Hey everyone, just a smallish update for today: Even though the combination of a couple of days off and a massive bitz drop (courtesy of several fellow hobbyists) should have provided the perfect circumstances for a rather productive building and painting spree, the exceptionally warm weather has managed to throw a monkey wrench into the works, so to speak: It’s so warm outside that my modelling putty isn’t holding together at all (or too well, in places), my paint is drying on the brush, and even typing this already makes me break a sweat. Awesome, huh?
Well, fortunately, it’s not all bad: I’ve soldiered on regardless, so you can expect a more substantial look at my current projects in the near future. For now, let me just share two models I have recently painted:
First up, speaking of monkey wrenches reminds me of monkey, and maybe you’ll recall this little guy:
I already told you that PeeDee, named for none other than PDH, would be next on the painting table — and indeed he was! Here’s the finished model for you:
Even though it’s a very small model, I still took my time painting it, and I think it was well worth the effort. Since PeeDee is the favourite pet of Rogue Trader Iskander Gagarin, I felt that bright and vibrant colours were the right choice for his little uniform — Rogue Traders do like to show off, after all ;-)
The thing I am really pleased with is PeeDee’s face, though, complete with a pupil in his right eye. This may have been the first and only well executed pupil I have painted for about a decade, so I am really stupidly happy with it — and good thing I gave PeeDee a bionic left eye, because otherwise I would have had to paint two eyes and make sure the pupils were correctly lined up. And, as we all know, that way madness lies…
All in all, though PeeDee’s only a familiar on par with a servo-skull or psyber-eagle, I couldn’t be any happier with the paintjob — and painting this little guy was a blast, too!
And it goes without saying that, even though PeeDee may be small, he certainly isn’t too small for a few lines of background ;-)
PeeDee the Monkey
Many Rogue Traders like to flaunt their wealth, dressing in the finest clothes and carrying priceless artifacts. Iskander Gagarin is no exception to this rule, always cutting a dashing figure in his sharply cut uniforms and rare furs, armed with weapons that are either highly exotic or priceless family heirlooms. However, one of Gagarin’s favourite trophies is a living being: A small, excessively augmeticised monkey going by the name of PeeDee. This small creature is a highly complex familiar, possessed of an uncanny intelligence and capable of completing complex tasks that would baffle any servitor. Usually dressed in the same vibrant colours as his master, PeeDee isa sign of the Rogue Trader’s wealth and taste, but also a highly useful retainer in his own right. Indeeed, creating a familiar of such complexity is a task for the brightest minds amongs the Genetors and Magi Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus. And, as a matter of fact, it is rumoured that Gagarin won his favourite pet during a protracted game of Regicide against a particularly eccentric member of that secretive order…
So yeah, so much for PeeDee the Monkey! Like I said, I am really happy with the finished model, and I hope that PDH, as his namesake, likes him as well ;-) After all, he was the one to give me the model in the first place. Thanks again, mate!
The other model I would like to show you today is a bit of a departure from my usual projects: Some of you might remember my various forays into the world of Blood Bowl, prompted by my colleague Annie (whose wonderful Lustria Team I also featured on this blog).
Anyway, Annie has been hard at work on a truly stunning new team, full of clever conversions and great models, for a while now. The team will be pirate-themed, and I certainly hope that I’ll be able to share it with you, once it is finished.
Now when Annie’s birthday recently came up, it was absolutely clear to me that I would have to build a model for her team, codenamed the Piratz, so I gathered up all the slightly pirate-y bitz I had and tried to come up with something. Unfortunately, I had already scoured my bitzbox for anything looking like it might fit a pirate team earlier in order to provide her with a small bitz collection. As a consequence, I really had to make ends meet this time around, but in the end I came up with this model, intended to serve as a cheerleader for the Piratz:
Nothing too fancy, as you’ll agree: Some WFB Empire bitz gave me the right base to work from, and adding a Marauder head, a peg leg and some suitable weapons were enough to come up with a fairly convincing pirate. While painting the model, I tried to channel all the fond memories I had of the Pirates of the Carribean films ;-)
Anyway, I only had two evenings to build and paint this model, so I was a bit pressed for time. In the end, though, I managed to finish the model in time. Take a look:
I used a fairly limited palette of colours, making sure the model looked unkempt enough to read as a pirate. Still, going for lighter and more vibrant colours was a nice bit of contrast when compared to my usual, darker painting style.
I wanted the flag carried by the pirate to do double duty as both a variation of the venerable Jolly Roger and also work as a banner supporting the team. So here’s what I came up with:
While the motto on the front of the flag needed to be freehanded, one of my chaos decal sheets luckily provided me with a suitable skull! As you can see, I also built a suitable base for the model, in line with the bases Annie is building for her team. Let’s take a closer look at that part of the model:
What would a true pirate be without a drink, right? ;-)
One thing that is a bit of a recurring visual motif in Annie’s team is that each model features a rat — hence the name Piratz, I suppose. Anyway, it was clear that I would have to do the same, so I used one of the venerable old HeroQuest rats for that role. Take a look at the rat in its hidey hole:
Definitely not award-winning stuff, but Annie was still very happy with her new cheerleader. And I can already imagine this jolly guy waving that flag of his and singing bawdy songs as my own Orkheim Ultraz are pounded into the ground by the Piratz. We shall see…
So yeah, that’s it for today. Let it not be said that the head totally killed my productivity ;-) And like I said, stay tuned for some serious WIP action very soon! :-)
As always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!
Filed under: 40k, Blood Bowl, Conversions, Inquisitor, paintjob, Pointless ramblings Tagged: 40k, blood bowl, conversion, familiar, INQ28, inquisitor, paintjob, peedee the monkey, pirate, piratz
