The Lichborne - Homebrew Warband

[Dr_Ruminahui]

You did a great job scoring the base - it looks like they were intended to be that way.  I would love to see a photo with their space marine boss (so, of the whole unit together).

 

Not sure if its just the photo, but the spirit exiting the banner bearer looks like its pointing down at him and going "Heh!  That's me!" 

[Volgon]

I actually did take a picture of the crew but forgot to include it! Here it is:

 

Still have one more to kitbash and paint up which I will base off of the Musician model from the same Barrow Guard kit.

 

I suppose I can include this one as well. Recently I got around to working some more on the Krell inspired conversion from a few months ago and am at this point:

 

I finally replaced the hammer head for the actual axe head. I swapped the shoulder pad and backpack as well but those are not set in stone. IIRC the backpack is a Chosen one with the bone spikes from the old Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon kit. They have some bones and skulls hanging from them which I think is really cool. I want to use them but they feel a bit out of place just sticking them onto a backpack and calling it a day. Probably need some more work. Also I need to figure out what to attach to the chain across his chest. Originally it was a small skull but the axe head and the arms not quite fitting onto the body means it's a little fiddly and the original decoration may not fit.

[Tallarn Commander]

Would a couple of nice bloodied human heads work for a necklace, like you did on a character earlier this year?

[Volgon]

@Tallarn Commander Thanks for the suggestion, I think heads will probably be too large though. If you notice on the base (I honestly forgot I put it there) is the skull I had originally stuck on it. It's quite tiny, about the size of or even smaller than a fist. I might be able to modify it to fit though. Trim off some of the back of the skull so it sits more flush, or remove one of the links of chain so it sits higher up.

 

There's other options though, I just haven't gone through my bitz box specifically looking for a solution. I have a bony hand from the Black Templars upgrade sprue which can probably fit, and is also flat so should sit well against the chest. Or some pieces from the old Forge World Night Lords dreadnought (I think?), lots of very skinny bones and such.

[Volgon]

Quick update, I put together the last of the skeletal servitor trio. I continued the spectral design aesthetic. For this one I'm going for a "I just opened a cursed urn and am regretting it". Made the urn by hollowing out the drum included for the Musician of the squad. Will be nice to apply some of the things I learned on the first two on this project. 

 

[Volgon]

Kitbashing adventures continue as I have started to convert some spare Sword Brethren bodies into mini-Krells. I used the same pieces as Krell to make the robes. I wasn't sure if I could fully replace the lower half of the front tabard like I did with Krell so instead I did some cutting and drilling. I could probably do more but I am wary about messing up the contours and folds of the cloth that are sculpted on. I might try sculpting some folds where the robes attach to the waist as it looks a little rough.

 

Still a fair amount to do. I mentioned this before but I'd like these guys to look more mutated than the rest of my force. Stuff like bone spikes and horns that you see on Plague Marines. Maybe actual skulls rather than helmets (though I don't think the skulls I had in mind originally will fit). My idea here is that their squad leaders are minor sorcerers/necromancers and so the regular Marines are often exposed to unholy energies.

 

The loadouts are not final, as I'm not really sure where these guys will fit in my force. Currently I'm leaning towards them as battleline (specifically, the Initiates in a Crusader Squad). My current idea is:

• Sword Brother Squad leader - a necromancer
• 5x Initiates - the kitbashes in this post
• 4x Neophytes - Barrow guard or Deathrattle skeletons

Lorewise, I'm thinking that the warband employs "Crusader" Squads as heavy assault/line breakers. The "neophytes" are sent forward as undead chaff, while the marines follow behind in heavier power armor (hence using the Sword Brethren kit) as they are the speartip. I like the idea, and I love the Sword Brethren kit, just not 100% on whether I want to use it as the basis for battleline squads rather than a more elite unit. I've been considering the Plague Marine kit, as they look pretty chonky which is what I'm after, and they also have a large selection of sculpts which is quite nice. They look like a fair bit of work to de-Nurgle, though, and I'd want to give them gorgets somehow (either by sculpting or using donor models, or a combination).

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I like the 2 new models, particularly the second.  It can be hard to pose power fists so that they are both noticeable and natural looking, and I think you've pulled that off.

 

If you are going for more heavily mutated, I would look to kitbashing with the possessed kit rather then plague marines - plague marines, while heavily mutated, are in a way that is, to me, distinctively nurgle, and I think the possessed kit gives a greater range of bits without that visual baggage.

[Volgon]

I do agree that Plague Marines are quite Nurgly in their aesthetic, but the de-nurglifying would remove a lot of that. All of the tentacles, eyeballs, teeth, mouths would be gone. Not sure if you've seen them before but Sam Shand on instagram has a lovely force of Iron Warriors with a mix of new Heresy Mk3 and de-plagued Plague Marines. I think much of my warband has a fairly fantasy/medieval vibe though, while the Plague Marine sculpts are fairly brutal and functional, so they wouldn't quite mesh, hence me leaning towards using Sword Brethren at the moment.

