The Dirge - Subterranean Death Guard and Lost & The Damned

[acrowsperch]

To start off I'm acrowsperch and I've been into 40k for about 12 years now? I've never really able to play games and had to take a huge break during school from the hobby, but I'm back. 
My ambition has always been to make a Death Guard/Lost and the Damned force following a narrative theme and I finally have the time and resources to make it.

As an intro, I wanted to do the white/green color scheme of the death guard, but with reason to it: in that aspect I always thought the green on the post-corruption Death Guard was a result of algae/microorganisms on the armor that created that hue. Following that trail of thought I wondered what their armor would look like if it was trapped underground for long periods of time, without sunlight, and what the result of that would be for both the Plague Marines and the unfortunate mortals that followed them. Here's the beginning of it, having a HUGE pile of unpainted plastic shame. I've always loved converting, and was heavily inspired by the crows from Ynneadwraith's project for a few models, as you'll see. 

 

A lot of the idea of the project is to create a force where each unit or two of the Lost and the Damned was its own culture/group of people that have been trying to eke out a living in the subterranean environment where the DG rule. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any criticism is welcome, thanks for checking it out!

 

-acrowsperch

 

Sorry if the photos aren't great, I'm going to keep working on a solution to the lighting and only using my phone as a camera

Edited September 4, 2020 by acrowsperch

[Master Umbra]

Man, I feel so related to you. I had been away from the hobby for ages too before I finally decided to start a NL force (I was also waiting for a range resculpt, mind you... call me patient). Besides, I also love converting... I would say I like that more than painting, tbh. Maybe it's because I am still learning. Also, I feel your phone / lightning issues as my own, heh.

Regarding your force, that is an awesome theme you got there! Conversions are clever and effective, congrats! Paint job-wise, my only criticism is the drill effect you were going for in that spike protruding from the shoulder pad. However, I am aware it probably looks way better live (I already said I feel your camera issues). That said, I am no one to critisize your paint job, tbh. Looking forward to the rest of your force. So far, my fav models are the traitor guard with the gasmask (super clever conversion there) and the troops with the AD MECH legs. I bet you had tons of fun converting those!

Keep it up!

[acrowsperch]

@Master Umbra  thank you so much! Yeah I feel the same way about the drill effect. I really painted that one as a test model to see how the grimy-white color would look. Glad you like some! Cheers.

 

So I got some new stuff, but I haven't been able to paint since I want to practice on my traitor forces before I touch some plague marines just to clear the rust. However, where I live it has been super hot and humid (90 F and stormy) for a week now, and I haven't been able to prime anything.

 

 

This here is most of the force to paint. I know its a lot but I'm really excited to dig into it and I have some clear ideas as to how I want my paint scheme to be. Not pictured are: Mortarion, Deathshroud, two more 10man squads of traitor infantry, and a Leman Russ.

 

 

Here are the two 10man squads. When I started the army, after reading a bunch of Horus Heresy stuff, and the Lords of Silence novel, I decided that I didn't want my traitor guard/Lost and the Damned to be super uniform. Moreover, I felt that I wanted the force to be pieced together by small individual squads that are forced to coexist, and each have their own equipment and rituals etc. You'll see that with the differences in the mutants in the previous images-- some are very short and based on Skaven Plaguemonks, whereas others are based on Kroot/Beastman bodies.

 

Another thing that I thought about was poxwalkers. I'm going after the theme that the Death Guard are essentially "herding mortals" into battle in order to wear down the enemies ammunition lines-- along with the theme of subterranean life. In that sense, I didn't want to continue to use the GW stock models for poxwalkers, I felt they looked a little too comical and I'm going for a more "Event Horizon"/Grimdark theme to the army. In that sense I came up with these.

 

 

I felt by giving them a bareskull head and a fleshy, contorted body it more conformed to the notion that these zombies/poxwalkers have been molded and twisted by living in the dark, becoming less human in a more "horror" sense rather than a "tentacles everywhere" sense.

