Chronicles of the Venak'Tor Nox - Night Lords WIP thread

[Trysanna]

I've somehow managed to hit a good stride with my painting and finished the Rhino for Second Claw. Nothing fancy, I've always struggled with painting vehicles so I made sure I actually got this one finished instead of going crazy with the paintjob. Overall this took me about two days, though I could easily spend much longer on it. I am pretty happy with how the red lenses on the canopy came out, it was a good way to add a splash of red to the model, which all my Night Lords have. It does look a little small even next to just 3 Marines, but I suppose scale has always been a little wacky for 40k's vehicles. Either way, I'm happy to have the armies first tank finished. I'm currently working on the retro-Vindicator, and hope to finish that over the weekend.

 

 

 

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

I think it looks great - the lenses on the cupola are lovely, and damage is spot-on, and the lightning is great

[ZeroWolf]

You've definitely made it look like that Rhino has seen some action, great work!

[Trysanna]

I'm happy you all like the Rhino, and thanks to Firedrake for making me remember it's a cupola! Never was any good at tank anatomy. With that said, I finished up the retro Vindicator. It's a hefty little tank. A fair bit of it is metal, and like the Dreadnought, I'll always be a bit scared of dropping it.

 

It being an older model, it is a bit smaller than the current Rhino kit, but considering I don't have to pretend it fits 10 whole Marines, I'm okay with it. I actually really like the older style of Marine vehicles, they had a certain charm. I almost wish I had more tanks lying around, I'm impressed with how fast I knocked both these out and want to continue with that pace. Probably more Berzerkers to come.

 

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

I think it came out very nicely  

 

Like you say, the old kits had some character, like the shell craters being moulded on.  I know what you mean about the weight of the mixed-material vehicle kits (I have the old Whirlwind).

[Trysanna]

Hobby progress has been a bit slow lately, but the Chaos Lord reveal from Adepticon has given me a bit of motivation. To start, I've been working on getting the Retro-Berzerkers painted. They're all currently at this stage, but I figured a single mini would look better than a half painted mob. My usual method is to get everything basecoated before a wash, in this case dark brown. Getting to this point is always a bit tedious to me, but now I can work on the fun part of layering and highlighting. I'm hoping to have the squad finished this week.

I've also been poking around to see what I want to work on next for the warband, and decided to go with another Chaos Legionary squad and some more Raptors. I built both squads a couple years ago, but they still hold up and I'm looking forward to working on them.

The second Legionary squad was built using the Plague Marine kit with all the Nurgle icons cut away. It gives them a heavier, more mutated vibe than Second Claw, which I quite like. The Raptors are built like my first 5, using the Chaos Legionary bodies with Jump Pack converted onto their backs. Pretty simple, but I like their bulk. I couldn't resist giving the second Raptor Champion the classic dual Lightning Claws.

And while I was digging through old models, I found some lovely Dark Eldar. I'd always planned to add them to the Warband, and figured Kaygil could use some company. Again, just showing off the squad leaders, but I have 5 Kabalite Warriors that I'll just be calling Corsairs, and 5 Scourges. I adore the Scourges, I'm a huge sucker for Valkyrie themed characters/units, and they'll compliment what I have planned for another character in the warband. Very excited to work on more Eldar women, they're probably my favourite thing in 40k. I'm hoping to get to them soon, just have to wait for the weather to clear and I can get a bunch of priming done.

And while I'm on the topic of Eldar women, I figured I'd quickly show off my Jain Zar I painted a couple years ago. Absolutely gorgeous model, I love how dynamic and bold she is.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Jain Zarr came out great

[Dosjetka]

It has been a real pleasure going through your board-related hobby projects from the past couple of years! The Night Lords are looking as great as ever, I'm excited to see more Khorne Berzerkers, and the Eldar character models you've painted so far are simply jaw-dropping.

 

Thanks for sharing and I'm greatly looking forward to the next update!

[Trysanna]

On 3/26/2024 at 1:55 AM, Firedrake Cordova said:

Jain Zarr came out great

Thanks! I was inspired by her previous colour scheme, but couldn't resist the bold red mane. She has a squad of Banshees for company that I painted at the same time, and she'll be getting a big fiery friend soon too.

 

On 4/17/2024 at 2:27 AM, Dosjetka said:

It has been a real pleasure going through your board-related hobby projects from the past couple of years! The Night Lords are looking as great as ever, I'm excited to see more Khorne Berzerkers, and the Eldar character models you've painted so far are simply jaw-dropping.

 

Thanks for sharing and I'm greatly looking forward to the next update!

Thanks Dos! I've been really enjoying the process and watching this little band of raiders grow. I'll be adding more Eldar to the mix soon, hopefully they impress just as much!

Speaking of updates, while it's nothing too major, I slapped some basecoats on Third Claw, the Corsairs, and Scourges. The metallics are always a bit tedious, but I really enjoy looking at this stage of the process. It has a certain charm.

The Vilebloods here have a fair bit of work yet, I still need to basecoat some bone/horns, but progress is progress. I'd like to keep the mutations a darker red, so I'll be knocking those down to a more bloody tone. Really excited to have another Plasma weapon in the army, I really like how the neon pink pops against all the midnight blue.

