The Emperor Reforged

[Brother Zeal]

Still alive!

Between the demands of real life and hobby butterfly syndrome, it's been a while since I did anything with this project. There's still a long way to go until it's finished, but it's been a few months since I posted an update so felt I should at least show some progress.

Still many details to paint and washes/glazes to apply, and the sword is nowhere near done, but I'm fairly happy with how things are progressing so far.

Now folks, I need some advice regarding the base for this model. Previously, I'd based the first incarnation of the Emperor on a 50mm base (a compromise between the 60mm base Guilliman stands on in 40k, and the 40mm gaming bases the Primarchs have in 30k, as I used the Emperor as a proxy in both settings) but I'm wondering if I should just put him on a 60mm base to add more detail.

The base I'm currently working on is 60mm, atop which sits a clay disc imprinted with GreenStuffWorld's "Ancestral Recall" textured rolling pin. I thought this would be appropriate as it would make it seem as though the Emperor is in the Webway, however this doesn't match the bases that my Custodes, SoS and Imperial Fists:

The narrative linking these three armies together is the Siege of the Imperial Palace. I started my 30k Fists with the idea that they were a garrison force defending a stretch of the Walls or an avenue within them, then I added the Custodes and SoS on tiered bases to make it seem as though they were descending from within the palace to reinforce the Fists. Naturally, the Emperor served as the centrepiece for this combined host, so he was based accordingly.

Putting the new model on the base above feels like a distinct departure from this theme, so I'm keen to explore other ideas. Any suggestions?

Edited August 14, 2019 by Brother Zeal

[Bjorn Firewalker]

His Immortal Majesty is coming along very well. I commend your progress , though I'm surprised you made Him blond; Games Workshop usually portrays Him with black hair, likely for contrast, i.e., so His long, flowing hair will stand out against the golden armor.

 

Excellent work on His companions.

[The_son_of_Dorn]

Even the cork looks GLORIOUS with that sword!

[Oshikai]

Man, I love the Repose. WHile I am not planning an Emperor I have a partly assembed Gulliman here. I stopped because I just hated they way he stood. MAy I ask where you Placed your Cuts? Compared to other conversions I have seen everything looks so seemless. Especially the Leg(s?)

[noigrim]

Nice thematic bases

[Brother Zeal]

His Immortal Majesty is coming along very well. I commend your progress , though I'm surprised you made Him blond; Games Workshop usually portrays Him with black hair, likely for contrast, i.e., so His long, flowing hair will stand out against the golden armor.

Excellent work on His companions.

Given his apparent fascination with gold, I've always wondered what the Emperor would look like with fair hair. I suppose this would have been a good opportunity to explore that idea, but in truth his hair was only blond because I was sloppy when applying the gold! It remained unpainted as I wanted to add some more putty to give him more of a Conan the Barbarian / Matt Mercer fringe, rather than leave Guilliman's original fringe poking out between the tips of the laurel crown. More on that below!

Even the cork looks GLORIOUS with that sword!

It's the second time that cork has wielded the Emperor's Sword

Man, I love the Repose. WHile I am not planning an Emperor I have a partly assembed Gulliman here. I stopped because I just hated they way he stood. MAy I ask where you Placed your Cuts? Compared to other conversions I have seen everything looks so seemless. Especially the Leg(s?)

Cheers! In hindsight I'm happier with this pose than I was with any of the others I explored while all the bits were stuck together with BluTac.

As for where to cut, the easiest place to start is to separate the "shin" of the right leg from the knee. From there you can file down the top end of the plastic rod in the lower leg and reposition it however you like. Moving the head is much simpler - clip or file down some of the plastic intended to guide Guilliman's neck into the grooves inside his torso, and once you've rotated it to the desired position you just need to hold it in place while the glue dries. If you want to rotate his gauntlet, make the cut below the elbow before you attach the decorative plate on the back, rotate accordingly, then glue in place and attach the back plate. Hope this helps! Drop me a PM if I can offer any further advice.

