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

[DuskRaider]

Thanks guys. Well you won't have to wait long for Mortarion... he arrived today, has been assembled, primed and I'm starting on him tonight while at work. I've got alternate wings on the way for him from MaxMini, seen HERE. They look to be about the right size but just in case they're not, I'm painting the supplied wings as well. I'm going to try to incorporate as much of the paint scheme as I can from my 30K Mortarion, although that may be difficult since his armour is much different for some reason. Here's some pics from my Photobucket of 30K Mortarion:

 

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0274_zps1bb05c6c.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/DuskRaiderXIV/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0276_zps4de2e5b7.jpg

 

I never took completed photos of him, I should do so...

Edited November 14, 2017 by DuskRaider

[Reyner]

Oh noes :( can't see your pics Duskraider!

[DuskRaider]

The last two? Yeah, they're linked from Photobucket, not Imgur. Use the link in my signature to download an add-on to your browser so you can view Photobucket pics... especially handy when looking at old threads on here.

[Reyner]

Ah cheers :)

[DuskRaider]

I'm going to try doing this update on my mobile phone since I'm no where near my computer, but it's time for the weekly update.

 

I decided to say screw the Nurglings at the moment, I was too excited to paint Mortarion. The armour, trim, and cloak are done... And let me tell you, doing the cloak was wicked stressful. Nothing more nerve wracking than painting black in crevices surrounded by white armour, especially because if I do knick the white it's not just a touch up with my sunburst technique... the whole thing would have to be repainted. So the cloak alone with basing and highlighting has already taken about 10 hours.

 

I've moved onto the bone parts, which isn't too much. Ive decided to do the haft of Silence as bone to make it unique. Pretty pleased with everything thus far, the armour almost has that Blanche look to it. Unfortunately, it seems pictures just don't do it justice... but here we go! Let's see if this works...

 

 

Edit: I forgot to mention a few things with this model. First off, I left the doofy Nurglings off because I wanted a more dark, mature feel to the model. As I've mentioned prior, I'm really let down with how GW re-imagined Nurglings. The old metal models had that grimdark putrid feel to them while still being somehow cute. So.. they had to go.

 

Second, there's a reason he's not on the supplied base. Mainly, this:

 

http://www.dragonforge.com/Painting%20service/for%20sale/base_sets/sci-fi/trench%20board%202.htm

 

I ordered the 100mm base for Mortarion to match the other bases I have. The really exciting part is, Dragonforge now has 3 or 4 different base lines that are trench themed and with this newest one, it gives a lot more options, especially for 60mm. I promise after Call of Chaos I will begin on all of the bases... I have something to the tune of 80+ 25mm bases, 20+ 32mm bases, 30+ 40mm bases, 4 or 5 60mm bases, and now the one for the Death Lord himself. I will be doing these with my FW pigments I've had lying around for ages, and I even have some other effects I can't wait to try out.

 

Last, I think I mentioned it prior but I've ordered new wings for him. I don't really like the wings he comes with, they're kind of... goofy. I'm currently painting them in case my replacements don't come in time, but I've ordered these for Mortarion instead:

 

http://maxmini.eu/monstrous-wings-bits

 

These will give him more of a look akin to the cover of Mortarion's Heart and the old Epic model. As you can see, I've invested a lot into this model so fingers crossed he comes out as I envision in my head.

Edited November 16, 2017 by DuskRaider

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Unfortunately, it seems pictures just don't do it justice... but here we go! 

 

 

[DuskRaider]

Hah! That'll do just fine.

[Sagentus]

Morrtys coming on great! I agree about the nurglings they look so cartoon like and make some of the new models cartoony too

[Pulse]

Looking forward to seeing more of Mortarion, looks great so far!

[DuskRaider]

                                                                                        =MORTARION=

                                       The Death Lord, The Traveller, The Prince of Decay, The Undying, The Ferryman, Primarch of the XIVth

 

  The putrid Son of the Emperor once again stalks the mortal realm, reaping souls for his new master, Nurgleth. 

 

  MAN... what a blast this model was. The moment the box hit my doorstep, I was fully immersed in assembly and paint for a model I've waited 16 years to get my hands on. With the exception of a few details (god I hate the wing design), I think Games Workshop really knocked this one out of the park. A few things on the thought process of how I went about painting this before I post the pictures...

