The Velsen Sector: KrautScientist's INQ28

[KrautScientist]

So here's another update for you: I am currently painting the model for Elisha Gorgo, something I had been putting off for years:

 

 

 

 

 

I was actually apprehensive enough about this paintjob to mock up a colour scheme in Photoshop beforehand, something I rarely do. It has worked out pretty well so far, though: Something that doesn't really come across in the photos is how both the corsage as well as the pants have a slight metallic sheen, in order to hint at different materials used for her dress.

Apart from that, I wish I had managed a better job on the face: It's nice enough, and probably the best I can do, but one can always dream...

One question I could use some help with is whether or not I should go with a blue OSL effect in the palms of her hands to hint at her channeling her powers: It would explain her pose a bit better, but the hands are very small, and I don't really want it to end up looking tacky. Opinions?

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

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The model looks great! Is Elisha Gorgo an original character, or from a novel or short story I've yet to read?

[Augustus b'Raass]

I love this pretty model - nothing wrong with the face, imo. How did you do what you call 'metallic sheen'? It looks different, but not metallic to me, which is the point, I'm guessing. :)

[BubblesMcBub]

If you don't think it to hard to paint the OSL i would say go for it!
Anyways looks cool!

[KrautScientist]

Cheers for the comments, guys! :)

 

@ Bjorn Firewalker: She's an original character. From my headcanon, so to speak ;)

 

@ Auggs: There actually is a bit of a metallic sheen to her corsage and pants, achieved by just mixing a bit of Leadbelcher into the paint. It only really reads when you're looking at the model firsthand, but it does a fairly good job of hinting at different fabrics used in the creation of her dress.

 

@ Bubbles: Cheers, mate. No excuse, then ;)

 

So anyway, I did take the plunge and added some SFX to Elisha. I tried to keep the effect fairly subtle, though:

 

 

Elisha Gorgo
born Countess Elisha Haxta di Colasante Mordina-Gorgo

 

Elisha Gorgo is the eldest daughter of the influential Imperial House Mordina-Gorgo. The girl started displaying psykana powers at a very young age. Under normal circumstances, this would have meant a dreary and possibly short life aboard one of the Blackships, but her influential father used every ounce of his authority to keep her “affliction” a secret. Due to her powers, she has been sequestered away from other people for most of her life and has grown up very shy and demure as a consequence.

Her secret was only uncovered when Inquisitor Gotthardt visited her homeworld as part of an investigation. And, for an undisclosed reason, he chose to make her a member of his retinue, arguably saving her from the far more dire fate that might have awaited her, had she encountered one of his more hardline colleagues.

 

 

 

 

 

When all is said and done, I am pretty happy with the way Elisha has turned out: Painting a model after such a long time always means you have to compromise — to settle on one definite way the model will look over all the possibilities you have been pondering in the back of your head. All technical gripes notwithstanding, I do think she makes for a rather stunnig addition to Inquisitor Gotthardt’s warband — because let’s not forget that the retinue is now actually finished. Take a look:

 

 

=][=

Inquisitor Erasmus Gotthardt and retinue
Ordo Hereticus Velsen

 

 

And here's another look at the members of the retinue in turn:

 

 

Inquisitor Erasmus Gotthardt, an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus Velsen in uneasy pursuit of his former friend, Inquisitor Lazarus Antrecht.

 

 

Cpt. Esteban Revas, former Regimental Champion of the 126th Haaruthian Dragoons, publicly dishonoured for an honourable deed.

 

 

Trooper Salvador ‘Sal’ Koltz, also formerly of the 126th Haaruthian Dragoons. An unashamedly lowbrow, yet surprisingly resourceful, individual. Bound by a debt of gratitude, he serves as personal retainer to Esteban Revas.

 

 

Iskander Gagarin, flamboyant Rogue Trader and merchant-prince. Claims to be a scion of one of the very first families to have sailed out into the Great Void Sea, even predating the Age of Unification.

 

PeeDee the Monkey, a priceless cyber-familiar and exotic pet to Iskander Gagarin.

 

 

Elisha Gorgo, of House Mordina-Gorgo, an imperial debutante, possessing strange psykana powers.

