DreadTober - To Done!

 

Greets and welcome back!  I'm pleased to share my completed DreadTober project today.  The Invictor Tactical Warsuit assigned to the 4th Company Blades of Vengeance is DONE.  Please allow me to celebrate with a big seal o' DONE before I continue...

OK, now on to how the final week went.  With the base built last week, I set to work painting it.

After a black primer coat, I decided to try out GW Agrellan Earth technical paint instead of my typical Vallejo Black Lava to cover the cork texture on the flat areas. As seen here, it gave a nice parched, cracked earth look.

I used an airbrush to then add a brown base coat. Then after some shading and dry brushing the bases ended up like this.

I have a method, but typically go freehand here with "a little bit of this, and a little bit of that.".  Here I have chosen some GW Athonian Camoshade on the gravelly bits to hint at a bit of moss or other greenery trying to make a come back amidst the arid devastation. 

Then it was a simple matter of drilling a couple holes in the feet for brass wire pins, then drilling complimentary holes in the base to glue the Warsuit down permanently.  As I've mentioned in other articles, I have forgone superglue for a 2-Part 5-Minute Epoxy. Sure, it takes more time to set, and can be a bit more fussy to work with.  But it's flexible and provides a very strong bond.  This beats the brittleness of superglue.  When I inevitably drop this model, the base won't simply pop off.  Even with pins, I have seen superglue bonds easily separate under minor force.  Also, superglue doesn't store well...I can use the same tubes of 2-part epoxy for years (I buy big tubes 😁).

Anyway, enough of that. Once the model was permanently attached to the base, I painted the two daemon skulls on the base and went back to the Warsuit to complete a few details. That involved finishing the purity seals and oaths of moment; painting the Opus Machina on the power plant, detailing a few hoses and painting in the lenses and such on either side of the cockpit. Probably some clean up and a few other minor details were completed in the bargain.

I'll leave off with family photo of the three Primaris Dreadnought/Warsuit chassis I have painted up so far.  Perhaps next year I'll add the Brutalis Dreadnought and complete the set. That Dread would look very good in Deathwing heraldry, no?

I have very much enjoyed participating in DreadTober this year.  We have so many great projects every year.  Follow the link to see more! If you are interested, scroll down after the break so see the final pics of my project this year.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

DreadTober - week 4 progress!

 

Greetings and welcome back for week four of DreadTober.  I added a few more details, like purity seals, to the dread this week.  But the main task was building the base.  Nothing too fancy, mind, but something with more lift and interest than a simple plastic circle with some gravel on it...

Here, I have used my typical approach of gluing down cork pieces in (hopefully) interesting patterns. Then I used wood glue with my model railroad ballast mix to add some bits of rock here and there. In this picture, the glue is still drying. Later I go back and add Vallejo Black Lava to the rest of the exposed cork surface to hide the remaining 'corkiness'. A couple GW deamon skulls were added for good measure. I may use that as a theme for my larger Blades of Vengeance chapter models to distinguish them a bit form the Dark Angels chapter. Probably for some of the characters too?

Here's a close up of the driver in his seat.  I owe him some armor highlights and other fiddly bits to add interest. I'm happy the moving bits still move after painting, though, and the magnets are working great for attaching the driver.

Here he is all locked in for a fight.  Progress could have moved a long a bit more this week. However I'm still in great shape for finishing by the end of the month. Everything that is going to be glued has been, with the exception of the base.  I'm going to paint that prior to fixing the model to it permanently.

So that's me so far. A couple three day weekends away and a minor cold this week have slowed the pace, but not wrecked the goal.  I'll be there at the finish with y'all!

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

DreadTober - week 3 progress!

 

Greetings and welcome back.  It was a short week for hobby this week, with only three short painting sessions. But as you can see, things are coming along well.  This week I focused on highlights and the space marine operator as well as base coating a few more details.

The green armor has been highlighted all around, along with the red weapon casings and the white shoulders.

 

Some of that shows up in the pics and some does not. I took these pretty quick and they are a bit washed out.

Oh, I busted the original purity seal, and lost the broken off paper part.  So above, you can see the new grey plastic purity seal. I popped off the old bit and glued on this new one. Annoying, but at least I hadn't painted it yet?

