The Conclave

Good afternoon, esteemed members of the conclave!

Some of you with long memories might remember the warband concept that I submitted some months ago (If not, feel free to reacquaint yourself with it here: http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=869.0)

I feel that I've reached a point at which continuing to show the development of the warband becomes less and less about rules and background, and becomes much more to do with it's physical appearance. I felt that in light of this, it was probably more sensible to show the continuing development here on the P+M forum, since this thread has more to do with the resulting models than it has to do with their background.

Anyway, some of you might remember the (admittedly rather rough) concept sketch I produced for Tech Priestess Victoria Murae. (If not, it's over the jump here: http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/695/victoriamurae.jpg ) I wasn't quite happy with this design, because her mask and plasma-cutter gantlet looked almost implanted, which wouldn't really set her apart from other tech-priests as being a member of the cult of the sacred barrier. Also, I felt that elements of my existing design (namely the energy blade's design) were rather close to Kaled's Tech Priestess Orla Riall, and I really didn't want to go stealing his thunder and diluting his originality by piggy-backing on his design.

So, I went back to my design for Victoria and incorporated some more elements from Victorian clothing, and also worked a little more on the eventual design of her equipment.

The result is seen below.

(Clickable link, in case of image failure: http://img546.imageshack.us/f/victoriamuraerevisedcon.jpg/)
(http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/5907/victoriamuraerevisedcon.jpg) (http://img546.imageshack.us/i/victoriamuraerevisedcon.jpg/)

Many factors were considered when designing the dress/robe, so I won't bore you with explaining it all, suffice to say that I quite like the aesthetics of it.

The plasma blade is, essentially, a sollex aegis energy blade, which has it's aesthetic design loosely based around the Cy'An monoblade glaive, with elements of the Klingon Batleth thrown in for aesthetic appeal. (Namely with the handles.) The blade can be used in an axe / naginata like fashion, with the user holding the central handle with one hand, and one of the side handles with the other. It can also be used like a duelling glaive by holding the two side handles, giving maximum control at the cost of reach, or it can be used like a heavy sword by holding onto a single side handle with both hands, giving maximum reach, but poor control.

As a bit of background, I was thinking that these blades are unique to the Ferrum forgeworld, and are normally only issued to the cult's assassins. However, upon being recruited into Thaddeus's warband, the weapon was gifted to her by one of the cult elders, to protect her from harm, in the same way that the blade had protected the cult.

Her autolaspistol has been removed entirely, as has much of her armour. I may give her a plasma pistol later, which would hook into the plasma generator. I have an idea for a rules mechanic on how to counterbalance the power of the blade, and if it works, giving her a plasma pistol would be just as much of a liability as it would be a benefit.

Anywho, if anyone has any comments as to how I might improve any of the above design, I'd love to hear your input.

Edit: Bah, my spelling sucks.

Edit 2:
Concept image for posing:
(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/213/victoriamuraepose.jpg) (http://img101.imageshack.us/i/victoriamuraepose.jpg/)

I'm thinking I might use a Death Cult assassin model as an armature, if I can get my hands on one cheap...

I've got to say I love the look and the plasma blade - it gives her a really unique feel. The background lends itself to the unaugmented figure, although I think a pallid flesh tone would reinforce the feel.

The pose is great - I look forward to seeing it realised!

I think that everything about the model (except the hole in the front of the dress - not very AdMech, is it?) looks fantastic.

Quote from: kierkegaard on March 01, 2011, 01:56:51 AMexcept the hole in the front of the dress - not very AdMech, is it?

TITS!

I have to agree there. The AdMech detest the weaknesses of the flesh, which presumably includes sexual lusts. So having cleavage on display seems a little unlikely.
The earlier design (with the overbust corset and cloak) was a more feasible concept for why a Techpriestess might have cleavage on display than a dress with a specific cutout for the purpose.

