Dreadnought

All posts tagged Dreadnought

Blood Angels Leviathan Siege Dreadnought

Posted by johnnya10 on 21/09/2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . 5 Comments

Blood Angels Leviathan Siege Dreadnought

What’s big, red and smashes through fortress walls that it’s just set fire to? Yup, it’s my Blood Angels Leviathan Siege Dreadnought – the latest addition to my Heresy Era, 2nd Ed Inspired Army. And I’m very happy with this guy. Let’s take a closer look.

Firstly, it’s a lovely kit. Another Forge World cracker. What’s really nice is that it comes with instructions that I sort of followed (sort of). It’s not cheap, but when you see the size of this thing… well, for those of you haven’t seen one in the flesh, this is what it looks like next to a Contemptor Dreadnought:

fullsizerender-21

Yeah. Chunky. As I said, it’s a lovely kit, and so are the weapon arms – also massive. I based him simply on stone/ash that ties in well with the rest of the army. I equipped my Siege Dreadnought with a phosphex launcher, two heavy flamers, the frankly “ridiculawesome” Cyclonic Melta Lance and the Siege Claw with inbuilt Meltagun. So that’s four melta shots, a wall of flame and a claw that will act like a tin opener to most tanks. Not bad, though having worked out the points cost, ‘not bad’ is the least it should be!

leviathan siege claw

While the Contemptor is a shiny, venerable hero of legend, the Leviathan is a hulk that wades into oncoming fire and thinks little of it. For this reason, I haven’t given him any gold trim or intricate freehand. Also, along with the dust kicked up on the lower legs, there’s a lot of weathering throughout, from oil on the metal areas to the black blotches indicating shots that did nothing other than make him grumpy. You won’t like him when he’s grumpy.

The one bit of embellishment that I did give him was the white flames. These are close to the flame weapons, primarily because of this guy:

wh40k_2nd_edition_box_set_jpg_1_600x1_200_pixels

He’s on the 2nd Ed box art and I really enjoy the idea of everyone in my army using heavy flamers having these white flames as part of their armour. Yes, the guy above is technically using just a flamer, but I intend to have a lot of heavy flamers and I’d like to use this idea for them as if will highlight the importance of this weapon within this legion. On this Siege Dreadnought, I weathered it up a bit too – scorches from the flamers and few points where the white paint has come off to reveal the red underneath – I’m pretty happy with how it looks.

siege dreadnought rear

You can see more examples of that weathering here – the kicked up ash, the black marks of gunfire and, in this case, the exhausts. This was done with a knackered old brush applying Rhinox Hide and then Abaddon Black. There are so many details in this kit – it really is a joy to paint, even if its size and intricacy make it seem a little daunting too.

cyclonic melta lance

This weapon really is gloriously ridiculous, both in terms of its rules (although 6″ more range would have made it amazing) and its looks. I want to meet the Tech Priest or Magos who picked up a multi melta and said ‘hey, we should strap a few of these together to see what they can do’. That’s my kind of thinking.

img_0171

So there you have it. Done and on to the next project which, true to form, I have no idea what it will be yet – though keep checking back to find out. My guess is it will still be Blood Angels related but we’ll see. This guy was a treat to paint and I’m very happy with how he turned out. A true monster that can weather just about anything the traitors and heretics of the time might throw at him. And for those of you still trying to work out how big he is, I’ll leave you with a shot of how big he is compared to a standard dreadnought. Onwards!

siege dreadnought size comparison

 

Blood Angels Contemptor Dreadnought

Posted by johnnya10 on 23/05/2016
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . 2 Comments

blood angels contemptor dreadnought

My Blood Angels Contemptor Dreadnought is now complete and I’m very happy with it. Atheon (as I have dubbed him) was a joy to do, and despite being the Contemptor from the Calth box, I think I managed to get him to look a little bit more dynamic than many others I have seen (despite the static stance) which is nice. Let’s take a good look, from many angles, at the first slightly-larger kit that I’ve completed for my Sons of Sanguinius.

Firstly, my love for Mephiston Red continues. It really is a glorious shade and it’s pretty cool to watch the three or four thin coats become that deep, luxurious, carmine red. And also, shout out to Evil Suns Scarlett and Fire Dragon Bright for providing the perfect highlighting colours too. But my favourite colours on this come from my home-brewed brass shades, used on the end of the multi-melta and the exhausts. It’s really just a blend of golds and silvers, but it works so well. And it really does look just like brass!

dreadnought with multi-melta

The flames on the leg (yes, I know I showed them to you in the WIP post last week) are still one of my favourite features. I feel I really got them spot on with this guy. The shoulder pad on this side though, was an unrelenting nightmare. I screwed that one up so many times, but eventually, the slightly stylised ‘IX’ and the rest worked out ok. And Forge World etched brass is as uncooperative as it ever was – nice to know some things never change.

