"Countless Mortals Worship Nurgle..."

"Despite Nurgle's generosity, it is no easy feat to join the ranks for the Rotbringers."

This 28mm plastic multi-part model of a ‘loathsome Lesser Daemon’ Piper comes from the “Games Workshop” Plaguebearers of Nurgle boxed set, and whilst on the tabletop will force my “Age of Sigmar” opponent to “re-roll Battleshock Tests of 1 for units that are within 6” of my ten-miniature strong Nurgle unit.

Having followed the well-illustrated instructions found within the figure’s box, and assembled the antler-header musician from its relevant sprues, I treated the postulant creature to a double-helping of “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and washed it with “Citadel” Thrakka Green. The wretched one-eyed daemon was then dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki before his horn, bloated stomach and sores were ‘picked’ out with “Citadel” Abaddon Black. With all the base colouring now finished I spent a little time applying a coat of either “Vallejo” Heavy Red or Heavy Warmgrey to the Piper’s infectious innards, and heavily washed them all with a combination of “Citadel” Thrakka Green, Agrax Earthshade and Carroburg Crimson.

"...Only a fraction of those truly impress the Plague God and are marked as his chosen."

 As I wanted the musician to appear especially blessed with Nurgle’s Rot, I subsequently dolloped a spot of “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre over every one of the creature’s pimples and once dry, gave them a generous coat of “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. As a final touch the Plaguebearer’s pipes were painted with “Vallejo” Heavy Brown and its leather straps Heavy Sienna. The entire wind instrument was then washed with “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade before I gently drybrushed over the pipe’s tone holes with more “Vallejo” Heavy Brown.

In addition to so musical a Tallyman of Nurgle, I have also finished painting the last of my unit’s foot soldiers. This particular insect-influenced Plaguebearer is the literal embodiment of the daemon’s’ “Cloud of Flies” ability, and I must confess to being sorely tempted to buy some more of the bug-eyed heads from a ‘Bitz Store’ in order to help me field more of the ‘droning’ warriors. Unsurprisingly the model was painted using the same colour combinations as I have for his Host’s Piper, although I did spend a bit more time on his intestines in order to illustrate the fiend’s “Locus of Fecundity” ability; which allows me to “re-roll save rolls of 1 for this unit if it is within 7” of any [of my army’s] Plaguebearer Heroes…”

Icon Bearer WIPS - This plaguebearer  just needs to be washed and have his pimples 'picked out' with yellow

 With the end of my Plaguebearer Unit now very much in sight I have been focussing quite a bit of my hobby time on its final figure, the daemon’s Icon Bearer. As models go, the actual plaguesword-wielding horror is pretty unremarkable-looking and is proving reasonably straightforward to paint. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for its standard, which has ‘gobbled up’ a considerable amount of my patience due to the eye and mouth stitches found on its ‘tasteful’ severed head.

Despite plenty of attempts I just haven’t been able to ‘pick out’ the stitching as clearly as I was able on the Plagueridden model, and as a result have had to leave the model well alone on more than one occasion, or else it would have been badly mistreated during a fit of pique. Ultimately I’ve settled on a bit of a botched mess comprising of “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade and some ‘distracting’ red face boils, in order to simply allow myself to move on and finish the model.

“Built In Quistis’ Image Following Her Death…”

"...Velocity is the mechanical automaton the Engineer's Guild turn to..."

This 28mm metal model of the “Guild Ball” Engineer striker Velocity is made by “Steamforged Games Ltd” and can be bought separately, or with Ballista and Salvo as part of Engineer Starter Set. An incredibly delicate multi-part miniature, this figure took some considerable pinning before I was happy it was going to survive being painted (let alone used on a gaming table). In addition the “nimble and accurate” player’s pose did not appear too stable, and was thus repositioned slightly so as to make her stand a little taller on the base. Indeed, I have seen pictures of the model where the automaton’s bent left leg has either been entirely straightened or re-angled in order for the figure to seemingly be ‘sat’ upon it on the ground in a sort of crouching position…

As the majority of this miniature was supposedly animated wood, the model was initially undercoated with “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and then washed with “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade. Velocity was then dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna before having her metallic joints ‘picked out’ with a combination of “Citadel” Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. Finally I applied a thin layer of “Vallejo” Gold around the edge of her breastbone, and washed this with some additional “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade in order to give the impression of it being lightly polished brass.

Plaguebearer WIPS - These disease infested daemons now just need their pimples to be 'picked out'

According to the Season One player’s illustration, and faint detailing upon the sculpt itself, a number of other metallic areas, such as the striker’s head plate, shoulder pads and waist gears, should also be brass coloured. But as I found it painfully difficult just to get a relatively straight thin stripe of paint onto the figure’s chest I felt it would be prudent for my sanity’s sake to give such delicately steady brushwork a miss.

