Crusade/Heresy Death Guard Project

[Just_Me]

Just finished the first of my all Forge World Death Guard units for use in the new Horus Heresy expansion. I was really dubious my ability to pull off the Death Guard color scheme as it is deceptively complex and I am a fairly simplistic painter at best. I was so pleased with the results that I just had to post a picture just to show off a bit. I apologize for the low picture quality, I don't have great light at the moment.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGLegionTacticalSquad.jpg

I intend to complete a full Death Guard army (Isstvan III loyalists of course, though when they release Mortarion I will have to have him...), so if people are interested this can be considered the first installment. It will be a fairly long project as I have to squeeze it in between work and grad school but after this first squad's completion I am really excited to keep the project going.

All comments welcome

[Kirsten]

death guard are cool, I look forward to seeing more

[Bigred]

It really is a subtle tricky scheme. I welcome you my fellow DG brother.

I'm 4th Grand company, which are you?

[wittdooley]

Other than the Mk7 helmet in the middle, looking good!!

[Just_Me]

death guard are cool, I look forward to seeing more

I look forward to delivering.


It really is a subtle tricky scheme. I welcome you my fellow DG brother.

I'm 4th Grand company, which are you?

Thanks! Truth be told I haven't actually decided which Great Company yet. My first instinct is 7th, Garro's Great Company. I'm a loyalist at heart. On the other hand I tend to like creating my own background when possible so I might end up choosing a different one so that I can fill in the blanks on my own.


Other than the Mk7 helmet in the middle, looking good!!

An easy mistake, but that is actually a form of MKIV helmet which mearly resembles the later MKVII (or rather, the other way around). Check out the Legion MKIV armor kits from Forge World and you'll see it includes several alternative helmet styles including that one. The green stripe denotes a squad sergeant.

[Just_Me]

A small progress update, I recently made some additions to my original Legion Tactical Squad (a sprinkling of holstered bolt pistols and ammo pouches) as well as finished a second squad.

First squad again:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGLegionTacticalSquad1.jpg

Second squad:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGLegionTacticalSquad2.jpg

Both finished squads:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGLegionTacticalSquadsx2.jpg

[Just_Me]

I also have my leaders built and awaiting painting. I converted a Legion Moritat with bolt pistols (not the most efficient build but they look cool). I also want to give him a Charnabal Sabre representing him fighting in melee with his pistols at point-blank range, Grammaton Cleric style. I figure the boosted initiative and rending could represent the extra "reach" of short ranged shooting and increased chance to make a truly critical shot through an eye-lens or throat.

The second is my take on Crysos Morturg until we get and official model. Because I'm tired of waiting. Although with my luck it will come out about 30 seconds after I brush the final coat of paint on my model, and knowing Forge Word it will be spectacular and I will just have to get it anyway. I tried to model every piece of wargear he has and get a pose that captured his defiance and bitter determination to stand tall and endure anything thrown against him.

For both of them I chose to avoid helmet crests because they just don't seem to me to be the right style for the Death Guard in general and these models in particular. The Moritat is a ruthless lone wolf gunfighter who would eschew anything that would get in his way, while Crysos is grim outcast who has been shunted aside because his background and psyker talent and left to languish in an obscure dead-end command.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/CrysosampMoritatfront.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/CrysosampMoritatside.jpg

[Just_Me]

Finished Crysos Morturg today. I must say I'm extremely pleased with how he came out:

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/CrysosMorturgfront.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/CrysosMorturgangle.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/CrysosMorturgback.jpg

Comments welcome.

[StarWarsDoug]

They look good so far. One observation on Crysos, since you picked out the studs on his helmet, the fact you left the studs on his backpack white stands out.

