DuskRaider's 40K Nurgle - An Experiment in Flesh and Machine

[DuskRaider]

Update 8/6/2018: LINKS TO TUTORIALS

 

ARMOUR RECIPE

FLESH RECIPE

 

 

Hey all,
What a year so far for our hobby! If you told me a couple years ago that GW would do such a 180 from their course at that point in time, I would have laughed. But here we are with a very promising future, not just for the gamer but the hobbyist. I would have never believed we'd see dedicated armies for the likes of Harlequin, Genestealer Cult, and now Legion-dedicated forces.

Which brings me to this topic and it's title. I started this game back in 2003 knowing nothing about the background, how it was played... anything. I remember when I was much younger watching guys battle it out with tanks in dense city ruins at an old store long since closed and ever since wanting to know more.

So I took the plunge. I started with Death Guard because the idea of space zombies was too cool to resist, being a big Romero fan. I was also lucky enough to start right around when 3.5 dropped, so I began my journey into Chaos in it's golden age.

My first army was... interesting. Knowing nothing of the Legion's background, I painted them green like GW told me to. They had blue skin to match the undead in the original Dawn of the Dead as an homage. God, they were ugly. As time progressed, I soaked up all knowledge of the XIVth, learned of their tragic fall, their favored tactics, and so on. I repainted the army in a (rather poor) Pre-Heresy scheme around 2005.

I had amassed a massive force (all metal models, of course), taking advantage of various local hobby stores going out of business or selling off their GW models. Around 2008 or so, FW had begun their Siege of Vraks series and with it some great models and upgrade kits. At that point, I began to completely rebuild the army using the Death Guard upgrade kits. My painting technique began to improve and so the new scheme was much better than it's predecessor, and I believe I have an OLD thread lurking somewhere on here from around that time.

The gaming portion of the hobby began to stale. The holy scripture that was 3.5 was phased out in favor of the bland 4th Edition codex. As far as things went, I suppose I made out the best of that bad situation, with Plague Marines become even more powerful at the cost of everything else losing all flavor. I made do and eagerly awaited the next edition's book as the response to 4th was universally panned. Then 5th came. Nothing.

The 6th Edition codex dropped at the time of the new edition itself being released, and... wow. What a disappointment. I was pleased to see Plague Zombies make an appearance, but the rest just felt like a reprint of the previous book. With this unfortunate situation and FW releasing Horus Heresy, I closed the book on my Chaos Death Guard, seemingly forever.

Over time, I sold most of the army off. I had moved onto 30K Death Guard, I had no need for Nurgle.

But... Well, now here we are. A Return to the past. The beginning. It's like meeting an old friend you haven't seen in years.

I must apologize for this massive introduction, but I felt it was necessary to explain how near and dear to my heart the Death Guard truly are. This is my Legion and it feels so good coming back to them after years away.

Of course, things have changed quite a bit, both the army itself and my painting skills. One thing I wanted to avoid was falling into the trap of making the models dull, as I feel occurred with my last iteration and even my 30K Death Guard. I'm not too sure where I'm going with the scheme... I was contemplating avoiding green trim completely in favor of black or even red, but I don't know yet. For now, I've finished the white and am extremely pleased so far. I want to capture another side of Nurgle with brighter, possibly some vibrant colors.

You'll notice on some models I've also dabbled a bit with crackle paint. I didn't want to overdo it, but looking at them I feel perhaps I was a little too conservative with it. I'm okay with that, I have more on the way and perhaps I'll step it up a bit with them.

Enough rambling, I present you the beginning of my new Death Guard army. I'll also be pulling some models out of storage to join these guys on their new Unholy Crusade. Until next time, comments and criticism is greatly appreciated.

COUNT THE SEVEN!

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/20170619_233746_zpsuncaboed.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/20170619_233754_zpsmw2wkene.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/20170619_233801_zps6phw7do4.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/20170619_233808_zpskkrinppd.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/20170619_233812_zpswpxdri2m.jpg

Edited October 30, 2018 by DuskRaider

[Doghouse]

I think you are off to a great start there mate, they are looking very nice. :tu:

[DuskRaider]

Thanks, Doghouse! I should mention, my first FW Death Guard were actually "Doghouse Pattern" from years back, although no where near as nice as yours.

 

Hah! Found the old thread I had from 2009 as well...

 

Blast From My Past

[Marshal Loss]

Looks good mate, keen to see the force progress.

[rednekkboss]

Good looking stuff! I can't wait to get my hands on these minis, mine are still in the mail somewhere.

