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

[Augustus b'Raass]

Aw man, you're getting me all riled up! Cultists are a sub-par unit to vow for the ETL though - 4 points a pop is hardly worth the effort I'm kidding - do what you love. The ETL is first of all a motivational event.

The titan is a labour of love though - and that's what the ETL is truly about! Can't wait to see more.

 

BTW you linked to the same page twice. Did you mean something else? 

Edited April 26, 2018 by Augustus b'Raass

[DuskRaider]

It was supposed to be this:

 

https://puppetswar.eu/product.php?id_product=763

 

Oh, by the way... I pilfered the one unfinished Leviathan from my Word Bearers and will be using it for my Death Guard. Can't wait to start the modifications!

Edited April 26, 2018 by DuskRaider

[DuskRaider]

Strength stoops unto the grave,

Worms feed on Hector brave;
Swords may not fight with fate,
Earth still holds open her gate.
“Come, come!” the bells do cry.
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!

 

The Shattered Tusk have begun to spread their sickness in real space, for the bell tolls such grave news.

 

The last of the Pestigor have been assembled and the green stuff has been sculpted. I'm tempted to add pauldrons to the rest of the models but unfortunately the Chaos Knight bits I used on a couple are just too large for most. I looked at Marauder bits but they're kinda... meh. I also had an idea for adding various trinkets and baubles to the models, broken and inoperable technology (mainly Imperial) that the Beastmen believe is magical and thus wear it for protection, strength, etc. but like the pauldrons I just cannot find any good bits or a way to make them work with the models. I want to give each one character, so... I don't know. 

 

 

Meet the leader of the herd, Pallg'oz Gluttongue, Shaman of the Shattered Tusk... also known as Bale-Eye. When modeling this guy, I wanted him to give a vibe of both Shaman and Warrior since he'll most likely be represented using the Plagueridden rules (although my intention was originally a Poxbringer) and a Wyrd Level 3 in INQ28. Thus his weapon is kind of a mix of a Witch Doctor's staff and a polearm. His head had to be a skull, that I had decided on before I even began this project. He has a bandage or blindfold wrapped around his head with one eye peeking out (on the right if you can't tell). There's a vial protruding from his hunch back, a bit of a vain attempt to make him appear at least a little techno-barbaric. He has a fairly substantial (albeit mangy) mane. Overall I'm pretty pleased with him but I may remove the blindfold & eye... I'm not sure yet.

 

 

The Pestigors themselves. Most have fairly standard Beastmen heads, I wanted to convey that they are not mindless shambling undead. There are some exceptions to that rule, however, as you can see the second to last on the right has a skull head with his rotting flesh sloughing off. The far right's muzzle has mutated into an insect-like proboscis. You'll also notice I've filled in the mouths and peeking nurgling on a few of them. It's something that's always irked me with the Plaguebearers and I wanted to completely eliminate it on my Pestigor.

 

 

There's the skull Beast I previewed... wow, it feels like forever ago. I've gotten around to finally finishing him. While the Beastmen will be represented with Plaguebearer rules I wanted to give them unique weaponry. I understand PBs are armed with Plague Swords... I just don't care. I needed some individuality. 

 

 

The rear shots. I tried to be a bit varied with the fur on each Beastman. Some had longer manes, some barely have any at all. Spotted, mangy fur found in patches throughout their rotting bodies. 

 

 

And finally the War Band together. I'm unsure if this will be the last of them, I'm tempted to do an all-Pestigor INQ28 Coven so I'd need to model up some ranged ones as well (using Kroot arms and either their guns or Skitarii relic-looking rifles). 

 

I'll hopefully have the green stuff done on the Zombies tonight so I can take pics tomorrow and do a full shot of my ETL Vow One.

[Pearson73]

The warherd is looking cracking, I love the bindings around Bale-Eye's head.

[Augustus b'Raass]

I love 'm, Dusky. They look suitably disgusting. Your GS skills have improved too over this project, which is cool to see. I like that you've given them different levels of mutation and decay too. That really adds to an already characterful warband.

