Blast from the Past: Typhus conversion; TLAC/ML Hellbrute

Hey all, just a quick post here to show you what I've been messing with lately. First up is a Typhus conversion based on the RT era Chaos Lord model. It's a bit small now, but I've always liked it.

The arms are from the plastic chaos lord kit-- the scythe is the sorcerer's staff topped with a zombie scythe blade, yet again topped with the pick weapon from the whfb chaos knights. The back banner is one from the plastic plaguebearers, as is the hand holding the severed heads. He still needs some gaps filled and obviously a paintjob, but with the new arms and the height added from the base I'm pretty happy with it.

I've also been tinkering with the hellbrute model. I like the detail and the pose, but the weapon loadout isn't all that useful to me. Plus, I like to avoid using straight out-of-the-box models when I can help it.

The autocannon was made with plastic tubing; pretty straightforward there. I removed the fist arm at the joint and added a Havoc launcher. I had to trim down the plate that goes on the back of the fist, but it fits on there well as the top of the missile launcher. I replaced the normal face with an eyeball from the chaos spawn kit to help the pose make sense.


Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.

--Boltergeist

Black Legion test paint

Hey all, back again with a quick update. Over the weekend I tried a test paint scheme for my new improved Black Legion. As everyone probably knows, black is easy to paint but hard to paint well. I personally don't care for the extreme edge highlight techniques you usually see on GW models, so thought I'd go for a different approach.

I wanted the black to become the backdrop for the other elements on the model, particularly the gold. After priming black (of course) I began by drybrushing the armor areas with metallic black. This keeps the black from becoming too tinted with blue or grey, while also adding a degree of luster to the plates and allowing the edges to catch the light.

One thing I've found over the years is that it works best to drybrush in a single consistent direction. You are trying to highlight when drybrushing, so you want the upraised areas to catch the paint, not the bottom. I see a lot of people use a back-and-forth motion and it can ruin the effect you want.

I tried a new technique on the gold, and I'm pretty pleased with the results so far. I basecoated with old Calthan Brown, then did a messy highlight with new Averland Yellow. I then went back over it with a layer of new Auric Armour Gold. The gold covers well by itself, but I found that the colors underneath show through and add a good bit of depth to it.

 With that done, I went back with Devlan Mud to pick out the rivets, skulls, and so on. Finally I used a thin edge highlight of Reaper Buckskin Pale as the final highlight. While not a metallic it blends in well and really helps it pop.

I'm still not 100% sold on the black and will probably keep experimenting, but I'm happy with the gold for now. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!


-- Boltergeist

More mutants sighted

Mutant with crab arm

Hey all, I thought I'd post up a few WIP shots from my growing force of mutants... Sorry for occasional blur and color issues; I took the pics quickly but I think you'll get the idea.

The theme of the army is that the warband seeks out the favor of the chaos gods, and sees mutation as proof of that favor. So, each member has various 'gifts' of greater or lesser usefulness. I always liked the old Realm of Chaos books' view that the gods are so alien there is nothing methodical or meaningful about what is granted to their followers-- mutations or other gifts that make the bearer unstoppable or completely disabled are one and the same.

Mutant with spider carapace and arms

Marine with Autocannon

Marine with spiky appendage and melded helmet

Mutant with demonic face and claw. Made from a Rogue Trader chaos marine and current bits.

It amuses me that he's licking his bolter.

My favorite so far-- this marine is bordering on becoming a spawn.

He has to support himself with his sword as he struggles to fire his weapon appendage.

He still needs a good bit of green stuff, but I'm happy with the pose.

Thanks all! More to come...
-- B.

Spidey the Wonder Mutant!

Hey all, just a quick post to prove we're still alive over here at the Istvaanians! I'm really pleased with the new allies options with 6th edition, as well as the impending arrival of the new chaos codex. With that in mind the Black Legion is off the shelf and back in production.

I made this guy a long long time ago, but he amuses me every time I look at him. I've always liked the mutation aspect of chaos, so this marine has gained the dubious 'gift' of the face of a spider. The head is the body of an old Warhammer Quest spider with the legs removed, and the cuts covered with GS fur. A pin holds it in place, and more GS for a neck. Quick, simple, and funny (to me, anyway).

Since his recovery from the warp I've replaced his shoulderpad with a proper metal Legion one, and his standard base with one from Dragon Forge Design.

Thanks all!
-- B.

Sons of Horus: found a color!

