067 - Hiatus Begone!

I was sadly robbed of all of my hobby momentum for the past couple of months. I haven't wanted to paint or model a great ammount. With 8th edition on the horizion and the ambiguity a whether Horus Heresy was going to follow or not didn't help my motivation at all. I had heard rumours of how the armies would work and few previews of the force orginasation charts but nothing concrete.
All this meant I got very little done!
I don't paint miniatures to game with but I love the fact I can collect an actual army that functions on the tabletop albeit not an optimised one. So all the half rumours flying around didn't help so the motivation dried up.
When 8th edition came out I was back on track. I like the new minis and feel like I have an actual chance to learn the rules for this edition. The army selection is brilliant as I can choose what I want from a faction keyword and add it to my force. These keywords along with the new force organisation charts means I have a massive amount of freedom. For example I can stick some Kastellan robots and a single squad of Imperial Guard into my Astartes army and it is still a battle forged army. There is not the taboo that unbound had in 7th edition and the index books make it much asier to pick and choose units.

So I have a few projects on the go which i will share (lucky you).

1. The Death Guard.
Back in the early 90s I had a Chaos army which was devoted to Nurgle and have always had a soft spot for it. Seeing the Dark Imperium box I thought I would take the plunge and get a new army. Luckily I have alot of Daemons and Chaos Marines I could use. I also have got loads of mkiii armour which I have picked up from Ebay so this will be the basis of the line troops. The back packs don't do it for me but I have got quite alot of Chaos back packs which fit Nicely on the models.
I love the painting style of my Death Guard. It's not Blanchitsu but it is my approximation of it. I am having real fun with a range of washes over plain base coats. It's a slightly dingy style that fits in with the Grimdark of 40k.

2. The Imperial Fists
I wanted to collect another 30k force but I wanted it to be one of the defenders of Terra during the siege. I wasn't quite sure which army to get then the inspiration hit me. I love Dreadnoughts and I loved the tenacity of the Imperial Fists so I would build a "Fury of the Ancients" list. I went for one of the alternative colour schemes for the Imperial Fists and I really like just painting up one slight;y larger unit at a time.

3.Blackshields
I love idea of the Blackshields in the Horus Heresy. Also they are space pirates.
I have alot of different parts of Space Marines from a great many projects and a Word Bearers army they I am never really going to use so I decided to make a new army out of it! Episode 14 of the Overlords podcasts was a great help to me as it is about creating a Heresy army relatively cheaply and from disparate bits which was perfect for my force. You can find it here.

I have done a few different conversions and cant wait to really get stuck in with these guys!

I have an eye on doing some models set in the period of the Unification Wars. I like the idea of techo-barbarians tearing around pre-unification Terra. But this will be a slow burner and I may well just do a small warband.
I am excited about the 8th edition of Warhammer 40,000 or as Games Workshop call it the New Warhammer 40,000. I have never played my copy of 7th edition because in all honesty it was too complicated. I much preferred the Horus Heresy for collecting so 40k has taken a backfoot really.
Now the new edition is out I have decided to get the boxed set and create an army out of the Death Guard models inside.
So the hiatus is over and I am definitely back on the hobby horse!

066 - Making Space Wolves Great Again

With my wolves renovation project in full swing I have several different group of Space Wolves.
First up is a slightly smaller than I'd hoped group of models which are 30k compatible.  They have the correct weapons and armour so I don't have to do  any work to them. This is my favorite group!
The second group consists of models which need a bit of a spruce up to fit in. There are a lot of bolters that need changing but I have used old rogue trader bolters to be able to fit in nicely. I have also used quite a few plastic mkiv legs to swap in for any mkvii legs that are floating about.
It's just been a case of taking four or five models at a time, repainting, repairing them and then getting another four or five and repeating the process. There were more that needed work than I initially thought but they are mostly weapon swaps and the like, rather than massive jobs.
The final group are models which sadly don't fit in at all. These were any metal models bar the  Dreadnoughts. This means my destroyers, Apothecary and Runepriest are being consigned to the reserves bench. I really liked the Runepriest as it was the old Nijai Stormcaller model. The apothacary was a conversion that I was really proud of but if it doesn't fit then it doesn't fit! Another small part of this group are my mkvi Seekers. I loved the Seekers and they were all in mkvi armour. However they were a little too wolf themed for my liking. The long wolf pelts were very 40k and they had Goodwyn pattern bolters which unfortunately aren't era appropriate.However the silver lining is that I can use the parts from this group to swap out parts that I need which will speed up the renovations to the second group.

