Inquisitor Savant

Here is the third and final member of my Inquisitorial warband, a savant. I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in an Inquisitor campaign at work which requires three starting characters for each warband. I decided to use the two models I have already completed and add a third. As time is in short supply at the moment due to work commitments I decided to use an off-the-peg model rather than convert a character from scratch. After some deliberation I settled on this down-trodden-looking fellow from the Death Korps quatermaster set. However, after opening the clampack I was unable to leave the model 100% untouched and so added a few embellishments in the form of a pet owl (probably the closest thing he has to a friend), a purity seal and an Inquisitorial icon to demonstrate his allegiance.

I imagine this guy to be the product of some Administratum program to produce humans with computer-like minds capable of extreme calculations in the place of AI (like the Mentats in Dune). His abilities have brought him to the attention of Inquisitor Sterne who uses him to help crack codes, gather information and decipher esoteric patterns of data. In game I can see him R2-D2ing doors and computer systems to aid the party in their endeavours.

I will post full background for my three characters once it is finalised.

-Andy.

Specialist Games revisited

Yesterday was certainly an exciting day for fans of the Specialist Games range as GW announced that some old favourites would be returning to our shelves as boxed games and stand-alone products. I had always hoped that GW might go down this route as it did with recent boxed versions of Space Hulk and Dreadfleet (a clear successor to Man ‘O War) and now we have official confirmation that it will happen although we are not sure when.

However, you don’t need to wait months, or even years, for some Specialist Games content; there is plenty of Specialist Games coverage here on Miniature Miscellany in the archive.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Here are a few of my favourite projects from the old Specialist Games range that I have worked on over the last few years.

My Epic scale orks. I have always loved the old-style orks and these models fit the bill perfectly. They are so characterful despite their tiny size plus the ork range is one of the largest in Epic. The great thing about orks is that they field a collection of rag-tag custom-built vehicles meaning you can easily combine models from different eras and this just adds to the eclectic look of the force. For these guys I went for nice bright colours which help such tiny models stand out on the tabletop.

I also have a sizable collection of Epic Eldar hailing from the Saim Hann Craftworld. I always intended to paint up an army of their 40K counterparts but the age of many of the Eldar kits put me off and I switched allegiance to their dark kin instead. The Eldar were my first Epic force and I learned a lot about painting such tiny models from these guys.

I also had a real soft-spot for Battlefleet Gothic and this was the one game that I was really disappointed they discontinued. Here is my Imperial Fleet. They represent the Battlefleet Maelstrom defending the Badab region prior to/during the Badab War. If GW ever release some Space Marine ships I intend to add some Astral Claws vessels to the fleet to tie them in more closely with my Space Marine army in 40k.

I also have a nascent ork fleet which I painted up this test model for. I went for dirty metallics and red for the orks with bright green as a spot colour on the lights/eyes. I also added a tiny check pattern to add interest and emphasise the size of the ship.

Finally, Mordheim was one of my favourite of the Specialist Games range and, unlike BFG and Epic which I came to later, I played it extensively when it was first released. Here are some Mordheim characters I painted up a few years ago. Interestingly, this isn’t one of the games mentioned in GW’s press release. Perhaps this is because it is now set in the ‘World-That-Was’ or simply because the models are not radically different the the regular Age of Sigmar range. Maybe it was simply on oversight (I get the impression GW are still undecided on how many or which games will see a come back).

This is just a selection of some of the Specialist Games content on this blog. If this has piqued your interest why not click on some of the tags below for more.

Battlefleet Gothic, Dreadfleet, Epic: Armageddon, Mordheim

The Battle of Vesh’Yo

Things have been a little quite here on Miniature Miscellany for the last few weeks. However, I can now reveal the reason for this. Five weeks ago I started work as a Warhammer World studio painter on a temporary contract to paint the display shown above. As you can imagine, this was a very exciting opportunity for me and it was great to work alongside talented colleagues on a project of this scale. The display went on show at the weekend as part of Warhammer World’s 40k Open Days meaning that I can finally lift the veil of secrecy.

Working on a display of this size was a real experience and I painted literally hundreds of the models on this board. It took a team of six of us five weeks to paint all of the models on the display. The terrain was started before I joined the project so I’m not sure how long that took to build. I was painting 40 Skitarii a day and even batch painting Riptides! I can safely say that I have painted more models in the last month than I have in the rest of the year. My personal favourites of the models I painted are the Kastellan Robot punching a Crisis Suit in the face and the Y’Vahra Battlesuit blasting the Reaver. I also painted my initials onto the Fireblade’s knife using the Tau alphabet. No one will ever notice it but I know it’s there.

