A return to the Death Guard and a new start.

[Vairocanum]

That new design is jaw dropping, brilliant concept! Love the spindly design you've chosen, can't wait to see more progress!

[Sagentus]

Loving how this retry is coming on. The sketch for the legs looks great and the armor plates definitely make him look like an old DG marine that has ascended upon puppa nurgles blessing. I think krauts idea with the tubing to either side of the head might solve the clean look and tie it in more with other DG marines we are seeing now. Look forward to seeing how this comes on!

[GuitaRasmus]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. :)

 

First of all, I am popping in here to say it`s great to have back and on the dark biomechanical alley! Good to see you still have that touch.

Absolutely loving the Dread.

I like the Prince as well but, for my two pence,the head is...too clean? It`s hard to pin down. The whole chrysalidae thing is great and I love the idea how that insect thing / theme is shaping the Champion from within, which makes both the head very stylish on it`s own but it doesn`t feel right to me. The sculpt is great on it´s own. It kind of stands apart from the rest to me at least. It`s too much "happy face" and not enough "Thing- I-would-not-want-to-meet-in-a-dark-alley". I know the the happy thing is quite nurgly but your other works are less..cheerful? Maybe it makes more sense when I put in into the thing with the castellan hand...the hand is fine IMO but seems to need  some sharp edges or a least a sickly flesh tone and outgrowth to convey the feeling that ot is either a fused part or / and pretty painful on it`s own. An orc augmentation should look and feel like you toss it onto a junk pile once you cut it off.  Heck, old Yarrick kept one as a trophy and uses it himself . A nurgle bionic should be something you let a sevitor crew brush up the place where you plasma burned the area where it dropped for the next decade or so and force you to burn several crews of servitors in the process of cleaning up afterwards. No sane human being should look at that and consider using it a replacement. The hand alone should be something you have nightmares about coming after you in the dark even years , decades later. And that´s just the hand / bionic. The Face of such a thing should be even worse. Does that make any sense?

 

The funny thing is, that head is not cheerful to me at all - it's a thing of nightmares, and the depths of hell. I can't see the cheerful part at all. I'll see what I can do about the power fist, though. :)

 

I like that you're designing a Daemon Prince that's skeletal and not bloated and boring. The leg sketch looks great, I'm wondering if you'd be able to blend them with the Plague Drone abdomen to keep the insect theme while still making him have an obvious humanoid shape. Perhaps make it assymetrical and have one thigh be a mess of pistons and bionic. I'd also suggest having maggots crawling within the cabling and bionic bits.

I do have to echo the thoughts on the fist... but it's definitely doable, the base form is a Power Fist and can work well with your green stuff skill. Make it twisted, perhaps replace the fingers with claws of some sort... spikes breaking through the ceramite and whatnot.

By the way, your Dreadnought is the absolute best I have ever seen, hands down no lie.

 

Cabling n' such is a good idea for the legs - I'll keep that in mind. :)

 

And thanks about the Dreadnought - he's definitely also a favourite of mine. :)

[Teetengee]

That's going to be fantastic. Might need adjustments, but until you get it to a more complete state, it's hard to know for sure. My only concern is whether it will fit with the 40k/nurgle aesthetic after all this. But I have literally no way of knowing that until it's further along, so go go go!!!

[theNublet]

Man, you make it really hard to not love everything you do. That Dread and Blightfiend in partlicular are amazing pieces, not much else to say about them.

 

Purely out of curiosity, do you think the Prince's abdominal area will remain skinny or if he'll get some meat on his bones at some point?  Like, a few rolls of lard, exposed muscle, prehensile tentacle-intestines, mechano-guts, literal meat grinder, something along those lines?

 

Sorry, I just get really excited whenever I see you pop up on hobby forums! Though I have to admit, I preferred the original head and shoulder pad, or at least a sleeker helmet. Actually, I think I have trouble understanding the shape of the head, could we get some more angles?

 

*P.S.* Also, I missed my chance to say this, but if you want to add bulk to a lower body then one way is always to use something to make tassets. I was thinking of something like the Varangian Knight shields (or hell, even the barding!) at the time of writing - mainly because the trimming on them kinda matches the shoulder pads *and* chest piece - but almost anything would do if tassets are what one is going for. They work particularly well (or at least more easily) if the thighs are covered by cloth, chainmail, or something along those lines.

