The heart of the Pulse of the Maggots is Nurgle's Nurses. Once Adepta Sororitas of the Order of the Hospitaller, these sisters betrayed their oath to the Emperor to follow the loving embrace of the Chaos God Nurgle. Led by the Plague Surgeon Dr. Ilentia Chyrurpus and Malignant Plaguecaster Maggox, and supported by bearers of Nurgle Icons of Corruption Vel 'The Bearer of the Gargled Tryptic' and Dr. Festle 'The Trice Impeller,' they continue the eternal pestilent crusade of The Pulse of the Maggots.

I have nothing against the Plague Marine models. They're excellent sculpts, but I really wanted something unique. Something that fit my theme of corruption. As I wrote my prior narrative about how The Pulse of the Maggot became this, it was all on my initial army build within 9th edition. I wanted shock troops, big baddies, and heavy-hitters, so terminators, deep strike, and monsters were how I decided on my direction of choosing my units. Also, elite units tend to be cheaper as swarm armies need so many models.

I had already built out 2000 pts for 9th and wanted a home enemy to play against. I've always loved the Sisters of Battle. I love their lore, their ability to bend reality with faith, and with grimdark style, they really sing in the Warhammer universe. Games Workshop dropped some fantastic combat patrols in 2022. Since I already had a solid force for my Death Guard, I couldn't pass up this sweet Sisters box set, The Sanctorum Guard.

I wanted to max out my Paragon suits, which in 9th was three elites. With three units of Paragons and Morvenn Vahl, I was right at 1000 pts (maybe 1990?). This was going to be an awesome opposition to fight against. I really had no interest in Battleline Sisters. Again, beautiful sculpts, but not something I was interested in at the time. I then saw some amazing artists' works around the corruption of sisters. I had the crazy idea of converting them all to Plague Marines. To do this, I really needed to see what I would be missing in terms of weapons with this massive conversion. I was surprised how easy it was in terms of equipment that came in the Sisters box and what aligned with Plague Marines. A match made in Nurgle's Garden!

Dr. Ilentia Chyrurpus is the Lt. Commander of the Pulse of the Maggots Plague Company and senior Plague Surgeon. Having served Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita even before their work helping with the fall of Caliban, he has led hundreds of missions to secure and retrieve biological resources for the Pulse of the Maggots' various insidious plans.

I saw this model and HAD to have it. It screamed Grimdark to me, and I needed to fulfill this vision. I also love the challenge of using 'trash' to make new things. With young kids and animals that destroy damn near everything, there are lots of bits of things on the floor. I keep whatever looks like an interesting shape and is within the 28mm scale. For this model, I had a razor blade cap and some poor soul fit perfectly inside it. It was a match made in heaven. Okay, a match made in the Warp, but still epic and absolutely worth it. It took it to a whole new level. I lined the insides with a rough mix of washes made of browns, purples, and yellows, adding some technical paint for texture as well and called it a day. I couldn't be more pleased. 

The Sporotrichosis-infected Kroot Farstalkers have transformed into Poxwalkers, becoming victims of Nurgle's fruit—an insidious parasitic mycelium that overtakes hosts and compels them to feed and spread Nurgle's spores further. They now serve as terror troops; even their ceaseless groaning serves as a vector for infecting the living with nightmares and terrors. In battle, they overwhelm their foes with a deluge of infected flesh, clawing hands, gnashing teeth, and mutated appendages.

I assembled this unit towards the end of my assembly of various Plague Company models. These Kroot were originally a Kill Team included in the "Into the Dark" box set. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the current Poxwalker models; I find them to be a little too comical for my aesthetic tastes.

The Kroot lore has grown on me, especially after recently finishing the book "Kasrkin" by Edoardo Albert. While I'm aware that Kroot generally avoid consuming Tyranids, Warp Spawn, or Necrons due to taboos and obvious dangers, I imagined a scenario where they became lost in a Space Hulk, desperate, and were eventually studied and manipulated by the Plague Company's Pulse of the Maggot operatives. They've become an experiment conducted by my Plague Lord and Surgeon to infect them with Nurgle's fruit. To achieve this I had to do some pretty extensive conversion work. Luckily, I have a lot of mutant bits!  

Even the puppers are victims to this insidious experiment!

What's that?! Death Watch?! Might there be Death Watch models showcased soon?!

