Slaaneshi Pack Mule – The Deviant Dark Mech Steed

Posted by johnnya10 on 22/11/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

slaanesh seeker conversion

What’s a Slaaneshi Dark Mech Magos to do when he’s hunting for parts and archeotech in the depths of the Underhive and doesn’t want to carry everything himself? Well, he could summon a daemonic steed, trap it in the mortal realm, and use it to carry his bags. That’s exactly what my Magos has done, and this is his Slaaneshi Pack Mule.

Now, you can’t have your pack mule shifting back to the warp every five minutes – you’d lose all of your stuff. So our Magos here installed some sort of fancy inhibitor chip to stop his seeker from heading back to the warp. The downside of this is that unlike other daemons who can be “killed” go back to the warp, and then come back with all their bits intact, our steed can’t do that. So when he lost his leg, our Magos had to make him a new one. That’s my fluff, and I’m sticking to it.

So, that’s what inspired me to create the little creation that you see here, to join my Slaaneshi warband that I am indeed looking forward to trying them all out in some custom games of Necromunda.

necromunda slaanesh

The leg took most of the time to make. There are a lot of bits involved there; too many to mention them all. The thigh though is actually from an Eldar Wraithlord’s scatter laser – it’s funny how you find these parts. All of the packs and bags on its back are green stuff, filled with bits again from various kits, and that lovely servo skull too. There’s also the wire running down the neck which is snake chain, and a torch/light has replaced one of the jaw-horns. As simple as that!

In terms of the paint job, it’s pretty traditional Slaanesh really. Lots of pinks and purples, though I’m happy with how the scales turned out. Dark Reaper and Pink Horror give the snakeskin pattern, and after some washes and highlights, I finished it off with a gloss coat which gives it that slimy-not-slimy look that snakes have.

Well, he’s a bit different anyway. Another mad creation. Not sure about the rules for him yet. I think his gammy leg should make him slower than the lightning fast seekers we’re used to. And maybe people could give up shooting attacks if they’re within 1″ of this guy can throw an object from the packs on his back instead. They range from harmless tin cans to destroyer weapons that have been picked up by the Magos. I’ll work on that. Also, I think I’ll call him Binky.

slaanesh dark mech

IMG_0338

And he fits in quite nicely with the rest of my small team of Dark Mech Deviants. What’s more, I think I’ve nailed worn leather. I’m really happy with how those packs look. Binky was a lot of fun to work on.

Well, we’re just a couple of days away from Necromunda being released so expect more Underhive goodness next week and for the near future. Happy painting all. Onwards!

The Old Man Of The Sump – My Necromunda Wyrd

Posted by johnnya10 on 20/11/2017
Posted in: My Fluff Writing, My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: . 5 Comments

Necromunda Wyrd

“Long ago, in the distant yesterdays of Necromunda now long forgotten, a man lived among the high spires. His name too has slipped far from memory, but we know that he was vain. The finest silks imported from across the galaxy he was adorned in, and he was attended by servitors constructed on Mars itself. He even wore a jewel said to contain the soul of a great Eldar leader.

His stock was so high among the nobility of Hive Primus that he was invited to all of the most exclusive of engagements, from high table lunches with the ruling family heads, to opulent orgies held at the most enlightened establishments. All fawned over him, and many swore that wherever he walked, golden butterflies would rise from his footsteps. 

So decadent were his ways, and so beautiful his features, that the warp itself stirred and the whispers of Slaanesh carried into his mind night after night. She promised him every ecstasy he could possibly dream of, and every treasure that the galaxy could spare. And so he fell to her seductions. He pledged his soul so that he could be more beautiful, and so that he could experience the pleasures the Dark Prince offered.

For years he did just this. Secretly he prayed for to the Young God, and so he kept his beauty which became even more intense, and he experienced thrills and delights such as no mortal should ever partake in. But just as he deceived so many around him, he also worked to deceive Slaanesh herself. Through his contacts within the Aeldari traders that visited Hive Primus, he procured a method to keep his soul within a gemstone, and cheat the goddess of her prize. 

He enjoyed her gifts for thirty years and thirty days, praying to her and lying to her in tandem. But gods are not so easily fooled, and when he came to Slaanesh in the dark of night and told her that he had no intention of honouring their deal, She Who Thirsts was well prepared, for the eyes of the warp see all. She snatched the jewel containing his soul from about his throat and hurled into the dark depths of the Underhive. And how she cursed him, blinding him so that he could not see anything of beauty ever again, while his treacherous blood perpetually poured from his unseeing eyes.

