Design Diary: Lords of the Legion (Patreon)

I hadn't realised just how much this kit had grown until I counted the final components.

Somehow it ended up at nearly 60 components… and that was me actively trying to stop myself adding more! Otherwise this is one of those kits that would have kept growing forever.

It was an incredibly fun kit to put together though, and I hope it gives you plenty of options to build champions, lords and Fellsmiths that feel unique to your own armies.

One thing I particularly enjoy is seeing ideas from the forge find their way into the range. Thanks to a suggestion from one of our Forge Masters, bare heads have now been added to the kit and are available in the Cults3D download.

Please don't stop making suggestions.

I can't promise every idea will become a release, but they all get read, they all get considered, and many of them end up influencing future designs. Some ideas make it into the very next update, while others end up on the scratch pad waiting for the right project.

Female Evil Dwarfs

This was my first attempt at sculpting female Evil Dwarfs.

It was a fun challenge trying to capture more feminine features while still making them look like they could happily march into battle alongside the rest of the legion.

I settled on a tight hair bun because it felt practical and military... although, if I'm honest, I probably took a little inspiration from Miss Trunchbull before remembering I was about to put a helmet on her anyway!

Thankfully the bare heads made it into the final release.

I definitely think we'll see more female Evil Dwarfs in future, particularly as the Furnace Cults begin to take shape.

Welding together Classic, Contemporary and Brand New

You'll probably notice a few of the staffs (staves?) take inspiration from some classic designs.

After spending months sculpting armour, weapons and machinery, it was refreshing to work on something a little more arcane.

In my head, every Fellsmith believes they've forged the finest staff ever created. That little bit of rivalry seemed fitting, and it also helps each hero stand apart with a distinctive silhouette.

I also included several shorter staffs. Apart from looking different, they'll simply make posing easier and give you more freedom when building your characters.

The personal banners are another nod to classic imagery. Alongside the icon variants, they provide another simple way to make your commanders stand out, while remaining fully compatible with the banner system across the rest of the range.

Accessories

One of my favourite additions in this kit is probably the smallest.

Accessories.

The magical tabards can be glued wherever you like, giving sorcerers that little extra touch of arcane character. I also left several blank so you can paint or freehand your own runes if that's your thing.

Combined with the new fire and power hands, they should make it immediately obvious who is wielding the darker arts on the battlefield.

The collar attachments almost became part of the body sculpts, but at the last minute I decided to keep them separate. That little bit of flexibility means they can become unit leader markers, veteran upgrades or simply another way of making individual models feel unique.

The base topper was another cool addition.

This time it's a fairly simple industrial platform, but I really like the extra height it gives your characters. It's amazing how much presence a few extra millimeters adds.

I can already see these evolving into temple platforms, infernal machinery, rune-carved altars and all sorts of more elaborate bases in future.

Probably not too many rocks though... I think the hobby has enough rocks already!

Looking Ahead

One of the things I've enjoyed most about this project is that it genuinely feels like we're building this range together.

The poll results, the discussions, the suggestions tucked away in the comments; they all help shape where the project goes next. Sometimes it's something as simple as adding bare heads. Other times it sparks an entirely new concept that sits on the scratch pad until the right moment arrives.

So please keep the ideas coming.

Not because I'll make every one of them, but because every conversation helps make the range stronger.

Well, that's it for this Design Diary.

I hope you've enjoyed this little look behind the curtain at some of the design decisions that went into the Lords of the Legion Kit.

I'm off on holidays for the next couple of weeks, but when I get back, I have one very important job - Elite Infantry!

MM