Lord of Plagues Pt. 1

So I've decided to start building a 'scratch-built/kit-bashed' Chaos Lord/Lord of Plagues. Starting with the standard bearer body from the Putrid Blightkings set - I'm building on this to create a unique character.

 I've started with a rock, stuck down with a Green Stuff/ Superglue mix, and shaven off the small rock which normally features under the PB's right foot. Then stuck on the rock with another GS/Superglue mix (Seriously, it's possibly one of the strongest bonds I've ever used for my miniatures and really simple. Just a small ball of GS (small enough to not poke out the sides once in place) and then covered in a small amount of Superglue, and stick!).

I'm not 100% keen on the default pelt half-cape thing going on with this Blightking, so I've decided make one myself. I used vaseline to keep the GS wet, mouldable and not stick to my sculpting tool (as per the advice of this chap) I've extended the fur out a bit and ripped a few holes in to the GS before drying. Now that this fully dry I plan to go at it a bit with the hobby knife to try and make it look slightly more Chaotic and free flowing. (Also note the little trio of pustules on his left thigh).

I'm hoping to pick up Otto Glott's scythe from somewhere on the internet soon as a weapon choice - with which I can proxy for a great weapon or axe for both Chaos Lord and Lord of Plague Warscrolls. As for the left arm - I'm a little lost and can't quite think of an adequate weapon choice. Any ideas? Let me know! Considering a Chaos Knight helmet may work quite well with this model.

Also - critique is always welcome.

Warriors of Chaos and a Little Nurgling

Richard checking in.

Been up to a bit of converting and modelling. Thought I'd combine two little projects in to one with this post.

First up - my Warriors of Chaos. The intention here was to make each and every warrior unique - every warrior features one or multiple of the following; 

• Replacement heads
• Weapon kitbashes (from Putrid Blightkings or Marauders)
• Drilling (to make corrosion holes for extra Nurglesque features)
• Extra details - some heads have horns added/removed for extra character.

My favourite warriors by far must be the champion and standard bearer, swiftly followed by the hammer wielding to the right.

For the standard bearer I've used the horns from a PB head and added them to either side of the standard pole.

The champion also features my favourite shield from the PB kit and a befittingly fearsome axe. The extra little feature is his head - which is taken from Otto Glott and shaved down to only feature the middle three horns.

These guys are going to need some extra green stuff where the cloaks join (because the WoC kit is prone to this sort of thing) then they're ready for undercoating.

(Don't ask about the warhound - I've realised I now need to buy 10x 40mm bases for them to look right in my warband!)

Next up is the feature-base for The Glottkin. Occasionally I find myself picking up random rocks and a little idea will pop in my head, so I conjured this up with a spare marauder shield, a Nurgling and some skulls (three of course, to make up Nurgle's insignia).

I got The Glottkin for Christmas from a really good friend of mine - it's a fantastic kit with nice little extra details and features - a favourite of mine being the Nurglings and the fact you have three characters! The only downside to this kit is the amount of join gaps you get - of which you'll see in the background is something I'm attempting to resolve with liquid green stuff.

TEASER - I'm also working on a Chaos Lord which I will share very soon, based on one of the PB torsos. Look forward to keeping you posted!

Nurgle Blightkings Pt. 3

Progress. Not a massive amount, but progress none the less.

If you've read my previous posts you will remember I've been a little up in arms about my choice of colours with this warband. Well last night I took the plunge and re-painted the armour of the Blightlord.

I've gone with a Leadbelcher base, and in this present photo I've smothered the metal in a Reikland Flesh Shade wash and built on it while still wet with Druchii Violet.
This photo was taken while the washes were still wet, so I'm going to give it some highlights/drybrushing and finish with a glaze of Waywatcher Green.

In the first photo you'll see the horns pertruding from his shoulders are much more dull. This is because the second photo was finalised with layer/highlights of Pallid Wych Flesh.

I'm really pleased with how this character has turned out so far! I just need to complete the tentacle tongue and decapitated head and every element of the model is covered. It would then need basing and final details. Now I can carry on with the rest of the regiment with confidence!

Basing is something I'm yet to decide upon, considering going with a dead, plague-ridden forest theme - I'm quite inspired by the End Times and Nurgle Rotbringers photography.

PS - You may also notice all those unpainted chaps in the background - this is my kitbashed WoC regiment. Based on the original WoC box - using the leftover Blightkings bitz, I managed to make it so every warrior is unique. Quite pleased about that.

I'm not like most Warhammer Fantasy purists...

WARHAMMER - AGE OF SIGMAR. I like to think of it as the Marmite of the tabletop gaming world. 

There are those that love it. Those that hate it. I for one love it. It's reintroduced me back to a hobby full of potential and it's extremely low barrier-of-entry (or in my case - 're-entry') is a refreshing change. Many people have qualms with the un-balanced rules, but I for one think you're perhaps choosing the wrong opponent if your games are monotonous or unfair. 

(PLEASE NOTE: these are first impressions, I've played three games so far, one of which was a major victory (to me, might I add) and the others were rather quick.)

If you need an extra flavour to try and balance it then there are pros and cons to each new balancing dynamic. 

The most shouted about issue is the lack of points. Re-introduce this perspective and it's another way of being fair, yes, but for me this seems a waste of time when you could just have a chat with your opponent about how you want to balance each individual game.

After all, making new indie war scrolls based on a points system quickly assumes that most people you oppose will follow this system, which just isn't the case. For me at least, how my friend and I balanced our games is based on miniature count and wounds. Obviously, there are cons to this approach as well, but it still makes for a great game. Which brings me to my next point...

We seem to be forgetting this is a game primarily based on luck. Taking my 1 major victory as an example - there were many times my friend would of destroyed me with his Stormcast Eternals, but he was unlucky with his dice rolls. Overall, as time went on the game teetered from my favour, to his, and fortunately back to mine. Strangely enough, we were pretty much even on the count of wounds (give or take a few) and at the end of it all... WE HAD FUN.

The fact my friend and I have had a lot of fun straight out of the box with AoS is a standing ovation to GW. 

I realise I'm beginning to sound like a huge Games Workshop fanboy here, so I will just say I disagree with their approach (or their lack of) to their community, but leave that for another day. And leave you with a question. AoS. Love it or hate it? 

Nurgle Blightkings pt. 2

So after a little indecision on how to go about painting this unit. I went with a few options such as:

• Dark yet perhaps a muted red on certain cloth areas to link my Nurgle warband to my Khorne units. 
• Pallid bone coloured armour. Once complete, it will be decorated with oils and puss seeping from the armour. A bit like The Cleaved from 40k.
• A second armour colour is to be added in amongst certain areas as an offset. I'm thinking something similar to the image below (borrowed from White Dwarf Issue 38). Opinions?

So here we have an image of progress thus far.

First layer of Mephiston Red is on, with a heavy wash of Reikland Flesh Shade. Armour and the teeth surrounding his belly-maw are Zandri Dust.

In this photo I've also brought in a few more washes in the recesses with Agrax Earthshade, then focused on a few extra areas such as the sores, the maw on the end of the tentacle, the horn on his head and created an oozing effect above the belly area.

I couldn't resist using a bit Nihilakh Oxide on the axe blade. Citadel's technical paints are pretty fun, and much easier than making up the paints yourself.

I must admit that these miniatures are a joy to paint - they're so full of character and each one is unique, so it's like you've got a unit of heroes! Build-wise, I think the main issue with these minis is the fact you don't have classic joins i.e Space Marines and WoC Marauders. I understand GW's decision - so that it would create more dynamic poses and detail, but it is quite a headache for conversions and kitbashing. A simple head swap using a BK head on a WoC Warrior is actually quite difficult and involves a little bit of green stuff.

Still at an indecision on how I should base them, and whether or not to keep the bone coloured armour scheme. Do I opt for the metal armour scheme I mentioned above and go for a more brown/rat like colour scheme for his mutations/skin or do I press forward like this? 

Questions, questions...

An Intro + Putrid Blightkings pt. 1

I've decided to start writing a blog. This is primarily a means to keep my hobby all in one place and to spur myself to keep busy on my miniatures. So let me introduce myself a little bit before you all get incredibly bored and never visit this page again.

My name's Richard. I live in the UK, with my wife and son - who at the time of writing this is 6 months old and is either pulling his mother's hair in a frantic search for the inner workings of her brain, or asleep. I'm a graphic designer by profession and I love technology.

But that's enough real life stories, that's not why you're here. You're here to gaze at my hard work and steal my ideas and paint schemes (I do the same on other blogs).

I've been into the hobby as long as I can remember. I started stealing my older brother's miniatures (I believe it was a set of three wood elf archers) and painting every possible colour under the sun on them without a base coat (hold on chaps, it gets worse). I distinctly remember painting orange on their cloaks, which at the time I believe was called Blazing Orange - shout out to the retconned Citadel paint range.

After deciding I liked the idea of undead robots in space, my dad bought a box of Necron Warriors and all havoc broke loose... I started using the metal and green paints for Lego sets, and using my Lego sets as scenery. It was a questionable use of Games Workshop's grim-dark-sci-fi-death-bots-in-space. I forgot to mention... I was 11. Cut me some slack. I've collected almost every faction (sans Skaven) at least once since then.

I suppose the primary thing that lured me in to the hobby was the fact I could make just about anything (obviously within limitations, but these were fluff limitations that I adored). The rewarding feeling of a fully painted army is also something I loved, the hours I could pour in and get lost in a world that was ever-expanding.

With further ado - I'd like to share some of my work after returning to the hobby from a 2/3 year long hiatus. Age of Sigmar is actually a primary reason for my return, after a friend bought the AoS Starter Set. I obviously went with the Chaos faction.

I picked up some Putrid Blightkings with the intention to start a Nurgle warband who can ally with the Khorne chaps from the starter set as and when necessary.

There isn't much to say about this unit as I didn't opt for a lot of conversions - although I did replace the large axe you can see on the Blightlord. It's chopped from another weapon, and placed on the polearm for a HUGE GREAT AXE.

A first couple of coats on the Blightlord. I'm experimenting with glazes with this warband.

Process so far: Base: Ceramite White, Base: Ushabti Bone, Glaze all over: Waywatcher Green, Wash in deep wounds and recesses with Reikland Fleshshade. Metal is just a Leadbelcher base with Agrax Earthshade wash followed by highlights of more Leadbelcher.

I've made a lot more progress with this guy, but will hold out for another post another day.

Ciao for now.