So with the help of our trusty readers in the comments from my last post, I went back and tried a few more color mixes to hopefully come up with something better. Instead of Astronomican Grey I switched to Codex, and stayed with Orkhide Shade for the green base. After a bit of mixing I came up with something pretty decent, closer to the 'sea green' of the fluff but more muted and military than my original tests. In fact, it looked like a WWII color to me... so a bit of online browsing and a quick trip to my local HobbyTown USA resulted in a pot of Model Master Acryl "Panzer Olivgrun 1943". It was almost EXACTLY the color I had mixed, but ready to go. Can't beat that. I've used the Model Master (made by Testors) acrylics in the past, but only here and there in favor of GW and Vallejo. Testors' model paints are best known for their enamels, but the acrylics are pretty good. They go on thin, and are easy to thin further for airbrushing but still get good results. They also have a LOT of colors to pick from.

To the right is my new version of the paint, using this new color. I'm very pleased with how it turned out-- it definitely looks 'sea green' to a casual observer but will still look good on the tabletop.The basecoat is highlighted with "Pale Green" from the same company and shaded with Vallejo Model Color "Black Grey".

I'm still deciding on the best way to do the bases-- I've never tried the black border before, although L0rdM0nki does his that way and they look great. I also love the 'rolled shoulder' style bases that Privateer uses and how it frames the model. I think I need a bit more contrast here to help it pop.

As I mentioned earlier The Model Master paints work well through an airbrush, so I already have this guy's squad basecoated. Stay tuned for some results, and thanks for reading!

--Boltergeist

Sons of Horus test models

Heresy-era Son of Horus from Index Astartes

While working on my old-school beakies it occurred to me it could be possible to do them as heresy-era Sons of Horus instead of Black Legion. I definitely want to play them as chaos, but having the good old multi-codex option would be nice as well. I figured setting them circa the Seige of Terra would work out -- there would likely be a mix of normal marines, mutated freaks, and demons as they march on the Imperial Palace. In that train of thought I decided to try a few test models to see what would stick. Problem is the color scheme-- pale green. The older Index Astartes article graphic shown here has them done in that way, and I'm skeptical. Not only would it be a pain to paint, I just don't think it would end up looking good on the table. Horus Heresy: Collected Visions however shows them with a darker green. It looks much more militaristic and 'real' to me than a bunch of guys in pastel armor. The HH novels aren't much help either; each author describes the colors of the legion differently. Some say 'palest sea green' and others 'the color of an ocean storm'. With that in mind, I decided to try both and see.

Bear in mind these obviously aren't finished-- this was simply an exercise in getting an acceptable color. On the RT beaky I basecoated with Orkhide Shade and then wet blended in Astronomican Grey. On the berzerker I mixed a light shade of the same colors and then went in separately with each color to shade or highlight. I really wasn't pleased with how these turned out-- I find it hard to believe the Warmaster of the Imperium would dress his guys in easter egg green, lol.

On the second set I began with a basecoat of Knarloc Green followed by shading with Catachan Green and highlights with Camo Green. I think the green came out richer and looks better overall, despite stretching the limits of 'sea green'. I also think the berzerker's leg trim looks fine the way it is, without being picked out in a different color.

These pics also show the height comparison between the beakies and the current models-- the slightly bulked up bases did the trick.

The jury is still out on which way to go with these guys, but I'm leaning towards the Sons over 'normal' Black Legion. I think they will look better when they are done, plus the counts-as options really appeal to my sense of efficiency, lol. Drop me a line with your opinion on the color mixes, or paint ideas that might represent 'sea green' but still look good en masse.

-- Boltergeist

Attack of the Beakies!

 Hey everyone, sorry for my intermittent updates-- I've been working on getting my Blood Drinkers army painted (up to around 6k points, woot!) and so have been neglecting my Black Legion project. However, this past weekend I was inspired to sit down and get some things done. As you can tell from the pic, I'm now the proud commander of a horde of lead beakies.

Eat Umbra-pattern bolter!

Why fugly old beakies, you ask? Nostalgia is a big reason. I started 40k with my Dad back in the RT days, and we had the original plastic set of marines, the plastic orks, and all of that. I've wanted to use the old models in a project for a while, but they never really seemed to fit what I was doing. Say what you want about them, but I think some of the old models have a lot of character and dynamism that the new models lack. Take the marine in the lower right corner of the group pic-- he really gives me the impression he's rapid firing around a corner at an oncoming threat, rather than just standing there. From a fluff standpoint I figure there's plenty of justification for there to be MkVI armor in chaos hands. It makes sense that Horus' legion would have been first to receive weapon and armor innovations from the traitor Mechanicum, so the beakies are good to go.

Shoulder pad detail

The second main reason? Armor trim-- I hate it. Painting shoulder pad trim on normal marines drives me up the wall, and chaos bling is the worst. Beakies would get around all that by eliminating it entirely. However, I did want to add chaos flavor in there, so I removed what shoulder pads I could and replaced them with BL shoulder pads. Current chaos backpacks helped round out the look. I also put them on cork bases (the tutorial is here).

