Khorne's Eternal Hunt - KrautScientist's chaotic WIP thread 2024: Baby steps...

[Firedrake Cordova]

Maybe I don't have the most critical eye, but struggle to find anything "wrong" with what you produce, @KrautScientist and @YannTheMad.  

 

7 hours ago, YannTheMad said:

I'm not big of a commenter because I struggle a little with english (second language issue).

Honestly, I wouldn't have known English was your second language if you hadn't have said  

 

7 hours ago, YannTheMad said:

Anyway, I think the icon is a good idea to make the dread a little beefier. With all the new models dreads kinda look a little to small to me. I would love a new chaos dreadnaught model ... as big as the new primaris dreads. That why I prefere the decimator model.

I wasn't familiar with that model ... it does indeed look good! It reminds me of the old 2nd Edition chaos dreadnought, whilst being obviously different  

[Khornestar]

Nice take on the classic dread, especially the personal touches.

[frankendoodle65]

I've been waiting to see what you do with the eightbound, looks like you're off to a great start! 

[Gederas]

I'm still upset having missed the Chaos boxnoaughts from FW. The little icon looks good though!

 

And yeah, the Eightbound are... Weird. Personally, I find their fluff the biggest "huh, bwuh?" of it all, but yeah. The changes you did are subtle, but work well.

[Naryn]

One of the first Eightbound models I've liked! I always assumed it was one of those kits that was only good for bits. Great work! Is that a Terminator shoulder pad on the left arm?

[KrautScientist]

Cheers for the comments, everyone! On the amount of comments/activity on the forum, yes, I had noticed. One thing that I profoundly disliked even before my hiatus, though, was to substitute Likes for actual interaction, and that seems to have become even worse. I don't want to really get into the weeds on this topic, though, so suffice it to say that I'll take even a short comment over a Like or a Heart any day! And that also includes comments from non-native speakers, of course, @YannTheMad -- after all, English isn't my own first language either!

 

As for the Eightbound, like I said, it's a slightly weird kit, mostly because there are such awesome parts to it (the general idea of massive World Eaters legionaries swollen with chaotic power, the crazy amount of unneeded detail, such as the fully realised bare torso pieces. And then there's the dodgy stuff: Some of the weapons. The way the kit seems limited when it's really not -- I am probably the last person to realise this, but are you guys aware that basically all of the arms are interchangeable between models? You can basically use each right arm on each of the models. GW's official photos of the models, as well as the assembly instructions, are doing a very poor job of advertising that fact, as they always go for the exact same combination of parts, even on duplicate models...

 

And yeah, there's the fluff -- although that part can happily be ignored. I am in the somewhat fortuitous situation that these guys perfectly fit my army's fluff, in that I already had the "Lost Brethren" (basically my army's monicker for Possessed), those members of the 4th assault company so swollen with the powers of chaos and/or covered in mutation and chaotic gifts that they are separated from the saner parts of the force, and really expected to go out in a blaze of glory and find an honourable death on the battlefield sooner rather than later. And the Eightbound models are a perfect option for a modernised version of these guys!

 

Anyway, my mission with the models is to choose my favourite combination of parts, add a few tweaks here and there and straighten out some of the parts of the stock models that I don't like.

 

So here's the second model from the kit:

 

 

 

The main tweak to this model was to open up the pose a bit by changing the way the model is holding the axe: These guys look like massive, chaotic gladiators, so I wanted the pose to look as challenging as possible -- as though the model were facing down a prospective opponent.

 

 

 

Messing around with the axe arm also had the added benefit of allowing me to have the axe chained to the model's wrist, via one of those chain manacles that I spliced in while I was tweaking the arm. I do think it looks pretty good, to be honest.

 

 

When it came to the model's face, I chose one of the more daemonic visages again. And I swapped in an extra shoulder pad -- mostly as a placeholder for now, but I really like the way it complements the model's silhouette: The head with its crest of Butcher's Nails seems to emerge as though from within a shell in a somewhat reptilian, almost saurian way. And I think the heavily muscled, bare arms are still visible enough to sell the gladiatorial look.

 

 

As for the third model, I mostly went with the stock option of assembly:

 

 

 

I really liked the rebreather head, so I wanted to include it. The most important change I made was to replace the somewhat hokey original sword with something that looked a bit less like a softball racket and more like an actual chainsword (it was converted from the chainglaive that comes with the kit, with a few tweaks and changed parts).

 

 

 

 

And that concludes mit experimentation with the Eightbound kit, at least for now. Here's what the squad looks like:

 

 

As always, let me know what you think!

