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...

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!

Just Completed: A Few Daemons

Hey there everybody! Old Man Chaos is back in action. Well, not that I have been "out of action" per se, but I have been very busy with home and work stuff. However, I have been doing some painting and such. I was in the midst of working on my Khorne Bezerker army when the Daemon Codex was released. I have played 2 games with that book now, and I am dying to try out more options and ally combinations. I really love the book, as a matter of fact, even if Warp Storm is a bit messy.

At any rate, as a result of the Daemon book, I got the itch to work on some Daemons again. Now, I had some in various stages of completion, so I was now energized to go back and work on them. So, without further ado, let's take a look then...

First up, my Daemon Prince of Khorne. I put this guy together quite some time ago, but I never painted him. He kinda just got lost in the shuffle. Originally, I wasn't sure what I was going to make him. Then, when I began work on the Khorne Bezerkers, it was a no brainer that I would do him in the colors of the Blood God.I didn't give him wings, as I really wanted him to look like a Chaos Space Marine gone terribly, terribly wrong. I even gave him the spikes on his upper back to make him look like a Terminator perhaps. I put some of those old resin rubble pieces on as well, just to give him a bit more action on his base.

In painting him, I had to "re-create" my Bloodletter scheme on him, using the new paints. I put Khorne Red all over everything (body and armor plates), then washed with Nuln Oil. The armor I then proceeded to paint a la my current Bezerker scheme. As for his flesh, I built up very carefully from the darkened base coat, using Wazdakka Red and then Evil Sun Scarlet. Now he was quite bright, and I then used the Bloodletter Glaze to finish. He looks strikingly close to my Bloodletters (and they were painted a few years ago). At least now I know that I could do more Bloodletters and have them look close enough to be a coherent army.

Next up, I have a set of Nurglings. My friends got me these when I was sick last summer, but I hadn't gotten to them. The Nurglings are really cool with lots of personality- some are fearsome, others are mischievous. The box gets you 3 bases, but I decided to "Save Money The Chaos Way" (trademark pending- kidding kidding) by stretching them to be 6 bases. See, although they don't look AS numerous, I felt that piling them all together loses a ton of detail anyways. So, I spread them out, making 6.

I made the Nurglings different shades, all of them tie into my Plaguebearers and my Death Guard. I found that the Nurgling Green and Sepia wash make a very effective combination (more on that in a bit). Overall, they were simple to paint and, en masse, they look just fine. I don't use Nuglings that often, though now I might use them a bit more.

I had bought a box of the new Plaguebearers last summer, before I hit the hospital. I had put them together, but did little else with them. I really like the models. They go together well, and they fit in with the aesthetic of the metal Plaguebearers, so you can mix and match just fine (you really CAN'T do that with any of the other Daemons- they look way to different). Keeping the look the same was a big win in my book, but the plastic are just great with their greater posing action.

I painted these guys in the various hues of Nurgle. Nurgling Green and a Nuln Oil wash (with a successive highlight of Nurgling Green) really make them look like my metal Plaguebearers. However, I discovered that Nurgling Green and Sepia also go together great, giving them a dirty, dingy look. I didn't even need to do any successive highlights- it look perfect that way. I also liked doing Zandri Dust and Sepia- those guys look quite different, but again, they are the colors of Nurgle's Rot, so that's fine with me. I am pleased with how they turned out.

Last, but not least- I realized I needed heralds (Locus for FNP? Sign me up!). I bought the new plastic herald. I love this model- it is so big and well detailed. The only thing I didn't like was the tongue, so I placed it in his guts instead, making it look like a tentacle or something. I painted it in the same way that I did some of the others- Nurgling Green with Sepia wash. He looks so rotten- I used further washes on his diseased leg, giving it a cancerous look. This model is great- I just wish it had a bit more posing ability.

I needed another herald (already have Epidemus), so I tried the old (and very simple) conversion
route. I picked up the fantasy Nurgle Champion. I then put on a Plaguebearer head and some Nurglings on the base. Done and done. He's a champion, so I did it as if he is going to become a Greater Daemon one day- he's larger than other Plaguebearers, looking more like a Great Unclean One. I painted him in my more "traditional" Nurgle way. The result is pretty cool, in my opinion. IF I do another herald, I'm not quite sure how I'll do it. What other model could I use and still have it look like a Plaguebearer? Hmmm...

Well, that's all for today, folks. I am almost done reading Angel Exterminatus. I intend to do a mini review for both this and Ahriman:Exile in the coming days.


Until next time.

Oooohhh! Chaos Daemons!

Hey there everybody! I told you I'd be back pretty quick with some new postings. Today we have a bit of an unusual post, but I think you'll like the results. So let's take a look, shall we?

Just before I began to get really, really sick (late July / early August), White Dwarf 391 came out, featuring the new Daemons release. I liked that the issue had the new rules insert- a nice way to boost White Dwarf a bit- now all they need is some stories/fluff, some legit conversion/hobby articles, that sort of thing- and WD will be back to its former glory. One can only hope.

At any rate, I began to drool over the latest models. The chariot looks nice and sharp (hehe!) and I really liked the new Tzeentch plastics- Flamers and Screamers. I was tempted to purchase, but then I remembered a few things. First, Chaos is going to get all kinds of goodies the next few months- perhaps I should wait and see, and then purchase once I can see all the Chaos stuff (though I did run out and buy the new plastic Plaguebarers). I also remembered something else, equally important... I already had like 10 of the metal Screamers in my basement! They had been put together (the tails gave me a hard time back then...), but I had never painted them. I also had a Lord of Change and a box of the new plastic Horrors. I decided to work on these models just before I went into the hospital- and well, you know that bit. When I got out and felt better, I decided to keep going with Tzeentch.



