The Legio Astraman Dire Wolf ‘Umbra Ignis’ is based on the original Forgeworld kit. Recently, it was announced that these would be replaced by an all-new plastic kit for Legions Imperialis. However, since I already have a few of them in hand, I decided to add it to a fledgling Morning Stars maniple. This started with the Nemesis Warbringer ‘Ferrum Vulcanus’ which is now ready for the games launch.
Love it or hate it
There’s no ignoring the fact that this kit has its haters, aesthetically. However, I’m not one of them. In fact, I feel that this is one of the first kits from Forgeworld for Titanicus that truly showcases the significant improvements they have made in their casting process. The details are stunningly sharp, and out of the four kits I checked, I couldn’t find a single flaw.
While I acknowledge that the Dire Wolf’s default pose is quite static, which doesn’t help its profile, I believe that with a little creativity, the Titan can be easily modified to have a more dynamic stalking stride pattern.
Overall, I’m quite impressed with the quality of this kit and find the potential for customization and dynamic posing to be a huge plus. With a bit of imagination and skill, it can be transformed into a menacing addition to any Legio.
Modifications
I replaced all the pistons in the kit with brass rods. It wasn’t because the resin parts were inadequate; rather, I wanted to extend some of the leg positions beyond the length allowed by the original parts. I made adjustments to the toe and heel positions in the feet to achieve a forward gait and raised the elevation of the main weapon, keeping it horizontal. In my mind, I envisioned a system akin to modern tanks that keeps the barrel level and steady during movement. This results in a much more aggressive silhouette for the Dire Wolf, aligning with its role.
As for the other model, I’m still contemplating the approach. I’m particularly fond of the idea of a lowered ‘hull down’ version concealed amidst ruins, possibly with one foot braced on a regulation ‘tactical rock’ (if you know, you know). Lots of potential to try a few different ideas.
Painting
The base is a white pre-shade airbrushed over black. I strengthened the shadows with purple before applying any green.
For the color application, I opted for Tamiya Clear Green and enhanced it with several layers of Tamiya Clear Yellow. This resulted in a saturated, almost lime green tone that closely matches the artwork in the books.
More Dire Wolves?
There will be yes. Maybe not for legio Astraman as I would like to move onto more conventional engines, but at least one will be allocated to Mortis. The others remain undecided.