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For the past 5 months I've been working on a converting a Knight Porphyrion to the dark gods.
Below is a bit about the model, and myself!
Originally I had planned to buy a Warlord titan, and convert it. After a day or two of looking at build logs and pictures of other titan owners, I decided it might be a bit too much for me right now. I didn't know if I would be able to commit the time needed, or have the skill, to convert such a beast. I decided that I would test myself on a smaller model. The reaver already has a chaos variant, and I own a chaos warhound. That left the Porphyrion, a model that I have loved since I first saw it! I felt like it's structure is pretty similar to a warlord, and should give me a good idea of what I am really capable of.
In the beginning I didn't have anything too fantastic planned, it would be just another one of my conversions. I would work hard and see where it took me. However after the Citadel opening weekender event, things changed. I entered in several events and comps and didn't place in any of them. Watching several locals I play with often get awards for their painting and creativity left me a little envious. I decided that I was going to make something spectacular. I also realized I had firmly decided I wanted something on top of the titan. I love seeing churches, screaming bells, statues and whatever else will fit on the wide open real estate of a knight titan, but I wanted to do something new and different. While assembling a few Feculent Gnarlmaws for my Maggotkin army, it just clicked. I pulled out the Porphyrion Carapace, held the Gnarlmaw up to it and the size looked good! The following work it took to shape the tree, is not something I would ever want to do again, but it was well worth it!
The second big idea I wanted was the flesh foot. I absolutely love the Games Workshop miniatures where models have one really nasty nurgle limb. From the blightkings with their bloated legs, to Mammon Transfigured's big flesh fist. I've attempted to make green stuff conversions similar to them on the past on smaller miniatures, but always felt like I came up short. What better way to show daemonic possession than to have bloated flesh tearing through the armor plates of what should be a mechanical being? The most common question I get is, "Is that all green stuff?" Which yes, it is green stuff, but it isn't solid. Using sculpting putty, I made replicas of parts of the Great Unclean one, and several other models out of green stuff. I wrapped them around the leg of the knight, and then sculpted them together.
The Nurgling "pilot" is the 3rd thing I receive a lot of comments on. It was also a bit of a last minute change while I was working on the model. I had prepped the head for weathering, and was about to get started when I accidentally tipped over my cup of nurglings. (You never know when you'll need a nurgling, so keep them close!) While gathering them up and making sure none of the mischief makers would stab my foot later on, I decided to see what the Porphyrion would look like with a nurgling face. To my surprise, one of the little devils was a near perfect fit! It all rushed into me, Krang from the ninja turtles. A small weak body controlling a giant machine of terror with little joysticks. I then knew what I had to do!
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
My instagram is @thehappiestnurgling if you want to see what I work on day to day and more of the build progress.
-Joe