[Sagentus]

They all look incredible DR ... amazing work!

[Shovellovin]

That group of models is the stuff of nightmares; well done! I can't wait to see them painted/completed.

[DuskRaider]

Thanks, everyone... I'm pretty pleased with them myself. 

 

Tonight I vowed to finish assembling my uhh... vow. So without further ado: 

 

 

Meet Manrasz Sgot, Legionnaire of the XIVth. Known as The Exiled, The Wanderer, The Rake, Apostate of the Lost, and Shepherd of Nurgle. Sgot had been the Banner Bearer for the Third Grand Company since Isstvan III when he helped Commander Camshraith wrest control of the Grand Company from his brother. Exiled in M33 for the crimes of incompetence, negligence and the sin of pride. Under his command at the Battle of Hadrigus XI against the IIIrd Legion when he ignored warnings of a feign attack on a nearby trench section and was overwhelmed by the actual offensive... resulting in the loss of 85 brethren, countless equipment, and the front line.

 

In his exile he became something of a Herald of the Undying God. Countless numbers of wretched beings flocked to him, most being outcasts of their respective societies. It is now M35 and he leads a massed horde of creatures from planet to planet in the Warp, reaving and pilfering from various Legions, War Bands, and Crone Worlds. With the advent of the Terra Novum Interregnum, the Imperium is currently at its own throat and thrown in to disarray. There's rumors of ancient Xenos artifacts that if found could offer the bearer untold power. What better could he offer to his former Commander than absolute power to be accepted back into the Legion?

 

I'm... not really sure what this model represents. Truth be told, I just slapped together bits I thought would look cool and went from there. As you can see, he's armed with a Combi-Bolter and some sort of Axe. I had thought of giving him a more grimdark version of the Bubotic Axe / Plague Knife loadout but threw that idea out the window. I wanted him to have a ranged weapon of some sort. Thankfully I had these Evil Craft Combi-Bolters lying around that I had never used... such a marvelous piece.

 

The cloak(s) was just kind of spur of the moment. Originally the plan was to give him a hood for a more mysterious atmosphere about him but changed my mind when I realized I would be obscuring all the wonderful detail FW put into the model. I like the look of the multi-cloak on him, I may just go back and use some green stuff on the edges to soften them up a bit.

 

The right hand side has a lot of different little details added in, from the mutated Poxwalker hand hiding within the giant mutated limb to the Nurgle icon dangling from the chain on his pauldron. If you look back to the Bolter as well, you'll notice a Fly icon... something which he technically would have been barred from displaying as he's had all traces of his origin stripped from his plate.

 

 

Just some quick green stuff guts added to the Plague Zombies, including torso dude.

 

 

 

2018 ETL Vow One together

Edited May 3, 2018 by DuskRaider

[Augustus b'Raass]

I love the guy - couldn't he be a sort of Typhus stand-in? If anything, you can vow him as a Lord of Contagion with an axe thingy, a plague reaper is what it's called I believe. 

 

Incidentally, why is he called 'the Rake'? I think it's an evocative name, and would love to learn how he got it!

[hidden][hidden]

 

And with that, and without further ado, I bid you adieu! ;)

[DuskRaider]

Well he's to be either a single Plague Marine for Kill Team (if such an option is possible, GW is dragging their feet with the release) or a character or "summoned" Chaos Marine for INQ28. His scale is way off for regular Death Guard and in any case I don't think he fits the current design philosophy of GW's line very well. He's much more restrained and what I think of when I imagine a Plague Marine.

 

One of his many titles, The Rake, is based off of the idea of a dissolute individual; lacking restraint or morals... lives a wicked life. It's also closely associated with libertine but I don't see this guy being a lady's man. I saw it more as the opposite of a saint which was something I see this guy as... a Saint of Nurgle or something, like an Anti-Celestine. The title would probably fit a devotee of Slaanesh more, though. 

