Welcome back, Combat Patrolers!
Last week, we looked at the first Helbrute issue. Now, like the passing of the seasons of the cycle of The Avatar, we look at the next issue of Combat Patrol. This time though, we have our finished model and get to go play a game with it. We also finish the base Combat Patrol, so we can go play official 40K with a friend! So let's look.
Narrative Materials
We step away, momentarily, from the lore of the Traitor Legions and their legacies of betrayal, and go across the galaxy to a discussion of War Zone Nephilim. This is the setting and events of Warhammer 40K Crusade: Pariah Nexus. Following the launch of the Indomitus Crusade, the Imperium realized that the Nephilim Sector had gone silent, and dispatched Battlegroup Kallides to investigate. The entire sector was under Necron attack, both in the traditional machine war style and because the Necrons were using Blackstone Pylons to inflict a psychic malaise on the inhabitants. This led to a massive war between the Necrons and the Imperium, with Belisarius Cawl arriving to steal everything not nailed down explore, understand, and harness the Blackstone Pylons to fight the Warp.
Belisarius Cawl. Credit: Pendulin
This war featured the Silent King, Belisarius Cawl, Vashtorr the Arkifane and the Puppetted Corpse of Caliban (the Daemon Planet Wyrmwood), Miotekh the Stormlord, Illuminor Szeras, and Ephrael Sterm. While the article mentions Guilliman, a quick flip through Pariah Nexus notes that Guilliman himself did not have time to take part in this conflict. Guilliman was getting ready to head to Ultramar in order to fight the Death Guard. This means of course that the Pariah Nexus Conflict is one of the key causes that led to the Novamangor War of 500 Worlds: Titus. Continuity is fun!
Rather than get sucked into Lore Explainer: The Pariah Nexus, we go back to the Gods of Chaos and "The Favoured of the Gods". This discusses the Traitor Legions that have given themselves over to worship of one specific Chaos Cult: the Death Guard, the Emperor's Children and the Thousand Sons. The article declines to discuss the Ninth Legion, because they have to save something for next year when the World Eaters Combat Patrol arrives.
Word Bearers Lord, Sorcerer and Master of Executions. Credit: Jeff Scarisbrick.
We get an in-depth look at Nurgle, the master of disease, plagues, rot, decay, and poxes. The article describes Nurgle as "a vast mountain of rotting flesh, covered in sores and boils. Across his gigantic belly, the decaying muscle splits easily, and from each tear, slimy entrails spill out, giving off a stench so foul that it is said to bend reality. Nurgle is at the center of a putrescent garden, leaning over a huge cauldron in which he cooks up ever more deadly diseases. We then get some pictures of the Nurgle Maggotkin models (Feculent Gnarlmaw, Poxbringers, Plague Drones of Nurgle, and Rotigus, who managed to somehow win the Plague Wars by arranging for an unfortunate library book checkout).
Feculent Gnarlmaw. Credit: @badusernametag
Hobby Materials
We get the second half of the Helbrute in this issue, which allows us to complete our Chaos Short King. This is a surprisingly complicated model for one so short and adorable, offering a cornucopia of materials to paint all intertwined. We have the usual Astartes armor, Chaos trim, and Chaos horns. We also have the mechanical bits embedded deep within grotesquely tortured fleshy bits. Some of the tubes have themselves mutated into intestinal-style tubes, and this monster even features some mutant eyes. So there's a lot going on here!
The model sculpt itself does not necessarily lend itself to any one Chaos faction, except maybe you could say there's a slight bias towards the Black Legion. That obviously hasn't stopped those of us from Goonhammer from painting them in the colors of four different Legions, but it does mean there's some choice of analysis paralysis here. I ruled out Red Corsairs, Iron Warriors, and Word Bearers because I had done those for the rest of my Chaos Warband (1). I also painted the Dark Vengeance Helbrute as Black Legion, so that one was out. Then, while in the middle of another painting project, I stumbled across a color scheme I was very keen to try. So Thousands Sons it was!
Credit: Kevin Stillman
After subassembling the model and priming it, I did the armor first.
- I sprayed the armor panels with ProAcryl Payne's Grey.
- I then took a Bounce Dryer sheet (2), and ran it through the laundry a couple of times. With my clothes freshly cleaned and softened, I gently stretched the dryer sheet to form gaps between the threads.
