Ordo Xenos - Inquisitor & Her Retinue - A Warhammer 40K Kitbash Project

[King Arthur]

Lovely idea for a conversion (and warband!), and this looks good so far. Inq28 stuff is so much fun these days, isn't it?

One small hopefully constructive point - her neck looks a little long? It might just be the photo, and it is fine in real life. If so, ignore me!

On the neck, I had filed away several mm already, I believe that the narrow neck brace is certainly giving the effect that the neck is longer than 'normal'.

[King Arthur]

OK, here's the 'plan' for the second model!





The man in the right picture standing behind the Sister of Silence - I really liked the pose with his Shotgun held aloft and hand resting on a sword, coupled with his glowing bionic eye, so that's the inspitation for the next model.

I liked the idea of including an 'Iterator' in the group to act as a source of knowledge and inspiration for the horrors that await in the depths of space....

https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Iterator

I chose to use Janus Draik from Blackstone Fortress as a base as the figure had the breastplate, fur trimmed jacket and bionic eye already. Most of the work will come from positioning the arms and sword, whilst doing some greenstuff work on the fur as I'm not using the bulky back piece from the original model.

As always, I'm sure once I dry fit I'll notice parts that aren't quite right or suddenly remember a different part from a kit that suits better.....

Stay tuned....

[King Arthur]

Hello once again, here's an update to the imperial Iterator:













As usual, the load out changed from the initial selection as after dry fitting the amended Lasgun, it didn't look right and I remembered that my neophyte kit had shotguns! I switched out the right arm for a neophyte one, I clipped off the shoulder and it fit perfectly under the fur without further adjustment and gave me the at ease pose like the artwork. The left arm, I clipped off the mace and the shoulder, for the final build this will be glued in place and I will fill in the gaps with an upper arm made from Greenstuff. The swords I'd originally chosen didnt actually look good so I swapped them out for one from the Ven Denst Witch Hunters kit, I will drill through the clenched fist too so the model is clutching the handle. For the sword to sit flush against the hip I had to remove the small grenade. I'll also sculpt in a layer of greenstuff fur on the back of the cloak.

[Genghis]

Another lovely conversion, capturing the feel of the artwork nicely.  Thank-you for sharing.

[King Arthur]

Here's the completed version!











Initially I had thought to alter the face by sculpting on some longer hair and a beard to reflect the younger man in the artwork, but once I'd started this process it just didn't look good at all, so now I'm liking the original face to represent a more seasonsed Iterator accompanying the task force. I drilled through the left hand, carefully removed the sword handle, then slide it into the hand and glued it to the hilt so now the figure is gripping the sword. I attached the sword (which is from the AoS Ven Denst Witch Hunters) to the belt using two thin strips of plasticard. As mentioned previously, the Shotgun arm fit prefectly under the fur once the shoulder pad was clipped off. the left arm needed the most work, I removed the shoulder pad too then glued the half arm to the rib area and sculpted in the upper arm using greenstff. The final addition was to add a thinner layer of fur to the back of the model using greenstuff and a metal sculpting tool to lightly poke/drag the putty into a fur texture. I'm happy with the result as it captures the essence of the artwork with a Shotgun held at ease, hand resting on sword, imperial breastplate and bionic eye!

Next up will be the retinue's Death Watch Marine......

[King Arthur]

Here's the next update, the completed Deathwatch Marine!

As usual, I had a vision in mind, so set about laying down all the pieces that 'could' be used:



I started with the head and shoulder pad from the Deathwatch upgrade sprue, then I selected a body from the Phobos Marines kit, as the previous models had a non combat pose, I wanted to continue the theme, perhaps the Inquisitor and the retinue are in a pre mission brieifing; so with this in mind, I selected the Phobos suit that was resting the leg on a rock, I wanted the leg slightly more elevated so I used the stone debris from the base of the Starstriders Death Cult Assassin. I then used some White Tac to check the pose:





Once I was happy with the general look, I then set about making the joins permanent and continued to equip the marine. I used the right pointing arm to add to the feel that the group is at ease and perhaps the marine is gesturing to a location etc mid conversation. I added a Bolt Pistol to the hip plus several grenades/ammo pouches around the belt. I slung the Bolter over the Back pack. I added a Laser Sight add-on to the back pack as I see this as a targeting motion sensor that links to the bolter itself, aiding with hitting faster moving targets. The left hand and weapon are resin pieces from a great company based in Germany called Conversion World. I really like the concept they have, as the hands are delivered open, you can then use them to grip single or double handed depending on the weapon, in my case it's a single wield, I glued the handle to the palm of the hand and then using a hairdryer on hot you warm up the resin hand and can then bend the fingers around the sword handle and then it sets solid once cooled down, really is a fabulous mechanism!









So there you have it! The Retinues lead Deathwatch Marine! No heavy conversion work or Greenstuff needed, Just one strip of plasticard required to elongate the Bolters strap so it sat over the Backpack better. Mostly taking bits from several Marine kits to get the load out I wanted.

Not sure which chapter he belongs too, I'm leaning towards a custom one as I have a collection of fabulous stamps from 'Czechoslovakia' which date 1890 - 1970 and there's some gorgeous artworks in there, so I'm most likely going to select from there, scan the stamp(s) and shrink it down then use it on the shoulder pad and perhaps across the chest.

Stay tuned for the next member of the Retinue which is going to be an 'Imperial Agent' - a permanent member of the Inquisitors staff.

[King Arthur]

Hello again Adventurers!