 

That and I thought it sounded cool.

 

 

Ado, adieu... whatever, I don't speak Chinese. 

[Vairocanum]

Sgot looks awesome, love what you've done with the model! Really liking the plague zombies too, looking forward to seeing more!

[hushrong]

Those pestigors are sweet!! Definitely looking forward to more progress on the Shattered Tusk.

 

Sgot is epic! The head and weapon swap, the tattered cloak, and Papa Nurgle's touch (really yours) have turned that awesome bladeslave into something so much more! Definitely excited to see him getting some paint!

[Augustus b'Raass]

Just teasing :p ;) 

 

I really like The Rake as a title, and actually think it fits a Nurgle Herald more than Slaanesh. I was just wondering if there's some background bouncing around in your head. Your description of a dissolute individual, a loner with a purpose, makes me even more convinced you could pull off fielding this guy as a stand-in for Cypher. 

 

Love to see your paint job on him, too! :D :tu:

[DuskRaider]

I'm definitely tempted to expand upon the Shattered Tusk after this, I'm just not sure how I would go about it. Particularly ranged options, they're obviously very primitive for the most part so I don't know how I'd represent ranged weaponry. I'd assume Skitarii Galvanic Rifles would be a good way to pull that off, they have a very antiquated look to them. 

 

As far as The Rake and the name itself... well, that's only one of the names he's known as or has been given to him, mainly by his enemies or the Imperium. His background, though, I have thought of for a while. I mean, I technically have his Pre-Heresy model. He's part of my 30K Death Guard Command Squad, the Standard Bearer in Cataphractii Armour. My main motivation was coming up with a reason there would be a lone Death Guard Legionnaire leading this assortment of mortals and degenerate beasts. I've used the 'tasked by the Legion to do blah blah blah' before with my Word Bearers Shadow War / INQ28 project, so this guy needed a new hook. Well why not make him exiled from the Legion for some offense? That works, but what would be an offense worthy of such a crime to a Traitor Legion such as the XIVth? They throw themselves into the grinder all of the time, but I'm sure they frown upon unneeded death... especially post-Heresy where Long War veterans are often a commodity many are running low on. 

 

As we've come to find out from the new codex, Death Guard aren't hurting too much for veterans or numbers in general and at this time they're supposedly the second largest Legion behind Sons of Horus (I guess Lorgar's kids really took a hit) but something tells me they'd still frown upon negligence leading to loss. So... let's have him be responsible for losing almost 100 Legionnaires, but let's make it where his pride and ego caused it. I'd assume both of those are still frowned upon so we'll run with it. Any other Sergeant would most likely have been pasted for such a blunder but Sgot has been Commander Camshraith's second-in-command since before the Heresy, all the way back when the Commander was the Siege Master of 5th Grand Company's Xth Battalion. There's a history there so he won't be executed but he will be used to make an example of. He's cast out of the Legion and off of the Plague Planet, as much to protect him from reprisal as to punish him for his failure. 

 

I envision his sole purpose now, his driving motivation is to somehow find his way back into the Legion and his Commander's good graces. Along the way he's building this congregation or flock of devoted followers who see him as some sort of prophet or embodiment of Nurglitch. He is the personification of perseverance.

[Pearson73]

Liking the backstory, that bit more depth makes it that much more interesting and engaging.

[DuskRaider]

I know I should be concentrating on the ETL but I got bit by the conversion bug while I sat here working. I remembered I still had two Plague Ogryn bodies lying around and I felt I could put them to some use. One of them isn't very viable, one of the feet has a boot on it and while I could probably hack it off and replace it with something else, I just didn't feel like doing that. Thankfully the other body is perfect for another Nurgle Beastmen model. 

 

 

Ignore the bit under the skull, it's mainly just there to provide a base for me to work on. 

 

I'm not too sure what he is... Due to the size, I almost thought I could use him as a Plagueridden (Plaguebearer Champion) and make the Shaman a proper Poxbringer, but as you'll see below his size is odd in relation to the other models.

