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EdT's Thread of Stuff- Now with the sound of Thunder...


EdT

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Hi all,

 

So while working on my Mohock Blades I stumbled down an unexpected detour. I was putting together an Adeptus Mechanicus envoy for Necromunda's noble House Catallus when I realised what I had was probably too large and elaborate for the display base I was making; so a seperate project span off from it. I haven't given up on the Mohocks, but I just got that Adeptus Mechanicus bug! So We will see a little procession of Magi and their servants from time to time as the desire strikes me. I really want to explore the vast physical variety found in the ranks of the Machine cult, and not just the military ones either; there are so many interesting sub-cults of the techno-arcana that should be fun to explore.

 

This thread will examine the Forge Moon of Khamove Tertius, a colony of the Forgeworld Phaeton and a regular supplier and customer of House Catallus. The background will be fleshed out more over time.

 

For now, I have two WIP models to show. The second is my entry to Grotsmasha's Warlords contest, and will be in the next post along with some background; the first is below; it's the abeyant belonging to Archmandrite Vikram, Comptroller Locum of Khamove Tertius. Vikram is a thinker, not a fighter, so it's not bristling with weapons like many of the other abeyants out there. As you can see from the photos, there's a little greenstuff clean-up still needed- but hopefully you get the general idea. The Chakra in front of which Vikram will be haloed forms a stylised version of Phaeton's symbol; conveniently it has a solar theme, like House Cattalus' heraldic sun.

 

archmagos__abeyant_by_edthomasten-dc24o9

 

And here, reposted from Grotsmasha's thread, is Vikram's bodyguard; a Skitarii Spatharios. I will be making a fun abeyant for him too- more of which later.

 

 

Skitarii Spatharios

 

When the forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus go to war, the faceless marching columns of the Skitatii are often preceded by terrifying four-armed constructs of flesh and metal, draped in grisly trophies and barbaric furs to imitate the Thark of ancient Martian myth. These fearsome individuals are the Spatharoi or “Masters of Skitarii”, the Red Priesthood’s chosen instrument of intimidation.

 

Each Spatharios is carefully engineered by the Magii to evince maximum psychological impact, a careful calibration of threat postures, dymantic theory and violent potential. Their intimidating appearance is matched by their physical strength, skill at arms and the ability to coordinate allied forces on a tactical level, making each one a considerable military asset.

 

The Spatharoi have two primary functions. The first is diplomatic, acting as bodyguard and protector to emissaries sent out by Forge Worlds as a token of the Synod’s support and an implicit demonstration of the Omnissiah’s potential wrath.

 

Their other function is on the battlefield, where a Spatharios can unleash its full killing potential at the head of a War Cohort or Maniple of Skitarii. Spatharoii have been furnished with the computational ability to coordinate tactical manoeuvres and can continue this analytical behaviour even as they launch frenzied close quarter attacks on enemy positions and high value targets.

 

However, the real value of a Spatharios is more subtle. Although they pose as the commanders of Skitarii formations and can even serve as such if required, they are in truth no more autonomous or militarily vital than any other Skitarius. An enemy might commit huge resources to assassinate a Spatharios or assume that their presence in the vanguard of an assault makes the target the Machine Cult’s primary objective; Magii safely secured in distant underground bunkers or in orbit have won uncounted conflicts by utilising such misdirection.

 

Pictured below is Spatharios Unit 23-7 from the Legiones Skitarii of Forge World Phaeton, presently detached for protection duty and >error92462: Classified< in the service of Archmandrite Vikram, Comptroller Locum of the mining colony of Khamove Tertius.

 

skitarii_spatharios_by_edthomasten-dc22g

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  • 1 month later...

So I've decided to change the name of this thread- while it will feature the Magi of Khamove Tertius, there are other little bits here and there that I want to add that don't fit on my Underhive/Spire project. It seems rather handy to have a sort of "grab bag" thread where all the random conversions go. Perhaps they fit into a grand over-arching narrative?

 

The first model I wanted to show is a cherub. I love doing familiars and assistants, and I particularly adore these guys so much- they are in many ways the quintessence of 40K grimdark. It always makes me happy when another one gets added to the range. I thought I'd do a cut and shut job on the Devastator cherub and the mechanical one from the WHFB Empire General- then the bits box (and possibly my recent re-reading of Pariah, whose creepy dolls always stuck with me) intervened). I assume that is what happens when you don't give a cherub a really heavy melta bomb to occupy itself with...

