Sometimes you gotta make lemonade when life gives you lemons. These Chaos Marines embody that ideal.

I traded off an unwanted army and got these guys in return. I can't say anything bad about the person I traded with, in fact he was a swell chap! When I showed him the condition of the CSMs he gladly gave me more Marines to make up for it. When I say these Marines were trash, I mean that they almost went in the bin. They were that bad. Glued together with some kind of hot glue, conversions so bad they looked like stress relief hobbyist style.

... They were bad.

Taking a chance I decided to try my hand at sculpting, using a little known clay called Darwi. In this thread you will see how this army went from total garbage to a slightly different kind of trash. I started out this thread with low expectations and no skill, and somewhere along the way, well... Let's just say I'm happy with my work!

I encourage hobbyists to step outside the box, as I have done, and to try new things. I fully expected an exercise in futility, and yet I think I may have scratched the surface of a different way of modelling and I sincerely hope others will give my ideas a try. I know I still have a lot to learn, but now I feel confident in my ability to do so, and I can't wait to see what others whose skills are already developed can do!

So read on fellow hobbyists, enjoy the pics, leave some comments and always always always have faith in your capacity for learning.

May your brushes never fishtail and may your paints always stay fresh! Hobby on my friends, hobby on!

Update: I keep saying project done, but in reality... I have 2 dreads to do yet and a Heldrake conversion featuring an old school Batman Forever Batwing model. So stay tuned!

Looking good Nurgle always has room for more trash marines

I'm glad you gave them a second chance, this looks like a whole lot of fun. Get the tiny drill out next, perhaps?
Looking very interesting so far.

I hope you're enjoying doing it!

Its a load of fun actually!

I experimented with doing all the nicks and pock marks before the clay and it seemed more of a pain than doing it afterwards. The darwi seems strong enough once its cured, but it doesn't hold a fine detail very well.

We will see how it holds up to painting. I have used darwi on other things and it seems to work fine. I think it lends itself rather well to this sort of work though.

I keep looking at these spare bikes and wondering if I should go for it....

One squad down, two to go!


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All done!

Except for the Bike Lord, mwuhahahaha!

I figure feth it. Go for the cheesecake! Nurgle Lord on a bike with the Burning Brand! Maybe even a daemon weapon!

Derp, load photos first dude...


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The biker was going to be a MotF w/ conversion beamer but I have plenty of Marines.

The gun assembly pops right off so I'll probably try to keep that feature.

Later on I'll add a couple classic dreads and give em the same love.




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Neat thing too I just noticed...

7 man squads...

3 troops, 2 Dreads, 2 Chaos Lords... 7 units total...

7 repeated 3 times....

....CHAOSGODSWATCHOVERME!!!!!!!

Blargajabegibishumanagabagabagaba!


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Now to find 19 ccws to turn into plague bayonets...

Nurgle approves. But maybe more decay on the bike

Lol!

Yeah that one is going to be fun.

I'm also toying with the idea of a Nurgle Sorc on a palanquin...

That could be interesting!


I'm off to work now, but when I get home... That biker is gonna get it!

Okay here goes the Bike.

I figure I'll do this step by, so please bear with me here as I fumble with my phone.

Step One!

Get ready to rumble. Translation, get your work area ready.


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Let's start with the Burning Brand of Skalathrax. We'll call it the Plague Petard of Poisonalia, just for fun! Screw those other Chaos Gods!

Now we take a little Darwi and work it a bit with some wet fingies

Looking forward to seeing what comes out the other end.

Then wash your hands before you pick up your phone...

The residual clay on your fingers isn't wasted. Smear it on there!

Your little lump of clay...

Put a little bit of clay where you want to start....

It should be nice and wet.

Use your stylus to poke the clay into place and begin the texturing...

Now you can blow gently on the clay to get some of that water wicked away. Now you can see some of the details starting to show...

Here I've also made a couple holes with a wet stylus. This bit is too small to show you the cracking effect.

Let's try a bigger piece!

Same as before, wet the clay and press it to the model. Use your fingers to wet the clay again once its applied.

Here you can see the effects of the wet stylus on the clay. A nice sloppy hole that... Um well... Never mind. Suffice to say it looks gross.

The second pic is what happens when you use a dry stylus to work out a hole, note the clay cracking apart...

And here is the gun, ready to sit quietly on a shelf and dry...

Now to do the Bike itself!

And bam, bike complete.

Now just the biker. What's a good melee weapon for him? I'm thinking a lightning claw...

Thought I'd throw this in here just for kicks.

This isn't actually from a hobby knife, its work related. They should really charge extra for fingernail soufflé... But kids, be careful with knives!

What's that Visa?

Electronic use only?

The full Nurgle Lord on a bike, with Rotting Claw and Plague Petard of Poisonalia.


... And moo moo scissors...

Okay, tonight let's see how the darwi paints up.

This guy is probably my favourite so far. I'm starting with Vallejo white primer. Gonna brush it on because all those nooks and crannies look like they will be hard to cover with a spray.

Ten points to whoever can point out what I forgot to do before priming!

Lol... There he is anyways. Let's paint another while he dries.

7 primed and ready to dry!

Basing? But that can be done after painting too...

Cool project, never was one for chaos, but I like the project because you really are one to make lemonade when life got you only lemons...

Cheers, vik


P.s. looking forward to see that clay get painted!

Hmm hadn't thought about basing yet... Probably pools of gunk or blood.

Anyways here is a couple with some wash. Now you can actually see what that clay looks like! Lol

That's waaagh flesh watered down, btw

the wash helped to spot the details... good work!

if i may suggest a basing...try to cover the base in PVA and then add drops of superglue... don´´t touch everything till it´s all dry... the superglue creates some weird and alien looking structures in the PVA... perfect for nurgle!!!

