Genestealer Cult - Corrupted Hierarch

 
Today we have a return to a favourite project of mine, the genestealer cult, or, in this case, the genestealer coven. This is an idea that goes back to the very beginnings of the genestealer cult, when a desperate patriarch might seek power from the dark Gods. Fascinating Xenos/Chaos mashup ensues. I adored the coven when it appeared in White Dwarf 116. The whole idea of a cult turning to chaos fascinated me. I mean, how could my young mind resist this illustration by John Blanche?

My coven is an offshoot from the main cult. What's that you say? A coven inside a cult? Jesus Dave. 

I've been accused of cramming far too many themes into my projects, (Big Trouble in Little China Terracotta robots using stolen Eldar tech anyone?) but I care not a whit. So, my Admech Genestealer cult now has a chaotic element, and the one I most wanted to make was the hierarch in chaos armour (closely followed by the purestrain with daemon weapon). You can see the original 4th Generation Hybrid Magus with chaos armour below. I've wanted to convert one evert since. If you have copies of White Dwarf 114 - 116 I heartily recommend taking a look.

Many of my favourites hark back to these issues. Mutant bombs, cult limos, rogue psykers (Blackstone Fortress rogue psyker, I'm looking at you) and cult beastmen. It also cemented the Imperial Guard plastic kit as the ideal brood brother base model. I have managed to see these models in the flesh since, and now I love them all the more. Little did I know that years later my most fervent hobby prayers would be answered and we were showered in cult kits. 

I gathered up the parts for the Hierarch (he'd be a Primus these days) and set them by. Fairly recently I finished up my pirate crew (for now) and wanted a new palette cleanser. So I began work on Khrovak Starn, Hierarch and disciple of Khorne.

Khrovak is based on a Khorne champion with a scattering of cult parts and a Legion of the Damned bolter. His sword is from the Wrathmongers/Skullreapers kit. An insanely useful kit for Khorne fans. He only needed some minor greenstuff work.

Much of the colour palette was already set, but the on the armour I wanted to try something new. A while back I used contrast paints to paint the black iron armour on my wights and wondered if I could do something similar here. I painted the armour in Chainmail and then gave it a 1:1 Contrast Medium:Flesh Tearers Red. I settled nicely while still allowing the sheen of the metallic through. I edge highlighted it with Stormhost Silver, recess washed it here and there with Agrax Earthshade with a wee bit of Druchii Violet, and that was it. I'm very happy with it and I'll be using it on any future rage-based armour schemes.

The black daemon sword is highlighted with various greens and then glazed with Waywatcher Green. I think it sets off nicely against the red armour and also matches the rest of the cult who tend to have green gun casings and power packs on their backs. 

The other thing I had to settle on a colour scheme for was the wee bone dagger. This might seem simple as its well, bone, but I'm thinking ahead to Acolyte and Tyranid Warrior boneswords. I added the black 'jewels' with green highlight to give it a weird slightly icky organic look and I think it worked.

So now I think adding a possessed Magus and maybe a unit of beastmen would give me enough to add to my normal cult to field a coven. My mindslaves can double nicely as mutants too. 

That's the coven itch scratched for now!

Gaslands - The Faithful Sons

With the Gaslands project complete, it was time to take some shots of the whole gang. So, here there are, The Faithful Sons genestealer cult Gaslands gang in their entirely. Two heavy trucks, one performance car, one car, a buggy, two bikes, three acolytes on foot and five neophytes on foot.

The Zealot laying down some heavy fire.

I enjoy small contained projects like these, though I fell down the rabbit hole hard with this one. 20mm genecult near-future car gangs pressed several of my buttons. I could still go on and do a set of cult-inspired terrain for this. My terrain in general is sorely lacking! That might be a project for later in the year.

The Patriarch extorts his flock to greater efforts from the deck of The Ophanim.

I particularly enjoyed painting the bikes for this warband. I was stumped for what to use for bases, as I didn't fancy squares. Then I remembered I had a few clear bases left over from my Man O'War Khorne fleet, which worked out just fine. The infantry are on 20mm Renedra bases, with HobbyMad 20mm magnetic base bottoms for transport, and also because I like the nice clean black finish on the undersides. We all have our quirks eh?

Left to Right - The Joyful Word, Little Beast, The Ophanim, Jackal One and The Zealot.