As mentioned in the last post, here's the potential load out for an 'Imperial Agent'



The body is that of Doralia Ven Denst - a Witch Hunter from the AoS ranges. I plan to have this agent using a rifle which is taken from the Skitari along with the back attachments. The head is a resin Escher ganger from Forge World, I liked the goggles she has along with the half shaven head and scar under the eye, it looks very 'experienced'. I also took a Skitari helmet and will dill out the space where the head would go and then I'll attach it to the belt somewhere, this with all the extra ammo pouches and grenades will give the Agent a very combat ready vibe.

Sty tuned for the build coming soon.

[King Arthur]

Happy New Year fellow hobbyists!!

I'd like to present you the completed 'Imperial Agent' - I haven't settled upon a name as of yet, so if you wanted to pitch some suggestions, please do so!











I had originally tried to combine her orignal weapon with a Skitarii rifle but it didn't look good, so I opted to fit a full Skitarii rifle to her, I first removed her hands, then positioned the Skitarii's hand as best as possible before filling in the gaps and smoothen the joins with Green Stuff. As the rifle isn't really suitable for closer encounters, I added a Laser Sight taken from one of the various Phobos Marines kits so she could offer ranged support. For any closer combat engagements, she has a side arm and a sword. I really liked the helmets from the Skitarii so I clipped off the ball socket joint and then drilled several holes with my hand drill to form a larger hole, I then smoothened out the edges with my scalpel to have a head opening. I added several ammo pouches and grenades to emphasise that the Retinue is about to embark on a military mission. The gaps where the cloak joins will be filled with liquid putty ahead of painting.

Next up will be another 'Imperial Agent' heavily inspired by the Eisenhorn books, one 'Medea Betancore'.

[zrunelord]

Nice work & thanks for sharing.
The beauty & satisfaction of converting plastic minis cannot be denied.
I would suggest looking also at other manufacturers not only GW as there are some excellent kits around.

Keep it up
Z

[King Arthur]

Nice work & thanks for sharing.
The beauty & satisfaction of converting plastic minis cannot be denied.
I would suggest looking also at other manufacturers not only GW as there are some excellent kits around.

Keep it up
Z

In a not to distant project I will use other manufacturers more prominently, right now though, I have lots of GW sprues and bitz which I'm looking to make a dent in with this current project :-)

[King Arthur]

Hello once again fellow hobbyists!

Up next is another 'Imperial Agent' heavily inspired by 'Medea Betancore' from the Eisenhorn books. In book one 'Xenos', one of Eisenhorns most trusted companions was 'Betancore' the dual Needle Pistol weielding pilot of the Guncutter transport ship, in book two 'Maleus' Betancore's daughter Medea takes over that position, based upon the descriptions of dual Needle Pistols, I settled upon the following Kit Bash:















The base for the model cam from the Necromunda Forge World model - Scrutinator-Primus Servalen as the light armour and jacket fitted the description. The head came from the Forge World House Escher Heads pack, whilst the Needle Pistols came from an Escher Gang box. The Axe and ammo pouch on her belt are from the Imperial Navy sprue and the additional grenades and pouches come from various Imperial Guard sprues.

Up next will a more straightforward build using a Kasrkin model with some equipment additions to represent one the retinues 'Tempestus Scions'.

[King Arthur]

Hello once again!

Back with a bigger update today, presenting you 3 more Retinue members! First up is "The Priest"









I liked the idea of bringing along a man of faith, reading outloud the ways of the God Emperor to inspire faith in all those around him, whilst delivering the Emperors wriath and judgement at the end of his Stub Gun! The base for the model is a Necromunda Hive Scum, I really liked the padded armour and slighlty stooped pose as this fitted with my vision of him reading from his book. The book is taken from the Kill Team Krieg Troopers, his arms are also Kill Team, from the Navy Breachers set. The Stub Gun is from an Enforcer kit and the head is that of a Skitarii. I also added various pouches, grenades and a melee weapon, the Proest does more than just 'Preach'.

Next up is the retinues Medical Officer who has to be labelled as 'Doc' right?!









I find that on occassion, a simple change is most impactful. The model is a Kasrkin from Kill Team Shadowvault, he's a Medical Officier, I took a cigar holding hand from a 'Elucidian Starstrider' model and done a simple hand swap. The idea of the Medic puffing away on Cigar, knowing that smoking is the least of worries in the 41st Millenium whilst on an Inquisitorial mission  To round him off for campaign, I added an Auto Pistol side ar, from the Navy Breacher kit and a couple of extra ammo pouches.

Lst up today is an Imperial Agent - having looked at what I'd made prior, the team was in need of some some muscle/heavy fire power:









The base used is from the Necromunda Enforceres kit. The Auto Cannon is from the Hersey MK VI Heavy Weapon Upgrades box, to get the right arm pose, I used the compatible MK VI Marine arms. As the torso of the Enforcer model is slightly wider than the Marine one, I had to use a small amount of Greenstuff to plug a gap. I also had to trim off a portion of the arms original shoulder join, as it was too big to fit under the shoulder pads of the Enforcer - to cover up the trimming, I added two small tubes from the Backback to the arm, to act as a form of Stimulus being injected to assist with wielding such a heavy weapon. The head is from a Primus Marine kit and I finished off the model by adding a MK VI side arm pistol along with some pouches and grenades.

Next up will be member number 9 - a Sister of Silence.

[Scarper]

Those are some seamless kitbashes. The finished products look, in the nicest way, like you haven't done anything to them at all - as though they came out the box as intended. I particularly like that you've managed to make an eclectic set of models look coherent, as though they're part of the same team with the same function. Nice work. Can't wait to see things painted!

[batu]

 I am very impressed with your kitbash-skills. Very cool stuff. Can't wait to see the last two.

[Major_Gilbear]

I'm really liking these last few models in particular - from the Priest down. Small changes and subtle reposing has an outsized impact on adding character and individual personality to these figures.