Monday 22 March 2021

T'Sulian Tribesfolk - a Xenos Mother and Child

I was really pleased with my pair of T'Sulian xenos warriors that I made last year, and I knew from the outset that I was likely to make some more.


It just so happened that the theme of the current painting challenge over at the Oldhammer Facebook group is #justthetwoofus (paint a pair of models which share a connection or theme), and a germ of an idea formed. I decided I would make a pair of non-combatant tribesfolk who may eventually inhabit a future nomadic campsite that I may or may not end up making (depending on how big the tribe gets!).


"That's him mum, he said my head looks like a sand crab's bum!"

So my pair of models are a T'Sulian mother and child. My starting point was a Dark Future cultist for the child (a 20mm robed adult works perfectly as a 28mm robed child), and a solid based Fox Priest from the C05 Oriental Heroes range.


I removed the head and staff from the Fox Priest, and added the new head made from the head/torso piece from a Blackstone Fortress spindle drone. You might notice that I cut down the the head vanes and filed a new organic curve on the head (I figured that a female might have smaller head vanes from a male). I also added some decorative hangers (data probes from Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii).


I used the head vane parts I'd removed from the female's head and used them to help construct the child's head, which was primarily created from greenstuff.


The female's hand came from the Necromunda Delaque set, whilst the child's backpack was cut down from a Forgeworld Elysian pack.


I also removed the pistol from the Dark Future cultist, filed and carved off any evidence, before removing the hand and adding a 45 degree twist to make it look more natural.


After that, it was a case of painting to match the warriors I'd originally painted. I figured that the blue robes might be culturally important, so replicated those, although I did use 3 different blues for variation (I'm not sure it actually reads that well in the final painted figures).



The decorative markings were a late addition to the paint scheme - I felt she needed some more visual interest, and some tribal face paint  seemed to be the right way to go.




All in all, I'm really pleased with how the figures came out - I really like how they integrate into a little narrative diorama all within the confines of a single 32mm base!


The tribe is still small! 


25 comments:

  1. Beautiful work, and I see the subtleness of the three blues now that you point them out. I really like how the tribe is shaping up. Something exotic that I'd like to work into my own collection.

    I think I need to get my own pair of models done! I have what a week? :)

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    1. Thanks Hobbs! You've got a week to the deadline I think...end of March? ;)

      I'm having a thought that I might turn these into a crew for Stargrave, as well as having use in any other sci-fi skirmish game of course.

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  2. Fantastic vision sir! Love the Spindle Drone parts to create such fantastic images. Certain "Sand People" feel to these somehow.
    Are they head dresses? Masks? Their actual heads?

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    1. Thanks Dai! Is it a head or isn't it? That's the killer question. You'll have to kill one to find out :)

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    2. My name's not Anakin sadly, so I'll have to go by hearsay.

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    3. That's how prejudices start ;)

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  3. Very nice conversions! I always like futuristic civilian models. They've got a good Sand People feel.

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    1. Thanks Toby! I can't get Sand People out of my head either. I can't envisage these anywhere else other than a vast desert planet!

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  4. Superb! Such clever conversions, and the posing gives the sense of real "people" going about their lives.

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    1. Thanks very much! I'm just pleased I was able to pose the pair in a way that got them to interact convincingly :)

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  5. I'm really fond of them, they set the tone nicely for the rest of the band.

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    1. Thanks JB! Suddenly they're not the scary alien savages everyone thought they were!

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  6. It's a nice little display peace. And makes what ever setting you are using, look more lived in.

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    1. Thanks very much! I'm a firm believer that civilian models are a great addition to any game :)

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  7. Fantastic, great ideas and very well executed conversions :)

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  8. Fantastic work, as always. You keep impressing me with everything you show here...

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    1. Thanks Skully! Delighted you like the stuff I'm making.

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  9. Oh, come on! That's awesome! I really like your approach. But oh, sir, now you do need the whole tribe!

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    1. Thanks Suber! Hopefully it pleases you that there are another 4 figures currently WIP on my desk? ;)

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  10. The harmony between those two models is very interresting, well done.
    Also, the picture is rather immersive. I'm fan :)

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    1. Thanks Nico! I've always enjoyed mini dioramas with a couple of models on a single base.

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  11. Really nice work ... the end result is simply fantastic.

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    1. Thanks very much, glad you like them :)

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