Brotherhood Champion Hutriel

Greetings folks! I needed some variety in the painting diet and just the man for it was standing on my painting desk. Behold Grey Knight Brotherhood Champion Hutriel.

I've been very slowly building my Grey Knights force for a while now. Recently, though, I'd been musing that I wanted the option to field them as a pure Knight force rather than with the Inquisitorial contingent they currently have. As it is a small army - designed to be an allied force so restricted options - it needed a lower status commander than the captains and Grand Masters (doubt they rock up to lead a couple of dozen...) and in the Grey Knights that means Brotherhood Champion. I've also added a slightly nasty squad of Purifiers to take the place of the retinue:

As far as model options go, there really wasn't all that many on offer. Grey Knight characters are somewhat few and far between, there isn't even a Brotherhood Champion model. Instead I decided that Castellan Crowe would be an excellent stand in, with a few modifications:

left image © Games Workshop used for illustration

I fancied an old school metal Crowe for my champion so Ebay provided a preloved one. I already knew that I wanted to replace the weirdly plain - other than the flappy flag - back banner pack with one of the fancier plastic GK ones. The sword also had to go. Crowe wields a daemon sword that he keeps under lock and key with his purifier powers. My champ just needed a Nemesis Force Sword to be his Annointed Blade. I went with the one with the Inquisitorial =I= symbol carved in. Changing the sword also gave me the opportunity to "correct" his stance and the angle of the blade a little. As I didn't have to care about casting and undercuts I could have the blade at a greatsword rather than baseball stance. Small things but they matter to me.

When it came to painting Hutriel (named for one of the seven angels of punishment) I had a fairly clear image in mind. Rather than mark him out with the white helmet and so on that Crowe normally has (purifier regalia) I would paint him to be a perfectly ordinary brother. Just one who was prodigiously talented with a blade and thus nominated as Brotherhood Champion. A simple red-lined, black cloak would be his badge of office. I've changed the way I paint the blued steel armour and am much, much happier with the results. I start with a basecoat of AP Plate Mail Metal mixed with a couple of drops of blue ink. Once there is a solid colour on board I shade it with a thinned 50:50 mix of blue and black inks with a bit of Lahmian Medium thrown in. Then I start highlighting by adding more and more AP Shining Silver to the mix, 2-3 highlights do it. A final edge highlight of VMA Steel added to the last mix really makes the edges pop. Way more work has been done than can be seen in the photos of course. The rest of him is painted just the same as all the other Grey Knights!

He's turned out quite nicely I reckon. I've now got all the models to finish the Knights so they'll probably come together over the year. I can see my 40k projects being like this in the future. Small, ally style armies to merge together to form bigger armies. Can't see me doing another 5k stormer like the Blood Angels. Until next time folks.

TTFN

Hammer of Daemons

While the Grey Knights range - and indeed my army - have been reinforced with power armoured troops, dreadnoughts, huge walking thingies and the like. There has always been just one true pattern of Grey Knight. The Grey Knight Terminator.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that these are my favourite terminators in general circulation (the space hulk ones are my favourites). They're just so well designed, the poses are natural and if you pick the right componants in the right places they're dynamic too. Like the power armoured lads, their details are crisp and nicely cast - the script on the shoulders and knees is excellent - and their weapons look even more badass than the power armoured chaps are! These have actually been hanging around for a while, painted before my wrist started hurting again but lacking a couple of highlights and basing. So I finished them off! Lets take a closer look at some of them.

As with the power armoured ones, the daemonhammer is the only slightly disapointing pose. It always looks a little "weak". I know the huge shoulders cause them posing difficulties but slung over a shoulder or planted on the ground might have looked better. I went for "turned sideways urging the men into battle" as the only viable option. Nice, but not as nice as:

These two are awesome. The two handed grip on the haft coupled with the moving feet makes for a lovely dynamic pose. The one on the left seems to be shifting his weight ready to step forward with his right foot and pivot through it to deliver a savage chop. The one on the right, winding up to strike with the butt-end of the weapon, driving his target back to open room for a chop or stab. It is this sort of thought in sculpting - and careful experiments in dry fitting and part selection - that can make or break a miniature. So many of these models end up looking a little stiff or awkward where a few moments work experimenting with rotating waists and altering head positions can make all the difference. Stand up and get into the pose the model is in. If it is not comfortable or stable then the model will always look awkward. It's why models with poorly sculpted centres of mass look like they are falling over. You know instinctively where a body should be to be stable.

