The Lord of the Flies, Daemon Prince of Nurgle

Hey there Chaos cultists, young and old. I'm back once again, as promised, with a weekly post. I don't know if GW can keep up a weekly publishing schedule, but I'm not sure if I can! Hehe! Oh these tight deadlines! My editor is killing me. I kid! I kid!But seriously, I'm going to do my best to update once a week now. So far, so good...

At any rate, I'm here with one of my all time best models- my Daemon Prince of Nurgle, the Lord of the Flies himself. It is a model that has a bit of a nice history for me, and it is indeed one of my favorites of all time. So, without further ado...

So, when the metal Chaos Daemon Prince came out many moons ago, I know that I and a lot of other Chaos Space Marine fans loved the model. Half Space Marine, half Daemon Prince- it was (and is still) an amazing model. It has a real heft to it. At the time, it was huge for a single man model (that has certainly changed now, with all kinds of huge models).

However, the model had a problem for me. It simply wasn't Nurgle-y enough. It was a generic, fit for any Chaos force Daemon Prince. But there was nothing at all "Nurgle" about it. What would I do about that? You know what I'm talking about... old school Chaos conversion, of course.

By this point in my modelling career, I was getting better and better at my putty work, and my eye for conversion was getting stronger. Now, a conversion for me is pretty straight-forward (just wait till you see a conversion I'm working on right now- oh boy!), but it my earlier days it was tricky. However, after converting and puttying a batch of Death Guard Plaguemarines, I felt that I was ready for a big conversion.

However, before I got to it, I had a bolt of inspiration and some good luck. While I was at my local store, I happened on a model (from Legends I think?) that was a giant bug, complete with wings. All of a sudden, I knew exactly what I was going to do... So I bought the model instantly, and went home with all haste to work on my Daemon Prince.

As you can see, I went all out, but NEVER over the top. I used the bug's head and wings very simply- but this absolutely made him look like a fly- a dirty insect worthy of Papa Nurgle himself. I painted the head and wings a bit differently. I painted them with boltgun metal, then I used various inks to give the fly and his wings a shinny, iridescent look.

Then, came the putty work. I decided to totally obscure the front, building layer upon layer of putty to make his armor bloated and malformed. I put a bunch of holes and sores. But the big thing was the guts that I had spilling out of his stomach and onto the ground. For sure, this was a Daemon Prince of Nurgle.

I painted him like I painted my Death Guard in those days, with green undercoat, and successive layers of Cammo Green and Rotting Flesh. I did use some washes to dull him down just a bit though. His armor ridges I did brown (again, as I had done the Plaguemarines in those days). The sword was the same rust that I used on Typhus- brown, orange, and boltgun metal stippling. The guts I did in various reds, with some light pink highlights.

 All said and done, it was one of my favorite models that I have done. I was proud of my conversion work, and my painting really suited the model. What I did not know is what would happen with this guy. Wherever I went, people were fascinated by my Daemon Prince. Other players asked "Can I pick him up and look at him" or "Wow. Where did you get that fly head"? Other players said that this model inspired them to do more modelling/painting of their own. Hearing such praise was very flattering and humbling.

That wasn't all. One day, I was playing at a 40K tournament at I-Con. There were several prizes being offered- winner, best list, best player, and best looking army. At the end of the tournament I placed pretty well, but when they announced that I won best looking army- I was thrilled! I couldn't believe it! Again, very humbling. And what was the prize? A 50 dollar gift card to a local store. You know what I did with that card? Hehe- I bought the Daemon army box which had just come out, of course!

Well, that's it for this edition of Chaos Corner. I hope you liked the pics. I will be getting Warhammer Visions, and I will be buying this week's 1st weekly White Dwarf to see what that's like. I will report on my thoughts on both sometime early next week and let you know my 2 cents.

Until next time!!

Typhus, Herald of Nurgle

Hey there my fellow demented followers of Chaos! Welcome to another edition of Chaos Corner. Has it been cold in your neck of the woods? I certainly know its been cold here in the Eye of Terror (USA) that's for sure. To keep warm, I have been busy painting and taking pics of some "older" models for display on my blog. I have to, in order to keep up with Games Workshop's insane weekly White Dwarf publication schedule.

