Flesh Eaters and a finished Tech Wraith

So I took a bit of a break from my Nurgle force this last week and focused on two projects I've been putting off forever. One was my second Tech Wraith that needed painting and the other was a WFB Chaos Lord that needed converting.

I've seen some nice conversions of the Lord but I wanted mine to be usable in 40K. I also know that eventually I want to make a Space Marine army that can be used as either a loyalist or chaos list. Now a perfect fit for this would be a chapter like the Flesh Tearers. They are one bad step away from Khorne's skull throne already, and their Chapter Master Gabriel Seth is desperate to find a way to stop his chapter from being destroyed by the Black Rage. So I figured "what if he heard dark whispers in his rage, voices that told him his chapter could be not only saved, but restored to glory and power?" Should he answer those whispers, he may be led down the path of the Dark Gods... and the result would be the birth of the Flesh Eaters!

With that mental picture in mind I set upon my Chaos Lord model and worked up the man himself to lead these marines on their downward road to redemption. This is what I came up with:

I wanted to try and tie my model in with all the standard elements of Gabriel Seth's standard look. I started by taking four (!) standard chainsword blades along with the engines and the hilt of a Grey Knight sword and and carefully cut, lined up, and pieced together a proper monstrous eviscerator chainsword for my Seth. I'm very proud of how nicely it turned out! I also built his Iron Halo with the wings from the Dark Angels sprue. Lastly I replaced the vents on the CSM backpack with carefully shaved skulls and added fist full of trophies for The Emperor Khorne. Oh and I snuck a holstered pistol onto his right thigh to give him a sidearm and 40K'ify the model a bit more.

I'm sure I'll figure out a fluffy reason why my Seth is rocking that second sword, but really... does anyone need a reason to have more swords? Maybe he "found it" along with his baroque artificer armor he now sports, which totally does not have chaos symbols on it... Gonna have to keep out of site of those pesky loyalists...

All in all... if the most holy Inquisition didn't have enough reasons to keep a close eye on the Flesh Tearers, they certainly will when I'm done with them!

And now some actual painting! Following the same look of my first Tech Wraith I knocked this little guy out rather quickly. I also got to use a new 30-0 sized brush which was awesome when it came time to try my first hazard stripes. I think they turned out okay... more practice should do them better justice.

And here is a nice group shot of the two servants for my fallen Magos (more on him later!):

Thanks for staying tuned in!

Tools of the Dark Mechanicus

So while I was working on finishing my Tech Wraiths, I realized that my Fallen Magos would require something more substantial in his personal retinue. Something with a bit more ooomph and able to soak up bullets and las fire and still advance undeterred. Normally this would mean servitors. Now there is nothing wrong with the standard GW servitors... but I just never really liked them. Surely a Magos no longer confined by petty rules would take the standard servitor template and beef it up with bigger guns, lots of steroids and armor grafts! So in a mad frenzy of converting I have created four new tools for the Dark Mechanicus to call upon...

The Dark Mechanicus Servitors:

Lots of careful cutting and repositioning of the IG Sentinel Plasma Canon power cable bit. It actually lined up perfectly with the two raised circles on the back of the psilencer!

I refer to this one as "The Collector". His integrated harpoon canon allows him to apprehend those the Dark Magos requires for testing. The gigantic saw allows him to remove the parts his master does not require...

A more heavily armed and well provisioned model: 

A big bruiser with an assault cannon scavenged from a fallen Space Wolf:

These guys are a smorgasbord of bits from all kinds of sets. I'll try to remember them all...

-Dark Angels robed legs

-Ork torsos and arms (circular saw arm, claw and harpoon gun)

-Dark Eldar Wracks heads

-Space Marine Terminator assault cannons, armor plates and power fist

-SM Dreadnaught targeters,  purity seals and canister launchers

-SM Devastator ammo packs

-SM Scout night-vision goggles

-SM vehicle spotlights (without the actual light and cover front part)

-Ork vehicle engine parts

-Imperial Guard Sentinel weapons and cables

-Grey Knight psilencer

-Various skulls, chains and spikes from CSM packs

I think I got everything there... I wanted a bit of a rag-tag look but still unifying overall thanks to the generic base of the same legs, torso and heads. I figured a fallen Magos doesn't always have access to a Forge World and/or all the parts he may want. In those times scavenging parts and equipment from defeated foes is key, thus the re-purposed Terminator weapons, crude melee implements and engine/power systems cobbled together and bolted to these guys. I couldn't have asked for these guys to turn out any better. AND they actually look twisted and a bit off so I don't think there will be much mistaking these guys for just beefy loyalist servitors.

Finished Tech Wraith

All painted up and ready to serve the twisted masters of the Dark Mechanicus. I figure that these guys were probably minor hereteks who displeased or failed their masters and were turned into higher-functioning servitors. "Blessed" with more complex sentient machine spirits, they act as hunter-killers and guards for the fallen Magos.

And here are some WIP shots of his new partner in heresy:

I made the second Wraith much like the first with only a few changes. Mixed up the arms for a different pose and gave him a flamer and chainsword hands. A different servo skull head with carefully repositioned cables and a different mix of skull trophies and dangling chains helped create a unique look of movement for this guy as well. Where the first Wraith has a more precise and spidery look to him, this one is more of a menacing whirlwind of fire and chain teeth.

Alas it has been really hard to find good weather to prime my new models in so I have no idea when I'll be able to paint him... Guess I'll just have to build more guys... ;)

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!