I got the First Strike Warhammer 40k Starter Box several years ago. I painted the Space Marine models quickly, but the Death Guard models stayed in the box for years. Something about the COVID-19 pandemic got me thinking about plague, disease, and the Death Guard / Nurgle models. And, since I was prettymuch where I wanted to be with my Imperial Fists tournament list, it seemed like a good time to try something new.

For those that don’t know, in the fictional Warhammer 40k universe, Nurgle is the Chaotic Daemon god of disease, decay, death and destruction. Death Guard and the Poxwalkers are thralls or servants of Nurgle. Seemed a bit appropriate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And The Hooded Goblin friendly local gaming store (FLGS) was running a painting competition, so it was even more incentive to paint them up real good. And, the Rhino won me second place in the category!

So, I actually have 4 different batches of models painted for 3 different categories:

• Squad of Death Guard Marines and Poxwalkers
• Large: Myphitic Blight-hauler (vehicle)
• Character: Daemon Prince of Nurgle
• Large: Death Guard Rhino “The Goober Uber”

Death Guard Chaos Space Marines and Poxwalkers

I wanted to really push my painting abilities with this new little project. So, I decided I would try all the “tricks” of contrast paint and washes. And using a brand new very fine brush for details helped too.

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I started by making really fancy bases. I bought a box of 340 skulls, so I put 3 skulls on each base as a nod to the Nurgle symbol. The bases for the Space Marines even feature bodies of fallen foes, like a Dark Angel on one, and an Imperial Guardsman on another. And then each base got some “texture” from Milliput putty.

I took my time painting them. I started priming them white, then a spray coat of Gray Seer contrast primer spray paint. Most of the skin of the poxwalkers was done in Plaguebearer Flesh contrast paint with the pink sections in Magos Purple contrast paint. The pink highlights were done with Emperor’s Children. I used a bunch of different colours for the other highlights. Then everything was washed in Agrax Earthshade and sealed with Army Painter Matt Varnish.

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The Space Marine models were even more detailed than the Poxwalkers. I used a similar formula to the Poxwalkers. But I added shading of Death Guard green on armour, and lots of brass-looking parts I painted Balthasar Gold. And I actually did use Dark Angel Green contrast paint for the body on the base.

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I’m really happy about how they turned out. I kind of begrudge having to paint more. I did such a detailed and careful job on these that I realize I will have to spend a lot of time on future to finish the squads if I want to keep up the quality.

Myphitic Blight-hauler

I bought this on a bit of a whim. I had so much success painting the Death Guard models, I thought I’d try it with a vehicle. And the Myphtic Blight-hauler model is actually pretty cheap as far as Games Workshop models go, and looked pretty fancy.

But, as with all of my favourite models, I wanted to add some electronics to really make it stand out. I decided the “eye” in the front would be a little more sinister and used a red/green/blue flickering LEDs from Zinge. And in the multi-melta I put two yellow flickering LEDs. Getting them IN the barrel of the gun was quite a trick. I had to drill a lot of small holes, but then it still wasn’t enough room, so I sort of expanded the gun and filled in the gaps with Milliput.

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The model was actually quite a bit smaller than I expected, and I didn’t have room for the batteries to be in the model. So, I put them and the switch in the base and masked it with a lot of Milliput.

The base features a dead Space Marine like the Death Guard Chaos Space Marines. This time an Ultramarine because I had lots of Ultramarine decals to use. It was actually one of the bodies ripped out of the Land Speeder for Da Red Gobbo project.

The paint was similar to the Death Guard Chaos Space Marines above. But there was a lot more “organic” parts, so those were done more like the poxwalkers using lots of Magos Purple.

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It was kind of liberating to paint such “dirty” models. The imperfections of using putty actually resemble the “fleshy” parts of the models. And pooling and splotches in the armour look grungy, which is a feature. A far cry from the clean, prim and proper loyalist Space Marines.

I am overall super-happy with how it turned out. I’m considering getting two more to make a full squad!

Daemon Prince of Nurgle

I got a Lord of Contagion model on eBay, but I wasn’t too excited about its rules and use in the game. I was much more excited about potentially adding a Daemon Prince with Wings to my list. But the Nurgle Daemon Prince model doesn’t look so great to me. So, I made a conversion!

I started with the Lord of Contagion model. The head is from a different Death Guard Chaos Space Marine. I added wings I plucked off of a Tyranid Gargoyle. And the “malefic talon” is a lightning claw pilfered from a Space Marine Terminator model from the Space Hulk boxed set. The rest of the Terminator is a corpse on the base.

Painting this guy took quite a bit of time. He’s a BIG model too! I used prettymuch the same colour scheme for the Space Marines. Magos Purple was the main colour for the wings and cape. The “green fire” from the censer hanging behind him is many layers of Biel-Tan Green shade.

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Death Guard Chaos Space Marine Rhino “The Goober Uber”

I started this project almost by accident. I was thinking about how much I enjoyed painting the Blight-Hauler. And I realized that if I was going to every play with the Death Guard Marines, it might be nice to have a transport. Well, I have two or three Rhino hulls lying around, so I decided to try my hand at another conversion.

So, I’m starting with a very old Ultramarine Razorback. This is one of the first models I painted back in like 1997. I actually base-coated it yellow already in anticipation of adding it to my Imperial Fists.

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I had a lot of fun “decorating” the tank. I don’t have a Chaos vehicle upgrade sprue, so I improvised. I used the original bulldozer spikes as trophy racks. Then many skulls from the aforementioned skull pack to adorn the doors and front. And LOTS of Milliput for tentacles and some sort of brain/puss thing growing in the back.

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The Lord of Contagion model I converted to the Daemon Prince had an icon of sorts that I removed to make room for the wings. I attached that to the top of the Rhino with magnets, and I think it looks pretty sharp.

I posted the above “work in progress” picture on a Facebook group. Someone commented that it looked like someone waiting for his Goober Uber. I think that name is going to stick.

The colours are the same idea as the oher models in this post. I was surprised how good the Plaguebearer Flesh contrast paint looked on flat surfaces like the tank. The tentacles were especially fun to do with Magos Purple, because the contrast paint really highlights the “imperfections.”

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Overall, I’m quite happy with my little Death Guard collection. I’m itching to buy more, but I have most of the Death Guard side of the Dark Imperium box to paint. I am just not looking forward to having to paint all of them so well!