This week I’m showcasing a very special project – an Apothecary Biologis of the Imperial Fists. I am donating this miniature to The Apothecarion project, a fundraising effort for a charity that supports survivors of childhood cancer. Members of the online Warhammer community are donating Apothecary miniatures, and anyone can buy tickets to enter the raffle for a chance to win one of four ‘reliquary’ display cases full of donated miniatures. If you enter this raffle then this is your chance to not only own this miniature, but also raise money to a great cause!
Modelling
When I was asked to take part in this fundraising project and donate an Apothecary, my mind immediately went to the Leviathan Apothecary Biologis. Until recently I had no clear plans for this miniature as it didn’t really fit in with my Flesh Eaters. But with this community project to inspire me I suddenly knew exactly what I wanted to do with this kit. This Apothecary includes three LEDs to create its effects; one in the helmet, one in the task lamp, and one in the Vivispectrum sample chamber.
The Vivispectrum sample containment chamber was the most complex part of the conversion. Thankfully it is hollow, but I had to carefully cut out and file the chamber windows. The ‘xenos sample’ is made from the tentacled maw of a Ymgarl Genestealer. I painted the sample and the inside of the chamber before proceeding to the resin pour. Will the chamber with resin was intended to give the impression it was filled with liquid. I used PVA glue to temporarily fix a thin piece of plastic over each of the four windows, then poured UV Resin from Green Stuff World into each half of the chamber. I then cured the resin with a UV Torch.
The final touch on the Vivispectrum chamber was adding the 3V Flickering Green 0807 SMD chip LED to the inside of the top of the chamber, facing downwards. The connecting wire runs up through the arm and then down through the torso and legs. I chose a flickering LED to give a sense of motion to the sample, and hopefully the impression that whatever it is, it’s still alive!
Each of the three LEDs described above are connected in parallel to a single 3V CR2032 coin cell battery and miniature switch hidden under the base.
I did originally also plan to illuminate the wrist-mounted computer screen. The wrist unit is actually cast in resin in preparation for this. But I decided against it in the end as I was concerned it would draw the eye away from the much more interesting LED effect in the sample chamber.
Painting
When it came time to paint this miniature I went with Imperial Fists as they are of course one of my favourite chapters. This was quite a complex miniature to paint, both in the amount of detail and the range of colours used. There’s a little too much info about all the paints used to include in a single blog post, but I’ve listed my recipes for the off-white and yellow armour below. The whole miniature was undercoated with Chaos Black spray prior to painting.
Yellow Armour
Averland Sunset basecoat
Yriel Yellow layer (2-3 thin coats)
Casandora Yellow shade
Fuegan Orange shade in darker areas (slightly watered down)
Mournfang Brown shade in deepest recesses
Yriel Yellow edge highlight
Flash Gitz Yellow fine highlight
Dorn Yellow fine highlight on sharpest edges
White Scar dot highlight on sharpest edges
Off-White Armour
Administratum Grey basecoat (two thin coats)
Apothecary White Contrast shade
Corax White layer
Skull White highlight
So there we go, something slightly different this week. Don’t forget to follow The Apothecarion project for updates, and please buy tickets to enter the raffle for a chance to win this miniature! As always, thanks very much for reading, and please remember you can also find me sharing my work on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon.
This week I’m dealing with the perfidious Aeldari and January’s ‘Mini of the Month’, a Striking Scorpion Aspect Warrior!
Modelling
Don’t roll your eye just yet, this isn’t another army project to distract me from my 2025 hobby goals. It’s simply a proof of concept to see how LED Aspect Warrior helmets look and find out if LED mandiblasters are feasible. Having said that, I don’t get much Game Workshop new release FOMO these days, but I must admit the Aeldari releases are making me sweat a little…
The LED helmet and eye lenses were made using the techniques described in my LED Eye Lens Tutorial. As you can see in the image below, only the upper portion of the helmet was cast in resin. The eyes used a single 3V red 0805 SMD chip LED and a 47 ohm resistor (also available pre-wired from Small Scale Lights). This is smaller than the 1.8mm LED that I normally use for Space Marine eye lenses, since there’s not as much room in Aeldari helmets.