Great to see that nasty work starting to become visible!

Superglue in pva huh? That sounds like a great idea. I'm going to try that right now before I go to work!



Thanks for the comments folks. I realize this isn't exactly the master class of Nurgle making but its good to see at least a little interest. I kind of have this sneakng suspicion that these Marines will turn out much better than I am anticipating.

I kind of have this sneakng suspicion that these Marines will turn out much better than I am anticipating.

turning the poster boys into lil pusbags is doomed for win

and good luck with the bases...you´ll love it...

Um yeah Vik, that was a great idea, like seriously have an exalt!

The pva does something horrible to the superglue and I can tell already this is exactly how the bases will get done. Very good tip!

Do you know those air soft balls? Lil yellow greenish plastic balls...stick them in for additional yuckyness

Well Vik, let's have a look at those bases now!

Next time more glue!

The airsoft pellets sound like a good idea too!

Nurgle Marines by Darkcloak, bases by Vik. Lol!


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I'm gonna just do the rest of the bases up now, feth it!

The varying stages of basing.

I'm listening to Nuclear Assault, it just seems so fitting...

Excellent reclamation work!

Thank you good sir!

Two and a half mini tubes of superglue later...

Bases for both Lords.

Here I've thrown on a wash of AP Strong Tone. Here they are beside some freshly greened fellows.

And the first 7 with strong tone...

Without flash this time, ha-ha!

crusty bases! the strong tone is really making it´s effort! the hue you´ve created looks nurgleperfect^^
what other colour will you use for the lot? i am thinking of a faded red?

the big bubble on the lord base...is it strong enough to stay as a bubble or might it collapse? the other lord base looks cool too...was always a fan of cork!

Okay, here are some more wip shots. Enjoy!

Also cat auto-fellatio...

Whoops! Lol


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 Viktor von Domm wrote:
crusty bases! the strong tone is really making it´s effort! the hue you´ve created looks nurgleperfect^^
what other colour will you use for the lot? i am thinking of a faded red?

the big bubble on the lord base...is it strong enough to stay as a bubble or might it collapse? the other lord base looks cool too...was always a fan of cork!

That big juicy bubble on Lord base 1 did pop, but I have plenty of time to try again.

I went with some purple and yellow for the clay bits, gives them a nice snotty vibe. I am not sure how to do the rest of the armour though. I may do a coat of that same yellow over the green, but thinned down even more to give only a slight hue.

The guns I simply washed a few times with a black. I did a light coat over the backpacks too and I will probably try to make them match the weapons later on.

I really want to stick to using washes only but I am really tempted to do some drybrushing on the wargear. Nothing much, just a scrape of silver, just on the guns and packs and little bits like the rebreather tubes and maybe a few sigils. I may do a bit of bronze colour too, just on the pauldron edges.

hadn´t thought about going purple...but with the yellow ...this looks really good... the black washed guns is a cool idea! all in all you really go for the faded beach bleached look of a corpse...i like that!
if you feel comfortable ...maybe some rust to the silverstreaks...but all in all this is really shaping up!

Definitely need rust!

I had wondered at the logic of using purple, but in nature purple and yellow and green are quite prevalent in decomposition of material. I was relieved when the yellow went on and they immediately looked like something pulled out of a dirty nose.

I was relieved when the yellow went on and they immediately looked like something pulled out of a dirty nose.

LOOOL....

and yep... i see zombies and so on in that colour scheme...

And the more I look at the pics, the more I see the need for some browns and beiges in there.

Thanks for the tips Vik, I'm glad you are enjoying this project as much as I am! I get more and more excited to finish this army and give it a battle as the days go on.

i was always hesitant to make some Z´s myself... but seeing your success i feel kinda motivated...(tho time forbids^^) and well... if you add browns and a bit beiges...probably with drybrushing over the flat surfaces like belly and so on you´ll create the effect you got with the flash pic...




and this will be the stuff probably you want to have...

With a very subtle yellow wash over top everything...

well.... OBVIOUSLY you wont let the bases stay as frozen yoghurt...so... any plans in scheme for these?...

Well Vik, I'm just not sure yet. I tend to do my basing afterwards so that I can choose base colours that compliment the piece. Normally I'll do something nature themed like grass or snow, but I've never done anything like this before so I'll admit. I am kinda stumped!

I was thinking gore would be a nice contrast and it would allow me to use some of the greens and purples too. That way the mini will stand apart from the base but still have some cohesion.

I want to use those pellets you mentioned but I have to go buy some first, so until then these Plague Marines are fighting on Planet Yoghurt, ha-ha!


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Also, what do you think of the Marines so far? I like the subtle yellow, but now I think a final heavy brown wash, followed by a bit of light grey drybrushing should do it. After I do the silver and copper bits of course!

could be worse than planet yoghurt

i think a gory base later on will look nice... either way i think ou will need a bit of spot colour...on the baase the soon to happen pellets could be done in a bright yellow...in a "puddle" of red something...

There is a shop across the way that sells airsoft guns... Maybe they will have a few dozen I can just have. If I tell them about my project they may be more inclined to let them go for free. Its not like I need a whole ammo box full! Lol

Though mind you, they may come in handy for other things...


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Lol, pellets, maybe they will give me free pellets. Sounded like I wanted free guns! Lol

well i got me 200 just for the sake of having them and bang! i used them to make my own scratchbuilt tech joints...they´re very versatile...(at first i only used the ones my kids found in sandboxes on playgrounds...)

Went down to that rc shop. Staffed by some really chill folks, though they did try to sell me a gundam model... Lol.

I asked about pellets and the guy only sells them by the pound. Thankfully he was a hobbyist too so when I told him what I wanted pellets for he told me I could have as many as I wanted. The floor was littered with them! Ha-ha! They do in store fps tests!

