The Lichborne - Homebrew Warband

[Volgon]

@Dr_Ruminahui Appreciate the suggestions, just yesterday I saw someone who used what looked to be cut up paper clips as stitching which I thought was a smart idea, so that or staples (sounds like we came up with the same idea in parallel!) would be something I'd like to explore next time. Using metal material, I could potentially heat up the ends to melt some small holes at the contact points so it would look like the stitches are going into the leather.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Not too surprising our minds might go similar directions in addressing the same question.  Personally, I think paperclips would likely be even thicker than your current stitching, so I think staples would probably be a better idea - plus, they are a more ductile metal than clips, so would be easier to snip and bend.

[Volgon]

My previous project was an exercise in soft shading/glaze layering, not sure the exact term, but working from midtones and glazing the shadows/highlights. For my next project, I wanted to try a more NMM approach, so focused heavily on proper light/shadow placement, painting the model as if it was lit from a specific angle rather than generic lighting from above. Here is Krell, my interpretation of the WHFB character for my 40k force:

 

I tried a slightly modified recipe for the blue which I like a lot so I think I will continue to use it from now on. I wanted to try and go for high contrast, so swapped out my normal shadow color (generally a dark blue, blue black, or dark blue purple) for a near black purple (Tenebrous Grey from AK). As a mirror to the shadow, I added a little more brightness to my highlights, though I personally prefer not going too bright as I don't want the armor to shine like metal.

 

The trim was an absolute nightmare! I was experimenting with new recipes for that as well. It came out a specific way on the Chapter shoulder pad which I really liked so I tried to replicate it countless times on the other pieces of trim but couldn't. I spent 3 days trying to get the same finish on other areas. Eventually I came to some realizations that helped me settle on a recipe. It's basically a black steel on this guy, so looks quite dark at most angles but still has some shine when the light hits, using TMM rather than matte paints highlighted with silvers/chipping. I also came up with a black iron TMM recipe which I like a lot, so next project I will try using that.

 

The trim was a pretty major hiccup so it kind of burned out my motivation. I wanted to try NMM bronze for the various bronze accents but just went with TMM instead to speed things up. The robe is actually kind of interesting. I tried out a recipe on it and came up with basically the perfect soft, matte black, which was the recipe I've been chasing for the trim for ages! I thought it needed a bit of variation at the end so I drybrushed some Skavenblight Dinge on the tips for weathering and variation. I think the axe came out quite well, I like the color of the haft grip a lot, and I'm very happy with the blade gradients and OSL.

 

Things I'd like to work on: figure out how to add some variation to the bases but I'm unsure what to do. I'm already using purples and turquoises on the solid ground areas, did a bit of grey drybrushing on the rocks for variation, bronze when there's metal accents on the base (like on this guy), and of course turquoise on the ectoplasm. Not sure what else I could do, or if it is even necessary, but it's something I think about.

 

As always let me know what you think!

[Tallarn Commander]

Looks great. For some reason, I had not thought about using glazes to add shading, only to add highlighting. I'll have to experiment.

 

For the bases, would slightly differently colored ectoplasma, tombstones, or skulls be an effective yet thematic way to add variety to your bases?

Edited March 11 by Tallarn Commander

[Volgon]

@Tallarn Commander Thanks brother! All good suggestions for the base. I'm hesitant to add things to the bases as the minis are overloaded with detail already. Maybe skulls though, as I paint bone on pretty much every mini so they aren't out of place composition or color-wise. I think maybe picking out the little stones in the purple section would help. I tried doing a quick, spontaneous pass at the end of the project but it didn't work out that well IMO. With some more thought and prep it could work out better. I was considering maybe breaking up the purple into distinct sections, so instead of being all purple or turquoise tinted purple, I could do a section of pure purple and a section of pure turquoise, or something like that. There's also some texture sculpted into the details of the purple section (tiny sculpted mounds of dirt or something) which would be good if I could pick it out, but it's incredibly shallow so I'm not sure how to pull it off. Would require drybrushing light as a feather, contrasts over a light base, or washes. Will have to try some of those out on some testers.

[Volgon]

An update on my next project, an Initiate for a Crusader Squad. I think 4 out of my last 5 projects have been character level, so I want to do something on the easier side. Still a fair amount of detail but I think I've finally settled on a few important aspects so hopefully that speeds up the process.

 

Also this was my first time trying out Oyumaru/blue stuff casting. I have a few design aspects that I find pretty important to the current look of the force, but are difficult to procure for a number of reasons. I'm going to try replicating my own, and this first set didn't come out too bad. The gorget looks really good. The shin pads are decent but flawed. I stuck them on anyway since it's just a regular grunt.

