Keeper of Secrets 2 - Inq28, Inquisition retinue advisor and 40k sanctioned psyker

Update to the keeper of secret at last!
I've done some work on the head. This is the part that will be most heavily converted, so after this is done there won't be much work left to do on the model.
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The helmet is a marvel of design. It was created to hold and compute tremendous amounts of data; a miniature super cogitator. The helmet enables the Keeper to boost his already terrifying knowledge, making him a masterful tactician and saboteur.
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Decided to put it together as a gif

A couple of photos

~M

Kroot tracker 2 - Inq28, Inquisition retinue sniper and 40k ratling proxy

The Kroot tracker is pretty much finished now, I've made a few further additions: a small camo cloak that is billowing over his shoulder to create a dynamic pose; ammunition, a pistol and a knife. The knife is made of two different knives from the kroot kit, one with a bone handle and another with a longer blade that I had to cut a pelt away from. I also added some further augments to his knee joints. The only further modifications I plan on making now are an attachment for the camo cloak and a base.

~M

Kroot Tracker - Inq28, Inquisition retinue sniper and 40k ratling proxy

My uni term has at last finished! It was a lot harder than I expected and so there wasn't really any time for modelling. I did manage to read Eisenhorn's trilogy and I am currently 2/3 of the way through Ravenor's, my imagining of his was well off! :P So I think I will use that concept for another inquisitor.

Now term has finished I've began work on the newest member on my warband. A kroot tracker.

He has suffered many injuries on from his work with the inquisitor, most notable are from an explosion suffered when chasing a heretic who was poisoning an amasec factory.

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The inquisitorial team advanced with the kroot on point. Only too late did they realise they had entered a trap. Explosives at the base of the boiling vats detonated and boiling liquid sprayed onto the kroot. The damage was extensive, but thankfully due to medicae technology and the fact he was considered too valuable an asset to lose: extensive skin grafts and transplants were able to repair most of his body. His left eye, forearm and hand however could not be saved. These have been replaced with implants and augments.

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The Kroot Tracker

I'm really enjoying making this one, I carved his left hand to look like a robotic hand and then used a necron forearm which was also carved to make it less cylindrical to replace the forearm. I added some scar tissue to the neck and drilled out the left eye, which I replaced with plastic tubing.

The silencer on the end of his rifle has not yet been glued as I ran out of super glue, it is resting only on a pin, which is the reason is at an odd angle in a couple of the photos.

He's not finished yet, I think I will add a few more impants along his back and lower legs as well as some further scar tissue on his left shoulder. Cloth either in between his legs or over his left shoulder and also some other trinkets.

~M

Empire Greatswords - Perry miniatures & GW mashup

The 7th edition greatsword models in my mind were perfect. They were heavily armoured and yet still maintained the flare of the empire. However, the new models in my opinion are a little over the top. GW has embraced the puffy clothing a little too much, and as with most of its metal to plastic transfers, they became, dare I say it, a bit cartoonish. The perry miniature foot knight models have been used as the base for these models. They provide a solid heavy armoured torso and legs, while the empire flare is maintained through the feathered caps and puffy arms from the GW greatsword kit.

~M

Warhammer Fantasy - Empire General & crossbowman

I have started my empire army, I am still unsure of which colour scheme to go for but I feel as though , probably red, black, white and purple. I am leaning more towards a nuln style heavily armoured defensive army.

Head 2 - from greatswords box

Head 3 - from state troop box

The general of the army is a wonderful model, the pose of the horse is my favourite. The only thing I don't like are the legs of the general.

Parts used:

• Horse - General
• Legs & body - General
• Left arm - Knightly order
• Right arm - Greatswords
• Feather - Greatswords
• Cape - Knightly order

After seeing the arm holding the helmet and the large feather I knew the conversion I wanted to make. It will take a little greenstuff to fill in the join between the feather on the helmet & the large feather.

I feel as though the pointing arm, may be a little too normal. I may use the pointing arm, feather hat combo on the champion of the knightly order, as if he is selecting which opponent to fight.

Armoured crossbowman - head swap sallet from greatswords box

I really liked Branganza's besiegers and so I thought I would try and make a paupers version, it was surprising how much difference simply adding the armoured head made! I plan on casting more of these heads to convert the rest.
~M

P3 Pinning Expansion: 1.25mm

I have just picked up the P3 pinning expansion: 1.25mm from my local hobby store. I bought it because I have an increasing number of metal models and having been running out of paper clips!

