Death Guard CSM, Iron Warrior Legion, DIY Primaris LOPLOG

[Marius Perdo]

@DuskRaider: Thanks, but I have labelled this a LOPLOG (Lack of Progess Log) I live in spite of Papa - and it is been a long hobby-less year this far (mostly) - #1stworldproblems.

Today I mostly sorted through DG bits, started work on the mutalith and slaughterbrute to free up bits (part of the reason I bought them), ordered another bloat drone kit as a consequence of sorting through stuff - I have 5 in total due to Conquest (which gave me an extra two DI ones) and I think another MP and I can convert again) like before (but each unique).

Actually a fib, much Easter egg hunts etc. happened, with what little spare time I had I mostly used that to sort which will required for the project is not quite fulfilling.

However I found my old chaos spawn/possessed bits bags and the eyes, found a lidded one that looked the correct size, and took strabismus/exotropia/exophthalmia/hypertropia and codex art as inspiration for a chaotic impression of something altogether other looking out of one of the tanks headlights/sensors.

It'll need a wee bit of GS to blend in as skin/inter-connective tissue, it is not much but after all the faffing about I wanted to feel like I had actually started

I also messed about with turning spare bloat drone plague spewers into sponson lascannons - just getting a feel for the possible parts but I think it will work - sort of inspired by plagueburst crawler entropy cannons.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Marius Perdo

[Marius Perdo]

With a change of role coming up I'll no longer have to do things at set times - that means I may have time for hobby.

Knowing the War of the Spider should have something for DG and Plague Company specific rules, as well as listening to Lords of Silence and The Buried Dagger a lot, as well as sorting out stuff and seeing my old unfinished DG conversions, having had fun doing the Season 3 models, being inspired by their spare heads etc I started doing preparatory stuff.

I will basically actually finish off the DG I did a few years ago (yeah, right), the army will need Plague Marines regardless of the War of the Spider rules, but all the base casting in the world was irritating me until I working out how to channel Mt Miyagi and the Karate Kid to make them work.

Basically file down the casting very smooth and as fine as possible, go too far it'll snap/wear through but keep that to one side for large base collages - not far enough and too stepped.

Then flip a 32 mm and file the top side down.

Glue together and it'll be about as tall as the originals (a wee bit more) but not way too tall.

Wear a mask and brush off the dust into a container, mix with fine beach sand to use later with PVA and resin for liquid friable rust patching.

I'll try some 40mm, got some curing in the garage.

Anything larger (Lords of Contagion, Myphitics, Bloats etc) can just be amalgams/collages.

The final puzzle solved so now I can get on with it.

Regards scheme I am pondering, not all vectoriums have a unified scheme, especially as not all are from the same Plague Company, so I can consider doing each marine is his own colours (or from a range of say 3 types, or 7) - this will give me a lot more freedom and have them all the many colours of a ripening bruise.

Dunno. I'll think about it.

[hushrong]

Scoured through this log and it has been a treat loaded with eye candy!

[Marius Perdo]

@hushring@ Ta, but after years I really should finish something :)

 

So I did a Death Guard stock take so to speak - which is very long and I won't bore you with details. Salient points:

 

70 Plague Marines, so I can do the 7 squads of 7 I always intended for the Colony (which I knew), but then I can flex out to 10 each by adding 3 to each squad (which I did not know) - not planned, pure co-incidence, surely a sign from The God.

20 Blightlord Terminators, assuming I convert 4 spare LOC into very characterful Aspiring Champions. Again, surprised.

 

Tomorrow I will lightly convert an ETB bolt gunner to do as a test model.

[MegaVolt87]

How is the roached IW LR going? 

[hushrong]

That's a lot of Death Guard! And I am looking forward to seeing some more progress on them!

[Marius Perdo]

@MegaVolt87: In a box with the IW infantry in my office, 2 foot from me...they haven't been relegated to "back to the garage", but no plans at the moment but when I do the DG Land raider I may flit between the two - as an aside not seen roached in this context - does it mean salvaged mess of an old kit? To me they are invertebrates or fumatory aids ;)

@Hushrong: Ta, working on the test build model (ETB bolter) as we speak, with pack swap to an MP one with plague knife attached (I stole the original for other earlier DG as I knew the ETB was missing a knife as stock), cast base (any one which he can stand on really and look Okay) and deciding which head/helm - just drilling barrel holes at the moment and cleaning mold lines - also ransacked the helms from my second MP box/set of sprues to see which one I like best as most of the ones I had spare just weren't working for me.