Here's the pilot tucked away in the cockpit. I put a little time in on the head details.  However I haven't added any highlights to the operator yet. I'm away from the painting desk for a few days, so next week will be a bit of a rush to get things finished up...then in week five I'll complete the base.
The finish line is definitely in reach, but I have some work to do to get there!

That's it for this week.  Check back next week when things should be much further along.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

On the Workbench [October] - First Legion Terminators!

 

Greetings and welcome back.  Today I'm sharing some recent work from the workbench.  Regular readers will know that I take great pleasure from building models. So it is, that even during DreadTober, I cannot resist building something!

I have been sitting on these Cataphractii from the Age of Darkness boxed set because I already had 15 built and frankly didn't have room for more in the case where I keep my HH Dark Angels. However, I recently ran across my extra plexiglass shelves and brackets.  Looking at the collection, I had room in the cabinet for another shelf and so it was added.  Having more room meant it had to be filled of course!

I built these termies pretty stock, with a few exceptions.  I added two combi-meltaguns and a plasma blaster from the Forge World resin upgrades.  And then I decided to do something kinda silly.  I like the reaper autocannon even with its ridiculous proportions.  However, the arms are always built in and the resin Cataphractii arms just don't sit well with the plastic armor, at least in my eyes.  Where is the plastic Cataphractii reaper autocannon?!

Well.  There IS a plastic reaper autocannon, but it's only in the Tartaros pattern terminator kit. And THAT arm, just won't do at all...so what does a hobby maniac do you ask?  He cuts the flamer off a Cataphractii arm and the autocannon off a Tartaros arm, mumbles a few choice words about the whole mess, then sets to with some green stuff and a hobby knife until things sorta look like they belong together...

 Not that terrible! And after some trimming and shaping of the cured green stuff...

Honestly, I'm not sure I could recommend this approach to anyone.  And the reaper autocannon is probably a poor choice in a game of Horus Heresy.  but I roll with the rule of cool...and in the Warhammer universe what is more iconic than a terminator with an oversized cannon?! Seriously...

With some paint, I'm guessing I will forget I ever created this plastic abomination.  At least Cataphractii are slow, so maybe standing back blazing away with an autocannon is good stuff?? I dunno... but it does look cool. 😂

Anyway, I record the conversion here for the record, because I'm seriously going to forget this ever happened. Perhaps at some point I'll share a pic of the Detolf cabinet overflowing with First Legion warriors and war machines.

I hope I haven't inspired you to chop up your heavy weapons on a whim...but it did sorta, kinda work, right? Anyway check back by end of week when we return with week three of DreadTober!!

Until then...

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

DreadTober - week 2 progress!

 

Week two is in the books (at least as far as I can make time to paint)!  Additional details have been painted and an early coat of shade laid down over all. In addition, I've applied transfers so they can get weathered  along with the rest of the model.

I used a custom transfers I had printed back a couple years when I started my Blades of Vengeance project. I think this model will end up being the first that I complete for that chapter. Kinda random, but whatever.

Still lots of details to go, but it's coming along.  I have a couple long weekends in a row with trips so next week will be light on progress, probably. But there's still ample time to complete this walker.

I decided this fine armored walker should bear an elite rank, although his pilot is drawn form the tactical squad ranks. Speaking of which...

Here he is!  He hails from the 4th company, Blades of Vengeance chapter.

Still lots to do here, but I figured I'd at least set the transfers all at the same time while I had them out on the desk. I randomly chose to pull him from the 2nd Tactical Squad (see below).

And that's where the project stands at the end of week two. It's good progress, and I think I jumped out in front enough that a few days away with the family isn't going to cause me to slip the date here. It's fall here, so time to get in some hiking in the mountains. Best wishes for my fellow DreadTober-teers.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

On the Workbench [September] - Just Move! and other tiny stuff...

 

Yes, I joined the movement! OK, truth be told, I'm not much of a joiner...and my background in Software and Network Security keeps me off most social media channels.  But when I saw Just Move from Miniwargammer Dave pop up on Instagram, I had to get involved...sort of.  I love the message, and I will paint this mini after DreadTober and share the results on Instagram. I won't likely join the Discord and other social stuff.  But I WILL move...and I am moving.  You should too! It's really easy...Just Move!

I also built Sabre Strike Tanks - so tiny and so fun!!

