Kitbashing for Necropolis

With October right around the corner, it is time to make some spooky miniatures to match the season. My local group decided to give Necropolis a go! I knew from the start I wanted to make some skeletons. One because skeletons are cool and two I already had some skeletons to use. Before I started kitbashing, I spent some time thinking of a concept for my skeletons. I wanted them to be more than just bones. Luckily, when my friend Anthony was visiting some game shops, he found a sick Skeleton King and that sparked my idea. My Skeletons are led by a Witch King, who resurrected his dead knights from the grave. This also gave me the idea to include dirt and sticks on the model to make them look like they recently emerged. 

To get started, I clipped out some skeleton bodies from the sprue. One pose was more static while the other is shambling forward. Since I had the concept of knights, dirt and branches. I knew I wouldn't be using skeleton arms for all the models. Some would be more armored then others. Like it was showing the ranks of the knights. 

Since I needed natural looking bits. I combed through my bits box and pulled out all the syveneith bits that I had. Most of these were bought off of ebay for 20 bucks! This resulted in a bunch of random parts that I wasn't totally sure how to use. But that is just an excuse to experiment. 

Looking though the bits, I quickly found some dryad arms as an alternative. I like how wicked the fingers are and how the texture on the arms added a different look. The arms also added a nice amount of movement. There were some awkward gaps in the shoulders, but that will be fixed later. Adding asymmetry to a model is one of my favorite ways to add visual interest. Using the spindly branches from a bunch of kits, I added branches sticking out from the tops of the shoulders. I even used some to create halos around the skulls that are inspired by medieval artworks. 

To fix the awkward gapes on the shoulder, I super glued coffee grounds on the shoulder. I wanted the branches to feel like they are growing out of the skeleton. The model started out with the dryad arms then I added the halo of branches. While searching my bits pile, I found these vines. I wasn't sure how to use it at first but then shoved it under the ribs and liked how it looked like organs falling out. One the vines were glued in, I threw some dirt on top. For good measure, I shoved a branch in the eye socket. 

Soon enough, I had a bunch of skeletons kitbashed! Here are 3 from the warband. The metal bodies are metal casts of sculpts by Garden of Hecate which fit this warband perfectly! I'm glad I found the right project to use them for. 

Where this skeleton came from, I have no idea. It showed up in my bits box one day. I think some one threw it in there during Under The Dice Fest. I imagine this character to be the first knight of the Witch King. I swapped out the sword for a larger blade and added a dryad arm to the other side. 

This model needed very little kitbashing! All It needed was a new pauldron, sticks added to the shoulder and a staff fit for a necromancer.  

An old Warhammer Fantasy skeleton I painted years ago. Added some branches and a new axe and he was all set to go. I really love the shield on this guy and had fun painting it but thats for another post.

With all my skeletons kitbashed, it was time to paint them up! Next post will go into the process of how I painted the skeletons. The technique and look of the models are a bit different from what I normally do. 

Now go paint some spooky models for Halloween!