Edited July 30, 2017 by theNublet

[GuitaRasmus]

Man, you make it really hard to not love everything you do. That Dread and Blightfiend in partlicular are amazing pieces, not much else to say about them.

 

Purely out of curiosity, do you think the Prince's abdominal area will remain skinny or if he'll get some meat on his bones at some point?  Like, a few rolls of lard, exposed muscle, prehensile tentacle-intestines, mechano-guts, literal meat grinder, something along those lines?

 

Sorry, I just get really excited whenever I see you pop up on hobby forums! Though I have to admit, I preferred the original head and shoulder pad, or at least a sleeker helmet. Actually, I think I have trouble understanding the shape of the head, could we get some more angles?

 

*P.S.* Also, I missed my chance to say this, but if you want to add bulk to a lower body then one way is always to use something to make tassets. I was thinking of something like the Varangian Knight shields (or hell, even the barding!) at the time of writing - mainly because the trimming on them kinda matches the shoulder pads *and* chest piece - but almost anything would do if tassets are what one is going for. They work particularly well (or at least more easily) if the thighs are covered by cloth, chainmail, or something along those lines.

 

Thanks for the kind words - I could use some examples though, about the varangian knight details - googling isn't much help? 

About the abdominal area, it will depend on the legs he ends up with - as a rule, I like the skinny, bony nurgle thing more than the bloated thing, but maybe some intestines hanging out. 

 

That's going to be fantastic. Might need adjustments, but until you get it to a more complete state, it's hard to know for sure. My only concern is whether it will fit with the 40k/nurgle aesthetic after all this. But I have literally no way of knowing that until it's further along, so go go go!!!

 

I've come to the conclusion, after beginning to bulk up the legs, that these newly sculpted ones don't work, sadly. They are simply too long. It's a very tricky balance, trying to nail a specific aesthetic - I went through this when I flirted with Warmachine as well - being used to GW, I didn't exaggerate the tininess of the legs enough. This time, I made them too long and too realistic - which doesn't fit with GW Daemon aesthetics. I've scrapped them, and will try my luck with the flying Hive Tyrant legs when I get them. 

[KrautScientist]

 

 

I've come to the conclusion, after beginning to bulk up the legs, that these newly sculpted ones don't work, sadly. They are simply too long. It's a very tricky balance, trying to nail a specific aesthetic - I went through this when I flirted with Warmachine as well - being used to GW, I didn't exaggerate the tininess of the legs enough. This time, I made them too long and too realistic - which doesn't fit with GW Daemon aesthetics. I've scrapped them, and will try my luck with the flying Hive Tyrant legs when I get them. 

 

 

That's a shame because the concept is really awesome! It makes the Daemon prince seem like a fusion of a Space Marine and a Plaguebearer. Funnily enough, I was going to suggest Hive Tyrant legs as a base, but refrained from commenting because you already had those sculpted legs. The other suggestion I have would be to take a look at Morbäck's Daemon Prince from his Plaguebones army, as that one uses a slightly different overall approach, so maybe it'll provide even more inspiration for your version.

[Custom Hero]

*P.S.* Also, I missed my chance to say this, but if you want to add bulk to a lower body then one way is always to use something to make tassets. I was thinking of something like the Varangian Knight shields (or hell, even the barding!) at the time of writing - mainly because the trimming on them kinda matches the shoulder pads *and* chest piece - but almost anything would do if tassets are what one is going for. They work particularly well (or at least more easily) if the thighs are covered by cloth, chainmail, or something along those lines.

I think he means these:

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Varanguard-Knights-of-Ruin

[GuitaRasmus]

 

 

 

I've come to the conclusion, after beginning to bulk up the legs, that these newly sculpted ones don't work, sadly. They are simply too long. It's a very tricky balance, trying to nail a specific aesthetic - I went through this when I flirted with Warmachine as well - being used to GW, I didn't exaggerate the tininess of the legs enough. This time, I made them too long and too realistic - which doesn't fit with GW Daemon aesthetics. I've scrapped them, and will try my luck with the flying Hive Tyrant legs when I get them. 

