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.

Genestealer Cult - The Saviour

The blessed ones are revered by the Wyrm-Forged, as it should be. They are purity of form made manifest, unburdened by the weaknesses of mankind. They are, in the whole, aloof, and unconcerned by the travails of their lesser brethren. However, some do appear to favour their kin more than others, none more so than the one known as the saviour.

The Yogoth kin are well known among the Kabeiri. Many of their number bearing the unmistakable mark of the coiled hunter. (This variant of genestealer is known as the Ymgarl strain to the adepts of the Ordo Xenos.) This particularly strong trait is even known to appear in the 3rd generation. The Saviour is broodfather to the current cycle of the Yogoth, and through some quirk of the gene-cycle is uncharacteristically protective of its hybrid offspring. So much so that it famously interposed itself between its great-grandson, Eldir, and the plasma pistol of Inquisitor Krasek. Leaping in front of the gush of plasma, one of the saviour's arms was incinerated in the blast. Eldir himself lost much of his own third arm as he tried to push the holy one clear. To Eldir, it was the duty of the kin to protect the blessed ones, not the other way round. 

Eldir's shame was immense. Though Krasek was defeated and his skull offered to The Watcher, his great grandsire had been mutilated. Driven by his guilt, Eldir petitioned the cult's metasurgeons to construct a worthy replacement limb for his great-grandfather. The surgeons laboured diligently and constructed a new forearm worthy of the holy one. For its part the saviour seemed cognisant of what its kin were attempting and allowed the procedure. Though lacking in elegance, the new appendage took, and the saviour soon realised its new limb's killing power was every bit the equal of it's chitinous claws.

Since I decided on a more mechanical iteration of the cult as my take on things I fancied doing a cyborg purestrain. I didn't want to go too far as no doubt openly mucking about with the God-beings would be tantamount to heresy, so a minor alteration appealed more. A claw from the ever-useful Kataphron Destroyers kit and I had my part. I'm not certain where the stealer comes from, possibly one of the tyranid kits.

I had seen an upright stealer online and I liked the pose. I can't recall where though, so I can't credit the person that made it, apologies! I altered the stance, having the creature leaping up an old pipe. I had to re-position the head a little, which required a little greenstuff work on the neck. The conversion on the arm was very simple, just an arm-swap below the elbow. I tried to show the stealer compensating for the weight in the pose, but I don't know how effective that was.

Painting took a while with other projects butting in. I used my standard scheme. I strikes me that while I used purple glazes on the flesh here, hybrids from other races might benefit from keeping the same scheme as the human hybrids but swapping out the purple glaze for green, blue or whatever the host race requires.

Groust and Eldir Yogoth flank their grand-sire, the saviour.

Genestealer Cult - Jackal Alphus

I've loved the idea of mounted hybrids for ages. Ever since I read the story about the raiders unwittingly attacking a caravan packed with cultists. Worst raid ever. (Edit: White Dwarf 115, Page 70)

Oh FFS, the raiders wailed.

With the advent of the new cult bikers, an opportunity presented itself. Added to that I needed a 40k racer mini for an upcoming BoYL game, and lo, it was time. Kol Renko, jackal alphus of the Wyrm Forged cult was born.

Now, my cult is placed in a corrupted adeptus mechanicus temple, so yeah, biked would make more sense. But to that I say FMEH. Instead of rationalising this I'll just put up another picture of Kol here.

I used one the the excellent mutie horses from Gorkamorka for the genesteed. It's perfect. For the rider I used admech, scion and cult parts, as well as a couple of fan-made bits. I used an acolyte body for Kol as I wanted him to be three-armed, and hence a 2nd generation hybrid. I did consider adding reins, but then came to my senses as rider and mount were painted separately, so it would have been crazy hard. Sometimes cost vs result needs to be employed. Also, the rider controls the mount using the broodmind link. There, SOLID explanation.

This fella gives me a nice HQ choice for 40k, and a sweet addition to the cult. Here's the obligatory 'new guy plus mates' shot I'm so exceedingly fond of.

Kol and his brethren aid biophagus Scrivello in his duties.

Now, back to that purestrain.

Genestealer Cult - Neophyte Icon Bearer

Looking positively dashing in his ascendance day finery, Rauss Arnatt, neophyte of the Kabeiri, raises his icon for his brethren to cheer and whoop at. Arnatt is feeling good, and he's sure the magus gave him a little wink earlier.

