Khorne's Eternal Hunt - KrautScientist's chaotic WIP thread 2024: Suddenly, Death Guard...

[JeffTibbetts]

Really looks great. Surprisingly, the spikes at the end of the Reaper really make it look brutal and they go a long way to chaosifying the silhouette.

 

That chest piece looks so boss. Not only is it clever, but the manufactured look of it ties in quite well with the 'nuts and bolts' practicality of the Knight itself. The whole project is well executed. Bravo.

[NightHunters]

Must not buy a knight.

 

No no no.

 

No knights for me.

 

OK maybe

 

NO! But any more of this awesomness and I may succumb, great work chap!

[KrautScientist]

Thanks a lot, guys!

 

Building this model has been quite a ride, but it's also been a blast! And the constructive feedback I have received here and in my other threads have really helped me to improve this model, which is awesome!

 

 

So, the changes to the model start happening in increments, which is always a surefire way of telling the model approaches completion. Let's take a look:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/23/632057-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Knight%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Harrowthorne%2C%20Imperial%20Knight.JPG

As you can see, the gun arm is now in place. I have not yet glued on the actual gun barrel, and it's really easy to pop it on and off -- maybe I should just keep the weapons exhangeable -- at least the barrels?

What I really like about the model right now is that, while it’s still clearly identifiable as a Knight Titan, the various chaotic details and added armour have managed to alter the model’s silhouette quite a bit. Let’s have a look at a couple of different angles:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/23/632059-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Knight%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Harrowthorne%2C%20Imperial%20Knight.JPG

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/23/632060-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Knight%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Harrowthorne%2C%20Imperial%20Knight.JPG

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/23/632061-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Knight%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Harrowthorne%2C%20Imperial%20Knight.JPG

Here's a picture with a better mockup of the banner, this time with an icon of chaos added on top:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/23/632062-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Knight%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Harrowthorne%2C%20Imperial%20Knight.JPG

However, like I said earlier, I don't think this will become a permanent part of the model.

All those small additions notwithstanding, I am very aware that there’s a danger of overcluttering the model which would make it lose visual coherency. Therefore, I will try to restrain myself and only add a couple of bitz to the weapon arms in order to tie them together with the rest of the model. At this point, these are the additions I am planning:

- the cannon will get the aforementioned daemon face as a muzzle

- maybe a couple of chains dangling from the Knight's weapons

- Daniel Grundy pointed out over on my blog that the piece of carapace directly above the head seems curiously empty and clean, so I will add some chaotic decoration there in order to get rid of the "white space"

- I'll take another look at the shin armour and decide whether it needs more work

In any case, I am confident that the next version of the model I'll post here will be the finished conversion.


Now if you'll indulge me, I'd like to ramble a bit, in closing: One thing I realised is how this model – and the last two years in the hobby, really – have changed my outlook on conversion projects, especially when it comes to big models:

When I got back into the hobby in 2010, I was mostly used to working with regular, infantry sized models. A Terminator seemed huge to me back then, and I remember that converting and painting my first Dreadnought seemed like an enormous undertaking. Then came a Defiler, a Basilisk, a Heldrake, the Wargrinder, and, lastly, the Knight, and without even noticing it, I grew more and more comfortable working with bigger models.

Now when I recently picked up a Black Reach Dreadnought in an ebay auction, I realised that it took me about fifteen minutes of messing around with a couple of bitz to produce something that would have taken me ages to complete a couple of years ago:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/23/632067-Assault%20On%20Black%20Reach%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Dreadnought.JPG

Now this guy is very, very WIP at the moment, and none of this has been glued together yet. In fact, I am not even sure whether the completed Dread will end up looking like this or completely different. I am just showing it to you to illustrate my point: That things that used to feel like the absolute pinnacle of my hobby achievements can now be accomplished in a short break between working on bigger things — a pretty cool feeling, actually ;)

So, I would be very interested in hearing any feedback on my Chaos Knight you might have! Let me know what you think  :)

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/23/632058-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Knight%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Harrowthorne%2C%20Imperial%20Knight.JPG

[Augustus b'Raass]

Kraut, I love it. I really appreciate your updates - and the way you take us along your process. It's really wonderful how you have included us into this project. The conversion is still totally yours, but you have gotten and processed some very useful feedback from your readers - which again shows how awesome this forum is. Now, onto the knight. I personally think the legs are fine as they are. Everything about this conversion is killer and I am totally stealing several of your ideas. I agree with your ideas about the weapons. Don't overcrowd it. Also, Daniel Grundy has a point. Perhaps some plasticard banding? 

