Laertes' Forge ++ Incaladine Mechanicum++

[Grand Master Laertes]

So, as Darth Mustard encouraged me to post here some of my other works (other than my Obliterators) I digged through my HD and managed to find some pictures of my converted models when they were still in the WIP phase. As soon as I can find time enough to take some new pictures I will open also a thread in the Hall of Honour section to showcase my armies. For now, however, here is what I could find:

 

These are Cultists from Dark Vengeance that I somehow converted because I hate having two absolutely identical models in my armies. Nothing too difficult... an head-swap here, a weapon-swap there, a little bit of greenstuff to hide the gaps and add some pipes, et voilà. I'm not too fond of them, but I rather like the general aspect of the second and the fourth from the left.

 

Well, they are among my first experiments with the greenstuff, so I shouldn't be too critical.

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0318_zpsfdd0157b.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0325_zps9ea6e2ae.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0322_zpsa4436f19.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0324_zps3d92befe.jpg

(here i tried to scuplt a rough iron mask, hoping that it would look good when painted, but the end result was insatisfactory)

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0320_zps57b4be2b.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0328_zps18b101e4.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

The next one is my version of the Heldragon. Nothing too original, as I discovered later surfing the net, but when I started assembling the body and looked at it from the rear, I was struck by this image of a daemonic manta ray floating over the battlefield, and had to convert it accordingly. It was not too difficult to convert, but a real pain to paint... an luckily I didn't use the full Heldragon's set of wings. I think I could have become mad.

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/heldrake3_zps944f4da2.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/heldrake2_zpsa5550e1a.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/heldrake1_zps364a1122.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/heldrake4_zps2d583bf0.jpg

 

 

 

 

Last, but not least, one of my most recent conversions (he's still on my desk waiting for the primer). At first it started like this:

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0557_zps35af3ae3.jpg

 

But that Forsaken arm just didn't seem right. It was too long and big for that model, and even if when we are talking of Chaos we are talking about crazy mutated madmen, i like to keep some sense of proportions in my works, so I settled on a more conventional Lightning Claw and tried a couple of different solutions for his jetpack:

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0555_zpse121f5fe.jpg

 

And:

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0556_zps947bdd8f.jpg

 

Even if the first version seems more brutal and fitting, it has the same problem as before: the wings were too big and disproportioned for the model. So I tried with a Raptors' jetpack converted with Sanguinary Guard wings on it and - zack - I imagined the story of Brother Vlad the Flawless, the last surviving member of the Sanguinary Guard that accompanied Sanguinius on Signus Prime. So strong was the Red Thirst in him that when Khorne tried to bring the Legion to his side, Vlad fell deeply into his grasp, and could never break free from it. Unconscious and left for dead on the battlefield, was later recovered by Fabius Bile, which went on that blood hoping to find Astartes remains with the genetic code of the Blood Angels. After being fully healed by arts of the Arch-Alchemist, he has become one of his most trusted bodyguards and liutenant.

 

I do not have more recent pictures of him, but in the meantime I added some tiny Blood Angels insigna to mark his former alliance and swapped that plasma pistol for a converted combimelta.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post. more pictures will follow as soon as I have time enough to take them!

[Dragonlover]

That Raptor is very cool. Do the wings not get in the way of the shoulder pads?

 

Dragonlover

[Grand Master Laertes]

That Raptor is very cool. Do the wings not get in the way of the shoulder pads?

Dragonlover

Thanks brother!

The shoulder pads were in fact an issue, but a little bit of greenstuff was more than enough to enlarge the model's back a little, just enough to remove the problem. By pressing the backpack joint on the greenstuff when it was not completely dry I was able to recreate its housing. It was very easy

[Darth Mustard]

That´s a serious bunch of misfits !!!

Really like the Helldragon

I found it original and prefer it 100 times in that chtlullu deep sea fish aspect to the dragon form

don´t worry if you feel that your work is similar to other

surf on the net to get inspired, copy, paste, sculpt do your thing. In the end it´s your army.

I´m here to share not to claim being the first having an original idea (if only) 

It would work if I had the kit the second it was released. 