All three LED circuits were connected in parallel with each other to a single 3V CR2032 coin cell and switch in the base.
Painting
While I’m mostly happy with the paint job as a whole, I think I would try a different green next time. I checked Striking Scorpions on the Citadel Colour app, and it informed me that the receipe used Waaagh! Flesh as a base, with highlights of Warpstone Glow and Moot Green. It wasn’t until I was fully committed that I realised this probably wasn’t correct and the “official” scheme was a lot brighter.
I try to stick close to the official scheme and stock poses for LED ‘proof of concepts’ such as this one. It’s about not changing too many variables at once. I may possibly come back and make a Blades of Khaine Kill Team at some point. If I do, I’ll probably be a little more adventurous with the paint palette, perhaps bringing in some blacks and yellows.
So now the Striking Scorpion is done and dusted and I’ve satisfied myself that LED mandiblaster are possible, does that mean I’ll be getting back to my planned 2025 projects?
*Checks workbench*
Erm, no…
Please come back again soon to find out what my next tangent will be! As ever, thanks very much for reading, and please remember you can also find me sharing my work on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon.
I’m still tidying up after Armies on Parade this week. Last week I was rebasing Brother Garrett, and this week I’m doing the same for the Silver Stars Marksman. This sniper was last seen taking aim at the Flesh Eaters on my 2024 Armies on Parade, but now he has been given a proper base to join my growing Silver Stars Angels of Death Kill Team. He will take the role of ‘Intercessor Warrior with Stalker Bolt rifle’. This miniature will also be my entry into Apologist’s #HiddenArmies challenge.
Modelling
As with all my previous Silver Stars, this marine is built using a Primaris marine body and legs. The arms, pauldrons, backpack and bolter are from the previous version of the plastic Legion MkIII Tactical Squad set. To give the legs a more “antiquated” look, I added Mixed Micro Glass Balls from Green Stuff World as armour studs on the legs. To get the sniper pose, the legs required significant cutting an repositioning. You can see a work in progress image below, before I filled in the gaps with modelling putty.
The head is from the Legion MkVI Tactical Squad sprue. All of my Silver Stars are either wearing helmets or masks that cover their face. They are also all unnamed, unlike my Flesh Eaters. This is to help add to their sense of mystery.
When rebasing this miniature for game use, I thought it might be fun if he was seeking cover from incoming fire, just to help sell the pose. The LED techniques used here are based on my Simple Muzzle Flare tutorial, only with three LEDs connected in parallel instead of one.
I used a small section of cork tile to represent a broken concrete wall. Cork tile is great for this sort of thing as it is easy to work with and has a great texture when torn.
Normally I run the wires inside my miniatures, but because cork tile is quite soft, it’s difficult to drill through, especially for multiple wires. So in this case I simply concealed the wires under a layer of Milliput and then added some textured paste to help conceal it.
The final stage was to apply Green Stuff Worldacrylic gel to the LEDs, as per my Simple Muzzle Flare tutorial. To give the impression of additional debris, I also added some very small lengths of fibre optic cable to the gel before it hardened. If you don’t want to purchase a full reel of fibre optic cable for this, you can simple cut small sections from a child’s toy using a sharp hobby knife.
Painting
I used the same paint recipe for this Silver Star as detailed in this post, plus this post which expands on painting Silver Stars insignia. As you can see, this Marksman is another member of Squad Antimony.
The graffiti on the broken wall was influenced by this classic 40K diorama shown in the Rogue Trader rulebook.
That’s all for today, I hope you’ve enjoyed this insight into the latest member of my Silver Stars Kill Team. As ever, thanks very much for reading, and please remember you can also find me sharing my work on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Twitter/X.
