Ogryn Bodyguard for Necromunda (or Stargrave)

A tedious bit of real-world stuff: this hasn't been the easiest year, in terms of my job and my writing "career", and while nothing terrible has happened, I've found that I'm getting more entertainment out of painting models than usual. When it's difficult to get much satisfaction from my work or the world of publishing, it's good to be able to look at a finished model and think "I did a decent job of that".

I've also realised that, while repainting the Bretonnians is fun, a lot of what I enjoy in this hobby is altering and converting models, which I'm not going to do with my knights (although some repairs might be required). So, this week I've done a conversion that I've been thinking about for ages.

Years ago I bought the ogre Blood Bowl team. It's not bad, as you get four ogres (much better miniatures than the usual fantasy ones) and a lot of gnoblars in funny poses (again, much better models than the fantasy versions). I thought it would be cool to turn one of the ogres into a Necromunda hired gun. 

This was one of those conversions that got bigger and bigger as it went on. I decided to replace the belly-plate on the ogre with sculpted trousers and a belt (the buckle comes from the side of the plate). Then I decided to give him a vest, and then a sleeveless jacket, and before long I was rebuilding a lot of his upper body. Well, it's all good practice in sculpting.

What else is there to say? Hmm, well, his shoulder pads are plasticard, and he's got a lot of bits and bobs that looked suitably technical and futuristic. The odd bobbles on top of his left (our right) shoulderpad were inspired by the jackets in the Cyberpunk 2077 computer game. His pistol is an Imperial Guard grenade launcher and his cigar is a bit of wire. The box on the ground by his feet was from a plastic Van Saar ganger. I have no idea what the objects in it are supposed to be. Ammo? Cans of baked beans?

Anyhow, here's the finished version. I think he's come out quite well - the sculpted bits don't look too blobby, which is always the risk when I attempt anything with green stuff. 

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I've also been painting a few more minions for the Bretonnian army. At present, the Peasant Progress looks like this:

Archers: 10

Foot knights: 6

Men at arms: 10

That's about a third of the way through the foot troops. I'll post more pictures once I've got a few more done. I'd forgotten just how many guys you need for a Warhammer army.