Winged Hussar Primaris Project (3d model conversion)

[SITZKRIEG!]

Here's a preview of the alternate paint scheme I tested out.  I'm still obsessing over the aquilla so tried it out with gold again.  I used modern Ultramarines as a basis for a gold aquilla/trim pattern so changed the shoulder pads to match as well.  For the tabard, I initially kept the purity seals white but it looked like it would be too white so I changed them to red secondary cloth.  I'll have to see if adding the white eagle decal will be enough white to brighten up the torso.  It's hard to explain (and maybe I'm imagining it) but visually in person in natural light the gold aquilla looks better but blow up with flash macro focus photography the white aquilla look improves significantly.  Maybe someone more experienced in photography could explain that.

 

For the original model, I added the fur pelt to the left chest after I decided the two pelts on the jump pack model didn't look right.  I added a bolter to the jump pack model as well as the side looked empty (and that actually helps by making the model WYSIWIG if I use it as a captain or lieutenant).  Additionally, I added the crest to the helm.  Both the fur and the crest are minor additions but typical historical hussar embellishements that I was hesitant to do with my initial modelling.  Next up, I'll put on the decals and see if I need to change up the tabard seals back to white.  I might try now to photoshop that right now to get a preview of how both would look.  Advice on the above would be appreciated.

 

edit: 

I tend to use the dakka gallery's autofix function for pics hosted there and that might be contributing to the color variance.  The pic below is exactly as taken without any tweaks.   Additionally, it was suggested on dakka by John Prins to try a different background to see if the white balance is being affected.  Regardless, here's my virtual digital paint swap of the tabard spoilered below; I think I jumped the gun too soon on thinking the purity seals would make the tabard too white along with the decals.  

 

Edited January 15, 2018 by SITZKRIEG!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Those models look great!

[SITZKRIEG!]

Those models look great!

Thanks! With the extended weekend, I finished my second attempt at this particular primaris (jump) lieutenant. I prefer the gold accents/aquilla moreso than the white as long as there is some white on the torso to balance it all out (like with the purity seals). I won't be repainting the infantry version of him though. I also managed to acquire some old bits on the secondary market that get me one step closer to my initial idea for this project, the 54mm Inquisitor Scale Hussar. Now I just need to acquire a 54mm sabre! It'll probably be a while before I start working on this next model both because of the bits as well as having a space wolf on the way that I'd like to paint up first.

 

 

 

 

I commented that the models look different in real life and got the suggestion to change up the background as it might be affecting the white balance. I took some additional pictures with different backgrounds to see if that changed how I view the models side by side. I'm not sure if changing the background affected the visualization of details on one model more than the others although it did reduce the glare somewhat.

 

 

[SITZKRIEG!]

So this weekend I finally properly restarted work on my Winged Hussars Primaris project.  As I mentioned before, the next fig will probably be focused not on the wargame but rather for use as an RPG figure.  I previously made various Lieutenant rank primaris figures (shown above) but this will be a more standard marine theoretically.  I say theoretically because I'm finding it difficult to make him less ornate as befitting a standard intercessor sergeant.  I've spoilered the bigger image below the more reasonably sized version.

The top left row of three are from one Lieutenant base type fig whereas the bottom one is from another (please excuse the missing tabard on the bottom left).  I've incorporated the longer tabard instead of the shorter loincloth and also added a Deathwatch style shoulder pad on the left shoulder on the various examples.  The main difference is the body and rifle type.  The top one is more "open" and feels IMO more heroic but the bottom one has the helmet off allowing the figs face to be shown (not easily possible with the above figure due to the left arm).  Similarly, I think I prefer the bolt rifle (with the scope) but I also like the shoulder strap on the larger bolt carbine... but the reiver SMG style carbine (with the front handle) also looks cool and is a bit better proportioned IMO.  One option possible might be to cut the strap away and add it to the scoped bolt rifle instead.  Alternately, I previously used a small chain as a strap and could do so again instead.


