Quite some time ago (14th July 2014), I made an initial post about my Daemons of Nurgle project. Obviously, the moon has waxed and waned many times since. I’m happy to say, that they are finally finished (for now – everybody knows armies are never finished). In fact they were finished a while ago.
So what has happened since the middle of July last year? Well, initially it was too hot in my house to paint for the remainder of the summer. To the extent that thinned paint on a wet palette would dry on the brush. A bit fucking annoying. Work was arse-clenchingly unbearable and soul destroying, and my enthusiasm for pretty much everything ever (apart from sleep) died a death. However, on the odd occasion when I felt up to holding a paint brush, I did manage to chip away at the pile of shame.
This thing is pretty massive. Like almost Imperial Knight massive.
So let’s take a look at some models from my previous post, only like, all painted and sheeeit. First up, I got hold of the Glottkin model as a suitable substitute for a Nurgle Soulgrinder. This model is truly horrible. Really pleased with how this turned out, as it gave me a really good opportunity to mess around with washes and glazes and really go to town. The only thing I’m not so happy with is the joins, which I didn’t do a particularly spectacular job of filling and smoothing out.
Then next up we have the most recent incarnation of the Greater Daemon of Nurgle, or the Great Unclean One. This is the metal version, and it’s heavy as shit. This is a suitably disgusting sculpt, with sagging flesh that’s torn open under it’s own weight, tons of large and small maggots bursting out, and a personal favourite feature is the gnarled finger and toe nails.
Next up is a model from Maxmini.eu that I am using as a proxy for a Herald of Nurgle. This a Polish company and they have some cool bits and alternative models. Which is just as well for me, as I think the GW Herald model looks shite. Swollen pensioner style elphantine ankles, cratered and be-buboed flesh. One ugly motherfucker.
A few of the most recent metal Plaguebearers that GW made. In my opinion, much more evocative of Grandfather Nurgle than the current plastics. Probably the best incarnation of these foul creatures in GW history. The preceding versions were overly cartoony, but these ones evoke a stumbling, slow and mournful character.
I got an Araknarok kit for cheap off fellow Corehammer dude, Gaz. I think this was at the Darkthrone tournament. I obviously had to try and make something Nurgly out of it, and came up with the idea of a Soulgrinder. I stuck a flamer in it’s gullet, and did away with the howdah. Added a few green stuff pipes and some capering Nurglings, and Bob as they say, is your weird pervy uncle. This is another mahoosive model. See classic space marine below for an impression of scale.
Die, puny human, die!
This next model is known as the Old Death, from Enigma Miniatures. Whoever sculpted this totally bossed it. I think provides an appropriate alternative visage for a Nurgle Daemon, embodying a skeletal vision of wastage, rather than the usual bloated pustulent appearance that is mainly associated with the servants of Nurgle. I also think it’s a viable option to represent Mortarion, Primarch of the Death Guard legion, once he has attained Daemonhood.
I also had a crack at coming up with an alternate version or proxy of Epidemius, Nurgle’s Tallyman. What I came up with was the convertor’s favourite base model (the plastic Nurgle Champion), with a simple head-swap. I’ve mounted him on the Vampire Counts Corpse Cart, to try and show him being borne along by the recently dead and nearly dying. Draw your own conclusions as to whether or not it does the job.
As I mentioned earlier, an army project is very rarely truly over. What’s next you may ask? Well, I have plans for further Heralds of Nurgle based on the Putrid Blight Kings kit and the leftover characters from the Glottkin kit. In addition, I have an idea for making a Nurgle version of the Skull Cannon of Khorne (with experimental rules of some kind) out of the Maggoth kit. I fully intend not to take 17 months to produce a follow-up article, so watch this space! If you can’t wait until then, please check out my personal blog at http://miasma-of-pestilence.blogspot.co.uk/