the presentation of a marine can entail quite a few design implications. 

 

I've thought about bulking up the arm by sculpting on more muscle mass and additionally adding a vambrace, all of which should help alleviate the scrawny arm syndrome. Length-wise it's porbably fine as the lower arm is almost exactly the same as its armoured right counterpart, even slighter longer by like a Millimeter or so. My main gripe is actually the hand...I found it very difficult to get hold of something size-appropriate considering the dude is almost as tall as a primarch. Getting Angron and using his hand/arm might be the easiest solution here.

 

But I draw the line at the axe and shoulder pad. They stay, sorry.  I don't know why but the no-pauldron look irks me to no end. I could be ok with armour plates similar to the cataphractii pads with pteruges/chains hanging down but I just prefer the balance provided by two similar pads.

 

The "Tzeentch" guy was left ambiguous on purpose as I didn't want to outright build four classical representatives of each god but rather chosen that are identified as mainly undivided on first sight who take a few subtle cues from the typical designs...and the artwork inspiring this conversion features a Night Lords sorcerer with scythe. I simply love the pic. 

 

Thanks for the feedback! It's a big help to cross the finishing line.

[Xin Ceithan]

Wow, I missed some updates, but these are sight for sore eyes this morning! You really have a knack for capturing the poses and themes while keeping a common NL theme to these Chosen. Most excellent!

I like the Sorcerer in particular, erynmuch how my head canon pictures it. Or that old WD article. Or both ;)

 

With the Thramas crusade book looming, I might finally commit to NL once again...

 

Out of curiosity, where is the head from? The scythe is from the old mounted fantasy Nurgle Sorcerer, I take it?

 

 

Edit: After staring at it some more, I think the head is "just" a FW Night Lord head?! But goes to share that you go a long way with a pose and some ragged paper for cloak :)

Edited August 9, 2020 by Xin Ceithan

[KrautScientist]

Regarding the berzerker, hmm...yeah, Angron's arm would probably be ideal -- just to be clear, I didn't advocate for losing the pauldron altogether, just to replace it with something a little more gladiatorial, for a bit of asymmetry. But I get why you want to keep the heavily armoured silhouette. One thing I totally forgot to suggest: You could wrap some chain around the wrist and forearm of the bare arm, Khârn-style, which would also end up bulking it out (and might even distract from the delicate hand).

 

Regarding the Sorcerer, I remember the artwork you are referring to, and I actually had to remind myself that you are going for a Night Lords look first, Tzeentchian Sorcerer look second (if at all). Very well! Do carry on!

Edited August 10, 2020 by KrautScientist

[Isengrin]

Wow, I missed some updates, but these are sight for sore eyes this morning! You really have a knack for capturing the poses and themes while keeping a common NL theme to these Chosen. Most excellent!

I like the Sorcerer in particular, erynmuch how my head canon pictures it. Or that old WD article. Or both

 

With the Thramas crusade book looming, I might finally commit to NL once again...

 

Out of curiosity, where is the head from? The scythe is from the old mounted fantasy Nurgle Sorcerer, I take it?

 

 

Edit: After staring at it some more, I think the head is "just" a FW Night Lord head?! But goes to share that you go a long way with a pose and some ragged paper for cloak

Thanks a lot man! Correct on both accounts...the scythe is so old I ordered it way back when GW still offered a bitz service. I never really liked the outlier head from the FW set because of the top, which made it a prime candidate for a hood.

 

The Thramas book has made me pretty excited, I might even buy the new NL terminators and try my truescale recipe on them.

 

Regarding the berzerker, hmm...yeah, Angron's arm would probably be ideal -- just to be clear, I didn't advocate for losing the pauldron altogether, just to replace it with something a little more gladiatorial, for a bit of asymmetry. But I get why you want to keep the heavily armoured silhouette. One thing I totally forgot to suggest: You could wrap some chain around the wrist and forearm of the bare arm, Khârn-style, which would also end up bulking it out (and might even distract from the delicate hand).

 

Regarding the Sorcerer, I remember the artwork you are referring to, and I actually had to remind yourself that you are going for a Night Lords look first, Tzeentchian Sorcerer look second (if at all). Very well! Do carry on!

Chains! Yes, I've considered that too after wrapping the arm of a blightking in chains so it's something to keep in mind. As for the pauldron, I see now what you meant and yeah, that could definitely work. Since I want to build a whole squad of not-berzerkers around him, I might incorporate those pads for a couple minis. I really dig asymmetry as design choice after all. 

 

The only thing that's beginning to bug me about the sorcerer is his loincloth now. It doesn't look in sync with the movement of the cloak and appears a bit too flat...

[BadgersinHills]

Love it! Great stuff. 

[Isengrin]

5E5E5E; center; padding: 12px 8px 12px 8px; border: 1px solid #DDD; margin-left: 0 auto; text-align: left; color: #fff; text-indent:10px; font-size:130%; ">PLAGUE MARINES +++ LIMUS FAEX

After finishing the paint job on another yellow slime ball, the plague marines are now up to five members and beginning to resemble a real unit. I changed it up a bit by painting this one's belly plate metallic and it helps break up the scheme. Next time I'll cut away all the little drops of liquid oozing out of the armour. They don't really add anything to the mini.

Soon enough the big plague chosen will join their ranks, but it will be interesting to see how they fit together with different armour colours since the chosen will be wearing midnight blue.

Love it! Great stuff.

Thank you!

[Master Umbra]

Awesome job as always! You really make the DG armor look like the puss from a boil. Which is a good thing. My favorite is the one from the far left. 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Impressive work on the Plague Marines.

[space wolf]

You know, I dabbled in true scaling...night lords too! But yours put mine to shame! Excellent work my friend. Excellent work!