Kill Team – Crimson Fists Primaris Sergeant

The image above is the one you've already seen of Primaris Veteran Sergeant Vorn. He is the last of my 7-man Crimson Fists Kill Team to see any kind of undercoat, the reason being that I wanted to adorn his armour with a few unique elements so that he stands out on the tabletop.

Now I've not done any greenstuff sculpting for a very long time, so my skills are quite rusty, but I had my list of additions and gave it a go.

First on the list was a loin cloth. I wanted to add a bit of movement to the model and another colour, as they are turning out to be very blue! I supplemented this with some purity seals – on the belt and the shoulder pad.

I managed to find a rather nifty skull with roman numerals etched into it from the Primaris Apothecary model, so I added that to the shoulder pad first. I then also sculpted a (crude) skull to the opposite knee pad. I like the idea that this is some kind of icon for the team – Skull and VI – so may have to use it on the other models in various forms.

He is now on the painting table and should have caught up with the rest of the team's completed blue armour in the next couple of days!

Nurgle Biker Champion – part 3

Nurgle Biker Champion - part 2

My Nurgle Biker Champion is virtually complete now as far as the building goes. I will no doubt nip and tuck some details before basing him and undercoating. He's a little more converted than I was originally going for but as the champion he has to stand out so I'll get away with it. The challenge will be to get the rest of the squad looking coherent without being as heavily modified.

The main addition was the fungal vents at the back of the bike. I had to cut away the back of the seat in order to fit the rider on, so needed some sort of visual replacement. I was going to convert the exhausts into fungal vents but they're a bit small to begin with and I didn't want to open the 'can of worms' that is major converting surgery, so this is the compromise.

I also added spikes to the wheels with bits of cocktail sticks, trimmed right back. I intend to paint them up as bone rather than metal so that it feels more organic.

I didn't think that Nurgle biker needed any kind of display or readout to ride this thing so the screen had to go. I tried a new technique I recently discovered – using a comb to roll out greenstuff, creating this piping. The impression is a bit weak on this one but the theory works well.

Elsewhere on the bike I added growth and mutations to disguise the original machine a little. I still need to drill out the exhausts and such but he is pretty much complete. On to the paint!

To be continued…

Nurgle Biker Champion – part 2

Nurgle Biker Champion - part 1



Here's the first pictures of my Nurgle biker champ after the drill has had its wicked way and the first round of greenstuff has gone down. Still more to do, plus maybe some added extras, but you get the idea of where we're going with it.

Already things are looking much improved and nurgly. The wheels don't look particularly brutal so I wanted to go to town on them. They will eventually have spikes in them, but I liked the idea of it looking like they shouldn't work properly due to being so overgrown with mutation. Getting there.

The rider himself is pretty finished with the greenstuff, the focus now being any large areas of the bike, such as the fuel tank. The drill battered it with pock marks and now I'm working back in with growths.

Very happy so far. I don't want to go too overboard with the greenstuff but, as the unit champion, this model needs to stand out a little. The back half of the bike remains relatively untouched at present, but I have plans for that!

So, another post about the greenstuff stage then on to some painting hopefully.


To be continued…

Nurgle Biker Champion – part 1

I spoke last week about a desire to build some Nurgle bikers. I need something fast in my army and at Toughness 6 (!!) these guys will do quite nicely thank you. Whilst I see a lot of people building bikers with meltas and power fists to go tank hunting I think I'll go down a different route.

Nurgle bikers are not the same as Plague Marines on bikes, they're simply normal Chaos Marine bikers with an extra point of toughness. This means that they don't get a bonus 'feel no pain' save, no blight grenades and they're initiative 4 not 3. The implication of this last point is that they will be going (mostly) simultaneously in combat with Imperial marines (looking at you Dark Angels!). Why then would I hamstring myself back to initiative 1 with a power fist or power axe when I'm likely to be outnumbered 2 or 3 to 1 and mostly likely be dead before I get to hit? Toughness 6 is great, but hits will land if rolled in sufficient numbers – white dice or not!

