Building a Nurgle Blood Bowl Team from the Bits Box
Sometimes the most exciting projects aren't the ones you planned.
After finishing a few smaller one-off projects, I found myself wanting something different. Rather than opening a brand-new box and following the instructions, I started looking through my pile of unused kits and spare parts to see what I could create.
If you've been following the blog, you'll know I usually jump between Gunpla, display pieces and Blood Bowl projects after finishing my Chaos Dwarf team and experimenting with different painting styles. I felt like tackling something that would let me be creative before I even picked up a paintbrush.
That's how this Nurgle Blood Bowl team began.
Starting with the Plaguebearers
The foundation of the team came from a box of Plaguebearers that had been sitting unused for quite some time. They've always been fantastic sculpts, full of character and disgusting little details, but I'd never found a project that justified building them.
Blood Bowl finally gave them a purpose.
The Plaguebearers make excellent Rotters with very little work. Their bloated bodies, torn skin and grotesque expressions already fit perfectly with Nurgle's aesthetic, so assembly was mostly about choosing poses that looked like they were stumbling towards an unfortunate opponent rather than marching into battle.
Seeing the first few built together was enough to convince me this project had potential.
Creating the Pestigors
The Pestigors took a little more imagination.
I wanted them to feel like corrupted Beastmen rather than simply using Beastmen models straight out of the box. To achieve that, I started combining Beastmen bodies with spare Plaguebearer parts.
Extra horns and diseased limbs to help tie them into the rest of the team while still keeping their distinct silhouette. They immediately looked faster and more aggressive than the Rotters, which suits their role on the pitch perfectly.
Kitbashing like this is one of my favourite parts of the hobby. There isn't really a right or wrong answer; it's just experimenting until something looks suitably horrific.
I am really happy with how they are turning out, but I think I want to go back and add a few more Nurgle details before calling them finished.
Sculpting a Rotspawn
The biggest challenge so far has been the Rotspawn.
Unlike the Rotters and Pestigors, I didn't have an obvious starting point hiding in my bits box, so this became an opportunity to break out the putty and start sculpting.
This was my first time trying to sculpt something, and I guess something blessed by Nurgle gives a lot of leeway for imperfections in my technique and process.
Using spare monster parts and a generous amount of modelling putty, I began building up something that looked suitably slug like. I immediately began to see how people could find this enjoyable, however, I think my limitation of using putty I already own, which was generic hardware putty, made it much more difficult, as the drying time was much faster, but it did cure rock hard. So I will try and get some other putty to try and finish it off.
I then used a spare horned head I had in my bits box and a Pestigore body to make it match the rest of my team.
After priming, I was surprised by how it all came together so quickly; however, I still need to add a few more details before I'll call it finished. A little more texture, some additional mutations and probably a few more questionable growths should help sell the idea that it's been blessed by Good Old Nurgle.
The Next Challenge: Bloaters
With the Rotters, Pestigors and Rotspawn all taking shape, the last major hurdle is figuring out the Bloaters.
At the moment, I'm still exploring ideas. I want them to feel noticeably larger and more imposing than the rest of the team without looking out of place beside the conversions I've already completed.
It's probably the part of the project I'm looking forward to the most. Solving those modelling puzzles is often just as rewarding as putting paint on the finished miniature.
I have given myself two real options. Option 1, try to sculpt the larger figure using modelling putty and use parts from my bits box to finish it, or use digital sculpting to try and sculpt a miniature and use some bits to finish them off.
I am currently leaning towards at least trying digital sculpting as it is something I have never tried before and I think it would be interesting to delve into the process.
Looking Ahead
This project has reminded me why I enjoy converting miniatures so much. Instead of following a set recipe, every model becomes its own little challenge, and every spare part suddenly has potential.
There's still plenty of work ahead before this team is ready for primer, but seeing the first half of the roster coming together has been incredibly satisfying.
Hopefully the next update will feature a finished Rotspawn, some suitably bloated Bloaters, and a complete Nurgle roster that's ready for some paint.
However I am going to have to put this project on hold for something else I have in mind but you wqill have to find out next week.
On to the next.
And remember: Always Paint Your Way
Further Reading
If you enjoyed this project, you might also like:
Painting Guel's Dilanza HG - Painting Guel’s Dilanza and completing the weathering process.
Sometimes the Hobby Isn't About the Paint – Building Guel's Dilanza HG from the box to primer.
Small Steps, Finished Models - Is 20 minutes enough time to progress the hobby?