A neophyte icon bearer is a super useful addition to my cult, usable in Warhammer 40k, Necromunda and Kill Team.

These days there is a huge store of bits available for the genestealer cult fan. Once, arming up the old Bob Olley hybrids might have been a chore, but no longer. They fit suspiciously well on most of the vintage boys. This particular, rather beefy 4th generation hybrid is one I think well suited to hefting a big heavy cult icon, and I've wanted to paint this one for a while. After some consideration I gave him a nice big phosphor blast pistol, which also fits neatly with the adeptus mechanicus flavour of the Kabeiri. He should be carrying an autogun or shotgun, but rule of cool won out.

It took a fair bit of sanding and cutting down on the arms to allow for his unusually wide shoulders. Even so, he's still very broad. I'm okay with that as he's meant to be a bit beefcake. As with many Olley sculpts, his face was a delight to paint. I do love painting faces.

With Arnatt done, I have two more minis to paint to finish my Kill Team squad. A purestrain, which is halfway there, and a neophyte with a heavy stubber. The heavy stubber can also go toward getting my neophyte squad up to ten models. Utility!

Rauss shows off his shiny charge to his mates. Everyone is impressed.

Genestealer Cult - The Watcher

In the heart of the principal Kabeirian forge temple on Thelema stands the watcher. Raised as a symbol of vigilance and eternal patience, this huge statue gazes up to the heavens awaiting signs of the coming of the Star Children. For generations the faithful have made pilgrimage here in order to pay homage and lay devotions and trophies at it's feet. The histories of the martyrs and heroes of the Kabeiri are attached to the stone with wax seals bearing the wyrm form. The skulls of notable enemies are also laid here to bear witness the the resolve of the cult and show all the fate of those who stand in it's way. Inquisitor Johann Krasek, Warlord Gornak Worldburna, The Ethereal Aun'La Auta and many others pass the ages under the watcher's gaze.

As the centuries have passed, the restlessness of the cult has found a focus in the watcher. So much psychic energy has been soaked into the stones that now the watcher is rumoured to shift it's gaze almost imperceptibly from time to time, as if searching. Deep in empty space the frozen, lifeless hulks of hive fleet Hephaestus drift silently through the void. It is the destiny of the watcher to hold vigil eternally for Gods that will never arrive.

The watcher began life as a pile of broken statuette parts. I set them aside with thoughts of making them into terrain at some point. Then, some time later the idea of a large cult statue struck me. When I saw the giant statue of a patriarch in the new codex it fired me up and I set to work.

The hybrid parts came from a spares bin at my local game shop. I'm not 100% sure what tyranid kits they come from. I cut them up, attached them, worked away with some green stuff and added a cult icon. I wanted to create a sense of scale, so I added the scripts, seals and trophies. I added orc and Tau skulls as well, as the cult has spread far and wide, and I intend to add hybrids of other races in time.

With the painting, I wanted a pale stone so the weathering and grime I added would show easily. The cracks from the original breaks in the statue showed up nicely once it was painted too, which was a groovy bonus. I stippled on the pigments to the lower third of the statue, as this would have been the most touched by devotees. I also used my trusted Typhus Corrosion to add some more grime and dirt to the rocks and such on the base.

With that, I have a rather fetching cult terrain piece/objective marker. You can see here how big he is compared to the two hybrids. 

Now, back to that neglected icon bearer.

Genestealer Cult - Acolyte and Metamorph

Ahh, back among my brothers and sisters of the cult. It feels good. Feels RIGHT. Today I present two new members of the Kabeiri, or the Cult the the Wyrm Forged, brothers Groust Yogoth and Aldren Dekker. The acolyte kit is a box of gene-cursed wonders, with so many gribbly bits and pieces in it I spent two nights just playing with parts before I settled on the two fresh-faced lads above. As a wanderer in the outer darkness for many years, I cannot tell you the joy of so many cult kits and parts available now. It's magical.

Brother Dekker is carrying a rock saw. It was always going to be the first acolyte I made. It's so metal. After joyously rooting about on the sprues, I assembled Dekker in three parts, keeping his head and the saw seperate. Woe betide anyone who glues it all together and then tries to paint it. Yes, you can't see the back of the saw for the most part, but now I know it's given as much love as the front.

There's quite a bit of detail on these boys. pouches, icons, tubing, belts, blasting charges and so on. It's make Batman throw his utility belt over a bridge in shame. It's nice how closely the design echoes the old hybrids from the 80s. The backpack is particularly close, but there are lots of design hooks that hark back. They feel like they were made with no little love. It's the best of both worlds for me; gorgeous modern design combined with the nostalgic aesthetic of the original range. Epic win.

