Kromlech has sent Blood of Kittens products for review and like any good wargamer we sent them off to someone better at painting and hobbing than me, here is a review by one of my favorite players and painters Jody Pez Man. Jody is available for commissions for characters and squads only contact him at pez5767@hotmail.com for pricing and details.

Review of Kromlech Wardemons:  Morbid Beast “Chimney” and Putrid Snail Beast

Like so many other wargamers, I’ve been pulled in by the allure of the Age of Sigmar.  With the Season of War global campaign wrapping up, I’ve been inspired to return to and expand my Daemon army with some Nurgle reinforcements.  While I like the GW Beast of Nurgle miniature, the prospect of fielding multiple of that same model in a unit is a little disappointing. I was excited to work with some of the Kromlech Wardemon models to see if they would make acceptable substitutes.

The Putrid Snail Beast (above left) and the Morbid Beast “Chimney” (above right) are approximately the same height, but with its snail-like body the Snail Beast has about double the footprint on tabletop.  The Snail Beast is actually supplied with a 60mm resin base (not pictured), and the Morbid Beast “Chimney” is supplied with a 50mm black plastic base.  As you can see, the Putrid Snail Beast required some assembly.  I was a little disappointed by the lack of modularity in the arm options for the Snail Beast. Despite having 7 different arms to attach, there are really only 2 arms that can be interchanged, and even that would require some carving to allow for a smooth fit. There were a few shallow mold lines and some very thin flash that needed to be cleaned up, but other than the lack of modularity, the Wardemons were the same standard of excellent casting that I’ve come to expect from Kromlech.

I decided, I’ve seen enough Nurlge demons painted green. Instead, I opted to go with more muted purple and grey tones. Now, to be fair, I did highlight with some pale green tones, but I tried to avoid a vivid green look. I applied a zenithal layer of pale green (similar to GW’s old Rotting Flesh Color) over a dark grey primer. After that, I liberally applied a purple wash (GW Druchii Violet) focusing on the recesses and lower areas to set the shadows.  Once the initial wash dried, I continued to strengthen the shadows and add variety by applying reds, yellow, greens, flesh-washes, and purples to build up thin layers of color.  The deeply cut layers of detail and texture all over these models made painting with washes a very enjoyable process.  Once the shadows and base colors were all set, I was able to continue to take advantage of crisp details by picking out highlights with pale yellows and greens.

I don’t own any of the GW Beast of Nurgle models to compare against the Putrid Snail Beast and Morbid Beast “Chimney,” so I opted for the use of the ubiquitous Space Marine to provide a scale comparison.  As you can see, the Kromlech Wardemons are very large models, standing well above the Space Marine.  In the picture above, you can see just how much the Putrid Snail Beast fills up a 60mm round base, and that the Morbid Beast “Chimney” fits comfortably on that same size of base. Overall, the Kromlech Wardemon models are everything you could want from a plague demon. They are huge, hulking, and disgusting.

Hopefully, you’ve found this review helpful.  In a few weeks I’ll be back to look at a couple more Wardemons from Kromlech. Until then, happy hobby and enjoy.