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Hey there folks. I'm a long time fan of Warhammer and have been out of the hobby for some time but recently got back into it thanks to a good friend of mine. I've been working on a few conversions lately with some of my old bits and newer models and came up with this fun conversion for a priest with an custom Eviscerator. The base model is an Empire War Priest with two hand weapons, whom I modified to hold the staff in two hands. The Eviscerator itself is basically Sentinel close combat weapon placed atop a Nemesis Warding Staff and the staff's normal head placed at the bottom as a sort of pommel. I used a hooded head from a Dark Angel's Deathwing Terminator as his head a there we have it. I'd love some input on not only the model itself but the paint job (it's mostly done save for a few minor touch ups here and there. I put him together to represent a unique Priest character with special rules that I plan to present to my home game but wanted to see what everyone thought.


A view of Athros' intense stare


A view of Athros' overall gear


A rear view of Athros' outfit


A closer view of Athros' custom Eviscerator



Thanks folks, and I appreciate all of your input!

That's a very nice conversion, nothing looks out of place or odd (well, no odder than a crazed chainsaw-wielding preacher should!). As for the paintwork, I'd see about hitting it with a matte varnish, but other than that the job's a good'un.

Thanks dude! I know about varnishes but have never really had much experience with them. I hear from a few dudes at my local gaming store that doing a coat of gloss varnish and then a coat of matte is an effective way of protecting the paint but also reducing the chance of the crazy gloss varnish shine. Is that true?

Is it generally better to brush on the varnish or to use a spray varnish?

Some claim that gloss varnish is stronger than matte. For our purposes, I'd say the difference is negligible, if even measurable. Multiple coats does more to increase protection than varying what sheen they are. But yes, two good coats of varnish is pretty protective and matte is generally the preferred look (top coat determines the sheen - you can dull down gloss or add shine to matte), although special effects and personal preference make any clear finish a viable option.

As for brushing vs. spraying, I, and it seems most others, prefer to spray. Much easier to get nice, even coats that way, and there are a plethora of products available, from specialized modeling finishes to hardware store clear coats, all of which can work. I switched from Krylon Crystal Clear topped with Testors Dullcote to airbrushing Pledge FloorCare topped with Testors airbrush (acrylic) Matte Clear. Both gave results that I'm quite happy with.

I'm assuming its not a good idea to do like a spray paint can of varnish, it seems to me that might get clumpy. Some day soon I'm going to get an airbrush so I can paint my brand new Baneblade. I was rather intimidated by the idea of using a brush on the whole damned thing, haha.

I'm leaning towards heading to my local Hobby Lobby to buy some matte varnish to brush on. Should I try for a single coat or a few? I've never put varnish of any sort on my models and I'm not sure how to manage it.

Nothing wrong with rattle can varnish.

Testors Model master dullcoat works (you can get this at hobby lobby)

Army painter Matt varnish also works.