Swaggering off the painting desk like the beautiful bastard he is, here’s a Myrmidesh Painbringer, a prideful and hedonistic warrior of Slaanesh.
I’ve been saying that Slaanesh needed mortal infantry for a very long time so I was absolutely delighted when these were released back in the spring. He was great fun to paint as well – and I feel like I’m finally, after all these years, getting the hang of gold.
Alright 2020, let’s get this party started!
Scream for me Cicatrix Maledictum! I got this amazingly bombastic Noise Marine as a Christmas present to myself back in 2018, got him 90% painted straight away and then ground to a halt, after which he just sat there gathering dust as the months passed. I wasn’t going to let another year pass without getting him finished. He was an absolute joy to paint, I don’t let myself play with gaudy outrageous colour schemes nearly often enough! Insert your best gurning and air-guitar here!
Cast your collective minds back to November and you may recall that hobbyist extraordinaire and soon-to-be bits producer HeresyOfUs was kind enough to send me some of his prototype Daemonic Femmes for me to turn my converting obsession upon. The first model to emerge from the seething pit of my imagination was this Slaaneshi gladiator and part time Daemonic Herald.
Fast forward a month or so to today and here she is, fully painted and ready to show Khornate berserkers and Dark Eldar alike who really rules the arenas!
Huge thanks to HeresyOfUs once again – expect to see more twisted creations based on his Femmes coming soon…
If you haven’t already been to check out the blog Heresy of Us then it really is about time you did. Chock full of the kind of grubby, Blanchesque madness that makes 40k great its host takes things up a notch by combining the traditional kitbashing and greenstuff with bespoke components brought to life by the modern wizardry of 3d-printing. Best of all, for those of us less technologically gifted, there is Black Earth.
As producers of additional components for converters go Black Earth is a company so new it’s positively embryonic but given the depths of creativity on show at Heresy of Us expectations are already running high. In time it’s planned for the project to grow into a webstore providing a range of bases and other bits for convertors looking to add a unique spin to their models. One of the first creations to be unveiled have been a set of prototype Demonic Femes (see the image below which shows the figure looking disturbingly like a serial killer’s victim in its unassembled state).
Obviously these are perfect for those who’re looking to convert daemonettes which nod more towards Slaanesh’s aspect as a god of twisted sexuality than the comparatively family friendly models of GW’s recent past. With their outsize, balloon-like breasts and near skeletal thinness they take many of the tropes associated with modern ideas of beauty and stretch them to breaking point. This is where the very worst of body image problems takes us. It works because it isn’t trying to be sexy. If anything its disturbing. Too often those who try to ‘adult-up’ Slaanesh end up with a clumsy attempt at soft-core pornography (and regardless of how exciting one might find the latest plastic kit, or a rediscovered oldhammer classic – if you’re aroused by your toy soldiers you probably have a problem. Sorry it had to be me that told you…). These however circumnavigate such silliness and go straight for being disquieting. Placed firmly in the badlands of the uncanny valley they flaunt their sexual aspects in a way that could never be actually sexy and pricks uncomfortably at our mental programing. Of course depending on how adventurous one wishes to be there’s no need to stick to Slaanesh with a brainstorming session raising ideas that ranged from arco-flagellants and dark eldar to beastwomen and wood elf wardancers. What’s more I’m able to put one of these ideas into practice as Mark, the man behind Heresy of Us, was kind enough to send me one to review.
I knew straight away I didn’t want to just add her to the ranks of my much neglected daemonettes where she would have stood out like a sore thumb (being for one thing a little on the tall side compared to the GW plastics) and which would have failed to do justice to what is after all an almost unique prototype model. Instead I decided to create a daemonic champion, thus giving myself the opportunity to let my hair down and create something suitably strange and ghastly. The result is this Slaaneshi gladiator. Who says the champions of Khorne should rule the fighting pits?
As with any conversion feedback is greatly appreciated. I also strongly advise you to swing by Heresy of Us and take a look at some of the other weird and wonderful creations on show there. At the moment they’re running a promotion to give away some of their new skull stacks (and as everyone who loves the Warhammer universes knows you can never have too many skulls). 
