KHARN!!! (Feeling Khorney Part 12)

 

Now with more skulls!

Recently I took the time to access the state of my Worldeaters force and the most glaring thing to me was that Kharn's base, still on his original 25mm one, was way too small. He was always too big for that base, with his feet spreading over the edges of it. The current plastic kit comes on a 40mm one.  It was simple enough to expand up to this, I just glued him onto 40mm base.

Kharn's dinky base.

Normally I would green stuff out the edges and try to smooth it out, but I decided to just clutter it up instead. I gathered an assortment of appropriate bric-a-brac: skulls, a space marine helm, a knife, bits of sprue (to look like bricks), a few small rocks and some more skulls. Can't have enough skulls on a Khorne character right?

Debris for the debris god.

As expensive as GW plastic is, I try repurpose all my scraps.

Once I was satisfied with my hint of a debris field, I added some grit. Sometime later when all the glue was dried I started the process of painting it. The usual dirt recipe for the grit, a series of greys for the rocks, Skeleton Horde Contrast Paint for the skulls and Macragge Blue for the marine bits. 

I didn't purposely have the skulls on the right-side looking in the same direction. Really.

I highlighted all these bits with usual methods before finally topping it all off with some grass tufts.  Happy with this, I declare this little upgrade project a success.

Kharn likes his new base, kharn likes skulls!

The Tactical arrow on the busted marine shoulder pad was hand painted.  I just didn't feel like wasting a decal on this considering how obscured the icon is. 

And that's it. I hope to get my Worldeaters onto a table top soon, and hopefully Kharn will be accompanying them. 

Worldeaters Master of Executions (Part 3)

 

The finished model.

And here is the finished Master of Executions. But first let's finish the WIP steps:

After some deliberation I settled on making the helm on the trophy rack a Dark Angel. My usual method of painting DAs was confounded when I discovered that my old Rotting Flesh paint has become a solid lump of plastic. Major bummer. But the lid was cracked and I guess it was a critical breach that allowed the paint to prematurely dry up. So I found a close analog in ) which I supposed will work for now. 

Although the packaging shows the trophy racks on the backpack are supposed to be bones, I decided to paint them as a metallic bronze would look better. And I do think I like it better that way. 

Chaos on Chaos violence is such a lamentable thing.

The two decapitated fellows were a joy to paint. I based the flesh with Cadian Flesh, a thinned wash of Nightshade was put over this followed by a thin layer of Kislev Flesh. Rakarth Flesh was lightly applied next with the slightest highlight of Palid Flesh. Blood For The Blood God was added to the stumps of their necks. 

I absolutely adore the new Worldeaters decals. However I wanted a bit more continuity with my some of the other Worldeaters units in my force. Particularly I always like that icon was showing a world being plundered. With this model I size up the icon using a circle template and colored that circle in blue.

I added a continent and some isles using Dust and a light green. Once dried I applied the transfer with the help of Microset to complete the icon. I think this turned out quite well. 

After a few touch-ups here and there, I put the whole guy together. I added some grass tufts for the final touch and he was done. 

Complete and ready to execute. 

I forgot to mention the final steps on his leathery half-cloak thing; The last highlight is Tau Orange and the stitches were done using a craft paint called Raw Linen by Delta Ceramcoat. 

The decal has a glare to it making it a challenge to photograph but I think you get the drift. 

I am pleased with how the model turned out, I just need to find the time to get this guy into action....

World Eaters Master of Executions (Part 2)

I'm back with some work-in-progress updates on our friend, the World Eaters Master of Executions. 

After priming him in Chaos Black, I added Khorne Red to the armored areas. I mean, would anything else make sense?

Next, Mournfang Brown was used to base coat the bones. Because you're not a bad-ass of chaos if you're not wearing someone's bones.

Rhinox Hide was used on the cloak. I like the look of this on the example model pictured on the blister card and think I'm going to attempt to replicate it. 

I used my tried and true old Ral Partha Copper Metallic paint on the filigree and trim. It's an old paint but it does the trick. Another old tried and true paint that I always use is Delta Ceramcoat Gleams Metallic Pewter. I used this on all the silver Metallic areas such as grills and the holstered bolt pistol. But it's most prominent application on this model is on the axe head. 

