Kitbash - Corpse Divers (inq28/Necromunda)

 

"Pulled from the murky depths with muck and sinew wiped off, an adaptive breaker is connected to the stowage and after some time a click and hiss welcome us to retrieve what was so eagerly sought after by the client."

THIS BLOG! 

Greetings dear kitbashing creatives, hobby enthusiasts and super glue hoarders (maybe just myself) we return to a hopeful regular scheduled of posting here in the VVird. But to kick things off and get inspired for this revival I wish to showcased and explore a small crew of minis i built and painted in mid to late 2024, which were a combination of Warhammer, Tamiya and North Star mini kits plus some arts and craft bits too. They are the Corpse Divers which I only settled on that name as I was drafting this post.

I believe the Divers came about the time of @Apocrypha_Now's Scabz was released, the idea of using aluminium food tins to create vessels in a grimy setting similar to that of Swill however I have plans for the scab to be used for Munda28 equivalent rulesets/settings. Every vessel needs a captain and crew so they say.

  

The Crew

From left to right we have,

- The Engineer

- The Captain

- First Diver

- The Navigator

- Butcher / Second Diver

The building for these five was a lot of back and forth, figuring out what each of their roles were and ensuring that none of them seemed too similar as they all shared the same head choice. A metal bead from my mother in laws arts and crafts collection, as I was to rummage through the various containers and came across a bead that reminded me of the copper diving helmets from the mid 19th century. It shared a similar visual language that I was inspired by to which I got some flatback bedazzled gems and inverted them I had created the finished look of the helmet. Resulting in something that seemed like it was meant to exist in this fictional setting for their roles, which was sick.

With each model distinctively having their own narrative on show by their choice of equipment and pose I think at the time I was inspired by alot of kitbashers on instagram and honestly probably rewatching a lot of Eric's Hobby Workshop and Miscast videos while building and painting. and absorbing their practices and ideas on visual story telling through model making/kitbashing.
I still go back to certain videos and get inspired by them time after time, both legends in the community I reckon.

The three with questionable aquatic mutations

Anyways then the painting came and I was after that textural and visual look of "oh they've not seen a shower years" and "they definitely don't maintain their equipment", whilst also an uniforming scheme of colours too. The drab military green and pops of colour with the barnacles and yellow coats on certain metal elements. Now prior to this project I had used Citadel's Ratling Grime contrast paint but with this lot I heavily experimented by glazing thin layers, stippling just straight from the pot in certain areas to build up grime and muck (its literally in the name). 10/10 magic muck in a bottle.

More armour and Blue Steel

Now for the life of me and being 1.5 years since these fellas were complete, I don't 100% recall the paints I used so if I were to add more to this crew I'd have to A) figure that one out, B) find more of those beads which honestly I don't know if I saved any and C) eventually keep saving bits up for this lot to have new recruits. However that is future Meeps eventual project to deal with, but like stated at the start it was a kick up the rear to get back into gear for posting and making again for this year. 

MUSIC THIS WEEK:

- Gorillaz, Plastic Beach

- Two Door Cinema Club, Tourist History

- Paramore, Brand New Eyes

Bit of a Break

 It’s been a week or two since my last post and from that I’ve had some time away from the hobby which in reflection has been good. When thinking about what to say in the opening paragraph my mind automatically went to apologising and I could leave this part out but that’s not why I started this blog to be polished and well kept. 

(No photos this post just a word dump)

As if I was under some ideal upload schedule and putting expectations on deadlines, without getting too sidetracked this post will be short (some foreshadowing?) as I’m on my break at work. 

So what have I been upto? Well, I started by cleaning up the hobby desk and left that in a completely fresh reset state. That tends to help me when I come back to sit at the desk, I’m sure I am not the only one who can’t operate if my space is not organised and clean to a capacity. And after that I saw the trailer for Season 2 of the Fallout TV Series and went and bought New Vegas. It’s been about a year and half since I booted up the Xbox and have got about 18 hours in? And I think I’ve only just reached Novac, classic side quest and explore time spent well.

Besides New Vegas I picked up “Wuthering Heights” again, I only got a few chapters in when I started it last year and have been slowly taking my time in reading that too.  The HardPose challenge also started on the 1st of September led and hyped up by the incredible Jackson (@Hollowbodies_13 on insta), I set myself a goal of sculpting every day for an hour but in reality I altered my sights to committing an hour of hobby. If you want it to happen you can make time for it but sometimes life just sucks it out of you. 

