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Warhammer AoS – A Touch of Chaos

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This week I’ve been working on a single miniature so this should be a shorter update. Without further ado, here is what I’m working on.

If you know Warhammer at all, then you can probably guess which chaos god this guy follows! Truthfully, while I like elves and hobbits, I’ve always liked GW’s chaos miniatures. They’re very heavy metal and evil looking. While I’d rather not paint space marines, I’ve surprisingly always got time for a Chaos space marine or a fantasy chaos model like this one.

As far as this mini goes, I’m actually showing some stuff that is half done (or maybe even a quarter done in some cases) for once. The red armor is more or less done, barring some light touch ups but the skin is very much a work in progress and I’m not completely happy with it thus far. The upper torso is in pretty good shape but one of the legs is not even halfway done and the other is getting there but needs further adjustments. Its probably also worth mentioning that I’ve never painted demon skin before so I’m basically making it up as I go along. I did the upper torso by glazing various skin tones and really like the kind of strange and sickly look to it. I tried to do a similar thing with the legs and that didn’t work quite as well. Glazing and washes work well with flatter surfaces and not so well with others. The legs are too rounded and have deep crevices and so glazing just wasn’t working. Instead, I’ve pivoted towards layering the paint and that finally got things going in the right direction.

With that said, I’m curious if anybody can guess what is different about this mini than any other one I’ve painted before. I’ll give a big hint and say it is has something to do with the lighting. I will admit that this question is kind of a hard one because I don’t think that the illusion I’m trying to create is working yet and I need to make some more progress before its more obvious. So don’t sweat it if you don’t have a guess. I am excited about this project though because its one I’ve been thinking about for a long time and I think it will pretty visually stunning if I can pull it off.

I will say that it is a bit of a shame that I couldn’t correctly assemble the first miniature I had in mind (pictured above). As I painted this one, I realized that the intended model would have been better suited for my idea and allowed me to do a few more things than this one will. Not much I can do about that other than to buy a second box with five miniatures in it, which I don’t want to do because I already have 2-3 miniatures in the box that I’m unlikely to ever paint.

That is all I’ve managed hobby-wise this week. I forgot to mention it last week but I’m waiting to get an endoscopy to find out what is wrong. It is three weeks away from now so I’ve got a little bit to go yet. Truthfully, its been a long wait throughout this entire process but when you couple that with a bland diet, inability to exercise, and do things I’d normally take for granted, it has been a tedious month or two. I am hoping that I can get back to normal somewhat quickly after that test but I guess we’ll see what happens next.

Finally, I’m pretty sure I killed our ailing dryer by putting something too heavy in it so that is yet another appliance that has to be replaced. We pretty much have all new-appliances in our condo and there’s now a spot reserved for me in the poor house. I know that poor houses don’t exist any longer (and I assume they existed in countries beyond the US in the past though I could be wrong) but its been that kind of week and that kind of year. If nothing else, it makes me thankful for distractions like our hobby to help us get through the less fun times.

41 thoughts on “Warhammer AoS – A Touch of Chaos”

    1. Be careful or I’ll send one of my extras for you to experiment with 😉 There are a couple of Chaos Space Marine factions that have bright colors, including the Emperor’s Children which are pink, gold, and black so what you’re suggesting is definitely an option!

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  2. Great looking progress Jeff, Keep pressing on with the skin tones, I’m sure you’ll get there in the end, I wont say what your going for as I have inside information so would be cheating ! LOL Hope the endoscopy goes well, and they can find the problem, they’re not pleasant so I hope they find something the first time, and I can sympathise with replacing items, being a pain, as I’ve had to fix every set of taps in the house this week, and the people who had the house before pretty much cobbled everything together with whatever junk they could find, so an hour fix turns into 7 ! LOL

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    1. Thanks, Dave! I totally forgot that I told you what I’m doing so you’ve had it spoiled already haha. I appreciate you being a good sport about it!

      I haven’t had an endoscopy before but my wife had one done a couple of years ago so I feel like I know enough to confirm what you’re saying. Any time you have to be put under, you know it isn’t going to be fun.

      I’m glad you were able to make the repair. I tried to tackle another home project that I was hoping was simple and is not but I will try to persist with it because its mostly just time and effort and not cost, thankfully!

