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...

Just Completed: A New Maulerfiend and a Tournament

Hello there once again, fellow Chaos lunatics! Welcome back to another "exciting" edition of Chaos Corner. I played a 3 round tournament at my local this past weekend. I took a mild Khorne Daemonkin list (standard force organization only, no formations, Lords of War, etc.). The organizer said "don't be a dick" with the list. Sadly, I went WAAAAYYY to conservative, as everyone had formations, allies, and Imperial Knights and Wraithknights (Chaos really needs an answer to these- the Lord of Skulls is too costly when compared to the various Knights and Riptides and the like).

At any rate, my first opponent was a tank and flyer heavy Imperial Guard. Unfortunately for my opponent, he underestimated the Maulerfiends, and they just cleaved through his tanks like a knife through butter. My Daemon Prince did likewise. He had very little left until his flyers came in. I only lost one unit up to that point, and I destroyed enough tanks that I was able to summon the Bloodthirster and after his first turn materializing he want after the flyers, taking one out very quickly. The ref called time, and I had won big time. Everything (Fleshounds, Maulers, Heldrake) worked with perfect synergy. And the free Bloodthirster was the icing on the cake.

My second game was the exact opposite of my first. My opponent was playing Eldar, with bikes, warp spiders, Wave Serpents and a Wraithknight. Yikes. Those damn D shots really brutalized my army. Further, it was short edge deployment, so I had to move all the way, while he shot and then withdrew out of my range. I was frustrated but fought till the last. I really think D weapons are too much for a 2K point game- I need to have a strategy to fight Wraithknights, for next time. I really felt that this match was so lopsided- there was no way I could get to him, let alone beat him...

My third game was the best overall, even though I lost in the end. My opponent had Space Marines with 20 Terminators, Devastators (w/ Grav), Drop pods, Tac squads, etc. Even though I didn't win, it was a very closely fought game, and I made my opponent pay for his victory. My Flesh Hounds were particularly good, taking out a Terminator squad and then another- taking 15 Flesh Hounds in a squad is a great idea- a hard hitting unit with lots of wounds! And the 5 Inv helps against power fists too. My Lord on Juggernaut (with fellow Bloodcrushers) did well too, racing down the field to the opponents end, killing a bunch of Space Marines along the way. It was a hot, back and forth game, though victory ultimately belonged to the followers of the False Emperor. Making the game better still, my opponent was a very good sport- friendly and fair. Best of all, he played in the old style- no LOWs or absurd allies. It was a really fun game, and I certainly didn't mind losing.

I haven't done a Tournament in quite some time. This was a lot of fun. Met some nice people, got to see some nice models, had pizza. It was just a fun day, win, lose, or draw.

At any rate, I managed to finish (just in time for the Tournament) my 4th Maulerfiend, inspired by the very concept of "Daemonkin". I was at my local one day when I saw a "used" Maulerfiend for 25 bucks. He was put together and sprayed black. He looked like your standard Maulerfiend, though some of his spikes appeared to be broken and re-glued. But, with some work- you'd never notice.

I did want to make him my own though. At Christmas, my brother got me a Skull Cannon. You'll notice that I haven't posted it. That's because it is a hideous model- I think it may be one of the worst that GW has ever put out. Ugh. However, the Bloodletter rider for the chariot looks just fine. So I assembled him and put him on top of the Maulerfiend. I wanted him to look like he's riding a HUGE Juggernaut.

 Since the Khorne Daemonkin book, I figured why the heck not- put a Daemon on a walker. The model was painted with my usual Khorne Red with Wazdakka Red highlights, with Brazen Brass and Runelord Brass for the metal trim.

Ultimately, he fits right in with my other Maulerfiends. I think I'll stop at 4, though with the Blood Host detachment, I *could* have 8... Nah. I think 4 is enough. Unless I get another idea for a conversion that it is....

I hope you've liked the pics. Until next time!

Ladies and Gentlemen- I Give You... The Bloodthirster!

Hey there my fiendish fanatics! Welcome back to a special edition of Chaos Corner. Old Man Chaos has a confession- I was supposed to be working on my Harlequin vehicles, but, alas, the Khorne Daemonkin book came out. And, as you all know, my dear readers, Chaos is my true 40K love. How could I resist the lure of the book? Or the new Bloodthirster? What can I say? I am weak. So, without further ado, I give you... the Bloodthirster of Khorne!!

First off, the model is huge. Absolutely huge. It makes the old Bloodthirster look like a minor daemon. The new guy is just terrifying- muscular, vicious, pure aggression. The model is simply fantastic- those huge wings, gigantic weapons, the baroque armor plates... this thing is a pure monster, simple as that.