The psycannon was a tiny conversion. I didn't like the passive arm it is designed to go on, I wanted a much more action-packed pose. By trimming some bits to help the fit I was able to get the cannon on to the aiming arm and by putting it on one of the braced pairs of legs I was able to give a nice impression of the Grey Knight lowering his weight, bracing himself and then letting rip with a savage volley of gunfire. Seemed to work!

You'll notice that I talked about posing a lot this time rather than painting. Two reasons why, first, I talked about painting these guys extensively in the power armour article and not a lot has changed since then. Secondly. I really believe that we overlook posing at our peril. Too many of us race through assembly and into painting to get them onto the table. Well, the best painting in the world will not change a bad miniature. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. When the miniature is a solid, totally sculpted one then you kind of have not a lot of choice. When it is parts that you assemble and pose yourself? You are doing your collection a great disservice not to spend just ten more minutes experimenting and acting the prat standing in poses. Heck, we spend enough money on them. Lets make 'em good. Until next time folks.

TTFN

Inq28 - A Very Fatal Femme

Hello to one and all, hope you've all had a good bank holiday weekend (for the UK readers). My bank holiday included - hang on to your seats - some painting. I know, surprising right? In this case it was a very nice final addition to my Grey Knights Inquisitor Retinue:

She is technically a crusader in the rules - storm shield and power sword. I'll probably use her as some form of assassin/infiltrator in battlegear for Inq28. The model itself is a Hasslefree Miniatures HFA004 Kat figure with a couple of modifications. Its an older model from Hasslefree but still a great pose and typically nice Kev White anatomy and sculpting. I whipped off the head and replaced it with an Elysian Drop Troops helmet. It might look a bit large to some but that is because we have become habituated to seeing helmets sculpted skin tight and paper thin. This one is more akin to a motorcycle helmet. Might have to try and get a version of her on a motorbike somehow... The shield is a Space Marine combat shield with added green stuff strapping.

Colour wise, there was only really one choice. Matrix-black PVC. I didn't want her to be monotone though so anything that could be leather - corset, webbing, holster, boots, gloves - went a nice rich, brown leather. Start from Rhinox Hide, add some Doombull Brown for first highlight, then add Tuskgor Fur to the mix for the second highlight. I chucked in some Flayed One Flesh for the final sharp edge highlights and then glazed it all back down with Agrax Earthshade. The black is simply Vallejo Black with gloss varnish. PVC doesn't shade much and highlights in very sharp catchlights. I could have gone through and painted every individual catchlight but there is this magical stuff called gloss varnish that will do it all in one hit and from any angle. I did the math.

I'm becoming very fond of this trick for making a reflective visor. Army Painter Shining Silver basecoats the visor. Then blue and black-green inks from Vallejo provide a vague landscape. Rehighlight with Shining Silver and then gloss varnish. Looks lovely. By the way, the steel above the visor isn't shaded with Nuln Oil, instead I used thinned Vallejo black wash. It is a pure-er black.

I wanted the shield to be a battered relic of the Inquisitor's. I freehanded on the design and then took a deep breath before adding tons of scratches and dings to show the hard usage the shield goes through. Note that despite being exactly the same colour there is contrast between the shield (and indeed the helmet) and the catsuit. This is because you can contrast with texture as well as colour.

Her glowing blade was made simplicity itself by one of the new edge paints. A couple of coats of Gauss Blaster Green made a nice bright basecoat. Highlighted by adding Ceramite White, glazed down with thinned Green Ink and rehighlighted. I then added green glaze to the hilt and the arm with a line of Gauss Blaster Green up the arm as a hard reflection. I then re-glossed the area to make for a nice reflected glow in the PVC.

