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

Iron Snakes Terminators: TO-DONE!!

 

Hi folks,

It's DreadTober!! So, of course I have been painting Terminators 😆

I guess the original name of Terminator armour was Tactical Dreadnought armour, so that has to count for something, right?!

These terminators have been sitting in a little box for years now; an unfinished unit that was meant to be an quick addition to my Iron Snakes army. That collection is conspicuously missing any close combat units and anti-armour capability, so thunderhammer-toting terminators always seemed like an obvious choice. 

I have painted them in the usual scheme (leadbelchers, warplock bronze and kabalite green verdigris) with some additional turquoise accents and red shoulder pads to match the trim I usually have on the other infantry units. I used some decals that Sgt Waz and Wade gave me for my Birthday during the COVID-19 lockdown. The bases were finished with some cute laser cut ferns from Noch. Here are some close up pics:

Sergeant 

I had to kitbash this guy a quick mace head to replace the hammer part I used for the captain.

Apothecary 

Iron Snakes often attach an Apothecary to squads on extended missions when they are expected to operate independently for a time.

Iron Halo Dude

This guy was originally going to get a cyclone missile launcher... but... yeah...

Just Ken

Nothing special, he's just Ken.

Hammertime!!

Can't touch this.

To lead this unit I have rebased a Captain in Terminator armour I painted for D Power's Soulslike painting competition. The prize for winning that competition was a portrait of the miniature, created in D's signature grim/dark as hell style (which has taken pride of place in my hobby space ever since):

The story behind this Captain is that he has been trapped by himself on a hellish daemonworld for an extended period of time (let's just call it The Underworld). Having been comprehensively tested for corruption and being judged pure of mind and soul, Mikos has returned to active service. All who fight beside him agree that he has changed...

I also added the finishing touches to some objective markers, which have already seen some action on the table top. 

With this final distraction out of the way, it is time to focus on my DreadTober pledge! More about that next time...

See you across the table,

Marc

2023/2024 To-Do List

 

Hi folks,

I have cut a bunch of things out of my To-Do list this year, so that I am just focusing on my 2nd Edition Army challenge entry and my 10th Edition Dark Angels. They are my two main priorities which I know I will be able to put my heart into. There is plenty of other stuff I could write down, but I doubt I would ever get around to doing them! If I do, I'll just stamp them anyway ;-)

Let's start with the old school things:

2nd Edition 40K

Blood Angels

Brother-Captain Tycho

Chief Librarian Mephiston

Apothecary Corbulo

Veteran Sergeant Cleutin

Techmarine

Death Company Chaplain

Death Company Squad

Tactical Squad

Devastator Squad

Scout Squad

Terminator Squad

Furioso Dreadnought

Baal Predator

Blood for the Season of Blood! I have included every character except for Dante, because I didn't want to share the few assault marine models I have across two armies. Tycho is definitely my favourite Blood Angels character, even if he is not the most powerful on the tabletop. I have included a bunch of staple squads in there, as well as a sick Furioso Dread I am converting and a Baal Predator (an early 3rd Ed. shoe-in).

Imperial Agents

Inquisitor

Character in Terminator Armour

Terminator Squad A

Terminator Squad B

Callidus Assassin

Half of this collection got lost in the mail for 6 months; both the seller and I truly believed they were gone for good! I am hoping to add them to my collection as allies, though painting such venerable models and doing them justice is a daunting proposition.

10th Edition 40K

Dark Angels

Azrael

Ballistus Dreadnought (DreadTober)

Hellblaster Squad

Intercessors

Deathwing Terminators

Deathwing Strikemaster

I need to prioritise these figures so I can play more games with my mates, so expect to see them on the paint table soon. I am particularly looking forward to painting another Dreadnought for DreadTober which is starting in a few weeks time. I love the old school aesthetic of the new Ballistus Dreadnought, so when it hit the ebay shelves it was a must have for me. I am also managed to pick up some of the new (outrageously good looking) Terminators and I am keen to continue my tabletop adventures with Azrael; this will be the third version of the model I have painted!

Wish me luck!

Marc

2023 Hobby Year Review

 

Hi folks,

Well, it has been awhile. This year has been a quiet one on the hobby front, if painting a 2200 point 2nd Edition army can be described as such. Participating in the Cowabunga 2nd Edition Army challenges is both awesome and utterly time consuming, taking me out of the mainstream of modern 40K for 6 months in the year and leaving me fairly burned out for the following 6 months. 

I started off the 22/23 hobby season with some palette cleanser projects, painting some Ravenwing bikes (which are about to leave the modern scene forever) and a Redemptor Dreadnought for DreadTober.

I have since dropped the bikes from my modern list, so they are left warming the shelf as a nice reminder of how waiting too long to paint stuff can come back to bite you. The dreadnought has made its way into a 2000 point list of 10th Edition Dark Angels I will be working on.

You don't have to scroll too far back to see the models I painted for the 2nd Ed. challenge. My Hive Fleet Proteus nids were fairly well received in the old school community, the paint scheme seemed to tick the boxes in terms of colour choice and overall vibe. My Termagants managed to earn me some Terminator Honours in the first month, which I am very proud of.

Towards the end of the challenge I helped write a short campaign pack for 2nd Edition: Return to Hamelia XI which takes a lot of inspiration from the Jurassic Park films. I wrote some of the terrain rules for the campaign and it was awesome to see some hobbyists really run with those ideas and create entire gaming boards to play the campaign. I managed to play a game with my son, which was his first experience playing 2nd Edition. I think he has a greater appreciation for the streamlined game we play in 10th Edition, though he misses the vortex grenades! I have also been able to connect with some 2nd Ed. players in the mountains over here, about 1.5 hours from where I live. We are hoping to play some games together to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of our favourite edition. 

 

Over the Christmas break I spent a couple of nights playing Kill Team at a local FLGS with a gaming club. The games were fun and I got along with the people pretty well, but ultimately I had trouble turning up regularly after work. When real life turned the screws, it was one of the first things I dropped, which I really regret now. I can't think of any way to change things, though. Family has to come first [shrugs sadly].

With 10th dropping recently, I have reconnected with some mates to learn the new game and throw down some dice. So far I have enjoyed the fact that stratagems are taking a back seat. The additional streamlining hasn't really effected anything that I care about, so the faster games are purely an advantage for me. I have played games with my Nids, "first born" Dark Angels and Iron Snakes, all narrow losses I can easily chalk up to army selection and bad luck (as always!). The key thing is that all the games were fun. I'll be playing more regular games from now on, so my Primaris Dark Angels will be a key feature in my To-Do list next year.

I'll finish the season with a photo from the last game that I watched; I was too tired to participate but happily played the part of rulebook checker! Here is a photo of Mephiston drinking some quality Ork brew, outside an old school Ork pub, deep in turn 5; a worthy objective if ever there was one.

See you across the table,

Marc