NEW WARRIORS OF CHAOS MODELS!!!

In their Summer 2026 reveal that happened last Friday, GW revealed a new starter "Core Set" box that features Warriors of Chaos vs Cathay. Funny enough, we're about 3 years in from the initial launch of TOW. Some YT warhammer personalities liken this to be the real launch of the system, with all the prior time being a toe dip on GW's part to ease the player base into TOW. 

So...the rumormongers on the TGA forums were telling the truth; new models for Chaos Warriors, Knights, a foot/mounted character that has bits to created either a foot or mounted battle-standard bearer (friggin about time)! The last official BSB model being one from the WFB Storms of Chaos era.

There was a grand reveal of a character on a 2-headed CHAOS DRAGON! At long last, not since the old Galrauch metal model from way back when has there been an official Chaos Dragon.

The Cathay models are completely new too, being around a year or so old. The set also includes other goodies and an updated core rulebook as well as a Battle March booklet (compiling the rules from other Arcane Journals), and yet another Arcane Journal for the warriors to be released...but I'll just wax poetic over the Chaos models in this post!

I've been only playing since the tail end of 6th ed WFB, about after the Storms of Chaos campaign. I compare some past models in the range, but I'm sure there is a wealth of even older models...there are other websites and other more knowledgeable folks that can tell you about those!

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The characters! You can build both a guy on foot and mounted and swap bits to create either one as a BSB. Not since Kordel Shorgaar has there been an official warriors BSB model (to my knowledge). The option for the empty fist looks a bit weird to be honest, likely a compromise between the hand holding the severed head and the standard. Nothing a lil bit of kit bashing couldn't remedy!

Kordel Shorgaar, Standard Bearer of the Swords of Chaos (from the Warhammer Wiki website)

The bare metal model (from the Stuff of Legends website). Very much in the 6th ed Chaos Warriors design language

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The AoS Chaos Lord on Demonic Mount, circa 2022-early 2023

Eternus (Be'lakor aligned character, the alternate build of the AoS kit). Be'lakor's million dollar mug on the barding of the horse.

Character models from WFB during 6tth/7th ed I believe...I have both mounted guys! The one on the left is a Sorceror Lord on Barded Chaos Steed (metal figure on plastic horse with metal horse head). The one on the right is the Chaos Lord on Demonic Mounted, released in 7th ed. (all metal)...I had the Finecra-I mean, "cast" one that sits partially completed (the finecast material is not very stable). The one on foot is a generic Aspiring Champion/Exalted Hero I believe from around the 5th-6th ed era (noting the aesthetic with 6th ed Chaos Warriors). Originally coming in metal, it went to finecast. On the image you can see that these are currently available in metal for TOW.

The current AoS Slaves to Darkness Exalted Hero. One thing that urks me about this one is how the head looks on the body, as if there is something missing....I believe it's the reduced amount of fur around the helmet which makes it look more bare.

Chaos Lord...originally came out during 8th ed if I recall correctly. He used to have a 25mm square base with modeled elements. I had one and used him during 8th, but then had to do some converting to remove him and the rock elements and glue them onto a 32mm round for AoS (where he still remains). I may be compelled to convert him yet again for TOW....we shall see.

The original molded base for the old Chaos Lord (from Ebay)

Urkhan, The Dark Warden, a limited run in the Warhammer commerative series released for Warhammer Day last year (2025). This guy was hard to find not long after release, but searching high and low, I snagged him at MSRP new-in-box around (35 bucks) from a random LFGS online.

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The Chaos Knights...big and imposing, though less dynamic than the current AoS ones. Sharing the vibe with the old 6th ed Chaos Knights. These guys are now base 4 man units (instead of 5). We'll see how much more volume these take up once they're released, though it looks like they take up a lot of room on the bases. From the designer notes article it mentions that the Chaos Warriors' hand weapons are swappable with the Knight lances (which is a nice touch.) These guys (perhaps enhanced by the paint job) seem more gritty than the AoS ones. Although I don't mind, I think these guys seem more stumpy and heavy, due to the low hanging armor and leathers, etc. I suspect if there was a way to view the horses underneath, they'd look more in proportion, albeit still a more muscular breed.

