The Scrap Roost Combine

So I inherited a handful of random models and bits, and so I wanted to incorporate them into my army. I'm sure the concept will continue to evolve, but at the moment, here's what I've got:

The Scrap Roost Combine is a low-level Drukhari alliance based in a small, polluted junkyard district of Commorragh. The Combine scavenges discarded technology and mutated creatures from both trash sites and from battlefields.

The reason for "Roost" in the name is that scourges play an important role in the Combine, both from a practical perspective and a social one. They spot choice “carrion” and act as the communication link between all the other parties (kabal, coven, etc.).

I have a 2K list to get started, and it'll be led by two archons. Each archon gets its own venom. Their venoms will be distinguished from three others (each containing five kabalites) by the salvaged tyranid armor strapped to theirs. An image popped into my head: huge, legs-curled-up dead spiders on a battlefield littered in shattered vehicles--and, suddenly, the "corpses" slink closer to unwary prey.

I plan to add tryanid and drukhari bits, as well as greenstuff, but here is my lead archon's venom so far:





And as for the lieutenant:





Not sure what to do with the other three venoms yet. Any ideas? I have only partially built one so far:




I think maybe the three non-archon venoms should show their pilots. I left the pilot's head (as well as the splinter cannon in the pic) unattached so I can paint separately. I've never messed with painting separately before, but I'm also going to try my hand at magnetization. Sounds like it's worth the hassle.

I really don't care for the voidraven model, but I love the terrogheist model, and it sounds like their measurements are (or can be made to be) somewhat similar. I think a gheist would be a great fit with my salvage / avian themes.

So first, I cut away a few vertebrae:




Next, I took some dark rider components, sawed off the horse bits, and hollowed out the area between the legs:




The two fit pretty well even without milliput yet.




I've never tried this until now, but man, do I love tick tack (or whatever you call it). I'm using it to determine where I want to position the dark scythes. I thought about mounting them parallel with the mid-to-rear ribs, but then the muzzle flashes would be right next to the pilot, which would surely be disorienting:




Plus, something about it just generally doesn't look badass enough, right?




I hit upon a better position, way up front, with each scythe semi-parallel to the angle of the shoulder blades:




Reminds me of the revenant from Doom.

I was listening to Mr. Pink talk about the talos pain engine, and the fact that it literally is fueled by pain. It got me inspired, so I hollowed out the voidraven's chest cavity.




I dismembered a VC ghoul and am in the process of reassembling it into a fetal position. Eventually the poor devil will be wired up Tommyknockers-style to serve as a living battery of sorts.






I accidentally sent the upper portion of the right leg ricocheting across my apartment with my clippers, so I pinned a paperclip and greenstuffed over it:  




I need a name for the sad little fella. Any ideas?

Lastly, I added some SAW050 tentacles which will act as wiring:




I plan on adding some scourge-like vials behind the jaw and probably elsewhere on the model. I have a lot of fun plans in store for this model; excited to continue working on it.

Wow, really great conversions. Really inspiring modelling, welcome to the city. May your plans be futile and your hopes crushed.

Thank you for the kind words! May your children-clones mingle your genes with the lower classes!

Looks terrific. Pretty natural stance over conversion.

Can't wait to see them painted !

Well... There goes my Zombie Dragon Wraithfighter conversion from being original xD Wonderful job though, I'm looking forward to the finished product!

Thanks for the kind words guys! Rhivan, you've gotta do the zombie dragon. I would love to see another take on this sort of thing.

I had some time to model this week, but most of the updates aren't very exciting--cleaning up mold lines, greenstuffing imperfections, etc. I did, however, get to mess around with magnetizing for the first time. It's a lot of fun! So far, I've added magnets to my kabalite and archon torsos and one venom's splinter cannons.

I continued to work on the terrorgheist bomber's "pain engine" battery-person, and it was weirdly claustrophobic trying to get the model into the correct position in the monster's chest cavity...

...so I decided he needed a friend!




I hollowed out the internal area, coated the whole section of the model in greenstuff, and textured it. At one point I happened to put the rib cage back in place and realized a) I had very little space left to work with, which was just fortunate happenstance, and b) I obviously didn't have to spend as much time on these guys as I'd thought, because you can't see much.

I also realized that sculpting on the humanoid models  (cleaning up joints, etc) might be easier once I glued them into place; that way, I knew what I'd have to focus on, and I could ignore the rest. I positioned the bodies so that their (eventual) heads will be leering out from the spaces between the ribs.




