Inq et nunc - The Ancient Slann

Back in the early 2000s I planned a space slann army for 40k. The project never got off the ground as I moved towards smaller skirmish games, and most of the slann have long since been passed on. I did however keep the slann leader that I had planned to use - this was a conversion that was done for me by sculptor and Golden Demon winner Jeff Wilhelm. 20 years on, I have finally got round to painting up this long-neglected slann!

Originally intended for 28mm gaming, this slann will also see use in 54mm.

The figure is a conversion of the limited edition Forgeworld Games Day slann mage priest. Jeff converted the mage priest into a 40k slann by adding the crest, distinctive quilted body suit and a fancy new staff.

Conversion work by Jeff Wilhelm.

Conversion work by Jeff Wilhelm.

One of the stumbling blocks and part of the reason why its taken me so long to get round to painting him was that I struggled to work out what to sit him on. I knew I wanted a hovering disc or anti-grav seat of some kind, but I couldn't find anything to fit the bill. Then just last week, as I'd pulled the slann from storage to use in 54mm, inspiration struck!

I picked up this pair of Secret Weapon Miniatures 50mm round lipped scenic bases in a Tau style. I glued them back to back, filled and sanded the join, then painted the whole thing gold. Perfect!

It only took me 20 years to come up with this solution!

The painting for the mage priest followed the same colour palette as for my other slann to date - a nice pinky-red on the skin and blues for the clothing and gear.

I tried to render the gems on the headdress and staff as jade. They haven't photographed particularly well, but they do look OK in hand. I'm still debating whether a sinister shiny black obsidian orb is the best solution for his staff centrepiece though.

Finally, just to prove that I can happily use this guy in 54mm as well as 28mm, here's Dick Slevlan for scale reference!