Let's Celebrate Mortarion and the New Codex with some new Plague Marines

Well, after that rather sad interlude in which Robute Guilliman took control of Chaos Corner, I am pleased to say that thanks to Mortarion the Death Lord, Guilliman was chased out and thus Chaos Corner is back in the hands of the gods (and Old Man Chaos himself, naturally).

I am very excited about getting Mortarion and the codex. Plus all the new models (terminators, the vehicles, etc). Great times for us Death Guard players, no doubt. Our own codex? How wild is that? My only regret is that Heldrakes aren't in the book- YES, you can bring them in a Chaos keyword detachment but.. I have 2 Heldrakes of Nurgle after all! LOL It'll be fine, but I wouldn't be doing my job as a Chaos player without complaining about something...

Anyways, I have a bunch of the Plague Marines from the Dark Imperium box set. Lets start with a model that is both cool but a bit weird, the Plaguecaster.

I like the model, but still not sold on the smog he's blowing as it were. I also think the staff is a bit too small for the rest of him (at lease I gave him a Death Guard icon for the top- a small conversion). I do love his guts hanging out there though. Nicely done GW on that, just wish the rest of him was that good.

Speaking of guts hanging out and looking good, the Lord of Contagion is next. I really dig this model. He just looks badass (indeed, I think he looks better than the new Typhus, based on the pics). That axe just poised for action, the direction of the helms spike. The guts spilling out. The dead Nurglings underfoot. What a great model.

Instead of doing his cape dark, I opted to go a light tan color (Rakarth Flesh) with many brown washes at the bottom and recesses, giving it a damp and dirty feel (and not just dirty). This is slick with dirt and filth.

Another model I like is the Noxious Blightbringer. Again, he looks pretty badass, even with the Nurglings capering on him. I wish he were pointing his gun at something, but alas the model only goes together one way.

I love the horns and the bell. The horns are Rakarth with brown washes. The bell I decided to do like brass, rather than outright rust. I just thought it looked better that way. Besides, there would be plenty of rust for the rest of the army...

Now, for the Plague Marines. Most of these models are just amazing. The vents. The potato masher German style grenades. The spiked helms. I would like more blood and guts but perhaps we shouldn't overdo that.

As for painting- I did a few different variations. Some I based in the new Death Guard green (the darkest). Others were done in Nurgling Green (middle), and others still with Ogryn Cammo (the brightest).I used Balthazar Gold for the trim.  Then I washed them with regular Eathshade, making the whole model slightly duller and dirtier.

After all that was done, I added all the slime and blood details. I used greens, purples, or flesh colors for the tentacles and growths. I also did the metals rusty- the plague knives, guns, etc. I started with dark brown, then orange, then Leadbelcher. Again I wanted it rusty and dull.

These models are exactly what I had envisioned when I made my conversions all those years ago. At the time, I used putty for the stomachs. Guitar wire for their air hoses. Nails with the heads cut off and stuck into their helms like a WW1 German helmet (just like the pics). Now with these new models, you get all of that now, without the work of conversion.

That brings me to something a bit more serious. So much GW stuff looks great, but is very very mono-pose. It is more difficult to be creative with these models. Not that I have the time to convert an entire army, but these guys go together one way only (though I did a head swap on one- but that was nothing).

As a Chaos player, I love conversions. I'm glad the models look so good now, but there isn't much to differentiate my new Plague Marines from anyone else's, which hurts Old Man Chaos' feelings a bit.

I now feel compelled to convert Mortarion somehow. I won't know until I get the model if I can do any alteration / personalization. But the fact that GW is proudly proclaiming he has two poses is a bit outrageous. It is almost as if they are challenging me to convert him somehow... LOL

Well, that's it for now. Enjoy the Death Guard goodies!

Until next time...

Ultramarines You Say?! Bah!!

Welcome to another edition of Chaos Corner. We interrupt your usual Chaos tidings and tidbits in order to bring you an announcement. The notice comes from none other than a blessed (if also a stick in the mud) Robute Guilliman himself... Yes folks, its true. This posting is all about Ultramarines rather than my usual Chaos.

Like many of you I'm sure, I couldn't resist getting that new fangled Dark Imperium box when it was released early summer 2017. I knew I'd use the Plague stuff (duh), and I do have Ultramarines (that, I admit, I let my friend Brian use). Plus the rule book--- I would have been crazy not to get it.

So, with all the fancy Primaris stuff, I decided to go full bore and do Robute Guilliman too! Again- in for a penny, in for a pound as they say. So yes, I bought the triumvirate set to get him. I will be painting the other two models just for fun at some point in between projects (a bit of a palette cleanser).

Whearas Magnus looks friggin huge, Guilliman is much smaller, though still much bigger than the Primaris Marines. Now, that is about right. I am glad to see Mortarion is somewhere in between- bigger than Guilliman because of the power of Chaos, but not out of all proportion like Magnus.

That aside, this model was fun to put together until I got to the weapon arms- for some reason, they gave me a hard time. Indeed, look closely you'll see I put the flamer on backwards. I justify it by saying he must be really close to his own men so he doesn't want to use it, rather let his sword do the work. Hey why the hell not right?

