+ inload: Iron Warriors commission +

+ Getting back to the Officio +

+ I was commissioned through this blog to build a trio of Iron Warriors line officers, along the lines of my own Officio Monstrosa project [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. Happily, the chap who's retained me is happy with how they're looking, so thought I'd share them here to talk through a few notes, in case they're of interest to anyone. +

+ After a bit of discussion back and forth, the brief was pleasingly open – three Iron Warriors that could conceivably be loyal to the Emperor or Horus (so no obvious Chaos symbols or motations), each armed with chainsword and bolt pistol, and with the cool helm with the additional Legion symbol mask from the  Forge World Iron Warrior upgrade pack. The figures would be used as sergeants or similar, so needed to be fairly restrained in pose – bothing too dynamic. Beyond that, and urban rubble basing, I was given free reign. +

+ I don't do a lot of commission pieces, but the principle I always apply to them is 'would I want this in my personal army?' To that end, I spent some time roughing out some ideas, then got stuck in. Coming back to older techniques or processes – in this case Terminator-based Trusecale (you can find the process yourself through here [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]) – is always interesting, as you find ways to refine or go further as new options open up, or you simply refine your skills. +

+ This marine, who I mentally named Ostrod while working, uses one of the Terminators from Space Marine Heroes series 2 for the legs. These figures have much more interesting poses than most Terminators, and come with rather nice integrated bases. As with the others, you'll note he's missing his backpack – they hadn't yet arrived, so will be added after the rest of the model is painted in each case.+

+ I've tried to keep the pose fairly neutral, so that he looks good during games. Whether pictured in combat, mid-strike, or simply advancing warily, he should provide a nice focal point for a squad  without standing out too much. The addition of a bit spiky pauldron – as usual, from Master-Crafted Miniatures – gives him a suitably brutal feel without being too obviously Chaotic. +

+ Iron Armour and Iron Warriors go together like particularly violent ice-cream and jelly, so a warrior in Mark III – Konstantz – in mid-strike seemed fitting. The torso's a cast of a converted torso I used for my own army, which married the bottom of plastic torso with a sculpted upper. The legs here are from the Grey Knight Terminator set, with the thighs considerably bulked-up. I've added to the heavy, solid feeling with plenty of pouches and an arm from the Gorgon Terminator kit.+

+ The final marine is levelling his bolt pistol, as though to execute a downed enemy. This sort of pose looks good in isolation or as part of a dedicated vignette, but can look odd in-game. To avoid any visual awkwardness, I placed him on a slightly modified Stormcast base. This raised him up a little further than the others, which makes the pistol gesture make sense outside of the very specific places he might otherwise need to be in. +

+ As noted elsewhere in the blog, I tend to prime figures before considering them completely finalised, as it helps to stop your eye being thrown off by all the different colours or plastic, resin and putty. While I remained happy with the other two, this figure (Ubricz) was the only one of the three that I altered after priming. The original, with a chainsword, is shown above, the final version below. +

+ Why the change to chainaxe? Mostly, it was to better convey the almost casual disdain with which this marine is treating his downed foe. For me, the slung chainaxe resting on the shoulder better encapsulates the arrogance and cruelty of the Iron Warriors. Secondly, the more relaxed pose fit better with the posture of his legs. I thought he looked too alert and wary before, with his chainsword down, which didn't 'read right' with the ponderous confidence suggested by his legs. +

+ Secondly, I thought the chainaxe was both a bit different – while part of the Iron Warriors 'thing' is a mass of faceless soldiers, complete uniformity of armament is a bit boring. It's easy enough to 'count-as' a chainsword, but adds a flavourful Horus Heresy-era touch. Together with a small skull trophy slung on his shoulder pad, it also hints as background influences on the Legion, with Khorne berserkers a part of the Iron Warriors. Is this warrior a future axe-happy lunatic, lost in slaughter? Will his discipline survive? Little things like this add much to the story of a piece. +

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+ Painting next; as per request I'll be using the same approach as for my own army – so keep an eye out for another inload soon. +