I want this bike unit to be a distraction to go out early in the game and take the heat of other units, maybe even assault a devastator or command unit to slow them down or hamper their effectiveness. With that in mind I have decided to go with a power weapon/flamer combo.

As you can see with my Champion model here, I gave the bike extended front forks and have added my own custom front mud guard. It's all looking a bit light weight at the moment but this is the pre-greenstuff stage, so all types of boils, rot and growths will emerge soon enough. I may even add some barbed wire and chain that I have kicking around (somewhere).

For the Champion himself, I've used a leftover Forgeworld body and shoulder pads and added standard marine legs instead of the ridiculous ones that come with the bike. I also managed to find a spare Ogre weapon, which looks far more nasty than a standard power weapon and, at a push, could represent a power axe when needed.

So at the moment the bike is looking ok but, as we've seen with my previous Nurgle projects, the greenstuff stage will change things completely. I have also added some pennies into the base to weigh it down and already it has added gravitas to the model when you hold it in your hand. Just how a model should be.

To be continued…

Nurgle Army Update

This post is for all the new visitors I seem to have at the moment – welcome to the blog – and for those followers of Nurgle that don't fancy trawling through the back catalogue of blog posts.

This is your Nurgle index list!

I started the Nurgle army (properly) with the release of the Dark Vengeance box set and the journey has continued ever since.

Nurgle Forgefiend Conversion

40k: For My Next Trick…

I've enjoyed my time altering vehicles for the glory of Nurgle. In fairness I haven't got a handle on the painting of them yet, but the converting has been on the money so far.

I've already converted a Forgefiend into something more gribbly. This has been the benchmark by which other projects will be compared. It has had a basic paint job to cover the grey but it needs a revisit.

The most recent addition to the Nurgle vehicle pool has been the Heldrake. This project was a real gamble – who in their right mind hacks up a perfectly good, brand new £40 model?!

Luckily, that has come through the rebirthing process with flying colours and is having painting attention lavished on it currently. Another update due before the weekend.

Not content with those two, it's time to look at the next project on the list. I was lucky enough to receive a Defiler kit for Christmas but, as I build him, I'm undecided whether to convert/paint him up as Nurgle, or save him for the Iron Warriors. In the meantime the converting machine must roll on.

I decided what was needed a few weeks back and was all set to purchase some shiny new gear. However, given I was going to give it a Heldrake-style makeover I thought I'd check Ebay for some bargains first.

Sure enough I found this bad boy and was lucky enough to bag it for just over half the cost of a new one. I picked it up from the Post Office yesterday and noticed a few things when I opened the package:
The Bolter had snapped off (no big deal); the Lascannon sponsons and assault ramp were fully articulated (awesome!); The Havoc launcher and Heavy Bolter were glued in place (hmmm). I concluded that this will make a great starting point for my new Nurgle Land Raider for Typhus and his Terminators.

The plan is to cut off the bits I don't want (spikes, icons, weapons). I also plan to take off the tank treads and replace with Forgeworld Chaos treads – can't be having any aquilla symbols on a Nurgle tank!

I will then follow the process that I used for the Heldrake – use my Dremel to texture the surface of the tank then add greenstuff elements. I will also sculpt Nurgle specific door symbols and add some fungus pipe vents, like on the Heldrake, in and around the exhausts.

I've never completed a fully painted Land Raider before, despite owning several in the past, so I'm looking forward to this.

But, before then – Heldrake painting update before the weekend!!

Nurgle Heldrake – part 2

I've had a week away from blogging since the New Year making the most of my remaining holidays. Now it's back to work and back to the blog, so let's start with some greenstuff!

Nurgle Heldrake – part 1

I learned a lot of tricks about representing Nurgle with greenstuff whilst transforming my Forgefiend, so intended to follow a similar line with the Heldrake. However, the Heldrake was going to need a lot more conversion, hence the last time we saw him he was looking a rather forlorn shadow of his former self.