The classic and old Blood Red was applied to the armor. I had to be particularly careful on the bunny ears to avoid messing up the filigree. 

It was time to create the base. I outlined his feet with a red paint so to know where he was going to stand and to avoid gluing stuff in that area. 

The "stuff" being skulls and grit.  Seriously, can a Khornate model ever have enough skulls on it's base? 

Skipping ahead (I'm sure I have shown these steps ad nauseum) to the finished base. All it needs is some grass and it's done. Note on the skulls, I painted them using Ushanti Bone, Screaming Skull and a highlight of Wraithbone. 

Along his sides, just under the breast plate, are pair of worn tubes. Their protective layers are wearing out and you can see the metal tubing within. There are similar hoses on a lot of the newer Chaos Space Marine miniatures. I think the first place I saw this was on the Hellbrute models that came out in the Dark Vengeance boxed set at the onset of 6th edition. I decided to paint the ones on this model the same green color that appears on the rest of my World Eaters models. 

We're halfway there! 

There he is, about half done at this stage. Shining gold was added to the brass bits and Mournfang Brown was painted onto the... what do we call that, a skirt?  Hopefully the next update we will see this guy completed.  

Note: what do you all think about my italicizing the paint names? Did it help or hamper your reading of this post?

Necron Lord with Resurrection Orb (Part 1)

 Not long after I finished my chaos android redux miniature I found this blister pack lurking in my collection. I originally bought it and gifted it to brother about 10 years ago when he was flirting with the notion of coming back to 40k and possibly playing Necrons. Well, that didn't pan out and he gave the blister pack back to me when he last moved. I thought I had given it away to someone else as I had minimal interest at the time in doing Necrons. But after that chaos android redux experiment I was kinda hungry for a bit more, so this guy showing back up when he did was amazing timing. 

Mint!

After a moment, the briefest of fleeting moments, to reflect upon the mint condition status of this sealed blister pack, I tore it open and began cleaning up the miniature. It was a flash and mold line nightmare and in hindsight I am glad my brother didn't put himself through this experience, as it likely would've led to him quiting again anyway.. The staff was particularly bent up. I think a lot of the later metal miniatures GW produced were manufactured so fast that the metal was still a bit soft when it came time to seal them into blisters, but who knows? Unlike resign, pewter is easy to bend back into position, and after a few minutes I had it straightened out. 

...and bent. 

Once I dealt with the flash and straightened out that staff, I put this guy together. I got to say, this model is impressively majestic once built.  

Coming together.

Once he was assembled and the basing material was applied, outside he went for priming. I use the paint intended for use with Contrast Paint. It's expensive, but I find it to very good to work with regardless of whether I actually use Contrast Paint on a model or not. 

Primed.

And he's been in the queue ever since. And now by posting this perhaps it will inspire me to knock out a paint job for him?  Once I can get back to miniature painting that is; my art projects are maximizing my time these days and I still have those World Eaters to deal with... but I'm eager to see that classic Chaos Android scheme on this chap so I might just go for it. Oh, and his working name is currently Tut the Terrible. Should be a fun addition to the Rogues Gallery when the time comes. 

Daemonkin of Khorne vs. World Eater Codex.

 This is a sort of review of the new World Eaters Codex for Warhammer 40,000 9th edition. It's really more like a compare and contrast between a book that came out in 7th edition and this new one for 9th. Both lists included a Blood Tithe mechanic so it makes sense to sort of see the commonalities these two books share. The Codex: Khorne Daemonkin was a bit of a surprise release at the time, as this faction didn't have much foreshadowing in the lore or anything. It was clearly a merging of the Khorne Daemons and all the Chaos Space Marines that could take a Mark of Khorne as a support vehicle for the release of the multi-build Bloodthirster kit that was released alongside it. Despite this, it was an interesting and fun list to play with and against.  

When I got the new Codex: World Eaters and was skimming through the unit datafaxes I noticed that the Chosen were not in the book any longer. This stood out to me as I had a unit of them and was considering building them for the World Eaters. When the Daemonkin of Khorne Codex was released the Choosen were still the poster boys for Chaos as they were in the Dark Vengeance starter set and one was depicted on the cover of the Khorne Daemonkin book! In fact, that same image was used on the cover of the White Dwarf (#477) that featured the interim World Eaters list that was printed just last year!

