More Meandering Mudlarks!

Subspecies and Shrikes

Some crows you know, and one you don't...

We call them 'rooks'. Just big crows really.

What a difference a camera makes!

Just got back from holiday and finally got fed up with struggling to get decent quality photos, so picked up a lightbox, some crows, my copy of On the Origin of Species and a very helpful mate with a grownup camera :)

Two more wolf-mutants: the first of a bumper crop of models :)

Men, elves, crows, elk. Even the ettins of the northern forests. All are fair game once the hunt has begun.

+++Archive Entry: Classified+++

+++Category: Research, Unsanctioned+++

+++Authorisation: Adept, Inquisitorial+++

Despite local folklore, preliminary tests indicate bite of wolf-mutants non-toxic. Hypothesis 2: transfer of mutant genetic material. See below data from experiments thus far with Fenrisian diaspora, control hive-world subjects and the mutant Astartes kindly provided. Results following intravenous injection of mutant Astartes blood.

Subjects 3, 7, 8, 14, 16, 24, 27, 33

Death via fever.

Subjects 1, 4, 9, 10, 11, 17, 21, 28

Death via mutation (unstable).

Subjects 6, 12, 23, 25, 29

Mutation (stable): euthanised.

Subjects 2, 5, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 22, 26, 30, 31, 32

Recovery: retained for further study, followed by euthanisation.

Of note: Surprised at low death and mutation rate in Fenrisian subjects. Further research required.

+++Thought for the Day: Fear the Mutant, For He is the Enemy that Lurks Within+++

+++End Entry+++

I didn't realise they had priests, or shamans, or whatever they are.

That's the thing. People seem to think they're animals. Mind you, most people who think that don't tend to think it for very long...

I solemnly swear I will get a proper lightbox soon! Especially after seeing NafNaf's stunning photos of his stunning Bog-Revenants. 

Lots of faffing around trying to get acceptable photos, but this is the first of a batch coming shortly :)

Morkai's Unwanted

When Morkai's sons are on the prowl,

When moon is bright and wolves do howl,

Within thy walls stay safe and fast,

For teeth and tools of murder pass.

-Verse from the Edda Óvættr (An Ode to Monsters)

Elk-folk Bray Shaman

See that one over there? That's a Bray. Close as they get to cultural leaders these days. Elders who preserve their histories, administer what passes for justice amongst their kind, and lead the bacchanal rites to appease their vengeful gods.

Elk-men bucks and first piece of scenery :)

There it is, the herdstone. Great stone menhirs erected where the veil allegedly wears thin, back in the times when the warherds swept through these worlds. Fell monuments. See how this one weeps blood from its pinnacle.

Expanding the world of the Crows: 40k Beastmen(ish)!

Crow-women, Crow-dogs and another Crow-dude

Strange to think, isn't it? None of those optics are theirs. All scavenged from battlefields. They spend their lives looking through the eyes of dead men. What an odd perspective on the world that must bring.

On 'Aesthetic of the Pathetic'...

The little scavenger padded its feet as it stood, trying to drive out the cold. There was little, really, to mark it as female beneath its layers upon layers of rags. A slightness of build perhaps, but little else. Not like the concubines of the Crow-Chief, or the zealous warrior-women that visited the Wolves on occasion. Just another scavenger among the multitudes. Another faceless, nameless individual to anyone looking on.

Something beastly this-way comes (and also I melted my camera)...

I forget you're an udlænding. That's a Sleipnir. Quite common around these parts.

Have I got Crows for you!

Crows 2 and 3

First Test-Crow

A break from your usual programming: Iron Sleet Invitational

Artwork by Shawn Coss

While the vast majority of my hobby stuff is eldar-centric, I have been tempted away on occasion to make some slightly more human creations. The opportunity to contribute something to the brilliant world building around the Thorn Moons Crusade run over on Iron Sleet is just such an occasion :)

Their (un)Invitational calls for 5 human-scale models representing a 'regiment' raised on either side of the punative/exploratory Crusade launched against the Green Mechanicum of the Thorn Moons.

Green Mechanicum by FPOA

My take on that is based on the idea that Space Marine Chapters are perpetually surrounded by thralls and serfs and other such human hangers-on, some of which affiliated with the Chapter and others simply along for the ride.

Vlka Fenryka and Thralls by Migs

Building around the frankly stunning Vlka Fenryka that Migs has created (a major force in the campaign), my idea was for a ramshackle fleet of 'crows' that forever loiter in the periphery of the Wolves' fleet, scavenging from battlefields in the wake of the Wolves' destruction.

Trying to tie in the norse mythology regarding Odin and his Ravens, the 'crows' are tolerated by the Rout as their scavenger's curiosity and constant cawing chatter between their ships provides valuable information about the surroundings the Wolves find themselves in.

Here's the current WIP of my gribbly little raven-scavengers :)

I've got a couple more ideas I want to try out, but if you've made it this far this is where I could do with some help!

Paint-wise these guys are going to be pretty far out of my comfort zone. Cool colours, blacks, dark greens, dark blues and pallid white skin. If anyone has any helpful tips and tricks for making blacks nice and varied I'm all ears!

Also, as you might have noticed I've made rather more than 5 of these little dudes (they are rather fun to make!). I could also do with a hand picking out your favourite group of 5 (provided I'm not allowed to cheat and have the rest loitering in the background).