Ideas for Penal Legionnaire Models

[TSINI]

i'm considering adding some penal legionnaires, mainly for the look, after sending my conscripts to their death several times, i'm feeling rather blood thirsty

i think ive found the perfect officer for them

http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1370168_99060105249_steellegionofficerpowersword_ 445x319.jpg

this guy fits so well into my army, and the skull-esque theme of his gas mask, and the helmet shape will look really cool as an "officer of death"


so onto the legionnaires themselves, i need a bit of help sourcing some rather ill looking soldiers.

my first thought is to simply put hasslefree heads onto cadian bodies
http://www.hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/catalog/hfl103b.jpg

http://www.hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/catalog/hfl102.jpg

the beauty of this will be that as prisoners, i will not need to sculpt hair onto them.

if you have any other suggestions, how to make the bodies look broken and ill would be especially appreciated

[Morat]

These certainly are some excellent heads. Any thoughts as to what you'll do about explosive collars.

Making existing figures look "broken down" is pretty tricky. Hold and torn clothing is the obvious solution, but that's tricky to carry off without some greenstuff skills (something I lack entirely). I stuck mostly to weathering the wargear on mine. You get a brand spanking paper suit when you "sign-up" and the last poor sap's collar and gun. :)

You can always do the drybrush thing or even weathering powders to make the clothes look grimy and dirty if not torn. Possibly flick a bit of ink at them off an old toothbrush for dirt splatter. Or blood splatter from a (now dead non-conformist/heretic/coward/unlucky so and so).

Hope that's some help.

[TSINI]

oo thats some nice ideas, yes damaged equipment is a must, broken and badly repaired guns

i hadnt really considered the collars, maybe i'll do something like, remove the sticky up collar bit on the back from the cadian body, and either go greenstuff, ive just bought a new pack. or maybe do something with plasticard

i like the shoulderpadless arms on your penal legionaires, i might have a go at ridding mine of them too.

[Morat]

Another idea, which has just been suggested to me by someone in the wretched real world, is to attach a length of chain to a hole drilled vertically through that backpack attachment lug/boxy thing on the back of Cadian armour.

[Lord Anubis]

I used Catachans and Empire Free Company bits mixed together for my Penal Legion. Once they were painted up it gives them a nice mix of bare arms, ragged pants (there's one nice set in the free company), and baggy orange jumpsuits. Then I used lots of elf flesh to make them look pale. Plus the heavy wristbands on the Catachan arms look like manacles with with very little work.

I thought about modeling the collars, but I wasn't sure I could do them justice. One of my regular opponents suggested they may have just had the explosive charge implanted right into their necks. :D

For weapons all I did was use tin bitz with a boltgun drybrush over them--no detail work at all. It gave all the rifles a stamped metal/ half rusted look.

[gwensdad]

I used old Necromunda Orlock plastics for my penals, with not too much modification. I really wish GW would re-issue those and the plastic Goliaths just so I can make more penal squads or even a whole platoon based on those figures.

[TSINI]

Another idea, which has just been suggested to me by someone in the wretched real world, is to attach a length of chain to a hole drilled vertically through that backpack attachment lug/boxy thing on the back of Cadian armour.

oooo, i like the idea of a chain on their back, that could go 2 ways, the chain could hold a large bundle of dynamite sticks... or the chain straight into the comanders hand (magnetised or something maybe)

hmmm very cool ideas there mate definately making the thought train do some serious mileage (no i have no idea why i said that)


I used Catachans and Empire Free Company bits mixed together for my Penal Legion. Once they were painted up it gives them a nice mix of bare arms, ragged pants (there's one nice set in the free company), and baggy orange jumpsuits. Then I used lots of elf flesh to make them look pale. Plus the heavy wristbands on the Catachan arms look like manacles with with very little work.

I thought about modeling the collars, but I wasn't sure I could do them justice. One of my regular opponents suggested they may have just had the explosive charge implanted right into their necks. :D

For weapons all I did was use tin bitz with a boltgun drybrush over them--no detail work at all. It gave all the rifles a stamped metal/ half rusted look.


i will have to look into the free company then, i have no idea what other GW stuff would be suitable, i only ever look at 40k and forgeworld stuff


I used old Necromunda Orlock plastics for my penals, with not too much modification. I really wish GW would re-issue those and the plastic Goliaths just so I can make more penal squads or even a whole platoon based on those figures.

yes of course, necromunda stuff, i'll get right on that too, see if anything looks good, cheers man

[deadmanwade]

I put together my penal legion using beastmen heads, beastmen and chaos marauder arms and cadian bodies. Way back in the day the IG used to have beastmen and I think they fit quite nicely.

[Shadow Queen]

Green stuff some collers that go boom!!

[Exitus Acta Probat]

I mixed plastic Cadians and plastic Empire Flagellants...not my idea, got it from somewhere else, but it sure worked!
Even included the guy in stocks to represent 'mine clearing' duty (kinda like K.P., only shorter...alot shorter).

[gwensdad]

I put together my penal legion using beastmen heads, beastmen and chaos marauder arms and cadian bodies. Way back in the day the IG used to have beastmen and I think they fit quite nicely.

I thought about converting some beastmen over to penal legions, but wasn't sure how well they'd fit with the fluff now. Part of being a in a penal legion is the chance (.000001%) of "forgiveness" (freedom), so I'm not sure what that would apply to for beastman-like subhumans.

If someone can get me some good fluff, I'm gonna start converting :)
(hmmm, maybe an all abhuman army? Beastman penals, Ogryn, ratlings, led by a Psycher and have tank support)

[Gotthammer]

I'm making up a beastman penal legion platoon using Catachans and, well, beastmen:

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r314/Gotthammer/40k/titan/BMpl2.jpg

The fluff is that they're not penal legion, but as beastmen they get super angry so they run around like crazy, goring things with their horns etc (to explain rending/furious charge etc).

They're part of my AdMech/Skitarii group, so I just have that they are a stable mutation used by the AdMech as cheap labour/infantry.

[Shadow Queen]

they look like they have been experamented on.