 

The Possessed are, unfortunately, mostly mutated in the complete opposite direction I'm look for. Endless flesh, hooves, musculature, bestial aspects, etc. Some of that can be fixed by painting but most of them would require a lot of work and limb swapping. They have a fair bit of bone though which I can use as inspiration; I'm already adding things like bone growths on pauldrons and on backpacks, but small spikes on the forearms, maybe skeletal hands (I had considered a while ago just using skeletal limbs from Sigmar kits but the scale is quite off) and bone themed weaponry.

[Volgon]

Lots of updates today! Finally finished my Grimaldus proxy, all 3 servitors completed:

 

Learned a lot on this little project! I found a new recipe for weathered black armor which I really like, definitely plan on reusing it in the future. Just the weathering in general on all the metals came out great. Not sure if it will replace the black recipe I had been on my recent few character conversions but we will see. More practice on ghosts is always good, and glad to see the new basing scheme in action. I will definitely continue using it. 

 

Also iterated on the kitbashes from my previous post. Added some accessories and some bone growths thanks to a few donor Poxwalkers. Also am of two minds on the power fist pose: something more passive but menacing or a more action oriented pose aiming a pistol.

[Volgon]

The hobby bug continues to bite! This is a project I started sometime last year but didn't move on with it until now. It's been on my mind lately so I think will be my next painting project.

 

In my mind he's a Night Lords Praetor. I feel like the specific models I use for the core of the build don't give much of a Heresy vibe, so I'm thinking Late Heresy/Scouring, or maybe Artificer Armor? I scribed lines and sculpted stitches to turn the robe from cloth into flayed skin; looks rough right now but should come together once painted.

 

A bit of lore I'm brewing up: he is a bitter arbiter, weighing the scales of the soul. I wanted him to have a headsman vibe, hence the executioner's style sword, and the engraving on the flat of the blade fits into the arbiter motif. I was considering removing all the purity seal type strips decorating his armor but I'm going to turn them into twisted oaths of moment: his "hit list" so to speak of targets. I'll paint up some text and then decorate it with red X's or circles on his prime targets/ones he's gotten, hopefully should look really cool. Also need to fill in the Chaos star on the strip of skin on the backpack, assuming I keep that piece attached. 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Loving the 3 "servitors" - they all look great, and are particularly effective all together.

 

For the power fist guy, my personal favourite pose is the one aiming the plasma pistol - its got a nice sense of motion to him, lets you see the chest and has a clear sense of purpose to it that I feel it lacking from the last pose.

 

Love the new guy - he sure is a fearsome fella.  Only thing I don't like is the skull behind his head - I think it distracts from the helmet and makes the silhouette of the model too busy.  That AOS model sure is a good base for chaos characters - I bought one as well, which I converted to be a Cypher stand in.

[Volgon]

Thanks @Dr_Ruminahui! I actually totally agree with you re: the skull on the power pack. As soon as I saw the photos I removed it. And yeah, that model is really cool, though I find it looks a bit tiny or skinny in its base form. I completely swapped the torso and thus had to sculpt some biceps from scratch to ensure that the forearms still connected well. The shoulders are a pain too; they are really big (lots of cloth I guess) and so no shoulder pad besides a Terminator one fits without modification, and even after you do that it's still a bit of an awkward angle for them to sit at.

[Tiny Tim]

On 12/26/2025 at 11:54 AM, Volgon said:

The hobby bug continues to bite! This is a project I started sometime last year but didn't move on with it until now. It's been on my mind lately so I think will be my next painting project.

 

In my mind he's a Night Lords Praetor. I feel like the specific models I use for the core of the build don't give much of a Heresy vibe, so I'm thinking Late Heresy/Scouring, or maybe Artificer Armor? I scribed lines and sculpted stitches to turn the robe from cloth into flayed skin; looks rough right now but should come together once painted.

 

A bit of lore I'm brewing up: he is a bitter arbiter, weighing the scales of the soul. I wanted him to have a headsman vibe, hence the executioner's style sword, and the engraving on the flat of the blade fits into the arbiter motif. I was considering removing all the purity seal type strips decorating his armor but I'm going to turn them into twisted oaths of moment: his "hit list" so to speak of targets. I'll paint up some text and then decorate it with red X's or circles on his prime targets/ones he's gotten, hopefully should look really cool. Also need to fill in the Chaos star on the strip of skin on the backpack, assuming I keep that piece attached. 

 Extremely cool warband you've got here, love the colour scheme and the vibe the judge here is a particular favorite, very very cool pose !

[Volgon]

@Tiny Tim Thank you brother, this is my first painting project ever so it's been fun looking back at my progression! And I agree 100% with the judge; the base model (Lord Terminos from Skaventide) does most of the work. I actually love this kitbash so much I am going to go ahead and paint him up for my warband rather than as a Night Lord as originally intended. It's actually inspired me to potentially widen the aesthetic scope of the army! Lately I've been trying to use design cues from some of the AoS Death factions: Soulblight Gravelords (things like tattered robes, human skulls, and weathered armor), Ossiarch Bonereapers (bone crests, shields, some weaponry), and Nighthaunt (all of the ghostly pieces, bases).

