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As a huge fan of anything having to do with zombies, I whole heartedly support these ( and many more) additions...
Look great Skalk, can't wait to see more.

@ FITZZ- You didn't have to wait long, Brother.



A decided departure from all the other projects I have started on this and haven't finished (because we all know how awesome it is to have 8 sub-projects and 60 unpainted miniatures when you're working on a project) but something that fits in with the overall direction of this project and has application in my Death Guard should we ever get around to playing APOC. In fact, I'd run these as is w/ current IG rules just to really mess w/ my opponents. My buddy Dwarf will likely be horrified when he sees what I have done here, and it's possible he'll come to purge my heresy in person. It's a risk worth taking. Zombies have always been near and dear to me. The conversion possibilities are nearly endless (especially in the Grimdark), the painting schemes are dark and dirty (a style I excel at) and I absolutely love doing it. Added bonus to this particular foray into the world of gritty gut-spilling undeath is that unlike my WFB Zombies which I try to have as much diversity as possible in blocked units, these are intentionally and supposed to be the same- olive drab BDUs, black armor, black / Boltgun Metal Lasguns, and then whatever various rotten corruption / death damage I apply. The paint jobs on these will go very quick and they will look awesome.

Here's some pics of stuff I did earlier tonight. Update is they are already based black and one has been drybrushed olive drab, so progress above and beyond what I'm posting here has already occurred.

Group shot:


Model from last night, now with new improved battle damage!


... side view for Lasgun-dragging action!


New Recruits!



And one more shot of the happy family:


I'm going to fly through these. The time-intensive part is the conversions, but even then it's a lot quicker because I'm staying within a pretty narrow range of options (majority IG plastics, some Skeleton and Zombie plastics, and misc bits here and there). The theme here is "newly dead", straight off the battlefield and ready to nom on their former brothers-in-arms.

I'd like to see about a hundred of these on the tabletop shambling towards my enemy and soaking up multiple shooting phases. I would LOVE to run a Necromunda-themed game with PDF / IG vs. the endless horde of death. I ran a game like that about a year ago and it was madly fun. We used my WFB Zombies for that. This would be even cooler.

Anyway, that's it for tonight. C&C welcomed and requested, I aleays appreciate feedback. Thanks for looking, I'll be back with more very soon.

Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:@ Anung Un Rama- Thanks for the compliment! And I appreciate the concern about burnout. I know after a while I'll steer towards something else but so long as the bottom line is that I am doing something, I'm making progress. And speaking of progress...

...

I really really enjoyed doing this. I want to make more of them. A lot more. 20 at least, preferably 50 or more.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

@ Anung Un Rama- Burnout is something I've experienced numerous times. I had to walk away from my Death Guard completely for a while, and took a break from miniatures completely. But during that time I made a lot of terrain, so I remained in the hobby. After I finished my 500th odd Zombie for WFB I never wanted to see another Zombie ever again. But I'm back. Best example- I quit gaming in 1999 and modeling in 2001, but I'm back. I'll always come back.

Looking great! Love zombies something fierce. There's a great thread on IG and necromunda themed zombies over here if you're looking for some inspiration

EDIT: Ballsed up the hyperlink. Whoops!

@ Scarper- That is awesome! I assure you I'll be getting to that point (kitbash 8 different parts into 1 model) much like I have w/ the "living" Cultists I have already. I laughed out loud when I saw the Inquisitor zombie! Ha! Thanks for sharing that. Inspiration for sure!

I love the chap with the scar across his chest, and the gun chopped in half, nice touch very cool zombies.

No worries, Skalk, just thought you'd be interested!

Got no doubts at all that yours'll be just as awesome too

Nice work on the Zombies. The battle damage is great. How did you get the torn fabric look?

@ tipios- Thanks! I was laughing when I made that one. The cut in the plastic looks a bit OTT but once it has paint on it it will look more like a split. I'm psyched you go the "split weapon" part. I envision him having tried to block a cutting weapon like a Power Sword or Chain Sword. More is coming!

@ Scarper- Man I really love that blog. All I want to do right now is go to eBay and dump $$$ into zombie and IG bitz. I'm getting really (really) low on legs and torsos. If I keep this up I might actually run out! I have no more zombie legs at all, no spare IG legs... oh woe and misery! Ha.

@ Llamahead- It was so easy it's almost wrong that it comes out looking so good. I took and old xacto blade (I keep mine long, long after they should have been thrown away) that has the tip broken off a bit, set it into the plastic around the knee, and pushed the plastic back in a circle until it looked like blown-out fabric from the BDUs. For the rest (using the same blade) I cut small chunks, triangles, gouges out of the plastic.



