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Author Topic: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]  (Read 2452 times)

Offline Pil

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2006
  • One shot at glory
Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« on: May 15, 2021, 08:29:33 PM »
Good day fellow adventurers!

it has been more than half a year since the last installment in my undead army. But have I been idle? No! I have decided to 'process' my collection of undead carrion once and for all, and built and painted fourteen of the chaotic flying monsters.

In the meantime I got my grubby hands on eight rare undead samurai, and painted these to join my ranks.

And because I felt my photographs lacking in the scenic department I built a scenic back-drop box for my pictures.

Behold half a year of filing, drilling, glueing, painting and flocking in it's glory (seriously, has it been this long?)



Yes, it has. And one of the reasons is that I wanted a good basing solution for my flyers, which would also be suitable for storage and transport. The regular flying bases tend to snap and become uglier over time, after fix upon fix. I decided to go for screw-on models on bolts and with some trial and error I've arrived at the following.



I drilled out the hole in each model and filed the space around it flat. There I gued an M3 nut and built upt the edges with green stuff. On the bases I glued a washer and then a nut, and built it up with green stuff as well. As long as you don't twist a bolt in tightly, the nuts stay put, but it's easy to apply too much force and break it loose.


I wanted a solution where I could remove the base and the carrion separately for maximum flexibility. For this I attached two bolts with a makeshift connector. Because of the added thickness I built them up with green stuff to resemble trees (sort of). A regular piece of threaded rod proved too difficult to screw in and out repeatedly if it had been sawn or cut.


The end result it something like this. The trees unscrew from the base as well if needed. Not every tree fits every base though because of different alignment of the nuts or basing material getting in the way.

I also did some tryouts with long bolts through a base. These were much simpler to produce, they look better and they are hardly more inconvenient in transport or storage. Next time I'll probably stick with those.


My favourite carrion models are the old Citadel C34 carrion (1987). They are one-piece models that came with a choice of six riders. Here are pictured Voidghast on the left, and Wraithrider Lord on the right.


The Citadel carrion have a more impressive wingspan and a less bulky body than the later (and much more common) Marauder carrion. They also have less 'undead damage', though half of their face is rotten off.


The Marauder MM52 carrion (1993) were available for a long time and are much more common. They came in three parts (body, wings and head) with three head variants and a choice of two riders. I pinned all the parts together and filled the numerous gaps with putty.


I was missing some heads and riders so I made some of them to be unridden. For the heads I press-moulded spare parts and tidied the joins and mould lines with some simple sculpt work.


What colour is a carrion? When painting animals or monsters I like to be inspired by natural colour schemes. For the carrion (which have feathered bodies but membranous wings) I wanted some diversity so I picked three colour schemes, and applied them to all model variants. These were from left to right the lappet-faced vulture, the cape vulture and the secretarybird.


The colour schemes were approximated to fit with my army (they are undead after all) and simplified where needed.


The colours on the bottom were lighter than on the top in all cases, as is common with birds.


What is a carrion if not a miniature version of a Nazgul on winged beast? The background information in various publications offers no explanation why the wraith rider is small, or even there. My personal guess is that these were in a way intended to appear like Nazgul on winged beasts flying high above. I'm probably wrong though.

I do have one real Nazgul on winged beast in 28mm (Citadel BME2, 1985). It's a regular 28mm model and the oldest model of the lot. He fits right in with the carrion so I painted him in the same batch, he also joined my army in battle once as a carrion.


On this model I followed a lot of the colours for the secretarybird, so he fits in and has a striking face with red and yellow.


On the wings and body I didn't follow the existing plumage but made one up as I went. I think it turned out indecisive and a bit vague. I suppose nature knows best!


I got the opportunity to buy eight of the rare Citadel C18 undead samurai (1985) for a decent price. I never actively collected these but I suppose I started now.


I wanted to do these somewhat expensive models justice so I looked to find suitable colour schemes. I also wanted them to be colourful so they would stand out. The colours for the Onna-Bugeisha (the women) were inspired by old and current day clothing patterns.


