New Project

Well, I mused, and I waffled, and I thought...
And then I thought some more...
Then I stuck my nose in rule books and old and new codices...

Then I though bugger it, MORE MARINES!

I wanted to veer away from the dark colours and bleak looking troops I usually tend to go for. As we know, the bad guys don't always wear black.
Plus I wanted to try out more challenging colour schemes and new troop types and rules for the force.

Thus was born the ANGELS OF ECSTASY renegade chapter.

I popped into the shop (GW) and bought a lord and some marines for the princely sum of £34.50, along with some paint. Then I had to dodge the "why don't you come along to our game nights, why don't you buy a white dwarf, what armies do you have, isn't the chaos codex great, I love apocalypse, I love spearhead" kind of crap that the droids working there spew at me each time I go in. Geesh, if I wanted it, I would buy it. And I don't talk about apocalypse of spearhead AT ALL. They're just gimmicks to sell lots of miniatures and tanks to the unsuspecting public. The thing is, it ain't difficult to think up simple rules to play these type of games WITHOUT GW help. I mean, we're not all 'tards, are we?
Even when I was 12 (that's TWELVE YEARS OLD) I was thinking up these things. It's all just about the money nowadays. GW used to be cool, now they're corporate.

Sigh.

Anyways, back to the project!

Step 1- Construction
Now, I wanted to try and keep to the models supplied, but I also wanted to add my own brand of weirdness to proceedings. So, I got my cutting and trimming stuff together and washed all components in slightly soapy water first once the mould lines were removed. then I got out the glue and went to work. This took shape as we can see from the pics that follow:

This is the rear view of the lord, and it shows off the daemon weapon I kitted him out with. I took the head off the force weapon in the kit and stuck on the power axe head. Thus was born the "Glaive of Eternal Bliss" or big hitty thing as I like to call it. Basically it follows the codex rules for a Slaaneshi Daemon weapon, or "Blissgiver."

Also not the bits I stuck on the base for extra detail.

Same guy, front view. Note also the combi weapon (melta) and face style head I gave him. I also cut some scarring onto the face with a craft knife (remember kids, stay the fook away from sharp stuff wot can stick you!!!).

Along with these things, and to complete the model I went for the simpler looking trophy racks. I was going for simple and striking here, rather than over complex and stoopid. At this point I had a colour scheme in mind, but it was how to get there WITHOUT following the advice of GW cloned goons.

Here's some of the squad after construction. Notice all the marines carry icons on their backpacks. My fault, just thought it looked nice. This pic features the two special weapons and the icon to slaanesh. I also went for the blank shoulder pad to go on the left instead of the right (which is usual practice). This army was going to be a weird sight in every way I could go without resorting to putty and craziness. Remember- simple and striking!

There's the champion and the rest of the squad. I really do like the new CSM squad kit, as it includes plenty of character and the list of weapon upgrades is sweet! I now have several spare bits for possible inclusion in later units I add. Sweet. The I got my pin vice and drilled out the gun barrels for all the bolter weaponry ( I NEVER DO THAT).

With the leader and unit constructed and the glue dried, it was time to step on to the next stage. UNDERCOATING.


Stage 2- Undercoating

First thing was to go for skull white spray. Again a MAJOR step away from the usual black spray. This would make the models lighter and mean I would need to be more precise when applying colours later, so as not to leave any white bits in corners and crevices!

As we can see from the pic above, I put the models on a piece of mdf and used masking tape to hold them still. I have been spraying using this method for EONS now and it ain't let me down yet!

The it was off outside to a WELL VENTILATED AREA (kids take note) to give em a good dusting with the spray.

Here's the Lord. As you can see I gave all the models a single coat of white. Some prefer several coats, but it's just not my way. I try to make my paints go as far as possible so as to save cash and maybe the environment a little too (honestly though, I dunno). A single thin coat goes a long way to ensuring that the colours you apply go on well without obscuring the details.

Here are the models after spraying. The black board is now white (duh!) and the models all got a good coat. I try to space them out as much as possible so that I can move the can all around them as I spray, hopefully this pic shows that. Notice the second mdf board behind the models that I used to protect other stuff from the dreaded over spray. With that all done it was time to get the models indoors and get the paints out!

Stage 3- Base coating

This took actually 2 stages of painting, with very careful brushwork, which is hopefully explained in the pics...