As far as the greenstuff maintenance goes, I discovered a *great* tool for quick and easy texturing, that also just so happened to match nicely with an original texture on the Terrorgheist.
That tool is bloodthirster bits, specifically the shoulders and torso. Here are example areas where I did this:




I had fun magnetizing the splinter cannons to the lieutenant-archon's venom (didn't want to risk messing up the main archon's flagship venom).




I drilled two holes through the venom's hull, and I made the edges around the holes look like cracked ceramic. I stuck a metal rob through holes and greenstuffed some cables to the rod to help hold it in place.

The metal I used surprised me by not being magnetic, so I couldn't just stick the cannons to the tips of the rod as I'd hoped. (Always check this sort of stuff before you start drilling!).

I cut off two cylindrical stubs of plastic from a sprue frame. I drilled a hole through the cylinder and inserted a magnet in one end so that it sat flush with the surface of the cylinder. The magnet filled 50% of the space inside the cylinder, so then I stuck the cylinder onto the end of the rod. You can see it better here:




I partially drilled some holes into the tyranid armor, then used a smaller drill bit to fully drill through it. Then I twisted some paperclip bits into "U" shapes, threaded the end of a chain onto the end, and stuck the paperclip into the holes.

All my vehicles, I hope, will be decked out in Mad Max chains by the end of this, lol.

I want to hide most of the "open space" on the back of the venom, so the latticework floor included with the kit won't work. I made my own instead:




First attempt at making rivets. Did a similar trick to the tyranid shell--first drilled a little with a larger drill bit, then drilled all the way through with a smaller one. Then rolled a thin tube of GS, snipped it into rivets, and glued them in the holes. It's not perfect, of course, but I wanted it to look sloppy and cobbled together (plus the rivets will be displaying on the underside of the venom).

Anyway, on the little lip that's sticking out, I'm going to mount another "human battery" there. I'm preparing a wych for the purpose. All the batteries, btw, will be drukhari themselves. (Either with dark elf, drukhari, or undead bits). Something about the drukhari using their own for batteries struck me as creepier than using other races.

No pics, but I felt my three kabalites squads needed some personality, so I spent quite a bit of time figuring out which bits belong to which squads.

Squad A will be headed by my main archon, who has the hair of the black ark sea captain, a cool drukhari head, and a mashup of DE and DE bits for his body. His kabalite squad all have studded black ark armor and cool hair.

Squad B will be headed by the lieutenant archon, who has the head of a scourge (my thought is that he was a scourge and somehow lost his wings--maybe deliberately--or else is in the process of becoming one). He's also got the body of the black ark captain. His squad has ornate armor and horned helmets.

Squad C all wear black ark helmets with the same iconography, and they have their splinter rifles holstered and dual-wield swords / hooks / blades etc.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm waiting on some reaver bits to come in for the TG; turns out the spare raider / venom bits that I have don't quite work for the biomechanical stuff I'd like to do to his lower body. I'm also going to pump the breaks on starting any new models (in particular, my hideously beautiful idea for razorwings) until the codex drops, in case I need to overhaul my list.

Okay, so! First, something fun. I really like the "battlefield wreckage as camouflage" idea I've mentioned before, but I keep circling back to that image of big dead spiders suddenly drifting up from a scrap heap, nearer to unsuspecting prey--

I have this old Mighty Max toy on my desk, and all of a sudden, it clicked.




I ordered some spare parts (I'm leaving my childhood one alone) and started work on a Venom conversion:




I'm going to rebuild the front of the cephalothorax so that it's got big, disgusting chelicerae like this Sydney funnel-web spider:



Or, even better, maybe two pair like Shelob in the Return of the King movie. Then I can have weaponry bristling at the center instead of a tusked reptile mouth.




And, of course, I want to add a final pair of eyes. Big, blank, dead eyes.




That model is an excuse to have some fun sculpting, more than anything, while I wait for the codex to drop and see whether or not my other sealed venoms needs to go back to GW (presumably not).

Now for the tedious stuff. I got some Blue Stuff from Green Stuff World.  Trying to lock down a reliable molding process.

Some notes on my process so far. Would really love some feedback if possible.


1) Clean up whatever it is you plan to mold, obviously. Remove mold lines, etc.