[apologist]

Looking good! While they weren’t a kit that really caught my eye, I thought the Eightbound were still a fun set of models. The changes you’ve made are subtle, clean and improving – particularly to the weapons.

 

Thanks for the info on how modular the arms are; I did find it peculiar how GW so rarely showcase the variety that is possible. (Just take the various Adeptus Titanicus Titans, for example.)

 

If you have the chance, I’d love to see how your Eightbound stack up next to some of your other troops – and if you decide to go for another set, I’d love to see some more variety in heads; perhaps helms?

[Firedrake Cordova]

Very nice work. You're going to have a unique and very good-looking army when you're done.  And you are going to let us see a group shot, aren't you?  

 

It's interesting (and disappointing) that GW isn't highlighting the interchangeability of parts in their recent kit - thanks for highlighting that!

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, guys!

 

@apologist Thanks a lot! The models are MASSIVE, slightly taller than Terminators -- I'll post a comparison ASAP. As for potential additions to the squad, my plan is to buy a set of the new Possessed Chaos Space Marines (because I really love some of the designs) and splice-in quite a few leftover Eightbound bitz (and stuff from my bitz box) to turn them into more members of the "Lost Brethren", rather than just buy another box of Eightbound. That seems like the best of both worlds to me, really, and it'll also make sure that there are some helmeted models as well (my plan is to use at least some of the Possessed helmeted heads, but replace the horns with Caedere Remissum crests).

 

@Firedrake Cordova I think GW is trying to streamline the crafts aspects of the hobby to make it more inviting and accessible, and that's not a bad thing, in and of itself. I do however have two gripes with it: One, try as you might, tinkering and building and painting will ALWAYS be at the heart of this hobby, and there's no obscuring that fact. Making it welcoming for people is great, but you also have to be upfront about the challenges -- and opportunities! Two, more and more of GW's kits will basically give you the same three models over and over, if you're not careful. The Eightbound are a prime example: I thought they weren't really modular at all, but there are indeed quite a few options: The arms are interchangeable, each of the torso armour sets - almost - works on each of the bodies. That kind of complexity isn't a problem, it should be embraced and advertised, especially when the main bodies of the models remain the same.

 

 

EDIT: Here's the promised scale comparison shot:

 

 

Left to right: Standard Khorne Berzerker from the new kit, converted Chaos Terminator (2019 kit), Eightbound, Big Daddy Lorimar (based on Abaddon)

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by KrautScientist

[Grotsmasha]

22 hours ago, KrautScientist said:

You can basically use each right arm on each of the models. GW's official photos of the models, as well as the assembly instructions, are doing a very poor job of advertising that fact, as they always go for the exact same combination of parts, even on duplicate models...

 

I've found this to be true of a lot of GWs newer kits/instructions. There's quite a lot more variance available straight from the kits than the instructions indicate, Sisters kits immediately come to  mind.

[Gederas]

They very much look good. I'm surprised though: With your like of gladiatorial theming that you didn't do one in the "sun's out, guns out" option they have ie: leaving them stripped to the waist

 

It's how I'm doing the Exalted Eightbound for my own World Eaters

[Prim]

Great looking Khornate psychos. There's nothing better than modifying minis and kitbashing to really give your army an identity.

 

The eightbound kits look like they have a lot of potential for producing cool looking minis. I can't wait to see what you do with these fellows and the possessed.

[YannTheMad]

Those are the best eigthbounds I've seen so far ^^

That being said, there's still something a little off with those models... I do think the original scultps are to blame not your work.

I would love to see one with an actual helmet. A bolter round to the head is still pretty bad after all, even for a possessed psycho super soldier.

Nice kitbash nevertheless ^^

[Pearson73]

The Eightbound look solid, I really hadn't realised how big they are! I also initially dismissed the kit as looking a bit off, but even these small tweaks (and seeing them in bare plastic) has highlighted how nice some of the details are. 

[BadgersinHills]

Love them!! 

[KrautScientist]

Cheers for the comments, everyone! I really appreciate it!

 

@Grotsmasha Definitely! And while I have been a converter and kitbasher for most of my hobby life, I feel myself being drawn towards just re-building what is described in the instructions sheet, which feels like dangerous complacency on my part That being said, I think it really wouldn't hurt for GW to advertise how relatively modular these kits still are -- this used to be an advantage in a kit, after all, right?!

