Space Slann Part 2

Ribbit. After a couple of years' work, this extra-large Space Slann and its servant robots are finally ready to join their compatriots. Pics and process below the jump...

Looking back at my Space Slann project, I see that I started kitbashing them in 2023, and showcased them "complete" on my blog in February 2025. At that time, I still had two Wind Spirit Constructs left to finish painting, and one extra fancy kitbash in mind that I couldn't easily source the parts for. Recently, I've been making an effort to finish off outstanding projects before starting new ones, so this Slann project is finally complete!

Wind Spirit Constructs

I'll show the Wind Spirit Constructs first. As I said in my first Space Slann post, I looked to the Eldar/Aeldari army list to come up with ideas for what a Slann army might look like. Eldar have cool mid-sized spirit-driven robots in Wraith Warriors, and I copied this idea. My spin is that the Constructs are stone robots crafted by Slann artisans, and then piloted by weak minor warp entities ("wind spirits") that the Slann summon and keep a tight rein on.

This gives the Slann army some Aztec/Mayan/Modernist/Brutalist stonework elements in contrast to the brightly-coloured fleshy, froggy footsoldiers, and introduces a lore element of the Slann messing around with the Warp without apparently succumbing to its harms (surely they can't keep getting away with this?!)

I sourced some old metal Battletech sculpts for the Constructs. The older models have some amazing geometric shapes, looking more like architecture or modern art than vehicles in some cases. The scale is also perfect (these are on 40mm bases). Being unfamiliar with Battletech, I pored through loads of pictures online before choosing four mechs that most fitted what I was going for. All four look great! I had two finished when I blogged the Slann last time, and I finished off painting the remaining two at last. Very simple rocky colour scheme, with some moss tufts added for an ancient robot look. Selected elements used the dark green colour I used to indicate "Slann tech" across the group.

Holding hands?

But of course the more exciting member of the trio is the

Slann Mage-Priest

 

This one is something I wanted to build way back when I was working on the main Slann group. A big Slann of the sort that normally sits on a throne, but walking around by itself.

This Mixtec Rain God Vessel inspired the pose, build, and overall feel of the Slann Mage-Priest

I'm a fan of chunky models that fill their base, and the River Trolls / Fellwater Troggoths fit the bill. But for a long while they were almost impossible to source at a reasonable price - mostly only appearing on eBay as a full set of three at full price. Once the bits websites finally stocked River Troll bits again, I snapped one up and got to work. The plastic Slann head and arms scale perfectly with that body, but I swapped out its spikey troll feet for webbed frog feet from the plastic Beast of Nurgle. Joining all the parts together required sculpting a lot of smooth fat rolls with green stuff, which was actually great fun.

 

If the Slann itself was a dream to assemble, the head-dress was less easy. I spent a long time dry-fitting bits together in different combinations. So much so that every piece felt like a breakthrough. The big up-curved horn (cut from the Blood Bowl Amazons token) was a breakthrough. The teeth on the horn (individually cut and glued) were a breakthrough. The forked tongue on the forehead (from the Saurus Standard Bearer) was a breakthrough - well, you get the idea. The head-dress also uses parts from the old Cold One Riders champion, and even the slann's throne. The lip piercing is from a Saurus spear end, and helps to sell the head-dress as something surrounding and attached to the Slann's entire face.

It might have been my zeal for kitbashing this creature together that put me into kitbashing mode for a few months, neglecting to paint any finished models. So the Slann Mage-Priest remained in my to-do pile for most of this year. Now I'm putting in the effort to finish off a batch of outstanding projects before I start any new ones.

 

Painting this Slann was of course a big undertaking - for the most part, colour blocking. I started off knowing that the head-dress was going to be Slann-tech green. And the Slann's skin started with the idea of a peach that varies from deep pink-purple-red to light pink-yellow. So the whole upper torso, head, upper arms and belly were the starting point. The face needed careful balance to keep its features readable.

From there, colours developed according to what seemed right. The hands become a strong contrasting blue, and that ruled out blue on the thighs (which would have made the right hand disappear). Reusing the strong primary red colour seemed right for the large feet, with lighter webbing, and pale fishy flesh for the inner leg and knees. A blue butt seemed like a funny idea so I went with that too.

 

They fit perfectly with the group. In terms of lore, I think this is another of the Slann morphologies that fits them into their social-military hierarchy. See also the Bull Slann, and the neotenous Way-Swimmer, whose amphibian physiology can see them puffing up extra large, or retain gills and a tail.

L-R Slann Mage Priest, Bull Slann, normal Slann

 

I left off any overtly sci-fi details from this build. Maybe a cable attached to the staff might have made it clear it's a sci-fi weapon, but it's not needed. I like the possibility that this Slann, like the Old Ones, might cross universes.