Some Completed Daemons and my Thoughts on the New Effects Paints

Hey there everybody! I know that Old Man Chaos has been away for a while, but I have just been super busy! House work, seeing friends, work, and my wife have all conspired to pull me away from my blog. However, in spite of the business, I have been hard at work on some models, and I was thrilled to get my hands the new Citadel Effects Paints. Plus... I got a birthday surprise which I'll share at the end. So, away we go...

First, I am supposed to be playing a game at my local store using my Daemonic forces. Now, I don't think we'll be able to game for a couple more weeks, but nothing pushes me to model like knowing a game is coming up. So, I decided to finish some things that I have been working on for a while. I have not made any army list yet, so these may or may not make the final cut. However, I was happy to work on and finally finish these suckers. Let's look at the Tzeentch stuff first...



If you recall from my soon to be classic blog post (I'm kidding... geez. Calm down.) on Saving Money The Chaos Way, I showed how one Exalted Tzeentch daemon Chariot box could become two models for the price of one. After a few months painting them a bit and then forgetting them, and then getting back to them, I finally hunkered down and got them done.

First is the Herald of Tzeentch on a Disc. By using the spare disc and the "energy bloom" under it, I was able to construct a disc for our little herald. I used the same blues I used for my Blue Horrors and Screamers  from a while  back (See Here). I never thought that Tzeentch Horrors should be pink- that is the domain of Slaanesh. At one point, I made a box of the old metal horrors multiple colors- a good concept that looked bad on a squad. Thus, I decided to make all the Horrors blue.

The results look quite good, if I do say so myself. The Herald looks just like the other Horrors. I particularly like the hand that has the magical warp flames coming out. I decided to use greens, as it is a nice contrast to the blue (I considered "natural looking" flame, but it wasn't "magical" enough).

I am really thrilled how the Exalted Flamer came out. When I started it I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. The Flamer HAD to be blue, but different from the screamers pulling the chariot. Ultimately, I started him the same way as the screamers, but rather than put ever lighter blues, I instead put on the blue glaze. Damn- it is a striking blue, and it really makes the Flamer pop as opposed to the rest of the chariot.

The screamers I did in the same way as I did the metal ones. Though the plastics are different enough, the paint scheme still works on these new ones. Truth be told, though they have more detail, I like the metal ones a bit more- they look weird, as opposed to these ones which just look more scaly and have eyes (but, to each his own). The green flames I did the same way as before, building up from dark green up to moot green and then washed with the green glaze. The blues and greens contrast greatly, and it really is a nice looking and imaginative model (whether it works on the battlefield or not is another story).

Not to be outdone, I did some Khorne daemons as well. First up is the herald. I had to be careful to have him match my other bloodletters. See, I had painted them with the old paints a few years ago, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to match them up. Ultimately, I did so- Khorne Red, Nuln wash, highlights of Evil Sunz followed by the red glaze and he looks quite close to my other plastics.

The best part was that I got to try out the new effects paints on him (at least, Blood for the Blood God). I put the blood on the sword and the base. I love it. It looks coagulated and full... the glistening makes it look like heavy blood. Once I was done with the Herald and the Hounds I put some of the blood effect on MOST of my Khorne Marines- it just looks too darn good not to. (I have tried all the new effects paints except the one that makes the crackly base. All of the effects paints are cool and do neat things to the model- I'll show them off as I go in future completed model pics).

I happened to have some of the metal Flesh Hounds from the Chaos Daemons army force box (it had a ton of stuff in that box, let me tell you). The Flesh Hounds I did in a similar way to the Herald, as I want to tie all the Khorne Daemons together. Again, that glaze turned out to be the key, making their red just right.

I used the blood effect on them as well. In particular, I used the blood around their mouths, making it look like they have just feasted on some poor, unsuspecting guardsman and are now hunting for more. The models were a pain to put together (I dislike metal- I know, for some that's blasphemous, but hey... that's my heretical opinion and I'm entitled to it). However, they came out just fine in the end, and they will make a great addition to my Daemonic hordes.

As I said, I don't know if I will field them in my upcoming game or at a future point; I am just glad that I got them done and they turned out so well- despite the many pauses in my painting them. I will certainly try to use the Khorne Daemons as allies to my World Eaters at some point as well.

Well, that's all the newly completed stuff I have for now. In the meantime, my brother and wife got me a couple of nice birthday presents. One of them will take me quite a while to paint, but I am excited by the challenge...

