I’m working on a Circus-themed display board to enter in Armies on Parade 2021. I’ve already made a “Ringleader” Daemon Prince and Greater Possessed “Strongman.” I am working on a full squad of 9 Chaos Space Marine bikes where the riders will be in outlandish trick poses. I decided one of them should have an Icon, which buffs the unit sort of like a Bard in DnD lore. Then I thought: “How can I make this over-the-top excessive and impractical?’ I thought back to my previous musicianmodels, and thought up this design as a sort of cross between Mad Max and a Space Marine Attack Bike. Then, it just seemed an even more excessive step to have it with a female crew.
It started as a pile of bits
The tricycle itself is a massive hodge-podge kitbash of parts: At its base is obviously a Chaos Space Marine bike, plus an extra wheel from another bike. The additional frame parts are from the AoS Chaos Warshrine bits that didn’t get into “Blinky.” There is a lot of random sprue bits and green stuff holding it together. The Icon at the back is an Endless Spell. And the speakers are from Alternative Armies.
Assembled parts
Assembled together
Primed Grey Seer
With first basecoats of paint
Paint details added
Progress Pictures
The riders are made up of some unusual parts too. The Drum Kit is also from Alternative Armies. The drummer’s head is a Drukari (Dark Eldar) and her ponytail is from a Sister of Silence. The guitars are green stuff casts of the new Noise Marine’s guitar. The driver and right guitarists’ heads are from Female Barbarian Dwarf models for Dungeons and Dragons. The left guitarists head was made for a model I designed in Hero Forge to resemble my daughter with pigtails and a smirk. It was 3D printed by Anthony at Token Resistance.
The infantry models can all be removed from the model: There are steel washers embedded in the surface of the model and the musicians have magnets in their feet.
Lens flares are awesome!
As with many of my models, it has LED’s. The eyes of the “Icon” have flickering blue LED’s and it’s mouth has a rapidly colour-changing LED. The battery is in the base and the switch is on the back.
CONVERTED MOTOR-TRICYCLE WITH ICON AND FEMALE CHAOS SPACE MARINE ROCK BAND
From a lore point of view, I know GW says that there aren’t any female Space Marines because the gene seed is incompatible with women. But, there are a few parties in the Warhammer 40k universe that can tinker with the genetics and laws of nature. Belarus Cawl comes to mind with his Primaries tech-heresy. So does Fabius Bile. I was planning on running this army as Creations of Bile, so if anyone has made Female Space Marines, Bile might be one of them. I guess they wouldn’t exactly be just Emperor’s Children any more; more specifically they’d be Emperor’s Daughters!
Riding into battle along with a unit of other Chaos Space Marine Bikes
I have picked up a few Greater Possessed models pretty cheap. They come with the Shadowspear box set, and I guess people wanted other parts from the box.
I’m working on a Chaos Space Marines: Creations of Bile army right now. This list will have a squad of 8-9 bikes. I thought it would be fitting to have a Greater Possessed carrying a bike instead of riding it.
This new army will be circus-themed. I posted the Daemon Prince “Ringleader” recently. This character is essentially supposed to represent the circus “strongman”.
A typical circus strongman
The pose was inspired by photos I’ve been seeing of people holding up their bikes. I don’t really understand this trend, or what they’re trying to say, but it does convey a certain level of power.
Apparently holding your bike over your head is a thing…
The conversion itself was a lot of work. I chopped the arms and right leg off of the Greater Possessed model. I used a lot of green stuff to reposition the right leg into more of a standing pose rather than its running pose. The arms are from the Chaos Sorcerer that comes with the AoS Chaos Warshrine. I put pins in the arm and used some green stuff to fill in the gaps.
Ingredients that went into this model
Getting “armed”
As with many of my models, it has LED’s. This time it has light-up eyes. I drilled the eyes out and drilled a hole in the back for the LED to fit. The battery and switch are on the base.
Drilling the head
Wiring in progress
glowing eyes
all together before painting
The colour scheme follows the pink paint scheme of the Daemon Prince for this army. I tried foregoing the Fulgrim Pink base before the Magos Purple contrast. I think it would look slightly better with the pink below. I’m particularly proud of the shading on the muscles on the arms. Really makes it pop I feel.
Eldar guardian added to the base before painting
The base features an Aeldari (Eldar) Guardian getting stomped on, probably about to get smashed by the bike. I painted it the colours of the Lyanden craftworld because the yellow seemed to contrast best with the green base and pink of the character.
I’m pretty proud of how this model turned out. I think I’ll call him “Flex.”