This week’s blog post I’ll be talking about Voval Kreen, my recent Genestealer Cults Clamavus project. This miniature and its LED effects have been specially commissioned by the team at Green Stuff World to show off some of their 3D printed accessories and LED kits. This is my third Green Stuff World commission after Sergeant Khons and Custodian Kalden that I posted earlier in the year.
Modelling
This miniature was intended to demonstrate the Green Stuff World 3D printed Hacker Screens set. When I was asked to incorporate these effects into a miniature, I spent a little time thinking about what would be the best choice. I knew I wanted to specifically use the 3D “hololith” effect, and in the end I settled on the Genestealer Cults Clamavus.
Although the base miniature doesn’t actually include a hololith, the Clamavus is a master of propaganda and the information war when the Genestealer Cults rise up. I thought it would be cool if the Clamavus was portrayed receiving orders from the Cult Magus via hololith – it really helps that one of the components looks like a Magus! Or perhaps the Clamavus is simply amplifying a pre-recorded propaganda speech from the Cult’s spiritual leader. Either way, I thought it would give some awesome battlefield presence to this cool specialist.
As part of the commission I filmed all the stages of the build process, which you can see in the video below.
A full PDF tutorial for this build will be released via Green Stuff World soon. When it is, I’ll add it here and link to it from my tutorial section. In the meantime to get you started here’s a list of all the components and consumables I used.
You may also find my older LED Hololith Tutorial interesting, which shows a similar process applied to a Space Marine using slight different techniques and components.
Painting
I’ve gone back and forward on my preferred Genestealer Cults colour scheme over the years. But after sitting down and looking through various pieces of artwork and ‘Eavy Metal models from back in the day, I think I’ve finally settled on a scheme I’m actually happy with. The key colours are listed below.
Light Grey Armour
Grey Seer base coat
Apothecary White shade
Nuln Oil Shade in deepest recesses
Ulthuan Grey highlight
White Scar dot highlight
Blue Robes
Macragge Blue base coat
Nuln Oil shade
Hoeth Blue highlight
Fenrisian Blue fine highlight
Purple Robes
Screamer Pink base coat
Nuln Oil shade
Pink Horror highlight
50:50 Pink Horror:Cadian Flesh fine highlight
Cadian Flesh dot highlight
Gold Equipment
Retributor Armour base coat
Reikland Fleshshade
Runefang Steel highlight
The skin was a slightly simplified version of my Pale Skin recipe. I skipped the three glazes in the recipe and instead glazed 25:25:50 Xereus Purple, Bugman’s Glow, Lahmian Medium from the eyes downwards. I also added some mottling using Naggaroth Night and Genestealer Purple. The base follows the ‘urban’ scheme used for my Tyranids and detailed in this post.
That’s all for today, I hope you enjoyed this miniature and the demonstration of the Green Stuff World kits! Thanks very much for reading, and please remember you can also find me sharing my work on Instagram, Threads, Twitter/X, Bluesky and Mastodon.
Today I’m looking at some Orruk Kruleboyz Gutrippaz for Warhammer Age of Sigmar. These are the next miniatures in my new Kruleboyz project, following on from the Swampcalla Shaman I posted earlier in the year.
The Kruleboyz Project
Earlier in the year my young son expressed an interest in having a go at the Warhammer hobby, particularly the painting, so we had a look at the starter sets. My son is more into fantasy than sci-fi at the moment, and the Stormcast leapt out at him as something he wanted to paint. I’m a fan of greenskins (as you may recall), so I thought painting some Kruleboyz might be fun. We bought an Age of Sigmar ‘Warrior Edition’ Starter Set to split. I couldn’t resist picking up a couple of other Kruleboyz bits too (like the Shaman)! Unfortunately the rule book in that set is now technically defunct, but I’m not too bothered about that as I knew a new edition was on the horizon and we were mainly interested in the models.
The concept of “swamp orcs” has really grown on me since they were introduced a few years ago. I used to play a lot of black decks in Magic the Gathering when I was younger, so that probably helped! There is also an area of marsh land on the edge of my childhood home town, so I took a few reference photos (see below) on a recent visit, just to give me some inspiration for basing.