 

However I was firmly set against using Flesheater Courts, because most of them are not undead, and also because they are very much the "fleshy" Death faction while I much prefer the skeletal/spectral stuff. Working to convert the judge's cloth robe into a flesh one made me think I could use that as a way to incorporate the Courts into my army. Flayed skin robes, body parts on spikes or hooks. Marines using shields with flayed faces or skin draped across. The usual stuff. Unfortunately this is 100% Night Lords territory and I am not sure there is much wiggle room to make it my own rather than "light blue Night Lords" so I may abandon the idea. For now it's still in the brainstorming phase but at least Marines don't lack for robes and tabards; lots of kits to base the squad off of!

[Tiny Tim]

3 hours ago, Volgon said:

@Tiny Tim Thank you brother, this is my first painting project ever so it's been fun looking back at my progression! And I agree 100% with the judge; the base model (Lord Terminos from Skaventide) does most of the work. I actually love this kitbash so much I am going to go ahead and paint him up for my warband rather than as a Night Lord as originally intended. It's actually inspired me to potentially widen the aesthetic scope of the army! Lately I've been trying to use design cues from some of the AoS Death factions: Soulblight Gravelords (things like tattered robes, human skulls, and weathered armor), Ossiarch Bonereapers (bone crests, shields, some weaponry), and Nighthaunt (all of the ghostly pieces, bases).

 

However I was firmly set against using Flesheater Courts, because most of them are not undead, and also because they are very much the "fleshy" Death faction while I much prefer the skeletal/spectral stuff. Working to convert the judge's cloth robe into a flesh one made me think I could use that as a way to incorporate the Courts into my army. Flayed skin robes, body parts on spikes or hooks. Marines using shields with flayed faces or skin draped across. The usual stuff. Unfortunately this is 100% Night Lords territory and I am not sure there is much wiggle room to make it my own rather than "light blue Night Lords" so I may abandon the idea. For now it's still in the brainstorming phase but at least Marines don't lack for robes and tabards; lots of kits to base the squad off of!

 

I absolutely understand wanting to stand apart with your guys but I wouldn't sweat the "X legion does this and that" alot of chaos space marine traits are alot more shared than just only night lords can flay a guy, I for one think your paint scheme stands out as its own thing as well as all the ghosts that you just don't see many people convert with.

 

keep up the good work

[Dr_Ruminahui]

One thing you might want to do is a single squad that is more nightlord-sy that you can field as a unit of Nemesis Claws while still being in your own colour scheme.  That would let you determine whether it makes your entire force look too much like "light blue night lords" or whether it would be fine to sprinkle the flesh bits more broadly in your force.

[Volgon]

I've continued to iterate and experiment with some basic Marine designs. I am overall quite happy with using the Sword Brethren bodies as I previously posted, but I wanted to explore more options. One design cue I like is found on a few models: torsos with a rib cage design over which an armor plate is placed. You can find it on the Judiciar, Indomitus Chaplain, and most recently the Execrator models to see what I'm talking about. Luckily the design was simple, and I was able to recreate it pretty easily with some sculpting. It should be easy to replicate across a squad. I used one of the bodies from the Crusader Squad and mocked it up:

 

I think it looks pretty good overall. I'm trying out a Flawless Blade arm; normally I stay away from exposed flesh for this army but the Flawless Blade arms in particular are very bony, so I think I could actually paint them up to look like skeletal hands which could be cool. Might have to try a tester first though.

 

The torso needs something more though, it's too bare for my tastes. I made an attempt at sculpting a larger gorget (something similar in design to the Sword Brethren one) but I couldn't really get it to work so scrapped it for now, but I will probably try again. Other options could be DIY amulets with jeweler's chain and small trophies like skulls or bones. I could probably sculpt some Chaos trim around the edge of the upper most chest plate. I'm kind of blanking on more thematic options at the moment though; not really interested in going for a utilitarian look with just rivets or blank plates, so I'll have to look around for inspiration.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I really like the ribcage effect, but agree the chestplate needs something on it.  I think all of your suggestions would work - maybe a bone necklace like the one on the powerfist guy above?

[Volgon]

@Dr_Ruminahui definitely an option, though I think that specific bit would be too large and block some of the sculpted detail. But something similar is what I'd be going for.

 

I've actually (hopefully) come up with a solution: blue stuff! I had an unusable Sword Brethren torso and was able to cleanly remove the gorget. The gorget is the design cue I like the most from that kit so I'd like to keep it present across the squad.

 

I'm going to give press molding a try with some Oyamaru to make a mold and replicate the collar with Milliput. Seems like a simple process so hopefully it works and the detail loss (if any) isn't too bad.