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Hello all,
Some may have noticed my interest in building a count-as Typhus to command my Chaos Marines. Well, I got the parts over the weekend and I've started getting to work. Let me know what you think.




It's hard to tell, but I've done some kind of subtle mods to the figure. His arms have been magnetized for one. I removed the spikes from the collar bit around his head. His head itself is a modified Grey Knights Terminator head with added filters and horn. I hadn't realized before just how much their helmets look like the Deathshround/Death Guard Terminator helmets. All it needed was just a little bit of modding. I've replaced his left hand with one from the Grey Knights Terminators that is pointing, so he can direct his troops. The sorcerer's staff was removed from the left hand (that actually went on that arm) and attached to that right arm (had to remove a Combi-Bolter). The Staff was further modified by cutting out a small notch into the top and adding a cut up rudder from a Dark Eldar Raider. I know it looks ridiculously huge in that above pics, but I've already started trimming it down into a more reasonable size. It'll still be pretty long, but not so large. I also made a screaming face which I've fused into the scythe's blade that you can see above. Its made from a combination of two Catachan heads that were included with the Sentinel kit's driver. The heads were trimmed up after being fit together and it is being held on the blade with green stuff, which I used to also clean up a few of the cut lines leftover from the fusion of the two faces. Further modifications will be to either add some horns or tentacles to his back and probably the hardest of all, adding some hoses to his chest piece. I'll post more images as I update him.

Feedback would be appreciated. And yes, I know the blade is too big. It's already been dealt with.

Wow, I'm surprised, not even a single response. Anyway, updated photos. I've begun sculpting the power cables on his armor. Doing this really makes me wish I had one of those hose sculpting tools like Masq Mini's. Chances are, if/when I do get around to getting one of those tools, I'll probably redo the cables. For now I'll leave them. I've added some surface details to them since I took the photo to give them more of a fleshy look. The scythe's blade was trimmed up to make it slimmer. It's still huge, but I'm fine with it being a bit ridiculous. After all, the thing does have the special effect of being unwieldy. Growths have also been added to the top of his armor where the horns are coming out, a tentacle has been added coming out from under the waist joint and cables have been added to his right arm. Once painting commences, he'll receive a loincloth as well, I'm just not sure if he should get a cloth one or the chain one.

Here's a shot of the updated blade.


Updated shots of the figure. I'm going to clean up the white bit on his chest too.

 Barzam wrote:
Hello all,
Some may have noticed my interest in building a count-as Typhus to command my Chaos Marines. Well, I got the parts over the weekend and I've started getting to work. Let me know what you think.




It's hard to tell, but I've done some kind of subtle mods to the figure. His arms have been magnetized for one. I removed the spikes from the collar bit around his head. His head itself is a modified Grey Knights Terminator head with added filters and horn. I hadn't realized before just how much their helmets look like the Deathshround/Death Guard Terminator helmets. All it needed was just a little bit of modding. I've replaced his left hand with one from the Grey Knights Terminators that is pointing, so he can direct his troops. The sorcerer's staff was removed from the left hand (that actually went on that arm) and attached to that right arm (had to remove a Combi-Bolter). The Staff was further modified by cutting out a small notch into the top and adding a cut up rudder from a Dark Eldar Raider. I know it looks ridiculously huge in that above pics, but I've already started trimming it down into a more reasonable size. It'll still be pretty long, but not so large. I also made a screaming face which I've fused into the scythe's blade that you can see above. Its made from a combination of two Catachan heads that were included with the Sentinel kit's driver. The heads were trimmed up after being fit together and it is being held on the blade with green stuff, which I used to also clean up a few of the cut lines leftover from the fusion of the two faces. Further modifications will be to either add some horns or tentacles to his back and probably the hardest of all, adding some hoses to his chest piece. I'll post more images as I update him.

Feedback would be appreciated. And yes, I know the blade is too big. It's already been dealt with.

I like him a lot. I am a big fan of Typhus myself. Nice work.

I say, even if you're trimming it down it's still quite large, and pulls attention away from the miniature itself. Everything good is only good in moderation!

Also, the growths on his back look more like spikes than anything, and even if this guy is a counts-as, you may want to represent his 'destroyer hive' as more of a hive than spikes. Other than that, it looks pretty great so far. Can't wait to see it painted.

I suppose you're right about the blade. It is a little too over the top. See, this is why I wanted feedback.

Better?


Not as flashy looking, but the scaling is certainly more under control.

Now, about the growths, yeah, I was going for the horns intentionally. I want this guy to be my own design, but to evoke Typhus. I was either going to go for spikes/horns, or tentacles in place of Typhus' exhaust stacks. I did model the spore openings though. I just wouldn't say I'm the best sculptor around.

I'm not sure if I want to cover up the vents on his back or not. Maybe I'll just put one of those Destroyer Hive spore thingies on his legs.


Oh! And an added bonus, here's a Strange Tree I've been working on. I figure I can either use it as an objective marker or some scenery. Really, I'm just trying to put some of the excess sprues and spikey bits to use.

