I am not someone with a lot of personnality... Whenever I see a good idea, I feel like giving it a go...
You may remember Axiom and Colin recently had a go at creating little mutated creatures for rogue trader and this gave me the will to try to do some myself...
But why would one want to create small, weak, painful to watch, useless models ? Well because they sort of define the kind of setting you want for your games I guess. You want a world full of characterfull heroes ? Good for you. I do prefer (matter of taste) having a bit of everything making the average guys look handsome and villains making normal dudes look like heroes.
Besides, the older illustrations are full of those little creatures. Nomads have them :
Ash Waste Nomads by John Blanche |
And even adeptus mechanicus priests have their own :
With these ideas in mind, I had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted to achieve. I wanted them small, I wanted them distorted (and not just reduced humans) and I wanted them ugly.
My base models were plastic gnoblars I must have got via mail order when the first ogre kingdom was released and I ordered bits for my chaos army. I did try to paint them at the time but they were so boring they've remained half painted for nearly 10 years...
Until I decided it was time to get some Punk stunties (let's call them stunks from now on). Adding zombie heads was the easy way and I have to admit I stole the idea from a WD with zombie pirates in it.
For the first one, I used what is probabaly my favouriute zombie head and replaced the mace with a reduced chainsword blade to make it look like some industrial cutter. An elegant hairdo done in DURO and filing the wood grain on the shield were the next two steps to the transformation :
Painting wise, I opted for a very pale skin tone to represent the hazardous environment these creatures live in. You probably can't tell from the pics but this one is wearing a camo vest underneath his armour parts, probably remnants of clothing he found on a dead imperial guard...
Just to set the model a bit more in a futuristic environment, I painted the sanded shield as a "no entry" road sign.
The second Stunk was also based on a plastic gnoblar with the addition of a zombie head but for this one the conversion job was a little tougher. I removed the mace the model is normally holding to replace it with a salvaged flamer like if the model was taking it from the ground. I also added a banner with an auspex in his back.
There are 2 reasons to this. The first one is I believe this little group lives of the sale of salvaged items from the underhive. Having such a handy item on display is a way of advertising their salvaging skill and the kind of items they can retrieve. The second reason is a bit more practical, the auspex is actually recording levels of radiation and toxic fumes around so that the party doesn't stay for too long in hostile places. Having it hanging from a pole makes the sounds of the geiger counter and toxicity meter audible for everyone in the group.
Painting wise I kept basing colours, opting for bright tones to show how those stunks want to show their pseudo wealth... (and their general lack of taste)
Mama told you to wash your teeth... |
I hesitated a while before doing the last one, I thougt the original body was far too comedical for the grim darkness etc...but after second thougts I came to realise it was probably what would make the other 2 even darker and creepier... (like the contrast I talked about above).
That's why I added him a night goblin banner (salvaged from a random bits box at my local hobby shop). I just added the mandatory zombie head and a couple of valuables in the form of space marines gear.
Painting wise, I decided early I wanted to paint the marine bits as Blood angel just to echo the picture from confrontation
I know the helmet should have been a MK6 or "beakie" and the bolter doesn't match either but this is more evocation than slavish reference really.
All in all, these 3 models will most probably be my last for this year which means I will probably right a review of 2014 in little time...
The real funny thing about this is that without any agreement between us, Theresponsibleone has just been doing the same thing HERE.
WIP shot from theresponsibleone |
For now I leave you with a comparison shot of the Squat Hovercar from Bob Olley's Iron claw range...
Taken from Solegend |
... talk about scale creep heh?
to be fair, the hovercar looks small even next to squats of the Rogue trader days... Guess we're going to count this one as a space gnome then...
Oh and while we're at it, I decided to remove the spear from this lad without damaging anything...
Successful but man what a pain... will it be worth the pain? We shall see that in 2015... for now I have some bounty hunters waiting fro some paint and preys...
What an excellent idea. I like the use of the Gnoblar bodies and zombie heads.
ReplyDeleteNice painting too!
I am repainting and re-basing my normal Rogue Trader Squat army at the moment, but now have the the idea of doing a Chaos Squat army using this idea at a later date :)
Well the grotesque body proportions and awful skin condition would clearly make them good chaos followers with the appropriate paintjob !
DeleteThanks Lee !
Hahaha. great idea! :D
ReplyDeleteI also have some gnoblars uselessly staggering, uselessly until now!
Put them to work already, they've been useless for long enough now !
DeleteThanks ;)
Very nice indeed JB. I love pairs of things; a trio is even better! They look exactly right for a scuttling pack of scavenging muties -the pale skin and drab cloth is offset perfectly by the blast of red. I'll be stealing the sign/shield idea you realise?!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jon ! They're simple but I believe they do the job and they cost me next to nothing so what more could I ask ?
DeleteI've stolen far enough ideas so far and the original road sign idea can't have been mine in the first place anyway ;)
Great stuff, really like these little guys. They could use a flea bitten dog or death ferret as a mascot!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest the backpack on the Auspex guy looks a little too much like a black blob in the photo. The guy with the Space Marine helmet's backpack looks like a better colour for it. The red bits really pop excellently.
Thanks !