 

So far I'm almost done painting my poxwalkers, just have to finish the bases, then I have to rebase my R&H militia and the Krieg models, and hopefully I'll be able to prime and start painting soon. I'll post a more organized and well lit comeplete-army photo soon, once I get some better lighting. Thanks for looking! As always, any criticism and comments are welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

[Doghouse]

Very nice stuff, you've got some fantastic conversions here. I think the very first one is my favourite.

[Master Umbra]

Kick-ass poxwalkers! Man, a pity pictures are smaller now! It's a bit hard to make out the details of your nice conversions .

[acrowsperch]

@Doghouse Thank you! I have a whole squad planned, I'm not sure what I'll use them for since theyre a little to expensive to use just as plaguebearers but who knows. I'm thinking of getting a Blightkings box for the weapon/bell bitz for them.

@Master Umbra Thanks! I think you can click on the photos? Just in case here are some better shots

 

 

Along with that I've started working on my renegade commander. I'm in a bit of a pickle in that I don't have a bunch of extra bolter bits to use as his weapons, which leaves me kind of stuck concept wise with how I want him to look. My instinct tells me to go with spindly-mechanical arms that are too long to give a creepy feel but I'm not sure. Here he is:

 

 

Hopefully the weather will clear up enough for me to prime and start painting some heretics.

 

-acp

 

P.s. I'm sorry if the pictures are too large. It seems using the gallery as an uploading place makes them very small whereas imgur as a hosting site keeps them huge.

[Master Umbra]

Hey! Yes, but still, the army shots felt a bit too small. I confirm my liking for your Poxwalkers (Naruto run included). Keep it up! Also, good modelling work on the last champ. That's Milliput, right?

[acrowsperch]

Yeah that's milliput-- I'm still not sure how I like it, it seems to be very chalky when I mix it and flakes off constantly and I have to clean up the miniature I'm working on before it dries, but I really like how easy it is to carve. 

That specific poxwalker thing was heavily inspired by a model made for the INQ feature in WD magazine back in 2002 (?) I want to say. Same goes for my bases.

 

My apartment has terrible lighting and I don't have a ton of room but sometime soon, before I start priming everything for painting, I'll have to clean up my desk where I work (best lighting in the house) and take a full army shot. 

[Master Umbra]

Damn! I think I remember... was it there also a Stone Troll with a metal plate covering the top of his head as well? My old WDs are in my house in Gran Canaria, so I cannot dig for it ^^. Still a kick-ass conversion. Regarding milliput, I've heard it is hard to work with, yes. It seems best used for weapons and hard edges, apparently. Mezgike makes great use of it in his conversions (as seen 'ere).

[acrowsperch]

Okay so, this happened

 

Which is exciting, and hopefully its less-humid soon so I can prime and start painting my Lost and the Damned. The big question is, what do I do with this guy:

 

 

I want it to be obviously chaos-y and nurgle-oriented, but I don't want to go overboard with spikes and guts and intestines and stuff. I've though about having a corpse or something on the back, or adding battle damage with my pin vice, but I really don't want to have it look daemon infested, since the heretics using it are still somewhat cohesive units with structure.

 

Any ideas?

 

[Sandalphon]

Nice pair of tanks!

 

I would siggest trophies and/or defaced imperial insignia? Additional patchwork/ ad-hoc extra armour? Or perhaps the beginnings of a nurglish infestation like occasional blisters/ boils?

 

The paint scheme will also obviously help represent its allegiance so it probably doesn't need a lot.

[Master Umbra]

Oh, that looks imposing!

Mmhh... you could play with the underground theme: Why not adding some sort of elements that make them look like they have just came out from beneath the earth? Kind of like Morla in The Never Ending Story:

 

Of course, the hanging roots and mud would only go on some key parts of the model, like the cannon. Anyway, just an idea! I am sure you will come up with something cool.

Cheers!

[acrowsperch]

@Sandalphon I've looked at some of the IG tank accessories, but GW is sold out and I couldn't find any on ebay, once they are in stock though I'll be getting some....