It was thought that a madness had taken him. Those around him listened to his insane tales of Gods in the night, and saw the beauty slip from his features as his soul slipped deeper into the toxic pools of the sump. After being briefly committed, when his credits ran dry he was thrown to the Underhive. He stumbles blindly through the shadows, crying waterfalls of blood without end, as he searches the noxious muck of the sump for his soul. Perhaps it was here that his mind mutated, for he developed unwieldy and unfocussed psychic powers that kept him safe amongst the Hive’s scum and gang warriors. Or perhaps Slaanesh gave him this last gift so that he would be protected, and thus suffer even longer.

Some find him here still. Weeping his sanguine tears as he screams and cries into the darkness beneath the world. Ever lost, and ever alone, the Old Man Of The Sump still seeks his soul in the unwaters of this hellish realm. And from the darkness, on the very edge of hearing, you can hear the cackling of a delighted dark God.”

=][=

There you have it. My Wyrd, The Old Man Of The Sump is done. A composite of various kits, and painted in a bit of Blanchitsu style, this guy can be hired by any gang (when the rules for such turn up) and I’m looking forward to seeing him stumbling blindly around some custom scenarios, firing off psychic powers at any and all comers as he searches for his soul.

I had a load of fun working on this. The head (which comes from a Skaven chieftain’s banner pole) has those great bulbous eyes and that big beard, and it just needed to be on something. I’ve had it for years and I just got the idea to this and it worked! This is what I was saying about Necromunda in one of my last posts – you get the chance to create theses stories like the one above, and it’s a tonne of fun to do so.

Anyway, I hope you like him too. Stay tuned for more Necromunda bits and pieces. Here’s one final rear shot, and until next time, I shall wish you happy painting. Onwards!

wyrd

Necromunda Name Generators – Escher & Goliath

Posted by johnnya10 on 15/11/2017
Posted in: Silliness and Stuff. Tagged: . 3 Comments

necromunda underhive logo

Because you love them, because I have nothing better to do with my free time, and because we’re all just so darned excited for Necromunda: Underhive to be released in the very near future, I’ve put together a few name generators here for you to enjoy. The dingiest depths of the 41st Millennium are full of characters and personalities, and if you’re struggling to come up with appropriate names for yours, hopefully this post will be of some service to you.

First up, we have the Escher Gang Name Generator. I wanted the words here to evoke ideas around not only femininity, but also poisons and chemicals – the stock and trade of the Escher clan. As with many name generators on this blog that have come before it, you take the first letter of your first name, and the first letter of your surname, and this will give you a gang name for your band of femme fatales.

escher gang name generators

So, in this instance, as my initials are JA, I get The Jealous Aces, which ain’t half bad. If your initials are SD, you’d get The Stiletto Dames which I happen to think is a seriously cool name invoking an idea of Film Noir assassins played by the likes of Lauren Bacall or Katherine Hepburn. Nice. What did you get? Stick it in the comments below and let me know what you thought of it.

Next up, is the Goliath Gang Name Generator. I want this to bring to mind ideas of extreme masculinity, and also the forges and foundries where this bunch of meatheads hammer away. You get how to do this by now, so give this one a go:

goliath gang name generator

In this instance, I get The Jagged Aggressors, but if your initials are HS, you’d get the Hotwire Skulls. Personally, I want someone with the initials UW to use this, because I miss tassels and face-paint. Also, it would kind of fit with the whole hulking(sic) steroid user thing. Moving on…

Now, that’s usually all that you get from me with these things, right? Well, this time, I decided to spend a lot of my free time (trying to save money and stay out of the pubs a bit with Christmas coming up) working on something a bit more in depth. As mentioned, this is a game full of characters and personalities, and having defined names to attach to every member of your gang makes it all the more personal. So, I’ve been a bit ambitious. I’ve created Gang Member Name Generators for both House Escher and House Goliath. Here you go…

House Escher Gang Member Name Generator

House Escher Gang Member Name Generator

There are no hard and fast rules as to how you use these. It’s done on a D66 basis, and you can use it as you see fit. I’ve kind of been using the following formula: Gangers get a name combo from the Name 1 columns, Champions get a ‘Name 1’ and a ‘Name 2’, and Champions get something from each of the 3 Names. When I rolled my D66 for the Goliath Gang, it meant I got the following:

