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Having stepped away from 40k for the past 4+ years I have gotten the urge lately to get back to the hobby and start a new 40k project.

Having sold off every model and gaming item I owned when I stepped away, I am starting with a totally clean slate, which tbh is kind of refreshing/liberating.

It didnt take me long once I started looking around the web for inspiration for a new force to decide what I wanted to do: Chaos cultists. The Crimson Slaughter fluff was a good jumping off point as they use cultists regularly. The new cultist plastics go for cheap on places like Ebay and would be a economical base to work off, although I'll be bringing in bits and kit-bashed from a number of kits and ranges as I expand the army.

I have always loved the fluff and idea of cultists in the 40k universe. In years past I have played both genestealer cultists and LATD. I m not sure how viable a cultist heavy force really is, but this is more of a fluff/hobby driven project, and I dont ever play tournaments so Im not all that worried really.

I worked up a sort of "blueprint" on paper that outlines various themes and design elements that I want to incorporate thorughout the army be it color choices, use of certain bits, army fluff, names of HQ models, etc. I find it helps me add some character to the army.

Using this blueprint I started amassing various bits and kits that I would need to start converting and building the army. I'll explain some of the themes and asthetics my blueprint details in future posts.

Initially I started grabbing a ton of the plastic cultists to get me started and experimented with some conversion ideas (using ghoul heads to make muties for example):


I also planned out and converted my main HQ: a Crimson Slaughter Dark Apostle I shall call "Morax The Slaughter-Bringer"
Morax "The Slaughter Bringer"; Dark Apostle of The Crimson Slaughter...

Morax (also known as "The Blood Father") will lead "The Cult of The Burning Slaughter" (lots of cultists, Helcult formations,Helbrutes, spawn and defilers):
Morax has left a trail of death and heresy across scores of worlds he has defiled in the name of chaos. Working first in secret he orchestrates insidious "slaughter cults" that if left undiscovered/unchecked grow like a cancer until they are ready to reveal themselves in mass scale, murderous uprising.
Sometimes Morax is tasked to weaken a world from within to prepare it for invasion by other chaos forces( most often the Crimson Slaughter), but just as often he is motivated by his own twisted desire to revel in carnage and despair.
Either way whole populations have been butchered in profane killing rampages at the bidding of Morax (driven by the daemonic whispers and visions that fill his mind).
Those not "fortunate" enough to be killed in the initial uprising are subject to all manner of profane torture and dark ritual as the cult offers up the hapless survivors and their now doomed world to the ruinous powers they pay blood-soaked homage to.
With his mission complete, Morax takes leave to seek out and begin his work anew on the next unsuspecting world…



Hopefully that gives you an idea of where I'm headed with this project. I'm not the greatest painter (I shoot for the "three-foot rule"), but I love to build theme armies that are rich on 40K fluff and represent the setting. This army will be an excuse to do lots of conversions and fun modeling projects. Hopefully lead to some fun campaigns and scenario games as well..

That's enough blathering for now, more updates to come as I work things out...

Questions & comments welcomed.

Started blocking out colors on a Helbrute test model.

Still not sure the best way to get that ghostly "warpfire/balefire" glow on the flames, but it is a thematic element I plan to carry throughout the army, so some experimentation and Google-fu are in order...

i like your apostle a lot!

also, the flagellants from the empire line in Warhammer fantasy make for some fun cultists.

i went for a "cult" theme with my chaos army as well, but it is more along the lines of very few cultists and a bunch of daemons.

psyched to watch this one!

Those cultists are awesome.
Funny, I also used Morax as the name for a Havoc champion for my Fallen. Fallen totally aren't chaos though, nope, nothing to see here, move along, ignore the gentleman with the pistols and the sword.

CaptainStabby wrote:
Those cultists are awesome.
Funny, I also used Morax as the name for a Havoc champion for my Fallen. Fallen totally aren't chaos though, nope, nothing to see here, move along, ignore the gentleman with the pistols and the sword.

