Thursday 11 October 2018

CLXXXIX. Inq28: Brother Jonas

Brother Jonas is Inquisitor Morbray's Grey Knight henchman. She picked him up when working on a case of a heretic cult involving daemonic presence. He proved a valuable asset, so she elected to keep him permanently on her staff.


Grey Knights are a mysterious special chapter of Space Marines who act as the military chamber of Ordo Malleus, the branch of the Inquisition that specializes in exterminating Daemons. Every Grey Knight is a psyker.




Unlike the other two, this guy is not based on any particular Blanche artwork. I wanted my Grey Knight to look rather low-tech. The conversion is based on a Stormcast Liberator. The armour got similar treatment as Obryn the Bold, a Liberator I did last year: proper breastpate, no insane shoulder pads, etc. The head is an actual Grey Knight head, though, and one of my all time favourite Citadel heads. 




The paintjob is in the same style as the rest of the crew. They fit well together, even though each represents a vastly different archetype.


20 comments:

  1. He strikes a magnificent balance of olde-wurlde knight with archaic-future technology.


    The only issue I have is the lore; I'm reasonably certain that even an Inquisitor cannot draft any astartes into their retinue on a permanent basis as they have oaths of loyalty and duty to their respective chapters to uphold above all other considerations. There are exceptions, such as Blackshields, exiles, those under a debt of honour to a particular individual (Lexandro D'Arquebus), those under command from their chapter master for duties outside the norm and those chapters turned renegade (Relictors), but the Grey Knights are bound to a stricter duty than any other chapter for they are the last line of defence the Imperium has against The Enemy Beyond.



    Is it beyond the laws of possibility for a Grey Knight to be in the retinue of an Inquisitor? Certainly not, but it wouldn't be at the command of the Inquisitor and more likely the result of some ongoing quest or honour-bound duty/oath or, perhaps more far-fetched, an agreement reached between the Inquisitor and the Chapter Master of Titan.

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    1. This here is exactly what kept me away from getting into making Inq28 content all these years. The sheer amount of homework I'm expected to in order not to be in contradiction with any little part of the gargantuan mass of prescribed sacrosanct 40K lore.

      I still have no intention of doing all that homework. Take it as you will...

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    2. Do not worry about the homework, just make figures that make you happy.

      I like this guy a lot, although I do find that I miss the typical space marine pauldrons a bit. Insane or otherwise, they have come to be part of the look for me. The colors on the chest plate in particular came out very well. Any particular advice for painting that worn bare metal look?

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    3. @Lasgunpacker - no metallic paint was used on this whole warband. Highly tansparent layers of browns, black, orange, yellow. Painted in chaotic, blotchy manner. When it all becomes too dark, splash some off white on the raised areas and proceed. The underlying surface has a grainy texture done with liquid green stuff, which helps pigment stick to it in a different manner than when it's smooth, so you get this painterly finish. In the end, some white edge highllights for definition. And fine light and dark drops are splattered ofer the model. This is common on Blanche coloured sketches, and it does wonders for an atmospheric feel of a model. I was astounded the first time I did it.

      I hope this helps, bare words are not the best way of carrying across the process...

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  2. I think he's great. He looks how I'd like all space marines to look: de-skulled and without the boot-cut flares on the lower legs. I like that head a lot (it reminds me of one of the squires from Monty Python and the Holy Grail).

    As for the lore, no offence intended but it's that level of cannon which puts me off the space marines. I think he just is what he is.

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  3. So is this Kevin, Joe, or Nick? ;)

    The figure looked a little bit off for a minute, until I realized you'd done reasonably sized shoulder armour. I sometimes forget how much the shoulder pads dominate the appearance of Space Marines. Looks like you made the backpack more compact as well?

    I've always liked that head, too. Reminds me of some of the more close-fitting arming caps I've seen, makes a great visual connection between the Grey Knights and medieval knights.

    No Storm Bolter? It always seemed just as much a part of the GK archetype as their swords and halberds.

    They do fit together really well as a trio. What are your plans for the bases?

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    1. Hahaha, it didn't even occur to me... Erm, it's Jonas Jonas, the tone-deaf one who lives in the shadow of his famous brothers.

      The bases will get some subtle texture at a later date. But they'll stay pretty minimalistic.

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  4. I like him. His ramshackle appearance in comparison to the standard GW sculpts is far more appropriate to the setting I think than the clean tiny-marine sculpts of yesteryear. Can't wait for GW to phase out the old Marines altogether.

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    1. Thanks! Yeah, marines are much better this size.

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  5. Fantastic...looks instantly recognisable as a Grey Knight...but different. Good work :)

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  6. Oh my, this seems drawn rather than painted! Il love it! The whole squad too has a real Blanche feeling.
    I'm definitely following your blog!

    I'm amazed by his colours. I'd love to understand how you painted him, this gritty, dirty paint effect is something I'd love to use on some of my models too, but don't know how to.

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    1. Thank you! I basically apply very thin, transparent layers of paint, most of them with a worn brush. Best advice I can give you from my own experience figuring out this style is the following: Take a good look at Blanche's artwork (the messier variety, basically coloured concept sketches) and think about how you might replicate that on a miniature. What is it that makes it recognisable as Blanche? And let go of the crippling fear that you'll screw up.

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