 

 

 

[Volgon]

Finished up the first member of the squad last week! Really happy with the design elements like the gorget, the sculpted rib cage, and the robes, so will definitely be bringing that forward onto the rest of the unit.

[Tallarn Commander]

He looks really good. I especially like the gorget, it really defines the model.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

He looks great - I love how you have used the nurgle back pack alongside the spiked shoulder pad and made it its own thing - it looks very appropriate but not nurgly, which is a real coup given how iconic the "guy growing trees" look is to death guard line.

[Volgon]

@Tallarn Commander @Dr_Ruminahui thank you both! I am happy to have finally dialed in the design aesthetic I'm happy with. The gorget combined with the additional tattered robes and the sculpted ribs really give a gothic feel IMO, a 40k twist on a lot of the skeletal units from Vampire Counts/Soulblight.

 

Also glad to hear the Nurgle bits came out well. Luckily the Plague Marine kit has a fair amount of bone growths on shoulder pads and backpacks, and I can supplement with bones/horns from stuff like Poxwalkers. It's an aspect not really present on most of my other models so the lore justification I'm going with is they are the bodyguards for necromancers of the warband (units some of the leaders will attach to in game) and so more exposed to that energy.

[Volgon]

Hey all, been working on this squad a bit more. It's intended to be the elite bodyguard unit for the army's warlord. I've posted them in various stages before but I think this is the final stage of iteration. Most of them are missing backpacks so I need to source and modify those with additional bone mutations. Seneschal Krell that I posted a few months ago will function as the squad leader, and led by the army warlord + an appropriate Support character (currently thinking some sort of icon bearer with the warlord's personal banner).

 

I'd say the only things left for me to decide on are two fold: heads and capes. My original idea for the heads were helmeted versions of the ones I've been using for my line troops as you can see here:

I think they look pretty good, but I think the hooded skulls (rather than hooded skull helmets) make them feel more gothic/medieval, closer to Grave/Barrow Guard from the Soulblight range which is what I'm aiming for.

 

Secondly, I'm considering adding capes (no pics unfortunately, but these are all Sword Brethren bodies which comes with capes). They would add an extra bit of flair to differentiate them from the battleline models, as otherwise they look a bit similar. On the other hand, I think they are going to be a bit of a pain to attach due to the flared out robes, and Krell doesn't have one so I think it would be a bit odd for the squad leader to be the odd one out. Also not sure they even need additional flair, as they look a bit more chunky with the large gauntlets and big power swords. What do you guys think?

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I think I would forgo capes (and you know how much I love capes) on these guys, as a) they would be difficult to fit given the flaring tabards/robes, b) their squad leader doesn't have one and c) it would "hide" the tabards/robes in terms of the silouette.  Personally, I think the tabards give them enough sense of motion without capes, and if one were to add capes you might have a conflict between the motion indicated by the cape and that indicated by the tabard/robes.

 

I think they look great - though I can't really speak to hooded skull vs. skull helmet without a zoomed in photo.  My one very minor quibble is that I think the poses on the 2 leftmost models are too close to each other - maybe if one of them was taking an overhead swing?  That said, I know its hard to pose 40K marines with their arms over their shoulders and not have it look goofy.

[Volgon]

@Dr_Ruminahui Thanks for the feedback! I completely agree with you regarding the two leftmost models, and it was something I worked on last night. Those two sets of arms are pretty similar so it's difficult to make them look distinct. I decided that the model in the "charging" pose lacked dynamism, and while flipping through the camera roll in my phone, I stumbled across an older iteration of these guys with a pose I intended to use but forgot about: the overhead swing like you were saying. I think it looks much cooler now:

 

Hopefully I can fit a backpack on this guy somehow; I fear the sword is in the way so I might have to go with a low profile one like a MkIII power pack. 

[Tallarn Commander]

Perhaps he doesn't need a backpack. Perhaps the fellow energies of Chaos sustain him. 

 

I agree with Dr. Ruminaui. Capes would mar the vibe.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I think he does need a backpack, if only because he looks too "fantasy" (rather than sci fi) without one.  Maybe one of the smaller heresy packs, mounted a bit lower on his back?

[Volgon]

I worked on the previously updated model some more (as it has swiftly become my favorite of the bunch) and I think I have about finalized the design elements. I'll be going with hooded skulls, and for the backpacks I am going to pivot from my previous idea to something similar to Krell. Basically, Mk6 backpacks with the exhaust bulbs removed and bone trophy spikes attached in their place. I'm quite happy with everything! I will have to work on replicating the backpacks for the other three which I hope I can do with some poxwalker spikes, jewellery chain, and skulls rather than sourcing new parts.

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Love that head with that pose - he's looking great!