EdT's Thread of Stuff- Now with the sound of Thunder...

[CommodusXIII]

I know this is a bit off-topic, but what ever became of Mingati?

[EdT]

Thanks both! That retro feel is exactly what I'm going for.

 

I know this is a bit off-topic, but what ever became of Mingati?

 

Ahh, don't make me feel guilty. When I moved house I had no space for Mingati and had a desperate need to declutter, so I broke him up. I sold some bits and retained a few others for future use. I still have his head, for example! I may well return to him some day; with the impending release of Adeptus Titanicus we might see Mingati appear in Epic scale, and with friends too. 

 

 

Some more progress to show tonight.

Firstly, more skulls for the skull throne scenic base. It's getting there- not very happy with the new consignment of skulls, which are slightly bigger than the others and not as well sculpted, but they'll do. One more push and I'll be more or less there; then I can paint the thing.




I have a third member of the squad more or less done- the head still needs some work but it's looking closer to the painting than before. Here's the group- I'm pleased with how they work together as a team while also being distinct.



And finally, Abakhol himself is coming along nicely. The torso is only just started; the greenstuff needs to cure, be trimmed to have a straight line, and then I need to add another band underneath before adding the rivets. The right pauldron was an interesting experiment in adding detail using plasticard; it's difficult to tell in the photo but should paint up well.


 

[Verux]

Shaping up to be an amazing piece. I think the skulls will be fine once everything is put in its place. 

[Pearson73]

That's a heck of a lot of skulls! Coming on really well.

[Krakendoomcool]

This is coming along fanastically well.

 

I cant see the skull size being an issue by the time it's all put together. How did you do the green stuff skulls? Was it a cast of the whole lot as one big mould? They are great and really convey the skulls being trodden into the dirt.

[oldschoolsavant]

Khorne would be proud ! Loving the return to diorama work EdT, and shaping up nicely.

[Markus_]

This is gonna be good. :)

[apologist]

Can't put into words quite how much I like this project – the concept, the execution... all wonderful! Glad to have you back on the board, EdT :)

[RedSarge]

Hey I'm logged in this time! I don't just have to lurk.. for years!

The log is looking great and I'm blown away at how accurate to spirit and form the Akhalon Squad is turning out! I LOVE the Horus Heresy CCG artwork, it's an amazing source of inspiration and was THE go to back in the day of only the MKIV torso's and helmets from FW in resin.

[EdT]

Thanks all- I'm really enjoying this project. It's of quite a satisfying scale while still being a challenge. Plus it's great fun trying to get that distinct CCG look. I'm looking forward to the painting part.

 

As a side note, what's really getting my creative juices flowing at the moment is the prospect of Adeptus Titanicus. I had an amazing idea for a Warlord Titan a few years back which I never had the money or space to even think of translating into reality- but now I can! And the idea of not only doing that but attempting an Epic-scale scenic base is quite exciting. Anyhow, that's probably the next project but one. Aside, of course, from all the unfinished ones...

 

 

How did you do the green stuff skulls? Was it a cast of the whole lot as one big mould? They are great and really convey the skulls being trodden into the dirt.

 

For the greenstuff skulls I basically carpeted an area of the base in the GW skulls using PVA glue so it was easy to remove them. Once it was dry I used a stick of clear reusable mold (it's great stuff, softens when put in boiled water and hardens when it cools) to get an impression and then used that as a sort of stamp. It's not as good as the real thing but saved me a lot of skulls...

 

So, update time!

 

For a start, the skulls are now all on! I hate to think how many there are- must be getting on for 500 of the things- but I got there in the end. I attached some- anchor skulls I suppose- with superglue onto the clay, but the majority are attached through acryllic shaping medium, which acts as super PVA and keeps them on quite tightly while also drying clear. Just to make super sure of the stick, I sprayed the whole thing with varnish as a finishing touch- the undercoat will also help, but it all seems pretty robust. The next step will be painting, which given that it's all basically one thing, shouldn't be too hard a job. I think the various types of skull will all blend in together quite nicely.



So that's the first thing. Perhaps more excitingly, Abakhol himself is now 99% done. I still might tweak him a little- I think I may have found some last-minute knee pad replacements, his sword arm needs a little cabling in the armpit area and his right pauldron needs a little trinket adding- but otherwise he's more or less there. While not specified in the base picture, I added a little fur cloak with some trophies; there's clearly something going furry on with the top of his backpack which I can't quite work out, so this is a nice compromise.



All this also lets me pose with the four completed members of the squad- getting closer now! Since I took the photo I've added the little eye of Horus that decorates the closest Astartes' helm, just for extra detail. I also need to either improve or swap the head of the guy with the sword- awaiting a bits order which will help the decision.