 

  My original intent as I had posted earlier was to attempt to bring over some of the elements from my 30K iteration, mainly the armour... that didn't really happen. The difference between Forge World's and Games Workshop's interpretation of the Barbaran Plate was just too much... one being quite obviously armour designed specifically for the Primarch by the artificers of Mars while the other pulls most of it's cues from Mk. III Iron Armour. It's obvious why and it makes sense, GW wanted their model to share design cues with the infantry of the Legion, the Plague Marines. 

 

  What I did try to port over to his 40K look (other than the obvious white armour) was the armour trim. The idea behind the 30K Mortarion was to give him an aura of importance... I mean, he IS a son of the Emperor after all... but also keep him more humble and grounded. To achieve this, he was given brass trim. It's more showy than my 30K Death Guard's bronze trim while still also not making him look ostentatious with gold filigree garbage on his otherwise very utilitarian battle plate. This philosophy was brought to Daemon Primarch Mortarion, albeit with a bit more wear and decay added. With silver added here and there and verdigris in recesses and used to break up some of it, it looks more worn and used. 

 

  I wanted Mortarion to share some similarities with my Death Guard army at large whilst also giving both autonomy from one another. The Death Lord is the Primarch of the Legion at large whilst the army itself is just Third Grand Company (with the exception of that traitor among traitors, Typhus). It was important to differentiate the two, so when I went about painting the Primarch, I brought over hints here and there... the red fly icon on his vambrace and the charm on the Lantern is obviously the same as the iconography on the army, although whether this is specific to Third Grand Company or shared by the entire Legion I'm unsure (there is information even I'm not privvy to in my headspace canon, lol). Another is the Nurgle icon hanging from Silence, which is shared with the Bloat Drones and thus painted the same. 

 

  The most obvious shared theme is the black. Mortarion wears what I imagine as a funereal veil, mourning his loss... and there's much to mourn. The destruction of Barbarus, the loss of his freedom, the fall of his Legion... the loss of the Civil War hit the XIVth particularly hard. Ole Morty is a sentimental guy, much to the chagrin of some such as his First Captain. In this vain, I see the Third Grand Company picking up the idea of wearing the black in mourning and shame. They have scrubbed the green mists of Barbarus from their plate, in it's place funeral black. Every march to battle is a procession. It also shows how close the Grand Company has become to their Primarch Post-Heresy. They're his new emissaries, seated on his right in the Dark Manse. While most of the other Grand Companies took off on their own and maintain limited ties to the Legion in general most of the time, the Third along with the Seventh have remained close to Mortarion. As a result of this, their presence in galactic real space is sparse with the exception of when they're personally sent by the Undying Son. 

 

  One thing I wanted to do with Mortarion is subtly break my rule of "no green". I'm not speaking of the warp flame throughout the model (and what he would technically be made of). Where I would usually fill in armour pitting with Agrax Earthshade, I instead used Athonian Camoshade, giving him a slight green tinge here and there. Silence is also washed in Camshade, as is his tubing and the wounds on his wings. This not only gives various areas on the model a different shade to what would normally be found on my rank and file, it symbolizes that no matter how autonomous Mortarion believes he is, he will always be Nurgle's puppet.

 

Anyhow, enough rambling... as I've stated before, I'm awaiting the arrival of the 100mm base from Dragonforge and the replacement wings from MaxMini... although his wings as is are starting to really grow on me. It doesn't help I've put a lot of work into these ones. I guess we'll see how ti all pans out. Alright... I'm done. I present to you: Mortarion.

 

 

 

Edited November 22, 2017 by DuskRaider

[Sagentus]

Wow , Excellent job on morty ... Really like the pallet colours you have gone for. The details are brilliant and the wings look the part! 

[DuskRaider]

Thanks! I really appreciate it, I'm really happy with the end result and this guy has become the centerpiece of not only the army but of my painting this year. I really wish I had the base so I could show him 100% complete, but I have a feeling that will take me another week + to paint since I'll be using a plethora of effects on it (and the other ones I've accumulated over the years).  

[brettfp]

Very nice work! Ive jsut started death guard and have been trying to decide whether to paint them in pre-heresy style bone white or the more standard green. I think your excellent model has made up my mind :)

[quinnwolf]

Flipping awesome. How did you do the warp flame?