Tabletop-wise, he’s not a great unit for points. He can hit okay, but I could get 2 Terminators for the points. His real value is his aura that gives +1 strength to units of the same Legion and chaos daemonic mark. So, he’ll buff the already boosted melee strength of my Creations of Bile Warp Talons, Mutilators, Possessed, Daemon Princes, and Obliterators of the same legion and mark. I’m dithering between Nurgle, Slaanesh, and Khorne for the mark on all my CSM Daemon units, and leaning towards Khorne right now.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mortals and Immortals, Daemons or All Ages! May I have your UNDIVIDED attention!?| We proudly bring to you the greatest show, this side of the Great Rift! Be amazed by feats of strength and speed! This much CHAOS could drive you mad! This show will CHANGE you, just as planned! We will overwhelm your senses to give you excessive PLEASURE! You’ll be so ANGRY that it has to end! You’ll laugh until you’re SICK! After all, laughter is the best medicine. Or was it slaughter? Well, you can’t spell slaughter without laughter!
Presenting a new Chaos Space Marine Daemon Prince with Wings. I’m thinking of calling it “The Ringleader”. It will be a central part of my new circus-themed army and display board. It is a continuation of the ideas started with the Ice Cream Truck and Undead Zombie Daemon Clown Poxwalkers.
Progress pictures of Daemon Prince model
An obviously distinctive feature is its top hat. I made it using some plasticard, a piece of heat shrink, and a bit of green stuff. Its bow tie is also made of plasticard.
Image of Daemon Prince focusing on Top Hat and Bow Tie
As with many of my models, I incorporated electronics. This Daemon Prince’s eyes light up from a flickering green LED installed in its head. I used clear silicon kitchen caulking as a diffusing medium for the light. There is a switch on the back of the base, and a battery in the base.
Daemon Prince’s Warp Bolter with a “bang” gun flag.
I’m particularly proud of the “bang” gun in its left hand. The gun is an Ogryn ripper gun that represents its Warp Bolter. The bang gun with a flag is a classic prank, so I thought it was a nice way to add some levity to the model.
I’m also particularly proud of its wings. I tried doing a wet-blend gradient between Fulgrim Pink and Genestealer Purple. It has a wash of Magos Purple contrast, and then it’s topped off with Green Stuff World’s Red Goblin Colour Shift Paint.
Image showing my attempt at gradient in the Daemon Prince’s wings.
And the balloons… I love the balloons. I think most of the characters in this army will have balloons. I found these on Amazon. They are described as “Dollhouse Balloons.”
Daemon Prince with Wings: “The Ringleader”
I’m planning on running “The Ringleader” as an HQ in a Creations of Bile Chaos Space Marine Army, so it will have +1 strength and +1” movement. I will probably use the Supreme Creation: Prime Test Subject stratagem to give it +1 toughness and an additional +1 strength. It has a Hellforged Sword sheathed on his side, which will be hitting at strength 9. I’m also planning to give it the Living Carapace relic which improves his armour save to 2+ and allows it to regain 1 lost wound per turn.
Side views of Daemon Prince
I posted a work-in-progress picture and someone mentioned that it reminded him of Rakdos. In the Magic the Gathering (MTG) and Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) lore, he is worshiped by chaotic cultists who emulate gruesome performance art. A chaotic circus? Sounds about right!
I’m proud to share this model, it’s surprisingly clean and subtle. I feel like this might be one of my cleanest painted models, which is particularly ironic because he is Nurgle and Death Guard.
This model is a conversion. I started with the model for Obsidius Mallex, the Chaos Lord from the Blackstone Fortress boxed game. The model was equipped with a Thunder Hammer and Plasma Pistol.
I started with a model of Obsidius Mallex, the Chaos Lord from the Blackstone Fortress boxed game. This is what he would have looked like if painted to look like Black Legion.
I replaced his head with a Mk.3-looking helmet, and remodeled his arms so he was holding a pole with a two-handed grip. On the end of the pole I hung some chain bits from the Chaos Rhino box to resemble the flail bits.
Side-by-side of original model and my conversion
I used mostly contrast paints: Plaguebearer flesh for the armour, and Magos purple over screamer pink for the fabric. I’m particularly proud of the tentacle-tube-things all around the model. They would be very subdued in Obsidius Mallex’s Black Legion colours, but I made them pop for Death Guard. I used Green Stuff World’s Colour Shift paints to finish them off, and the colour shift actually works well this time! It gives the tentacle-tube-things a living, almost slimy quality.
