The Velsen Sector: KrautScientist's INQ28

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, guys! :)

 

@ Pearson73: Haha, don't get any wrong ideas -- that was a foot from my first (and only) Heldrake (which was simply built without the feet). That being said, Heldrake legs are great for building virtually anything BUT Heldrake legs ;)

 

@ Midnight Runner: Thanks, man! I do enjoy setting up that group pictures.

[Augustus b'Raass]

@ Auggs: I have to be a bit of a smartass here, buddy: Technically speaking, there were some 28mm AdMech models available before Gruss (they can be seen here, courtesy of the ever-inspirational Dave Taylor), but those were limited to the Skullz-programme. And there might have been an Admech model or two in the Rogue Trader days as well? But anyway, yeah, for most of us, Gruss basically nailed down what a Tech-Priest should look like.

Hey, go look in the mirror and be a smartass to yourself, buddy.  You were the one that implied Gruss was the first AdMech miniature:

In case anyone's wondering, this is half of one of the old 54mm Inquisitor models that GW released alongside the original game back in the late 90s. The character in question was Delphan Gruss, a Magos explorator of the Adeptus Mechanicus, basically the only AdMech model freely available back then, long before the AdMech became a playable 40k faction. 

 

Also: Dave Taylor's minis came out in the early zeros, while Gruss came out in the late nineties - so Gruss was released earlier than his. 

 

 

 

Seriously though: HOW did I miss the big guy in the back? He's fantastic!

Edited January 11, 2019 by Augustus b'Raass

[KrautScientist]

To be fair, I said "the first readily available" AdMech models -- but you seem to be right about Gruss preceding the skullz Tech-Priests (even if the latter do have quite a Rogue Trader era look).

[Augustus b'Raass]

 

But honestly - that big guy in the middle of the rear. You didn't post it here before, have you? Please make more pictures of it and post them, 'cause he's fantastic (or if you already have, would you please direct me to the relevant post? Pretty please, with sugar on top?) :)

[KrautScientist]

No problem, buddy: Here's the original post, nicely quoted, because I know how much you enjoy that

 

 

 

 

=][=

 

The Magi of Korhold:

 

 

Korhold is the Velsen Sector's resident enclave of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The name serves as a designation for both the cluster of stars forming the Tech-Priests' domain and the actual forgeworld turning at the centre of it, Korhold Ultima.

 

Following an attack by the fallen Magos Amnon Helix that ultimately resulted in the death of Korhold's Magos Intendant, Magos Domina Calista Syntax, fifty years ago, the Tech-Priests of Korhold have become even more suspicious and paranoid than the rest of their secretive order. As a result, the Magi of Korhold refuse to ever let their domain be ruled by one Magos alone, lest the same kind cataclysm befall them again. Korhold is thus governed by a council of senior Tech-Priests, yet the inherent factionalism of the Adeptus Mechanicus leads to frequent power struggles and politiicking within the priesthood.

 

As another line of defense against future attacks from within or without, the Machine Lords of Korhold have made it their business to know things, even beyond the usual remit of their order, which has turned them into a deep and sector-wide source of intelligence. The data-vaults of Korhold are rumored to house both unimaginable repositories of ancient knowledge as well as vast amounts of information that, if only revealed or suppressed at the right time, might be forged into raw political power…

 

 

This warband was my way to explore my long lasting obsession with the brilliantly creepy Adeptus Mechanicus without having to commit to an entire AdMech army. That being said, there'll be many more members to this particular warband at some point -- in fact, many of them have already been built, yet remain unpainted for now. The finished characters fo far are:

 

Front row, from left to right:

 

• Magos Zoltan Phract, a rising star in the hierarchy of Korhold, in spite of his relative youth. Phract's coldly logical, some would say callous, actions during a worker's uprising on Silon Minoris, have earned him the notice of his peers.
• Genetor Karras Grendel, an eccentric member of the Organicist creed, fascinated with the possibilities and limits of the organic.
• A Datascryer, Korhold's own sect of information gatherers, the Datascyers's task is to delve deep into the datastreams, to cross-reference and spot hidden patterns or singularities. And to coax hidden meaning from the memory banks of ancient artefacts.