Then I'll probably do the Space Marine Heroes 3 with the meltagun from the Deatn Guard re-nforcements added in (to take to 7) - the Icon Bearer needs converting a little as the stock model has a holstered bolt pistol, which they can't have, but I have a spare slung boltgun from the MP box/sprue, which they can have.

 

Sort of behind, went for a few 5 mile jogs, dragged myself through reading Blade Oath (the Conquest novel about the Silver Templars versus Death Guard) - watched some films - not really felling it today hobby wise which is a sod as I had the day off work.

May be more in the mood for it tomorrow.

[DuskRaider]

YES... Build, brother! Can't wait to see what you come up with, your Death Guard have been sorely missed.

[MegaVolt87]

@MegaVolt87: In a box with the IW infantry in my office, 2 foot from me...they haven't been relegated to "back to the garage", but no plans at the moment but when I do the DG Land raider I may flit between the two - as an aside not seen roached in this context - does it mean salvaged mess of an old kit? To me they are invertebrates or fumatory aids

 

Roached means borderline ready for scrap/ parts with a slight possibility of full restoration with a lot of time, effort and $$$ put in as I understand it. 

[Marius Perdo]

@DuskRaider: Ta, with a fresh eye I will be changing some of the previous builds in light of Heroes 3 poses, and I may have to use the Lockdown Challenge to actually paint the test model. I am also pondering using spare character models (noxious blightbringers, malignant plague casters etc) to make Death Guard possessed - I have ideas for this but thinking of them burns Sanity Points.

@MegaVolt87: Yep, that pretty much describes the parlous state it and the vindicator were in

The Test Model

Obviously i could have just done the ETB model stock but no, that would make sense.

That has meant:

• getting a power pack with a plague knife attached from MP kit as the ETB pack has no plague knife (and used for other models) - this will be a recurring theme for "illegal" and incomplete models - WYSIWYG - also known as I need help
• also getting krak grenades from Space Marine Tactical squad sprue as the ETB has no krak grenades*
• finding a cast base that needed the extra work and filing to make him stand on the rock but look natural and have an interesting silhouette
• mess about with heads until I found one were the horn atop it could fit in with the shoulder ones and make an even more interesting silhouette when facing and looking at a certain precise angle
• liquid greenstuff** filling around the base to cast to make it smooth once cured and wet and dry sandpapered smooth (so tired, tired of waiting).
• due to the original base (Heroes 3 plague spewer) having a nurgling on it having to ponder what to put there instead (a sort of blank gap) and coming up with the idea of a rock and then...Little Lord*** (aka nurgling) although I will have a look at the Gellerpox Infected sprues for something else more squirmy but they might all be a bit big
• pondering how to make a generic friable rust concoction to put on top of the plague knife on the not cutting bit, or blade using plastic dust, using beach sand, PVA and Humbrol matte cote - I think with weathering powders mixed in it could make good dried mud for tanks, and with gloss wet mud - we'll see when it dries - a toothbrush will tell if the varinish helps it adhere (with PVA it would just flake of and be too friable)
• wanting a flush plastic on plastic contact point for the power pack so gluing some sprue into it which actually made a lot of other stuff easier

So having vacillated and prevaricated for about, oh...a quarter of century of hobby but about 2 years specifically for the DG, and having tried to make it as difficult as possible I may be about to paint something.

I think I may use sponges, if he looks like the armoured container but has verdigris aged brass he might pass as an Apostle of Contagion - note that is the only use I have found for the Conquest art book, the plates of the vectorium colour schemes are so large they are actually good for reference, and show lots of subtle colours of decay you won't get from the Codex (even after blowing up screen grabs from the digital one)

* I have a bag with really old assault marine krak grenades in but I think that is in my IW crate and if I open that I'll be come Distracted - although I need to find an RG primaris throwing one hand for a conversion

** Crap GW product, even though sealed it was dry and powdery - all of them and I have (had) 5 from different stores and times - I found one that if I spat in it and mixed it then it could be spread - a bit more Nurgly than I intended - no best before/use by and anyway, all the other stuff I have (Humbrol/MiG/Tamiya/Microscale Industries etc) last years even when opened)

*** Originally I was not going to have any, but some models have them built in, and having read Lords of Silence once and then listened to it twice the idea of maybe having one Little Lord per squad of 7, like a sort of mascot, has grown on me (like a epidermal fungus)

Edited May 17, 2020 by Marius Perdo

[hushrong]

Pulling up a chair and waiting to see how this goes! Love all the goals you’ve set to take this snapfit marine to the next level.

[Marius Perdo]

@hushrong: got a bit too dark to glue/paint, so I sat idly pondering about wriggling, squirming and chitinous things from beyond scratching at the mind saying "Let me in". Then this happened...

