A short post about conversion ideas for Poxwalkers…
With plenty of spare bits and GreenStuff in my model box, I knew, I needed to construct a monstrosity. This idea has infested my thoughts and plagued me since opening the 8th edition of Warhammer 40K. When I saw those detailed plague zombies, I saw a world of possibilities. I hadn’t set my eyes upon the 40k universe since the 3rd edition – it has moved on considerably.
Rise again my Poxxed Space Marines…
This post could be useful or even exciting to those who are looking to create their very own conversion ideas for Plague Marines or Poxwalkers.
These miniatures are not sold by GW or even canon to the Warhammer 40K universe, but I don’t follow the lore as closely as I once did. I could easily be mistaken.
These former Astartes have not fallen victim to Nurgles rot, but to the pathogen that afflicts the Poxwalker. To illustrate this, I ‘kit-bashed’ these miniatures together to embody what happens when a Space Marine should succumb to the poxed horde.
When generating these ideas. I felt creating these custom models through a mixture of Kitbashing and sculpting would offer something a bit different to Death Guard collectors, it helps to keep it interesting not just for your collection but for the tabletop.
More on the conversion ideas for Poxwalkers is written below.
OR you can jump straight to making the conversion ideas for Poxwalkers.
The Poxed Space Marine – Lore ( Fluff & Backstory )
A ‘Poxed’ Space Marine who has been tainted by the touch of Poxwalker should be dispatched with grim determination and zeal. Encased in ruined power armour and caked in filth, those newly blessed by Nurgle, amble towards their former allies baring their newfound gift with rictus grins and unseeing eyes.
The long fallen – are the thing for stomach-churning nightmares. Bloated with disease and infectious humours, their corpulent bodies bulge under the mass of their swollen entrails – near-ready to burst from their flesh at the merest cut or wound.
The old ‘Poxed’ are more reminiscent of a necrotic demon than that of a former human. Horned, covered in indescribable flesh barnacles and tentacle growths – their pallid flesh glistens with mucus and blood fever.
These beings are vile not only in appearance but also in nature. They will happily maim, kill, and infect in the name of Nurgle. Aside from personal possessions and marks of their long-forgotten chapters, any semblance of their former lives has been lost.
Their destruction is a mercy, their existence – an insult to the imperium…
With their diminished skills and training, they wield crude melee weapons like any other Poxwalker. These weapons can vary from clubs, knives, and rusted construction tools – any object or implement that they can use to bludgeon, stab, or cleave.
Why Bother With A Backstory When Creating Conversion Ideas?
As someone who has been involved in character design and concept art, I find that a backstory can offer a framework around which to create your conversion and idea. A backstory can be a great place to collect inspiration and guide ‘why’ your miniature and conversion have the parts that they do and how it fits into the world, too.
What Inspired The Idea For The Poxed Space Marines? ( Poxwalker Conversion Ideas )
As touched upon in the opening segment, a rule from the 8th edition of Warhammer 40k First Strike got my imagination racing.
*When an enemy model is overwhelmed and slain in battle, that miniature is replaced by a Poxwalker – (Or words or rules to that effect.)
If this rule were to be applied to a multitude of different infantry units across the imperium, what would happen if a Space Marine was beaten down in battle by a Poxwalker?
What would the Space Marine look like?
I raided my bits box, dug out my Greenstuff for sculpting, and set about kit-bashing and creating Poxwalker conversions.
Ideas On How They Could Be Played In-Game
Although these conversions are not canon to the Warhammer 40,000 universe or its product lines, I still wanted these miniatures to adhere to some form of rule within the 40k game system.
In essence, these miniatures are ‘armoured Poxwalkers’. Their broken power armour offers far greater protection than that of bare flesh.
Armour Save Ideas
With this in mind, my Poxxed Space Marines could have a ‘4+’ plus armour saving throw with the added benefit of being ‘disgustingly resilient’.
These enemies would be able to withstand far greater firepower to destroy their armour and bodies than that of a typical Poxwalker.
You may wish to keep it purely cosmetic. The armour offers no additional value to the miniature apart from adding lore and visual interest to your tabletop game.