 

 

That's a shame because the concept is really awesome! It makes the Daemon prince seem like a fusion of a Space Marine and a Plaguebearer. Funnily enough, I was going to suggest Hive Tyrant legs as a base, but refrained from commenting because you already had those sculpted legs. The other suggestion I have would be to take a look at Morbäck's Daemon Prince from his Plaguebones army, as that one uses a slightly different overall approach, so maybe it'll provide even more inspiration for your version.

 

 

It will still be the same basic concept - backwards jointed legs, with sort of power armour sculpted on - I just need them to be less tall - they looked "realistic", and strangely enough, with GW, that's not what you want. 

 

I've looked at Morbäcks DP many times, and while I think it's very cool, it has the same basic problem as my previous attempts at a lower body - the legs feel like they belong to a different miniature. 

[Teetengee]

Shoot. I would try and keep the very ends of the legs similar though, as they create an insectile look that works well.

[GuitaRasmus]

Shoot. I would try and keep the very ends of the legs similar though, as they create an insectile look that works well.

 

They will be - I like the concept very much myself, but my framework simply didn't work. I've done a quick mockup here, to show you how I'll put armour on the tyrant legs;

 

 

Excuse the very rough mockup - I only had flat profile shots of the legs to work with. Basically, I'll smoothen out the armour plates on the thighs, and continue all the way around the thigh, and add armour to the last two sections of the legs, but only enough to make the illusion of armour credible, while still retaining the insectile feel. I've also ordered some AoS Giant feet with hooves, which I hope will fit, since they look very nurglish. 

[KrautScientist]

One thing that occurs to me is that it would be really cool if the leg armour could resemble Mk. III armour plates -- at least to some degree, and in spite of the legs' anatomy having obviously changed into something utterly inhuman. That way, the design would resemble what we see on, say, the Noxious Blightbringer, with something increasingly monstrous still being covered up with fairly standard armour, at least at first glance.

 

I think the obvious solution would be for the leg armour to feature kneepads (as Mk. III does) and for the lower part of the armour not to look too manufactured, for lack of a better word, so as to avoid the silly Wulfen look (where you have to ask yourself who's making all the form fitting armour for the mutated werewolf guys).

 

The WFB giant feet could be a rather inspired choice! I've used them on a daemon prince of my own, and they are pretty creepy ;)

 

Speaking of which, did you consider using the longer set of Forgefiend legs at all? They seem pretty close to what you are planning with the legs, albeit smaybe not insectile enough?

[theNublet]

 

*P.S.* Also, I missed my chance to say this, but if you want to add bulk to a lower body then one way is always to use something to make tassets. I was thinking of something like the Varangian Knight shields (or hell, even the barding!) at the time of writing - mainly because the trimming on them kinda matches the shoulder pads *and* chest piece - but almost anything would do if tassets are what one is going for. They work particularly well (or at least more easily) if the thighs are covered by cloth, chainmail, or something along those lines.

I think he means these:

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Varanguard-Knights-of-Ruin

 

 

That's the one!

[Mister Feral]

I think you've hit the nail on the head with rebuilding the legs - I would suggest looking at the Decimator for how it does it's armour plates on the legs (albeit less squared off and more rounded to match the organic legs).

[GuitaRasmus]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

@ Kraut; I tried the forge fiend legs, but even the smallest one were much too large. 

 

Since I'm waiting for some bitz for my daemon prince to arrive, I might as well do something in the meantime;

 

Since reading about the Helbrute in the new Index: Chaos, I got very excited about the Helbrute as a close combat monster - I've always pictured it as a raving maniac given metal form, and the new rules (extra attacks! And wounds like monstrous creatures! Finally!) make it seem like it could actually work - of course it has to get across the table, but 8" of movement isn't too bad, and best of all, the new Power fist/power scourge combo puts out a lot of hurt; 4 base attacks, +1 attack for having two close combat weapons, and 3 bonus attacks for the power scourge - that's 3 attacks with str 8, dam 2 and 5 attacks with str. 12 dam 3 - a grand total of 8 high str attacks!