Wowzers. That's going to be crazy to paint... Until next time, my Chaos fanatics...

Maximizing Your Gaming Dollar The Chaos Way: The Tzeentch Burning Chariot

Hey there Chaos fanatics! I know many of you are drooling over the soon to be released Apocalypse book (I know I am). While the Lord of Battles and the Tesseract are both expensive, I can forgive it because they are both huge models and are not necessary for regular games, so one doesn't actually need to get them (yes, for my own part I need to get a Lord of Battles at some point for my Khorne Bezerker warband). However, I was kinda upset about the fortification pieces. They are just too damned expensive- at least the Wall of Martyrs pieces are reasonably priced. These new pieces are too much money; in no way am I spending $115 on the Strongpoint... no freakin' way. To me, there's just so much I'm willing to spend- a Super Heavy is useful in battle, while the cannon is just terrain, really. I can't justify it.

In light of that, I have a new edition in my series "Maximizing Your Gaming Dollar The Chaos Way" which I hope you will find helpful or interesting. A couple of weeks ago, my wife surprised me by getting me the Tzeentch Burning Chariot for my daemon army (this is why I married her- she understands me!). So yesterday, I decided to assemble it.

I figured I would make it an Exalted Flamer chariot, as I love the look of the giant Flamer and I think some extra firepower may be what my Daemonic hordes need. The model went together quite quickly despite its size (getting the Screamers to stay up was the most difficult part, but even then not that bad). It is a really nice, detailed, and frankly imposing looking model. Very cool!

As I neared completion, I looked at all the extra bits on the sprues, and my brain started talking to me, as it is oft to do. The little voice said "Old Man Chaos... look at that sprue. There's so many bits on this... surely you cant just let this go to waste...". Suddenly, I was inspired. I decided not to put the Horrors on the Chariot, as I thought they would be distracting from the Flamer itself. I decided to put the 3 Horrors on bases. Yes, they are slightly smaller than the regular Horrors but so what? They are daemons, they can be a bit bigger or smaller- you could paint them pink/blue, put them in the mob, and you'd never notice it. I even gave one of them a book, so he could be an Iridescent Horror (and thus the regular squad leader can be a Herald) if I so chose.

As I was building the 3 Horrors, the voice again said "Give in to your anger...", oh wait, wrong voice. Actually, it said "There's still so many pieces here--- surely you can do more". And suddenly, I was inspired again. With a little bit of work, conversion, and inspiration, I could see it. I could mount the spare herald on a disc!! Huh? How? Madness you say...Ah. Perhaps madness, but it was my inherent Chaos Conversion Skills that got me going. Using some of the leftover pieces from the Herald Chariot (whose base IS actually quite different from the Exalted Flamer's chariot base) I was able to cobble together a Herald on a disc of Tzeentch.

See, since they actually give you 2 different chariots (but only one set of Screamers and only one bigger chariot platform) I eliminated the portions that needed the screamers. I then put the Herald's round platform on the chariot. Yes, it is without the other large piece (which went on the Flamer's chariot). but that's what made it a perfect size for a disc. I assembled the Herald, put him on and presto- a Herald on a disc. While he may not be as fancy as the Finecast one, he still does the trick, and is unmistakably a Herald on a disc of Tzeentch. And one could add more details, but I just wanted to keep it simple. Not a bad bit of work here eh?

So, let's look at the money. The Chariot box was $40. The Finecast Herald on disc sells also for $40. A box of Horrors sells for $29 (each individual Horror is $3 rounding up from 2.9). So, to get a Flamer Chariot, Herald on Disc, and 3 Horrors would be $89. Instead, using the Chaos Way, I built a Flamer Chariot, a Herald on Disc, and 3 Horrors- all for $40! That is a savings of $49!! 

So, if you were going to actually spend say $80 (the price of a Flamer Chariot and a Finecast Herald on a disc of Tzeentch), look at how the Chaos Way could save you even more money...That means, for the price of $80, using my method,  buy two Flamer Chariot kits and you actually get TWO Flamer Chariots ($80), TWO Heralds on Disc ($80), and SIX Horrors ($18). Holy Cow! You spent $80 but actually got $178 worth of stuff.... What a savings!! $98 bucks worth, to be exact.

Are they really that much different?

Certainly not a difference worth $40?

If you are building a Tzeentch Daemon Army, or just looking to bolster your current daemonic forces, my Chaos Way method can really save you big money. I hope that this helps your wallet and gives you more bang for your gaming buck.

Until next time...