WFB 6th ed Chaos Knights (tabletopbattles.com formerly goonhammer ha! The slang term "goon" has changed with current times to mean something entirely different...something that Slaanesh may favor. Though once the reader base has associated the name and website, it's hard to justify a name change, but I digress. This image comes from the old army book; I remember these guys well. I have them in my pile somewhere!

7th ed Chaos Knights. I have a bunch of these. These were a nice step up from their predecessors, all plastic being the main thing. They where still very customizable with a lot of options, which you could use on the foot warriors to spruce them up. The riders were separate from the horses (as were the 6th ed ones); this is not the case anymore with the forthcoming ones unfortunately. These remained available for a long while, even being re-packaged initially for TOW up until now. I believe this kit will still be sought after for bits. I remember when first released, these retailed for an astonishingly low price (somewhere in the low 20s USD, which was even low at the time.) I paid somewhere around 50 bucks for the 6th ed ones when I first started!

AoS Chaos Knights (circa 2019 I think). Much more dynamic but I read that they are a pain to rank up on squares (but doable). I have a set of 5 from the now OOP Slaves to Darkness Start Collecting box, which do not have the command bits from the later stand alone box.

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The Chaos Warriors - I like these guys very much as they look like an updated evolution of the old school warriors from WFB 5th ed (in the helmets and shield shape especially). Unfortunately it seems that the initial kit won't have options for halberds or great weapons which is a shame (and similar to what happened to the AoS Chaos Warriors in the (now OOP Start Collecting box with the Chaos Lord on Karkadrak) and the subsequent stand alone box that featured halberd options. Probably some sort of business tactic to drum up repeat sales as they're likely to offer the ToW warriors an extra weapon options sprue in the stand alone box. Having said that, I still pre-ordered this box!

The AoS Chaos Warriors; same deal, I have 10 from the Start Collecting box and they are currently assembled but not on the AoS round bases (good thing I procrastinated!). They too did not have the command bits as seen here from the stand alone box. These are really a glow up of the 6th ones...while the new yet to be released ones seem to be a retro re-imagining of even older warriors. I have seen pictures of these ranked up on square bases, but have read the process is tricky (lotta overhanging elements.) Their personality/aliveness seem to come through in their individual poses relative to the 6th ed ones.

The 6th ed guys...I have these...a lot of these! I think they still hold up with their own sorta charm. Their rather static poses do lend an air of faceless killers marching to smash their enemies! I'm sure a lot of folks have a ton of these too and still love 'em!

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The "pièce de résistance" of the Chaos reveal! What is neat is that, once you have chosen to build the rider as a Chaos Lord or Sorceror Lord, the character bits you didn't use can be assembled on foot! Nice touch (and maybe expected for what you are likely paying for this guy)! I do still like the popular AoS Ionus Cryptborn dragon conversions, but that dragon is much smaller than this guy.

A quick image mockup from a poster on Reddit (MolochBaal on r/WarhammerFantasy) to compare the two models

I'll find out in a couple weeks how the core set models look IRL ~ perhaps take another hobby ADHD detour from the Beastmen to work on them! 

Project Beastmen - "Sire of a Thousand Young"

So I've sworn to myself to never again purchase a metal model as I find them inconvenient to prep and assemble (filing metal mold lines, filling gaps, having to pin, etc.)....but there are some metal models (such as Ghorros Warhoof) that I've wanted for a long while now! Normally this is only available online via the GW web store; I caved when I saw this listed on eBay a week ago:

Ahh rails...there's a slight kink in the rail which I'll have to straighten out with some pliers. It may not come through in this pic, but the details are pretty crisp on this model! Now I just have to wait on an order of brass hobby rods for pinning...

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Project Beastmen - Battalion: Beastmen Brayhherds

I was quite excited at the news of a new battalion box coming out for Beastmen, and I purchased this box back in June 2025 when this box was first released. Typically these type of boxes are a good discount vs buying each unit box individually. Also GW likes to create FOMO with these as once they're sold out, they're out of production. 