 

Anyway, I got myself a Helbrute kit, and decided I had to do something about the legs - I really dislike the kit Helbrutes legs and feet - they feel so short and stumpy, and fat thighs as well, plus they seem so flat and mono-posey. I don't get why they didn't work on the DV Helbrute, and made the legs more like that model. Anyway, chop chop, off with his legs. I cut the legs of the Helbrute kit, just above the ankles, and made that the new knee joint, and mounted them on the lower legs of a couple of DV Helbrute legs I had laying about - this made the legs seem longer, and gave me the possibility of having a more interesting and menacing pose. I also made a new power fist with some Heldrake talons, and a Killa Kan circular saw - inspired by Morbäcks great helbrute on that one.

 

Furthermore, I gave it the DI Sorcerers belly plate and a plasma gunners head, to make it look more distinctively Nurgle, which I think works quite well. Obviously, he still needs a lot of green stuff work to make it all come together, detailing, and smoke stacks, but I think the basic model works really well.

 

 

I also finally got hold of the new snap fit PM kit, after them being sold out in all my local stores; they must be popular. However, even before getting them, I had planned to cut them up somewhat, since I only really liked the basic bolter PM.

 

I promptly cut off the power fist, since I wanted to use it on my Blightbringer champion.

 

 

The astute reader will also see that I've managed to do some clever cutting with his left arm, thereby giving him a Plasma gun, as well as giving the other champion a back banner, and a backpack with a Plasma gun, thereby giving me two cool Plasma champions:

 

 

Lastly, I used the Champions body, and used it for a (in my opinion) more interesting pose Blight Launcher gunner, along with some leftover DI Plague Marine parts:

 

 

As always, all comments and critique is welcome.

Edited August 2, 2017 by GuitaRasmus

[Mister Feral]

Clever idea to double-up the Helbrute's legs, I wouldn't of thought of that!

 

Must try and find all my Power Scourge pieces though...

 

I also have that Power Fist, but it's sitting in the bitz box for down the line. Both your Plague Champions are great conversions, nicely done.

[The Traitor]

The helbrute looks great, the legs are much better like that, but I think in 8th he only gets an extra attack if he has two fists? Even though, 7 attacks are still pretty good! Also the PM are some interesting conversions, is the open power fist in the snap-fit box?

[Sagentus]

Really like the Helbrute, I have a similar idea/plan for mine. The legs of the gw model are very static. did you take any WIP pics when you were chopping/making the legs? if not could we have some more/closer pics of the legs as they are now? Really like the right claw hand too, looks a lot better than the standard fist. 

 

Also, loving the blight bringer champions and blight launcher .... a lot of people are doing great stuff with the new figures :) 

[Biohazard]

The Daemon Prince is coming along great, I really like the head and I seem to remember a lot of people opposing you on your final typhus head. And he came out brilliantly. I think you're onto something with the Hive Tyrant legs, I've used them on a Daemon Prince before and I think the scale will work a lot better for what your aiming for.

 

The new Dreadnought looks like it's coming together as well, I absolutely love that Claw and may borrow that idea for one of my own. Obviously you still have a lot of work to do with the Dread, looking forward to what you come up with. Oh and have you considered adding the bell from the DI guy to the top of the Dread?

[Dantay VI]

Liking the claw, but is it possible to turn the buzz saw around s it cuts and pulls the victim into the fist/ talons inflicting further damage?

 

If it were to spin it would bite into a target on a downward sweep of the arm.

 

Or for a wacky thought use several saw blades stacked together running in opposing directions??

[KrautScientist]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

@ Kraut; I tried the forge fiend legs, but even the smallest one were much too large.

 

Fair enough! I suspected they might be. That being said, the Hive Tyrant legs should work well, at least as a basic structure!

 

Excellent work on the latest batch of conversions! I was planning something rather similar for a Helbrute conversion, though -- damn, you beat me to it ;) Consider the Plaguecaster belly idea borrowed, though, as that is a really, really good idea! ;)

 

Regarding the Plague champion with the Glottkin head: I think he's looking awesome, but I do think you need to build up the stole around his neck a bit more -- it still looks a bit too much like his original head had been cut off (which, in all fairness, it was...).

[malika666]

Man you're back...and you once again managed to make some of the scariest Chaos stuff out there!