I found it amusing if two hobbyists think alike

The cultists look very dark and gothic !! nice choice of weaponry 

[chaplainmikey]

Love those Cultist conversions, very characterful!

[Teetengee]

I especially like Mace Cultist

[Grand Master Laertes]

Thanks brothers for all your comments!

And, now that I have found a little bit of time, I present you some of the projects that are sittink on my desk or in my cabinets waiting for completition (I'm kinf of an hobby butterfly).

This is Or'Mejara, a former Captain of my traitor Chapter and the first one to ascend to the rank of Daemon Prince (and the best Daemon Prince model ever produced by GW, on par with Be'Lakor). He was deemed worthy by Khorne when he offered him the skull of his former Chapter Master. This my first attempt at sculpting muscles with the greenstuff, but I think they turned out pretty well.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0616_zpsb8c2d05e.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0618_zpsfac20163.jpg

Next one is my first Forgefiend, which I built and primed months before moving to the new home... which means at least six months ago, and probably a full year. I never liked the static pose of the "official interpretation" of the model, so I devised this solution. The cannons on the shoulders are held there by just glue (the Tamiya orange cap one... simply amazing) and greenstuff, so they are not really sturdy. Unluckily, at that time I was not yet introduced to the marvelous art of pinning. If they ever break again, I will know how to repair them.

Oh, and say hello to the little WIP Obliterator on the right side of the first picture!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0622_zps6e76648f.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0623_zps89801ab0.jpg

And, in the end, a Vengeance Weapon Battery. I started painting a set of two, but as soon as I finished the first one I get bored of painting all the metallic surfaces (I still curse myself ofr the idea of assembling it with the small niches with the skeletons on), so this is still at this stage, with just a couple of bits already covered with the bronze base colour, before adding washes and highlightings.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0625_zpsca1d0a9b.jpg

Hope you enjoyed these picture too

[Teetengee]

Very good.

[Forté]

Remind me to slap Darth Mustard if I ever meet him (which is highly unlikely). It's bad enough seeing his kit bash work. And now he convinced you to post this amazing stuff too. Think I need to set the slaves on him ;)

[Grand Master Laertes]

Hi Brothers, it has been more than a week since my last update, but I have been very busy and did not have a lot of time for the hobby. However i nonetheless managed to do some little progresses and to take some pictures... even of some of my completed models, which I will post later or tomorrow in the Hall of Honour section of the forum..

Thank you very much forte, but I don't think my works can be compared to those of Darth Mustard... his visionary genius and his skill in mixing components from different ranges is on an absolutely higher level

But now let me show you some more pictures. The first model to come on the stage is Brother Vlad. I finished applying the red on the armour and just started painting the gold.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0677_zps196478a6.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0678_zpscba36b4a.jpg

However, a Champion cannot go without his squad, so I started building his guys. The level of conversion/kitbashing is minimal, but I like so much what you can achieve with the Raptors' kit as it is, that I did not feel the need for wider interventions.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN06801_zps1ccb89ad.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN06803_zps31ecb802.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN06804_zps184a753b.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN06802_zps760bba22.jpg

Lastly, I managed to apply a little bit of base colours on the Daemon Prince and the Forgefiend.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0681_zpse2894486.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0683_zpse0863cd4.jpg

Still no progresses on the Obliterators... I'm still unsure about what direction to take with them :/

[Darth Mustard]

Remind me to slap Darth Mustard if I ever meet him (which is highly unlikely). It's bad enough seeing his kit bash work. And now he convinced you to post this amazing stuff too. Think I need to set the slaves on him

Care for what you wish for(té)

Cool stuff

I really like the color on the forgefiend´s armor

[Grand Master Laertes]

 

Cool stuff 

I really like the color on the forgefiend´s armor

 

 

Thanks brother, that is just a layer of thinned down Ogryn Camo.

 

Next step will be to apply another of it to get a flat basecoat, and then an all over wash of Athonian Camoshade, to give the model a rougher appearance

[Darth Mustard]

Looking forward to see more

Personnaly, I'm also intrigue by the photo you use in your profile.
Il look pretty good.

Any chances we might see more of that?

 

Are the Bretrayes of Pain following any Chaos god in particular?

