Well, after a loooooooong time, I have finally got around to finishing the Abaddon miniature from the Forgeworld Horus Heresy diorama set that I started over a year ago!
Despite taking an absolute age to complete this (largely due to lengthy periods of hobby inactivity), I had a ton of fun painting this figure and feel that I learned a lot through the process to boot.
All in all, I'm quite pleased with the overall result. The cold blue/black of the armour came out pretty much as intended. I also tried out a new paint range (Scale75 - very nice and with great matt properties) and got a chance to play with my Day Glow pigments from Forged Monkey (also very nice) - more on both in future posts.
I have had the Forgeworld Horus Heresy Abaddon vs Loken diorama kit for a few months now (think I ordered it for release, whenever that was) and have finally gotten around to working on it recently.
Both figures in this kit are very dynamically posed and loaded with fine details, as tends to be the case with Forgeworld figures. Abaddon is the best of the two sculpts however - the pose, arms spread wide in challenge, just seems to have more appealing lines, making him the better stand alone figure of the two.
For this reason he was the obvious place to start. After a couple of evenings cleaning up and filling/correcting/re-sculpting any casting flaws, I had him ready to paint. There were a couple of areas in need of work which I suspect will be the same on most versions of this cast. Namely, the topknot, the arch detail above the head recess and the inside of the rims on the shoulder pads. All had some form of casting defect, typically from mould slip. The top knot was by far the worst, with the small metal band piece holding the hair being so bad I ended up just sculpting my own to replace it.
Like most of my projects, I am painting him in sub-assemblies - the head, arms, sword, body and base. I have started on the body, making reasonable progress so far over a few hours or so of work.
Everything is still fairly rough at the moment as I am still trying to determine where I want the contrast to be, but I like how he's turning out so far.
I'm aiming for a fairly reflective looking black with a hint of turquoise (to tie in a little with the Sons of Horus green - important for when I get round to Loken), with reds in the shading to add some contrast. At the moment the left leg is the furthest along, but I do intend to go back and add more shading and an overall contrast to the whole piece once everything else is nearly done to focus the eye on key areas - mainly around the face.
I am thinking of trying some source lighting on the face similar to the classic piece of Horus Heresy artwork of Horus facing the Emperor. It's not something I have tried before though, so there will be a lot of trial and error - think this is a good plan? Let me know in the comments if you have an opinion.
As anyone who is a regular at Games Workshop events and is a fan of Forgeworld miniatures will know, GW's resin specialists have, for the past few years now, released special "event only" miniatures on an annual basis.
Last year saw the event only Warhammer Forge Chaos Dwarf hero an Warhammer 40k Boarding Space Marine, while 2012 sees the Warhammer Forge Skin Wolf (Chaos) and Warhammer 40k Imperial Enforcer. It is the later of this years models which will be the focus of this review.
While I have yet to attend a GW event this year, I did manage to pick up one of the many event only models available on eBay. While you may find that you have to over-pay to pick one up, I got mine for £18 including postage - not too bad when you consider the model costs £12 new at an event (which would also have associated costs in attending).
First Thoughts
The first thing of note about this years event only models are that they come in a new packaging format for Forgeworld. It seems that the new Finecast style plastic blisters are also being used to package these figures. I'm not sure if this is something that is being rolled out across the Forgeworld range, but it is a bit of a welcome change.
Previously Forgeworld models came packaged in small jiffy bags - great for seeing the parts through because you could carefully manipulate the parts to see them from all sides, but they didn't offer any protection from breakages while transporting/storing. Not great for the often fragile, brittle parts typical of resin kits.
I knew the minute I saw the first pictures released of the Imperial Enforcer model that I would wind up purchasing one and on doing so, I was not disappointed. I have always had a preference for Imperial figures and a great fondness for anything related to Necromunda/Inquisitor - models that have a strong character in their own right without a supporting army. This guy definitely ticks that box.
Contents
So what do you get for your £12 (or £18 in my case)?
The model consists of 3 pieces. The enforcers body, head and a cyber mastiff.
Quality of Sculpts / Detail
As with most of Forgeworld's products, the sculpting quality on both miniatures in this set is top notch, full of crisp, intricate details. The enforcer's body has a number of small imperial icons and some finely detailed chain elements, including a pair of handcuffs.
I can't say I'm a big fan of the way the boots have been designed. The soles/heels look too tacked on to the rest of the boot, almost like an after-thought modification to "space" them up to look more 40k. A minor criticism though.