With the gang complete, I'm hoping to get some games in once such things are possible. In the meantime I have built myself a list of 'must paint' minis I've had on my mind for years. I'm starting off with the Limited Edition Jes Goodwin fimir. After that I have some of the Skeleton War Machines set to do, some 28mm Genecult minis, (the kelermorph in particular), Genecult chaos coven minis and a certain beloved Tzeentch sorceror and Khorne warlord from my youthful warhammer exploits all in my sights.

One is excited.

Gaslands - Neophyte Hybrids

Today the last of installment of my Gaslands project, the neophytes. It's been a very enjoyable project, but the time has come to wrap it up for now. These five eager brethren are the final addition until the 20mm love hits me again. 

From Northstar, and sculpted by Mark Copplestone, these bald fellows make for perfect neophytes. They were a joy to paint, as most Copplestones are, being sufficiently detailed, but really easy to read. I gave them my standard genestealer cult colour scheme, and added to my small trio of acolytes, they make for a nice little group of foot sloggers.

So with these guys completed, I am more than ready for Gaslands fun, once I pick up a few gaming accessories that is. I'll be posting some shots of the complete gang soon, but for now I'll leave you with a photo of part of the gang limbering up for some missionary work. 

Some of The Faithful Sons doing a grocery run.

Gaslands - Acolyte Hybrids

Today we have a trio of acolyte hybrids on foot for my Gaslands genecult. Making these wee hybrids in 20mm was something I put way more effort into than I should have, but it was terribly enjoyable. The original minis were 'Dark Brethren' from CP Models. Here are the un-defiled minis:

So as you can see, they've been fairly brutalised. I mostly used greenstuff to make the ymgarl hybrid heads, with some claws from my bits box. For the other hybrid with the mancatcher, I used some Instant Mold to make a mould of parts of one of the old metal genestealer familiars, which gave me enough pieces to work with to make an early generation hybrid.

Here are the fellows in more detail.

Brother Hastun Medlock

Brother Davon Yogoth

Brother Jerec Yogoth

These three fellows are the first of eight cultists on foot. That should see me right for most predicaments the Faithful Sons might find themselves in.

Of course, I do see myself adding a covered truck to the group at some point, if only to echo the vehicles from the illustration in White Dwarf 115 above. A covered wagon with some purestrains visible in the back would be pretty cool.

Finally, the patriarch has some hybrid mooks to order about. 'Make sure it's a skimmed milk latte my child.'

So, with that, I start on my final push to finish the project, the neophytes on foot. I leave you with an image of just how wee these guys are! I've grown used to the scale, but boy, they are teeny.

Gaslands - Jackal Bikers

The Gaslands project careens towards completion. The last vehicular additions are these two wee bikers. Kol Venner and Sayben Desh riding Jackal bikes operate as outriders and scouts for the Faithful Sons.

Both of the bikers are 3D prints, graciously sent to me by a pal once I announced I was looking for genecult bikers in 20mm. I mounted them on bases I had left over from my Man O' War project.

Kol Venner on Jackal One.

This one has an obvious warboy vibe, but suits equally well as a neophyte biker. I painted on some residual brow ridges just to reinforce the genecult theme, as well as  a purplish tinge to his skin.

Sayben Desh on Jackal Two.

Kol here is much more obviously a miniature atalan jackal. Where he hails from, I know not, I was just delighted to my hands on him.

With these two outriders, the gang is technically complete. However, I'm going to add some cult members on foot should 20mm cult wargaming opportunities loom at some juncture.

Little Beast flanked by the jackal riders.

Gaslands - Little Beast

Today we have the last of my vehicles for my Gaslands gang, Little Beast. I wanted to add a buggy to the roster, partly as it's another vehicle type, partly as I like that sweet Northstar gunner and partly because I love this car. It's the only one I bought from a modern range specifically for the gang.

This was the only car I took apart to paint. I drilled out the post once I had consulted YouTube on the matter. Painting it in sections was much easier, and it went back together really easily. I added a driver too, who you totally can't see in these photos, but he's in there, all highlighted up, rarely to be seen by the eyes of humanity.

For parts, I used up more of my Northstar wasteland warriors drivers crew pack, leaving me only one lonely passenger mini. I used another 3D printed gun and some parts from the Implements of Carnage sprue. I have a handy tub of Adeptus Mechanicus parts that are unbelievably handy for odd parts, such as the gun mount and windscreen shield. Some bendy corrugated sheeting for amrour and that was that. 