[DuskRaider]

Thanks for the comments folks, it's greatly appreciated.

 

While I was going to hold off on updating until I had more progress to show, I figured I'd share them now to show my intent.

 

As you'll see, these are quite unconventional when it comes to Death Guard. I wasn't exactly sure where I was going to take this at first, but I had a few prerequisites: I wanted the armour to be white. It had to show signs of corruption, but still retain a degree of brightness to it. I wanted red as a spot color. It didn't have to be on every model, it didn't have to be every icon, but it had to be present in the army. Bright red.

 

Going with those two ideas, I eliminated green from the scheme. I didn't want them to look like Death Guard: Christmas Edition, and quite frankly I'm sick of painting it, having done so for about a decade now. Originally I was going to leave the pauldrons and knee guards white, but decided to go with something else: Black.

 

The catch was I didn't want a flat black as I felt it would do the white a disservice, so I chose to emulate the effect of the white and created a center highlight building from pitch black to a blue-gray. It gives the areas a bit of a pop and it compliments the model as a whole.

 

As you can also see, I've begun the trim on these. It WILL be worn down, much the same way I do my Word Bearers.

 

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

 

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/20170622_012946_zpsys3sebra.jpg

 

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/20170622_012953_zpsjs3fom6s.jpg

 

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/20170622_013000_zpsusgequd8.jpg

 

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/20170622_013005_zpslshtbzdz.jpg

[DuskRaider]

Well no thanks to Photobucket completely screwing me over, I haven't posted any WIP shots of my progress. I've since switched to Imgur and can thankfully post my completed (sans bases) Death Guard for your viewing pleasure as well as comments and suggestions. I'm now beginning work on the first 20 Poxwalkers while also assembling the next 20 Walkers along with 7 more Plague Marines, converting them as I go along to attempt to get some differentiation between the two batches. I've also assembled two converted Noxious Blightbringers last week but am only now having a chance to post them. I've got to say, after playing a few games with these guys they're well worth the trouble. 

 

Enough words, let's get to the pictures...

 

http://i.imgur.com/UMQmti5h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NLrPg1Zh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/s5HOdr4h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/44mTkIUh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/098PNRSh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/DTfYF2uh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/t8mQGQEh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4Vl5rLfh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2Gd49d6h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/WPMSg1xh.jpg

 

And now for some WIP... the Blightbringers...

 

http://i.imgur.com/YD0hs9rh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/AFSdjlih.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bNo8A9Nh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/vqmnSuHh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MkeUi06h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/qLDniPBh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/21WKsJ2h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jDunnYfh.jpg

[Brother Desultor]

Suitably pestilent looking - great job. I also really like the 2 WIP figures with the bells - very creative.

[Brother Aiwass]

Love the corrupted druid feeling of the Plaguecasters(?)!

[DuskRaider]

Thanks guys! I wanted to go with a corrupted yet colorful approach this time around without going too cartoony-clean ala GW. I'm pretty pleased with the result thus far.

 

As far as the WIP guys, those are the Blightbringers. They're the ones who buff Death Guard movement as well as de-buff enemy Leadership. Quite a boon to the army, I must say, especially when coupled with the Plaguecaster and / or Typhus also using their buffs and de-buffs (and giving the Poxwalkers Strength / Toughness 4 in the case of Typhus). I just didn't want to use multiples of the same model verbatim if I could help it, it's bad enough with the zombies. I completely forgot about the Bloat Drone as well, which is horrible since it's been the MVP so far, so I'm also finishing that sucker up as well as working on the Walkers. I hope to have another update soonish, if anything just pics of the modified second batch of Plague Marines and Walkers. 

[Vairocanum]

Those Blightbringer conversions look fantastic! Love the uniqueness you've given each one, looking forward to seeing other conversions you do with the DG!

[chaplain cy]

I love how you've gone with the white armour. It's something you don't see a lot of!!

[DuskRaider]

Thank you! I've been painting my Death Guard in the Pre-Heresy scheme for a decade now, but its always been cracked, chipped and rusted (you may be able to go to my Photobucket and see them), but I needed something different to give me the motivation to do these guys, so I went with... I won't say a cleaner white, but definitely a brighter one. It's a fine line between bright and dirty and dull and dirty, it doesn't take much to make them too dull. I saved that for their Plague weaponry instead.

[DuskRaider]

Hey folks, back again with another update... this time it's the next seven Plague Marines. I've gone about attempting to make them a little different from the first seven as to avoid duplicate model syndrome. Some were simple weapon swaps, others were a bit more intensive. As you can also see, I've went with the Power Fist / Plasma Gun combo on my Champion since we've learned it's a legal combo. I've always loved Plasma Guns in my Death Guard army, even though they cannot save themselves from Gets Hot! anymore. So here we are... I'll post the Poxwalkers up once the remaining ten have also been converted. Thanks for looking!

