DreadTober 2025: Tervigon Birthing Sac

 

Hi folks,

Term 4 of school started this week, so my hobby time has been compressed to a tiny singularity on Friday night. Still, I managed to paint my main goal for this week, the Tervigon's birthing sac. It was a bit of a process, which I will record here for posterity.

1) Base colour

For the basecoat I made a 1:1 mixture of Xerius Purple and Sotek Green. It took a couple of coats as coverage wasn't great over the black.

2) Blue wash

To add a bit of interest I added a Sotek wash in all of the recesses. I like the contrast between cold and warm tones when I do his, instead of using a darker purple wash. I also added some more Xerius Purple to the raised surfaces to help blend it all together.

3) First Highlights

I built up the highlights gradually with progressively lighter mixes of Model Colour Purple and Xereus Purple. Model Colour Purple is my "go to" for Tyranids these days; excellent for vintage genestealers.

4) Final Highlights

I dry-brushed neat Model Colour Purple to the raised surfaces, particularly focusing on the sacs where the Termagant heads can be seen poking through. Later on I even added a small amount of Jokaero Orange and Ushabti Bone to the mix to really bring those edges out.

5) Base coating the germ sacs

Early on I noticed that some of the sacs look smaller and rounder than the others. I thought maybe they could be the earliest stages of Termagant growth, just sacks of toxin and stem cells, which I could conceivably pick out in another colour. I undercoated these in a mixture of Xerius Purple and Warpstone Green.

6) Green Highlights

I highlighted the germ sacs with increasingly light mixes of Moot Green and Yriel Yellow. It is a similar look to how I do the eyes of each of my Tyranids. 

7) Blood!

The final step was to add some Tamiya Clear Red to the entrance of the birthing sac. Clear Red is my secret weapon for doing blood, though it is a bit of a pain to clean up, and pretty unforgiving if you mess up. Less is usually more when it comes to blood, so I only added a bit to the edges and the internal surfaces, which you can't see well in this shot. There is one thing that I have not painted; the armour on the top of the Devourer, as this will be colour shift. I'll bet tackling that part of the project next week!

See you across the table,

Marc

DreadTober TO-DONE!!!

 

Hi folks,

DreadTober is finished for another year, and what a year it has been!! The entries have just been fantastic, with some great variety on offer and serious hobby skill on display. I managed to complete my pledge fairly early this year, thanks primarily to the mostly black paint scheme.

Moriar the Chosen is the sole Dreadnought inducted into the Death Company. Having succumbed to the Black Rage, he is a brutal engine of woe on the battlefield. Wielding the legendary Blood Talons, he is able to rend his enemies apart, utilising his heavy flamer and meltagun to purge infantry and vehicles alike. His sarcophagus has been modified so that he can partake of vital fluids when the Red Thirst takes him.

Towards the end of the challenge DAM, from over at 262nd Death Korps of Krieg, offered to send me an old Forgeworld Chaplain Dreadnought he had stashed away. I once had the chance to get one, but chose to buy a Contempor instead. Now with the Chaplain Dread OOP and Contemptors everywhere, that had become a regrettable decision! The model reached me in record time, and I set about painting it with about 3 nights to go in the challenge. Several long painting sessions later, Damodred, Light of Baal, has awoken!!

This has to be the most detailed model I have ever painted. It was utterly enjoyable to work on. I'm hoping to send something back DAM's way to honour the favour!!

See you across the table,

Marc

DreadTober: Week 3 Progress

  

Hi folks,

Just a quick post tonight because it is getting late. I managed to get quite a bit done on Moriar the Chosen during the weekend, most of which I have not taken photos of yet. The sarcophagus is pretty much finished, depending on how cleanly the assembly goes. I have been varnishing the parts as I finish them; a trick I learned working on the Tyranid Warriors a few years ago. Unfortunately, when you construct metal models, there is always a chance you are going to knock something and end up having to repair chips in the paint job. 

Thankfully, the decals I ordered last week have been delivered. They are from the new Death Company set and they look excellent. I have actually put them on the model already, but I'll have to show that off next time I post. I also received the static grass I needed to finish the base off in the style that I wanted. I did actually end up going back and warming up the colour of the dirt on the base by dry-brushing with XV-88.