Back row:

• Chimeric Servitor: Chimeric Servitors are the often eclectic, sometimes grotesque, creations of Genetor Grendel. Some of these creations are quickly abandoned, their aesthetic qualities incapable of holding the Genetor’s attention for long, while others may serve their master for years or even decades, repaired and reshaped time and time again to their creator’s needs. Karras Grendel is a true artist, and even among his colleagues, there are few who can understand his mercurial moods.

 

As for the specific model you are after, that would be the Chimeric Servitor, right? Here are some more pictures, both of the conversion, and of the finished model:

 

 

 

It's actually a fairly simple conversion, based on an - already pretty gross - Rat Ogre from the old WFB Blood Island starter box, with arms from the Kastelan Robots, a head from the BA Librarian Dread, and feet made from Heldrake claws.

 

Here's the finished model:

 

 

 

 

Chimeric Servitors:

 

Where most of the Tech-Priests of Korhold favour fashioning their automata according to well-established and streamlined design templates, Genetor Grendel’s servants are invariably more artistic – and also far more grotesque – creations . For the Genetor is fascinated with the fusion of the organic and the mechanical, and so most of his so-called “Chimeric Servitors” are a seemingly haphazard exploration of those two materials, influenced by nothing more than the Genetor’s own aesthetic sensibilities.

 

Most of them are lumbering brutes, their heavily muscled bodies crudely augmented with tools and weapons crafted from Mechanicum ingenuity. Beneath the multitude of implants and bionics, the provenience of the organic bodies used in these experiments is impossible to ascertain: Were they vat-grown for this purpose, or did they once belong to abhuman thralls or even to unfortunate humans? With the organic tissue grotesquely swollen and often covered in patches of bristly hair due to extensive genesplicing and hormone therapy, the organic parts of the Chimeric Servitors have grown so far removed from their origins that nobody can really tell where the Genetor procures his most valued specimens.

 

Some of these creations are quickly abandoned, their aesthetic qualities incapable of holding the Genetor’s attention for long, while others may serve their master for years or even decades, repaired and reshaped time and time again to their creator’s needs. Karras Grendel is a true artist, and even among his colleagues, there are few who can understand his mercurial moods.

 

Hope this helps! :)

Edited January 13, 2019 by KrautScientist

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The chimeric servitor looks great!

[Heru]

And that boys and girls is what happens when you skip leg day at the gym.

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, guys!

 

And that boys and girls is what happens when you skip leg day at the gym.

 

Haha, yeah, he was lucky enough that his Tech-Priest buddy set him up with those sweet claw legs, however, to make up for the lost muscle mass ;)

[KrautScientist]

It's been a little quiet around these parts, but thanks to an afternoon of idle converting and kitbashing, I can show you a small project of mine that I have been fiddling with on and off for quite a while now:

 

I was inspired by this particular piece of art, courtesy of Mr. John Blanche:

 

 

In these days of squeaky clean Primaris Marines, all the grimdark bombast seems to have fallen by the wayside a bit, at least where Astartes are concerned. Yet this piece of artwork has it all, showing the weirdly religious Priest-Knight side of Space Marines. Is it any wonder I have wanted to build a model based on this illustration for quite a while now? And now I have...

 

 

The model actually started as a somewhat failed attempt to convert one of the easy to build Primaris into a Grey Knight, but the model found a second lease of life when I realised I could use it for this project. So I carefully chose the bitz I wanted to use, and while the resulting model isn't a perfect match for the art, I would say that it's, at the very least, an evocation of JB's piece. Here's a closer look:

 

 

 

 

 

Recreating the pauldron covered in bony relics was the most challengin part of the conversion, but also the one thing I had to get right to nail the look of the model. Making the pretty straight bones conform to the curved shoulder pad did take some doing, but I am rather happy with the finished look!