 

@Umbra You're a genius. I got some liquid greenstuff (you'll see below) to play with the idea. Since it's my first tank I didn't want to go hogwild with the additives, but I think in the future I'll superglue some gravel or something to the gun barrel. For now, though, I think I'll use Typhus Corrosion on the tracks etc.

 

Update time! I haven't painted a full squad in over 10 years I want to say? And since then I think my brush handling has gotten a little better, but definitely out of practice-- plus all my brushes have hooked tips so it makes details difficult. I painted a squad of my traitor guard-- I haven't decided on a name for them, but I think I'll build more of these guys to use as the bulk of my "still somewhat cohesive" force. The heads are from Secret Weapon Miniatures and I thought the resin came out fantastically.

 

 

 

I'm really happy with how they came out, considering I haven't painted any miniatures, besides some baseline cultists and practice and some poxwalkers, in almost 10 years. I kept it pretty simple, just basecoats and a wash followed by some light drybrushing, and it really helped bring some confidence back, which I'll use when I paint my Death Guard marines.

 

I also did some work on the commander of the Lost and the Damned. I wanted him to look imposing, but still recognizable as once being human. There's some GS work that still needs to happen on the axe arm, and I think I might make cables running from his head to some kind of powerpack on his belt. I'm not sure though.

 

 

Also! I bought some Blightlords to use some weapon bits for my Plague Bearer conversions, since I like the larger weapons on the skeletal bodies, and ended up making a bodyguard for my commander.

 

 

 

I was also thinking I could use them as Enforcers, if the R&H codex/army list ever gets an update. I'll have to get an IG codex to figure out what to use them for if I ever proxy them...

 

And finally the Leman Russ. I got some Liquid Greenstuff to use to texture parts of the model, just to create that earthy look that Master Umbra was talking about.

 

 

 

I think I'll be waiting to get some tank accessories for some extra armor, just to have that "resilient" aesthetic for it, and I'll for sure be buying more Typhus Corrosion to use on the tracks. I really hope that that will be enough to show the allegiance, along with some oil streaks and battle damage once it gets painted.

 

I didn't really want to go overboard with trophies on this tank, because I feel like there would still be some discipline amongst the rank and file of the traitor force (akin to how Vorx deals with his warriors in the Lords of Silence book) so the trophies would be reserved for the commanders tank.

 

Up next I've been trying to find time to paint those cultists with the admech heads, and the command squad from Forgeworlds R&H line (RIP) I've been heavily focusing on painting my Lost and the Damned force, just because the models are smaller I think it will help me learn some brush control for when I get to painting my Death Guard, and be able to give them the time and detail they deserve.

 

Thanks for reading, as always C&C is heavily appreciated.

ACP

 

[Master Umbra]

Man, this is getting even more interesting!

- Traitor guards: they came out  g r e a t! The lenses are awesome! If this is you without ten years practice, I am looking forward to your progress! Also, I aplaud your strategy of going bottom-up. I am saving my Lord for last, too. For your pencils, I'd recommend some brush soap. I use The Master's Brush Cleaner & Preserver-1 Ounce, which you can find in Amazon for around 14 EUR. It can help fix some of the issues you describe.

 

- Bodyguards: simply stellar. They are already looking like they mean serious stinky business.

 

- Commander: Nice that you found a spare bolter for him! The GS work on the arm should be super easy, considering how good the paunch is looking and how permissive Nurgle is with wobbly GS works. BTW, thanks to you, I am considering trying Miliput. Anyway, you could still play with the underground theme if you add an industrial lamp to his shoulder and connect it to the helmet, which IMHO also needs some "sci-fification" (cables?). Although maybe the lamp would kill the purpose of the underground adaptation theme? My idea was playing with some sort of mining (sub)theme, which would reinforce the idea of him being still human. Mmm... You could also add a respirator, like a small canister attached horizontally to the bottom of his helmet.