2) Boil water, pour into a pyrex measuring cup; throw the BS in, fashion it into a small disk shape. Press it onto a smooth surface, so that it's flat. Stick the object into the BS. Mush the sides of the BS into the object, to ensure a tight mold. Make a few divots in the BS (I use the back end of a sculpting tool). Let it harden.

NOTE: Do NOT use paper coffee cups. I tried this and the BS sticks to the (plastic-coated) inner surface of the cups and is wasted.

3) Boil water, throw the rest of the BS in. Mush it onto the object and spread it over the other mold half. Force the BS into the divots. Press a flat surface (I used the underside of a pyrex bowl) down onto the soft half of the mold; get it flat, and parallel to the flat underside of the mold's other half. This will be important when weighing down the mold.

4) Let the mold's second half harden.

5) Mix up your cast material. I've experimented with various combinations of GS and Milliput. So far, I've found the best combo to be about 25% Milliput, 75% GS.

6) Split the mold open, remove the object. Roll out GS in approximations of the hollows in each half of the mold. (So, for a splinter cannon, two long, thin cylinders).

7) WET THE GS. And your fingers! Next step is super frustrating otherwise.

Mush the GS into each half of the mold. Get all the details. Try to ensure that there isn't an excess of material. After you've pushed the GS into all the recesses, roll the surface flat (I used the edge of a *wet* sculpting tool).

9) Press the two halves of the mold together. Here's where I haven't worked out the kinks yet. I think the Blue Stuff is i]just[/i] pliable enough, even in its hardened state, to misalign slightly. Plus the motherfucking GS is so sticky that if you "test" press the two halves together by accident (while trying to perfectly line up the divot / bumps), it can rip the GS free from one half of the mold. Then all that pressing and smooshing you did is wasted, and you've gotta redo Step 8.

10) Weigh down the mold. I'm still trying out ideas here. For larger casts (like bike pieces, see pic below), I find I can just place the mold on a nice flat countertop, and then put a heavy stone mortar on top (with a stack of book atop it, too). This doesn't work with smaller stuff like guns; one side gets all the pressure, and comes out great, while the other side is soft-looking.

To counteract that, I'm currently trying various PVP / cap combos to "socket" the two halves of the mold together, then putting the combo into a clamp-on vice.

Anyway, here are some test results. I've found the bigger the better, of course, like this scythe test mold. The three casts nearest the camera (pic below) are from the same mold; it's the latest and most successful mold I've made yet:




You can see that my first casts had too much GS and not enough pressure; there's like 1/16" of filler between the two halves of the cast:




This bike piece came out fine, save for the hollows. 50/50 mix of Milliput and GS, and it is rock hard, lemme tell ya. I bisected the cast and might incorporate it into the TG.




The lances, ugh, the lances. The whole reason I got the Blue Stuff. They have proven impossible to get perfect, at least so far. The GS one below isn't fully cleaned up yet, but it's pretty close (again, a little too fat, and sliiightly misaligned). Once I get my process down, the final test will be trying the lances again.




I think my vice idea is gonna be a winner, but my first attempt must've had way too much pressure. One side of this splinter cannon came out perfect!




The other side, not so much...




Anyway, that's it for this week. Well, actually--. So, I've gotten better about mixing up GS without producing leftovers, but when I find myself with spare GS, it either goes towards concealing model seams, or else towards cobbling together...

...my unholy masterpiece!




More light!












She started out as a Hellpit Abomination for my Slaanesh-themed Skaven, but now I'm not sure what she should be. Any ideas? Maybe a GUO proxy? Would love to find a home for her in a DE army list.

What do you think?" />

woooow... I mean... woooow...

You said "This bike piece came out fine, save for the hollows. 50/50 mix of Milliput and GS, and it is rock hard, lemme tell ya. I bisected the cast and might incorporate it into the TG."

So you are mixing the 2 together? I normally do one or the other. (My English is bad so i might not understand everything you say)

i gave up on replicating with blue stuff...its just not possible to do it at the perfect level I need for my painting. I switched over to using the shapeway guns. Much better for your money and time

Your masterpiece should either be a grotesque or with some (more) love a pain engine.

Also, dude you are hella great at conversions. I love converted models, but I never touch vehicles. Yours are really well done

Wow, your work is amazong!

Thanks guys!

amishprn86 wrote:

You said "This bike piece came out fine, save for the hollows. 50/50 mix of Milliput and GS, and it is rock hard, lemme tell ya. I bisected the cast and might incorporate it into the TG."