I really like these! What exactly is darwi clay though? How is it to work with and where do you buy it?

Oh wow, so much progress in such a short time. Looking disgusting, fella.

 Lord Corellia wrote:
I really like these! What exactly is darwi clay though? How is it to work with and where do you buy it?

Well I'm not sure really what it is exactly. Darwi is a brand name and they make a few different clays. Mine came in a gold wrapping which I tossed awhile back so I could store the stuff in a sandwich bag. It should be easy enough to find online or at an art shop. I can't recall the price exactly but rest assured if I spent money on it, it was cheap!

From what I can recall/have experienced, its an air dry polymer that takes about 48 hours to cure. You treat it like any other clay, working it with damp fingers until you have a smooth feeling putty. This putty can then be applied to virtually any surface, though you may want to abrade the area a bit first.

Now be warned, its not like greenstuff! There is no rolling out little tubes and making ropes or etching in patterns, this kind of darwi is more for something akin to pottery. They do make a stiffer more detailed clay, but this is not that clay. A lot of the fine details I managed came about more so because of the nature of the clay itself rather than any applied ability. On page 1 I did a little step by step series and in it you can see that basically what I'm doing is just making random holes and marks in rather wet clay. Someone who uses darwi for its intended use will probably tell you I had it much too moist, but it seems to have worked!

One near trick I noticed was to take a very small amount of darwi, just enough to cover the tip of a tool, and put it down somewhere, then soak it so it's nearly broken right down. Then just smear it around leaving little tiny lumps. When it dries that area will be noticeably textured, but not so bulky. You can see an example of this on the Bike Lords bike, the pages of the book on the front cowling show you exactly what I mean.


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Also!

Having said that darwi is not capable of the same level of detail as gs, you can still get some details by carving the darwi a bit with a knife after its dried.

I'll post some pics of the Termie Lord to show what I mean.

Though you know... This is my very first big sculpting project so I don't know how to sculpt anything anyways! Lol

Though I did manage to make a pretty convincing hat for a Mordheim mini once. Maybe I can dig her out and snap a pic or two...

And thanks for all the comments guys! I am always eager to blather on endlessly about gribbly bits and paint so I appreciate the feedback!

Okay so here is the recast Obliterator turned Nurgle Terminator Lord.

As you can see the clay is workable when dried. And again I'm not very good at this yet so maybe the clay is better than I can tell. That's probably true...

And here is that Mordheim Mini I was talking about. I completely forgot that I had made her a little shoulder pauldon too!

But again, you can see that the clay does hold well. This is just the regular darwi clay too, they make a harder compound as well.

Interestingly enough, in a thread full of minis painted entirely with only washes, this one was painted using only drybrushing!


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Anyways, back to work on those Marines!

That's a cool mini, I've never seen her before.

Thanks for the tips, I might have to nick a few of them and try to find some beat-up old Marines for cheap!

She is just a Wood Elf Glade Guard model with a few gear swaps. She's nicked herself a few dwarven goods along the way! Lol

Yes, I would definitely recommend darwi for use in budget projects! If you can find some really awful Marines for cheap, but maybe not a brand new kit.

That being said though... I have a video to show you if I can get it to work...

Yeah...

Yeah, I got an Assault Squad and a Dreadbought off eBay about a year back and it looks like whatever primer was originally used kind of ate away at the plastic a little. No good for Crimson Fists, but rather perfect for Papa Nurgle!

Does that video work?


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 Lord Corellia wrote:
Yeah, I got an Assault Squad and a Dreadbought off eBay about a year back and it looks like whatever primer was originally used kind of ate away at the plastic a little. No good for Crimson Fists, but rather perfect for Papa Nurgle!

I would recommend darwi. It will work for you and you don't have to feel bad about wasting expensive greenstuff on wrecked minis.

Yeah it does. Tough as Nurgle!

Thanks a lot for all the insight.

Lol! Good! The video is a bit blurry, but not even the little fiddly bits were damaged.


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Conversely, once you sculpt them up for Grandfather, they won't be damaged minis, they'll be custom made minis! Bwing!

Here are some shots of the bases with the airsoft pellets attached. I think some smaller ones may be in order, to help give it a bit more range. Beads perhaps?

Yellow wash on the first 7, green wash on the bike Lord...

Man you sure do churn units out. I've got to get going over here. Love how the plague marines are coming together.

A little teaser of the Bike Lord...


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 Eldarain wrote:
Man you sure do churn units out. I've got to get going over here. Love how the plague marines are coming together.

Thanks Elds! I hardly do much for entertainment anymore, its kind of sad really. And it comes in spurts, those CsMs sat in a jug of water for about a week and a half before I decided to do them.

There is still a raft of unpainted IoB minis left to do. One day I'll crank out a dozen or so of those and then they'll sit for another 4 months...

Put some copper down, as well as a bit of silver on the guns and packs.

Again, washes.

I don't even know how many layers of wash this is now...

More strong tone on the first 7, some on the bike Lord.

lol... what a cruel vid...

and... i am trying to figure out f this is a case of unthought heresy to have the lord on a bike with treads...

Hey man I tired to trade those Ork bikes! No one wanted em! Ha-ha!

No but seriously, I had been trying to get rid of them for 2 years. I gave away my Ork codex, but it was only last week that someone finally wanted to trade. I am eagerly awaiting two metal Chaos dreads.

You wanna talk about heresy, I have 4 more bikes done up as Space Marine bikes. 3 got turned into RG Scout Bikes and one is a Chapter Master! How's that for heresy?


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Also, about the video...

That poor PM... He was actually one of the first models I sculpted and I made the mistake of touching the clay while it was wet and didn't notice. His right shoulder had some nice bubbly gunk there but when I looked awhile later I noticed the smudge. Before I took the video I tested my theory a few times, so in reality that darwi is probably stronger than most mediums. That PM hit the ground about 7 times in total.

