Mortarion :-(

Hey there Chaos fanatics! Old Man Chaos is back with yet another piece of hobby goodness (or badness, depending on your point of view). This article is a bit mixed in terms of my own feelings and sentiments. So let's take a look...

So, I must admit to several things. First, I was really excited by the idea of a Death Guard codex and special releases. I was also greatly looking forward to the new units, the new tank particularly. Of course, I was stoked about the impending release of Mortarion. Especially as I loved my finished Magnus- what a great model.

Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed on all fronts. The Death Guard codex is lackluster. It is very gimmicky with the POTENTIAL Mortal Wounds, but it is not strong, relying on hordes of Poxwalkers (which is fine, but I want an all marine option too). As it stands, the Plague Marines are too expensive points wise. Further the book invalidated things like Heldrakes and the like (I guess you could have a separate CSM detachment for them, but that becomes annoying). The Plaguecrawler is also a lackluster vehicle with a poor ballistic skill. I want to get one, but the rules make it suck in my opinion. And then, there's Mortarion...

I have never felt so torn on a GW model. On the one hand, its great to have another Daemon Primarch on the field. Mortarion is a large model, much larger than Robute Guilliman (though smaller than Magnus, which I "get"). The inclusion of Silence and the Lantern shows that GW pays attention to their own fluff. Finally, the face and gas mask is very nicely done- he looks sickly and deformed, but still strong. Love the face. And his armor is quite cool too, complete with pockmarks and the like.

Unfortunately, I have way too many problems with the rest of the model. First, the total lack of posibility. The model only goes together two ways. One way both weapons are down. The other the gun is pointed (obviously I went with that one). But I am really upset about the poses. I envisioned Mortarion sweeping with his scythe like the grim reaper, rather than it just kind of being at his side.

I am also not too fond of Mortarion's pose as a whole. I despise how it looks like Mortarion is leapfrogging. I know its supposed to make him dynamic. But Mortarion shouldn't be dynamic. His is slow creeping death, not a jumpy and hovering. I imagine him standing all nice and decayed, like a monolith. I also dislike how the cloak holds him up- it just looks stupid in my eyes.

Finally, the other things on the model make it look WAAAAAYYYY too busy. There are way too many censers on Mortarion. One would have been sufficient. As it stands there's just too many jutting off him. And then there's the Nurglings. I made a huge mistake in putting them on his base. I did because he MUST have the two flying ones carrying the censers (otherwise you would have to make some nasty cuts on the model).

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the wings. The model comes with two bug wings, which look similar to the wings on the daemon Plague Drones of Nurgle. On a regular daemon prince they would be cool. But Mortarion needs something bigger and more evil looking. The bug wings just look silly on him. So I added different wings, from the old Balrog LoTR set. He looks more like an angel of death instead of moth man. LOL

The model took me forever to paint. Part of the problem is that it is way too busy and detailed. Deatil is fine, but add on the cloak, the nurglings, the censers, etc... well, it tends to slow painting production down quite a bit. Then there is another issue. Enthusiasm. Or the lack thereof. I was just so not into painting him. Unlike say Magnus or the Bloodthirster, I wasn't too excited to paint Mortarion. I just kept feeling indifferent about the model. No doubt the paint job suffered as a direct result.

So how did he turn out? Considering all of the above not too bad, though he pales in comparison to my work on Magnus or the bloodthirster. It's just too bad I don't like the model more. To me, while I get what GW was going for, it just doesn't work for me. I am looking forward to using him in battle sometime soon.

Sorry if this article seemed to be a complain-fest. But hey its my blog so I'm allowed LOL

I am however looking forward to my next projects. I'm finishing up a few more mechanicus pieces (Rangers with Arquebuses). I also have some of the Plague Marine special characters which I got from my friend Pete. Finally, my wife bought Shadespire for me. I just like the idea of a fast paced game that takes less than half an hour. And I love the models in the set. Reminds me of Heroquest a little bit...

Until Next Time... 

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...

Celebrating The Apocalypse Part 3: Plague Marines Assemble!!

