As mentioned previously I am soon about to run an old school retro campaign for my girlfriend which will focus on her alter-ego the noble Inquisitor Athena battling the forces of darkness with the aid of her (ever-expanding) retinue of Storm Troopers and other acolytes.
However a hero always needs a suitable villain to battle ...and personally I feel there is no foe in the Warhammer universe more insidious than the parasitic filth of a Genestealer cult, they are the perfect enemy for an agent of the Inquisitorial Ordos to annihilate!
Those of you who have been reading my blog for some time may remember that about two years ago I expanded my force of 20 purestrain (Space Hulk) Genestealers with a few third generation hybrids and a Magus in the hope of eventually building a full cult force.
Unfortunately since then I have done little to expand this force, and it has been repeatedly relegated in favour of other assorted modelling projects.... However the up and coming narrative campaign has acted as a catalyst for me to reinforce these xenos vermin in order to make them a more viable opposition.
So I have now acquired and painted two of the original plastic hybrids from the Space Hulk expansion 'Genestealer' (1990), and these will be used to represent a pair of first or second generation hybrids as they are far less human looking than their metal counterparts that I have already painted.
The first one (above) is close to a purestrain 'stealer with four arms very much in the manner of its parent species. I have equipped this beast with a plasma pistol from the 1992 Space Marine assault weapons sprue, this has been painted a deep red as a bit of a nod to Games Workshop's 'Red Period' of the early 1990's.
The second hybrid is marginally more human with only three arms and he has been equipped with a primitive looking boltgun from the 1980's Ork sprue.
Both models have been painted to tie in closely with my existing hybrids... Incorporating blue and yellow armour and grey trousers. However as these are supposed to be early generation hybrids I have made their flesh a much darker purple in order to link them closer to purestrain Genestealer genetics.
Truth be told I am not a big fan of these sculpts as I feel they are not really on a par with other models from that period, however now that I have painted them I actually find myself warming to their basic charm and they do fit nicely with the rest of the cult.
Next up I am going to continue to try and expand the cult's forces with a few more hybrids and potentially a couple of squads of brood brothers. I shall update you with how the force progresses!
Hi!
ReplyDeleteFantastic work on the hybrids. The models aren't the best, especially compared to the metal models released but you've really got the best out of them!
All the best!
Cheers mate;
DeleteYeah, they are very basic, it always amazed me how basic they were (and the crappy Space Marine Librarian that came with them) compared to the original plastic purestrains from one year earlier in 1989.
I am glad you think I've done them justice!!
I agree that they aren't particularly inspiring when bare plastic (or badly painted) but you've done a sterling job on them and they look great.
ReplyDeleteCheers Bruno.
DeleteI know what you mean; they do look considerably bad when unpainted...that weird beige plastic with grey arms. I think it's one of the reasons I've been so reticent to paint them!!
But that's the value of what you got here! They look great, that's a thing, considering the raw material. In fact now I look at them with different eyes. Wow, pretty nice job!
ReplyDeleteCheers dude. Yeah I have to say that now they have a splash of paint on they're actually a lot more appealing than I initially thought...which is handy as I have six more to paint!
DeleteNice work! I love Genestealer Cults so looking forwad to seeing more :)
ReplyDeleteWarburton
Many thanks mate!
DeleteThere is something uber cool and sinister about genestealer cults isn't there! I just find them the most interesting piece of 40k fluff!! I don't think they get the attention they deserve any more!
If there's any justice in the world, they'd do a small release for one like the new Harlequins.
DeleteThere are rumours all over the web that this may be on the cards, and given the amount of people blogging about their home brew genestealer cults then I'm sure the bean counters at GW's Evil HQ must be aware it will be a potential money spinner.
DeleteHowever I'm in two minds; I love the old sculpts and background and I am fearful as to what the half-wits will do to them. I'd rather not have them retconned to hell with some models that differ from their heritage...look at the new storm troopers (or whatever they call themselves), their just completely not in keeping with realistic military theme of what went before!
Time will tell....
You've really got the best out of those horrible lumpen plastic sculpts. I'm really impressed!
ReplyDeleteCheers pal, 'horrible lumpen plastic sculpts' is probably the most accurate description I've heard for these models. I am actually pleased I have secured a few more as I'd like to see if I can liven them up a bit!
DeleteI agree with some of the others - I have some of these and I have always hated them, but this model looks great. I might have to paint a couple and see how they turn out...
ReplyDeleteCheers Clarence; when I opened the Space Hulk: Genestealer box some years back I was literally horrified at these crap sculpts and so have never bothered painting them; favouring instead the far superior metal sculpts that came out at the same time. However I feel I may have judged them a bit too harshly as with a pit of TLC they come out okay. If you are going to paint them then I would say stick to simple contrasting colour schemes; it suits their simplistic design; anything more complicated might not sit well on them.
DeleteI don't understand if this model has a backpack or not. :) anyone?
ReplyDelete