Completed model: Death Guard Plague Marine with Flail of Corruption
When Warhammer events finally return to the Greater Toronto Area, I’m planning on bringing a Death Guard army. Plague Marines are pretty good troops to bring, so I have a growing collection. I wanted another Plague Marine with Plague of Corruption. This one model makes six attacks in melee, without penalty to hit, at strength 5, AP-2, and 2 damage. Plague Marine tricks include reducing the enemy toughness by 1, and re-roll 1’s to wound. It’s essentially a loyalist Primaris Marine smasher. Pity you are limited on how many you can take. I will probably sacrifice all other models in a squad to protect the model with a Flail of Corruption.
This idea for this unit was inspired by my recently completed “I Scream” truck conversion of a Chaos Rhino. That vehicle resembled “Sweet Tooth” from the Twisted Metal Video Games, and that vehicle represents a kind of corrupted clown. It got a lot of great feedback so I decided to use it as a thematic centrepiece of my new display board.
In the “I Scream” truck, there is a converted Poxwalker serving Ice Cream out of the side window. I went with bright, garish colours to make it appear “clown-like.” So, I extended that idea to an entire unit of 10 models.
I decided all of these undead zombie Daemon clowns would have white/grey skin, red lips, neon green “hair” and pink outfits. For those that had shoes, I decided to go with a clown-shoe-like red.
Progress photos of models
One of them is converted to hold a banner. I found the flag bit in a bag of Dark Eldar bits. It’s painted in red and white stripes like a circus tent.
Another is converted to resemble a sort of circus ringleader. It already had a long coat, and I added a top hat made of plasticard and a piece of heat shrink.
Detail of my non-metallic metal work and edge highlighting on the poxwalker’s weapon
I took this opportunity to continue practicing non-metallic metal (NMM). Like my recent Vorx model, I went for a “Power Rust” look, wet-blending a gradient from Typhus Corrosion, Mornfang Brown, Cadian Fleshtone, and Ryza Rust. Practice makes perfect, and I think I’m slowly getting better.
Squad of 10 “undead zombie daemon clown” poxwalkers
I was particularly impressed by one of the characters, Vorx: Siegemaster of the XIV Legion, leader of the Lords of Silence warband of the Death Guard. He is pictured on the cover of the book, at the top. Vorx blurs the lines of good and evil, while being honourable, caring, polite and considerate. So, I decided to make a model for him.
Vorx as he appears on the cover of The Lords of Silence
I started with the model of Sergeant Lorenzo, he’s a Blood Angels Terminator from the Space Hulk box set. I filed off all the Blood Angel decor and re-modeled his arms. His left arm is a Power Fist that I took off of a Plague Marine.
Gradual conversion of Blood Angels Terminator to Death Guard Lord of Contagion
As with many of my models, there are LED lights in this one. I followed Chris Buxey‘s method for light-up-eyes again. I think this is better than the “I Scream truck”. And in the centre of the base behind the Nurgling and in front of Vorx, there are 3 flickering LED’s in a wad of cotton to resemble a fire.
LED work on this conversion
I’d like to think I paid a lot of attention to details from the book:
On the cover of the book, Vorx seems to be a Chaos Lord, wearing Power Armour (or Artificer Armour) based on having a backpack. But, he is armed with a Manreaper scythe he calls “Exact.” There are no rules to allow a Death Guard Chaos Lord to wield a Manreaper, but a Lord of Contagion may take a Manreaper. And, Vorx uses a teleporter at one point in the book, and from what I understand, the only Space Marines that can use teleporters are Terminators. So, this is why I decided to model Vorx as a Lord of Contagion which wears Terminator Armour.
Details from the book illustrated on the model
A Lord of Contagion with a Manreaper also takes an Orb of Dessication. I originally intended for Vorx to be holding his Orb of Dessication aloft in one hand, and his Manreaper in the other. But, I realized that the pose was quite similar to Abbadon. So, instead I decided to model Vorx wielding his scythe with both hands. The orb is that big glowing ball on his belt.
The scythe is a combination of a Kromlech Legionary Vibro Scythe and some sort of Dark Eldar staff. I connected them together using a piece of heat shrink I usually use for electronics. This is also my first attempt at non-metallic metal (NMM) which seems to be all the rage right now. I followed a method described in this video by Impending Duff. It is a wet-blend on the blades from Mornfang Brown to Cadian Fleshtone. To my pleasant surprise, Typhus corrosion is even darker than Mornfang Brown, so rather than using it for weathering, I used it to increase the gradient. And instead of weathering, I used Ryza Rust as another part of the gradient. I think the bright orange looks like “Power Rust” so I may use this technique a lot more.
Details of the book on pulpit, and non-metallic metal on the scythe blade
In Vorx’s personal holdings on Eletgibia, now better known as the Plague Planet, he maintains an untitled book with the names of everyone he has killed. It’s becoming an impossibility long book, and gaining potency as a relic with h each entry. Vorx spent 8 weeks writing in it on one visit during the book. I have modeled that book on the base of the model on a sort of pulpit. The book is a bit from the Kromlech set “Chaos Books of Damnation” and the pulpit is from an AoS Chaos Warshrine.
