Lots of Red: 1st Painting Batch Done!

The first batch of painting is done and (finally!) photographed. Sorry the photos aren't very good, my camera is rubbish and my house is dark...

Djymikh the Debaser is a patron of Hans Kho'ren of the World Eaters. When Hans Kho'ren's Skull Takers were recruited by Angron for the attack on Armageddon, Ymmikh accompanied them, eager to shed blood in Khorne's name.

Bunankh the Deranger is the beast that broke the mind of the Red Cardinal of Iddesleigh. The Blood Cardinal, plagued by visions of a grinning daemon torturing him to death whilst his entire world burnt, lead the horrific Crusade of Peace in order to root out the evil which he believed must lurk in the populace of Iddesleigh. The innocent agri-worlders were entirely wiped out, a task started by the Blood Cardinal's fanatical followers and finished by Unnakh himself once enough blood had been shed to allow him to enter the physical world. The Red Cardinal was the last person on the world to die, impaled on the spire of his cathedral by the mocking Bunankh. Now he seeks to destroy Armageddon as he did Iddesleigh...

The Bone Collectors. Once mortal champions of Khorne, they walk the fine line between Spawnhood and Daemon Princedom: vastly mutated beyond their mortal bodies, but only just maintaining control over their form and mind. They spend their lives shedding blood and collecting kills for Khorne: to keep him smiling upon them; to persuade him to not smite them into Spawn; and possibly to convince him to bless them as Daemon Princes.

I love the way that characters in Black Crusade have to balance their infamy vs their corruption, that whole idea seems a wonderfully Realm of Chaos vibe. These are my counts-as Bloodcrushers

This particular group of Bloodletters were all created from the blood shed in fights between Space Marines, between those who should be brothers. They first emerged in the Horus Heresy, as Angron purged his legion on Istvaan III, and have followed his career ever since - from Ultramar to Terra to the Eye of Terror. Now that Angron has descended from the Devourer of Stars to destroy Armageddon and its Space Wolf defenders, they pull themselves out of the Immaterium once more, formed from the blood of Astartes of both sides.

Mankind has always told tales of horrors lurking the shadows, violent man-shaped beasts waiting to emerge and devour. From beyond the circle of light cast by flickering campfires to under the beds and in the cupboards of brightly-lit hab-blocks, people have always stared fearfully into the dark. And with good reason, for in the liminal shadows these bestial Bloodletters wait...

Born long ago in a terrible crusade between two armies of heavily armoured knights, both believing that they fought for the One True God, these Bloodletters have always flocked to violence and sought to use mankind's violent urges to create rents in reality.

So along with 3 Soul Grinders (using my Daemon-Knights models) this is 1,500pts of Chaos Daemons! Next step: 4 more small-sized Bloodthirsters (who, like these 2, will be used in games either as Bloodthirsters or as Daemon Princes), and then I'll have my birthday and with that extra cash I'm going to get the new Bloodthirster and bits for more Bloodthirsters in his scale. And also, with Khorne Daemonkin now released, I quite want to build some Chaos Space Marines and some Cultists...

Counts-as Bloodcrushers

My initial 1,500pts force is going to feature 2 units of Bloodletters, 2 Bloodthirsters, 3 Soul Grinders (using my Daemon-Knights models) and a unit of Bloodcrushers. So here are the Bloodcrushers, and I have a valid army!

The key theme in this army is Bloodthirsters, and I wanted my Bloodcrushers to fit in with that. So I've gone for a more upright bestial feel rather than the traditional Bloodletters-on-Juggers, using Vampire Counts Vargheists as the core. They're still around the same size as Bloodcrushers, and I think that their statline looks appropriate, so hopefully no-one will complain.

Everyone in the army has horned helmets - for these guys, I've gone with Epic Warlord heads and horns that were originally spikes on a Tyranid Trygon (I used the Trygon tail on one of my Daemon-Knights). I've also given them a bit of armour, shoulder plates and bionic jaws from an old Ork Boys sprue.

The core of the models is the Vampire Counts Vargheist/Crypt Horror kit - I've used the Vargheist hairy backs and the Crypt Horror arms (with some hands swapped for Ogre Bull hands). I now also have a pile of spare wings, which I'm sure will come in handy later...

And one last shot, all the Khorne models that I've made this week! It's been a productive one :) I still need to base them before painting begins, but then we're ready to roll.

1,500pt Khornate Army Lists

So, I'm making Bloodthirsters. But how to use them in games? I've been looking at 1,500 pts lists:

The Unbound List (6 Bloodthirsters!)
Skarbrand
Bloodthirster with Greater Reward
4 x Bloodthirsters

The 2-Detachment List (4 Bloodthirsters plus Khorney backup)
4 Bloodthirsters
4 x 10 Bloodletters
100 pts of upgrades, probably mostly Greater Rewards.

The Daemon Prince List (5 Monstrous Creatures plus Khorney backup)
2 Bloodthirsters
2 x 10 Bloodletters
3 Flying Khorne Daemon Princes
140 pts free to buy more stuff, so that's lots of Greater Rewards.

The Soul Grinder List (2 Bloodthirsters, 3 Grinders plus lots of Khorney backup)
2 Bloodthirsters
2 x 10 Bloodletters
3 Bloodcrushers
3 Soulgrinders with weapon upgrades
170 pts left over now to buy more upgrades.

I think that my first list will be that final one, using my Daemon-Knights as Soulgrinders.
The Bloodcrushers will be represented by lesser Daemon Princes, rather than actual cavalry. Probably based on the Crypt Horror / Vargheist models. I can then also test them out on the penultimate list as well, if I fancy it.
The 'Bloodletters' will be based on Beastman Gors, they look more like mini-Bloodthirsters than the current Bloodletter models.