Necromunday: Gorshiv Hammerfist Review

Many thanks to Games Workshop for providing us with an advanced preview of this big beefy boy. We are excited to see one of the key players from the Aranthian Succession – Cinderak Burning book on the tabletop.

Assembly

Fam, this is a pretty involved hobby project. As a highly-detailed Forgeworld kit depicting a dude with a wide variety of accessories, there are a number of typical resin model difficulties. Expect to spend a while cleaning between… metal mohawk blades, and ripperjack (?) tentacles, and a few other somewhat sneaky spots. I would highly recommend referencing the 360 degree preview to make sure you are getting all of the flash and gates. The large gear had some visible 3d print lines – which some fine grit sandpaper will make short work of. One of the hammers was a bit crooked and needed to be warmed up and straightened out.

There were spots on the side of the torso that needed a tiny bit of gapfilling – but that may have been down to me removing too much (or not enough) of a gate. Mostly due to the fine cleaning and flash-removal, it took me a couple of hours to go from an open package to a model ready for primer. I added a bit of extra wasteland basing with DecoArt Texture Sand Medium. Yes, the craft paint brand! This was my first time using the stuff and the jury is still out. It was a little difficult to apply and shrunk a bit more than I expected, but I like the overall effect. More to come as I try to nail down the best way to use it.

Painting

I hadn’t painted up any Goliaths yet, and my plan of attack was to do something like the box art / official scheme – though with darker skin and a pink beard. It’s entirely likely that I spent a similar time assembling as I did with a brush in my hand! Per usual for my contrast-focused schemes I started with a zenithal prime. The skin was glazed with 2-1 Contrast Medium to Gorthor Brown, drybrushed lightly with Baneblade Brown, and glazed again with the new formulation of Reikland Fleshshade. The red bits were basecoated with Blood Angels Red, then line highlighted and lightly sponged with Stormhost Silver. The black pants were painted with Basilicanum Grey, drybrushed with Dawnstone, and washed with Nuln Oil.

The fur at end of the hammer, bone, and the entire ripperjack were washed with Skeleton Horde contrast. I drybrushed all of those bits with Ushabti Bone, then washed the meaty bits on the ripperjack with Reikland Fleshshade. The eyes are Striking Scoprpion with dots of Moot Green. The hammer handles are Basilicanum Grey, drybrushed lightly with Dawnstone. I kept it very simple with metallics. The big gear is Army Painter Rough Iron – washed with Agrax Earthshade then drybrushed with AP Shining Silver. All of the chromed out bits are basecoated with Shining Silver as well, washed with nuln oil, and drybrushed back up with the same Silver.

The beard is just two very thin coats of Magos Purple. I painted the eye and mouth with Pallid Wych Flesh, adding a bit of black for the pupil. The teeth got a light wash of Skeleton Horde. The hazard stripes on the hammer are basecoated with Bad Moon Yellow, lined with black paint, and sponged with silver. I put a tiny but of Volupus Pink on the big, grody veins he has sticking out.

Gorshiv after acrylics. Credit: Fowler.

At this point I airbrushed Ammo by Mig streaking grime, and cleaned pretty thoroughly. After that I went back over some of the metallic details to brighten them up again. Basing is Zandri Dust, Aggaros Dunes contrast, splotches of red, purple, purple and brown ink, finished up with drybrushes of Zandri again and Ushabti Bone. I brought it all together with Ammo By Mig Ultra-Matte varnish.

Showcase

Gorshiv Hammerfist. Credit: Fowler

Gorshiv Hammerfist. Credit: Fowler

Gorshiv Hammerfist. Credit: Fowler

Gorshiv Hammerfist. Credit: Fowler

Very happy with this face for the miniscule amount of time it took.. Credit: Fowler

Conclusion

This model is delightfully over the top, and is a shining example of what I want from a combat-focused Necro weirdo – excess. Two power hammers, an axe, and a stubgun is a pretty extra loadout. Gorshiv is dripping in details and is very imposing on the tabletop. I look forward to having the stimmer make an appearance in my next Necro campaign, bringing in some Cinderak Burning flavor. It’s a phenomenal model that is absolutely worth the elbow grease required to get it assembled.

And that’s it! While we don’t want to spoil too much about the Cinderak Burning lore (trust us, it rules!), we are really cruising towards having all of the faction leaders available for the tabletop. As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, drop us a line at Contact@Goonhammer.com.