Death Guard WIP: Pandemic (updated Jan 21 - fully painted Obliterator unit)

[MrChaos]

wow really loving your Chosen Death Guard there.

Papa Nurgle smiles upon you.

[Sir Clausel]

Now one thing I need. no 2 acually. first one: I know you are new to this but your metal really need work... its just too flat. Some inking and highlighting and it will be fine!
secound: though I dont know if these guys are finished, but I would think some more colours than green and metal(and a little black) is just not enough. or just paint less stuff green. paint the trim brazz or bronze or something.
The convertions are awsome and only the paintjob needs just a notch! keep it up!

[[MaGiC]]

I don't think the minis are done.. well he was talking about washing the minis he made so my guess is that we will see a whole other result soon

[Svartmetall]

Absolutely - they're still at the 'IP' stage of 'WIP' . I need to work out the right ink wash to go with the Chosen's colour scheme, plus there's detailing and rusting-up the weapons, picking out decorative metal bits in bronze, trophy racks etc and other highlighting still to come. But still, nice to see people liking it even at this unfinished stage

[Civik]

Wow, those are some awesome nurgle marines you've got going.

I think my only complaint is their monotone appearance... they need some more color on there to suggest different materials perhaps? Like making flesh look a bit more fleshy while the armor sections that are closer to intact look more like death guard armor plating?

Right now the paint scheme kinda reminds me of how ghosts or ghouls should look as opposed to a tumorous nurgle marine.

[Svartmetall]

Here's how the Terminators are starting to shape up...I'm aiming to make them look very old, like they've been around spreading Nurgle's Rot for millennia...tons of green stuff detail, trophy skulls inlaid into their armour, etc etc. They're going to be a real labour of love. This guy is going to be one of the Reaper autocannon wielders:

I like the Necron head hanging on a chain as a trophy. All the Terminators will have slightly different texturing used on them, as they've been around so long they're developed very distinctive scarring and deformities from their various diseases; this guy will have the stretched-tissue texture spun around him over the basic tumourous texture I've used as a base on all the Terminators except the Champion..

On all the Terminators I'm aiming to keep the basic shape and much of the armour detail intact, as a set of Terminator armour is a big deal for Chaos; by and large I'll be following the armour's detailing, and at most enhancing and working around it. You can see the second approach in this shot of the Terminator Champion:

Sadly the 'coral' GS texture just doesn't come out too well on my camera when unpainted, but trust me it looks nice in the flesh . I've inlaid 3 pieces of guitar string as cabling in his torso to add some extra detail to him; and you can see even from this very early WIP (even though there's already 4 stages of GS on him) shot that the GS is always adhering to the shape and contour of the armour, stretching between it almost like cobweb in places. He's going to look like a walking coral reef of ancient pestilence ...

[SilverTabby]

There's only one problem with the necron head as a trophy thing - they tend to phase out when destroyed. However, yours are wierd gribbly chaos things. Anything's possible, including hanging on to things like that

(And all the GW figs with necron trophies got critisised when first released...)

[[MaGiC]]

the necron head might still work.. could be cool if was talking

(a good book start eh )

[Supermarine]

just say the necron head is held in statis.good moddeling.

[Koozer]

It would be great if you put a small bit of mold or something on the Necron head, just to show even a lump of living metal cannot escape Nurgle

[Svartmetall]

A quick update - here's some concept art for a Possessed Death Guard Terminator. I'm not 100% convinced by Possessed as part of an army, but purely for aesthetics' sake I'm wondering about building at least one. It seemed logical for a Possessed to make it look as if a Lesser Daemon of the Ruinous Power in question - in this case, obviously, a Plaguebearer - was trying to impose its form on the possessee...

Sorry, I suck at drawing. But hopefully you get the idea. I'd welcome any feedback on this - is he too much like a Plaguebearer, not enough, etc.

[Ragnarok]

Looking awesome Svart, as always!

There's only one problem with the necron head as a trophy thing - they tend to phase out when destroyed.

i really dont think thats a problem, seeing as the Chaos vehicle tank sprue (cant remember which) has a trophy rack with a skull and a necron head on it....

keep up the Nurglish work!

[Svartmetall]

"...a trophy rack with a skull and a necron head on it..."

Which was both where I got the skull, and my justification for using it .

[Tinweasel]

(And all the GW figs with necron trophies got critisised when first released...)

As a guy with a bunch of Necrons lurking in the wings, I think the criticism is justified. Having Necron bits laying around as trophies just detracts from their mystique. Although Chaos-warped and quasi-mutated Necrons might not go over too well either, so I'm probably not in any position to go pointing fingers or throwing stones, myself. Heh.

I like the Necron head hanging on a chain as a trophy.