All you have to do is click this link to find their contact details (and get a look at those skulls) then drop them an email and ask nicely and they’ll send you a stack of skulls absolutely free. Best to get on with it though as I’m led to understand that they’ve only got so many to give away and when they’re gone they’re gone. All they ask in return is that you send in a picture of what you use your skulls for, so what are you waiting for – they’re free!
You crept into my bones that night in La Fenice, crept in and changed me forever. All these millennia you have slept whilst I have paced, restless and hungry – first in flesh and then in iron. Others wept and raged as their broken bodies were carried from the battlefields and beaten into unfeeling ironframes. I felt nothing. Since the day I fell free of your possession, since the tide of your control rolled back and left me, a puppet without a master, alone on the cold shore of freedom I have felt nothing! No acts of debauchery, no mutilation of flesh, not the braying of the great horns of battle or the slaughter of brothers and slaves alike has stirred in me the ecstasy you brought before you abandoned me at Terra’s walls. When the First Primarch fell and we fled from the golden walls of the False One’s palace you discarded me and left a hollow in my heart, a cold stone that has never healed or warmed since. What did it matter if I walked the stars as a man, or an ironform, or if I no longer walked at all; when all passion was denied me?
Only now do you creep back in, now that Terra is once more in our sight. What is ten thousand years, after all, to one such as you? Have you even felt the ages of my suffering? You exulted in our master’s glory whilst I was cast aside, spent and forgotten, one of Fulgrim’s chosen yet treated no better than a flesh thrall!
How I hate you! How I love you! Claim my soul! Warp my flesh! Let the horns of war scream out once more!
Well here we have it, my Dreadtober contribution finished at last (although we’re now almost a week into Cheatvember!) Lately I’ve been finding my enthusiasm for painting at a bit of a low, and I know this held me back considerably on this project, as well as draining my interest in all my other schemes as well. Particularly since visiting Warhammer World my imagination has been bursting with new ideas and crazy conversions but the desire to actually apply a paintbrush to any of them has been distinctly lacking. What’s more as the number of unpainted models continued to mount up I felt increasingly guilty about building more without painted the ones I’d already made. In some ways I hoped that Dreadtober would give me a push to actually get on with things, after all there was a deadline to be met and a lot of people who’d notice if I failed. As it turned out it did help but not until the very last moment.
The issue, I came to realise, was not dissimilar to that which felled the Emperor’s Children themselves – and so perhaps it’s fitting that it took a Slaaneshi dreadnaught to make me aware of it. By constantly trying to improve my skills, by striving to make every model better than the last, I’d drained a lot of the pleasure out of painting. Not every model needs to be a golden demon winner – indeed that’s not something I’d consciously aspire to. Art should be organic, both in its creation and its outcomes. In striving for perfection I’d made a rod for my own back. Instead I should have accepted that nothing I could create would ever be truly perfect and just had fun with it. Photography gives us crisp realism, paintings give us brushstrokes. The flaws in live music give it a quality, some might say a soul, that overproduced recordings cannot match. In an age of Hollywood blockbusters theatre has not died. Art needs to live. By setting goals which were unachievable I left myself unable to achieve anything. As a direct result of my determination to produce models which were always better than before I found myself producing things which I was less and less happy with. The more I tried to force myself to improve the more I wanted to take each model and throw it against the wall. Hardly the outcome one wants from a hobby which one intends to be relaxing. Time to change my outlook.
With this in mind I decided to let my hair down a little and just enjoy painting, and what a difference it made. Freed from my self imposed restrictions I took on my Dreadtober challenge with a new gusto. Ultimately we can’t all be Golden Demon winners and shouldn’t aspire to be. We are all craftspeople, all creating little pieces of art in our own style. Too much planning, too much fretting over details, and the process of creating becomes a chore.
For me painting miniatures should be more like sketching, taking an idea and giving it shape without worrying too much over the minutia. I’m not espousing laziness or sloppiness but I am saying that, for me, creativity is more important than perfection – which is why when I go to the Sea of Souls Tzeentch will claim me before Slaanesh does. Ironically the end result of this revelation is a model I’m particularly proud of, indeed – in my opinion – it’s one of the best things I’ve created in a while.