I’ve yet to play a “Guild Ball” match with the Engineer’s team, but according to her rules, Velocity would appear to be a useful character to field, especially once she has the ball. In fact her Close Control skill, which allows “this model [to] ignore the first Tackle Playbook result against it” once per Turn probably means the player is able to retain possession better than most. Whilst her ability to Reanimate “when this model is reduced to 0 Hit Points” and “recover 3 Hit Points” before suffering the Taken-Out condition would suggest the automaton’s low(ish) health isn’t necessarily the ‘match fitness’ weakness it first appears.

Bloodletter WIPS - It's early days for these "Chosen of Khorne" as they've simply been primed

I'm now getting ever so close to completing the (first) ten-figure strong unit of Plaguebearers I intend to field as part of my "Age Of Sigmar" Host of Nurgle. The majority of these remaining miniatures simply need to have their numerous zits and pimples 'highlighted' with "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre before essentially being finished. However I do still have some considerable work to do on the heavily-infected warriors' Icon Bearer.

In addition I have started to assemble, as well as prime, the plastic multi-part models found within the "Games Workshop" Bloodletters boxed set. The "Chosen of Khorne", I initially plan to use these Hellblade-carrying lesser daemons as Allies. However, if I can find the time and enthusiasm, to paint enough of the Slaughter-kin up, then I hope to use them for some small-scale skirmishes between the Forces of Chaos. For now though, they'll hopefully just prove to be a pleasant distraction from all the Nurgle I'm currently painting...

"...Nurgle Is A Giver Of Bounteous Life And Manifold Blessings.."

"...A patron who simply cannot resist raining down rancid gifts upon those who please him."

These two 28mm Plaguebearers are just some of the plastic multi-part models which can be assembled from the sprues found within the “Games Workshop” Plaguebearers of Nurgle boxed set. Painted as daemonic minions for my fledgling Befouling Host of Nurgle, these plaguesword-wielding servants of the Great Unclean One will be contributing towards a unit of ten similarly grotesque miniatures I intend fielding for “Age Of Sigmar”.

Having followed the instruction booklet which accompanies the rank and file models in order to piece them together, I initially gave the putrid creatures, as well as their cheery Nurgling follower, an undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and washed them all with “Citadel” Thrakka Green. The fly-infested bloaters were then dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki before I ‘picked out’ details such as their horns, open sores and troubled teeth with “Citadel” Abaddon Black. As each vile fiend suffers with Nurgle’s Rot various parts of their stomach-churning anatomy were coated with either “Vallejo” Heavy Red or Heavy Warmgrey, and subsequently washed with a combination of “Citadel” Thrakka Green, Agrax Earthshade and Carroburg Crimson. Lastly all the creatures' boils and pimples were dabbed with a spot of “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre and treated to a coat of “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade.

Nurglings WIPS - These tiny chuckling daemons just need to be varnished and added to their larger base

Ordinarily I wouldn’t go to such lengths to highlight such putrescence in my models. But as one of the Plaguebearer’s abilities is that they’re “Disgustingly Resilient” I thought it would be time well invested. Indeed one of the loathsome lesser daemons’ strengths is that each time they suffer “a wound or mortal wound” you get to roll a dice and “on a five or more the wounds sloughs away rancid flesh but does no real harm and is ignored.”

As I’m currently now close to completing my unit of Plaguebearers, I have been paying more and more attention to my Nurgling bases. These ‘swellings’ from the rotting bowels of Great Unclean Ones have actually proved somewhat intimidating to paint on account of their number, their tiny detail and the fact that ultimately I know a far portion of my paintwork will become lost when each 40mm circular base is fully assembled. However, having persevered with the final two animated pustules, I’m now in a position where the first of my three Nurgling stacks just needs to be gritted and flocked.

Beast Of Nurgle WIPs - This Finecast monster now needs to have all his detail undercoated in black

 Finally I am also making some progress with my Beast of Nurgle. Having previously primed this Finecast model with a double-coat of “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki, I have treated it to a very heavy wash of “Citadel” Thrakka Green and then been dry-brushing the “truly horrendous aberration” in order to bring out all its gruesome detail. I’ve seen some very interesting colour-schemes for the miniature. But ultimately have decided to stick with the same sickly green paint-job I’ve been using throughout my Nurgle force.

However, I have bought a second identical model, and now it’s (very) necessary 60mm circular base has arrived, I’m in two minds as to what colours I should apply. I’m especially tempted to go with a light brown base coat, as I plan on using a similar shade for some metal “Oldhammer” Plaguebearers I have discovered in my collection. These ‘ancient’ warriors won’t actually be fielded as part of my Host but will be available to be ‘summoned’ by any Chaos Wizards I have, and as a result I want them to look particularly dank and rotten…

Lost Patrol Report: Batman & Cyborg Verses The Weeping Angels

BATMAN & CYBORG BATTLE WEEPING ANGELS IN ORDER TO THWART POISON IVY

This game was played using the "Lost Patrol” rules by “Games Workshop”. A number of House Rules were implemented in order to reduce the difficulty of the game, and ensure that the Weeping Angels behaved a little more like their television counterparts. These alterations basically consisted of them only being allowed to deploy a single statue onto "a tile at the end of a path" unless there was no other option, and having to stick to the pathways for their movement, as opposed to being able to ignore foliage and make a direct beeline for their prey through the vegetation. In addition, as I wanted to try out the game in a different “DC Comics” setting, and have already plenty of painted “Heroclix” and “Crooked Dice Game Design” models ready for the table, we simply swapped the Space Marine Scouts and Genestealers with Batman, Cyborg and some Gotham City Police officers, as well as half a dozen Scary Statues.