In keeping with my choicest deity of Slaanesh, I went for bright colours, but chaos ones just the same. I opted for a patterned finish with purple and white. There would be no detail work done on shoulder guards trims etc, just two bold colours. I wanted the troops to stand out on the battlefield and be appreciated for the colours, but not to the extent where you would need to look closely at the details. Like I said- SIMPLE and STRIKING.

Here are some of the marines with the base coat applied. Warlock purple one half and fortress grey the other half. Note that even the horns are in the colour scheme, not bone coloured. I knew at this point I had definitely picked the right colour scheme! After this initial stage I went further and base coated flesh and metals.

Here's the lord with the complete base coat applied. Black for the cloth and weapons, bestial brown for the flesh, and shadow grey on the stonework of his base, though this would be brownish later if all went to plan.

Likewise with the marines. Now in the books etc it says that you can game with models in this state, worth bearing in mind I suppose...

I like to paint models in groups of at least 10. This allows time for the first model to dry as you paint the others, so you can knock out loads of models in an afternoon of the same quality of paintwork. I does have the necessity for the painter to have that degree of concentration to not get bored by what he's doing. I find that tunes help, along with regular sips of water/ juice/ coffee/ tea and sometimes lager ( ALL HAIL BEER)- though not best in the morning, that last one!!!

I started this method of painting back when I played fantasy battle (50 orcs in an afternoon- easy).

I also found that this method honed my techniques with the brush, colours and shading. I am self taught when it comes to this kind of thing. To that end I don't take well to being told how to shade up to white by a GW clone half my frikkin age! (Basically I told him to get back in his box and stop giving advice to veterans when he's only a damn rookie- shit...)

Last up- more marines! Black for the weapons, human sized skulls and any cloth work/ pouches etc. The feel of the army was starting to come out now, and I was buzzing from it!

Stage 4- shading and highlights

Almost done. The general shape of the colour scheme was there, I just had to accentuate it now and add that vibe to the weapons etc. Break out the bolt gun metal and the inks!!!

I shaded the purple (liche purple or warlock purple- whichever is darker, I forget) with old style purple ink, the highlighted with liche/warlock purple and finally the lighter shade of purple on the top.

The grey got a dash of watered down armour wash, the highlighted up via grey to skull white. Next time I won't water down the ink, as the shading could have been a bit better on the white.

The blacks that weren't weapons got a good old bolt gun metal followed by armour wash then chainmail shade and highlight. For blades I went up another notch to mithril silver. This made the power sword of the champion really bright.

Then it was on to the reds for eyes and red dot laser sights and hey presto! We were there!!

There's the lord again! I went for purple ink to shade the blade for the daemon weapon. This gives it a "unholy hue" that I really like alot. The weapon stands out to, without overpowering the colour scheme. Nice!!! The flesh on this model (and the others too) was built up from bestial brown with chestnut ink through bronzed flesh, then elf flesh and finally bleached bone. I wanted the models in this army to have really pallid flesh. This seems to suit the Slaaneshi ideals of perfumes, excesses of beauty (though twisted) and pleasure etc.

Here's the first half of the squad. Note the "red dot" sightings on the bolters and the really shiny power weapon. The white an purple really do sit well here. I am so chuffed with the outcome. It really is a gigantic step away from the norm for me.

Second half of the squad, this time with the icon and the special weapons. Hopefully the troops look good here too. I kept the colours simple so that I could paint models quickly and raise an awesome spectacle for the battle field that will contrast well with likely opponents (greys, reds, greens and dark colours- you guys know who you are!!!).

This led to the final stage...

Stage 5- Basing, transfers and sealing.

The bases were covered first in bestial brown, then grey gravel, followed by my usual mix of green flock, tea leaves (from really cheap tea bags) and brown fine gravel. Once dried, this was then sealed in using watered down PVA painted over the whole base. My hope is that this will prevent flock dropping off and going everywhere (it really pisses the wife off when she nags me to hoover all the crap up).

I also applied the chapter badge to all the models. This is simply a Slaanesh symbol on the purple shoulder guard. The results were well impressive, though I had to do some crafty trimming with a model knife to get the symbols to sit properly on the shoulder guards. Once dried, this was also sealed using watery PVA glue. Again my hope here is to prevent the transfer sliding off. It does my head in when that happens...

This is a shot of the champion from the rear. Hopefully this illustrates the colour scheme to its fullest, as well as showing a hint of the badge and the detail on the base from using different flocks and gravels.