And more Leman Russ battle tanks.  Four Annihilators are pictured here, but I also built four Exterminators, four Executioners and four Demolishers. Somewhere along the line I stopped taking pictures of the builds...I guess because there have just been so many tiny armor kits! I also built two Sicaran Arcus and two Sicaran Punisher variants.  I have a least one of every kit now except for Termite Assault Drills.  I don't love them on the table top, and there are just SO many Astartes transport options. I have more transports than models to put in them!! OK, if I'm being honest, I will of course pick up that kit at some point..but right now I'm standing firm...NO TERMITES! 😁

Ah!  And I almost forgot the Stormsword variants.  I did get pictures of these, mostly because I magnetized the options.

You just *have* to magnetize these tiny tanks.  You get all the weapon hardware for each variant, so it's a shame *not* to. I used green stuff in the weapons to simply hold the magnets in place using the existing void areas there which were already big enough (mostly) to hold the magnets.  I might have drilled out a bit here and there to enlarge the space. Then I drilled holes in the tanks for the other magnets...keep your polarity straight here! If I ever play this game, it'll no doubt be with the volcano cannons, but I love the look of the plasma (and, Dark Angels!)...so then why leave out the Demolisher's older brother?

So it's been a busy month of builds...no wonder I struggled to complete ten Deathwing Terminators!

But now we're in DreadTober, so time to get back to the Invictor Tactical Warsuit...

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

DreadTober - week 1 progress!

 

Greetings and welcome to DreadTober, that time of year when a group of Warhammer hobbyists rally around to paint up something dreadnought sized. This year I'm painting a Primaris Invictor Tactical Warsuit for the Blades of Vengeance, a successor chapter to the Dark Angels.  I wanted to add a successor to my Dark Angels collection and decided all of the new Primaris vanguard models would fit perfectly into a small force that I could ally into my main collection of Dark Angels space marines.

Week one is about the build, priming and getting stuck in with the project.  The Invictor Warsuit naturally builds in these sub assemblies, without effort. The Warsuit cockpit is designed to open in a manner similar to the other Primaris dreadnoughts. So I decided magnets would be the way to go here so I could remove the marine and not be concerned that he'd randomly fall out while handling the model.

A simple 2mm x 1.5mm cylinder magnet did the trick nicely. Sure it damages the suit connection point for display purposes, but I expect to keep my marine in the cockpit most of the time.  I could have glued a larger powerful magnet inside behind the seat, perhaps, to hide it.  But this approach provides a firm bond and was quick and easy to do.

The same size magnet fit in the cavity at the back of the marine's torso...maybe I drilled it out a little bit?  I should have taken notes...anyway, it does nestle in nicely. I used extra five-minute epoxy to fill the whole space and ultimately secure the magnet in place.

Here the drive is seen securely seated in the cockpit. Other than this simple tweak, the remaining model was assembled stock with no further customization. I did look into the bits box for some bling, but I felt my choices were all too specifically Dark Angels, and I don't want the Blades of Vengeance models to look just like Dark Angels with a slightly different paint job.  The Blades are an all Primaris chapter formed from Adept Cawls machinations (Praise be to the Omnissiah), and so they lack the ancient traditions and rituals of the Dark Angels.  This leaves them a little...plain...I guess, in my imagination.

Speaking of plain, here are the parts after a coat of matte black primer.  I went with a rattle can, because I have a spray booth vented to the outside; and why not. It let me down this time though, and I got some texture and fuzzing, or dusting, in places. This bummed me out, and I almost switched projects for DreadTober.  But thinking it through, I didn't mind the texture for a war machine.  After paint and weathering, I don't expect it to ruin anything.  it may actually add to the rugged feel of the machine when all is said and done.

In the title pic at the top, you can see much of the main colors blocked in.  I used an air brush to first lay down the dark silver, then the other colors carefully (sort of) over top. Then I went back with the brush and touched up the over spray; that is something I really haven't mastered with the air brush. But practice makes better?  Anyway, as I head into week two the remaining details will be completed, transfers added, and I'll shade everything.  Then I'm guessing I'll be highlighting and cleaning things up during week three.  I may find time to build out the base too, so that I can paint it during week four to complete the project.

That's the rough plan anyway. Any we all know plans seldom survive contact with the enemy, in this case Life(tm); so we'll see how it goes. Thanks for stopping by, and do check out the link at the top for more DreadTober goodness. 

Cheers and Happy Gaming!