“The story so far… Poison Ivy has turned Robinson Park into a lethal jungle, packed full of carnivorous killer plants. Having successfully captured Pamela Isley and locked her up in Arkham Asylum, Batman has journeyed back to Gotham City’s wilderness in order to recover the eco-terrorist’s plant toxins and allow the vegetation to return to normality. Realising that he’d need help with this task, the Caped Crusader has enlisted aid from the Justice League of America and Gotham City Police Department. However, upon landing within the inhospitable bush, the Dark Knight and Cyborg have discovered that something has hidden Ivy’s vat of contaminants elsewhere, and the hunters have become the hunted in a game of cat and mouse where no-one dare blink…”

THE TABLETOP - GOTHAM CITY'S ROBINSON PARK

The game was set up as per the “Lost Patrol: Death In The Jungle” rule pamphlet, with the Clearing tile placed in the centre of the table and Batman, Cyborg and three Policemen positioned on top of it. The Jungle tiles were then shuffled and placed into a stack face down. The vat of toxins tile was then placed at the bottom of the stack. Finally all the jungle paths the superheroes could see from the Clearing were placed.

Surrounded by vegetation, Batman spotted an encouraging pathway to the North, and slowly made his way up it. Behind him Cyborg decided that he would be best placed just to the north of the main party in order for his advanced weaponry to cover all of his colleagues. The Police officers decided that sticking together was definitely in their best interests, especially as a route west appeared to finish in a literal dead end, and so patiently waited for the Dark Knight’s return whilst keeping the rampant wildlife covered with their firearms.

BATMAN SEARCHES NORTH AS CYBORG SCANS THE UNDERGROWTH FOR SIGNS OF LIFE

Momentarily however the three lawmen turned their eyes away from the undergrowth in front of them, and looking back discovered a group of Weeping Angels had somehow appeared on the pathways. With a cry of alarm the Police officer’s realised that they were about to fall prey to “the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life-form ever produced” and raised their pistols. Instinctively blinking, the cops watched almost helplessly as the murderous statues quickly fell upon them. But with Cyborg’s fire support (+1 covering fire bonus), “the only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely” were dispatched as they attacked one after the other.

THE WEEPING ANGELS ATTACK BUT ARE FOUGHT OFF BY GOTHAM CITY'S FINEST

Hearing the gunfire behind him, Batman grimly decided he had to quickly carry on and follow the path he was on. This strangely seemed to turn towards the South, so the Caped Crusader dutifully followed it. Meanwhile his companions, emboldened by their success over the first wave of Weeping Angels, prepared themselves for the inevitable second assault. Cyborg decided to explore a pathway snaking East with one of the Policemen. Whilst the other two law officers warily keep an eye on the tree-line surrounding the clearing. 

THE DARK KNIGHT CONTINUES IN HIS SEARCH AS CYBORG MOVES TO THE EAST

Unfortunately, having been forced into blinking on account of the stifling heat and persistent troublesome forest flies, Gotham City's finest gave the “race of predatory creatures” ample opportunity to reach their position and were soon blazing away with their firearms. Cyborg joined the fray too, with his carbine arm tearing out great chunks of the animated statues as they approached. Without making a single sound, the three Weeping Angels were shot to pieces.

Suddenly Victor Stone felt a prickling presence behind him, and swung round raising his mighty cybernetic arm. However instead of a scary statue, he saw the Dark Knight appear up ahead of him. Frustratingly the path Batman had been following had simply brought the Caped Crusader back to near the clearing. Joining his Justice League of America comrade Bruce Wayne's alter-ego shook his head disappointingly, and watched as the three Gotham City policemen filed past to explore the trail heading East. Somewhere off in the Southwest, Cyborg thought he heard the sounds of movement. But his infrared eye sensors could detect nothing living...

GOTHAM CITY POLICE PUSH EAST AS BATMAN UNCOVERS A SNEAK WEEPING ANGELS ATTACK

The Gotham City Policemen discovered that the eastern trail soon opened up and a result a pair of them forked off Southeast. Whilst the remaining lawman stuck with the East trail. Seeing a Weeping Angel from across the Clearing, the Dark Knight hurled two Bat-a-rangs at the scary statue; neither of which did any damage whatsoever. However Cyborg opened up with his formidable firepower ("two dice if shooting with the Heavy Trooper) and blasted the fanged fiend to bits.

THE DARK KNIGHT BAT-A-RANGS THE WEEPING ANGELS

Worryingly three more Weeping Angels appeared from the South and Southwest, so leaving the Caped Crusader to protect their rear, Victor Stone moved to follow the lone Gotham City Police officer searching East. The jungle finally seemed to be letting the heroes make some progress towards finding Poison Ivy's missing vat of toxins. But behind them were now a number of the deadly scary statues, and if Cyborg's drive East ever ended in a dead end, then they'd have to turn back straight into the fatal embrace of their stone-cold pursuers...  