The mkiii were an absolute joy to put together but I didn't like the backpacks. However I always seem to get a seam on the exhausts. The good thing with this project's theme is that I can use different backpacks from different marks of armour to get a mkv cobbled together look,
The army is now about 2500pts which is  a decent size for 30k gaming. When I have finished these few last models I can relax and move onto the next project.

065 - For The Wolftime...... Again?

This year was going to be the start of my second generation of Iron Warriors. However I couldn't get on with the colour scheme so I scrapped the project. I have done a more detailed post about it here.
So this left a gap in my hobby commitments and a box full of plastic waiting to be built. So I filled this metaphorical gap with the Vlka Fenryka. I originally kit bashed 40k plastic Space Wolves and resin MK4 marines to create my first 30k army. This was well before the Calth set came out so was hunting around for every last bit of Heresy era armour I could get my hands on.
The result is an eclectic mix of weapons and armour parts which was exactly the look I wanted for my Space Wolves. However the long awaited Inferno book has recently been released along with the Burning of Prospero boxed game.

I was inspired by the Inferno review on the Sons of Heresy podcast. A couple of years ago when he was on the Overlords podcast Jason Mullins infectious enthusiasm really cemented my choice of starting legion and now his excitement over the new book got me wanting to go back to the wolves. I have also been inspired by Big Jim on twitter. His kitbashed army and use of slightly older minis really gels with my own approach to the collection.

I decided I could re-purpose my Space Wolves as most of the models have the correct armour and equipment. It's a case of adding a few models here and there and possible bits. For example exchanging mk7 legs for mk4 legs. I had two Calth sets and a Prospero set so this mean a lot of bits to pick from.
I decided I would retire my metal models and add some more plastic troops. I am going to keep my big tanks and the dreadnoughts. The dreadnoughts might not quite fit being metal and have a few storm bolters here and there but I really like the models so I think I will keep them.
So here I am pulling apart models and trying to match arms with legs so I have to do as little painting as possible. This is a picture of my hobby desk at the moment.

I have now started this small (I hope) project. This won't be a full army. Just a refresh and a couple of new units here and there. After this I can turn my attention to a different Legion but I feel I can have fun with my space vikings for the time being.

063 - Giving Up At The First Hurdle

A few weeks ago I was really excited about the prospect of a new army with the start of my next generation of  Iron Warriors. I had been buying models for almost six months in preparation for this project. I wanted to come out of the gates strong so I started with I had this guy and got him all painted up nice.

It was all going right. I had a Primarch painted. I had a paint scheme on a test model I was happy with. I had a clear idea of the army composition to aim for.
Then it went wrong.
I started painting my first unit of terminators and I just wasn't feeling it. I fell out of love with the paint scheme. It was quite dull. I played around with it but it didn't do it for me. Also the Legion colour scheme being bare metal didn't give me any opportunities for weathering which I am quite partial to now so it all looked a bit flat. I am not a good enough painter to make a simple paint scheme look exciting. I was stumped.
I also felt the army composition was a bit off. I couldn't have it as vehicle heavy as I would like and it would be a lot of work to represent the extra armour on the vehicles you can get in the Hammer Of Olympia rite of war. I also feel unless Terminators are in a Land Raider or Spartan or deep striking through teleports they are not really viable. This meant that I had to run Perturabo or not have an effective army.
So with a heavy heart I decided to be honest with myself and had to pull the plug. It might seem a bit extreme but I don't want to be halfway through an army be really demotivated and then not want to finish it. I will just end up with a half completed army. This is a problem I have had before and i know that I will drag out the last half the models I want to finish if I finish them at all.  I don't feel I have wasted any time or effort as I have the models that I bought for the army which are not legion specific so can go into my next project and I have a shiny Primarch model which makes a great display piece. I will have a look at various ideas I have kicking around and see what I can do next. I haven't finished with the Legiones Astartes just yet, but I do need a new direction.