Hey There my crazy chaos fanatics! We're back with another installment of our celebration of the upcoming release of Apocalypse. I can't wait to get that book- I was always a sucker for Apocalypse, and the stuff I've been hearing about it makes it sound really good. 

I am also excited about going to my Games Workshop store and participating in their Apocalypse battle, "The Destruction of Kanthar IV". My Death Guard must venture forth once more, spreading disease and horror on this feeble imperial world. Now, as the day of battle draws near, I need to select my forces- I had to get them out and ready to go.

As I decided to do this, a question hit me- just how much should I take? That led to a bigger question- how many Death Guard Plague Marines do I even have? Oh boy... this is going to be a lot tougher than I thought!

With that, I decided to bring up all of my Plague Marine stuff and check. All of a sudden, as I brought the Army Transports and foam trays up from my basement, I realized that I had way more than I thought... My wife was right, I have enough Plague Marines (in dollar terms) to fund our future child's college education. 

After bringing it all up from my basement, I decided to put it all out on the table- yes, ALL of my Plague Marines, all assembled. I really have never put all my Plague Marines out on the table as a showpiece (even in my bachelor-Apocalypse I did not use every single Plague Marine). 

As I was putting them out, I decided NOT to put out my Nurgle Daemons, my Plague Zombies, or my Traitor Guardsmen. I'm undecided over whether I'll take them to battle on Saturday, but for this display I would put out only the dreaded Plague Marines of Nurgle and their various war machines. 

After I put them all out, I just stared at it all. I can't even begin to tell you how much in terms of hours, paint, putty, cash, and blood, sweat, and tears I put into this army. I am, as you may know, doing a Khorne Bezerker army, but I know that it will never get to this level. No way. My Plague Marine force is truly legion size (and I had 7 squads of troops to boot- bless Nurgle!). 

I have been assembling this army for years. 10 perhaps? I started Dark Eldar in 2000, and I transitioned to Plague Marines I think in 2003? Now I can't quite remember, but it has to be nearly a decade. Looking at it all, I am pleased how the whole army is tied together. I have used various paint schemes (and different paints!) over the years. Indeed, my painting style has evolved over time- I have a stronger eye for detail, I have gravitated to darker looks, etc. Yet, the army does indeed look like a cohesive whole. They are the colors of rot and decay; of disease and despair. So, some look the same, others look different, but at the end of it, they look like a single army, under a single banner. I sat looking at the whole army, awed. 

I am not awed because of my "skills" (such as they are). I just can't believe how it all looks together, knowing that I built them all up, converted, and painted them (my friend Pete did build a couple of the trickier ones- the Titan, the Drop Claw, and the strangely huge defiler- but I did paint them). I sat looking at the whole army for several minutes... I was just shocked at seeing them all at once; my brother saw it and said that it looked like something from a White Dwarf article. Wow. This army has been 10 years of my hobby life, and to just see it all there was amazing. I am proud of my work, warts and all. 

Perhaps at one point I'll go into a little more detail about some of the units--- like how my displeasure at the GW Plague Marine sculpts led me to create my own, using putty, guitar wire, and nails for their spiked helms. Or how I used plastic bug toys to make my Raptors- bug heads and clear plastic wings that I used green ink on. Or how my Land Raider was partially inspired by a Raider conversion shown in the 3rd edition Chaos Codex. Or how my brother and Pete found the Nurgle Lord on Palanquin at a Bitz Wagon (anybody remember those?) and got it for me while I was stuck working on a report for graduate school. Or how about that defiler... the one Pete and I dreamed up long before they had Soul Grinder? 

I could go on and on, as so many of those models, paint jobs, and ideas have a story. Perhaps I will expound on them one day here at Chaos Corner (my original reason for starting this blog, after all... which I never quite got around to). At any rate, I'll let the pics speak for themselves. 

Mortarion himself has come forth...

I'll let you guys know how the battle goes on Saturday. I hope that you are going to be enjoying the Apocalypse this weekend!

Until next time...