So, as the workometer shows, the Inquisitor's whole warband is now complete. As far as the Grey Knights are concerned that is. I'm once more Inquisitor hooked and there is going to be more, much more being added! The rhino that will carry this unit is going to be represented by an Eisenkern APC, once they are finally released:

Won't that be shiny? Anyway, I'm back to work now with Purple tanks on the workbench. Expect pics very soon!

TTFN

He's more Machine than Man...

Eyup folks, yeah couldn't resist the Star Wars reference. Today I thought I'd share the next in the growing retinue of my Grey Knights Inquisitor. I painted this techpriest a few days ago in drying times but forgot to photograph him with the bushido batch. Anyway, here he is!

Some of you might be asking, why is there a techpriest in your Inquisitor's retinue Jeff? That's not an option right? Nope, it's not, but I wanted a Jokero Weaponsmith in the retinue but didn't really want to pay £8 for a space Orang-Utan. A few moments thought on what else could modify weapons and fire wierd guns led me inexorably to... semi-renegade (likes to fiddle with and improve upon the sacred schematics, tut tut) tech priest. So here he is:

oddly the gun looks wonkier in this picture than in real life

It's the forgeworld titan tech priest. Now I need to say a few words here. First, this is the only crew member missing from the warhound titan. Second if you wanted to add one to a warhound titan you wouldn't want him on a base right? So why in the name of sanity did forgeworld sculpt a cast-on rocky earth base? Seriously, it makes no sense at all and the base isn't even the normal size, it's a little smaller! Mystifying, absolutely mystifying. Anyway, those familiar with the normal model will know that he has a girt great axe in his right hand. I wanted a more ranged-style tech priest in order to fit with the vibe of the Jokero rules. So, in a fit of converting frenzy I hacked up the axe, a lasgun, a space marine missile and a mortar shell of all things to create what I am calling a graviton gun for the sake of completeness. Painting is fairly straightforward, I used a brown wash on the red rather than the more normal, well, red to create a rustier red. I painted the power bayonette to match the grey knights nemesis weapons and added a lot of bronze twiddly bits to the skin of the graviton gun to appear as patterns of circuitry on the furniture.

With the techpriest finished I move closer to getting the retinue of the Inquisitor finished, soon be time to paint the big man himself. The more I do of this retinue the more it feels like an Inquisitor (the game) Warband. I've recently discovered the concept of Inq28 (28mm scale Inquisitor gaming) and it was like a lightbulb lit up. Why the hell was I ever playing with the 54mm scale models, oh sure they were pretty but so, so hard to effectively convert and customise, a limited range and expensive to boot. With this in mind I will be expanding the retinue a little beyond it's battlefield participants to include a few characters more suited to the Inquisition's mandate. As always, I'll keep you in the loop.

TTFN

Proactive Exorcism, the first Grey Knights

Hi folks, remember these guys (1, 2, 3)? Well, they are all part of the Inquisitor's retinue. I said back at the start of the project that they would be part of a very small Grey Knight army designed to work as a small army in its own right and as a legal allied force. Well, today I finished the first troops squad of that army, behold!

These are the first Grey Knights I've ever painted so, inevitably, there was a bit of trial and error-ing involved in getting the look right. I think the armour method ended up as simply working up through the steel shades, glazing with Guiliman Blue then rehighlighting to create that classic blued steel look for the Knights.

Being mildly dissatisfied with the normal method for painting nemesis weapons I needed my own. I figure if you call something "Nemesis" then bright and shiny doesn't really cut it. Instead I went for a dark, threatening scheme of my own devising  involving Coelia Greenshade and Thunderhawk Blue amongst others. I've got the recipe written down and I'm going to do a step-by-step guide when I do the next squad.

All the gold areas are the Vallejo Liquid Metal colours - to which I am now hopelessly addicted - and I just went for the studio scheme of red weapon furniture. To be honest, it looked good and don't fix what isn't broken.

heraldry conga line!

