The Cult Rises: Update 5: The Kelermorph: The ballad of Blaster Scruggs

Greetings Reader,

Man have I been waiting for this moment, The Gunslinger has arrived. I'm not sure there has been a model I was more excited to paint. The Kelermorph is an amazing model and it was a blast to paint him.

Before we get in to the model itself, let's talk about the rules. The Kelermorph clocks in at 60 points and has the usual Genestealer Cult rules. I don't like to throw around the phrase "auto-take" but I can't really think of a Genestealer Cult army that doesn't benefit from including a Kelermorph. His price point doesn't break the bank and he has the ability to alter the course of a game. He only has a 12 inch range but his ability to target characters and get another shot for each shot that hit means he can fill multiple roles in your cult uprising. The sheer volume of his shots means you have a legitimate chance to take out a character in a single volley or a way to clear out a decent number of chaff models or objective campers. The threat that he poses to single characters means your opponent will have to be diligent with screens to not allow him an opportunity to slip in via the Lying in Wait stratagem and assassinate a character.

For painting the Kelermorph, He's a third generation hybrid which means he's starting to look more human than his first and second generation Acolyte cousins. I tried to reflect that in his skin tone. I tried to mix about 25% Kislev Flesh into my mix of Slaanesh Grey for the highlights on his hands and the top of his head. I'm only calling it a partial success, I'm definitely a novice at mixing paints. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a pretty paint my numbers guy who follows the tutorials. I hope as I become a better painter I will be able to challenge those boundaries more and more.

I tried to add a little bit more skin tone to the top of his head.

The next big area of the Kelermorph model I wanted to focus on was the cloak. I wanted to make sure I used a different brown than the one I used for the "leather" holsters and ammo belts. I used Dryad Bark on the cloak and darkened it with some Agrax Earthshade. I think if I were to do it again, I would use Nuln Oil to really darken it up. I was hoping the Agrax would add a bit of a grimy feel to the cloak as the Kelermorph model has a really strong wasteland vibe to it.

As much as the triple revolvers are meaningful, the heart of the model is the cloak.

They say you're the one to beat, singing and slingin' guns.

As with the other models that I have done on this journey so far, there are definitely things I can do better and things that I will go back and retouch before going to the Renegade Open. Painting an army is a process and midnight painting sessions lend to missing things and mistakes.

Early WIP of the Kelermorph

Next week I am going to focus on assembling the multitude of Genestealer Cult models I have in order to start getting in games. If I manage to get all that done quickly, I'll do another painting update otherwise I plan sharing my first GSC list with everyone so we can officially start this army journey.

Also I'm looking in to some options to take some better pictures, I'm sure you all are sick of seeing pictures in front of my grimy mouse pad!