All of the variants though with the combat blade left arm preclude the addition of the armpit shields and hanging fur strip that I think added alot to the design previously and linked it further back with the historical hussars.  On the right column, I tested out the pistol arm (and back mounted chainsword) as another alternative along with some chest grenades.  The more open left arm would still allow the shield and fur strip even with the grenades although I'll have to check for sure one I finalize the other details.  I like the addition of the extra grenades on the chest on various Deathwatch faction and Reiver figures and I think it fits well with the intended RPG nature of the figure which wouldn't have the full logistical support of an entire company of space marines and therefore need to be outfitted with more gear.  


At the moment I'm leaning towards the bottom far right pose and combination but I'm open to other suggestions. Obviously I have yet to clean off the sprue connections and mould lines on some parts but they will be done before assembly.  

 

[SITZKRIEG!]

I worked some more on my RPG model Winged Hussar sergeant this week after blutac testing out some configurations above.  I chose to go with the more "closed" stance Lieutenenant that typically comes with a bolt pistol and autoboltgun.  While I love the pose on the other one, I had already used it twice and wanted to do something a little bit different for this sergeant instead.  The body and head are from the autoboltgun Lt but the left arm is from the other Lt whereas the right arm is from the Ancient (cut and reposed to angle away from the torso).  I cut away the moulded on shoulder pads and replaced them with a Deathwatch and Ravenwing pad instead so as not to use decals this time.  Since this is an RPG character, I figured he has to carry more with him typically on missions since he won't have the logistical resources of an entire Astartes company to resupply him with so I intended to use alot of extra bits on him.  About halfway through the build I started calling him "the busy marine" due to all the extra bits and bobs but I wanted him to have primary and secondary ranged and close combat weapons as a backup.  I liked the Reiver and Deathwatch style grenades on the torso so decided to do that here but chickened out on filling off the aquilla.  I had hoped that it would be more visible but it's pretty busy there on the chest and in retrospect I probably should have left those off.  

As a sergeant, I wanted him to be less ornate than the Lieutenants so only gave him a single "wing" on his back (drilled into the top of the pack instead of glued in between it and the torso).  I initially planned on skipping the armpit shields and animal fur strip but had second thoughts about it because they're so iconic to so many historical Winged Hussar displays and art. It made the chest a bit busy (see the grenade thoughts above) but I decided to go with it anyways.  I changed up the short Ultramarine style loincloth to a longer Black Templar style tabard as well.  Finally, I previously used a small chain shoulder strap on the holstered bolters and decided to continue that with this model as well.  

Let me know what if any thoughts potential readers may have about the changes compared with the previous design.  I'm still undecided whether I'll paint him up in the traditional Winged Hussar colors shown earlier or if I'll put him in Deathwatch colors instead given that I added in the shoulder pad.  I intend the Deathwatch shoulder pads to be a permanent addition going forward with my custom chapter so they don't necessarily indicate service in that order.  The intended use for him though as an RPG character figure means though that service in the Deathwatch is an easy way to explain why this sergeant is away from his company/chapter of Space Marines.

 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

As the number of wings is used as a symbol of rank, will you give certain models more than two wings, e.g., four wings for a Captain, and six for the Chapter Master? (You can justify this practice- and the wings' very presence- by claiming the "wings" are decorated frame antennas, enhancing vox transmissions to improve communications.)

[SITZKRIEG!]

I have given some thought to it.  Regular marines would only get some small markings and/or loincloth and a single armpit shield whereas veterans (including sergeants) get a single wing and one armpit shield/fur strip.  Officers (lieutenants, captains, and librarians/chaplains) get the Lt treatment shown above.  Captains might get a second fur strip under their second shield.  For the chapter master, they'd have to be in larger model armor (so terminator or gravis) and they'd get three wings (two curved and on middle straight one).  I always thought of them as purely decorative/psychological but the antenna idea works as well.

[SITZKRIEG!]

I worked on a second marine based on my thoughts after seeing my first model close up after finishing it.  I used the other Dark Imperium body but changed up the arms and added other bits as needed to make him a veteran Winged Hussar tactical marine.

