Maximizing Your Gaming Dollar The The Chaos Way: Ur-Ghuls

Welcome back to this abode most accursed. It is I, you maestro of Chaos! Your epitome of evil! I'm back with another edition of Corners of Chaos. As I posted previously, I have been working on several projects- it keeps me engaged in my modeling, but it also means that I finish stuff slower, since my attention continuously shifts around. However, I have finished my latest project... the Ur-Ghuls!

Now, this post is another in a series of articles in the "Maximizing Your Gaming Dollar The Chaos Way". As longtime lurkers know, I love Warhammer 40K- the game, the mythology, and the painting/modeling aspect. However, I can readily admit that GW, as a company, sometimes goes too far. Now, I don't begrudge them a profit, as many posters do. They seem to think that GW owes all players something- no. They are a company. They want to make money. When a video game company charges $60 a game- well, some are worth it and others aren't. No one seriously suggests that XBox games should be only $39.99- and if they don't drop we'll boycott. Ridiculous. GW wants profit, just like any other business.

Yes, GW wants to make money... that's why they are a business

With that in mind, I "understand" why the new rulebook will be $75. I'm not thrilled with the price tag, but, I know I'll buy it, as I love the game and am fairly certain that it will be good to shake up the rules and keep the game fresh. It is the "cost of doing business", and I understand that I'm in a hobby that does cost money. I'm willing to pay for the quality of the product.

On the other hand, there are things that I simply believe are way too overpriced. When that happens, I find a cost effective way to make my own whatever-it-is. As a Chaos player, I do conversions already; thus, I am always looking for more effective ways to make models that are otherwise too costly/not worth it. Case in point is the Ur-Ghuls. Now, these critters are part of the Court of the Archon. They are monsters or hunters if you will. They simply chase down their prey at the behest of the Archon. A Dark Eldar lord can bring up to five of these horrors with him. The model itself is nice- matching the description quite well. However.... the price! Wow! $16!! That's as much dough as the Archon model itself. Now, I don't mind paying that for a leader/ single model, but when you can have 5 of these creatures- that adds up to an astonishing $80!! That's way too much money for something that is essentially a small bodyguard. Like I said, I'd buy 1 or 2... but 5? No freakin' way!

It's a nice model, but... not worth $16.00, so let's try the Chaos Way!

So, I did what all good Chaos players know how to do. I looked for inspiration elsewhere. I had, a while ago, bought Vampire Counts Crypt Ghouls. I had initially planned to use them for my Nurgle forces. However, that project got lost in the myriad of other things I was working on, and I had left the box in my basement, forgotten. Then, of course, I found it again... I had already seen some guys on BoLS working on a similar conversion. So, why not?

The Court of the Archon

The truth is, I did nothing to them with putty or anything. They're my Ur-Ghuls, so if I want them to have two eyes, so what? They are the Crypt Ghouls right out of the box, except for the round bases. Presto. Painting-wise, I started with a coat of Incubi Darkness (one of my favorite new colors). Then, I used a wash of Drakenhof Nightshade (love the new paints, but the names will take me some time to adjust to). Once dried, I layered various blues and greys, with the results you can see. I used Etherium Blue Dry to highlight, and Praxeti White for the bones. The fingernails/teeth were Tallarn Sand. Finally, to tie them into the Court of the Archon, I painted their small loincloths with the old Scab Red and then Nuln Oil (just as I had on the Court). I also applied Nuln Oil to the joints/crevasses of the Ur-Ghuls, which quickly game them more depth.

I did the cloth the same as the other servants of the Court

 So, to recap: if I bought the finecast Ur-Ghuls, I'd spend $80 on 5. The Chaos way, using the Crypt Ghouls, I spent $24.75 for 10... $2.48. Now, I only used 5, with bits left over for future projects. If you want to say only 5, then that translates into $4.95. Still, a third of the price of one finecast model!! You can't go wrong...

Notice the Nuln Oil shading

The result is just fine, in my opinion. They look close enough to the "real" Ur-Ghul, and cost far less. Plus, they are hardly "centerpiece" models to begin with- try the Incubi or something if you want to have that effect. Why spend $16 on one Ur-Ghul when you can get 10 for just a few bucks more.