I kept the original wheels this time, as I had run out of alternatives! Still, they look grand. With that, the gang is ready for road, though I am adding some more models, namely a pair of neophytes on bikes. After that, we're looking at some neophytes and acolytes on foot.

Little Beast and The Zealot.

Gaslands - The Ophanim

The Gaslands project chugs on. Today I add the main man to the gang, that patriarch himself, on his tricked out limo, The Ophanim.

I wanted a performance car for the gang, and not adding a limo to a genestealer cult Gaslands crew would be a major missed opportunity. Happily I came across an the perfect vintage die-cast car in a €1 tub of similarly unloved cars at a local scale-modeller shop.

Once I'd mutilated the old car, I ferreted about for some tasty parts to make it into a conveyance for the more ostentatious patriarch. A throne made of all sorts of detritus, a nasty ram, assorted do-das and a nice laser cannon. The crew are from Ramshackle, Northstar and Games Workshop (big daddy is in fact a genestealer cult familiar). I love the Northstar wasteland warriors, they make perfect neophytes. I have several prepped for duty as dismounted crew down the road. Down the road. Eh? No?

Fine.

The car was painted up much the same as the rest of the gang, heavyily weathered and with plenty of black contrast paint. I added a little heat damage to the laser and painted up the... lasery bit as if it is hot to add some visual interest. I fear for that crewman's nethers if that thing misfires.

The performance car has two build slots, so I chose the laser and grabber arm. The reason I went for grabber arm is that I wanted something to represent the patriarch's psychic powers as he mentally compels enemy drivers to plough their cars into walls, off bridges and into each other. The arm can change an enemy vehicle's facing, so that works nicely.

With the limo done, I am starting work on the final car of the gang, the buggy.

Genestealer Cult - Macrocosm Space Dwarf Bikers Kickstarter

Today, amid the turmoil of the rapidly changing world we now inhabit, I have some rather unusual delights for you. A while ago I became aware of a new project from Macrocosm, some space dwarfs, including bikers. There were parts to convert them into mutants, which look very much like genestealer cult squats, so naturally I was most interested.

Chris from Macrocosm was kind enough to send me a selection, and I set to work. They are modular, so there are a variety of arms, heads, weapons, packs and so on. Along with the number of regular squat parts, there are several hybrid heads along with some mutated arms, and a dedicated hybrid biker body with an extra arm.

I used that very biker body here, on Dagur Griefkin, Atalan Jackal of the Kabeiri. The set was sculpted by Bob Olley and Alessio Cisbani. I'm quite the fan of both sculptors, and as Bob has sculpted so many genestealer cult minis before they fit in nicely.

The bikes are metal, so have quite a bit of heft to them. I recommend pinning where possible.

Here we have Baerdal Clawhammer and his gunner, Lythur Griefkin on a Wolftrike. (A very fine proxy for the Atalan Jackal Wolfquad) The trike is a charming mini, perfectly at home in a retro Bob Olley heavy cult. I do recommend painting it in sub-assemblies though. I tested out my scheme for vehicles for the Kabeiri on these bikes, and I'm quite happy with it. I think it'll work well on ridgerunners and goliaths.

The faces on the hybrids were a joy to paint, with lots of nice detail. I used mostly contrast paints on the skin, and essentially washed in all the colour over a Pallid Wych Flesh basecoat, with only one set of highlights over the washes.

There is also a set of infantry available. So for anyone wanting a nice squad of modular hybrid squats, now's your chance. The claw arm on this guy is a conversion, using the hand from the mutated arm in place of a regular squat hand. There are heavy weapons as well as melee and ranged arm options for these.

So, if you fancy some of these, head over to the kickstarter which is due to start any day now, and see what tickles your fancy.

Gaslands - The Joyful Word & The Zealot

It's been a while, but at long last my next two Gaslands vechicles are ready to roll. Two heavy trucks, The Joyful Word and The Zealot join The Preacher and get the gang up and running proper.

Since I built The Preacher I went on something of a parts ordering spree. The Ramshackle Games ranges were ideal, giving me loads of guns, turrets, rams, armour and some tasty cultist type crew I could have driving and hanging off the various vehicles. Combined with the Gaslands Implements of Carnage sprue from Northstar and some nice 3d printed parts I had enough bits to kit out a number of vehicles.

