I've made some more progress with my Helmawr gang, finishing off another three fighters. This time they include my planned leader and an attendant.
The Helmawr leader figure is a marvellous sculpt by Jes Goodwin, festooned with details, from his natty jacket to the bows just below his knees. The figure is clearly based on John Blanche's sketch of a merchant clan head from White Dwarf 131, but the tab on the figure reads 'Helmawr Clan'.
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| Confrontation merchant clan head by John Blanche (WD131). |
I replicated the colour scheme used on the other fighters to date, adding in a few more spots of colour with the cool blue and purple, as well as increasing the gold detailing, hopefully reflecting his status.
I'm particularly pleased with his little weird blue pet. I added the dappled markings to evoke John Blanche's sketch just by dabbing on spots of a watered down blue wash.
In game terms, I prefer my leaders not to be armed exclusively for close combat. A trick I've used before to avoid overloading the models with guns strapped to their backs and the like, is to make little attendant figures to hold their weapons. My Helmawr leader is no different - the sculpt is wonderful as is and I couldn't bear to spoil it with a gun, so I made him a companion to carry his boltgun.
I based the figure on a mid-1990s Empire Halfling archer who already had a bald head and lots of similar design features to the Helmawr figures. I removed his bow, quiver, feet and annoying hat which covered the entirety of his back.
He then received a new pair of shoes (from a broken Talisman priest), a bolter held at a jaunty angle on his shoulder, and loads of sculpted detail.
After a paint job to tie him in with the leader, I think he looks the part.
I seem to have made a habit of including little guys in the warbands I've made over the last couple of years - here's a selection!
The final addition is another of the unreleased Helmawr gangers. I made the comment last time that the sculpting was a bit chunky on these, and it is. But they are actually really fun to paint as a result. I'm warming to them as I get them painted!
I just need to paint up another couple of these guys for a starting gang, and then I can start thinking about some specialists equipped with more exotic weaponry!
It's all perfect, I love that little guy and the boss is such a pleasant model and even better with your colours.
ReplyDeleteThe leader is a fantastic model, although I did wish part-way through that he didn't have quite so many details!! Thanks :)
Deletelol i find this problem with old citadel minis.. youll think you are done and start checking out the mini and find there is a hand full of wierd wires and bits sticking off the side you havent painted yet.. worse still is when you dont really know what the thing is supposed to be and have no idea what color to paint it!
DeleteSometimes you can't beat a miniature wearing a simple one-piece jumpsuit ;)
DeleteLooking ace as usual! I think the addition of a little guy and a big guy to any warband instantly elevates how interesting the group looks as a whole. Adding a pet completes the trifecta!
ReplyDeleteI'm in total agreement. Variation in size and shape really does add a lot of value to the look of a group. I haven't really though about a big guy for this group yet though...!
DeleteI love that leader sculpt and he's perfect for the gang. Like the fellers above though, that halfling is such a cool addition. You do like your stunties, which as a lifetime-lover of Squats I can't say anything bad about. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Dai. The leader is just a gorgeous sculpt, I love that he's utterly unlike any other figure in the 40k universe. And stunties are definitely the coolest!
DeleteGreat work on some cool figures. I do like the idea of an attendant carrying the character's weapon(s).
ReplyDeleteThanks Kym. Attendants are a really useful device to add in extra wargear or to avoid spoiling the look of the figure.
DeleteI wonder what it says about you, that you are always adding these diminutive "helpers"... ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat work as always, and that halfling was superbly converted. Considering that he is not "there" and is really just a personification of the weapon, have you considered basing them together on a larger base?
A single larger base does make sense, and would certainly look cool. However using these on Necromunda terrain makes larger bases a little impractical, so I kept them separate.
DeleteThose look brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThanks Riot :)
DeleteGreat stuff Jon! That little bloke looks ace with the bolter that is way too big for him to use :D
ReplyDeleteCheers Shane! There's no way he'd be able to brace against the recoil - he can barely lift it ;)
DeleteImpressive work. All the minis combine, you found the right spot for all of them!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suber! A bolero jacket and a pair of hareem pants is critical to the look ;)
DeleteGood job on these. I'd never seen these figures. Necro was always a fun but flawed game. Hopefully it is more balanced than before. I will finally paint my old primed Eschers but I will use some new figs to try out new gear and to convert any random lucky finds. Luck seems to be less prevalent in the new design with blogs detailing optimal gangers and such. I like all my models to look and be different having every ganger with a lasgun may just be too boring for me. The paints I used back in the day have long dried out so I will likely be painting over some old paint too. Hopefully it comes out well as vintage fig prices have gone up a lot since the 90s too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Muskie, the pre-Necromunda Confrontation is a little obscure, even for the figures that were on general release. I find new Necromunda a lot of fun, although there are certainly still combinations and wargear that are more effective in-game. Good luck resurrecting the Escher!
DeleteWow! Really detailed work you did here. Nicely done too.
ReplyDeleteThanks! The layering of details is all done to help hide the conversion. The less converged it looks, the better, in many ways.
DeleteThe shoes on the Ratling are a really nice touch.
ReplyDeleteNot every ratling is consigned to a barefoot existence!
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