Actually, I think that a female Techpriest who still had breasts at all would be a bit of an oddity. To them, it's unnecessary flesh, so mastectomies are probably common. Still, I think that it's perfectly acceptable for a player character - mastectomies would make for what would probably be a somewhat androgynous model and lots of "No, it's a she, dammit".

~~~~~

On a similar note, I imagine the Hysterectomy being fairly standard. I can't see many Techpriestesses being willing to put up with a menstrual cycle or the bothers of pregnancy. Get rid of the womb, and if you ever want offspring, grow them in a vat.
While hormone treatments are a possibility (there are some of my female characters who do use such things), the pragmatism of "deal with the cause, not the symptoms" seems more AdMech - and indeed, that's the case with my female Enginseer.

Anyway, I'll stop talking about how the female members of the Mechanicus mutilate their femininity now...

Boobies!  ;D ;D ;D Sumptuous artwork.

Thanks for the positive comments, gentlemen. I'm glad that the design at least has some redeeming features. ;)
I got started with sculpting today - just the armature and some basic shapes. I'll post up some pictures the moment that there's something worth showing. :)

Quote from: kierkegaard on March 01, 2011, 01:56:51 AM
the hole in the front of the dress - not very AdMech, is it?

I fully agree with you and Marco that showing cleaveage, or even having breasts, is distinctly un-admech, and is probably virtually unheard of in the Orthodox Cult Mechanicus.

It was something that I had considered quite carefully during my musings on where the line was drawn on augmentation within the Sacred Barrier Cult. Including a mechanical part into the body, such as a bionic limb or lung, is strictly a no-no, as it contaminates the purity of the sacred machine spirit. Genetic modification and biological augmentation was something I also considered. However, a machine is really just a construct designed by man to fulfil a purpose or perform a task. Therefore, does it stop being a machine when it is made of meat rather than metal? Selective breeding is probably about as much of an augmentation process that a strict Sacred Barrier cult would allow. Selective breeding isn't creating something, but merely bringing about the conditions within which something might simply come into being. (Breed smart woman with smart man, and cross your fingers hoping they have smart babies...) So long as humans or other intelligences do not 'design' the thing, the cult has the belief that it is not a machine. Therefore, genetic augmentations are out, since these are designed, and are therefore a means of incorporating molecular machines into the human body. On the other hand, selective breeding is borderline, but permitted, since it doesn't involve design per-se.

In this light, I also started to think about self-mutilations, such as removal of extraneous body parts. However, this is really just another way of redesigning the body. More like chiselling away a piece of rock to make the desired product rather than adding things onto it.

The sacred barrier cult holds the belief that machines and humans are both sacred, but must be held separate. They tend to pray to both the Emperor and the Machine God, but not in the same way as the Orthodox Cult Mechanicus. When praying for themselves or other people, they would pray to the Emperor. When praying for the machines that they tend to, they would pray to the Machine God. This is due to the belief of the barrier separating humans from machines reaching not only into their physical existence, but also their spiritual existence. They dare not invoke the name of the machine god for themselves for fear of contaminating it. They only invoke his name to bless and protect their machines.

So, for instance, they might say: "In the name of the Emperor, I smite thee!" and "Machine God, oversee this lasgun and see that it fires straight and true." But never "Machine God, guide my aim."

I'm getting a little bit sidetracked, there... What I was trying to illustrate was that their belief system is just as human/Emperor centric as it is machine centric. To start cutting themselves up in the name of practicality would be an insult to their own humanity, little more than an attempt to be more like a machine by means of emulation. (Behaving like one.) To try to act like a machine is an insult to the Machine God, and might be seen as a condescending parody, which might incur his (or more technically correct - it's) wrath. Imagine how you might feel if you walked in on your servants, and they were doing impressions of you? Now imagine that you're a humourless git, like most Gods tend to be. Would such an impersonator go without punishment?

So that's my sketchy reasoning as to why the female members of the cult keep their mammaries, aside from the simple fact that I've already created a character who is a once-female androgynous cyber-castrati, and don't think that my shelf needs a second one. :P

Now, the reason why her boobs are on show is, I will admit, mostly aesthetic. The dress is mostly inspired by period clothing, where putting one's cleaveage on show was considered to be a normal way of showing off one's physique. I also thought that it was a good way to break up the otherwise plain, dull, red area of her chest. However, aside from the eye-pleasing nature of boobs in general, I felt that showing a little glimmer of vanity and putting herself on show might be just her own little way of expressing a bit of humanity.

Anyway, if I later change my mind and decide that her cleaveage shouldn't be on show, I can always fill it in with greenstuff to just make the "window" into an Admech cog... I'll probably make all sorts of adjustments as I go along with this model, so I won't rule out omitting the cleaveage.

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on March 01, 2011, 03:10:57 AM
"No, it's a she, dammit".

I already get this a bit with the Hive Maiden. Admittedly, she doesn't come off the shelf very often, but when players who are unfamiliar with her rather twisted back-story see her for the first time, it usually results in a bit of explaining as to why she's not just an effeminate dude combat servitor.

Fair dos. However, if you'll accept me scrawling over your nice drawings, this might be an alternative - making it low cut, rather than a keyhole dress:

(http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb122/RagnarokEOTW/victoriamuraelowcut.jpg)

Still not standard Mechanicus attire, but it keeps that element of vanity without being quite so in-your-face as having a window solely for the purpose of cleavage. Not that a lowcut dress isn't designed to show off the breasts as well, but showing only your tits is a bit more openly sexual than showing the entirety of the upper chest.

Quote from: Ynek on March 01, 2011, 06:06:37 PM
"An awful lot of frantic rationalisation to allow my Ad-Mech character to keep her lovely jubblies."

Seriously, though, It's a great design for the character, and I like the idea of an anti-augmentation Mechanicus character; very original.

Also, does her plasma-blade remind anyone else of the fold-out U.V. laser-sword thingy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zti1AwWbrvs&feature=player_detailpage#t=89s) from 'Blade Trinity'?

I personally like the original circular cutout dress design, mostly because it keeps the cog circular and that almost gives its own logic.  I'm sure you could come up with some kind of reasonable, utilitarian excuse for why it's designed that way, or you could just stick with the idea that if it looks good why mess with it. On the other hand, depending on her roll it can be advantageous to be capable of seduction ( a feat most admech characters can't begin to approach).  A further dimension to the philosophy of her being unaugmented could be her understanding of psychology to give her an edge that cold mechanics could never offer and the dress could be a subtle tool of manipulation.

Anyway, kind of hollow rambling, but I like the design regardless!

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on March 01, 2011, 07:08:17 PM
low cut, rather than a keyhole dress:

That's actually quite a good suggestion, and one that I am now seriously considering. As Alyster suggests, it would stop the cog on her chest from being circular, but I daresay that if I continued the cog pattern up and around the hem of the hood, the vaguely circular pattern of the cog would be maintained.