All of which means that the last thing I need to do to complete the modelling phase of the project is to finish the standard bearer- ironic given he was the first model I started. The difficult element of this really is the banner itself, which will require some good arm reposing. As a starting point, I did the top part of the banner pole, using some plastic tubing to create a crosspiece and then sticking a bit of cut up banner-pole in each end to give me something to hang the standard from.



Next, the rest of the banner guy and hopefullly some paint!

[hushrong]

These are inspiring! Keep it coming!

[Vykes]

Absolutely friggin' fantastic, mate!  Yep, It is seriously inspiring and I really can't wait to see it in all its glorious gribbly skull covered goodness.  I'd say I'm totally going to steal the idea, but that requires a whole lot more talent than I have, so I'll just sit here in the corner and stew like a grumpy Word Bearer.   

[EdT]

Thank you!

 

Absolutely friggin' fantastic, mate!  Yep, It is seriously inspiring and I really can't wait to see it in all its glorious gribbly skull covered goodness.  I'd say I'm totally going to steal the idea, but that requires a whole lot more talent than I have, so I'll just sit here in the corner and stew like a grumpy Word Bearer.   

 

Please, steal it! I haven't done anything particularly complicated here- half the battle is careful parts-sourcing and the rest is generally just being brave enough to cut into a perfectly good bit of plastic or resin in the hope you can make it better. I've no greenstuff skills beyond patience (and not much of that) and no fancy equipment beyond a few knives, a file and a hand-drill; plus half the fun is in the making.

 

 

Anyhow, I've got a small update for today. So basically, the construction phase of this project is quickly drawing to an end. I've put the finishing touches to Abakhol, giving him an armpit and an Eye of Horus trinket hanging from his pauldron.



I also gave him some knee replacements. The knees had been a bit of a frustration for me throughout this project, as I hadn't been able to find anything that replicated the way they were presented in the illustration to my satisfaction. In the end I more or less gave up, beyond trying to get a general sense of spikiness; but then Blood Bowl once again came to my rescue. The wristguards in the new Chaos set were exactly what I was after; so a dash to the bits store gave me the final bit of the puzzle. I think they go perfectly with the spiked elbow guards, and while not exactly the same as the original, add something to the overall feel of the model.

This breakthrough also came at exactly the right time for me to sort out the standard bearer. Here he is at the moment;



There's still lots of work to be done, mostly greenstuff tidying at the wrists and on the pole, but the general pose is there. He needs a fur hanging on his pauldron (that's currently curing as we speak) and of course the banner itself, which will be the last thing I make before painting.  Well actually maybe not quite the last thing; I'm waiting on a delivery of two more spiked elbow-guards for him, the final bits that I need.

I'd say this is an excuse to have a general look at the group together...



It's definitely getting there! Which is a brilliant feeling. Really looking forward to getting some paint on these guys.

[brettfp]

These are great, although I think they do need some more skulls :D

[KrautScientist]

Man, that dirorama is coming along swimmingly, and the models are wonderful renditions of the artwork that inspired them!

 

I realise that this is a bit of an unfair criticism, because the piece is merely a mockup so far, but I think you'll have to maybe tweak the placement and orienttation of the models a wee bit for the finished piece, to better match the artwork (or to at least crecreate the composition, if only from one angle). At a glance, the guy with the bolter and wolf head pommel sword maybe needs to be rotated a bit? Oh, and you still need to drill the barrel on that same guy ;)

 

But seriously, fantastic work so far! Looking forward to the next update! :)

[EdT]

So it's been a while since my last update- and things have been slow going really. Work has been crazy, I've not been able to finish the Standard bearer guy as I'm still waiting on parts, and really it's been too nice and sunny to do too much modelling work. But I have made some small progress; the mountain of skulls is now painted! Nothing too elaborate here- it's just a big pile of skulls after all, but I'm pleased with how it's come out. I tried to have a bit of variation in tone on there and that seems to have come out quite nicely, so that's good.  



More soon hopefully- and maybe, if this is delayed thanks to things being lost in the post, a bit about my next project too.

 

@Kraut, I completely agree re the sword guy; not sure how his positioning drifted really. I've moved him around 80 degrees or so to better fit the artwork, although I can't get him exactly where I want him because of the size of the ledge he's on. Still, it's an improvement.

 

[EdT]

So I actually managed to make some more progress today, and have found another source for the bits I need on the standard bearer, so hopefully I should be able to get things finished and ready for painting fairly soon.

So, here's where we are with the standard bearer! As you can see, still some bits to add (mainly greenstuff tidying up, gap filling and those bloody elusive elbows) but the standard itself is now on. It's made from three sheets of normal cooking foil stuck together with acryllic medium; this gives flexibility but also a bit of robustness, especially when a couple of sealing coats of medium go on the top. I also added some tassels on the bottom to go with the artwork; this gives a handy second point of contact with the model to anchor things further, and came from a WHFB Empire standard.



