Coven of the Unmarred

Folks. I feel like my notifications went a little bust. I missed that so many of you had posted. Thank you!

As things stand, this week has been a little hairy, and I'm about to jet away for the weekend. I'm short on time to put together a proper post, but I wanted to share this one I had in the can for my blog, wherein I explore my paint scheme for the coven (and I'm hoping it doesn't look like link-dropping :/ )

http://www.modernsynthesist.com/2014/11/figuring-out-paint-schemes.html

Unipictured is the progress I've made on the Mandrakes this week (the addition of tentacles) and my tentative, early start on a Shattered Angel, which is one of the coolest-sounding, but least-explained things I've run across in the new codex. Expect that soon.

Glad to see you back, and you're killing it as always! The covenified mandrakes are something out of this realm entirely, creepy yet incredibly beautiful, truly stellar work!

@Kinnay I had NEVER SEEN the coven grub. It is so hideously cute and gives me all kinds of bad ideas >

@Grub my most recent post with the link to my blog shows the paint scheme I'm thinking for the mandrakes, though I'm starting to worry it may be a bit extreme and I might need to mix some flesh in there.

@Burning_Eye and Caspaar the bike bases are quite honestly my most favourite piece of modeling kit. I say it over and over again, but they can be used so cinematically. I'm glad the emerging mandrake doesn't look off to people because the shape of its head feels far different from the other completed one, so I worried it might be jarring.

@Koshi I took on this conversion for mandrakes as a challenge. I still very much love the original mandrakes and remember fondly speaking to Jes on one occasion about his Japanese spectre inspiration for them. When I tackle my shattered angels, I look forward to pulling in some of the screaming, flowing-hair look of the current mandrake models.
That being said, I always wish the mandrakes were plastic.

Thanks @Spellcheck. When you say corrupted alien theme, it makes me think of my ideas for a Medusae, which is basically a human being taken into the embrace/who has recently been possessed by one of these cronos parasites. Perhaps a psyker specifically to explain the eyeblast.

@benth3bear I couldn't agree more. Part of the reason I chose the coven was because it represents the Dark Eldar at their most nightmarish! As I covenify standard DE units, it's really my goal to crank the nightmare factor up to 11.

@PartridgeKing Flipping bits upside down, as we've discussed before, is the perfect way to come up with new ideas. I can't take credit for this one, though, since I think it was Hydra who first did it.
Tell us more about your Phobos and Demios engines!

@Siticus I'm glad you're still around as well, and thank you for the praise...particularly the part about the fiends being beautiful!

In terms of next updates, it will likely be the rest of the mandrakes with tentacles on, or a fully assembled unit of Coven Nurses. I'd like to post progress on the shattered angels, but I don't have heads for them yet, and I still need to figure out their concept...which I might ask my dark kin for help with!

Just found this log and this is fantastic.
As for the mandrakes, perhaps they could benefit from some mottling (purple?) in the tentacle bits.

Did you get my PM I sent earlier in the week?

Folks,

I've just posted up on the ol bloggerino about my further work on the Coven Nurses:
http://www.modernsynthesist.com/2014/11/coven-wyches-conversions-nurses.html

I've been trying to cram in a little bit of work on the coven around a lot of other RL stuff, but I'm hoping to go real wild on it this weekend to kick off/progress a number projects, including a certain something for a lucky victim in the Santa Raid.

Which project is headed to that victim will be up to you to guess >;P

As an idea, as you said on your blog that you're not planning on really using Wyches: use them as Lhamaeans instead? Would fit the whole vials and toxic nurse theme you've got going and that I might be stealing the crap out of.

Beautiful sculpting work; I love and appreciate people with the skills and commitment to creating their own designs. Bravo!

Kinnay:
That is a GENIUS idea. I wasn't really sure what to do for Lhmaens, and that is PERFECT. THANK YOU.