Ganger 1: Slamgorn

Ganger 2: Joltnak

Ganger 3: Drillsnag

Ganger 4 : Skardrag

Ganger 5: Fragcred

Ganger 6: Harksmelt

Ganger 7: Skorcon

Champion 1: Lankstab Goreshrieker

Champion 2: Tragras Bloodchomper

Gang Leader: Drakloss “The Imperator” Toothcrusher

I’m interested to see how well this one works to be honest. I’ve never tried these sorts of name generators before, but like I said, you can use them how you want. Just have names made from column 1 and column 4, or just use the nicknames, or Name 2 and nicknames combined… it’s up to you and I hope you get a bit of fun out of it however you use it. Or just enjoy five minutes wasting time when you should be working.

Tell me what you think in the comments below. Get any good names? Get any bad ones? I should have something painted to show you soon too, so stay tuned for that. But with all of that done, I shall just wish you happy painting, and happy naming. Onwards!

goliath ganger

Necromunda – Why We Oldies Are Looking Forward To It

Posted by johnnya10 on 07/11/2017
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment. Tagged: . 6 Comments

holly goodwin necromunda skull logo

Have you seen the new White Dwarf? Have you? It’s awesome. Why? Because it’s chocked full of Necromunda goodness. I am a very happy underhive bunny (though could you imagine what an actual underhive bunny would look like? A roided up, cyberised rabbit wielding a high voltage carrot gun while wearing a fox-skin cloak. Scary rabbit yo). But some young’uns were in the store when I picked up my White Dwarf and they were asking “What’s so good about this game? The new miniatures look cool, but it’s just a boxed skirmish game, right?”. Ah, the youthful, innocent unknowingness that can be so charming (while making some of us feel so old). I almost envy them, as soon they will get to enjoy the nightmares that can only come from just above The Sump with fresh, un-mutated eyes.

So, because of these younglings (I think they were about 18 but that’s still childlike as far as an old, greying fart like myself is concerned) and their questions, and because I am downright excited about this game coming out (could you tell?), I’m doing a Top 5 list today. Specifically, the Top 5 reasons that Necromunda is a cool and unique game, and what I’m looking forward to when the latest iteration is released later this month. Also, I get to sprinkle in some classic images of minis and illustrations because these too are awesome. Let’s roll…

The Claustrophobia 

blanche necromunda

When you’re playing Necromunda, you feel penned in. Despite the sprawling nature of the Underhive, you feel trapped in the narrow corridors and cramped walkways. The debris, detritus and industrial waste hem your miniatures in, and it’s real fight or die stuff. Think films like Alien, or games like Doom. You’re gang are isolated, in the darkness of the underworld, and you don’t get this in any of GW’s games except for the obvious exception of Space Hulk of course. But you can’t rely on assault cannons and tactical dreadnought armour here. Here, you’ve got a spiked bat, a scavenged gun that doesn’t work half the time, and a few scraps of “armour” to keep you alive. When you get deep into a game of Necromunda, one of the things you’ll feel most strongly, is a sense of confinement and claustrophobia, and because it’s happening to your little toy soldiers and not you, you can really enjoy the adrenalin it will dose you up with.

The Personalities

escher illustration

When you play a game like 40K, it can be hard to find genuine personalities in your army. Your HQ choices and perhaps a sergeant or two might have what you’d call a personality, but it’s rare to have idiosyncrasies run through every miniature in your 2000 point list. In Necromunda, you know each member of your gang, and the more you play with them, the more those personalities come through. I used to have a Cawdor Heavy with a big ol’ stubber back in the day who was useless in open warfare, but as soon as he got backed into a corner, he became unstoppable. If you gave him time to shoot, he couldn’t hit a superheavy tank while standing inside it, but with a close combat fighter one turn away from cutting him up with ease, he’d never miss. That’s how he used to behave and it meant that I got to see a personality. He was lazy and slow-witted until the chips were down and then his panic made him a far better shot. And he wasn’t the only one who embedded themselves in my memories of the game. The entire gang had their quirks and peculiar traits. You can get something similar with Blood Bowl, but in Necromunda, you’ll know your gang better than any other force that you run with. Only a few games in and you’ll know the brand of wax your Van Saar ganger uses in his moustache, or the shade of nail varnish your Escher champion prefers.