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  3. This is looking like a great start mate, the armour is really nice as is the arms. I’m sure you will get there with the legs as well.
    I’m not sure yet, what you are aiming for bit is it something like the light coming from below? I.e. a lava base with OLS from below? Hard to be sure with different parts being at different stages, but that would be my guess at the mo.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words, mate! You are like Bran Stark, aren’t you? 😉 Your guess is not too far off though I have a surprise or two later on that you might not expect!

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  4. Dude, Khorne? Really? When Slaanesh is right there? LOL! He’s looking great so far, I really like the armour, it looks like it’s been blackened in the fires of Khorne’s everlasting hate!

    Also, Emperor’s Children don’t have to be pink and black; as long as it’s a discordant riot, any colours work on the pervs from the III Legion 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Matt! I definitely wanted the armor to look imposing and I hope the gold will bring it to life further. Its true that Emperor’s Children come in different colors. I think they’re the most pastel faction in Warhammer 40k though I would guess the Harlequins could give them a run for their money too!

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  5. Great start! Those chaos models are so much fun for weird skin experiments. As for what’s happening lighting-wise My first guess was the same as lordcommandereloth I.e. some sort of lighting from below, perhaps from the weapons?

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    1. Thanks, Nic and I agree that Chaos models are perfect for trying skin tones. I didn’t necessarily realize that I was going to be doing that but now I’m knee deep in it! Your guess is excellent like his. You’ve got it half right is all I’ll say for now. Its good to know that the lighting is coming across at least somewhat already. That is what I was hoping for.

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  7. Chaos. Of course. It is understandable for Synths, given their logical origins and methodical construction, would be drawn to the more chaotic elements of our universe. Khorne is a bit of a surprise but your art work expresses your subconscious and it is hard enough to understand ourselves let alone another. As always you exhibit excellent painting skills.

    I have had an endoscopy. As you say, any time you go under it is not going to be fun. The older I get the more I think about not waking up every time I fall asleep. Especially artificially induced sleep.

    The days of debtor’s prisons are gone (for the US, UK and EU anyway) but in the US you do run the risk of ending up in one of the ever growing tent cities of the homeless. Living in Europe really has made me conscious of just how horrific homelessness is in the USA. After over a decade here the mantra “Americans have the freedom to fail” (which allegedly teaches responsibility and self reliance) no longer has the same charm.

    I feel your pain with the appliances. We keep hoping our fridge will survive just a bit longer… long enough to find a replacement we like on sale!

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    1. I’m particular with what I like when it comes to chaos but I enjoy Khorne because I like painting red. Whereas, I don’t paint Nurgle and am a germaphobe (according to my wife) so maybe you’re right.

      I completely agree on going under. I’ve done it once as an adult and it wasn’t something I was in a hurry to do again…

      Homelessness has been and continues to be a major problem. I’m sure you’ve heard of how rampant it can be in some cities. There is a large homeless population here and I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with them taking the train to work. It is tough when you see how many people need mental health and addiction help and clearly aren’t getting it.

      I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your fridge! I still have a couple of old things left in this place and I’m hoping that they will hang on for a while yet too. Otherwise, I really will be sent to the Bastille! 🙂

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      1. I recall dealing with homeless folks working security in Seattle back in the 90’s and compare it to working with homeless folks as a cop in the UK in the first decade of the 21st Century. I see very little of it now in rural Germany as a private citizen(hermit) but I also remember living out of my car in the UK as well at one point. Of course things look even worse now than I remember of the US based on what I see posted online.

        May you always avoid such things mate!

        Blood for the Blood God!

        Hmm… Synths…. if you prick them do they not bleed? If you wrong them, do they not revenge? Hmm….

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      2. May we both avoid such things! And there is some interesting concept art of synths that have quite a lot of human organs including blood I think. I’m not sure that Bethesda used those designs in-game but they at least nearly could bleed!

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      3. Oh Synths clearly bleed in-game. If they did not then they would be easy enough to detect. No, I was making a Shakespeare reference… Shylock from The Merchant of Venice.

        With that quote, it only makes sense if Synths do bleed. That is a brilliant scene. My favorite from the play. A long, long time ago had the part of Shylock in a school reading…. but I am no Pacino.