I know what you're thinking: how could you betray Nurgle!! Well, as you probably know, I have a sizable Daemon army, made up of Slaanesh, Khorne, and naturally, Nurgle Daemons. But my Tzeentch daemons had never been fully done. So, I am not really betraying Nurgle, but he is my true Chaos love... Hehe!!

So, let's look at the Screamers first... I have had these guys for a while, as I said. They were put together, but without bases. The tails weren't quite right on a few of them, as I wasn't as good at modeling back then and all. However, I decided to leave them, as they look just fine anyways. I made their bases using brass rod, and I went from there. They really look just fine compared to the new plastics, so why not, right?

Paint-wise, I did Kantor Blue followed by Altdorf Blue. I followed up with a wash of Drakendorf Nightshade. I then did a highlight of Calgar Blue for the spikes, ridges, etc, and the scales I painted Lothern Blue. The teeth (or whatever) I did Ulthuan Grey to make it look like teeth but without going all the way to white. Finally, I did the dorsal tendrils Screamer Pink with highlights of Pink Horror. Finally, I did Gloss Varnish on them- both to protect the metal and to give them a wet look, appropriate for stingrays.

Ultimately, I was very pleased with the Screamers. They looked suitably like stingrays, and had the blue color motif of Tzeentch. As I already said, they are not much different from the plastics, so I'm not missing out here or anything like that. If I were building a scratch chariot of Tzeetch or a disc, I might buy the plastics; as it is now, these are just fine. I'm looking forward to fielding them.

Next up, let's see those Horrors. I know what you're saying- why aren't they pink? Too true, too true. However, I have made my Daemons (and, to an extent, my Chaos Marines) with certain colors in mind. Khorne naturally is reds, Nurgle is various shades of (decaying) green, Slaanesh is various purples, pinks, flesh colors (Ooohhh! Seductive). Tzeentch is predominantly blue. With those thoughts in mind, I really didn't want the Horrors to be pink. Besides, there is certainly precedent for Blue Horrors, isn't there? ("Where once was one, now there is two. Where once was pink, now there is blue"- See? The fluff backs me up!!).

I started with a base of Caledor Sky, with a shading of Drakendorf Nightshade. Then I did the raised parts Teclis Blue (leaving the recesses alone mostly), and I followed with a highlight of Hoeth Blue. If they had feathers, I did a Lorthern Blue highlight. Their tongues I did with the Screamer Pink/ Pink Horror paint combo (like with the Screamers themselves). The eyes I did Moot Green, to convey the otherworldly warp power in the Horrors. I did the teeth and claws Ulthuan Grey (again, tying the Screamers and the Horrors together). Their assorted jewelry I did in golds and silvers, befitting the forces of Tzeentch.

The plastics are nice indeed, though the metals were great too. Unfortunately, there is no plastic model where a smaller Horror is trying to get out of a larger Horror, which I loved on the old ones. I like that they have multiple limbs, and the jewelry is a nice touch, making them look Egyptian or what have you. Just a word of caution: these guys are a bit top heavy if you don't put them on the base just right, so be careful. I had to weight a few of them down.

Finally, my Lord of Change. Now, this is a model I have struggled with for quite a long time. When I was doing my Daemon army, I did the other Greater Daemons and all quite quickly and eagerly. However, the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch always left me scratching my head. Should I do the feathers blue, or should the feathers be multi-colored, befitting a Lord of Change? I tried it, but I did not like the look. And what of the cloak? I tried white, but I hated it.

So, since I was working on Tzeetchian Daemons, I tried him again. The body and feathers I painted Kantor Blue, and with a Drakendorf Nightshade wash, though a much lighter wash than I had used with the Screamers. I then did successive highlights of Kantor and Altdorf on his skin and feathers. For the feathers, I did an Etherium Blue drybrushing, thus making them stand out. The cloak I decided to go for something different. I painted it Khorne Red and hit it with Nuln Oil, with several hits to the folds and recesses. The garment looks a deep color now, and I did Wazdakka Red highlights to the cloaks edges.

The face was something I always wanted, since I first started working on him years ago- two faced, perfect of Tzeentch. So, the one face I did Cadian Flesh and Ungor Flesh, with shading. The other half I did Macharius with Dawnstone highlights and a Nuln Oil wash. I really like how this gives the model more character- a two faced liar, that is Tzeentch to a tee. Plus, one side looks bright and alive, while the other looks dark and dead. Yep, the face turned out really well.

The model looks really good now, though part of me is not happy with it still. Perhaps it is the nature of Tzeentch to always want to change, hence I want to make more changes. However, I know the truth- sometimes you just have to walk away. I have been painting that model off and on for years- and I was never totally satisfied. At this point, I know there is nothing more I can do, so I'm finishing it- done. It looks good enough for the tabletop, and I need to be satisfied with that.

So, what do you think of my Tzeetchian Daemons? Actually, I have 5 Flamers too, though I can't seem to find them currently... Oh well. Take a look and let me know what your thoughts are. As for my next project, I did indeed buy the new Plaguebarers, so perhaps they'll be next. Of course, there is more Chaos coming on the horizon, so who knows what I'll do next? Hehe!!

Until next time...