 

http://i.imgur.com/S9AkYTah.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/LbzyLcyh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/N0gtdJYh.jpg

[Brother Desultor]

Looking VERY good

[chaplain cy]

I like that you've tried to make the single pose models work! It can be a pain to do. I'm a huge fan of plasma guns and pistols, and it's nice to see these minis getting some love like this! 

 

Are you planning on doing some Rhino's with them as well?

[DuskRaider]

Thanks! I've decided to wait to invest in Rhinos at this point in time, as it seems the Plague Burster may have a transport variant as well. I sold off all of my Death Guard Rhinos a while back, but I have a few Deimos pattern from me 30K Death Guard that I may use instead (along with a Proteus I started converting a looong time ago for my previous iteration of Chaos Death Guard and a Spartan). I suppose it all depends what they get when the official codex drops.

[DuskRaider]

Update time, now in the form of completed Poxwalkers. The first 20 are now officially done and with them I've almost completed the starter box set. There's an immense amount of detail on these models, something that took me by surprise. I took my time on these, focusing on the flesh of each model while trying to make most of the other components, such as the clothing and weaponry, painted to detail while also ensuring they take a backseat to the skin itself and as such I chose more drab or neutral colors. I also had to keep in mind that I intend to field another 60 or so of these guys so I didn't want to burn myself out.

 

I'll be moving onto the Drone now which I've been dreading. There's so much metal on it that it's annoying. I was considering going to easy route and using rust instead of proper steel, but I don't feel like cutting corners (as tempting as it is). So here you go... first horde of shamblers. Comments and criticism are, as always, quite welcome!

 

http://i.imgur.com/fPxxCQ4h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0905g2Mh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/32jJouEh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/GD0Cl8Sh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/x78zUuch.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/QCRQhVnh.jpg

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Glad to see this going again after the Photobucket Crash of '17 'cause these are some fantastic DG. 

[DuskRaider]

Thanks, man. To be honest, I've given up on my other threads... there's no way I'm going to try to port 400+ photos from my Photobucket to Imgur and then try to figure out which is which. I may re-take photos of the finished armies like my Word Bearers and I haven't finished my Shadow War or INQ28 warbands, but everything else is a bust. And thanks, I'm trying to put a little more love into these guys. I miss doing Death Guard after my Word Bearers binge.

[DuskRaider]

Back with another update.

 

The Foetid Bloat Drone is finished and ready for deployment. I definitely hit some snags with this model... thankfully I was able to overcome the roadblocks and I'm quite pleased with the end result. Originally, the trim on the turbines and guns were going to be metal to match the trim on the Death Guard themselves, but as I was base coating it I was extremely displeased. So much so, I walked away from it to begin the next batch of Plague Marines and the two Blightbringers until it hit me: Rust.

 

Here it is in all it's Bloaty and Drony g(l)ory. Let me know what you think and I'm off to work on the next models. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/ajahGQxh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fULDGOah.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wgr6M7vh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/iSsaKQnh.jpg

 

Oh, and I realize the Nurgle uhh... charm... on the back is unpainted, I noticed after I took the pics and have since painted it to match the brass on the guns and body vents.

[Urauloth]

Some excellent conversions here. Extremely inspiring. I'm glad you've got an image hosting solution again, really looking forward to seeing more of your work.

 

Big fan of the pale armour, too. Are you starting out white and glazing it?

[DuskRaider]

Yup, I start them out in Corax white and use a combination of Seraphim Sepia and more concentrated highlights of Ushabti Bone each layer with the final consisting of Pallid Wych Flesh. 

[DuskRaider]

Another update, I guess. I built a Necrosius model to fit into the new size and theme of the Legion using the Easy to Build Champion, some Blight King bits, and funny enough Necrosius bits I had laying around from an extra model. I'm not sure if I'm sold on the power cell, but it's serviceable until I can find a suitable replacement, which seems unlikely since I used a lot of my unique ones on my Word Bearers. Maybe I'll have them take one for the team and snag the Necrosius one off of my Standard Bearer. Anyhow, here you go. Obviously the HH Hand Flamer is his Pox Pistol.

 

http://i.imgur.com/8ATWTH4h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/K4sQgpGh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1WORgt6h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ylZTaODh.jpg

[Brother Desultor]

Fantastic conversion!