DeleteThe colours are a bit altered by picasa to be honest, the red is lightly less vibrant in real. the blob is the same though and the dark grey I chose was not the best of ideas if I'm being hinest the dark brown for the one with the big bag is indeed looking better. The extra details also help to achieve more contrast.
this is all the result of not thinking things through BEFORE painting as these were only meant as a recreation...
Those are great! I've taken to going through my box of broken vintage lead and converting some of the contents over to Rogue Trader style characters, it's great fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks !
DeleteThat's what I like most about Rogue trader and confrontation, every idea can found its way in those. There's nothing like giving old/broken models a second chance, the unexpected models that come out of tis are usually amongst the best (imho).
Now give this broken lead some love ;)
man you always have the coolest ideas. I have exactly the same White dwarfs as you and never think of this stuff.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably too honest, I rob every idea I see without any shame !
DeleteThe original idea was Axiom's and I ws greatly inspired by Chad Mierzwa (IIRC) from that WD, so go and rob ideas too ;)
Excellent as always JB, I think it's the way you describe your thought processes and then bring your imaginings to life through clever conversions that always gets me happy. Fantastic inspiration on how to inject personality into our models!
ReplyDeleteWell, coming from a conversion master as yourself , that's a nice compliment ! Personality is the key indeed, le's not let any other consideration guide our hands !
DeleteThanks !
Great work! I have one little mutie "on the go" currently, but he certainly needs some fellows to boss around...
ReplyDeleteMuties unite ! Everyone seems to be doing some these days, what does it say of our community though...
DeleteGive him some friends/victims and show them to us !
Sure, once I finish this Venator I started because of you...
DeleteOh venators? I'm all ears now :D
DeleteAs seen here: Venator
Deleteand Bonne Année!
Really great and characterful and creepy guys, Mr.ALMan! The geiger counter/toxicity meter is a very nice touch! And a real treat to see the Squat Hover Car! My SLA has been hunting for one on and off forever!
ReplyDeleteThanks private !
DeleteThe hover car is one ridiculously small and cool model really, full of Bob Olley charm. I got this one for a fair price on a second hand site and will find him some place amongst the Heavy Industrialist Union as a surveyor.
Glad the little creeps please you guys ;)
You sir are an inspiration !
ReplyDeleteCheers !
DeleteWooow, you do know how to steal in style! :D The idea is great, but the execution is top notch. Tons of character, pretty good work!
ReplyDeleteSteal with style, I like the sound of that !
DeleteThanks my friend !
bloody awesome! the little ones are generally an unseen presence at the temple (heroic gits too busy stepping on them to notice them) I really like the character of them =) especially the mad one with the chainsword
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly my thought jessica, let's get the little ones the place they diserve !
DeleteThanks a lot.
I really like the Stunks, and I'm already getting some new ideas from the pictures and models you're working on...
ReplyDeleteThanks, I really like to see different interpretations of the same concept and am looking forward to seeing your versions !
DeleteI hate to say it, but my painting queue is backed up, so don't expect to see them finished in a while...
DeleteIt's only a hobby and therefore must remain a source of fun so no huge pressure here ;)
DeleteYour work just keeps getting better and better, JB. Some real ingenious creativity here.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, my friend.
Thanks a lot !
DeleteAs often, the side projects meant to just take a break often find more praise than the overthought ones !
Happy new year and all the best to you and yours !
Wow JB, thats a pretty outstanding way to end 2014, those guys are phenomenal, I love them! The kitbashing, the painting, the photography, the conceptualising and references - everything is top class. Possibly my very favourites of the models that you have produced. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteYou may know already, but there is a gretchin crewman on the Stompa sprue that is well suited to these guys:
http://www.bitsandkits.co.uk/ork-stompa-grot-rigger-b-p-4227.html?sesid=3u8kl28l1urqf8u6bphe8j1bl5
I am planning to use mine as some sort of roadie for Musrööm Klöwd but that body would fit right in with these guys. I had forgotten about the gnoblar with the baggage. I think that I have one of those, I must have a root around.
Fantastic work JB. Happy New Year!
Well I'm glad you like those since they were partially inspired by your own works in the way I converted and painted them.
DeleteI don't think I'll add any model to the crex fr now bu who knows what the future holds...
Happy new year to you and yours and I wish you the best !
Awesome work dude. These guys are pure grimdark!
ReplyDeleteThey have plenty of grimdark indeed , I suppose that's to be expected when using source references from John Blanche !.
DeleteThanks a lot !
The idea to paint the marine helmet as Blood Angel to echo the picture from confrontation made me almost speechless and adds such a cool detail to both, your miniature and the picture. When I take a look on the Confrontation cover now, I have to ask myself the question "what if... ", very atmospheric!
ReplyDeleteCool, that's great if some like this little nod to the old cover, now I feel a little regret for not adding a beakie instead (and an old bolter) ...
DeleteThe confrontation cover and all of the rules make me ask a lot of question too and I think we're not the only ones !
The more I dig and play , the more I want to explore it !
Thanks a lot !
The simple Blanche line sketches of the various Confrontation factions depicted a MK7 Blood Angel I think (I can't check right now). Confrontation was printed as the earliest MK7 models were being released.
DeleteThe guy in the above image is wearing MK6 predominantly, but MK7 is still period accurate :)
It doesn't actually matter of course, but I definitely understand the urge to make the references on the model as layered as possible, but the finished product looks great regardless.