The Voidsmen-at-arms are complete!

o/

The Emperor's shiniest...mere humans.

This squad knocks off my first entry for Neverness' Inquisitorial conclave of 2023. Currently there is an Inquisitor (unrelated to this squad) in the works, but more on him at the end of month. I'm rather pleased with how this squad came out. Indeed, they certainly look better than their original red and gold half-applied color scheme. 

In the end, the khaki & green did turn out alright once inked.

I'm not sure how much they honor my old Mordians given just how shiny they are. Then again, if said Mordians had access to shiny armor, you know that they'd dress themselves up like medieval knights in (flak) armor with lasguns!

With so many things out to kill you in the grim dark, I seriously doubt that his cigar's box had any health related warnings on it.

This guy is more likely to get this squad killed than anything. A free roaming pseudo-assault cannon will paint a bullseye on these (slightly less squishy) guardsmen. Probably outweighing any benefit this otherwise impressive cannon will bring to them.

Looks like he's got enough ammo for the one-to-two turns that he'll be alive at any rate.

I find it curious that the squad leader, the Voidmaster lacks the majority of the body armor that his subordinates have; i.e.: chest plate, helmet, knee, elbow and boot guards. If anything he embodies the Mordians of old! 

Ouch!

Perhaps that explains why he's the only one who is injured. Fighting on despite the pain of his injury (which is slowly bleeding thru his field dressing). Perhaps there's a bodyglove hidden beneath that pretty uniform. If that is indeed the case, next time he levels up he ought to get one that covers his arms too. 

The pauldron marking displays his squad's Inquisitorial affiliation. I noticed recently that Inquisitorial Henchmen have two wounds apiece whereas these guys only have one. Perhaps then, these Voidsmen are the Inquisition's ceremonial guards. Used to decorate hallways and thresholds within their otherwise already impenetrable Black Ships and strongholds.

Voidsmen-at-arms part 2: The 'ugly' stage

 o/

Here's the latest on my entry for Neverness' Inquisitorial Conclave of 2023. 

See? I wasn't kidding when I said ugly!

I've made it to the ugly part, where all of the colors have been applied and they're ready for all of the myriad of touchups needed before inking. My detail brushes were shot halting any forward progress from this point. I bought some new ones Sunday afternoon though, so all is good. 

One thing I didn't quite like is that the green doesn't quite have the contrast in color with the khaki that I was looking for. I'm hoping it will look better once inked. Speaking of color concerns, prior to adding the brown for their leather straps, pouches and boots, I was starting to worry that they were looking too bland. However, I think they'll be alright now. 

I have no idea what the hose goes to on the Voidmaster's arm. It looks like a glorified flashlight or red dot laser sight. If it was a weapon, what would be the point of the laspistol?

The old Mordians didn't wear any armor to speak of, relying instead on heavily starched fabrics and epaulettes for protection. Indeed, the Mordians looked lot closer to this squad's leader rather than the grunts.

I didn't want to go for gold again on their armor having hated it the last time, so I opted for Canoptek Alloy which has a nice brassy look to it. The sepia ink ought to bring out the filigree on the armor nicely. 

I think I'll justify the plain,Cadian shoulder guard's lack of filigree with a decal of some sort. 

Moving forward for this week, with new brushes in hand: it'll be all about the touch ups! Followed by touch ups for those touch ups. Then some more touch ups, and then...

My 2023 Inquisitorial Conclave entry

 o/

The Elucidian Desert Striders?

If so, then I'm guessing that those bits of machinery on their backs are portable air conditioners.

This year I shall be working on a squad of the Blackstone Fortress' Voidsmen-at-arms for Neverness' Inquisitorial conclave. They're great models that I picked up off of eBay once they were rereleased for Kill Team. Prior to that they were laughably astronomical (pun intended) in price. That said, I didn't get the canine as that particular model still is. 

I'm sure you've already noted that the squad leader is injured. I wasn't too keen on the massive, over-sized shotgun, and decided on a conversion after WestRider took a knife to hers.

Originally, I had intended to paint this squad up to match Inquisitor Wezley Sharlz Vinderthoff the III. While the gaudy red trimmed with gold works on him, it was looking terrible on these guys and so into the exile of my miniature case they went. 

I kinda wished the stats for this gun were closer to a heavy stubber with a higher rate of fire than the mini-assault cannon that it is. 

Tuesday, I reprimed them in tan and will make them look like something a bit more militaristic looking...if that's the right word. Honestly, I'm thinking that I'll dig deep, deep into my memory banks and paint them up as an updated version of my original Imperial Guard army: The Mordian Iron Guard.

This lady is actually my favorite sculpt out of the whole squad.

My Mordians, were jokingly referred to as the Africa Korps by my opponents due to their desert tan color scheme. I think these Voidsmen (and woman) will make for an intriguing homage to that long lost army. So stay tuned!

These two paints most closely resemble the bubonic brown uniforms and goblin green trim of my 2nd edition Mordians.