My Daemon Prince was my first model I undertook since I was a kid 30 or so years ago.  As I mentioned in the prior post I was influenced by Cliffhaenger, who was inspired by Red Beard Baron with their appraoches to creating such a monster. I have the habit of jumping in fully when I commit and sometimes this can a recipe for over extending myself, but I figured why not a full conversion with a monster character? I had a hunger for more cow-bell if you will and this Daemon prince was my cowbell. For the colors I loved the lore and style of the Pallid hands, but really wanted to incorporate my Plague company to be descendants of the Dusk Raiders as well since I wanted the ancient veteran knowledge and siege warfare specialism. Here is how my paint theme was developed:

Paint Recipe:
Undercoat - Wraith bone
Screaming skull with touch of water with large brush
seraphim sepia with small layer brush on edge of armor 
screaming skull with small layer brush on armor. 
leadbelcher metal on all metal trim and metal components
corvus black on right pauldron and right arm
leadbelcher metal
corvus black horns and joints
dryad bark straps and hair
agrax earthshade all over except screaming skull armor
matt white - army painter - highlight armor
sycorax bronze - highlight trim
eshin grey - highlight black details
stormhost silver  - highlight metal
gorthor brown - highlight leather
corvus black for eyes
kislev flesh on fleshy bits
averland sunset - pustules 
guilliman flesh for contrast flesh
magos purple for contrast flesh
contrast medium for contrast flesh blending
flayed one flesh for skin highlights
averland sunset for pustules
rust streaks AK interactive for rust
white spirit - enamel thinners
old rust vallejo paints - rust highlights
pigment fixer to fix old rust to model
protect model vallejo brush-on 
protect model  testors spray lacquer clear coat 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog entry. My name is Gavin, and I've been a Warhammer 40k fan for over 30 years. This blog is an attempt to document my journey into the world of miniature painting. While I'm starting this blog about two years into my journey, I hope to retrospectively fill in the content and thoughts over these past two years, sharing some of my struggles and successes, and ultimately, getting more connected with the community. 

How and why now? 
Well, my mom passed away in 2022, and as you would expect, I felt pretty awful. I was struggling to find joy, and for the vast majority of my life, I've always wanted to build a Warhammer 40k army. I started getting into the Warhammer universe when I was around 12 years old, but due to life circumstances, I lost the opportunity and resources to maintain my passion for it. However, I've never stopped thinking about it.

Fast forward 30 years, and now I'm in a position to afford this costly hobby. I've always had an itch, if you will, for Nurgle. The dynamic lore of the Plague God has always captivated me, and I absolutely love terminator armor. In fact, my first unit was the old school metal terminator box set. Sadly, we lost it in a move, and I've missed it ever since.

The launch of the 9th edition was what really rekindled my interest and reminded me of how much I loved and missed painting. As a visual designer by trade, I miss the tactile aspect of creating an object, something you get to keep. Additionally, I have two kids, and I really want to introduce them to deep, immersive board games. I hope it will show them that there is more out there than just video games. Don't get me wrong; I love video games, but there is obviously something to holding an artifact and growing a hobby that the digital world just can't replicate.

So, before I bought anything, I grabbed the new 9th edition Codex and delved deep into the current lore. I really don't like using premade heroes or characters in my narratives. For instance, I have always preferred creating an entire D&D group rather than using premade characters. I'll spend 10 hours hacking a game to override the creation stage of any RPG if that's what it means. I really enjoy knowing it's MY team existing in the established universe, even if that means I undermine some of the rich character-driven narratives the developers planned. Sorry, not sorry. So, that meant no Mortarion or Typhus, but I wanted to start with a character. I saw this amazing conversion by Cliffhaenger, who was inspired by Red Beard Baron. I was awestruck by how intense and dark these models were. It grabbed me, and I wanted to try something really outside my comfort zone, something big, and also something I really trusted I could finish. I even wrote up a story to support my new Plague Company, The Pulse of the Maggots.

Who was inspired by Red Beard Baron: video

I was awestruck by how intense and dark these models were. It grabbed me and I wanted to try something really outside my comfort zone. Something big and also something I really trusted I could actually finish. I even wrote up a story to support my new Plague Company, The Pulse of the Maggots. 

Some concept inspiration

"Dusk Raiders XIVth Legion "You are my unbroken blades. You are the Death Guard. By your hand shall justice be delivered, and doom shall stalk a thousand worlds." —The Primarch Mortarion, upon his unification with the XIVth Legion

Horus Heresy (ca. 005-014.M31)

Upon Typhon's execution of the XIVth fleet's navigators, many ships carrying units of the XIVth legion became lost in the warp. One such ship, known as The Heart, spiraled loose from the Death Guard fleet in torrents of the immaterial space. Severely disoriented and damaged, The Heart crash-landed on a remote planet in the fringe solar system of the Veiled Region. Unbeknownst to the survivors of The Heart was their exposure to a terrible Nurgle infectionl.

The newly isolated company, with damaged long-range communication and a crashed ship, began scouring planetside in search of resources for repairs. This mission led them to the current ruler of the planet and the solar system he controlled.

Starlord Slulor Brighthand was the descendant of the royal family of rulers inhabiting this star system for centuries. Brutal and absolute, the Brighthands had established immense wealth and power over dozens of planets. However, Slulor's empire had recently been struggling with subversive rebels within his star system. Upon the arrival of The Heart, Slulor, infatuated with the lore and legend of space marines, quickly pronounced his empire's patronage to the Death Guard's plight in exchange for their services.

Slulor, obsessed with Death Guard, began spending vast chunks of his empire's resources to play as a space marine and shadow The Heart's marines as they ransacked rebel strongholds.

