Cerastoris Knight Lancer kitbash project

[CommodusXIII]

I'm in the final stages of painting the fifth Knight of my Household, and have already turned my eyes towards the sixth.  The first batch of five were originally pre-ordered as a web deal when the Knights were first released.  From here on out, I'm getting a bit more creative.

 

I was enamored with the Lancer for several reasons.  It was the first Forge World Knight to be released, and the first beyond the original two-pattern GW plastic kit.  It has a long history in EPIC, and was somewhat unique in the Knight hierarchy until the addition of the Gallant.    Next to five Questoris-pattern Knights, though, the Cerastus chassis feels very out-of-place.  And so, this bizarre project began to take shape.

 

http://i.imgur.com/LCY0oNjl.jpg

 

The first part that I tackled were the legs.  I ordered a complete GW lower body from one of my favored bits resellers and got to work. I left off the ankles and feet as I'm hoping to use the Cerastus parts - I do still want to make the Lancer aesthetically-distinct from my Paladins and Errants, without it towering over them. To represent the Flank Speed ability, I added hydraulic piston accumulators from the GK Dreadknight kit. This also serves to bulk up the model a bit - I'm going for a brawler look, rather than the lithe skirmisher of the Cerastus-pattern.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Bewp7Gdl.jpg

 

The Cerastus feet turned out to be far too large for the GW legs. It was worth a shot.

 

http://i.imgur.com/nchKK8Xl.jpg

 

I tinkered with a few options for mating the Cerastus torso to the GW legs. I ended up cutting out the waist joint.

 

http://i.imgur.com/vKA4yLul.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/8c2wlmEl.jpg

 

The developmental "Cerastoris" pattern compared to the unaltered form of Fraterrus Quintus.  The kitbash turns out to be a bit taller/bulkier, which fits the intended look of being a heavier brawler.  I'm considering cutting down the Cerastus torso under the chest plate mount points, which would bring it closer to the Questoris proportions.

 

http://i.imgur.com/5C8O9rVl.jpg

 

Again, I tinkered with a few ways to mate the Questoris head to the Cerastus torso. I ended up with this rough idea. The Questoris neck is hollow, so with some sanding and trimming the Cerastus neck can be inserted into it. I added some pistons from the Dreadknight kit to bulk it out a bit.

 

http://i.imgur.com/pCpsziKl.jpg

 

Test-fit of the head, torso, chest plates and legs.

 

http://i.imgur.com/kYCcY1Zl.jpg?1

 

In keeping with the theme of my army, I'm downplaying the Imperial Knight heraldry in favor of Adeptus Mechanicus imagery. For the shield, I've replaced the stock kite shield for a giant Opus Machina. I built it from two resin icons I found on Ebay glued back-to-back, with some shoddy puttywork to clean up the gaps.

 

http://i.imgur.com/pyfjr2fl.jpg

 

Here's the backside of the shield, with parts from the Lancer kit roughly grafted into it.

 

http://i.imgur.com/KzoRN01l.jpg

 

Test-fitting with the left arm.

 

http://i.imgur.com/lsT7zDVl.jpg

 

I had to get creative with mounting the identification number. I took part of the Cerastus neck joint and mated it to the right shoulder plate. I bulked it out with the body of a Chimera searchlight behind it, then mounted the numbered cog to the front using a pin joint and the shield mounting plate from the GW kit.

 

http://i.imgur.com/C3vpEMtl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/JK4Wgfol.jpg

 

Test-fit with arms and shoulder plates.

 

http://i.imgur.com/s98zRYKl.jpg

 

I found this gruesome Vostroyan casualty on eBay. With a little cutting and Liquid Greenstuff, I have a very dead Skitarii Ranger for the base.

 

So that's the project for now.  I'll update again later when I have a few more pieces sorted out, and if I decide to cut down the abdomen.

[jeffersonian000]

I'm working kn a similar project, except that I'm modifyibg the legs to be more equestrian like, and I'm just using the standard GW kit.

 

Yours is looking awesome!

 

SJ

[Targetlock]

great stuff, always was a fan of the lancer :)

[Olis]

Neat Lancer, brother. Cool idea for the shield. ;)

[JeffTibbetts]

This is coming together well. With that bulkier shield and more compact profile, this looks much more the part of an ancient Greek warrior than the more agile-but-delicate Forgeworld one. As you say, a brawler instead of a dueler. I'm digging it. 

[CommodusXIII]

I'm once again hot on this project.  I'm in the midst of painting the armor plating, and should move on to the weapons next week.  In the meantime I did make a minor structural change:

 

http://i.imgur.com/2zOFKQnl.jpg

 

The proportions between the Cerastus torso and the Questoris legs were really bothering me.  I finally bit the bullet and lopped off the waist below the chest plate mounts.  The result is much better, to my eyes at least.

[CommodusXIII]

Today I finished work on the shield arm.  More or less, at least - I still have to clean up the shield-wrist joint when it cures.  I've also completed all of the armor plates, but those are much less interesting to show off quite yet.

