On the Workbench [May] - The Dreadwing and the Infested Brethren

This month, I decided to build a few more units for the First Legion and assemble the most recent Blackstone Fortress models that have been hanging out on the shelves.  Back before I knew there would be actual Dreadwing models released for the Dark Angels, I had picked up a unit of Destroyers and a Legion Moritat to pal around with them and represent the Dreadwing.  Now we have official models in the form of the Dark Angels Interemptors.

Dark Angels Interemptors

Great looking models, but what caught my attention were the right arm shoulder pads.  We don't have Dreadwing iconography (that I'm aware of), so I don't know if these are meant to be emblems of the Dreadwing, or destroyers in general. The symbol looks very close to that of the Legion Moritat.  Regardless, it seems to be much cooler then the plain pads that come with the Legion Destroyers.

So I dug out my aging package of Insta-mold to see what I could do with some green stuff.  I also ordered some mold making stuff to try duplicating the pads entirely.  But since anything ordered takes a random amount of time to arrive now, I though I'd see what I could do with custom icons to glue onto the pads of the Destroyers.

Insta-mold comes in these unremarkable clear bars which you drop into hot water to soften.  After a few minutes in the hot water bath you can press things into it to make impressions.  So I pressed this bar over the shoulder pads to see if I could make some green stuff emblems.

Next I whipped up a quick batch of green stuff and pressed it into the molds.  The green stiff didn't stick to the molds at all, but stuck to me fine...remember to use water, or something like Vaseline on your fingers so you don't pull the green stuff out of the mold trying to press it in.

Next I let that set over night and checked things out in the morning.  The green stuff popped right out and I was left with some rough art to work with.  Mind you, this was a very quick and sloppy prototype to see how this process could work.  I did it all in about 20 minutes, other than the overnight curing process.

It's possible to cut and file some of this down to glue onto a shoulder pad.  However, I'll probably toss this lot and try again.  It's important to separate the pads to make better mold impressions, I think.  Also, I'll use thinner green stuff material so that I won't have so much to cut away.  After this simple prototype, I believe it could work.  It's still likely easier to just paint symbols like this free hand on the pads.  Or, to sculpt green stuff directly on the pads rather than trying to create glue on bits.

The Destroyers are otherwise cleaned up and ready for assembly. Their plain bare shoulder pads can be seen at the top.  The Legion Moritat is also cleaned up and ready to be built.

I love the paired plasma pistols.  Too bad Horus Heresy uses 7th Edition rules.  This fella will almost certainly blow himself up if he uses his full rules for those pistols.  However, since I paint more than I play, it's the Rule of Cool all the way here.

Dark Angels aside, I kicked off the month by building the Infected Brethren from Blackstone Fortress to take a break form tiny Titans. I had every intent on pressing forward painting the Blackstone Fortress models, too.  But it looks like it's going to be Heresy Era Dark Angels for the foreseeable future. One must follow one's muse.

I hope you are all staying safe out there. Best wishes for your families and essential workers.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!