The head has a sullen eyed veteran appearance - a somewhat common trait of Forgeworld bare human heads. It actually reminds me a lot of Inquisitor Eisenhorn too and would be an ideal choice of head for such a conversion.
Finally, the cyber mastiff is a large, but exquisitely sculpted beast. The anatomy is very realistic looking, even for a cybernetically modified, gene-enhanced dog! The face is a pleasant change from the usual aggressive snarling that is common for most wargames miniature beasts and hounds. There is also some really nice detail for the cybernetic enhancements.
Pose
The posing of the model is more relaxed than the typical 40k miniature posing offered in GW's main ranges, yet still interesting and characterful. He has a sort of "investigative stride" look, with shock maul held low in his right hand and some sort of auspex/communicator device in his right.
The cyber mastiff's pose has a similar feel, as though master and beast are investigating some sort of incident. He also has a nice loping, single minded stride going on.
Casting Quality
This kit instantly ranks amongst the best quality of casting I have seen from Forgeworld. A few small mold lines, bits of flash and sprue vents, but nothing you wouldn't expect on any miniature. The details have all been cast fully and crisply, with no softening of detail that can sometimes be present in resin kits and which used to be a common issue with some Forgeworld kits in the past.
The worst area for mold lines appears to be the tops of the boots on the enforcer's body. This seems to be quite a common location for deep inset mold lines (as opposed to raised mold lines common on plastic kits), but nothing a little putty and sanding can't sort.
One thing I would say is that the miniatures feel very greasy all over, clearly having a goo coating of mold lubrication, meaning they will need a good wash and light scrub in some warm soapy water - something worth doing to all miniatures before applying paint, but particularly important on resin models.
Summary
Overall, this is a great kit. The models are nicely posed, work well together and are finely detailed and cast. As a personal opinion, there aren't enough of these "non-battlefield" miniatures that flesh out the background of the game and are a common focus of Black Library novels, making this a welcome addition to the GW range.
The only real criticism I have is the previously mentioned styling of the boots. A small criticism though of an otherwise brilliant kit.
If you plan on attending a GW event this year and you are a fan of both 40k and Imperial miniatures, then I strongly recommend taking the time to pick this kit up. If you don't intend to visit an event, then you could always do what I did and pick one up on eBay as there appears to always be plenty going.
Forgeworld Event Only Imperial Enforcer
Reviewed by CMDante on
Overall Rating: 4.5/
5
Today in the Forgeworld Christmas newsletter they revealed their teaser jigsaw image, which turned out to be a Fimir from a unit of such models set to feature in the forthcoming Warhammer Forge Monstrous Arcana book. Cool stuff!
For those who don't remember the Fimir, or who are sitting with a blank expression reading this and wondering what the hell they are - the Fimir were a long defunct race from Warhammer, created by Jes Goodwin and Graeme Davis back in the late 80's.
Inspired by the Fomorians of Celtic myth, they are hulking cyclopean humanoids with barbed tales and sharp beak like faces. If I remember right, they died out of inclusion in the Warhammer universe around 4th edition due to a lack of popularity. Ironically, the old figures (one pictured below - it's not mine, if you are the owner let me know and I'll reference as required) prove popular with collectors now and many still hold up well in terms of sculpting quality.
I love what is coming out of Warhammer Forge at the moment and the fact they are bringing back many cult classics (including Chaos Dwarfs) with modern revisions to fit with the current background is pretty cool.
In fact, I have it on trustworthy recommendation that Santa will be bringing me the wonderful Theodore Bruckner model for Christmas - I can't wait!
Have a great Christmas folks and keep your eyes peeled for some posts with new painted stuff in the coming weeks!
Back from a week off after Games Day and have finally got around to taking some decent pictures of my main entry for Golden Demon 2011 which took Bronze in the Warhammer 40k Vehicle Category.
This is the first vehicle (let alone large model) I have painted in around 10+ years so it was a much bigger challenge than I had at first considered - particularly given that I had 2 weeks from clean up and assembly to finished and mounted on it's plinth (using rare earth magnets)!
Next year I hope to do a few more entries well in advance so that I don't feel so rushed and under pressure. Having left it until the last minute, there are a few things I know I could do better/more on which may have helped improve the final placing, but I am definitely still very pleased to have taken Bronze for the second year running (and my second year entering) given the quality of competition.
I tried a lot of new things on this model (a risky strategy on a competition entry when under time pressure) and was pretty pleased with the results. I don't have the time or energy for a full write up on them right now, but expect to see posts on using enamels, AK Interactive Streaking Grime, making icicles and making your own decals in the not too distant future.