 

 

Father Endric Harlan, a Schola Progenium Drill-Abbot and survivor of the Quelling of St. Berthold, a highly classified Inquisitorial operation.

 

 

Remus Ingram, a former member of the Riftyr Hiveguard turned inquisitorial investigator, and Balzepho, his cyber-mastiff.

 

 

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

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The models look great! I personally expected the monkey to be named, "Jack Sparrow," though.

[BubblesMcBub]

The OSL came out great!
Good job!

EDIT:
Also love Cpt. Esteban Revas his pose with the helmet in his hand is really cool!

Edited March 19, 2018 by BubblesMcBub

[KrautScientist]

Cheers for the feedback, gents! :)

 

@ Bjorn Firewalker: The monkey was named after fellow hobbyist PDH who gave me the model. I couldn't resist ;)

 

@ Bubbles: Glad you like the effect. As for Revas, I am really fond of him, even though he was built when my bitz box was far smaller -- I think he has managed to hold up rather nicely!

[Augustus b'Raass]

Oh, I'm realy impressed by this gang. It's weird, I've seen almost all these miniatures in your thread, blog, or IRL over the years, but now that you've gathered them in an Inquisitorial Retinue, they have really come to life. Well done indeed, and very inspiring!

ALSO, That cyber Mastiff is huuuuge! Little tip: perhaps it's better to up Remus Ingram in the list, and show PeeDee after him - when I read the latter's fluff, I was like "who's Ingram?" 

[Draakur]

Outstanding job of the OSL on the hands :)

[KrautScientist]

Thanks a lot, gents! :)

 

@ Auggs: I am really happy to hear that, buddy, as I am feeling the same way: This has been such a long running project that I am really happy now, both that I have managed to finish the warband at long last, and that the group still seems like a fun and interesting collection of characters that has narrative potential!

 

As for the other concern you raised, I think it was actually Iskander Gagarin you were referring to? Anyway, all it takes for somebody thus confused would be to scroll up half an inch and read through two lines of text again, which I think isn't too much to ask ;)

 

@ Draakur: Cheers, mate! Really glad to hear it!

 

 

I had another sizeable painting session yesterday, so today I get to share a bit of a surprise WIP with you guys: This little fella here:

 

 

 

 

 

This is Worker # 9, a robot I built last year, taking inspiration from all kinds of sources, chief among them the robot from the old Judge Dredd film (and comics) and the world of Fallout. I wanted to invoke the impression of a machine that was either an old AdMech automaton or possibly even a warmachine predating imperial time, and that had been crudely repaired and updated with underhive technology -- hence the many improvised armour plates and the overall asymmetrical, cobbled-together look. There's still a lot of work to be done on this guy, but I am pretty happy with the progress I have made so far.

 

Incidentally, Worker # 9 was conceived as part of yet another warband, and one that serves as a bit of a crossover between the settings of INQ28 and Necromunda:

 

 

 

The Road Crew

 

[terrain kindly provided by Augustus b'Raass]

 

Back row, from left to right:

• “Crusher” Vex, also known as “Old Man Claw”, a former pitfigthing champion
• "Doktor" Solon Antonov, formerly a low-ranking Magos of the Velsian Adeptus Mechanicus, Solon Antonov disappeared from his posting as a workforce and slave prospector on the world of St. Sabasto’s Reach, only to emerge as the Road Crew's leading figure.
• Papa Anjevin, a particularly unhinged mutant who seems to fulfill the role of a shaman or priest for the Road Crew. Whether his rituals are merely make believe and parlour tricks, or carry some actual, unsanctioned psykana power has yet to be ascertained.

Front row, from left to right:

• Grimspyke "the Impaler", yet another pitfighting champion who won his title by defeating Crusher Vex. Both fighters disappeared shortly afterwards.
• Tiny the Brute, the Road Crew's war-captain.
• Chopper, a diminuitive mutant (or “twist”) from the undehive of St. Sabasto’s Reach.

 

 

St. Sabasto's Reach -- an extremely rich hive world grown fat and depraved through slave trade and the exploitation of its mutant lower class. The world originally earned its name when the Imperial Saint Sabasto rested here after his great victory on the fields of Belzifer, before engaging in the last stage of his holy crusade for the defense of Velsen against the forces of the Arch-enemy. While Sabasto’s crusade army was still magnificent at this point, it had also suffered heavy losses (a fact, it is argued by some contemporary Velsian historians, that contributed to Sabasto’s eventual defeat within that treacherous region of space known as the Veil of Impurity).