As you say, it would help to lessen the obviously sexual connotations of the keyhole dress/robe. However, the other side of the coin is that in my original concept, the idea of the cog symbol on the chest was to have the cog symbol close to (or surrounding) her heart. I suppose this would still be the case, but as it would also enclose her head, it would be a bit less exclusive.

Perhaps I could extend the idea to the cog encompassing her heart and mind...

Like I said, it's a valid idea, and one that I'm seriously considering. I daresay the final choice will rest with my sculpting skills. If I screw up the shoulders/clavicles, I'll need to revert to the original design to conceal my shoddy workmanship. :P

Quote from: Inquisitor Goldeneye on March 01, 2011, 07:45:05 PM
Also, does her plasma-blade remind anyone else of the fold-out U.V. laser-sword thingy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zti1AwWbrvs&feature=player_detailpage#t=89s) from 'Blade Trinity'?

Of course. The U.V. Laser-arc-thingy was one of my sources of inspiration, in combination with the "lightsaber" topic elsewhere on the forum, Kaled's Sollex-Aegis energy blade rules, and a few other sci-fi weapons such as the Klingon Batleth and the 'laser sword' from the nintendo game 'No More Heroes'. In one of my draft design pages for the weapon, I had a version which was a collapsible weapon similar to Jessica Biel's in Blade Trinity, but I thought that a weapon so powerful being so easily folded up and concealed might be just a little bit OTT. Also, to make it look obviously telescopic, it had to be quite thin in certain places which would make some of the technical aspects of making the model rather difficult which I might go into at a later date.

Anyway, I know it's not much, but here's some pictures of the early stages of the model's development.

From the front:
(http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/600/img0040xm.jpg) (http://img695.imageshack.us/i/img0040xm.jpg/)

From the back:
(http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/382/img0041ur.jpg) (http://img148.imageshack.us/i/img0041ur.jpg/)

As you can see from the two images above, I'm trying out a new sculpting technique for making the body of the character - by creating thin, flat surfaces in a 'silhouette' shape, as can be seen at what will soon be her hips and midrif, and then sculpting the body onto them. It's a new trick that I thought I'd try, since it's very similar to how I "sculpt" 3D models on my computer.

The beginnings of the energy blade:
(http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/8260/img0044bb.jpg) (http://img689.imageshack.us/i/img0044bb.jpg/)

It's a bit early to be able to really comment on, since it's really just a cutout bit of plastic sheet, but you can see the basic thing starting to take shape...

I got started on a head, too, but for some reason, the imagehost really doesn't like that picture. I'll upload it another time.

And (if you'll forgive me for double-posting... [I know it's often accepted that if you bring new information, double posting can be acceptable, but it's a grey area that I still feel I should apologise for treading...{Also, for that matter, I should probably apologise for my inelegant use of stacked brackets.}]) it's time for an update!


Here is the picture of the head that I promised you fellas earlier. For some reason, I just couldn't get the image to host. I'm guessing the problem was with my router, though. It's just been a bit iffy recently. No idea why.

Anyway, I've exaggerated the "Blanchian" cheekbones and lips, namely because the model will most often be seen on the table, at around 2-6 feet away from the viewer's eyes, so I wanted to make the features easy enough to distinguish at that distance.

I've started work on the goggles, but might have something a little special in store for these as well... Although I'll hold off on telling anyone what that special thing is until I know for sure if it'll work or not...
(http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/9950/img0055qs.jpg) (http://img228.imageshack.us/i/img0055qs.jpg/)


I know that most of the work I'm putting into the body and legs is going to end up covered in robes, and will therefore not be visible on the finished sculpt, but I decided I should take this opportunity to practice my "comic book" muscle sculpting. If things continue to go so well in that department, I might consider casting the 'naked model' to make a generic female, which I can then hack up, repose, and use in other projects.

At present, the front of the body hasn't had much attention, but I'm thinking of doing something special with this model that might require me to make some changes before proceeding with the front...
(http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/3239/img0056b.jpg) (http://img852.imageshack.us/i/img0056b.jpg/)

Just a quick update to show the 'jubblies'. I think I might have made them a little on the large side, but as can be seen in the concept images - she's not exactly an A cup, so I think that once the robes etc. have been put over them, they'll be alright.

Once I finish off the arms, I think I'll dismantle the model to make a mould of it. I reckon that I could make quite good use out of a generic female figure.

Still making progress on the 'secret bits', but I'm still not entirely certain that they'll work very wekk, and if they don't, I'd rather not humiliate myself. :P

(http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/194/img0060fn.jpg)

boobs ... cool .... he heheh ehe .... cool.

(For all the Beevis and Butthead fans out there)

Holy lower back strain Batman!

Yes, those are slightly on the large side. She may need another alphabet for when she goes underwear shopping, because I think they'll've run out of letters by that cup size.

... and now all I have to do is stop wondering what measurements I've made all the girls sitting on my work bench - knowing the scale bra size of your miniatures can only be all different kinds of weird.

Having signed in to the "Emperor's Finest" plastic surgery practice and facemeat takeaway, Victoria has had a breast reduction, as well as having her head attached. (I'll sculpt a proper neck once the head has cured into place.) I am aware that her right breast is currently slightly smaller, but I'll be fixing that properly once both boobs have cured.

(http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/7263/img0066bn.jpg)
(http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/8422/img0067iop.jpg)

Additionally, during a lecture at University, I was struck by a little spark of inspiration....

Thaddeus owns his own ship, which is mostly crewed by Sacred Barrier menials. (Inquisitor Eisenstein is on very good speaking terms with the Cult of the Sacred Barrier on Ferrum Forgeworld. He's never explained to his pupil, Thaddeus, how he managed to earn this rapport with them. By dropping his master's name, and also using Victoria's considerable influence, Thaddeus was able to obtain a fairly modest crew of just over 200 souls for his ship. Not quite the size of an Imperial Navy crew, but more than enough for Thaddeus's needs.)

So, thinking about these menials... They basically replace all of the servitors and suchlike that a ship might normally have. (Using servitors alongside so many Sacred Barrier cultists would be insensitive at best, and suicidal at worst.) So, one function that a menial would have to fill would be the task of shipboard pest control. They would be selectively bred by the cult of the Sacred Barrier to deal with the same problems on their own ships. - Hrud in the crawlspaces, Umbra stuck to the warp drives, Space weevils munching all the food, and good old fashioned terran rats spreading disease.

On Thaddeus's crew, the longest serving pest controller is Crewman Doyle. Doyle leads a three-man team who are all experts in tunnel-fighting and squeezing into difficult places in the search for their prey.

Doyle is equipped with a miniature lascarbine (to make it easier to use in the cramped crawlspaces) which is phased to do maximum damage to organic tissue, but minimal damage to nonorganic matter. This is a precaution to help minimise the chances of damaging the ship's delicate equipment, rather than to prevent out-and-out hull breaches. If every time you shot a rat, you burned a hole in the floor, the place would probably start to run out of spare floor panels very quickly. With this sort of weapon, that is not an issue.

