11/07/2020

Orphans of the Ossuary

Not all orphans in the Imperium are so lucky to be raised at a Schola Progenium. Only those whose parents were servants of the Emperor get that kind of high standard education. But the Dark Millenium grants plenty of opportunities to produce orphans, of course. Lots of them. Each place deals with the issue in their own way. Local orphanages, Family/Clan/Warband self-regulated nurture houses, tribute to the Dark Lords [comment under scrutiny of the Holy Inquisition]... Most commonly the different pious Orders of the Ecclesiarchy manage to run institutions devoted to that purpose. The Order of the Ossuary is no exception. They raise abandoned children and educate them in the sacred rites of their ministry, for they assist the monks in their duties. When they reach adulthood, the survivors can leave the Order or remain within it to perform menial works. Only former combatants can become monks and full members of the Order, but there are a lot of different assignments that can be allotted to these servants, for the Emperor rejoices in all honest work.

These minis are from the Black Crab 2nd Kickstarter by most awesome Andrew May from Meridian Miniatures. Having backed the first one, my whole attention was dragged onto this new range as soon as I had a glimpse at them. They share the same creepy vibe, the unsettling looking, the atmospherical feeling that got me the first time. The KS was called 'Necropolis scum', but I thought I had to tie them somehow to the first batch, so that's why I came up with the idea above.

OK, enough words, let's hit the pics.

Caretakers of the convent

Father Ombud takes care of the children. Here alongside two monks

Orphans get initiated in the basic rites of the Order

There are not only monks and servants around the convent. Beggars of all kind look for charity. Sometimes security measures have to be implemented, as not everyone comes as a friend.

I love the Venator-like mask. Right, the blind guy who provides security

The kickstarter provided two stretch goals, but the decision was easy to make, it was a no-brainer. Mischiefs on a pole. Or at least I decided to show them that way. First one calls for the mental image of a witch. So the signs on the pole say (in proper High Gothic)  'Psychica' (quite self explanatory), 'Vates' (foreseer) and 'Magi' (kind of magician/witch).
The other guy was more difficult for me to read as a miniature. If I had to tell, I'd say he's a living sign, heading people in the right direction. So I figured he was kind of a snitch and his sentence was that. The sign reads 'Dum Lingua', 'Long tongue'.

Not that creative, but I'm happy

Here you can see the minis alongside the ones from the first KS:


Finally a family shot:


They of course work both for gothic sci-fi and fantasy and they are a treat. I know I really need to build an ossuary for these!!


23 comments:

  1. Great work Suber. I didn't go in for this KS, but seeing these, I wish I had!

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    1. Thanks! This one was kind of an impulse, I really wanted to keep on the Ossuary theme. I'm glad I backed the KS!

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  2. Alucinante el conjunto y el resultado que has obtenido con esas minis. Me quedé con muchas ganas de entrar en el Kickstarter, desde luego tú le has hecho justicia con tu pintado. Personalmente me encantan los huérfanos y la mini de La psíquica.
    ¿Tienes algo planeado para ellos?

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    1. ¡Gracias! El esquema azul y gris ha acabado encajando mejor de lo que esperaba en esta gama. De momento los usaré como civiles genéricos, y lo bueno es que me valen para un rollo de fantasía igualmente, ¡así que quién sabe!

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  3. Tienen un rollito Blanchitsu inquisimunda muy chulo aunque les veo algo: tanto en ilustración como en escultura (da igual talla en pueda o tatoos) cuando no sabes hacer algo o no te queda fino del todo, o simplemente no te sientes especialmente orgulloso, lo tapas.

    En el momento que lo sabes lo ves por todos lados: volutas de homo, hojas, plumas... O túnicas, vendas (en miniaturas) etc.

    Creo que hay un poco de abuso. De cabeza te diría que apenas se ven brazos, pies en un par de casos...

    Pero vamos, esto no es una reseña: me encanta el toque "seco" que les has dado, tienen un aire a las figuras históricas de la segunda guerra mundial que es todo muy neutro.

    Mola.

    Mis dieses 😆

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    1. Sí, sé lo que dices, y no te digo que no. Pero en este caso creo que al final acaba contribuyendo a la esencia malrollera, así que mira, ¡valor añadido! :D

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  4. Que maravilla de autocorrector, volutas de *homo* (humo) , talla de *pueda* (piedra)

    ...mira que ya hace falta poco para hacerme parecer anormal, pero mi teléfono lo borda...

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    1. Jaja, yo a veces leo lo que sea que acabe de escribir y es como "pero qué cajones es esto, tiene cojines la casa" :D :D

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  5. Awesome work on the really characterful miniatures!

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    1. Thanks! They are characterful indeed. Not generic at all, so they do need a purpose on a game. Still have to design a proper role for them on a scenario!

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  6. Replies
    1. Thanks! They look creepy enough, I hope!

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  7. Super work! Yes we need an ossuary for them! Extra creepy,in a good way!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you! Oh, that's too dangerous; knowing how I start projects, for sure it will be a tiny ossuary in the beginning, and then an underground catacomb, and then a whole dungeon, and then... :D

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  8. Seeing these just makes me feel guilty I haven't painted mine yet! I love the sculpts and fully agree - they are perfect additions to a 40k or fantasy setting. Your blue/grey/cream colour scheme on these is lovely. I think my favourite of the bunch is the hooded and masked cripple - the dark steel mask is set off perfectly by the cream hood :)

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    1. Oh go paint them! I'd love to see your take on this batch. Some of your conversions would look awesome taking these as a start point!

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  9. Extremely well done Suber, great paint job! They certainly have that creepy vibe you mentioned.

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    1. Thank you! All credit goes to the sculpt, anything you do on such minis will have that uneasy looking, that's what caught my eye since the beginning :)

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  10. Pretty scary bunch. Nicely done.

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    1. Thanks! The minis are great. I’ve seen other people’s kits over the net and no matter what colour scheme you use, they really stand out :)

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  11. What a superb looking group. Great choice of colours!

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    1. Thanks! The dull palette adds a touch of uneasyness. I wouldn't like to bump into these guys in a dark alley!

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