 

- Tanks: I am very glad you liked my idea! Looking forward to what you come up with. It is looking promising! I didn't know what Typhus Corrosion was, but now that I've seen a Duncan's video on it, I think you are in the right track here!

 

Keep up the good work!

Edited September 1, 2020 by Master Umbra

[acrowsperch]

@Umbra Thanks! Even 10 years ago I was a novice painter but I'm really happy with how they came out. I'll check out the brush cleaner, I haven't had some since I was in art school, I'll try to pick some up.

 

With the bodyguards and the commander I might do some GS/Milliput work to de-nurgle them a tiny bit, just to make sure they still look somewhat human. With the commander I'm thinking of doing cables, normally I would do a light but I don't know if I have something like that in my bitz box, but a waist/hip mounted light might help a ton. I'm trying to avoid the mining theme with most of my Lost and the Damned just because I feel like that's more the territory of Night Lords cultists/ Genestealer cults, but I'll definitely consider it, especially for future cultist conversions, and I'm going for more "creeping horror" rather than "laborers that turned to chaos".

 

I'm super glad you like them though!

[Master Umbra]

Oh, you make some good points! Everything makes sense. I am also a novice painter, so I simpathise with you ^^. Looking forward for more!

[Urauloth]

Some very cool conversions here. I like the idea of a mix of men and beasts living in a dank underground, it puts me in mind of the plague planet scenes in Lords of Silence. I really like how blightkings look with bolt pistols, those are inspirational. I would say it'd be worth taking the time to strip a few mould lines off here and there - a couple of models have some showing. Nice work, though.

[Brother Dallo]

Some top notch conversions here.

 

The plague bearers are pretty creepy.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dallo

[acrowsperch]

@Urauloth Thank you! I'm really glad you like my idea, I also got some inspiration from Lords of Silence for the plaguebearers, and eventually I want to figure out how to convert bestials that aren't just gors or ungors. With the mold lines I agree, sometimes I get too excited to build and I have to go back to clean them, and my lighting isn't great and I miss some.

 

@Brother Dallo I'm glad you think so! Very appreciated: I'm very proud of my plaguebearers.

 

Update! I primed almost everything in the project, I'm very excited to paint since seeing how well my first squad turned out.

 

 

The army photo is missing cultists (as seen below) and the poxwalkers have since had their bases finished, but otherwise it includes everything built in the force.

Speaking of, finished cultists! I'm very happy with how their cloth came out, I'm still trying to figure out the grey as a secondary color, but I think the green lenses and pale flesh really tie everything together. I find that it's really hard to pair colors with the bone-ish cloth since it's so pale and warm that really the only thing I think fits with the narrative of the army is a grimy grey.

 

 

And I think my commander is nearly done. I feel like he's nearly complete but something seems "missing" and I can't figure out what. I like how the cables balance out the axe in terms of silhouette while still lending some asymmetry to his figure, but I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with him being done, since he's supposed to be the man(?) that shepherding all the human renegades towards the enemy.

 

 

Also pictured is a Sorcerer in Terminator Armor. I'm giving him a force stave and combi-bolter, and I like the bell look as I can imagine him just precipitating his attack with this dull toll in the dark, followed by a massive bell swinging into loyalist forces. However, I'm not sure how I like the pose, and I don't know if I have the parts to change it-- I might have to wait till I pick up another squad of Deathshroud or some Blightlord Terminators (which I'm seriously considering converting from either Deathshroud ala GuitaRasmus or kitbashing with GS). Additionally, I feel like, while I extended the torso a bit, I feel like I might have to cut the legs up and extend them with either milliput or plasticard (any tips here would be HUGE). C&C is especially appreciated on these two (Commander and Sorcerer).

 

 

Finally a little surprise.