What's great about the model is the various options. The weapons are all cool looking (except the flail- its OK, but not my cup of tea). The three faces are also very different and very nasty looking. But, no matter what choices you make, this thing is an evil looking daemon. I chose the Great Axe of Khorne. In friendly games, I can just say he's a Bloodthirster of fill-in-the-blank. I just love the huge axe- its bigger than a Terminator! I also decided not to do chest armor, because I just see him as this all powerful daemon of war that needs no armor to kill his foes.

In terms of painting, I used several techniques in GWs own video. The flesh is done with the following steps- Khorne Red, Nuln Oil, then, careful drybrushes of Khorne Red, Wazdakka Red, and Evil Sunz Scarlet (very careful, you want the various reds to show slight variations in skin tone). Finally, I used Wild Rider Red as an edge highlight. I DID NOT use the Bloodletter Glaze- I like glazes for several things, but I thought it would produce the wrong red.

The armor and axe I did Balthazar Gold, with a wash of Earthshade. I then drybrused Griffon Gold- in some places heavily, and lightly in other places. Finally, I did Ironbreaker around the edges, skulls, etc. I didn't think it would work (I was planning on using Brass Scorpion- but the video convinced me otherwise). The armor is very cool looking, and different from any armor on my World Eaters, but close enough to be the same Khornate force.

The wings were a bit of fun. I did Bugman's Glow, followed by a wash of Crimson. Then, I drybrushed Bugman. With that done, I drybrushed with Cadian Fleshtone on the raised areas on the outside of the wings, and on the deepest areas on the inside, making for a nice visual effect. Finally, on the Chaos markings on the back of the wings, I highlighted with Kislev Flesh, to make them stand apart from the wings. Finally, I did the wing veins with Incubi Darkness.

The horns I did black with some grey edge highlighting, followed by 'Ardcoat. What can I say? My Khorne Daemons have always been influenced by Darkness in Legend. So the horns are a shinny black against the deep red of his body. Like I said, all my Bloodletters are done the same way.

The hair I did with Stormraven Fur, and the skulls are built up from Zandri Dust to various bone hues (Ubshanti, etc.). There are a lot of skulls on the model, but not enough to really detract from the creature itself. I say that because I find the Khorne Daemon Bloodthrone to be waaaaaayy too overwrought (seriously, one of the worst models GW has ever made). The Bloodthirster is not that at all, thankfully.

 As for the fire- again, I mostly copied the video- Yellow Glaze, followed by Orange Wash, Yellow Wash, Crimson wash, and finally a bit of Yuriel yellow paint.  I did not do Nuln Oil, as I felt the Crimson turned dark enough on the fire.

Finally, I tried some of the Martian Ironearth for his base. I really didn't like it that much, so I did the rest of the base my usual urban wasteland grey. However, I kept the Ironearth around the fiery skulls- the land burning upon his taking off/landing.

Of course, the Bloodthirster has some company. I already had 2 Daemon Princes of Khorne. One of them is from GW, the other is from another place that I can't seem to remember the name of. The last, and most recent, is a Daemon Prince I bought from my local "used" for 25 bucks. Now, normally I wouldn't do that, but buying him used saved me 10 bucks, and I really liked his pose. Plus, there was absolutely NOTHING wrong with the model, so why not? After all I just bought the Codex, cards, and Bloodthirster- surely a $10 break is justified.

I painted him with the same techniques that I used with the Bloodthirster (at the same time too)- so they do have a rather consistent look to them. The Daemon Prince is clearly the Bloodthirster's subordinate, both waging war in the name of Khorne.

I must say that putting the 3 Daemon Princes with the Bloodthirster is a great visual- plus I would hate to face that on the battlefield! That's a lot of Daemon coming at you!

Speaking of, I did play my first battle with the Daemonkin book last week (sadly, my Bloodthirster was not ready so I did not use him, as I never use a model that I haven't finished painting).  I won the battle, score 2 to 1, as I managed to kill my opponent who had the relic. It dropped, but the game ended at that point. The book was a lot of fun, very fluffy but not overpowering. A lot of my guys died to Grey Knight Terminators, but each death created more Blood Tithe tokens (which I made myself by the way, using square fantasy bases). The more he killed, the more I was able to summon bloodletters, a daemon prince, and a pack of flesh hounds. True to form, the hounds pursued the unit with the relic, tying them down till the Maulerfiend arrived and finished them off. It was a great game.

At any rate, I should get back to painting my Harlequins. But... the lure of Chaos... is... too strong. Want to do... more... for my Khorne Daemonkin...

Until next time!