Tuesday 25 November 2014

Something Small and Unpleasant - Scrat the Mutie

Scrat's origins are unknown; whether he is an albino ratling, a stunted human mutant, or something else entirely, no-one is precisely sure. He is, however agile, stealthy and an ideal asset for conducting covert surveillance and infiltration into the inner sanctums of secretive cults. 
 
 
As the smallest member of Inquisitor Dirske's retinue, I wanted to make sure Scrat didn't get lost visually. In order to achieve this, I painting his cowl in the dull orange I've been using as a spot colour on the rest of the figures to date.
 
I'm pretty happy with his skin - something of an experiment for an unatural pale tone. It used GW's Rakarth Flesh for the first time. A wash with Ogryn flesh (with an added spot of purple) and highlighted with GW's pallid wych flesh.
 

Unblinking yellow eyes!
The figure is simply an old RT gretchin that had been rattling around in my boxes for ages. I decided I wanted a small bizarre creature in Dirske's retinue, and the gretchin looked suitable. I discovered a plastic Mantic ghoul head and simply covered up the cutting damage with a new cowl.

One cut, one glued component and some work with some clay shapers.
 I think Scrat looks pretty much at home with his companions - what do you reckon?

Inquisitor Dirske's retinue. Next time I plan to show off the man himself!

29 comments:

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    1. Glad you like him. Could also work in a genestealer cult perhaps David?

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    2. Well, here's me looking for nice mean looking bald heads for ages, and it turns out I've had a pile of Mantic ghoul ones in the cabinet all along!

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    4. I had my Mantic heads as a freebie from when they launched - anyone else remember you could email them and they'd send you a single sprue as a sample? Been in my bitz box ever since!

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  2. He is excellent ! Damn I have to find myself space gobbos too ! I would probably have adde dhim a line of checkers on the scarf or something but it's probably just Pavlovian response...
    I really like this rag tag team and the dark mood it conveys.
    Great job !

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    1. Thanks JB. I considered patterns for his cowl, but decided against it in the end...mainly because he's a low-life gutter scum, and I see patterned fabrics as too high quality ;)

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    2. Makes sense, oh and forgot to say but that skintone is briliant ! a real fine model that will inspire many of us I'm sure.

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    3. Thanks JB. I can't take too much credit for the skin tone - it seems to be the standard recipe for GW pale skin these days. I was slightly unconventional with my wash mix though...only because I don't have the new ones ;)

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  3. Thats a really great use of parts Jon.

    I might literally steal the entire process dependent on what gretchin I have knocking around. If I do, then take it as a compliment :)

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    1. Steal away Paul - there's loads of gretchin to choose from. I'm already wondering whether I should make a second myself!

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  4. That's brilliant, Jon! From the moment I saw the conversion I knew it was going to be good - you're an absolute inspiration when it comes to hacking models about.

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    1. Kind of you to say Rab. Sometimes I spend a long time planning a conversion, sometimes they just 'happen. This was one of the latter - was easy to make from bits I had hanging around and I'm pretty happy with the results!

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  5. Good stuff – the RT gretchin you used has a great low-tech gun that really evokes Scrat's character well. The colours on his clothing are good; muted but still eye-catching.

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    1. The gretchin was pretty much perfect...apart from his big goblin-y head ;)

      Ragged clothes and bare feet fit nicely with low-tech guns. I guess I need to work out some stats for a small blunderbuss at some point!

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  6. Love it, a really characterful conversion and paintjob. I love this type of simple yet unique conversion, very inspiring, time for a rummage in my bitz box!

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    1. Rummage away and please share the results!

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  7. Nice work! The pale skin is great, and the orange cowl gives the pop of color this needs.

    The hose trailing down his back makes it 40k of course. ;)

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    1. Yes indeed! Without the hose he might be mistaken for a fantasy model (apart from the round base) :D

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  8. Wow, you painted that fast! And what a result! Really charming guy (well, charming...). Once you've shown this, I foresee many of these along the web in the near future ;D

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    1. Haha! Lots of sinister little bald headed creatures creeping around? Sounds great to me!

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  9. very good! that's given me an idea!

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    1. Excellent...make sure you share any output :)

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  10. beautifully ugly!
    a friend was working on something similar, I think based on a plastic gobbo fanatic... I should give him a nudge to finish it if he hasnt seen this awesomness yet?

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    1. Nudge away - the more little creepy wierdos around, the better!

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  11. Nice work on this and the other gangers. I really enjoy your painting style and your sculpting/ converting are quite good.

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    1. Thanks Sean :) I keep thinking about pushing myself further with the sculpting side of things, but I find hard edges and detail work pretty tricky. I've been picking up some tips from a friend who's a sculptor, so I'll keep plugging away.

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