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Display Board 2021: “Circus of sLAUGHTER”

At long last, a full post sharing the culmination of my year of Warhammer painting: A display board I call “The Circus of sLAUGHTER” featuring Emperor’s Children Chaos Space Marine models. It was an ambitious project that garnered lots of praise from fellow hobbyists and won me a couple of small accolades.

This project essentially starts after finishing my 2020 display board. I wondered how I could exceed that board. It would have LED’s because that has become my signature. But to go bigger, I wanted a display screen, and a motorized component. 

My iScream truck. The “Sweet Tooth” clown motif kind of inspired the rest of the Circus/clown display board

The idea for the board started by accident: I finished my heavily converted “I Scream” truck/Rhino that was supposed to resemble Sweet Tooth from the Twisted Metal video games. Many commented that a clown-themed army would be a different kind of horrifying. The idea grew from there.

I started with the idea of representing different typical characters from a Circus. There should be clowns, a ringleader, strong man, bearded lady, stunt riders, and other general “freaks”. Originally I thought it would be best represented as a Creations of Bile Chaos Space Marine army.

  • Chaos Space Marine biker riding BACKWARDS
  • Chaos Space Marine biker doing a handstand
Elements of my Circus of sLAUGHTER display board

Many of the models followed:

The balloons quickly became a thematic element. They are “Dollhouse Balloons” I purchased from Amazon.

Circus reference images and inspirations

It was the bikes that inspired the centerpiece of the circus. In classic circuses, there could be people doing crazy stunts riding on horses or even motorcycles in more modern iterations. Looking at pictures of motorcycle show performances, they seem to circle the centre ring. That inspired me to motorize a turntable for the bikes, while leaving the centerpiece static.

  • Sound circuit in the bottom left
Building the motorized turntable

There wasn’t any such turntable I could find, so I designed and built my own! I used a Lazy Susan swivel, steel pie pan, motor, and a lot of patience to rig something up. It took a few tries, but I’m very proud of the effect.

Sewing for Warhammer? Apparenlty

To finish the effect, I drew inspiration from a couple of these circus images. In particular, the fabric tent of the toy circus suggested a great way to tie it all together. I ordered a striped piece of fabric and hand sewed it into the right shape. I never expected I’d break out a needle and thread to sew something for Warhammer!

Further progress piictures

The board also features a speaker system that plays the traditional Circus song “Entrance of the Gladiators”. The lights go through a sequence or colours and can be remotely controlled. 

Images for the display screen

On the upper level, there is a space for a display screen. I painted a digital photo display frame that I found at a thrift store, and programmed it with images of my circus. The display needs to be plugged in to work. I tried to make it work with an external battery, but the battery would only last a few minutes. So, I made an alternative insert in case I’m in a place without a nearby plug.

With “static” screen replacement
Images of my compelted Display Board for 2021: “The Circus of sLAUGHTER” Emperor’s Children Chaos Space Marines

I also have a little speech “The Ringleader” Deamon Prince might bark: “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: The Circus of sLAUGHTER!
Be amazed by feats of strength and speed! 

This much CHAOS could drive you mad! We will overwhelm your senses to give you excessive PLEASURE! After all, laughter is the best medicine. Or was it slaughter? Well, you can’t spell slaughter without laughter!

We’ve got acrobats on bikers! A strongman carrying a motorcycle. A bearded daemonette with crab claws. Duinclaw, an ACTUAL Giant Crab balancing on a ball! Clowns, and Zombie Daemon Clowns and Mutant Murder Clowns!

And Balloons! Oh, so many balloons! 

Coming for you soon! Whether you like it or not!”

I brought this board and army to The Stud or Snotling Tournament in Toronto in October 2021. I was honoured to be awarded with 3rd place for best painted. 

I also entered it into the “Golden Poxling Halloween Painting Competition. It was honoured it was named a finalist in the “Make Me Laugh” category. October 24, 2021 https://www.instagram.com/p/CVar300tUAr/

And finally, I entered it into the annual Armies on Parade at the Heartland Warhammer store, my local Games Workshop. I was honoured that it took Gold in the best of Warhammer 40,000 category.

Now, how do I top this next year?

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Display Board: “Ritual to extend 2020”

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.

Laser-etched leather banner by Springbok Craft Co

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 Board
My 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 Raider
A 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.

A picture of my 2020 Display Board that was featured in an article by Warhammer Community.

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Display Board “Sophie’s Choice” Rock Concert

My display board in 2018, “Sophie’s Garage” was well-received. I could have kept using it, but I decided I wanted to do something even better this year.