 

Great work man, I can't wait to see this bad boy finished. 

[KrautScientist]

Thanks for the kind words, mate! And feel free to steal all the ideas you need -- the prospect of seeing a (Chaos) Knight in your thread makes me giddy with anticipation ;)

 

As for the armour plate above the head, I may already have found a solution for that. Take a look:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/23/632071-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Knight%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Harrowthorne%2C%20Imperial%20Knight.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/23/632072-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Knight%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Harrowthorne%2C%20Imperial%20Knight.JPG

 

I just used some leftover pieces from the warshrine kit, which had the added benefit of reusing a visual element that already appears on the Knight's shoulder pads.

[Teetengee]

Looks good, but it seems to be on a little crooked to me. But yes that should work.

[Battybattybats]

That addition to the 'hood' of the knight's head is excellent!

[Biohazard]

The latest addition almost gives the impression of a crown over the knights head. I like it.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Yeah that works like a charm. 

[JeffTibbetts]

I just want to comment on your revelation about conversion. :D 

 

I agree completely, in that I would never have seen myself undertaking such a radical conversion as my own Knight, or what you did with yours, a couple of years ago. I've been comfortable with reposing, bit-swapping, kit-bashing etc. for a long time in the hobby, but only recently have I gotten into anything resembling scratch-building, sculpting in earnest, molding and casting, etc. I surprised myself by how quickly I took out the jeweler's saw when I got my Knight kit home, a little bit. I had pre-planned my conversion before getting the kit in the first place using rumor site pics and then the sprue pics when GW put it on the site. If you would have told me 5 years ago that I'd start hacking apart a $140 model within an hour of owning it, I'd have said you were nuts. It's funny how, even if we think we're making slow progress, our skills are always increasing and we're growing as hobbyists. It's been such a richly rewarding experience to not only see what I can do, but how much I can learn from others. I was trained in university to be a teacher, but really good teachers are just great learners and I thank the B&C for being such an excellent forum for education. Watching projects come together through WIP posts, no matter whose they are, is about the coolest thing in the entire hobby for me. 

 

Thanks for making me take a moment out of a very stressful couple of weeks to think about why I love this game so much. My Knight, and the many inspiring Knights I've seen here on the board, has really re-invigorated my hobby interest. 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Hear hear, JeffTibbetts!

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, guys! Glad you like the additions to the cowl! :)

 

@ Teetengee: It's only crooked because neither the head nor the plate above it have been pemarnently attached yet -- I'll leave them like that until after they've been painted.

 

@ JeffTibbett's: In all honesty, I haven't been nearly as adventurous with my Knight conversion as you, but I still hear what you're saying. In fact, I'd like to add one more point: I always find it supremely baffling when people complaining about the cost of our hobby end their tirade with something like "and then you have to assemble and paint it yourself, too!" Now there are certainly days when I don't feel like painting, but, seriously, the time working on the kit is actual hobby time as well, not some unwelcome gauntlet to be endured, but really a way to get creative and wring the last drop of fun out of that expensive plastic crack ;)

[Teetengee]

Exactly my policy with my land raider! I totally agree that people forget the time spent building is perhaps on of the most enjoyable parts!!! (Which seems strange as no one bats an eye at model car collectors even though there is no game to go along with those (that I know of))

[Andromonoid]

I really agree with JeffTibbetts about how ones mindset can change and how one gets braver to slice apart your expensive models. I learned a lot the last year and been slowly converting and slicing more and more, if I had some green stuff at home I would try and do even more. It is threads like this one (excellent work as always Krautscientist) that have inspired me and made me realize that the best result comes from what I can cook up in my mind when I start thinking of how I can combine and reshape things.