 

cherub_by_edthomasten-dc6w9ka.jpg

 

 

****

 

"Have you ever heard the tragedy of Promeus the Wise? I thought not. It's not a story the Puritans would tell you"

 

****

 

I also have the beginnings of a little Inquisitorial retinue. What distinguishes these guys, I think, is that they fulfil the role of antagonists (not that I play, but it makes sense when I envisage their characters). First up, we have the leader of the band; the truly diabolical Inquisitor Renningen, an alpha-level psyker and all-round villain. He's not a nice man, but limitless ambition, the need to protect the Imperium and the ability to crush a Main Battle Tank using only your mind will do that to you.

 

inquisitor_renningen_by_edthomasten-dc6w

 

Like all evil old men in bathrobes, Renningen needs an enforcer to carry out his dirty work. That enforcer is Thard Radev, a blackshield Astartes who from his psychic hood appears to have been a Librarian at some point in his past. Presumably whatever provoked the implantation of his extensive augmetics ended his service with his Chapter.

 

thard_radev__astartes_overseer_by_edthom

 

It's unclear whether his activites are officially sanctioned or not, but Renningen has been doing some seriously dubious stuff after having come into possession of Astartes geneseed. The results of his experimentation, "The Shriven", are physically fine (although their marksmanship is noticably poorer than normal Astartes) and have provided Renningen with a private army to further his goals. But nontheless there's something seriously off about them; they never remove their helms, seem to move stiffly as in constant pain, and exhibit very little initiative or personality, to the extent that all have identical Power Armour with all features removed save an idenfitifcation serial code.

 

Radev commands the Shriven and appears to be responsible for executing those who exhibit any form of taint. Here's a group shot with two of the Shriven. I love how Renningen is dwarfed by the transhumans around him.

 

inquisitor_renningen_and_retinue_wip_by_

 

More to come- I still have a bodyguard for Renningen planned.

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inquisitor_renningen_and_retinue_wip_by_

 

More to come- I still have a bodyguard for Renningen planned.

I love the designs of the Inquisitorial retinue, but I need to know:

 

Des Inquisitor Renningen have UNLIMITED POWAH? :lol:

 

In any case, I really like the use of the Primaris Marines. Are they supposed to be True-scale marines for Inq28, or are they actually Primaris Marines?

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Dang, Thard Radev certainly means business! Might we get a parts list for him? While primaris are not really my cup of tea, I'm really digging this character, the mixing of the different kits is fantastic. I'm specially interested in his head, it is just so characterful.
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I love the designs of the Inquisitorial retinue, but I need to know:

 

Des Inquisitor Renningen have UNLIMITED POWAH? :laugh.:

He's certainly hoping to at some point, provided that he stays away from disgruntled apprentices and low railings.

 

 

In any case, I really like the use of the Primaris Marines. Are they supposed to be True-scale marines for Inq28, or are they actually Primaris Marines?

I've always true-scaled my Marines, so as far as I'm concerned the Primaris are just refined Astartes rather than transhumans who all happen to be several feet taller than the regular lot. I'm iffy on the new fluff, to be honest; but the models are beautiful and really capture the scale of what Astertes are to me. My inclination is to make them as ornate and decorated as possible (on the basis that every Marine is a hero in their own right) so it's a little odd for me to pare things back so much.

 

 

Dang, Thard Radev certainly means business! Might we get a parts list for him? While primaris are not really my cup of tea, I'm really digging this character, the mixing of the different kits is fantastic. I'm specially interested in his head, it is just so characterful.

Thanks- of course! The heads on all three Astartes are from the Agressor kit; Radev's is a stock bare head which has had the hair shaved off. Radev is based on the Primaris Librarian with very little conversion really; I just took off the tubes that run down his torso (easy as they're seperate bits) and gave him a WHFB Greatsword for his weapon, secured by a bit of greenstuffed strap. The bolter is from the Intercessor kit and he has a tilt shield from (I think) a Demigryph Knight. The Pauldrons are from the Sternguard and Deathwatch Captain kits. That's it really.