Now for a quick update:

The sword is more or less finished, though I may attack it later with further glazes and highlights until I'm fully satisfied. The head is almost finished, though I'm contemplating whether or not to give him glowing eyes like the Mark 1 model had. Speaking of which, here's a quick comparison:

If anyone can spot any mistakes I've missed or suggest anything that would help me improve, let me know!

Edited August 22, 2019 by Brother Zeal

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The raised and extended right foot, plus the left hand's "Come at me," gesture, makes your new model look more active and aggressive.

[noigrim]

Such a commanding presence!

[Brother Zeal]

The raised and extended right foot, plus the left hand's "Come at me," gesture, makes your new model look more active and aggressive.

Aye, the Mk2 has a much more dynamic pose than the Mk1. To be honest I'd credit much of that to the repositioning of the gauntlet - the Mk1 model still has Guilliman's stance of balancing himself, which makes sense in Guilliman's case as he's perched precariously on rubble (Theoretical: looks dramatic. Practical: NONE), but not so much for a monarch coming down a flight of stairs.

Such a commanding presence!

Just what I was going for! One does not simply make a bland depiction of the Emperor of Mankind... unless it's his first try

Now, I need some advice and opinions from you all. I removed the Emperor from his WIP base today, and spent a while considering options for his final base. Eventually I took up a knife and a saw and cobbled this together within about an hour:

I'm happy with this attempt as it's different enough from the Mk1 base to feel unique, yet similar enough to integrate into my Custodes/Imperial Fists army seemlessly. But I can't help but feel like it's missing something to make it pop... aside from paint!

And then there's the base I was originally working on:

So, brethren, please let me know which base you think would be most fitting for the Master of Mankind, or if you have a better idea I'd love to hear it!

[noigrim]

It would be cool to do green marble steps with lumens like in the artwork

[Zephaniah Adriyen]

I like both versions, but I must say that the first of the two pops more, IMO. Gives him a real reason to be stepping up like that. Going to field him as Guilliman, I assume?

[ranulf the revenant]

The steps would look great I think...

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The steps would look great I think...

I second that.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

An alternative platform on which to rest the Emperor's right foot- admittedly one that may be difficult to adjust to fit- is an enemy corpse. Say use the dead Primaris Marine that decorates the Primaris Apothecary's base, and kitbash that base decoration to resemble a Black Legionnaire...

[Brother Zeal]

From the depths of the warp, I RETURN!

I started this project over a year ago now, and in all that time it's lurked on the corner of my desk, glaring indignantly up at me every time I sat down, palpably seething each time I picked up a different model. Time to honour our Emperor by completing this undertaking!

I wasn't entirely happy with the little wall running along the steps, so I snapped it off and (literally) built another:

I've avoided putting on any additional details beyond the little bowl of candles, so as not to distract the eye from the Emperor himself. Less is more, as they say.

What are your thoughts? Should I continue with this base, or has anyone got any suggestions that might look better?

It would be cool to do green marble steps with lumens like in the artwork

Funny you should say that - when I first started basing my Custodes army on steps, I tried to paint the bases as though they were made of green marble. Turns out my painting skills just weren't up to the task, and what should have been a dignified jade marble instead came out like a hastily-sprayed camo pattern. It might have been acceptable on the hull of a Catachan tank, but not on the floor of the Imperial Palace!

I like both versions, but I must say that the first of the two pops more, IMO. Gives him a real reason to be stepping up like that. Going to field him as Guilliman, I assume?

Aye, whenever I field the Mk1 Emperor, it's as a counts-as-Guilliman. Until that far-off day when FW release an Emperor model and some rules to go with it, of course...

An alternative platform on which to rest the Emperor's right foot- admittedly one that may be difficult to adjust to fit- is an enemy corpse. Say use the dead Primaris Marine that decorates the Primaris Apothecary's base, and kitbash that base decoration to resemble a Black Legionnaire...

I really liked this idea, but couldn't find a way to fit a traitor beneath the Emperor's boot now that the angle of his leg has been altered. That is until I re-discovered the partially painted base of a long-forgotten Primach project:

But I couldn't possibly rob good ol' Vulkan of his smash victims, could I?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Emperor Himself looks good, nonetheless.

[calgar101]

Awesome, both conversions are great! Well done. Ave Imperator.