Same guy with the icon bearer seen from the front. again it shows how truly striking the simplest of colour schemes can be.

Marines with trusty bolters. The guy at the frontreally does show how cool the Slaaneshi symbol looks. The PVA was still wet when I took this one. Talk about seizing the moment!

These are the two special weapons models in the squad. I went for the flamer to clear out infantry from buildings and cover, and the melta gun for armour and armoured troops. Hopefully this makes the squad a bit versatile in combat, coupled with the benefits of the icon to the god Slaanesh, well nice!

This is the rear view of the Lord, showing the degree of shading I applied to the cloak, as well as highlighting the base detail. The cloak even had a coat of purpler ink applied in the hope it would go a bit "2 tone" the pic doesn't do it justice, and the effect is really very slight. Worth a punt though...

The front view of my lord. I haven't decided what to call him just yet. But it will be something weird and wonderful. Again that striking colour scheme with the symbol of the patron god really makes the model jump out at you.

Well, I hope you liked the case study of how the new army took shape in terms of colour and theme. I am really happy with the bold contrasting colours and that the simplest combination really has proven itself to be very effective.

Now I just have to do it again- for the entire army!!!
Next up for the army will most likely be a rhino and some noise marines or something. I am still musing over various combinations of units and vehicles. The Rhino will be very striking, keeping that two colour scheme, but I need to put a Slaansehi symbol or two on it somewhere, which I have several thoughts on... (heheheh). I am looking to really strech myself there, and if it doesn't work out, then I can simply go back to simple striking colour schemes.

I am also thinking about raptors, but not as we know them, and chosen too. Again kit bashing may feature heavily, and I'll be sure to keep you all posted!

Stick on your thoughts and verdicts below!

By the way, I will be deleting the space marines and imperial guard posts in the next week or so. Make the most of them while you can!!

WHATEVER WILL I DO NEXT???

I have already said that I think I have gone as far as I can with the guard now, so I am looking to the next project.

Chaos still features, as I think they have the best looking models and the widest scope for conversion, colour and diversity withing each force.

To this end I started musing on the armies I already have.
I have thought about the daemons some more, but I just dont like painting them. The models are ok I suppose, and I can paint them up to look ok. The thing is that they just do not seem to appeal to me. Too much beaming in and out. I am not a fan of too much unpredictability, as it makes for playing games with no clear battle plan which invariable means that the only options available to the general are get close and assault. Fair enoiugh if you can get close, but with the right wargear and character options, an opponent will make goo out of you before you get too close. And I dont like painting the models...

I have just finished building the guard, so I am not keen to repeat it just yet. They are good looking troops and easy enough to paint, but I want something that would be a bit smaller and pack a much more flexible punch.

Which leads us back to the chaos marines. Now, I already have a massive black legion and death guard contingency. Both armies look impressive and have tactical flexibility, a mix of different troops and abilities and an array of shooty kit as well as up close choppy killy stuff.

To that end I am thinking along the lines of a new chaos warband. I want something that moves me, like all my marines do, but in a new way. This means looking to the codex for inspiration. I want to move away from the blacks and reds too, as I have done too much of that in all my work. (black legion, traitor guard, Ulthwe Eldar).

I also want to think about both a theme and flexibility of the troops, coupled with some real clout on the battle field.

This means some serious planning. I want to steer clear ofusing the "usual stuff" too and go for something unique. This has led to thoughts of monstrous kit bashing between loyalist chapters (thats right PLURAL) and chaos marines. I have already seen remarkable results by combining the space wolves with the marines, and I may well go back to that sort of philosophy.
In the codex they mention "SKYRAR'S DARK WOLVES" who use symbology similar to the sons of Russ, but of course, are chaos marines.

I like that idea, but don't want to step in that direction and end up with "CHAOS SPACE WOLVES"

That leads onto the dark angels' history, and "the fallen." I love the marines in robes sort of style, but I want to combine it with the individuality and flexibility of the chaos marines. To field the fallen in the "spirit of the story" as it were, woul dmean fielding lots of small units, with limited equipment. Not very me, that.

The we move onto the black tempars and their "crusader" idealogy. Again, awesome, but the matter of how to combine it with my chaos ideals of flexibility and aggressive punch.
And so on we go to other chapters, leaving the same problm each time. Every chapter has something that appeals to me, but I cna't seem to think of ways to combine it with chaos troops without returning to where I've already been in terms of troops, tactical options etc.