Just a sketch, some idle meanderings within the Garden, but after a while festering and fermenting it will pupate and then...who knows? I have ideas for about five but it will be a slow build as they are going to take a lot of time and effort in between the "normal" Death Guard.

[hushrong]

Part of me is concerned about the little voices you’re hearing but most of me is cheering them on now after seeing that pure tabletop nightmare fuel! You know that feeling of terror and dread when your foot is banging off the side of your bed? That’s the monster I’m going to imagine that’s trying to nab me.

 

Very cool conversion. It is definitely different but it’s eye catching and quite intimidating. Reminds me of John Carpenter’s The Thing. I can just hear the dog pen scene.

[Marius Perdo]

@hushrong: Ta, the thing with possessed they are Death Guard first, which are quite mutated and bloated with The God's gifts anyway (and as such sacred changes) and then they get possessed by a Nurgle daemon.

Regards Possessed

For me the two main points are that they have horrific mutations as weapons and writhing tentacles for determining attacks - so thus no weapons, whether mutated chainswords or defunct guns, and in this case very much not the sleek but broken and spiky look of the Gal Vorbak.

As Nurgle the mutations will be chitinous and insectile claws and talons and mandibles, wriggling and worm-like tentacles, tentacular and abyssal limbs and maws from the deeps etc.

Note I will go to the garage soon and take the possessed, mutation sprues, and greater possessed from the Black Legion crate, mostly for inspiration but the occasional bit may be useful.

However I'll be using a lot of spare poxwalkers and Gellerpox infected bits for the horrific writhing tentacle mutations - when I say bits I mean many will give of their limbs to the razorsaw so that these possessed abominations may live.

However, The Test Model.

• Base sealed and drilled
• Littel Lord sat in hole with his default plastic peg so I can leave exact facing to the end and paint separately - or even consider other Little Lords
• Dry pinned the legs with matching holes in the base and will attach to cork for painting
• Power pack plastic pegged, with corresponding larger bore hole in models back, and pinned for attaching later and mounting on cork for painting
• Same with bolter - added pin for mounting to cork
• Krak grenades glued in out of sight - looks designed to be there
• Head at the desired facing and angle so forehead horn joins the arc of right shoulder spurs/horns
• Friable rust adhered perfectly and as can be seen by the rock hard stuff behind will be great for making mud for tank tracks
• Wait to dry and they wash clean (ironic), then mask rubber plastic contact points for when finally assembling

When the painting starts I'll undercoat grey and then zenithal white and work from there.

Possessed shown again in shot so it is clear when his cloven hooves are green stuffed in as being much bigger, and on scenic based, and with bloated rolls of curdled fat bursting from between his armour joints in corpulent rolls (inspired by and using Putrid Blightking bits) he/it will be a very big boy. Although he'll have moobs.

Lesson learnt: When attaching the filed casts to filed bases using epoxy resin would have probably removed then need to fart about with liquid green stuff as quite gloopy.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Marius Perdo

[Marius Perdo]

Attached to corks and tacked to a yogurt pot lid after using Humbrol latex to mask contact points (the purple rubber bits) - I find these pots and marg tubs great for storing cast bases, beach sand, gravel, smashed tiny slate etc.

It has been raining and damp here today, so high air humidity, and I had to wait until now to spray in the garage (with doors wide open) - people are in and out for wellies etc and it would stink of fumes.

Primed grey, had a quick eyeball for mold lines and seems to be none which primers reveal a treat, and looks great to me blended together (well, great for a quick test build model).

I'll double check tomorrow in daylight, if missed bits in grooves and recesses I'll do by them brush with thinned codex grey (gotta use old paints for something) so as not to get too much spray on Okay bits, and if then Okay will zenithal with white primer.

Then sponge painting with various old shades, like bleached bone, rotting flesh for patchy ceramite rot, then scorched brown/chaos for rust and chipping (sort of crate light with more care).

Then probably floor wax seal...

then an oil wash - went well with crate, lessons well learnt from Minotaur rhino fiasco.

Note I intended to do them singly or in small groups - mostly to iterate and keep the impetus going - I am in no position time wise to do them en masse or even by squad so better something than nothing.

Edited May 19, 2020 by Marius Perdo

[hushrong]

Love your take and reasoning about Death Guard possessed! All their sacred changes and then the bonus of an actual daemon ramping them up. It definitely translated well into that test model so I look forward to seeing more!

 

Also nice to see the plague marine ready for some primer! Whether in ones or groups It’s going to be great to see them with paint!

[Marius Perdo]

@hushrong: Ta, I think going slow and amble like a Death Guard waddle is the way forward with these guys

So, the grey primer looked great, then I got a deliberately spitty white can to do sort of patchy base coat.