I'm working on various projects tonight. I'm going to try to finish painting the zombies I have right now (I am NOT... NOT going to make any more until these 5 are completely painted!) but I'm also working w/ GS on my Possessed Plague Marines. My plan is to work on one project first and work on the other while something dries, etc. I have beer and Metal and a lot to do. No work tomorrow, no responsibility or obligation this weekend except get paid to stay home and wait for a pager to go off so I can get paid even more. Ha. I'm going to log off here in about another 20 minutes and get to work on my projects.

I'll be back later with pics of... something. But I'll be back for sure!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Progress!!!



I'm noticing the model w/ the sword and laspistol is looking kind of boring. I mean really all it has going for it is a skull. I need to do something to it that will show why it is in my Undead Guard.

I'm really enjoying this. Back with more updates when I have something more to share.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I hate Automatically Appended Next Post.

I think the guy with the las pistol and sword looks pretty good actually, maybe add a single obvious "killing" wound...but other than that he looks good to go.
Really love what your doing here Skalk and as always I'll be waiting to see what else your twisted imagination comes up with.

I think that guy looks grim and badass. He just looks like stalking death in fatigues. I wouldn't change him, but if you do, go with fitzz, and just do the one kill shot/wound.

He looks good I'd leave him as he is as a victim of the Zombie plague myself......

@ FITZZ / Moltar / Llamahead- Ok, ok, I get it. Ha. He remains unchanged. I supposed the fact he is missing his jaw and most of his neck could be considered his "killing wound", it's just not obvious. The more skeletal models I didn't want to have a lot of blood and gore, just ripped, rotted away, and tattered. Maybe they got eaten by Buzz Squigs. Who knows? They look cool, that is all that really matters.



The first batch of Undead Guardsmen is DONE! Yes, I could have done a bit more w/ the fiddly bits but seeing how these will spend maybe 2 shooting turns on the table and be removed in huge handfuls, I'm thinking I did a decent enough job w/ what I have. If anyone sees a glaring oversight, please mention it. I want my models to look at least like I spent some time and gave them moderate effort.

Here they are in their newly found glory:







I have no idea at all what I am doing next. I'd really low on spare parts for any more conversions (yes, I know I have a bazillion bitz... I'm out of the things I specifically need for this project) and while I know I have other things that need to be painted, gaahhhh... I really really really want to keep making Undead Guardsmen!!!

I'll figure somehting out and be back soon with more Cult goodness. Death to the False Emperor!

They look good, bud! Especially since you're not expecting them to "live" long. Would you have any need for 3 necromunda plague zombies? I have 3 unpainted I don't think I'll ever have a use for.

They turned out real nice.

Love that last bunch of Guardzombies, the colours are really nice!!

@ Moltar / tipios / Yggs- Thanks all, those are my favorite models in this project to date. I've got plans for more of them.



Not much for an update, but enough to get back into things. I was digging through a box of Chaos Marauders I rescued from eBay about 2 years ago looking for something completely different and found 2 models that inspired me to do a bit of converting. I have played a couple "Plague Zombie in the Underhive" scenario games recently (will post for your reading pleasure if anyone is interested) and in the Hiver table I had model options that I could not find appropriate models for. Yeah, I was stunned by that as well. So, after a chop/hack here and a splop of glue there, I've got some new additions to my Cult.


I didn't realize how horrible this pic was until I just saw it close-up now, and of course I'm posting it anyway. It will look better in the followup pics. It's a Chaos Maurader head on a VC Zombie torso (I think?) and the rest is current IG plastics. He's armed with a single CC weapon in the scenario.



This model was my true inspiration, the other just sort of came together. I really like this. A lot. It was a simple conversion as far as my conversions go but the results are striking (to me anyway). I had an option for single 2-handed CC weapon. I enjoyed putting this together and I'm going to put some decent effort into the paint job. Most of the current colors are from the original paint job, I added some basics to pull out a bit of detail from the conversions I did. I'll clean all of this up later and repaint it. Head is from an unknown model (anyone recognize it?), torso is from the old (original) Chaos Warriors plastic set, legs are Chaos Marauders, left arm is from the Catachan IG plastics, and weapon is a combination of VC Zombies spear and (original) Chaos Warriors axe head.




I added a bit sprue to the base to balance out the miniature. I usually don't do that because I am not a fan of "action-bases" because it seems silly to drag a pipe or rock around the game table w/ your model, but it fits a utilitarian purpose for me here and doesn't look bad overall.

I've also been working on my PDF. I have a bunch of IG models w/ the same paint scheme that I got off eBay a couple years ago but they didn't have any Grenade Launchers. I built a few of those and decided to round out for another complete 10-man squad so now I have 3 full squads w/ Flamer or Grenade Launcher options.



