The Red Company :: Inspiration for a New Project :: A Very Long Post

I have found a definite shift in my hobby tastes over the past few years. While I still find games like Privateer Press' Warmachine and Hordes interesting, and enjoy from afar the sleek science fiction style of Corvus Belli's Infinity, 40k has slowly but surely beat out Warhammer Fantasy as my favorite miniatures universe. When introduced to the hobby, I found the art of John Blanche terrible, scribbled and uncertain, but now hind myself drooling over whatever work I can find, enthralled by the crispness of line and obvious confidence he seems to pour into his work. I still, and I suspect always will, love the work of Kopinski, Dainton, and Boyd, and find it of the utmost importance (in the 40k hobby) that the spirit of their work be rendered in miniature form.

It seems like an exaggeration, but in all honesty, hundreds of projects have been started and stalled out over the past few years, constantly being tweaked or dropped, picked back up or merged into new ideas. Ten years ago, I would have been comfortable, if unenthusiastic, about starting a Blood Angels army, with the most recent codex, I would have been pleased with the miniatures but scoffed at the new characters and mood of the models, and somehow, right now, I sketch out countless ideas for my newest project, A Heresy-Era Blood Angels army.

Since it first came into my awareness, I have loved the Horus Heresy. First, the look of the Maximus armor caught my attention, with Forge World's Red Scorpions and the release of the Black Templars Upgrade kit. Later, I would discover the art books, not yet packaged in the Collected Visions, which has since been re-released to contain the work of Neil Roberts. Finally, the work of such truescale pioneers as Synapse, Apologist, and Doghouse would cement an aesthetic in my mind from which I could not break away. Migsula and the Shaddes of Greye would eventually convince me to try my hand at the truescale process, and this will be the latest in a series of starts into the Heresy, inspired by some of the greatest hobbyists on the web.

To collect inspiration and to perhaps introduce other hobbyists to their work, 

I refer to the following:

Apologist has a number of threads on various forums, but a solid point of departure is his more recent blog, Death of a Rubricist, where you can find his latest work and drool over his second major foray into the Ultramarines Legion.

Legion of Plastic is a blog run by Migsula, creator of some amazing truescale Alpha Legionnaires and one of the pioneers of =I=Munda/Inq28.

I discovered Spiky Rat Pack more recently, but with a wide variety of work by two unique hobbyists, this blog is a real pleasure to peruse. With work underway on a second Red Corsair, I find myself checking this blog more than ever.

I have to throw in some project logs as well, and with a consistently clean style and an eye for composition, STC_LogisEngine has produced some brilliant pre- and pos-heresy Alpha Legion here.

Another great thread follows the work of one Cerebralerebus and his Adeptus Mechanicus. This hobbyist continues to impress with a creative and unique use of parts and a striking but familiar color scheme.

Though he seems to have stopped posting some time ago, Space Wolves players may find the following blog especially interesting. Drowned in Plastic is a good resource for those interested in making their own pre-heresy armor and a pleasantly mellow showcase of high-quality models.

These last three threads are all from the Warseer Forums. Leoparden's Imperial Addiction displays a couple of solid armies and the start of a couple others. With space marines from before and after the Heresy, Leoparden's work gets better and better as the thread goes on.

Trying out multiple styles, Ritterkreuz1 explores the Sons of Horus before moving on to the Word Bearers at Calth.

Finally, drawing parts from multiple Forge World lines, The Fall of Seraph showcases JackDaw's latest project, a memorial for fallen Astartes of the Blood Angels Legion.

=I=Munda :: The Knight Errant

The Crusader, The Fanatic, The Brand-Bearer.

Another model, and thus another character, has begun to come together. While the Arbites Officer can sort of come and go, passing as a basic law-enforcement agent for different circumstances, the knight errant will be more in line with a named character, a fanatic of Ecclesiarchical righteousness or a hound at the heels of the corrupt. I liked the idea of a spear, but am leaning towards a brand with some sort of furnace-sheath.

For those who have seen the blog over the past week, you'll notice that I removed the last two posts. There is both good and bad to the last two waves of Space Wolves models, and while they may not be my cup of tea, I want this blog to be about the construction and inspiration behind the hobby, not opinion of business practices or miniatures aesthetics.

If folks have any thoughts, let me know.

Thanks for looking,

B. Wright

=I= Munda :: Arbites Officer

I've decided to stick with the 40k universe for the moment, but still have ideas for alternate sci-fi universes kicking around in my head. For now, I've begun work on a trio of Adeptus Arbites officers, though my focus has been on this particular fellow. Once I knew what parts I'd be using and had begun building, I made an image to help finalize the design and to get me thinking about my corner of the Imperium and how the many orders and offices of mankind interact.

As I continue work on the officer, I am also making a run down hover-car, to be used as scatter terrain and to finally get started on creating a stage for the models I work on. If anyone cares to, let me know what you think. I should have more to show in the next few days.

Thanks for looking.