DreadTober: Week 2 Progress

 

Hi folks,

The past week went by in a blur. It was the last week of the school holidays for me, which is a time when I start preparing for the new term whilst trying to cram in as much "holiday" as I can around it. I marked a huge amount of school work, set up a vegetable garden with my daughter and managed to chip away at the paint job of my Dreadnought.

My mantra with painting Moriar has been "less is more". I have stuck pretty strictly to a limited palette and added just a couple of free-hand details that help tell the story.

The legs have free-hand saltires to represent Moriar's place in the Death Company. The black is highlighted with Thunderhawk Grey to add that tinge of blue. A lot of the parts that I would add a spot colour to were painted black on this model, as it has enough spot colours in its heraldry and claws; more would be too busy I think.

I painted the banner pole to match the Crozius Arcanum that Lemartes has on the cover of the Angels of Death Codex; again, the black wings freaked me out a little bit. I was so driven to paint them white instead!

I added a simple free-hand blood drop to the exhaust unit on the Dreadnought's back. All of these pieces will probably need some white decals to finish them off, which I have ordered on eBay. Hopefully they make it to me in time for the challenge. Fingers crossed!

I have an old copy of the Collecting and Painting Wargames Armies from 1998. It had some nice variations on the classic Goblin Green bases that I was keen to try. This base riffs off the ones used on an Ork army (Page 24) by Jakob Nielsen. I think the dirt colour is a little desaturated on my base, but overall I am happy with it so far. I am just waiting on some more static grass to add the finishing touches (my son used my entire supply on a diorama at some point...).

That's the first half of the challenge down. I have "just the sarcophagus and the arms to go, but I get the feeling they are all going to require a bunch of painting.

See you across the table, 

Marc

DreadTober: Week 1 Progress

 

Hi folks,

My project for DreadTober this year is to build an old school version of the Death Company Dreadnought Moriar the Chosen. 

I have always liked the idea of a Dreadnought with two lighting claws, so much so that I built my own using the plastic Blood Angels kit and painted it as a Deathwing Dreadnought called "Hawk Talon". To make a version that would fit in a 2nd Edition army, though, I would need some rarer metal parts. The main part of the model was a "Furioso" Dreadnought from 3rd Edition that I hunted down on eBay. The weapons are all the old 2nd Ed. sculpts, e.g. the heavy flamer is the old double-barreled version. The rest of the model is indistinguishable from the older sculpt, apart from the additional close combat arm. I got the model fairly cheaply because it was missing the ends of the close combat weapons (which I wanted to replace anyway) and the feet (which I already had in my bitz box). To replace the feet I used some spare plastic parts which I drilled to fit the leg pegs:

To replace the "hands", I managed to get a full left arm from the old metal Bjorn the Fell-Handed model, as well as a second spare set of claws from the same model. It almost hurts to think that two Bjorn models will never have their claws, or that I have made it that much harder for Space Wolf players to secure these parts. I was very excited to make my dream project a reality, though!!

To fit the claws I used some spare plastic parts from my old Blood Angels kit to fill in the gaps under the wrist mount, after measuring them up carefully, cutting some pilot grooves with a hobby knife and using my razor saw to finish them off.

To "ease" myself into painting I took on (potential) the most challenging aspect of the model; the banner. I found a picture of the banner online and shrink it to size in a document. After printing I painted over the top to match the shades I'll be using on the model: 

I may add some blue/grey highlights to the black areas of the banner, depending on how the model itself turns out. Overall, I am very happy with how the project has started and I'm looking forward to getting the painting started in earnest. 

See you across the table,

Marc

Dark Angels 1000 point Army

 

Hi folks,

I have been chipping away at my collection of Primaris marines since the start of 9th Edition, and have finally reached the point where I can say I have an army ready to play with. 

The overarching theme of the army was Dark Angels recruited from the Plains World engaging in urban warfare against a Tyranid invasion. The bases I used were mostly from the Sector Imperialis collection, with some kitbashed bases thrown into the mix. I used Astro granite debris to cover problematic areas and added hazard stripes. I used a lot of painter's tape getting those done! The secret ingredient was a scattering of autumn leaves; the bases just didn't seem finished until they were added. I used a couple of "Native American" heads from Puppetswar to push the Plains World origin of the marines. 

Characters

The warlord of the army is Brother-Librarian Malakai, a Terminator Librarian armed with a combi-weapon. He is able to significantly enhance the survivability and lethality of my Deathwing squad.

I have also included Brother Hephaeston, a Primaris Techmarine, to get the most out of my Vindicator and/or Ballistus Dreadnought.

Battleline

Two 5 marine squads of Intercessors are included to capture and hold backline objectives. One will probably provide a bodyguard for my Techmarine and help support the Vindicator.

Infantry

I can't imagine a Dark Angels army without any Deathwing Terminators. My squad will probably teleport into combat with the support of their warlord. This should allow them to contest objectives deeper into the battlefield.

A squad of Infiltrators will also be able to contest objectives beyond my deployment zone and deny enemy deep strikers.

A small unit of Suppressors provides some mobility for capturing objectives. They can also lay down some heavy fire which will hopefully reduce the effectiveness of enemy ranged attacks where I need it the most. I am not planning on keeping them stationary to take advantage of the heavy keyword on their accelerator autocannons; they need to keep moving.

Vehicles

My two vehicles are fully geared towards heavy fire support. The Vindicator is very swingy in its performance; it can mow down anything or do very little! The Techmarine will mitigate some of this, but I am really leaning into the rule of cool. I love the model, so it stays! Also, I don't think any other tank fits the urban combat theme better.

I have also included a Ballistus Dreadnought for some more reliable firepower. I also love the way it pays homage to the classic Dark Angels Dreadnought with its twin-lascannon and missile launcher.

I have plans to add a good chunk of Ravenwing to this army and bump it up to 1500 points, but that will have to wait...

DreadTober beckons 🎃

See you across the table,

Marc

Dark Angels Vindicator TO-DONE!!!

 

Hi folks,

The school holidays have just started, which has given me just enough time today to add the finishing touches to my Vindicator. This tank is the last model in my 1000 point urban Dark Angels list, though in hobby butterfly style, I have already written a different version of the same list with some Ravenwing Black Knights 😅

The paint scheme is pretty standard as far as Vindicators go; the hazard stripes fit the style of my army perfectly. 

I used an old rocket pod from a Landspeeder sprue to represent a hunter-killer missile. I like it better than the strap-on missile launcher you usually get with vehicles.

I have a feeling I'll be painting some Orks with my young lad tomorrow, before getting stuck into my DreadTober project later in the week. Until then, time for a big stamp:

See you across the table,

Marc