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      4. You know, I’ve never read Merchant of Venice though I have read plenty other Shakespeare in my studies. You’ve distinguished yourself as a real man of letters much like myself here! 🙂 Having said that, I can’t act to save my life either so we also have that in common.

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      5. I live in the Northwest and can definitely say the homelessness issue is way worse than in the 90s. It’s gotten worse throughout, but 2019 pretty much did us in. Most of the downtowns were gutted as businesses shut down and crime got worse, with homeless camps popping up all over. We visited Chicago downtown a few years ago and were shocked how nice it was compared to ours. Though we didn’t venture out of the downtown proper, and I imagine there are worse areas.
        Seattle has made strides to clean up their city with ‘street ambassadors’. Portland sadly, is still a bit of a cesspool. Hopefully it will get better, but it makes me pretty sad.

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      6. There aren’t a lot of tent cities here thankfully (though there is a push to create one for all of the migrants being sent here which is a whole different thing altogether). I’ve always thought Chicago is a pretty bad place to be homeless. It tends to get pretty cold here in the winter and being cold at night would be rough. I would say that there are a fair amount of homeless people in the Loop but its manageable and not worse than other cities. The Magnificent Mile got hit by looting and I haven’t been there very much lately but I think the recovery has been slow which is surprising considering its always been a high-end shopping and tourist area.

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      7. We’ve had looting, tons of vandalism, riots during the lockdown, etc. Plus a ton of car accidents, though that might be all over. We also had three Targets shut down because of shop lifting. I’m hoping for the best, but the local news and what I see on a regular basis is not very uplifting.

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      8. I know exactly what you mean on the news being discouraging. The shoplifting was bad briefly but has mostly gotten better (I think). The real problem is that groups of guys are driving around and mugging people on the streets, sometimes violently. The cops have really struggled to deal with this and it seems like every weekend around 10 people are getting mugged at night without any consequences. Social media has also enabled teenagers to swarm parts of the city in the summer so hundreds, if not thousands, show up and they tear up property like cars and sometimes mug people as well. These are definitely tough times we’re living in at the moment 😦

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      9. Oh man, I don’t think we’ve had that many muffins here. That sounds really bad. I’m afraid we’re headed to serious crime though, as there is more and more and gang graffiti on signs and buildings.

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      10. I know not all of Germany is like the idyllic rural village I currently live in but even the worst I have seen here (which was in Frankfurt) is nothing like what I have seen on YouTube showing problems back in the States. It really saddens me.

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      12. It is not good and I suspect that what happens here will start happening elsewhere in the Midwest anyway as people share strategies and do “professional development”. Hopefully not though!

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      13. Weirdly, graffiti (which I absolutely hate) is quite common here but generally only on public property. Thankfully not so common on private property. Nor many broken windows in empty properties. Strange to be driving and see clean highways, no litter, no pot holes but lots of graffiti.

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      14. When I visited Paris, I was surprised how prevalent graffiti is in France. It is everywhere in Chicago. Public, private, nothing is safe from it! That does sound like quite a sight though. We have plenty of potholes and litter (due to the wind) which are among my least favorite parts of living here.

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      15. I have never been to Paris but I do recall seeing graffiti in France… which had better roads than Belgium but not as good as Germany. I really did not enjoy Belgium very much. I recall seeing some tidy places in the States but also some really dystopian disaster areas. Burned out cars, boarded up windows, gang tags…. in not just rural Louisiana but in Philadelphia as well.

        You know, it is interesting to think back. I do not see much graffiti on private property here in Bavaria but when the Wall fell in Berlin in ’91 (where I was stationed as a soldier at the time) I recall graffiti appearing very quickly all over the place in the city. We put it down to folks feeling “free” for the first time and getting carried away. There were more gangs of young neo-Nazis keen to scrap with intoxicated young American soldiers after the Wall fell as well though. Ah, youth… such days of adventure.

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      16. Yeah, if you visit the Rust Belt towns, manufacturing towns, basically, you’ll see exactly what you’re describing. Gary, Indiana is a really bad and close example for me. Its really sad how bad things are there. It looks apocalyptic to be sure.