"...A Hateful Force Of Unbound Plague And Corruption..."

"...Whose touch brings rot, decay, agony and misery."

These two 28mm multi-part plastic Plaguebearers can both be assembled from the sprues found within the “Games Workshop” Plaguebearers of Nurgle boxed set. Worthy additions to my ever-growing Host of Nurgle, these vile servants of the Plague God will form part of a ten figure-strong unit I plan to field for “Age Of Sigmar” by "Games Workshop".

Having super-glued the models together each Lesser Daemon was treated to an undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and washed with “Citadel” Thrakka Green. The "Tallymen of Nurgle" were then dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and had details such as their single cyclopean eye, horn, glistening innards and plaguesword ‘picked out’ with “Citadel” Abaddon Black. In an attempt to imbue each figure with Nurgle’s Rot, the pox-infested horrors' guts were painted with either “Vallejo” Heavy Red or Heavy Warmgrey. These areas were then heavily washed with a combination of “Citadel” Thrakka Green, Agrax Earthshade and Carroburg Crimson. Lastly, both creatures' pimples were ‘highlighted’ with a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade, whilst their "thick, rusty cleavers" were dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal.

Plaguebearer WIPS - These daemons just need to have their boils 'picked out' before being varnished

Making these monstrosities look repulsive really ties in to the Plaguebearer rules, as each fiend is surrounded by a great cloud of flies which "buzz about them." These droning swarms actually obscure the Daemons from the view of their opponents, which means they "must subtract 1 from any hit rolls made in the Shooting Phase..." Sportingly, I've already purchased a second box of these loathsome warriors in order to try and utilise the secondary 'Cloud of Flies' ability, which states that if a "unit contains twenty or more models, your opponent must instead subtract two from their Hit Rolls, as well as subtracting one from any Hit Rolls that targets it in the Combat Phase."

Having finished these two Plaguebearers, I am 'pushing on' with some more models from the unit, as well as the second row of my first Nurgling base. All of these figures, having been haphazardly washed with various “Citadel” Shades, now just need me to 'pick out' their spots and pimples before being ready for varnishing...

Beast Of Nurgle WIP - This horror requires a second "Vallejo" Heavy Khaki undercoat before being washed

Lastly I have taken possession of a couple of Beasts of Nurgle, and actually managed to assemble one of the Chaos Daemons, despite the mini failing to arrive with any instructions. Indeed, I'm not terribly happy with this seven-piece "finely detailed resin cast kit" at all, as despite it being shown in numerous article photographs as having a 60mm circular base, and even appearing glued to one on the "Games Workshop" store website, the slobbering tongued monstrosity came with a 40mm one; a stand so small when compared to the model itself that it wouldn't even allow me room for both of its feet... Let alone its slug-like body.

Fortunately the sculpt itself is superbly gruesome, and once I had worked out where each sore-infested piece went, fitted together a treat. In fact if it wasn't for the fact I'm currently waiting on a second 60mm circular base, I would be painting up the pair simultaneously. For now though I'm looking forward to working on a creature which not only batters "their victims with claws and tentacles" but additionally "shower(s) them with affection by enveloping them with their slobbering tongues."

"Monstrously Strong And Nigh Unkillable..."

"...The Rotbringers are some of the Plague God's greatest servants."

This 28mm Plaguebearer is one of the plastic multi-part models which can be assembled from the sprues found within the “Games Workshop” Plaguebearers of Nurgle boxed set. Part of my ever-growing Host of Nurgle, this unit champion is known as one of the Plagueridden, and as a result “makes two attacks rather than one” with his plaguesword during a turn of “Age Of Sigmar”.

Having assembled the model as per the boxed kit’s instructions, the model was initially given an undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki before being copiously washed with “Citadel” Thrakka Green. The “profoundly disturbing” daemon was then dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and had details such as its horn, collection of trophy heads and plaguesword base-coated with “Citadel” Abaddon Black. As the leader was heavily ‘blessed’ with the mark of Nurgle’s Rot, its festering sores organs were painted with “Vallejo” Heavy Red and washed with “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson.

Plaguebearer WIPS - These daemons now need to be washed and dry-brushed before having their pimples 'picked out'

In addition the blighted soul-stuff of a mortal had large areas of its body and limbs wantonly washed with copious amounts of Thrakka Green and Agrax Earthshade and Carroburg Crimson. As a final touch all of the monster’s zits were ‘enriched’ with a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. Whilst it’s corroded and battered iron blade was dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal.

The Plagueridden’s prize, a collection of three severed heads destined to be “stuffed with daemonic spores and flung by Plague Drone riders into the heaving mass of battle”, were predominantly painted using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Warmgrey, Heavy Red, “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade, Agrax Earthshade and Carroburg Crimson. Although both the eye and mouth stitches were ‘picked out’ using “Vallejo” Heavy Brown.