So you are mixing the 2 together? I normally do one or the other. (My English is bad so i might not understand everything you say)

Sorry, I wrote it sort of informally, which in retrospect looks confusing. (Your English is excellent btw). I mixed a batch of Greenstuff together, and separately, an equal batch of Milliput. Then I mixed the two together. Does that clarify?

Nathelis wrote:

i gave up on replicating with blue stuff...its just not possible to do it at the perfect level I need for my painting. I switched over to using the shapeway guns. Much better for your money and time

So cool! Thanks for the tip. So do you just use the phone app to scan whatever bit you have in mind (like a Scourge's dark lance, or a blaster) and then put in an order for X? Any filing / sanding involved? Do you have to sign something like, "The item I'm having you print for me isn't under someone else's copyright" etc.?


I was thinking about the plague mask monster this morning, and had a thought--maybe I could add some big jetpack thing to her back, turrets to her shoulders, and a clinging venom passenger or two--to proxy as a Ravager. Could probably do with another ravager.

I didn't know you could mix the two together. So it is stronger that way?

Good to know, as i make my own molds all the time and just use Greenstuff with a little more hardener.

Yeah, they're much firmer / stronger for sure. So far, the ratio I like best is 3 parts Green Stuff, 1 part Milliput.

These are just astonishing. I really love your theme and you bring it to life in spectacular fashion. I wish I had a fraction of your talent when it comes to converting models.

Random note - for some reason the first venom made me think of Sarris' ship from Galaxy Quest.

In terms of what to do with the other Venoms, I'm not sure. I own some Venoms and some tyranid bits, so I'll have a play around and see if I can find anything that might appeal to you. Are you looking for something less ostentatious than the first two?


Not relating to the Venoms, but I thought I'd link these in case they're any good for inspiration:

Spoiler:

I mention it purely because the trapped soul in the Devourer's chest was the first thing that came to mind when I saw your fetal-position Ghoul conversion.


Anyway, I look forward to seeing what this stuff looks like when painted. Really amazing work.

The Shredder wrote:

These are just astonishing. I really love your theme and you bring it to life in spectacular fashion. I wish I had a fraction of your talent when it comes to converting models.

Thanks man! Trust me, I not that talented and you can definitely pull off the same sort of conversion work--anyone can. I think it's largely a matter of doing research beforehand, and experimenting.

The Shredder wrote:

Random note - for some reason the first venom made me think of Sarris' ship from Galaxy Quest.

Good call! Maybe it worked its way into my subconscious--I loved that movie as a kid. Sarris's race would make for some cool ork or drukhari conversions.

The Shredder wrote:

In terms of what to do with the other Venoms, I'm not sure. Are you looking for something less ostentatious than the first two?

Yeah that was my plan, actually. I think I might turn the third venom into a fairly neutral (but still conversion-heavy) vehicle for troops. Last time I worked on my DE army, I had started creating a "human battery" for the back with a screaming wych as the energy source.

I shelved my DE army in February to wait for the codex to drop, and used that time to get some painting practice in on Dark Imperium space marines. I'm scrapping my original 2K dark-lance-oriented build. I've learned over the past few months that I need to set WAY smaller milestones--like, no, don't plan a 2K army right out the gate.

I'm gonna hold off on building the other two venoms for now and get these three wrapped up. I'll probably convert the fourth into a covens-themed vehicle for my haemo, and the fifth into something that screams "combat drug overdose".

The Shredder wrote:

I mention it purely because the trapped soul in the Devourer's chest was the first thing that came to mind when I saw your fetal-position Ghoul conversion.

GREAT to hear! I was originally thinking about doing a devourer-esque Talos, but couldn't bear the thought of paying for the default voidraven model. The devourer is a great monster--its appearance (let alone its abilities in D&D) is unsettling in almost a primal way. But maybe it just taps into my own repressed terror of seeing Scrooged as a little kid.




I have to say, after spending all this time painting Space Marines, I am really glad I didn't seal up that ribcage! I glued together my Primaris Intercessors so I could play with a friend one weekend, and I have wasted so, SO much time tiptoeing around with my paintbrush ever since.

It'll be a sec before I get started with my Drukhari again, but I have no doubt I'll learn more hard lessons (and hopefully develop my painting skills) between now and then!

Oh wow, this is some amazing work. That plague doctor . . . thing is unbelievable. Is it Wraithknight-sized or smaller?

