MagickBK's Grey Knights Inquisition Crusade

[magickbk]

I decided to post some pictures of a project on BOLS for the first time to celebrate passing 100 posts, and to help sustain my level of excitement.

I've been including various allies in my armies since 2nd Edition's Imperial Agents, and I always thought it would be cool to have a Crusade-type army, where it was a total mixture of Imperial Armies. The height of that was 3rd Edition, where you could take Guard with Daemonhunters and Witchhunters allies and a unit of Deathwatch. When Grey Knights and the Sisters of Battle WD list came out, my army plan was ruined, until 6th and Allied Detachments.

This is what I've been working on for my Grey Knights Inquisitorial Henchmen army lately. The pictures were taken on a pile of scenery from my table at home. Also, the photo quality is kind of mediocre. I'm still playing with my camera settings and trying to get it right.

Crusaders - Since there are only 2 poses of Crusader model, I wanted to use different patterns of the same colors to make them less repetitive. I've got a mixture of black, white, and red cloaks, and the armor is gold, darker silver w/black wash, and silver w/blue wash, and then alternating tabards. I will be splitting these up so there will be 3 each in 2 different units.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/8037677486_4ab8b15132_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8037677486/)
crusaders (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8037677486/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

Servitors - I used the basic Servitor models, but only having two with multi-meltas, I needed to convert the rest. The multi-meltas are a mixture of Land Speeder, Immolator, and Land Raider Crusader bits. I also used some guitar string and plasticard/greenstuff to cover up where they connected to the vehicles and tweak them into looking more like part of the original models.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8310/8037677322_1ae10e601f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8037677322/)
servitors (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8037677322/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

Inquisitor - I painted this Inquisitor model when it was released with the Daemonhunters codex, and he will be one of the Inquisitors I include when I want a combat Inquisitor. The sword was swapped from the helmeted Inquisitor, and I used this one's book hand for another model that isn't painted yet.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/8037677418_074d49d2b1_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8037677418/)
inquisitor1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8037677418/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

Comments and Criticism are always welcome!

P.S. - Flickr is apparently a pain now, it took me 4 tries to figure out the best way to put in the pictures. It used to be so easy!

[fuzzbuket]

wow very nice :D i do love the crusaders and the eerie flesh of the servitors.

[alshrive]

I absolutely love them all! i htink they are absolutely brilliant. I would be very interested in knowing how you did the flesh on the Servitors as this is pretty much exactly that colour of flesh i am trying to replicate at the moment.

ALShrive

[magickbk]

Thanks!

I wanted the Servitor skin to have a Borg-like appearance, more old school TNG than modern movie/Voyager look. It came out somewhere in between.

Here's the steps:
Base Catachan Green
Wash Badab Black
Surface Highlight Catachan Green
Surface Highlight 60/40 Catachan Green/Codex Grey
Surface Highlight 40/60 Catachan Green/Codex Grey
Surface Highlight 20/80 Catachan Green/Codex Grey
Surface Highlight Codex Grey

Each layer of Highlight is slightly thinner than the previous, and that's how I build up the lines that you see on their muscles to make it look like they are sinewy and straining under the weight of the ordinance that has been grafted on.

I can show a step-by-step when I paint my arco-flagellants, as I plan to use the same color for their skin, I just have to convert them first...

[alshrive]

Thanks! I will definitely be trying this out! I have a horde of nurgle cultists to paint and i have a feeling this skin tone (maybe with a bit of purple to it) should work for them perfectly. Can't wait to try it now! How are you planning on converting Arco Flagellants?

ALShrive

[magickbk]

How are you planning on converting Arco Flagellants?

Vampire Counts plastic ghouls, with guitar wire for arco-flails, and a variety of weapon bits. I will green stuff hoods and tabards as necessary. I thought about using Talos bits for the stimm injectors, but I determined it would cost me 5 dollars in Talos bits for every model, so I'm going to try my hand at scratch building a few syringe needles out of plasticard tubes and brass rod, and connecting them to some modified flamer tanks using thin wire.

[alshrive]

love the idea, have you considered any of the Dark Eldar wracks as they are bedecked with syringes and drug dispensers aplenty....
also how did you get your pictures to display in your post, as i cannot seem to get mine to do it correctly!

[magickbk]

The wracks would work, but the base models I'd be starting with would be twice the cost of the Ghouls, and I would need to shave down the cloth to get the look I want. I think both would work.

For the photos, I put them on Flickr, and then you click Share, choose the HTML/BBCode option, choose your size from the dropdown, and paste that whole chunk of code into your BOLS post.

[magickbk]

More Progress!