Lord Of Plagues WIPs - The Hero having been primed, washed, dry-brushed and base-coated

Having completed their champion, I have managed to progress another two members of my first Plaguebearer unit, by picking out all their sores and innards, as well as tidying up their putrid green skin. These Tallymen now require the haphazard application of some “Citadel” Shades before they’ll be ready for the ‘highlighting’ of their spots and pimples. I have also pushed myself in order to get the second row of my first Nurgling base into a similar position.

Finally I have assembled, primed, washed and dry-brushed my force's Lord of Plagues. This single hero model carries an enormous plague-ridden Great Blade which provides three (3+ To Hit) Attacks at -1 Rend. Stepping away from the photographed colour-scheme presented within the “Grand Alliance Chaos” rule-book, I plan to give my army’s (initial) General the same ghastly-green skin as my Plaguebearers and Nurglings, as well as terribly rusty armour.

"You Will Be The Instrument Of Our Revenge, O' Godzilla!"

"Godzilla is the son of the atomic bomb..."

This 28mm pre-painted plastic model of Godzilla is by “Wizkids” and can be bought as number 001 from their Godzilla Collectible Miniature range. An “enormous, violent, prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation”, the “King of Monsters” first appeared in Ishiro Honda’s 1954 film “Godzilla” and “has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in… 29 films produced by Toho and two Hollywood” movies.

Inspired by Jez’s outstanding “Forgotten Heroes” conversion on a similar-looking model from the same range (Link: https://carrioncrowsbuffet.wordpress.com/2016/06/18/super-dinosaur-banana-forgotten-heroes/), I originally bought this 52mm tall figure in order to create my own orange-coloured “Marvel Worldwide” super-villain Stegron. However, having fallen behind with the miniatures I had already started ‘transforming’ I ultimately shelved such an aspiration and set about simply replicating the creature’s original colour scheme.

Host of Nurgle WIPs - All the sores, innards and bones have been undercoated with "Citadel" Abaddon Black

As a result Tomoyuki Tanaka’s co-creation was initially undercoated with an old OOP pot of “Citadel” Adeptus Grey and subsequently washed with Nuln Oil. Godzilla was then dry-brushed with more of the Foundation paint in order to bring out all of the sculpt’s impressive detail. However, having finished this phase I found the model to be a little too lightly coloured for my liking, so having picked out the Alpha Predator’s paler underbelly with “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, I gave the entire figure a second wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Satisfied with the much darker effect, I then set about carefully dry-brushing its stomach and tail with “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, and the majority of its torso, arms, legs and flanks with “Citadel” Adeptus Grey. Finally I painted Monster Zero-One’s eyes and tongue with “Vallejo “ Heavy Red, and having determined I wasn’t going to be able to pick out his teeth, simply applied more “Citadel” Nuln Oil to its mouth in order to darken the red inside…

Plaguebearer WIPs - The Icon Bearer continues the running theme of the army carrying severed heads as trophies

 With this simplistic yet pleasant ‘distraction’ finished, I am still persevering with my “Games Workshop” Host of Nurgle for “Age Of Sigmar”. As I am now reasonably settled with my paint scheme for both its Plaguebearer and Nurgling units, I have begun painting the last of my currently assembled daemons as a single batch.

This practice is a little gruelling for my usual painting patience. But now I’ve finished all the "Citadel" Abaddon Black basecoats on my figures, I am hopeful that I will soon have additionally completed picking out all the white, red and violet organs, which the diseased fiends seem to wantonly display. This should then mean a fun session or two washing the horrors with all sorts of grungy-looking Shades; albeit dotting all of their numerous pimples afterwards will doubtless prove a bit of a chore.

"No Man's Land" - Batman and Cyborg discover Robinson Park contains a bigger danger than Poison Ivy.

"They Are Spreaders Of The Seeds Of Corruption..."

"...And they take an obscene satisfaction in their work."

This 28mm Plaguebearer is one of the plastic multi-part models which can be assembled from the sprues found within the “Games Workshop” Plaguebearers of Nurgle boxed set. Part of my fledgling Befouling Host of Nurgle, this foot soldier of the daemonic legion is the second of the ten figures I’m required to paint in order to field a unit of the loathsome creatures for the “Age Of Sigmar” rule set.

Having super-glued the model together the blighted soul was given an undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and subsequently washed with “Citadel” Thrakka Green. The Lesser Daemon was then dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and had details such as its horn, glistening innards and plaguesword ‘picked out’ with “Citadel” Abaddon Black. In order to try and provide the model with the impression it was ‘blessed’ with Nurgle’s Rot, the pustulant creature’s organs were painted with either “Vallejo” Heavy Red or Heavy Warmgrey. These areas were then generously washed with a combination of “Citadel” Thrakka Green, Agrax Earthshade and Carroburg Crimson. Finally all the swollen monster’s zits were ‘emboldened’ with a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade, whilst its hand-weapon was dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal.

Nurgling WIPs - Once glued together a number of these tiny critters will disappointingly be hidden from view

 With the second of my Plaguebearers finished, and another three miniatures in their final stages, I have turned my attention to seeing how my “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki colour scheme works with the unit of Nurglings I’m planning on fielding. A base of these multi-part plastic Mites of Nurgle is essentially created by placing three ‘towers’ of the disease-ridden horrors directly in front of one another upon a 40mm circular stand.