So what's left that I haven't tried yet?
Well, in terms of chaos troops, quite a bit. I haven't included thousand sons or noise marines yet- or raptors. I've not fielded a daemon prince or a lord in terminator armour that wasn't a special character. I haven't used vindicators before, or possessed marines, or even a defiler. That pretty much covers 1 hq, 2 troops, an elites, a fast attack and a couple of heavy support choices.... weeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrd.

Perhaps this is the new plan then?
But what to do with it?
I have mused on sonic weaponry before, and it still appeals to me.

Perhaps I have some sort of new direction here after all:
Chaos marines mixed with loyalist vanilla marines (kitbash) along with sonic weaponry. Watch this space, I need to think on this some more...

This leaves me a bit stuck in all as to which direction to take the next chaos warband in.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand- RELAX!!

Wow! That last post was bleak!
Let's bring back the positives again:
Weekender- YAY!!
BEER- YAY!!
Great small games- YAY!!
KEBAB-YAY!!
Time well spent with good friends- YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!

NEWS FROM THE RECRUITMENT CENTRE...

Well, the Ultramarines force has doubled in size! It now has a scout and and a chaplain! Eventually the plan would be to build a proper battle company as per the old space marine codex back ground info shows.
That means:
HQ- Captain, Chaplain and Apothecary
Troops- 6 tactical squads
Fast attack - 2 assault squads, bikers, land speeders
Heavy support - 2 devastator squads, land raiders
Elites - Dreadnoughts

So sayeth the book!

In game terms I think I can elaborate a little:
HQ1- Captain with command squad, including apothecary- options for terminator armour and maybe some sweet conversion work... in either a Razorback or some sort of Land raider.
HQ2- Chaplain and Reclusiam command squad- again scope for comversion with robed marines in black power armour with Ultramarines chapter markings (that actually made my mouth water lol)
Elites- Venerable and Ironclad dreadnoughts, plus techmarine with servitors in a razor back.
Troops- 6 Tactical squads in rhinos. Again I could always swap out tactical squads for scout squads for different games.
Fast attack- 2, 10 strong assault squads with lots of weapon variations included.
Also worth considering removal of back packs and placement in transports as a tactical option.
third choice is a toss up between 3 land speeders opr a bike squad with an attack bike...
Heavy Support- 2, 10man devastator squads in rhinos and a land raider. But that said, I would still like to throw in different tanks every now and then for flexibility and fun.

What does it mean for the collection? I hear you cry!
Well, it means hours of work, it means loads of dosh and it means years to complete.
My plan to start with is to have:
Chaplain and Command squad in Razorback
Dreadnought
Tactical Squad in Rhino
Scout squad
Assault Squad
Vindicator
Along with anything else to make it up to 1500 points.

I am also at the stage when I am thinking about dropping the whole idea and just getting more chaos stuff, like raptors, daemons (including codex), vindicators and defilers, not to mention more rhinos and bikers. Perhaps combining the chaos daemons and csm codexes would yield more character in my forces...
I do dislike the chaos codex, but perhaps there is an element of distrust and I am not used to it yet, I don't know. Perhaps I need to simply persevere and hang in there.
The prospect of noise marines has been appealing to me of late too, and I like the thousand sons rules for marine killing bolter ammunition...

Or even dropping THAT idea and getting something completely different, a step away from what I am used to, like 'nids, necrons or even Orks.

Sooooooooooooooo torn!!

The weekend's events have really turned the juices of imagination up to full power, and my mind is racing away with ideas faster than I can write them down. That invariably means a lot is being lost in the ether between skull and writing arm.

I may even try and bribe the missus into gaming with me (small patrol games only) just to keep in practise.
The major thing that sticks in my head was rolling 41 dice for assaulting troops in the big finale. It's one of the reasons I play and keep playing. There is just something about rolling a shitload of dice, hearing the clatter as they roll and watching your opponents face as you pick out the misses and hits that makes 40k and warhammer some of the best games on the planet. That and almost every time you play, it's different.

Well, this happy gaming addict is off to ponder at the games workshop site for even more ideas(!) and maybe the plan for Ultramarines will fade and be replaced with more chaos, who knows?