The bulk of my Beastmen collection were originally from 5th/6th ed, supplemented with a Start Collecting AoS Beastmen box (back when they were an actual faction in AoS). I have a Ghorgon from the AoS box, so I probably would build the big'un in this box to be a Cygor. I could always use the Ungors as ambushing chaff...however the big draw were the Gors for big infantry blocks!

Also the Gors in this box were from 7th ed and were designed without the rail (attached to the feet) which frees up having to hunt down "slotta" bases, and they featured more variety of poses, and bits options. I remember when these came out, but didn't pick them up back then because I was fine proxying any extra units with empty bases, lol! Now I've decided it's time to build out my collection! 

The box front with the TOW "livery"

The rear side with model content overview

Dassallotta gray....lol!

One disappointing thing is that the assembly instructions were cheapo B/W prints vs the glossy color instructions from the AoS Start Collecting box. The battalion box does come with some decals though.

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Project Beastmen - Chaos Armor Beastlord!

I've done some minor conversions in the past, such as head or weapon swaps...but wanted to try something more complex.

My past conversion experiments didn't get too far out there; making a custom weapon for my 6th ed Chaos Warriors, and trying to sculpt a third eye for a Tzeentchian Gor head back in the 7th ed days!

The ToW Arcane Journal for Beastmen introduced Chaos Armor as a magic item option for characters and I wanted a model that represented that. Enter PROJECT: CHAOS ARMORED BEASTLORD!!! I would still use and field the AoS Beastlord/Wargor model, but perhaps as a Heavy Armor variant or lesser Wargor

Looking at existing kit options from AoS, I decided to get a box of Age of Sigmar Slaves to Darkness Chosen to use as a base. The armor was baroque with great details and the scale was imposing as I wanted this guy to be slightly larger than regular Gors. 

The basic idea is to use the body, arms, weapons of the Chosen model, and the upper portion of the armored legs. I would then saw off the legs from below the knee, and glue on some Gor legs. Then I would make a custom Beastlord head.

Age of Sigmar Slaves to Darkness Chosen sprue

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the laid out bits, but I chose the Chosen Champion as the one to convert. Love the pose, the clawed mutated hand and the axe! The model really reminds me of a piece of classic Adrian Smith art of a Chaos Chosen/Lord...

I was debating on what legs to use, regular Gor legs, Bestigor legs (since they have shin armor), or the legs from the AoS Beastlord...

I started with a detour to experiment with blue stuff using the AoS Beastlord legs. I wanted to preserve them for the AoS Beastlord, but wanted something "modern" to use for this conversion...ultimately I felt like I couldn't get the results I wanted from blue stuff casting...

I decided on regular Gor legs as they were longer than the Bestigor ones; the latter being obscured by the thigh armor and cloth. I wanted some leg length to ensure that the Beastlord stood tall amongst the herd and is an imposing figure!

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First step, sawing the Chosen's legs off below the knee armor

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Then creating a sub-assembly of the Chosen torso pieces with the leg pieces, then gluing the Gor legs into place. I did some dry fitting then sanding flat the join areas for a little while until I was satisfied with the general look and fit

Next, I cleaned up the other parts (arm and weapon) and attached them. this was straight forward as it was the arms that matched the torso per the Chosen instructions.

I also cleaned up the shoulder armor bits as well, but left them off for the time being as I needed to figure out what head I was going to use.

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For the head I wanted to do something unique as well. I mulled over the idea of modifying a Bestigor head as they had armor, but then seeing a Gor head that had an eye patch caught my eye (no pun intended)! I felt like that could be a small story-telling element suggesting being battle-scarred, perhaps from usurping the previous Beastlord! I also played around with various big sets of horns. They had to be grand....but different. Rummaging through my bits, I had a bunch of these Gor skulls that were bits for the standard that seemed perfect; one of the horns was broken on the same side as the eye-patch which was great continuity!

Sawing to separate the skull from the horns was a bit tricky, but with some elbow grease, sandpaper, and some back and forth dry fitting, I was able to make it work! 

Rough fit! Will need to fill the gaps, but I'm excited with how it looks!

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