At several points in the book, Vorx dotes on a particular Nurgling or “Little Lord.” He pets it, and even takes it for care when it gets injured. I have modeled this particular Little Lord on the model’s base, seemingly writing in Vorx’s book. The Nurgling is also wearing a mask, in an ironic, counterintuitive nod to the times.
On the agri-planet of Najan, the Lord’s of Silence captures an Astra Militarum officer, Captain Dantine. Using some wicked sorcery, they remove his heart. Vorx keeps the still beating heart in a pouch on his waist. Dantine is still alive, with his heart removed from his body as some sort of Poxwalker or “Unchanged”. I have modeled the pouch holding Dantine’s heart on Vorx’s belt using an Astra Militarum pouch bit. The pouch has a little bit of blood pooling at the bottom.
I got the idea for the stairs he’s standing on from Warmaster Horus’ model from the Horus Heresy. The stairs are made of stacks of cork board.
Conversion progress pictures
Finished modelMy conversion of a Blood Angels Terminator into a Death Guard Lord of Contagion. He is modeled to represent Siegemaster Vorx from The Lords of Silence
Here’s an over the top project of which I’m pretty proud: A conversion of a Chaos Rhino to resemble an Ice Cream truck. More specifically, it is meant to emulate “Sweet Tooth”, the iconic vehicle driven by Needles Kane in the Twisted Metal franchise of video games.
Reference photos of “Sweet Tooth”
I had purchased a Chaos Rhino kit a few months ago with the intention of adding a 3rd to my Death Guard force. It sat in my to-do pile for a while. When I finished my Foetid Bloat Drone with MOTORIZED fleshmower, my wife remarked that it seemed like it needed music or sound. I’ve done sound in my models before, like my Red Gobbo conversion that sang “Jingle Bells”, and a Land Raider that sings “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer. Thinking of the motorized fleshmower, I somehow got to thinking about the spinning pole of a barber shop.
Barber’s pole kind of inspired me
From the barber’s pole, I somehow started thinking about ice cream trucks. Then I made the connection to Sweet Tooth. For those that don’t know, Sweet Tooth is a vehicle in the “Twisted Metal” video games driven by a clown-themed serial killer named Needles Kane. It is a weaponized, beat up ice cream truck. And, in the games, it plays an ice cream truck melody that seems creepily out of place.
Needles Kane is the flagship character of the Twisted Metal games. He is depicted as an insane, violent, crazed killer full of rage. He seems to be more of the Khorne type of Chaos. But, I am instead playing on the clown/circus element of his persona. From there, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine undead crazed zombie daemon clowns. And, in a truly Nurgle fashion, how better to spread Grandpa Nurgle’s gifts, than Ice Cream.
Rhino I had previously painted, and the paper Ice Cream Truck centrepiece I used as a reference
I started the project by getting a reference: I bought a paper Ice Cream Truck centrepiece that was roughly twice the size of a Rhino. This gave me a reference for scale and shape.
The next thing I built was the iconic macabre clown head that would go atop the vehicle. Ice cream trucks can have giant ice cream cones or clown heads on top, but I decided to go with the clown head. I started with a leftover head from the Great Unclean One kit. I installed a big red LED on its nose to look like a clown nose. I replaced its eyes with flickering purple LED’s to look like bulging eyes. And I wired five flickering LED’s around the head to be the flames later. The circuitry also involved two batteries, a switch, and a resistor. I balled the whole thing together with a large wad of Miliput. After priming and painting it, I strategically used clear kitchen caulking as a medium to represent the shapes of the flames. I’d like to think that it diffuses well is a fine Warhammer interpretation of Sweet Tooth’s clown head.
Starting on the head, first the red nose
Lots of wiring
Red nose and purple eyes
That’s A LOT of wires
Lots of wires
All the LED’s
Painted and caulking added
Gallery of progress photos on the head above the Ice Cream Truck
After the clown head, I made the two characters to put in the vehicle. I converted a Chaos Cultist to be the driver. I replaced the head with a clear resin head and installed an LED in it. I am trying to emulate the techniques of one of the best LED modelers, Chris Buxey. Now the driver looks sort of demonically empowered.
Unpainted, converted Chaos Cultist that will be the driver. Testing the lighting
Painted driver
Driver in position
Progress pictures on the driver of the truck
And I converted a Poxwalker to be the ice cream server. I replaced his weapon with an ice cream scoop, and made an ice cream cone for his other hand.