As a result I have already predominantly finished painting the back row to my first of three necessary models, and have been brusquely washing the little razor-sharp toothed critters with “Citadel” Thrakka Green, Agrax Earthshade and Crimson Carroburg. These Nurglings now simply need to be tidied up before being ready for varnishing. In addition I have primed, washed and dry-brushed both the characterful middle and front rows of the ensemble.

Imperial Fleet WIPs - A primed County Class Heavy Cruiser and nearly finished Destroyer

 Even a devotee to the Great Unclean One needs to take a break from the jovial and utterly revolting Greater Daemon, and so I have been persevering with my collection of 6mm spacecraft from the Imperial Fleet range made by “Irregular Miniatures”. I currently have two vessels in my painting queue; an Oberon Class Destroyer, complete with impressive saucer radar and the considerably larger County Class Heavy Cruiser.

Progress on the smaller of the two “Star Trek” inspired starships has taken a bit of a back step on account of my needing to drill right through the saucer section in order to fit the model on a stand. However in addition to super-gluing an additional fixture to the vessel’s surface (in order to cover the hole), I have consequently been forced to attach an old "Mongoose Games" ‘ball and socket’ flying base to it, as the destroyer's centre of gravity isn’t quite correct, despite my utilising the miniature’s pre-drilled hole.

"The Class Design Was Based On The Single Hull Configuration..."

"The Soyuz-Class bridge shared a similar floor plan with contemporary Federation starships of its era."

This 6mm metal miniature of a Perry Class Frigate is one of the many starships which can be found within “Irregular Miniatures” Imperial Fleet Spaceship range as code DYE2. Measuring 30mm in length and 22mm in width, this somewhat brusquely-sculpted vessel makes a very useful “Star Trek” proxy for a Soyuz-class Federation starship, and will hopefully prove to be one of five such identically-classed warships I’ll soon have on the tabletop patrolling the Romulan Border…

Having previously painted some of “Mongoose Games” official resin starships with a combination of “Citadel” Skull White and Badab Black, I was rather keen to learn from my past mistakes and try for a greyer look to my miniatures. However, as I ultimately plan to use dark grey as the colour of some Kingon battlecraft, I decided to go with the bluish-looking “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey as my prime undercoat. Two layers later and the Frigate was washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil before being dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey.

Oberon Class Destroyer WIPs - The 6mm starship has been undercoated, washed and then dry-brushed

With my basic phases thus finished I decided to try and pick out some of the vessels finer detail with some “Vallejo” Heavy Red for the two Polyduranide nacelle particle apertures, Gunmetal Metal on its three saucer sensor dishes and Heavy Blue for its four warp engine filed grills. These areas were then washed with “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson, Nuln Oil and Asurmen Blue respectively. The model was finally placed upon a “Games Workshop” clear plastic flying stem with 32mm flying base.

Now the first of my Federation armada finished, and some significant reinforcements ordered from “Irregular Miniatures”, I have started running through precisely the same painting phases for one of the manufacturer’s Oberon Class Destroyers. Significantly largely than its predecessor, this multi-part model has a lot more raised detail to highlight with dry-brushing, and includes an impressive-looking radar beneath its saucer.

Plaguebearer WIPs - Plaguebearers in various stages of painting and washing

Finally, as I now have a couple of my “games Workshop” plastic Plaguebearers flocked and finished, I’ve started trying to paint the minions of Nurgle up in batches of two or three. As a result I’ve managed to get a number of the washes finished on both a third putrescent demon, and his unit’s champion. These multi-part miniatures now just need to be dry-brushed with some more “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki, so that the washes blend in a little better with their rotting flesh, and they’ll be ready for some final highlights.

I’ve also ‘picked out’ the vast majority of boils, sores and innards on another Plaguebearer whose guts are helpfully being extracted by a tiny Nurgling. I’ve actually put together three of these disgusting vignettes in order to make best use of the figures’ larger ‘new’ “Citadel” 32mm round base, and imbue the unit with a little sense of fun.

"Within The Realm Of Chaos Lie Strange And Hideous Sights Beyond Counting."

"...Thick with infectious spores and buzzing plague flies."

This 28mm Plaguebearer is one of the plastic multi-part models which can be assembled from the sprues found within the “Games Workshop” Plaguebearers of Nurgle boxed set. Painted as a pilot piece for my fledgling Befouling Host of Nurgle, this plaguesword-wielding minion of the Great Unclean One is the first of ten similarly grotesque miniature I intend to paint as a single unit.

Having pieced the model together it was initially given an undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki before being washed with “Citadel” Thrakka Green. The rotting demon was then dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and had details such as its horn, open sores and hand-weapon ‘picked out’ with “Citadel” Abaddon Black. In order to try and provide the horned fiend with a sense of putrescence various parts of its anatomy were coated with either “Vallejo” Heavy Red or Heavy Warmgrey. These areas were subsequently roughly washed with a combination of “Citadel” Thrakka Green, Agrax Earthshade and Carroburg Crimson. Finally all the creature’s zits were ‘pimped out’ with “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre and treated to a coat of “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade.