Yeah, yeah. As a Necron enthusiast, myself, however... blah blah blah. In all seriousness, I think when taking your figure as a whole into account that the Necron head on a chain would look much cooler and much much more stylistic if you sliced off the bottom jaw on a horizontal plane with where the teeth come together. 1) From a fluff standpoint, you'd be square with folks like me who are keen on the whole "phasing out" mystique - technically it wouldn't be a "Necron head" any more, it'd be a stylized skull/taunt to Necrons/more believable captured trophy, and 2) With the somewhat cooler altered appearance when dangling from a chain, you could go so far as to even paint it up in appropriate Necron metallics and you'd likely get less beef from die-hard Necron fluff fans as it's now a stylized skull/taunt to Necrons/more believable captured trophy. (Seriously, I think it would look cooler on the chain without the jaw all fluff aside. Being more in-line with the Necron fluff is just a very large added bonus!)


As to the Plaguebearer Possessed, I think the two things that define Plaguebearers for me are the elongated deformed horned face and the distended abdomen, ideally leaking intestines. So long as you cover both those bases, you could really have the remainder of the figure untouched (aside from rust, verdigris, etc.) and I think it'd still carry the Plaguebearer image nicely. Adding more Nurgly goodness would just be icing on the cake. If you're going to run with the bare leg and arm, though, might I suggest a back-bent beast leg/foot and a thicker arm? Your drawing gets across a good idea, but I see Possessed as being quick beast-like zombies versus slow and plodding like your typical Nurgle iconography ("fast zombies" vs. "slow zombies," in other words.) Make it beefier and "assaultier," keep the distended horned face and bloated abdomen, and it'll be golden!

[Svartmetall]

I think you're probably right on both subjects there, Tin. I'm still buried in layering up the GS on the Terminator Champion at the moment - 'painstaking' doesn't come close to describing what it's like doing extensive 'coral' texture all over a Terminator model - but I might just do a Possessed on the side for some light(er) relief. I've still not yet decided whether I should give the Terminator Champion paired lightning claws or not. Same goes for the Lord, actually. If I go for paired LCs on the Lord I'll convert them to look like some kind of venom claws...LCs are great, but they just don't feel very Nurgle to me, if that makes sense. Fluff-wise, LCs work fine for Tzeentch and Khorne; but for Slaanesh I think they should be sort of nerve-overdose claws that stimulate the victim's nervous system to a fatal overload, and for Nurgle they should be venom claws that inject some kind of incredibly virulent necrotising poison...

[Svartmetall]

Gah...a combination of adjusting to going back to work and being ill (including a cough so bad it made me retch and gave me chest/stomach cramps, most sucky) have delayed things somewhat...but starting to feel better now, so here's a bit of progress with the Terminator Champion. I decided to give him the nifty double chainfist and a Reaper autocannon...I changed the not-very-Nurgle-looking Bowie-type blade at the end of the Reaper for a much nastier-looking chainblade attachment (courtesy of a Khornate chainaxe), now I think it looks pretty gnarly .

I also added some cabling detail to his head, to match the bits embedded in his torso...I think this guy's going to make a very imposing looking Terminator Champion. I'm also sorely tempted to give him another triple-skull shoulder pad, like the one on the Sorceror.

Here's where the siamese-twin Plague Marine is at the moment...it sounds kind of odd but I'm actually building up the GS flesh in layers almost how I imagine the muscles etc would be laid out over the torso of something like this, trying to make it make sense anatomically.

I'm pretty much set now on having him with the lower left arm and right arm holding a scythe, and the upper left arm pointing a flamer. Mainly because nobody else in the army has a flamer as things stand. Finding suitable arms to use is proving to be a bit of a sod, though, so far...I was almost at the point of making an skeleton-armature and sculpting the flesh of the arms entirely out of green stuff a day or two back, but I'm not confident enough that I can carry that off to go down that road.

Still a bit stuck on how to do trophy racks, if any, on these new Terminators...I like trophy racks on CSMs, but the ones the plastic Terminators come with are just too Alpha Legion/Black Legion for my tastes for a Nurgle Terminator. Currently I'm thinking along the lines of having one square-section pillar-type affair sticking out of the carapace, with skulls and stuff nailed to it...a bit like the Torture Pillar from 'Hellraiser 2', if you know what I mean. One large spiky bit feels more Nurgle to me than several spindly little spiky bits...ah well...back to Ye Olde Greene Stuffe.

As always, any feedback etc is welcomed

[Svartmetall]

Quick update - here's the Terminator Champion with his chainfist and most of the green stuffing done.


I am officially pleased with how this guy looks; it's been a real labour of love, but I think it's been worth it.

[Brother Azeek]

im likeing alot Svartmetall

is that metal bit in the background what i think it is?