- I then sprayed ProAcryl Drab Brown onto the armor.
- I then mixed Army Painter Air Majestic Fortress with just a smidge of AP Matte White, and sprayed. This gave me a good looking marble color, but at first I was not sure if the hue was right for the Thousand Sons.
- I painted the trim with Black Templar to block the trim in, then used Black Templar to clean up where I had oversprayed with the Airbrush. One of the downsides of the dryer sheet method is you can't necessarily see underneath it, after all.
- Over the metallic bits, I did my usual metallic method of heavy to light drybrushing Balthazar Gold, Canoptek Alloy, and then Pro Acryl Silver.
- For the fleshy bits, I used a base of Screamer Pink, then highlighted up with a mix of Screamer Pink and Daemonette Hide. I then mixed Daemonette Hide with ProAcryl Bright Shadow Flesh. I did a final highlight of Bright Shadow Flesh.
- I shaded the metallics and the flesh with Targor Rageshade to unify them.
- I then filtered the flesh using Darkoath Flesh, which flattened my starker transitions while keeping the unhealthy and inflamed spirit of flesh that should not be entwined with machine like that.
- I painted the trim and the feet with ProAcryl Rich Gold. With the majority of the model now colorized and blocked in, the blues within the teal stood out much more than they had against the black, and I felt no need to go back and add in a blue filter.
- For the Chaos Brand on the Power Fist, I dropped ProAcryl Bold Pyrole Red into the cutout. I then highlighted the center with the Bright Shadow Flesh I still had on my wet pallet, before adding ProAcryl Golden Yellow into the tips of the arrow. I then diluted the Bold Pyrole Red and dabbed it around the brand, to give the entire thing a red glow effect.
Credit: Kevin Stillman
- For the Plasma Cannon, I basecoated it with Caledor Sky, then highlighted the coils with a mix of Caledor Sky and ProAcryl Bold Titanium White. I added more white into the mix as I went down the coils approaching the edge of the cannon. And at the bottom of the coils, I added a line of pure white.
- For the horns, I base coated them with Drab Brown, then highlighted them up with a mix of Drab Brown and Bold Titanium White. I then washed them with Seraphim Sepia.
And with that, my Helbrute is complete and the "base" Chaos Space Marine Combat Patrol is ready to hit the tabletop and continue The Long War against the False Emperor and anyone else who would stand in their way.
Credit: Kevin Stillman
Gaming Materials
First, we get the 10th Edition Core Rulebook Stratagems. I'll defer to my friends who are, ah, far more qualified to discuss the ins and outs of each stratagem in our Competitive Innovations and Battle Reports article. The gaming scenario is "Gauntlet of Pain", and here the Helbrute is supposed to fight units from the first three Combat Patrols. It starts off easy, with Stage 1 being 5 Guardians and 2 Infernus Marines, and has an increase in difficulty to 10 (being the Psychophage). This is a new and innovative game mode, and it recommends using other models from other combat patrols to vary up the game.
The Final Verdict
Unlike some other issues, this one requires you to buy two issues. So you're spending about $30 for a model with two magazines filled with instructions, a paint guide (and one I liked), and a game mode. That's a pretty good deal, even if the current Helbrute is probably scheduled to be removed soon. It has play in several detachments (Pactbound Zealots, Soulforged Warband, World Eaters detachments), I found the model surprisingly fun to build and paint. The only real downside is that the Emperor's Children don't have a Helbrute. Maybe next edition!
Next time we will look at the 2nd Premium Issue, Combat Patrolers!
(1) Additionally, owing to a shipping error on the part of GW a few years back, I wound up with an extra Word Bearers Contemptor Dreadnought. And I still have Mhara Gal in the backlog.
(2) And yes, it absolutely needs to be a name-brand dryer sheet. Store brand dryer sheets, like the ones I got at the local 7-11, have an underlying grid pattern that can show up on the final product and ruin it.
Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com. Want articles like this linked in your inbox every Monday morning? Sign up for our newsletter. And don't forget that you can support us on Patreon for backer rewards like early video content, Administratum access, an ad-free experience on our website and more.Thank you for being a friend.
This website uses cookies. Learn more.
Goonhammer Hobby Round-Up: March 2026
Goonhammer Reviews: Tribal Conquest
Conquest: Weaver Courts Gemred Knights and Scaile Dancers Model Review