        I have trouble looking at Belgium favorably because of what they did to the Congo. They were small-time imperalists/colonialists but they were excessively cruel and ruined that country for all intents and purposes.
        I hope that they come to terms with their horrible past and try to make it right but I suspect they never will. King Leopold’s Ghost is a fantastic historical book on the subject that I think you would enjoy. Yet another book recommendation for you.

        My brother-in-law is marrying a lass from Munich so its possible I may be visiting the Motherland for the first time in the future. I imagine I’ll enjoy a stay there. German efficiency and orderliness, in particular, are appealing to me 🙂 I may have send some questions about Germania your way whenever I know when and where I’m visiting.

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      17. The history of the Congo is utterly depressing. Interesting but depressing. I do believe contemporary Belgium is keen to make things right… as much as the nation can anyway. Some water has to be considered under the bridge and forgiveness offered so that people can move forward rather than be locked in a cycle of bitterness and hatred.

        That goes for a lot of historical injustices all across the world, including the US, UK and Germany.

        If you get over here I hope that we can find a way to meet and talk face to face. You are certainly welcome to come visit the GG home, which is not that far from Munich. I think from what you have said in the past you will appreciate and enjoy the way things are here.

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      18. I haven’t heard much about it lately but it seems like 5-10 years ago, Belgium was just starting to wake up to their past that they’d largely tried to forget so that is good to hear. Unfortunately, I think the DRC as it is known now is still viewed by foreign powers (China mostly) as a resource to be exploited and that is how many people who live there are treated but I do hope that changes for the better in the future.

        Sounds great to me. I’ll be in touch when I know for sure if we’re going or not. I think they have a lot of wedding plans to figure out in the meantime and things could certainly change. If for some reason the Germany wedding does fall through, I still intend to get to Germany and Austria one day just to see what its all about.

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  8. Great job so far. I don’t pretend to understand what your shooting for as anything beyond block painting and highlights is beyond me. 😀
    Good luck with the medical stuff. A month is a long time to wait. Lame.

    Appliances fail unfortunately. Home ownership is a pain. I feel it with you.

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    1. Thanks, Stew! I know you’re a real Games Workshop and aficionado so its always interesting to hear what you think.

      Outside of the hobby things could certainly be better but hopefully they’re on the upswing (finally).

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  9. I’m trying to catch up on blogs, oldest to newest post, as I can…if work doesn’t take over my life again. Anyways, the mini is looking decent. Probably my favorite part is a piece of armor on the back, that dark to red transition is really nice. Something I’ve seen before, but it’s just a beautiful color. I guess I’ll be finding out how your health is doing in future posts. Eating and exercise are so important and I often forget how they can really impact one’s mood. Where even the smallest things can end up getting you down. I guess no one asked by what the heck did you put in that dryer?!?!

    Lighting. Not sure you gave us enough to go on. I did notice right away that you had highlighted the undersides of the muscles. At first I thought you were trying something with Contrast paints. After your hint, I figured you must be putting him on a lava base. There definitely appears to be a stronger light on his lower right. Maybe you’re going to put a Disco ball on the ground?! 😂

    Being a process person, it’s pretty fun to see the mini at an early stage. I’ll snap shots of mine sometimes,
    bur don’t always post them. I should do that sometimes too.

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    1. As far as I can tell, you’ve just about managed to get caught up in a day which is insane! I would have told you to pace yourself because it is a tall task but you’ve managed which is very impressive.

      I put some large blankets that were wet and very heavy as a result in the dryer and that’s what did it. I think it was on its last legs anyway but it couldn’t handle the weight of that.

      A disco ball is definitely what I went for. You’re going to be excited when you see the Khorne Ball all finished up! 😀 Truthfully, WIP pictures are a must with display painting because it takes so long to make progress that you have to show off some progress whenever you can to keep motivated! Some people in our community seem to like the WIP pictures too so I wouldn’t be shy about sharing them.

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      1. Oh yea, large wet blankets would do it. I made that mistake once before and jammed the washer. Not fun.

        Haha, at this point I know it’s not a disco ball.

        Makes total sense on the WIP pics, else we’d only get 1 post out of you every few months. Which would suck!

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      2. I feel better knowing that I’m not the only one who has made that mistake. I’ve done laundry for many years and never had something like that happen.

        And absolutely on the monthly updates. That’s exactly what it would be!

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