[Svartmetall]

Er, which particular metal bit? My workspace is total chaos

[Brother Azeek]

heh, i see one of the classic nurgle metal models in the back, do i not?

Anyway, another great model to add to the nurgly goodness that comes from you, Papa Nurgle would be proud

Sometimes i wonder, if one of your hands is a tentical that you dedicated to Papa Nurgle. . .

[Svartmetall]

No, that's actually one of the normal Death Guard ones - if you check out the tutorial, it's the one I did the green stuff 'how to' on. I see what you mean, though - the head does look a bit like one of the Classic 'gas mask' Death Guard models from that angle...

For a while there, I thought you'd managed to spot the classic Beast Of Nurgle...but then I realised it's not actually visible in any of those shots .

[Svartmetall]

I've finally settled on a name for the army...Pandemic. It's a tad more dignified than Attack Squad Noob .

[Warboss Antoni]

I love your sculpting. It's all I can really say, it leaves me dumbstruck.

Do you use vaseline or work with regular ol' water?

I'm going to be starting nurgle in fantasy so I'm gonna convert every single beastman and choas warrioir in it ( which totals to something like 60 troops, 3 chariots, 20 deamons, and 3 heroes, one being a giant daemon ). I'm going to be looking at your tutorial and pictures to see how the masters do their work.

[Svartmetall]

*blushes*

I'm still a bit bowled over by just how positive so many people's reactions have been. Thank you. I use a bit of spit on the sculpting tool now and again when it seems like I need to...I'm still mainly using a scalpel, a toothpick and a straightened-out paper clip as sculpting tools . Mainly I just wing it, though...

[Svartmetall]

Decided my Death Guard Terminators needed chainfists that were a bit gnarlier than normal...

...so by combining some power fists and some Khornate chainswords, I get much scarier chainfists

[Xenith]

Looking pretty sharp! (geddit)

Maybe just blend the join between chain blade and the fist on the middle and right chainfists.

If youre looking for more badass fists, I have used a sentinel chainsaw attachment on my IW terminators, and it looks awesomely badass.

[Svartmetall]

Yeah, I still need to GS them in and bulk up a little where the chain goes back into the fist's body. Cheers for the tip about the Sentinel, I'll check that out...I'm also working on a chainfist using a pair of chainaxe blades .

[Svartmetall]

Aaaaand here's a first WIP look at the full unit of 10 Terminators...been a very busy couple of days of mould-line removal and pose appraisal...




The biggest problem I'm having right now is deciding on suitable heads for them...this may take some work, I really don't like the walrus-tusk heads that the Terminators come with. Ah well. That minor issue notwithstanding , I'm still fairly happy with how they look at this early stage; they should be a powerful-looking squad when done. Double-bladed power axes and custom-made chainfists for the win; now all I need is about a kilogram of green stuff ...

[digitaljunky]

You could cut the tusks off and attach pipes to the helmets. A bit of green and I'm sure you could model them on.

[Svartmetall]

Aye, tried that with one of them, wasn't 100% convinced. The experiments will continue ...this Terminator unit is turning into a real labour of love, so it's worth taking the time and getting their heads right.

[SocietySoldier]

what i do since i hate the regular SM termie heads, i trim down tactical squad helmets or what not until they fit in, i can see you doing that with regular plague marine heads and what not

[Svartmetall]

Found a pretty good head on the Empire Flagellants sprue...

...matches his posture pretty much perfectly IMO; the quest continues .

[Olgerth Istaarn]

Wow, someone really knows how to represent the touch of the Blessed Hand of Nurg'leth

Great work there. Where did you get those big skulls?

[Svartmetall]

"Great work there. Where did you get those big skulls?"

Erm...which particular ones? These guys are sporting a lot of skulls

[Olgerth Istaarn]

Ach, sorry. I'm particularly interested in the one greenstuffed to the chest of the terminator with Reaper AC.

[Svartmetall]

Er, the only one with a Reaper is the Champion, and he doesn't have a skull GS'd to his chest...

[KingOfFools]

wow very nice work, and not only on the termies, great job!!

[Xenith]

I think he means the one with the heavy flamer?

Very good looking, and the flagellant heads look perfect, they really do.

When converting my termies, I used nothing but bare heads, it it does look good, imho, having the odd helmetted marine would look...well...odd, but unless youre doing something special...and I wouldnt put it past you.

Im impressed with the way this army is coming out, have you made any progress with the painting aspect, or have you just been wading through GS for the past few weeks?

Id really like to see a sample fully painted marine, if you feel like a break from the termies

[Svartmetall]

"I think he means the one with the heavy flamer?"

Ah, OK - if that's the one he means, it's from the 'spiky bits' Chaos vehicle accessory sprue; there are several bits of chain with skulls attached on that sprue, and that's the skull on the front of that model's torso. I also used those skulls to make the triple-skull shoulderpads you can see on the Sorceror and Terminator Champion.