Beerskunk: I fully believe that unconverted, 100% stock armies are not worth the effort, so thank you

In the interest of populating all my coven progress in one place, here are the photos of the Coven Nurses that I'd previously posted to Modern Synthesist:








I've gone into a huge blather about my thought processes behind them over there, so I won't repeat it all here.

Long story short, I don't really care about Wyches as a unit (especially since they've been recently depowered), but I really want to nail this whole idea of converting a coven version of most of the units in the Dark Eldar codex. These are mostly bit/headswaps, but I'm surprisingly happy with how they came out.

One more point: They are still WiP. They all need an extra row of vials added to both sides of their backs to look like this:



My next update will be about different genuses of Grotesque as I've FINALLY gotten around to start on converting versions of Grotesques to rep Clawed Fiends and Sslyth (as their statlines are pretty close). Look forward to that this Flesh Friday >

Nice work on those nurses! The Talos vestigial arms fit the models just nicely.

Dark Kin Bretheren and Sister...en,

I've got a brief update, which is mostly my opinions on converting grots.



It's a kick-off post for three separate lines of Grotesque conversion:
- Sslyth Grots from Warspears



- Clawed Fiend Grots from Crypt Fiends



- Normal Grots from Paulson Bio Terrors



Here's the post:
http://www.modernsynthesist.com/2014/11/grotesque-genus-options-for-converting.html

I'll watch the crypt fiend/Vergheist idea with interest - they're next on my list of models to make Grotesque...

Plastikente wrote:

I'll watch the crypt fiend/Vergheist idea with interest - they're next on my list of models to make Grotesque...

I've just ordered a box of three.

I participated in this year's Holiday raid gift exchange, and the following photos are from the gift I fired through to Koshi.



He had requested a Clawed Fiend or coven stuff, so I thought that was a perfect excuse to follow my clawed fiend ferral grotesque idea through to fruition!

Here he is, in his finished glory!







I figured one clawed fiend wasn't much of a gift, so, once again, I used this as an excuse to finish another idea I'd had to create a feral wrack. The idea is that these creatures are the throw aways that the coven's Haemonculi consider too twisted to press into service as Grotesques or Wracks. In game terms, the feral wracks could serve as an Urghul or Khymera (in a pinch).





The recipe for him was pretty simple:
- Bloodletter legs
- Ghoul torso
- New genestealer head and right arm
- Old genestealer left arm (from way back when they were cast in blue plastic!)
- Wrack mask, cut so it would be a half mask like his big brother the feral grot

Here's the pair of them, hanging out:




That was all well in good, but I got behind schedule finishing them, and I missed the Dec 16th ship deadline, which meant Koshi wouldn't be getting them until after the new year!

Since I noticed he'd commented on this project log and said he'd liked my mandrakes (lesson: always praise people!), I decided to complete one of those and send it his way as an apology





I hope he likes them!

@Plastikente, @The_Burning_Eye I can't recommend the Vargheist models enough for Grotesques...well, at least this feral type of Grotesque. The look so bestial that I wouldn't love them for a "normal" grotesque, but it's easy for me to say that since I'm happy with the Paulson Bioterrors for my grotesques. If I didn't have those models to use, I would seriously consider the vargheist for run-of-the-mill grots. That being said, I would probably do some work on their legs to make their stance less aggressive and their feet less beastial. The musculature on the upper body is perfect, as are the arms when you cut away all the spikes.

What did you use for the feral grot tail? A few tweaks, and it would make a pretty good replica of a xenomorph.

@Erebus : that's one of Nagash's spines from his spinal backpack thing. They're brilliant, and I bits ordered a pile of them, so you'll see a lot more of them cropping up in my models (converted haemy, the Cronos' punchbowl of souls). The actual backpack where the six of them attach is also a pretty amazing bit that I need to find a home for...

I actually have a Nagash, sitting unboxed, begging to be built for my VC/UL army. No wonder the piece seemed so familiar.

Thank you for asking the question I was going to Erebus. Now to find an EU or UK bits store that is not hideously priced, and/or has them in stock.