So, nearly dry, tiny whiff of propellant.

Also bendy not guitar wire from Zinge Ind just arrived, and another 6 Revell glues.

I'll dig out the Conquest art book for subtle colour ideas and try an Apostles of Contagion first - I think this chap can be Galthamor of the Seven-fold Song.

Then to my paint collection to get old skool paints to use on sponges and keep for making watery washes.

I may run a toothbrush over him to see if there is any loose paint and I often find a second soapy water wash helps remove propellant chemicals that sometimes mess up later paints/layers.

For a Plague Marine he is having an awful lot of baths...

Edited May 19, 2020 by Marius Perdo

[Marius Perdo]

So it has begun.

Given I haven't put brush to infantry meaningfully since post #28 19/08/2013 (6.5 years ago), and my eyesight was bad then and far worse now. it is going Okay.

Getting used to brushes again, accepting limits, adapting. The conversions in many cases are good, when painted they'll probably be Okay, so on balance it'll probably look Okay as an army.

More for myself:

• armour washed watered down Snakebite Leather/Baelor Brown/Tau Sept Ochre
• Lightly dry/over brush armour with wet/thinned Bleached Bone/Ushabti Bone
• Paint all metallic areas with an ever evolving watered down blend or Armour Brown/Scorched Brown and Chaos Black
• Chaos Black horns
• Base tentacles Screamer Pink
• Base cloth Dark Angels Green/Orkhide Shade mixed with Chaos Black
• Mistakes tidied up with Bone but then a very thin glaze of original wash to blend and soften the consequences of not doing in years/terrible eyesight

I'll use darkened bronze and iron paints on the appropriate bits, and I think glaze of Rotting Flesh over the armour to make bits look like rotting bone.

Also use a stipple brush for chipping on armour of Black/Brown.

Then seal with Klear floor wax and then see if the oil wash lifts it or ruins it.

After that verdigris with Hawk Turquoise/Sotek Green and lighter with powder or technical paints.

Also rust powders, some left over from the original crate and some made from steel wool and nails.

NB: I enjoyed myself, I have had to adapt and the eyes are frustrating but in the end I did what I could and had fun - which would be the point. They will be Okay, not great, but not terrible, so I am somewhat motivated - I have been avoiding this part for years.

Edited July 21, 2020 by Marius Perdo

[hushrong]

Nice!! Despite the time it’s been since you’ve been painting and you mentioning eyesight this looks good already! Keep going and build up momentum to keep painting!

[Iron Bars]

Looks good, nice to see some paint in this tread. Been following allong sinds the beginning. Love youre work ethic

[Marius Perdo]

@Hushrong: Ta, will do (see below, still painting)

@Iron Bars: Ta, as you know actually painting infantry...me...inconceivable Thanks for hanging on.

So blurry shot, so much for super macro:

So more blocked out with black/brown mix (pack spurs).

Then:

• For aged bronze a bit of watered down over brushed Balthasar Gold/Brazen Brass i.e. shoulders/armour trim/Nurgle symbols
• Light over brush watered down Boltgun Metal on appropriate bits
• Wash/glaze everything (yes, everything) with very watered down Rotting Flesh
• Wash/glaze everything with very watered down Scorched Brown

Based on the last bit I'll do limited brown oil wash for streaking and making bits pop.

Some limited fine edge highlighting will occur on some bits (bronze/metal) at some point.

The irony of basically using watered down old paints as glaze/washes to blend, given that is what I had to do when 14 as artists inks cost a fortune and Citadel didn't do inks then is not lost on me. However this sloppier but more gradual process works and is easier on my eyes or in some cases actually capable with them

Thinking that rather than painting the tentacles pink I should have washed/gazed the white with the pink.

Need to do the armour pitting/chipping with black/brown with stipple/sponge.

And obviously rust weathering powders and when I make my mind up for the base surface lower legs with whatever the surface is.

Also the Nurging, going to go with a purplish/mauve, like Necrosius' in the Vraks art, sort of like his face in the art (the colour of a choked and suffocated face).

Note I have been looking at a lot of Death Guard/Plague Marines/Maggotkin models and art etc and I am sold on doing each model organically in his own scheme from the bone (above), to various greens (a broad range), greys etc. Each will be an individual experimental journey in the colours of broken rotting bones, foetid blood, and boils, buboes, and bruises.

A loose affiliation that is not really even a Vectorium made up of left over bits/survivors/stragglers from other Vectoriums and a range of Plague Companies - the dregs of the dregs (a lot from the 4th then).

