Tuesday 18 February 2020

Masters of the Hunt - Venator Leader & Champion

Much in the same way with my Brat gang at the end of last year, this post is something of a full stop to my Venator gang, a project that has spanned two years. I have rounded out the original 6-strong plastic group to include the 4 Marauder Venators and a bunch of other converted figures. I was however missing a dedicated leader and heavy weapon for the group, something I've now rectified.




The Master of the Hunt
I spent a long time thinking about how to represent my Venator leader, but in the end it was settled once I decided I was going to arm him with a deadly meltagun. I've always liked Michael Perry's Orlock leader, so it was a quick mental jump to consider the model.

Mock-up for my leader. Hooded head from a Redemptionist and axe from a Norse berserker.

Broadly speaking, the conversion was as planned. I couldn't get the head at quite the same angle because of the stockiness of the Orlock body (which would have made it look odd later). With the head angle more neutral, the axe arm had to be a bit less dynamic as a result too.


Most of the cool details on the Orlock were left as is. I changed his boots to gaiters (to mirror the combat-equipped Marauder figure) and added the hood collar. I also spent a bit of time making the mask more grotesque with an enlarged chin and elongated nose!


The painting came together pretty easily, as I'd established colours on the previous models. Whilst the sculpting on the gaiters was a little rough in places, I was able to hide it with the painting I think.



The Heavy Hitter
Given that Venators have access to the full array of wargear on offer, I decided to go for a non-standard heavy weapon. I very nearly plumped for the devastating autocannon, but a missile launcher is more versatile and a lot of fun too!

This guy was based on a Mordheim Witch Hunter. I removed the sword arm and head, replacing the head with one from another Redemptionist. The new arm was sourced from the Rogue Trader plastic arm sprue, and the missile launcher is of course from the RTB01 plastic space marine kit.


He got a new collar for his hood and some oversculpting on some chainmail areas to his jerkin and sleeves.


I added a new shoulder support to fill the gap where the space marine shoulder pad would usually fit. The it was just a case of adding a few extra plastic details like the lens on the mask and the iconic axe and noose.


The coat on the champion required me to plan out the colours a little more carefully on this guy, as he had more layers of clothing - in the end I decided on brown leather for the coat.


The neck collar seems as appropriate for Venators as it does for Witch Hunters.

I added a few small markings to the missile launcher casing and a nice comfy bit of padding to the shoulder support!

So that's a nice group of 10 chunky old-school Venators which can be used alongside the plastic conversions.

Old School.

New School.

On the tabletop, they look pleasingly coherent, and I'm looking forward to using them in the next campaign.

18 comments:

  1. Love the whole gang, but that missile launcher just looks wonderful. Really wouldn't want to meet them un a dark underhive!
    Out of interest, what's your painting scheme for the fabric hoods, they look great, and I've got some Halfling Cultists (Don't ask!) that I think would look great in that colour.

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    1. Cheers Evo! There's something really compelling about a stout lad standing in a dominating pose I think. Well, that's what I like about the missile toting guy!

      The hoods are pretty simple - I basecoated with GW's zandri dust, then a couple of thin coats with a khaki (the old GW commando khaki). Wash with a thinned brown wash, another layer of khaki, then highlights by adding an off-white to the khaki.

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    2. Cheers, I'll give it a go, As I'm colour blind working out the base colour selection can be tricky, but I can hopefully work up from Zandri Dust. Ta!

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  2. Well that's one sweet band done, I'm wondering which will be next in those you haven't touched yet, kinda wishing scavvies ^^

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    1. I need to finish the Helmawr gangers, and then I think perhaps Dogskins?

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  3. I love it when a project is finished....and even more enjoyable following along seeing how masterful the conversions were. I know you aren't big on battle reports...but I do hope you snap some pics so we can see them in action.

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    1. I'll do my best to remember to take in game shots! Really glad you enjoying following along :)

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  4. Great additions to your gang! I have not played Nu-cromunda, but is the missile launcher an optimal choice? I mean, it looks great, which ought to be the primary consideration, but if it is too costly/inaccurate or whatever...

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    1. Don't worry I've thought about this! Missile launchers are actually pretty good in the current version of Necromunda, and, for heavy weapons, relatively inexpensive. You can't underestimate the usefulness of having access to high-powered single shot to take out champions or a big blast to tackle groups of fighters.

      Plus it looks cool :)

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  5. The conversions are seamless, I don't think you have to cover anything with the paintjob. I'm stunned by how good they all look, it's pretty awesome. I love how these came along.

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    1. I guess a creator can always see the flaws in their work! Thanks Suber :)

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  6. Great work man. I absolutely love them!

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  7. Holy hell mate, these last two capped off this gang perfectly! You must have a lovely looking display case to show off your gangs and other fun stuff I hope?

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    1. Cheers mate! I do have a display case, but it's somewhat overcrowded! I could do with something a bit bigger really.

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  8. Nice work transforming the minis to the final end product. Very skillful work!

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    1. Thanks very much! It's a question of finding suitable bits then trying to hide the joints really!

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