Demon Ecology

Now when the current version of the Chaos Space Marine 'Dex came out, I can honestly say I was a little bummed... about the treatment to the demons.  But, I took the opportunity to try and think of something the would be a unique generic demon.  There is no model for generic demons, and I did not want to just use boxes of Bloodletters and/or Daemonettes to use as my demons.  So why not combine them?

Take a standard Bloodletter body and head, clip the horn down to make them shorter, maybe gouge them a bit with a blade for damage.  Lop off the hands and replace them with Daemonette claws, the real pain here was to actually pin and green stuff the wrist.  I did that on the first 8, I decided to cut corners on the next 16 (yes I run 24 Lesser Demons in my list!) and now the claws on some models are popping off... as you can see from above.  The hunched over posture works well the claws, I think it is an effective but simple conversion.

But this was all for just the Lesser Demons in my Word Bearer force.  For the Greater Demon, it had to special and look like an evolutionary jump from the Lessers.  So after some thinking I came up with this...

It's just a standard Keeper of Secrets model, put the claws where the hands would go and use Chaos Spawn arms for the lower limbs.  I'm really happy with the way this model turned out and can't wait to start throwing color on it.  However the really large claws may need to go, or I may just need to carefully shorten the forearms a bit and replace the huge claws with the merely large Spawn claws... haven't decided yet.  Anyone have any thoughts on this?

But this idea of ecology for my demons is not stopping with physical traits, I wanted to try and use this thought process for the colors as well.  Since the the main color for my force is red, I'm going to try and go with a contrasting color for the demons.  Now, before anyone screams Christmas Chaos!!... I'm going to use the accent blue on my Word Bearers as the main color for my demons.  This way the colors are all there and my palette doesn't shift too much.  

However working larger areas of flesh will be a new painting experience for me... I can do armor, or bare arms and heads... but entire bodies are a little intimidating.  also I'll be using reference to have an idea of how these guys will look so I don't go too crazy painting them.  I think I found the perfect references..

 Something like this for the Lessers...

 Perhaps something like this for the Greater...

The Lesser's scheme is basic enough to be done in batches but vary each one.  The Greater's scheme can follow along the Lessers and reinforce that evolutionary feeling I'm going for.  So... too much thinking or just enough.  Do you guys take lengthy steps to make sure your force is unique on the table top?  Do you  go through and convert every model, even plain old headswaps count here.  Or is the stock model enough cause you just want to play the game more?  Lemme know what you guys think.

Take care all, 

Grim

All that glitters

Ok now for the silver recipe that I use for my Word Bearers.

1. Black undercoat
2. GW Chainmail base coat
3. Wash with thinned Gryphonne Sepia, allow to dry fully.
4. Wash with thinned Badab Black in any recesses that you think need more depth, allow to dry fully.
5. First highlight of Chainmail along the edges.
6. Final highlight of Mithril Silver on the highest edges/points to really make it gleam.  This highlight is used sparingly... don't make it too bright.

So again, a little more involved.  However, the result lends itself well to a mid-tarnished silver that hasn't turned completely black.

Next up will be a preview of my Greater and Lesser Demons.  The demons are one of the  reasons I started to make a Word Bearers force in the first place.  The whole idea of intergalactic death machines using inter-dimensional death machines was completely insane and awesome.

Take care,

Grim

Finally at long last...

So after much starting and stopping and still not all the way finished here is the first ... mostly.. completed squad of Word Bearers.

The Bolter/Special weapons guys... the Special weapons will be pinned on the grip hand, that way they can be swapped out for whatever load out I need.

Now for Assault load out, I know it doesn't make any difference game wise but I like to mix up the load out for my CSM visually so I can remember what everyone has.

And finally the Champion and Icon bearer...

These photos turned out better than the last batch.  Lighting seems to be my biggest problem for taking decent photos... it always seems too yellow.  So I have it narrowed down to the lighting, or the backdrop, or both.  So the next batch of pictures should be better than this batch.

My crazy red recipe...
So this red is a little labor intensive but has given me results I really like. This red took several tries till it felt right to me, everything up until this point was either too dark/maroon-ish or just too garishly bright.

1. Black undercoat
2. 2 thin coats of Scab Red(GW, these are the paints I am currently using but I am starting to branch out into other paint manufacturers), this will give you a solid base coat.
3. A wash of thinned Devlan Mud, leave to dry fully.
4. First highlight of pure Scab Red, make sure to leave the darkest color in the recesses.
5. Second highlight of 50/50 Scab Red and Blood Red, make sure to leave some of the Scab Red showing
6. Third highlight of pure Blood red on the edges of the armor.
7. Final wash of Baal Red, slightly thinned... just enough so it doesn't dry shiny, this will pull the highlights together and smooth out the transitions.

Yes, this is a very time consuming process, but can be executed well if planned out.  For example had if I had my second CSM squad de-flashed and primed I could have been base coating them while the washes where drying on the first squad.  There is always something to do when getting an army ready and not all of it takes a huge amount of time to do.  So even if you have little time to paint, if you plan it out you can do a lot in a small amount of time.  The important thing is to find a style that suits you and your goals.

*March seems to be my month, expect this squad done and maybe some demon color tests sometime after next week*


Hope you all enjoy!!

Grim

p.s. Does anyone have any tips for tank painting?!

This is not a test

So last week went really well.  It turned into a painting week, and I almost got a squad of Word Bearers complete!! For me this a major achievement I am a really slow painter... maybe not slow but my process is time consuming.  However the results are good, hope you all will think so as well.  Pictures to follow soon-ish... need to pick up my minis from my buddy's house before he leaves for Scotland next week.

Also I will be posting the recipes for the red and silver of my Word Bearers when I post the pictures.

Grim

Some time on the horizon.

So it's now March.  Seems like only a little while ago it was the first of the year.  Anyway, with the beginning of the new month there is some serious free time coming.  I'm planning for it anyway.

My good friend has a week off next week, so it'll be going over to his place to prime and paint while he finishes building and painting his Necrons, and to get a few games in.  Need to get some practice with the camera in so expect some army shots and units you haven't seen yet like the Greater and Lesser Demons.

Take care and I'll talk to you later,

Grim