Aesthetically, Doyle was inspired partially by 'jungle men', with the difference being that Doyle's jungle consists of cramped steel tunnels, pipes and gantries, rather than trees and waterfalls. He wears a tooth necklace, consisting of a single tooth from every kill that he deems worthy of boasting. On board the ship, there are rumours that he has a genestealer tooth on his necklace somewhere, but few people dare stare at him long enough to verify this claim.

Constantly covered in engine grease and with something of an 'angry Crocodile Dundee' demeanour, Doyle is something of a loner onboard the crew, which suits him just fine. He isn't there to be loved, anyway.

(http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/6757/crewmandoyle.jpg)[/URL]

When you said purpose-bred pest-control I was expecting something like a ratling (especially since he spends most of his time wedged into tiny spaces), or else someone freakishly thin and flexable.

Mind you though, bearing in mind the kind of vermin one might find onboard a 40K starship, I suppose little short of a heavily armed commando team would cut it!

Also, as regards your tech-preistess's wonky funbags; it may interest you to know that only 1 in around 500 pairs are perfectly symmetrical naturally (or at least, that's what I read in the 'women's health' section of the paper once).

Quote from: Inquisitor Goldeneye on March 15, 2011, 05:05:34 PM
When you said purpose-bred pest-control I was expecting something like a ratling (especially since he spends most of his time wedged into tiny spaces), or else someone freakishly thin and flexable.

Due to their interest in purpose-breeding and selective reproduction, the Cult has become a little bit like Lord Voldemort in the sense that they place rather a high importance on the 'purity' of 'blood'. This belief is thought to stem from the fact that in order for selective breeding to be successful, they must reproductively isolate populations so that only those with the desired traits pass on their genes, and they don't simply breed with others who would dilute their isolated genepool with unwanted genetic 'garbage'. Over time, this has led to a certain level of snobbery in the upper echelons regarding 'blood status'.

When the Imperium rediscovered the Levitus Subsector during the re-colonisation of Cadia in M32, (And their subsequent rediscovery of the Levitus 'Gulf Stream'*) the Cult of the Sacred Barrier would have already been breeding their own pest-control workers for some time, and would probably have managed to achieve some success in this. If Ratlings became available for taking over such duties, the Cult probably wouldn't be willing to use them, due to the perceived impurity of abhuman blood, and also the fact that they already had perfectly good pest controllers, and probably wouldn't want to go replacing them with Ratlings just because they were even smaller. (For the really tiny places, there's always microdendrites (nonorganic remote-control servo-skull substitutes)
Apologies for spilling a huge block of text all over you, but that's basically the justification as to why I went with a human over a Ratling.

Quote from: Inquisitor Goldeneye on March 15, 2011, 05:05:34 PM
Also, as regards your tech-preistess's wonky funbags; it may interest you to know that only 1 in around 500 pairs are perfectly symmetrical naturally (or at least, that's what I read in the 'women's health' section of the paper once).

Meh, I went ahead and fixed hers anyway. I did the right boob in two stages because her right arm made blending it into the shoulder and torso difficult, resulting in an unsightly seam. I just corrected the boob a bit when I went in to fill the gap.



Anyway, moving on, I thought I might as well share the latest on the project with you folks...
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3173/img0068mh.jpg)
This first picture shows the 'generic' construct - essentially an armature with a little bit of muscletone, boobs, and an arm on it - being loaded for making a mould. I thought that by incorporating the model's base, I could limit the problems with bubbles in the mould, and also reduce the number of bases I would need to order off of eBay for every armature I made.

(http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/4057/img0076pq.jpg)
This second picture just shows the resulting mould. Essentially, it folds along the bottom bit to close the mould like a hinge. I could cut this all the way through to create a more 'two part' mould, but I find that leaving one side as a hinge usually reduces the chances of the mould leaking. Who cares if it's unproffessional and unorthodox if it works? (In case anyone cares - to do this, you just neglect to put release agent on one edge of the mould, and voila... hinge joint!)


(http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/1537/img0075uh.jpg)
This picture shows Victoria as she stands right now. The beginnings of her dress have been put on. (Ignore the uneven bottom of the skirt. That's just an anchor for me to sculpt a lacy hem onto once it sets) I've also started on her backpack, and added the cables which feed her plasma energy blade. Additionally, I snapped her arms off and put them aside for reattachment later. They would only cause problems and get in the way at this stage.

(http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/2837/weaponhaft.jpg)
This final picture shows a close-up on some of the progress on the weapon. The little Imperial Eagle and cog came out quite well, I think....

* = The Levitus Gulf Stream is a highly stable warp-channel running all the way from the Segmentum Obscurus to a star cluster beyond the fringes of the Ultima Segmentum, at the very tip of the Centaurus Arm. The channel runs in a single direction, and allows extremely safe transport from Cadia to Gellar's World in approximately two week's travel by a reasonably competent navigator. However, as the Levitus Gulf Stream flows in only a single direction, returning to the Imperium from the Levitus Subsector can take years, even with the most skilled of navigators. The Gulf Stream is a subject of intense interest and debate by the Ordo Obscurus, who have deduced that the stream originates from the "Omega World", a mysterious, featureless black planet which the Imperium has tried many times to investigate, invade, or colonise, but never with success. Local Folklore has many stories about the Omega World, some saying that it is the resting place of a God, and others saying that it's a great daemon, but whether any of the stories have any grounding in truth is fiercely debated.

This is coming along nicely (the robes in particular.)

I would take a fine scalpel and cut a sliver off of the bottom of the lower lip, and file the whole mouth down a bit if I were you. I think that as it is, you run the risk of it looking a bit cartoon-ish when you paint it.

keep it coming, i always wanted to try this kind of mold so I am very curious.

love the blade

Quote from: kierkegaard on March 16, 2011, 11:47:54 PM
I would take a fine scalpel and cut a sliver off of the bottom of the lower lip

I'm just a little bit paranoid that if I try something like that, the whole lip would just come off on my knife... Green stuff seems to have a bit of a bad habit of doing that.

Additionally, here's an update on the progress of the sculpt:
(http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8439/img0084wa.jpg)
in the end, I've opted for the "boob window" design, simply because I had some little fiddly bits at either side of her neck that I needed to cover up, and having the open-topped dress would probably have left those parts visible.

(http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/4348/img0087de.jpg)
And here's what comes out of my mould. The casting quality isn't terrible. A little bit of flash here and there, but it seems to have worked just fine. I think I might try to make some female zombies or civilians with these castings or something. ^_^

Minor update - Basically just added the cog teeth to the hem of her skirt and finished off the hood.

The cog pattern around her skirt was originally intended to resemble a single, circular cog wrapped around her legs, but it seems to have become a bit more oblong... Not necessarily a big problem, but bleh.

