Harvesters of Souls: Drakkar ravagers & steampunk craftworld

[Vairocanum]

The assassins are looking great! I think the eversor is my favorite out of the bunch too, but the cullexus is a close second. I like all the detail you've sculpted on the backs!

[The Traitor]

The assassins are looking great! I think the eversor is my favorite out of the bunch too, but the cullexus is a close second. I like all the detail you've sculpted on the backs!

Thanks brother! I've sculpted backpacks with little buttons and dials because the backs of the assassins looked empty and the chaos marauder back is too curved for my taste, so I needed to fill it with something.

While I'm thriving to continue my work on them, I'm going away for some days, so I'll be unable to model anything... Hopefully though I'll be able to write some fluff and rules for the army.

[The Traitor]

So I managed to write some fluff. The idea is to do a serie of short stories about a group of assassins that survive the fall of the legion. Here is the first chapter:

 

Short Story: Kill team Wolfbane I

The Legion had fallen… Zedran still couldn't believe it. Messis had fallen too, millions of humans dead for a mistake they hadn't made. Astartes fighting Astartes, the unbelievable had happened.... And he had not been there, fighting for his lord. He knew it wouldn't have made a difference but at least… At least he would have died with honor, beside the ones he had always fought for. Now he was an outcast, a weapon without someone to wield it, a server without a master.

But he wasn't alone. He had been travelling back to Messis when all had happened, as he had just finished the last task he had been given: escort the new operatives to their new legion. They were ten new recruits that had just finished their training in the Officio Assassinorum temples, eleven counting himself, Zedran Haakanian, veteran operative of the Vindicare Temple. They were travelling in the Lamenter, a Countess class ship, a small frigate with a maximum capacity of twenty men that was frequently used by the Harvesters of Souls to deploy their Officio Assassinorum operatives independently of the fleet. With them there were the staff of the ship, a Navigator, the Lamenter captain, three additional pilots, two maintenance workers and some additional servitors.

He and the captain had agreed to meet in the captain’s own room, a chamber in the upper part of the ship that was adjacent to the command bridge. He gently knocked on the door and a servitor opened, inviting him inside with his artificial voice. The captain was waiting for him, sitting straight in a metal chair next to a small table. The room was spartan, without much decoration and mostly metallic furniture. The captain was a slim but tall man, who was obviously too old for this job. He showed an elegant hair combed backwards and a rich clean beard, both white as the snow. His skin was slightly tanned and he wore the characteristic blue uniform of a fleet officer. The man, Johan Damman, had been a fighter pilot at the start of his career, but had quickly risen through the ranks of the Messian Fleet thanks to his cunning and exceptional skill, but he was now just a shadow of his previous self, he had received many rejuvenat treatments, but nevertheless he was aging, so now the fleet mainly assigned him to important missions who weren't meant to see much action, as delivering eleven Officio Assassinorum operatives through the galaxy.

The servitor offered him a chair in front of the captain, and he sat.

- Mr. Haakanian- he greeted, hesitating on the title he should use when addressing him.

- Captain Damman - he answered.

- As you must know by now we've come to a… difficulty- the captain said, dangerously looking at him. He had a strong voice for his age.

- I'm aware, yes - Zedran decided to let him do the talking for now.

- I've received orders from the Imperial Fleet regarding what to do - he paused to see if he responded, but he remained quiet, so Damman continued talking - they’ve commanded me to change my course and deliver you and the others as fast as possible to the 156th Expeditionary Fleet, just a couple of weeks away, commanded by the Space Wolves legion, where they will most probably kill you all. They’ve also told me to use the false premise that we need to stop to make repairs, and that we will then continue to Messis to reunite with the remaining loyal forces of the Harvesters of Souls- he said calmly.

- Are there any remaining Harvesters of Souls at all? Why are you telling me this? - Zedran asked while he slowly moved his hand towards the Exitus pistol in his belt.

- There are no remaining Harvesters of Souls and I'm telling you this because I do not intend to follow this orders- the answer of Captain Damman startled him, and he stopped his hand at the hilt of the gun.

- This sounds awfully a lot like treachery, captain - maybe he was being tested.

