Since I started working on my Khornate warband for Age of Sigmar one of the units I’ve been most keen to include has been a Wrathmonger. Released back at the tail end of old-Warhammer as part of the chaos horde that finally put paid to the Old World the Wrathmongers set proved to be one of those kits which the various chaos ranges sometimes throw up, and which are in my opinion both a blessing and a curse for fans. A blessing because in the sheer range of parts lie the seeds of a thousand conversions, a curse because the models built out of the box tend to be lumpen and weird-looking, and not in the way that a chaos enthusiast might hope. For my money the Chaos Spawn and Forsaken are other classic examples of this and although the Wrathmongers are somewhat better than these they still fall a long way short of the Blightkings, who were released shortly before and proved to be life changing for Nurgle fans, and the Blood Warriors who came later as AoS burst upon our shores, and did everything and more which the Wrathmongers had promised, yet failed to deliver.
When they were first released I decided to snap-up a box, something of a guilty impulse purchase as I don’t believe I ever had the slightest intention of painting them, although plenty of bits have since found their way into various conversions – and undoubtedly will continue to do so. Thus this warband seemed like a perfect opportunity to go back to the Wrathmongers try to create something closer to my vision of them, something more akin to the bestial, savages I would have preferred, a creature which – although clearly once a man, has been reshaped by Khorne into a form more pleasing to the Blood God and better able to carry out his murderous will.
I’ve been feeling really enthused about all things Khorne lately, and I wanted to bulk up the warband a little further, so whilst I was about it I also painted up this Blood Warrior. I also reckon that he qualifies for Azazel’s Armoured April challenge given that, unlike the Wrathmonger who’s happy to go to war in only his shorts, this gentleman has at least taken the time to get properly dressed before battle.
And in honour of the other part of Azazel’s challenge, “Army April”, here are a few gratuitous group shots and atmospheric images of the Blood God’s followers ready to go on the rampage.
Skulls for the Skull Throne and all that!
April 15th, 2019 at 7:49 am
Cool – I do like that dog-faced head mate, that warband is looking pretty darn good!
April 15th, 2019 at 6:13 pm
Thanks man 🙂
I’ve been looking for an excuse to use that dog-faced head for ages, I’m glad I held off though because I think this is finally the perfect model for it (although I might have another in the bits box, and if I do I think I’ll use it for a – loyalist, not chaotic – space wolf).
How are things going with your Daughters of Khaine? Still working away in the background or is everything focussed on the Wolf Time for now?
April 16th, 2019 at 7:58 am
Yeah, I think it would work well for a Wulfen 😉
DoK on hold for the time being mate – BOYL is not long now, and I’ve got tons left to do…
April 15th, 2019 at 9:48 pm
Great group shots. With all due respect, you know I’m a big fan of your work, but the beastial wrathmonger isn’t quite ticking the box for me. I like the head but not too sure about the figure overall. I imagine it would have been difficult to get the pose right with those chained hammers swinging around so kudos for getting it done though.
April 16th, 2019 at 5:14 am
*sniff* you… don’t like it..? 😭
Nah, it’s a fair point, getting the pose to work with those chain hammers was always going to be a near thing (I had to keep him disassembled to paint so although I did a lot of dryfitting it was a bit of a heart in the mouth moment when it finally came time to glue him). Ultimately getting any pose to work with chain-hammers flying around opens up a whole load of challenges and although I think I managed this one to my satisfaction it’s certainly not perfect, or going to appeal to everyone 🙂
April 16th, 2019 at 6:27 am
I felt bad to say it haha but it’s better be honest. I can see the challenge of it.
April 16th, 2019 at 6:37 pm
Absolutely 🙂 Criticism has to be honest, otherwise compliments become just sycophancy – and I always want honest feedback.
April 17th, 2019 at 4:55 am
Well said and ditto 👍🏼
April 16th, 2019 at 12:36 am
They look great- a hefty looking group of lads….
Cheers,
Pete.
April 16th, 2019 at 6:38 pm
Cheers Pete – yeah, I reckon they’ve been working out 🙂
April 16th, 2019 at 6:11 am
Yeah, the Chain Flails look a bit awkward, but, well, they *would* be a ludicrously awkward weapon, and the only truly realistic pose would be to have the dude all wrapped up in his own chains and sporting some serious bruises, and probably a few broken bones 😉
But yeah, the head and body you’ve used there are great, and it does a really good job of conveying the general aesthetic. As you say, rather better than the actual Wrathmongers, who tend to look more like dancers or cheerleaders or something.
The other dude. Um, OK, it’s probably just that I’m in the middle of moving, and building IKEA furniture and stuff, but the different metallics on his head make him look a bit like he could put different icons in there, and then stick them in place with with the spikes out the sides.
April 16th, 2019 at 6:51 pm
Ha! I want to build that guy now! Should be pretty straightforward, just make a big sausage of greenstuff, stick a Khornate helmet on the top, wrap it in chains and have the ends of the hammers hanging off. Bung in a goblin fanatic laughing at him and you’d have a fine, if silly, Golden Daemon duel entry 😀 Mind you I’m also tempted to turn the official wrathmongers into cheerleaders for a chaos blood bowl team so maybe the paint fumes are getting to me 😉
April 19th, 2019 at 6:48 pm
Great stuff mate, love the group shots, most impressive.
April 19th, 2019 at 7:45 pm
Thank you – they were a lot of fun to set up actually, will try to do more like that in the future.
June 28th, 2019 at 4:14 am
[…] also completed this heavily iron-looking Khorne Blood Warrior as part of Armoured […]