A word about that. I have seen nothing of either the weekly White Dwarf of the big magazine, aside from partial cover shots on Bell of Lost Souls and some descriptions on Faeit 212. I do not know what the overall quality of these will be. However, I am optimistic. For the weekly WD, my mantra will be simple- don't buy it the first day. Wait for word to get out about what's in it. If you like what you hear, then by all means buy it. If it has nothing that interests you or is relevant to your army, then just skip it. I think this is certainly doable. As for the monthly- I have the ipad subscription, which I renewed in January- so according to GW I will be getting the new mag, no problem. If it is going to be more "hobby-centric"- sounds like what I'd like to see. If it fails to impress or I prefer the weekly more- I can just not subscribe after it runs out again next January.We shall see on Feb 1.

In the meantime, I have been working on lots of stuff. I'm not ready to show any of it yet- I have painter's ADD right now, with lots of projects at various stages of completion. As they get done, I will be posting. Some are solid, others are fantastic (in my opinion) conversions, and a few- well, they will surprise you. But you won't see them till I'm done with them! Meanwhile, let's bring you an oldie, but a goodie- Typhus...

Ah. Typhus. The Herald of Nurgle. The Traveler. For a while, all the other cults got special characters, but not so Nurgle. Bile. Kharn. Ahriman. Doomrider (hehe). The other gods got a special character to call their own, but not the Lord of Decay. This must have chafed poor Papa Nurgle- after all, when the plague is at its height, Nurgle is more powerful than the other gods combined. So, one day, Nurgle convinced the GW guys to do right and give him his special character- thus, Typhus was born.

The model is simply incredible, even now. The plague-infested bulk of the model. The spike/horn on his helm; indeed, the hem itself, with that awesome visor. The destroyer hive on his back. The pitted and corroded grieves. The nurgling clutching at him (for the record, I never cared for the one licking the horn). The fly shoulder pad. And, of course- the scythe. Wow. This is perfect- he is truly an incredible vision of what a Plague Marine Lord should be.

I remember that I ordered him directly from GW. When it arrived in the mail, I said "I've got Typhus!"- I bet that's the first time anyone ever said that in such a positive way (see, now you know why I follow Nurgle). At any rate, I could not wait to paint him- though I didn't right away. I wanted to make sure I would do him right. I planned it very slowly and meticulously. I took my time, knowing he'd be a centerpiece for the army.

At the time, my Death Guard were a slightly brighter hue- the use of bleached bone and rotting flesh with a 'ardcoat varnish made them look decayed but also slimy- they were generally brighter. At this point, I decided that I wanted to set Typhus apart- his armor would be slightly darker- still my nurgle colors, but darker. I didn't go so heavy on the rotting flesh, sticking to the layers of dark angels and camo green.

The armor ridges and the scythe was a (then) new painting technique for me. I had always done the Death Guard weapons in boltgun with brown ink to make them dirty. However, thanks to my friend Pete and a White Dwarf article, I used scorched brown, with orange stippling (my first ever), and some metal highlights. The result is a real-looking rust effect. These youngin's today with their Typhus Corrosion and all that jazz. In my day we had to work to make the rust effect! Haha.

 The Pipes/Hives were also unique for me. Many people had used purple for Nurgle, but I never really did (some purple ink for diseased wounds was all). This time, I decided to put on some purple, but not straight up purple. The destroyer hive partsI painted with a grey-purple mix that Pete made for me. I have never painted ANYTHING else with that mix. That paint is unique to Typhus alone.

Since I didn't want that stupid nurgling licking the bone/horn on the base, I decided to do something different. I didn't want to go crazy with the base, lest it distract from the model. So- I just simply put three skulls in front of him. It looks like the 3 part Nurgle symbol. Now- did he just kill these three? Or perhaps the bugs of the destroyer hive? Or were the 3 skulls an offering to Nurgle?Thus, was Typhus completed.

In 2005, my friend Pete and I decided that we would go to Games Day in Baltimore. I was so damn excited- I knew I wanted to enter their model contest- but how? I decided I would go with Typhus and... a newly purchased Forgeworld Dreadclaw. I used the same techniques for the rust on the Dreadclaw, but brightened up the hull ever so slightly. I also did a new squad of Death Guard, with colors much closer to Typhus. I would tend to paint newer Plague Marines in this way, though I sometimes go brighter- as it is Nurgle and Chaos- why the heck not? At any rate, I worked so hard to get all of that done, with me basically working down to the wire to get it done. I even had Pete help with making a display base. So, very carefully, I carted those models to Games Day. I had a great time there, and though I didn't win any awards, I still had a blast and was glad to be a part of the proceedings. And let me tell you, Pete and I got so many ideas from that one Games Day it isn't funny. Urban table perhaps? Haha.

