Every self-respecting army needs some kind of centerpiece banner bearer, and Da Ironbullz are no exception.
One of my favorite parts of any Warhammer army is the battle standard bearer. These models are a great opportunity for extensive conversions and detailed paint jobs, and often serve as one of the focal points of any collection.
It should come as no surprise that I was excited to convert just such a Waaagh! Banner Nob for Da Ironbullz!
In truth, I've actually been chipping away at this model infrequently over the last several months but haven't had a chance to post any pictures due to a new puppy consuming all of our free time.
I wanted the Nob to be posed as if he's standing on top of a ruined sewer culvert by the side of a city street. Given that he is a banner bearer, I wanted him to have an intimidating stance: not necessarily as if he's in combat, but instead might be roaring orders (or "encouragement") to the other greenskins.
In order for this vision to work out, I had to source bitz widely:
For the base, I stacked three layers of 1/4" foamboard to replicate poured concrete stairs, and used plasticard to make exposed sewage pipes and a guard railing along the top of the stairs. I sealed up the cracks with drywall filler, and sculpted some water effects with greenstuff.
Here are some work-in-progress photos of the conversion process:
When it came to painting, I decided to feature bright primary colors more prominently on this model since I wanted him to stand out from the rest of the army.
I also opted to freehand a horned skull glyph onto the face of the banner. While it took a couple tries, the final glyph ended up sharp enough.
Finally, I tried to apply the lesson on battle damage from my first few test Orks: keep battle damage and scratches small, but use more of them overall. On this model I tried to concentrate the battle damage on edges of the model that would naturally bump or scrape against things. I also added a splatter of brown paint to simulate mud, which I think looks pretty convincing:
After attaching him to his base, applying varnish, and adding a couple small tufts of static grass, he was finished!
In all seriousness, I think this is probably the model I'm the most proud of from my ~20 years as a Warhammer player. I am very happy with how he turned out, and only hope he will prove equally effective on the tabletop!
