Vlka Fenryka – Ulfamaður – The Wulfen

by Migs

Vlka Fenryka 

A tribal pack of elemental hunters, the God Emperor’s engineered executioners, the color of granite and thunder clouds. The Sky Warriors of Fenris.

Canis Helix is the unique genome of Fenryka Astartes, superior even to Astartes. It’s a gift of bestial fury and a sixth sense, but equally a curse of darkness of the Wulfen. For each Sky Warrior, this is a life long battle of body and mind, of fear, control and cold. 

 

Fenrys,

Good to be back. Pilgrym but fait echoes on distant terra, my nordic nostrils drawing deep of the achingly fresh and icy air of Fenrys. I’m really re-energized, by what to me was a historic effort and hobby spectacle. From the name, to level of excellence, I think it would have made an utterly amazing official Project even. a 28mm game of Dystopian grandeur Called Pilgrym.

And now I know exactly what I want to do. Get back to properly playing Warhammer 40000. Trustful, that Games Workshop is about to adjust the system that has become a PHD requiring army building degree of complexity, into a fantastic core game that is approachable, rich and fluid.

Wulfen,

There was a lot to like with the new GW Wulfen models – except the big idea. I never saw the Wulfen as some perfectly formed sub species of skinny lupines, but monster Astartes, each a unique breakdown of Astartes physique through the cancer and curse of the Canis Helix. Huge, dark, lumbering beasts, impossibly agile for their sheer size, each a unique horror. I also saw the transformation as a little more sliding in scale, certain brother’s starting to bear the mark, and others all gone. Atleast in the case of my Company, returned from the Warp after ten millennia of hunting the Traitors, bringing home a trophy.

Some ideas are born ready, One look at the Forge World Blade slaves in the Warhammer World store, and on to build these. I’m really pleased how they turned out and currently cursing I used all my black primer for the mammoth Stairs. Cannot wait to get painting.

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The Army,

Looking at it with fresh eyes, eager to add to it, but also to adjust. Biggest challenge is to gradually find a balance to add browns to the basing to make the grey models pop more, without losing the cold, desolate feel.

So that’s what I’ve been tweaking recently. Still need to make them slightly darker, and add some more neutral grey once the balance is right. The first Jarl is nearly 2 years old, but still looks so imposing and “fresh”. I think one of the benefits of really pushing the envelope and trying to be original is that the work becomes fairly timeless.

Here are a few WIPs of adding those browns in to the basing.

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Migs

20 thoughts on “Vlka Fenryka – Ulfamaður – The Wulfen”

  1. Very nice work, looking forward to more. Personally I only play 2nd edition 40K which I and my friends still find to be the best version! It had a great Space Wolves list but no Wulfen, I don’t think.

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  2. Great to see you return to your Space Wolves. That combination of plastic GW wulfen parts and FW blade slave is gorgeous. It’s as if they were designed to go together. I’m liking the new browner bases too, they really make the grey miniatures come to life.

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  5. So, we’ve talked about how much Im a Sons of Russ addict. Since they first appeared with the grey armor and yellow striped helm. Then you turn these incredible models into the Rout. AND keep adding and producing more that are better than the last! Im blown away again and salute you Migs. They look great. I love the browns you added to the previous, although I loved the desolate feel as well. Keep it up and i will keep admiring your work! For Russ!

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    1. Thanks! I will definitely come back when there is enough brown pigment there, and add some neutral warm grey on top to calm it back down. It’s a tricky balance 🙂

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  6. Excellent work – this is actually much more like what I was hoping for from the official Wulfen. The Astartes have always had a core aesthetic that is big and hulking and the more elite they are the bigger and more huling they became (from tacticals to terminators to dreadnaughts). As you point out the Wulfen broke from that rather sharply by being so long limbed and lithe – it robbed them of some of their power – power that you’ve put back into these beasts in droves. My only criticism is the chaos star on the leg of the second warrior – beyond that though they are simply magnificent.

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    1. Thanks. I’ve contemplated filling the star. I am of the generation, where the Wulfen stole traitor armor parts to keep theirs going. But maybe this is too blatant.

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      1. Im of the same generation. It makes me feel like they took what they needed and its almost like a trophy to rub in tbe bad guys face…”I killed you brother and wear his armour”.

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      2. Likewise – I’m not really up to date on the latest Wulfen fiction but when I discovered them looting slain Chaos marines of their armour was just part of survival in the Great Eye. However I doubt any true warrior of the Rout would allow the mark of the great enemy to remain on his armour. They may have become bestial but they are still the sons of Russ and the most loyal warriors of the Imperium. To bear the sigils of Chaos would be unthinkable.

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      3. First your work is amazing but please don’t fill in the chaos as I would think that not even power armour would last 10k in the warp when you spend all your time on the hunt.

        Like yourself I’m of the first coming of the wolfen & while if long since gotten rid of them I still think fondly of them & of IMO a better time to be playing 40K sure the model’s are for the most part better now but sadly not the game.

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  7. Glad to see the wolves return once again. These are great. The hair on the sculpts references Wolverine of the comics, and these with their squat proportions seem to take this reference further. Cool

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  9. Maybe snow on the bases to make them pop? Some crispy, icy, snow I think would give a better harmony than those browns. I imagine that even if they aren’t neccesarily fighting on Fenris or some other ice world, they bring along snow, cold and whispering blizzards from the warp.

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    1. Popping and harmony are a slight contradiction though. I don’t want to do snow basing, because the army ends up looking ridiculous when not playing on snowy table either 🙂

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