Plaguebearer WIPs - Plaguebearers in various stages of painting and washing

With the first of my Host completed I’ve been merrily beavering away at some of its sore-covered brethren, and managed to get something of a factory painting process going on them. To this end I’m essentially working on two to three of the models simultaneously, whilst pausing to dabble at the odd unrelated miniature in order to break up the constant application of green, brown and red washes…

Currently I’m working my paintbrush around my unit’s Champion, and managed to effectively break the back of the Plagueridden’s stash of head-trophies and three-eyed face. In addition I’ve got another figure in a position to apply some washes to its puss-riddled body, and laid down some “Citadel” Abaddon Black base-layers on one of the more complicated (vignette) miniatures I have assembled; a long-snouted denizen of filth who is busy having his intestines pulled out by a cheekily helpful Nurgling.

Perry Class Frigate WIPs - The 6mm starship has been undercoated, washed and then dry-brushed

 One of my aforementioned distractions is a collection of 6mm spaceships from the Imperial Fleet range made by “Irregular Miniatures”. I actually ended up buying a single model from each code as I wanted to see what they looked like in the flesh and am well-impressed with the similarities between their design and the Federation vessels of “Star Trek”. As a result I hope to use them for some space battles against the early Romulan Empire, using the ever versatile “7TV” rules by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio.”

For now though I plan to use this Perry Class frigate as a test piece to see whether a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil” will work as a base colour for the somewhat tiny, though instantly recognisable spacecraft. 

"The Night Sinks Into My Bones... As I Stand In The Graveyard..."

"...I'm haunted by a ghost that only I can see."

These three 40mm circular bases of plastic Gravestones are made by “Renedra Limited” and can be found within their Terrain range. Comprising of 44 various gravestones, as well as two perched ravens, the pieces are sculpted by Steve May of “Immortal Miniatures”.

Frighteningly simple to paint, each headstone was given a couple of coats of "Citadel" Adeptus Grey and then heavily washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I then brusquely dry-brushed each model with more "Citadel" Adeptus Grey before adding some "Vallejo" White to my palette and lightly brushing the face of each stone in order to highlight their inscriptions, carvings or signs of deterioration.

However if you fancy seeing some more lavishly-themed metal memorials then I highly recommend a quick visit to Roger's "Rantings From Under The Wargames Table" blog, and his 'grave development'... 

Plaguebearer WIPs - Plaguebearers in various stages of painting and washing

Personally I plan to use these Gravestones as scenery for the “ZombieTV” episode The Dead Will Rise, which actually takes place deep inside an old cemetery. But for now they’ll be added to the three Headstone bases I have previously painted, and give me the six infestation markers I require for my Weird War Two-inspired games of “Lost Patrol” by “Games Workshop”.

Whilst finishing off my current cluster of "Renedra Limited" Gravestones I have also continued to make some more progress on my monthly painting project; a small Host of Nurgle for “Age Of Sigmar” by “Games Workshop”. Having completed my test piece Plaguebearer I have settled upon a concoction of “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki, “Citadel” washes such as Thrakka Green and Crimson Carroburg, and "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre as my colours of choice.

Godzilla WIPs - The gigantic monster has been dry-brushed with two different shades of grey

The majority of my ten-strong unit of Plaguebearers are still in need of some "Citadel" Abaddon Black base layers, as well as additional putrescent washes. But I have managed to get something of a factory process going with them and already simply need to carefully dry-brush a second Nurgle minion before ‘picking out’ all their zits with yellow.

Finally I have undercoated, washed and dry-brushed one of "Wizkids" models from their "Godzilla" pre-painted collectible miniature game. This fearsome creature was originally purchased to be used as a basis for a conversion I had planned as one of my "Forgotten Heroes" challenge entries. But ultimately I liked the miniature's sculpt so much that I decided to simply re-base and paint the model as Ishiro Honda's famous film monster...

"Nor It Is Unbelieved... That A Troubled Ghost Haunts The Old Trunk..."

"...Lamenting deeds of which the flowery ground is conscious."

This incredibly characterful 28mm scale pre-painted plastic “Wizkids” Tree Of The Damned is one of the exclusive figures found within the “Horrorclix” Starter Set. An impressive 70mm in height the twisted perennial plant is a ‘special object’ which apparently allows the active player to get one extra action to use that turn “if a victim is slain while adjacent” to the Tree.

However as I didn’t want to simply use the impressive-looking model as either an objective marker or a piece of scenery, I fixed it to a “Games Workshop” 60mm circular base and undercoated it with “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna. I then heavily washed the warped plant with plenty of “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade, and began a series of ever-lighter dry-brushes using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and White. Lastly I gave the ghoulish figure a haphazard dry-brush with some “Citadel” Adeptus Battlegrey, and followed this old OOP Foundation paint up with some “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey around the monster’s eyes, nose and teeth as a final highlight.