40K Showcase- BLack Legion Marines

Why do I love the bad guys?- This guy is why! A classic and awesome miniature who was a challenge to paint (hopefully) well and a great leader model for the army. Background tells of rumours that he may be the clone son of Horus himself. The Prodigal son that brings destruction and vengeance, Abaddon is everything it says "on the tin" and more besides.

In game terms he is a very powerful model with awesom wargear and deadly in close assaults.

He is the ultimate bad guy, the geezer you love to hate- fearfully powerful and evil incarnate.

In games where I am allowed to pick him, he is first choice for HQ and would definately be my general in an apocalypse game.


This fella is my Chaos Space Marine Sorceror. He comes with a familiar and bears the mark of Tzeentch, allowing him 3 (yes 3) psychic powers and he also has a good invulnerable save too. In games where his master Abaddon is used, I use him as Zaraphiston who is Abaddon's chief sorceror and one of his few trusted servants.

This fella used to be a space wolf standard bearer. Well, he aint now! One of the few conversions in the army, I can use him as either an aspiring champion for my chosen squad or as a "bargain basement" chaos lord. His icon is taken from a warhammer skaven model- think it was warlord SKWEEK or something like that. It serves as both his trophy rack and also as his Icon to Khorne. The power axe I can also use as a daemon weapon if need be, but that only applies if he is a lord!

Several models in the army make extensive use of space wolf parts. I did this because the Black Legion were once the sons of Horus, and before that the LUNA WOLVES. I figured it may stand to reason that though they changed to the black legion at Abaddon's command, they still retained their heritage of being Luna Wolves. It has added some grat character to the army and has really set them apart from other black legion marines. Look out fo the models in the pics!

CHOSEN- these guys are my infiltrators and pack a range of different weapons. The model in front is quite heavily converted from a space marine captain. He has had a head swap and even the plastic bolter has been converted into a combi weapon. The power fist I can shoose to include or leave out. In the case of this squad- it's left out. The squad's main purpoes is to being the vanguard of any attack, popping up and either giving supporting fire to the rest of the troops, or getting stuck in as soon as possible and carving a bloody swathe into the enemy. The Icon of Khorne is a great help with that!

Chaos Terminators- Deep striking death on a stick! The Khorne Icon adds to their killing ability in battle, along with the 2 combi weapons, the reaper autocannon and the range of power fists and chainfists. They are scary troops, especially seeing as how I can even make them ALL chamions of the dread powers! The only drawback with them is that they tower over Abaddon, which kinda ruins the effect of putting him on the battlefield...

Dreadnought. This one is made from a plastic space marine kit, with spiky bits and chains added, along with the head from a warhammer hydra model. The base also has had a rhino door added. I really like this model, and it does make for a hell of a centre piece model in the army. However, it's not the feature model!

This one packs a dread close combat weapon along with either twin linked lascannon or twin linked autocannon- it all depends on what I want it to make slush out of...

Just need to be careful- chaos dreadnoughts are insane killing machines and a little unpredictable!

Marines- the back bone of the army. These guys feature and autocannon and plasma gun, and the aspiring champion carries a power weapon and a combi bolter. He also carries the icon of chaos glory, which helps to bolster the squad's morale and summons daemons from the warp.

This is my massive 19 strong (yes 19) black legion squad, with a khorne icon and also carrying a heavy bolter, plasma gun and a champion packing a power weapon and plasma pistol. Their purpose is simple- anti infantry. The idea is to cover gorund as quickly as possible under support fire and then hit the enemy infantry- HARD. With support from other squads such as the dreadnought and terminators they offer a truly terrifying prospect for any general. I particularly fancy their chances against Imperial Guard infantry platoons!

Another Marines squad- this time with anti armour options in the form of lascannon, plasma gun and a champion with a power fist. ( hopefully you managed to spot the space wolf bits in the last few pics). Ideal in a supporting role, they also have the capacity to act as an assualting unit.

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE THRONE OF KHORNE!

These are my 12 black legion khorne beserkers, with mutations and crazed looking warriors. The squad has a total of 3 plasma pistols, including the champion with his power fist and horns! A fearless unit and terribly good in a scrap, they are my main assault troops from the army. A certain someone's wolf scouts felt the fury of only 5 a few months back! The full squad is truly a wonder to behold in combat!

These are some of the oldest models I have in my entire collection, and I consider them to be the "archetype of daemons" The bloodletter exists only to kill and take skulls for its patron god, and these 8 could really help to make the difference in battle.