Would I perform the same test with either Lord? Probably not, but at least this way I can be satisfied that an accidental fall will result in only minimal damage at best.

well...actually i understand the urge to convert the ork bikes for marines... in the same way that i think most of the CSM stuff looks better for loyal marines too, than vanilla bitz^^

Funny you should say that. Most of my elite units in my Sons of Medusa army are repurposed Chaos Marines!

well, i just love the more gothic look of the backpacks ....they have a more pre heresy look to them in my imagination...

I agree some of the Chaos heads are just too cool. There is a lot of crossover potential between Chaos and Marines.

I had always wanted to do Alpha Legion but run them through the SM codex. They would have very subtle hints of Chaos but not be immediately identifiable as such. The surprise would be when I put a heldrake down as a Stormtalon and go "gotcha! Alpha Legion baby!". Lol

Okay so here is the first 7 again. This time I've gone over select areas with an Ushabti Bone wash, giving the models a nice overall effect.

I think I may be ready to call it. What say you? I'm going to start basing these blokes tomorrow, maaaaybe tonight. Also, duh, their eye lenses! What colour? I'm thinking a bright yellow maybe?

For the bases I have decided on a deep lustrous gore and rot theme. I'll start with black this time and layer the colours just like normal.

I think I may allow myself to use another technique, but I am really digging this wash only gimmick. I would love to point to these models and be able to say this was a single technique.

Went with red eyes. Inside joke.

Figured I'd prime the bases too while I'm at it. This way tomorrow can just be... All about the base!

Started with imperial primer. Washed with AP Alien Purple.

Oh by the way, the eyes were done with... You guessed it wash! This time Valejo Red Ink...

Got a bit more done...

Not basing I know, I know. I'm waiting for wash to dry.




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Ibwant this fellow to be a bit brighter so I've gone a little heavier on the purple and will do so with the yellow too. The main guy should pop out at you right?

Okay so.
Yellow highlight on the green base bits. Red and blue ink on the top of the bases, edges done with waagh flesh and then washed with same + blue ink.

Next step one final red ink on the bloody parts of the bases.

Red ink done.

I'm thinking a blue ink on the base edge.....

i am a bit biased when it comes to base edges...there is only one colour there acceptable to me...black^^...baised^^

but the base scheme looks gruesome...well done
what are these yellow bitz supposed to be?

Pusssssssss...... Ugh gross!

I never did hold with the traditional black base edges. On some minis it looks good but I like to take the opportunity to spice things up.

Thanks for the tips BTW, those bases are like 90% your idea!

Those bases really contrast well against all the nurgley goodness. Well done. I've only completed one model in the time you've been churning these out (posted in my thread at least)

You've inspired me though. Got some Gal Vorbak possessed up next.

Crikey, you make me feel lazy with my efforts.
This topic is fantastic though, especially teaching us about the clay.

I'm especially partial to the really big gray model in the back. Such a high quality piece of work, you must have labored over it for ages.

On a serious note, this is well done, and it's impressive how far you've went with your recycled bits of marines. They look pretty sweet, and the bases are a nice touch, if I do say so myself.

 2BlackJack1 wrote:
I'm especially partial to the really big gray model in the back. Such a high quality piece of work, you must have labored over it for ages.

On a serious note, this is well done, and it's impressive how far you've went with your recycled bits of marines. They look pretty sweet, and the bases are a nice touch, if I do say so myself.

Yeah the Grey King... He used to be the Silver Prince but his coat has faded a bit, and a new family member of a slightly orange-er! variety has taken on his little epithet. We call him the Cremesicle Prince. IRL Cannibal (grey) and Ruckus (orange). When they decide to enter play you don't have to roll for reserves and they can enter on any turn. When they enter play all models on the table are immediately subject to the 52 pick-up usr. That's kinda like the card game. Even if only 2d6 fail the Cat Daemons still win...

...you can see the victory in their smug little faces.

Thank you for the compliments! I appreciate that. To be honest when I showed the guy who traded them how bad the Marines were damaged, and the recast, he made good and gave me more stuff to compensate. He got a good deal from me, so it all worked out in the end. I gave him a ton of dwarf stuff, plus an old book. So, I guess I can nix the trade disaster headlne, lol.

Yeah that clay guys. I'd like to see a pro take a whack at the stiffer darwi and see what they come up with.

Here is a little shot of the biker...

And the list I made of steps. 12 plus layers on the mini, and 11 layers on the bases. All done with a wash technique, or at least very thin layers of paint. I dunno the terminology!

Edit: I suppose some of what I was doing could be called glazing. For some parts like the bone wash over the armour panels I thinned the paint only a little and tried to keep the stuff on the high areas and not let it run down into the edges.

Got little bit more done on the bike lord.

Now just a final strong tone wash, some bone detail wash and then his face. Maybe a bit more black on his boots and hair, some more pink in his topknot?

Then of course the base. This one will be a little different....

Done.

Group photo!

heavy! looking cool! it looks on most parts like the stuff you find underneath a scab...pus all over...well done^^

and thanks for the compliment about the bases...but it was definitely 100% your work...my hands stayed entirely unsullied^^

Thanks Vik. I'm glad you like em!

Anyway here is the next raft...

I feel like I can do these blokes all at once to speed things up. Most of the washes are all-over layers so I don't think it will slow me down much.

Plus when you're priming with a brush you kinda have to use up all the paint you've poured! Lol


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Also, for Zim...

... I was wondering if a billowing smoke effect would look cool or just be too much?

I was thinking I could paint up a cotton ball and have it coming out the back of the bike and a bit around the gun

I think the oily billowing will be great in theme! When you use cotton wool then you should before soak the wool with pva...or like a friend did, he used a kitchen sponge and pulled an appropriate chunk of it to form smoke..., I' ll link you later his work...

