Fenton's Fantasy Project (Pic heavy) New conversions 02.01.2023!

[FreakyFenton]

Hello LAF,

I present to you a painted example of the excellent Oathmark Goblin Captain promotional figure. I picked up two during the orc preorder at miniaturicum and was sent down a spiral afterwards.

I hope to populate this thread with pictures of my conversions. These focus on creatures and groups from Tolkien's works. My caveat however is that they're not always book accurate, and I endeavour to somewhat convert and get a few good looking miniatures out of this.

To this end I bought a few kits, Fireforge's excellent Berber infantry and Medieval Russians to convert some Easterlings and Haradrim or men from Rhun and some Oathmark boxes that I'll couple with bits from Frostgrave and Ghost Archipelago.

My main inspiration however are some scenes from Mike Mignola's and Ben Stenbeck's works and I'll maybe show some reference image to explain why!

Either way, here's "Captain Gnorf" bespoke Goblin Captain from above.

(And yes, I've seen the spot of brown on the fur of his.  )

EDIT: Changed the title from "Captain Gnorf's Adventures in a yet to be named setting" to "Fenton's Fantasy Project".

[Pattus Magnus]

This sounds like a fun project! I like how you have painted the first captain, he looks suitably menacing.

[FreakyFenton]

Thank you, Pattus Magnus!

[Grumpy Gnome]

Looking good mate!

[FreakyFenton]

Thank you, Grumpy Gnome!

[FreakyFenton]

So after a bit of uhm'ing and ah'ing if I should post in progress shots.

The first two pictures show my attempt at an Easterling. Going away from the GW approach to a a more common one that is also prevalent in fan art that combines russian bogatyr style armour with some fantastic elements.

The next are a few thugs/ evil humans / cultists or what have you made from Frostgrave Cultist heads on Oathmark golbin bodies.

Followed by my take on Cauldronborn/ Skeletons using some vampire counts bits but mainly skeletons from the Oathmark range. I do plan to kitbash other sets with skeleton bits from the Oathmark sets as well, just to see what I can come up with and create.

Then a selection of main antagonists, namely a Horned King lookalike by Reaper. Gullveig the hag from Crooked dice as a henchwoman of his and a spectre or wraith from Rangers of Shadow Deep.

This is then followed by a few first attempts at kitbashing using Oathmark Orcs and other sets along with a figure from Lucid Eye as a suitably imposing Orc Chieftain along with a few other figures and a reaper troll.

In the meantime all of these have been cleaned off of some mould lines that became more apparent after priming, and the orcs might receive a khaki skin, as the first tone I'Ve used did come out a bit too limey or lime-like for my taste. I did think of using the colours the Ogres in "Adventures of the Gummi bears" by Disney have, as they work fine and add a bit of nostalgia to the project.

If I don't post before Christmas, happy holidays everyone!

EDIT: Most of the figures lack shields, they are not intended to, I just paint them seperately on most miniatures for ease of painting.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Looking good! 👍

[FreakyFenton]

Thank you, GG!

[Pattus Magnus]

I like your selection of figures and the kit bashing in the orcs, it all works together quite well!

[FreakyFenton]

Thank you, Pattus Magnus!

Yes, I think the sets by Oathmark, Frostgrave, Ghost Archipelago and the metal figures from Rangers of Shadow Deep all work together quite well. Add to that the Warlod Games (former: Wargames Factory?) Orcs and there's loads of possibilities to get miniatures that look unique or at least discernibly different from the next grunt in the building queue.

I suppose combining the Oathmark Orcs with Stargrave bits would be an interesting venture to get alternative Space Orcs.

I'll post some pictures of one of the human faction I have planned tomorrow!   

[FreakyFenton]

Also, here are some pictures from the comics I have cited in the opening post that serve as a explanation for you guys to understand what I am referring to, and for me to use as some guidance, should I not find my reference material in time. 

Either way, these works are an inspiration and serve as vague guides or have captured a certain look of a place or creature that I mean to emulate. This post however will mostly show creatures, as my terrain is still in the making. I also intend to build a background to use in order to make my photos a bit more atmospheric and immersive.

The small snippets I have shown are from these comics:

Hellboy und die B.U.A.P. 1953, here the story Der Hexenbaum, the english one being The Witch Tree. By Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck.

Koshchei the Deathless, by Mike Mignola, Ben Stenbeck and Dave Stewart.

Frankenstein Underground,  by Mike Mignola, Ben Stenbeck and Dave Stewart.

And

Omnibus Volume 3: Hellboy: The Wild Hunt by Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo.

I realize that I like Ben Stenbeck's art, as it captures a gritty atmosphere. His work on Baltimore is also recommended, however that might be a topic for another thread I have yet to start, with a Monster Hunter fighting a whole slew of supernatural creatures. And Duncan Fegredo's art, who manages great scenes, often epic in scale with amazing battles.

Edit: I realize I haven't mentioned what I like about this art in particular. To be honest, a lot of the equipment and looks the creatures take does a lot for storytelling. For instance the Roman Skeletons in the Witch Tree, still retain parts of their armour.
This tells us their former origin and their motivation for their actions.

Whereas the Goons/Morlocks/Underground People in Frankenstein Underground show pale skin, due to their subterranean nature with copper armour that has been weathered due to the humidity and the like.

 Similiarly the Noble Dead of Britain and the Restless Dead Henchmen of Baba Yaga aren't simply skeletons, but all individual warriors that may have been raised from the dead, but rather than a naked gaggle of skeletons all retain individuality and cohesion through their equipment.

They all also either look strange or in some form supernatural, but share elements with humans in some way or form. This adds to the uncanny nature of some creatures such as the Underground people or the Restless Dead.

[FreakyFenton]

I promised to show off some conversions that are in the pipeline, these are either human mercenaries or monster hunters. However, looking at the better state of their gear, they could also be higher ranking orcs who have spent their loot for better gear.

Along with these I plan to use some models in the Frostgrave line, as well as some of the miniatures from the Baron's War range by Footsore. These will probably also be used as player characters for games until individual ones can be converted.

(Speaking of Baron's War, the conversions could probably also work as impromptu crusaders. And a bit of greenstuff work should make them fit with the aesthetic of the Baron's War figures.)


I reckon this might be my last post for 2022 and I hope to keep this thread going over 2023, but till then I wish everyone happy holidays and a happy new year! 

[Pattus Magnus]

Those conversions look quite good. I think you’re right that some of them could fit right in with the orcs, especially the fellows where the faces are covered. It will depend a bit on the colours you choose for the skin tones, if your orc hides are close to human skin tones the figs should mix easily. I like how the human heads work on the orc bodies, I can see myself doing something similar in the new year to make up a few groups of brigands.

I hope you have a happy and relaxing holiday season!

[DivisMal]

Oh, there’s some pretty cool stuff showing already. Will follow with interest. The inspiration you cited is also intriguing; I don’t know everything, but several of those Dark Horse titles are either in my library or on my iPad!

[FreakyFenton]

Thank you, Pattus Magnus and DivisMal!

I like how the human heads work on the orc bodies, I can see myself doing something similar in the new year to make up a few groups of brigands.

I hope you have a happy and relaxing holiday season!

Indeed, the human heads work on the orc bodies if you snip away the orc neck in order to be able to create an upright figure rather than the protruding neck the orcs have.

Oh, there’s some pretty cool stuff showing already. Will follow with interest. The inspiration you cited is also intriguing; I don’t know everything, but several of those Dark Horse titles are either in my library or on my iPad!

Thank you! And yes, I can recommend the titles. They are rather good if you enjoy the Universe of Hellboy.