The Crimson Corsair

As Hive Fleet Kraken reached further into the Imperium, a battle raged on the surface of Caladan. The Imperial forces were stretched thin waiting for reinforcement. It was in this maelstrom that The Crimson Corsair's legend blossomed into life. A Freeblade Knight, he stood at the gates of Pavonis and alone held the tide of Tyranids at bay for three days without rest. When finally the enemy overwhelmed his defenses, a swarm of the beasts covered nearly his entire form. It was then that the mighty knight heard the sounds of drop pods landing nearby. The Blood Phoenix had arrived to support the defense of the planet and flamers brushed over The Crimson Corsair, cleansing the beasts from his back. Ever since that day, the knight has owed a debt of allegiance to the Chapter and will answer any call for aid, going so far as to emblazon the Chapter's emblem on his armor.

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I have had my Imperial Knight model for over a month now. Last Friday I finally started putting my thoughts into action and began the process of assembly. Last night I finished. Below are the steps along the way.

So my idea was to repose the model so that it was either kicking through a wall or stomping down on a bunker. I opted for a combination of the two, where he would be stepping down onto a wall, to peek over the other side.

First, the wall. I wanted to break up the ground somewhat, so added a couple of layers of cork to the base. Next I used some foam for the wall, cutting a divot into the top of the center where the Knight would be stepping. I added some toothpicks for rebar sticking out and some bits of sprue for interior aesthetics, if the interior were still intact. Some random bits of foam were added for broken off pieces of the wall.

Someone suggested that I put some crouching models on the other side of the wall. I looked around a bit, but eventually decided upon some really old metal Guardsmen models I have had lying around for twenty years gathering dust. Pins hold them in place, and if you look closely you will see the dab of green stuff for that extra support for the paper clip pin underneath them.

 

I wanted one to be on his back under the foot of the Knight, reaching one hand up as if to ward off the inevitable. I had to cut one arm from the old model and added some green stuff to mold a new arm and hand.

Next up was to start actually putting the Knight together. Most frustratingly, there is no customization intended with this model. The legs are straight solid pieces and the attaching wires, pistons, etc. are made at a length for the model to be posed in one position. So I cut it up. Just one leg, the one I wanted to be perched atop the wall. Doing so left some big holes in the model that would be visible at the angle needed, so I thought to cover these with green stuff.

 Ultimately, I did not like the look of this, so I cut off the green stuff and added a straw and coffee stirrer to connect the two pieces, so from any angled view it would appear to be wiring.

The legs are still not attached to the base at this point. I needed to gauge how everything fit together first. While the "wiring" was drying, I set about putting the rest of the model together. I am leaving the mask off until the face underneath is painted. You can spot my choice of mask sitting off to the left in the picture below.

Once the straw had dried, I started pinning the feet of the Knight so it would be secure on the base's uneven terrain. I angled a drill in and put some holes inside the feet aimed for the center. Bending the tip of the pin into that hole, and then filling the foot with green stuff, created a fairly secure connection.

Here, the legs are in place and I sit waiting for glue to dry. Okay really I was putting together the rest of the model.

Once everything had dried, it was all put together. I took some time here to magnetize the gun options.

Voila! Complete.

Fee Fi Fo Fum. I smell shite in that guardsman's britches!

I still have some small details to add here and there. Ribbons and seals to the Knight, Chaosing up the guardsmen to show them as recently falling to Chaos, some more damage to the wall maybe... and of course the rest of the basing process.

When I finish all of that, and finish basing my Dark Elves, maybe I will get around to putting some paint on the model.