What's that coming over the hill? A Porphyrion.

Stupid Virus...

I decided that I would take a break from working on The Court of the Fisher King.   With the current lockdown in the UK due to the Corona Virus outbreak, my planned Warhammer World exhibition has been postponed reducing the the urgency to complete the Court.

The other big driving force for me was the Titan Owner's Club Walk 2020 in June which has also sadly been postponed for the same reason.  I have decided that this is an opportunity rather than a curse in a bid to stay positive in these trying times!  As the Walk has been pushed back, I now have more time to add to my force before it's rescheduled - yay!

House Raven Bolstered

Even naked, he looks like a bruiser...

First up on the table is a Porphyrion.  I had reservations about this guy for some time as I wasn't a fan of the original gorget nor the staggered gun barrels on the arms.  I know other people love this model as it is, but I felt I had to alter them to fit my particular sensibilities!

Having worked on and fallen in love with the Asterius kit (which as an Acastus knight, shares many of the components with its forerunner the Porphyrion), I decided that simply ignoring a great model because of a few niggles was silly.

When I start a project like this one, I first sit down with the components and decide whether there's anything I have to replace or alter prior to starting the build.  In this case, I was lucky that the head and gorget could be left off as they aren't integrated into the chest.

I quite liked the look of the huge body with a regular Questoris knight head as it makes him look extremely bulky - a bit like the incredible hulk of knights!  In order to fill the larger neck cavity, I also used the Questoris knight armour cowl - this also gave the head a legitimate pivot point. 

Adding the new head did leave a large gap where the gorget used to be, but that was easily filled with putty to create a new armour section under the chin.

I assembled the rest of the hull and legs normally with the exception of the railings on the carapace.  I found that they were very thin and prone to both warping and snapping.  In order to avoid this, I simply built new rails from styrene dowel and tubing which allowed me to make the bars a little chunkier and less likely to snap off.

I left the missile launcher compartment separate as I wanted to be able to open and close it on the final miniature.  I assembled the launcher with the pneumatic struts in a position where they could hold it open while still popping back inside when I wanted the carapace closed.

I sprayed all of the components silver and started painting the armour plating for the legs.  I went for a really nice clean look as it was a nice contrast to my filthy Asterius!

I decided to paint most of his armour plating separately prior to the final assembly

I am keeping the scheme as close to the traditional House Raven colours as possible

I'm currently working on a block to even the magna lascannon barrel length.  In my opinion, this will look much more satisfying than the original staggered layout.  I guess we'll have to see once it's finished!

In other news, I am also looking to finish 5 other Questoris class House Raven knights in advance of the walk.  If I get time, I may also add in a couple more Cerastus knights to bolster my forces, but I need to finish the paint work on Excidium Rex (my second Warhound) as I can't take him to the walk only partially finished again - I'd be disgraced!!

So, my 2020 Walk progress looks like this so far:

Venator Light Titan Maniple:

Reaver Titan - 100% complete

Warhound Titan - 100% complete

Warhound Titan - 90% complete

Acastus Knight banner:

Asterius - 100% complete

Porphyrion - 50% complete

Cerastus Knight Banner:

Lancer - 100% complete

Lancer - 100% complete

Lancer - 0% complete (Optional)

Acheron - 0% complete (Optional)

Questoris Knight Banner:

Knight Errant - 100% complete

Knight Paladin - 50% complete

Knight Gallant - 50% complete

Knight Crusader - 50% complete

Knight Warden - 50% complete

Knight Preceptor - 50% complete

I'll post my progress in the coming days - fingers crossed, I'll have two completed Knight houses by the end of the lockdown!

I hope you all stay safe, positive and hobby productive!  See you on the flip-side!