Khorne's Eternal Hunt - KrautScientist's chaotic WIP thread: Fine-tuning Eightbound...

[KrautScientist]

Thanks a lot for the constructive criticism, guys! In only one day, the model has developed into something quite different from where it started through your input, and I really like that! :)

 

Regarding the pose, I prefer the more "relaxed" look as well. However, as long as the arms are just tacked on with modelling putty, the pose is prone to change between pictures because I have to reattach the arms every now and then. So bear with me here, even if the arms do look a little goofy at the moment -- I'll try to go for something resembling the earlier look in the final version.

 

@ infyrana: When it comes to the cowl, I agree this element might need some fine tuning, but overall I think that it really nicely complements the overall look. The curvature itself is due to the bit I used, obviously, while the height may yet be adjusted.

 

@ Skrundle87: The head is a Skullcrusher Head with the "bunny ears" clipped off. The shoulder pads are leg plates from the Heldrake kit.

 

@ Kythnos: Well, I have a (rather cheap) X-acto knife with several interchangeable tips. The one I used looks more or less like the secon from the left in this picture. I use it at a fairly low angle and "scrub off" the aquila with a bit of force. That said, the placement of the aquila is so awkward that you have very little space to work with here, so getting rid of this element will remain grueling work even at the best of times, but after the fourth or fifth aquila, you kinda get into the swing of things ;)

[Natanael]

I Think the terminator looks much better with the shoulders like that. If you fill in the space between the pads and the armour he's gonna look awesome. So... go do that ;)

[Kythnos]

Thanks, I'll see what I can do. I don't have this kind of tip for my hobby knife, but it shouldn't be too hard to find :)

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, guys! :)

 

@ Kythnos: Mine was bought at the DIY superstore (Hagebaumarkt, actually, which might help you, seeing how you're in Hamburg and all ;) ), so yeah, it should be rather easy to find something similar.

 

 

So, while we wait for the Chaos Lord to take shape, let me show you something rather different today that hasn't got anything to do with my World Eaters ;)

Among the first steps on the way to rediscovering my missing painting modjo was to do some experiments using two of the new Citadel Technical Paints. Yes, I realise that I am rather late to the party when it comes to using these, but I had picked up a bottle of Agrellan Earth and Nurgle’s Rot, respectively, shortly before christmas, and now it was time to put them to the test.

And what better way to play loose with paints than to paint a follower of Nurgle? Not only do the Technicals chiefly lend themselves to doing rather squicky effects related to decay and bodily fluids, but painting Nurglite models can also be a ton of fun — and if something goes wrong, you can usually pretend it was planned to look that way, too…

That said, I didn’t want to sacrifice a highly involved conversion, so I chose a really old, early 90s’ plastic Plague Marine as my test subject. I also rather like the slightly corny charm of these early plastic models (the Khorne Berzerkers from the same time are still one of my favourite retro designs). A missing arm was replaced with a mutated CSM arm from my bitzbox (which also gave me the added benefit of being able to paint an area of distressed flesh). Then I broke out the paints and let rip with all the effects at my disposal in order to create weathering, decay and just general unpleasantness.

Here’s the finished model:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580037-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580038-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580039-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580040-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.jpg

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580041-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580042-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

As you may be able to tell from looking at the pictures, I went for a quick and dirty paintjob, mostly using washes and brushing techniques to achieve the effects I wanted. I wanted to make sure painting this guy would be fun and not get bogged down by intricate detail work. And it worked, I mostly had a blast — even though the resulting model is not very likely to win me any trophies ;)

But what about those Citadel Technical Paints? How did they perform?

As you can see, Nurgle’s Rot was used to create…well, Nurgle’s Rot, actually: I added a healthy amount of it to the Plague Marine’s twisted claw, for one, to make it look like a daemonic stinger of sorts, leaking virulent fluid:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580044-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

The colour was also used on the model’s backpack, creating disgusting slime leaking out of the vents:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580045-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

And finally, it was added to the torso, showing where the rot is actually breaking through the legionnaire’s armour, especially around the tubes and cables:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580043-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.jpg

All in all, it basically performed like you would expect it to, creating a wet-looking, glossy slime in a pretty evil green hue. It’s a really easy and effective tool for adding slime to followers of Nurgle, but I think it would fare just as well when adding puddles of toxic sewage to your bases or terrain pieces. Granted, it may be a bit of a one-trick pony, but being able to open up a bottle and just add the slime is definitely preferrable to having to mix your own stuff by combining green colour(s) and gloss varnish (or having to work in several coats). The fact that it’s semi-translucent also really helps, making it actually look like slime instead of green colour with gloss addded on top.