Just ordered one of the new Contemptor Patter Dreadnoughts from Forgeworld and I have to say, it looks like one awesome kit.
I haven't really been excited by Space Marines of late. The only SM kit in the last 4-5 years that I've purchased and put together being the FWRaven Guard Captain Korvydae that I bought at Games Day UK last year and finished back in February.
However, this kit I most definitely am excited about. I think it's in part because it looks like a really big marine, part because it looks like a really big robot (I love Transformers btw) and part because it looks like a very flexible, pose-able kit with a great silhouette.
At the moment the weapon options are limited to power fists (which look very nice) and a twin linked lascannon (cool, but I'm less sure about how it fits with the kit as a whole). I've opted for the dual power fists.
Fortunately the weapon options won't be limited to just those mentioned above. Recent pictures from Games Day Chicago show some very nice looking additional weapons, including twin assault cannons, conversion beamer and cyclone missile launcher, and a slight variation on the body.
In general, the quality of releases from Forgeworld lately have been excellent and I'm definitely looking forward to a lot of the upcoming releases. In the meantime, it's back to the work desk for me to get cracking on some Golden Demon entries!
Well it's July...already (!) and I have a few things beginning to mount up on my hobby desk so I figured I'd put together a quick preview of things to come:
1. Forgeworld Empire Manann's Blades
It was my birthday in June (the 10th for those looking to mark it in their calendar!) and one present from my lovely other half was the new FW Empire command group for the Manann's Blades swordsmen.
They really are lovely figures and some of the best cast quality I have seen from Forgeworld - minimal clean up and crisp, clean detail. Excellent!
2. Forgeworld Event Only Chaos Dwarf Hellsmith
A treat to myself for my birthday, I picked this one up from eBay for the cheapest I have seen him go. What I like about this figure is the fact that it maintains the key style elements of the original Chaos Dwarfs, combined with some more modern Chaos style ques.
Unfortunately, as this guy is probably a bit too small and unimposing to make a good Golden Demon Fantasy Single entry, he's probably not too high on the priority list at the moment. That said, I am keen to get paint on him as he looks nice and "easy" to paint.
3. Storm of Magic "Pimp My Wizard" Contest
PDH from DakkaDakka's P&M forum has put together a little friendly invitation only contest ("Pimp My Wizard 40k!") to convert one of the new Storm of Chaos plastic wizards into a 40k character and I was invited to take part.
As I was intending on picking up one of the figures anyway for exactly this purpose, I duly accepted his invite and placed my order for this figure last weekend:
Again, another very nice looking kit with bags of conversion potential!
4. Suffer Not The Heretic Project
Finally, I will be continuing with my Inquisition Warband models I have been working on of late. I finished the sculpting and conversion work on the Inquisitor below the other day and have begun applying basecoats. Hopefully I will get at least the bulk of the paintjob done before the model above arrives!
It's been a little quiet on the blog front over the last 3 weeks or so but I have found snatches of time here and there to progress this project. I'm finally at the end of the sculpting and converting stage (excluding a little bit of gluing) so painting and work on the base is up next.
The arm holding the weapon and the cape were probably two of the things I was kind of dreading having to do, but in the end they were actually a lot of fun to do and turned out quite well.
All in all I am very pleased with how he has turned out and I'm looking forward to slapping some paint on him. I've learned a lot during the converting and sculpting process on this figure, including finding a putty mix that I am really enjoying working with - hopefully this will carry over onto future figures too.
Feel free to let me know what you think, or any questions in the comments below.
Since my original post on this I have spent a fair amount of time doing some research and amassing parts and ideas which have begun to find there way into my initial test model (shaping up to be Tanith scout Bonin) seen below.
As I wanted to keep my guardsmen to a realistic scale and proportions I've used Elysian guardsmen legs (from Forgeworld) as a base and sculpted the torso, neck and arms on top since there is a lack of pieces in the GW and Forgeworld ranges that fit with the look I'm going for for these. I have also removed the kneepads, thigh padding and harness straps from the legs and replaced them with a look more fitting with the Adrian Smith artwork I am using for inspiration.
There are still a lot of details to add, and this is obviously still very WIP, but I figured I would share it since I feel it is a sizeable step forward in the progress. Incase you are wondering about the pose - he's going to be moving silently to the edge of the wall he has his back to, weapon raised in his left arm ready to break cover and bring down the enemies of the Imperium.
More soon! Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments section.
+-+CMDante.com.png)
+-+CMDante.com.png)
+-+CMDante.com.png)
+-+CMDante.jpg)
+-+CMDante.jpg)
+-+CMDante.jpg)