I do like how he came out. The burnished gold contrasting nicely with his dark blue armor. I am particularly proud of the sword. The gradual buildup of flame colors, from red to orange to yellow- again, another contrast to the rest of the model. I find that the eye is drawn to that or the gold eagle on the top of his backpack.

I also have two stories about my Robute- one funny one dramatic (game wise). First, my friend Brian and I were going to a local tournament and he hoped Guilliman would be finished, so I worked hard to get him done, and I made it just in time. I arrived at the tourney first and paid for myself and Brian (this is important). At the tourney, the store does a best painted contest in between rounds. So Brian entered Guilliman.  As it turns out, he was voted the favorite.  Brian (honest to a fault) then explains that I painted it and not him. Suddenly the store erupted with jeers saying I cheated by having two entries. The fact that I technically paid for two entries wouldn't have swayed anyone. I swear us hobbyists can be crazy sometimes. I didn't get the prize, because I would have been lynched by everyone if I had, it seems. The store owner, knowing it was silly, gave me a free drink in compensation.

The second Guilliman story is game related. My friend Nick and I were playing a game and he asked to borrow Guilliman (so we could play a bigger game). Using Open War cards, the mission involved 2 objectives in each deployment zone. I got the middle of the table as my deployment zone. Great LOL. Anyway, Khorne versus Ultramarines, as nature intended. It was a great match up, though Kharn got killed like a bitch- after he rolled 4 1s, killing a bunch of bezerkers. At any rate, the game was heading to a draw, but Nick had Guilliman advancing to my objective. In the way was a forgefiend and 3 Helbrutes. He just got by the imperial statue and got shot down by massed daemon engine firepower. Then to add insult to injury, he failed his come back to life save. We ended the game as neither could get to the others objective. But it was a heck of an ending.

In addition to Robute Guilliman, I also did some Primaris from the Dark Imperium box. I must say I really like the models. Compared to Imperial Guard, this is how big they should be. It does make the average Marine look small though not too bad.

The models are big enough to be very easy to paint, while also looking good. The two Lieutenants are very dynamically posed, looking badass. I did the red streak on the helm to note his rank.

The Hellbalsters are a bit of overkill I think- that's a ton of firepower in that squad, and it makes non Lascannon Devastators useless, but the models look just fine. I didn't go overboard with squad markings or anything- just the Ultra shoulderpad and a few other things. The effect is very clean (in contrast to the Plague Marines in the box).

Well, that's it for new. Tune in next time for what will be a much more Chaotic posting here at the Chaos Corner.

Until Next time...

Skarbrand!!

Blood! Slaughter!! Skulls!! Kill! Oh wait... sorry about that. Got a little excited seeing you come into this corner of the warp. My apologies. At any rate, here we are with yet another maiming edition of Chaos Corner. I bet your burning to find out what I've cooked up this time. So let's take a look at Skarbrand.

To me, one of my best paint jobs was the new Bloodthirster. I've posted pics here many times. It took me quite a while to paint. However, it came out like a dream- it was exactly what I wanted, and it looks just like the fluff and art. Even though there was no conversions or anything crazy, I just think its one of my best paint jobs, period.

Now, I knew I wouldn't top that with Skarbrand. My wife bought him for me quite a while ago, but for some reason I just never got to him. There was always some other model (or army, lets be honest) that distracted me from painting him. Oh I put him together quickly enough, but I just never got around to painting him. Maybe I knew I wouldn't top the Bloodthirster. I don't know. I just didn't paint him for a long time.

Fast forward to this past May/June, right after I moved. I knew absolutely that I wanted to paint Magnus first. But as I unpacked I found Skarbrand and I decided---- why the hell not. So I painted Magnus and Skarbrand side by side. By the end I was seeing dark blue and vibrant red all the time LOL.

I used the same paint scheme that I did with the Bloodthirster- building up the reds, highlights, black horns, etc. I could have done something different (perhaps I should have at that- white horns maybe?), but I decided that he would look like any other Bloodthirster. Hence the same paint scheme.

The only major differences is the face (duh) and the wings. The half exposed skull on Skarbrand is really sick looking, and I do like how it came out. Meanwhile, the wings I did in a similar color, but without the added details as the wings are tatters and not full wings.

All in all, he came out just fine. I still think my original Bloodthirster takes the cake. But considering I hadn't painted anything Khorne in a while, and that I was doing Magnus at the same time... I think Skarbrand turned out quite well. It's just funny how I compare him unfavorably with my first Bloodthirster- even though they are painted the same! Interesting human foible I guess...

Interestingly enough, in early July I went to a local tournament with my Khorne force. I took my Bloodthirster but couldn't afford to take Skarbrand as well, so I didn't. But at the tournament I played a guy that brought 3(!) Bloodthirsters AND Kharn too!! Unfortunately for my opponent, his rolls were terrible and I had 3 Maulerfiends backing up my Bloodthirster. All were locked in combat all over the place. Using the combat interrupt Command Point option, my Bloodthirster struck before his could and I killed him. Meanwhile, my Maulerfiends held their own against the other Thirsters. Mine attacked and killed the second while my Maulers took out the thrird. My opponent refused to give up- he still had Kharn and some Bloodletters and Cultists. My Bloodthirster then flew into Kharn, slicing him in twain. My opponent only laughed, saying it was simply more skulls for the skull throne! LOL

At any rate, that's it for me for now.

Until next time...