Poxwalker converted to zombie daemon clown that will be service ice cream
Painted
Installed and serving Ice Cream
Progress pictures of server
The body of the vehicle took a lot of work. This is my first time ever working with plasticard. It is rather hard to cut, but I’m glad I had a self-healing mat to absorb errant knife stabs. The sheets are a bit imprecise, and I used a lot of Green Stuff to fill in gaps. But it seems acceptable considering how run-down the truck is supposed to be.
Cutting plasticardStarting to take shape
I start by making a scale template of the side of the ice cream truck reference. It’s exactly half the size (1:2). I used that to trace the side walls of the truck out plasticard. Then I cut the side sections of the Rhino to fit the plasticard walls. I use the original Rhino roof and back door. The rest is even more plasticard.
The whole thing is coming togetherBack view of partially built truckAssembled and primed. Head is attached to the top with a magnet.
The interior has two barrels with some glowing, noxious substance inside. I suspect this what they are serving as ice cream. I used a couple of LED’s to really make them glow. The headlights also light up, as does the drivers’ eyes, and there is one internal light.
There’s a lot of wiresInterior view before sealing it. I weathered it a lot. And you can see some of the wiring.
There are few interesting attachments to the truck. I used wooden letters I got at Micheal’s for the large side. It spells “Ice Cream”, but I’ve had the “CE” fall off and an “S” is scrawled in blood so it now reads “I SCREAM”. There are boltguns on each side of the truck matching their positions on Sweet Tooth. And there is an awning over the serving window, supported by two missiles. The front grill is from a Taurox Prime kit, modified slightly with some sprue bits. The license plate simply reads “VII”.
Nurgling in the back window. The button labelled with the “music note” triggers the music.
I used plastic for all the windows. There is a Nurgling hiding in the back window. The technique for the cracked window in the front is from this youtube video. Actually, I learned a lot from that video about weathering too.
I had fun decorating the truck too. It is supposed to be a white truck with pink polka-dots. Then I covered it in ice cream stickers. That’s how it started, then I weathered it like crazy. Many layers of Apothecary White Contrast, Plaguebearer Flesh Contrast, Typhus Corrosion, Ryza Rust, Nuln Oil, and Agrax Earthshade. I even did some highlighting in Corax White to try to get the edges to pop.
Side view: “ICE CREAM” or “I SCREAM”?Front view: I broke out my “Sophie’s Garage” display board for a backgroundPassenger / serving sideServing ice cream sideBack viewFront / driver-side view
I have been teaching myself how to use VSDC Video editing software. I had some fun splicing together photos of the finished model, the music, and some video effects.
Video featuring the “I Scream” truck and accompanying music
Now I’m considering making a full 20-model squad of Poxwalkers as undead zombie daemon clowns.
After my modest success in 2018 with my “Sophie’s Garage” Display Board, I upped my game in 2019 with “Sophie’s Choice Rock Concert” Display Board. I entered that board into Armies on Parade at my local Games Workshop store and got “Best Themed Army” and 2nd Place overall. I wanted to go even bigger and better for 2020 and started planning immediately. The end result is not what I thought I’d have, but I’m quite happy with it.
2020 has been a complicated and memorable year, to say the least. I had been very focused on my two Loyalist armies: Imperial Fists and Astra Militarum. When the first COVID-19 lockdown hit home in March, I found myself not worrying about painting to play, but instead having the freedom to try something new. That’s when I started painting Death Guard models.
My 2020 Display Board: “Ritual to Extend 2020”
To match the bases I had been giving the Death Guard models, I decided it would be a more forest/nature-like environment. My two previous boards had been urban environments, so this was quite a departure for me. But, it was a nice opportunity to try something new.
Now, on the actual construction of the board. The base is actually a bamboo drawer organizer from Ikea. I wanted to have a variety of heights and different levels, so there are lots of boxes and platforms. All of the shapes are boxes from Dollarama that I have disassembled, cut and re-assembled as I needed. Once I had a layout I liked, I added the steel.
LED’s added to the upper platform.
It wouldn’t be one of my boards if it didn’t features lights. The lighting on this board was actually rather modest: Just two flickering green LED’s on the upper dias.
LED’s on the upper platform
There are a lot of practical elements to this board. First, it fits perfectly on the foldable cart that I bring to tournaments. I installed handles to make it easy to transport. And, every horizontal surface is clad in sheet steel, so that models with magnets in their bases stick to the board.
Early construction photo of my 2020 display board. The sheet steel is still quite visible.
I used an “ebony” wood stain to make it really dark. Then finished it with three coats of a shiny polyurethane.
Staining the board
The board has lots of corkboard for texture. And I used the bases of the trees from the Souldrain Forest kit.