The head was always going to be the focal point of this model so I started there, adding back in what I'd taken away with the Dremel. On the left side of it's head I extended the area around the eye and tried to make it look like bone. I also added various horns and spikes (I know – I just cut them all off right!) to make it look more alive than the previous metallic incarnations. The rest of the left side had boils, diseased skin and Nurgle icons grafted onto it. I also added pock marks using the drill at various points on the wings, particularly at the ends.

The right hand side of the head needed to be different. I created an eyeball and let it dry before adding bloated, diseased skin around the area. Spikes, boils and excess skin were added here, as well as something of a double-chin (not in photo).

There has been a lot of negative feedback (from what I've read) about the unfinished nature of the exhaust ports on the Heldrake. The fact that you can see right inside the model does little to add value or quality to the piece, which is a shame. I decided I wanted to add some fungus pipe vents (as seen on Typhus' armour). I had to open up the holes to fit the size of plastic tubing I had; I then lathered the area in plastic glue and left it to dry. Once solid I went back and added greenstuff around the join. However, you could still see inside the model so, rather than use up a ton of my greenstuff, I glued in bits of sponge soaked in white glue.

So there we are. The Heldrake isn't finished yet – he needs more 'stuff adding down the right side. The model is starting to weigh a ton with all the added bits, but should look smart once the paint is added.

To be continued…

Nurgle Heldrake – part 1

The above image shows my shiny new Heldrake that made its debut in a recent game against Bull's Dark Angels.

I'd been horrified when I first saw the model but have to hold my hands up and say that it has grown on me… a little. Its abilities in-game made it a must-buy model and so, with some reluctance it has to be said, I parted with my cash and built the Chaos flyer.

It had a reasonable debut, but the implied threat was far worse that what it actually achieved on the day. I went home pleased with my purchase, but the model itself has always bothered me and I promised myself to make it more suitably Nurgle when I got the chance.

It was never going to be pretty but this is how I trashed a £40 model!

The first thing was that it's all too spikey. The front wing is so long it often catches on the table, so that was another issue. The 'veins' that appear across the various surfaces was also too fussy. it all had to go. The flyer looks very Khorne-like in its natural state but that goes against everything that is Nurgle.

I dug out my Dremel, found my box of accessories and spent the next hour chewing the plastic to pieces – literally.

…and this was the result.

A very folorn specimen, looking very sorry for itself. I have to admit it did cross my mind that I had gone too far. However, you have to have faith in your convictions. At the end of the day, no matter how trashed the model got, it would look infinitely more Nurgle-esque.

I set to with greenstuff in hand to pull the model around… but that's for another time.

To be continued…

To everyone out there in the blogsphere who has visited the site in the last year I say a big thank you!
I hope everyone enjoys the holidays and gets what they want from Santa – Merry Christmas everyone!!

Nurgle Forgefiend – A Closer Look

There were glimpses of this monster in the battle build-up and our in-game photos. I've had a lot of inquiries about it so I thought it was time for a close-up look at how I converted the standard kit into something more Nurgly.

Adding greenstuff rot and snot to enhance the look of the plague marines and terminators was quite straightforward. This model is enormous in comparison, I would need to upscale the contagion to something suitably grand.

I added magnets to the end of his arms so that I could swap weapons when needed.

I clipped off most of the spikes in the head and neck area, or rather tore them off so that they left damaged remains. I drilled holes in a handful of places and added wooden skewer 'horns'. Similarly, the exhaust pipes had a lot of spikey decoration at the top that I tore off with my clippers. I gradually added bits of greenstuff to build up the contagion. Most of it was just blobs of greenstuff spread out with my sculpting tool.

On the left side of the large back plate I tore a hole in the armour. I dropped several tiny balls of greenstuff loosely in the hole and once complete poured superglue in there to hold things in place and add a crusty texture.

On the left shoulder plate I drilled two holes. I created two large balls of greenstuff and left them to cure overnight. Once rock hard I glued them into the holes, drilled small holes into them in a '+' pattern. I then added greenstuff 'skin around the protruding globes.

Another technique I used was to drill several shallow holes with two different sized bits on the head of the beast. The depths varied a lot and the positioning was quite random. This gave a corroded effect on the metal plates which looks great.