 

 

Definitely smaller than the Minotaur. This would mainly be because the Minotaur is based off of the Plague Ogryn "Leader" while the new one is just a Plague Ogryn. 

 

 

When compared to the Shaman he doesn't seem to bad but then you remember the Shaman is the Poxbringer model which is naturally larger than a normal Plaguebearer. When compared to one of my Pestigors he dwarfs them and would probably be a bad fit for a Champion.

 

My current thought is he's probably just another Minotaur, although a bit smaller. Beastmen aren't ssp. variatus for nothing, I suppose. 

 

When assembling the model, I had originally planned on giving him a little more tech, albeit crude. I mocked up some tiny bionic arms under his own but it just felt forced and I fear it may alienate him from the rest of the Shattered Tusk. I'll say one thing, he's going to need a lot of green stuff work. Much more than the Minotaur, I'd say. Better get crackin'...

[TURBULENCE]

Just went through pretty much the whole thread. Loving your scheme and your conversions have given me enough inspiration for about a years worth of new nurgle ideas.

 

Keep up the disgustingly amazing work.

[Kizzdougs]

Great work, bro! I love the conversion work on the Pestigors :tu:

[DuskRaider]

Minotaur #2 is finished and ready for paint along with the rest of the Shattered Tusk Tribe. Originally the size disparity between this one and the first was a bit disconcerting, but in the end I think it works well and shows how varied Beastmen actually are.

 

I chose to stick with the idea of long, gangly arms. It sets them apart from normal Minotaur and gives them a very unsettling look to them.

 

 

I took more size comparison photos along with a new group shot. The Shattered Tusk are becoming a force to reckon with.

 

 

Thanks for the support, guys! You're the best!

[DuskRaider]

ETL Week One Update:

 

 

The flesh is finished on the Beastmen and the armour is complete on the Plague Marine.

 

I went a different direction than I usually do with the Pestigor skin. While I usually base my flesh with Pallid Wych Flesh, I decided I wanted the Beastmen to have a separate coloration. I went with a 50/50 mix of Rhakarth Flesh and Pallid Wych Flesh. After this, I followed my normal recipe but was much more selective with the Wych Flesh highlight as well as applying it much lighter. In addition, I also added extremely diluted Biel-Tan Green to select areas of the models. I'm not sure what possessed me to do this, but I like it and it gives the Beastmen an appearance that sets them apart from the usual human flesh coloration you'll find on my other models.

 

The boils were also done differently, following Auggy's idea of simply adding a diluted layer of Blood for the Blood God on. It helps them stand out against the skin.

 

I've begun the wounds as you can see and they should be done tonight, which will be followed by any bone present.

 

I also deviated slightly with the Plague Marine's armour, deciding to add an extra Seraphim Sepia and Ushabti Bone layer before the final Wych Flesh highlight. His armour will be bare ceramite to represent being stripped of any Legion iconography... I'm tempted to add some Biel-Tan Green in areas but I may save that for the metal trim instead. His flesh will be the standard affair.

 

That's all for this update, I'll start the Cultists and Zombies after I've finished these.

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by DuskRaider

[Augustus b'Raass]

Love the recent upgrades, Dusky. Those not-plague ogryns are fantastic conversions! :tu: 

Love to see them painted. The Biel-Tan green seems to add a yucky rotten consistency to their skin.  :D

[DuskRaider]

Thanks bud. I didn't want to add too much Biel-Tan and even now I feel I may have gone a little overboard on some, especially in the belly region. I almost feel like they should have another highlight but I want to avoid the chalkiness on them.

[Chazzmos]

Loving the Shattered Tusk, the consistent conversions on them make them look amazing together.  Totally brutal and rotten, I can see them advancing through a smoky, steamy, bog!

[Sagentus]

These are amazing DR. These beastmen are kust something else, the one in the second pic is my favourite

[Charlo]

Great work as always, beastmen are inspired!