WIP Vermin Lord (4)

Mark's work on the Verminlord continues. Mark explains:

'The verminlord is starting to get close to being finished. The major sections are now done, With just some final texturing to do on the head, a little more fur on the neck and a couple more spikes to add onto the glaive's counterweight.

He's also missing a finger and there are a few sigil shaped scars to put on his body, and then it's onto the base. Because of his impressive size, I've included a close up of the head so the details can be seen.'

As ever you can click on the images for a larger view.

WIP Vermin Lord (3)

Mark's made more progress on this beast:

'The head has undergone some big changes from last time. The horns have been improved (they're now about 1.5 inches long!) and a second set will be made and fitted just in front of the point where the lower jaw attaches. The jaw itself has been bulked out and textured, needing only a little more chin fur and the odd patch here and there to be finished.The fur on the back will be run up onto the head, which will blend the lower jaw and head into the original model much more smoothly.

The weapon is more glaive than spear, the blade will be reshaped after it's bulked to give a warpstone effect, and a spiked counterweight will go on the other end. I'm planning to attach some chain to the weight that loops down and over the hand, clipping onto the wristband.'

As ever, click the image for a larger view.

WIP Vermin Lord (2)

More progress on Mark's custom Vermin Lord.

'The jaws are beginning to take shape now. The lower jaw will be removable to allow easier painting, so I'm taking care to fit it to the head in a way that hides any joins. A lot of the back fur is now sorted out, Which will allow me to work the fur onto the head and finalise all the details around the face. One of the horns still needs a little work, as the ridges aren't finished up, but The shape of the whole assembly can be seen.

He's certainly a dominating model, and the design of his spear (in the hand that's not attached) will have to reflect the hulking brute that he is!'

As ever, you can click either of the images for a larger view.

WIP Vermin Lord

For a while now, Mark's been busy putting together a conversion for the same client that commissioned the Grey Seer Skrittar. The client requested we work around the model shown. I've compiled both of Mark's WIP updates into this single post as I forgot to update this earlier (Bad Maz!).

Mark explains the first update, shown above:

'Based of the JMD miniatures Demon model, the verminlord is a big beast (that's a 50mm base under him), but it's amazing how different the model looks once the tail is swapped for a rats and the fur is added. He's waiting for his right hand to be rebuilt round his glaive and his head to be built at the moment, but the fur is steadily progressing up his back. I see him almost as a grey seer who's overdosed badly on warpstone, bulked up and mutated. The head is therefore going to be a mix of rat and demon, with warpstone veins and areas the muscle and bone show through on it.'

Mark's Second update sees the head starting to take shape:

'The verminlord's head is beginning to take shape. Each tooth has been individually fitted to give him a vicious bite, and the mutations can be seen around his eyes. The warpstone veins are still to be added, along with the fur and other details, as the head gets fleshed out more and more. The lower jaw is currently just a placeholder, but it will be heavily muscled and furred as well as mutated a bit. There's also a large pair of double horns to go onto the head which will allow me to sculpt the neck in.'

As ever you can click either of the images for a larger view.

Grey Seer Skrittar Sculpt Complete

Mark's superb work on this sculpt based on artwork from 'Uniforms and Heraldry of the Skaven' draws to a close.

Mark explains: "With the whole piece finished up, it's really come together and has a lot of atmosphere. It's also a bit of a beast, the base is 60mm to allow it to rank up in units and it fills it nicely. I've stayed as faithful as I can to the artwork, and I'm pleased with how close I've managed to stay. To make it easier to paint, I've kept it in several parts. Two of the bearers have pins that fit into holes on the base to help position the model, and the two headed rat has one too. The seer and staff are separate, and the seer himself drops neatly onto the palanquin. It's been a lot of fun to sculpt, and I have to admit I'm a little jealous at having to let him go! He'll hopefully be just as much fun to paint."

As ever, click on the images below for a larger version.

WIP 'Grey Seer Skrittar' (4)

Mark's superb work on this sculpt based on artwork from 'Uniforms and Heraldry of the Skaven' continues:

"The seer is basically done now, although his front teeth need a trim to give them the proper length and point. The bearers need claws on their feet, and then it's onto the arms and finishing off the heads. I've already started fitting the hands to the palanquin, these will be removed from the bearers so that they can be painted separately.

The trophy rack on the back is under way, it needs a few more sessions to take proper shape but a fair amount of it is simply waiting to be assembled from its various parts. All in all, it's coming together nicely now and hopefully won't take too much longer to tie up all the loose ends."


As usual click on the images below for a larger view:

WIP 'Grey Seer Skrittar' (3)

Another update on the Skrittar build being done by Mark.

Mark explains the progress so far:
"The seer needs his head making, and his pendant, but otherwise is nearing completion. With the mouthpieces on the pananquin back taking shape, the chair itself is also getting close to complete.
The bearers have been partially built, so I thought it was time for a very rough mockup of the final piece. They'll be bulked out in the legs before the weight of the chair is added through the arms. I'll also be making the hands on the palanquin poles separate from the bearers for ease of painting.

And of course, at the bottom, there's the little two headed rat. Once I sculpt the fur around his neck, he'll be all set."

As usual you can click on the images for a larger view. Click on the reference artwork above to go to the Games Workshop website where you can buy the book ('Uniforms and Heraldry of the Skaven') it was taken from.

WIP 'Grey Seer Skrittar' (2)

Mark's work on the 'Skrittar' sculpt continues, and the palanquin has started to take shape. Mark explains:

'The basic torso is now shaped, next will come the arms and then the shoulder robe (almost looks like a poncho really) can go on. So the staff arm and the body will soon be joined together.

The palanquin has really taken shape now. The carry loops for the wooden rods will be fully circular when finished and the very front edge of the palanquin needs finishing with a row of spikes, and the back will be built up around the central spine (literally!). There are also finishing details such as rivet heads to go on now as well.

With the rods in place, the palanquin bearers can now be set into posture. The key is going to be making it look like they're carrying the weight and not just walking under a hovering chair.'

As usual you can click on the images for a larger view. Click on the reference artwork to go to the Games Workshop website where you can buy the book ('Uniforms and Heraldry of the Skaven') it was taken from.

WIP 'Grey Seer Skrittar'

Mark's been beavering away a bit on this commission for a while now. We were presented with a simple request (and the above piece of artwork from Games Workshop's "Uniforms and Heraldry of the Skaven"). A superb illustration, click on the image or the title to go buy the book.

"Make this," asked the client.

Here's the progress so far - Mark explains:

"The legs are started and the basic cloth position is there, but will be adjusted as the palanquin and staff are laid in place and the second cloth layer is placed on top. The torso is just a base frame to fill out the chest and arms from, with the staff holding hand in position.

The palanquin back and sides will be sculpted out as wood and metal with the plasticard serving as a skeleton for it.

The staff needs a hanging cloth and the spikes at the top finishing but is close to sorted."

This job is sculpt / conversion only - the client will be painting it up. Hopefully he'll send us some shots of the finished model.