“A Mortal Who Resists The Ravages Of Nurgle’s Rot…”

"These larger, more powerful Plaguebearers often lead armies of their kind..."

This impressive-looking 28mm multi-part plastic Herald of Nurgle model is made by “Games Workshop” and can be bought either as an individual miniature or as part of the company’s “Age Of Sigmar” Daemons of Nurgle “Start Collecting!” boxed set. “Wiry and muscular, with a massively deformed leg and entrails so exposed that they touch the floor”, the mortal hero is ‘blessed’ with being “Disgustingly Resilient” on the tabletop; an ability which allows the Plaguebearer to ignore “a wound or mortal wounds” on a roll of a 5 or more. Furthermore, he also ‘enjoys’ the rather useful “In Death There Is Life”, which permits the chaos daemon to heal a wound “each time a unit is wiped out within 7” of him.”

Having super-glued the Herald of Nurgle together and placed him upon a "Citadel" 40mm circular base, the seven-piece figure was given a double undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki, washed with “Citadel” Thrakka Green and dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki.  I then ‘picked out’ his numerous festering wounds, “repulsive Balesword”, gory innards and “spindly arm” with “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

Bloodletter WIPs - These Khorne Daemons now need to have their Hellblades painted "Vallejo" Gold

Once all this base layering was finished I painted his guts, exposed spine, organs, “ribbed tongue” and “lesions” with either “Vallejo” Heavy Red, Dead White or Heavy Warmgrey, and subsequently heavily washed these areas with “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson. In addition, I applied some shading to the Plaguebearer’s “rancid flesh” and complementary Nurgling, using a combination of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, “Citadel” Thrakka Green, and (more) Carroburg Crimson. As a final touch, all the creature’s zits were ‘pimped out’ with “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre and treated to a coat of “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade.

With most the daemonic hero now complete I turned my attention to the numerous bells which adorned the miniature’s body and horns. These were painted using a combination of "Vallejo" Brass, "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and "Citadel" Nihilakh Oxide. Lastly, the herald’s formidable-looking Balesword, which “weeps vile toxins”, was dry-brushed with “Vallejo” German Grey.

Having now settled upon a colour scheme for a unit of Bloodletters to accompany my “Age Of Sigmar” Host of Nurgle, I have been busy washing, dry-brushing and progressing my daemons of Khorne. Despite being predominantly red and black, the “Slaughter-kin” are proving somewhat time-consuming due to their wonderfully over-sized Hellblades; which I am planning on painting using a combination of “Vallejo” Gold and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

"Kill Team" WIPs - Once finished these Plaguebearer Specialists can also be used for "Age Of Sigmar"

Sticking with all-things “Games Workshop” I have recently succumbed to the call of “Warhammer 40,000” and purchased the genre’s “Kill Team” boxed starter set. This “standalone two-player game”, which focuses upon “brutal close-quarters combat in the 41st Millennium”, has really caught my imagination, especially as it only requires 200 point forces, and, as a result, has led to me assembling some more of the company’s repulsive Plaguebearer figures to use with the rules.

In fact, having also bought the fantastically illustrated Codex: Chaos Daemons I have realised that I already own enough Nurgle-related miniatures with which to field a suitable force for the game. However, as the “32-page softback Kill Team book” bestows special abilities upon certain members of your squad, I wanted to use some Nurglings to ‘mark out’ my ‘elite’ Plaguebearers on the tabletop. Delightfully, the added bonus to this endeavour is that the additional miniatures can also be used to bolster my current unit of Tallyman of Nurgle for “Age Of Sigmar”.