I applied floral patterns where I felt they were appropriate. For the liche, after much deliberation, I chose neutral colours similar to those of a shinto priest.


The samurai on the left was missing a spear tip so I rebuilt one with putty (a bit smaller than the original). The samurai (the men) got different faded colours for their armour and clothing. On the blue samurai I tried my hand at two Japanese idioms, translations not mine so I wouldn't know if they were correct:
起死回生: “Wake from death and return to life”
弱肉強食: “The weak are meat; the strong eat.”


The undead samurai are characterful models sculpted by Kev Adams. They are not as consistent as the skeleton range and incorporate both zombies and skeletons. They are a welcome addition to my ranks.


I've thought about painting a background for my pictures for a while, and bit the bullet to make one after finishing the samurai. Rather than making just a backdrop I opted for a scenic box as scenery is my preferred method of photographing my miniatures. I started by determining the dimensions by taking some sample pictures and measuring the space available on a shelf. I sawed some chipboard to fit and screwed them together after pre-drilling (otherwise the chipboard will break). I covered the background in a thick layer of PVA glue and sprayed the inside black.


I wanted to include a cave/crypt/mining shaft with some added depth so I put a mirror in the back, inspired by how-to's on book nooks (a miniature diorama for a book shelf). I built up the rocks/hills with foam.


I plucked some dead box tree shrubs from the garden to use as trees. The box tree moth has arrived in my hometown and has been laying box trees to waste. I textured everything with sand. I painted the whole thing (including a background) and added grass, shrubs and tufts.


And this is the end result. In hindsight the shape of the foam remained pretty consistent throughout. Next time I'll take more care to shape them and rely less on texturing afterwards. The red and yellow sky is a nod to John Blanche's style.


In the sides I tried to make a little variation in background so I'd have more choice when taking pictures. Here is a night sky with a half moon.

I concentrated the tufts on the edges of the platforms so they could hide model bases on photographs without getting in the way with model placement.


I glued the trees in the far corner on before painting. The rest was added after painting. I've found it would have been better to add foliage to the trees after applying static grass, as I can't get all the static grass off the foliage anymore.


I made some holes above the cave so I could shine a light in (adding LED lighting was a step too complicated for now). You can see the cave seems deeper than it is thanks to the mirror.


Upon completion I did some test shots which I've added for your enjoyment. This one is heavily filtered.


This shot shows the models directly in front of the background painting. I painted it rather quickly in my most efficient Bob Ross style. It's a little bit crude but I think this picture shows exactly the atmosphere I was aiming for, so I'm pleased.


A shot of the right side. The illusion of the background breaks in full focus but this picture does show the detail of the trees. The foliage on the trees is Woodland Scenics clump foliage (medium green). The scatter at the base of the trees is used coffee grounds mixed with paint and dried.


A detail of the cave with a light and dark effect using the back of my desk lamp. The tufts and the shrubs are from Martin Welberg Studios, except for the brown ones which are from Mininatur.


A shot showing the right-hand corner. I used bits of actual root from the box trees as roots to add details to the scenery. All the static grass, foliage and tufts were sprayed with watered down PVA glue (10:1) using a pump spray.


A (rather filtered) shot using the full depth of the box, showing a model placed in the front. The scenery loks good as a background when out of focus. In regular pictures like this the sides of the box hardly come into view.

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed the pictures and maybe even the read. It was a long post which befits a long sequence of projects. If you want to see more of my undead check out my older posts:

Aurora Mortuorum, (classic) undead zombies, characters and zombie dragon [PICS]
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=127858

Undead liche masters, war rhino and colossal skeleton [PICS]
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=125330

Classic undead dragon riders [PICS]
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=121839

More classic undead: pre-slotta Citadel, War Wagon, Necrodrake, monsters [PICS]
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=120846

Pictures of my army:
https://imgur.com/gallery/qGwakyw
Let me hear the battle cry
Calling on the wind
Let me see the banners fly
Before the storm begins

Offline fred

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4359
    • Miniature Gaming
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2021, 08:51:09 PM »
Wow!

