Introduction
Here is the second of my current Chaos Space Marine commissions, the (Forge World) Sorcerer of Nurgle. Here are the Forge World studio shots of the mini:
Not a great paint job IMHO, and the pics aren’t that hot either. It’s too bad too, as the model could be really cool if done well. Here’s the problem with this fig though:
My client bought two of these models, both came with halberds that looked like crayons in a hot car. (This was the worst of the two.) In fact, the first one broke in my hands as I pulled it from the plastic baggie that FW ships them in. For such fragile models and exorbitant prices you would think they would spend a little bit on packaging to protect the dang model. 
Here’s where I come in. My client wants the butter knife halberd replaced with a reasonable looking (for Nurgle) power sword. Pretty simple work. This is my first FW resin mini though, so I want to take it slow and not do anything that will jeapordize the mini.
Back to Basics
I carefully went over each part, cleaning mold lines, removing the remnants of the halberd and then gave them a good soapy bath to remove resin dust and mold release agent. When I was done I had this pile of parts.
I decided to save the butt end of the halberd to try and use for the hilt of the sword. If it didn’t work, then i have a cool skull wand for some other project. 
And of course the resin bases that were supplied. This mini will use the 25 mm (small) one.
Just like before, I mounted the body to the base using pins. One thing I noticed is that his loin cloth is miscast. It’s supposed to be whole and not torn in the middle. I’m not sure at this point whether or not I’ll repair it. Likely I will.
Then went to attach the open hand. My initial intent was to use the default position for the hand as it kind of looks like he is casting a spell. I thought about adding some sort of spell effect to the hand to further this impression, but as I played around with it I decided I liked the hand flipped around much better. The old “issuing a challenge” gesture.
Now the sword arm. The cut is weird and the robes that it cuts through don’t line back up neatly. That will need to be repaired later.
Next stop, backpack. I’ve seen some folks that level out the backpack to the plane of the table and that always looks odd to me. I attached it as it would be with the lean of the body. (All parts are pinned by the way.)
Last, but not least, the banner. It’s quite fragile and I’m concerned about snapping it if I do too much with it. There’s also the question of shipping and transporting it. I elected to drill a hole into the top of the backpack just big enough for the butt of the banner to slide down into. This way it’s secure and easily removable for painting/transport/shipping. The client can glue it in if he so desires.
To Arms
On to the main event, making a replacement sword. I have my hilt already, so the main concern now is making the blade. I cut a length of styrene a bit longer than I needed and set to work shaping it with my Dremel and files. I ended up with a length of blade shaped a bit like a cricket bat. (Yes, I know cricket bats are flat on one side.)
I had to keep the middle with some thickness as it needs to pin to the hilt for strength. For a shape, I decided to mimic the sword from the Nurgle Demon Prince (which is the third project.)
With sword in front of me, I started carving the blade. First the angled tip and then the two round notches on the sides.
How to attach a flat edge (sword blade) to a rounded surface (the skull)?
I carved out a rounded area and pinned the blade to the skull so the blade wraps down around the skull.
Hard part complete. Now for the quillons (hand guards.) I drilled sideways through the skull and glued in a length of pin.
For the discs, I grabbed a round length of resin sprue that was attached to one of the pieces. It was the right diameter so I cut three discs from it and attached them to the pins. Sword build complete, the rest will be putty.
Don’t Hold It Like That!
Eager to see my new creation in action, I worked it into place in the hand. I quickly discovered that the cloth on the back of the arm would need to be partly removed to make room for the pommel of the sword. Plus, it just looked off.
A bit of cutting and filing later, I had a much more acceptable pose. Comparing the two, I think the biggest thing that pleases my eye is the sword makes a right angle with the banner now.
