Chaos Spawns: I

TLDR: I spent two years looking for the perfect Chaos Spawn model, and all I've got to show for it is the perfect Chaos Spawns.

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The core of my Space Bastards force is a Chaos Spawn factory - a five marine, three wizard thrall unit of Chosen in a Land Raider charging out on turn two or three and casting Gift of Chaos eight times in a single shooting phase before they charge. It's an old tactic, and rarely does it work as planned, but when it does, it is a lot of fun. The idea is to try and end the game with more models than one starts with by turning opposition models into Chaos Spawns.

So, if it does go to plan, I'm going to need a lot of Spawns. I wanted to keep away from the usual "wiggly, deformed mound of chaos flesh" type of Spawn, and do something more in keeping with ny backstory fluff for The Space Bastards - an obliterator cult unknowingly worshiping a dæmon in the form of a living Greek statue, and attempting to emulate his form with their goopy metamorphic obliterator sludge bodies. 

Another strand of my lore for the Space Bastards is the idea of placing the minds/souls/"divine lights" of members of their order into artificial bodies. With this idea, I'm using the old Space Crusade Chaos Android models for my units of Terrors and Flamer Dæmons, using the same lore of "spirits in robotic bodies". Given the way that Dæmons are summoned onto the battlefield, melding that with my fluff for the Chapter, I like the idea that there is something about the moral soul that allows the cultists to latch on to it with a with their unformed metamorphic goo, and build a body there, around it - with or without the soul's consent. 

So, I've been looking around for about a year for something that fits the bill, model wise, of all that for my Spawns. Something in the same family as the old Space Crusade Chaos Androids - so, something skeletal, and and preferably a bit goofy - but also in keeping with the general chunky look of 2nd/3rd edition 40k. Oh, and, of course, it has to be something that'll work in the rather silly "bigger than 15mm but not as big as 28mm" scale that I'm working to. And, I'll need 10-15 of them, without any duplicate poses, because I'm not about that. Not a tall order at all, and it only took about two years to find something that I was happy with — and that was BigMrTong's digital rendition of Hector from the movie Saturn 3¹. 

Frankly, I think the model is just perfect for what I'm going for. It has the skeletal elements, while still being plenty distinct from the Chaos Androids, with it's goofy robo-arms and cantilever eye stalk. They're armed correctly for the role with just big robot hands, and, like just about everything MrBigTong puts out, they fit right in with the 2nd/3rd edition 40k  style. They're from a movie, but the movie is suitably obscure that I'm happy that they can 'be' Chaos Spawns without anyone being distracted as to their identity by their original movie character. And, for bonus points, I love the weird tubes. If you've seen the movie, you'll remember the many tubes of weird fluid all around the robot's body. I like the idea of painting them up in bloody or fleshy colours with the idea that the tubes are the remnants of the Spawnhoast's body, twisted, contorted and reshaped into a spiritual scaffold for the a new body of solidifying metamorphic flesh to take form around it. Oh, and there are plenty of poses available. Should be able to get 12 poses without any looking too similar. Size wise, they look right to my eye printed at their native scaling, which puts them about 38mm tall from the bottom of the foot to the top of the tallest one's eyestalk hinge.

I'm really quite excited to physically get these models in hand and put some paint on them. I'm not sure when that'll be, but I'm hoping my long suffering friend with a 3D printer will be able to fit something in before the year is out.

▲ ▼ Both images taken from BigMrTong's Facebook page.

Footnotes

¹: If you've not seen Saturn 3, it is a movie that is really quite bad, but in such a unique sort of way. It's well worth a watch. The set and robot design are really fantastic - the writing a acting, less so. I'd highly recommend the website: Something is wrong on Saturn 3 — a "Comprehensive Look At What Went Wrong With Saturn 3" — for more about why the movie is the way it is.