Super impressive (this feels a rather limited comment, for such a long and detailed post!)

Online Cubs

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4912
  • "I simply cannot survive without beauty ..."
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2021, 09:23:50 PM »
What a gorgeous line-up of beasties, a real testament to the work you've put in there.

What is a carrion if not a miniature version of a Nazgul on winged beast? The background information in various publications offers no explanation why the wraith rider is small, or even there. My personal guess is that these were in a way intended to appear like Nazgul on winged beasts flying high above. I'm probably wrong though.

Ah now, here I shall adopt my nasal whine voice and push my imaginary spectacles up the bridge of my nose slightly - from memory, the Carrion were an invention of a White Dwarf reader who entered a competition to design a new GW creature. The original idea for the Carrion was that their stat line started off very weak, but increased as they inflicted casualties on an enemy because they absorbed their souls and trapped them in the undead form of the beast, thus the little rider is presumably a shadowy tortured soul forever bound to the Carrion spirit. I believe GW were forced to simplify this idea for army books so gamers didn't have to constantly adjust the stats throughout the battle. Probably a more practical approach than the original, great idea though it was.
'Sir John ejaculated explosively, sitting up in his chair.' ... 'The Black Gang'.

Paul Cubbin Miniature Painter

Online majorsmith

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3763
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2021, 09:28:59 PM »
Lovely collection, love your background too

Offline Pil

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2006
  • One shot at glory
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2021, 09:42:54 PM »
Thanks all for the kind words :)

Ah now, here I shall adopt my nasal whine voice and push my imaginary spectacles up the bridge of my nose slightly - from memory, the Carrion were an invention of a White Dwarf reader who entered a competition to design a new GW creature. The original idea for the Carrion was that their stat line started off very weak, but increased as they inflicted casualties on an enemy because they absorbed their souls and trapped them in the undead form of the beast, thus the little rider is presumably a shadowy tortured soul forever bound to the Carrion spirit. I believe GW were forced to simplify this idea for army books so gamers didn't have to constantly adjust the stats throughout the battle. Probably a more practical approach than the original, great idea though it was.

Cool, it's nice to hear there's some more background to them than 'just' a LOTR-transfer. The changing stats were adopted in a simple fashion: every round after the first they got an extra attack on their profile.

Offline Blackwolf

  • Potato Cup 3 winner
  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Galactic Brain
  • *
  • Posts: 6225
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2021, 11:06:04 PM »
Wonderful,love it mate :-*
May the Wolf  Walk With You
http://greywolf1066.blogspot.com.au/

Painting Clubs Joined: APC,MPC, PPC,PAPC,LPC.

Offline Mr. White

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1404
    • Wyrd Stones and Tackle Zones
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #6 on: May 15, 2021, 11:45:43 PM »
Top notch models, painting, backdrops, photos, the whole nine. These sort of posts are why I prefer LAF as my hobby hangout.

Cheers!

Offline Little Odo

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1810
    • Little Odo's Grand Days Out
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2021, 07:31:21 PM »
The scenery box is amazing - I especially like the mirror effect as it really does add depth to the mines.
Little Odo's Grand Days Out
http://littleodo.blogspot.co.uk/

Offline Reed

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 691
  • Once bought, must be painted.
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2021, 07:40:09 PM »
You’ve done justice to those undead samurai, absolutely.

Offline Bloggard

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3458
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #9 on: May 17, 2021, 08:00:13 AM »
fantastic. Love the diorama.

Offline Sir_Theo

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1266
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #10 on: May 17, 2021, 08:43:43 AM »
The mirror trick in the mine is incredible!

Love those old Undead too.

Offline Duncan McDane

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1191
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #11 on: May 17, 2021, 09:02:34 AM »
Gorgeous stuff Pil ( as usual ). Really like your photo-setup. :)
Leadhead

Offline BZ

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 929
  • https://oathgrave.blogspot.com/
    • Oathgrave
Re: Classic undead carrion and samurai! [PICS]
« Reply #12 on: May 17, 2021, 12:32:51 PM »
Great collection and great photos!

 

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