Would the real Morax please stand up...







Thanks. And Yeah, I am in the process of collecting a bunch of kits and bits for my second wave of cultist building: flagellants, ghouls, orks, marauders, Gors, buts, etc. to add some. Usual variety and up my Mutie count.

They even have a similar chaos motivation stick!

CaptainStabby wrote:
They even have a similar chaos motivation stick!

Spoiler:

That's a spooky double coincidence...

Looks awesome btw.

Built and started testing colors on a kit-bashed spawn using two generations of spawn pieces and some of the possessed bits.

Still WIP obviously, just starting to block out base colors. Thinking of getting some
Of the new GW technical paints and glazes to test run (Blood for the Blood God, etc.).

I'm doing a unit of these as a "bodyguard" ("the chosen host") for my Dark Apostle. From an army fluff angle they represent what remains of the Crimson Slaughter chaos marines that served the apostle: champions of chaos forever mutated by the gifts of the chaos gods. I tried to give hints of this by using possessed bits, a few pieces of melded power armor and backpacks sticking out of them and more "human" faces. I wanted more "Damned legionnaire" than "bug-eyed monster".

Definitely subscribing to this! Also some nice motivation for me to get off my lazy butt and work on my chaos army since the semester is over.

 King Pariah wrote:
Definitely subscribing to this! Also some nice motivation for me to get off my lazy butt and work on my chaos army since the semester is over.

Do it!!!

The dark gods demand more servants...

Managed to build this guy for under $20 U.S. Using a DV Helbrute and some bits off eBay.

Satisfied with being able to rework the stock pose/look and keep him cheap because I have plans for nine more...

i

Test models for some "Big Mutie" style chaos spawn:




A mix of spawn bits and ogryn heads.

Very cool, nice to see some alternate poses of the DV brute. Those spawn also look wicked, unique enough but you can still tell what they represent.

In regards to cultist spam gameplay, that's actually been my guilty pleasure for CSM lists as of recently. Played a few games of cultists blobs (35 man with Dark Apostle or HQ in each) and it works really well. Plus it's fun to watch your enemy throw lascannons and plasma at puny 4 pt cultists and laugh as you remove model after model, but have loads more to compensate.

Another look...



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Fun with head/leg swaps and changed flamer to be canister fed with a new nozzle/cowling.

Pleased with his stance...




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In regards to cultist spam gameplay, that's actually been my guilty pleasure for CSM lists as of recently. Played a few games of cultists blobs (35 man with Dark Apostle or HQ in each) and it works really well. Plus it's fun to watch your enemy throw lascannons and plasma at puny 4 pt cultists and laugh as you remove model after model, but have loads more to compensate.

Thanks for taking a look and offering some thoughts. Close to 600 views and hardly any feedback is good times...

Building these guys mostly for the fun of converting/out-bashing. Also have plans for a narrative campaign with them as the antagonists.

 CT GAMER wrote:


Pleased with his stance...

Spoiler:

Thanks for taking a look and offering some thoughts. Close to 600 views and hardly any feedback is good times...

Building these guys mostly for the fun of converting/out-bashing. Also have plans for a narrative campaign with them as the antagonists.

this dude is rad.

what does a cultist based csm force end up looking like (list-wise?)

slamma wrote:

what does a cultist based csm force end up looking like (list-wise?)

HQ
Dark Apostle

Troops
Bodies... lots of expendable bodies

Heavy
Maulerfiends

 clamclaw wrote:

slamma wrote:

what does a cultist based csm force end up looking like (list-wise?)

HQ
Dark Apostle

Troops
Bodies... lots of expendable bodies

Heavy
Maulerfiends

That's the basic idea.

My particular cultist coven (and its army fluff) has a few themes running through it:

1. "Burn the non-believer's with fire"
2. Daemon engines are holy vessels to be revered and protected asa living embodiment of the dark gods.