- I’ve also worked for the Harvester for a long time, even longer than you - the captain continued. It didn't seem like a test, but he had to sure that it wasn't hope blinding him. So he drew his gun, jumped over the table and pressed the wide mouth of the Exitus pistol to his forehead and whispered to his ear:

- I work for the Emperor of Mankind, fool, and I will do as he commands me -

- In such case I shall change our course and deliver you to the wolves - the tone of Damman hadn't changed a bit, he didn't seem intimidated at all - Now please point that elsewhere, it isn't the first time I've been threatened in this way, not even the first time I’ve been threatened by a Vindicare, but it is uncomfortable to have cold metal pressed to your skin - he continued.

Zedran looked at him through his mask, as he was also wearing his uniform. A black tight one piece suit with diverse stimulant injectors, grenades, ammunition packs, the characteristic Vindicare Spy Mask and other tools, though he had left his rifle in his own room. He looked deep into his eyes in search of an answer.

- This isn’t a test, isn't it?- he asked, still whispering and without removing the gun.

- No, it is not - Damman answered.

- You're aware that if you're lying I'm able to kill you without wasting a breath, aren't you? - he whispered even lower.

- Yes I'm aware -

Zedran removed the gun from his head and stood in front of him.

- In that case… What now? - he asked while he put the gun back in his belt.

Captain Damman looked at him, smiled, and said:

- Revenge -

[The Traitor]

I´m back form vacation! Actually I came back yesterday, which means that I´ve already had a whole day of modelling after Christmas...

I know that I specifically said that I wouldn´t start Magnus untill I had finished my assassins but that was before I had Magnus. My mistake was opening the box... the moment I saw his parts lying there I knew that I was going to at least assemble him first:

There´s still a lot of work to be done on him but you can already see the main idea of the model. A lot of repossing has been done and I´ve had to sculpt many joints (the right shoulder is still very, very WIP), but it has been a very satisfactory job, I must admit. The level of detail on the model is amazing and, if I was astonished when I first saw him on photos, seeing him on person is even better. I´ve also changed the horns of the armour because I just couldn´t satnd the nipple horns...

As always CC and comments are welcome, hope that you like him and sorry for the photo-quality...

[The Traitor]

So, I made some more progress on him:

 

Now I just have to glue the wings, sand the greenstuff, fill various gaps, make the base and finish a foot...

 

One of the wings fits perfectly but the other... not so much. I´m going to have to use greenstuff to glue it as the risen weapon makes impossible for it to fit.

 

Had to use a lot of greenstuff to change the pose, the muscles of Magnus are damn massive...

[~Drakzilla~]

Holy crap.

 

That is one impressive repose. Great execution, I would hate to be the unlucky warrior on the receiving end of that charge.

[MikhalLeNoir]

Wonderful conversion. Exactly the same movement and pose I would aim for that model. The only nitpick would be his hair. As the model is dashing forward, his hair is not transporting the movement. I know it would be a rather big conversion, but it would make a great conversion close to perfect.

[darknation]

Love the posing on Magnus, he looks like a classical Greek Olympian.

 

Might be a huge, monumental pain, but I'd think about trying to add some movement to his tabard to emphasize the forward motion of the rest of the model.

[MikhalLeNoir]

Love the posing on Magnus, he looks like a classical Greek Olympian.

 

Might be a huge, monumental pain, but I'd think about trying to add some movement to his tabard to emphasize the forward motion of the rest of the model.

Oh damn. You are right. I only saw the hair. How about salt dipping? Carefully done it could easen the process. Or you could use a heatgun at 120°C ( not co etly sure but 140 would warp the and bend the tabard a bit.

 

 

Nontheless the conversion is outstanding.

[The Traitor]

Happy new year you all!

@drakzilla: thanks brother! I like to think that he's about to throw the blade and nail someone to the ground just in front of him!

@MikhalLeNoir: hmmm, yes, maybe you're right, I thought that it was horizontal enough but it's true that the points of the hair should be upwards... Even though, I'm not sure that I have the skill to do that! I will try to do a mock up in a test piece and if it goes well I'll do the same to Magnus. Also I hadn't heard about this "salt dipping" method but after a quick search through the internet it sounds interesting, might try it out someday though with the loincloth I don't know if it would serve (see below).