Loving the work. I am a big fan of Typhus (tbh big fan of most the chaos characters). good work on the head I agree the blade looks better smaller. Have you had a look over at some of the sculpting articles? There is a great one which shows how to do some nurgle/organic work.

Just an idea, take a flat piece of plastic, place a finger nail sized blob of GS down onto it, take a needle like instrument (something with a point for the end) and practice drawing down the blob to the plastic to form a sinuy/organic flesh look. You can then when happy, roll it back up and go again. The idea being it will simply give you a much better idea of how GS can be stretched and pulled. For such an awesome model whats an hour or so messing about and getting your skills in.

What tools do you have? I bought some sculpting tools and never looked back

Your work deserves some more attention. I´d be glad if i could make conversions like that

It's going well I certainly wouldn't argue if it's Typhus. Can't wait to see it painted

 Barzam wrote:
I suppose you're right about the blade. It is a little too over the top. See, this is why I wanted feedback.

Better?

Not as flashy looking, but the scaling is certainly more under control.

Now, about the growths, yeah, I was going for the horns intentionally. I want this guy to be my own design, but to evoke Typhus. I was either going to go for spikes/horns, or tentacles in place of Typhus' exhaust stacks. I did model the spore openings though. I just wouldn't say I'm the best sculptor around.

I'm not sure if I want to cover up the vents on his back or not. Maybe I'll just put one of those Destroyer Hive spore thingies on his legs.


Oh! And an added bonus, here's a Strange Tree I've been working on. I figure I can either use it as an objective marker or some scenery. Really, I'm just trying to put some of the excess sprues and spikey bits to use.

Imo the blade is still too big. Most scythes have blades that're half the length of the shaft or less, but I prefer not-so-OTT things. I think a lot of scythes can give up their blade length and look equally deadly because of the amount of details on it. My suggestion is to add plasticard ornamentation on the blade itself, with greenstuff.. stuff added on. The more ornate, the better, I think!
The spikes still seem a bit out of place (perhaps the model needs to be a bit spikier for continuum) and to let it fit in.

Also, the model doesn't seem to have enough.. mass for some reason. Perhaps a loincloth between his legs, or something greenstuff. (Coincidentally I just finished my Typhus-counts-as but I really dislike mine so.. Heh)

Hey! I really like the tree (and its concept). With your blessing, perhaps I could try to build my own?

That is the best Typhus I have ever seen. I want it so much, and I don't even play chaos.

Solar Shock wrote:
What tools do you have? I bought some sculpting tools and never looked back

I actually do have and use a sculpting tool set. To be honest, most of the tools have gone missing on account of my recent move, but I've got one with a pointy end and a slightly spoon shaped end. It's probably been the most versatile tool I've got.

Know No Pear wrote:
Imo the blade is still too big. Most scythes have blades that're half the length of the shaft or less, but I prefer not-so-OTT things. I think a lot of scythes can give up their blade length and look equally deadly because of the amount of details on it.

Also, the model doesn't seem to have enough.. mass for some reason. Perhaps a loincloth between his legs, or something greenstuff.
Hey! I really like the tree (and its concept). With your blessing, perhaps I could try to build my own?

At this point, I'm not sure if I really can cut the blade down any further on account of how it's sculpted. It's got that groove cut so far into it and at just such an angle that if I were to make any further cuts, it would wind up just looking weird. I will be adding a loincloth to him though. I'm leaning towards the chain one. I'm just leaving it off for now for ease of painting. By all means, go ahead and steal the tree idea. I'm pretty certain I borrowed it from someone else myself, I just don't remember who. So, whoever it was, thank you for the idea.

Looks SO much better with the smaller blade. I'm also really digging the tree.

 Barzam wrote:

I actually do have and use a sculpting tool set. To be honest, most of the tools have gone missing on account of my recent move, but I've got one with a pointy end and a slightly spoon shaped end. It's probably been the most versatile tool I've got.

At this point, I'm not sure if I really can cut the blade down any further on account of how it's sculpted. It's got that groove cut so far into it and at just such an angle that if I were to make any further cuts, it would wind up just looking weird. I will be adding a loincloth to him though. I'm leaning towards the chain one. I'm just leaving it off for now for ease of painting. By all means, go ahead and steal the tree idea. I'm pretty certain I borrowed it from someone else myself, I just don't remember who. So, whoever it was, thank you for the idea.

To be honest, I have a couple favourites in my set and the rest I don't touch.

I would say dont forget its your model if a larger than average scythe is what you want then dont skimp! but the original was a monsterous creature in its own right I like its current size and can see what your saying with the way the shape is. Any changes now would result in quite a different look, as you can't reposition the hook after the cut away :/

Alright, I'm home from work, I've eaten, bought some models for testing paint schemes, and I've got some work done!

I'd come across a good tutorial for sculpting those virus vents on top of Typhus' armor. So, I yanked all of the previous junk off and sculpted proper vents.

I think there was still a little water in one of the vents when I took the photo. Oops.

I also picked up some textured plasticard to make my own hose-making tool. I need to practice with it more, but what I go just from the trial run worked out well enough. I've gone and added some hoses to both of his legs.

They're uneven diameters, but that's alright. You can see my ugly chest hoses better here. I'm totally going to yank those out tomorrow and make some new ones.