So alike yet so different. 

It got me thinking that there were a lot of folks that embraced the Khorne Daemonkin all those years ago and built armies based off it. Sure, that list only appeared in 7th edition but it was possible to play your marine options using the Chaos Space Marine books that were released for 8th and 9th without dropping anything*.  Now we have some units that clearly are new spins on some of the dropped units. Jakhals are clearly Khorne specific Chaos Cultists and I doubt anyone could fault someone for using their Cultists as such. And your old Choosen models could make decent proxies for Eightbound. But if you had a unit of Khorned up Chaos Space Marines, well, sorry pal. To play with some of those excluded units you'll need to take another detachment. 

Two units that are not in Codex: World Eaters. 

What are all the excluded units you ask? Well, all the daemons* and quite a few Chaos Space Marine options. In order of how they appeared in the Khorne Daemonkin Codex they are the units that don't appear in the Codex: World Eaters (9th ed):

• Chaos Lord- Technically he's still in the new book but only as the Juggernaut riding option. If you had a model of a guy in powered or terminator armor you're out of luck. I don't think there's even a Legends option yet. 
• Chaos Cultists- These are now Jakhals, but some of your old options might not be allowed anymore.
• Chaos Space Marines- These are generic World Eaters who aren't Khorne Berserkers. For those of us who owned the old World Eaters from '92 that were carrying bolters or just had some red and brass Chaos Marines, well, too bad. 
• Possessed. One could probably proxy these for Eightbound. Maybe Exalted Eightbound?
• Chaos Bikers. - This deletion makes little sense to me as they can quickly close and engage their foes in close quarters. The omission of these chaos chaps baffle me. I modeled a single guy to use as an Aspiring Champion for a Black Legion biker squad but now I am very glad I didn't give into the temptation to do a whole squad of them. 
• Raptors- Again, these guys make sense to have in a Khorne army as they can get stuck in really fast. 
• Warp Talons- Same as the Raptors whom they share a kit with. These models were new at the time and were prominently featured throughout the Daemonkin book. 

It's also worth pointing out the models that are mentioned in the Codex that GW missed the boat on making a model for, and the most obvious one would be the Berserker-Surgeon. To quote page 10-11: "These individuals are the inheritors of the legacy set down by the Apothecaries and Techmarines who first developed the Butcher's Nails for Legionary implantation. Berserker-surgeons operate across the galaxy working with different Chaos Lords*** to create homicidal maniacs who have no concept of fear, pain or death." The Death Guard has a guy like this, but the World Eaters need a guy like this! But, he's no where to be seen. Perhaps in a future edition? For now he's the World Eater's equivalent to the Mad Boyz for the Orks or the Exodites for the Eldar: stuck in the lore and nowhere on the table top!

How many players had these guys? 

It's also curious to see what was kept in the new list. 

• Heldrakes- I suppose Heldrakes make sense to stay but the exclusion of Raptors and Warp Talons seem odd in contrast. 
• Defiler- The Defiler and Forgefiend are the true heavy support options for this army but I can't help but wonder if a Chaos Vindicator** would've made sense too as you do have to close a bit with it to make it truly effective. 
• Chaos Spawn- The Chaos Spawn stands our to me for not having the Daemon keyword.
• Forgefiend- (see Defiler)
• Maulerfiend- A true close combat monster that makes complete sense to have in this book. 
• Chaos Terminators- There would be some angry players out there if these models were dropped. I am bummed that we didn't get new Khorne-themed models for them considering that Deathguard and Thousand Sons got theirs, but maybe they're saving them for a 10th ed launch? 
• Rhinos- Can't leave out their sweet spikey rides. 
• Land Raider- And we can't leave our the spikey rides with firepower. I still miss the Destroyer Blades from 6th Ed. 
• Daemon Prince- Updated with a new model just in time for this release, so of course he had to be included. 
• Berserkers- You just can't have a World Eaters army without them.

Added to the new list are the Predator tanks, which I thought was an interesting choice for light heavy support for the World Eaters and one that I wasn't quite expecting. Surely a Vindicator would've made sense too?**

Thankfully I have been tediously slow at building out my World Eaters so adapting to the new list shouldn't be too painful for me. Others might have a different story and are contemplating stripping their Raptors of their paint and ripping off their khorne bunny heads. The get-you-by list from White Dwarf last year sort of prepped us for these changes. But still, time and money invested in a unit only to not be able to play with it eight years later, it's a harsh let-down.