I'm thinking that I might make another mould of her soon, before I put the Imperial Eagle onto her corset. (Since that eagle is under GW's copyright/IP, and I wouldn't really be able to cast it legally... Thankfully, cogs are a simple enough symbol that I doubt they'd get away with trying to copyright them. ^_^)

(http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/729/img0089j.jpg)
(http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/2698/img0090vm.jpg)

that's some really crisp green stuff work there, she's coming along great  :)

Looks great Ynek! I would agree with the idea of casting her before adding GW owned IP. The back pack looks like it's going to be superb. I like the finalised design for the bodice too. It looks less revealing on the mini than in the concept images. Its funny how that cna be true in the translation from 2D to 3D art, I think.

Really nice looking stuff!  You should fix that lip, though.  Just cut it off and do it again.

R.

That green stuff is so smoothly sculpted (the backpack in particular.) Excellent work.

I think it's time to reveal the little 'secret' (although some of the more astute amongst you may have already figured it out by now) that I've been working into this miniature.

When I started sculpting Victoria, I knew that in order to 'sell' the fact that the energy blade was actually glowing, I would need to do something special. After a little deliberation, I decided that the best option available to me was to install a series of small LEDs inside the model at various points to make the 'glowy bits' (such as the lenses of her goggles and the 'blade' of the energy weapon) emit yellow light.

The reason that I'm explaining this now is that I've attached the energy blade to her arms, now... And it's not exactly easy to hide or explain away the presence of a pair of LEDs on the energy blade. :P

Anyway, here's the latest on her development...
(http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/5300/img0093ve.jpg)

And here's what the various bits look like when they're lit up.... I'm just trying to find something suitable for connecting the two LEDs in the energy blade, now...
(http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9161/img0049f.jpg)
(http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/6449/img0061iw.jpg)
(http://img863.imageshack.us/img863/1751/img0065o.jpg)

Ooh, pretty.

I've been going slightly bonkers with LEDs lately too. I hope you've got a current limiting resistor, otherwise you risk them burning out, and then it'll be a pig to replace them.

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on March 23, 2011, 08:49:15 PM
I hope you've got a current limiting resistor, otherwise you risk them burning out, and then it'll be a pig to replace them.

Of course. Ohms law is the LED's friend. :P

I normally use 3 volt LEDs, purely because 3 volts is the total charge of two normal household batteries linked up in series. However, for some reason, my normal LED supplier only supplies yellow LEDs in 2.6 volts, so I had to get a very weak resistor to balance things out. Not a huge problem, though.

I just thought that having the light-up function would be a good way of showing when the blade is active and when it isn't... (Naturally, there would be a strong awareness modifier for spotting or hearing her when the blade is active. Not to mention fuel consumption.)

Super Duper Cool. As if I wasn't jealous of your sculpting ability enough!

Quote from: Ynek on March 23, 2011, 09:11:21 PM...two normal household batteries linked up in series...

On that note... where have you hidden them?

that´s amazing!
will you use a clear plastic rod for connecting the LED`s or something different?

one of my friends did something similiar, but he used a tiny strap he cut out of an overhead transparency, then wrapped it around the LED and added a layer of clear sticky tape. the result was a really cool lightsaber for his heman-action figure.
but don`t ask for pics, he did that 17 years ago.

phil

BANG!

(That is the sound of the bar being raised.)

Very cool. Very cool indeed.

I thought the bar would make a woosh noise...

And this is amazing. I feel... deficient. Where could I add some lights...

Quote from: DapperAnarchist on March 23, 2011, 11:01:33 PMI feel... deficient. Where could I add some lights...

If you're looking for suggestions... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a4gyJsY0mc)





... yes, I'm sorry.

Never apologise for Electric Six.

Thanks everyone for your positive comments and support. I'm glad that my attempts at originality have received a positive reception. ^_^

Just to keep everyone posted on the current status of the project - the arms have now been finished (sleeves added), and the body is currently chilling out in a block of silicone rubber which is in the process of curing. In around six to ten hours, I'll have a mould for creating Victoria's body and head.

Although her current pair of arms are unsuitable for casting (for more reasons than I care to list) I may create a second, castable pair of arms for her, and then I would be able to create as many "cog monks" as I want to.

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on March 23, 2011, 09:41:41 PM
On that note... where have you hidden them?

They're not fitted into the actual model just yet (and they won't be until I'm finished with casting), but they'll be hidden under her skirt. I've already hollowed the area out (in fact, it was mostly hollow anyway, thanks to the way I tend to sculpt skirts and robes) and it will quite comfortably accept the LR41 (small. Normally used for watches and hearing aids) household batteries that I have lying around. :)

Quote from: phil-o-mat on March 23, 2011, 10:05:42 PM
that´s amazing!
will you use a clear plastic rod for connecting the LED`s or something different?

The current ideas that are running around in my head are either a thick strand of hot glue, or a piece of leftover resin from my casting. My casts use a cloudy, translucent resin which (upon testing) seems to work quite well at carrying and distributing the light along the 'blade'.

Admittedly, neither method works quite as well as I'd like, but they both get the idea across... Perhaps if I do another project similar to this in the future, I'll use more powerful LEDs.

Just dropping in the latest pics before I disappear off to bed.

(http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/79/img0098xy.jpg)
(http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/5548/img0099ur.jpg)
(http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/3507/img0100su.jpg)
(http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/7079/img0101f.jpg)
(http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/3928/img0102cp.jpg)
(http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/8552/img0103mf.jpg)
(http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/6241/img0104zd.jpg)
(http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/5384/img0105a.jpg)
(http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8146/img0106mb.jpg)
(http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2259/img0107bd.jpg)

Very pretty. The skin does look a little on the pale side (in my opinion), but then it all looks a bit desaturated, so it may be the camera's fault.

Also, 'cos it hasn't been said for a while: TITS!

Quote from: Ynek on March 30, 2011, 12:50:47 AMPerhaps if I do another project similar to this in the future, I'll use more powerful LEDs.

The LEDs I mentioned earlier are High Brightness ones bought with the reasoning: "Well, if I take this to an event, the lights'll need to be fairly bright to be seen under WHW lighting".

My immediate response after testing them was rather closer to: "ARGH! MY RETINAS! I NEEDED THOSE TO SEE!"
Given I bought some of the exact same variety a couple of years back for making an LED torch - to which I had almost exactly the same reaction - I really should have known better.

Wow. I have computer issues for a week and you do this? good work! Final composition is great and I'm at a loss for words as to how cool the LEDs are.

I have no choice but to join the throng of adulation - excellent stuff. Whatever sound the bar makes as its being raised, I'm pretty sure we all heard it...   

Out of interest, where exactly can the bar actually go to?!

Mighty interesting to see the full process on this. Very Nice

Quote from: dirkthe1 on April 01, 2011, 11:51:59 AM
Out of interest, where exactly can the bar actually go to?!

When the miniatures strap you down and interrogate you about your heretical ways then you know the bar has been raised too far. This is getting damn close though I'll admit.