Okay!

On a time crunch... Watch this...



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I wanna game with these dudes soon, so I'm sitting down and not getting up until the army is finished.

That being said now I'm waiting for paint to dry... Lol


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 Viktor von Domm wrote:
I think the oily billowing will be great in theme! When you use cotton wool then you should before soak the wool with pva...or like a friend did, he used a kitchen sponge and pulled an appropriate chunk of it to form smoke..., I' ll link you later his work...

Thinking about it more, I have to come up with a way to make the smoke removable. It would just get mangled otherwise...

Oh crikey, you can go faster than this?

What you've achieved so far is fantastic. Especially the bike.

Well its really not that much more than the first 7. Zim didn't get started until I started painting bases.

I imagine I can have them all done tonight, barring any imperial entanglements...

That's the trick though ain't it?

Lol!

Thanks by the way! I'm really stoked about this project.


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Update!

So I am at the "subtle yellow stage" on the PMs. Termie Lord just got the purple blotches but his base is almost done.

You know I was thinking as well. I could potentially run the Termie Lord as a Mutie, and throw in another Chaos Lord or even a Sorc...

Possibilities possibilities!

Would give me another mini to paint on the meantime...


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Pics or it didn't happen I know, but I'm zonked! Already layin down, not getting back up, lol.

I got the other 2 squads 90% done. A few more things and then bases. Same thing with the Termie Lord. His base is done though. Kept them separate this time.

looking cool. Can't wait to see the whole group done, especially when you move onto the hellbrutes.

Wow! That lord looks fantastic.

Almost there!


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Thanks for the compliments folks!

The last few technically could use some more love, but they will do for now.

The fires of battle await!

Alright. I'm digging out Dark Vengeance, some marines, tanks, and guardsmen and totally stealing this idea. Making the Crimson slaughter nurgle-y will be a fun little challenge . Thanks for this!

Chaos Dreads came in the mail yesterday. They are soaking in the brine right now.

Mwuhahahaha!

Okay, well...

Time for an update I guess...

Not to happy with the Termie Lord. I am going to redo his base and bring him up higher.

His legs are so out of place if he stands flat on either foot it looks like he is doing the can-can. I mean, yeah its a fun army, but not thaaat kind of fun...

... Line dancing Chaos Terminators is probably more for MATD/CNN

So if you're looking for that, click over to that channel, this one is just for serious Plague Marine talk!


....meow!

*smirks* well he looks like he has some dump taking issues .
also... are his fingers supposed to be tentacles? the way they´re facing now it must be pretty hurtful...

So where do you get the Darwi clay? I scoured my local Michael's yesterday and couldn't find it. I googled it to see what the packaging looked like, so I knew what I was after...

@Vik... The fingers are mostly all still there, one broke off at some point so he has Simpsons hands now. Those tentacles are CSM helmet horns I nipped off and used to replace his Oblit guns with.

@LordC... That's a good question! I'm almost out! I got mine from a little art & stationary shop awhile back. I'm pretty sure you can order it online though. I can't recall the exact name of the clay I used, but I think it was called Darwi Classic and it came in a gold wrapper. The stiffer darwi I think is called Hard, but again I'm not sure. Pretty sure that stuff had a black wrapper and if I remember right the hard darwi was a terracotta colour.



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http://www.productpilot.com/en/suppliers/darwi-s-a/product/mf_bata_0038868573/en

There is their main website, hope that helps!

Do you prefer the hard or the classic? It seems like a good material that isn't as ridiculously expensive as greenstuff

 LeCacty wrote:
Do you prefer the hard or the classic? It seems like a good material that isn't as ridiculously expensive as greenstuff

Well I've only worked with classic darwi so far. The hard stuff is called Roc Darwi I guess and the website has some other kind of darwi that is apparently "great for ceramic florists" which means its an air dry compound that can hold fine detail.

The company is Belgian and makes a lot of clays and polymers, as well as paint, so its a very established product.

I would recommend darwi for almost any application. Having worked with the classic darwi I can attest to its quality, though I will say I am no expert! I am really sold on this stuff and I can only imagine that the finer clays will work just as good or better than GS, in the hands of a quality sculptor.

Please go out and try it! The same for the rest of Dakka too! Try out the clays and please post your creations! I feel like this medium is entirely overlooked by the hobby community and its a crying shame.

Sure GS is great, but it is also very expensive and not very forgiving. Plus there are a ton of things that GS just isn't practical for, like joining parts or seam filling. The idea that you pay so much for the stuff only to cram it into a nook is ludicrous. Bases? Why waste your precious GS?

Also, darwi compounds are very heat resistant making them ideal for casting moulds! I plan on experimenting with making moulds out of darwi and I'll post that up in another thread. I have a little experience with sandcasting and I think the knowledge can be put to good use. I can't imagine the process would be that different.

Having read the link you provided, the roc one appears to be marble esque. Huh.

 LeCacty wrote:
Having read the link you provided, the roc one appears to be marble esque. Huh.

Yeah I'm not sure what that means exactly, though in the item description found elsewhere online they say Roc is good for detailed sculpting. Marble type surface could mean its very hard when cured or it could mean that it has texture when dried, like how marble has little pits in it.

At any rate I would like to try more of the darwi line and see how it goes.

As for the Encrusty... Well I'm nearly done them now. All that remains is to finish up the bases and redo the Termie Lords base.
I also need to get to work on those dreads!

Done dizzo!

YEEES. Maybe a dark wash on a few to break the monotony. Also might want to add details. It could also be the pics not fully showing it.

Thanks!

The pics are probably a bit bright, IRL they are pretty dark already, though some of them could use a bit of detailing.

Moar cats??

 LeCacty wrote:
Moar cats??