 

@Gederas Cheers, man! That is a VERY fair question, and one I may not even have a good answer to, because I love the fact that those models have fully realised & detailed bare torso pieces! I think it ultimately comes down to the fact that I really like the armoured bulk of them when they are fully geared up AND the fact that these are basically intended to replace my old Possessed, which were also fully armoured, yet had grotesquely swollen (or mutated) arms:

 

 

I think the Eightbound, as I have built them, really work pretty well as an update for the original squad, wouldn't you agree?

 

@YannTheMad Yeah, helmeted versions would be a cool next step. I have to be honest, though: I really love the fully realised, dreadlock-style Butcher's Nails on these, as well as the slightly demonic faces, so I really wanted to keep them visible on the first three models. And given the fact that my next addition to the squad would be some converted Possessed CSM (most of whom ARE wearing helmets), I thought it would be cool to keep the heads bare on the first few models. 

 

@Prim @Pearson73 @BadgersinHills Cheers, guys!

 

Meanwhile, I have been messing around with some of the leftover bitz:

 

 

 

Right now, this is just the loosest, earliest mockup you could possibly imagine, but I think there may be something there: As you can see, I combined an AoS Slaughterpriest body with some leftover Eightbound parts, and I do think the general look so far is rather promising.

 

As always, let me know what you think!

[Naryn]

New conversion looks really solid! The lines of the model flow really well.

[Pearson73]

Oh this new chap is excellent! Love the sense of challenge he exudes, and I'm a sucker for the forward-braced pose bearing a longer weapon.

[Volgon]

I'm a BIG fan of the AoS Slaughterpriest. I've seen a number of conversions using that as a base for Khârn or a Master of Executions and it always turns out great. It has such an imposing...pose that just works great for Characters. This could be a really cool opportunity to go all in on an Eightbound, maybe make him the "leader" of your warband's Eightbound contingent, with all the bells and whistles that come with command?

Edited May 28, 2023 by Volgon

[YannTheMad]

Ooooooh I'm a sucker for 2 handed weapons, that eightbound is gonna be great.

 

And true, csm possessed are mostly wearing helmets. I'm curious to see what you're gonna to "khornify" them. I'm also curious how the eightbound vs possessed parts are going to mix and if their scale will match.

 

And I agree, the demonic looking faces are great (looks like tiny Angron, so that make a lot of sense). I don't care much for the regular ones thought. Maybe some warcry unmade facemask with added rebreather ? The butcher nails would still be visible. 

[BadgersinHills]

Lovely! The slaughterpriest body works really well with the Eightbound bits.

[Shovellovin]

Echoing others here, I wasn’t initially impressed the the eightbound models but you’ve changed my mind. Also, good to hear that they are more modular than advertised. 
 

As to your most recent model; bravo! I love the menacing pose. Do you have any plans to add a skull or two to his weapon? He has skulls on his backpack and is standing on a skull but you can’t ever have too many IMO. 
 

These models really make me hope for an updated mutilator kit to be released in the future. 

[Galloway]

On 5/24/2023 at 4:59 PM, KrautScientist said:

Cheers for the comments, everyone! On the amount of comments/activity on the forum, yes, I had noticed. One thing that I profoundly disliked even before my hiatus, though, was to substitute Likes for actual interaction, and that seems to have become even worse. I don't want to really get into the weeds on this topic, though, so suffice it to say that I'll take even a short comment over a Like or a Heart any day! 

 

As someone very guilty of this myself, just wanted to say that I've enjoyed your work and blog for a long time, and it really helped me get into embracing conversion and kitbashing for myself. You've also got one of the very few World Eater/Khorne armies that have every really worked for me, and always a treat to see what you come up with...including latest Eightbound.

[Gnasher]

I'm like Galloway, this thread has proved a constant delight, I just feel that my non sensical posting would just clutter the thread.

[KrautScientist]

Cheers for the kind words, everyone! And seeing how you all seem to really dig the latest, Slaughterpriest-based Eightbound kitbash, here's an update on that model, as I have been putting a bit more work into it.

 

There's still a ton of work (especially GS work) to be done, but the build itself has been noticeably cleaned up now, and I think I have also come up with a pretty promising approach for that "toothy" cowl behind the head. Take a look:

 

 

 

 

 

And here's another comparison shot with a "proper" Eightbound -- I think the kitbashed guy measures up rather nicely, to be honest.

 

 

This is still very much about figuring out the basic build, by the way: The detail work, added skulls and tweaks will come later...

 

As always, let me know what you think!

Edited May 31, 2023 by KrautScientist