So, several years later, where is my Typhus now? Though I don't always use him, he is certainly one of Chaos' best special characters, and his ability to make cultists into zombies is fantastic, especially since I have like 75 plague zombies that I made for Eye of Terror. In bigger games, he is my go to HQ- since I can spend the points on him and mobs of zombies and then still have points for Plague Marines. He is a bit more limited on smaller games, but hey- can't use special characters all the time, or else they aren't special, are they? Typhus has had his ups and downs in my army- sometimes being gunned down like a bitch, other times totally destroying all who stand against him- a few recent games against my brother's Grey Knights were especially amusing for Typhus, actually.

What I am hoping for is that GW does more with the character (as they have with Ahriman, Kharn, and Bile and Lucius) in their fiction. After all, what is his full story? Why don't the Death Guard get the Horus Heresy treatment? Fulgrim,  Lorgar,  Magnus and Angron (and their "children") have all gotten some great stories from the Horus Heresy- so why not Mortarion and Typhon? I would also like to see some 41st Millennium Typhus stories. His appearance in Cadian Blood was fun. The short story with him and the singing virus in The Carrion Anthem wasn't bad, though a "singing virus" isn't quite what I have in mind when I think of Typhus. Come on Black Library- give me books worthy of the Death Guard!

Hope you enjoy the pics. Until next time...

Some Pics: Blight Drones and a Great Unclean One

Hey there everybody! I've got another edition of Chaos Corner here for your perusal. I may have to up my game here, if GW is going to publish a WD every week... Hehe. I really have no clue if those rumors are true or not (can GW actually publish once a week? Even if its only 32 pages? Online downloads, sure. Printed? IDK about that). If the rumors are true, the monthly mag will have more modelling stuff, so that pleases me.

At any rate, I have been taking some pics of some of my older models with my new pic-taking setup (a Christmas gift from my brother). He got it from Cowboy Studio. It is really cool, as I have never had anything like this. It is a very simple box with backcloths and small lights, but it is just so easy to use and looks so cool- it is perfect for taking pictures of miniatures. It makes my work in taking pics so much easier, and the pics look so much cooler. I love it. If you are interested in taking pics of your models, check out Cowboy Studio. You may or may not like it, I'm just saying you should check it if you want to take "more professional" pics.

So, I decided to take some pics of my "older" Nurgle models. First up, lets see the Blight Drones. I really dig these models. Yes they are Forgeworld, and at the time they really couldn't be used in regular games (can they be used now? What FW book will I need to use them in 6th edition?). Even if I wasn't going to use them that much, I really wanted them. The models just looked too damn
good.

These models just scream Nurgle. Part machine, part daemon, all scary looking. A contraption that is part organic and part fan blade. I just wanted them as a part of my army, even if I didn't use them. They were a bit pricey if I recall, so I only got 2 (1 would be bad, three too expensive). I just don't know how people can afford to build whole armies with Forgeworld (says the man with a Titan).

They were quite easy to put together if I remember correctly. I used metal rods to have them hovering over their bases (I never use the plastic ones, as they always snap- just ask my Ultramarine Land Speeders). I had one be higher than the other, just to give the illusion that they are hovering irregularly.

As for painting, I painted them kind of like how I was painting my army at the time- a green base coat with Rotting Flesh and the like over it. I was careful to leave the mottled look for the shells and the fan guards. The eye was yellow, as I wanted to give it that mechanical yet sickly looking sensor/eye.

I decided to do the flesh differently. Perhaps its a different daemon in the machine. Perhaps they are in a different state of decay- who knows. One I decided to do flesh colored, while the other I did grey and purple- giving it a more deathly look. I used blood and yellow ink to do the sores and whatnot.

Finally, the rust was done with my old standby- dark brown, orange stippling, and boltgun metal. I suppose now the new effects paints would make that much easier, but hey- at the time it was a great method. The blades in particular look good on these bad boys.

I know I have used them in a couple of battles, in particular my Bachelor Apocalypse game. But, they are really cool, and look good with my Death Guard army.

The other model I wanted to show today is my Great Unclean One, which we affectionately call "Jimmy". Why Jimmy? That calls for a short story. Back in the day, as I was building up my Death Guard Plague Marine army, I wanted to add some daemons (back then, you'll recall, they were in the same book).

So, I sat down with my friend Pete to discuss this addition. I wanted to do something different, and I suggested that I'd like body parts reaching out of the Greater Daemon, as it would look like he consumed them or absorbed them or something. At this early point, I had NO putty skills, and didn't know how to carry out the vision. Pete said that he would do the conversion for me- and seeing the final product got me to learn putty work (that and I hated the bland looking metal Death Guard that had been released for 3.5/4th, and putty was the only way to make them better).