I will find out if the Court of the Archon is an effective option soon enough...

Anyways, that's all for now. I'll be back later on when I finish more stuff. I am also hoping to review both of Nolan's Batman films (to get ready for The Dark Knight Rises) and continue my Star Trek movie reviews. Until next time...

Just Completed: The Mandrakes

Hey there Chaos people! I'm back with a painting update. I have been a busy guy, currently working on several projects at once. Now, this keeps me excited and energized, but it also means that I have a lot of stuff that is being worked on, but not finished. I have my super-duper big secret project, but I've decided to wait on that until I've cleared the rest of the stuff I currently have on my work table. Then, I have  other top secret projects going too, in fact these next few photos reveal hints of them (just look carefully).

With the new 6th edition coming upon us, and hopefully a new, improved, and awesome Chaos Codex following thereafter, it is exciting times for 40K players and the Chaos Corner. I can't wait to get my hands on the new rules and Chaos goodies. However, I still have a ton of Dark Eldar models to complete. So, before the new Chaos book is unleashed, I decided to really go after the Dark Eldar. I may not finish every sing one (who can really finish an army, after all? My friend Pete says that there is a Warhammer myth/ability- one cannot die if they have models they're working on, so I should be good for quite a while).

In any case, I have just completed a set of 5 Mandrakes. Now, of all the finecast I bought these past few months, these were of the poorest quality. The rest of my finecast purchases have pleased me with their sharp looks and excellent model-ability. They just go together so much better than the metals. However, the Mandrakes I got (an initial batch, as I bought them when they first came out as finecast. They were warped, damaged, their slotters either broke or were hopelessly deformed. I think finecast is a good product overall, but these Mandrakes were exhibit "A" for the problems of finecast.

I had been so discouraged after putting them together that I simply put them away and forgot about them. I have painted a ton in the meantime. Then, I recently saw the Mandrakes in my army tray, and I said to myself- "If you're going to make more headway on the Dark Eldar, these should be tackled".

So, I began to think about color schemes. My old, old, old metal Mandrakes looked like this (bottom right corner of the pic):

My painting has come a long way since 2001

So, I wanted to pay homage to my old scheme, while also reflecting my current scheme. That, and I love the new background of the Mandrakes as beings of cold shadow, "unlight given life". With that as my inspiration, I decided to make the skin of the Mandrakes black (used Abbadon Black) and off-white hair as contrast (Longbeard dry).

Too bad that Khorne Bezerker can't see in the shadows- he is being stalked!

The flames and runes I decided to do with Khorne Red, followed by a wash of Charrbourg Crimson. Then, I used Wazdakka Red and Kindleflame as highlights for their flames. It is fire, but a cold, icy fire; totally unnatural Balefire. Looking at their bodies, the black and red go with the rest of my Dark Eldar, but in a nasty, unreal way.

"Mandrakes exist both in reality and a cursed otherworld..."

Their cloaks I painted Macharius Standard Grey, which was then washed in Nuln Oil. I followed that with a few highlights of Stormvermin Fur. Thus, the cloaks look dingy, dirty grey. Yes, the Codex describes their cloaks as being the skin of those that betrayed the Mandrakes, but I figure, after going in and out of shadows for so long, the flesh has long since degraded, taking on the aspect of shadows themselves.

"...to fight them is to fight living shadow"

Finally, basing the Mandrakes I decided to go a different route- I used Astrogranite Texture and again Longbeard Dry as the highlight. Why the change? I wanted to show that the Mandrakes had drained all color from their surroundings- sucking it dry. The base rim I did Steel Legion Drab in order to keep them tied into my DE base scheme somehow.

The warped blades add to the unreality of the models

But, what of the warped weapons, you ask? I left them that way. I decided that I would use the finecast problem to my advantage. Since these things are coming through shadows and all, it would be fitting if they AND their weapons seemed to be here but not here all at the same time- flickering in and out of the light/reality. So, the bent/warped weapons actually give them that appearance. I used Khorne Red again for the handles, and did a very light Necron Compound over the black blades, again aiding the appearance of a shadow becoming real.

So, that's about it for the Mandrakes. I have never used them before, so I'll let you know if they are effective. I'll be back soon with another posting of stuff that I am completing. Until next time...