More The Pyre cultists!

Just a couple of quick pictures of the rest of my Chaos Cultists. I had these painted for quite some time but never really got to taking pictures of them.

 The paintjob is nothing special, these guys were rushed so I could put them on the tabletop as soon as possible. The modelling is more interesting though - I didn't want to have any clones in the army, so each of these guys had at least a hand- (or arm-) swap done, excluding the cultist champion. It went pretty well.

The most fun model to convert was the flamer guy, who wielded a heavy stubber originally. The Pyre is known for its heavy use of flame weapons, so this conversion was a nobrainer. The flamer and backpack comes from the Cadian troops kit - a very simple yet effective kitbash. It's kinda shame Games Workshop doesn't sell all these original Cultist models, since these guys had a huge conversion potential. Oh well.

The miniature above is a Renegade Militia soldier I got for free at a gaming convention. It's a pity Forge World doesn't produce the Renegade infantry anymore, this army had lots of atmosphere. Good thing is that he goes well with the cultists, so sometimes I use it instead of one of the Champions when I want to field a 20-men sized cultists blob.

Anyways, thanks for reading and see you soon! Now back to working on Shadowspear...

The Pyre Raptors

Raptors. These models come from the Dark Vengeance era (or 6th edition) of 40K, and in regards of Chaos design, I believe it was one of the best editions: one of the reasons being the plastic models of Chaos it brought us, including the Raptors.

I remember these guys were criticized by part of the community for being too over the top, too ornamental and even too big. Looking back, I don't really get this criticism anymore. Sure, the models have plenty of detail and decoration, but they still look so much more grim than the new, supersized, comics-like Chaos models we are getting now (I'm looking at Death Guard, of course). If only Games Workshop would have given us more models with this look - especially the basic Chaos Marines and the Berzerkers, who are both atrociously old and unfortunately, will probably get replaced with Primaris-sized monstrosities.

Anyway, let's get back to Raptors. As my The Pyre warband uses only flame and melta-based weapons, they are an ideal unit for me. I've decided to equip this squad with anti-tank weapons, and went with a Power Fist on my Champion. The specialists were equipped with Meltaguns - one of them comes from a loyalist kit.

I had real fun both assembling and painting these guys, and have even more seeing them on tabletop. I really hope Games Workshop have not lost their minds and will supply us with more "regular" Space Marine and (especially) Chaos Space Marine models, although I fear we are really going to only see Primaris-sized models since now on. I hate to sound jaded, but this really feels like a stab in the back for a long-time fan and customer. Bah, maybe it's time for me to finally write an Anti-Primaris Manifesto or something.

The Pyre Hellbrute

It took forever and a year, but I have finally finished my Dark Vengeance Hellbrute - another addition to my starting The Pyre warband. Behold!

I absolutely love the design of this thing. From the horns to the sprouting tentacles, the Hellbrute is the epitome of Chaos as a malevolent, ever-changing force. While it's perhaps not suitable to some of the more conservative Chaos legions, it works pretty well for most warbands, and for a snap-fit model included in a starter set box, the level of detail is pretty much incredible.

Regarding the paintjob, I've based the thing white and used Troll Slayer Orange for the armour plates and Warplock Bronze for the armour edges. I decided to go with red color on the daemonic flesh and used Mephiston Red with Bloodletter highlights - I'm very happy on how the glaze made the organic parts stand out, especially in the chest area. The wet look of the tentacles has been done using Gloss varnish.

It's no big secret that the back side of this miniature is not as well-detailed as the front, especially when it comes to the huge blobs of flesh around the spine - which is, in my opinion, a very cool part of the model and at least works well as a distraction from the less detailed parts.

I haven't modified the miniature much, though one thing I really wanted to do was to add a Heavy flamer to its arm - after all, what screams The Pyre more than a Dreadnought armed with two fire-based weapons? I went with a rather simple conversion - after cutting away the chains under the left arm, I've glued on an imperial guard vehicle heavy flamer and covered it with tubes made of green stuff to give it a fused look. The result looks pretty good and works great for barbecue.

Basing has been done in the same style as the rest of my The Pyre warband - as scorched earth, though at first it seemed a little boring, so I've added a dead marine under the creature's feet (and to taunt a friend, I've chosen a Dark Angel for the victim). I really like these weird mutated feet by the way - they help to enforce the overall "living metal" feel of the miniature. I know I'm in the minority here, but I really wish these would have been kept in the Hellbrute box as an option... oh well.

One final thought - I really wish this miniature had Monstrous Creature rules instead of Walker. Afterall, it's apparently much more organic than a Dreadnought suit, and a change to MC could make an insteresting spin on the classic Dreadnought rules. However, for some odd reasons, in 40K Aliens-style walker suits and Eldar giant mecha get MC rules, while this does not. That's just classic Games Workshop game design.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

The Pyre Chaos Lord

Finally, my Chaos Lord from the Dark Vengeance is finished - therefore, let me introduce you to the mighty Lord of the Pyre warband, Drachen the Balefire!*

 This was actually my first CSM model I started painting, which was not a good idea; the model is quite dark since I used black primer, while white would be much better option for all the orange and red parts. The model is also quite dark because of quite extensive use of Abbaddon Black with Warplock Bronze on the armour; still, I think it turned out quite well and contrasting.