When Pete was done, I was awed. The putty work was amazing, and the thing looked so twisted- perfect for Chaos. After playing several games with him (later on), Pete called the little zombie thing in the Unclean One's stomach "Jimmy". Thus, the name stuck, and he would always be "Jimmy".

The painting was what would be my "typical" Nurgle. Dark Angels green base, with successive layers of Rotting Flesh. I used their old inks for the wounds and the "wooden" horns. I was careful to pick out the maggots and whatnot.

The eyes would be what I would always do for Nurgle daemons- red, white, and black (which I think I got from an old WD). The sword I also did with metal and inks. What really sells the model is the conversions- the zombies were done with brighter flesh tones- are they a part of him? Inside him? The paint makes them stand out a bit, but I also blended to make the zombies look like a part of the model.

When all was said and done, this was one of my favorites. The teamwork of conversion, the paint job- it really became a great part of my emerging Death Guard army. He had been a mainstay then, and he evolved to be the heavy hitter of my successive Daemon armies- the guy is currently a beast. Give him psyker levels and bam! The guy is almost unkillable, and he deals out punishment of all kinds. Nurgle himself would be proud.

So, perhaps I'll be back next week with some more pics of other models. Like I said, if WD is going weekly, then I have to try to keep up- Ha ha.

Until next time...

Happy New Year and A Rant

Hey there, my fellow denizens of the warp! Old Man Chaos is back with the first edition of Chaos Corner for the New Year- I will have a hard time writing 2014 for the next few weeks, but I'll figure it out eventually! I hope that all of you had a great New Year's Eve, and that this year will be better than the last (even if the last year was good, it could always be better).

However, what will the new year bring for our favorite hobby and game, Warhammer 40K? 2013 was a big and busy year for the 40K universe. Tons of new releases, complete with Codexes, supplements, models, and even 2 expansions. I suspect that 2014 will keep up that relentless pace. The constant releases will undoubtedly please some, and piss off others.

As for my own part, I have some concrete ideas and feelings about all these changes and their impact on our gaming community. This is just a slight rant on my part. In between these rants I will post some nice pics of my Daemon Prince of Khorne from Ultraforge for your approval...

1- GW wants to make money- it is amazing that some people get "offended" that GW wants to make money off releases. Of course they do. Escalation reflects their wish to sell Super-heavies, while Stronghold wants people to buy the terrain kits. Some are angry that GW does this- but this is what all companies do. You don't HAVE to buy anything (especially Escalation, as so many have said they will not play Escalation games).

2. We all need to "Chill Out"- some people go crazy when they see a particular rule, model, or supplement... in other words, people fear "changes". I look on BoLS and other sites and it is amazing how many people seem to freak out when a new army or expansion  is released. The comments get quite negative, even hostile. Is this the kind of community we wish to be? Bitter and suspicious and even occasionally mean-spirited? Surely not. Therefore, I'd like to ask our gaming community to just take a deep breath and relax. Of course, share your opinions- but do it in a civil way, and try not to get too excited without having all of the facts or being nasty to those whose opinions are different from yours.

3. Let's Remember What Got Us Into The Hobby- whenever we talk about the meta, nerfs, WAACs, and all that jazz, we lose sight of what got us into the hobby to begin with. The storyline, the cool models, conversions, personalization, and fun, enjoyable games. There is more to our hobby than math-hammer and "broken" units. I hope that our community can look at all the good stuff with 40K. Yes, there are certainly "problems" with 40K too- I'm just saying that we should not ignore what's right about it. Now that is a perfect segue into my last point...

4. GW Has Responsibilities Too- The company needs to make sure that they balance their business side with doing good for their fans. For example, I wish that GW would continue to change the White Dwarf further, to include more modelling, conversions, and fluff. Also, I think that they need to be a bit more careful in their digital releases. December's Advent releases was just wild- so many dataslates and the like- perhaps it would be wiser for GW to slow that down just a bit, as their were things I would have bought but there were just too many. A little more staggered release schedule for digital releases would be better for us and GW. If the rumors are correct, the Tyranid release will see some dataslates released at the same time- perhaps a bit too much to buy all at once? If they scattered it over 2-3 months, would that make more business sense? It would allow people to buy at a better pace, and keep up excitement for the armies even after their release windows.

Well, at any rate, that's my New Year's Rant, for your consideration. Until next time...