 

Last Chancers! I don't remember getting these, I think I might have been gifted them by a friend back when I was 14 or so, but I found them in a bitz box with my old Ork army from 2006. Colonel Schaeffer seems to be missing hopefully he'll turn up. I was considering using them as Mauraders in my army, but seeing as point values are changing, it seems unlikely that the R&H codex will receive an update, so I'll probably have to get an Imperial Guard codex (somewhat grumble) in order to prep the army for deployment once I'm able to find some people to play with.

 

On the other hand, I might paint them up with my partners Thousand Sons and use them either as a kill team, or once this endless Dirge project is nearly painted, make a foray into INQ28.

 

Up next on the list: I was going to paint another unit of ten renegades, but I might take a break and try my hand at a vehicle or my plague marines, but I'm very hesitant as my plague marines are my pride and joy (I spent ages making sure each one was individual) and I want to make sure my brush control is better when I get to them.

 

When you're slogging through painting squad after squad of tiny human infantry, how do you keep yourself motivated? I always look at my previous models and remember how much I like them, or how excited I was to finish them, but sometimes it feels endless.

 

All criticisms are appreciated. I'm pretty new to painting even though I've been in and out of the hobby for the last 14 years, and any tips or encouragement is appreciated greatly.

 

Thanks for looking!
-acp

 

[Master Umbra]

Duuuude, that modelling! How did you make those cables? They look superb! I agree, tho: he kind of lacks something... mmm... A shoulderpad with some cloth or chainmail beneath that covers his arm a bit?

Regarding the sorcerer, no offense, but I think that the pose presents a bit of an issue. After all, he looks like he is striding forward, yet both his arms are extended in the same direction? It's a bit hard to tell from the picture. The disproportionately big weapon feels like something out of Dark Souls, which is not bad per se. I kind of like it in this case. One of the only ways I can see this pose work is that he rests the bell handle on his shoulder. I have never tried to do a similar thing, so I cannot tell how hard it would be.

Regarding your original question about how to upscale him, I would recommend Doghouse's tutorials, althought there are many ways you could do this. A very easy solution would be to chop the legs right when the joint meets the crotch. Then, you put some plasticard or plastic pieces there. After you have done this, you have two ways to go:

 

1- Just model a piece of clothing and/or chainmail that covers the whole area, so it hides the extension of the legs.

 

2- Actually model the joint armor around the plasticard. Seeing how expertly you modelled the cables, this shouldn't be too difficult for you.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited September 5, 2020 by Master Umbra

[acrowsperch]

@Umbra, I made the cables using a tool but you could just as easily use a comb, just make a sausage thing out of GS and roll it with comb/tool for texture.

 

I think with the sorcerer I have to find either bitz or wait till I get Blightshroud Terminators to use a bent arm for the conversion, in order to have the bell rest on his shoulder-- that's the hardest part right now as I don't have a lot of terminator bits and I know if I go buy some ill get other models too and i want to paint at least 2-3 more squads before I do that. And thanks, I'll check out the tutorial, I think that would be the best way to do it, since I probably have some more gs work to do to make him more "nurgle-y".

 

With the commander I think I'm going to let him sit for a bit; I put him on his base just to see him w the army but I think I'll keep him as is for now, and then maybe in the future once he's won a few games make a new model for him.

 

Thank you so much!

[Master Umbra]

I see, thanks for the brief tutorial!

 

Agree, the resting arm conversion sounds a bit hard to pull off. Personally, I have toyed with the idea in the past, but I have never done it. It would involve cutting the forearm and elbow in an angle and rotating the arm angle, which in turn would leave a gap between the chest and the arm. You can fill this in many ways, but I agree it might be a bit cumbersome, so best of luck finding the best fit for your conversion! 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Master Umbra

[acrowsperch]

@Umbra Yeah it seems kind of hard, I got some Blightlords and the extra bits I have dont seem to work. I'm going to try to pin using paperclips and greenstuff to twist the wrist, but it seems like I'll need to spend more time on it.