When the Saint contemplated the price in blood that had been paid so far for the reclamation of Velsen, he decreed that the entire world of St. Sabasto’s Reach would be given to the orphans of the slain and that the Imperium would see to it that the children of martyrs would never need to go hungry. This spurred the planetary populace into religious fervor, and countless orphanages and scholae were opened in the saint’s name, earning the world bynames like “The Planet of Orphans”.

However, with a slow decline in piety and a general economic recession, many of the world’s orphanages have had to close over the centuries, while others have turned to a far darker trade, giving the world’s epithet a new, sinister meaning. It is true that Imperial organisations like the Schola Progenium, the Ecclesiarchy and even the Inquisition still maintain a presence on St. Sabasto’s Reach and recruit from the ranks of the homeless orphans, choosing the most talented or devout to serve in their respective organisations. And in the deeper levels of the world’s hives, missions and orphanages still offer a real, if meagre, chance for survival to this day. Yet that is only one face of St. Sabasto’s Reach. For at the same time, the world has also become the biggest fleshmarket in the entire Velsen Sector, providing human resources in a very literal sense, from mutant workers to household servants. Moreover, it is rumoured that there exists a slave for every kind of service in the almshouses and slave pits of St. Sabasto’s Reach, and the masters of the world have long prided themselves on being able to cater to every taste and desire, no matter how “eccentric” it may be.

Another mainstay of the world’s culture, the countless circuses and fighting arenas, are also fueled by a constant influx of “material” from the slave pits. At one point, the world’s renowned Circus Imperialis served as a front for a cult of chaos worshippers and was purged by the hand of Inquisitor Antrecht. But even after this upheaval, the remaining slavelords and ringmasters of St. Sabasto’s Reach quickly regained their step, slightly realigning themselves in the resulting power struggle and carving out a new pecking order among themselves. Since the Inquisition’s issue was never with the slave trade itself, but with the presence of heretics, places like the House of Blossoms, the Angelflesh Lodge and countless other establishments like them continue to ply their dark trade to this day…

 
The deeper levels of the world’s primary hive cluster – colloquially known as „The Orphans‘ Cradle“ are crisscrossed by a network of tansportation tunnels originally created – and mostly still used – to move the vast amounts of goods necessary to keep the world’s overly bloated population alive. Ranging from cramped maintenance shafts that are mere crawlspaces to multi-laned transportways allowing for vehicle traffic, the warren of tunnels and substations  has become a living space for many underhivers, from the indentured personnel manning the various installations and the maintenance workers to gatherings of escaped slaves and convicts seeking something resembling a life in freedom, even if it should be a life in squalor and darkness.

The so-called „Road Crew“ is one such group and has begun to attract former pit slaves, soldiers of fortune, twists and other malcontents from the hive’s lower reaches, trying to eke out an existence between the underhive fighting pits and minor raids on the biggest transport thoroughfares.

 

 

 

The Road Crew was originally started in order to explore some of the old, classic Necromunda archetypes -- back when a re-release of Necromunda wasn't even a rumour yet. Funnily enough, these guys may yet see the table as some kind of Necromunda at some point, though. The universe must have a sense of humor, after all ;)

 

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

[hushrong]

These are awesome! I have no idea where to begin really. I guess I'll start as say that each retinue is fantastic and each member brings so much character. With your latest work I like Gorgo, when I watched the Age of Ultron movie I always picture psykers using their bare hands to manipulate the aether. Love how you nailed that look.

 

And I love Worker #9, saw him and thought of the old war robot from Dredd immediately.

[Naryn]

I’ve loved the Road Crew for a long time, and that robot’s a great addition to their aesthetic. Reminds me a lot of the old Darktroopers from the Star Wars games. Looking forward to your next post!

[TURBULENCE]

I think I'm in love with that robot. I feel like I need to go buy like six boxes of robots now and go to town.