In work atm, and all I want to do now is go home and find more heads for these guys...


EDIT: Argh, I only just saw this bit...
"have you made any progress with the painting aspect, or have you just been wading through GS for the past few weeks?"
...did I mention the part where I'm in work right now?

And yes, I've mainly been assembling and green-stuffing (although I have done a little highlighting). I tend to go with inspiration when it strikes, a habit I picked up as a musician - always listen to your muse when she pays you a visit - and currently I've just been in a constructive mood more than a decorative one. It'll probably do a 180 soon and suddenly I'll be painting everything to death while my green stuff gathers dust in a corner, but right now building and green-stuffing seems to be what floats my boat so I'm going with it

[Svartmetall]

Those skulls again:


You can just see one of them on the sprue in the top left of the upper photo.

[r4wr89]

dude...that is awesome ! haha. i don't really have any comments to say. that's a sweet shoulderpad man

[Svartmetall]

Quick update - these are the faces I've used for the Terminators. I've tried to use ones that match the posture and body language of each one:


For some reason, it seemed logical to make the two paired lightning-claw guys total nutters

And now, an epic green stuff session awaits...possibly several...

[Olgerth Istaarn]

Cool... I'm hoping to use those skulls to make a plastic chaplain head.

[Galorn2]

Dude I am currently Seriously considering starting a 40k Nurgle army, Mostly because of the stuff youve done and how much fun I've had converting PMs... The PMs and other stuff I've been working on is a commission of sorts for a doubles tourny out my way.

[Zombie Phlegm]

I'm realy loving the Chaos Spawn head on the lord! I'm not worthy to look upon your works of art svartmetall.

@Galorn2.
yeh nurgle are great fun to do all the puss and guts its so gut wrenchingly brilliant and theres so much you can GS its a modelers wonderland... well a grotesque, puss filled wonderland but hey its still a wonderland!!!

[Brother Azeek]

its been awile since i posted under the nurgle infested thred, to much time with those black templars titan has

those termies are spot on, your green stuff work is spectacular, you know, the usual suck up stuff

BTW, do you spend more money on GS than you do models? just wondering, with about a half a stick of GS per model if im not mistaken (i dont have to much experiance with the infamous GS, so i dont know how much is actualy on a stick)

[Svartmetall]

If you recall the somewhat crappy concept drawing I did for a Nurgle Possessed a few pages back...last night it suddenly seemed like a good idea to actually make it . Months ago, I put together one Terminator just to see what they looked like in the flesh so I had something to stare at and work out how to Nurglify it; it had bugged me for a while that that set of Terminator bits was just sort of sitting there, especialy now that I know how I want to do my Death Guard Terminators...so, last night, with the assistance of several cans of Mr. Carlsberg's finest and two Megadeth live albums, it got disassembled. And then reassembled, inna Possessed stylee. I ended up using bits from Spawn, Possessed, and both Chaos and Loyalist Terminator sprues to do this.

Bearing in mind what Tinweasel had said as feedback on my dodgy drawing about it needing to look beefier and more assault-y, here are the legs I used - Chaos Terminator with a right leg from the Possessed sprue.

Gives him a nice back-bent and hoof-sporting leg to contrast with the normal one on the left. I also cut the torso's waist in half so as to add a spacer to give the finished model more girth and bulk.

His arms are a combination of bits; both of them use Loyalist Terminator arms as a base, with Chaos shoulderpads and Spawn/Possessed claws.



To get the spike sticking through the left shoulderpad to look right, I used a pin drill to make an initial hole then radially scored around it with a craft knife, on both the inside and outside of the 'pad. Then, I punched a hole through with a metal spike and jammed the plastic spike through it - the result being a spike sticking through with realistic-looking shards of broken armour around it.
I really should give the most excellent SilverTabby credit for suggesting this spike method to me .

Here we have the pre-assembly bits...

...and here's the green-stuff guts I've just added to his torso. You may or may not be able to tell from this shot that I used a Dremel to scoop out the left leg in between the structural bits of the armour, then added GS scar-tissue textured flesh in the cavities. Scooping out the leg material beforehand lets me bury the GS stuff deeper into the leg than if I'd just added it on top of the untouched leg, making it sit deeper into the model...


...I think he's going to look pretty badass when he's assembled, which will hopefully be tomorrow.

[[MaGiC]]

apart from the possessed leg it looks good..
the leg makes it look weird so perhaps you should do both of them

[Svartmetall]

It's Chaos, weird comes with the territory . I kind of like the asymmetry of it, with the upper left and lower right leg Possessed but the rest staying standard Terminator.

[[MaGiC]]

hehe yeah that's why I'm not your average chaos player.. I like symetry a lot