Still full of energy from my recent “hobby apotheosis” (sorry, couldn’t resist), I would like to show you a new finished model today, and a rather massive one, at that.
Those of you who have been following this blog for a while may recall my ongoing work on a couple of World Eaters riding massive juggernauts of Khorne. Even though there are currently no rules for such a formation, every self-respecting follower of Khorne should have some juggernaut riders in his army, period.
Anyway, my first test model on the way to a whole squad was actually built and painted quite a long time ago:
I am still reasonably happy with this guy, especially since the WFB Skullcrushers of Khorne had not yet been released back then, so building the rider actually took some doing (erm, and the “borrowing” of an idea from Sprugly’s amazing thread here).
Speaking of the Skullcrushers, the release of that kit did of course make my whole life a lot easier, and I snatched it up for the bitz alone. But the kit also gave me the opportunity to build three more juggernaut riders, my Brazen Hunters:
These were actually named for fellow hobbyists who had greatly inspired me with their respective chaos projects. And I imagine the squad will be a sight to see, once I finally work up the motivation to get them painted (fingers crossed ;) ).
But during all this time, I did not yet have a suitable Chaos Lord on juggernaut, even though such a model is the one highly viable way of currently using a Chaos Space Marine on a juggernaut to begin with! However, I am basically addicted to building Chaos Lords, and it was entirely clear for me that this guy would need to be really impressive.
It may surprise you to learn that I have been quietly pottering away on a suitable Chaos Lord for a rather long time now. In fact, a first test version was built as early as 2011:
But while I look back on that first effort with some fondness, the model really wasn’t as cool as I wanted it to be. So the rider was ditched, I kept the juggernaut and waited for a suitable rider model to go on top.
I finally found a solution to my problem when my cousin Andy gave me a Chaos Lord on Manticore as a birthday gift in 2012. I have gone on record stating that the kit is basically worth it for the rider bitz alone, and you even get two riders (and the Manticore can have its uses as well…).
Anyway, while one of the Manticore riders was turned into a rogue Primaris Psyker for my Traitor Guard, it was always clear to me that the other one would end up as the lord riding that leftover juggernaut — but the project still stalled for some reason.
Until the recent 14th Painting/Converting Contest over at Throne of Skulls provided the perfect occasion for me to finally clean up my act and finish the model. So I sat down and combined rider and jugger. Here’s a look at the WIP version of the model:
Granted, this conversion might have been quite a bit more exciting before the release of the WFB Skullcrushers, but I think it still holds up. The Manticore kit comes with some absolutely brilliant bitz, among them the heavily scarred head I used for the rider. The chain cloak is another personal favourite of mine, since not only does it look badass on any Chaos Lord, but chains feature rather prominently in the World Eaters’ legion aesthetics, so what better place to use this wonderful bit.
In order to suitably “40k-i-fy” the fantasy model, I added a plasma pistol (if only to give me an excuse for paining some light blue plasma coils every once in a while ;) ), some grenades on the model’s belt and a backpack from the Dark Vengeance Chosen. The juggernaut was also subtly converted in order to make it look a little more impressive: The main additions were two Marauder shields on the hind legs and two tusks (made from a set of horns from the Chaos Knight horses). The latter idea was borrowed from an excellent diorama created by Keith Robertson and Kornel Kozak and published in an issue of WD:
Picture from WD. Copyright: Games Workshop
When it actually came to painting the model, I had to be really disciplined for once, since I had let the deadline for the ToS contest approach without lifting a finger, lazy bum that I am — maybe this was a subconscious attempt at forcing myself to perform well under pressure?
Anyway, I actually painted rider and jugger back to back over a matter of three days, which was quite a drag, but also didn’t give me any time to dawdle or lose interest. I started with the rider, because I instinctively realised that he would be far more fun to paint. Here’s the finished rider (looking like the victim or a particularly nasty groin hernia without his steed):
The funny leg pose notwithstanding, painting this guy really was a blast! I basically used my usual recipe for World Eaters, but this model gave me the opportunity to combine two of my favourite effects on the same model: glowing plasma coils and a turquoise daemon weapon. As a matter of fact, I added another light blue area to the model’s backpack, making it look like some kind of reactor core:
Painting the juggernaut was mainly an exercise in patience and perseverance, because the model is pretty big and has quite a few nooks and crannies (and I had, of course, been idiotic enough to glue together all the different parts, save the head, before painting). I went for the same, dark turquoise I used on my last juggernaut, both because it makes for a nice contrast against the red of the rider’s armour, but also because it provides an added bit of visual consistency for my army: my daemon weapons or daemonic steeds all use variants of the same turquoise.