The dedicated transport option comes in the form of this rhino- kitted out with armour upgrades and a dozer blad it can go most places without hassle. The Havoc launcher provides extra firepower for the infantry. Not the shootiest of kit, but useful for getting the marines to where they're needed quickly.

The only fast attack option I have is this biker squad. Fast, nasty and hard hitting.

The champion is the feature model (coz he looks so cool) and the squad itself carries a melta gun and has a khorne icon for extra nastiness!

FEATURE MODEL- BIKER CHAMPION

I think it looks really cool. I wanted to make the biker look dynamic and the champion needed to be special, as I didn't have much in the army when I got it. I put the bike on its back wheel and put it on a bigger base for support, giving the impression of the rider popping a wheelie.

The torso comes from a white metal model and he carries a massive power axe. The idea is he is using the weight of the bike coming down coupled with his powerful downstroke to dliver a swift killing blow to his enemies. The base also has some wreckage modelled onto it to give more character to the individual.

The colour scheme stays with that of the army and the model itself looks truly menacing and - well- mental!

Onto heavy support choices now, and this is a great cheap option for the points- an obliterator. Heavily armed and armoured with deep striking options and an impressive model, this one guy can bring down tanks and bunkers all on his todd. He also comes with the slow and purposeful rule, which allows him to lay down a withering hail of fire with heavy weapons whilst on the move. NICE!

Chaos Predator- the first of the army's main tanks. An old school model with added combi bolter armour and dozer blade, this tanks provides the anti tank and anti infantry firepower the army may need to break the lines of the unfortunate foes. There's an old style space marine model worked into the turret firing the combi bolter, and the sponson lascannon really add that degree of punch that enemy armour fears!

Finally the land raider. This tanks couples together awesome and terrible firepower with being and assault vehicle capable of troop carrying right up to the front line and down the enemy's throat. Loaded up with 5 terminators or 10 marines this bad boy of the battlefield can really kick ass! The most heavily armoured hunk of metal in any army! I modelled on a rune from a necromunda psyker model and the golden skulls are the dirge casters (great for tank shock). The marine on the top gives covering fire with the combi bolter too.

OVERVIEW

Ths army is enormous! And I like to couple it with elements form the Death Guard forces to create a truly massive apocalypse force. I even considered adding troops from the traitor guard army.

The force packs a little piece of everything- fast paced attack troops, support troops, assault troops and deep striking armoured warriors, all led by the ultimate bad guy!

I have enjoyed playing many furious battles with my Black legion over the years, and they are by far the army I feel most comfortable playing with.

Final Musings...

This concludes all the army showcases I have for 40K at present. I hope you found them interesting and maybe a little inspiring for your own collections.

I am considering my options now for the next army. It will be something special, I promise, bristling with weird and wonderful models and weapons.

I need to consult with my advisors first though, as I have several ideas in the pipeline.

Watch this blog for more news!

40K SHOWCASE- DEATH GAURD

Death guard- what better way to start the showcase than with the daemons of nurgle in the force?
The death guard are dedicated to the god of decay, Nurgle, and the army has a feel of rot and decay about it, using drab colours and rusty weapons. I made a lot of conversions in the army, from minor weapon swaps to complete tank conversions. They're all here for you to see now. Hope you like it!
The great Unclean one is a great model and it serves as a nasty surprise in battle, popping out of a champion and munching up troops and vehicles. The plague bearers make for a useful assault option from the warp, summoned through an icon.
The really great thing about these two options is that they don't use up any force organisation slots, which means I could add more and more units of plague bearers and Great unclean ones to the army if I wanted....

Death Guard Terminators- Awesome Elites choice with deep strike capabilities and packing nasty weaponry to cause problems everywhere. You can see the champion is tolled up with a pair of lightning claws and he also carries the Nurgle Icon for the squad. Models with the mark of nuirgle are bloated with disease and can soak up damage better than ordinary marines. Couple that up with the terminator armour saves and you have a very resilient squad that is tough to shift and scary opn the offensive. The two terminators in the background have had their power weapons converted so that they appear to be carrying rusted power swords. The champion's icon of nurgle is actually from the chaos vehicle sprue, and he is the only model in the squad with a trophy rack. The others had putty put in to fill out where the trophy racks would go. I figured they would just look better without them and fit in better with the character of the army.