I was thinking about converting the model a bit, but in the end I decided against it, since it is not only beautiful, but the plasma pistol also fits nicely to the fire-theme of the warband. My favorite part about the model is the sword - which would really deserve better rules than just being a simple Power Sword, but oh well. I tried to make a "hot" red glowing effect to its edge. Similar technique (though with much more drybrushing) was applied to the Plasma Pistol's coil.

The backpack is just another great detail about this model - one can only wish that one day, we will see ordinary Chaos Space Marines kit of this quality and style without going over the top. Unfortunately, I was taking the pictures with a weak flash and the red color made a glossy effect - luckily enough, this is not present on the real model.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the article! As always, comments and criticism are most welcome.

* In case anyone wonders, I just made the name up while writing this article.

The Pyre Berzerker (Test Model)

These holidays, the Chaos Gods blessed me with a squad of Khorne Berzerkers - a very pleasant surprise to me, as the warband I started working on, The Pyre, is dedicated to Chaos Undivided. While The Pyre is flame-themed warband, I'm sure a squad of Berzerkers will find their place in the force - especially since the orange/black color scheme of The Pyre goes very well with Khorne. 

Above is a test model of The Pyre color scheme - the armour is Troll Slayer Orange, the trims are painted with a mix of Abbadon Black and Warplock Bronze, weapons and armour details are Brass Scorpion. The orange was coated with Carroburg Crimson and the rest with Nuln Oil. For primer, I have used Vallejo White Primer. The skull helm was painted with Brass Scorpion, because, to be honest, I can't stand the usual look it has - but with a metallic color it really goes from a comical look to an intimidating one.

 The ashes on ground were done in the same way I did them on the Dark Vengeance Cultists - painting the debris with XV-88, washing it with Nuln Oil and then drybrushing with Abbadon Black, Administratum Grey and Ceramite White. Altogether, I am very satisfied with the resulting result and think the squad will look good when finished. One thing I have to think about now is how to paint the warband's symbol (which is actually unknown). I was thinking of a flaming skull.

Anyway, hope you like the color scheme as well! Ow, and happy new year 2015! Lastly, I would like to thank my dear Bookie for taking the pictures while I'm away from home!

The Pyre Cultists

Gak, is it December already? I've moved to another country due to a student exchange, which means two things - first, time passes way too quickly, and second, I couldn't work on anything hobby-related for last three months! Hopefully, the Hobby Gods will forgive me. Luckily enough, I got some pictures with me here!

 

I've been thinking for quite some time about what warband to choose for my Dark Vengeance Chaos Space Marines. In the end, I was choosing between the Thousand Sons, Iron Warriors, The Cleave and The Pyre. I skipped the Thousand Sons due to the fact that Dark Vengeance models would need extensive conversions to make them pass; the same with the Iron Warriors. The ever-oozing Cleave are fascinating and would not require so much conversion work, but I always prefered all the other Chaos Gods over Nurgle - so in the end, I want with The Pyre - the orange-colored warband specialized in flame weaponry, slightly reminiscient of a perversed version of the Inquisition. I appreciate the fact that it is Chaos Undivided, and I find the image of a solitary, mysterious sect of Chaos Marines setting whole worlds on fire enthralling.

"The Pyre warband is known to favour short-range combat, especially in urban environments. While capable in melee situations and extended range engagements, their devotion to flame weapons often dictates their tactics. They generally eschew assault and fire support elements. Rather, they focus on movement through cover until they can attack with eldritch fire."

"The Pyre's forces have played prominent roles in several actions, particularly in the Vanity system. Oddly, though, no higher ranking members of this warband have been positively identified. Instead, these traitors have been seen in the company of Warp creatures and the Stigmartus. Also of note is that Pyre units have not been observed working directly with Chaos Space Marines of other warbands." - Lexicanum

Discovering the connection between The Pyre and a militant Chaos Cult called the Stigmartus was a pleasant surprise to me. Therefore, I've tried to paint the Cultists as being connected to these two organizations at the same time - by having the blood marks of Stigmartus and the color scheme more akin to The Pyre, to make them look coherent on the table. In the end, I went with dark brown uniforms with black gasmasks and Troll Slayer Orange or Mephiston Red clothes. Weapons were painted with Brass Scorpion mostly to give a more "unclean" look compared to imperial forces.

A model I particularly enjoyed to paint was the Cultist leader, broadly known as "that Chaos Commissar guy". While I love the model, I absolutely hate the crazy-haired-Hannibal-Lecter head he normally comes with, so I have taken that one out and replaced it with a gasmask head that can be found in the Dark Vengeance sprues as a base decoration. Since the head is missing half of its gas mask, I've wanted to make it look as if half of the mask got scorched by a flamer - something that I didn't exactly achieve in the end, but I still find the way the model looks more serious and satisfying than if I wouldn't do the conversion.

The Cultist I love the most is the one holding a flamer, though. The bulky body, the ready-to-burn stance and the Cultist mask is a menacing combination - welldone on that one, Games Workshop designers! Something about this guy just screams "butcher" to me, so maybe I will try to convert the other one as a white-coated axe-holder. Actually, I would like to convert each of the duplicate models (I hate clones!) with either some kitbashing, or even some neat green stuff mutations. The Chosen Marines are a priority now, though.

I've tried to make the bases thematic, so I went with a "scorched earth" look by drybrushing different shades of grey and white. My idea is that the unit is slowly proceding through some heavy terrain - a forest perhaps - and leaving nothing but ash behind.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed these! I'll try to make another update soon - got pictures of an Alaitoc War Walker hidden somewhere in my computer...