I for one am enjoying this new book over all, and I think you'll see me continuing to feel Khorney for a good part of this year. 

*And you could play your Daemon options via the detachment rules.

**Note my personal bias. 

***(none of whom wear Terminator armor any longer and are constantly mounted on a Juggernaut)

All images in this post are (c) Games-Workshop and are used here without permission and for review purposes and should not be regarded as challenges to the copyright.

Worldeaters Master of Executions (Part 1)

 This model has always interested me but I put off buying it mainly due to it's goofy head. Or heads, as it has two options and both seem kind of goofy to me. But when it was revealed a while back that the Master of Executions would be in the Worldeaters Codex I was intrigued by the notion; I liked what he could do for the regular Chaos Marines in the game and having him in with the Khorne berserkers seemed like a natural fit. Then the visual  idea of fitting a death-bunny khorne head on his shoulders really cemented the idea... so I finally got the model. 

In my clutches at last! 

While tinkering with the pieces it occurred to me that the metal Khorne warrior head I wanted to use (I haven't a clue where and when I got this!) wasn't going to work. The MoE heads are both flat on the bottom where most of the spare heads I have available to me have a ball for a neck. 

Rejected metal heads. 

So I found an alternative plastic head which I was able make fit by cutting the ball joint down to size with a hobby knife. I was really pleased with how this turned out, well, so far anyway.

A nice head for a not-so-nice head-taker. 

While assembling him it occurred to me that painting the legs inside the cloak was going to be a challenge once the legs were attached to the base. So I have decided to keep him in three pieces and attach him to his base after I have painted him. 

A base-eye view. 

I have to note how easy this model is to assemble. I was particularly impressed that the designer chose to have one of the joins be at the seam of his cloak with the stitches overlaying the real join. A natural place for it to go and quite an obvious choice really. The previous plastic production from 20+ years ago, and especially  the metal models, were just not able to pull this stunt off. 

Stitches for the snitches. 

I have to wait for some favorable weather to be able to prime this model, and that may be awhile. So that's all for now, hopefully I can make some more progress sooner than later...

 

More Deathwatch Veteran Bikers

 The Deathwatch Veteran Bikers squad that I whipped up back in January* are getting some reinforcements.  I recently got these four used Space Marine Bikers in a deal and now it's time to integrate them into my Deathwatch. Instead of making another unit of 3 bikers, I decided to max out the squad. If anything they should be able to soak up damage better in the game. 

The  newly acquired used bikers.

Unfortunately I will end up with a leftover biker, whose fate will be decided at some future point. Maybe if I ever get back to the Dark Angels he'll become a Ravenwing guy. Or if I ever return to the Space Wolves biker project maybe he'll go there? 

New shoulder pad and sword 

New bits added. 

All of the above was written prior to November 2nd 2022. In the interim I have been able to dabble, poke, prod and tinker on these things until finally they are now done.  My free time has become sparse to say the least, to the point that just getting this far on these three bikes feels like an accomplishment. 

A Blood Angel.

Ultramarine.

Black Templar.

Joined up with their battle brothers I think they look good. Individually I don't think these models would win any awards for me but that was never my intention, I just wanted them to be up to a level that would look good in the battle reports that I feature on this blog. And I think they'll work out good in that regard. Accept that the continuing trend is that the models with the most paint tend to be eliminated first in most of my games so it's unlikely they'll appear in many pics in the future....

Altogether now, VROOM!!!

Ok. So final role call, we have a Blood Angel, Ultramarine, Black Templar, Crimson Fist, Imperial Fist and the leader is a White Scar (of course right?). I think I maxed out my decal options on this unit. Except I don't have any Dark Angel or  Space Wolf guys. Maybe they'll be the ones on the Attack Bike that I hope to top this unit off with...?

*Of 2022. Keen observers might note that my first finished models of 2023 are quite similar to my first finished models of 2022. A fun coincidence as I was had hoped to get them done before the New Year so I could open and close 2022 with finished models from the same squad. But this works for me either way.