@darknation: thanks, I hadn't seen him like that but now that you mention it you're totally right! He should be more Egyptian than Greek though... :-P About the loincloth you're also right, I did cut it by half and turned one side around because it was facing the wrong side, but it is true that now it should be floating backwards. I've already used a heatgun to slightly bend the right wing so I suppose I could do the same to the loincloth but I'm worried about how would that affect the greenstuff on it as it may heat to much and warp in weird ways. Has anyone tryed something similar? If not, do you think it could work or would it ruin the greenstuff? Would salt dipping be any better? I don't see why, as it is applying heat in another way after all, but I've never done it so I'm not sure.

[MikhalLeNoir]

Well. If you have a heatgun. It is imho better as you can influence the heat. Salt dipping can work or go totally wrong because lower layers of the salt tend to be hotter and if the allergies is too hot, it will warp the plastic. Concerning gs and plastic: on my experience the plastic will melt before the green stuff^^

[The Traitor]

@ MikhalLeNoir: Thank, I will try and see how it goes. At worst it will burn into a melted plastic puddle and I will have to sculpt a huge loincloth with greenstuff   .

 

Yesterday I left the wings gluing and everything turned out right, the hair looks somehow better now that it´s between the wings... Today I started filling some gaps and also started to sculp some details on the plate to fill the empty space that the horns had left and I´ve already finished one side:

Now I don´t know if I should do the same design on the other side or if it would look right if instead of a skull I did a featurless face, like the Harvesters of Souls icon as, even though I want Magnus to keep his own identity, I´m going to try and paint him in a mix of Thousand Sons and HoS colours and will run him with the II Legion at his side, so I want him to look good in the army. 

 

At last I´ve also worked a little bit on my next assassin, a Callidus, though it is still in very early phases and a lot will be added to her:

She is the first model I´ve ever sculpted from zero with greenstuff and I´m quite proud with how it is turning, though I´m learning a lot for the next one (damn human proportions, there is no way to do them right!). Anyways I would appreciate feedback on her to see what I can fix and what I should do differently on my next model (who will most probably be a culexus).

 

[MikhalLeNoir]

Really good job on the details.

 

Just realized that you play Sons of Horus and that their short is SoH and of your Harvesters of Souls it is HoS^^ the exact opposite. Was this meant to be or just a funny coincedence?

[Vairocanum]

Wow your Magnus repose is really impressive! The muscle sculpting looks seamless, and I really like the new details you've sculpted on his chestplate. Looking forward to seeing more progress!

[The Traitor]

@MikhalLeNoir: just noticed it myself, totally a coincidence! Fits perfectly the Malal theme though...

@Vairocanum: Thanks, I´ve sculpted the other side of the plate (I did another skull at the end) and took some pics of him with wings.

I still need to fill some gaps, finish a foot, do the base and bend the loincloth but I fear that I must finish my assassins first as I noticed that I only have 27 days left to my tournament and well, there´s still a lot to be done. So I made some progress on my Callidus:

There are still a lot of details that I have to do but it starts taking a proper shape. Will try to do more on her this afternoon and maybe start a Culexus, after a game I had this morning with them against Tau in which I surprisingly won I´m super-hyped about them and think that I´ll manage to have them all sculpted and painted in time (I have two games left with them during this week and I will try to practise more afterwards)

[The Traitor]

I finished the Callidus and started my next assassin, a Culexus.

 

At the end the Callidus isn´t looking as good as I expected, she´s to bulky and has too many things going on, but I suppose that she´s fine for a first fully sculpted model...

 

On the other hand I´ve started doing the Culexus body and I think that I´ve got better proportions this time, but it is still too early to know:

 

And here´s a pic of the four assassins, my second execution force!

Just three more to go!

 

Any comments would be appreciated, I´m walking on thin ice here and I still have a lot to learn.

[Pyroclast91]

Awesome work brother Magnus is looking amazing that's the pose he should have been in imo. You've done a fantastic job with him so far I'm definitely excited to see him painted. And the assassin's are looking pretty damn good too especially since your sculpting from scratch. Might just have to take a stab at it myself ;)

[The Traitor]

Thanks Pyroclast91, I fear that Magnus is going to wait some time unpainted, assassins are my top priority now. About giving sculpting from scratch a try, I fully encourage you, I´ve discovered that it´s a slow proccess, but a rewarding one wen you see your finished model... Speaking of which, I´ve finished my second Culexus:

There are still some things to improve (need smoother surfaces), but I think that she´s better than my first one, the Callidus.

