k0nahrik’s Black Legion

[k0nahrik]

Hey all! 
 

Welcome to my shiny new thread. Some of you will know me from my 30k Iron Warriors and Dornian Heresy White Scars threads that I’ve had up here over the years, among other things. In the last year I’ve moved across the country and, unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of room to bring those projects with me! A crying shame, I know. 
 

However, that has left me with a clean slate to start a new force! No more half-finished projects staring at me, begging to be completed. At least not for a while. 
 

So, I’ve decided to go ahead with an army I’ve wanted to put together for years - the better part of a decade, actually. Black Legion! Some of you may faintly recall my Fifteen Fangs warband, which I built way back in 2018, when Kill Team first came out. That was my first foray into CSM, but, after finishing the conversions, the project never went anywhere. Until now! When visiting home a couple months back the models caught my eye and I got inspired to take them and expand them into a full Black Legion force. But more on that later.

 

Today my offering is the one and only, the unmistakeable, Warmaster of Chaos: Abaddon, the Despoiler.

 

Abaddon has been my favourite character in the setting for a long while now - ever since I first got my teenage mitts on ADB’s Talon of Horus, an experience I’m sure a lot of you can agree with. Needless to say - other characters from the book will be cropping up here and there in this thread.

 

Over the last few weeks I’ve chipped away at the big guy, and finally finished him up today! He was an absolute blast to paint, and a really excellent model all around.
 

A few notes about creative decisions:

• I decided I wanted that infamous red underglow, and it was the first part of the model I’d say was in anyway completed. Looking at it reminded me of the iconic Horus V the Emperor painting, so I decided to paint that fallen marine on the base as a Blood Angels Sanguinary Guard - with an mind towards making the broken wing statue on the base appear as though it was the wing from said Sanguinary Guard’s jump-pack. I wanted Abaddon, clad in black and gold terminator armour, wielding his father’s talon, and stood over a winged, golden-armoured warrior to look the spitting image of his own father - a sort of meta life-imitates-art take, with an ironic twist in that Abaddon probably would hate to know how similar he appears to Horus in this moment I have captured him in.

• Left the cape off - I wanted that classic Abaddon silhouette that alluded to his old mini. Cool as the cape looks, it doesn’t feel like Abaddon to me. Plus it obscures some cool details to be found on the back!

• Trophy rack - I had so much fun painting up some of my friend’s armies as trophies mounted on Abaddon’s spike rack. We have an Ultramarines lieutenant as played by my friend James, and my friend Raj’s green-and-black Tyranids. I’ve purposefully left the left-most skull (which has Space Marine Bionics attached to it) partially unpainted, so I can add another space marine faction if desired.

 

Coming up - I’ve got plans for a terminator retinue for Abaddon, with a member representing each of the chaos gods. I also have a squad of possessed, and the aforementioned Fifteen fangs kill team, which I will re-photograph to be added to this thread later on.

 

And that’s all for today folks! Cheers for reading, stick around if you wanna see more! If you want more frequent updates, my Instagram, @jallens40k, gets WIP photos as often as I work on my minis. Laters!

 

 

 

 

[Grotsmasha]

Amazing work, can't wait for the rest of the project

[Firedrake Cordova]

Nicely done

[INKS]

He looks really great

[W.A.Rorie]

Love it!

[k0nahrik]

Hey guys!

 

Over the weekend I was reunited with my wider Warhammer collection, including all the old chaos models I’ve collected over the years. It forms a pretty tremendous basis for an army, so I’ll get them all pictured for a big upload this week.

 

In the meantime, today’s offering brings a really fun conversion I made! I got my hands on a print of the Cyberdemon model from the DOOM 2016 boardgame, and knew immediately I wanted him in the legion.

 

 

Super stoked with how he turned out. The stock model was great but kind of lacking  in the gothic sci-fi aesthetic of 40k, so I made some changes - added armour and swapped out the legs using parts from the Venomcrawler. Used a lot of parts from the Havocs kit to arm him up for 40k combat - I’m planning to run him as an Obliterator

 

Here’s a comparison with one of the stock Obliterator models - he’s a quite a bit taller but I’m pretty happy with the size profile matching up otherwise

Theres still much work to be done - I want to add more CSM-style armour, need to gap fill and sculpt details, blend the kits together, and sort out the ammo chain looking a little janky.

 

Let me know what you think! Cheers for reading!

[Firedrake Cordova]

Looks great  

[k0nahrik]

Hey all!

 

Threw together this quick Fallen Deathwing Knight today.

I want to make a five-man terminator honour guard for Abaddon, with a terminator from each of the cult legions and an undivided champion to lead. This guy is gonna fill out that role - Perhaps he could be Vortigern? 
 

[Firedrake Cordova]

That's a simple yet very effective idea

[Dr_Ruminahui]

That's really neat - for some reason, to me it really makes him look like an elephant (more so than I would expect the head itself to generate - not sure why the hood is reinforcing that appearance)... so, really helping reinforce the beastial look of chaos in a perhaps unanticipated way.

