Warhammer 40,000 - Myphitic Blight-Hauler

Who wants a kiss?

Oof, it’s been a while since my last painting update. I guess life comes at you fast, which is more than I can say for my painting speed. 

An easy-to-build Myphitic Blight-Hauler seemed like a fun way to get back into it, as I do love to paint Death Guard. As the name suggests, the build was in fact pretty easy although the rear track halves were a little tricky, resulting in a little gap. But from what I can see, it seems to be a fairly common issue that others have with this kit. As far as sub-assemblies went, I left the multi-melta and front tracks separate. 

Next I primed the whole model with Army Painter Uniform Grey. For the tracks and multi-melta I gave them a coat of Vallejo Metal Colour Magnesium.   Then on the armour plates I used some Vallejo German Red Brown through the airbrush to get a nice smooth layer for the rust effect. After that I gave it my usual layer of Vallejo German Camouflage Medium by way of shadows and drybrushed it with Ryza Rust for the highlights. Next, I gave the armour plates a layer of Vallejo’s Chipping Medium. I gave it about half an hour to cure before I sprayed on a thin but solid layer of Death Guard Green. Working systemically, I wet areas of the armour plates and used an old toothbrush to expose the layer of rust underneath. Finally, I sealed the armour plates with a layer of matt varnish. 

With the chipping done I could make a start on the remainder of the base colours, I started with Rakarth Flesh for the daemon flesh behind the armour plates as that was the largest area that needed painting. Next I moved onto the metallics, painting the silver parts with Leadbelcher and the bronze parts with Balthasar Gold.For the bones and teeth I gave them a couple of thin coats of Army Painter Skeleton Bone. And finally, I gave the boils and pustules a coat of Averland Sunset to make them stand out. 

With the base colours done I could make a start on the fun stuff, playing with enamel washes and oil paints. For the flesh areas, I mixed Burnt Umber and Sap Green in approximately two-to-one ratio that made something akin to Citadel’s Athonian Camoshade. I thinned it down to approximately acrylic paint consistency and applied it to all the flesh areas except for inside the mouth. I then used a make-up sponge to wipe away the excess paint. This didn’t quite stick in the recesses like a traditional wash would but it did turn the flesh a nice sickly colour. I then thinned down some violet paint to a wash consistency and painted it into the recesses to give the appearance of bruised flesh. Inside the mouth I gave it a wash with Guilliman Flesh contrast paint. I also used a bit of Guilliman Flesh around the metal parts on the flesh to make them look a bit inflamed and sore. For the various fleshy pipes (ahem), I gave them a coat of Basilicanum Grey contrast paint to make them look greasy. 

For the metallic areas, I thinned down some Abteilung 502 Engine Grease to a paint consistency and applied it to the mechanical areas inside the tracks. Like before, I used a make-up sponge to wipe away the excess. Then for the tracks themselves and the remaining silver areas I used AK Interactive’s Track Wash to give them a really dirty appearance. And for the carapace, I firstly used Ammo’s Streaking Grime to, well, give it a streaky and grimy appearance befitting a daemon contraption of the Death Guard. I then used Ammo’s Dark Brown Wash for Green Vehicles (always a mouthful) to give it a pin wash and really bring out the recesses. Lastly for the enamel paints I used some of Ammo’s Streaking Rust to create some rivulets of rust running down from the various pock marks in the hull. 

After that, all I really needed to do was the last few bits of weathering and effects.I busted out the airbrush real quick to apply some Greenstuff World’s Liquid Pigments Black Soot around the barrel of the multi melta; I can by all means be applied with a normal brush but I find it much easier to get that gradient and fade by using an airbrush. I then used some Warp Lightning contrast paint to make some green streaks on the carapace. And finally, I used some Nihilakh Oxide to add some verdigris to the bronze trim. And with that, the main model was complete and I could crack on with the base. 

As all my Death Guard have forest themed bases and there is a fair amount of open space on the base, I could have a little fun with it. I glued on some resin tree stumps and mushrooms from Kromlech and a few bits of slate. I primed it with Army Painter Uniform Grey to seal them down, and also to avoid painting the rocks. For the tree stump, I painted the bark with Vallejo German Camouflage Medium and the inner rings with Steel Legion Drab, I then washed both areas with Wyldwood contrast paint, this ended up a little darker than I had planned but worked out well. For the various fungi, I gave them a couple of coats of Wraithbone; for the stem I washed it with Nuln Oil and for the cap I gave it a coat of Black Templar contrast paint. Turned out a bit green, but that wasn’t the end of the world. By way of texture I gooped on a layer of Stirland Mud across the whole base and once it was dry I washed it, along with the rocks and mushrooms on the tree stump, with Athonian Camoshade. And once that was dry, I drybrushed it with Tyrant Skull. For the puddles of toxic goop, I painted random slodges of Caliban Green followed by Nurgle's Rot technical paint. While I had it out, I also put some Nurgle’s rot on the mushroom and the worm/maggot crawling over it. For a bit of juxtaposition with the rest of the grim base, I painted the butterfly with Talassar Blue contrast paint. For the last bits, I put some PVA glue on the base in random places and sprinkled on some Geek Gaming Scenics Base Ready Forest Ground Cover; stuck some tufts on and absolutely lastly: painted the rim of the base with some Warboss Green. Some people hate the retro-looking bright green but I love it!