Modelling
The main feature of these Gutrippaz is the LED flaming torches, so I’m going to provide a short-form tutorial below on how it was made. I don’t plan to have too many LEDs in this army – something that I always claim at the start of every project – but I’m thinking maybe around three or four flaming torches in every unit of ten.
I don’t really see the Kruleboyz using the torches to light their way through the mist. They prefer to remain concealed, after all! I imagine the Kruleboyz using them as a way to intimidate and confuse their victims; think the “Fire Dragon” in the film The 13th Warrior.
Flaming Torch Tutorial
Prepare the base, resistor (in this case a 47 ohm resistor), battery holder and switch for this miniature were prepared using the method described in Steps 1 – 6 of my LED Eye Lens Tutorial. The single LED in the torch will eventually be connected in series with the resistor, battery holder and switch, as described below.
1. The LED used is a Switch Electronics 3mm Yellow Flickering 2.2V LED in series with a 47 ohm resistor (as mentioned above). Select a Gutrippa with a spear that is pointing upwards, as shown in the above left image.
2. Cut the legs of the LED as short as possible and solder on two connecting wires that will be long enough to reach the base when passed through the miniature. It’s useful to colour code the wires to remind yourself of the LED polarity (red is normally positive and black negative). Cut the spear down so it looks like the correct length for a flaming torch. as shown in the above right image.
3. Glue the LED to the the ‘wood’ of the torch, and then drill holes to feed the wires down through the arm, torso and one leg of the miniature so they can connect to the resistor, battery holder and switch on the base. If you need additional hints on how to do this, check out Steps 7 – 9 of my LED Eye Lens Tutorial.
4. While I was working on this miniature, the upper arm pinged off and disappeared into whatever dimension dropped miniature components vanish to, so I had to use wire and putty to replace the upper arm. However – if you don’t drop it – you can just use the upper arm. Repositioning the arm to hold the torch at a realistic raised angle may introduce gaps, but these can be dealt with at the next stage.
5. Fill in any gaps around the arm and shoulder with modelling putty. You will also need to use modelling putty to sculpt the ‘burning rags’ around the top of the flaming torch, which will help to hide the legs of the LED. Finally, use modelling putty to cover up any exposed components remaining on the base. The images above show what this looks like from the front and the back.
7. Start sculpting the basic shape of the flame over the LED using Water Splash Effect Gel from Green Stuff World. This is best applied with a metal sculpting tool, thin plastic rod or stiff length of wire. When you apply it, the gel will initially appear milky white – as shown in the above left image – but once it is fully dry it will be transparent.
8. Wait for the initial application of gel to dry (this can take several hours) and then continue to apply successive layers until you are happy with the shape. Building up thin layers over time will give the best results, as show in the above centre image.
9. Once you are happy with the shape and the gel has completely dried, you can paint the flames. You only need to apply a light glaze – this will not inhibit the light of the LED and will also make the model look good when the LED is switched off. First apply a shade of Citadel Fuegan Orange to the lower third of the flames. Once this has dried apply a layer of Citadel Imperial Fist Contrast thinned down with water to a glaze consistency.
Painting
The troggoths that haunt the swamps of the Tallowlands are giant, purple-skinned brutes with great ivory tusks and beady yellow eyes. The Kruleboyz take great delight in terrifying the decent, hard working folk of the Tallowlands by fashioning their shields into leering purple faces and emerging shouting and yelling from the boggy mists to rampage through the villages built on the edge of the swamps.
Excerpt from ‘My Travels in the Tallowlands’ by renowned bard Jonathan Allen Bow.
I’ve opted for a primitive look with the Kruleboyz; leather armour, troggoth hide shields, black iron for weapons and armour, and bronze for other tools and trinkets. I was trying to give the impression of barbarian raiders emerging from their hidden villages in the swamps, rather than a well-equipped and well-supplied professional army.