And finally, I took a really beat up IG model I had in a junk box and decided that my Undead IG needed a commander. Paint coming soon because I absolutely love these undead IG models:



And that's it. But more is coming. Summer is long dead here and cold weather is creeping back to the mountains. I'll be back soon. Thanks for looking, C&C always appreciated.

Nice to see you back !

I like the pose of 2nd zombie w/ large axe !

Also, the commander doesn't really look like an Undead... I hope the paint will show !

Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:

Charles Bronson anyone?
I just read through all of this blog, and I loved it, well done man! Such an interesting read.

@ Yggs- I was hoping the bayonet sticking out of his neck would convey the fact that he isn't doing so well, and went with the classic "arms outstretched" look. But yes, he will look much more dead once I get some paint on him. With most of my Undead IG I'm going for the "newly dead" look, as if they have been recently killed and then risen again to feast upon their former comrades. The other 2 models are actually not supposed to look like zombies, they are Hivers with lower-income status so the hit people with sticks instead of shoot at them. Again, paint will more clearly define the models. And just to be clear, the PDF in blue uniforms are *not* done. I know I'm lazy w/ detail sometimes, but I'm not quite that bad about things yet.

@ WaaaaghLord- Thanks for checking this out and reading the entire thread! I'm always appreciative to know someone is enjoying what I'm doing here. More is coming sooner than later, this seems to be my primary focus these days (besides terrain).

Some of the poses on your guardsmen remind me of Starship troopers 2 (crap sequal to a film that didn't really need one btw), they look awesome none the less and some of the wounds really make it obvious they are zombies (or whatever your calling them)

@ moonshine- Never saw that movie, so if the poses are lame it's 100% organic on my part.



Speaking of lame, not much work done but posting new pics of old stuff, plus an upcoming project. Not a lot of time to be online tonight so I'm making this quick.

Here's some group shots of the Cult models I have finished.

Hivers:





Mutants:



Plague Zombies:




And here's a shot of the project that just arrived today- more Plague Zombies. 40 in all in this batch. I removed the square bases, glued round bases, and after this post I'm heading back to do some converting.





They will look quite different the next time you see them.

That's all for now, thanks for looking, C&C always appreciated.

Skalk man you are a busy man with your nurgle legion and now these cultist man can't wait to see them all painted up. Keep up the great work.

Lookin' good, Skalk. I wanna see some paint on those zombies.

great stuff ... another full army picture

This entire thread is awesome! Im pretty new to dakka so im constantly discovering new and awesome threads! Also, as stated above, the backdrop is especially cool.

@ GreyDeathOne- That and more, my friend. Wait until next week.

@ Moltar- Your command is my comm... uh... hmm. Yeah. Anyway, check the pics.

@ dakkagrot187- I have plans for a full army picture similar to the one I took for my Death Guard, I just haven't gotten to it yet.

@ bebopdrums2424- Thank you! The backdrop was really easy to make but has really changed the atmosphere for my pics. Keep checking back, there's a lot more coming.



I went insane today. First, a quick update on the current life and times of Skalk Bloodaxe to put all of this into perspective. My in-laws came to VT for a visit, and while it was nice to see them, my mother-in-law brought some horrific Nurgle-esque disease with her and it hit me hard last night. I stayed up most of the night drowning in snot and feeling like someone had punched powdered glass down my throat. I saw them off today. It was absolutely beautiful so I took the Harley out for a ride, I didn't care how bad I felt. I got in about 150 before I had to give in. I came home, heavily medicated myself, spent countless hazed hours at my bench, and now I'm here on Dakka.

You know, I should have posted that on my Death Guard thread as well. Maybe I'll update later.

Anyway, I went into crazy-person conversion mode today. I ripped apart some models I've done before now and recycled them into some of the things I'm about to post. Others were painstakingly measured and calculated before I simply hacked and slashed like I usually do.

One thing that I keep coming back to time and again is that truly, I am not a very good modeler. That's not fishing for compliments to the contrary, it's absolutely true from this perspective- with *very* rare and infrequent exceptions, I cannot form an idea in my head and then crate it as a model. All of my models are happenstance, fortunate accidents, or "evolution" as the model starts to build itself instead of being built in my vision.

That said, I did pull a rabbit out of the hat once today, I'll mention it when I get there.

Enough whining! On to the good stuff- new recruits for the Cult! First up are my Zombies.