But as of today Monday the 8th I’m feeling recharged for a better week and month with September as the weather is gradually warming up, meaning I can get outside a bit more comfortably. But for my time with the hobby for the rest of the year I am going to slow down and create and make with less of an agenda and “make art for arts sake” but in the capacity of the hobby. I say that as I have consistently been committing a large amount of time to the hobby for nearly 12 months and by slowing down I hope that it will assist in reducing burn out, and that shit sucks when it falls into your lap without realising it’s there to stay. 

“I’ve always said if I was to write songs for myself I would not write with an agenda” - Josh Pyke 

A quote that pings around in my head whenever I fall into the unrealistic expectation realm

MUSIC THIS WEEK/WEEKS:

Jake Bugg, Jake Bugg

Fallout 4 Radio Playlist on Spotify 

Of Monsters and Men, My Head is an Animal

Hilltop Hoods, The Calling

Boy & Bear, Harlequin Dream

Josh Pyke, Feeding The Wolves

Event: CANTCON_2025 Pt.1

Bit of housekeeping:

The VVird is going to have categories depending on the subject matter of the post, “Events” will be one of the many I’ve got in the pipeline. So it will be easy for not only myself but viewers to find later when the blog grows!

Before we get to Dickson Library with the Down Under Empire crew there is a timeline, so grab a cuppa or a snack (there’s a reason there is parts to this). I will keep it at for points to keep the story flowing smoothly.

• May2024, MeepMeepZeep came into existence on Instagram I and progressively posted my projects online to the community. And discovered what the community had to offer and show which was sweet.
  
  
• July2024, Discovering local Aussie accounts and their wicked content and thinking shit! These people are inspiring and awesome, without thinking much further than just commenting and sharing their stuff.
  
  
• August2024 - October2024, Quite busy few months. Got married, had a honeymoon and didn't have too much time for the hobby.
  
  
• November2024 (I think), I was invited to a chat titled "CANTCON 2025" no idea what it was but all of the people I had spent the last few months following and admiring from afar were all in this chat. I was thinking holy shit this is awesome.

• December2024 - January2025, was crunch time for building a warband for "Terror Nullius" a Psalm28 one shot event held at CANTCON with the idea of escaped convicts (you saw them in the first post, yeah that lot) and organising the logisitics of how to get there, where I was staying whilst also away on holidays in Queensland. Fun times!

Now the week of the con, got my bags packed, more superglue than anyone person should have on them (its not a problem I swear I won't be known as That Guy for it), boots tied tight and 4 days dedicated to indie skirmish wargaming, hobbying, a new found love for MTG and art. Literally the best fucking time ever and I promise there won't be many F-Bombs on the blog but it is necessary describing that event, I'll be saying it as these posts continue on it so sorry not sorry.

What a chuffed lad (thats me)

The trip down which was meant to be a cool XPT Regional train that turned into a bus trip due to a rail incident, which was bit longer but still rewarding as it took me through all the towns rather than just their stations. I wasn't quick enough to get a photo of the giant sheep's balls in Goulburn but google it, it is totally nuts. The accommodation was your standard hotel-ish AirBnB it did the job but randomly had this collection of oil heaters which I had to get a photo of cause who would believe that 7 oil heaters were just in a living room.

 

Proof of the oddities

Just being in Canberra and experiencing all of these interesting and cool things was a fantastic time and great experience for myself, and in the next part I will further recall on the actual event and the games and kitbashing and shenanigans that went down across that weekend of madness. Oh I forgot to mention earlier and I can't be bothered editing this to fit it in previous paragraphs but myself and another Down Under Empire member put our hands up to capture the event so there will be plenty of images to show off the con!

I'll improve on this writing thing at some point in the future I hope!

 

The First One (OOooooo)

 Like all great narratives, there is a beginning and this is it. It's close to my bedtime as I am typing this first post out so I'll keep it short and sweet I suppose, if you've found me by chance hi I'm MeepMeepZeep. Hobbyist, Photographer, Book Nerd, actually if I list that list I'll be a hypocrite about the short and sweet.

If you have followed me from Instagram or Discord, know that it'll be same same as whats over on yonder but the format is different! Goodbye shitty aspect ratios and hello bigger images and longer written pieces! More images! And most likely more freedom with this blog. I've got a stash of pictures already prepared for future posts but that is future Meep's job to sort out. Welcome, thank you for coming to my short TED Talk and I'll leave you with some pics of The Bruces.

 In order of appearance: Bruce, Bruce, Bruce, Bruce and Bruce

There is a story behind this lot of colonial convict crew but that will be for another day.

And wanting to share other parts of the hobby in this as well each post will have maybe one or a few albums at the end

MUSIC THIS WEEK:
- 'Ruckus' Movements
- 'Electric Warrior' T.Rex
- 'Nailbiter' Looming