Shameless promotion. /tg/ would kill me...

Next up... A Batman Heldrake!

I am really excited about this model. So much so that I'm crossposting it! Lol

Man, you really turned this around! Did you have fun over all? Worth the effort?

I really like the pustules... I'm not sure how to feel about this.

Thanks BC!

I really did enjoy this project. It was a big eye opener for me in terms of what the hobby really means to me, and I think I learned quite a bit. That may sound a bit wishy washy, but its true. I really do enjoy building and painting models and I think this is a kick in the pants to try other models outside of GW and also outside of wargaming.

Was it worth it? Yes. A big resounding yes. I'm looking at my Sons of Medusa army and thinking hell... They could use an update!

I'm looking forward to adding to this army and I can't wait to share that too. Another thing this project has opened my eyes to is the value of a project blog. I've referred to this thread countless times to see exactly what I did at each stage and while I've never considered myself a big "media" type I do really appreciate all the comments and interaction. Sounds weird coming from me I know, but this forum is like my "only" internet usage! Lol

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Rediscovering why you love the hobby is fantastic. I can understand entirely. I took a long break between about 2007 and this year where I didn't paint a thing, had no motivation for it. Didn't care. Closest I got was building a few sad figures that still glare accusingly at me.
Then I joined up here and began really enjoying reading people's logs like this, and it pulled me back in.
So thanks for showing us your process, it's been ace to read through.

Thanks again BC! I'm glad you have enjoyed this project.

There's more to come!

Its hard to lose motivation when you have this to work with!

Now here is a question.

The chrome inserts, should I use them or make my own Nurgle grossness?

I can see it working two or three ways.

Use the inserts and leave em mechanical and cover the fuselage with clay.

Leave out one or both wing inserts and make my own "guts", leaving most of the craft as is.

A healthy mix of both.

I also need to alter the overall shape so its not just a Batman toy covered in snot. Change the wing angle?

Note that all the hollow bits have a chrome insert.

Here is a size comparison with the Stormtater ...

Is she too big? Too small? Just right?


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Also if anyone can give me a rundown of the legal aspect of running the Heldrake that would be just dandy.

I don't want there to be any gameplay issues caused by shoddy design on my part!

You know what? That is awesome.

I'd add gubbins and bits to the chrome then prime it? Maybe turn it into an area to feature OSL?

Heheh...

Look at this legit modelling pic. Check out that wing!


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 Stormwall wrote:
You know what? That is awesome.

I'd add gubbins and bits to the chrome then prime it? Maybe turn it into an area to feature OSL?

Yikes! OSL is not on my resume...

Though this could a time to try something new again. I am undecided about the chrome inserts. I'm working with another bit of a revell-monogram kit that is plated as well and I don't think I like it... The plating flakes off and makes me worry about painting it...

We need cats with every update! Make that thing into a heldrake. It would also make good tzeentchian daemon engines like the ones from epic but you're doing nurgle. Heldrake.

Catdakka?

Lol

Yes, Heldrake. I have some work done already, a different tail and what I'm calling a "daemon engine".

I plan on putting the main gun under the chin and there are two lovely spots on the underside of the wings for potentially more guns to represent the vector strike. Maybe Plague bomb flingers?

Yeah! With gloopy snot bombs coming out? Just string together some beads, darwi that stuff up!

Boom. Plague Bomb Flingers.

Vector Strike.

Plague Bomb Flingers.

...

...

Twing!

wow...a bat jet to be turned into a heldrake from nurgle...i really dn´t know if this is a good or a bad idea... as for slaneesh i could see this or abut any other god i could picture it in a good way but when i see that sleek model and you will nurglefy it...it is a bit of a waste...no pun intended...maybe a bit^^..

hmmm....gotta have faith...

Dude, I can't wait to see this finished! Great idea and I'm sure the execution will be spot-on too.

Catdakka... that's an idea!
We need pics of this heldrake asap!!!

Such a tease!

Lol...


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Um...

I'm not really sure what the hell was going on here.

I meant to show you guys the top down view of the tail section as well, but apparently my brain was on auto-pillock.

It looks more like a proper aircraft tail section now. I want to add in a panel between the upper and lower sections, try and give it that tattered wing look.


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Also, note the large square hole...

This will be where the daemon engine sits. No pics of that yet. It looks... Orky...

Since I've had a coffee I want to talk about my plans a bit...

The wings...

They will be getting the full treatment. The chrome inserts that go on the bottom will get primed and painted with OSL which will extend onto the wing vanes underneath. The top part of the inner wing will be full of Nurgle goodness, which will be visible through the vanes as well. I do want to keep the basic shape of the wings but since this thing appears to be more of a hoverjet that a conventional thrust powered craft I don't think wing aerodynamics will be a big deal. Besides. Nurgle.

The main fuselage... Well I can't really talk about that much other than to say that the main weapon turret will hang off the front chin and resemble a drooling jaw with a BFG sticking out its yap.

Okay. Let's see that tail section!

I made the top wing out of the flight stand the kit came with and the side bits are the offending bat tail, which came in two sections oddly enough. I simply cut them to fit. I have a bit of visa gift card left to use for filler between the top wing and the bottom endy bit.

Anyways back to work!

Do you have any plans on having plaguebearers? There could be some cool conversions involved if you did.

I would like to get into Daemons, but Mordheim is calling... Ha-ha!

I think I'm going to put the Heldrake on the back burner for awhile and concentrate on the dreads. I want to build some wings for the Heldrake but I need more supplies to do it right. The batwings just don't fit I think. I can make my own wings...

You could use VTOL propellars like the blight drone. That would be pretty nurgly. Or dragonfly wings because bugs.

Very nice warband. And that kit looks likes a very good start for a helldrake, looking forward to the rest of the project !

