Angelic Host - the flip side of Daemons

[laribold]

Thanks all for the comments. As I said more photos coming soon (I would be doing it now but can't find my camera!)

What wings did you use for the archers and the Seraphim figures? I've been poking around for decent wings all day with no luck whatsoever...

Also, what bodies did you use for the Seraphim?

Thanks!

Wings are one of the big issues that I'm having to be honest. The only new feathered wings that I've not used so far are from the new Dark Eldar Scourges. The ones I've used so far are:

Angelim (Furies) have Sanguinary Guard jump pack wings

Eroim (Flamers) have wings from the High Elf Silver Helm champion helmet plume - (http://www.letthedicedecide.co.uk/pr...e_Helm_HESH027)

Seraphim (Daemonettes) mainly have wings from the High Elf Noble set (http://www.letthedicedecide.co.uk/pr..._Wings_HEPR015). A couple also have metal wings from a Dwarf Lords helmet that I got through a trade.

The Seraphim bodies are Sisters of Sigmar from Mordheim.

Very nice concept

What do you think about using baby angels like this in Ludvig Schwarzhelm BSB pack? Maybe as nurglings.

I'm way ahead of you here, but thanks for pointing out another source of them. I'll be using 40K Witch Hunter cherubs and cherubs from the Empire General Sprue to make up bases to use as Nurglings. Still collecting them up though...

Actually if anybody has any of the above spare wings or cherubs they'd like to sell/traden I'd be very happy to hear from you (I'm in the UK).

Cheers

[ChanzaLanza]

One of my top favorite logs. This is too good of an idea and execution to let fall to the wayside.

Can't wait for whatever you have to show us.

[Terrogar]

I've been poking around for 'wing' bits, and one item I've found is promising...

http://www.frpgames.com/cart.php?m=p...detail&p=66836

and a smaller version

http://www.frpgames.com/cart.php?m=p...detail&p=66820

The foal wings in particular should be closer to the size needed for a 'horde'ish army of vengeful angels.

Your thoughts?

[ChanzaLanza]

I have nine pairs of very small wings that are from some goblin size demon critters who look like evil cherubs w/ pitchforks that came with 3 Rackham monsters I bought a while ago. The kit is an OOP unpainted metal one. Wish I could remember the name of the kit (I used the big monsters as Fiends of Slaanesh).

The wings are more reptilian/demon instead of feathers, but they might fit in with some flightless human-sized Warhammer angels. You tell me if you would want them at all, because I don't see them getting used anytime soon.

[Duke Donald]

I really like the concept. One of teh coolest ideas for a Warhammer army I've seen in a while.

[laribold]

OK. Here are some pics as promised...

First up is my current reworking of my angelic Bloodletters (Malachim).







So here's been my thinking about these. After the feedback on earlier pages of this thread it became clear that the idea of using straight High Elf Archers with flaming swords wasn't working. They didn't give off the right vibe so I went back and looked at what 'made' Bloodletters i.e. what were their key features. As Eternal Void pointed out in an earlier post they needed big swords but wielding them in one hand (to give the idea of KB and S5 in game). They are also pretty naked and have a sort of wiry yet strong look.

It took me a long old while to get another flash of inspiration and it came when looking at some Ungors that I had. They had a torso that had the appropriate wiry nakedness and were the right size to fit to the High Elf Archer legs. So after some cutting and splicing it seemed to work. The biggest isse has been covering the hole for the ungor head as it sits much lower (to give them that hunchbacked look). I still need to work on the GS skills to get this smooth and seamless without having a weird flat patch in the middle of their chests.

To cover the join between the legs and torso I've Gsd a simple sash that has (I think) a nice ecclesiastic feel to it.

Weaponwise I've simply gone for Empire Greatswords (I particularly like the wavy-edged ones) as I wanted to move away from the High Elf influence and this was a chance to do that. The wings are from the Dark Angel Veterans set.

Paint-wise, this is pretty representative of the colourscheme (the execution just isn't quite there yet). The blood-red is obviously a nod to Bloodletters/Khorne. I'm also toying with the idea of giving them all glowing eyes to help give an impression of their angelic 'otherworldliness'. Again this also gives me a chance to bring in the key colour of that Chaos God (red in this case).

And that's them.

Next up is my Herald of Tzeentch:



Obviously no paint yet, but it is basically the IoB High Elf Mage, with head swap (Knight Errant), arm swaps (High Elf Mage kit, High Elf spearman arm) and wings (Sanguinary guard).

Pretty please with how this one has turned out.

Comments and constructive criticism always welcome.

Next up the Archangel himself!

[laribold]

The WIP Archangel himself, but without his wings yet...