[Ishibei]

Awesome work I have just ordered my first parts of my own DG hope they turn out half as good

[Kirsten]

he looks great, like the combi weapon

[Just_Me]

Working on some more units for my Death Guard. I currently have a unit of Cataphractii Terminators on the painting table in progress. But the latest additions to the army are a Legion Destroyer Squad.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/LegionDestroyerSquad_zps4da9c584.jpg

[Just_Me]

This is the Sergeant with his Phosphex Bomb(s). Given that we don't know what those look like I took a Melta canister from the Devestator spruce and shaved down the studs, though I'm still not 100% on the way it's oriented on his belt. I'm going to try to paint a tiny radioactivity symbol on there when it's finished.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/LegionDestroyerSergeantfront_zps39b6bb09.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/LegionDestroyerSergeantside_zps00c951bd.jpg

Here is the Rad Missile trooper, still awaiting his MKII-III heavy weapon backpack (the normal one does not fit). I'm generally not a fan of this weird missile launcher design but I figured it was suitably archaic and unusual for the forbidden relic weapons of the Destroyers. Carving up a MKIII suit's arms to make them fit was very tricky work.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/LegionDestroyerRadMissilefront_zpsaa79b9a3.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/LegionDestroyerRadMissileside_zpsaae886f6.jpg

I'm not sure how I will paint these guys, the Destroyers are depicted in greyish armor and it is described as having been "chem-blackened," so I'm not sure that the grey is a livery so much as a bi-product of their wargear. I'm not sure I want to start with a grey base because I don't know that it will take the weathering techniques I've been using up until now as well as white. I might just to multiple layers of black inkwash over the DG white to get a feel for staining and charring... If anyone else has painted Destroyers (or just has some ideas) I would welcome the input.

[Just_Me]

Finally here is my Contemptor Dreadnought with Death Guard iconography. I found the Contemptor a really posable and entertaining model to build. I ended up magnetizing the arms so I could swap out weapons, mostly because I think he would look cool with a multi-melta (which I'm still waiting on) in place of the heavy bolter.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGContemptor_zpsc83fbf85.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGContemptormagnetized_zpsda271aec.jpg

[Fizzybubela]

I'm going to get one but take off all the Death Guard iconography so it will be for my Iron Warriors

[Just_Me]

It would be a great base for the Iron Warriors. Just file off the "XIV" and the DG symbol on the left shoulder and greave, maybe the halo points from the gorget grill too. It definitely has that brutal over-engineered feel that works for the Iron Warriors, maybe with some autocannon or lascannon for that seige-breaker vibe...

[Fizzybubela]

I'm thinking about a Multi-melta or a Heavy Conversion Beamer for that high techy techy look and maybe a drill for a close combat weapon.

[Fizzybubela]

I like your Moritat. I'm going to make my own but in MKIII Iron Armour with two plasma pistols.

[Fizzybubela]

I would paint the destroyer's armour grey but put lots of Forge World's Black Soot on it

[Just_Me]

I would paint the destroyer's armour grey but put lots of Forge World's Black Soot on it

That's an interesting idea, though I don't own any weathering powders, nor have I ever worked with them before. If only it didn't take a couple weeks for them to ship stuff overseas...

[Fizzybubela]

Well they're quite easy to use and I might try it out soon and send you a picture of what it looks like.

[Just_Me]

It's been a while since my last update and I have quite a few things on my desk awaiting my attention. These Cataphractii are the latest addition to my Death Guard:

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGLegionCataphractiiTerminators_zps2b798ba4.jpg

I think they came out rather well, though I struggled with how to reconcile the very decorative Cataphractii models with the notorious Death Guard aversion to ornamentation. I must say that the Cataphractii are some of my favorite models from Forge World and painting them was a pleasure.

[Fizzybubela]

They're looking quite good. Have you got the Multi-melta for your Contemptor yet?

[Just_Me]

They're looking quite good. Have you got the Multi-melta for your Contemptor yet?

Let me answer that with these pictures:

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGContemtorfront_zps2f28631e.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGContemptorback_zpse825561b.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGContemptorsideR_zpsa519a7d8.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGContemptorsideL_zpsda2ef449.jpg

[Fizzybubela]

Nice! What do you next have planned for the army?

[Just_Me]

Nice! What do you next have planned for the army?

Next I intend to finish the Destroyer Squad I showed earlier in this thread. Now that the Deathshroud miniatures are available for preorder I intend to get a set and build four as Deathshround and convert one as a Legion Praetor in Terminator Armour so I can field them. I would like to run him with a bodyguard of two and save another two to run with Mortarion when he comes out (supposedly at least 2 were always within 49 paces of him at all times so it seems fitting).

