Something I wanted to tackle right from the start of this project was the Wulfen. A unique and fluffy (in both senses) unit for Space Wolves, unfortunately saddled with a not-great kit. Here's my take on them.
This Space Wolves project has been an exercise in assembling models straight out of the box; something very different than what I do most of the time. So I didn't want to convert Wulfen out of other models. Really I wanted to see if the not-great kit could be coaxed into a set of cool models with minimal adjustment.
First thing was the scale doesn't match the newer Primaris Marines. Secondly, the poses are silly. The Wulfen's limbs are posed as if leaping, but their posture is upright, as if they're leaping straight up into the air. I aimed to fix the scale and the pose at the same time.
The models all wear loin cloths, which provided an attachment point to move the legs lower on the body. The gap was then filled in with Milliput. These models suffer that classic Warhammer malady of having no abdomen. Moving the legs lower helped fix that.
I ignored the assembly instructions altogether and paired the legs to match the poses I was going for. The leader ended up with two straight legs (for a pouncing pose) and one of the axemen got two bent legs (for a crouching run). All of the models got leaned much further forward. I altered the bottom of the foot that attaches to the base and built up some terrain to allow for a steeper pose.
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| Wulfen with Great Frostaxe |
To help increase their size and account for their steeper pose, I extended their necks and moved their heads forward. Their manes of hair provided a useful attachment point before adding Milliput to pad out the necks. I think this gives them a more bestial aspect, with their wild hair looking more like a mane whereas before it just sorta stuck up in the air.
Two of them got headswaps, from a Khorne model and a Marauder. I've used heads from the same kits on my Intercessors, and these (the most bestial of the kit) provide a good visual link between the more "normal" Space Wolves and their feral kin. I bashed them together with some of the hairy manes from the original Wulfen heads.
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| Wulfen with Thunderhammer and Stormshield |
One of the hammerers got a seriously modified pose. I cut apart his weapon arm to rotate the forearm and wrist so that the muscles would look right in that pose. Forunately, the model's hair flows in just the right direction to really sell the movement in this pose.
You'll notice I left off the backpacks altogether. They just look too clunky (even bigger than normal Space Marine backpacks), and throw off the models' balance altogether. Especially with the heavier forward lean, they look like they would actually weigh these guys down while running. But I did leave the connecting cables attached to their arms. They look like they're whipping round haphazardly and help to communicate movement.
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| Wulfen Leader with Frost Claws |
I switched out the leader's Frost Claws (you guessed it, I didn't like the ones in the kit) for some Dark Angels Lightning Claws. I think they look pretty cool, and these pieces of armour help to visually connect the unit to the normal armoured Astartes troops in the army.
With painting, my goal was to make them look utterly bestial and feral, while still a part of the Space Marines force they're a part of. I wanted the eyes and teeth to stand out as white dots against a dark figure.
I painted the skin and fur one model at a time, to keep the tones different for each model. Different mixes of browns, greys and black. Importantly, I used lighter colours in the recesses such as creases in the skin and between tufts of fur. This looks more natural and the skin looks more like leather.
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| Wulfen with Great Frostaxe |
I used the same texture paint from the bases (Vallejo Russian Mud) to dirty up what little clothing they're wearing. Since I omitted so many parts like shoulder pads and backpacks, the distinction between their clothing and skin got a little blurred, so I embraced that and made it more messy.
The frost weapons were undercoated with Tamiya Chrome, and then coated in thick white pigment. I've been experimenting with making pigment from crushed pastels. It's not as fine as professional pigment, but it works well for what I'm doing with it.
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Having had many negative words about this kit - I understand it's a divisive kit - it has some good pieces. The empty hands and arms are well sculpted. The more bestial set of heads look good in the right position. The weapons, shields, backpacks and ornaments are all great bits and invaluable for converting other Space Wolves kits. It's just the way they come together (if you follow the instructions) that results in a set of very silly models.
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