I wanted to add some texture to the steel. I mixed sand, white glue, and water and intended to smear that over all the horizontal surfaces to mask the steel. I didn’t get the ratio quite right, so that sand started collecting into bands. That turned out to be a nice, rippling effect.
Adding texture
I used spray paint on most of the board. It’s like a poor man’s airbrush. As you’d expect of me, there are lights on the top balcony flanking where the Great Unclean One would go. The band is set up with their own little nook. I was planning to have them on top of the Land Raider, but didn’t have time to finish the stage properly. That Land Raider will get some more interesting treatment and I’ll share that soon.
After spraying some layers. I even managed to get a bit of gradient.
I had custom nameplate engraved for the board. It’s a brass plate reads: “Ritual to extend 2020” Nurgle Daemons / Death Guard by Paul Radcliffe The gentleman at the engraving store gave me the funniest looks when reviewing the order…It’s very tongue-in-cheek, but I think the Noctilith Crown, and instruments, and green waterfall and daemons running amok fit them theme of wanting this pandemic year to continue. And Chaos / Nurgle Daemons / Death Guard are supposed to be the “bad guys” right? So they’d have some sort of sinister plot like this!
Engraved plate for my 2020 Display Board
Another little touch was the adding of a leather banner. My neighbour has a leatherworking business and I commissioned her to laser-etch the Nurgle symbol into a piece of leather. I then weathered the heck out of it and hung it from the upper platform of the board.
A definite focal point on this board is the Nocticlith Crown featured on the upper platform. I painted it to look more Nurgle-like and rusted. I like that the crown looks like some sort of malefic portal or stargate. To play on that, there is a plasma disk suspended in the middle of the ring. It’s actually supposed to be a belt buckle. It is hung on fishing line which very difficult to see.
Noctilith Crown terrain features on my 2020 Display board with a plasma disk suspended in the middle. I used fishing wire which is almost invisible.
There are a lot of great models and elements on this board. But I think one of my favourites is some Nurglings on the base of the Great Unclean One overseeing the “procession.” In a very ironic twist, these little daemons that serve the Daemon God of Disease and Decay, are wearing masks.
Even Nurglings wear masks in 2020, apparently.
The board features a few trees that also came from the Souldrain Forest kit. I painted them to look like cherry blossoms, because my wife loves cherry blossoms. She was less impressed with the tree that I converted to look more like a Feculent Gnarlmaw. They had magnets installed in their bases so they would attach to the steel sheets on the board.
Work in progress pictures of trees for the 2020 Display Board. The one on the left has a bit of an infection….
This display so features a sort of ragtag Nurgle Band dropping some sick beats: -Spoilpox Scrivner on lead vocals -Tallyman on guitar -Sloppity Bilepiper on bagpipes -Plaguebearer on drums -Noxious Blightbringer on bells (naturally) -Nurglings on French Horn, Trumpet, Flute, and Strings
Nurgle band dropping some “sick beats”
I wanted to exceed the Rock Concert from last year. The previous board had lights and sounds. So, to exceed that I decided to add RUNNING WATER! I bought a terrarium piece meant for lizards that has a built-in pump. This was always going to feature on the board. For the final product, I put green food colouring in the water. The effect is green water coming out of the glowing skull!
Picture of my 2020 display board, with glowing skull and running water featured on the left.
There was music too from a speaker in the display. It’s playing the Red Hot Chili Pipers‘ cover of “Highway to Hell”. Not Peppers, Pipers, as in the Celtic Rock Band that features bagpipes. It’s a nod to the Sloppily Bilepiper’s bagpipes.
My 2020 Display BoardMy 2020 Display Board: Predominant in this picture are a lot of Nurglings, A Daemon Prince, Poxwalkers, Plague Marines, a Hellbrute, A Myphitic Blight Hauler, and a Land RaiderA view of the upper levels of the board featuring a Great Unclean One, Typhus, Malignant Plaguecaster, Lord of Contagion, and Foul Blightspawn. My 2020 Display Board: A horde of Nurgle Daemons
The board regrettably win any prizes from Armies on Parade 2020. But, It did was featured on an article by Warhammer Community.
I already have a Malignant Plaguecaster model for my Death Guard army. But, like many others, I think the model doesn’t match the awesomeness of its rules.
My first Death Guard Malignant Plaguecaster. I think I did a pretty good job, but I think the model itself could be more exciting.
I’m working on a Death Guard list that uses the Poxmongers Plague Company. I’d like to have a model carrying the Poxmongers exclusive relic, the Ironclot Furnace. This relic is supposed to spout some sort of smoke that helps protect one unit of Daemon Engines. So, I felt the model carrying this relic should look like it’s producing smoke.