As Slulor frantically yearned for space marine approval, his obsession not only earned him status in their ranks but Nurgle's eye as well. They squashed rebel forces and became deeper entrenched into the eternal squalor of Nurgle's corruption.

During the final siege of the last rebel outpost, Slulor became critically ill on the battlefield. As he collapsed, his personal bodyguard withdrew from the frontlines to protect their liege and began to succumb to a rebel counteroffensive. It looked as if Slulor might be overrun and die in battle like the space marines he so admired, but a dark distortion descended upon his weakened form.

Slulor's bodyguard looked in horror as this distortion of reality twisted and pulsed with an unholy mire upon their Lord. Slulor's body swelled and deformed to gigantic proportions, ripping and tearing into a metamorphic form. As the bodyguard fell defending their master, the last of Slulor's most trusted warriors was rendered a mortal wound. At that moment, a torrent of miasma and offal erupted from the deformed mass that was now Slulor.

Born anew on nightmarish spindly arachnid-like legs and dripping with ichor from freshly uncoiled insectoid wings, was something the Brighthand empire had never witnessed before. This massive creature that stood before a stunned rebel force was Nurgle's chosen. No more was the Brighthand family line. Now, before the rebels and Death Guard, hulked the terrifying Rot Prince Slulor Glophand.

With reaffirmed power over his domain, the Rot Prince committed all souls of the system to the father of plague and brutal efficiency of the Death Guard. It took less than a solar cycle of Terra for the entire star system to succumb to Nurgle's desires.

With this festering new empire, an unholy company was born from the gene-seed of the Dusk Raiders, now turned Death Guard. Their colors and markings were inspired by the recovery and fateful deliverance of The Heart into the Rot Prince's domain. They honored the service pattern of the Dusk Raider's right arm indication and combined the undying color of the legendary Pallid hands. A chapter of renown amongst the plague company. The crimson of the Dusk Raiders represented the bloody service to the Emperor, but now it was corrupt like the souls of the damned and turned to black.

Like flies to feces, the damned and exiled flocked under the new Nurgle banner within the Veiled Region. This color scheme encased an encircled sinister heart with three bloat flies representing the eternal corruption of the heart of all things and the sacred number of three. For Nurgle was the third chaos god to be born and has grown and evolved like intelligent cancer. The fly and all its shapes and patterns have prominence amongst the company's members such as the Rot Prince's uncanny likeness to insectoids reflecting Nurgle's garden of life, an infinite source of destruction and growth.

Though the Prince's power and prestige were a boon for the survivors of the Heart, it was the leadership of their own warlord that truly defined the chapter. For the Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita was the first to praise Nurgle's blessing aboard the doomed Heart and the first to take steps to conceal its sinister destiny. The lord was no Dusk Raider either. Long before Typhus's sin, the Plague Lord Amanita and his most trusted lieutenant survived the rage of the Chaos Gods as they assisted in the destruction of Caliban, the home world of the most powerful and secretive loyalist space marine chapter, The Dark Angels.

Both Space Marines served as apothecaries within the Inner Circle of the First Company of the Dark Angels Chapter. Abiding Luther's command to subvert and sabotage Dark Angels' geneseed banks, they extracted vast amounts of genetic material and tech during the Horus Heresy. Luther entrusted them as they specialized in locating, recovering, and securing progenoid glands. As Luther didn't trust the actions of the Lion's direction. These Fallen apothecaries saw the ignorance of Dark Angels' self-imposed limits and service to Primarch Lion El'Jonson. They knew the genetic power of the 1st company shouldn't be restrained to the nearsighted practice of the Lion.

During the final battle between the Dark Angels Primarch Lion El'Jonson and the Arch-betrayer Luther that triggered the Dark God's wrath and engulfed Caliban in a Warp Storm of legendary proportions. Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita and his Lt. Surgeon were thought to have been ripped from the broken surface of their once homeworld and cast throughout space and time. However, their dark acts of corrupting the pure gene pool pleased the God of Plagues to such an extent that Nurgle masked their presence and granted them the tools to escape the warp storm with The Heart and members of disloyal Dusk Raiders.

This new chapter of Death Guard with the complete corruption of the Glophand's empire became a tool for the Death Guard leader Primarch Mortarion's campaigns. Upon meeting the Primarch, Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita knelt, and felt the wave of infective words wash over him and this company, "You are still my unbroken. Though you are now the Pulse of the Maggots. By your infected hearts shall liberation be spread and septicemia endure." —The Primarch Mortarion, upon his meeting with Plague Lord Palloides Amanita.

If you read this far, I thank you and really appreciate your attention. 

WIP: Rot Prince Slulor Glophand, Favored Executioner of the Pulse of the Maggots

I followed a very similar technique that Red Beard Baron developed and Cliffhaenger adapted. However, I want maggots and I wanted more action. I also loved the idea of a clear base to hopefully make the illusion of ooze and maggots on any terrain. I'm so proud of my execution and grateful for the online community for sharing such priceless knowledge. This was my first step into my new hobby and really feels like an excellent conceptual anchor for future miniatures.