 LeCacty wrote:
You could use VTOL propellars like the blight drone. That would be pretty nurgly. Or dragonfly wings because bugs.

You're a freaking genius!

I knew I wanted to build my own wings, but I wasn't sure what. Either of these ideas would fit nicely, but I think someone would be really chuffed with dragonfly wings. Wife's favourite bug, so...

Actually now that I think about it the bug wings are the way to go. The daemon engine needs to power something after all...


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 KernelTerror wrote:
Very nice warband. And that kit looks likes a very good start for a helldrake, looking forward to the rest of the project !

Thanks mate! I'm really pleased with them. Hopefully adding more PMs soon.

Need to get more supplies though! I'm running out of Nurgle.... Erm I mean darwi. Running out of darwi.

I'm intrigued, this looks like it's going to be nasty... In a good way.

Well the good news is that I have the cash to pick up more hobby stuff. The bad news is that everybody closes shop by the time I'm done work!

Tomorrow I guess.

Also, thanks BC! I am both excited and perturbed by this wing project. I have never done anything of this scale before and I'm really not sure how to go about it.

I'm thinking I'll find a sheet of plastic and cut out the wing shape, then reinforce it with dowels. Then give them some darwi to cover the dowels. I have a small piece of card left, the gift visa that donated itself to the Bike Lords LC actually. This I have used for the tail section as filler and it looks pretty good so far. I'm hoping the same idea will work for the wings. I'll post a pickbof the tail section when I get home. Though I do need to get those dreads rollin'!

Making the circle part may be difficult. Check this (Screatchbuild blightdrone): http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206963-scratch-built-nurgle-blight-drones/
And I know I'm a genius

Hmmm... Dang.

That almost makes me want to do vtol engines... But alas... With an added daemon engine and vtol wings that would make for a total of three engines...

Bug wings it is! They may or may not look like dragonfly wings depending on what I can source. If I can find suitable wings I'll use those but if not then I guess I'll have to make them out of card and dowel and clay...

Damn you guys! I said Heldrake to the back burner! Now I'm all excited about it again!

Those metal dreads have been sitting in brine for almost 2 weeks! I gotta get them sorted out soon...

So... you dont mind if I steal my vtol idea? GREAT!

You can totally steal your idea dude!
Lol


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Also went and got stocked up on supplies!

I got a fine pull saw, some hobby knife blades, 2 new detail brushes and a big fluffy drybrush.

No darwi, but its on order. So I guess I gotta wait a bit for that...

I did buy some used minis. I managed a couple state troopers sans arms, a Ral Partha amazon, some kind of heavy armour Knight with a sword n board, plus a minotaur looking fellow who may be a marauder mini. And I got a classic Dark Elf Assasin, still in the clampack!

These will keep me tided over until the darwi arrives. I have a ton of other minis coming too and all this should be enough to get my Mordheim Revival League going! By the way I'm doing that.

Woa. That's like. A lot of stuff.

Lol, just gotta make sure the wife doesn't find the receipt and I will survive long enough to use all those goodies!

One last suggestion. You could have it as a weird thing that floats around... Know what here's a pic (sorry for the size):

And an update here too.

Look what I finally did! Two Dreadnoughts and a beastman of some kind.


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I finally stripped them. Or rather, I finally took them out of the brine. They practically stripped themselves after nearly a month in the dip.

Now I can finally use up the rest of that darwi...

Good to see another strange thing emerging from your mind.

Yay! More stuff!

Oh yes lads! I haven't forgotten about my lovely little plaguers. I think I have just enough darwi to Nurgle up both these dreads and maybe if I'm lucky the art shop has some more.

I was wondering how I can make these dreads a bit bigger though, any ideas? I'm thinking I can get height by adding some darwi to the hip joint, maybe extending into a big gross belly. I think the weapons need to be attached using darwi as well and this way I can get some width as well as make the arms more poseable. I also wanted to change the face of one dread as well, just to make them different from one another.

Oh and in case anyone was wondering they will both get plasma cannons and power scourges!

FYI Darwi is a lot cheaper on ebay than amazon or the other Darwi site.

Here ya go Dakka!

The beginning of dread number one.

Now I wanna talk about this guy for a bit here, so I will!

Metal dreads are awesome if only because repositioning the legs is as simple as carefully bending them, more on that later. So since I have 2 identical models I wanted their poses to be really different. This fella is going to be looking down at something getting ready to blast it with his PC, his scourges hanging low as he gets a good look at his victim. I'll reinforce this with an appropriate base, perhaps a Marine firing a futile round with his pistol?

Anyways so now you know why he is shoegazing. How did I do it? Well it started with the legs. I very carefully bent them a small amount at a time until I felt like I had a good pose. Anything is an improvement upon the "at-attention" stock pose so when I saw something I liked I stuck with it. Then I glued together the feet, body and scourge arm. Once that was dry I simply squished some darwi in the hip joint and worked the snot-magic! I did the same thing for the scourge arm, but it was a little finicky so I'll let that dry for a night and continue tomorrow.

In the meantime there is a lot to work on! Maybe I'll do dread number 2?

Great work as always!

 LeCacty wrote:
FYI Darwi is a lot cheaper on ebay than amazon or the other Darwi site.

You know I never noticed the price difference online, I will have to check that out. I never thought to look on eBay for darwi. I also forgot to go into the shop after work today so they might have darwi. It is pretty cheap regardless though.

I know I'll need a lot of it for the Rotwing. I am gonna nix the stock wings and make my own I've decided. I think bucket lids may be a suitable material...

Here is a wip of dread #1. Oh how the plan changes at every step! Lol


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Thanks Cacty! I'm glad you like the dread. He spent a lot of time in the dip. I kind of had a fear of stripping the dreads, its a lot of work to get all those crevices. As you can see I didn't give it my all. Ha-ha. Oh well. More Nurgle goodness!