Frateris Militia - These are the contents of a blister pack of Frateris Militia I bought back when they came out in '97 and never painted. They will be Warrior Henchmen.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8453/8040553750_3f00b62ca5_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8040553750/)
frateris (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8040553750/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

Preachers - These, of course, will be Banishers in the units that also have the Crusaders in them. The picture is fuzzy.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/8040553876_5631bb7ef9_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8040553876/)
banishers (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8040553876/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

Stormtroopers - These will be Warriors with Carapace Armor and Hot-Shot Lasguns. Mostly these guys will be paired with a few psykers, to make them a little more survivable. The screen on the plasma gun guy's auspex came out really well, but I'm not sure that shows in the picture.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/8040553612_053c883359_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8040553612/)
stormtroopers (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8040553612/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

[LiftTheFog]

Wow. That is some pretty good stuff. Keep up the good work.

Looking forward to seeing some other models as they are completed.

[magickbk]

Some more stuff:

An Arbitrator with Boltgun.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8326/8110754445_9162795c56.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8110754445/)
arbite (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8110754445/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

Psyker. This is an old Rogue Trader model that I've had sitting around since forever and finally painted. Since the old models have the swollen heads, I decided to paint it as if it were some random Xenos.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8191/8110754151_c5040344e3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8110754151/)
xenospsyker (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8110754151/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

Warrior. I converted this model to be an Acolyte for Codex: Daemonhunters, but the only thing I had left to use it as in my army under Codex: Grey Knights is a Warrior.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8043/8110761296_4fe5ca39b1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8110761296/)
warriorbook (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8110761296/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

Finally, a WIP on my current project, an LED lighted Rhino.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8329/8110754375_0abc511fb3_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8110754375/)
ledrhino (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8110754375/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

[Kirsten]

wow, those look amazing,wish I could paint that well

[magickbk]

Thanks!

A significant portion is simply patience, which is easier to come by when you already have painted armies and aren't desperately trying to get things table-worthy. I actively sought to improve my painting skills over the years, and in addition to practice, I was fortunate enough to encounter a lot of fantastic painters when I worked for GW, and was able to convince some of them to give me 1-on-1 painting lessons on some of their techniques. Combined with having to paint every army at least once while I was with GW (and 6 Orc(k) armies), I've had a lot of experience.

The most important things are still the basics: good assembly/cleaning, even coat of primer, and an even basecoat are the most important things. No technique or amount of highlights and detail work can ever make up for a bad primer job!

[magickbk]

Progress! Not as quick as I'd hoped, however. I am pleased to have finally gotten this Rhino off my project table, since I started it nearly a year and a half ago.

The biggest problem I had in the end was that this was my first LED-lit project, and I didn't really put the whole thing together in the most intelligent way, meaning I was unable to fill the gap between the top of the hull and the body. I had to console myself by looking at the GW site and seeing that the official completed product on the GW site has the same gap.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8465/8140016294_e3cacd58ee_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8140016294/)
Inquisitorial Rhino (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8140016294/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

A shot with the lights on!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8192/8139984861_ff09b4f0b6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8139984861/)
Inquisitorial Rhino - LED Lights (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8139984861/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

The interior is painted, and is also lit, however the red light makes it difficult to see the colors on the control panels and screens. The hatch is magnetized so it will stay shut when closed.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8055/8140016112_7e218f0827_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8140016112/)
Inquisitorial Rhino - Lit Interior (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8140016112/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

[Alpha Omega Protocol]

awesome! Like the LEDs they make it more realistic. Especially the Red led in the interior. Seems a lot of movies and shows have red for the interior of tanks. :D Keep up the good work!

[magickbk]

It's been a few weeks, but I finally managed to get some more progress.

Inquisitorial Chimeras - Mostly just extra bits slapped all over some Chimeras. I did a bunch of hacking to squeeze a Leman Russ sponson heavy bolter in the old Chimera turret on the lead tank.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8338/8178813246_70361296a1_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8178813246/)
Inquisitorial Chimeras (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8178813246/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

I also managed to get a pile of Henchmen ready to go and primed them up. Here is a selection of a few where the pictures turned out good enough to see what I'm going for.

Warrior w/ Carapace and Storm Bolter - from the old Arbitrator judge/squad leader:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8347/8178813314_5b37d5b037.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8178813314/)
Adeptus Arbite w/ Storm Bolter (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8178813314/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

Warriors w/ Storm Bolters - from old Necromunda Hive Scum:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8204/8178813146_17a38ec7f9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8178813146/)
Necromunda Scum (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8178813146/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

Warriors w/ Boltguns... These guys were a pain to try to get the old arms to fit the new Boltguns. The old lasguns they had were held with the two hands very close together, and I had to change the angle to get them to hold the bolter properly. The guns aren't glued yet, which is why they look a little wonky.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8477/8178781787_52d5535e4e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8178781787/)
Squat Henchmen - WIP (http://www.flickr.com/photos/47042253@N08/8178781787/) by magickbk (http://www.flickr.com/people/47042253@N08/), on Flickr

I've been trying to improve my photography. I have my outdoor setup pretty good, those are coming out clearer, but my indoor stuff needs help. I just need to keep playing with my camera settings, I think my setup is okay. This last shot with the Squats is 90% there, I just need to figure out what settings I was using for it.