Bloodmaster of Khorne

The Bloodmaster (Game’s Workshop’s fancy new name for the – admittedly rather dull sounding – Herald of Khorne on foot) is one of my favourite models from the Khorne range. To use a phrase that will be very familiar to all my regular readers by now it’s one that (say it with me) I’ve been meaning to get around to for ages, so the other night I cleared my schedule and my desk and cracked on with it.

Not much more to be said really – he’s a very angry daemon and he’s ready to carve up all of the Blood God’s enemies which, at the last count, was everybody.

War Eternal – Part 10

It’s been a while since I added anything to my Khorne warband but I still love the bloodthirsty bastards and at long last I’ve managed to arrange some new recruits. First of all have this Blood Reaver equipped with a mighty axe with which to hew skulls for the Blood God. 

Now if you thought that was a massive axe you ain’t seen nothing yet – this Blood Warrior takes things even further with this suitably OTT weapon. I hear his rivals have really been loosing their heads over it! 

These aren’t the only Khornate savages I’ve got on the desk either but the others will have to wait for another day! 

War Eternal – Part 9

You may recall that during the summer of 2019 I chipped away at an Age of Sigmar skirmish warband dedicated to the Blood God Khorne. By the time I wrapped up the project I’d painted seven bloodreavers and if I’m honest I was never very comfortable leaving them there. The holy number of Khorne is eight and so leaving the squad on just seven members seemed like foolishness and guaranteed to bring down the ire of the war god upon my luckless head. However painting one bloodreaver seemed equally daft when I could paint three and round out a squad of ten.

Here’s the three new boys ready to start rampaging with their new mates.

And here’s the whole squad ready to reap skulls for their god’s famously uncomfortable chair.

Once again I’m not sure when I’m going to get back to this project but I do have more ideas, it’s really just a matter of time…

War Eternal – Part 8

As promised when I showed the flesh hound I decided to round out my Khornate warband – for now – with a small group of kill-crazy barbarian cannibals in the form of these three bloodreavers.  They’ve been knocking around since the release of AoS First Edition and this project was the perfect opportunity to get them done.

Together the three of them make-up another contribution to Azazel’s Squaddie September challenge – which calls for participants to paint at least three members of a squad or unit.

What’s more I’ve started to gather a proper little band of cannibal savages. With the group now seven strong I’m finding myself tempted to dig around in the various boxes of miniatures I’ve acquired and see if I can find some more – I know they’re lurking somewhere! It shouldn’t be hard to get the squad up to ten members, or perhaps even extend it further still…

With the addition of these recruits the warband has now reached the 250 Power target originally set for it and as a result I’m willing to call it “complete” for now. It looks like a much bigger group than I initially expected, but that’s mostly down to having four more bloodreavers in the ranks than I’d planned for. A big thank you is owed to Alex of Leadballoony, who first set out the criteria to which I adhered in putting the group together. If anyone else is thinking of trying out AoS Skirmish, particularly as part of a group of friends, I strongly recommend you give his suggested method a look.

For me all this has really focused my enthusiasm for the blood god. For one thing there are plenty of daemons that I’d like to paint which would fit in just as neatly alongside the barbarian hordes of the Mortal Realms as they would next to the power-armoured killers of the 41st millennium. Plus, as mentioned above, I also have at least some of the Khornate half of the AoS First Edition starter set sitting around somewhere. Who knows – this could be the first step towards a warlike horde!

War Eternal – Part 7

When I first planned out my little Khornate warband I planned to include a pair of flesh hounds. At the time they’d not long been released and a new models outdid their predecessors with ease. As I was planning to paint up a pack anyway what better opportunity to get started on them than this? However because I’ve been concentrating on other aspects of the warband it’s taken a while to actually get started on the hounds but at last the first one is ready to hunt.

Readers with a head or maths will have noticed that despite my references to flesh hounds (plural) I’ve only actually painted one. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly I used this model to test out some adjustments to my standard daemonic paint scheme. Although I’m very pleased with the results I wasn’t really feeling the urge to replicate it straight away. Secondly I’ve discovered a small group of bloodreavers which I’d assembled, undercoated and then forgot about. Rather than allow them to slip back into the unpainted pile this seems like a fine opportunity to get them wrapped up too so I think I’ll take it easy when it comes to painting daemonic dogs and take a crack at these barbarians next instead.