[Pearson73]

Great job on Abaddon, the glow is very well done. I love the themes that you worked into the model, and it's also a fun touch to personalise the trophy rack.

 

Damn, though you're running him as an Obliterator, I'd say it really puts the brute into Helbrute!

[k0nahrik]

Hey all! 
 

Been a little while, i’ve had a busy summer and not much time to dedicate to 40k. All that has changed today though!

 

As i mentioned previously, i’m building an honour guard for Abaddon, with a member from each of the cult legions - today we’ll be addressing the World Eaters and Khorne

 

Now, i was a little sore when the eightbound were revealed for the World Eaters - having them replace dedicated Khorne terminators stung, especially in comparison to the amount of love Thousand Sons and Death Guard especially got when they had their range refreshes. It stung double because the eightbound are actually some really, really good models.

 

I knew i wanted to use one as the base of a terminator conversion, but, I didn’t want to just  throw a few CSM terminator parts on to an eightbound and call it a day. I’m using a 40k Deathshroud model for the nurgle champion, so i want to at least match that level of legion-specific detail in the Khorne champion. The problem was doing that while A) remaining within the design conventions of normal 40k, and B) maintaining the scale. This kind of immediately wrote off the FW models like Zhufor or the old Khorne Terminator upgrades - they were too small, and IMO the style of mini is too different from modern 40k aesthetics, i think they’d stick out too much.
 

Thankfully, GW did happen to release a freshly updated, scale appropriate Khorne model in terminator armour fairly recently - i’d just forgotten about it for so long. Azrakh the annihilator filled in the space i wanted very nicely!

 

I knew i couldn’t use Azrakh as-is. He possesses a few details that, while awesome, are clear callbacks to the original artwork he’s based on from the 90s, which meant they were a little too cartoonish for normal 40k standards. Commence the fusion of his model with the eightbound!

 

without further ado:

 

I’m VERY happy with how this turned out. I still need to do a little sculpting around the back of the legs to restore some detail I had to cut away, but the mini’s otherwise meshed together really well and only needed to be cut in to shape without too much reliance on green-stuff. This guy is absolutely huge too - about half a head taller than the already massive deathshroud models.

 

I used Azrakh’s torso, shoulders, and the front of his legs - everything else is eightbound. I was a little unsure at first if the eightbound’s power armoured legs would look odd on a terminator body, but they’re so big I think they actually look just fine. I’m really enjoying the mutated, muscular look of the leg armour too.

 

That’s all for today! Cheers for reading :) 

[Tallarn Commander]

This is a most creative kitbash. Huzzah!

[KrautScientist]

That's a really cool kitbash! The only thing I am not sold on is the circular saw hand, but that's really just a question of personal preference.

[k0nahrik]

 

This is a most creative kitbash. Huzzah!

 

 

That's a really cool kitbash! The only thing I am not sold on is the circular saw hand, but that's really just a question of personal preference.

 

Thanks guys! Yeah, the circular saw is my favourite part of the eightbound kit, so it had to be in there for me! 

[k0nahrik]

Hey all!

 

Today I bring the next member of my terminator squad - a sorcerer champion of Tzeentch. 
 

 

Still a WIP atm - I need to do a good bit of sculpting on the cape in order to make it look nice, and I’m toying with the idea of adding some curved horns to the torso a la Magnus. Beyond that, however, I’m very pleased with how it’s turning out. It’s based on the new terminator librarian because those carved runes are just too good to resist. I was a tad worried about the size of the left arm, as it’s a normal power armour arm from the exalted sorcerer set, but somehow I don’t feel like it looks off at all, which is a score. I think it’s my favourite part of the model - it’s pose paired with the levitating rocks is *chefs kiss* to me. 
 

Let me know what you think! Cheers for reading 

 

[Grotsmasha]

 

I’m toying with the idea of adding some curved horns to the torso a la Magnus

 

Maybe you could add them to the roundels on the corners of the shoulderpads? Would be the same vibe?

[k0nahrik]

 

 

Maybe you could add them to the roundels on the corners of the shoulderpads? Would be the same vibe?

Would be an elegant solution! I think they may have been too raised in relation to the crest spikes, but in any case, by the time I’d seen this I’d already added blades to the chest!

 

I also added some scrolls to his belt instead of the normal terminator belt buckle

 

Edited October 7, 2024 by Firedrake Cordova

[Naryn]

Looks absolutely amazing! What a fantastic and cohesive conversion.

[Grotsmasha]

They look great

[k0nahrik]

Hey guys! Small update today

 

With student finance coming in recently, I got myself a treat:

I remember being a wide eyed twelve year old when the first proper imperial knight kits dropped, how much I wanted one, and thinking I’d probably never get one since they cost like, a whole year’s worth of pocket money. Fast forward a decade and a bit, being a grown-ass man with expendable finances, and a taste for the chaotic, I decided to treat myself to one!