I borrowed the head from my spare Ancient as it was the only normal head that I had that wasn't specifically a Lieutenant one with the skull on the forehead.  It was my first attempt at adding the ribbing/fin to the top so, upon extreme close up view, it's a bit crooked.  The right arm and armpit shield/fur were a PITA to pose and I'm not entirely happy with the results as I would have preferred to see the fur more flat on from the front angle.  I also need to relearn the lesson of letting plastic glue dry fully before tinkering with further bits on the same area as I had alot of errors/reposing that I had to do when working on the right arm area because of a lack of patience on my part.  I skipped adding the chest grenades due to the busy marine looking a bit too busy and instead just added a pack on to the hip.  Finally, I wanted to add a chain to the gun as with the other but my test bit looked worse with it due to the stiff angle in front because of the foregrip on the autoboltgun.  

As always, let me know if there is something that I can improve on with this or alternately future figs.  I'm happy with the results of the single wing on these veteran (tactical and sergeant) figs as well as the overall look but there are, as always, definitely things that can improve.



 

[SITZKRIEG!]

It's been a long while since I did a hobby update but I finally put some time into finishing off of one of the half done 2018 bucket list figs on my painting table. I did a quick build post a while back for this guy back when I was trying to set up a local 40k RPG group at my local FLGS. My RPG efforts unfortunately didn't garner interest in enough players and it frankly took the wind out of my sails for finishing those two figures. In the months in between, I purchased some very sparkly silver primer (didn't realize just how sparkly until AFTER priming this fig!) and primed him but only recently finished him up.

In the linked post above, you can see some progressive Goldilocks variations on my Winged Hussar style. This fig is still purposefully more ornate than a standard primaris model as well as a bit more "practical" (if you can use that term in an over the top universe like 40k!) in the sense that I added visible grenade and ammo bits. I chose that loadout that visually would allow me to use him as both a tactical marine or an intercessor in RPGs. That's probably more than enough text for what amounts to just a single figs worth of hobby effort. Here is a 360 view of the fig as well as a comparison with some other previous ones using the same core starter set Lieutenant fig. I suppose that it could show a progression of the same character across different ranks (L to R: Captain, Veteran Sergeant, Lieutenant).

Edited December 26, 2018 by SITZKRIEG!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Beautiful works. How will you decorate the Primaris Marines' bases?

[SITZKRIEG!]

Thanks! That's a good question and one I actually don't have an answer for. My go to would be some grey rock basing (the term for it is escaping me at the moment) with some patchy snow on top. If you don't mind me picking your brain, any thoughts on the longer/thinner tabard vs the shorter more loincloth one I used earlier? Edited December 20, 2018 by SITZKRIEG!

[Gederas]

I'm looking at these guys, and I can just HEAR the Sabaton song playing in the background.

I really quite like how they're coming along.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Thanks! That's a good question and one I actually don't have an answer for. My go to would be some grey rock basing (the term for it is escaping me at the moment) with some patchy snow on top.

Suggestions: Boltshell casings, sun-bleached bones, barbed wire, or the dismembered corpse of an enemy of the Imperium (if you can afford to buy extra models, just to break them to pieces and use them to decorate the bases of other models).

If you don't mind me picking your brain, any thoughts on the longer/thinner tabard vs the shorter more loincloth one I used earlier?

A shorter but wider tabard looks better, in my opinion. A longer tabard looks like it easily snags on barbed wire or gets caught between doors and doorframes- UNPROFESSIONAL- while a thinner tabard looks feminine.

[SITZKRIEG!]

I'm looking at these guys, and I can just HEAR the Sabaton song playing in the background.

 

 

I really quite like how they're coming along.

 

 Thanks.  That too plays in my head when I'm taking pics of finished figs, lol.  I actually only found out about the song when doing my initial image and video search for the project way back in the beginning.

 

Thanks! That's a good question and one I actually don't have an answer for. My go to would be some grey rock basing (the term for it is escaping me at the moment) with some patchy snow on top.