063 - Iron warriors Mk2

This hobby of ours has many different facets. Some folk are in it to play the games where some like the modelling and painting sides and some believe it or not even like both. I always loved building models however I found painting them more of a chore than anything so I never really got a whole army painted before.
Getting back into the Warhammer hobby has been brilliant and as a fully grown human I can concentrate and push through slightly boring tasks to achieve a good end result. So now I have three fully painted decent sized armies on my shelf and well a quite alot of other smaller forces and individual models.
My first army when I got back into the hobby was the Iron Warriors. The main itch that I wanted to scratch when starting the project was getting an army painted. I used Army Painter products and kind of rushed it out. The painting standard was quite poor but you could charitably call it tabletop standard.
I then did the 30k Space Wolves which were better painted and I feel that I improved again with my Word Bearers.
So now the idea is to go back and redo my Iron Warriors and do a decent paint job on them. I had alot of Heresy marks of armour from the Calth and Prospero boxes so It will be a 30k force. Heresy is really scratching my hobby itch at the moment. I have bought Perturabo and want to have an army worthy of their Primarch. I did a post about him here. The old army was okay but now I want to do much better. I saw a really well painted Iron Warriors army in my local Games Workshop which was a bit of an inspiration for me.
My first test model was a Master of Signals. He is based on Ennox Sorrlock but I gave him an Iron Warriors feel.

There will be definitely be some Dreadnoughts as well because I love Contemptors. I have bought up a load of Terminators and intend to have this as a real elite force. I built my first half of a squad. They were really easy to put together and I can't wait to get some paint on them

So I am going to add models in as I take a like to them as I feel this is the best way to motivate myself to paint my models. I am so excited about this army as I feel I can get a really nice force. There is alot to do but I can take my time and get some really good results.

062 - Primarch... More Like PrimACHE!

So I just finished Perturabo. First up I am not a very good painter. I have a basic grasp of basic techniques but any kind of fine detail is a bit of a fluke if I get it right.
However I really struggled with the assembly of Perturabo. The resin took ages to clean and I couldn't get him to stick together very well. I think we have been spoilt by plastic models being so easy to assemble.
He is a big complicated model which would be hard to paint as a whole so I did him in sub assemblies. I popped him together and hoped he stuck, which thankfully he did.
So here he is:

When I finished him I felt someone else could do better but I am pretty much at the limit of my painting ability. I don't think I will be doing another Primarch any time soon and I think I will stick to plastic as well because the resin was a nightmare for me. More experienced, and to be honest better modellers have no problems but unfortunately that wasn't the case for me.
I feel I have a good centre piece model but for the time being I will be taking a break from resin. It was hard work and definitely not for beginners. However looking at the model on my display shelf he looks great and certainly that makes it worthwhile.

061 - Year In Review

2016 has been a pretty good year for my painting hobby. I have painted over 100 models, completed an army and feel that my painting has really improved.
At the start if the year I made some New Year Resolutions which you can read here. Completing two out of three resolutions wasn't bad. However I failed one miserably.
The first one was document what I have achieved.

So I created a ghetto Kaban board which was quite simple but let me know how I was progressing with projects. I stuck to a maximum of five active projects at one time which helped me commit to completing projects.
With regards to the second resolution I failed the stick to a budget quite quickly. I need to definitely reign in my spending with this hobby as I have full armies that aren't painted. I am going to have a more realistic budget this year and spread it out monthly rather than have a pool for the whole year.
The third resolution was quite a success. I joined the Independent Characters Hobby Progress Challenge which I completed with my Word Bearers army. You can see a post about the army here.

I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge but unfortunately there wont be a IC's HPC next year. There are plenty of other challenges on Facebook groups and the like so I just have to have a hunt around to find them.
So what are the plans for 2017?
I am going to concentrate on my two new armies. The first being my Iron Warriors 30k army which will mainly consist of Terminators and Perturabo. Here is a picture of my test Master of Signals to try out the colour scheme.