Blood Angel Dread

Sorry for the darkness of this pic – was trying to ensure that the details on those wings were picked out (which they are) but in doing that, everything else had to be a little darker. The ones on the shoulder sit there perfectly, and being a tad larger than the shoulder pad surface works out nicely. I was tempted to do a bit more freehand on the power fist, but at that stage, I thought it might be overkill. There are lots of fun details all over this and squeezing in more flames or blood drops felt a little OTT. In the end, I like it. That’s what counts.

contemptor rear

I won’t bore you too much about the back end of the dreadnought – once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all. I will talk briefly about the base though. It’s not exciting at all, and I have a reason for this. I kept it simple because I’m going to be wanting a full talon of Contemptors in the future, and I want to be able to easily match them to each other. In the same way that one bases squads the same, these guys should be similar and it may be quite a while before I get round to the next two. Because of that, I kept it simple. No bits I might run out of, or techniques I might forget in that time. Just rock. Hopefully the model looks good enough that no-one will be concentrating on the base too much anyway.

red contemptor

I kept the weathering very simple. Abaddon Black was sponged on where appropriate, and the feet and lower legs received a little grey fleck here and there to represent the ash-covered/moonscape look that I tend to favour. The exhausts have a little Rhinox Hide at the top to represent the exhaust fumes leaving their mark too. And that’s it. Nothing over the top there.

A word on the kit – it’s ok. It’s a plastic Contemptor, and that’s great. But the body is a mono-pose piece and that does mean you end up with something that can end up looking static. That’s where arm positioning comes into making him a little more dynamic. Take a lot of care to fit everything together perfectly, and make sure you fill in any tiny gaps and remove mould lines as ever. Wouldn’t it be great to see proper plastic Contemptor kits in stores though?

john ashton contemptor

The scrollwork on the chest was fun to work on again – not done that since I put my Grey Knights Contemptor together. The scriptwriting ended up being tough and that really is a skill that I need to spend more time practicing, but it turned out well. And I left the head black, with those glaring green eyes. The black helmet indicates the warrior’s closeness to death (being that he’s stuck in a walking sarcophagus) . Don’t know where I got the idea for black armour representing death from though. 😉

And that’s about it! Very happy with the above. I seem to be saying that a lot recently, and that’s always a good thing. Not sure what I’ll be working on next, but it may have a bit more of a resin feel to it. Forge World Open Day is coming up soon (did you get your ticket?), and I want to have a new shiny toy to show off in the painting comp. But more on that in later posts. Once again, thanks for reading – Onwards!

Mortifactors Contemptor Dreadnought

Posted by johnnya10 on 09/09/2014
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment
mortifactors contemptor dreadnought

Mortifactors Mortis Pattern Contemptor Dreadnought

Got firepower? You better believe it, buddy. Say hello to my Mortifactors Contemptor Dreadnought, Galador the Cursed (formerly Mr Stompy). Not only does he sport a pair of Kheres Pattern assault cannons, but he’s also rocking a frag and krak filled cyclone missile launcher – this is a Mortis Pattern Dread.

Based on the Death Guard body, this was a relatively simple ‘conversion’, hardly deserving of the name. I had to trim a few spikes and remove an ‘X’ from the body and that was it. Thank you Forge World for covering a Contemptor in little skulls. Speaking of skulls…

contemptor shoulder

 

Although this isn’t the best image (got the fancy camera but it’s not exactly easy to use, especially in low light – my own fault), this is quite possibly my best skull. This dreadnought is a member of the First Company and therefore wears the full skull on his shoulder automatically (as per my constructed fluff). The skull on the knee was difficult due to the angles but I love the look of this one.

The above image also highlights the ‘M’ which replaced the ‘XIV’. As mentioned, I had to trim off the ‘X’ and using some green stuff, was able to create a very simple initial that I’m really happy with.

kheres pattern assault cannon

Now, if you’re looking for a badass weapon that’s as fiddly as hell to put together, this is the gun for you. I ballsed it up a bit in truth. I cleaned them up but not enough and the imperfections were made more obvious by washes and highlighting. These were simple enough to paint, but putting them together was tense and required plenty of patience. The missile launcher too had its fair amount of issues.

mortifactors dread

I was a little concerned that the missiles would look a little too cartoony by having them a mix of red any yellow, but I wanted to demonstrate that some were frag and some were krak and these colours seemed to sit best. In the end, I like it, and seeing as Mortis Pattern Contemptors gain skyfire and interceptor if they don’t move in the prior turn, I expect to see these downing a few flyers one day soon.