 

I know I havent´t been too active lately but the thing is that I´ve been playing a lot of games to test the assassins. They aren´t an easy army to play and if I plan to go to a tournament with them I need practise. That said all my games went surprisingly well (4 victories, 1 draw) so I´m very happy with the list overall, but I still haven´t fought any flyers, which are defenitelly my counter in the system I´m playing. The possitive thing about this games is that a friend against who I played told me that he could lend me a Vindicare for the tournament if I wanted and today I just got a Culexus for Christmas so... I finally have all the assassins I need!!! Not I have to finish some conversions for inquisitorial psykers and I can prime and start to paint my army. However I have an issue with the plastic Culexus, I don´t know in which angle to put his head, so any help on deciding will be appreciated:

 

The classic Culexus pose, turned to the right. It looks good, afterall it is how GW assembled him.

 

Looking completely forward. A "natural" (considering the usual Culexus rigidness) pose, he has spotted an enemy psyker and is going for the kill.

 

 

Turned to the left. I´ve done two pictures in different angles because in one of them he looks like if he had a sigle arm and the other looks like if the neck was too turned to the left, but it actually looks fine in real life and gives him a different look from the other... Culexi? Culexuses? 

 

I have to admit that I was pretty surprised to see that there were two different head options in the box, had never realised it, and even though it was a hard choice, I went for this one because it looks even creepier that the usual one and wanted him to look different from the others of his kind (you know, to fit with the rest of the army  ). 

 

Hope that you like them!

 

 

[Vairocanum]

The culluxeus are looking nice! I like the blood drops you've sculpted on the callidus's blade.

[The Traitor]

The culluxeus are looking nice! I like the blood drops you've sculpted on the callidus's blade.

Thanks! But I'm actually going to paint the drops like poison, I discovered that a lot of people don't know that Callidus have poison blades, it seems that the Phase Sword gets all the fame, so I decided to sculpt my Callidus with more obvious poison blades.

[The Traitor]

Today I finally managed to get my Officio Assassinorum + Inquisition army primed and even fully painted an Eversor! It took me 2 hours and 4 minutes, but considering he was the test model and that I´ll chain-paint the others, I beleive thta I´ll have my force ready in time for the tournament. Anyways, here are some picks of him finished:

I´m pretty happy with him, though he´s maybe too plain, but hopefully he´ll look better besides his ten assassin friends . Any comments and recomendations are welcomed, do you like this colour scheme or should I go for another one? I wanted them to fit with my Harvesters of Souls, but maybe something else could work without being so typical...

[Pyroclast91]

That Eversor looks fantastic man I just finished listening to nemesis on audiobook. So I've been thinking about assassins a lot here recently and that's exactly how I imagine them is rather plain so they can blend in. The only thing ever really mentioned being flashy were weapons. One thing I might add would be a mess of gore to the eversore however they seem to make a lot of it if you haven't read nemesis I highly highly recommend it. Keep up the awesome work man can't wait to see the rest of the execution force.

[The Traitor]

Thanks brother! Nemesis is, in my opinion, the best Black Library book, and a main inspirations for this army. And yeah, Eversors get messy, but I wanted this one to look like he hasn't killed anyone yet and is rather jumping into the fight, as I don't really like painting too much gore on my figures. Worry not though, the other Eversor I have is the old metal model with a severed head in one hand and I can promise that he will have plenty of blood over him ;) .

[The Traitor]

Just finished painting the suits, but I´m not sure if they´re too dark, so comments on that would be appreciated:

There are some assassins yeah...  and there´s even one more Vindicare, but it isn´t in the photo as a friend is letting me use his for the tournament. And when I finish this I still have to paint an inquisitor, seven acolytes and three psykers!

[Augustus b'Raass]

Dude, wow. You're super productive and I am sorry I haven't commented before. Lessee...

 

About the first batch of assassins: lovely work. I think it's pretty cool that you decided upon a non-human skull head for the culexus, and she's possible my favourite of the three (although the double giving the finger hands are a bit juvenile). 

 

Your Magnus repose is astonishing! WOW! His pose is thoroughly dynamic and is wonderfully executed. (I wish you'd post your pictures in a larger setting though, so I don't have to click on them to see the details). Although I am sad to see the iconic 'chest horns' go, I understand your reasoning (they're utterly cumbersome and serve no beneficial purpose whatsoever) though, and you're making up for it with that wonderful sculpting work of yours.

 

The kneeling new Culexus looks the part too. 

 

Great work, consider yourself subbed :tu: