Sidetracked...

I really am painting some of the stuff I've made... I swear!

But I've had this Nurgle Lord sitting on my desk staring at me and I've had no idea what to do with him. Until yesterday that is! This is what the base model starts out as:

I knew I wanted to incorporate him into my Forge World Cultists somehow, as a corrupted foreman or overseer. What I didn't know was how to get the look I wanted. He definitely needing to be 40K'ed up a bit for sure. The rotted axe would have to go along with all the boils, wounds and shoulder spikes. So after a lot of shaving, green stuffing and careful weapon swapping I ended up with this guy:

*Note* Sorry about the fuzzy foreground/background focus stuff... Forgot to adjust the settings after my wife was using the camera for portraits and only just noticed it :/

I used the weapon hands from one of the CSM (the "Chosen" I think) from the Dark Vengeance box and replaced the bone covered bolt pistol with a standard CSM bolter. I also gave him a CSM head to continue his "I have better gear because I'm special" look. The power axe completes the updated look while the old style armor still gives him a cobbled together look that will fit with the rest of the cultists. I see him as being gifted with superior equipment due to his advanced status on the Chaos worship path.

All in all I think this was a successful conversion project given how long he sat on my desk with not a clue what to do with him! I'm especially proud of the rather seamless integration of the arms and new hands. I think the neck/head needs a bit of work still and I'll probably add some more 40K ammo packs and bits to round out his look but for now I'm calling him done.

Something horrible is coming...

Recently finished the test model for a new squad. Took a break from the cultists to take a spin on one of the coolest ideas I've seen for Nurgle-ish CSMs. Pics coming soon...

I also received the remainder models for my Forge World Cultists so I can fill out the 4 total squads I'll be making for them. Even with most of them only primed, they still look like a rough and ready group.

A quick paint break

As the weather is too nasty to prime any of my newly converted models, I have decided to take a break and paint some of my stuff that I primed months ago and then never painted. First up was a quick little job on an Unsanctioned Psyker, who is slated to join one of my Forge World Cultists squads and add some warp power to their plethora of guns. No actual conversion action on this guy, just a plane Empire Flagellant selected because I liked his "imprisoned by my own comrades because even they don't trust me" look. I also tried to make him look extra dirty and downtrodden due to his "accepted in our ranks and suffered to live only because you can fry enemies with your mind" status.

Overall I'd say mission accomplished on this rather quick paint job. May all my future painting endeavors take as little effort as this one :P

Dark Mechanicus Tech Wraiths and a Weapon Swap!

When I first saw the model of the Cairn Wraith, I instantly thought it would make a really cool looking floaty Mechanicus guy of some sort...

After picking one up I sat down and managed to combine a ton of different parts for a rather successful and evil looking Dark Mechanicus Tech Wraith.
I used:
-Necron arms/legs for the mechadendrites
-A servo skull for the face
-A different servo skull for the cables drooping inside the cloak and the sight on the CSM plasma pistol
-Astartes combat knives for the hands with shaved down SM backpack ports and chainsword engines adding bulk and mechanical feel to the blades
-A piece of sprue that held one of the servo skulls shaved down to make the servo claw
-The rods off a GK teleporter backpack for the spines
-Various chains and skulls to add a hopefully sufficient evil look

*Side Note*

Its actually pretty hard to make Dark Mechanicus units that actually look evil... So much of the 40K artwork shows twisted Tech Priests covered in skulls, emaciated flesh and bones meshed with machinery, cables and servo arms snaking from beneath rotting robes... and those are the GOOD guys! I'll just have to rely on the guys I make later that will accompany the Tech Wraiths to make them more evil looking by association...

*End Side Note*

Here are the WIP shots:

I am really pleased with the arachnid look from the bent arms and his overall sense of motion. So pleased in fact that I went out and bought another Cairn Wraith to build a second Tech Wraith with! More on him later.

And lastly it didn't take long before I swapped out the stick with metal on it from my second Forge World Cultist Squad Leader. I gave him a stun baton from the Dark Eldar Wracks set that really looks more appropriate for someone from a Forge World to be carrying. These guys are supposed to have the better tech right off the line anyhow and my other Squad Leader got a chainsword so it was only fitting...

Here is before:

And after the weapon swap:

Much better!

Working on my second Tech Wraith and painting the first. Updates soon to follow!

Forge World Cultists

My first finished project, a squad of Chaos Cultists from a fallen Forge World.  I wanted them to have a cohesive look so I stuck with a color scheme of reds and browns/tans with a very grey skin tone and black for the hoods/shawls (except that "Leather Face" guy... I love his patchwork mask). Lots of Earthshade wash gave them a really gritty and lightly rusted look that I'm rather pleased with.

Group Pic

For the Squad Leader I got rid of that stupid looking potato on a string he comes with and gave him a much more menacing looking chain sword.

Some close-ups of the other squadies

The last guy will be the leader of the second squad of Cultists when I finish them.

Not sure if I'm sold on that bat wrapped in metal spikes/barbwire... I may end up doing some post-painting conversion on it yet.