Plague marines with a rhino. Again tough, fearless and carrying blight grenades, plague marines can take the hits and keep on coming. The sqaud also has an icon for summoning and two assault weapons in the form of a flamer and a plasma gun. The standard choice of troops for the discerning death guard player!

A Close up of the champion shows that I used a mutated head for him and gave him a power fist and plasma pistol. I was really happy with how he turned out, though he isn't strictly a conversion, he again gives the impression of a diseased warrior, chosen of Nurgle. He can punch his way through bunkers and vehicles, and also provides character to the squad itself. SOLID!

This is the Squad's Rhino transport, complete with extra armour, dozer blade and havoc launcher. Hopefully this bad ass machine can ship the squad across the battle field quickly and provide them with a little fire support as well. I slipped the squad icon into the background, just to show off the mark of nurgle, the putty banner painted to resemble diseased pock marked flesh and the Khorne beserker trophy head on top.

A squad of plague marines with their rhino. These guys are made up from the original plague marine models that cam out. No conversions here, except for the rhino (also old style). This squad was used as the basis for all the other squads in the army, so they are in a way it's heart and soul. They pack some real aggressive punch with both the melta gun and plasma gun in the squad. The champion carries a power weapon to give him an edge against infantry opponents and the option of melta bombs would be handy against armoured targets.

Every Plague marine should travel in style! LOL. This old style rhino has had wooden panels added from the warhammer snotling pump wagon model, and nurglings have been stuck on along with other chaos spiky bits and even diseased lichen onto the armour! This rhino isn't driven by a crew, but by a daemon (daemonic possession) and also has extra armour and a dozer blade.

Does this guy look familiar? He is a plague marine champion, true, but was made from KHARN the betrayer. Major clipping to his head and weapon swaps with some minor reposing to produce this awesome looking final product. In the old rules he was hard as nails, and still is, just without all the daemonic gifts that I used to love chucking in. Power weapon and bolter as his armaments with the all important melta bombs option, he kind of fits in with the idea of a "standard armament" for plague chamions in the army. His squad is the biggest in the army, and doesn't have a transport.

15 Plague marines walk into a bar...

All made from the basic plastic plague marine models, these guys have had weapon swaps, the spikes taken off their helmets, all sorts really. With a squad this size, the points rocket up for them. They are great for steady advances and holding objectives. Fearless and the mark of nurgle really gives them staying power and frustrates opponents who wonder why their weapons aren't as good as they hoped (when you need a 5 to wound with a bolter, you tend to get concerned- think of the poor guard player whose lasguns need 6's).

Predator! No honest it is! This model was made from an old damaged toy tank I had.Obviously I added the obligatory chaos spiky bits, but I also slapped on sponsons, grave stones and even a daemonic head. The body work I covered with putty and added pock marks using a tooth pick (that took ages). I wanted to give the impression that the vehicle was alive and that it had grown its own diseased flesh. I even added tentacles and arms and stuff.

This second shot shows off the armaments a bit better. The turret weapon is currently used as an autocannon, and the sponson weapons are used as either heavy bolters or lascannon. The top of the turret also packs a combi bolter for extra shootyness. In the last revision of 40K I was able to use this tank as a special vehicle with custom weapons and nasty upgrades. Expensive, but a great centre piece model.

SHOWCASE FEATURE MODEL- TYPHUS HERALD OF NURGLE

Great model to finish up with. One of my fave conversions ever and a pleasure to take the time on. A dynamic posed model in terminator armour carrying deadly weaponry and nasty special rules. Typhus is my general and he carries a daemon weapon and uses psychic powers, as well as being the carrier of the destoyer hive. He is the epitomy of disease and contagion and he is tough too!

The model was made from the space wolf LOGAN GRIMNAR model and I spent ages removing wolf iconography and adding putty to make him appear bloated and diseased. I also added the scythe in place of GRIMNAR's power weapon to create the manreaper daemon weapon. Head swap was also in order, something with a spike on top.

I tried my best to create the model in the image of the illustration in the codex for chaos space marines. Just after I finished the model, Games Workshop released the miniature of him. Dang nammit!

Still, he's MY Typhus model, and he really does add to the character of the army as well as providing that all important leadership and aggressive punch.

That's it for this showcase folks! Hope you enjoyed mone of my pride and joy armies. Next up is my last current army and my biggest force- The Chaos Space Marines of the Black legion, and their fearsome leader ABADDON THE DESPOILER!!!!!