23 in all, the other 17 either need work or have been provisioned elsewhere. It may not look it but a LOT of conversion work went into these. Notice that not one of them is carrying a WFB weapon. I was cutting arms and moving hands and fabricating new limbs from old models and etc etc... so now I have 23 new "tear at you with teeth and claws only" Plague Zombies. Well... 21 actually. There's these 2 guys here that have a little extra:



I'm not going to be making a lot of these because I want them to retain their individual character, but I thought it was funny to include some mutants that contracted the Zombie Plague. I mean really... talk about not ever catching one single break, eh? Ha.

The remaining zombies not pictures are going to have to wait a while because I am completely out of right arms and things I can make right arms with. If anyone has some spare right arms for Zombies kicking around, I know a guy that is looking for some. There's a possibility that I'm going to "swap" with some of my WFB Zombies, just paint these up to replace them and take some "no weapon" Zombies from my WFB collection and swap out.

The paint on the zombies will be going on in stages, browns here, reds there, blues, etc. When I paint Zombies I have a very solid "assembly line" method that works out very well. I've painted hundreds of these things. I'm looking forward to this.

Next is an update for my Undead Commander, and introducing two new troops to keep him company:



I know he still looks "alive". That will change when I paint his face and blood all over the place. His new troops are Stub "Lefty" Smith and John "two heads are better than one" Johnson. I had a lot of fun doing these, but here we go with a great example of what I was talking about earlier- I didn't intend on, plan for, or even specifically "want" to build these models, it just happened when i was working on other stuff, the ideas came in and left, I tore things apart and re-glued, cut hack slash slap ... and all of a sudden I was working on Undead Guardsmen. Ok, cool, whatever. It came out awesome I think. The damage on Stub needs a bit more detail, and the head on John might get swapped out because it is so ruined by glue (thanks to the kid that owned these models before I did, more examples of eBay saves) but overall I think they make great additions to my Undead Guard. I don't know what they have to do w/ the Cult exactly, but whatever. It's fun and if nothing else they can shamble along w/ my Plague Zombies... just more unfortunates that have succumbed to the ravages of Papa Nurgle.

And now the flagship of this update- new Cultists! And here we have my very rare example of an idea that I wanted to try and actually did it the way I envisioned it.



L to R- Missile Launcher / Grenade Launcher / Plasma Rifle / Assault Shotgun / Big Dude w/ a Bolter and a huge choppy weapon.

The Missile Launcher worked out perfectly. I wanted to use one of the old plastic RT Chaos Missile Launchers. I also had an idea how to make it work. I cut a Grenade Launcher arm at the elbow, repositioned it, used a bayonet as a shim / filler, and kept the hand w/ the trigger to make it look like a firing mechanism on the Missile Launcher. Here's how it all turned out:



Check the face from the front view. It's one of the 2 heads that are twisted together by their hair (from the WFB zombie set) and it worked out pretty well I think. I was going to go w/ a gas mask but no amount of changing things around would have allowed that and still looked good. I don't know why I thought of this, I just did. I like the results:



The legs are from one of my re-provisioned zombies. I'm still building up the leg so it doesn't look like a skeleton. It will look better soon. I'm going to build an AG for him w/ missiles later.

Next up is my Assault Shotgun, which I suppose could be used for any other weapon type (HB, HS, etc) but I really like the idea of belt-fed shotguns. A simple conversion as far as my conversions go, hardest part was getting the arms to line up on the weapon correctly.



I also decided that my Cult needs a bit more "squad" firepower, or at least the option for it. Right now the heaviest weapon they have is a Bolt Gun. That has changed with the Plasma Gun and the Grenade Launcher! Not exactly what anyone would consider heavy firepower, but both can do damage to a vehicle and insta-kill some models. The Plasma Gun is from the RT (or was it 2nd Ed) plastic Ork weapon sprue, and the Grenade Launcher is current IG.





Last is a model I will likely tear apart and you'll never see again, but maybe not. It's sort of cool. Sort of cool enough to build, but the test is if he'll be around in a few days.





I have work to do on him if he's going to stay. What do you all think?

That's it for now, I'm off to guzzle NyQuil and hopefully pass out. But I'll probably just model some more. Ha.

I'll be back!

The Commander is very funny with that knife sticking out of his neck. You think it was his comms officers knife?

@ The Good Green- Now that you mention it, I am absolutely certain of it.



Lot of fiddly work done today but nothing from the Cult was finished (or even done enough to bother with pics). Maybe tomorrow I'll take a "what's done so far" pic, and possibly a "WIP" group shot as well.

Speaking of tomorrow, I'm not going to work. But don't worry, I won't be lonely or bored. Papa Nurgle sent a few Nurglings to keep me company.

Ugh. I'm going to go stare at my work bench and not do anything.

.