[GuitaRasmus]

Clever idea to double-up the Helbrute's legs, I wouldn't of thought of that!

 

Must try and find all my Power Scourge pieces though...

 

I also have that Power Fist, but it's sitting in the bitz box for down the line. Both your Plague Champions are great conversions, nicely done.

 

Thanks - it was a flash of inspiration that came to me. I was a bit in doubt at first, and it took some courage to chop into a brand new expensive kit, but I'm used to these leaps of faith after all this time.

 

The helbrute looks great, the legs are much better like that, but I think in 8th he only gets an extra attack if he has two fists? Even though, 7 attacks are still pretty good! Also the PM are some interesting conversions, is the open power fist in the snap-fit box?

 

Thanks!

Yep, he has an extra attack;

"Battering onslaught: Add 1 to this models attack characteristic if it is equipped with two melee weapons."

And yes, the power fist is quite cool - it's from the snap fit kit. 

 

Really like the Helbrute, I have a similar idea/plan for mine. The legs of the gw model are very static. did you take any WIP pics when you were chopping/making the legs? if not could we have some more/closer pics of the legs as they are now? Really like the right claw hand too, looks a lot better than the standard fist. 

 

Also, loving the blight bringer champions and blight launcher .... a lot of people are doing great stuff with the new figures

 

Thanks a lot, and most certainly:

 

 

 

As you can clearly see, there needs to be a bit of green stuffing done, to make the transitions look good, and some creative freedom with muscle anatomy (this is a meld of flesh and machine - to heck with realism! ), but it seems to work quite well, and shouldn't be too hard to reproduce. I'm starting to think that he could use a "loincloth" like my contemptor, though - he has a lot of space between the legs (boy, that sounds wrong - maybe okay for a Slaanesh helbrute? )

 

 

The Daemon Prince is coming along great, I really like the head and I seem to remember a lot of people opposing you on your final typhus head. And he came out brilliantly. I think you're onto something with the Hive Tyrant legs, I've used them on a Daemon Prince before and I think the scale will work a lot better for what your aiming for.

 

The new Dreadnought looks like it's coming together as well, I absolutely love that Claw and may borrow that idea for one of my own. Obviously you still have a lot of work to do with the Dread, looking forward to what you come up with. Oh and have you considered adding the bell from the DI guy to the top of the Dread?

 

Thanks a lot - yep, I'm pretty stubbornly hanging on to the head - I appreciate every comment and critique, but sometimes you've got to hang on to your ideas.

 

And yes, that is definitely a consideration - since I have an extra Blightbringer, I toyed around with it, but I can't help thinking that a rampaging metal box isn't so suited for a top banner? Maybe.

 

Liking the claw, but is it possible to turn the buzz saw around s it cuts and pulls the victim into the fist/ talons inflicting further damage?

 

If it were to spin it would bite into a target on a downward sweep of the arm.

 

Or for a wacky thought use several saw blades stacked together running in opposing directions??

 

Good point! Unfortunately, the bit is made in such a way that it can't be turned around, but good thinking! 

 

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

@ Kraut; I tried the forge fiend legs, but even the smallest one were much too large.

 

Fair enough! I suspected they might be. That being said, the Hive Tyrant legs should work well, at least as a basic structure!

 

Excellent work on the latest batch of conversions! I was planning something rather similar for a Helbrute conversion, though -- damn, you beat me to it Consider the Plaguecaster belly idea borrowed, though, as that is a really, really good idea!

 

Regarding the Plague champion with the Glottkin head: I think he's looking awesome, but I do think you need to build up the stole around his neck a bit more -- it still looks a bit too much like his original head had been cut off (which, in all fairness, it was...).

 

 

Borrow away - that's what these forums are for.

 

Man you're back...and you once again managed to make some of the scariest Chaos stuff out there!

 

Thanks - I aim to disgust.

[GuitaRasmus]

Btw; an easy trick to make the power scourge look more natural, and less flailing in all directions, is to glue on part 70 (one of the flail ends) in the opposite direction - this makes it more forward, and gives an illusion of motion. 

[Sagentus]

Thanks for the extra pics. Defo want to give chopping up the legs a go! And make my helbrute look more unique :-)