I don’t normally paint in sub-assemblies, mostly because LED projects usually require the whole miniature to be assembled before painting begins. However, if I have one tip for painting the Gutrippaz, it’s to keep the shield arms separate, as this makes it a lot easier to get at all the detail.
Below are the paint recipes for my Kruleboyz project. All paints listed are from the Citadel range and are applied over an undercoat of Halfords Primer Grey (a Citadel alternative would be Grey Seer.)
Kruleboy Flesh
Waaagh Flesh base coat
Agrax Earthshade shade
50:50 Waagh Flesh:Straken Green layer
Straken Green layer
50:50 Straken Green:Nurgling Green highlight
Nurgling Green fine highlight
Leather Armour
Mournfang Brown base coat
Agrax Earthshade shade
Skrag Brown highlight
50:50 Skrag Brown:Trollslayer Orange fine highlight
Stitching
Abaddon Black base coat
Eshin Grey highlight
Hoods & Cowls
Skavenblight Dinge base coat
Nuln Oil shade
Stormvermin Fur highlight
Karak Stone dot highlight
Wood, Wooden Tools & Corks
Dryad Bark base coat
Agrax Earthshade shade
Gorthor Brown highlight
Baneblade Brown fine highlight
Black Iron
Abaddon Black base coat
Nuln Oil shade
Ironbreaker edge highlight
Bronze Tools & Trinkets
Balthasar Gold base coat
Agrax Earthshade shade
Liberator Gold highlight
Runefang Steel fine highlight
Purple Shields & Troll Skin
Naggaroth Night base coat
Druchii Violet shade
50:50 Naggaroth Night:Xereus Purple layer
Xereus Purple layer
50:50 Xereus Purple:Genestealer Purple highlight
Genestealer Purple fine highlight
Yellow Eyes
Averland Sunset base coat
Agrax Earthshade shade
Yriel Yellow layer
Abaddon Black pupils
Teeth & Claws
Zandri Dust base coat
Seraphim Sepia shade
Ushabti Bone highlight
Screaming Skull fine highlight
Mossy Bone
Zandri Dust base coat
Athonian Camoshade shade
Karak Stone layer
50:50 Karak Stone:Ushabti Bone highlight
Ushabti Bone hightlight
Muddy Base
Rhinox Hide base coat
Stirland Mud layer
Agrax Earthshade Gloss shade
Gothor Brown drybrush
Karak Stone drybrush
Rushes & Cattails
Deepkin Flesh base coat on stem
Rhinox Hide base coat on flower head
Athonian Camoshade shade on stem
Agrax Earthshade shade on flower head
White Scar highlight on stem
Doombull Brown hightlight on flower head
Tuskgor Fur highlight on flower head
Ancient Ruins
Mechanicus Standard Grey base coat
Nuln Oil Shade
Dawnstone highlight
Administratum Grey fine highlight
LED Palette
As I’ve mentioned before, I like to limit my LED colour palette for new projects. This is to ensure they don’t look like multi-coloured Christmas decorations when the army is fully assembled on the tabletop. My Kruleboyz will use the following very limited LED colour palette:
Green for magic and potions.
Yellow for fire and flaming torches.
As mentioned above, I don’t expect to use a lot of LEDs for this project. They will probably be limited to character models and flaming torches in units.
Future Army Plans
I’m trying not to get too carried away with this project. My first goal will be to finish the rest of the Gutrippaz and the Killaboss that came in the starter set. After that, I may look at the Kruleboyz Vanguard box and aim for my first 1000 points. I don’t want to get too carried away though, as I still have Tyranids and my Flesh Eaters space marines on the go!
That’s all for today. Thanks very much for reading, and please remember you can also find me sharing my work on Instagram, Threads, Twitter/X, Bluesky and Mastodon.
Also, if you have time, please consider voting for me as ‘Best Mini Painter’ in the CRIT Awards! Voting closes on 7th July, so this is your last chance to vote if you intend to but haven’t done so yet.
Chris Buxey Paints 