Oh, one thing that surprised me a little - I'd have thought you'd use that spider for a Talos/Cronos, rather than a Venom. Not trying to criticise, just an unusual choice.

Thanks Soulless! It might not be super clear in the pics but "Mighty Max" is a rancid model, with lots of brain-like tumor-things pimpling up between locks of greasy black fur. I like the idea of kabalites or wracks--bristling with weaponry--crawling on their bellies through the still-living, warm-crabmeat chambers of its interior.

But what with the codex changes, I don't know if I need that many venoms anymore! Wouldn't take much effort to pry out the cockpit. I think he might be about twice the size of a Talos, but since I can't find a Talos dimensions anywhere online, I could be mistaken! I could build some spider legs of my own and reclaim the smaller spider inside, which could serve as a great starting point for a Talos or Cronos:




As for Typhoid Mary, she's approximately 4.5" tall I think (she's in storage atm). I'm not sure how big a Wraithknight is, but hopefuly it's close?

Since I'm using the Dark Imperium armies as practice for painting up the Scrap Roost Combine, I figure there's relevance in posting a little about them.

I've love some C&C on these hellblasters before I wrap up basecoating:

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I'm planning to go with a (contained) neon green OSL effect for the plasma coils. With that in mind:

[list][*] Which color(s) would you use for the base? How about the tint or shade? I'm thinking a darker shade will complement the white bodies well, although I have no clue what sort of color to go with. My initial plan was to do a a coat or two of water effects layered with Blood for the Blood God, but I'm not committed. Curious what you think would be cool!
[*] What do you think of the overall color scheme? The desaturated red? The dull white? The gold trim?
[*] Which color would you do the eyes? Maybe neon green, or gold?

I can't explain it, but I feel like I'm on the cusp of achieving some sort of personal painting milestone with the Imperium models. Like, I'm nearing a point where I can go, "Hell yeah! Look how much I've progressed compared to my first Intercessor" and from there, I'll be satisfied enough to start hopping between them and the Death Guard. I don't really want to switch to DG just yet, but I'm getting close.

I can't wait to start in on DG, since I'll be testing specific Drukhari color scheme ideas on them. I'm stoked!

One more thing. I have had fun developing some of my artistic skillsets over the past few months, and I feel like I've learned a lot already. I want to share what is probably my own biggest takeaway so far.

If you don't already have one, get an airbrush.

If you're thinking "I don't have the money", ask yourself how much your time is worth. I spent days hand-painting one Intercessor, whereas I had five Hellblasters airbrushed in 30 minutes--and with much cleaner results! I'm sure that with a little practice, I could crank out 10, maybe even 20 units in as much time!

Those hours add up! Think of all that time you could free up to hone a painting or sculpting skill, or actually play some 40K, or else simply see more of your friends or play with your dog or not talk to your wife. Seriously, how much is your time worth to you? Go get an airbrush!

Yeah i have one from T-shirt art, but the gun that is needed for that and Miniatures are COMPLETELY different..... i just need to bite the bullet and get one for warhammer

amishprn86 wrote:

..... i just need to bite the bullet and get one for warhammer

Dooo it!

Some people say to get a cheapo airbrush, some say to "grow into" a fancier one. My $20 Master Airbrush seems decent enough. I find that I often fall into the "grow into it" camp, so I decided to pick up an Iwata HP-CS. I found an unopened one on Craigslist for $100, but only after I brought it home did I realize it was actually an HP-BS. I think the mixup was fate's way of trying to say I don't need a fancy airbrush.

I think airbrushes are tools that lend themselves well to certain styles and techniques. I've seen beautiful work done with airbrushes. I've seen rather more terrible work done with airbrushes, particularly involving source lighting effects. (That's not how light works, and having glowing eyes shouldn't look like you've been shot in the face with a blue paintball gun.)

I mostly want to push back a little against the idea that airbrushing is inherently better than more traditional tools and techniques. It's just different. I don't use an airbush because that's not how I want my models to look. I think I can get results that I personally like better out of a brush.

That's just my opinion and personal taste. I'm not opposed to airbrushes, just airbrush evangelism.

The basecoats on your marines look fine, apart from needing a little cleanup work here and there. I think it's striking that you painted the joints of the left arms gold. It makes them appear more decorative and less functional to me, especially because they're next to the gold trim and aquila, which is interesting. And you left the joint in the right arms red, which makes me wonder what's happening on the legs and hips.

I think it's a good color scheme. If it were me I'd probably do the eyes in green.