The Master of Possession model as done by GW as a Black Legion.
I saw the Master of Possession model and the flaming skulls on its back made me think it was a great model to be converted to a Malignant Plaguecaster with Ironclot Furnace. But, I would add some personal pizazz with flickering LED’s and creative use of clear resin and diffusers.
Starting point for this model
I started by drilling out 3 clear resin skulls and one clear resin flame from Zinge. I drilled them so I could put an LED inside each of them.
Drilling to hollow out the skull
Then, a lot of soldering later, all 4 were wired up for lighting.
Wired and ready to go
I also replaced the model’s head with a Plague Marine head, so it has the same Mk.3 feel as the rest of the Legion. I drilled out its eyepiece and hollowed it out to put an LED in too. Now its eyes light up!
Getting “a head” on this project :p
Instead of my usual, bulky 24AWG wires, I used much smaller 28AWG wires. They were much more fragile and difficult to work with. But, with an infantry model rather than a vehicle, I needed to use these smaller wires.
Progress Pics
I’m particularly proud of the base. I wanted it to represent undead plague zombies and suggest the Plaguecaster was a sort of necromancer. This base has the torsos of a new Plaguebearer, old metal Plaguebearer, and a Poxwalker. I wanted them to look like they were bursting out of the ground.
A diseased undeed daemon base
I also replaced the tip of the Master of Possession’s staff. The symbol is from an old metal Plaguebearer banner.
Finished model with the LED’s off
I spent a lot more time than usual shading and edging this model. I think the quality is pretty good. The skulls even look good with the LED’s off.
Comparing the Master of Possession to my converted Malignant Plaguecaster
I think it will pop nicely on the tabletop.
Finished model with the lights onFinished model with lights on with a white background
I got the First Strike Warhammer 40k Starter Box several years ago. I painted the Space Marine models quickly, but the Death Guard models stayed in the box for years. Something about the COVID-19 pandemic got me thinking about plague, disease, and the Death Guard / Nurgle models. And, since I was prettymuch where I wanted to be with my Imperial Fists tournament list, it seemed like a good time to try something new.
For those that don’t know, in the fictional Warhammer 40k universe, Nurgle is the Chaotic Daemon god of disease, decay, death and destruction. Death Guard and the Poxwalkers are thralls or servants of Nurgle. Seemed a bit appropriate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
And The Hooded Goblin friendly local gaming store (FLGS) was running a painting competition, so it was even more incentive to paint them up real good. And, the Rhino won me second place in the category!
So, I actually have 4 different batches of models painted for 3 different categories:
Squad of Death Guard Marines and Poxwalkers
Large: Myphitic Blight-hauler (vehicle)
Character: Daemon Prince of Nurgle
Large: Death Guard Rhino “The Goober Uber”
Death Guard Chaos Space Marines and Poxwalkers
I wanted to really push my painting abilities with this new little project. So, I decided I would try all the “tricks” of contrast paint and washes. And using a brand new very fine brush for details helped too.
Before painting
I started by making really fancy bases. I bought a box of 340 skulls, so I put 3 skulls on each base as a nod to the Nurgle symbol. The bases for the Space Marines even feature bodies of fallen foes, like a Dark Angel on one, and an Imperial Guardsman on another. And then each base got some “texture” from Milliput putty.
I took my time painting them. I started priming them white, then a spray coat of Gray Seer contrast primer spray paint. Most of the skin of the poxwalkers was done in Plaguebearer Flesh contrast paint with the pink sections in Magos Purple contrast paint. The pink highlights were done with Emperor’s Children. I used a bunch of different colours for the other highlights. Then everything was washed in Agrax Earthshade and sealed with Army Painter Matt Varnish.
Back view
Poxwalkers as painted
The Space Marine models were even more detailed than the Poxwalkers. I used a similar formula to the Poxwalkers. But I added shading of Death Guard green on armour, and lots of brass-looking parts I painted Balthasar Gold. And I actually did use Dark Angel Green contrast paint for the body on the base.
Front view
Back view
Death Guard Chaos Space Marines
I’m really happy about how they turned out. I kind of begrudge having to paint more. I did such a detailed and careful job on these that I realize I will have to spend a lot of time on future to finish the squads if I want to keep up the quality.
Fancy shot of the Death Guard models in an organic background
Myphitic Blight-hauler
I bought this on a bit of a whim. I had so much success painting the Death Guard models, I thought I’d try it with a vehicle. And the Myphtic Blight-hauler model is actually pretty cheap as far as Games Workshop models go, and looked pretty fancy.