So yeah, once the elbows turn up I can hopefully get painting....

Oh yes, and here's a little bonus. While I was stalled on Abakhol, I got started on my next project. I won't show much of it off, but here's a small preview.



As ever, answers on a postcard!

[hushrong]

Love it! Something about that standard has me hoping for Thunder Warriors.

[EdT]

@Hushrong, funny you should say that...

So, an update today, although perhaps not the one you were expecting. Work is progressing on Abakhol and I have the group nice and grey for the detail work, but because my job has been crazy and my hobbying has been limited to the odd snatched ten minutes here and there, the painting has not been my main focus. Some other modelling has been though- so let's introduce that!

I've always been fascinated by the Thunder Warriors, and it's been quite interesting how, even with the massive expansion of background on Terra, the Unification Wars and M.30/31 in general, they've remained quite enigmatic. Sure, a couple have popped up here and there in the literature, but of all the retro elements that have been brought back, from Roll-on deoderant Grav-tanks to the Field Police, even Squats, we've never had a proper artistic depiction of proto-astartes aside from the guy on the cover of the Outcast Dead. This leaves an interesting niche to fill- and quite a nice modelling challenge.

So what do we have to go on? Really just two sources in all of GW's canon, as far as I can tell; the first are the original Rogue Trader models themselves and direct depictions of them (such as this one from Index Astartes). The other source are the images that John Blanche did (here, here and here) which, while wonderful, have very little in common with the originals and to my eye look a lot closer to "modern" power armoured astartes, albeit in rather techno-barbaric fancy dress.  

So, an ideal 'updated' Thunder Warrior needs to combine elements from both these sources and also be bigger than a normal Astartes to fit the new background (and my astartes are always true-scaled, so that's very big). I was also keen not to use many, if any, Astartes bits in making them, to distinguish them from the trans-humans that would replace them. Here's my first go- this is Värde-Škaj, of the Thunder Legion. Hopefully his inspiration is relatively obvious...



Aside from the by-now traditional Cadian head with topknot, he's basically made from one of the new Bloodbowl Chaos blockers with an up-armoured chest, Stormcast legs and Goliath arms. His proto-bolter (Thundergun?) is two old Gorkamorka guns spliced together with a new barrel. He's a big chap- he easily has a head and a half over one of Abakhol's lot. I'll show a comparison pic later.

So that's the base- I then figured it might be fun to incorporate some of the Blanchean elements. This is Ukko, Värde-Škaj's superior.



I've tried to incorporate the phalerae, peturges, gun and extravagant crest from Blanche's illustration, while retaining commonality with his "generic" comrade. Hopefully this works quite well as indicating rank.

Now a question from me- what colour scheme do people feel would work on these guys? This is what tripped up my last attempt to depict the Thunder Warriors. To me it's either a Blanchean dull bronze and red/purple (which I am leaning towards, for the Homeric associations) or possibly a cream and orange scheme, to avoid anything that looks too much like Astartes livery while also looking a bit more modern.

Next up, another rank-and-file guy and the Signifier, whose standard I previewed earlier. They will also have a baseline human to join them, which really makes the gagantuan scale of them clear.

[Naryn]

I’ve never seen a conversion that screamed “Thunder Warrior” as much as these two do. You knocked it out of the park. As for color scheme, I always imagine thunder warriors in a sort of cream colored armor, although I’m not sure why.

[noigrim]

Excellent! I would go with gold

[hushrong]

I'm grinnin' ear to ear at the sight of your Thunder Warriors. There is a perfect ratio of archaic, barbaric, and techno in those boys! I do hope we get to see something more concrete on these proto warriors one day. The snippets I've read about them just sound brutal, like them versus World Eaters, and tragic as their enhanced bodies just go crazy. I would love to honestly read more about their efforts in the Unification wars up to their purging.

[Dagoth Ur]

My goodness, the thunder warriors are beautiful! So much nostalgia vibes comming right off them!

[Krakendoomcool]

Thunder Warriors!

 

Custodians lost some of the mystery on release but as you say the Thunder warriors haven't really been touched. They are almost mythical. Reminds me of some of the old books and stories referred to by the remembrancers in 'Horus Rising' of the crazy wars, powers and beings from before the unification wars.

 

These are great homages to the source material too. Brilliant.

[Markus_]

I came for the Sons of Horus but was simply smacked by the last update, what a great depiction of the legendary Thunder Warriors. The diorama piece looks fantastic so far, great adherence to the Visions artwork.
As for the Thunder Warrior colour scheme, I'd personally draw inspiration from the Legions before the discovery of their Primarchs.