[DuskRaider]

Thanks folks, I appreciate the compliments! As for the green flame recipe...

 

Base color is Warboss Green

Washed with Thraka Green... this is an old Citadel wash and I'm just about out of it, which is a bummer. I'd assume Biel-Tan Green is the same thing.

Drybrush of Warboss Green

Drybrush of Skarsnik Green about 2/3 of the flame, from the bottom up

Drybrush 1/3 of the flame Nurgling Green, from the bottom up

Drybrush the very base Pallid Wych Flesh

Once the PWF dries, go back over it with Nurgling Green again... this will make the base of the fire brighter while maintaining the green color

Wash the very tip of the flame in Drakenhof Nightshade

 

It's pretty simple, really... the recipe seems more complicated than it really is. 

[Markus_]

Great palette on ol' Morty. The Plaguebearers really caught my eye though, they look absolutely sickly.

[DuskRaider]

Thank you Markus, I appreciate it. As you know I'm a fan of your Death Guard and now Word Bearers (great minds think alike!). I finished my Nurglings and thus completed my Call of Chaos Vow, but seeing as I'm at work and the lighting here isn't the best, I'll wait until I get home to post pictures of them and the entire completed vow together. I'm pleased as punch to have these all done and am happy (for the most part) with the end result of everything. Until then!

[DuskRaider]

Rejoice, one and all! The Nurglings have been finished and with that, my Call of Chaos vow has been honored. This was a painful one to finish for a few reasons. One, I hate the current Nurglings. They're doofy, minimally detailed garbage. Also despite having minimal details, they're really crammed together on those bases. Don't get me wrong, the only thing I actually like about these damn things is the tidal wave feel of them. Also, I really hate the current Nurgling design. It ruins the cyclopean, grimdark feel of the Death Guard and other Nurgle models. Oh, and I really hate them. Did I mention I absolutely hate them? This is why you'll notice almost none of my models have them present in any capacity... come to think of it, I have about 50 or more of the old metal ones which I LOVE. Maybe I should break those out... anyhow, I digress. So here you go, the Nurglings:

 

 

They turned out good for what they are and I tried to get as much detail out of them as I could. The other issue I'll run into soon is their bases. I despise how they have that crap on their feet, so that'll be a pain in the ass to trim without losing feet. Maybe I'll have them ankle deep in mud and muck. We'll see.

 

Here's the 2017 Call of Chaos Group Shot... it's pretty surprising seeing it all together, there's a good amount of models but it didn't really seem like it as I was painting them.

 

 

And finally, an army-wide shot of everything I've completed up to this point. To be fair, it's technically two armies... Death Guard and Nurgle Daemons, although obviously they'll be fielded together under two detachments. Despite still not having the bases done, I'm really proud of what I've completed in the time frame I've had.

 

 

I still have a lot to do yet. Not only do I have the aforementioned bases to paint (and many more to purchase still), I have the 20 Poxwalkers to complete and another 30 or so to convert, assemble, prime and paint. I've put aside some tanks from my 30K Death Guard army which would have gone unused that I need to strip and convert for this army (2 Predators, 4 Rhinos, 2 Land Raiders and a Spartan). I also have a box of Plague Marines on the way and I'm hoping to get some of the Independent Characters soonish along with the Haulers and new LoC / Blightlords when they're released. So stay tuned, there's much more to come.

[Urauloth]

Hell yeah. Great looking collection so far. Have you decided what you're going to do for your bases yet?

[DuskRaider]

Thank you! I actually have a large horde of Dragonforge bases from my old Death Guard army some 10 or so years ago, mainly Wasteland & Wasteland II bases in 25, 40 & 60mm. Back then there wasn't much to choose from for trench bases, so these were my best bet... especially for the cost. Since that time, he's released Trench Boards  and Over the Top bases to extend the theme. I had started purchasing some of the 60 and 80mm trench bases for my 30K Death Guard, which I'll be using with this army. I've also picked up some of the 32mm bases as well since Astartes have grown in size since my first force along with a 100mm base for Mortarion which I'm currently waiting for.