Part 2 – Conversion Ideas For Poxwalkers – Making The Models!
To the next phase – the creative stages and making the conversions. You may also find this post of interest – what do you need to make conversions.
Conversion Ideas For Poxwalkers – The Power Armour
One of the distinguishing features of these conversions is the armour. It was key to the narrative that I wanted to convey and added a new angle to the humble Poxwalkler.
If the rule was official and taken literally – whereby the newly spawned Poxwalker carried the attributes from the former slain character – it would send your opponent ballistic. None the less, it is a fun concept to play with, and perhaps balanced as Poxwalkers have a hard time defeating any enemies.
Similar kits that match the style and ageing of these products are:-
- First-born Space Marines
- Tactical Space Marines
- 2nd and 3rd edition Warhammer Space Marines ( you can see more on the contents of 3rd edition Warhammer 40K here )
From Ideas To Creation – The Stages For Making My PoxWalker Conversions
For the curious reader, here are some of the stages and processes I use for conversion ideas. It could help get your creative juices flowing too.
1) Pulling Together The Armour
To construct these miniatures, I raided my ‘bitsbox’ to see what I could use and bash together – ( kitbash ).
I found a mixture of veteran space marine legs, 2nd and 3rd edition Warhammer shoulder pads, breastplates, helmets, and more Space Marine armour. These components made up the majority of the model builds.
2 )Using Zombie Parts & Death Guard Parts
Again, I raided my bits box for anything that resembled filth, decay, and anything unpleasant.
Heads, withered arms, skulls, knives, spikes and spines, anything that can tell part part of story and make these miniatures look ‘Nurglified’.
*Speaking of Nurgle… I have a post written here that singles out different types of Nurglings for Deathguard and Nurgling collectors. You can look at what comes in this edition of Nurglings – Unboxed!
3 ) Gouging, Drilling & Cutting The Miniatures
To further build upon the narrative of these Poxed Space Marines, I wanted to show some wear and tear on the power plate. I used a model drill to bore holes, clippers to gouge and a knife to graze and scratch the surface of the plate. All of this was more satisfying than I care to admit!
4 )Wires And GreenStuff | Sculpting The Rest
Using GreenStuff, I moulded the initial compound shapes onto the miniatures.
With this foundational stage, I pushed wires into models to act as framework and scaffolding to support the heavier more cumbersome parts of the sculpts.
For example, with the club arm guy, I inserted a wire into the body first and built the arm and its layers around the wire.
After the initial compound shapes had set, I pulled, twisted and manipulated various pieces of GreenStuff into *Nurglesque shapes. This groundwork paved the way for the next phase of using GreenStuff on my Poxwalker Conversions!
Once the lumps and bumps had set, I then created bands of muscle, sinews, and any other nugget that would give form to the next layer…
I overlaid thin layers of GreenStuff to act as skin. The bumps, muscles, and forms set the groundwork for what sits beneath the skin.
With my rubber and metal sculpting tools, I used these to pull away and cut rends and tears into the skin layer.
For intestines, maggots, and other long-hanging objects, I twisted the GreenStuff into long thin worm-like fibres and inserted them into holes and gaps in the miniature. I do enjoy GreenStuff!
Buying GreenStuff
*You can buy GreenStuff from Wayland Games! Dragon Bone Games is part of an affiliate program, is you buy any products from Wayland Games, a commission may be paid to Dragon Bone Games, thank you for your support.
I used GreenStuff on this guy! You can search for GreenStuff via Wayland Games. A commission may be paid to this website if you decide to buy anything from Wayland Games. A big thank you for your support.
Conversion Ideas For Poxwalkers – Poxxed Space Marines That’s it!
If you found this diary post interesting and it has given you ideas for your own Poxwalkers feel free to share on social media, or save this post somewhere where you can read it again another day!
Post you may also like :
- How to make a conversion
- How to strip paint from plastic miniatures
- Different types of Nurglings and where to find them
- Unboxing Nurglings
Thank you for reading Dragon Bone Games
