Cogfort E44D - Cogsmith on Mechanical Steed
Description
The Cogsmith is an essential part of any freeguild force, overseeing the overall upkeep of the mechanized forces; steam tanks, artillery, etc. It’s an even bigger responsibility in a mobile cog-fort.
Cogsmith Gearith Crank rides his trusty cog-steed Hexbolt from steam tank to volley gun to rocket battery and back during battle to ensure they are in step and their ranges are locked in.
Pictures
Build + Paint
Warhammer Fantasy Battles Engineer on Mechanical Steed
There was a model from the old Warhammer Fantasy Battle days that set a precedent for this. The Master Engineer on Mechanical Steed! The idea of a magical automata horse that the rider controls by connections to their body was highly unusual in the 'world that was', but this feels on the mark in the high fantasy tone of Age of Sigmar.
Again, I found inspiration around the web but you never have the same bits someone else has. So I used what I had:
Cover of 28 Magazine, vol. 1 by Pascal Blanché
Hexwraith (AoS) Horse Body
Skitarii (40k) Rust Stalker legs & backpack (to power the thing)
Griffon General (AoS) spare body and head
Skitarii (40k) Dragoon lance
It took about 4 hours of exploration, trial and error and bitz digging, but I'm very happy with the result.
I found this amazing reference for the metals being exposed to a very wet environment, perfect portrayal of a wet Ghyranian Rain Forest and a weathering treatment I’d never seen used on metals in Warhammer 40k or Age of Sigmar.
The shield was going to be one of the Duardin kit shields with a cool geometric design, but in the end I wanted more cog shields in the army. So his left arm is a mechanical arm attached to a cog shield, showing that he’s seen the kind of battle many of the guard have seen.
I’m not 100% satisfied with the head of the Hexbolt. I’d rather go with something more insect like. I tried a skull, I tried a mechanical box, and currently it’s a metal sculpt of a real horse. I thought that’d look a bit creepy too. We’ll see where this evolves.