Anyway, enough waffle – you came here for pictures and you shall have them!
The knee-guard is finally re-attached.
All the faces that didn’t work out as I wanted them to for the Warp Amp found a home on the base.
Finally here’s a group shot of all my current Slaaneshi models.
Once again I’d like to offer a huge “thank you” to Joe at Broken Paintbrush for making Dreadtober 2016 a success, and of course congratulations to all the other participants – whether they have a finished model to be proud of or just one that’s still half paint/half aspirations. As usual any comments or feedback are appreciated!
Just a quick update on my DreadTober progress. What passes for daylight at this time of year is playing hell with the camera so I’m struggling to get any pictures that bring out the highlights properly (chalk that one up next to all the other excuses on this project!). As you can see there’s still a way to go with him (and now only a few days to go!) but he’s getting there at least. As usual comments and feedback are appreciated – and don’t forget to take a look at the official Dreadtober page to see what all the other participants are getting up to.
Oh – and pay no mind to that hideous looking green and brass pipe work on the warp amp, that’ll be getting fixed ASAP!
Two weeks into Dreadtober and the conversion of my Slaaneshi sonic dreadnaught is finally complete (barring odds and ends like the shin armour which will be kept separate for painting and added back in later). 
The claw-arm is now looking much better with the inclusion of some cables to anchor it to the rest of the model. 
I’ve also finished off the warp-amp with a few chains to hold it in place (providing some visual consistency with the Nurgle helbrute I built last year). 
With two weeks to go the first layers of paint will be going on soon but in the meantime your thoughts and feedback are very welcome.
Ah, the first Dreadtober update! I had such plans you know! Such things to show you! Alas my grand vision remains unfulfilled. Between work’s cruel yolk and the loving embrace of Grandpappy Nurgle, wrapping his arms around me, blessing me with his gifts and begging me not to leave him for Slaanesh, my progress has been slower than I might have wished.
Now that’s not to say I’ve got nothing to show you, it’s just that I planned to have the model completely assembled and ready for paint already and it’s simply not got there yet. Still, this is one of the most complex conversions I’ve ever attempted, an amalgam of plastic, plasticard, metal, resin and greenstuff so I shall be kind to myself and remind myself that getting this right is the most important thing, and that’s there’s still a lot of month to go.
Still – enough excuses! I have at least managed to get this monster to a stage where it can be tacked together enough that you can get a feel for how it’s going to look on completion, and get your feedback in. 
As you can see there’s still a bit of work to do before he’s ready for paint but progress is being made. The claw arm needs a lot of work before it’s ready to be attached properly and will most likely be raised a little, the tack isn’t strong enough to prevent it drooping under its own weight (insert your own Slaaneshi joke here). There’s also a bit more greenstuff work to do, the base needs done and both shin-guards are coming off so it’s easier to freehand/sculpt/whatever I decide to do with them. Here’s a close up of the arm which as I say still needs a lot of greenstuff before it’s ready to roll. 
And here’s a look at the howling faces on the warp amp. 
There’s also a few ideas which I originally planned for this dread but which are proving unsuitable in practice. Slowly they coalesce at the back of my brain, drawing in scraps of other ideas and generating fresh ones. After all once I’ve made a dreadnaught for Khorne, Nurgle and Slaanesh then poor old Tzeentch is going to be feeling a little left out…
I love Chaos armies with a strong theme to them, built around a particular warband, legion or god. There’s just something amazing about someone picking out a detail of the 40k universe and pursuing it to such depth and with such dedication. That isn’t me though. I’ve got a butterfly mind, shackled to the attention span of a particularly lacklustre goldfish and a banker’s covetousness, rolled together to create a weird chimerical beast with brushes for hands and madness in its heart. Chaos Marines? Yes please! Daemons? Sure, why not! Daemon engines? Sign me up! Traitor guard? Sure thing (more on them soon)! Khorne? Nurgle? Tzeentch? Absolutely! Slaanesh? Why that’s what this post is about!
Thus, although I’ve got various Khornate and Nurgly projects to work on, here I am face to face with She-Who-Thirsts (but not working on my Noise Marines…). 