It’s Quick

goliath illustration

Can’t find time to knock out a 3+ hour game of 40K? Then grab some Necromunda action. It’ll be interesting to see how long the games take with the new ruleset and the alternating actions, but the old game, you could knock out a quick brawl in 30 minutes once you had the rules down perfectly in your head. More gangers, different weapons and an interesting scenario could mean that your games were closer to 1.5 hours, but it was rarely any more than that. And the more time you put into it, the quicker the games will become. You could knock out a little campaign with a couple of mates in a weekend!

What’s more, if I recall correctly, like GorkaMorka, it had solo games – quick missions you could play by yourself. Ok, so that’s not the most sociable way to enjoy the game, but if you were stuck indoors, you could have a quick little bit of fun with your miniatures taking on something random. No reason why, if this isn’t included in any of the new material, you couldn’t write something like this for yourself. Why not, right?

The Possibilities

different necromunda miniatures

Technically, you can introduce almost anything (within reason) into any games from GW. As long as everyone agrees to the rules for new things being added, you can do what you want. It’s one of the reasons that games set in any of the Warhammer settings are so great. But in Necromunda, you can really let your imagination go wild, with the added benefit that because it’s a smaller scale skirmish game, actually creating the terrain, objectives, characters or even rival gangs takes far less effort, and has a far greater impact on the play. I recently worked on my Slaaneshi Dark Mech miniatures. I have three of them, and while creating an army of these guys would be a daunting task, I can take these 3 and use them in Necromunda straight away. Or my Ordo Xenos Inquisition force – you can take anything really. Create a scenario, pen some fun rules, and you can get right into it. And imagine the monsters you can have in the Underhive. Hunting them with your gangs can be a huge amount of fun.

The True Grimdark

eavy metal necromunda white dwarf

No game captures the downright awfulness of the 41st Millennium like Necromunda. Just off the top of my head, the list of horrors include drug abuse, mutants, the aforementioned claustrophobia, the dirt and grime, the murder, the gang warfare, the hopelessness, the broken class system, the vermin, poisonous lakes and clouds, unceasing violence… it’s all so horrendous. You would never, ever want to be here in person. And you won’t see any modern Necromunda miniatures being based with green flock and fake flowers (the old ones from the Eavy Metal team had the old Goblin Green bases and I’ll never really understand why). Nature doesn’t exist on the underhive. Oh, there are all sort of animals down there, but none of them are truly natural. Playing this game will make you thankful that you’re living in the 21st Century and not the 41st Millennium. I mean, I know we have our problems right now, and things could be a lot better for most of us, but at least you don’t live near to a toxic swamp with no access to real food or sunlight, and not everyone is trying to kill you right now. Well, I hope not anyway. If that is the case, you have far greater priorities than reading this blog post! Run!

outlanders

So, there you have five reasons why I’m excited about this game coming out. In truth though, there are many more reasons why I’m so happy about all of this. If all goes to plan, I will purchase and paint everything that comes out for this game – gangs, characters, and terrain even. The new ruleset looks like plenty of fun as well. I hope you’re looking forward to it with as much glee as I am. Onwards!

Photo Admin – New Images Of Old Work

Posted by johnnya10 on 02/11/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. 6 Comments

As many regular readers will know, I have issues with photography. Every time my laptop’s OS updates, the camera I use refuses to work with my computer. It’s not like it’s some random, weird or unique camera – it’s a Canon! And yet, the same issue occurs each time. In the grand scheme of things, this has meant that several miniatures that I’ve paint have never had good images taken on them. I’ve muddled through with iPhone photos taken in natural light. Well, this post is about making up for that. A few recent favourites have been rephotographed and while they’re no Ansel Adams masterpiece, they’re better than what was. So this post may not be the most important, but it needs doing. If you hang around for it, I hope you enjoy it. Here they are…

Delaque Leader

Delaque gang leader

With Necromunda just around the corner, it’s only right that this guy gets a better picture. The colours are crisper, the angles are sharper… it’s good to see this guy in this light. And I can’t wait for the new Delaque gang to appear. Soon, my pretties, soon…

Blood Angels Hammer Land Speeder

blood angels hammer land speeder

I was never happy with the soft focus images of this beast. It was weird picking it up and feeling how heavy it was again. Seriously, you could beat an ork to death with this thing. The above image really brings out the reds of this, and while it’s a little more unforgiving when it comes to the edge highlights, it really gets the colours to pop.