Here he is, I'm gonna say at about 90%. There are a few things I want to add, but this is pretty much it.

Nice work! I forgot to mention that you can get a 36" strip of GS (as opposed to 6) on ebay for under the price GW sells it for. I havent used darwi (yet) but GS is so fething good.

I just had a thought...

Undead Warband...

Zombies...

Plague Marines...

Zombies...

Looks like my undead Warband is going to pull double duty!

And I was wondering how to base those zombies, now I know.

Sweet.


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I've also managed to source some plastic for Heldrake wings. Thanks Sysco dill pickles, your bucket lids will serve with distinction.

Makes a solid excuse to darwi up a Typhus too.

Oh right... You need him to unlock Plague zombies don't you? Lol. Looks like I'm in the market for a terminator!

I have an untouched Chaos Teminator lord on sprue you can cover in clay.

Hey. Expandable foam. Nurgle. You know gak can be done with that. *BOOM* (Oh, and zombies are cool too )

An update here too! Updates for everybody!

I just love how his pose turned out...

Dreadnought bum!

Wait.... you're not dead? HES NOT DEAD GUYS!

Careful man, he might be dead and the Nurgle clay might have taken possession of his account. That would explain the awesomeness of the aforementioned dreadnought's pose.

Worship The Clay !

 KernelTerror wrote:
Careful man, he might be dead and the Nurgle clay might have taken possession of his account. That would explain the awesomeness of the aforementioned dreadnought's pose.

Worship The Clay !

Darwiism.... Heh.

And LeCacty wins the thread.

Thanks guys! I appreciate the comments, even if I do fall into a state of decay every once in awhile.

I get distracted so easily with the hobby. Oh that's cool lets spend a week on that! No wait, this guy needs paint... But I should really finish that base for... Oh look BattleTech!

Its bad...

You forgot to drill the bolter barrell?


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also these look absolutely amazing


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oh man, I am responding to the first page - lol

 darkcloak wrote:
And LeCacty wins the thread.

Thanks guys! I appreciate the comments, even if I do fall into a state of decay every once in awhile.

I get distracted so easily with the hobby. Oh that's cool lets spend a week on that! No wait, this guy needs paint... But I should really finish that base for... Oh look BattleTech!

Its bad...

Heh... state of DECAY... nurgle... I'll see myself to the door now.

 LeCacty wrote:

 darkcloak wrote:
And LeCacty wins the thread.

Thanks guys! I appreciate the comments, even if I do fall into a state of decay every once in awhile.

I get distracted so easily with the hobby. Oh that's cool lets spend a week on that! No wait, this guy needs paint... But I should really finish that base for... Oh look BattleTech!

Its bad...

Heh... state of DECAY... nurgle... I'll see myself to the door now.

State of deClay?? Eh? Eh? No?

 Lord Corellia wrote:

 LeCacty wrote:

 darkcloak wrote:
And LeCacty wins the thread.

Thanks guys! I appreciate the comments, even if I do fall into a state of decay every once in awhile.

I get distracted so easily with the hobby. Oh that's cool lets spend a week on that! No wait, this guy needs paint... But I should really finish that base for... Oh look BattleTech!

Its bad...

Heh... state of DECAY... nurgle... I'll see myself to the door now.

State of deClay?? Eh? Eh? No?

YES! Buy this man a drink!

Badum-tiss!

They'll be here all night folks!

(But seriously, they actually might be...)

We will.

Well, seems like Nurgle has me again...

Here is a little teaser, more to come later.

Welcome back to the bubonic path Darkcloak !

Okay!

More blurry photos!

At least this time I threw down some paper so lemme know if you think it helps. I will be getting a better cam soon, but for now. Squint I guess!

Anyways, these dudes are starter kit PMs and well they look nice so I didn't wanna change em at all. I wanted to do a white scheme but somehow pink got on my pallette and now well, they look pretty dope. The pink and white really works well on them and I'm gonna keep the theme throughout the rest of the army.

I have some Chaos Termies to run as Blightlords that are primed and I've primed my Sorcs new bits and I'm wondering if I should repaint him entirely, or just make him all pink or leave him as is. Currently he is in a Berzerker scheme which I am really fond of and I may just leave him as is as a tribute to well, this thread. Keen observers will notice that this Sorc is actually the very same Chaos Lord from the DV kit that is featured in this thread!

Anyways, here is The Encrusty Warband reborn, albeit a little cleaner for now. Once I get back into full swing you can bet I'll be continuing my search for modelling alternatives and making a super fly Nurgle army on the cheap!

I uploaded these in another thread but here they are again.

The Sorc, and a BLT Champion with Bubotic Axe made from a ghost axe and power fist.

I wanted to talk about how I made the Termie look gross, just in case anyone hadn't seen this trick before.

To get the effect, which you probably can't see so well lol, I applied PVA to the parts of the model I wanted to ugly up, typical spots for PMs like the belly or feet. I did this pretty sparingly and only working in a couple spots at a time, you don't want too much run off or build up. Then I applied thin superglue in small drops to the surface of the PVA. If you're careful you can get several small drops in one area and it makes a neat effect. Then I simply moved on to another couple spots, adding PVA, then superglue. You don't want to do all the PVA at once cuz that's messy and the PVA can dry and form a skin which the superglue will run right off of. Take it in steps and you'll get better results. For some stuff like say a big stomach goober you can actually glue a bit of paper to the model and this will help hold the glue in place and give you more volume. Yes, more volume on your gut goobers. Once your PVA superglue sludge dries it will literally look like snot. Like you picked your nose and wiped it on your model. Yeah. I know. That's a good thing though!

anyways there ya go, how to make your army look like you got it second hand from a nose picker.

if you want this moving to the blog section hit an alert and let us know.