[JeffTibbetts]

 

@ JeffTibbett's: In all honesty, I haven't been nearly as adventurous with my Knight conversion as you, but I still hear what you're saying. In fact, I'd like to add one more point: I always find it supremely baffling when people complaining about the cost of our hobby end their tirade with something like "and then you have to assemble and paint it yourself, too!" Now there are certainly days when I don't feel like painting, but, seriously, the time working on the kit is actual hobby time as well, not some unwelcome gauntlet to be endured, but really a way to get creative and wring the last drop of fun out of that expensive plastic crack

 

Precisely! I wrote a blog post not long ago at all expounding how much more I like assembly and conversion than any other aspect of the hobby. I'm a modeler first, painter second, and gamer a distant third. I get that not everyone is like me, but I sure as heck enjoy this all more when I have my priorities sorted out in my head. If I gamed more often, things might be different. When I started this hobby back in the late 80's in the Midwestern US, I really didn't have a anything resembling a gaming group. Just one brother with whom I could push models around a ping-pong table and roll some dice. Okay, a lot of dice back in RT days... I used to be all about painting and I liked it pretty well, but over the years I've totally shifted places and I just like putting the dang things together. I wish I could do just assembly commissions. I'd do that in a heartbeat as a side job. 

[Skrundle87]

I keep running out of ways to say it but this guy is looking kick Ass, I like what you've done with the armour plate above the head . What else can I say, I wish that both you and Jeff had done your a first so I could steal your ideas hahaha

[KrautScientist]

Well, I can only say I agree with all of you: Not only is converting and kitbashing an immensely enjoyable pasttime, but only by continuously tackling new projects can we stretch our wings and finally be able to tackle conversions we could only have dreamed of before.

 

@ skrundle: Mate, don't say that! Your mutated Knight gave me so many awesome ideas that I'm not even sure I would have started my project without seeing yours first: The idea of adding those warshrine bitz to the shoulder pads, the padlocked hatch in the back, the list goes on and on. Your model has really been a trailblazer in that respect, and whatever Jeff or I can cook up, yours will still look awesome, so don't fret!

[KrautScientist]

Whoops, double post. Sorry ;)

Edited July 23, 2014 by KrautScientist

[Montuhotep]

That's a point, where did that padlock come from?

[Rift Blade]

Figured I should say that I really like your thread. Your conversions are inspiring & if I didn't love my wolves so much, I'd play Chaos just for the conversion potential. Please keep it up.

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, guys!

 

@ Paladin7221: It's a padlocked hatch from the Defiler kit -- I cut off the original reactor with the Mechanicus logo on it and just placed the hatch on top, in order to make it look more chaotic (and bring it in line with the design of several other daemon engines).

 

@ Rift Blade: Thanks, mate! You know, if you're ever feeling tempted, there is a way for you to have your cake and eat it too: Chaos Wolves!

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/7/19/518408-Army%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne%27s%20Eternal%20Hunt.jpg

 

Just sayin'...

Edited July 23, 2014 by KrautScientist

[Montuhotep]

Thanks very much - are you also willing to tell where you got the 'cowl' piece from for just above the knight's head?

[Skrundle87]

Cheers mate that means alot, can't wait to tackle the next conversion.