War Eternal – Part 6

With Warcry very much the word on everyone’s lips right now it’s easy to assume that good old Age of Sigmar Skirmish has slipped back into the shadows to lurk and lick it’s wounds. However as my growing WHFB Skaven army demonstrates I’m not a man to allow something like that stand in my way – especially given how unlikely it is for me to actually get a game in anyway! Plus I’ve not actually added anything to my little Khornate warband since way back in April so it’s past time they received a little more attention.

First to receive a bit more paint is the warband’s second Blood Warrior – a model that also happens to be one of my favourites from the first edition Age of Sigmar starter set.

I originally planned only these two Blood Warriors for the warband but, given my affinity for the models, it’s safe to assume that there will be more along sooner or later. Who knows, this could be the start of an army?

Alongside these (relatively) human followers of the Blood God we have the beastmen hinted at in my previous post. I’ve always liked the idea of Chaos forces mixing humans, mutants, daemons and beastmen so was keen to include these two alongside the bloodreavers and blood warriors already in the warband.

The previous model was well on his way to completion when I painted up my Blackstone Fortress beastmen. Working on them gave me a real burst of enthusiasm for all things bestial, which not only proved enough to get him over the line but got me working on this second beastman as well.

And why stop there? Whilst I was about it I also painted up yet another beastman. This one wasn’t originally intended for this warband but I thought he fitted in nicely and as he’s been waiting to be painted for absolutely ages it seemed like a fine excuse to get him done at last.

Although I was very pleased with him when I first built him I’m not blind to his flaws and I’ll admit that my skills have undoubtedly improved since then. I did consider setting him aside for a little more greenstuff work but that would probably have set him back another five years or so and sometimes you’ve just got to call something done.

Also despite being a beastman he’s actually quite a bit shorter than the other gors, being based on a combination of ungor and catachan parts.

However he fits in nicely alongside the bloodreavers already in the warband so he can find a new home amongst them (and with luck that’ll stop the bigger goats from picking on him!)

Of course with so many new recruits joining the warband this seemed like the perfect moment for another group shot.

With these added this little project is now almost complete so in some ways I feel I should knuckle down and get it finished. On the other hand there’s no real hurry and other projects are currently vying for my attention so I may well leave it a little while longer. I still want to add a pair of flesh hounds and whilst I’m relatively happy with colour scheme and style I’ve used for my Khorne daemons in the past I am considering making a few adjustments and perhaps even repainting some of my existing models so whilst I’m considering that I don’t think I’ll rush into anything.

I’m going to be away for a few days so might take a little longer than normal to reply to comments but as ever feedback is more than welcome.

War Eternal – Part 5

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!

War Eternal – Part 4

Time to cleave a few more skulls and run rampant in the Blood Gods name! This weekend sees the release of a new army book for the Blades of Khorne in Age of Sigmar and all the ensuing chatter from GW’s PR department has woken me from my fuge and reminded me that I’ve got a Khornate skirmish warband on the go, and as yet it contains only one model. Time to drum up a few bloodthirsty recruits.

For those new to the project, it’s the brainchild of fellow blogger Alex from Leadballoony, who’s been working on a Daughters of Khaine warband which I highly recommend you take a look at. He set’s out the framework for the project here and, rather than reiterate it all, you can find my thoughts on the matter here.

With that out of the way let’s take a proper look at the latest additions to my band of savages, three bloodreavers. I’ve had these models kicking around since the first edition of Age of Sigmar was released. Short of cash, firmly rooted in the Old World and disinterested in Stormcast Eternals as I was then, I let the box pass me by, although I did end up grabbing the Khornate side on ebay on the grounds that you can always use a few more bloodthirsty maniacs around the house. Alas other projects distracted me and, with no real purpose or plan for them, the angry barbarians were left to gather dust until the January 2019 issue of White Dwarf brought us the rules for AoS Skirmish and a seed of inspiration began to take root in my brain. Digging around in the bottom of a box I extracted the bloodreavers and set to work cutting and clipping them into shape.