 

 

 

I am still unsure about whether or not to feature the broken gladius -- on the one hand, I am reluctant to have a model with a broken weapon like that, but at the same time, it feels like such an integral part of the artwork and the story it is trying to tell...

 

 

As always, let me know what you think! :)

[Evil Eye]

That's awesome! I'd be tempted to leave the sword unbroken, as unless he was part of a diorama with the stabbed individual modelled on the base (with broken-off sword segment in its chest) it'd look a bit strange.

[BadgersinHills]

I'd say have the broken sword. It adds so much narrative and character to the piece and brings it closer to the art. You could have the rest of the sword on the base, perhaps, or as Evil Eye suggested make it part of a diorama. 

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Broken sword. It still cuts and a marine would still make use of it. 

[Markus_]

The Korhold warband looks excellent, the chimeric servitor especially. Love the idea of fleshcrafted golems for the Mechanicum.
The Space Marine looks formidable, I'd go with a broken sword to complete the look.

[Atia]

Great work on the Primaris Conversion - and I'm also voting for the broken sword =)

[+Chaplain Matthias+]

If it was me, I'd do the broken sword but higher up. The one in the picture doesn't look useful anymore. But if just the last 25% of the blade was missing, it would still chop pretty well.

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

Model looks awesome... if i recall an old chaos biker had a broken sword bit... looked pretty cool, too. I'd say go for it!

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, people! I appreciate the kind words, and I hear you loud and clear on the broken sword -- especially since I was leaning that way anyhow, maybe I just needed you all to confirm it for me.

 

Anyway, here's the tweaked model:

 

 

 

 

The sword may seem *very* short now, but it's in tune with the artwork, and I also liked the idea of the sword being almost useless -- it must have been quite a fight indeed for an Astartes weapon to be shattered like that! I've also kept the rest of the blade and I'll see whether I can work it into the base. Funnily enough, the shortened blade makes for a much more balanced looking piece now ;)

 

I also threw in a new backpack, while I was at it, and the servo-skull was a no-brainer, both because similar skulls appear in the artwork that inspired the model, but also because servo-skulls are just quintessentially grimdark 40k to me.

 

 

 

I also drilled out the barrel of the bolt pistol and got rid of some pesky mold lines on some of the bones on the left pauldron. Here's a closer look:

 

 

The next challenge will be to get the "grimdark boneyard" look of the base just right, but for now, I am pretty pleased with the model so far!

 

As always, let me know what you think! :)

 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Oooof, I was a bit late to the broken-sword-or-not-party, but would have voted for broken anyway. Lovely, lovely miniature you got there, Krauty! The new backpack and the servo skull just sell it even more as the model. I salute you for this successful effort to once again create an atmospheric approximation of John Blanche's art. I do agree with you though that the primaris marines are a bit too clean. Perhaps you could add a couple thin oaths of moment/purity seals to his left greaves. I know they're not featured on the original model, but they would evoke the same atmosphere as the parchment on his knee that's not on your dude. Idea?

[Atia]

Yep, awesome work as usual - do you know yet what Chapter he will be from?

[Augustus b'Raass]

It has to be a Black Templar.

[Atia]

It has to be a Black Templar.

 

Or maybe a nod to the classic black Grey Knights scheme from Index Astartes?

 

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110729092551/warhammer40k/images/e/ed/Grey_knights_codex2.jpg

[hushrong]

The marine looks fantastic and I love the inspiration for it (and how well you captured the look).

 

That artwork and how your marine looks is what Grim Dark should be.

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

the other end of the sword needs to be buried in traitors head :) excellent adjustments to the model!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

the other end of the sword needs to be buried in traitors head

Excellent idea!

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

 

the other end of the sword needs to be buried in traitors head

Excellent idea!

 

 

That's how the drawing is.