The two trucks have been in my possession a very long time, almost forty years I think. They were originally two Kellogg's Cornflakes delivery trucks I sent off for as a lad. Little did I know as I cut out those wee coupons from cardboard cereal boxes that I'd be ruthlessly defacing them several decades later. Life, you scamp you.

As well as the parts I amassed, I carved some armour plates from plastic card for the windows. That combined with some corrugated iron served to armour these lads up. Oh, and some nice big rams. The Joyful Word also has some skeletons chained to the front. These are from the All Quiet on the Martian Front range.

The Joyful Word above is kitted out with a machine gun, crewman with grenades, ram and a wall of amps. Not the most efficient weapon, but huge laugh potential. The magus is no doubt extolling the faithful to ever greater effort via five huge meaty amps. 

I used a combination of traditional and contrast paints here. Mostly to quiet down drybrushing or add some vibrancy. I also used the Shyish Purple contrast paint with some medium to apply some recess glazes to the cultist's red robes. The slightly smaller scale begs greater contrast, though I might start using it on my 28mm stuff too, as it works nicely.

The Zealot is a more aggressive machine. Armed with a minigun, harpoon, ram and a crewman with a machine gun, it's an unsubtle automobile. These two trucks won't be super nippy, but they'll certainly be good for turning rivals cars into flaming scrap metal. With these two done I think I'll need to add something more nippy like a buggy or performance car. Maybe a bike or two.

My next build will be a lot more overtly genestealer cult related. I mean, the cult limo is a staple, but I'm thinking something more open top, with just a sprinkle of throne room thrown in. Daddy needs a sweet ride too.

Genestealer Cult - Brother Medlock

Not every cult member gets fancy power hammers and swanky mining lasers. Some of the brethren just have to make do. Vyrion Medlock here has to put up with a simple, ah, halberd? Machete stick? Knife-pole?

Anyway, whatever it is, it pales in comparison to the magnificence of that cape. Stylish, high collared, shoulder length AND it has a beautiful gold clasp. So impressive is brother Medlock's cape that he has chosen to leave his top off so as not to distract from it's glory. Buck Rogers would be green with envy. Check it out:

With a cape like that the 3rd generation are in the bag.

I've been meaning to paint this fella for ages. Sculpted by Bob Olley, he's based on the original unreleased hybrid that, let's be honest, I have no chance of acquiring. Unless you have one. If you have one gimme it.

In any case, this guy is pretty hard to come by as well, so I was delighted to snag one. I've been pushing him higher and higher up the painting list, and finally, with BoYL coming up he made it. I fancy having him run down the corridors of a space hulk splitting terminators open with his sword-broom.

Medlock is part of a little subset of the cult I want to paint up, a wee family with juvenile hybrids and their parents and ah, pets. The gorgeous Asslessman has already painted up some of them, which you can see here.

For now though, Medlock joins the cult as another aberrant, ready to show those power-hammer wusses how it's done.

Why is he smiling like that? I think you know.

Genestealer Cult - Cult Mindslaves

Leading on from my musing on cult mindslaves, I fired two of these revolting meats-sacs under the brush. In case you missed my thrilling justifications for adding these to my cult force, here it is again. Previously (read in 80s American TV voice) on Mr Saturday's Mumblings:

The holy ones of the Wyrm-Forged spread the blessings of the Star Gods under the direction of the grandsire himself. There is one blessed one however, who is only unleashed under the most dire need. One whom even the faithful are wary of, for they sense its wrongness innately.

Known as the Chimera, this scion of the cult is unique. It is an anomaly, its asymmetric form at odds with the perfection of those of the 5th generation. Its body shifts and alters over time as the genetic legacy of the hivemind boils within. New claws grow even as old limbs wither and are re-absorbed. Eyes disappear under chitinous armour which sloughs away to reveal new flesh. In this way the Chimera is a constantly evolving microcosm of the hivemind itself. This is as naught, however, compared to the fate of those the Chimera bestows it's blessing upon.

The unfortunates so infected are reduced to roiling, pulsating sacks of flesh within days. It is as if the patient procession of the normal cycle is overtaken by a berserk haste to evolve. Flesh splits and organs burst as the hyper-active alien DNA rushes to proliferate. Those few whose bodies manage to endure are reduced to less than animals, oblivious to all except the erratic sparks of the broodmind's imperatives. They form a particular bond to the Chimera who can better compel them to serve the cult, albeit in the most rudimentary fashion. They are herded into battle ahead of the main force, their unnatural resilience and senseless fury making them brutally effective shock troops.