I previously used paper clips but decided to give this set a go because my clippers were becoming blunt on the paper clip metal. I also found that the drill bits I had were not the same diameter as the paper clip. Therefore, the joint I was pinning was not as secure as I would have liked as the paper clip would have to be secured with a lot of superglue to stop it moving.

In this set you get 6 brass 1.25mm diameter rods ~15cm long, and two 1.25mm drill bits.

As well as pinning I plan on using these as replacement staffs for when the plastic breaks and for conversion work.

~M

Starting a Warhammer Fantasy army - The Empire

I mentioned in an earlier article that, after searching for bits to use for conversions in an inquisitor warband, I was very tempted to start a Warhammer fantasy army. I took the plunge and bought 3 sets of state troopers off eBay, and they came to just over the price of a new set from GW! It is surprising how expensive a fantasy army can be considering they are sold in packs of 10 models and you need 20-40 in a unit.

The codex is in the post and once it arrives I am going to decide on the colour scheme. At the moment it is either going to be black and yellow, like the nights of the blazing sun, or red purple/blue and white/cream.

~M

Warhammer 40,000 - The Rules - Small 40k rulebook

Warhammer 40,000 - The Rules

Warhammer 40,000 - The Rules - £35

From Games workshop:

This portable, small-format rulebook has been specifically designed to be the gamer’s ideal companion. Don't let its size fool you though. Measuring a convenient 205mm x 150mm, this handy book contains the complete rules for Warhammer 40,000.
This premium full colour volume features a red textured skull on its matt white hard cover and red gilt page edges. It’s as beautiful as it is useful. Created with gamers in mind, the three ribbon bookmarks are perfect for marking the rules you use most often.

At last Games Workshop has released a small rulebook, separate to a starter set. But is it worth it?

Why buy the small rulebook?

1. It's smaller. At 205x150mm (~A5) it is almost half the size of the full rule book which is ~A4 size. It's therefore easier to transport & look through.
2. It's cheaper. But you do not get the 2 other books.
3. Easier to replace, if you lose the full size rulebook you would have to buy the whole set of three again or search eBay for a single copy
4. It has three ribbon bookmarks. These are useful for marking reference pages
5. Doesn't come with the other two books. 

Why buy the full sized rulebook?

1. Comes with two extra books - A Galaxy of War, which explores the art of collecting and painting miniatures & Dark Millennium which describes the history of the 41st Millennium
2. You already own the small rulebook from the Dark Vengeance set - you already have a portable rulebook. Admittedly it is not the complete rulebook, but you can use the full sized book as a reference book.

Should I buy the Dark vengeance rulebook instead?

It you don't have a rulebook, no. On ebay it is going for ~£25 buy it now, although I expect this will drop with the small rulebook release. For an extra £10 you receive the full set of rules. Saying that if you don't have the Dark Vengeance set for an extra £40 you receive a lot of beautiful models!

There are a lot of variables to consider, but to summarise overall I do not think the price justifies the product.
~M

Conversion Ideas for Inq28 or 40k - Warhammer Fantasy - Forgeworld: Empire Command Set

I recently became interested in the Warhammer fantasy army: the Empire. This interest initially came from seeing a number of modellers using empire components in their conversions. After looking at the models I have become increasingly interested in the army to the point where now I am considering starting an army. But I digress. I also looked through the forgeworld collection to see if they produced any models that could be used as the bases for conversions and I found some very nice specimens indeed!

Empire Command Set

Empire command set

The Empire command set comprises three models, an officer, standard bearer & flaggelant

The detail looks amazing on all three.

The Officer

The officer looks as though it would make a great diplomat or overstated inquisitor, with a head change and an arm change to remove the axe. Both of which could be used for one of the bodyguards. With some major conversion work (gutting most of the front of the model) the cloak with its rolled over shoulders could be used for a doting acolyte, diligently taking notes.

The Flagellant

The flagellant is a fantastically dynamic model. It looks very suitable to be: a mad priest, the club could be changed for an eviscerator; A rogue psyker, if the arms were changed; or the base for an arco-flagellant (albeit a rather expensive one)

The standard bearer

The standard bearer in this set is an absolute beauty and it would be a travesty to cut it up, it would also be difficult. So I just wanted to point out my favourite feature. The arm, with its detailed shoulder plate, looks like it would be a suitable conversion for an inquisitor.

