Celebrating The Apocalypse Part 2: A New Rhino and Dreadnought

Hey there everybody! As promised, I'm back with part 2 of my celebration of the upcoming Apocalypse release. It came across the wires last Saturday- my "nearby" Games Workshop store is doing a big Apocalypse battle this upcoming Saturday called "The Destruction of Karthanax IV". I have decided that it is high time that the Plague Marines of Nurgle march forth again, bringing disease, decay, and death to all who oppose the might of Grandfather Nurgle and his chosen son, Mortarion. Thus, my Plague Marines will be taking part in the destruction of that poor, puny imperial world. (Maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh).

So, deciding that my Plague Marines would once again see battle, I decided to add a a couple of new things to my army. Nothing special, just a couple of new units- making their first appearance at the big game. Thus, I was painting on a schedule (something I seldom do); I wanted to finish these 2 units in time for the big battle.

The first was a Rhino. I currently have 3 Rhinos. Two of them are older- when I was first starting the Plague Marines in the early 2000s. The third looks pretty good, to be honest. However, I have a ton of Rhinos still to assemble (even after doing the 2 Rhinos for the Khorne Bezerkers), so I decided to do a new one for the Plague Marines. While I know the "Rhino Rush"is on life support in 6th, I figured a new Rhino couldn't hurt.

I decided to go crazy with the gross factor on this one. I used green stuff to make huge intestinal guts to fill up the top hatch. How did I get it recessed in there without it falling? Ah ha! I used one of the larger rectangular bases for fantasy (maybe it came with my Tzeentch Chariot?). I cut off a piece so it would fit in the Rhino and bam- instant area to lay down the guts while still making them appear as if they are also within the Rhino. I made them all red and bloody, and I even put an extra Nurgling in pulling at it.

I decided to do the same thing for the rear of the Rhino. I left off the back ramp and put guts in there too- I even made it look like the intestines were running down from the guts in the top. Again, I put in a Nurgling, just to have some fun. With the red paint job, I even used P4 Red Ink and GW Gloss Varnish and presto- bloody guts worthy of a Romero movie.

For the rest of the tank, I decided to take it easy, as the guts were the centerpiece. I used Forge World Death Guard doors of course. I also put in a driver/gunner. I decided to give him a spare Plaguebearer head- so he's nice and mutated for Grandfather Nurgle. The paint job was a a base of Deathworld Green, followed by a wash of Camoshade, a stippling of straken green, and a subsequent wash of Agrax Eathshade (which may be the most ubiquitous shade for all things Nurgle, now that I look at it). While the Rhino turned out a bit darker than my other Rhinos, I'm down with it because it still fits in with the rotting Plague Marine aesthetic.

The other new unit is the Plague Marine Dreadnought (I just can't call it a Helbrute!) from Forgeworld. I have been sitting on this guy for a while, not sure how to paint him. I decided to go with a variation from the Rhino- I added Waywatcher Green Glaze to it, thus making him look more green. A bunch of his body was also rusty metal- which I did by paining on Mournfang Brown, with subsequent stippling of Troll Slayer Orange and Ironbreaker, followed by a wash of Eathshade- a really nice, dingy, rusty look.

I am particularly proud of the work I did with it's topside- the dead body, the slime, and the Nurgling pulling at the body. All over the model I used Warpstone Green and Moot Green for slimy areas or holes on his body. For some of the sores, I used Ungor Flesh with a yellow glaze- it looks like oozing pus. I also made some of the sores bloody, naturally.

The only problem with the model was the damn banner. It is a nice piece, but the banner pole is so fine that I snapped it off several times. It is just so fragile (as is the banner on the Plague Marine Sorcerer- broke that like 5 times too). I used the method described in the latest White Dwarf for the skulls on the banner and the base itself- Zandri Dust, with a wash of Eathshade, and then building up from their with drybrushing of Tyrant Skull and the like.

Now, that means I have 3 Dreadnoughts for my Plague Marines. I certainly won't field all 3 outside of Apocalypse games too often, but hey, I'm glad I've got the option now if I want to. And the Forgreworld Dreadnought is a fantastic piece, a great addition to my evil forces.

Well, that's all for this posting. Hope you like the pics. For the record, I finished both in 4 days. I realize I can paint faster if I put my mind to it... I think the need to paint it in time for a big game certainly helped to motivate me. Anyways, I'll be back later with more Apocalypse by the weekend.

Until next time!