The picture above actually nicely leads us to the second technical colour in question: I experimented with Agrellan Earth, hoping to create an effect at least slightly similar to the corroded armour on LuckyNo5′s excellent Mariner’s Blight models. I think we can all agree that having a simple way of creating flaking paint and a general crackle texture on the armour of Nurgle Marines (or on terrain pieces, of course) would make hobby life easier and more interesting. Well, here’s how that went:

I began my experiments by adding Agrellan Earth undiluted (and in a rather thick coat) to a base. I followed the instructions given by GW themselves, and this was the result:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580048-Agrellan%20Earth%2C%20Base%2C%20Crackle%20Effect%2C%20Test.JPG

A rather nice crackle effect, don’t you think? In fairness, it is slighly less pronounced if you see it with your own eyes instead of having an enlarged photograph. But the effect’s pretty cool — and also proof that I didn’t get a bottle from one of the bad batches.

So my next step was to add the colour to the marine’s armour, mixing it with a different colour to arrive at a suitably Nurgly colour scheme. Having to add light brown to the green led to the armour having a slightly lighter shade of green than I had originally planned, but that was quite alright.

The problem, however, was that getting a noticeable crackle effect here was way more difficult than when working with the colour on its own: I actually used several passes, experimenting with the ratio between Agrellan Earth and green paint. But even when using only very little green (and slathering the mix on rather thickly), I only managed to get a very slight crackle effect on the model’s stomach and shoulder pads. It’s nice and subtle, but it could be a bit more pronounced. Plus it’s really hard to get the colour to perform consistently: Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, with no discernible explanation for the inconsistency.

Worse yet, when mixing Agrellan Earth with Vallejo Negro Black for the base, the paint refused to crackle at all. Take a look:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580046-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

Maybe this means that using non-GW paints messes with the crackle effect somehow? Or maybe I just couldn’t get it right by that point…

To be fair, GW themselves are advertising the colour as a means for base design, above all else. So painting flaking armour with it might never have been all that promising a plan in the first place. Still, I would have hoped for the colour to be somewhat more flexible — or am I doing something wrong? Anybody out there among you readers who knows how to make the most of this particular Technical colour?

Anyway, while I am slightly disappointed with Agrellan Earth, I do believe the colour warrants further experimentation. Here’s an idea, for starters: Do you think it would be possible to paint the colour onto an unpainted model in order to create the desired crackle effect, then add the undercoat on top of that, thereby conveniently sealing the effect in place? I may just have to try that next…

In any case, the overarching goal in this small project was to have fun painting again, and that worked out swimmingly. So we can maybe look forward to some more painted stuff in the near future? Keep your fingers crossed! ;)

Until then, though, let me know what you think! And, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/31/580047-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.jpg

[Skrundle87]

You'll never cease to amaze me fantastic work

[KrautScientist]

Haha, cheers, mate! You're flattering me, really. This was nothing all that special, just an attempt at rediscovering the joy of painting, as it were ;)

[Trysanna]

Good stuff. I really like your'e use of the Rot. Enough to make it stand out, but not too much as to overdo it. Nicely done! Any plans for more Plague Marines? Perhaps an addition to your World Eaters? 

[KrautScientist]

Cheers, Tarvik!

 

As a matter of fact, I am no total stanger to Nurgle models!

 

So far, I've done a Nurglite Terminator Lord/Sorcerer...

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/3/15/473724-Chaos%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Counts%20As%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Manreaper%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Paintjob.JPG

 

...a champion of Nurgle in normal power armour:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/9/25/414883-Champion%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines%2C%20Warhammer%2040%2C000.JPG

 

(this one being part of a fun project that consisted of building a model for each of the "cult legions"):

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/9/29/415877-Champion%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Emperor%27s%20Children%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Nurgle.JPG

 

More on these guys can be found here, for those who are interested.

 

And I also converted and painted a Plague Ogryn for my cousin at one point:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/7/4/385269-Big%20Mutant%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Lntd%2C%20Lost%20And%20The%20Damned%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Ogryn%2C%20Traitor%20Guard.JPG

 

So yeah, Nurgle's always fun to do, and very good for experiments! Will it ever amount to a full squad of models? We shall see...

