Avian Squad
Every so often I see some miniatures and I decide that I have to have them. That happened when I saw these goofy guys a month or so ago.
I really enjoy the daft, man-in-a-suit, puppet-head-held-on-string, cheap TV show look to these models. By and large I want my miniature gaming to tell some sort of story and those stories tend to be based on the enjoyable, pulpy nonsense that I have read and watched on television for the the last thirty-something years. These guys/gals fit that mood.
“C’mon if you think you are hard enough! You dont have the cloaca for it!”
These inexpensive (€13.50 including shipping for the five) two-part figures were bought from CP Models and were nicely cast, particularly important when the figures are heavily textured with fur or “feathers” like these ones. The point where the base of the neck meets the models “ruff” is a bit less robust than I would have liked, but the join was easily made a little more sturdy.
Skeksis
I have had a few false starts with new colour schemes recently, which I found demoralising. As a result I was initially quite conservative when painting these models, aiming for a crow-like appearance, somewhere between a Skeksis from The Dark Crystal and a Tengu Warrior from Power Rangers the Movie.
Tenga Warrior
I was unhappy with how that was turning out as I went however, so I added a few vibrant colours, heading further towards a sort of cartoon vulture look, and ending up with something a bit Thundercats or Masters of the Universe.
Not a vulture.
I decided to paint the avians weapons, belts and pouches to match those on my Tau test piece from last week. The Tau are known for being more inclusive than most of the factions in 40K, so I figured that it would be fun to make these avians fit in with them.
In fact, conceptually these guys could feasibly be an offshoot of Kroot evolution, “Vulture Kindred” according to the old Kroot Mercenary list, so I may paint up my Kroot models in the same scheme. They are descended from Kroothawks after all. I dont really need the justification from the background of course, but its fun if it can be made work.
The Ordo Xenos: same shit, different day.
EDIT: CP Models are now using photos of these models on their site. This gives me a warm fuzzy 🙂
Filed under: Miniatures | Tagged: 2013, 40K, 40K Skirmish, Rogue Trader, Sci-fi, Tau, Tau Auxiliaries |
sho3box 
These little birdiethingis are totally awesome. Nice paintjob on them and the colours fit very well.
I must resist ordering some of them for my collection.
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Why resist obipobobi? They are cheaper than anything that GW manufacture, nicely cast, unique, fun to paint and generally hilarious to look at.
Go for it!
(and thanks for the feedback)
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Simply awesome stuff! I am totally ordering myself a squad of these boyos. Only thing I would change is that I would paint them all to look like Emu….actually I would probably spend a week converting one to look like Emu with green stuff and another week converting Inquisitor Hull or the Ordo Hillarious. But I must pace myself, will have to wait until I do that Patus and Jessus first!
Looks like you did a very nice job with that purple, especially the neck area details. Generally the features on the model stand out very well at distance from the chosen colour scheme.
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Considering our previous discussions regarding 28mm modelling possibilities for Rod Hull and Emu I am not surprised that an Emu scheme appeals to you Otto 🙂
I seriously considered the Emu route for these models, but in the end decided that I would rather go for something original. In particular I wanted to avoid painting the large beaks yellow. These birdmen still have quite bright plumage that is reminiscent of Emu, but look marginally more sinister than Emu due to the dark beaks. Not that Emu was short on creepiness himself.
I am yet to be convinced that time spent on an Astro-Pat and his black-and-white cat project is a good investment, but if it makes you happy then who am I to criticise?
I am pleased that such a potentially gaudy scheme came out well on the avians. The application of some very basic colour theory and just enough restraint makes the avians some of my most enjoyable output to date this year.
Thanks for the feedback.
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