[Darth Mustard]

Looking forward to see more

Personnaly, I'm also intrigue by the photo you use in your profile.
Il look pretty good.

Any chances we might see more of that?

 

Are the Bretrayes of Pain following any Chaos god in particular?

[Grand Master Laertes]

You will see the model in my avatar soon enough. As soon as I can find time enough, I will take some better pictures than the few I already have and post them in my thread in the Hall of honour section, together with some other converted model (probably the Heldrake/manta ray).

As for the gods, I believe that when GW put the Betrayers of Pain's colour scheme in WD (UK357, if I remember correctly), they intended them to be a force devote to Nurgle, but as there is no other mention of them in any other source, so I decided that I could do wathewer I wished with them.

So, no, they don't follow any particular god, or, to be more precise, everyone follows a different god, the one that can better help him to improve his own qualities... even if my recent results in campaign games prove that the gods are merely tricking them in believing they are growing stronger .

[Darth Mustard]

Too many gods anyway :)

I started with one but will probably do all of them too.

I think the last time I read a WD was in 2004 :D

[Grand Master Laertes]

I started with one but will probably do all of them too.

Chaos is simply too fascinating to try resist its power(s)

[Grand Master Laertes]

Just a quick update for I need an advice and hope someone of you can help me.

 

Brother Vlad the Flawless is almost completed, as you can see from the following pictures, but I don't know which colour I should huse to paint the scabbard of his cerimonial blade (an ancient Blood Angels relic - see the fourth picture). I don't want it to clash too much with his bronze and red colour scheme, but I also want it to stand out a little from the rest of the model.

 

any ideas?

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0692_zpsc217e421.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0693_zps0f822689.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0694_zps3b9357ee.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0691_zpsb1f471c7.jpg

[Telhdrat]

These are all awesome, but I really love what you've done with the Vengeance Battery. Great work!

[deathspectersgt7]

A BIG LIKE!!!!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0625_zpsca1d0a9b.jpg

[Grand Master Laertes]

thanks brothers, if you liked it so much, I'll make sure to post some pictures of my other Vengeance Weapon Battery as soon as I update my topic in the Hall of Honour section!

[deathspectersgt7]

Cool. Will keep a eye out .

[Kobrakei]

Paint the scabbard Rhinox Hide, then paint the details the same as your marine. This should allow you to tie the details in, but also have them separate.

[Grand Master Laertes]

@Kobrakei: that was an option, but brown is too similar to red for my likes, so I opted for another way: a desaturated and dark mix of Shadow Grey, Codex Grey and Kantor Blue, washed with Asurmen Blue and then decorated with lightnings highlighted up form Ice Blue to Skull White. I must say I'm pretty happy with the results, too.
 
However, I finally finished it, Brother Vlad the Flawless, devote of Khorne and Reptors Aspiring Champion! Behold all his might!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0697_zps8b22c0c8.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0696_zps919aae53.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0699_zps2ac19774.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0698_zps0b9d38f8.jpg

[Grand Master Laertes]

Ok, I'v been silent for more than a month, for holidays and work kept me away from the painting table, but in the end I finally managed to finish the four Raptors that will be led in battle by Brother Vlad the Flawless. It was hard and stressing, the models are overloaded with details and as I needed them completed soon for the campaign I'm playing in, so I had to rush and could not devote them the time they deserved. As a result they are quite raw and not really of my liking. However I don't think I'll put the brush back on them soon, for I feel the need to stop painting power armours for a little.

That's why I started my Mechanicum Taghmata, which you'll see just after the Raptors

PS: sorry for the quality of the pictures, i know they are worse than the previous ones, but somehow this time my camera did not allow me to do better than this.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0811_zps5b18f786.jpghttp://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0812_zpsb2dda695.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0813_zpsea4041be.jpghttp://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0810_zps26a97459.jpg




http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0803_zpsaeeeb54b.jpghttp://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0804_zps03783bfb.jpghttp://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0805_zps2c2d648a.jpghttp://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0806_zps70fc6253.jpg


http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0809_zpsb2ed454a.jpghttp://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/GM_Laertes/DSCN0808_zpse9825ad8.jpg