The name Galador The Cursed comes from my fluff idea that the Mortifactors are not keen on Dreadnoughts. They delay death and as the chapter venerates mortality, these constructs are as close to abominable without being so that they can be. The Mortifactors use dreadnoughts only when they must and maintain fewer than most chapters. Well, in my very unofficial fluff at least.

contemptor back

freehand skull

It was a fun project but long, and there are plenty of parts that I’m not happy with, though all in all, I’m happy. Painting a big Forge World piece is always a joy and I think I did this one justice.  Until the next time, enjoy one last final shot of this monster.

mortifactors dreadnought

This model was painted using a variety of brushes and Citadel Paints.

-=-=-=-

Update:

Selected for the featured flickr pool as seen on the GW blog (again!). Very happy about that. 🙂

contemptor on gw blog

Emperor’s Children Sonic Dreadnought

Posted by johnnya10 on 26/01/2014
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment
Emperor's Children Sonic Dreadnought

Emperor’s Children Sonic Dreadnought

My eyes!! Yes, they’re now ruined. The hot pinks, tiger stripes, moody golds, neon greens and electric blues of the long-corrupted Emperor’s Children have burned my corneas and retinas to ash, but the damn thing is finally done. I’m actually pretty proud of the result too. I’ve been working on it for ages now and, in fact, this is another resurrection job. I should have taken a better picture before I took the Fairy Power Spray to it, but you can just make it out here…

old dreadnought

 

The old version was a proper mess, so it’s great to see one of my favourite Forge World sculpts cleaned up and shown a bit more love. Of course, I can’t really see it because my eyes, as mentioned, are now a bloody mess (alright, that’s a bit OTT, but you know what I mean).

I really wanted to capture both the insanity and love/lust of vibrant, brilliant hues that the Emperor’s Children are now known for, and to pay a little homage to the old school ‘Eavy Metal painters who first bought the long-fallen 3rd Legion to life. Needless to say, I am now really looking forward to painting some dark, subtle, understated minis.

Dreadnought left arm

 

One of my favourite bits of fluff is the Battle of Skalathrax where the Emperor’s Children fought the World Eaters, and Kharn earned his name ‘The Betrayer’. I wanted to incorporate a nod to that battle and used it as an excuse to try out a little of my freehand painting which is an area I really want to work on this year. In my mind, this dread’s close combat weapon was scavenged from a fallen World Eater Dread, perhaps that had had its mind destroyed by a sonic weapon. It’s a trophy and it allowed me to mix up the pallet a little too – it’s win-win!

dreadnought blastmaster

 

The Blastmaster was one of the last parts I painted on this figure, and by that point, I was pretty done with metallics. So, using some pictures of old French Horns for inspiration, I did a bit of blending and used some different washes to break it up a bit, and I’m pretty happy with the results. Sonic weapons are unique to Slanneshi Space Marines and I wanted that to be reflected in its looks.

And yes, the tiger stripes on the legs were really fun to paint and so much easier that I thought they would be. That, and the green part of the front are the two pieces that I’m most proud of on this model. Very Slanneshi to.

dreadnought freehand

 

The freehand on the top was fun, but nerve-wracking. I’m really pleased with the effects achieved and it really helps to break up the model a bit too because those big areas of just pink were not that fun or good to look at. Painting in shades of a single colour really helps to keep the theme together.

sonic dreadnought engine

 

And that’s that! Fitting to end with the back of the Dread (quite happy with the exhausts too as it happens). I know that technically it should be called a Sonic Helbrute now, but Sonic Helbrute sounds like a failed Comic Book bad guy from the 80s. Sonic Dread sounds infinitely cooler.

The mini was undercoated black and Citadel paints were used throughout, as were a wide variety of brushes. Oh, and I just found my actual digital camera. The above are all taken with my iPhone, but I’m going to try the camera soon and I’ll do a post about the differences and we can check out the results too.

I hope you enjoyed it. I’m now off to just look at shades of grey on the pantone website. Onwards!

I’d love to read your comments or questions. Stick them below!

Grey Knights Contemptor Dreadnought

Posted by johnnya10 on 19/12/2013
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment
Grey Knights Contemptor Dreadnought

My Grey Knights Contemptor Dreadnought

Well, this guy is the model that I have often referred to as my ‘Pride and Joy’ because I just think it’s one of the best things I ever did. I wanted a Psifleman Venerable Dreadnought for my Grey Knights force, largely to sit at the back of the table and provide AA cover and to deal with any armour that proves annoying. He’s done a great job in that respect,

This piece was made using the Relic Contemptor kit from Forge World and two autocannon arms. It’s a great kit to play with and I love the range of poses you can get from all of the Contemptors. The loin-cloth was taken from the Wraithlord kit, the head is just a standard Grey Knights Terminator head and bits of that Terminator kit have been used across the rest of the model. I used Citadel paints and brushes used include the Da Vinci 1505 Kolinsky Sable 0000 for details and larger brushes from the Daler Rowney System 3 range (great for large areas as they leave very few brush-stroke marks).