08/01/2019

The Order of the Ossuary

I backed the Black Crab Miniatures Kickstarter last October. Andrew May is a guarantee of success and job well done. No second thoughts, as soon as I saw the minis I knew I needed them. The KS ran smoothly and I got my minis a few weeks ago. Being just three of them, I have slipped them between my current projects, eager as I was of painting them.

From the upcoming Terramortis range by Meridian Miniatures
 No point in taking WIP pics, so...

The Ghost of Christmas past, the Ghost of Chris... Ehm. No. Sorry, my mistake
The colours used in the original pics (and original lovely art) were dark red and black. I tried a different scheme, all in blues and greys.

And checkers, of course. I cannot paint without checkers
I used quite a limited palette, as I wanted to give them some uniformity. In my mind the concept of some weird cult took shape immediately. In my Rogue Trader Warhammer 40,000 setting I can easily see them as strange monks taking care of old relics. This is how the Order of the Ossuary was born.

Also known as the Order of the blurry pics
The Order has the venerable mission of collecting bones and relics of fallen Imperial heroes, in order to keep and venerate them. The monks themselves are former servicemen who were severely injured but didn't earn martyrdom. Declared no longer fit for active duty, most of them bearing horrendous scars or burns, some of them seek for a life of contemplation and service to the Emperor in other ways.

They are more charming than you believe. He's actually smiling behind the mask
They are a common view on battlefields once the fight is over, assisting medical services in retrieving bodies with Ministorum priests and clerks who help to record the deeds of Imperial warriors all over the galaxy. They determine who behaved heroically, became martyrs of the Imperial cause and deserve the honour of being preserved.

Look at the numbers on the bones on the three minis. I bet for the most macabre puzzle ever
Once the bodies are properly dealt with, the bones or other suitable items can be used as relics. They go under proper Ministorum consecration rites and then are incorporated to Ecclesiarchy banner poles, shrines all over the Imperium, taken to battle by Imperial Preachers or Adepta Sororitas or whatever other use is considered appropiate. The ossuaries of the Order ar quite well known, and even turn themselves into peregrination sites for the common people who just want to pay their respects for the most humble Guardsmen.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Order of the Ossuary (if you come with a better name I will gladly take it under consideration, I'm simply making up all this stuff as I write).

The amazing thing about these minis is that they can fit into a number of sci-fi settings (specially 40K, of course)...

No heroic bones in sight, brothers
...as well as fantasy!

Yup, the Stormcast Eternals really messed up with our bussiness
I'm enormously delighted with the minis. If there are more of the like incoming, I'm definitely in. The only thing that really bugs me about all this is... that I need to build a friggin' ossuary now!! :P

25 comments:

  1. They look great, the Roman numerals on the bones was a great touch!

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    1. Thank you! The numbers make them (even more) creepy; I thought it made sense within the parameters of the background I gave them. I didn't dare to paint higher numerals though, that was enough for my skills :D

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  2. Oh! They look awesome!! Great work!

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    1. Thank you very much! The minis take all the credit, they are lovely sculpts!

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    1. Thanks! They fit in the 40K universe, so I think I can come with some ideas for them in my RT setting :)

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  4. These look great! I do like the colour scheme. I thought about picking these up, but passed on the Kickstarter. Seeing yours, maybe I should have jumped on!

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    1. Thank you! I think they will be available anytime soon(ish) in the Meridian Games webpage. Keep an eye, they are really cool minis.

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  5. Those look brilliant. I nearly backed the KS myself but had to say no in the end. Your paint job really looks great.

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    1. Thank you! I just told Preacher, the Meridian web has a 'Terramortis' range coming soon, I take for granted these will be released soon, hopefully alongside more stuff.

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  6. Creepy but so cool looking! Lovely paint job on this trio of grave guardians.

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    1. Thank you! It's their aspect what makes them so appealing. The background I made up for them came along pretty easily :D

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  7. These really are lovely. I must say, I was very much tempted by the KS. I didn't end up going for it, but I wish I had.

    I really like the cool blues/greys - it's a great look.

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    1. Thank you very much! Keep an eye on Meridian (or even contact Andrew directly!)
      The minis definitely have a Blanchesque vibe. It was not easy to paint them in blues and greys!! But I'm glad they worked :)

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  8. I have discovered that I have a acquired a sub-hobby of the sub-hobby to my hobby. I am hooked on collecting civilian and/or non-combatant minis.

    These are great for that purpose. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Haha, I surely know the feeling! :D
      I started collecting but a fistful and now I honestly don't know where to hoard them!

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  9. Pues estรกn muy bien, y eso de que puedan ser usados para mรกs de un juego tambiรฉn. En la capilla con los huesos tambiรฉn puedes poner un misil nuclear y te valdrรญan tambiรฉn para un juego postapocalรญptico.

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    1. ¡Jaja, quรฉ bueno, me ha recordado a Regreso al Planeta de los Simios! :D

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    2. justo por eso lo decรญa :)

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  10. Oh these are just delightful (in a suitably macabre way!) Lovely colour scheme!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you! They are... different. I find that refreshing, I really enjoyed painting them :)

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  11. I love the look of this trio Suber. You did a fantastic paint job on them.

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    1. Thank you! I painted them in an impulse, I enjoyed the whole process; and I'm actually thinking in what kind of shrine/catacomb/thing I can build for them!!

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  12. When I saw the first picture I immediately thought about Inquisitor and Rogue Trader, they are perfect for the range.
    Your choice of colours is also once again spot on, they look fabulous.

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    1. Thank you! They are pretty versatile, they fit in quite a number of projects, I love that :)

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