I started this year with the question: “What would a high-level bard be like in the #Warhammer40k universe?”

I figured it would be some sort of grimdark heavy metal band. That idea was galvanized around the special Noise Marine model that Games Workshop released in late 2018. But, I play loyalest, Imperial Forces, not Heretical Chaos corrupted fiends. I didn’t imagine many Codex Astartes compliant Chapters would wield electric guitars on the battlefield. But, then it struck me: The Legion of the Damned! They’re on FIRE already!

The “Noise Marine” model painted as a Loyalist Legion of the Damned on Guitar

As for the rest of the band, I painted up a Sister of Silence as the drummer. It seemed appropriate; she won’t speak, but percussion should be right up her alley. And an old Primaris Psyker of mine with a fire motif is up front on vocals.

Sister of Silence on drums

I called the band “Sophie’s Choice”. The name had several connotations: First of all, we call our infant daughter Sophie. And there’s the book and movie called Sophie’s Choice. And then there is the rather morbid decision ( the eponymous “Sophie’s Choice”) that is in the book and movie centre around.

Early sketch of how I envisioned the “stage”

Then I thought, this band can’t just sit in the corner of a battlefield; a high-level bard in the 40k universe would be riding on a parade-like float. Their “stage” is Mad Max-esque tank with skull icon, built-in speakers, and flame motif. It is a conversion featuring a Chimera and many parts from the Galvanic Magnavent terrain kit.

  • Work in progress on the “Party Bus” or “Stage”

And they are performing in a packed stadium with spotlights.

But it wasn’t enough for me to just have this vehicle: It needed a whole display. So, I made a display board that would look like a stadium. It would hold an audience!

  • Base foam for the stadium
  • Foam with a first layer of drywall spackle
  • After the first coat of paint
Work in progress on the “stadium”

Sophie’s Choice are performing in a packed stadium. VIP’s are in the stands. The pit is packed with spectators. Spotlights are being carried my sentinel walkers.

I also entered this display as a diorama in the painting competition for Sword and Brush.

As entered at Sword and Brush 2019

The screaming baby face is my infant daughter, who is named Sophie, after all. I wonder what she’ll think about that someday…

My family and I even wore matching shirts for “Sophie’s Choice: Galactic Tour 42019”

  • My family with our matching shirts
  • Sophie’s Choice artwork

I wasn’t able to be there for the judging because I was participating in a concurrent tournament. When I set up the board, it got a lot of buzz. But I was a little disappointed that it didn’t get any awards. There weren’t even any photos of it on the official Sword and Brush photos of the competition.

Another change I made was to have my “Crusader” models act as the stage security. These “counts-as  Crusaders” are actually heavily modified old Adeptus Arbites models carrying riot shields.

I was a bit disappointed. During the tournament, many people remarked on the flickering flame LED’s on my Hellhound tanks. I got the parts from Zinge. Since people liked them, I put them on the “Party Bus” too.

And I also added music! In the video it’s playing “Purging With My Kin” by Linkin Loyalists, a Warhammer 40k inspired band.

I entered the upgraded display board to #armiesonparade at my local Games Workshop at Heartland Town Centre, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

  • My Armies on Parade Display Board October 2019
  • Family posing with the display board at the Heartland Games Workshop

I was surprised and honoured to win “Best Themed Entry” and “2nd place overall”!

I brought the display board to a local tournament in November 2019, and to my surprise I won best painted! I know my models aren’t super-well painted, but I think the concept and flashy lights impressed a lot of people.

How do I top this for next year? I have some plans already… 😉

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My Display Board “Sophie’s Garage”

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This is my first post in a LONG time, but I think it was time to dust off this old blog. And I felt this was definitely worth sharing: My display board won two awards at my local Armies On Parade.

 

DISPLAY BOARD HISTORY

The story for this display board starts at my first tournament over two years ago. I showed up to my first tournament with no display board at all. At that tournament, I displayed my army in the plastic tub I brought it in.  I didn’t even know that display boards were at thing!

My “display board” from my first tournament in 2016

In 2017, I also attended the same Lords of War Tournament again: The 40k Classic. I had idea of using a a tool holder as some sort of castle. The castle was well-received.  I used the “game mat” from the 8th edition “First Strike” starter kit , and although it served is purpose, it was bit of a “cop out”. The castle had a digital photo frame that played “Imperial propaganda”, but someone said seeing the buttons broke the suspension of disbelief. And someone suggested the “castle” needed more detail.

My “display board” circa 2017.

