Hey there, I’m a new writer so I figured I’d introduce myself first. I go by the name Moron, you might have seen me around on some other websites and forums.
I have been playing tabletop games on and off for 8 years and I love this hobby. I like everything about it, the painting, modeling, and the strategical aspects of this game, so expect anything and everything from me.
Ok, onto the real topic of today’s post. Chaos Cultists! GW has some nice models that came with the DV starter box, and they even have brought out a little box of cultists. I love the sculpts, but I was looking for something different for my army. So I have set out to make my own cultists via kitbashing and converting.
A few things that you need to make sure of if you want to kitbash your own cultists:
1. They need to be about the right size. (model proportions and base size)
2. The weapons need to be close to WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get).
3. Get a backstory that explains why your cultists look like . . . .
I want cultists to fit into my thousand sons army, so they need to be Egyptian themed and I found the perfect models from the fantasy world: tomb king skeleton warriors. They are the same size as the cultists, I’ve got plenty extra of the round bases for them. I’ll do conversions for the right weapons.
The biggest thing is the backstory. Why are the thousand sons supported by a bunch of re-animated skeletons? Answer: dark Magic has brought them back to life and under control of a Chaos Sorcerer.
So here is what I did to bring the skeleton warriors from the fantasy world to the 40k world.
Using bits from the skeleton warriors box and leftover bits from a chaos space marines box, I was able to finish a squad of 16 cultists (way cheaper than the bits from the Dark Vengeance Box OR the new Chaos Cultist small box)!
Some cultists got a simple hand weapon and pistol. The only extra stuff this required was fitting the pistol onto the skeleton hands. (I used bolt pistols which are a little big, if you have extra IG laspistols, I’m sure those would work even better).
So mix things up and you’ll get a unique set of skeleton cultists for your Chaos army to push around.
You don’t have to use skeletons, explore around and you can find lots of different options to start your cultists hordes.
Vampire counts have good skeletons to use if you like those bits better. They also have zombies which are perfect for all you sons of Papa Nurgle. The Beastmen Ungors could be the start of a particularly evil and corrupted group of cultists. Just use your imagination and have fun and you could have a unique horde of cultists.
-Moron
Great idea I think, and it’s perfect for a lot of chaos themes as well. Anyone else remember these from Jason and the Argonauts? -MBG
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
