Age of Nagash - update March 22 - Bonemold Shinguard

[Sception]

Yup, it's a bit bigger than the normal head, especially when you consider that it's a skull and theoretically flesh would go over it, but not quite so big that it feels out of place. Has a kind of bulldog/pit bull look.

I had originally planned to mix heads from the mortarch kits, easier to get the bits that way, but I really like how neferata's steed's head in particular works for this conversion. The armor fits well with the armored look of the steed, and obscures the otherwise somewhat awkward transition of flesh-to-skull.

I've thrown up a thread on the trading forum to ask if anybody has spare neferata's steed's heads from assembling arkhans or mannfreds, might put a post in the favorite mortarch thread as well, just in case people have some spare.


I'm going to do six of these, but there's an open question whether I'm going to do them up as two units of three or one unit of six. If done as two of three, then every model needs to be a command model, champ, standard, or musician. This option is more flexible in game, since there's no limit to command models in AoS units so if I wanted to field them as a unit of 6 I could just smush the two units together. And it would be cheaper, considering that two starter box dracoth heroes on the secondary market to use as champions would be cheaper than one box of two regular guys otherwise. And I may or may not have one coming in the mail alread? Really need to follow up on that...

On the other hand, I'm far more likely to run one unit of 6 than two of 3, and having two champion models in the unit would be awkward and potentially confusing, since only one would actually be the unit leader, so I haven't really made a decision on it.

I also need to figure out what I'm going to do for a musician. The grave guard horn's a bit small, but might be usable, maybe cut away the skeleton hand and hang it from a rider's belt? Do I even have a spare grave guard horn still? I'm not sure. The skeleton one really isn't going to work. Maybe hang drums from the side of the steed, and put drum-beating sticks in the rider's hands made out of copper wire & spare skulls? But what would I use for the drums? I don't have any good bits for that...

And then there's the banner angle. I was going to use the warsphinx banner, but I have one fewer of those than I thought, which is fine if I do a single unit of six, but if I wanted to two two of three with matching banners, it would cost me my tomb herald conversion. Which wouldn't be the end of the world, as I still have the actual metal tomb herald and could use that instead, but I like my conversion more...

But if I'm doing a whole subset of 'undead stormcasts', and the tomb herald is mostly there to support the necrosphinxes, then maybe instead I should convert a relictor as a herald to go with them, what with the relictor's big skeleton guy icon?

I don't know.

 

[Sception]

Whelp, I decided to try to do something with the shinguards, more greenstuff press molding. Actually came out remarkably well! Only took me about 20 minutes, including making the press mold and cutting it to fit into the limited space available, & the greenstuff came out perfect first time, no scraping it away to start over. The bit I copied was from a dread abyssal (mortarch steed) leg assembly, they have these skeletal upper torsos as kneecaps.

I've only done the right side so far, due to the likelihood of damaging what's already there if I mess with the opposite side of the model before it's cured. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to try and repace the trim along the edge of the armor plate or not. We'll see. Will probably try it after I have the bone molding down on both sides, and scrape it away if it doesn't work.

Honestly, I think the bone design on the rider's armor will go a long, long way towards helpping the whole conversion read as a proper death model, not just a re-purposed stormcast stand in.

 

[Farmer7574]

@Malisteen Excellent touch, the press-molding is really undeadening up that AoS mini.

Shame about the demigryph conversions, they were a bit small for necropolis knights but nice conversions nonetheless.

 

[Sception]

Thanks!

As for the demigryphs, yeah, I wish I had a decent use for them. They're a bit too big/fancy for black knights (plus I already have 10), and a bit too boney/skeletal to run as blood knights. Still, if I were pressed I guess I'd run them as blood knights.

I may do some sort of homebrew unit for them at some point, based on blood knights?

'course, blood knights come in fives, not threes, so Id have one spare, but I'm sure I could find a use for it. Mounted herald, maybe? I dunno.

Mostly, I'm just trying not to think about them. Too disheartening. Makes me feel melancholy. So much so that I've even updated the first post's themesong to reflect my feelings on the matter.

Better to focus on this new unit, where things are going well, if slowly.

 

[Borgnine]

Good to see you back at the hobby desk! That head replacement looks surprisingly good! And you're really serious about 'deathifying' them, so that's awesome Is the mold you're using itself also greenstuff? I am really, really curious what will you do with the riders
As for the command groups - maybe magnetize their hands? So you can have both commanders and normal soldiers? Maybe also take a look at some bitz sellers - so you won't have to make compromises with your other projects? Chaos Horse Marauders have a really cool musician's horn fitting undead, if I'm to make a recommendation

Also, copyright that name "Stormghast Immortals - Necrothian Knights" before GW steals it from you

PS. Pity about that Demigryphs I still have mine and plan to build them later - maybe it's a mixed blessing about me not playing the game, I don't have to look at the unit's usefulness

 

[Sception]

Magnetizing hands doesn't solve the issue, because the question is mostly about champions, which will look different all round, not just in what they're carrying, with different armor, arkhan's steed's head rather than neferatas on the beast, possibly different models entirely if I do champions from the starter box hero instead of unit box set.

For the press molds, I use this stuff:

Or something similar to it, there are a handful of different effectively identical products under different names. They come in those clear rectangles, get soft in boiled water, then you press them into whatever and leave 'em a couple minuts to cool, or run them under cool water. They're non-sticky with most puttys & clays. I've used this stuff in a few projects, duplicating shoulder pads for my black legion chosen being the one that comes immediately to mind, that and making molds of some tombstones & basing detail stuff.

Here's a video example of the stuff in use:

As for the name, I would love GW to use exactly that name, that would be great. Though I'm kind of shying away from 'necrothian', a bit on the nose, I'll be calling them Abyssal something-or-other instead.

 

[Eternal Salvation]

Hey, instamold is great eh? Nice job with it!
This conversion is looking pretty cool, can't wait to see more!

 

[Nagash Worshiper]

Wonderful work here! I might steal this idea of smaller abyssals mind you That GS - work on the shins is something I've considered myself for a project and you've pulled it off brilliantly! Looking forward to next result!

 

[Borgnine]

Well then, out of two alternatives, I think that one unit with two champions look weirder than two units with only one champion...

Also, thanks for sharing about that Instant Mold. That would have been useful an year ago....