They were a hilarious amount of fun to paint. The are naked, bar the disgusting mutations, so once the skin was done they were almost finished. My skin recipe for the cult is very simple. It's all washes diluted to varying degrees with Lahmian Medium. Once I am happy with that, it gets once layer of highlights from the base colour and done.

Did one of you guys fart?

They are pretty tall, so 32mm bases seemed best. I considered using them as aberrants, but in the end the mindless frenzy they would attack with seemed better suited to purestrains, so that's what they will represent. Their 'leader' will be a particularly mutated genestealer, to give my opponents a cue as to what they are in-game. I think 'The Unworthy' is a nice name for them within the cult.

These painted up so quick I think I'll crack on and do some more soon. I'd like ten eventually, a nice wee unit.

Brother Faust uses two of the unworthy as convenient meat shields.

Genestealer Cult - Mindslaves

Lately I've been mulling over the old tyranid list from White Dwarf 145. There are several entries in there I'd love to paint. Zoats, mindslaves, squigs and the old plastic tyranids. Seeing as I'm already doing a genestealer cult this list has caught me by the hobby. You know how it is.

I can run many of these units in modern 40k or Killteam. The first unit that piqued my interest was the mindslaves:

In its larval stage the parasitic Mind-Slaver feeds upon the Tyranid's captives. It burrows into the victim's skull and searches for the brain stem. Here it clasps in place with its legs and attaches itself to the base of the brain.
At first the immature creature is not powerful enough to influence its host but, as it feeds from the blood stream, it becomes stronger, allowing it to take over and direct all of the creature's higher brain functions. These victims are known as mind slaves. Although they are captives, their actions and thoughts are completely controlled by the Tyranids.
If the ship is attacked, the mind slaves will be amongst the first to move to its defense, especially if they belong to an armed warrior race whose fighting skills may be usefully employed by the Tyranids. Invaders will find themselves being attacked by sentient beings controlled by the Hive Mind including Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Orks and Eldar.

I guess this was originally a way to pad out the proto nid forces, but I love the idea of tyranid infested creatures. I wanted something a little more gribbly though. Happily, I had these boys:

From the Assimilation Alien Host Kickstarter from Trollforged Games, these fellas have been kicking their heels for a few years now in storage. Like a bolt of lightning the idea struck me as I flipped through the old list that they would make superlative mindslaves. The already look like something horrible is writhing inside them, and the missing heads are perfect for late-stage mind-slaver parasites. That said, I may go a different route with their origins.

The holy ones of the Wyrm-Forged spread the blessings of the Star Gods under the direction of the grandsire himself. There is one blessed one however, who is only unleashed under the most dire need. One whom even the faithful are wary of, for they sense its wrongness innately.

Known as the Chimera, this scion of the cult is unique. It is an anomaly, its asymmetric form at odds with the perfection of those of the 5th generation. Its body shifts and alters over time as the genetic legacy of the hivemind boils within. New claws grow even as old limbs wither and are re-absorbed. Eyes disappear under chitinous armour which sloughs away to reveal new flesh. In this way the Chimera is a constantly evolving microcosm of the hivemind itself. This is as naught, however, compared to the fate of those the Chimera bestows it's blessing upon.

The unfortunates so infected are reduced to roiling, pulsating sacks of flesh within days. It is as if the patient procession of the normal cycle is overtaken by a berserk haste to evolve. Flesh splits and organs burst as the hyper-active alien DNA rushes to proliferate. Those few whose bodies manage to endure are reduced to less than animals, oblivious to all except the erratic sparks of the broodmind's imperatives. They form a particular bond to the Chimera who can better compel them to serve the cult, albeit in the most rudimentary fashion. They are herded into battle ahead of the main force, their unnatural resilience and senseless fury making them brutally effective shock troops.

So, that's my take. Here's a mockup of the Chimera.

I might add some more bits, flesh-hooks or spines perhaps. Ultimately I plan on a unit of ten, nine slaves led by the Chimera. They'll count as purestrains in most games.

After that, well, adding some zoats, tyranid warriors or squigs would be the next choice. I still have a good few cult minis to paint, so I'll add a unit here and there, leading up to tackling the big lad, the screamer-killer.