Edited May 24, 2020 by Marius Perdo

[Iron Bars]

When using weatheting on an infantry model you can also nicley hide mistakes, even for people with good eyesight ;)

[Marius Perdo]

@Iron bars: There will be plenty of those

Getting there:

As can be seen on rear sponging went a wee bit too far, I'll stipple on some brown to lighten the dark brown/black, and then sponge or stipple some bone to break up the large patches at the edges.

The friable rust was pointless at this size but will be good for vehicles.

Also I can't decide what colour to do the emerging skull - very pale bone - as in nearly white given it is against bone armour?

Also need to look at some reference material for the tentacles to see how light I'll take them.

However I am feel like my enthusiasm is rushing me along so easing off a bit.

I'll need to do oils and weathering powders for rust and mud at the weekend, as well as deep and also pale verdigris on the bronze.

Also how dark to do the horn growths etc.

However whilst I ponder I have start preparing number two, the meltagunner from the reinforcements box.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Marius Perdo

[hushrong]

Looking good! As for the skull, I white doesn’t sound bad. Maybe with some fifth along the edges where it is in contact with armor. Or maybe do something a bit more unnatural, like a black helm with blue highlights.

 

That meltagunner also looks sweet! Did it come right out of the box like that? I haven’t seen that before although I’ve been out of the loop.

[Marius Perdo]

Apparently I have reached my quota of positive votes for the day which seems a bit unfair as it said the same yesterday - when is midnight for the B&C?

@hushrong: White pale bone for the is working (who have though pale bone suits skulls?), and the gunner is stock I just made him stand on the cast base

Okay, done a wee bit more painting - I am certainly getting into it, and not accepting mistakes/excuses, I found some on the pack which I am fixing.

Generally becoming more comfortable with the brushwork but my eyes...damn, damaged and I got old I have a magnifying glass and one built into a desk lamp but I am finding taking the pictures at high res and then eyeballing (pun intended) those zoomed in helps me know what is there, then I go back and paint what I know is there but actually can't really see. Painting from recent memory is odd, even for me. I have ordered some lutein supplements, they worked in the past and sped up recovery from CSR

However I am enjoying myself. Honestly, total Nurgle feels on all spectrums.

Next is to tidy up the bronze bits and then wash them with actual washes, then green cloth and the tenacles (which I still haven't made my mind where to go with).

Then floor wax seal to allowed targeted oil washes for the grimy streaking that can be easily changed (unlike acrylic paints).

Then some dark green Sotek Green verdigris and the oxide technical paint (which I have never used) or a weathering powder, then rust powders. etc.

Basically, loads yet if I am doing it properly.

I will be going to the garage soon for reasons below, so I will undercoat the meltagunner and do some preliminary work on him (need to just to a last mold line check and then wash him in soap and water).

A loose plan has formed, I have done an ETB, and next is a reinforcements, if I then do a Heroes 3, then a DI/KNF, then a MP kit I can sort of randomly waddle my way through slowly building blended units. I will select a Heroes 3 next to join the squad - no idea which one.

I also want to do the DI units (not the exact models) as a loose guide and I have ideas for a Lord of Contagion and Noxious Blightbringer conversion(s) (already done several Malignant Plaguecasters).

So, garage reasons:

The Shadows of the Necron or whatever it was included Season 1 Japan only models - so base cast.

Also Season 2 Japan only heavy flamer base and the ancient one - for Blightlords the crater and pocked ones should be good.

Also the Wurmspat and the lumps for Festus' cohorts and the maggot moudns from plaguebearers (I think) - these will be good for Blightlords but also the fairly broad range of 40mm DG "character" models.

I'll be popping these and test casting imminently.

Finally, I ordered these prior to price "adjustment" announcement, glad I did.

I'll be doing some Maggotkin/Rotbringers but wanted bits for converting anything Nurgle really. And some extra ETBs for the possessed which leaves the 70 alone.

And because...

So, the price hike - I looked at Featured (the ones due for "adjustment") and decided I'd buy things that will be affected now that I was going to buy in future. So I also have coming:

2 more Maggotkin (so I can build each one and have so many spare lovely bits)

Glottkin - again, why not, look at it?

2 Start Collecting Maggotkin (so many spare bits and well, the actual models for AoS)

Feculent Gnarlmaw - who doesn't want a Nurgle tree?

2 Beasts of Nurgle (all they had and spare bits)

So all in on Nurgle in all forms - the techniques will be cross transferable, the daemons usable in both settings, and I'll have a lot of Rotbringers for AoS too.

But also oodles of bits for converting all things Nurgle - it will really help with the Land Raider for example.

And if I ever do a Knight...

Edited May 23, 2020 by Marius Perdo