The arms were pretty quick to paint until I got up to the claws, which took me ages to blend and highlight. Here is how they looked the step before the claws were worked on, including a neat little free-hand blood drop.

See you across the table,

Marc

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

DreadTober 2024 Planning

 

Hi folks,

I am gearing up to the run the DreadTober challenge again this year. It is hard to believe that October is just around the corner. Thankfully, knowing that these events tend to sneak up on me, I managed to get the parts for my project early. 

This year I am going to try and make an old school version of Moriar the Chosen, a Blood Angels Death Company Dreadnought. It will be the first model in a Blood Angels army I am hoping to piece together over the next 12 months.

The number of DreadTober 2024 challengers is fairly low so far, though it is great to see the veterans are back again for another year. If you are thinking about joining us, please check out the challenge website and consider posting about it on your own blog or social media. Hopefully, we can get some more people to join and make it a real party.

See you across the table,

Marc

DreadTober 2023 Progress

 

Hi folks,

It feels a bit odd posting about my DreadTober progress at this late stage. The truth is, I have been putting my progress straight into the DreadTober  blog without posting it here. I haven't hadn't the mental bandwidth for doing anything twice. If you follow me on Instagram  (@m4cr0dutch) you will probably see some extra work in progress shots, simply because I can quickly do it from my phone at the end of my paint session, which is usually late at night right before I crash into bed.

I have been really amazed by the hard work so many people have put into DreadTober this year. Every year it is a bit of a nervous time, particularly at the start, not knowing if anyone is going to join the challenge and have a genuine go at it. Numbers are down just a little this year on the official blog, but there are still heaps of great projects. Quite a few people have had a craic on MeWe as well, which supports a small but loyal 40K community.

I have been struggling a bit with my project, particularly the physicality of getting behind the paint station and concentrating for 30 minutes a the end of the day. A lot of difficult things are happening in my life at the moment, in almost every aspect of my life, and it doesn't leave much energy for that kind of thing. I have also sustained a rib injury that seems to flare up the worst when I am sitting at a desk. Despite this, I feel like I have gotten myself into striking distance of finishing my project. Here are some shots to show where I am up to:

I have chosen a very old school scheme for this Ballistus Dreadnought, mirroring many of the colour choices of the original 2nd Edition Dark Angels Dreadnought, which inspired the sculpt. The devastator symbols on the right knee and pauldron are both free-hand additions, but apart from that I have relied heavily on decals from the big Dark Angels decal sheet. I have used a lot of microsol/set to get them looking right, with matt varnish to seal the deal. I painted over the 3rd Company symbol on the left torso, as the red was not bright enough to match the casing on the storm bolter and missile launcher.

I have been waiting a long time to work on a project that could fit those text decals from the Dark Angels sheet. the hazard strip was cut in half to fit the missile launcher arm as well, helping to tie the model in with the basing material.

There are a few tiny details on this lascannon armour that I need to fix up before installing it, and a little bit of work left to go on the lascannon itself. Hopefully, I can find some time over the next two nights to finish it off!

See you across the table,

Marc

DreadTober and Reflections on Grief

Hi folks,

October, like seemingly every month this year, has been a wild roller-coaster ride. The challenge itself is done and dusted for another year, apart from the participants gallery, and it seems to have gone well. Everyone seemed to have had a good time painting stompy bots and checking out each other's blogs; it was cool seeing everyone comment on each other's work, in the little corners of the internet they have carved out for themselves. 

I'm still a sucker for plasma weapons...

I am left reflecting on another month where I have only just scraped through a challenge that I managed to wedge between massive daily workloads and family stresses. To be clear, I have no issues with failing a fun challenge, they are not meant to be that serious and nobody really minds/cares if you fall short. But I can't help but wonder why having fun itself has become such a challenge. I don't know if this is a function of getting older or just a rough season of my life, but everything seems to be more difficult at the moment. 