Mortifactors Primaris Lieutenant 

mortifactors primaris

Mortifactors have always presented an issue when it comes to photography. Being black and cream, do you photograph them against white or black? And whatever you pick, the camera struggles to get it right. At least with this new image, it gets us some of the way there. Still not perfectly in focus though.

Slaaneshi Cult Mechanicus

slaaneshi dark mechanicum

I can’t believe that it’s taken me this long to get a proper photo of these guys. Also, I need to get some rules written for them to compete in Necromunda. Also, check out those purple frosted tips.

Pickle Rick

pickle rick

Oh, Yeaaaahhhhh!!!!

And that’s it. Sorry it wasn’t the most interesting of posts, but it needed to be done for my own piece of mind. I hope you enjoyed them as much as one could expect you to. New more interesting posts will return soon. Onwards!

The Desks Project – The Page Is Now Live!

Posted by johnnya10 on 30/10/2017
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment. Tagged: . Leave a comment
our desks - a photo essay
It’s up! It’s here! The “Desk” project is now live and you can find it here or on the menu above. I didn’t know if my regular readers would get a notification about it going live (I know you get pinged when a post goes live but it’s a ‘page’ not a ‘post’ in WordPress terminology) and so I’m just putting this blog post together to ensure that you see it in your in trays – I know a lot of you have been very interested in how this turned out.
And how did it turn out? Well, I’m thrilled with it. It’s been so nice talking to so many painters via messages, emails and comments across different platforms. We’re a great bunch, really, and so friendly too. I’ve been talking to people all over the world and it’s been fascinating to see the images of their sacred, hallowed work spaces, and to read their words too.
I received a fantastic response to this project and that means that it’s quite long. The page that you’ll visit contains everything that was submitted in time (I hope – please tell me I didn’t miss anyone!) and though I thought about editing it down, in the end I thought that this would be a disservice not only to the people who took the time to take a picture and write these words, but also to the theme itself – there’s so much in there. When you visit the page, you will see so much variety, and read so many different stories. And each one of them is worth enjoying.
So, make yourself a cup of tea/coffee/piña colada (whatever’s your poison) and sit down to enjoy a nice long draught of geeky goodness and painting paraphernalia. Take a look at the spaces where the artists you admire spend their time painting and modelling the miniatures you love. You might even find some great ideas for your own hobby spaces too.
leo thank you gif
One final piece of extra thanks to everyone who took part. It was a pleasure speaking with every one of you, and I hope you continue to enjoy your desks, and create many amazing miniatures in the future. Stay in touch too. Onwards!

Blood Bowl Orcs Reinforcements – Troll & Goblin

Posted by johnnya10 on 27/10/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: , , , . 2 Comments

blood bowl troll and goblin

You can never stop at just the boxed squad, right? Well, I’ve added to my Orc Blood Bowl Team, Da Mighty Redz, in the form of my new Troll and Goblin. The little and large duo move me a little closer to completing the project with plenty of time to spare before Necromunda hits in November, and I’m quite happy with how they both turned out.

The keen-eyed amongst you will notice that this is not the official Blood Bowl troll, but a Stone Troll (Sorry, ‘Rockgut Troggoth’ for those of you who speak Sigmarese) that’s been slightly converted and that’s because I’m not the greatest fan of the new Blood Bowl troll. While it’s of course a quality sculpt (what isn’t from GW these days, right?), I like my trolls to look like big, grumpy and fairly immobile brick walls, and not someone throwing out the first pitch at a Yankee’s game. Less dynamic, more static – which pretty much goes against my entire miniature design philosophy but I guess this is the exception that proves the rule.

So, I chopped off his bone-club (poor chap – sounds painful), and made a knuckleduster from some plasticard, green stuff and the spikes are actually from a Storm Raven’s missile launcher. I made some knee pads from green stuff, plasticard and green stuff made me the arm guards, and the shoulder pad is from the Chaos Terminator kit. There are a few green stuff leather straps and I had to hack off and rebuild half an ear to make room for the aforementioned shoulder pad. Oh, and he has a backplate that has been nailed into him because he’s a troll and he doesn’t mind that.

troll and goblin

The goblin was a tricky little bugger to paint. He didn’t take too long (I actually painted him in about 5 hours!) but it can be tricky to switch gears when you’ve been working on something as big as a troll. But that’s a super fun kit and I’m almost certainly going to be adding another gobbo in the near future. Not only because it was enjoyable to paint, but also because it’s pretty risky bringing a single goblin to a Blood Bowl game. They either get squished or the troll eats them so better safe than sorry.