Painting this guy in such a relatively short timespan was quite a bit of work. Fortunately, when I was already on my last leg, my copy of Warhammer:Vision arrived and seeing my model for Legion in Blanchitsu helped me release some hidden reserve of power ;)
So, without further ado, here’s the finished model. I give you Lord Valkar, the Scarred One:
The one problem with the model, from a construction perspective, is that the chains of Valkar’s cloak seem curiously gravity-defying. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could have done to change that, short of cutting apart the entire cloak — and I was too much of a chicken for that ;)
Let us just presume that Valkar’s a) gallopping so fast that even the heavy chains are streaming in the wind or b) some kind of sorcerous power is keeping them afloat?! Yeah, sorcerous power, that makes sense! Let’s totally go with that!
Anyway, let me share a couple of detail shots with you:
I am actually really happy with the model’s face, even though I just used my usual, minimalistic approach. The scars actually play into this guy’s background — but more about that in a minute.
So yeah, that’s my finished Chaos Lord on juggernaut of Khorne, at long last. Only what, three years from inception to finished model? That’s really slow, even for my sloppy standards. But well worth it, of course ;)
Seriously, though: I really am pretty pleased, both with the model and with the fact that I finally managed to complete this particular task. Whatever his chances might be in the ToS contest, I am already super happy at having added another bigger model like this to my collection.
And, of course, a tried and true tradition here on Eternal Hunt, let’s get to know the latest model better: Who is this guy? What are his dreams and ambitions? Allow me to share the background I came up with for the model:
Huntmaster Valkar, the Scarred One, Lord of Chains and Master of the Brazen Hunters
In the latter days of the Great Crusade, Brother Valkar was fighting as a line officer in the 12th legion’s assault formations, and it was during the pacification of a cluster of feudal worlds in the eastern fringe that he incurred a wound that would change his life forever: A maddened cultist attacked him with a weapon wreathed in sorcerous flame, taking Valkar’s right eye and leaving him with a hideous, eight-pronged scar over the right side of his face. To make matters worse, the damaged eye socket wouldn’t take any augmetic replacement for some reason unfathomable even to the Legion’s Apothecaries, leaving Valkar permanently one-eyed. In any other Astartes Legion, that would have surely relegated him to the place of an Auxiliarii or a diplomat – a bleak prospect for one who had been bred for war. But Angron’s legion had little use for diplomats, and even crippled officers could hold a command as long as they knew how to hold their own in the fighting pits. So Valkar learned to balance the consequences of his disability and returned to battle, seemingly as effective as before.
However, it seemed his scars ran deeper still, as Valkar started hearing voices: Harsh whispers now spurred him onward in battle, inciting him to ever growing acts of bloodshed, bellowing excitedly at every kill, and howling in frustration at each denied killing stroke. Valkar feared he might be growing insane, but in a legion wracked with the influence of the Butcher’s Nails, sanity was not exactly a priority.
For Valkar’s seeming descent into madness only mirrored that of his legion: The World Eaters became ever more brutal and uncontrollable, finally siding with the Warmaster Horus and becoming one of his most effective terror weapons. And Brother Valkar was always there, swept along with the tide.
The last time he heard the mysterious voices was when the drop pods of the XII legion rained down on the blasted hellscape Istvaan III had become: When the doors of his Dreadclaw hissed open and Valkar began charging at his erstwhile brothers and their fellow loyalists with a blood curdling roar on his lips, the voices broke into triumphant laughter one last time – and then fell silent. The pact had been sealed.
Over the following centuries and millennia, Valkar has become a mighty champion of Khorne. He was one of the first officers in the World Eaters’ 4th assault company to be granted a daemonic steed by the powers of the warp, and riding this beast wrought from brass and hellfire, he became nigh invincible. He has gathered similarly gifted brethren around him, forming an elite cadre of mounted legionaries called the Brazen Hunters.
And once again, there are voices: Whispers in the shadows that Valkar the Scarred One could one day challenge the Lord Captain himself for the command of the company.
As always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!
Filed under: 40k, Chaos, Conversions, Fluff, paintjob, World Eaters Tagged: 40k, background, brazen hunters, Brazen Knight, chaos, chaos lord, chaos space marines, conversion, fluff, huntmaster, Jugger, Juggernaut, Juggernaut rider, khorne, khorne's eternal hunt, paintjob, valkar, world eaters