So, here's where we are tonight.


Once I redo the chest hoses, I think he'll be ready for paint. Should I add anything to his left arm? It feels like he needs something there, but I'm not sure what.

Looking good so far. And the smaller scythe really looks better on him. WIth the changed vents he is more in line with the GW typhus and they look better than those spikes he had before.

Have you tought of adding pustles bursting through his armor like the GW model has? Just drill a small hole, roughen out the edges of the hole with a knife and press a small ball of gs in. You could even poke some holes in the GS with a needle for additional detail.
And/or you could also cut small gashes into his armor around the edges to create some more used and rougher appearance.

Looking good!

How did you make the home made cable/tube maker?

The model looks better with the hive stacks and the shortened sycthe blade.

Any plans for boils/leisions/cracks in the armour?

Thanks for the replies, all.

I have started added some "distress" to the armor. I don't want to go too overboard though because it'll really mess up the detail that's already on the figure. I might add a boil to his right leg, but that'll probably be it. I like the details that are on the legs and it'd be a shame to cover them up. A few nicks, scratches and pits here and then, especially on the arms and thighs though, that's no problem.

The cable maker was pretty simple to do. Like I said, I just bought a textured plasticard board. I would tell you which one I bought and the sizes and whatnot, but I already threw out the package. Sorry. All I can say is that you need one that's textured sort of like corrugated cardboard. The teeth are what gives the tube its segmented look. You just need to find one where the teeth aren't too big or too small. All I really did was just cut out a pair of squares. That's it.

Looking really good with the new and improved vents

I saw this earlier and thought it might help you get an idea of what other nurgle terminator armour can look like.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/core/gallery-viewimage.jsp?i=38321&m=2&w=800

obviously the extent of how mutated and fleshy his armour is up to you. But I really like the fleshy symbol on his leg, I think something like that would add some really good extra details. Perhaps like doomhammer suggested a few bubbles and pussing parts could lok good at armour joints? In the essence that his vileness is seeping through the armour.

Perhaps you may consider filing down some detail on his legs to make way for plain planes, where the paint/weathering/battle damage can show his allegiance better than any symbols can?

 Barzam wrote:
I have started added some "distress" to the armor. I don't want to go too overboard though because it'll really mess up the detail that's already on the figure.

If you don't feel comfortable doing it then it is probably better to leave it as it is. Just work on your skills until you trust them enough to do crazier stuff. I started just like you. But somewhere along the way you'll realize that despite the details beeing nice and such they are "only" stock details that everyone has.

Finish him with what feels comfortable and after getting better with conversions come back to him and recreate another one but this time go apeshit with conversions and compare. Doing this will show you how much better you have become.

Just a little update. I did some more distressing to his armor last night. Cut and nicked up the armor's collar area. Did some final additions to the sculpting as well.
First, new hoses on the chest!


I also added one of those little Destroyer Hive pustule vent things that Typhus has all over his body.


Lastly, I added some growths into his left arm's elbow joint. There's a little tentacle reaching out of it, too.


These updates aren't anything too special, but I'd say his sculpting is pretty much done at this point. Now I need to practice the color scheme I want to use.

Remember(if you want!) to add blight grenades! Or not, it's up to you, but I like details! The entire model seems to come together quite well at this point. Good job!

I have no clue what blight grenades are supposed to look like. Got any pics?

Not at the moment, but most of the time people use skulls as blight grenades Or heads, really. You can just paint normal grenades a glowing, sickly green to show the effect.

The fluff says that blight grenades are severed heads filled with contagion and sealed up. The FW DG terminator upgrades have heads attached all over them.

Hmm, I just ordered some Kroot grenade bits to use. since they're big and bulbous. Oh well. I'll just have to give them some OSL or something.

Painting has begun! My Chaos Marine chapter has yellow as their color scheme, but after a conversation with my father back when I started this, he mentioned how military officers "back in the day" would often purchase their own uniforms and specifically have them designed to stand out from their troops, but keep some reference within the uniform to tie them back to their men. I've chosen to do something similar for my Chaos Marine chapter. For them, the officers don bigger, more ornate or complex armor in comparison to their troops and generally will have them painted gold so as to better stand out. The gold makes them easily identifiable as commanders, but also ties them somewhat to the chapter by retaining a yellow-ish color scheme. I will, however, retain the proper chapter colors and markings on their shoulder armor.

So, here's what I've got so far.

Horns and spikes to be painted, OSL added to the eyes and to his "Blight Grenades" on his backside. His scythe will have a generally rusted blade. I'm unsure though how I should paint the face that's on the blade. Suggestions?

I imagine that since this is a Nurgle chapter, these guys have a hard time keeping their armor all shiny. I bet each officer has a gang of slaves around at all times just to keep their gear clean.

Looks great and you might actualy save me some money, I have multiples of GK head could do this and sell my FW Death Guard.

Where do the horns come from?

Which horns? The one on his head? It's actually one of the tusks from the Termie head that came with the Chaos lord. All other horns were a part of the kit to begin with.

Almost finished! Just a little bit more painting on the actual figure left, then it's all the base that'll be left.



How's he looking?