Skycutter

While the glue I'd smeared over the hull was drying (a waterproofing layer, I thought, seeing as it wasn't sticking anything together), I started thinking about what the ship would be flying over. 

I did at one point consider a model ploughing through the ground. Just after the Mk. 3 hull, I think it was, when the idea of an actual ship-shaped ship felt like a rapidly receding possibility. Just as chaotic, I supposed, but also kind of tame. Not as iconic of something or other. And a total copout on the whole hull front. 

The rest of the chaos army has a bunch of crudely slopped-together carefully researched arctic tundra on its bases, and this would have to be no different. But it was going to be tall and top heavy as well, so it needed weight. 

Reluctantly, I ventured outside into the cold light of day. I took a heavy blanket to protect my nerdy skin, and by fumbling blindly around for half an hour I managed to come back in with some lumps of local rock that would do the trick. 

These, plus a length of extra-heavy-duty paperclip and the top third of a DnD skeleton, would do the job.

Pesky modeller, come back here with my legs! Why, I oughtta...

The hull was dry. So I made up as much green stuff as I dared from my tiny store, slopped it round the edges of the warshrine deck, put it on top of the hull and pushed. After a bit of scraping with a penknife, I had this:

Blobby greenstuff joint! Because of chaos reasons. Like, mutant flesh and stuff. Or molten metal.
Not shit modelling, no sirree. 

As you can see, I hate the original wicker basket crap that decorates the edge of the warshrine so much, I've actually chosen to cut the amazing plastic icon wheel thing in half instead. Cruder, perhaps, but much better looking. And sort of a bit like steamer paddle wheels, in a totally-useless-for-an-airship kind of way.

Having already used the Shrinekeeper elsewhere, I needed crew. Step forward, one plastic Marauder and old Battlemasters Marauder Archer, plus some bits of the gift that never stops giving - the GW Giant kit.

The marauder has a chaos warrior's sword, the Tzeentchian Charioteer's head and a vulture from the giant kit.
The Archer has a repositioned bow and front foot, and will be in a crow's nest made from the giant's pet cage.
Seriously, I've yet to find a conversion problem you can't solve by throwing bits of giant at.
A lesson for life, if ever there was one. 

Sail and mast - hmm. Tricky. Something that looks sort of like cloth, but isn't actually cloth. Or chopped up bits of ragged marauder banner, that would be lame. No, this calls for a tip from the ancient pages of a White Dwarf long gone - thick foil from a wine bottle.

This Chaos Incursion is sponsored by Maison Perrier-Jouet.
'A Finer Malevolent Onslaught Since 1811'

And holding it up is the rest of the greenstuff and more giant pieces - a huge and misshapen arm, emerging from the hold to clutch the yard. It's misshapen because of chaos reasons, not because I'm crap at modelling with greenstuff. Just so's you know.

One end of the yard is a giant's club, the other is greenstuff with a giant club's tip.
Honestly, that giant kit was worth it's weight in plastic. Get yours now while GW lasts. 

I've left a gap in the hull which the paperclip spike can be inserted through. There's even a handy socket for it on the underside of the warshrine, almost as though GW had thought someone might want to do something like this. Who'd have thunk it, conversion-friendly models from GW? Truly, this is a new age.

So this is what I have, after a bit of tinkering. The base and the hull work fine. But that mast is going to a pig to fix on permanently (blutack in the photos). Especially without magnets or a pinning tool, which are both in next year's budget.