Qrab's Chaos: A Handful of Marauders (205pts)

This month I quintupled the number of models painted compared to last month. Taken at face value that seems pretty impressive, but what it really means is that I painted five models. These particular models constitute the back rank of my 10 strong unit of Marauders* with two-handed weapons. With each model costing 41 points, this gives me a grand total of 205 points for December.

Several of the models I painted this month were given names when they were first released 30-odd years ago. And even though my collection of Citadel Journals & Compendiums is packed away in storage, thanks to the fantastic Stuff of Legends website, I was able to find those names.

First up is a group shot. As with the unit I painted two years ago, the armor on these figures was also painted with a black and steel color scheme. This time, however, I reversed the position of the black armor pieces. There's a fair amount of fur on these guys as well, and together with the armor I think they're a little too dark. Looking at the photos, I need to add some colors to the bases to create more contrast and differentiate the earth from the fur boots.

The back rank.

For the close ups I'll go from left to right, starting with a classic Jes Goodwin figure: Vangart Soulspiller. It's difficult to see in the photo due to the shadows, but the symbol on his belt buckle is upside down. I figure Ol' Vangart was either hung over or put his armor on in the dark. Still, that big ax he's holding will make short work of anybody who laughs at him about it.

Vangart Soulspiller

Next in line looks to be one of those variant models that appeared every so often. This model's pose matches that of Morlock Soul Reaper, but he's got a cool looking animal helmet instead. In fact, his helmet looks very much like the one the Animal Handler is wearing from the Chaos Beastmasters entry in Warhammer Armies. Perhaps this model is Morlock's brother who was interested in animal husbandry? I'll call him Gorlock.

Gorlock Soul Reaper

In the middle of the pack is good old Balspew Flamesword. I've owned this particular model for a long time, so it's nice to finally have him painted. The sculpt is a little ropey (especially the left hand), but I'll take the quirks of a hand sculpted metal model over those of a computer sculpted plastic model any day.

Balspew Flamesword

Next is one of the few actual Marauder models produced back in the day, and is probably my favorite of the bunch: Lunkop Banesmite. Between the moon on his helmet, the mahoosive mace, and the form fitting breastplate, this guy oozes 80s chaos character. I painted this particular model back in the late 80s or early 90s at a time when I was just beginning to experiment with washes. Black ink over Bronzed Flesh may have done the trick back in the day, but these days I've learned a thing or two so for this project I stripped the old paint job and gave him a new one.

Lunkop Banesmite

The final model for my submission this month is another variant model. This model's pose matches that of Thun Helmbeater and Eric Umbrand Earthshaker, but this guy carries an oddly shaped mace and wears a really cool bestial helmet. Let's call this guy Erhard Tierhelm.

Erhard Tierhelm

Well, that's it for me this month. I haven't decided what I want to paint during January, but I have a little bit of time to think about it.

*Trivia: The mascot for my high school was a Marauder.