 

It can take months to receive the product, but Dragonforge is a one-man operation as far as I know and the owner is a great guy so I'm more than happy to show my support. The most recent series he's selling is still technically pre-order, but having so many options in the various sizes is such a boon. So hopefully I'll start on those soon, but seeing as I'll be working with resin water effects and pigments among other things, I've chosen to not work on them at my office which is where I currently do the bulk of my painting while on the night shift... so it may take a while to see the finished product.

[Sagentus]

Dam DR that is one great looking army thus far!!! Look forward to seeing how the rest of it comes on :) 

[Pulse]

Holy.... Mortarion looks amazing, those eyes!

 

Fantastic, fantastic, fanastic!

[m0nolith]

100% pure plague ridden!

Absolutely love it!

[DuskRaider]

Thanks guys! Now I need advice...

 

Well first of all, I will say that purchases have been made for the army. In addition to a Plague Marine box I ordered earlier in the week, I purchased a Foul Blightspawn and Biologus Putrifier, my friend bought me yet another box of Plague Marines as a belated spawnday present, so... soon my Legionnaire count will double. I've already set aside bits from the Putrid Blightking box to make an entire squad of CC Plague Marines (the idea absolutely fascinates me) and I'll most likely make the second squad ranged. The last purchase I made was kind of off the cuff tonight...

 

I bought Horticulous Slimux off eBay for a ridiculously good deal from my neighbors in the north (Canadia). The idea behind this purchase is to create a possible Epidemius counts-as or a Herald on Palanquin, which I'm hoping is an option again, as I sold my old model off and GW has since discontinued it... which if I'll be honest has me slightly concerned that he will no longer be a character in the new codex unless they intend to make a new one. But anyhow, I really like the Slimux model save a couple things, such as the Nurgling on a stick and some of the goofy odds and ends on the daemon snail's shell, but the biggest bugbear I have is the face of said snail... it's just so stupid. Like irritatingly stupid. I hate it. 

 

Which comes to my question... I'd like to replace that doofy bugger's head with something much more grimdark and cyclopean horror-esque. I have a few ideas in mind, but I'm not entirely sure if they scale correctly. The first is the head of a Maggoth. I'm almost positive tihs is just too large and making it work would be a chore (also I cannot find the bits anywhere). The others MAY work, but again it's all scale and I'm very unfamiliar with the scale of both the Snail and the bits in question... one being the Glottkin head. There's something unsettling about the idea of a daemonic gastropod with a vaguely human-like face. I cannot for the life of me figure out the size relative to the base of Slimux or whatever to determine if it's feasible. The other, and after looking at the bits I'm a little wary of pulling off, is the right arm of the Glottkin. Mainly the leech-like stump. Again it all comes down to scale and, if I'll be honest, that looks like it'd be a pain in the ass to join to the model. 

 

So if anyone has any of these models to compare size and try to determine if anything is possible, PLEASE let me know. Sorry for the mini-novel I've got going on here, but I've got these ideas chewing in my brain and I need to try to get them out in physical form.

[DuskRaider]

Well looks like I'm on my own as far as figuring out what to do with Slimux...

 

... anyhow, I wasted no time assembling the first box of Plague Marines. A few observations... first of all, it's a bit sad just how specific these models really are. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the detail on each one of them, they're going to be a blast to paint. Just a little disconcerting how the instruction manual is definitely required for assembly.

 

Before these were even released I had vowed to make the first squad completely CC. There's something extremely amusing about Plague Marines kitted out exclusively for close combat. What's even more amusing is they're actually decent at it too.

 

I'll admit I was torn between the Flails and Cleavers. The thought of basically three Power Fists in a squad was very tempting, but in the end I figure the splash damage of the Flails will be more beneficial. I was also sorely tempted by Plague Belchers in lieu of Blight Launchers, but decided I need the range more since I'll most likely be walking these guys up the board behind Blight Haulers.

 

I can't recommend Putrid Blightking bits enough for Death Guard. Utilizing what I had lying around, I was able to make a second Marine armed with the Flail, another with a Mace / Axe combo, and arm my Champion with a Plague Sword. It also adds variety to the models, so win-win.

 

Finally, the Plasma Gunner is simply there until my next box set arrives, then he'll be replaced with another Blight Launcher and he'll find a home in my third ranged squad.