Leisure Suit Sven

Sven Axegrinder in Power Armor.

Just over 2 years ago I got a few models from Da Masta Cheef that originally belonged to Necronbob. One of them was the Vindicator tank that I repurposed into a World Eater aligned vehicle for my Chaos force. One of the other models was a very old (1991 I think) Space Marine Captain. He was rare even in those days as he was the limited edition Games Day model that year. Clearly he is based off of the classic Terminator Captain from the first metal Terminator boxed set. And with that model being the basis for Sven Axegrinder, the continuity between the two models is too obvious to not make a second Sven Axegrinder model.

The original Sven.

Although this model doesn't have the rebreather mask, and the terminator model doesn't have a bionic eye, a lot of the other details are fairly close.

After rebasing the model, applyng the grit to the base, the model was primed and ready!

Primed.

Base coated.

I used my old, '90s era, Shadow Grey for the base-coat. It's not as dark as the millennial version though but I like the rich tone it has.

Base coats of Shadow Gray, Fiery Orange and a dark brown.

I decided to match the Terminator model's non-metallic gold scheme on this model even though it's a pain in the ass to paint, I usually like the final results enough to feel that the effort is justified.

      Bugman's Glow as the flesh basecoat.

I decided to try something different with the skin on this models and used Bugman's Glow for the basecoat instead of my traditional choice of Dwarf Flesh. I then put Dwarf Flesh over this. I think the colors work very well together.

Horizon Blue and Dwarf Flesh.

The mid-coat which I use for my Space Wolf color is called Horizon Blue and it's from the old Epic Battle paint set. I cherish this paint and I hope to find a good analog for it once I eventually exhaust my supply.

Next, I dabbed on watered-down Space Wolf Grey. Then I put the Space Wolf Gray on the edges of the armor but I kept it thick and straight from the bottle.

Bronzed Flesh and Space Wolf Gray.

Bronzed Flesh was put on top of the Dwarf Flesh before adding a final highlight of Cadian Flesh. This is my first time using these colors in this sequence for caucasian skin tones and I like the results.

Skull White.

So far this model has come along quickly. after adding a few conservative Skull White highlights to the armor, it was done!

I next painted the bone colored icons and added Averland Sunset followed by Sunburst Yellow to the shoulder plates and the winged icons.

I decided not to use the cloak/backpack that came with this model as I felt I needed to make the model a bit more "wolfy". I ordered a few Wulfen Backpacks from a bitz store online, which arrived super fast. It fits great and the bone totems on top of it give the model a greater sense of menace. I painted it using the exact same steps above with one notable exception: I didn't prime it. It was simply far too cold outside and since it's plastic anyway the likelihood of the paint chipping is minimal.

Backpack basecoated, no primer.

Here it is finished and ready to be mounted.

Backpack finished.

But not before applying the decals. Afterwards the backpack was added and Power Armored Sven Axegrinder was completed. After I flocked the base of course.

Finished model! 

As followers of my Space Wolf projects know, I use the origional Space Wolf icon, from the Rogue Trader days, as Sven's Great Company badge. I was bummed that it didn't return with the pseudo-retro iconography that GW/FW have been doing with 30K, but then again, it does make my army feel a bit more unique for it.

Original Space Wolf icon.

On both leg greaves I added some more iconography. The right leg in particular has the 2nd edition-era campaign badge. This was added as a bit of an afterthought really, but enough of my finished models have this badge that it makes sense to me to continue to uae it.

Campaign Badge on right leg.

And here are both incarnations of Sven together:

A pair o' Svens.

I'm pleased with the results, and now I have two alternatives/options for using Sven Axegrinder in the game.