Edited January 31, 2014 by KrautScientist

[Skrundle87]

I like your four "cult champions" I began working on something similar but hardly converted at the time and only really did the sub legions aka iron warriors alpha legion etc hadn't gotten to the main four yet, I like what you've done and as you said just the silhouettes perfectly display the legion they belong to, I'm thinking of doing something like this but as the four horseman not so sure yet, anyway I digress, (you'll get sick of me saying it soon) Great stuff!!

[oldschoolsavant]

If you've rediscovered the joy in painting..... 

 

Rhino Oblits. 

 

Just saying. (really, really looking forward to seeing them finished)

Edited January 31, 2014 by oldschoolsoviet

[Trysanna]

Damn, those Cult Marines are awesome. Quite inspiring. Keep it up. 

[KrautScientist]

Thanks a lot, guys!

 

@ Skrundle87: Be sure to leave a link, once they are finished! I'd like to see someone else's take on a project like this!

 

@ OSS: Haha, I'm not that motivated yet Seriously, the scope of the project is slightly scary, plus Thamier's brilliant scratchbuilt Oblit has killed some of my appreciation for my own models. Still, I'll get around to painting them eventually -- promise

 

@ Tarvik: Cheers, mate!

 

 

Right, I have not yet given up on the subject of creating a convincing crackle effect, so the experiment continues! This time around, I kitbashed a Plague Marine, using some of the more decrepit bitz I had lying around, and added Agrellan Earth to the model before undercoating:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/1/580400-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Crackle%20Effect%20Trial%2C%20Death%20Guard.JPG

As you can see, the crackle effect is far more pronounced this time around. So far, so good, right?

In principle, yes. But it is rather hard to retain the effect through multiple layers of paint without covering it up. While it worked until after undercoating, the following layers of paint destroyed some of the subtlty. I tried to counter that by adding a bit of Agrellan Earth on top again, but it performed just as unevenly as before:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/1/580401-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Crackle%20Effect%20Trial%2C%20Death%20Guard.JPG

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/1/580402-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Crackle%20Effect%20Trial%2C%20Death%20Guard.JPG

I'll still finish the model, because I've grown a little fond of it, but for the future, I believe I'll have to turn to dedicated crackle medium to achieve the effect I want. Still, playing around with colours again has given me a new appetite for painting, even if I have yet to tackle anything bigger...

Meanwhile, here's the status of the slightly tidied up Mk 1 conversion:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/1/580403-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Huntmaster%2C%20Khorne.JPG

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/1/580404-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Huntmaster%2C%20Khorne.JPG

And a size comparison with another Terminator lord:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/1/580405_sm-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Huntmaster%2C%20Khorne.JPG

While there isn't that much of a difference in height, the shoulder pads add much more bulk to the model.

As always, let me know what you think! :)

Edited February 1, 2014 by KrautScientist

[MaveriK]

Your work is inspirational and it has continuously given me motivation, to keep working on my own Lost Company project. I had to laugh at times when you and I would have similar ideas regarding various bits. I truly respect a fellow hobbyist with talent such as yours. Keep up the great work!

[Ch@oZ]

I like the nurgle champion with the powerfist. Awesome idea for a head.

[KrautScientist]

Thanks a lot, guys! :)

 

@ MaveriK: And to think that I only discovered your thread now: That project of yours is chock-full of ideas I can steal for my Blood Wolves ;) Reading through your thread right now...

[Excessus]

Did you try to drybrush over the Agrellan Earth to save the cracks a bit?

 

I'm curious about AE, but since my local shop doesn't have it in stock I have to wait to experiment... :(

[Brother Heinrich]

I'm liking that Mk.I terminator. Good stuff man.

[KrautScientist]

Thanks, guys!

 

@ Excessus: To tell you the truth, the crackle effect I am going for is not so much defined by the raised parts, but rather by the recesses, and I fear that's something that you can't really build up with drybrushing all that much.

 

However, I did continue with my experiments! I am away from home on job related business this week, though, so I only have time to sit down and do some hobby-related forum trawling and posting late in the evenings -- forgive my tardiness ;)

Anyway, here's an update on my second test model for the results of using Agrellan Earth in order to create decaying, flaking armour. Like I said above, this time the paint was added to the unpainted model, and all the other colours went on after that:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/1/580400-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Crackle%20Effect%20Trial%2C%20Death%20Guard.JPG

As you can see, the crackle effect was far more pronounced this time around. But keeping the look even after adding multiple layers of paint on top? Well, quite a difficult task, once again:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/1/580402-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Crackle%20Effect%20Trial%2C%20Death%20Guard.JPG