 

Went for the volkite/chainsword loadout on this guy. Only minor changes made - I loved the tusked look of one of the stock knight masks, but, the mask itself I wasn’t the hugest fan of. Managed to attach the tusks instead to the underside of the knight’s head, and have magnetised the face so that I can swap between the abundant mask options as I please. As it stands, it’s a tie between this one pictured and the pure bone mask for my favourite. I also magnetised the exhausts on the knight’s back - I can take them off and remove the carapace, so I’ve got ample space inside the actual torso - which is where I’m storing the spare mask options, and where I also plan to install a pilot at some point. I also bought a handful of loyalist knight masks off eBay and have them as trophies on the carapace, impaled on the spikes. Modifying and installing them was a lot of fun. I used the chain from an old necklace and threaded it through the eyes of one of the masks so I could get more than two on there. I like to think the skull trophies are from these fallen knights’ pilots. This guy isn’t gonna be painted for a long while - I’ve resolved to get a big chunk of my force fully painted before I can set my sights on this guy, for motivation. Which brings me to my next image!

 

A friend gifted me the chaos half of his old dark vengeance set, which had been collecting dust since he migrated to age of sigmar. 
 

This is the first of many cultists in the set. I’d like to have an equal or greater number of cultists than actual astartes in this force, as lore wise they form the backbone of the traitor legion’s forces. I’m painting these guys to a lesser standard than big important models like abaddon, but I’m still happy with how it turned out.

 

as always, let me know what you think! Cheers for reading!

[Dr_Ruminahui]

He looks great, and I'm sure you'll have a blast painting him - I know I did mine.  You should really start a thread in the Chaos knights subforum to show off and discuss your new force - and maybe one in the CSM subforum for your Dark Vengence guys as well.  

 

I like what you did with the tusks and the various masks chained to the carapace - I did something similar with my knights, though the tusks went on my Tyrant rather than on an abominant.

 

As well, the Grotmas detachment for Chaos knights is super flavourful and allows you to field cultists and other mortals alongside your knights... I've played it once and it was a lot of fun and fairly potent as well.  So, that's something you can look forward to as your force develops.

 

I do have some bad news, though:

 

1.  Your knights isn't actually legal to field - the only knight that can take the Volkite is the Abominant, and it has a fixed loadout with the flail and the tail.  So you'll either need to swap it out for the laser destructor to field it as a Desecrator, or for the claw to field it as a Rampager.  Or magnetize it so you can swap freely.  Or convince your opponent to let you field it as a laser destructor.

 

2.  Many of the Dark Vengeance cultists are now only legal using the legends rules - all of the autogun guys, the heavy stubber and the flamer are all no longer viable options under the CSM codex.  Additionally, even under the legends rules, the close combat squad can't have a flamer anymore - so either you need an extra melee guy to swap it out with, or pretend the flamer guy is just armed like the rest.

[k0nahrik]

7 hours ago, Dr_Ruminahui said:

He looks great, and I'm sure you'll have a blast painting him - I know I did mine.  You should really start a thread in the Chaos knights subforum to show off and discuss your new force - and maybe one in the CSM subforum for your Dark Vengence guys as well.  

 

I like what you did with the tusks and the various masks chained to the carapace - I did something similar with my knights, though the tusks went on my Tyrant rather than on an abominant.

 

As well, the Grotmas detachment for Chaos knights is super flavourful and allows you to field cultists and other mortals alongside your knights... I've played it once and it was a lot of fun and fairly potent as well.  So, that's something you can look forward to as your force develops.

 

I do have some bad news, though:

 

1.  Your knights isn't actually legal to field - the only knight that can take the Volkite is the Abominant, and it has a fixed loadout with the flail and the tail.  So you'll either need to swap it out for the laser destructor to field it as a Desecrator, or for the claw to field it as a Rampager.  Or magnetize it so you can swap freely.  Or convince your opponent to let you field it as a laser destructor.

 

2.  Many of the Dark Vengeance cultists are now only legal using the legends rules - all of the autogun guys, the heavy stubber and the flamer are all no longer viable options under the CSM codex.  Additionally, even under the legends rules, the close combat squad can't have a flamer anymore - so either you need an extra melee guy to swap it out with, or pretend the flamer guy is just armed like the rest.

that’s all very interesting! Thankfully, for me, I haven’t played since 7th ed, and haven’t really any plans to do so for the foreseeable future. I mostly build and paint for the love of the craft! If I were going to play, I’d just run the models as proxies, so the knight model would simply represent the profile of whichever knight I chose to run it as. Same with the cultists!

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Not a bad plan.  That said, before you build any more knights (not that you necessarily have any such planned) you might want to check out the Chaos Knights index to see what the valid load outs are.

 

Oh, and in case you are interested in the Grotsmas detachment, you can find it here - as probably came across in my previous post, I really like it and prefer it over the one in the Index, and I think its a particularly good fit if you ever want to make your knights their own force.

 

BTW, was the cultist painted by you or your friend?  Either way, I really like him - I like the limited blood effects and the fien detail of the mouth really add to the model, and the use of browns as well as greys make for a model that is quite dark in pallet that still has a lot of visual interest.  I imagine he will fit in great with your Black Legion marines.

Edited February 7 by Dr_Ruminahui