 

Update time! I finished a squad of heretics. I'm not crazy happy with how they came out, the wash pooled which I don't mind that much but the wash also wasn't as opaque as the wash on the cultists, and I'm not sure why. I'll have to pay more attention to how I do it next time. I don't know if I'll use these as regular guardsmen/renegade or as cultists but it depends on whether R&H receives a 9th update. I've heard there's a unit called Conscripts in the IG codex?

 

 

Also, my commander (self-titled/named Abraxas) is done, for now. I've been debating what to do with him but I think the best course of action is to just leave him be. Maybe after a couple games/campaigns I'll make a new model for him though.

 

 

 

And finally for this update: Blightlord Terminators!

 

 

As with many people I'm sure, I'm not entirely thrilled by the "Fly Guy" model. I might just completely cut him apart and try my hand at a super heavy conversion for the first time, but I'm not sure I have the bits to do it. I've seen GuitaRasmus conversions of Deathshroud into Blightlord Terminators, but I don't know if I'm willing to drop $65 USD on a kit to possible completely ruin it... just yet.

 

Additionally, I don't really like the flail of corruption. I feel like the massive clouds of censer incense coming out of the ends just takes over the model's silhouette and becomes rather bulky-- but I'm not sure what to do about it-- I've been considering either getting jewlery chain and just doing 5-7 human skull heads as the weapon, ideas? Also debating replacing the last 2 terminator heads with my leftover Deathshroud, we'll see how that goes.

 

I'm very tempted to just stop painting my Lost and the Damned for now, since I've getting kind of tired of batch painting, especially when its not even my main force. I have started painting my Renegade Ogryn and one of my psykers though. Hopefully this week I'll build the courage to paint some plague marines, since I really want to start fleshing out the force with some color that isn't just fancy-named cannon fodder (I'm looking at you guardsmen).

 

Thanks for looking. As always, any criticism or comments are welcome and very appreciated.

 

-acp

 

 

[Master Umbra]

Hey!

Regarding your commander, I think you're doing well in leaving him rest a bit. Sometimes doing such things works wonders. I am sure you will find what is amiss with him. As for your Termies, who is the "Fly Guy"? The one in the middle? What is that you don't like exactly? Anyway, your idea for the flail sounds good. I would go for 5 skulls (less to paint I guess).

 

Finally, if you feel like putting them away, by all means, see how it goes. It's a pity, as I enjoy your posts regarding this force, but maybe when you start with the Plague Marines you'll find enough motivation to keep working on this. I think you feel this way because you are not overly satisfied with how your traitor guard / heretics turned out. I mean, for me they do look good and true to the theme you are going for (maybe add some grey dirt weathering on the coat edges, representing some soil?). You can always "fix" the pooling by painting a transition between both colors. Is it worth it tho? I don't think so, as you seem quite fed up with these guys and you are probably better off moving on, at least for the moment. The good thing about this stuff is that we can always revisit what we don't like. It is good enough that you are still painting, even if it's some other stuff. Sometimes we do need some breaks. You can always find a compromise between both projects of course: you paint some Ogres, then go back to your DG and L&TD.

Keep it up!

[acrowsperch]

@Umbra I really appreciate the thought you put into your post. I don't think I'm putting the project aside completely, as it is a joint force of Death Guard and Lost and the Damned, its more that I want to spend more time on models individually, and it'd be fun to start painting my plague marines. That being said, most of the reason I want to swap what I paint is because I just feel like I'm neglecting the Death Guard a bit, and it seems silly to put off what I want to paint when I could just paint it. That being said, I think the pooling will be fine, I will probably go back and do weathering on all the models once I get more brush control, but then again those troopers I just painted will probably just be cultists so I don't mind if theyre a little rough around the edges. There's a saying I learned in art school "you have to waste paint to learn to paint" and I guess the same can be said for models-- though in the end it's not truly wasted is it?

 

Regarding the fly guy, I meant this one with the auto cannon, in the top right. I just don't really enjoy the silhouette? I have yet to see conversions of it though, and I'm a little nervous cutting apart a model that big.

 

I'll definitely continue my Lost and the Damned though, don't worry!