Von's Chaos Space Marines

I've built multiple Night Lords armies over the years. My very first one was assembled sometime between 1998 and 2001 - the age of metal/plastic hybrid kits, daemons on square bases, and Khorne Berserkers as the most accessible infantry for Chaos Space Marines. I believe the army was characterised by these features, as well as the Predator I'd had kicking around since I started the hobby and originally painted up for Dark Angels.

VIII for Eighth

This was an attempt to get back into 40K by assembling an army out of the Chaos half of Dark Vengeance and a couple of Burning of Prospero sets I'd scored on the cheap. I vaguely intended to pick up the characters from Betrayal at Calth and show the same warband at either end of its descent into Chaos, inspired by the vaguely similar poses shared by the Dark Vengeance Helbrute and Chaos Lord / Cataphract Praetor and Mk III Consul.

For various reasons, that didn't end up happening, but I did work on the 40K army, eventually picking up enough secondhand Raptors that I had something playable by the second year of ninth edition and the start of this 'ere blog.

Dark Vengeance set. Completed March 2017.

Andoro Szandor, former Consul, now Chaos Lord

The Final Five (mix and match Chosen who finally became tolerable to field in ninth)

Tar Zahaan, Praetor of the Eighth Legion. He's having a great time.

Balthus, the One Who Loves Hate, and on the left there, behind the Cultist, Dol Mezan.
Exalted Champions.

eBay rescue Raptors, completed 2022.

Chaos Lord of Colour. Very blobby, because he'd been through the Biostrip twice.

Bolter Legionaries, completed in early 2023, shortly before new rules made them crap.

At least they look nice.

Sorcerer added in 2023. The last of this cohort...

Potato masked Master of Executions, who became a gift for Roath.
The actual last Night Lord from this wave, painted at the start of 2024.

Classichammer

Then there was the 2002/2008 army I came into as part of a skill trade (the same one that landed Dark Vengeance in my lap). This is where a lot of the bits I'd bought for Heresy ended up: I had a lot of busted-up 2002-sculpt models missing limbs or heads or, in the case of the Possessed, needing to be brought back from the absurdly toyetic.

The heavily kitbashed Fourth Claw. So many kits fed odds and ends into these.

Later Legionaries, rounding out the Fourth to three five-man squads.
Four years after acquisition. Four months between squads.

Some of my favourites.

I used a lot of bionics on the models with plasma weapons. Accidents happen.

One or two Possessed bits on a Champion look a lot better than one or two Possessed.

Summer painting! I added another Biker eventually, but reluctantly. HATED painting these.

The Terminators, on the other hand, were a delight. A+ would do again.

More eBay rescues. I had to resculpt their thighs. All of them. But I love these models, so it's whatever.

Lord Mawdryn: the last oldschool model in the collection.
He was a Sorcerer, but I might have lost his staff while paint stripping his boring original paintjob.

A Daemon Prince, bought for the "new army" but looking more at home here.

Kill Team

I still have a handful of Night Lords kicking around. The Hand of Vengeance is my Nemesis Claw Kill Team - I couldn't quite say never again - which I plan to model up through the winter of 2024. They were going to be a one box thing, but the voices are suggesting I add a box of Chosen to use as Gunners and alternative Leaders, and I'm inclined to agree with them.

Pictures will follow. Watch this space.