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on April 01, 2011, 04:17:09 AM
The skin does look a little on the pale side (in my opinion),

This is entirely intentional. Her skin is painted with bubonic brown fading up to rotting flesh. At first, the idea of a lighter fleshtone was another subtle nod to the period clothing which inspired her current appearance. Back in the 'old days', women in the Western World would apply arsenic and lead to their skin in order to make their skintone paler. (With the ultimate aim being skin the colour of a milk bottle. It's odd how nowadays, darker, tanned skin is considered more attractive.)

However, the background behind Victoria's lighter complexion is nothing to do with makeup. Her pale, almost necrotic fleshtone is a side effect of the Sacred Barrier's rejuvination techniques, which are famous throughout the entire segmentum as being some of the best. (Which is also one of their bargaining chips for resisting being assimilated into the orthodox admech. But that's a long story. :P) It is rumoured that their techniques can have an individual live for in excess of 4 centuries, with no side effects other than total hair loss and a fading of bodily pigments. Other techniques can leave an individual weakened, gaunt and dependent upon machines to survive, which makes the Sacred Barrier's rejuvination treatments highly sought after and envied. One downside of the Sacred Barrier's methods is that over time, an indivual gets more and more dependent upon the treatment, and requires more and more frequent treatment to remain young. The scale is logarithmic, and eventually leads to an indivual having to remain on the forgeworld of Ferrum permenantly.

Some of the more optimistic Adeptus Mechanicus believe that if the mysteries behind the Sacred Barrier's methods were unveiled, it could lead to new methods of rejuvination which could sustain a human body indefinitely. (Thus leading to lots of attempts to steal/study it, which is a good opening for Inquisitor games.)

I seem to have gotten a little sidetracked there, but the main point I was making was that her pale, almost 'dead body found in a river' fleshtone is entirely deliberate. However, I'm not totally happy with the way it came out. I might paint over it with a very pale purple, to reinforce the strangeness of it, and to help it to stand out from the white 'cog-tooth' hemming of her clothing a bit better.



In other news - When I tested the circuit concealed in the base, her eyes failed to light up. I think that when I made the mould, I might have accidentally bent the model, and broken some of the soldering and wiring that ran down the inside of her body. This is a teeny bit of a problem, but I do have a backup plan which, although fiddlier than a Scottish Violinist's convention, will still give the desired result. (And might even solve some other issues I might run into later...)

Essentially, rather than the circuitry running up the inside of the model, it'll run around the outside. This doesn't mean that the model will look any different when it's done (as I'm really just rerouting the power feed for the weapon a bit to bring the batteries and resistor back into the fold,) but it's still an inconvenience.

Meh, lessons learned.... moving on!

(EDIT//)
I'm beginning to think that robots might play an important part in the Sacred Barrier's practices. They don't use servitors, and there's certain things that menial workers wouldn't be able to manage, such as making certain movements with exact precision (such abilities might be required for an indivual responsible for moving control rods in and out of a nuclear reactor... Or something similarly sensitive.)

So, maybe Victoria will get a robotic companion or bodyguard. Also, it gives me an excuse to start playing around with some robot rules.... And an excuse to make a robot (With lots of lights in it, perhaps...).

lookin great so far ynek  :)

Quote from: Heroka Vendile on April 01, 2011, 09:00:40 PM
lookin great so far ynek  :)

Cheers man!

as a small update... I spent an hour or so this evening preparing and filling the Victoria Murae mold. So, here's hoping that it produces a nice, clean casting with minimal bubble problems. (Although with some parts such as the head, boobs and backpack, I think there could be some issues. Ah well, we'll find out what's what tomorrow.)

(EDIT//: ) Cracked the mould open this morning. From what I'm seeing in the cast model, the quality of the mould is okay, but it may have been a little cold last night for casting. (Hence the slightly 'crystaline' texture that has manifested on certain bits.)

There are no significant bubbles in the casting, aside from on the base, but that's easily fixed. (And I tend to use the base as a bubble-sink anyway...

(http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/2396/img0108s.jpg)
(http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/43/img0109on.jpg)


Also, I finished up the Imperial Eagle on her corset this morning. It's not quite as it appears in the concept image, but it's close enough.
(http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/7822/img0112br.jpg)

She really looks very nice. I especially like the eagle on the corset.

I clipped off the worst of the flash and mould-lines from one of my Victoria Murae castings, and undercoated it black to make it easier to photograph. Overall, with the casting, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it came out. ^_^

(http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/8675/img0123s.jpg)
(http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/4130/img0124gj.jpg)


And Victoria's paintjob is coming along smoothly. At the moment, the main body is complete, and the arms are still in progress. The main body has been varnished with gloss varnish (purely for it's remarkable durability), but once the arms and weapon have been permenantly fixed in place, I'll spray the whole thing with a couple of coats of matte varnish to negate the shininess.

Without the arms:
(http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/5531/img0120sw.jpg)
(http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6533/img0121qm.jpg)
(http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/8081/img0122ko.jpg)

With the arms:
(http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/3487/img0126ji.jpg)
(http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8237/img0127ky.jpg)
(http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/8417/img0128fpf.jpg)
(http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/6923/img0129kt.jpg)

She is a very nice model to look at, I just wonder, what are the wires going to be attached to?

lovely paint job that red is very vibrant me likes

Having just tried to copy the mirrored Ravenwing iconography from the Grand Master's chest onto his Landspeeder riding alter ego, you have no idea how much of a bubbling pot of envy I am over that corset-eagle.  >:(

She looks absolutley fantastic!

Of course, the real challenge with this model is going to be resisting the urge to make lightsaber noises every time you turn on the plasma-blade.



"Sssshhhk, vwom vwom-vwom KSHK KSSHHK vwom vwooomm...."

Quote from: biggreengribbly on April 05, 2011, 06:28:45 PM
envy

I found your use of this word ironic, considering your username has the word 'green' in it, which is often considered to by synonymous with envy.

Sculpting the eagle was actually comparatively easy, compared to the rest of the miniature. I did it in two parts - the body and heads first, followed by the wings later. To do each of these parts, I simply spread a thin layer of green stuff over the surface of her corset and then cut the design into it with short 'pressing' movements with a very sharp hobby knife. (The sharper the knife, the nicer the edge it will leave on the eagle.) By cutting the design into a flat sheet of putty, and then fine-tuning it with a sculpting tool, I got a fairly good result. (Although the heads came out a little wonky... But hopefully the proximity of her funbags will distract people from looking at that particular mistake for too long...)

The only part of the eagle which provided a challenge was keeping it symmetrical. Luckily for me, however, her body curves, so it's never possible to see the entire eagle at any one time, which bought me a little leeway. (The wings aren't perfectly symmetrical. One has a slight downward curve at the feathertips to keep it in line with the shape of the corset. But I'm probably just being my own harshest critic here. ^_^)