And as you can see from the above snap, these guys are called Murvy and Owni which is my tribute to two Liverpool stars of my younger years – Danny Murphy and Michael Owen. Not exactly dead ringers, but Murphy does have a slightly troll like demeanour (and attitude) and Owen was (and still is) a bit short, so it kind of fits.

michael owen and danny murphy

In terms of tactics, the goblin is there to pick up the ball (because having played with Orcs, they’re practically incapable of this when you need them to) and the troll can throw him up the field to score me a touch down. Not particularly intricate tactics, but they’re a well used staple of the game. Looking forward to trying it out.

goblin troll height comparison

I just like this picture because it’s like they’re standing back to back with the Goblin saying something like “See, I’m definitely gettin’ taller!”. 😀 But it also shows off a bit more of the troll armour, and I love the look of the Goblin in profile – those helmets are awesome.

That’s your lot for this post. Well, except to say that the desk project has been delayed by just a couple of days while the last couple of stragglers get back to me. Early next week. I promise. Have a great Friday, a cracking weekend, and the very best of luck with all of your painting projects. Onwards!

Friday Fun – Ork Name Generator

Posted by johnnya10 on 20/10/2017
Posted in: Silliness and Stuff. Tagged: , . 3 Comments

I figured, as I’ve been banging on about the Desk Project that I’m doing at the moment rather a lot recently, I’d do something fun and silly for this Friday. So, to give you a couple of minutes of hopefully Orkish giggles at the end of a long week, I give you the Ork name generator. Now, long ago, I did the Ork clan name generator and it was a lot of fun. But I wanted to test myself (and particularly my Orkish vocabulary) by making a generator that can help you come up with the name of an Ork character, boss or boy. So here you go:

ork name generator

As you can probably tell, it works pretty simply. Your first initial and second initial make up your Ork’s forename, and the first letter of your street name and mother’s maiden name will give you the Ork’s surname. Well, I don’t think it’s really a surname – more of an dis-honorific. A nickname… whatever it is, this is how it works. So my name would be Jabarm Squigtroopa. If your name was Rob Stevens and you lived on Jones St, and your mother’s maiden name was Howard, your Ork name would be Redshag Jawhacka. Get it?

Well, you know the drill. Have a go, leave a comment below and tell me what you think of it. Did you like what you got, can you think of improvements, or do you now wish you were called something else? Either way, I hope it gives you a brief moment of Orky goodness after a hard week – you’ve earned your teef, and a good weekend to be sure.

40k orks rogue trader

And one final word about the desks project; I’ve started to build the page! It’s coming along great and we’ve had more submissions than I was expecting. Provided I can get everything organised by next week, it should be going up then, so keep an eye on the blog for that update. Onwards!

Da Mighty Redz – Orc Blood Bowl Team

Posted by johnnya10 on 16/10/2017
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: , , . 4 Comments

I finished something! My Orc Blood Bowl team, Da Mighty Redz are now done! And what’s more, just to add a cherry on the top, my camera is working again, so I actually have half decent pictures of them. My cup (or Blood Bowl) runneth over. So here, in this post, I shall present to you the newest team to be taking to the pitch.

orc blood bowl team

blood bowl orc team names

Here are the first six. That’s Dag-Lash, Burnz, ‘Krazy Boar’, Hencho, Foula and Hip-Prya. And here come the rest of the team…

new orc blood bowl players

blood bowl orcs rear

Then we have the second six: Krush, Crag-Ghar, Jaw ‘Ard, Burga, Lonzo and Goblar.

I had a huge amount of fun painting this team and I really do love the miniatures. They’re excellently posed and with some great little details too. To think how far we’ve come since the old miniatures for this game! What a time to be painting.

I went a bit snap happy with the camera – it hasn’t worked for so long now and I wanted to make sure that I could do justice to all of the players here. What’s more, I wanted to further highlight what I talked about in my last post about this team – making duplicate pose figures look different. So let’s start with the linemen.

blood bowl orc linemen

I finished off these guys so long ago that I can barely remember painting them, but it’s nice to see them looking this good. I’m particularly fond of the “YNWA” (You’ll Never Walk Again) and “No Mersey” details on the armour. I also did the Orcidas symbol on one of these guys to go with the stripes. I’m also liking how the team symbol pops too – that nice flash of turquoise and yellow on each model really gives them something else.

