 |
| Thought Begets Heresy |
Although it has been over 5 months since I created my last Inq28 model (Beltran Destrieux, of Stygies VIII Explorator Fleets), I am always on the lookout for models that might serve as a starting point for creating more characters to stand along side Lucanus Molnár and Anton Soljic. Recently, I found such a model when looking through some of the resin models offered on Studio McVey’s website, in particular this model. The leather jacket and flightsuit of the model reminded me of Medea Betancore, the Glavian pilot who flew Gregor Eisenhorn’s guncutter. I realized she would be the perfect starting point for creating a pilot for the ever practical Anton Soljic of the Ordo Xenos.
 |
| Paige Levkau in all her glory, notice the pistol added to her holster and the bionic eye to her helmet. |
While not wanting to detract from the excellent stock model from Studio McVey, I knew that I needed to do some modifications to the model to make it fit alongside Inquisitor Soljic and into the 40k universe. One of the most critical modifications was altering the model’s laser rifle to make it more at home in the 41st millenium. I opted for converting the weapon into a small pump-action shotgun. Interestingly, I found a suitable replacement for the gun’s barrel from the plastic syringe from the Catachan command squad. With a little trimming and green stuff, I was able to create a hand rest/pumping mechanism for the weapon. I carved out an ejection port at the side and a loading port on the bottom. The last thing that needed to change was the trigger/trigger guard. In addition to being comically oversized, the trigger and trigger guard are positioned improperly on the stock model, such that her finger would struggle to even reach the trigger. To fix this, I simply cut the entire thing off and used green stuff to sculpt something that her finger could reach.
 |
| Overall, I was impressed by the resin cast of the model, and applaud Studio McVey for their quality (green stuff was able to fix the minor mold shifts on the inside of her legs). |
I decided to leave the jetpack largely the way it was, but could not help myself from making a few modifications. The first thing that I did was cut off the side fins, thinking they needlessly added bulk to the model. I added a piece of a Skitarii Plasma Caliver to the jetpack to serve as an additional propulsion force, and used green stuff to sculpt cables and fasten it to the rest of the pack. For good measure, I also added a brass Imperial Eagle.
 |
| I trimmed off the side fins and added a piece off of a Skitarii Plasma Caliver to modify her jetpack. |
Compared to converting the shotgun and jet pack, all of the other conversions were quite subtle. To emphasize her place within the Imperium of Mankind, I replaced her belt buckle with a brass eagle from Forge World. In the same vein, I used green stuff to transform her pendant into a small aquila. To make her helmet fit the 40k aesthetic better, I added a bionic eye that I snipped from a Sicarian Rust Stalker, using green stuff to fill any gaps. I was a little bothered by her empty pistol holster, so I used the pistol grip from a plasma pistol and some green stuff to add a pistol to it.
 |
| Although none of the modifications are dramatic, I think I was able to transition the model into the 41st millennium. |
Although all the changes that I made to the model are subtle, I feel they really make her feel at home in the 41st millennium. Her subdued, functional outfit and equipment also go hand in hand with Soljic’s pragmatic, no-nonsense attitude. We are still working on her background/backstory at the moment, but are thinking she will come from a planet that only permits inhabitants to occupy large sky-cities, and therefore necessitates all of its population to be trained in aeronautics, and is famed for producing some of the Imperial Navy’s best pilots (sort of like Abnett’s Phantine Air Corps). With a little luck I will be able to get some paint on Paige Levkau soon; I will keep you posted with the progress!
- Adam Wier
Nice work. Small changes well done can really elevate a figure, as you have done here. If you wanted to '40k" it a bit more, without adding a tabard or a bunch of purity seals, you could increase the size of her right kneepad and give it that ribbed look (although strictly speaking that would be a "Judge Dread" modification)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words! I am glad you like all the small modifications. That is an interesting idea with the knee pad. Adding a Judge Dredd look might be cool. :)
DeleteThat's absolutely fantastic, well done.
ReplyDeleteRecently stumbled across this offering from Privateer Press, and the figure on my left immediately made me think of Medea. Time for more warbands to get pilots, perhaps!
http://www.spikeybits.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/unnamed-2.jpg
I am glad you like the conversion. The more pilot conversions the better!
DeleteThose Privateer Press models (The Devil's Shadow Mutineers) look really nice. The leftmost one could work well for Medea with a little conversion work. I might have to look into getting them for conversion purposes. Thanks for bringing them to my attention!
That is flippin' awesome, man! Beautiful conversion!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support! I am particularly pleased with her pump-action shotgun. :)
DeleteHmm.
ReplyDeleteDo you notice anything, well, strange, about her "subdued, functional outfit" as compared to that of the gentleman next to her?
Yeah, it is certainly a shame that the sculptor felt the need to have her flight suit unzipped; it is an element that adds nothing to the model other than making it seem needlessly sexualized. When saying subdued, functional outfit, I meant it from the lens of traditional 40k models, which tend to be loaded with skulls, parchments and guns. Other than the somewhat tasteless zipper, it is simply a cloth flightsuit, with a leather “bomber” jacket over top. I would have preferred the flightsuit zipped higher, as not to detract from the character as a whole, but would have needed to do substantial modeling work to correct it. I believe you speak to a broader point of how females tend to be portrayed in an objectifying way the miniature wargame hobby. Unfortunately, I feel this is one of the more tasteful examples in the miniature hobby; something I hope will change in the future.
DeleteThanks for the comment, as I believe it is an issue that needs to be discussed! Any further thoughts would be appreciated.
Well, my first thought is that there is already a wide range of available miniatures that are fully clothed, of various ages, and not shaped as though they're intended to be low-level pornographic: the male models.
DeleteI'm not sure how difficult the material is to work with, though I know you do some alterations and that there is some scraping of seams, so it must be malleable to some extent. That being the case, in order to get better representation, it might be a more successful venture to slightly alter some of the male models to be female. Many of them are covered in armor, so the body wouldn't need to be changed much or perhaps at all. The only alterations that should be necessary are subtle ones to the face, like some slight scraping to round the jawline, and perhaps in some cases a little bit of scraping down of the nose. Of course no models with facial hair or what is obviously male pattern baldness would be effective for this, but with those caveats, it shouldn't be too onerous to change at least some of the basic male models to females. They won't be pretty or shapely or have obviously feminine hair, but that's pretty much the whole point.
As far as fixing the current model shown here to make it less sexist, well, you said yourself that she was devoid of the usual accessories seen in the Warhammer 40k universe. Perhaps in order for her to fit in better, she might want to wear some skulls draped over that ill-fitting top with the broken zipper.
Thanks for all of the suggestions!
DeleteResin is a pretty easy and malleable material to work with so it would be very possible to modify a male model into a female. I am in the process of trying to create some more female models to go along with Inquisitor Soljic. For each of them I am using the armored male bodies of Death Korp Grenadiers (with their trenchcoats and carapace armor you couldn't even tell if you wanted to) and changing their heads.
As for Paige Levkau, I am planning on sculpting a body-glove under her flight-suit similar to what the operatives that Inquisitor Eisenhorn would always wear. That should help make the model a little less sexist and more inline to what you would expect from a field agent of the Inquisition.
Hello, I want just wondering if you would take commission work, in particular a nurgle army? I loved your blightking terminators and I really hope you'll think about it. If you will take commission work please fix mail me at ZombiePie@outlook.com. Thanks in advance Aodhan Newton-Creemers :)
ReplyDeleteVery nice conversions
ReplyDeleteI am glad you like the conversion! I am hoping to paint the model in the coming weeks. :)
Delete