Each Grey Knight gets his own heraldry, so each of the lads in the squad got a different geometric pattern of red and white on the shoulder pad. I intend to add black details and so on to the more senior members (I.E. terminators) rather than on these chaps.

I quite liked the "space race" style leather helmet on the justicar so went with it. Something I should mention is the exquisite quality of the lettering on all of these models. The wording is so clear and sharp that all you have to do is wash it to reveal the text.

Obviously, these are just one squad. There are another five power armoured knights, a squad of five terminators, a - terrible beardy - dreadnought and the rest of the Inquisitorial squad to finish. But hey, progress is progress and they are looking nifty.  You can expect some more holiday snaps before we spring back into commercial action on the second of January, until then...

TTFN

We're back!

Greetings all, after just 18 days we are back! The move is complete (all over bar the unpacking) and the pirate's lair is once more assembled - picutres to follow no doubt. The only wrinkle is the lack of internet - damn you BT Openreach! - until the 12 of November but we do have a friend whose internet I am pirating (author MJ Bridger, check out his books). So, news over, model time!

I'm using this dour fella as a mystic for my Grey Knights Inquisitor retinue. He's actually one of my favourite figures, so much character and such a quintissentially 40k model. I needed the quick fix to reboot my painting muscles and discipline before launching in to client painting again on Monday.

The real part of this that I am happy with is the pale flesh. This is using the new Rakarth Flesh paint with a thin reikland fleshtone wash over the top and grey highlights. I also mixed a bit of blue in with the Rakarth Flesh and used it to simulate veins on the translucent flesh.

The little computer he's working on is such a nice touch, that and the dreadlocks of wires.

I kept the robe colours understated to fit in with the rest of the warband. Well, that's all for now, sorry for the quick update but my days are somewhat busy at the moment!

TTFN

Inquisitorial Stormtroopers

Greetings crew, today's post is another part of the fun little project I'm working on. My Grey Knights are being expanded with the addition of five Stormtroopers to the Inquisitor's retinue.

Why am I painting stuff for my army today; rather than working like I should be? Frankly, I needed some fun, I'm afraid Mrs PVP and I had some bad news. After just three months in our shiny new house we have been told that it is to be sold. Our contract will not be extended beyond November and we have to move house again. Gutted doesn't begin to cover it. So apologies to all my clients, this week has mostly been wrecked and these five were my mojo-recovery charms. Anyway, on with the fun and interesting bit! Painting!

I wanted these chaps to be more understated than the typical red, white and black stormtroopers you usually see with an Inquisitor. My guy is a bit more incognito than the gold power armour-wearing psychopaths you normally see in a 40k game! Plus with him being a Hereticus Inquisitor; I see him as having to kick down a lot of doors cult-hunting. I therefore wanted a very soldierly, SWAT-esque vibe off these fellas. Their colour scheme is fairly straightforward although it took the devils own time to figure out where all those colours should go! All the armoured locations (helmets, bracers, greaves, body armour) were painted Castellan Green. The cloth areas (backpacks, webbing, pouches and the thermal sleeves on the hellguns) were basecoated Vallejo English Uniform. Both of these areas got a nice dousing of Athonian Camoshade and then worked back up with a little bone added for highlights.

The most striking feature of these models are the dull brass hellguns. I wanted these high-power laser weapons to look a bit pimpier (totally a word) than normal lasguns. Brass seemed to be the obvious choice. To balance the hellguns I also painted the visors brass. Not totally convinced on the finish on these. I wanted to get the kind of astronaut gold-plated look but didn't quite get there. They look more like armour plates than metallised glass. Ho hum, one of the hazards of painting really.

I like the volume of equipment these models are carrying. Really makes them look ready for anything. I envision these fellas kicking in doors and firing breaching charges Rainbow Six stylee. On the battlefield they are just adding the brutal punch of their hellguns to the Inquisitor's retinue.

