Project Tzeentch - Chariot

After ruminating and looking at the mount options for a Sorceror Lord, I wanted an alternative to the standard Warriors of Chaos chariot. Thinking back to the old 6th ed WHFB Storm of Chaos campaign I remember reading/seeing conversions of Chaos God specific chariots being pulled by their respective demon beasts (i.e. Juggernauts, Screamers, Slaanesh Steeds, Beasts of Nurgle, etc.), and thought The Burning Chariot of Tzeentch AoS model could be great for a Tzeentch marked chariot! I also wanted the character riding it to be in unique pose, and the AoS Lumineth Stonemage fit the bill with the cross-legged, meditative pose was perfect.

Project Tzeentch - Cypher Warriors

 I've been kicking around this idea to create god-specific armies for each of the 4 chaos gods since I started playing back in 6th ed WFB (i know that was a forever ago). It was kinda difficult back in the day to get specific kits and bits (though you could order direct bits from GW). Nowadays with the huge variety of kits and resellers/bit sellers on eBay and around the web, 3d prints, and the increase of quality of sculpts, there's a vast amount of conversion source material and potential out there!

I decided I wanted to create a Tzeentch themed army for Warhammer the Old World. With the release of Grand Cathay for Warhammer The Old World, I piqued my imagination about Tzeentch cults in Cathayan society; nobles that worshipped Tzeentch for esoteric knowledge...perhaps elixirs of long life or knowledge that gave them an edge over their peers and rivals. 

Visually I wanted something that expanded on the magical spikey armored sorceror/warriors of canon Tzeentch (which I love) but with some twists. Mainly I want a unique army on the table!

I want to keep the canon themes of Tzeentch combined with a bit of eastern or foreign (outside the strictly Norse look) with a hint of dark majesty/occult.

I've always liked the more creative direction GW took with the Warcry warbands, especially the early ones. The Cypher Lords from Hysh were going to be a my main proxies for chaos warriors. Sure they're lightly armored, but I love the dynamic poses and their equipment lend a air of something eastern (chakrams, naginata like glaives, etc.) Their AoS lore suggest their clandestine chaos worship and themes of being masters of spying, deception, and assassination cliqued with me. At this point their kits are OOP and hard to find (at least at a decent price), but I managed to track down a bunch (new kits and used)! I think that gives me more than enough for models on the table, and conversion material.

First box I spotted at my LGS by chance for regular retail price ( I don't know if they knew or cared that it was OOP lol). 

Comes in a tray which is a nice touch

Remaining 6th Ed Ungors

Still have some remaining, unbuilt Ungors from the same batch I bought off my friend back when I first started playing WFH (6th Ed.)! These older models have some charm despite some technical drawbacks compared even to the 7th ed models (variety, clarity of detail/sculpt, etc.), and are rather nostalgic for me.

These came in a box that was a mix of 12x Gors and 8x Ungors, which was a unit combination you could field back then. With the new Beastmen Arcane Journal for TOW, this type of unit mix returns with the Primal Warherds!

Pieces laid out, cleaned up and ready to be glued. Missing a shield as I used one some time ago to glue onto another build Ungor missing a shield...going to have to find a replacement! 

The bits are more limited in variety than the Ungors that came out for 7th ed. The spears are identical, and pretty plain. The plastic of the spear shafts tend to be more bendy and less rigid than the 7th ed ones

There's only 2 different body types that vary the pose, some decorative bits, and the number of rivets on their belly plates

It's not uncommon to find more flashing as seen on this particular head bit

Some details can be muddy on these old beastmen too; the hanging animal tooth charm on the side of the thigh is a prime example

The shields and arms are separate bits (the 7th ed ones are mostly fused arm to shield). I don't like this, and am glad the 7th ones have most of their shield arms ready to go.

As seen on the other bits, the mold lines are everywhere!

Gluing the sub-assemblies for the shield arms. There's some bent arms and some straightened. 

I like to glue the bodies to the bases first so that I have a stable base to glue the rest of the bits onto and adjust positioning, etc.

After gluing everything together, I have a dilemma....the hanging decor on the shields don't hang consistently relative to gravity. 

Since the arms only glue onto the shields a certain way, this seems like an oversight in the design process of the mini. I have to decide if I just keep it (as these are chaff models) or perform surgery and cut off the arms and replace with something else. There's also spending the time to scrape off the string and bits too...hmm decisions decisions...

Beastlord (Spire Tyrants Bestigor Destroyer)

Browsing eBay I came across a really rare find - the Bestigor Destroyer mini from the now OOP Warcry Spire Tyrants warband! I searched for this mini for a while now (still kicking myself for not purchase the Spire Tyrants when they first released), and have never seen it for sale individually. Usually the warband is for sale (new and used) for an exorbitant price, soI was really excited to find this model and purchased it immediately. As you see in the pics below it came painted and based:

(Update 7-19-25):

Had a dunk in 90% Isopropyl Alcohol to strip off most of the paint and basing. After inspecting the mini, I noticed there was a flaw in the assembly of the mini - a large gap in the shoulder armor

After several applications of sprue goo

Fleshgors! Razorhounds!