Suggestions: Boltshell casings, sun-bleached bones, barbed wire, or the dismembered corpse of an enemy of the Imperium (if you can afford to buy extra models, just to break them to pieces and use them to decorate the bases of other models).

If you don't mind me picking your brain, any thoughts on the longer/thinner tabard vs the shorter more loincloth one I used earlier?

A shorter but wider tabard looks better, in my opinion. A longer tabard looks like it easily snags on barbed wire or gets caught between doors and doorframes- UNPROFESSIONAL- while a thinner tabard looks feminine.

 

 

Perfectly reasonable and thanks for the reply.  I myself keep going back and forth between the two.

[Gederas]

I'm looking at these guys, and I can just HEAR the Sabaton song playing in the background.

 

 

I really quite like how they're coming along.

Thanks.  That too plays in my head when I'm taking pics of finished figs, lol.  I actually only found out about the song when doing my initial image and video search for the project way back in the beginning.

No problem!

 

If you don't mind me picking your brain, any thoughts on the longer/thinner tabard vs the shorter more loincloth one I used earlier?

A shorter but wider tabard looks better, in my opinion. A longer tabard looks like it easily snags on barbed wire or gets caught between doors and doorframes- UNPROFESSIONAL- while a thinner tabard looks feminine.

Perfectly reasonable and thanks for the reply.  I myself keep going back and forth between the two.

-pedant hat on-

A longer tabard wouldn't snag on barbed wire or get caught on doors/doorframes because a Tabard doesn't ever extend past the knee, because a Tabard is a T-shirt with delusions of grandeur :p. But I do agree, the shorter and wider loincloth (which is what these marines are wearing) looks better than the longer, thinner one.

[SITZKRIEG!]

-pedant hat on-

A longer tabard wouldn't snag on barbed wire or get caught on doors/doorframes because a Tabard doesn't ever extend past the knee, because a Tabard is a T-shirt with delusions of grandeur . But I do agree, the shorter and wider loincloth (which is what these marines are wearing) looks better than the longer, thinner one.

 

 

I don't get offended by corrections so get your pedant on!  :)   I actually know the distinction because of a youtube video explaining it that I found when I started this small project but, incorrect as it is, it's the defacto terminology used by most players so I just stuck with it.  I'll admit that it's the easiest option albeit not the correct one. 

[Dracos]

Sweet conversions ... could you share the source of the longer thinner loincloth / tabard? :)

[SITZKRIEG!]

Sweet conversions ... could you share the source of the longer thinner loincloth / tabard?

Thanks! Sorry about the delay but they're from the plastic wraithguard kit. The primaris marines are tall enough that they can use those bits without too much of an issue. Just don't tell the Inquisition about my clothing heresy!

[Dracos]

mums the word ;) If I can find them at a bit store I think I might steal that idea to help distinguish my Primaris Sgts and officers

[sal of manders]

I'm liking this one.  If you need larger wing ornaments, I expect the wing bits off the dark angles bikes would work nicely for any vehicles.

 

 

 

-pedant hat on-

A longer tabard wouldn't snag on barbed wire or get caught on doors/doorframes because a Tabard doesn't ever extend past the knee, because a Tabard is a T-shirt with delusions of grandeur . But I do agree, the shorter and wider loincloth (which is what these marines are wearing) looks better than the longer, thinner one.

 

 

I don't get offended by corrections so get your pedant on!     I actually know the distinction because of a youtube video explaining it that I found when I started this small project but, incorrect as it is, it's the defacto terminology used by most players so I just stuck with it.  I'll admit that it's the easiest option albeit not the correct one. 

 

 

Actually, my observation is that people know what a loin cloth is.  What most people get wrong is not knowing what a scapular is, and instead calling it a tabard or surcoat. 

[SITZKRIEG!]

I didn't have any concrete plans for more Winged Hussars when I finished my last fig but I've got a few more conversion ready bits to go and one upcoming model really attracted my attention, the convention exclusive primaris lieutenant. I've traditionally converted ultracheap starter set figs bought as singles on ebay but I may have to splurge on this one as I really like the sculpt. I'd love to covert him into yet another Winged Hussar and did some purely digital tweaking and color swaps to test out how he might look.