I have started some badly needed grief counselling and it is helping me to process issues I have been struggling with for over 20 years, including the fairly recent loss of my closest friend, Joel. Because we shared so much of these hobbies together, they are very much tied to my grief, which makes them both painful and important for healing. Losing such a close friend has also hit me pretty hard in my own sense of identity; Joel knew me better than anyone else and that repository of "me" knowledge is now gone too. I used to be able to say to him "This is what is happening, I feel crap and I don't know why" and he would be able to help me make sense of it all. We used to do that for each other and I really miss it.

I made the mistake of asking the internet what I should call this weapon. I think I will just stick with the less risque "graviton mace" option!

Grief doesn't have a time limit. It doesn't have neat stages that you work through, by ticking all of the boxes. Multiple aspects of it can hit you all at once, or not at all until much later. It hurts, but avoiding it leaves you empty, until you take the time to feel it. I am coming to the realisation that I have spent a lot of time feeling either deeply hurt or numb, and that this realisation itself may be a sign that I am pulling out of the nosedive (at last).

"Even in death I still serve."

So... small plans. I miss my friends a lot; they are amazing. I want to make a proper effort to actually be with them. Hopefully this includes some painting and gaming, amongst other things. I have started a casual gaming group for us, which isn't quite off the ground yet, but has potential.

I am also going to try and put myself out there a bit, which I haven't really done since the end of highschool, and play some games with local FLGS members. I've joined a Kill Team circuit here in Sydney and plan to participate in some introductory games to learn the new edition. Who knows where that will take me. 

The 2nd Edition Army Challenge is about to kick off again as well, which I absolutely love. I am hoping get some games in with the Australian participants this round as well, so perhaps there will be some old school battle reports coming in the future!

At this stage, it is all about getting out of the deep rut that I have found myself in. Digging in and turning it into a trench can't be the plan anymore.  

See you across the table,

Marc

DreadTober 2022 Progress: Part 1

 

Hi folks!

DreadTober has launched for another year of stompy shenanigans. I will be curating the progress shots again this year, which is a joyful but also very time-consuming process. Usually, around Week 3, I get the hang of it and remember all of the tricks I have used previously to streamline the process. Until then I will be flying by the seat of my pants!

This year I am working on a Redemptor Dreadnought. I am not a huge fan of the newer Space Marine models, so I have to admit that this on is still in the process of growing on me. It is certainly chonky, and I do love me some plasma. There are two options for the torso, to either have the sarcophagus covered by pot-bellied armour, or open. I prefer the open option but it also feels a little silly to walk around a battlefield like that. It can articulate, so I am sure I will flit between the two, but I am also going to convert it a little to jazz up the sarcophagus. 

  

This Dreadnought is going to be the centerpiece in my urban combat Dark Angels list, so I am hoping to add some bits to it to make it look a little more... tactical/infiltrator-ish. We'll see how that goes during the week ;-)

See you across the table,

Marc

 

DreadTober: Armiger Warglaive "Patroclus" Audax TO-DONE!!!

 

Hi folks,

I have been so busy keeping the DreadTober blog up to date that I have neglected my own blog this month. If you are interested in seeing some more WIP shots of this little fella, check out the weekly updates I have already posted there! 

Overall, DreadTober seems to have been going well this year. The number of page views have been down in line with how all blogs seem to be going at the moment, but there is a solid core of contributors that have been diligently posting their progress and commenting. As I have mentioned previously, I would far prefer to have less views in exchange for more engagement, so I am content that the challenge has been getting out to the people who count. It has been particularly great to see some of my contacts form other 40K circles getting involved, particularly the 2nd Edition Army Challenge folks and some mates from Australia (g'day Dippa!!). 

My project this year is the final nail in my "Walls of Ithaka" coffin. This is a 1500 point Imperial Knight army I have been working on since winning a Knight Warden a while back. Next post I'll see if I can get them all together for a photo shoot. The Armiger Warglaive "Patroclus" Audax (or, "Courageous Patroclus", if you prefer...) is the squire of "Achilles" Aeternum, who I painted for DreadTober last year. He'll gain advantages from being next to the Preceptor, which creates a nice in-game dynamic for them that reflects their relationship in Homer's Iliad. 

I huge thanks goes out to Taro Modelmaker who sculpted and cast the resin sword and head pieces. If you are hunting for custom Imperial Knight parts, I definitely recommend searching for him on Etsy.

See you across the table,

Marc