 I needed some models to represent Razorgors in my list, and unfortunately the Pumba - er - Razorgor models are not only hilariously hideous, but also unavailable (at the time of this writing) from GW and expensive on Ebay. My guess is that they have been taken down for re-packaging for the upcoming Beastmen Arcane Journal release.

Luckily I had some Flesh Hounds laying around from an impulse Ebay buy (Wrath and Rapture Khorne half)! The sculpts are pretty nice and dynamic and look sufficiently wild and aggressive, so I think they'd be great stand-ins for Razorgors.

Front of the sprue

Back of the sprue

For my upcoming first game of TOW, I only need 2 Razorgor proxies for my list. Each model is 4 pieces; really nice and simple. I noticed on the first model that I was putting together that one of the frill/spikes was damaged:

The woes of eBay purchases sent in envelopes!

The break wasn't too bad, and I was able to use plastic cement weld the ends together...the result was a clean surgery:

Can't really tell where the seam was! A successful repair!

Of course, putting together models at night while tired, I tend to make mistakes...this is one of those situations where you need to put together a sub-assembly of 3 pieces together, where 2 side pieces sandwich around a 3rd piece. In this case it was the 2 halves of the head around the body with the tongue. I had cemented together the head halves first and was unable to position the head onto the body because of how the tongue was shaped:

Tricksy sub-assemblies! The 3 pieces needed to be glued at the same time! I hate it when this happens!

The head can't be positioned into place because there is a protrusion on the tongue that is too wide to fit through the back of the head.

I decided to sand down the protrusion on the tongue just enough....

...for it to fit! Woooo!

The Flesh Hounds (30x60mm) are on different base sizes than the Razorgors (50x75mm), so I just sticky tacked them to the bases for use in the game. They're not that big and there is ample room on the base, but good enough for a proxy:

Fleshgors assembled! Chaos hound for size comparision

Seams also filled with sprue goo (head seams pictured here)

The other Flesh Doggo, also with seams filled

Dragon Ogres Assembly

First of the Dragon Ogres, cut off the sprue, with contact points and mold lines cleaned up. The mold lines on this kit are pretty minimal, and the details are pretty crisp. Seeing the models in person really make a difference versus seeing the GW painted up versions. 

I was actually surprised by the scale of the body. From pictures I've always imagined these guys to be much bigger...their bodies are roughly the size of a Chaos Knight/Barded Steed. 

I'm opting for the great weapon option (rule of cool!), which is probably the typical setup for these guys. Also picking the helmeted head to complete the heavy armor look. I might do a little bit of modifications and add some spare horns to the helmet at some point.

Another note, 2-handed weapons are always a nightmare to put together (GW model wise) without major gaps. Woe betide you if you have to connect a 2H weapon where one arm is attached and the other arm joins at the wrist....sometimes the gap is too big to able to glue together! I just have my fingers crossed that these aren't too bad. These join at the armpits, so a tad more forgiving hopefully.

Cut off the sprue and cleaned up, ready to be glued (D Ogre A)

Sub-Assembly (D Ogre A)

Torso Back (D Ogre A)

Torso Front (D Ogre A)

Some major gaps that need to be filled along the belt line (D Ogre A)

The back as well... (D Ogre A)

Size comparison to a 7th ed. barded chaos steed

Pieces laid out for D Ogre B

Unfortunately one of the hooks on the belt was broken....going to have to find a spare hook and make a repair or sculpt an end with greensutff/milliput.

Pieces for D Ogre C

Gaappsss! For all 3 model variants, where the pieces join there are gaps that need to be filled. Some are pretty bad (like the underbelly here and on the back where the spines insert into). Sprue goo goes on thick but shrinks when it dries, so multiple applications are a must.

2-handed weapons are always a pain to glue onto GW models, and these are no exceptions. DOgre A and C seemed to fit relatively better, but B (with the arms overhead) had some serious large gaps where the arms met the torso (more sprue goo to the rescue).

Dragon Ogres!

What's a Beastmen Brayherds army without Dragon Ogres? Honestly I remember being disappointed when these were revealed with the Beastmen wave of 7th/8th edition...but looking at them now, they don't look too bad. 

Regardless of the rules, I think I'll assemble these with Great Weapons cuz I think they look better! Tougher call on the helmets or non-helmets...we'll see...

 New package design to match the TOW rulebooks

Not too bad right? Big pieces, nothing appears too fiddly..

The reverse side

I have a couple more weeks before game day, and I work slow, lol. Stay tuned!