I also added pustules in several places on the model. This was done by rolling a tiny ball of greenstuff, adding to the surface and then pushing out the edges with my sculpting tool.

The icon of Nurgle appears in several places and this was done by roughly spreading out greenstuff  on the armour surface then using the flat end of a drill bit or file to push three circles into the greenstuff in a triangular formation.

In addition to extensive use of greenstuff and a drill I used lashing of PVA glue. I wanted to give the look of unidentified goo seeping out from various parts of the machine – final colour to be decided at a later date. I filled the exhaust pipes with glue and allowed it to flow over the top so it naturally ran down the sides. I did the same on his back, running glue down his spine from under armour plates.

A death machine of Chaos wouldn't be complete without a victim somewhere on the base. I used a random collection of marine bits and filled in the gaps with greenstuff rot growing over the corpse. I'm still deciding whether to paint him up as a Dark Angel marine.

I managed to slap some paint on the finished model prior to the game against Bull. It was just a quick basecoat of English Uniform, with some Scorched and Bestial Brown on the metal bits, then lashings of Devlan Mud. Now I get to go back in and paint up some details.

See the Forgefiend painted up!


The next project is the Heldrake – he's in serious need of rot and contagion. I will post my 'How to destroy a £40 Heldrake with a drill' experiences soon!

40k: Typhus – A Simple Conversion

I've kept my cards pretty close to my chest in the run up to this coming weekend's battle, trying to keep Bull and his Dark Angels unsure of what exactly they would be facing. I've weaved my bit of pre-battle banter and fiction, implying that I would be taking a Terminator Lord of some description. That was until yesterday!

Sunday's post (I never post on a Sunday!) revealed that the suggested HQ choice for the game had been usurped and that the big guns were coming in his stead. I spent a lot of time wondering what list to take and one of the biggest decisions was always going to be the HQ choice. After a lot of soulsearching (which I'll go into in another post) I decided to take Typhus, despite not owning the model.

Typhus is now part of the (in)famous Finecast range from GW and this would be the first time I had used the product. I have to say it's very strange stuff and not very nice. At times it feels like rubber, and elements of the model (e.g. Scythe blade) distort very easily and are quite difficult to correct. It is much easier to work with than metal – this came in very handy as I wanted to remove the Nurgling from his right thigh and pouch from his left leg, which took seconds. Unfortunately I am not able to comment on the casting quality as a lot of elements I thought were bubbles and miscasts could actually have been intentional Nurgle rot on the original sculpt. Bottom line from my perspective is that the product worked reasonably well for this example but I won't be rushing out to buy more.

I was never going to stick the model together as it came off the shelf, so a little converting was required. I cut his left hand off the scythe and stuck the two remaining pieces of his weapon together. His right hand was then attached in a more confident 'at ease' angle – he's not the kind of bloke who cowers or apologises now is he?!

I was intending to have his left hand casting a spell, but the angle of the arm and whole body stance prevented this being a viable option. Bull likes to have provocative debris on his bases – trophies from previous battles to rile the enemy – so I decided it was time for some payback. I added a severed head to the left hand and a few helmets to the bases – a good day's work from the big man – hopefully this will be suitable payback.

I also noticed that Typhus is some kind of pygmy, falling several millimetres short of a regular Chaos Terminator. Clearly this was not acceptable, so I added a resin rock to his base and had him stand on that – a good head height clear of his underlings.

And that was as complicated as the building process got. Quite a breeze compared to most models. During the rest of this week we will see how he was painted and maybe a bit of game theory behind his character.

CONTINUED…

40k: Let The Galaxy Rot…

"Death is coming to feast on your Imperial souls" roared Terminus as he glared through the viewport at the planet Cherbull below.

He imagined all the Imperial 'ants' scurrying around on the planet's surface trying desperately to prepare for the incoming atrocities.

There would be no sneaking around this time, they would be confronted by a wall of impenetrable rot and disease that would slowly consume… everything.

