I know I’m supposed to be concentrating on goblins but sometimes an idea comes to mind that’s just too cool to resist. Down in the Underhive respect is a matter of life and death. A gang boss who is not feared will soon find their career ended on the knives of their rivals or underlings. An enforcer who is both loyal and savage, and who can be relied upon to impose order and inspire fear in equal measure is worth all the creds in the Spire.
Meet “Bloodbath” Bosrak, a former ganger turned champion pit-fighter and now convinced to return to the mean streets and rubble-strewn tunnels of the Underhive where he serves as the savage enforcer sent in by the Irondogs when a problem can only be solved by an extreme display of violence.
I wasn’t really intending to tackle the champions for my Goliaths yet, planning instead to finish off the rank and file first, but it seemed foolish to stand in the way of creative inspiration. Plus the chance to make use of one of the heads from the new Gellerpox models as soon as I saw it was too exciting to pass up! Here’s Bosrak leading the boys into action to stamp their authority on the hab-shanties and crumbling domes of Sumpside.
Working on Bosrak has given my enthusiasm for the project a real boost so the rest of the gang will get their turn on the painting desk soon, but before that I really do need to concentrate on the gobbos…
Convert or Die 
September 17th, 2018 at 1:50 pm
I reckon you should alternate between the two, kind of a reward scheme. These guys are great.
September 17th, 2018 at 9:11 pm
Thanks 🙂 Honestly I think that’s pretty much exactly what will happen , I’ve got too many creative ideas buzzing about in my head right now to just sit on them entirely.
September 17th, 2018 at 11:43 pm
Never stand in the way of inspiration. Better to let one fantastic Model out into the world than put it off and risk losing the vibe for a dozen assembly lined peons!
Also, I need to get over to the PO before they close. Tracking says my copy of Rogue Trader is in!
September 18th, 2018 at 11:41 am
Wise words indeed (even though you’re just enabling my hobby butterfly syndrome!). Hope you got to the post office in time 😎
September 18th, 2018 at 5:12 pm
As a prolific hobby butterfly myself, I can’t, in good conscience, tell anyone else not to go for it!
Unfortunately, I did not make it over there in time. Gonna swing by again sometime this morning.
September 18th, 2018 at 12:38 am
Great work- love the metal face mask.
Cheers,
Pete.
September 18th, 2018 at 11:42 am
Cheers – it was just too cool to resist! 😊
September 18th, 2018 at 7:16 am
Excellent use of that Gellerpox head mate – he’s bloody terrifying!
September 18th, 2018 at 1:08 pm
Cheers mate – hopefully he’ll be enough to send a message to any hivers regarding the inadvisability of not paying their depts to the gang…
September 18th, 2018 at 3:13 pm
What a weird coincidence: Only yesterday did I mention how much I hate those Vox-Shambler masks in my review for Kill Team: Rogue Trader, and here you are, actually putting one of them to excellent use! Very cool! 🙂
September 18th, 2018 at 9:58 pm
Thank you! Yeah, the Vox Shamblers are a bit off aren’t they? Lots of great components but put together into models that just don’t quite work. The masks are a case in point really, I think it works well on the Goliath but it’s just too over the top on the Shambler.
To be honest there’s quite a bit on the chaos side of the box that doesn’t really grab me, although I think a lot of it could be much improved by a little converting. Still reading my way through your review (and greatly enjoying it so far) – fantastic to see another review from you by the way 😀
September 18th, 2018 at 10:52 pm
Yeah, same here: I think I would have preferred a chaos kill team as well realised as the Starstriders instead of just a collection of monsters — but you are right, of course, in that the Gellerpox Infected should still make for good conversion fodder 😉
September 18th, 2018 at 8:16 pm
Wow, that’s an awesome looking Champion and I love the name. I’m pretty amazed what you’re able to do in the conversion field. It’s like you have your own model factory going on which cranks out even cooler (or at least unique) stuff, and then you add some nice paints on top. Great job, man!
September 19th, 2018 at 8:40 am
Thank you! For me that’s the real joy of converting and kitbashing; the chance to create something completely unique and to take my creativity up a notch, making my own models rather than just painting someone else’s ideas. Of course not all of them work out, but when they do it really feels like the pinnacle of the hobby for me.
September 19th, 2018 at 3:14 pm
Where do you keep the ones that didn’t work out? 😉
Since I’ve been following your blog, I can’t say that I’ve seen one that didn’t work. A lot of times I don’t know what parts are customized, so they just end up looking like a normal model to me.