Gathered around their leader, this crew of bloodthirsty maniacs take their first steps to becoming a proper warband.

As ever I’m aiming to add something else to the group soon but I’m being fairly relaxed about it so we’ll see what takes my fancy.

War Eternal – Part 3

We are the sons and daughters of Khorne, the shieldbearers of the one true god of Chaos, the sword brothers to His daemonic legions. How weak the cults of the other powers are, how pathetic the foolish schemes in which they ensnare themselves, the plots and counter-plots they use as crutches in place of honest strength. We do not need to beseech our God, or cower behind mewling spell-casters. We are strong, chosen by our God because of it, and respected accordingly. We do not beg him for gifts, or grovel before him like invertebrate creatures, bent backed and frail, whining out an addict’s need for just a little more power.

Ours is a honest bargain. Khorne offers us a portion of his strength because it is our right and we in turn spread slaughter in His name. Let the slothful and needy slaves of lesser gods decry us as crude if they will, we care not. We are closer to the heart of Chaos than they will ever be, and the butcher does not concern himself with the screaming of the sheep. 

– from the philosophies of Skaros the Desolator, Slaughterpriest of the Bloodlords

Well here he is, Skaros the Desolator himself, ready to lead my little warband of Khornate savages into the Mortal Realms.

All too often the followers of Khorne are portrayed as ignorant, thuggish and crude. They care only for bloodshed and become so enamoured with their own rage that they lose all sense and coherence and flail and froth in a killing fury of self-destructive mania.  Personally I prefer them a little more nuanced. Thus I envision my slaughterpriest as a ruthless and methodical killer, powerful and predatory, rather than a maniacal berserker, a thoughtful killer – if no less brutal for all that.

With him painted I have the beginnings of my Khornate warband. I’ll be adding more models to it later in March, although as yet I haven’t decided exactly what. Right now I’m leaning towards getting the bloodreavers done in order to bulk up the warband a little, after all one model doesn’t make an army by itself (unless it’s Nagash of course!), but there’s always the chance I might end up distracted by one of the other possible contenders. As ever, watch this space!

War Eternal – Part 2

Just a quick post today, but I just assembled this angry young man and couldn’t resist taking the chance to show him off.

Inspired by my recent forays into the realm of Khorne I found myself idly perusing the range of followers available to the Blood God’s devotees and stumbled upon the Exalted Deathbringer. The followers of Khorne are blessed with a number of heroes and champions, all themed around the concept of chopping people up – whether that’s praying whilst chopping people up, masterfully chopping people up, being exulted for chopping people up or merely aspiring to chop people up. We even have the Skullgrinder, who isn’t the subject of today’s post, but still merits a mention for having one of the silliest weapon choices outside of a gobbo. Back in the early days of Age Of Sigmar GW’s designers must have realised that the restrictions placed upon them by the Old World were lifted and they could do whatever they liked. Unfortunately this went to their heads somewhat and the result was a man who hits people with an anvil.

Anyway, today we’ll be looking at an Exalted Deathbringer. For those who still struggle to navigate the soup-like naming conventions of the Khornate range, a gory morass of death, blood and skulls in various arrangements like a teenage Thrash Metal band, the Exalted Deathbringer is essentially an old-fashioned champion of Khorne who does pretty much exactly what it says on the tin; he brings death to people and the god of bloodshed has exalted him for it.

It’s worth noting as well that the Exalted Deathbringer has quite the assortment of models to represent them, from the slightly odd looking Impaling Spear version to the impressively imposing Ruinous Axe version. This time, however, we’re looking at the Bloodbite Axe version. Here’s the studio model that first inspired me.

As I looked at him I found myself thinking, somewhat arrogantly, “I could make that” – or at the very least I could make a decent facsimile – out of plastic bits. Truth be told the end result turned out looking rather different to the official piece, but I think it still does a nice job of capturing the look of a hardened, and heavily armoured, barbarian on the lookout for, to quote the official blurb, “worthy foes to butcher”.

Not sure when I’ll find the time to paint him but I’m feeling very inspired about all things Khornate at the moment so I’m sure he’ll find his moment sooner or later.