This chap is on a 50mm base to give you an idea of size and is (as promised earlier) the unholy lovechild of Nagash (legs & arms) and the previous edition Orion (torso and head)

Some GS work on the head to cover where Orion's horns originally were and then a whole load more GS to give the robes a top.

That's pretty much it really. I've got some pegasus wings to attach to his back and then I'll get him undercoated and post more pics.


As for the various info on wings thanks. @ Terrogar: Those might be useful, but even the foal ones look a tad on the large side (plus they are out of stock and in the US - I'm UK based so ordering some just to see the size might be too pricey given shipping costs)

@ ChanzaLanza: Thanks for the offer but I'm trying to keep to feathered wings, but if I get too frustrated trying to get hold of them I'll drop you a line.

[Hideous Loon]

Hooray for wiry nakedness!

The Archangel looks mint. Overall, you've captured the warlike emphasis of angels fairly well.

[Student]

They are looking much better than before. Also I didn't notice the hole in their chests until you pointed it out.

[spetswalshe]

Looks brilliant, really unique. I was assuming you'd go for an ethereal paint scheme, but they look pretty good. The Archangel is going to look fantastic (I thought the Nagash parts were from an Inquisitor model at first, which is a good thing) and the blindfold idea for the Sisters was absolutely spot on.

For the Ungor torsos - I didn't notice an hole either, so it seems like you're onto a good thing. If you were worried, you could try making gorgets for them.

[Pumpavius]

They look good but... those tiny feathered wings...

[EnternalVoid]

I like these ones much better then your first attempt at bloodletters, you are right, they catch the feel better. I would consider adding something though to the hand grip of the swords. While the current swords do indeed look like two handed blades, the hand grips are far to short for that. If you look at Bloodletters you will also see their grips are large enough for two hands if necessary. It will help the models I believe, not so much as to suggest they use them two handed but suggest the swords are balanced properly to be used.

You could use green stuff or if you want a simple solution find a spear which the shaft is about the right size, and cut section off it for the task, then a small coin or ball of greenstuff at the end for the counterweight. I have done this for some of my converted swordmasters before.

Another thing to consider to help with your neck/chest problem with the ungor bodies is a necklace of sorts. A medallion or an aztec type necklace would cover that area. Maybe not do it for every model but if you do it for enough it also can add some variance in models.

I also approve of the glowing eyes. I have seen some real good effects done for Phoenix Guard, if you want I can link some of the threads I have seen this in or pictures.

I like the Herald too, it is unfortune that white undercoats make it hard to see how the details match up but I will be curious when you get around to painting it. Same with the archangel. My only worry is the left shoulder, not sure if it looks quite right but it is hard to tell.

[Saulot]

Fantastic theme, sir!! And your conversions are spot on! The Herald of Tzeentch is unbelievably perfect! Hard to believe it came about from a simple kit-bash!! Keep up the great work!

[laribold]

Thanks all.

Re: the Malachim chest whole conundrum - I did try and put a gorget on there as spetswalshe suggested but it just looked odd and oversized. A medallion might work (but might also end up looking a bit D.I.S.C.O!). I'll try some out on a couple of WIP ones and see what it looks like. I could try for one similar to that on the Archangel to help visually tie the different models together... hmmm....

Eternal Void: thanks again for your input. I went back and looked at some original Bloodletters again after what you'd said and I totally see your point. I'll add some extra length and larger pommel to hopefully get the right effect. Shouldn't be too hard to sort out.

The left shoulder of the Herald is where I needed to sculpt as the IoB mage has his staff over that shoulder. I think I'm still a bit heavy-handed when it comes to sculpting cloth and the folds need to be made smoother. I'll see how it comes out and redo if necessary.

@Pumpavius: The wings are small on the Malachim but I've deliberately chosen to do that for a number of reasons. Firstly I need to be able to rank them up and large wings are going to make this much harder (the Seraphim for example). Also I wanted to make it clear that these guys don't fly. Some of the troops in the army will fly and some won't so I didn't want to give them all large wings as it might be confusing for my opponent.

The Angelim (Furies) and Herald of Tzeentch have the large Sanguinary Guard wings because the fly. The Eroim (Flamers) and Seraphim (Daemonettes) have medium sized wings because the don't fly but have M6 and the Malachim (Bloodletters) have the small wings because they're only M5.

That's been my thought process behind the varying wing sizes...

[juicytomatoes]

This continues to be a very interesting project. Keep going!

[Robotlord]

Please, please continue. Love this plog its great. Also that ArchAngel is going to be unreal. JUst goes to prov that the NGash model isn't actually all bad. JUst that ridiculous head. (Which I heard was a sculpters way of asking for more time, only to backfire as that head was actually used.)