Quote from: Inquisitor Goldeneye on April 06, 2011, 10:19:46 PM
She looks absolutley fantastic!
Of course, the real challenge with this model is going to be resisting the urge to make lightsaber noises every time you turn on the plasma-blade.

Now that you've mentioned that, I'm probably gonna end up doing that constantly.

However, I'd imagine that the sound of an active plasma-blade would be closer to a high-temperature furnace than a lightsaber... But still, the aesthetic similarities give licence enough for a good old "vwoom".

Quote from: Dolnikan on April 05, 2011, 08:49:48 AM
She is a very nice model to look at, I just wonder, what are the wires going to be attached to?

The wires carry the elecrtic current from the batteries to the weapon. (Although since my little 'mishap' with the internal circuitry, I've since revised this so that the wires carry the current to both the weapon and the eyes.

Hopefully the latest photographs will answer this question a little better.....

Firstly - a test with a piece of scrap resin (sprue) from my casting process to see if it will make a suitable 'blade'.
(http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/405/img0136ohk.jpg)

And also, some photographs of the point the model is at now... Note how the wires from the backpack now lead to the weapon, completing the electric circuit.

(http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/1130/img0137ka.jpg)
(http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/2126/img0138h.jpg)
(http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/5934/img0140w.jpg)
(http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/8374/img0141ak.jpg)
(http://img838.im[img]http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9049/img0143sy.jpg)

You may also have noticed that the LED at the top of her weapon is no longer lit. I'm not sure what's causing this - probably a broken connection somewhere inside the shaft of the weapon. I don't think I'll be able to fix this without hacking the top half of her plasma blade apart, however....

My money is on it being one of the tiny solder joins in there having broken.... *grumbles*

[EDIT: I also updated the rules discussion thread with the revised rules for Victoria. The rules that I had initially written up for her didn't seem to fit anymore...]

The energy blade looks very good, I really like the effect of the LED's.

Brilliant! I love the glowing eyes, that's definitely the first time I've seen someone do that. It's a shame about the other LED though :(

Just.....WOW!  8)

Brilliant! I think her Lara Croft boobs might be more of a hinderance than an "ahem" asset ::)

^^^^^^^

Oh, I don't know; as an agent of the Inquisiton she may find it beneficial for no-one to ever remember what her face looks like...

Seriously though, this is a terrific miniature Ynek! Are you going to try and fix the broken L.E.D., or leave the plasma-blade intact?

What can I say, at the beginning I was not convinced but you really pulled it off beautifully.

The sculpt is awesome, the casting is great and the painting really brings it together.

The shining eyes are a plus, too bad for the weapon.

Can't wait to see what else you'll come up with next (working flame thrower anyone??)

Ciao

Freakin awesome.

I was going to say it when I saw the painted model, but then I saw LEDs and now I'm really rather jealous.  I'm going to have to think of some way to incorporate lighting effects into some of my models.

I am not convinced by the slutty dress, but I have to admit that the overall impression of the model is phenomenal. If you fix the second LED and make a complete tube like the test piece for the plasma blade, I think that this will be one of the most impressive modelss I have ever seen.

Best sculpt evar!

No seriously, I love it when character is decided before the model is built. That way you can indicate what she is like from the unique details. I think you've done really well with this, and should be proud.

It makes my attempts at a full sculpt look like a five year old plasticine!

Quote from: Ulgavitch on April 12, 2011, 12:43:15 PM
It makes my attempts at a full sculpt look like a five year old plasticine!

Don't be too hard on yourself. Practice makes perfect. Especially on a place like the Conclave, which is a very positive learning environment.

Quote from: Inquisitor Goldeneye on April 10, 2011, 07:23:00 PM
Oh, I don't know; as an agent of the Inquisiton she may find it beneficial for no-one to ever remember what her face looks like...

I can imagine that situation now....

"Can you describe what your attacker looked like?"
"Uh... Big, and uh, round. Double Ds, I think."
"Ooookay, can you remember anything else?"
"Uhm... I remember reaching out for them, then a yellow light and waking up two hours later with my arms missing... But other than that? Nothing."

And cue a bunch of wanted posters with an artist's impression of her bust appearing outside the local Arbites precinct.... And a bunch of Imperial schoolboys standing, wide-eyed, staring at them....

Quote from: judge-minos on April 11, 2011, 08:04:34 PM
(working flame thrower anyone??)

Heh. Don't tempt me.... I'd probably end up burning the house to ashes. And then where would I keep all my models? :P

Although, a flamer where the pilot light is a little blob of glue with LED light shining through is a very real possibility.

Quote from: kierkegaard on April 12, 2011, 08:24:15 AM
I am not convinced by the slutty dress...

Try saying that to her face. I double dare you. :P

Quote from: Simeon Blackstar on April 11, 2011, 09:03:08 PM
I'm going to have to think of some way to incorporate lighting effects into some of my models.

Although fiddly, and sometimes a bit trying on one's patience (such as getting to the last hurdle of making the miniature, only for one of the LEDs to burn out.... Not that I'd know anything about that happening....) I can heartily recommend it. Once you get your head around Ohm's law, the hardest part of it is already done. Just be ready for soldering burns as well as the normal cuts and slices involved with regular P+M. ;)

Anyway, onward with more piccies:
(http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/5392/img0149t.jpg)
This is the battery slot in the base of the miniature. Batteries are held in place in between her shins with one of my special 'slice of tubing' battery holders. (Basically a bit of tube, sliced down the side and forced open by the batteries. It maintains it's springiness over time, and holds the batteries quite firmly until they need to be replaced.) I just thought I should share a shot of this with you to show you what I meant by where I'd 'hidden' them earlier. The plasticard 'shield' is really just to prevent the resistor or any of the internal soldering from getting knocked about too much by the terrain under her feet. (Some of the parts are just one good knock away from a short circuit, but this piece of plasticard reduces the likelihood of this happening to near nil.)

And of course, the latest pictures of Victoria:
(http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/6660/img0162copy.jpg)
(http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/3391/img0163copy.jpg)
(http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/1681/img0164copy.jpg)
These first three were taken in light conditions optimised for showing off the paintjob...

(http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/5436/img0165copy.jpg)
(http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/795/img0166g.jpg)
And these two pictures were taken in light conditions optimised for showing off the (repaired!) LEDs.

Inspired by Kierkegaard's comment, I decided to press on and fix the knackered LED in the top of her blade (as can be seen in the above pictures...)

I had to replace much of the upper portion of her energy blade (as the LED's roots ran deep...), and I also relocated the internal circuitry to run along the outside of the blade for both added detail, and also ease of maintenence if I ever need to do a repair like this again.

The energy beam itself is made from carefully manipulated hot glue. At first, I managed to make a perfectly smooth beam between the two LEDs, but then decided that it didn't look 'energy-ey' enough, so went over it again with a second coat to make it look a little bit more zappy and irregular in shape.