 

http://i.imgur.com/7ulPZlGl.jpg

 

I've since figured out that these icons were recast from the Void Shield Generator kit, which is very fitting to their new use. The bubbles, gashes and other casting flaws are easily played off as battle damage.

 

http://i.imgur.com/fxX3OjUl.jpg

 

The backside of the shield, with the relocated ion field generator.

 

http://i.imgur.com/auDgPj7l.jpg

 

I didn't feel right about leaving a huge hole where the ion field generator originally mounted.  A little putty and a Chimaera searchlight lens added a touch of Iron Man to the build.

 

http://i.imgur.com/SMw28x0l.jpg

 

It turns out that I needn't have bothered.  I forgot how close the parts mated, and you'd never be able to see the hole anyway.  Oh well, at least I know!

[CommodusXIII]

http://i.imgur.com/RuHMuY7l.jpg

 

And then there's this poor bugger. He ended up close enough to a Skitarii Ranger for government work. I was originally going to go with oil instead of blood, but I decided to stay true to the notion that beneath all of the augmentation, the Skitarii are still somewhat human.

[Kilofix]

Wait, so you have Cerastus parts, but instead you're modifying a Questoris Knight into a Cerastus because you want a unique brawler look and you want it to better fit looks wise into your detachment?

 

THAT ROCKS!

[CommodusXIII]

Yup, I ordered a complete Lancer from Forge World and the needed plastic kit parts from my favorite bits seller on eBay. I'm eventually giving a buddy of mine the leftover Cerastus parts to kitbash a Kytan. :) Edited December 26, 2015 by CommodusXIII

[CommodusXIII]

http://i.imgur.com/07YgUZ0l.jpg

 

The lance arm, waiting for its coat of Liquid Talent to dry.  I should be able to move on to detailing the torso fully a day ahead of schedule.

 

Between coats, I began conversion work on Knight #7 - my take on the Magaera.  I'm still waiting for a few key parts to arrive, but you can look forward to that in the coming months.

[CommodusXIII]

http://i.imgur.com/UzjjPTml.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/iJWin7ql.jpg

 

I didn't get quite as far as I'd hoped today, but I'm still slightly ahead of schedule.  The torso, chest plates, exhaust ports and head have been assembled.  Tomorrow I'll clean up the joints between sub-assemblies before moving on to the legs.

[CommodusXIII]

http://i.imgur.com/5DUmZgPl.jpg

 

Here's the completed torso with the hood.

 

http://i.imgur.com/vIhVDVDl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/0SLa60vl.jpg

 

And with the carapace in place. I won't permanently attach this until I join the torso and legs - I'll need access to the interior of the hip joint.  The front lip of the carapace rubs on the hood, but it's good enough.

[CommodusXIII]

http://i.imgur.com/tZWdia4l.jpg

 

The finished legs and major basing elements. Once the superglue cures it's time to add the sand.

 

http://i.imgur.com/AZT4bJ2l.jpg

 

The base was covered with a generous portion of a wood glue/water/sand mixture, then left buried in sand for the night. Tomorrow I'll brush off the excess, tidy of the edges and start washing.

[CommodusXIII]

The final day begins...

 

http://i.imgur.com/qg4ml56l.jpg

 

Waiting for the first wash of Agrax Earthshade to dry.

 

http://i.imgur.com/fOmlzALl.jpg

 

Basing complete, moving on to final assembly!  The studded kneepad was originally set to be distributed by Chapterhouse before they went down.  Fortunately, they're still available through Shapeways.

 

http://i.imgur.com/DQSXMe7l.jpg

 

The most unfortunate Skitarii Ranger leaking blood and hydraulic fluid.

 

http://i.imgur.com/2jFCseEl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/16O006nl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TZPF2BBl.jpg

 

Mounting the torso to the legs.  I would guess that this is where it starts getting interesting.  Although the Cerastus torso is thinner than the Questoris, the chest plates work really well to bulk it out.  I'm going to let this joint cure for a few hours before continuing, to make sure that everything is stable when more weight is added.

[CommodusXIII]

Alright, so that took a bit longer than expected.  I'm used to the arm joints of the GW plastic kit, which set in minutes.  The resin Forge World parts, combined with the added weight of my modifications, required more patience.

 

http://i.imgur.com/wB7b1xvl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/qsmrgD1l.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/poxOCUyl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/AxJ6vphl.jpg

 

I ended up changing the kill pennant slightly, as the original pose was a bit too dynamic compared to the honor banner.

 

http://i.imgur.com/oa8jeFkl.jpg

 

Fraterrus Sextus fits in very well with my other GW Knights.  I'd call that a success!

[Terminus]

One could argue that using a questoris frame is modeling for advantage, since it is easier for it to take cover. Like the paint and that shield though.

[CommodusXIII]

It's a very specific subset of terrain that would affect the two patterns differently, and nothing that's present at any of my FLGSes. If someone was going to model the Lancer for advantage, why not just build it in a crouched pose instead of spending the extra time and money to convert it? And if someone is going to get that picky about a conversion, I'm happy to pick a different opponent. Edited December 30, 2015 by CommodusXIII