 

Good work as always, like that you're exploring all kinds of themes here, the latest group really rounds out what you've done already

[Gederas]

I love the look of the robot. The rest of your models are really nice. I remember when you first started the Road Crew (I've been lurking on your blog for a while). But that robot... Nice. :tu:

[BubblesMcBub]

yay the yellow robot is being painted!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Road Crew looks great! How will they interact with your Inquisitors? As mercenaries to be hired, mutant heretics to be purged, unfortunate souls to be caught in the crossfire, or...?

[KrautScientist]

Thanks a lot, guys! I really appreciate the enthusiastic feedback -- seems like there's just something about ramshackle killer robots that's hard to resist ;)

 

@ Bjorn Firewalker: Hmm, good question: The project was mostly born out of a desire to explore some of the old Necromunda character archetypes, yet with the openness afforded by the Inquisitor setting. That being said, I think there are many ways an Inquisitor could encounter and/or run afoul of the Road Crew: While they certainly aren't heretics in the chaotic sense, they do resist the authorities to some degree, which would make them a possible target for an Inquisitor dedicated to upholding Imperial law, genetic purity or something like that. On the other hand, a more pragmatic (or radical) Inquisitor might find them to be useful allies and/or hired guns. We shall see...

 

So here's another update on Worker #9: He seems to have aged another by another millennium since we last saw him ;)

 

 

 

 

 

I am pretty happy with how the model is coming along. If there is one - minor - problem, it's that the yellow used (Averland Sunset) is slightly different from the one I've used for the Road Crew so far (Yriel Yellow), but when push comes to shove, that could easily be explained away by the slightly darker colour being the machine's original coat of paint.

 

 

 

Anyway, as always, let me know what you think! :)

[hushrong]

The yellow is a bit darker...but he is a robot who could be covered in grease and exhaust fumes too. That's the price that comes with being a sweet looking robot.

[Gederas]

Yeah, the different yellow can be summed up as the robot not having gotten a wash in a century (or ten).

 

I also like the :cuss-ty metal look to it. I'd recommend adding some splotches of Fuegan Orange, Ryza Rust and Typhus Corrosion to the metal to add to the dirty and grimy effect.

[Sagentus]

Dam they look good kraut! Worker #9 is my favourite

[BubblesMcBub]

Worker #9 looks great!

I kinda like the darker metal for the robot!

[Augustus b'Raass]

Worker #9 is HOT! I love this guy - so characterful! 

 

Also, do I assume correctly - from the observation that Worker #9's base is also yellow - that you're working with an airbrush now? :D

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, guys! I really appreciate the enthusiastic feedback! :)

 

@ Auggs: No airbrush, buddy -- sorry! I'm just making the best possible use of GW's - pretty cool - spray undercoat in various colours.

 

 

So no new update on Worker #9, save for this additional picture that arguably shows off his colour and the amount of weathering a bit better (and also gives you a glimpse of my favourite 80s comfy blanket in the background):



I am currently missing one particular paint I need to finish him up -- plus I also still need to come up with a suitably elaborate base. The model's size automatically makes it into a centre piece, so I want the base to match that.

That's no excuse not to paint anything, though, so I had a go at painting my Primaris-based true scale Deathwatch Marine this weekend. Meet Watch-Brother Arcturus Diomedes of the Ultramarines:











This was my first experience with painting a Primaris, and I have to agree with the opinions I've seen online: These guys are pretty fun to paint! I am also really chuffed with how the model has turned out -- just add a base now, and Diomedes is ready to rock!

Here he is next to my first truescale Marine, Praetor Janus Auriga of the Golden Legion:



As you can see, Janus is a fair bit bulkier and also slightly taller -- in all fairness, I had little to work from in pre-Primaris times, so the model was really a bit of a proof of concept. He still holds up rather well, though, if I do say so myself -- I'll just need to go with the old "tall, even for an Astartes" cliché ;)

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

[Augustus b'Raass]

Well, I must say this post has made me slightly regret swapping the primaris part of my Dark Imperium box for yet another set of DI Death Guard... Both because Worker #9 colour scheme makes me miss my Imperial Fists, and because I haven't a single primaris marine left. But I will stay strong and say this:
 

Watch-Brother Arcturus Diomedes of the Ultramarines is looking dang schmexy! :) ;) Excellent work as always, my friend!

 

How will Arcturus fit in your INQ28 project, fluss-wise?