 

The Corsairs need a healthy amount of black-lining and shading, plus some basecoats on the wings, hair and flayed skin. (Love that them and my NL share that hobby, I like to think its a bonding exercise) I plan on giving the Scourges big dark Raven wings, and I'll probably keep the guns pretty dark too. I want to keep to the slightly monochromatic feel that I tried to shoot for with Kaygil. If anyone is curious, this character was the inspiration behind her. The white hair, dark clothing, and red sword/accents were just so striking to me, I love it.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Those Dark Eldar are going to look very striking

[Evil Eye]

Nice blog! Loving those Night Lords. I think my favourite is that Dreadnought, but I'm a sucker for a Dreadnought, especially that lovely old pewter Chaos Dread. The plasma glow is very well accomplished.

 

I know it's another vehicle but I'd be interested to see you tackle the old Defiler kit. It's IIRC a bit of a sod to get assembled and cleaned up (lots of mold lines) but I have a real soft spot for the ol' death crab.

[Trysanna]

1 hour ago, Evil Eye said:

Nice blog! Loving those Night Lords. I think my favourite is that Dreadnought, but I'm a sucker for a Dreadnought, especially that lovely old pewter Chaos Dread. The plasma glow is very well accomplished.

 

I know it's another vehicle but I'd be interested to see you tackle the old Defiler kit. It's IIRC a bit of a sod to get assembled and cleaned up (lots of mold lines) but I have a real soft spot for the ol' death crab.

Thanks! I've been wanting to add that specific Dread to my collection for years, it's a lovely model and I much prefer it to the Helbrute. Seriously, why no crab claws? 

 

I've honestly been thinking of adding a Defiler to the army. I know they get a bad rep but I kind of love it? It might be because of the way it was animated in DoW, but I can help but love the funky little crab. I have painted one before for a friend, but that was a few years ago. I think I have some photos somewhere of the thing, I'll put them up if I can find them. It's definitely a classic tho, and I'd love to see it yet an update. 

[Wormwoods]

20 hours ago, Trysanna said:

Really excited to have another Plasma weapon in the army, I really like how the neon pink pops against all the midnight blue.

Plasma weapons really are a gift, aren't they? Great excuse for a splash of bright colour.

 

Loving how this is all coming together. Sorry you have to do all that metallic trim!

[Trysanna]

1 minute ago, Wormwoods said:

Plasma weapons really are a gift, aren't they? Great excuse for a splash of bright colour.

 

Loving how this is all coming together. Sorry you have to do all that metallic trim!

Ugh, it's fine, I did it to myself. I've been painting Chaos since I was 14 or so, I knew what I was getting myself into. Really tho, did the coolest faction have to have the most trim? I suppose that's the price Chaos fans pay for being objectively the best faction with the sexiest fanbase. And yeah, I absolutely love how much pop Plasma weapons can add to a squad or an army. I might do a whole Chosen squad armed with just Plasma weapons, but I also don't want to overdo it on the infantry. I already have 20 Chaos Marines, 20 Berzerkers, and 10 Raptors in the army, plus some Cultists.

 

I did some digging and managed to find a couple photos of that Defiler I painted a couple years back. The quality isn't great, this was before I figured out what decent lighting was, but I'm still pretty happy with the result. It was for a Khorne heavy Black Legion army, so I worked some reds and blood into the look.

 

I think I painted this crabby little fella in a single day, so it's hardly my best work, but I figure it's always fun to look back and see how you've improved and all that. I promise I'll have something much nicer to look at next time.

[SvenIronhand]

Love the PLOG.

[Evil Eye]

17 hours ago, Trysanna said:

It might be because of the way it was animated in DoW

I literally cannot even think about the Defiler without hearing the thudding metallic footfalls of those mechanical legs from the game. "DUN-DUN, DUN-DUN, DUN-DUN".

[Trysanna]

6 hours ago, Evil Eye said:

I literally cannot even think about the Defiler without hearing the thudding metallic footfalls of those mechanical legs from the game. "DUN-DUN, DUN-DUN, DUN-DUN".

And the synch kill animations? Some of the best animations I've seen. The life it gives the setting. God, DoW ruled. The whole series is such a great way to 'see' the setting in action, especially with mods that allow a larger scale. It's always been a great source of inspiration, I love it. Boy, that 3rd instalment tho...

[YannTheMad]

The vilebloods plaguemarine loo very promising! Can't wait to see the progress.

Defiler looks great too, especialy like the "altar" head tbh.

Great work!

[Trysanna]

Made some progress on a few units today, including getting a member of 3rd Claw finished. Pretty happy with the look, hopefully they're easy enough to read as a Legionary.

 

 

[Terminatorinhell]

He looks very menacing. I miss that helmet design. 

[Trysanna]

Managed to hit a good stride and get another member of Third Claw finished. I really like this helmet design, it feels very suitable for the Night Lords.

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

They look great.  The flayed flesh tabard is "particularly Night Lords".

[Trysanna]

On 4/23/2024 at 12:32 AM, Firedrake Cordova said:

They look great.  The flayed flesh tabard is "particularly Night Lords".

Thanks! It's definitely something I wanted to keep pretty consistent across the army. Anytime there's something that could be painted as a tabard or loincloth, paint it as flayed skin.

 

Got another member of 3rd Claw finished.

 

I quite like the pose on this one. A confidant, powerful stride, and one of the coolest Bolters. I love the drum mag, I also noticed I missed a highlight on the weapon hand so I'll have to fix that. I'm not super fond of the helmet design, but I didn't want everyone to look too similar.

[Firedrake Cordova]

They look great - you're definitely right about the pose!  I didn't realise the head was a stock one - it looked a bit like a Primaris head to me?

 

Ah yes, drum mag bolters ... more ammo but more likely to jam, if my memory of Inquisitor is correct.