  

I am going to go for a battered industrial feel for the weapons. I have quite a few models to paint but this scheme is quite quick and simple which really suits me.

The second army is my Minotaurs army. It will be more of a High Lords of Terra task force with a core of marines and some fruitier stuff like the Custodes and Inquisitors.

These guys are also quite simple but I can add alot of variety of fluffy units just by using the Codex: Agents Of The Imperium.
Resolution wise I will probably stick to the ones I made last year but be a bit more realistic about the money I spend on this hobby. It is a really expensive hobby but I will definatly try to reign it in.
I am really looking forward to the this year and I can't wait to get some Iron Warriors painted!

050 - Word Bearers Display Board

This is my display base for my Word Bearers army that I have been doing for the Independent Characters Hobby Progress Challenge 2016. The Independent Characters website is here.
I haven't done anything like this before and I am defiantly going to be more ambitious with the next one I do. However I thought it was good for a first attempt.
Here it is without models (apart from the Predator which is basically scenery itself):

And here it is full of mighty Word Bearers!

I could have done a backboard for it and possibly added more details as it is a little plain at the moment. However this means that when you look at the display it's more about the models than the display board. I can also reuse this board to display other armies in my collection without having to pull off bits of debris. 

I'm quite happy with the finished board and really chuffed that I have got enough points for a gold award on the HPC 2016!

049 - Istvann Five Salamanders Tank

I really love the Salamanders Legion. They exemplify everything that is good about the Space Marines and are true heroes in the grimdark that is 30k and 40k.
Vulkan is a fantastic Primarch in the fluff and the Forge World model in my opinion is one of the best Primarch models they have done.
I have wanted to do a Salamanders army for a while but can't really fit it in with my other projects. I also had some old Rogue Trader models floating about which need refurbishment that I also didn't have time to do.
I have been doing a Word Bearers army for the Independent Characters Hobby Progress Challenge 2016. The Independent Characters website is here.  I started the army in February and had to do a commitment a month until I have 10 completed commitments. As an extra achievement you can create a themed display board for your army. I wanted to do a Istvann V board to match my bases.
I wanted black sand dunes but I didn't want the board to be featureless. So I took  a battered old Predator tank and started painting it in Salamanders colours. After a hefty amount of weathering I had a suitably battered opponent for my Word Bearers.

The completed model came out quite well. I am just finishing off my display board and hopefully it will all come together. Glory to the Word Bearers!

044 - Best Book Ever!

I finally got my grubby little paws on the Crusade Imperialis book for the  Horus Hersey. It's absolutely brilliant. I got it mainly for the militia list to add a few extra units to my 30k armies as allies but was blown away by the quality of the whole book. It has three complete army lists in it, the Solar Auxilia Crusade Army List, the Questoris Knights Crusade Army List and the Imperialis Militia and Cults Army List.

The first section is the Solar Auxillia. I really like these guys especially the Ogryns! Sadly until I get a lottery win I have no chance as they are very expensive to buy from Forge World. The models are beautiful and some of the colour schemes I have seen really make them standout from other armies.The second is the  Questoris Knights and while I have not had a massive yearning for an army of super heavy walkers this updated section makes me want to add a Knight to my Word Bearers which you can do with the newly released Age of Darkness Army List book.
My favourite section is the Imperialis Militia & Cults. The list is one of the most versatile and flexible army lists I have seen in all the years I have been involved in the hobby. The wide selection of troops and the way you can customise them with both wargear and provenances of war open up massive opportunities. You can go from swarms of rabble to power armoured elites and pretty much everything in between.
The Militia list would be an excellent choice for a guard player who wanted to port their army over from 40k but equally could be used with other units that Games Workshop sell. For example, got a Beastman army? You can now represent it in 30k? Same with Flesh Eater courts or even a Bloodbound force. Obviously not everything will fit in but use your imagination and you can have a really crazy army with a really strong theme in no time.
After a round up of spare cultists models in my collection and small splurge on Ebay I have quite alot of cultists ready to go. I can do some allies for my Word Bearers and see where I end up. With the large squad sizes in 30k I will be doing a fair bit of speed painting to get them table top ready but the advantage of having 50 models in a unit is that the eye looks at the whole rather than just individual models.
So I have a few more of these guys to paint up!