Too often I’ve seen amateur conversions, and they just look wrong. The pose is awkward, an arm is twisted the wrong way, etc. It’s like they are trying to force the model into doing something that is totally opposite. Some of that has detracted me from trying to do my own conversions, as I definitely don’t want awkward looking models. I’m pretty much an amateur converter myself, so I try to avoid the wonky minis path.
September 21st, 2018 at 9:14 am
” A lot of times I don’t know what parts are customized, so they just end up looking like a normal model to me.”
In essence, I think, that is the goal for any conversion. If someone picks up one of your converted models and says genuinely “I’ve never seen this one before, when did they release it?” then you know you’ve nailed it. I’ll take your comment as a huge compliment!
I agree on the wonky conversions but – nobody picks up a guitar for the first time and shreds like Hendrix, nobody wins a Golden Daemon with their first miniature, and the first conversions a person makes will probably be super wonky. Practice makes perfect and all that, and I find that pursuing this part of the hobby has been time well spent indeed, and has more than paid for itself in terms of the enjoyment it’s given me compared to the effort I put in to begin with. Embrace your wonky models!
As for what happens to the ones that don’t work out, they lurk in a cupboard until I find the parts required to fix them, or they get broken up and cannibalised back into other, better, conversions. 😀
September 21st, 2018 at 5:27 pm
Definitely a compliment, my friend. I hadn’t thought about breaking up the mini and salvaging it before. I figure once it’s glued, that’s about it. Though I’d likely mangle it horribly if I did break it up. But sometimes that’s where green stuff can be your friend.
And yea, I’d say your time learning how to do conversions has been really spent. I wish I was at that level, but probably be a long time for me.
I also think some of it is just innate though. A lot of amateur converters seem to think the model is just fine, and can’t tell that the anatomy, motion, pose, weight, etc. is off. I guess I’m a bit lucky that I spot that right away. I owe it to my days of drawing and learning anatomy and motion. It’s just become intuitive to me, and feels more like muscle memory, than a skill I studied and learned. You’ll see people often mimic the motion or pose of a thing to question whether something is right or not. I’m not sure why some people get that and some don’t. Maybe it comes with lots of practice.
September 23rd, 2018 at 4:00 pm
I think practice really helps, as does asking for feedback. Having this blog has really improved my skills (take a look back at the early posts if you want proof of that!). As for how much is innate and how much can be learnt, well it’s the old nature Vs nurture debate isn’t it. I used to say when I was recruiting assistants that I was more interested in attitude than skill, I’d rather have someone who couldn’t do the job but was willing to learn than have someone who knew it all but didn’t have the right attitude.
As for breaking up models that’s actually where I get a lot of bitz from, buying cheap, badly painted “pre-loved” miniatures off eBay etc, breaking them up, stripping the paint and re-using the components. Sometimes things do end up broken but a pair of plastic snips applied gently but firmly to the glued join will usually crack the two bits apart. Just have something ready to catch the half you weren’t holding or you’ll spend a lot of time searching the carpet!
September 24th, 2018 at 1:23 am
The black hole carpet…everything that falls into it, forever gone!
September 19th, 2018 at 11:20 am
Oh yes! Brilliant. The charging stance, the weapon, the menace and that mask is all very bloody cool dude. Top marks for you squire
September 20th, 2018 at 10:42 pm
Cheers man 😀 From the moment I first built him I’ve never been happy with the head I used, I’ve tried various ones over the last couple of months but it wasn’t until now that I found something that matched the character.
September 21st, 2018 at 5:08 am
Sometimes genius takes time.
September 19th, 2018 at 1:47 pm
That head is spot on for a Goliath. Good bit of kitbashing.
September 21st, 2018 at 8:50 am
Thanks mate – I’d be struggling to find the right head to use for that model for ages and as soon as I saw this one it just clicked 🙂
September 22nd, 2018 at 11:42 pm
Whilst we’re on the topic of the gellerpox I’d love to see you do a review on the RT stuff since your editorials are some of the best on the web imho. That aside the model looks kickass. Great restrained blood effect to hint at his savage nature
September 23rd, 2018 at 3:41 pm
Thanks very much 🙂 Well, real life has been keeping me busy but I am planning a review of the RT box, hopefully by the middle of the week.
September 23rd, 2018 at 9:39 am
Love the mashup with the Gellerpox head – just looks like it was meant to be!
September 23rd, 2018 at 3:42 pm
Thank you 😀
September 24th, 2018 at 1:35 am
Fantastic work on this guy. I love it. Another one for me to add to my “one day, I’ll rip that model off” folder.
September 24th, 2018 at 9:43 am
Thank you! 😎