Thus other than my Dark Apostle who is the demagogue and spiritual leader, everything is either a cultist (devoted follower) a spawn (follower who has been "gifted" by those they worship), or a daemon engine (I'm sticking to defilers and helbrutes initially)

Then lots of flamers, and anything that can cause soulblaze

Man, that sounds really cool. I love seeing fluffy armies, especially on the table. Sure it won't be the most competitive thing in the world, but then again it's CSM. Not like that's their bag right now anyway.

 clamclaw wrote:
Man, that sounds really cool. I love seeing fluffy armies, especially on the table. Sure it won't be the most competitive thing in the world, but then again it's CSM. Not like that's their bag right now anyway.

Probably not, but I'm more interested in scenario play and narrative campaigns than I am sportshammer, so it's all good.




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Planning to use these to represent my dark apostle's "combat familiar" and a sorcerer's "spell familiar". Plays up visually the fact that Crimson Slaughter fare followed into combat and aided by warp spirits.

I may convert up a bunch hurling fireballs like the one in front to use as fluffy "counts as" flamers of tZeentch for my sorcerer to summon. A bunch of warp spirits floating around hurling balefire at people will look very fitting...

I'll leave this here...

Great stuff so far, love the conversion work on those spawn (although those Ogryn heads are now fuel for my nightmares), hope to see more conversions like that in the future

The Warp spirits are a pretty cool idea too, not really digging the grey colour though, they look a bit too much like spooky ghosts rather than interdimensional horrorspirits

I also like how you compensated the Hellbrute's tilted pose with the rock under the other foot

Nice use of the Forgeworld psyker by the way, is he going to be a priest of the cult?

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
Great stuff so far, love the conversion work on those spawn (although those Ogryn heads are now fuel for my nightmares), hope to see more conversions like that in the future

The Warp spirits are a pretty cool idea too, not really digging the grey colour though, they look a bit too much like spooky ghosts rather than interdimensional horrorspirits

I also like how you compensated the Hellbrute's tilted pose with the rock under the other foot

Nice use of the Forgeworld psyker by the way, is he going to be a priest of the cult?

Thanks for looking and the feedback.

The Psyker will be a second HQ. The Dark Apostle is my Warlord. The idea for this guy is that he mysteriously acts as a beacon and conduit to attract and help the warp spirits that follow the Crimson Slaughter about manifest themselves (as they do at times even on their own in the fluff). I plan to field him as a csm sorcerer but give him the "daemonheart" which makes it plausible that he is wearing no armor and "prophet of the voices" so I can run him with a bodyguar dunit of possessed I have conversions planned for.

I'm going to use spirit host models as "counts as" tzeentch daemons as I want to have what I summon throwing fire about to keep with army theme. Ghostly spirits flying about and hurling warpfire should be a fun thematic element.




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On a related note, I scored this. Chaos temple terrain on eBay for cheap and painted it up to fit with my table. Suitably grimdark...

ooohhh -lovely stuff here! great conversions and am loving the fluff element so far. great work fella, consider me subbed

Oh my god. How did you repose the DV helbrute? he looks so much taller and dynamic! I love this!

 Powerfisting wrote:
Oh my god. How did you repose the DV helbrute? he looks so much taller and dynamic! I love this!

Thanks.

I carefully dremeled off the stock arms and added spare arms from the standard helbrute kit.

Then I simply played around with getting his foot into a rock to tip him up.

The arm swap and bodg angle change definitely seem to give him a different feel.

 CT GAMER wrote:

 Powerfisting wrote:
Oh my god. How did you repose the DV helbrute? he looks so much taller and dynamic! I love this!

Thanks.

I carefully dremeled off the stock arms and added spare arms from the standard helbrute kit.

Then I simply played around with getting his foot into a rock to tip him up.

The arm swap and bodg angle change definitely seem to give him a different feel.

I could have sworn you made the legs physically taller, but now that conversion is even more clever! definitely stolen. So stolen.

Looks great so far.