“We could do with more hobby articles,” said the editor. Not one to miss an opportunity, I went and made myself a cup of tea. I also agreed to do a series showcasing my hobby exploits. On reflection I should have drunk the tea first and thought things through properly. As it is you now find me rambling across an opening paragraph in the hope you stick around long enough to look at the pretty pictures.
Why Vanguard?
When it comes to theming an army for Kings of War it’s exhausting to personalize every single model. As much as I want to model my Halfling Hordes in Landsknecht fashion… I have better things to do with my life. Vanguard’s much smaller miniature count means each figure can bring its own personality to the table. Effort put into converting and painting warbands of this scale is extremely rewarding, and it also lets me showcase a few skills.
Ogre the Hills and Far Away
Getting started with Vanguard wasn’t as straightforward as I had anticipated. There exists a wonderful array of options when it comes to your starter box. I was tempted by Forces of Nature, but having just assembled 40 Ice Naiads I was looking for a change. Eventually I settled on the Ogre box in large part due to the excellent Paymaster model. When something stands out and grabs my attention I find it hard to say no. In other news I really need to get rid of my Beanie Baby collection which has been taking up valuable space for decades now.
Decisions, Decisions
Ever sat down with a model and thought “I will assemble this how the sculptor intended.” Nope? Me neither. It took all of five seconds looking at the amazing Paymaster model to decide her parchment was a treasure map. With a piratical theme firmly decided it came to planning the execution. I’d admired the Ogre models for a while but holding them in my hand I was… disappointed. The legs were less substantial than anticipated and the posture made them all look like they needed the loo or had been kicked in the nads. I’d need to bulk out those waists and ease the knees away from each other. I briefly considered sculpting entirely new legs but time constraints made building up the existing structure preferable. Having spent nearly half a minute on the planning stage I was now bored and set to work.
Cap’n Hogwash
I cannot fully express how much I love the Ogre Paymaster model. The composition, the proportions, the theme, and the dynamic nature of the sculpt are just sublime. I wanted to preserve as much of that as I could to make a centerpiece. First step was replacing the mace with a cutlass and repositioning the arm slightly. Next step will be sculpting the most amazing captain’s hat the world has ever seen. Leaving off the banner pole has altered the composition, so the hat will serve to focus the eye back toward the model’s face.
Master Mate
I’m not entirely sure what I was thinking when I began work on this model. The axe needed replacing with something nautical and I just found myself thinking that an anchor would fit the bill. There’s still a lot of detailing to do on the anchor but the base structure set the new proportions. The conversion process often relies on this “have a go and see” approach; in this instance the anchor had unbalanced the whole model. Rebalancing was achieved by chopping off the left hand and adding the armature to sculpt a hook. Finally the above picture shows how I chopped out the loincloth and trimmed down the legs ready to sculpt on sailors slops and boots.
The Crew
I opted to begin work on the Boomers before the melee crew members. The huge blunderbusses didn’t need any work to meet the theme. This let me get straight to work on the legs. I’ve been slowly building them up, cutting them back and repeating the process to get the right proportions. I started the detailing work on one to plan out the buckles and establish where the waist should sit. I’ll need to repeat this process seven times across the warband which means time experimenting is worthwhile.
Next Step
Getting the legs resculpted is the big task here and where I’ll focus my energies. When I next update I intend to have the majority of that task complete. I’ll also be sketching out how to do the Captain’s hat and getting Master Mate’s hook sculpted. Once these tasks are complete there will be opportunity to move on and begin the fun task of adding details. Stay tuned!