+++++

With just over ten days to go until Bull's Dark Angels face off against my Plague Marines things are seeing a lot of paint time, but it's "slow and purposeful" like much of the army. A lot of time is being spent advancing the state of a couple of key models, which for the moment will remain a mystery – don't want to give my game plan away just yet.

This will not stay a secret for long – the first post due on Monday!

Elsewhere things are progressing slowly. The Forgefiend has seen some more rot appear and is starting to look the part of a Nurgle daemon engine. This is a very time consuming process but I'm hoping to have at least basecoat and wash layers done in time for the battle.

The rest of the core Plague Marines are starting to see some colour too. One squad has at least a basecoat layer and I'm hoping to get these virtually finished for the big day. The other squad still needs greenstuff rot applying so is unlikely to move on much from what you see here.

The Terminators are coming along nicely. If I can get their rotting armour complete in time I will be happy. I can return to finish the weapons later.

You will notice that for the purposes of strategic intelligence I have obscured key weapons in the image… or is this just a red herring?


CONTINUED…

Forging a Fiend

With visitors staying this weekend there was not a lot of hobby opportunity. However, some progress was made.

The biggest task I face leading up to my next game is to get the Forgefiend into some sort of Nurgle order, so I set to with greenstuff. I have a painful habit of squishing bits I've already sculpted as I work elsewhere on the model so decided to break things down into section. I started with the right legs and armour and this would allow everything to cure thoroughly before my next greenstuff session.

I'm still deciding how far to take the rot on this model – understated as it is now or all out decay?

The main bulk of my hobby time this weekend was actually spent on a model I'm not going to reveal just yet. Needless to say I'm very pleased with the results and looking forward to splashing some paint on it. More in a later post.

I did get my next Champion rotted up a bit. To be honest his armour was almost there anyway so I didn't change much. He is now ready for an undercoat spray and basecoat – weather permitting.

Elsewhere I made progress on the troops, Terminators and Plague Marines getting their basecoats and in some cases a highlight or two (apologies for the out of focus image – it was taken in haste this morning).

So, as things are shaping up I should get one unit of Plague Marines complete this week, plus the Terminators and some other bits. This will leave me a week or so to have a go at the Forgefiend.

Take a trip over to Bull's blog where he has been discussing some of his Dark Angel dilemmas prior to game day.

Of course I have my evening of Malifaux on Friday. Seamus was built and undercoated over the weekend and will see some paint this week!

Preparing for War…

So after my first 6th Edition experience at the weekend I had a lot to think about. I have three and a half weeks until the full on rematch against Bull and his Dark Angels. From the moment I returned home on Sunday I have been list building and have got to a point where I have something I like. I'm not going to divulge the content of this uber list – Bull reads the blog too and I would like to leave a surprise or two for him on the day!

The other bit of cool news is that Bull had a belated birthday present for me (I haven't seen him for some time). It was of course 40k related and will probably feature in the game… more on this later. After all the building done in the last few weeks I was keen to get some paint onto models. The remainder of squad one got a basecoat to help encourage me to get them finished.

The fly in this particular ointment is that I have decided to save the cost of a Power Fist in this squad and replace with a Power Axe – this means my lovely painted champion will take a seat on the subs bench. He will, however, be replaced by the new Chaos Champion model that was part of my gift from Bull – he has a Power Axe and with a bit of greenstuff will fit in nicely!

The Terminators got some base colour and the two Power Weapon guys got their greenstuff finished, ready for undercoating.

The Terminator Champion got a little more love. I started to get him painted up as he could be a key character in the army and I really like the model. I'm looking forward to getting this unit finished – it will look awesome.

I mentioned my gift from Bull and it was a corker!

Forgefiend!!

This model is enormous and was fun to put together, if a bit fiddly. The firepower output has a lot of potential for something approaching a daemonic Dreadnought. It is only BS 3 but the volume of shot should make up for this.

I had the foresight to have some magnets on hand while building him so that I can swap out the guns if needed in the future.

I can see me purchasing another one of these in the near future!

Happy Halloween!!

(Previous Nurgle developments here…)