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  • Rogue Trader: Choose You Own Adventurers

    Choose Your Own Adventurers – Episode 2: Captain Paradox Zeeman

    "Let's all paint Adventurers!" cried sho3box. "I have almost all thirty-two of those rare expensive miniatures!"

    "Yeah!" axiom responded. "I have all of that overly-fetishised and as such difficult-to-collect range."

    "Yay!" Curis said, getting caught up in the enthusiasm of the group project. "I have … er … maybe … one? But I'll do a cool retro-mimic logo!"

    As I had practically no Adventurers, sho3box generously jump-started my collection with the donation of a Pirate Captain.

    Teenage-era sho3box had modified the Captain by adding an uzi-style magazine to the pistol and a pouch to the thigh. He'd also removed the sword, as the lumpen sculpting and lead's tendency to droop made it "look like a floppy *****". This did give me the opportunity to do some conversion work to ham up the pirate angle – a hook hand.

    [url=http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/choose-your-own-adventurers-episode-2-captain-paradox-zeeman/][/url]

    The first attempt at a replacement was a "split hook" prostheses, made from two paperclips filed to points and bent into curves. It didn't sit well with the chunky 1980s sculpting, so I added a big goofy Lego claw.

    [url=http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/choose-your-own-adventurers-episode-2-captain-paradox-zeeman/][/url]
    "Hello. I like money."

    The other pirate cliche I went with was stripey trews. Disappointingly I realised after I'd painted Zeeman that the Studio paintjob also had stripey trews, so I wasn't doing anything new or edgy.

    A lot of the early Rogue Trader figures incorporate anachronistic fantasy elements (either as a deliberate juxtaposition with the science fiction setting, or sculptors falling back on their established bags of tricks) – leather pouches, medieval boots, landsknecht sleeves, et cetera. It's interesting that the Pirate Captain's boots are anachronistic, but aren't the cliché thigh-high pirate boots of your 17th Century Caribbean pirate; no no no, instead, they're boring ankle-high medieval boots. Makes me wonder if he was sculpted as a generic 40K guy and later designated a pirate. But anyway, to get the boots away from the medieval leather look I painted them gleaming ice-white, imagining Paradox Zeeman as a space-chav displaying his wealth with immaculate footwear. (I may have also been thinking of the glorious Spacego cover.)

    [url=http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/choose-your-own-adventurers-episode-2-captain-paradox-zeeman/][/url]
    "Oi, innit blud. Hit the legs, this is well waffle."

    I am thinking about adding freehand insignia to the back of his jacket, possibly the Crab Claw Nebula symbol. It'd tie in nicely with his claw. But that's a finishing touch for another day, when I've collected the other Space Pirates in the range and rounded them out to a little trio/squad/army/formation/Apocalypse detachment.

    [url=http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/choose-your-own-adventurers-episode-2-captain-paradox-zeeman/][/url]
    "Feds have landed up, wiv me in charge. You're merked."
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Rogue Trader: Choose You Own Adventurers started by Curis View original post
    Comments 1 Comment
    1. Curis's Avatar
      Curis -
      It's my turn to blast out a Rogue Trader Adventurer again!

      Choose Your Own Adventurers #8: Steppenwolf, Mutant Outlander

      Over at the Emporium of Rogue Dreams, Mark Elster organised a summer competition to model and paint a Rogue Trader mutant, judged by Warhammer 40,000 supremo Andy Chambers himself. Seeing other people get their entries together (like axiom's and asslessman's) inspired me to make my own mutant. Presenting Steppenwolf, Mutant Outlander.

      [url=http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/choose-your-own-adventurers-episode-8-steppenwolf-mutant-outlander/][/url]

      "I am a man wolf. I am a wolf man."

      In my trades and trawls I'd picked up a duplicate Inquisitor from the Adventurers range. One had his right arm with its chainsword/shotgun/railgun badly chopped away by the previous owner. I couldn't save the arm at all, so removed it up to the shoulder.

      [url=http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/choose-your-own-adventurers-episode-8-steppenwolf-mutant-outlander/][/url]

      The notorious Inquisitor Sixty Pence. He's gonna party like it's your birthday.

      Then I went chop-happy and removed the head, saving the stetson for a future project. Wanting to keep the conversion components Rogue Trader 1980s I found a spare wolf from the original Leman Russ. At least, I think it was spare, I definitely have three and I hope it's the duplicate I decapitated. I then added the tail peeping out the back of the trenchcoat. A wolf in a trenchcoat has a pleasing Shadowrun vibe.

      [url=http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/choose-your-own-adventurers-episode-8-steppenwolf-mutant-outlander/][/url]

      "I have half a canine mind. I have half the mind of man."

      Mutation-wise, Steppenwolf has a "bestial face", which the Rogue Trader rulebook describes as:

      "The mutation changes the facial structure so that it resembles that of a beast. It is extremely common amongst mutated humans and has spawned the sub-race of Beastmen. Apart from leaving its victim in a state of sickening ugliness this mutation is neither harmful nor beneficial."

      Rogue Trader describes space pirates as particularly prone to mutation, so Steppenwolf will slot right into my Claw Nebula force. He will be a member of an Outlander squad, so I gave him a new arm with a bolt pistol to keep him compliant with the Book of the Astronomican army list.

      [url=http://www.ninjabread.co.uk/choose-your-own-adventurers-episode-8-steppenwolf-mutant-outlander/][/url]

      Nebula Claw Pirates with the remnants of Squad Hawkwind.

      Since I was listening to Hawkwind's Steppenwolf while converting this figure, it seems only right to photograph him alongside the Imperial Army figures named after Hawkwind members in White Dwarf advertisements. Above you can see troopers Powell, Turner, Langton and Bainbridge. I hope to track down the other Hawkwind members to go full-on 1980s space rock.

      Thanks to Steve at Eldritch Epistles for hooking me up with some more signature orange lichen recently.