The key to painting this many models quickly was a simple colour scheme applied neatly and consistently.The Mechanicum models were airbrushed silver and then basecoated, washed with Nuln Oil and given a single highlight. The Tau were a bit more complicated and time-consuming. They were airbrushed Tau Light Ochre over Zandri Dust base and then shaded in the recesses and edge highlighted. The Tau took about twice as long as the Mechanicum stuff and I was averaging about 20 Fire Warriors/Breachers a day.

If you have any questions or comments leave them below and I will try my best to answer them. Enjoy the pictures (if you look closely you may even spot some as-yet unreleased models).

Malcador in winter camouflage

Something a bit different from me today, an Imperial Guard Malcador from Forge World painted in winter camouflage. I used this model to experiment with a number if painting techniques described in Model Masterclass Volume One. The model is for sale so if you are interested check out the ebay auction.

Astral Claws Captain

Here is my Astral Claws Captain. he is converted from the Master of Rites model. The inspiration for the conversion came from a Golden Demon entry, the only thing I have done differently is add some of Forge World’s Astral Claws shoulder pads.

Here’s a wip photo of the conversion:

One of the things I really like about this model is the expression on his face: he has a ‘sneer of cold command’, to quote Percy Shelley, which is perfect for an Astral Claws captain. This, combined with the pose of the Master of Rites model, exudes an air of superiority and arrogance. This illustrates how a simple conversion (just a head and arm swap) can dramatically alter the dynamic of a model.

Combat squad assembled

I’ve finished assembling a combat squad for my Astral Claws. I’m particularly pleased with the knife-armed marine (affectionately dubbed ‘Mr Stabby’) as he looks really dynamic and adds a bit of variety to the poses in the squad.

Speaking of Space Marines, I’m very excited by the new releases, especially the revamped Tactical Squad which must be one of the best core infantry sets to be released and really improves on the already considerable variety of parts available to the Space Marine player. I also love the new Centurion battle suits which look great and should add some considerable firepower to my force. Hopefully I will be able to pick some up after work next week.

Tactical Squad – Finished

Yet more Space Marines stride forth in the silver and blue livery of the Astral Claws. This six man squad is kitted out for anti-infantry duties and so have been given weapons with high numbers of shots. At some point these guys will get a Forge World Razorback to ride in and so will stay at six men rather than being expanded into a full Tactical Squad.

I added a power sword as an opportunity to paint a crackling lightning effect across its surface. Not only does this look cool but it also helps the sword blade stand out from the silver of the rest of the model.

Another fun detail is the marine throwing a grenade. With the reintroduction of thrown grenades in the latest edition of the game I thought it would be fun to represent this ability on a model. It also adds variety to the number of poses in the squad.

Tactical Squad wip

Just a quick update to show my progress on the next Tactical Squad for my Astral Claws. These guys were built using GW parts along with some Forge World mkIV helmets left over from my Assault Squad. As you can see, they are at a very early stage of painting. The armour needs highlighting and the details need painting. Hopefully I can get these guys finished over the weekend.

Blight Drone of Nurgle

Some of you may have seen my Death Guard army from a few years ago. Well, while reorganising my study in order to accommodate some books I moved out of my old office I discovered this Blight Drone at the back of a shelf. The model was painted quite some time ago but I’d never finished the base. A quick bit of drybrushing and the addition of some basing materials soon sorted this out. Now that the model is 100% complete I thought I would photograph it and show it off on the blog.

Finding the Blight Drone has inspired me to paint some more Nurgle models. Keep an eye on the blog for these in the near future.

Andy.

Astral Claws assault squad

This squad really showcases what I love about Space Marines, the huge range range of interchangeable kits produced by both Games Workshop and Forge World provides great scope for customisation. Although this squad is primarily based around the mkIV Assault Squad from Forge World, I wanted to maintain the eclectic and individual look of each of the Marines and have included a number of plastic parts as well. I have mixed up different armour types so that only one marine has a full set of mkIV plate whereas the others combine parts from different patterns of armour. I imagine that each chapter maintains older types of armour and wargear but, over time, parts become irreparably damaged and pieces from different types of armour are combined to make up full suits. This also leaves me with a number of spare parts to be scattered through other squads.

With this squad I have gone with the ‘rule of cool’ rather than think strictly about rules and army lists. As a painter and modeller I’m more concerned with the aesthetic of my models than the game. I know that Assault Squads cannot take hand flamers but they look great and that’s the main thing. If I do ever play a game with them I’ll probably just count them as flamers.

Click on the pictures for larger images.