The red books are excellent value. They may not have any fluff but that's what the big books are for. With these red books you can have almost a complete new game system for just over £30. They are an absolute bargain and I would recommend them to anyone interested in playing 30k!

043 - Objective Markers

For the Independent Characters Hobby Progress Challenge 2016 one of the extra "achievements" is to create some themed objective markers for your army.
Here they are:

I went for some kind of sacrificial stones with either a skull from the Ungors set, a marine helmet or a Vexella. The numbers are in dried blood which fitted in quite nicely!

The helmets were going to be Ultramarines but the paint scheme didn't quite match so ended up being Alpha Legion!
The Hobby Progress Challenge has been great fun this year. Check out the Independent Characters here.  They have a great community and a great podcast.

041 - Smugface

I now officially have a smugface due to getting my last commitment into the Independent Characters Hobby Progress Challenge2016. The Independent Characters website is here.  I started the army in February and had to do a commitment a month until I have 10 completed commitments. As you can see I have got done quite early. This is mainly because I have made quite manageable commitments because I knew if I fell behind at all I wouldn't get the project done. But I did complete it and here is the army in all it's glory:

I chose 30k Word Bearers on a bit of a whim due to the fact they are in the Betrayal at Calth. I really got into the army while I was painting it up. 

I was really happy with the colour scheme and the red that I managed to get on the models. The shoulder pads are red rather than black but I just wanted my models to stand out a little.

The  army is a little light on infantry but I find painting big blocks of small models quite a chore and that the quality really starts to suffer after a while so I tried to mix it up with different unit types.

I am super chuffed with the army. It was a sprint finish at the end but it's completed to a decent tabletop standard which is what I was aiming for. I am going to do some objective markers and possibly a display board soon but I'm proper chuffed to have got the models done. I may add new units in the future but right now I think I need to paint something that isn't red!
I'm not a very good nor fast painter so it is a bit of a chore to me, so doing the HPC was a revelation. I was so motivated and really hope to do it next year but maybe be a little more ambitious with my commitments. Big loves to all the commentors with the advice and really friendly comments and finally a big thanks to Loopy on the forums for setting this up. You are awesome man! I can't wait for next year!

040 - Rhino Rush (Well not quite)

I am currently finishing off my Word Bearers force for the IC's Hobby Progress Challenge. I haven't used the newer Rhino kit which is a bit sad as it came out about fifteen years ago! Here is a work in progress shot:

They were really good models to put together and relatively easy. I could see these being a mainstay of any future Marine armies I do.
However the basic Rhino costs 35pts and the real life cost from Games Workshop is £22.50 it make it one of the poorest pounds to points models in the entire range. Not quite as bad as Mechanicum Thralls but getting there!
I fancy doing a few more of these in the future and possibly even some of the variants suh as Razorbacks and Vindicators.
I only have a couple of more
units to go before my Hobby Progress Challenge is completed so I better get cracking!

039 - HPC Halfway

So in January I decided to get a little more structured with what I was going to paint. I started recording my painting progress with a Kaban board and keeping a better record of what I have done. I have also joined the Independent Characters 2016 Hobby Progress Challenge. The Independent Characters is an amazing podcast that is back after a year long hiatus. The website for the podcast is here and the forums for the Hobby Progress Challenge can be found here. The rules are simple, you just commit to painting a unit (or units) each month and post a  photo of the unpainted miniatures on the forums. You have a month to paint them and when they are done you post a photo up of them completed. 

So lets have a look at my first five commitments:

January was a Betrayal at Calth Contemptor Dreadnought. I really like the model and feel like people were a little down on it compared to the rest of the boxed set but it ticks all the boxes for me. I did quite a few layers of Khorne Red to get the smooth surface on the model.