Inquisitorial Memo Summery Notes: The Space Bastards

 Adeptus Astartes chapter, unrecorded founding, suspected Iron Hands successor, Monastery Fortress on Iraklion II, Iraklion system. No contact with Chapter or Iraklion system since ~400.M37, extensive conspiracy, Imperial records of chapter and system altered over extended period, ends undetermined, assumed: to remove system from Imperial sphere. Manipulation’s magnitude and extent indicate use of Xenos or infernal devices in orchestration, possible rogue inquisitorial involvement. Iraklion system, (pop. 2.3x109, 313.M37 census), formerly Chalcopyrite mine/refine operation, Inner system worlds Cupric in structure, magnetohazard but habitable, no strategic value. Record manipulation discovered during Administratum deep audit of bulk ore transport registrations. Expeditionary fleet dispatched to Iraklion system 729.M41, arriving 742.M41, system found uninhabited, found orderly multi-generational vacation of all worlds, planet Iraklion II missing, orbital perturbations to remaining worlds indicate left orbit of Iraklion Solar mid-M39, leaving system at sub-light and leaving realspace at stellar boundary, means unknown, current whereabouts of Iraklion II unknown. Possible contacts with The Space Bastards post-M37, sources unreliable, further investigation active, result pending, Chapter assumed renegade, likely heretic, excommunicated 744.M41, chapter and Iraklion system stricken from Imperial record for discretion. Connection to, possible nexus of, Obliterator cult "The Brazen Path". Xeno-Necron element? Further investigations active, result pending. Inquisition and ordo xenos continuing to monitor and collate.

— Inquisitorial Memo Summery Notes: The Space Bastards

Tactical Squad I

I painted this guy almost a year ago now to test out my colour scheme. I was very happy with how he came out, but promptly lost all steam for this project due to real life things getting in the way. I think I can remember how I painted him, but will do a second test figure first to make sure I've got it down.

The model is a "Void Trooper" by Red Nebular, printed at 65% of it's native scale, so is about 24mm tall from, the bottom of the foot to the top of the head.

Printing was by my friend "L." Thanks, as ever, "L."!

"The one they call Τάλως, or Tallus" I

"The first amongst them is the one they call Τάλως, or Tallus. He lies at the centre of their cult. I do not know who he was before his fall, nor if he were any from among their order. He may have been of the Chapter, or an outsider. Or, he may himself be a Dæmon."

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I have been slowly working away on this project in the background, and following the whole Imgur thing I've decided to start a blog and cross post from there. This is the first post. I really didn't mean to make a blog. I went to make a post on the Lead Adventure Forum, found out about Imgur not working, and ended up here.

I've not got much to show in terms of physical models, but I've been doing an awful lot of fiddling with digital ones, and thought I'd share.

This is to be the Greater Dæmon for my force. The general idea for the Space Bastards as a whole is that they are a obliterator cult who've worked out how to transmute themselves into a brassy "grey goo".

This is their charismatic cult leader. I spent a long time thinking about this model - I wanted something that was both handsome while still being thoroughly dæmonic. I think the classical Greek "aesthetic" juxtaposed with the stoma and wibbly hand do that nicely. I imagine this guy as a shapeshifter, and like the idea that he turns his limbs and body into weapons, à la the bad guy mechs in the old The Vision of Escaflowne anime.

The base model is "The Immaculate Cain" by Bestiarum Miniatures. I've left the wings off, replaced the spear and left hand with the wiggly fingers from HEROICSCALE's "Fiddler Crab", and a model pump head strainer (for hoovering brassy goo off the ground) added to the end of the stoma hose. Thanks to "C." for modelling the strainer for me.

Screenshots rather than renders because I have no idea what I'm doing.

I think I'm set on using the model as is, but wanted to get some feedback from people before I committed to having him printed. I've had about a 50/50 response from people so far. Half think it is "deeply unsettling" (the desired effect), the other half that it is "very silly" (what we're looking to avoid). Would love for others to weigh in on the debate.

Size Comparison: (Left to right)
Imperial Guardsman (18mm), Space Marine (24mm), Tallus (80mm)