I would agree with you Mr Pink, Vargheists / Crypt Horrors are a very handy working base, I've used the Crypt Ghoul base for my 'normal' Grotesques, Vargheist for my 'feral / beast' Grotesques and may finally complete my much too small Crypt Ghouls based Grotesques soon, when I work out how to finalise them together.

Also re your previous mention which I've failed to respond to until now, Hydra was another chap from Warpshadow back in the day no? The name is familiar but I can't place it exactly. And the Deimos & Phobos may end up being the same model. I shall check my notes - yes they are the same model, unless I find more funds left after the wedding - and they are part of a series of additional types of Haemonculus Engines I'm intending to convert.

The collective term - and that which I'm using to refer to the range of available devices - is 'Agony Engine' and that includes the Talos - Pain Engine, Cronos - Parasite Engine as well as the below:

Phobos/Deimos - Nightmare Engine
Minos - Control Engine
Moros - Assassin Engine
Atropos/Xaos - Warp/Instability Engine

As well as a number of others that one would like to make but as yet doesn't have an idea for their base structure yet. Also the Phobos/Demios & Atropos/Xaos may also end up being the same model with some interchangability due to similarities between my ideas.

PartridgeKing wrote:

Now to find an EU or UK bits store that is not hideously priced

If you do, let me know. I've found it's usually cheaper to just buy the actual box new (at a discounted retailer, obviously.).

May I say I am glad you got behind cut I love the mandrake. 1 question what bit is the mouth?

Very nice work here! Some great use of good GS skills

Absolutely amazing stuff, Mr_Pink. I wish I would be able to convert my stuff faster and your work truly is an inspiration.

Mr Pink - I should hopefully be finishing the paintjob on my first grotesque model this weekend, so will post up pics in my project log when I do - they got their first run-out today in a game and butchered a 10 strong unit of scions (as you'd probably expect). Not the most ideal return but having spent 3 turns waiting in the webway the one combat they got into did result in me tabling my opponent on turn 5!

@PartridgeKing - SHOW ME SKETCHES! Honestly. I would love to see any further descriptions or concepts for these engines. Converting the Cronos was really fun, and I'm eager more ideas to make unique Talos/Cronos. I LOVE Jes' Talos model, and I will definitely be building at least one stock one, but the model also affords opportunities for so many great conversions. So, yes, if you have a thread you can point me at or something similar, I'd like to take a look.

Also, I'm a bit confused by your Crypt Horror / Crypt Ghoul / Vargheist paragraph. It makes it sound like you're using the little Ghoul models as Grotesques, which doesn't seem to make much sense...?

And I bought my Nagash spines form Hoard o Bits, but I'm not sure how their shipping to the UK is. It had better be SUPER expensive to be more pricey than a Nagash box

@koshi482 - I really like your idea of using the Mandrake as a pet Medusae for your Archon. I've been playing with the idea of a medusae version of my mandrake concept, with the parasite creature latching on to a psyker by sinking its teeth into the Psyker's head or something similarly barbaric.

I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but the Mandrake mouths are upside-down Pink Horror mouths. They are AMAZING. However, I am now looking for people's suggestions for other, non-tyranid toothy maws. Anyone have any other suggestions?

@nexs - Thanks! Whatever GS skills I have were achieved through practice at messing around with models. In case you haven't seen it before, I did a series of articles to help get people started working with GS if they find it overwhelming: http://www.modernsynthesist.com/search/label/How%20To%20Sculpt

@Kinnay - HA! Any illusion of speed is purely an illusion. I go in spurts, and I am very far from fast—particularly when it comes to painting! I am happy to inspire as I take so much inspiration from all the other folks on the Dark City.

@The_Burning_Eye - Just took another look at your thread, and I'm eager to see your grots done.
One question: what are Scions? Is that a Necron unit? I must admit I'm more about converting and modeling than playing, so I'm not always up to speed on units from other armies. Glad your grots made short work of them.

Wonderful stuff sir. Your Grots look amazing.