blood bowl orc throwers

The throwers really highlight how the different green green skin tones can help to differentiate the two models. These guys were painted a long time ago so I don’t remember too much about them either – geez, I’ve really got to get better at painting fast just so that I can remember what I did to talk about it on here!

black orc blockers

The Black Orc Blockers were a huge amount of fun to paint, and all those flat surfaces give you so much room with which to have fun. And they are huge too – they really look good and intimidating. Can’t wait to see them holding up the line and stomping face.

orc blood bowl blitzers

And the Blitzers are done! I was thinking about giving them very vibrant plumes, but went with natural hair tones instead – it just felt a little better because these guys are already colourful enough. I do like Foula’s fancy purple boots though. Very fetching. These guys were a little tougher to paint than the rest of the team because that dynamic pose gives you some funny angles to work around. But great fun to paint too – those masks/helmets are great!

IMG_0298

That’s the team – Da Mighty Redz are now ready to take to the field. I think I’ve done both Liverpool FC and the Orc tribes proud. However, just because the core team is done, that doesn’t mean that this project is over. Oh no. For a start, you’ve already seen my Ghoul-Chewer and some of the peripherals:

varag ghoul chewer and peripherals

And there is more to come, but you’ll have to wait for that. I’ve still got a little time before Necromunda, so I have to fill my time somehow. But for now, this is your lot. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing the team in all their glory. Next step: the big leagues. Onwards!

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Oh, and one more thing. A lot of you liked my post about the desk project. I’ve had some responses already, but I’d still like some more. A lot of you liked that post, so it’d be great to get a few more responses from you. Please take another look, and drop me an email if you can. Cheers!