The Forgeworld Empire Command Set can be purchased here

~M

Inquisitor Ravenor Musings

Inquisitor Ravenor

I am about to start reading the Ravenor and Eisenhorn trilogies. Before I start I wanted to imagine the protagonists from what little information I have read. I'm then going to revisit them once I finish reading the novels and see how they compare, and use the sketches to model them.

~M

Space Hulk, Local Games Workshop & White Dwarf Issue 34

Space Hulk has been released!

I had heard great things about the game when it was previously released and so when the rumours came out that it was to be rereleased I was excited. I didn't get too excited until I saw the trailer and then I knew I had to have one. I saved up and here it is!

So many models!

The models are beautifully sculpted, the board is spectacular and the quality: superb. I have been very impressed from first impressions and will hopefully post a full review at some point.

One of my old housemates has come up this weekend. I am really looking forward to having a game with him.

I picked it up from my local Games Workshop and had a look at their displays. They had some interesting models:

Tyranids - good contrast in the colour scheme. A nice blend of camouflage with khaki chitin whilst maintaining a suitably alien nature in the blue.

Lizardmen - a nice change from the standard blue/turquoise. I think orange is a brilliant colour for armies.

The four armed giant! - I love this conversion. What could be better than four arms; forget magnets to allow changes in equipment!

Dark Eldar Ravager - Converted acrylic red sail 

This is my favourite model of the lot. Stark edge highlighting means the model does not come across as too dark. The part I really like  is the conversion of the sail, it is very subtle but I think it adds a lot to the model - the sail has been replaced with red acrylic. I never really liked the sail from the box it looked too bulky, not to mention thinking about painting it to look like fabric. But this conversion looks sleek and very appropriate to the Dark Eldar. It also acts as a contrast colour to the green of the hull. Maybe I should start some orange dark eldar...

Whilst I was in the store I also picked up a copy of white dwarf. I've had a flick through and the white dwarf staff seemed to have really stepped up their game. Exclusive content and actually useful information!

Exclusive content - The symphony of pain - a game to play with your new wracks... now just to buy 4 boxes of wracks & 4 haemonculi...

A four page article on how to take better model photos

The symphony of pain is a 2-4 player game in which each player has a 5 wracks and a haemonculi to cause the most pain to the enemy... classic dark eldar. There is a game board in the magazine that can be removed and a full rule set.
The addition of this and the article on photos is very encouraging. If only they would bring back the full battle reports.
A very productive day, now onto building the Space Hulk miniatures!

~M

I'm back! Wyches & mordheim - The Keeper of Secrets

Sorry for the delay guys, I was caught up in the start of term frenzy at university. Everything is sorted now and I have finally found some time to set aside to relax and model.
I bought a set of dark eldar wyches, an empire scribe (I think from Mordheim) from ebay.
I have great plans!
I am going to convert him into an advisor for my inquisitor: the "keeper of secrets". His book and scrolls filled with the most revealing knowledge. His face will be hid behind a mask, emotionless, giving nothing away. He will also field as an Officer of the fleet in my imperial guard army.

I plan on using the head from the wych on the right of the box.

This is the model I will be using as the base

The Keeper of Secrets

This is my idea. I plan to remove the merchants head and will use it later as is full of character. I am going to replace it with the head of the wych. Add a scarf around the neck in green stuff. Add tubing from either side of the head, and then make a respirator on the model's back out of the venting from a space marine backpack. I am unsure if I should add a holstered gun or auspex at his waist.

I plan to paint his visor gloss black, the neck scarf dark red and his tunic an emerald blue with light dust weathering around the base.

~M

A small break

I have to take a 3-4 week break from everything as I'm currently on holiday and as soon as I get back I have to move back to university. Sorry guys. Once I'm settled, I should be able to get back to my creations. My current thoughts on what to build next are a squad of death watch assassins from dark eldar wyches and dark elf witches or two psykers from the old GW vampire counts Banshee model.
~ M

Banchitsu - Servitor #2

I have finished making my second servitor. Unlike the first this is designed to have an active role on the battlefield. I imagine it flying around repairing vehicles with it's two long arms. One arm tipped with a strong clamp to hold the material and the second with a welding tool to fix the damaged metal. On its back there are fuel canisters for the machine to function, connect by large tubing. The size of which dwarf the small legs of the servitor which are bound behind it to protect them from dangling limply and getting in the way.
~M