Having learned some lessons on assembling painted sub-assembles lately, I used surgical gloves when handling the parts and made sure to re-drill any pin holes to remove any paint that had gotten in. It's amazing how that can make a perfect dry-fit into a nope once painted.

I tried a little spotting for the highlights on the carapace, I think it makes it look a little rougher, more like a lobster or crab shell. I've seen some folks try mottling on the craniums too, I might give that a go next time.

Brother Yogoth has a metamorph claw and hand flamer, plus a big old face of tentacles. I love the Ymgarl strain. I plan on doing a Ymgarl purestrain soon as well, get the whole family together. 

The claw is fantastic. I don't even know what it does in the various games I can use him in. I just want it. I do hear hand flamers are the thing, which is handy as that's what I gave him. It was hard to get a good angle on the claw, and it's a little blurred there. Sorry about that.

With these two done, I'm almost ready for Kill Team, and that also feeds into my Necromunda gang and my modest 40k force. I'm quite keen on getting the bikers box as there are female heads in there, and I want to sprinkle them into my neophyte unit. I have designs on getting some (meaning all) of the new characters, especially the nexos and magus. The new set of characters are a boon to the cult. The kelermorph in particular is one of the most gorgeous miniatures I've ever seen.

Family time is important. 

So, next up I think it's time for an icon bearer, which I require for every game system I can field the cult in. Loving the utility GW. Something old with something new for that guy I think.

A wee shot of some of the clan. I think the new guys sit nicely beside the venerable old hybrids. I may throw up a post on the evolution (eh?) of the cult ranges in the future.

My reckon my hooded Magus is going to change careers to become a Locus, making way for a new lady to take charge.

Hobbymad - A Treasure Chest of Hobby Goodness

Living in the rural West of Ireland, I'm used to ordering a lot of my hobby supplies from overseas. This isn't usually a huge deal, but as we all know, international shipping has been creeping up over the last few years. I became aware of Hobbymad a while ago, but my recent dealings with them has made me a big fan.

I base all my minis with magnetic base bottoms. Why? Well, there are a few reasons. Number one is transport and storage. When a model is transported in a box lined with sheet steel, or indeed in a metal biscuit tin that model is going nowhere. For frail models like Man O'War, with those masts, or many of the more recent GW minis, this is paramount. 

Some of Hobbymad's range of magnetic base bottoms.

Peel off the paper...

Look at that. LOVELY.

No sliding off the dead tray for these guys. Plus you are sorted for those battling down the fridge games.

This again is super useful if you use movement trays. Line the tray with sheet steel and base the models with magnetic bottoms. Once in the tray, those lads are on there good. No more standard bearers toppling over or half the unit falling out on a hill, or, Gods forbid losing a few lads when lifting the unit. I used to transport my army in a large box with the units already sitting in the army trays, ready to deploy. The magnets kept everyone safe and sound.

The sheet steel in the tray keeps these doggies in line. Sit! Stay! 

Another reason I use them is the finish off the miniature nicely. No untidy under-base, just a nice flat black base. A little obsessive? Yep.

I used to get my base bottoms from Litko. This was fine, but shipping has skyrocketed from the States, and so that was the end of that. I experimented with cutting my own, that proved to be a huge pain in the arse. Cue Rob from Hobbymad and his new groovy router. Now I have access to very well-priced magnetic base bottoms from Ireland with free shipping over €10. He can also cut and etch a bewildering array of materials with it, so tokens, custom shapes, paint racks etc are all now on the cards, including custom orders. I may have cried a little. If you're like me, you love all the paraphernalia of gaming aside from the minis themselves, so access to custom tokens, counters, rulers and so on from a local supplier is a gift from the heavens. 

I do have to say, in addition to this new machine of wonder, Hobbymad carry a truly massive range of paints from Vallejo to the glorious effects paints from AK Interactive. Tools, scenery, putties, dice bags, gaming mats, model kits, basing materials, books, magazines, glues and a teetering pile of other stuff, much of it often hard to reach but incredibly useful products you chase over half the web for normally.

So, certainly for Irish, but really for anyone in reasonable shipping distance (those base bottoms are otherwise only available in the US as far as I can see) do give Hobbymad a look. 

https://www.hobbymad.ie/

https://www.facebook.com/hobbymad/