My second model in the challenge was a Land Speeder that I had leftover from another project and I used mk4 armour to model the crew. I like the fact a "Chaos" army can use a Land Speeder and was quite happy to put the Octed symbol right on the front of the model. I am going to go back and add a havoc launcher to it so it has a little extra firepower than a single heavy bolter.

I converted this Mortis Comtemptor from the Betrayl at Calth Dreadnought by just swapping over the close combat weapon with a spare assault cannon. I also popped a radar dish on the top to represent the Helicial Targeting Array.

This is my first tactical squad.I kept them quite simple to paint with minimal equipment modelled on them. I wanted them to look like foot sloggers rather than the super elite of the legion. 

This the second tactical squad. I have painted them shoulder pads red rather than black as i wanted them to look slightly different to other Word Bearers armies. I like the fact there are hundreds of thousands of marines in a legion so there can be some variation with the colour schemes.

Doing this challenge has been a great shot in the arm and I will have a decent looking army by the end of the year if all goes to plan which for a slow painter like me is very exciting. I would recommend this kind of scheme for projects. Next up are some characters to lead the force. Maybe even some tanks as well!

037 - 2016 Half Century

So it's 2016 and I said at the start of the year I would document my painting progress. Having a quick look at my makeshift Kanban Board I realised that I was on my 50th model for the year. Luckily it was a nice character model. So say hello to my 50th model, my 30k Word Bearers Chaplain.

I was quite happy with the paint job and it all seemed to work out so go me!

However I have to try and paint 100 models or more for the entire year. Boo pressure!

035 - Winding up the Wolves

So I'm finishing one of my armies. I'm going to stop adding to my 30k Space Wolves. The intention before was to do a massive army but with my Word Bearers and other projects taking my time I decided to finish the models I had assembled and have a completed army.  If I'm honest with myself I won't keep adding models here and there and it would be best just to finish the whole thing rather than disappoint myself in the future.It's around 3000pts which is a decent size and I have quite alot of variety in there so I'm pretty happy with it.
I just finished my last model which was my Praetor which I made from The Betrayal at Calth Chaplain and some bits from the plastic Space Wolves upgrade sprue.

So I have got well into collecting my 30k Space Wolves. The initial plan was to kit bash most of them not only because of the lack of Space Wolves Forge World models at the time but also due to the fact I love modelling. However I didn't want them to look like 40k Space Wolves with a different colour scheme so I'm reigned in the use of the 40k kits. I was initially unconcerned about the "official" Space Wolves models eventually coming out from Forge World figuring when they came out I could either mix them in with the kit bashed models or use them as veterans or a command squad depending on how different in tone and style they are. But when I saw them they seemed completely different and wouldn't fit in with the other guys in the force. I don't feel like I've failed in making a good looking Heresy Space Wolves army but I wanted a cohesive force and mixing my kit bashed models and the new resin just wouldn't sit right with me.
As for the size of my army I intended to do a unit for each slot in the force organisation chart. This would have been a massive sized army and although the intention was to have this project last a couple of years, I feel it has ran it's course. I didn't rush painting and collecting this army and feel like I have a decent looking balanced force.
I will do a full gallery of the army in  the future as I'm quite proud of it. Until then happy gaming!

031 - Hobby Progress Challenge

I did a post in January about my hobby New Year's Resolutions (which is here) and one of them was to join a hobby progress group or concoct my own system. Luckily the Independent Characters Podcast has restarted and continued with it's Hobby Progress Challenge for 2016 which I have joined. Having a couple of Betrayal At Calth boxes helping when picking my army so I went for 30k Word Bearers.
Here is my progress as of April but I am adding to it every month.

The Hobby Progress Challenge consists of ten monthly commitments of at least one in game unit per month. You post a photo of your models at the start of the month and then when you have finished them post a photo of your completed work. This also helps me stay focused as when I have a few different projects as I feel I have to prioritise this slightly due to the monthly deadlines.
I defiantly want to get a nice crisp finish on these models have have them at least tabletop ready. The character models are a months commitment so I can spend a bit more time on them.
It's great to have a goal each month and I am a little ahead on my commitments. This is due to not committing too much and trying to keep the amount manageable. I don't want to make the Word Bearers my only painting activity as that would get boring really quick but I am slowly but surely rattling through the commitments.
It's a fantastic idea and Loopy on the IC forums is doing a great job running the challenge. I already have big plans for next year!