Some of you may have noticed that the energy beam does touch the 'finger guard' of the blade. This is entirely deliberate, as hot glue doesn't have much structural strength when stretched over such a distance. So, to compensate, I also affixed it in the middle to the finger-guard, specifically to give it that extra bit of purchase and strength. (Also, what's a finger-guard for if not the protect her fingers from stray arcs of energy?)

All she really needs now is some base-detail, which I'll probably leave off until I get some more members of the warband together, so I can decide what sort of environment I want them walking through. I might just go with my usual grey ash/dust/dirt, since that's the colour of my gaming board.

Aaaaand finally, a little distraction:
(http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/3784/img0155kd.jpg)
(http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4511/img0158xt.jpg)
Not really related to this project at all, but after randomly winning an Ebay auction for one of the old 40k Daemon Princes, I decided to 'truescale' it a bit to make it into an Inquisitor scale chaos marine. I have to confess that I think that this is a great model to work with, and a really great sculpt. Although it needed quite a little bit of cutting and reposing to get it to Artemis's height, I enjoyed every second. (And suffered the mandatory blood sacrifice with appropriately good humour. The spikes on his armour are sharper than I thought. I got jabbed quite nastily by one of them when trying to cut off his 'trophies' to make way for some appropriate Inq-scale trophies harvested from the old Kroot Mercenary booster pack.)

I've also knocked together a heresy era bolter from plasticard, a landspeeder boltgun, some plastic rod, greenstuff, and some cunning gluing... This chaos marine may recieve this weapon for his other hand, or I might save it for use with Serf Verenor. I'll post a couple of pics up later once I've got the G-S work cleaned up. (needs some filing and tool mark removal at the minute. It's looking kinda scrappy.) Until then, I'll leave you to enjoy the above pics of Victoria and the unnamed chaos marine. (For some reason, the name Vladamir keeps popping up in my head, which is too vampirey for someone who's more interested in spreading your blood across the wall and floor than actually drinking it.)

That energy blade is hugely impressive - well done! :)

Quote from: Kaled on April 16, 2011, 07:30:07 AM
That energy blade is hugely impressive - well done! :)

Coming from a bloke of your skill level, that means a lot to me. ^_^

I also can't help but notice that, like me, you're another weekend early riser...

Can I just add my compliments to the rest? Very, very impressive, I'm rather in awe. I've got something to aim for!

7:19 is not an early riser

I'd been at work for 30 mins by then  :P

This model is brilliantly unique, and a real testament to your skills (and your patience!)

Really great.

I love Victoria and im looking forward to see what someone with your talent does to that Demon Prince

I don't have anything particularly original to say, but I will just say that Victoria looks fantastic.

I also look forward to seeing what you do with the DP.

It's been a while since I had any real progress to show on here. However, here's the latest on the Daemon Prince - to - Chaos Marine conversion:

(http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/1798/img0197mz.jpg)
(http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/8205/img0198mq.jpg)
(http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9602/img0199hz.jpg)

Mainly all I've done is neaten up some of the GS work, finished off his torso-extension, added some extra intestine-analogous-cables to his stomach, reinforced some joins, added his pauldron, and extended a few armoured plates to help cover some of my joining work and spacers..... Basically not a whole lot that many people would notice.

I'm currently in two minds at the moment for what to do with his other arm. Either I'll sculpt it to be firing a heresy-era bolter, or I'll just use the stock DP's claw-arm.






Also, this may or may not end up becoming Crewman Doyle. I thought that since he crawls around in spaces with (quite likely) limited light, he might wear some sort of eyepiece to help him see in the dark. However, when I finished sculpting it, it ended up looking too much like a bionic eye, and I'm now thinking about just making him a generic (most likely Scelerian) ganger.

(http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/2348/img0194el.jpg)
(http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/2707/img0195mlo.jpg)
(http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/8755/img0196xy.jpg)

I like that daemon prince- very cool. Makes me realise how big a model Artemis must be. I don't have an Artemis model but I dod have that old daemon prince so Artemis must be truly giant if you had to true scale it up to the same height.

Look forward to seeing how daemon prince progresses.

James

Since my University course has been soaking up all of my time recently, I haven't really progressed with any of my miniatures in ages.

However, I have been doodling some vague designs down in various places, and I thought it would be a good idea to post some images here to see what people think so far.

So, without further delay, here are the latest concepts for Serf Verenor (and I apologise for the low quality... My scanner's machine spirit is being un-cooperative, so I used a camera. I'll edit this post to replace the images when my scanner is feeling like being less of a jackass, and better replacements become available.)
(http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/6856/img00079201110191027.jpg)
This first image shows the basic design of the armour I envisioned. Certain design elements are basically copy-pasted from standard Space Marine armour, but there are a few novel features which I think help to make him stand out.
The omega symbol is Verenor's personal heraldry. It represents finality, with him being the last honourable member of his chapter. His left pauldron reads: "Nomine fratrum meorum tradam, quae cecidit in tenebras, in lumen remittit dei imperator." Or, to translate: "I will deliver the name of my brothers who have fallen into darkness, back into the light of the God Emperor."
Of course, I'll never be able to write all of that into such a tiny space, and I'll probably just use tiny squiggles to represent writing, but I felt that it was characterful to decide exactly what the writing would represent.
There is a remarkable lack of Imperial Iconography on his armour (just one Imperial Eagle on his collar) this is representative of the fact that Verenor's true loyalty lies in trying to restore some of his fallen chapter's honour, and his loyalty to the Emperor is merely secondary to this. Thaddeus has noticed this peculiar behaviour, and believes that his brothers may have fallen to Chaos for similar reasons, allowing other factors to overshadow their loyalty to the Emperor first and foremost. Although Verenor remains pure, this 'way in' for Chaos still remains in his soul, meaning that Thaddeus watches him very closely indeed.
The lack of Inquisitorial iconography on Verenor's armour is pretty self-explanatory. Thaddeus doesn't want people knowing that this space marine serves the Inquisition. It's mostly a move to avoid paperwork, but also to avoid unwanted questions etc. as to Verenor's origins.



(http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/7614/img00080201110191040.jpg)
Verenor's hammer is one of the few relics of his chapter that escaped Thaddeus's Inquisitorial purge. Nobody is quite sure how it survived (most signs point to it as having been off-world during the purge) but it was uncovered by Inquisitor Eisenstein's extensive intelligence network and this information was passed on to Thaddeus. Worried that the hammer might carry some of the tainted chapter's corruption, he hunted down the hammer, eventually prying it from the cold dead fingers of a rogue trader's envoy on Icarus IV. Finding the hammer to be pure of taint, he issued it to Verenor, who promptly chipped off the chapter iconography, claiming that the symbol of a tainted chapter was not worthy, instead replacing it with his own heraldry, again making Thaddeus worry quietly about Verenor's true motivations.
Verenor's arm-mounted bolter is largely inspired by those used by the Grey Knights. It also leaves both of his hands free to carry and weild his enormous hammer.