What is one to do when one finds oneself in a situation that even a berserk, Khorne-worshipping space marine cannot fix? Why throw an Ogren berserker at it instead of course! Cashing in on my current Khorne-fever I decided to extract this angry young man from the shelf of shame where he had been lingering in dusty ignominy since I first assembled him way back in March last year.
I should probably be more modest but – damn, I’m proud of that blood stained effect!
One thing that does concern me is the aquila brand on his shoulder. On the model it’s not particularly noticeable now (or so I believed) and I’d thought a quick bit of filing had as good as obliterated it. However the photographs have shown it as being rather obvious and now I’ve seen it I can’t unsee it. I suspect in the near future he’ll have a quick trip back to the painting desk for a touch up – I think I’ll try to turn it into a faded tattoo, perhaps with a scar through it, but any alternative suggestions are very welcome.
The Siege of Vrax books described Ogren Berserkers as being ‘created’ from Ogren slaves through lobotomy and the installation of drug injectors which deliver a cocktail of combat stimulators immediately prior to the poor creature being unleashed in the general direction of the enemy. For my Ogren however I decided to take a rather different path. His higher brain functions (such as they are – he is an Ogren after all) remain unimpaired. Personally I think he just likes smashing things.
Ogrens are noted for their loyalty, particularly to their friends rather than to some obscure and distant concept like the Imperium. Should the humans that feed and house it turn to the worship of the ruinous powers so the Ogren will too. Indeed the small minds of these abhumans, it is often noted, are ‘easily filled with faith’ and given their disinterest in over-thinking things I have no doubt that they can be quite easily convinced to kill for Khorne rather than the Emperor, if that’s what their friends think is best.
Convert or Die 
July 30th, 2016 at 3:22 am
Great model and I was actually going to suggest a faded tattoo, or a scarred tattoo. Maximus style.Hes a brute. Love him. On a side note have you seen the new Beastclaw faction from GW? Thoughts?
August 1st, 2016 at 11:45 am
Cheers mate! Yeah, I’ve had a nosy at the Beastclaws. Glad to see they’ve survived into AoS, I think a lot of people feared they’d go the way of the Tomb Kings and Bretonians. Haven’t totalled up the numbers myself but from what I’ve heard the Icewind Assault box is a real bargain which is a nice move on GW’s part, a lot of the bundles they were doing in the past weren’t that great of a deal. As for the models themselves I really like the Thundertusk and Mournfangs. The hunter is rather nice as well in spite of his age, although the Yetis and the Sabertooths look like they came off the ark (in fact the sabertooth models are so old that many archaeologists believe they are the inspiration for the real sabertooth cats and not the other way round). New plastic Yetis would have made me a very happy man indeed (think of the crazy Chaos Wulfen you could make with those badboys!).
Someday, I plan to use the Thundertusk and replace the Ogres with a howdah (ala the Ork squiggoth) – either for Space Wolves or Dwarves. Just need to shake off the insidious influence of Chaos for a few days and get on with it…
August 1st, 2016 at 12:41 pm
The Thundertusk is my favourite too although I prefer the name thunderstruck!
August 1st, 2016 at 7:25 pm
That’s because it’s one hell of a tune! My friend’s son plays a lot of AC/DC on the guitar, saw him busking today and he was absolutely shredding it. Especially impressive given that he’s only 9!
August 1st, 2016 at 11:41 pm
Wow that is impressive. I saw the band a few years back and they are the loudest I’ve ever heard. I’m sure my ears are still ringing from that gig haha.
July 30th, 2016 at 6:37 am
Looking really brutal. The skin colour is ace. Love it. If you want the Aquila gone, just carve it and use GS or Liquid GS to fill it. I guess it is pretty shallow so you could maybe apply some Typhus Corrosion on it and once dried just paint over it giving the skin a scarred appearance.
August 1st, 2016 at 10:14 am
I’ve spent a good chunk of the weekend pondering the question of the tattoo and I’ve decided for the moment to leave it alone. On the model it’s really hard to see, it just happens that the light has caught it in the picture and made it seem more obvious which led me to start worrying over it. Good idea re the Tiphus Corrosion – I’ve never considered using that to make scars before but it’s a great suggestion, will have to try it out somewhere.
July 30th, 2016 at 7:27 am
Brutal! He’s really cool 🙂
Personally, I wouldn’t worry about the tat – it already looks faded enough imo… That said, I really like Thomas’ suggestions.
August 1st, 2016 at 10:18 am
Cheers! Yup, for now I’ve decided that the tat stays – it’s pretty hard to make out on the actual model. Cheers for the original encouragement to make the model in the first place BTW (I believe I was planning to concentrate on something else until you said ‘do it’ or words to that effect and my resolve crumbled!)
July 30th, 2016 at 10:34 pm
Great work! I say leave the tattoo. Once his buddies turned to chaos they did a not perfect job of removing the brand of the false carrion emperor. I think its a nice reminder of their heresy.
August 1st, 2016 at 11:12 am
That’s true – I want it to be clear that the majority of my traitor guard were once loyal Imperial troops who’ve been lured to the service of the gods, rather than part of a chaos worshipping ‘civilisation’ from birth. From that angle the tattoo helps reinforce that narrative. However it does still remind me somewhat of aquilas showing up on Chaos marines. I know that’s something I’ve done myself many times, it can look very good and it’s well established even in the official cannon of fiction but it’s still overused and when done thoughtlessly it can look pretty lazy so I’m always cautious about it.
August 4th, 2016 at 2:03 am
I’ve come back for another look. Really like this one mate.
August 4th, 2016 at 6:27 am
Cheers mate! Must confess I’m rather proud of him myself 🙂
June 1st, 2018 at 8:33 am
He looks great. Even the faded Aquila brand gives him a built-in backstory, (and helps tie him in with a more modern Necro17 use). Not sure if you need to repaint his flesh. The newer one does look a lot brighter and smoother. You could just give it a wash to enhance the richness, or just leave it be, since different skin tones work well as an option. If I were to offer any suggestions in terms of touching-up, it would be to differentiate the beard more from the rest of his skin.
June 2nd, 2018 at 10:23 am
Yeah, I think a bit of a touch up on the skin may be all he needs, I’m still pretty happy with the rest of him (excepting the beard of course, you’re right, that does need something to bring it out a little. Imagine the life of the poor servitor or cultist whose job it is to braid those bones into it!)
June 3rd, 2018 at 8:33 am
Well, it it makes him feel pretty, I’m sure he’s really sweet when it’s happening.