 

Like the rest of you I find immense joy in converting- giving, receiving feedback and ideas

 

I've always wanted to do chaos wolves, can't believe I never noticed yours

Edited July 24, 2014 by Skrundle87

[recon0321]

Alright, update time:The funniest thing happened: While working on those Plague Marines, I caught a really bad case of the flu. Now whether this is a sign of Nurgle's favour or wrath, I cannot say, but it surely is one hell of a coincidence, isn't it ;)Anyway, today I want to show you a proper World Eater again, lest Khorne grow too angry with me for this lack of respect ;) Some of you may already have wondered whether my recent focus on Plague Marines had made me forget about the 4th assault company altogether. Far from it! In fact, thoughts of Khorne’s Eternal Hunt have been slowly coagulating at the back of my head, and the recent rumours of possible new plastic kits to be released for Chaos Space Marines have only added to that pile of half-formed ideas. What’s more, I could never abandon this army, especially not in favour of followers of weak and inferior gods. Anyway, it’s time for another servant of Khorne to grace this blog! So, for now, let me show you a project that actually started quite a long while ago, but that only finally came to fruition in the last weeks:Back in late 2012, I watched The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey – as, no doubt, many of you did. And one of the most interesting things about the film, at least in my opinion, was Azog. His character design had been kept a closely-guarded secret just up to the release of the model, and so he became one of the visually more surpising elements of the film, and one that really inspired me: There was something about that pale, overmuscled creature and the sheer audacity of going into battle stripped to the waist that really made me think of the World Eaters’ gladiatorial leanings — and as a matter of fact, I had already begun exploring that angle with my first gladiator models:http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/7/17/517862-Berzerker%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Gladiator%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne's%20Etermal%20Hunt.JPGBut what if I were to take that idea even further? What about a model straddling the line between those gladiatorial World Eaters and Azog? The idea fascinated me, to be honest! And the model resulting from such a project would be the perfect character to lead a squad of gladiators in battle.The next step towards transforming these half-baked ideas into an actual model was coming across kevinholcomb’s Angron conversion on CMoN. He had used the upper body of Hasslefree Miniatures’ “Wolf” barbarian model to great effect in order to come up with a model very similar to the look I was trying to achieve. So while ordering stuff via a big German hobby retailer some time ago, I picked up one of these as well, just in case:http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584940_sm-Hasslefree%20Miniatures%2C%20Wolf%2C%20Work%20In%20Progress.JPGI really love this sculpt, because while the model has the ‘roided-out look expected of an Astartes, there is also a certain nobility, even dignity, in both the pose and the face (on a mostly unrelated note, I found out by sheer coincidence that the model looks amazingly similar to this particular picture of Nathan Jones ).But I still needed to find a suitable lower body for the model, and experimenting with various Terminator legs didn’t amount to much. So the project seemd to be on indefinite hold……until it picked up steam again when I purchased a rather beat-up, incomplete metal Abaddon as part of a bigger ebay auction:http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584938_sm-Abbaddon%2C%20Metal%2C%20Work%20In%20Progress.JPGAs you can see, even after I had stripped the paint off it, the model remained pretty rough in places, and there was also the fact that the Abaddon model looks rather puny when placed next to more recent Terminators. So the model was basically surplus to requirements — until I put it next to the Hasslefree barbarian:http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584939_sm-Gladiator%20Lord%20WIP%2004.JPGDear old Abby might no longer cut it as a model in tactical dreadnought armour, but what if I were to use the legs as part of my Azog-inspired conversion to represent power armoured legs for a giant of an Astartes instead? Things just fell into place at this point…One thing bothered me, though: Both models were made from metal, and I am certainly not a fan of conversions involving all-metal models. But this time, there seemed to be no easy way around that, so I started sawing. The first part was to slowly disassemble poor Abaddon piece by piece, so as not to damage any of the parts I wanted too heavily:http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584941_sm-Gladiator%20Lord%20WIP%2003.JPG - The so-called Warmaster of Chaos, armless once more... -Then I cut off the barbarian’s legs model, unfortunately taking off part of his lower stomach as well. Both halves were then pinned together using a piece of paperclip:http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584942_sm-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Gladiator%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne's%20Eternal%20Hunt.JPGAs you can see, both parts of the model had been slightly damaged during the sawing, so a touchup with liquid GS would be in order. Before that, though, I greenstuffed a stomach section to fill the gap between upper and lower body. Then I used some more GS to sculpt a Triumph Rope scar for the torso.  