[Lucerne]

How did you glue the brass aquilas?

[Brother Zeal]

After two solid months of procrastination, rampant Hobby Butterfly Syndrome, loss of hobby mojo, recovery of said mojo, followed by some more procrastination... I return!

The Emperor Himself looks good, nonetheless.

Awesome, both conversions are great! Well done. Ave Imperator.

Cheers, brothers!

How did you glue the brass aquilas?

With super glue, a straightened paper clip, and enough grumbled curses to make even a Dwarf Trollslayer raise an eyebrow!

To avoid making a mess of the intended surface or ruining any of the etched brass detail, it's best to put a tiny wee bit of glue onto something with a fine point (paper clip, tooth pick, hell I've even used Imperial Guard bayonets on occasion!) and applying it carefully to the back of the brass before pressing it into place. Perhaps not the best way to go about it, but for me it worked... eventually.

So, here's the Big E's base two months later:

Many thanks to Noigrim for inspiring me to attempt some green marble detailing on the steps. The areas that are now green marble were previously the same dusty off-white as the floor tiles and honestly looked boring as hell. After I'd painted the marble, I decided to give those panels a little bit more visual interest and added the brass etch aquilas. As I've found while working on my Sororitas army, jade and gold go quite well together.

My main issue now is the banister(?) sections of the wall. I tried to go for a sandstone effect to contrast with the white stone but it looks more like wood, which I'm not sure is entirely fitting. I had considered painting them brass or gold, but given the Emperor's position I felt that metallic colours would overlap and distract from the model itself...

Any advice as to how I can improve this part of the base would be very welcome!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Fine work on the base. Will you leave it clean, for when the Emperor and His Imperium are at peace? Or "dirty it up" with spent boltshell casings, scorches from lasgun shots, bloodstains, maybe a severed limb or a discarded weapon, to show the Emperor is currently in battle?

[Custom Hero]

I really like it as is. The bannister shows “metal” to my eyes, but does not overshadow the Big E’s armor or blend with it. The contrast is pretty good.

[Brother Zeal]

Fine work on the base. Will you leave it clean, for when the Emperor and His Imperium are at peace? Or "dirty it up" with spent boltshell casings, scorches from lasgun shots, bloodstains, maybe a severed limb or a discarded weapon, to show the Emperor is currently in battle?

 

Cheers Bjorn! To be honest, I'm undecided on that front. I reckon there's just enough space in front of the Emperor's left foot for me to add some debris/shell casings/other battlefield debris, and the foam bricks of the wall will be dead easy to carve some damage into. On the other hand, I quite like the neutrality of the clean base as it gives the Emperor context without drawing the eye away from him.

 

If you were in my place, which option would you lean towards?

 

 

I really like it as is. The bannister shows “metal” to my eyes, but does not overshadow the Big E’s armor or blend with it. The contrast is pretty good.

I wonder then if it might be worth trying to paint the banister a dull bronze colour like the partial aquila wing below it, if you feel that such low-key hues don't clash or overshadow the brighter gold behind them. IRL the banister definitely looks more like wood (which it technically is, beneath the paint) so unless I can find a more convincing sandstone recipe this afternoon, I'll change it to a more neutral brass effect.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

 

Fine work on the base. Will you leave it clean, for when the Emperor and His Imperium are at peace? Or "dirty it up" with spent boltshell casings, scorches from lasgun shots, bloodstains, maybe a severed limb or a discarded weapon, to show the Emperor is currently in battle?

Cheers Bjorn! To be honest, I'm undecided on that front. I reckon there's just enough space in front of the Emperor's left foot for me to add some debris/shell casings/other battlefield debris, and the foam bricks of the wall will be dead easy to carve some damage into. On the other hand, I quite like the neutrality of the clean base as it gives the Emperor context without drawing the eye away from him.

 

If you were in my place, which option would you lean towards?

As the Emperor Himself isn't "dirtied up" with bloodstains on His power fist and His boots, maybe leave His base clean? Claim the model captures His Immortal Majesty giving a speech to inaugurate the launch of the Great Crusade, i.e., before battle.