Plaguebearer WIPs - Plaguebearers in various stages of painting and washing

In-between finishing off my Tree Of The Damned I have been making some quite considerable progress on my current painting project; a small Host of Nurgle for “Age Of Sigmar” by “Games Workshop”. I’ve essentially just been concentrating on one Plaguebearer for now, and using the vile plaguesword-wielding demon as something of a test piece for my putrid paint scheme.

Having settled upon a fairly generic light(ish) green base colour using “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki, I have slowly been trying to build up the creature’s festering sores, boils and putrescent pimples with a variety of “Citadel” washes, and believe I’m now in the position where I can hopefully start to ‘batch’ paint them using a sort of factory line-up.

Plaguebearer WIPs - Plaguebearers with Nurglings and the Piper all-drybrushed

 I’ve certainly managed to not only undercoat my ten-strong unit of Plaguebearers. But wash and dry-brush them too, so I can now pick out all their puss-filled wounds with a mixture of white, pink and red. These can then be somewhat ‘blended’ in with the rest of the model using a second dry-brushing phase before I ‘pick out’ all their zits with yellow and give the stomach-churning horrors a final wash here and there.

In addition to the ‘run of the mill’ followers of Nurgle I have additionally made a little headway with the unit’s Plagueridden (leader) and Piper (Musician). Ultimately I might leave these ‘command figures’ until last as they’ll take the greatest time to finish. But there’s something awfully seductive about painting a three-eyed demon who is holding a bunch of severed heads. Praise be to Nurgle…

"Age Of Sigmar" - Nurgle Rotbringers - WIP - Part One

Plaguebearer WIPs - Plagueridden, Plaguebearer and Icon Bearer

Recently I’ve found myself once again drawn to the “jovial and utterly revolting Great Unclean One”, and as a result have decided to dedicate the vast majority of my hobby time over the next two months to (finally) painting up a fledgling Befouling Host of Nurgle for “Age Of Sigmar”. The plan is reasonably realistic in that I hope to not only ‘finish off’ the unit of Nurglings and party of Plaguebearers I started assembling and priming in February this year. But also complete a unit of either Putrid Blightkings or Plague Drones of Nurgle, as well a general… the Lord of Plagues.

To begin with I have finally finished super-gluing together my old box of “Games Workshop” Plaguebearers of Nurgle. These multi-part plastic miniatures don’t seem to have changed since “Warhammer” Fantasy was replaced by “Age of Sigmar”. Although I did need to purchase some of the ‘new’ “Citadel” 32mm round bases for the models, as mine came with the old square ones.

As far as command figures were concerned I was initially only interested in constructing the unit’s Champion, now known as the Plagueridden [with Two Attacks], and the Standard Bearer, or rather Icon Bearer [potentially adds D6 Plaguebearers to the unit when making a Battleshock Test]. However having read the superb Grand Alliance – Chaos book, and discovered that Musicians may force nearby enemy units to reroll successful Battleshock Tests, I have subsequently assembled the wonderfully characterful Piper as well.

Plaguebearer WIPs - Plaguebearer with Nurgling, Piper and Plaguebearer with Nurgling

The rest of the plaguesword carrying fiends have simply been pieced together using the assortment of bellys, heads, arms and torsos found on the unit sprues. However in order to create a couple of crude vignettes, I have added a couple of intestine-pulling Nurglings onto some of the bases as well.

The vast majority of these miniatures have now been treated to a double dose of “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and a heavy wash of “Citadel” Thrakka Green. But I have managed to make a bit more progress on my Plagueridden by picking out his weapon, horns and sores with Abaddon Black. Likewise I have picked a reasonably simple Plaguebearer to use as my test piece, and having painted all of his boils, teeth, tongue, entrails and cyclopean eye, I am now ready to apply some final washes to the grisly warrior…

In addition to my rotting foot soldiers I have also managed to make quite a bit of progress on the back row of two of my three Nurgling bases. I can already tell that these cheerful psychopathic terrors are going to prove somewhat frustrating to paint, as much of their detail actually becomes lost once you place the middle and front rows onto the base; and thus mask the majority of the creatures behind them. I did consider simply sticking the entire base together and painting them as a whole. But felt the fact I couldn’t therefore reach any of the partially hidden figures with a brush tip would probably annoy me even more.

Nurglings WIPs - These razor-sharp toothed terrors are slowly have their horns, eyes and teeth 'picked out'

For now I’ve simply picked out all their horns with either “Vallejo” Iraqi Sand or “Citadel” Abaddon Black, and undercoated their raw sores with “Vallejo” White or Heavy Red. I’ve also added several sets of eyes using Dark Vermillion. Once I’ve tidied up their rancid flesh with some Heavy Grey, I should be able to start applying a series of finishing washes to these disease-ridden terrors.

Indeed I’m already mightily tempted to include a second batch of these tiny razor-sharp toothed fiends to my Unclean Host as each base has 5 Attacks and Endless Swarm [allowing any base which hasn’t been slain to immediately heal back up to their starting 4 Wounds during each player’s Battleshock Phase].