I have also been toying with the idea of expanding my tactical squads to 15 each and perhaps including Apothecaries (very infantry heavy and hard to kill which seems to fit with the Death Guard). Like most armies this one has taken on a life of its own and keeps expanding in my head...

[Fizzybubela]

Sounds like a good plan.

[Just_Me]

A couple of updates after a long delay, I have recently built and completed a pair of new Sergeants to lead my Legion Tactical Squads (I thought the simple stripe wasn't enough of an identifier):
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGSergeants_zps96d48ca5.jpg

I've also finally completed my Legion Destroyer Squad. I went with standard Death Guard colours and then heavily ink-washed and dry-brushed them to give their armour a stained & charred appearance, burned and chem-scalded by their own weaponry. I ended up using a different design for the Phosphex bombs then I had previously intended, based on heavily modified melta bombs rather than the larger melta canisters.
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGLegionDestroyerSquad_zpsdb1649e3.jpg

[Fizzybubela]

Looks good. Have you started work on the Deathshroud yet?

[Just_Me]

Looks good. Have you started work on the Deathshroud yet?

I have built them but haven't started painting them:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/Deathsrhoud_zpsd17ce365.jpg

Honestly as cool as they are I'm not very motivated to finish them until I have a model for Mortarion to field them with. The Deathshroud are inextricably linked with Mortation in both the lore and my own mind. I do have a converted Praetor for them so that they can be fielded without Mortarion in a pinch:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DeathGuardPraetor_zpsc3d4773d.jpg

Most recently I completed a Support Squad with flamers (and chem-munitions of course...):
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/DGTacticalSupportSquad_zps94c96e5b.jpg

I'm also adding another Legion Tactical Squad to the army, they're built and basecoated awaiting painting. I had first planned to just bulk my existing squads up to 15 but then I realized that if I was already going to add another 10 marines total I might as well field them as a separate squad for added flexibility. I also have a Titan Techpriest model to represent Magos Caleb Decima and I've pre-ordered a unit of Thallax. In the end I intend to have a pretty decent representation of Crysos Morturg's resistance group from Istvaan III.

My biggest problem is I keep getting side-tracked with other projects (not to mention life), most recently the desire to build other legions, especially now that we are hearing rumblings of Horus Heresy: Massacre on the horizon. I've built a handful of stuff from other legions to be completed down the line, notably a Raven Guard Praetor and Vigilator and an Imperial Fist Champion, I want to convert the Valthex model to be an Iron Hands Forge Lord as well when I have time. None of those legions are far enough along to warrant their own threads but I can post pics here I people are curious...

[Just_Me]

Minor update, I decided to re-touch Crysos Morturg's armour in Destroyer colors as he was a Lieutenant in the Destroyer Corps at the time of the Istvaan III atrocity and apparently fought at least partly through it alongside a Destroyer Squad. At the same time I decided to further darken all of the Destroyer colors so that it is somewhere in between grey and heavily stained white. It sets them apart from their fellow legionaries more distinctly and is more in line with the only official image we have of a Destroyer Legionary to date.

Section Leader Crysos Morturg:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/CrysosMorturgDestroyer_zps322a294f.jpg

Section Leader Morturg & Destroyer Squad:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/SectionLeaderMorturgampDestroyerSquad_zps453fc591. jpg

[Fizzybubela]

I like the one in the second picture. I may have to make an Iron Warrior like that now. :)

[Just_Me]

I like the one in the second picture. I may have to make an Iron Warrior like that now. :)

Yes, he fits in really well with the Destroyers now doesn't he? Although it pained me to darken that nice off-white scheme I had before. He looked very noble and commanding that way, just not like a Destroyer Corps Lieutenant... I may have to recreate the effect with some minor Death Guard officer just for grins.

I can see the inkwashed destroyer look being very effective for the Iron Warriors too, allowing just a hint of their burnished steel to show through... I think it would be particularly fun (and thematic) for an Iron Warriors Siege Breaker with Phosphex bombs and joined to a Destroyer squad, that sounds like EXACTLY the sort of thing Perturabo's sons would do.