BUILDING MY 2018 DISPLAY BOARD

The highlight of my 2018 was going to be the Astronomi-con event.  I liked that it emphasized the hobby elements rather than just competitive tournament play. The event had a lot of points for narrative and display, and thus, I needed to get going on a display board.

I started with this early prototype for a display board that folded into a case, and gave height.

Prototype for my 2018 display board

I enjoy playing with a lot of tanks, so I wanted my display board to have roads. My first thought was to have some sort of tunnel on the lower level. The lower level later became a garage, which seemed vehicle appropriate.

The prototype also had a sort of bridge, but that didn’t make it into the final design.

A lot of display boards are made from styrofoam, but I didn’t have a foam cutter, and I was told that spray paints would dissolve foam. And since I’m much more familiar with wood, I started with a big slap of 1/2″ thick MDF. I cut the pieces in the store using the circular saw, but my calculations didn’t account for the thickness. So I had to do some rougher cuts with a handsaw.

Assembled display board base

There was another piece I made to extend the lower level.

The board had hinges I took off of a dollar store box. The top was meant to fold over for nice transport. But, because of my imprecise cuts, it didn’t fit quite well. I later filled in the gaps in the build with wood filler.

The display board in its closed state. I later fixed the imperfections in the fitting with wood filler.

With the base built, it was time to start decorating and adding the theme. I added cork board as the roads. They have a kind of texture that already simulates asphalt. I made the “sidewalks” with plasticard, and then used a spray paint for the even texture. I did a thick coat of paint over the cork boards.

Painting the display board.

The MDF wood looked kind of cheap. I decided to try to stain the wood. I had NEVER done this before, but found that it produced a wonderfully rich-looking effect. It was a messy process, and I’m glad I wore gloves! And, the wood filler I used to cover the imperfections made it look like it was meant to be.

After adding a gel-coat stain. I think it looks really rich now!

As some of my readers know, I like to add a lot of electronics to my tanks. I wanted my display board to have some too. This board was going to feature a lot of lights. I also wanted the option to power it from a plug, which was a first for me. And, I added a fuse for the first time, because I didn’t want this board to catch on fire if I did something wrong.

Last thing to do was dress it up. I printed some photos of “diamond steel” for the floors of the garage. And then printed A LOT of “Imperial Propaganda” photos I found on the internet. I scaled them to guardsman size, and put them all over the board. The posters probably got a lot of attention at a recent tournament I went to. There was a sticker of Saint Celestine in a chibi-style by The Great Geraldo. And, I added some graffiti touches that were kind of meta-meme worthy like “Cadian Stands” and “Rowboat Girlyman”.

Propaganda posters abound!

So, why is it called Sophie’s Garage? The garage part should be obvious. And Sophie is what my wife and I are going to name our first daughter, who’s due in about a month.

Sophie’s Garage sign. And yes, that’s the 40th Birthday Grombrindal in the window brandishing a beer

Even though the model has nothing to do with the army, I really liked the work I did  on the 40th birthday White Dwarf Model (Grombrindal), so he seemed to make a nice cameo behind the glass.

When I was preparing my board a couple of nights before Armies On Parade, my wife noted that it looked kind of like a military parade for a fascist dictatorship. I thought that seemed thematically rather appropriate, considering that Warhammer 40k’s Imperium of Man could be considered quite dystopian.

Experimenting with the layout of models on my display board a few days before Armies On Parade

At the last minute, I printed out a couple of slips of paper that said: “Push the buttons. They light up and make sounds!” I think that may have been one of the most important additions, because people were apparently really impressed that my tanks had electronics in them.

I submitted my display board featuring A LOT of tanks to the Armies On Parade event at my local Games Workshop location at Heartland Town Centre.  My wife helped me set it up, and I liked the layout even more.

My display board as presented at Armies On Parade 2018

 

There were a lot of great entries. I was proud that I won two certificates:

  • MONSTERS AND MACHINES
  • BEST THEMED ARMY

With my wife and my display board after winning in the “Monsters and Machines” and “Best Themed Entry” categories of Armies on Parade 2018 at Games Workshop Heartland Town Centre

There were some really good entries, so I’m not surprised I didn’t win a medal. But winning two categories made me feel pretty happy with my work.

Winners from Armies on Parade 2018 at Games Workshop Heartland Town Centre

 

Only one year until the next Armies On Parade. Should I just tune up my board a little? Or something completely new?

I know my painting will probably never rival that of really good players; I need to keep with my strengths of electronics and tricks. Perhaps a board with a water feature? Like real water with a waterfall and an electronic water pump? And steam? And better use of the LED’s?