 

 

I'm not sure about the head as it's not exactly the look I'm going for but it's the closest in the GW line for the facial hair slightly wild look that I want. I wish he wasn't screaming but the next closest one I found was either a no-facial hair scarred head or a bald full beard. Ideally, I'd love to use some of the heads I initially wanted way back at the beginning of this meandering miniproject, the Puppets War Cossack heads, but I can't find a single pic of them on a space marine figure let alone a larger primaris one. The only one I found was a genestealer cultist and I'm afraid that they'll end up looking too small. The key ones I'd want to use would be the top right and bottom left heads.

 

 

Technically, yes... they're cossack heads which would make them one of the traditional enemies of the Winged Hussars historically but they also remind me of the Polish king Jan III Sobieski from the Day of the Siege movie that featured the Winged Hussars in one of their most famous battles. It's not exact but it's close enough I think to be a younger version of him.

 

 

Also not pictured is the leopard skin fur that I traditionally put onto the models. My usual method of adding a claw/leg strip under the axillary shield won't work on this model due to the tight space constraints. Instead, I plan to put a Space Wolf pelt on his back under the backpack but adding that digitally is beyond my simple cut/paste/recolor abilities. Same thing applies to removing the Lt helmet markings and adding a traditional dorsal helmet fin. Usually I'd want to add a boltgun of some sort to make him a functional marine in his equipment but I think I'll skip that this time for the same space constraints. I can't fit it chained under either arm and it'll be too tight likely in back to put it on the butt plate with the pelt there. Finally, I'd love to add in the ravenwing and deathwatch shoulder pads as I did on my last model but I'm not sure yet how many parts the model will come in as it's not out yet and whether or not the shoulderpads will be cast onto the arms or separate (and therefore swappable).

Edited March 11, 2019 by SITZKRIEG!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good luck with your future endeavors!

[SITZKRIEG!]

Thanks!  I'll need it more than before as he'll be alot more expensive to potentially screw up than push fit starter figs, lol.

[SITZKRIEG!]

It took a while but I finally got my hands via an online trade on a Lieutenant Amulius figure to convert into a Winged Hussar.  For those following the blog, I did a digital mockup earlier this year (link here) as I couldn't wait to get the actual model.  I'm a big fan of the pose of the sculpt and the detail they put on it and I was quite excited to put my Winged Hussar spin on it.

 

 

 

It took some conversion efforts, regluing, and clipping after a few false starts and revisions but I'm happy with the overall look of the final model.  I had to repose and reglue the wings and backback several times both due to clumsiness on my part as well as parts simply not fitting (namely with the shoulder pads) but in the end it all works (and hopefully the excess glue isn't too visible).  I added a fur cloak to the back as I said in my digital test but it wasn't enough so I also added a fur limb strip to the front.  Afterwards, I was trying to (unsuccessfully) add the axillary shield that I've typically done but then I realized that the fur bit I used actually has a crescent shaped metal disc down near the paw which was enough for the effect IMO.

 

I initially planned on a custom head from Puppets War but I couldn't justify the price of an international purchase and shipping for a single tiny bit that I'd end up using as I didn't have any plans for the others.  Instead, I used an ebay coupon and opted for a slightly more feral scarred head than the standard one that comes with the model.  Afterwards I hemmed and hawed a bunch as to whether I was busying up the model too much by making him practical with a modelled scabbard for the sword and a bolter stowed somewhere.  After blue-tacking it all in place and taking a few close up pics (which revealed some mould lines and gaps that needed filling, I was glad to see that he looked both practical without reaching a cluttered state like a previous model I did (link here).   I hope to have this model painted up sometime in the next week or so.

Edited May 31, 2019 by SITZKRIEG!

[RolandTHTG]

He looks good! The scarred head really fits with the the veteran feel of the deathwatch pad.