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...

Celebrating The Apocalypse Part 4: The Big Game

Greetings and felicitations to my fellow Chaos brethren. Welcome back to the latest edition of Chaos Corner. It's been a wild time for us 40K players, hasn't it? We just keep getting lots of goodies, with no signs of letting up (rumors of Black Legion supplement incoming). Whew!

First off, I got the Apocalypse book from a week and a half ago. While some of the data sheets are similar, this really is a different beast from the old Apocalypse edition. There's lots of new rules, randomness, several missions, Finest Hour, Divine Intervention, Unnatural Disasters, and a lot more. A game of Apocalypse is a bit more complicated than the previous edition, some of which is great, some of which is a bit too much book-keeping. However, the best thing about the book is the emphasis on "this is a guide... do what works for your game". Thus, not every single rule MUST be followed... Apocalypse is meant to be a huge, fun, experience. Something the group doesn't like? Get rid of it. The group has a new idea? Give it a go. They even give you additional ideas to try out. The book is really good, with lots of art, some fluff (Warzone: Armageddon), and lots of formations.

So, the GW store "near" me had an Apocalypse game the day the book came out. I decided to go, and I brought with me a ton of Plague Marine stuff, including my Titan and Baneblade. I brought nearly 7K points worth of stuff with me- I wasn't sure just how big this game would be, nor did I know what others would bring.

Well, we had two sides- the forces of good (Tau, Grey Knights, Blood Angels, and a small contingent of Necrons) on one side, and the forces of disorder on the other (my Plague Marines, Iron Warriors, Orks, and some odds and ends). I was made the warlord of our side, and Typhus was the leader. Hahaha... not a good start, huh?

A ton happened in this game, so there's no way I could give you a play by play, so I'll just get to the highlights:

The store manager, Ian, was calling the shots for the game and started by giving the forces of good a Baneblade (called the "Bling-Blade" based on its gold paint job). and it fired immediately, causing a great deal of damage to my Titan. I could see how this was going to go, my Titan would be target number one.

The forces of good went first, and it took a while, no doubt (that's what happens in a game this size). Their heavy weapons target my Titan constantly, with Tau Tiger Shark air craft taking the last of its hull points. There was the requisite huge explosion, and many Plague Zombies died, but that's what they are for. Indeed, a lot died in their shooting phase overall, but heck, there was a lot on the table. Further, lots of marines deep striked in that turn as well (terminators and jump packs, including Dante jumping in near my forces).

I thought we'd have our revenge in our shooting phase, but it was 50-50. My Baneblade got revenge for the Titan though, destroying a whole swath of Tau- men, battle suits, and vehicles. My Vindicators also blew holes in the advancing Necrons and Tau. On the other end, I threw in all the zombies I had to halt the oncoming advance of the combined Adeptus Astartes forces- they did their job, despite the heavy losses they took from the Titan explosion. I fired a lot at their Dreadnoughts and of course I tried to kill Dante- I wounded him, but I simply couldn't kill him.

Lots of Grey Knights were lost due to the Unnatural Disaster!

Removing the Grey Knights

After they were all removed.

Now, all of that (ONE turn) took hours. Holy cow! Well, now it was turn 2, and games master Ian selected me as the "Master of Disaster". He desperately wanted me to do "Total Collapse" from the Seismic Disaster table. So, I rolled for one random table segment to be destroyed (it could have been my side or theirs). I rolled quite well- it was their side, and I killed a TON of Space Marines- I think I must have killed 1K points worth just like that. Whoa... maybe that's too powerful? But it was fun, though.

Thus, their 2nd shooting phase was next- they decided to target a lot of shots at my Baneblade, and once again their concentrated fire destroyed it- with lots of Orks getting the burn on that one. A vindicator of mine was destroyed, as were 2 of my dreadnoughts. My zombies were still brawling and drooling, though most of them were dead by now (again). Sadly, Dante still lived; and we got the Bling Blade down to 1 Hull Point. We only had 1 Heldrake (I left mine home since I wasn't sure about carrying it on top of everything else), and they had several planes, so we had a hard time dealing with their air superiority.

Dante lived, despite the firepower I threw at him

Sadly, we did not get to have much of our side of turn 2, as the store was closing in a bit, and we had to clean up. The forces of good won, and I'm pretty sure they would have won even if we got more turns.

Overall, it was a ton of fun. The super-heavies now have hull points, and since even glancing hits take a hull point away, you can see that it is easier to get rid of the super-heavies now. However, that goes for both sides- so it is even. I see the need for more air/anti-air, at least for Apocalypse. I'll need to work on more Heldrakes for my Plague Marines. Ultimately, I am very glad I participated in the battle, despite the loss.It was a lot of fun, and seeing so much total destruction was great. I also got to play with a cool group of guys too, which only makes it better. The Necrons, Iron Warriors, Blood Angels and the Grey Knights were particularly well painted, which made the battle even more fun. The forces of evil may have lost this battle, but the war goes on...

As Dr. Claw always said "Next time, Gadget... Next time!!!"