I’ve had this guy on my painting desk for a while now but he’s progressed really, really sloooowly. To make the model I had to start by decapitating a Beastmen Shaman, something that took a lot of willpower to go through with (picking up a nice new model you’ve just bought and hacking at it with a knife seems to be flirting with disaster in my book). Carving away the neck and the back of the skull from the new head wasn’t particularly pleasant either – it’s a nice component which I’d considered for various projects before settling on using it for Yegg-ha and I didn’t want to stall the project which I waited for a replacement. I’ll admit to being quite impatient – things like that have killed my enthusiasm for several projects in the past.I’ve had this guy on my painting desk for a while now but he’s progressed really, really sloooowly. To make the model I had to start by decapitating a Beastmen Shaman, something that took a lot of willpower to go through with (picking up a nice new model you’ve just bought and hacking at it with a knife seems to be flirting with disaster in my book). Carving away the neck and the back of the skull from the new head wasn’t particularly pleasant either – it’s a nice component which I’d considered for various projects before settling on using it for Yegg-ha and I didn’t want to stall the project which I waited for a replacement. I’ll admit to being quite impatient – things like that have killed my enthusiasm for several projects in the past.
I imagine a huge chamber at heart of Kell’s flagship, the Blood Eagle, a hanger cleared out and transformed into a warped garden. At its heart stands a cathedral to Chaos within which the Sorcerers and Dark Apostles of the Beasts of Ruin summon daemons. The garden itself is left tainted, the children of all four gods roosting amid the contorted architecture and fighting petty wars over this strange space, a microcosm of the Great Game. Currently command of the Dark Prince’s forces goes to Yegg-ha, Herald of Slaanesh and self declared Lord of the Woods.
What do you mean that’s not enough for you? You’re greedy you are, greedy! Luckily Slaanesh loves you for your avarice so here’s three of Yegg-ha’s ladies to join the party (don’t say I’m not good to you!)
And last of all a little group shot!
And there we have it. As you should know by now it’ll be something totally different next week!
After all the Nurgle in the last post I reckon it’s time for a little break from the bells and bowels (but don’t worry there’s more on the way – my pact with the God of Life and Death remains strong!). In the meantime though, here’s a model that’s been sitting on my painting desk for far too long waiting for me to get around to finishing him off. 
I’ve always wanted my Black Crusade to take in the supporters of all four gods, yet up to this point I’ve ended up with a primarily Nurgly/Khornate force (plus a large undivided contingent). Mostly this is because Nurgle and Khorne have some unbelievably amazing models whilst Slaanesh and Tzeentch are a little lacking. This isn’t to repeat the rants that many people have had already about this imbalance, rather I see the treatment of Khorne and Nurgle as a positive sign and hope that someday we’ll see their brother gods fleshed out in the same way. In the meantime though I’ve found myself making several abortive attempts to add some converted Noise Marines to my collection in the stead of the lacklustre official models. This chap, however, represents the first time I’ve actually been happy with the result. 
When making the rest of the squad I’m not sure if I’ll continue using the Dark Eldar torsos – although I’m pleased with the result it took a lot of fiddling around with greenstuff to cover the gaps that resulted from the slimness of his torso compared to the larger space marine parts. Again as I’ve got various other projects on my desk at the moment I won’t be doing anything with them for a while so I’ve got plenty of time to think about it. 
Having finished the Noise Marine I thought I’d take the opportunity to show off this chap as well (although how much he deserves to be ‘shown off’ is debatable). He’s an early conversion from a time when my untamed imagination rather overreached my meagre skill and the result, although containing (in my opinion) some gems, rather fell short. I’ve picked him up a few times over the years, tweaking him here and there to make improvements but I doubt he’ll ever form a part of the finished Noise Marine squad. Take a look: 
I’m still quite pleased with the blastmaster and the head (a fairly new addition replacing the frankly awful old one), but somehow it doesn’t quite work as a cohesive whole. Never mind, I’m fond of him all the same. 
Anyway, as usual any comments on how I could improve things for the rest of the squad are more than welcome in the box below (but don’t give me abuse – as a new convert of Slaanesh I’ll only enjoy it!) More Nurgly guts soon!
Convert or Die 