Apart from that, I once again used several simple weathering effects (as well as a generous helping of Nurgle’s Rot) to make the model as disgusting and decayed as possible. Here’s the result:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581800-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.jpg

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581805-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.jpg

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581804-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.jpg

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581803-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.jpg

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581802-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.jpg

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581801-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.jpg

From a crackle perspective, the effect is still not as pronounced as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I really like the overall look of the model — and Nurgle’s Rot once again performed admirably, as you can see, with green goo leaking from the model’s armour in many places. This guy may not have crackled as much as I had wanted him to, but he surely looks like a follower of Nurgle: As a matter of fact, I can almost see myself painting a small squad of Plague Marines, just for fun, crackle or not crackle.

Here are the two test models I have completed so far:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581806-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

And a colour comparison with Nurglite champion Malchius Blight, completed as part of an earlier project:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581807-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

As you can see, the colour is somewhat different, with Malchius much closer to the Nurgle Terminator Lord I build as a smaller side project:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581808-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581809-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Kitbash.JPG

You can learn more about this guy here and here.

Tell you what, seeing how this is turning into a bit of a Nurgle showcase, let’s throw in some of my really ancient Plague Marines from the 90s, complete with my vintage paintjobs, trying hard to emulate the “official” ‘Eavy Metal paintjobs from second edition 40k:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581812-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines%2C%20Retro.JPG

I still love that icon bearer model, by the way — maybe I should strip the paint from it and repaint it in the “modern” style?

Anyway, here’s one of those old guys with his “younger” brother:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/5/581811-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Plague%20Marines%2C%20Retro.JPG

I somehow can’t help feeling immensely fond of those simplistic early 90s plastics — at the very least, they have aged far better than their loyalist counterparts: Just take a look at the Space Marines that came with the 2nd edition starter box!

But wait, where does all of this leave us with regard to the crackle effect?

Well, I believe I will have to give a dedicated crackle medium a go next, maybe the one offered by Vallejo will do? I could also use Agrellan Earth and use washes and shades to do the actual colouring, as some of you suggested after my last post.

In any case, this experimentation has been quite a lot of fun so far, and definitely a much needed boost for my painting modjo!

As always, let me know what you think! Thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

[YoungWolf7]

In past experiments I have found that crackle medium works better when applied over a glossy surface rather than a matte one. So the basic process that worked "best" (gave the most "crackle") was to paint the base color (for the cracks), seal with gloss varnish, then paint with the top color mixed with crackle medium. It's a fun effect, but it was still too random for what I was after at the time.

 

Hope that helps. :)

[infyrana]

"I still love that icon bearer model, by the way — maybe I should strip the paint from it and repaint it in the “modern” style?"

 

Agreed, and yes.. definitely ... side by side shots for sure, old and new paint jobs :)

 

Loving your scythe wielding termie model and paint job, had to book mark your links to go read later on, thank you!

[Forté]

May be worth looking into Vallejo Crackle Medium rather than the GW one colour option.

[GumbaFish]

So many great conversions in here.  I particularly like your demon engine and zerker/chosen champion.

[Squeaky]

I have always wanted to do some nurgle/plague marines as that was the first paint set i got with those plague marines in :) brings back memories when it took to make a model was aback pack and a gun glued to a guy with holes in the right place.

[Chaeron]

Very, very nice - love tuning into this thread!

[KrautScientist]

Thanks a lot, guys! Yeah, those old plastic Plague Marines sure bring back feelings of nostalgia, don't they? I also think that, along with the plastic Khorne Berzerkers from the same time, they haven't aged all that badly: Sure, today's plastic models are in a totally different league, but compare the plastic chaos models from the early 90s to the 2nd edition starter box marines, and you'll see that the former are spitting on the latter from a very tall height.

 

When it comes to getting the crackle effect just right, I believe going for a dedicated crackle medium may be my best bet in the future. For now, though, I am happy enough to continue with the recipe I have discovered, because my motivation for getting stuff painted seems to be returning. I have also caught the Nurgle bug, as it seems, so the next Plague Marine is already mostly finished, only missing his base:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/2/8/582532-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Death%20Guard%2C%20Mutation%2C%20Nurgle%2C%20Pip%2C%20Plague%20Marines.JPG

The model was built from leftover parts some time in late 2010, so I was more than happy to finally slap some paint on it! I have also found out that my recipe for rusty and decayed Nurgle armour does a great job of blending together loyalist and chaos parts without much further need for conversion!

Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend! :)