[Just_Me]

I must confess that I am one of those chronically dissatisfied modelers, no sooner do I finish a project then I start to feel like it doesn't meet my expectations. Right now the my issue is Crysos Morturg so I decided to try out a bareheaded version to see if that does the trick for me:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/CrysosMorturgbareheadedfront_zpsc790bbea.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh16/Just_Me_Images/Death%20Guard/CrysosMorturgbareheadedside_zps470a12b8.jpg

I have always had an issue with the idea of a power-armour clad marine going bareheaded (lets armor every part of our bodies EXCEPT the most vulnerable in the finest protection devised by man), on the other hand I've come to see the value of the bare head in making a character really stand out as an individual. Still not sure if I'm going to keep it so I'd love to hear some feedback from the others.

[Fizzybubela]

I think it looks good but doesn't work too well with the dark armour of Crysos. You should make an account on The First Expedition if you want to get more advice about your Death Guard.

[Just_Me]

I think it looks good but doesn't work too well with the dark armour of Crysos. You should make an account on The First Expedition if you want to get more advice about your Death Guard.

Interesting, I actually thought that the contrast with the otherwise dark armour was an improvement. One issue that I have had with the model since darkening his armour to Destroyer colours was that I felt a lot of definition was lost on his helmet, which in turn stripped him of features (in-so-far as a helmet constitutes "features"). I actually think that flesh tones would be washed out against white or off-white armour. I have run across First Expedition once or twice before while searching for ideas but never really given it much of an in-depth look. I guess I should follow your advice and check it out more thoroughly...

[White Tiger88]

I hate to say it but you might want to try your color scheme out first on cheaper marine models instead of the forgeworld versions that way you can perfect it with out destroying pricey resin.

That being said you might want to try the following

-Dry brushing over the bronze with Griffon gold to highlight and it adds a tarnished look if covered with a black wash.

-As much as i hate to point it out Pre-Heresy\Early heresy death guard where Whitish Grey with green trim instead of the Green\Bronze in the Heresy book.

-Paint the eyes\Lens on your helmets with a Red.

-Apply Thinner layers of paint some detail on your models are completely caked with paint.

[Just_Me]

I hate to say it but you might want to try your color scheme out first on cheaper marine models instead of the forgeworld versions that way you can perfect it with out destroying pricey resin.

That being said you might want to try the following

-Dry brushing over the bronze with Griffon gold to highlight and it adds a tarnished look if covered with a black wash.

-As much as i hate to point it out Pre-Heresy\Early heresy death guard where Whitish Grey with green trim instead of the Green\Bronze in the Heresy book.

-Paint the eyes\Lens on your helmets with a Red.

-Apply Thinner layers of paint some detail on your models are completely caked with paint.

I do not wish to seem defensive but from your comments I suspect you have only viewed the last page as the rest of my Death Guard are (rather successfully I think) painted in the dirty white and green of the Death Guard based on the examples in Forge World's Horus Heresy: Betrayal. I disagree with you on the thickness of the paint as well but I suspect that is a failure of my camera and photography skills.

The dark grey armour on the last several models are very specifically my take on the "fire-blackened and chem-scalded" armour of the Legion Destroyer Squads. The only "official" image of a Destroyer is of a World Eater depicted in completely grey armour but rather than start with grey on my models I wanted to start with standard Death Guard colors and then weather them to a grey so they looked like it was an side effect of their weapons rather than painted that way. Unfortunately it tends to come across as just messy in some of the pictures.

[White Tiger88]

I do not wish to seem defensive but from your comments I suspect you have only viewed the last page as the rest of my Death Guard are (rather successfully I think) painted in the dirty white and green of the Death Guard based on the examples in Forge World's Horus Heresy: Betrayal. I disagree with you on the thickness of the paint as well but I suspect that is a failure of my camera and photography skills.

The dark grey armour on the last several models are very specifically my take on the "fire-blackened and chem-scalded" armour of the Legion Destroyer Squads. The only "official" image of a Destroyer is of a World Eater depicted in completely grey armour but rather than start with grey on my models I wanted to start with standard Death Guard colors and then weather them to a grey so they looked like it was an side effect of their weapons rather than painted that way. Unfortunately it tends to come across as just messy in some of the pictures.

Standard Death Guard color's originally are Grey & Green Trim, Also i looked back more your paint does for some reason look thick however it may just be your camera. If you are going with the FW Heresy color scheme i would suggest picking up some black wash and shades of bone to highlight your white.