Building a Baggage Train

The undead have no use for cabbages or cargo, so for my Tomb Kings baggage train, I designed a cart carrying a mummified Emissary of the King, and a collection of artifacts and scrolls. Here's a look at how I kitbashed this bespoke centerpiece model. 

 

The main components for this project are two chariots, the old metal Wight King skeletal steed, and a bunch of spare bits taken from other kits. 

 

I've had this Dark Heaven mummy in sarcophagus kicking around in my parts box for ages, and this project was the perfect use for it, but I swapped out the mummy for one from the Screaming Skull Catapult. I cut him free from the support post; his back was a mess, but since he'd be lying in the sarcophagus it wasn't a problem.

 

 

To build the cart, I cut the axles off of the chariots and arranged the floors back to back.

 

 

I cut away the railing from the side of the chariot and trimmed about 1/8-inch off of the bottom to lower the height a bit.

 

 

Both chariots together were a little long, so I glued the sides in place and then, using the sarcophagus as a guide, trimmed the back of the floors down to size. 

 

 

I left a small gap where the chariot sides came together so I could add vertical posts and attach a canopy on top. I wanted the post to match the size and style of the curved trim on the chariot, so I used 2.5mm half-round styrene rods. These were glued to a 2.5mm square styrene rod to make a post that was square on the inside, and round on the outside.

 

Here are the posts, fit in place:

 

 

At the top, I mounted two Tomb Guard banner icons, mounted back to back. The half-round sections extend longer than the square rod so I can wrap them over the curved top of the banner icon. Another half-round segment was glued underneath. At this stage, I also added the chariots' curved decoration plates on the front and back.

 

 

The banner top and posts were selected because they were the perfect size to fit under the canopy from the Necrolith Bone Dragon kit. The canopy had two tabs on the underside, and I cut notches into the banner tops so the canopy could plug in.

 

 

Here is the emissary in his sarcophagus, under the canopy. At the front, I added the Liche Priest's collection of scrolls from the Bone Dragon.

 

 

To smooth out the joins between the styrene posts and the trim on the chariot, I used some modeling putty.

 

 

The axles from the chariots were glued to the bottom, spaced where the wheels fit the best. The wheels (and most of the interior components and canopy were all kept separate for ease of painting.

 

 

For the horse pulling the cart, I've used the old metal Wight Lord's skeleton steed:

 

 

The undead horse had a great pose that looked perfect for pulling against its restraints. It needed a bit of putty work to smooth over the seam where the wto halves join together. (I've had several of these skeletal steeds over the years, and they never seemed to fit together cleanly.)

 

 

To build the hitch, I used the yokes that I cut off of the chariots, one on each side.

 

 

I removed the cross pieces, and attached the poles to the underside of the chariot with a bit of styrene tube and rod to create the mounting point. 

 

 

The crossbarss were each cut down and pinned onto the ends of the beams to create the "saddle" that fits over the horse's back.

 

 

The decorative sculls were added on each side, and I drilled out a small gap in the ring so I could feed a strap through.

 

 

To join the halves of the saddle arch, I used super glue and baking soda to fill the gap, and then sanded it smooth.

 

 

For the connecting straps, I cut some thin strips of styrene, and carefully folded one end by softening it with a heat gun. They were trimmed to the appropriate length, and the rivets were cut from a small styrene rod.

 

 

With the cart sorted, it was time to make some artifacts to accompany the emissary. I made a pair of canopic jars by cutting the mummy icons off of a Tomb Guard shield and gluing it to a length of styrene rod. I tapered the bottom with a file, and sculpted a cap, which was topped with some decorative bits taken from other models. 

 

 

I made another jar in a similar fashion, and capped it with a skull from the chariot yoke with its ring removed. The liche priest's scrolls and stuff were added at the front (they fit perfectly into the chariot), and added a few more scrolls that I sculpted.

 

 

One final addition was adding some attendants– one presenting a message scroll, and one with his hand on the horse's restraint. The open hand for the skeleton came from the old "Skeleton Horde" plastic kit from the '90s.

 

 

Here's a look at all the components, primed and sprayed with a base color.

 

 

The painted Emissary and his artifacts:

 

 

It didn't really show up as more than a few splotches in the lettering, but I painted a few paw prints on the scrolls. I also like the smoky hand reaching out to pet the kitty!

 

 

I also took a photo of the scales because they are obscured once they are inserted under the canopy.

 

 

And here's the completed baggage train– The Emissary of the King, ready for battle:

 

 

'Til next time!