Hedonites of Slaanesh: Bits Guide and Ideas

 

Hi everyone, and welcome back! I thought I’d do something a bit different today, and explore the beautiful new Slaanesh mortals range of miniatures and what resources they could provide to converters in the Blanchitsu/ Grimdark umbrella, and modellers in general. I’ve chosen this release to explore as in my opinion, it’s a 10/10 in terms of miniature quality, filling in missing units and archetypes while also pushing the envelope. Without further ado, let’s have a look.

Blissbarb Archers

Despite being a simple Marauder/ foot troop archetype for the army, the Blissbarb Archers might be my favourite of the new releases; this is for a large number of reasons—I think Slaanesh has long been overdue some mortal units, and at that, mortal units that better represent the litheness of the army. I think giving basic troops ranged weapons is super unique. But in terms of conversions, these models are brilliant, as they obviously contain Slaanesh/ Araby motifs, but they don’t overwhelm the miniatures, which is key when it will come to using them in other armies.

I also think these models fill in a missing archetype in the Games Workshop range which is a unit of lithe and articulately posed female miniatures. While not over-sexualised, their dynamic and lithe poses will be perfect for converting into exciting Wood Elf Glade Guard or similar speedy, reflexive models. Had these been available ten years ago, I would’ve made that WHFB Wood Elf army from them. My favourite of the kit are the pair slowly striding forward while loading their bows.

The kit also contains this model as a sort of bonus attachment, but this miniature is super exciting to me for a few reasons; first of all, the goblet its holding and the way the arm curves around it will allow for some lovely conversions for mages or chemists—but more importantly—it’s an easily accessible model with kneeling legs—for so long, there’s been a lack of models in positions showing worship, prayer or devotion—something sorely missed in the religious worlds of Warhammer. Until now, I’ve been using Cadian kneeling legs or the kneeling harp slaves from the Infernal Enrapturess, but this will be a much easier replacement.

Lord of Gluttony

 

Another exciting kit—this model somewhat fits in the diorama category of GW kits, although it’s sort of self-contained into a chariot mount. I feel that the chariot itself will be used for many exciting conversions in the years to come, but the riders and their accessories are certainly what interest me.

The lord himself is somewhat an instant classic to me; he fits perfectly into that Nurgle Lord archetype which has dominated discussions pertaining to Blanchitsu, but in a more unique and interesting pose that I’m sure converters will enjoy. I reckon it’ll make a good Imperial High Lord—how easy it’ll be to model outside of the chariot will tell how much attention it receives.

The lady holding with the peacock feathers is pretty beautiful and special, and if it had been a clam-pack single like the Cathallar, I would’ve probably ended up with four/five of them as well. Models in non-combative poses are always a treat, and the robes, belts, plates of food and of course the peacock feathers will come in clutch for some 40k nobility based models.

The ogors beneath could make some great pit slaves for Necromunda or Chaos Spawn. The other attendants in the kit are also super useful for bits but perhaps less diverse in what they can be used for, and their archetypes will be covered in the other kits I’ll be looking at below.

Slickblade Seekers/ Blissbarb Seekers

The seeker models always suffered a bit due to them having to be quite thin and static to fit into the old ranked movement trays of the old days, so this update on the miniatures is pretty astounding. These might be the best update on any existing kit for a long time, clearly different to the original kit, yet distinguishable as the same monster. The mounts I’m sure could be used for Deepkin eels or exotic pets in Necromunda, while the riders could definitely be sourced as exotic Greatswords. The Blissbarb variant of the kit is much the same as the Blissbarb Archers on foot, but it’s nice to have mounted poses for conversions too. I reckon they’d look really nice on horseback for Cities of Sigmar.

 

Symbaresh Twinsouls/ Myrmidesh Painbringers

These models are simply wonderful; while I think the Twinsouls heads are perhaps a little goofy for my conversion style, I love the rest of these models, and they definitely fit a missing archetype in the ranges which is essentially a male or non-binary equivalent to the Sisters of Silence, which have served for great knight conversions across 40k and AoS, and I feel these models and their features in the Underworld Warband and the Lord of Gluttony will make some fantastic Greatswords, Sisters of Silence alternatives or just generic foot-knights once stripped down for AOS28.

Shardspeaker

 

I’m a huge fan of this model as it is, but it’s always nice to have another female character to convert—especially with a cloak—cloaks are great. I can imagine this miniature forming the base of many psykers and wizards across both 40k and AoS in the future, while the mirror and mist parts could work fantastically on Daughters of Khaine.

 

You may have noticed I didn’t mention the Lord of Pain, Sigvald or the Slaangors; the Lord of Pain is good conversion fodder for any ‘hench’ character, be it a Goliath, Khorne warrior or servitor, but nothing super new. Sigvald is an amazing model, and though I can imagine it being used in many conversions in the future for Space Marines, I feel as though I don’t have anything original to touch on with it. The same goes for the Slaangors; while fantastic models, they’re not my personal type of conversion fodder.

Hope this read was interesting or drew attention to bits of these models you hadn’t noticed before! Perhaps I’ll do Cursed City next? Thanks for reading!