Varangian left shoulder armor

Finished the left side shoulder armor for Varangian. Over all I am happy with the result, I could have made the green stuff sculpts a bit different... but I think it is ok so I will leave it as it is for now. I am however really happy with how the toe plates worked with the shoulders. The original position for these shields are a bit strange. As there are no pistons to lift them up when the foot is set down they would probably be torn off quite quickly, they also restrict the already limited stride for the titan so there we never any question about mounting them on the feet. I thought that using them on the shoulder was a nice nod towards the old beetle back plastic titan that had crenelated lower edges on the carapace.

Now I just have to paint the other side and I have run out of Varangian parts to paint, which means I should crack on with the sculpting on the back and start on the weapons.

Varangian left shoulder guard

I finally decided that Varangians shoulder armor was done. I have not really added anything new to them in a couple of months which means that they are most likely done. So I attached the small foot plates to the edges, fixed the magnet mounts and got them sprayed. Once at this stage I got enthusiastic and just had to paint one plate. Several hours later this is what I have to show for it. I am happy with how it turned out, but it was only with the last color that it came together. Up until that point it did not look to convincing. I am also trying to improve on my weathering skills so I use the backsides of the armor to practice streaking and painting rust, chipped paint etc. I think I might have done a bit to much on this plate...  . But as it will not be that visible I will leave it and perhaps be a bit more conservative on the rest of the plates.

I also got going again on the back assembly and will hopefully be able to finish that soon so that I can wrap up Varangians body and start with the weapons.

Dominus and Armiger Knights WIP

Last couple of days have been hectic. Vacation is running towards its end and it is time to finish up all the summer projects around the house, so not much time to sit with the models.

I have however started painting on my "Warlord" knight which now would be something like a  "Dominus" class knight I suppose. I think GW really missed out on the Knight codex when it comes to versatility in the load out of the knights. Instead of having predetermined pattern as it is now I think they could just have defined the chassis and the number and type of hard points and that one would have to equip them with the right type of weapon for the role you wanted them to have or what ever fits you play style. That would have worked better with the limited number of models instead of trying to fill out the troop selection with predefined patterns of armaments. It would have made the codex and army much more interesting if it was more about buying the right weapons for the knights than buying patterned knights when building the army. Some more diversity on the hard points would also have been nice, more like what they have for the titans. Two main hard points for the Armiger, three for the Questoris and four for the Dominus. As it is now I do not really see a big difference between the Questoris and the Dominus.

Well, as I am not really a gamer I am not to concerned about it, but it would have been nice to have been able to actually have some freedom in the rules to allow some creativity with the models to make them more unique. I like the fluff and try to stay at least partly true to the universe in my conversions but I do not want to build and paint the same expensive model over and over exactly the same way. Now that is enough ranting for this post... back to what I have actually done.

For this knight I decided to use a two color paint scheme, much like what I did for the Varangian. I think it gives the model a grater 3D look as all the details are not lost in one uniform color field. It is also easier to weather the lighter color than the dark green which is nice. The legs and body are done and I will now start on the armor and weapons. After painting Varangian these "small" models are quite quick to paint.

I also managed to get some build time in on the Armiger Knights, i.e. the Skag Valkyrie. I already had the thrones stated for all of them so what was needed to move forward was to cut all the parts for the bodies from the sprues and make sure that everything fit as it should, then I attached the thrones and the back pieces to the bottom of the torso, leaving the sides off so that I can paint the interior. I also added some cables and vents as well as the turbines to the interior to fill it out. I might add some more on the side panels, but it is tight enough already with the pilots so I am not sure that it will not cause more problems than it is worth. The pilots are almost done, I just need to find some left hands that work as well as trim the ponytails on the heads so that they work with the thrones, alternatively I will use the helmeted heads from the skitarii.
Once the torsos were underway I had a look at the legs. Once again its mono pose legs that can be assembled either as right or left stance. Luckily it is not too hard to cut them up so that you get a much larger range of motion to them. As I will have four Helverins I decided to make two of them in a braced firing pose and two running forward under the cover of fire. The two Warglaives will act as the leaders of the pack and so I decided to have them also in some striking poses rather than walking. I have only built three of the six pairs but I am happy with the result so far. I also decided to add a shield to the thermal spear and make the cleaver into a halberd. I will also give the Warglaives some extra height by adding thicker soles to the feet and some spacers in the waist. That together with the different stances will make them more individual.
I must say that I enjoy these smaller knights. They are big enough to make some interesting conversions but not so large that it takes to long time. They are also quite affordable as they come two to a box.

So I have not finished any models this time but I am working on it. I will also get back to Varangian, working on the back piece as well as finishing up the shoulder armor.

Myrmidon Secutors

These Myrmidon Secutors have been hanging around in a drawer for a couple of years (since 2015) and I decided that it was finally time to get around to them (also my wife said I could not order more from FW unless I finished what I already have). The sculpts are a bit odd compared to most other figures that I have from FW in that they are mostly one big, highly detailed clump of resin. Also the design with a "base/scenery" on the model itself feels a bit odd. It was also not apparent how the shoulder pads should be attached as the weapon mounts are interfering with their placement. Also the arms holding the axes are very thin and a few of them actually broke. All in all, the models look ok but I do not think I will get more of them as they will be clones and there is only three bodies and very little customization options.

As for paint I considered painting the armor in the Northern Ghost green but I ended up doing it in a rusted metal instead as I think it goes well together with the red robes. It also meant that I did not have to pick out all the cables etc from the rest but could paint it all as one. One thing I have noticed when painting the metal is that the sloppier I am in the beginning the better it turns out. I think it has to do with the nature of metal and that it pics up and reflects colors differently depending on angel, surface structure etc and if the base coverage is to smooth it looks a bit flat and not as realistic as when the base is blotch and uneven. At least if one is going for a non polished look.

There are still some models in the stash that needs to get done so I will try to sneak them in in between my work on the Knights and Titans. I have also started to refurbish Unbearable Desire after having a discussion on TOC about the ability of the Warhound kit to keep a striding pose, but more on that in a separate post.