Another reason I've hesitated to use beakies up until now is the size variance from the current models. They aren't that much smaller, but I figured I'd run into someone eventually who would try to say I was modeling for advantage. The current backpacks and extra height from the bases makes them stand just a bit taller than the current models, so I figure it will be ok.    

The army won't be all-RT-- these guys will be my basic troopers where the more specialized units will be current models or conversions. However, I think they will add a bit of visual interest to the army and not be something you see every day.

Stay tuned; I'm hoping to have some test models painted toward the end of the week. :)

Project Update: Black Legion

The Seeker of Metamorphosis

I've been embroiled in other things lately and haven't got much new to show for this project just yet. However, I did want to post some pics of an older conversion from several years ago when I first had this idea. This was my first real attempt at large-scale sculpting and I'm pretty happy with the result. I love the old metal demon prince-- he has a great pose and the whole model gives a feel of menace. Using it as a base I added parts from an old Beastman special character, claws from the old Scylla chaos spawn model, and lots and lots of GS. I learned a lot about the proper sequence of using GS, and working in stages for a good end result. The tentacles have wire armatures inside, pinned to the model. I started painting it a while ago but I'm not happy with how it was going. I'll likely repaint it at some point and add him to the new army, on a new base as well.

A close eye will see that the tentacles are larger on his left arm-- that is intentional. His right arm is still more or less functional, with a usable claw and two grasping tentacles. On his left, I went with what the DP model had started with the oversized gauntlet, and gave him an extra tentacle and oversized the others. His claw is still there, but turned inward and made awkward by his further and more extreme mutations.

I'll post a brief synopsis of the fluff behind the army soon-- it should shed some light on the "why" behind the freaks, and where I'm heading with the project.

Top view of tentacle detail

MaxMini Biohazard heads!

I just saw these on www.maxmini.eu... The Black Legion will definitely be getting plague marines now, woot! I've tried several of their sets and they are perfectly sized for marines. Looking forward to these. :)

As an update to my BL project I've been working on test bases to see which type to go with. I like resin bases but A) they are expensive, B) most brands are hard to use because they are too 'scenic' to stand a model on, and C) I don't want the bling on the base to overshadow the guy standing on it. Right now I'm planning to go with a concrete rubble look. Once I get something presentable I'll post pics and a brief how-to.

Project Outline: Black Legion

Chaos marines have always been one of my favorite armies in 40k. Back in the long long ago, in the dark days of 2nd edition before Codex: Chaos, I built my first chaos army. It was definitely a 'starter army' in terms of paint quality and models used (i.e., anything I could cobble together), but it was the first army I bought with my own money and built start to finish.

Over time I collected Berzerkers and Plague Marines, and muddled through the bleak years of 3rd edition. I was away from the game for a bit, and came back just as the 3.5 edition of the CSM codex came out. I played mostly Khorne previously, but this time I was hooked by the Black Legion. I tend to shun 'generic' armies, but to me the BL took things a bit farther; though they encompassed the entirety of the codex, they were also at the forefront of the Long War and at the end of the day were what chaos is all about. So, I set out to build an army. I really enjoyed the modelling aspect of the army, and did well with them in the game to boot. Alas, the 4th edition codex came around and torpedoed my army build-- demons went away and so a large bulk of my army became unusable. So, they have sat on the shelf for several years, biding their time for an eventual but inevitable return.

In my years of building armies, doing conversions, etc, I've found that most of the time my eagerness to get them on the table outweighs my patience. I've wanted to do an all-conversion army for some time now, but usually I end up rushing through things or losing interest in favor of actual gaming. This time I want to do it different, and do it right. The current CSM codex is more or less crap, so there's no great incentive to rush through the process-- just time to really pour it on from a hobby standpoint so when the next codex comes out (my guess is early 6th edition-- my hunch being with demons back :) ) I'll be ready for it with the bulk of an army already complete.

So as I mentioned above, this army will be done "for the art" as it were, and not necessarily according to what is good in the game-- I'm fully expecting that to change with the new codex. Mutations and the gradual process of a marine turning into a monstrosity has always been one of the coolest part of chaos for me, so that is the route I'm taking with the Legion. Every model will be converted in some way, and will likely include a mutation of some kind. I'm also looking forward to trying some new painting techniques; black is a color that is easy to do but hard to do well. I also hate Hate HATE painting the trim on chaos armor, so I'll probably end up having to find a work-around for that as well. So stay tuned, and wish me luck!