Myphitic Blight-hauler On the sprue before assembly and painting
But, as with all of my favourite models, I wanted to add some electronics to really make it stand out. I decided the “eye” in the front would be a little more sinister and used a red/green/blue flickering LEDs from Zinge. And in the multi-melta I put two yellow flickering LEDs. Getting them IN the barrel of the gun was quite a trick. I had to drill a lot of small holes, but then it still wasn’t enough room, so I sort of expanded the gun and filled in the gaps with Milliput.
Wires everywhere
Lit up and primed, but not yet painted
Lit up and primed, but not yet painted
Myphitic Blight-hauler electronics progress pics
The model was actually quite a bit smaller than I expected, and I didn’t have room for the batteries to be in the model. So, I put them and the switch in the base and masked it with a lot of Milliput.
The base features a dead Space Marine like the Death Guard Chaos Space Marines. This time an Ultramarine because I had lots of Ultramarine decals to use. It was actually one of the bodies ripped out of the Land Speeder for Da Red Gobbo project.
The paint was similar to the Death Guard Chaos Space Marines above. But there was a lot more “organic” parts, so those were done more like the poxwalkers using lots of Magos Purple.
With the Marines and Pox Walkers
Completed pictures of my Blight-hauler
It was kind of liberating to paint such “dirty” models. The imperfections of using putty actually resemble the “fleshy” parts of the models. And pooling and splotches in the armour look grungy, which is a feature. A far cry from the clean, prim and proper loyalist Space Marines.
I am overall super-happy with how it turned out. I’m considering getting two more to make a full squad!
Daemon Prince of Nurgle
I got a Lord of Contagion model on eBay, but I wasn’t too excited about its rules and use in the game. I was much more excited about potentially adding a Daemon Prince with Wings to my list. But the Nurgle Daemon Prince model doesn’t look so great to me. So, I made a conversion!
I started with the Lord of Contagion model. The head is from a different Death Guard Chaos Space Marine. I added wings I plucked off of a Tyranid Gargoyle. And the “malefic talon” is a lightning claw pilfered from a Space Marine Terminator model from the Space Hulk boxed set. The rest of the Terminator is a corpse on the base.
Converted by not yet painted Daemon Prince with Wings
Painting this guy took quite a bit of time. He’s a BIG model too! I used prettymuch the same colour scheme for the Space Marines. Magos Purple was the main colour for the wings and cape. The “green fire” from the censer hanging behind him is many layers of Biel-Tan Green shade.
Disdainfully giving the boot to the loyalist Blood Angels Space Marine Terminator
Wings and epic cape
That talon, “borrowed” from the Marine below his left food
I had a lot of fun making that base. SO much detail!
As painted and converted Death Guard Daemon Prince of Nurgle with Wings
Death Guard Chaos Space Marine Rhino “The Goober Uber”
I started this project almost by accident. I was thinking about how much I enjoyed painting the Blight-Hauler. And I realized that if I was going to every play with the Death Guard Marines, it might be nice to have a transport. Well, I have two or three Rhino hulls lying around, so I decided to try my hand at another conversion.
Oh old loyalist Razorback. You will have new life…
So, I’m starting with a very old Ultramarine Razorback. This is one of the first models I painted back in like 1997. I actually base-coated it yellow already in anticipation of adding it to my Imperial Fists.
Getting some Nurgle infestations (or blessings?)
I had a lot of fun “decorating” the tank. I don’t have a Chaos vehicle upgrade sprue, so I improvised. I used the original bulldozer spikes as trophy racks. Then many skulls from the aforementioned skull pack to adorn the doors and front. And LOTS of Milliput for tentacles and some sort of brain/puss thing growing in the back.
After a white under coat and grey seer spray paint layers
The Lord of Contagion model I converted to the Daemon Prince had an icon of sorts that I removed to make room for the wings. I attached that to the top of the Rhino with magnets, and I think it looks pretty sharp.
Waiting for your Goober Uber
I posted the above “work in progress” picture on a Facebook group. Someone commented that it looked like someone waiting for his Goober Uber. I think that name is going to stick.
The colours are the same idea as the oher models in this post. I was surprised how good the Plaguebearer Flesh contrast paint looked on flat surfaces like the tank. The tentacles were especially fun to do with Magos Purple, because the contrast paint really highlights the “imperfections.”
Finished picture of my Death Guard Chaos Space Marine Rhino “Goober Uber”Post on The Hooded Goblin’s page showing that my entry won 2nd place in the Warhammer 40k: Large category!
Overall, I’m quite happy with my little Death Guard collection. I’m itching to buy more, but I have most of the Death Guard side of the Dark Imperium box to paint. I am just not looking forward to having to paint all of them so well!
Death Guard “family picture”
My Warhammer 40,000 Blog featuring Imperial Guard, Space Marine and Inquisitor Models