 

I tend to agree with you on the Primaris and this is my first attempt working with them; thankfully it seems fairly easy to make them look like enlarged versions of the Astartes of old rather than anything too new.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Oooooohhh....... nothing I like more than a notorious Inquisitor and his retinue that exude menace. You have really hit the mark with your miniatures. More menace than can be registered on a menace meter.... MOST EXCELLENT:thumbsup: 

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Thanks all! Glad people are finding this fun. I have paint on the astartes, so hopefully I will have a few completed pictures to show off soon! A quick update from me- these are hopefully the servo-autonoma you've been looking for...

 

First off, we have a human addition to the retinue- Admiral Tarquin, a hoary old veteran of Battlefleet Solar suborned by Inquisitor Renningen to provide naval support. He's a fairly simple conversion using Imperial Guard parts, with the main work being some greenstuff hair. I think the end result looks more Patrick Troughton than Peter Cushing tbh, but maybe there's an alternative casting choice....

 

admiral_tarquin__imperial_navy_by_edthom

"You may fire when ready..."

 

Next, as suggested by @KrautScientist, a little interrogation droid servo-autonoma. He's a pretty classic conversion that I think @PDH originally did, but he fits into the team rather nicely I hope!

 

interrogation_servo_autonoma_by_edthomas

 

 

The final new addition is a probe-autonoma designed for recon work. The inspiration should hopefully be obvious! The main components are two wraith-construct carapaces from the new Forgebane Cryptek model.

 

imperial_probe_automata_by_edthomasten-d

 

 

May the, er, Emperor be with you...

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  • 3 weeks later...

So, a slight change of direction for today. I have that rarest of things- a completely free Bank Holiday weekend with the flat to myself- and with my girlfriend away for a few weeks I thought it was a good opportunity to get going on a project I'd been saving for a few months. It was sparked off by admiring Kizzdoug's absolutely wonderful Sons of Horus. I was keen to have my own go at the subject; and then it occured to me that while Kizzdoug's models have truly leapt from the pages of the Forgeworld Horus Heresy books, they also show quite how much the design concept of the XVI has moved on over time when compared to their initial outing in Adrian Smith's wonderfully evocative artwork for the Horus Heresy CCG.

I wanted to do something that returns to that sensibility, rather like how Apologist has so successfully captured the late RT/early 2nd Edition zeitgeist with his M.35 Blood Angels and Orks. So the plan is to recreate one of my favourite bits of art from the very dawn of the Horus Heresy setting; the Abakhol Warrior Squad (click the picture for a larger one that the board won't host for some reason).

http://www.pa-sy.com/hhccg/images/abakhol.jpg

I love this piece; so many of the basic building blocks for the setting are there, but it's not quite in its final form.

Having assembled the bits I needed, my first task was to start doing some personalisation. I wanted a pretty high degree of fidelity with the original art, so while a lot of that could be done with carefully chosen stock bits, a fair bit of conversion was needed. Hopefully you'll recognise various elements from the picture in there like Abakhol's combi-weapon and the standard bearer's non-standard backpack.

sons_of_horus_conversion_bits_by_edthoma

The shoulder pads took a long time to do. They're based on the wonderful Mastercrafted Miniatures, which could give me spikes on one side and the beginnings of an Eye of Horus on the other (the stock pad is a star; I cut away the extraneous points and added an eye in the middle with greenstuff). It also gave me thick banding, which was good as I could add a whole heap of microbead studding on there too. I'm not quite finished as I've still waiting for some greenstuff curing on two, but I'm getting there...

It was fun trying to find some of the more obscure bits for the group; the oversized elbow-pads which are so prominent in the picture ended up being provided by the new Blood Bowl Elves, which I'm still looking for a kneepad solution I'm 100% happy with for the standard bearer (frustratingly, Dark ELdar shoulder pads are exactly the right shape but too small...)

Speaking of which, I also got the standard bearer's toso and legs together. This is from a FW Sons of Horus head, a deathguard torso and Tyrant Siege Terminator legs, which have the perfect pose! I then made the distinctive breating hose by using a spare bit of mechandrite; I still need to decide if I extend the helmet a little or leave as is.

wip_sons_of_horus_standard_bearer_by_edt

Finally, I got started on the base. This will be a mountain of skulls, as per the painting. To get the underlying topography, I slapped some clay on a plastic base and sculpted it until it felt right. Obviously the relative position of the Sons of Horus will be pretty important, so I marked out where they would stand by placing their legs on the wet clay. This had the benefit of leaving footprints for me to refer to later.

sons_of_horus_wip_display_base_by_edthom

Once I felt that the models would be properly placed to match the painting, I left the clay out in the sun- hopefully it'll be dry by the evening and I can seal it and begin to add the skulls...

