LIV: Champion Bolter

I took some pictures of this bolter conversion & put together super-quick & easy mini tutorial.

Step 1.) Gather the bits


Step 2.) Chop the bits


Step 3.) Clean the bits


Step 4.) Glue the bits


And now we have ourselves a bolter fit for a champion of chaos! Here is the finished arm in it's new home, getting ready to lead a squad of Chosen into battle.

Green vs Plastic

As I mentioned in a couple of earlier posts, I had GREAT success with Simple Green to strip/clean metal models. Emboldened by this easy victory, I decided to put it to the test on plastic.

I had heard some negative reviews on-line, but I wasn't too keen on the harsh chemical alternatives. My conclusion is that Simple Green works just fine on plastics, IF YOU HAVE A GOOD STIFF BRUSH. I tried scrubbing with a ratty old toothbrush, and it didn't work very well. I switched to scrubbing with a new toothbrush & it made my life soooo much easier; but still I wanted for something with stiffer bristles. I've heard that some people use brushes with metal bristles, but having never tried them myself, I'm a little nervous they may be too harsh and damage my minis. Has anybody tried this with a metal brush? Does anybody know of some sort of middle-ground? What kinda brush would Goldilocks use?

The results you see above are going to work well enough for Nurgle, but I have a friend with some Tau he'd like to repaint, so I still want to improve my plastic mini stripping technique.

Spearhead: Super Heavy

I like the idea of bringing Apoc sized Super Heavies into the regular 40K game. With Nurgle (as far as I know) the options are: Plaguereaper, Contagion & the Plague Tower.



As much as I fancy making a big ol' tanky Plague Tower (and I will one day, I've done sketches)... I'm intrigued by the possibilities of scratch-building a proper 40K looking Contagion (maybe using the Skaven Screaming Bell/ Bretonnian Field Trebuchet kits as a guides for scale).

But... what are the rules for this thing?

LIII: Recommissioned Chaos Warrior

Here's a WIP shot of one of my refurbished OOP metal chaos guys. I think he's going to look quite dashing in his new role as a flamer Plague Marine.

I wasn't looking for this figure specifically, he just came to me via a bits swap, but now that he's mine... he's gonna have to earn his keep! I like the idea of an army growing organically though, especially with Nurgle; the last thing I want is an standard-issue looking army...these are renegades!

Going Green: Results

Simple Green worked great on these old metal models! I had read on-line that it had a really strong smell, but I didn't mind it, (just smelled like Jaggermeister to me). I prefer it by far to some other harsh chemical scent. I kept it on the balcony overnight, so smell wouldn't have been an issue regardless. Brought them in this morning & with just the slightest scrubbing from a ratty ol' toothbrush... the paint just peeled-off like fried chicken skin.

Later this morning I stumbled across this post over on Dark Future Games and in the comments section there's an interesting variety of opinions about weather or not this stuff works on plastic figures. I had a 2nd hand plastic biker laying around, so I'm soaking him in the same jar of Simple Green. I'll leave him in there for two days & see how it comes out.

Going Green

I got some old chaos figures in a bits swap ages ago, figuring "I can always strip 'em later". Well now it's later & this will be my first time trying something like this, but everybody says Simple Green is the best stuff for the job.



I dropped the figures into an old jar, and poured in the Simple Green (undiluted). Now I wait patiently, with my old tooth brush while the 'green does it's magic. I'll check back in on them in the morning & I'll post some pictures after they've had a good scrub. Wish me luck!

LII: If I had a Rocket Launcher...

I'm just 1 rocket launcher shy of completing my Havoc Squad (might have to try the Barter Bucket). I really like how these guys came out, for the most part. The Rocket Launcher guys looked a little crowded with chaos backpacks, so used loyalist equivalents & tarted them up a little with some chaos iconography. The rest of my army isn't really this flashy, but I figured since these guys aren't technically Plague Marines, fluff-wise it makes sense that they be slightly more flamboyant than the rest of my 'rotters.