Speaking of the retinue, here it is so far! I'm relieved that the priest fits in with the rest of the troopers, helps to carry colours over between the models. In this case the brass bell and the green chainsword match the brass hellguns and green body armour. I also think I've finally nailed my new favourite skin method with the new paints (took a little while). Start with a basecoat of Bugman's Glow. This will be almost invisible under the next layers but provides a warm undertone to the much more transparent layer paints. Cadian Fleshtone is layered on leaving Bugman's Glow only in the deepest recesses. Then wash the whole lot with Reikland Fleshtone. Rehighlight with with Cadian Fleshtone then pick out the highest points with Kislev Flesh. Pick out lower lips in Bugman's Glow and then highlight with a 50:50 mix of Bugman's and Kislev Flesh. Paint the eyes and Robert's yer father's brother.

So with the workometer filling nicely and some mojo restored I launch back into my work. Should be some more pretty pictures very soon as I've got some more harlequins on the cusp of finished. Until then folks.

TTFN

Converting the Inquisition

Greetings to all of you, this post is a bit of a departure from the norm for me. I don't usually do the work in progress stuff, preferring instead to showcase only the finished product. This, however, is an example of a model where the process of making it was the primary motivation for the entire project!

So who is this handsome chap? Well, he starts life as an Empire Witch-hunter and looks like this:

From the moment I saw this sculpt I knew that I wanted to make him into an Inquisitor. The coat, the hat, the baroque armour, the scowling, older face. It all screamed Inquisitor to me. Then with the descision to do some Grey Knights I knew that I would have access to a few spares to make him even better suited to the role.

First stop with any Finecast project is to inspect the casting for any slight defects in the model - big defects get replaced by GW. I've got to say, they seem to have gotten the hang of the Finecast process and this was a model designed for the medium. There were only a few little bubbles - in the brim of the hat - so there's precious little work to do there.

 

Next stage is Sprue Looting. I went through the Grey Knight sprue and harvested any little Inquisition icons I could find and also one of the Warding Staves to be a Null Rod. I wanted the Eisenhorn style staff on him anyway!

So, here was my little pile of parts with which to work. In the end I wouldn't need them all but handy to have them right there. I decided on the sword and pistol combo 'backpack' rather than the whacking great sword. This was for two reasons, one, I knew that I would have a big staff on the back and didn't want it competing with the greatsword for visual impact, two, I could see a future for that sword on other models!

Next stage was getting the hat sorted out. I liquid green stuffed the holes in the brim - leaving a little one to indicate a hat with character and damage. I then sliced off the "iron cross" decoration on the front of the hatband and replaced it with one of the Inquisition Icons from the heap. When doing this sort of work I tend to always switch out my scalpel blade for a new one. The old one gets used to apply superglue in precise areas, pour a little pool of it on a bit of tin foil or whatever and then dip the point of the blade in to transfer a little glue to the exact area it is needed.

Next, I managed - with tweezers - to sneak one of the pendant icons under the gun holster and attach it in the region of his waistband.

Now, the biggie, I needed to figure out the back mounting. First, I dry fitted the pack onto the main model to get a sense of where everything was and more crucially, how much space was available.

Now I eyeballed the fit of the staff (which I had labouriously - and needlessly in the end - cut and shut to remove the hand). I debated having it under the gun holster, rejected because it would have needed too much coat detail to be removed. Having it in place of the scrolls, rejected as it would have been too upright for the flow of the model. And having it alongside the sword. This was also rejected as there was just not enough room. Eventually I had to concede that the sword would have to go and be replaced with the staff.

I cut it at an angle so that the staff would follow the diagonal flow of the model. I could have drilled right through the pack and used a pin to secure it but in the end I just eyeballed the fit.

To disguise the lower join and to add to the flowing motion of the coat, I added a long flowing purity seal. Make sure with this kind of thing that the flow of the purity seal matches the flow of the garment it is attached to. If you are not careful then you will break the illusion of wind blowing.

And there he was, done! I could have gone further but I liked the original model so much that I wanted it to be very recognisable. The few little Inquisitional touches and the staff help to pull it into the 41st millenium rather than the fantasy Empire model it was based from.

I've not yet finished the backstory for him in my mind, that'll happen during painting, but he will be Ordo Hereticus as they are my favourites! Until next time folks.

TTFN