And this obviously wouldn’t be one of my conversions without some additional plastic bitz stuck on. Here’s the finished conversion before painting:http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584943_sm-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Gladiator%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne's%20Eternal%20Hunt.JPGI added a double-headed battle axe to the model — the bit, originally from the Marauder Horsemen kit, had been lounging in my bitzbox for quite a while, and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to finally make good use of it! I also added a CSM shoulder pad and a Marauder shield to the left arm, both because I liked the asymmetrical look and because it was a nice way of making the guy look at least slightly more plausible. Most of the damage to the model was also repaired using Liquid GS.When it came to painting the model, I really stuck to my usual formula, content in the knowledge that the contrast between the bare torso and armoured legs would make for an interesting effect. This being the first World Eaters model I painted in quite a while, the paintjob turned out slightly rough around the edges, but I didn’t mind too much.So here he is, ladies and gentlemen:http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584948-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Gladiator%2C%20Huntmaster.JPGhttp://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584944-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Gladiator%2C%20Huntmaster.JPGhttp://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584946-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Gladiator%2C%20Huntmaster.JPGhttp://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584947-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Gladiator%2C%20Huntmaster.JPGBeing my first (and quite likely my last) conversion involving metal models like this, I do of course realise that the model could look smoother. I am not to bothered with that, however, because I think that the overall effect still comes across rather nicely.But who is this half-dressed giant of a man? As usual, figuring out a background for the model was the last stage of the project:http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584945-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Gladiator%2C%20Huntmaster.JPGVorl Dustwalker, Lord of the PitSome members of the War Hounds Astartes Legion may have loathed the brutal, gladiatorial style of warfare introduced by the Primarch Angron, but Vorl Dustwalker was not one of them. Even before the legion’s reunion with its Primarch, he had already established himself as a master of the fighting style that would become a trademark of the legion in later years. On the War Hounds’ vassal world of Bodt, Vorl was one of the Astartes tasked with training the legionaries in combat at close quarters. And many mighty champions of the World Eaters still hold in their hearts a feeling of shame at being brought low by him during sparring matches, the acrid taste of Bodt’s volcanic soil still etched into their memory as a reminder of their failure.After gladiatorial fighting had become one of the mainstays of the World Eaters’ cobbled-together warrior culture, Vorl became known as the Dustwalker, a legend in the fighting pits, almost on par with mighty Delvarus, the legion’s uncontested champion on the Hot Dust.How the Dustwalker came to be a member of Lorimar’s 4th assault company after the madness at Skalathrax is difficult to ascertain. But ever since, he has been serving as a combat instructor and an insurmountable contestant in the fighting pits nestled in the bowels of the company’s capital ship.Vorl Dustwalker is not often seen outside the pits, for ordinary fights tend to be beneath his notice. Once the Dustwalker’s interest is piqued by a battle or an adversary, however, he may take to the field, accompanied by a coterie of his most talented gladiators. Their only partly armoured bodies and comparatively primitive weapons are both a mockery of their opponents and a testament to their skill, and Vorl is the first among these capricious warriors.http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/14/584949-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Gladiator%2C%20Huntmaster.JPGAs always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!  :)

 

Are those marauders torso's? Aside from azog....Jesus great work again

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, guys!

 

@ Paladin7221: The cowl piece itself is the stock bit from the Imperial Knight kit. The "chaotic" decoration I put on top of that are some shaved down parts from the warshrine kit. I used the same element on the shoulder pads, as you can see in some of the photos. The warshrine kit comes with quite a few of these decorative bitz, and if you manage to cut them apart in the right places (something I learned from skrundle's thread), you'll be able to get quite a bit of mileage out of those!

 

@ skrundle: Well, you might be forgiven for not noticing my chaos wolves any earlier, seeing how there are only four painted models right now, plus a couple of unpainted conversions ;)

 

@ recon0321: Cheers! Those are indeed Marauder torsos: They fit pretty well with only a minor bit of cutting.