More soon.

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I have very fond memories of your narrative dioramas from back in the day, so I have high hopes for this one! Both the subject matter and the inspirational artwork are very promising, as are the first mockups. Looking forward to seeing this take shape! :)

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To add to what Kraut has just said, have you considered ear-marking your old Heresy Kill Team thread so it doesn't get deleted? Your work is first rate and a real source of inspiration.

 

Good point! Then again, I thought Forge topics were exempt from the purge to begin with...?! Anyway, better safe than sorry! :)

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Really looking forward to seeing the work on the Abakhol Warrior Squad progress, it's a cool piece of art and the components you've got together already are spot on.

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Really looking forward to this. The spiky shoulder pads and spiked elbows really help capture the feel of that early style. It reminds me of early 2nd edition Bloodbowl players. Just reread your bit, they are Bloodbowl pieces, makes perfect sense then.

 

These guys on a mountain of skulls. This is going to be epic.

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So, I hate to be "that guy" when it comes to a really nice vignette with awesome conversion. But...

 

Your Sergeant's weapon is wrong.

 

You've got an underslung melta gun, whereas the artwork shows a plasma gun's barrel.

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Thanks for the kind comments all, I'm really enoying this one. I'd forgotten how fun it is to do a little team like this.

 

To add to what Kraut has just said, have you considered ear-marking your old Heresy Kill Team thread so it doesn't get deleted? Your work is first rate and a real source of inspiration.

Very excited to see what you do for the Abakhol Squad! Also where can I find your old diorama stuff? Would love to have a look at all of them!

To be honest, the diorama pictures on the thread are all gone anyhow sadly; Dropbox changed its policy to make public image hosting impossible, so that rendered the thread a bit pointless. I still have the pics- at some point I'll upload them on deviantart instead and have a retrospective in the Hall of Honour, perhaps. Watch this space.

 

So, I hate to be "that guy" when it comes to a really nice vignette with awesome conversion. But...

 

Your Sergeant's weapon is wrong.

 

You've got an underslung melta gun, whereas the artwork shows a plasma gun's barrel.

Ha, I actually agonised a bit on this- couldn't decide whether it was a melta or a plasma. In the end I went for the former because it looked to me that the barrel was a straight cylinder melta-style, rather than a more tapered plasma barrel, but I could well be wrong. If so, treat it as a deliberate mistake to see if the viewer is paying attention...

 

 

 

So I've made quite a bit of progress on Abakhol. First, the base; a tide of skulls (sorry, Skulltide© Age of Sigmar, 2017) is beginning to creep up the topography. There are already a hell of a lot of skulls on here- by my estimate 200+, and they're all individually placed, so that's been time-consuming. Thankfully I found some resin skulls on ebay relatively cheaply to bulk out my supply, but the GW skull box is amazing and it's also quite surprising how many you end up amassing in your bits box. I'm in danger of exhausting my supply however, so I'll probably have to order even more. To save money I did the flat bits of the base by making a greenstuff mold; it's not as good as the real thing but it should look ok once painted.

 

horus4_by_edthomasten-dcb4t6w.jpg

 

 

I've also made a lot of progress on the models. My two bolter guys in the foreground are more or less complete, although I still need to add some battle damage; they slot into the gaps I left in the skull carpeting quite nicely.

 

sons_of_horus_wip_by_edthomasten-dcb4t8l

 

 

I've also made a lot of progress on the guy with the sword and bolter behind them. I'm still working on the head. Anyhow, with the complete bits of the group in the right place and some skulls on the scene, hopefully things are beginning to look a little bit like the artwork when photographed from the right direction...

 

sons_of_horus_wip_2_by_edthomasten-dcb4t

 

 

Next steps for me are more skulls (sigh), sorting out the arm positioning on the standard guy so I can get going on the banner, and finally Abakhol himself.

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Wow, those guys are seriously impressive when they come together! This thread is seriously nostalgic, reminds me of how much time I spent poring over Horus Heresy: Collected Visions in high school. Love it!
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