Miniature Focus – Plague Marines

Posted by johnnya10 on 13/10/2017
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment. Tagged: , . 3 Comments
nurgle symbol
I’ve not done a Miniature Focus article in quite some time, but with the long history behind them, and their glorious recent release, I figured I’d give the Plague Marines the treatment. So sit back, and let Papa Nurgle tell you a tale…
A Bit of History
The Fly Movie poster
In the late 1980s and early 90s, Sci Fi and Horror movies started producing some truly disgusting monsters (they’d been making monsters for years of course, but at this time the game was definitely upped), and the above movie is a prime example. I might have been a bit young when I saw The Fly for the first time, so I’m not putting an image of what the mighty Goldblum became in that picture on this blog. Not going back to those nightmares thank you very much. If you’ve not seen it, it’s worth it (just bring a bucket). In fact, in Flight Of The Eisenstein, when the dead guy starts transforming into a plague monster, The Fly definitely came to my mind. But I digress.
The Fly was Cronenberg’s masterpiece and it’s hard to imagine that it didn’t drop a few ideas into the minds of miniature designers working for GW or Citadel at the time, and in years to come, slimy gross monsters would get even more screen time. Including this guy in Weird Science – remind you of anyone?
chet weird science gif
Not only that, I’d like to direct your attention to a book written by PG Chadwick. It’s a cracking read actually and I’m happy to say that I own a copy, and despite the subject matter and story line being quite different, it does have genetically enhanced super soldiers crafted by a “Grandfather” and a fair bit of poisonous gas. Between Chadwick and Cronenberg we find more than enough inspiration for the Plague Marines of Warhammer 40,000.
death guard book front cover chadwick
The first mutterings of Plague Marines came in the early 1990s. When Realm Of Chaos – The Lost And The Damned were released at the tail end of the 80s, we got more specific rules for the orginal Nurgle Renegades which were as wonderfully wonky and weird as all of the other Renegade models. But it didn’t take long for a flurry of Plague Marine releases to appear. In 1994, we got both metal and plastic kits for Plague Marines. A further release came in 1997 and all of these models involved spiked helmets and gas mask tubes – a nod to WW1 soldiers that has since been taken up by Forge World’s Krieg range – funny to think that those two armies share an ancestry.
nurgle renegade space marines
plastic plague marine box
metal plague marines
In 2002 we got the unit that was with us until this latest release. Originally in metal, they became a popular finecast kit (I’m not saying the finecast part was popular, but the kit was) that lasted an impressive 15 years without looking out of place at all. These seven miniatures were replaced with the birth of 8th edition with the marines found in the Dark Imperium set.
2002 plague marines
And now we are here, with seven new marines that really show off the talent and ability of Games Workshop’s sculptors today. There are plenty of nods to those old miniatures across this unit, from the spiked helmets and gas mask tubes, to the general wear and decay, though a great deal has since been added too.
new plague marines
Let’s Get Fluffy
The Death Guard were stranded. Dead in the turbulent waters of the warp, and as Mortarion’s brothers fought their way to Terra for the final battle with the flase Emperor, the Terminus Est and so much of the rest of the XIVth Legion tumbled through the tides of horror that lie within the empyrean. This was because Calas Typhon, Mortarion’s most trusted captain, had killed the fleet’s navigators, saying that they had been loyal to the Emperor. He assured his gene father that they wouldn’t have any issue reaching Terra, but he was wrong.
typhus illustration
Lost in the warp, the legion was eventually assailed by the Destroyer Plague; a virulent sickness that killed all the human crew and even began to infect the Space Marines themselves. In his desperation, Typhon turned to the Dark Gods of the warp for help and Grandfather Nurgle answered the call. Typhon was transformed into Typhus, the host of the Destroyer Plague. The entire legion were “saved” with the sicknesses affecting them now become a grim source of life and strength. And so the first Plague Marines were born. Since this time, they have spread Papa Nurgle’s poisons about the mortal galaxy and infected millions with his precious gifts.
Time To Talk Tactics
It’s still early days for this unit in 8th edition, but there are already a few tips that will help you make the most of these guys on the table top. Firstly, you have to acknowledge their main problem – they are slooooow. Really slow. And while they’re tougher than most marines, big guns will cut them down before they get the chance to engage the enemy. A big blob of Pox Walkers is a good distraction, while ensuring your faster units cause enough of an issue to ensure they take the brunt of the enemy fire is a really good idea.
plague marine illustration
But when you get close enough to do some shooting, these guys can really turn up the hurt. They can move and fire heavy weapons without suffering any negative modifiers, and any “plague weapon” means you’re going to dealing a lot of wounds. What’s more, you can tough it out with these guys if they get charged. So if they are the bulk of your army, get them up the table as quickly as you can, and make sure you have cheap and/or fast units to help keep them alive by distracting your enemies. Oh, and some of those characters can give you some really useful buffs too.
If Looks Could Kill…
I love the gribbly, gross and grimey look of Nurgle armies and I always have. I have a Death Guard army somewhere but I doubt they’d be legal anymore and they certainly don’t stack up in the looks department to the current monsters. It’s all about flies, smog, bare pipes and bulges. The bloating guts of the diseased, along with the rust and ooze of ancient, decaying machinery help to conjure up a really sickening feeling. If you want to learn some fun weathering techniques, it can be worth picking these guys up.
death guard plague marines
You do get the feeling that the miniature designers really enjoy Nurgle themed projects. They can really go to town on the blisters, boils and general ugliness of the army, and make it look great. These are big guys their size also helps to illustrate their tireless, lumbering advance. Who doesn’t love a good bit of Nurgle grossness, right?
Ah, The Memories…
As I mentioned, I have a Nurgle army. In fact, that army featured in some of my earliest blog posts on Heresy & Heroes. In fact, that’s a Death Guard Heldrake that you can see in banner for this blog. I built up about 3,500 points in 6th/7th Ed and it was kind of my showcase army. Which is a bit weird to think about now as I think I may have come on some way since that army was painted. Hell, you can’t even have a Death Guard Heldrake these days!
Death Guard Chaos Space Marines

Plague Marines – These were featured in one of the earliest H&H posts!

They are an insanely fun army to work on. In terms of conversions, you can really get into scuffing, scratching and greenstuffing more vileness onto your minis, and as for painting, it’s seriously fun. I wanted the whites and greens of the original legion but obviously in the throws of plagueness, so very damaged and uneven. Actually, they don’t look as bad as I think they do. Maybe I’ll get them out for a game again sometime soon.
In Conclusion
It’s good to see a Chaos force get the treatment that the Death Guard have gotten recently, and I hope that others will follow soon. They have such a rich history of miniatures, fluff and rules that it makes sense that they become their own army, even if it’s taken eight editions to get here. Hopefully more will follow.
flight of the eisenstein front cover artwork
And the stars for me, even with Primarchs and Plague Crawlers in the mix are still the Plague Marines. These stalwarts of the game have deserved miniatures like this for too long. All those years ago when I first got some of the plastic Plague Marines that all looked the same, I wanted them to be so much more. And now they are. A unit with a rich history indeed. In fact, I’m now off to go and throw up in honour of Papa Nurgle. Onwards!