029 - Event Only Cataphractii

Having kept up to date on the Forge World Bulletin we got a sneak preview of the event only miniature that is being released first at Warhammerfest.

He is an absolute beast. With all the equipment built into his Cataphractii  armour I can see a few people using him as a Siege Breaker. The event only miniatures are a nice treat and aren't usally too expensive.  I really like the model and will definitely be picking him up!

024 - Dreadnoughts on Parade

I really love collecting Dreadnoughts.They are one of the most original and iconic vehicles in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The idea that a Space Marine isn't just laid to rest but can be interred within an armoured sarcophagus so they can continue to fight is fascinating to me.
The flip side of the Chaos Dreadnoughts is also quite cool. Where the Imperial Dreadnoughts suffer tremendous pain all the time they see it as an honour to be able to carry on the Chaos Dreadnoughts hate it and after 10,000 years trapped in a metal box they have gone absolutely bonkers, having to be chained down while not in battle.
I'd thought I would share a few pictures of my ever growing collection of walking metal boxes!

First up my Space Wolves Dreadnought Talon:

This is the first Dreadnought I made for my 30k Wolves. It's based on the plastic Dreadnought kit. It was originally a Grey Knight Dreadnought but I re purposed it for the Heresy. I have a more in depth look at the rescue job here.

This one is based on the plastic Ironclad kit and is slightly more beefy than the other two Dreadnoughts in the talon. I went for the siege wrecker and close combat weapon and gave both arms heavy flamers. Very up close and personal!

The final Space Wolves Dreadnought has two close combat weapons. It is the old metal Bjorn model with the metal Furioso arms added. It weighs a tonne!

This is the Dark Vengeance Helbrute model. In my opinion it is a fantastic piece. It's so dynamic and looks so different to the old Chaos Dreadnoughts and also the Imperial ones. Like the other models from Dark Vengeance it has an amazing level of detail. I am quite happy with the paint job on this one.

This is the first of my Metal Chaos Dreadnoughts. I really like these models as they fit in brilliantly with the aesthetic of the Iron Warriors. They look brutal!

This is the second metal Chaos Dreadnought. They were both Ebay rescue jobs but I couldn't get the feet off without them being damaged so I ended up with a slightly sheepish looking 15ft killing machine

Finally this is my Contemptor Dreadnought from the Betrayal at Calth box. I decided to do a Word Bearers force for the Independent Characters Hobby Progress Challenge. I am so pleased with the paint job. I think I put about six layers of red on some parts to get a smooth finish. I just hope the rest of the force looks as good as this!

So there you go. That was my Dreadnoughts on parade. I definitely have more to come in the future. Until next time!

023 - Refurbishing Dreadnoughts

I have recently been scouring my model collection for additions to my 30k Space Wolves army. I have found some good models that will be able to be used with my army , however some need a little more work than others.
One of the pieces I found was an old plastic Grey Knight Dreadnought. It was a Mk V Castraferrum  Dreadnought so I had a look to see if they were suitable for 30k. After a bit of research I found that the boxy models of Castraferrum Dreadnoughts were in use well before the Contemptor Dreadnoughts which was quite surprising!
As you can see the Dreadnought is firmly in a Grey Knights colour scheme:

I repainted the main armour panels and took off all of the purity seals as they didn't fit in with the rest of the army. I had to clear off quite a few mould lines and clean up a few bits where it hadn't been put together carefully. I added a few bits of wolf paraphernalia to spice it up a bit. I kept the original front panel as it looking very legion looking.
I was going to add a havoc missile launcher made from an old Whirlwind tank but felt it was a little too big for it!

I finished off the painting with a couple of red jags to break up the dull grey. After a little drama rebasing it I had one finished Dreadnought!

I really like the look of the model so I'm going to have a good look at adding a couple more so I have a full Dreadnought Talon. And after that possibly a few Contemptors if my wallet can take the strain!