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Well, he was only going to take me a week to paint. Then work got in the way. Six weeks later and he's finally done.

The model looks awesome, but it seems too flat, I recommend more color, or more striking color, the plasma gun would be a good place to start on that.

I agree about the plasma.The base is looking pretty kick ass,i like the gravel effect.I also like the way the tabards look like they are blowing in the wind.

My only concern was as you said, the plasma cannon being flat. The photos don't do the shading and highlighting on the armour justice though. Cheers for you thoughts though.

Awesome mate think a light wash over the bleach bone with sepia would just make it pop that little more..!

The "scarf" looks great! The stone thing on top could maybe use another wash. At first glance it looks unpainted. That could be the camera though.

The coil on the plasma cannon doesn't appear to be glowing - is that an intentional stylistic choice? It's very crisp, not really how I envision a ven dread after his centuries of battle, but that's me

Yes it is intentional, I'm not a fan of the glowing coils.

I always see the Venerable Dreadnoughts as being constantly maintained so I choose not to add any battle damage.

I applaud your decisions both to eschew plasma glow as well as to keep your dread's armor pristine.

Personally, I think that plasma glow is over rated, but since I got back into 40k a few years ago, it seems to have become almost required. It's a personal choice, and I've seen it done very well, but I've often seen it done very poorly, too. I like that you didn't feel compelled to use it. I realize that plasma weapons probably have a glowing piece somwhere, but I have a life-sized picture of this guy turning to some techmarine and being like "Can you guys put a sheath over this or something? It just looks silly." (And your techmarines have done a damn fine job accomodating his demands. )

I totally agree with your assessment of his battle damage. I always assumed that people who were modelling battle damage were choosing to model dreads who hadn't gotten back to the shop yet. It never occurred to me that someone would model a dread that had been neglected to the point of still having visible damage on them. Keeping him factory-fresh gives the impression that his people care for him, which I like. I think the neglected, battle-scarred look could work for another chapter, but for the Dark Angels I think this is better.

I think your basing is just great! It adds to the model without distracting from the actual model itself.

I like the stole. It reminds me of religious stoles, which fits in perfectly with the monastic look of the Dark Angels. My one wonder is whether or not you can use their length to show a little more detail. Your paintjob is really nice, but it lacks some of the minute detailing work that makes Imperium models so distinctive. I worry that an in-depth examination of the model (in person) might lend the eye to naturally gravitate towards the ground, where there is more fine detail to focus on, rather than the dread himself. I think you're probably not going to have to worry about that, but it's a possibility that occurred to me. Nevertheless, I still think the stole makes the perfect canvas to add some finishing touches, since stoles can add a color point to otherwise largely uniform areas.

Don't get me wrong, Scorpion. You've already defeated Liu Kang. I'm just trying to toss you the last button in the fatality sequence. I think this is one of the best dreads I've seen in a while, and even without any work, he's the only one I've ever really enjoyed built from the actual Venerable Dreadnought model. Great work!

Cheers for the comments.

I did contemplate adding some detail to the stole couldn't decide what, that and the sarcophagus has quite a lot of detail on it already. Adding more detail to the stole that covers part of it would overcrowd the centre of the model in my opinion. That said I may still add some detail at a later date.

Wow, that is one dynamic miniature.
Something that is so hard to get across with this scale is that they are representations of powerful war machines, not squeaky clean robots. In the pose and the paint-job you have really captured the aggressive movement of a killing-machine, the like of which I have never seen before.

Was that a goal at all or it just came together that way?

Can I dissent with common opinion and suggest you leave it?

I really think you have something special here, something rare. I worry that an attempt to shade or highlight something might spoil it.
Perhaps a little work on the plasma if you felt you had to.

Also, a couple more pictures! It's difficult to see the depth of the mini in the first pic.

Really lovely work there.

Cheers.

The pose was very much deliberate. After reading various Horus Heresy novels I really like the idea that the occupant is trying to get used to being more machine than man. The little human gestures that come through were a big influence on how it was posed.

I hope these other images show what you are after.

Well this was a amazing Ven dread! Very well done sir.

Yes!!
The newly transplanted dreadnought in Know No Fear is exactly that. Not just getting used to his new life but actually furious and violent.

Thanks for the pics. I'm more certain you dont need to do anything much.

I love it! Just how I pictured a Venerable Dread!

The fluff always shows them as pristine fighting machine, meticulously cared for by the Chapter, and you've conveyed that wonderfully!

That base is so interesting, I love the stairs, and the trash blowing about. But as JimSolo said it doesn't distract from the model.

Also well said JimSolo!

Cheers.

I wanted to add a bit of height and dynamism to the base aswell as have the dreadnought actually interact with it so hence the steps. The newspaper strewn around was just a little something different, it adds detail whilst not adding any additional height to the base.

I'd like to chip in and say this model looks fantastic! As far as adding detail, I think it already looks fine, but if you were so inclined maybe some lettering on the "shoulder" armor would look ok.

I agree 100% with Jimsolo in that while the model looks absolutely fabulous, I think the stole like fabric on the model needs a little more detail- and if you went the extra model, it would really be a show stopper for people who saw it IRL.

I mean imagine the looks you'd get if you had a design like:

or:


The stole really is as much of a personal statement as the church allows- no two are alike. But ultimately, it's your decision, just wanted to throw in my two cents.

Could I bother you and ask for a side shot of the dreadnought close combat arm? I'm curious to see how you pulled off that swinging back angle. Kudos to you on changing my preconceptions in regards to that venerable dreadnought plastic "hulk hand" coming within 500 feat of a forgeworld model- the two harmonize very well!

Awesome! It was six weeks well spent of painting. The only thing that could use improvement is the plasma gun, make it all sparkly glowy but that is just personal preference.
The base looks great and that pose: top notch!

I understand entirely what you mean. But that whole area is so crowded with detail already that any more would be too much and over the top in my opinion. I agree what people are saying in that the stole is a very detailed garment but it also rests upon some relatively plain robes in comparison. This model is the other way around, the stole is resting upon an area that is quite detail heavy.

The close combat arm is a forgeworld arm with a plastic venerable dreadnought fist. The arm it's compromises of a shoulder and a separate arm section that can be angled as you wish.

Jerp: As I explained in a previous post, I'm not a fan of the whole glowing plasma weapons look, it just looks a little silly. It's just a personal preference, if people choose to paint their plasma weapons nice and glowy then so be it. Cheers for the comment s though.

 Monkey Tom wrote:
Yes it is intentional, I'm not a fan of the glowing coils.

I always see the Venerable Dreadnoughts as being constantly maintained so I choose not to add any battle damage.

Good on you for sticking to your [plasma] guns. It's a lovely dynamic pose, and the second set of shots really highlights this. The post above about the stole is interesting, some gold detailing would look superb I'm sure, if it's to your tastes. I have a chaplain ven dread that i'm building for my DA army, and I thought about simulating the stole featured here. Not to thread-jack, but here's what I did:
Without stole

With stole


I like how it conjours up the religious connotations in the DA fluff, but I'm not sure if it's a step too far on this guy. Hope you don't mind me chucking these in here

I would say make them slightly thinner. That way they wont overpower the detail on the sarcophagus or hide any detail that you choose to paint underneath them. Add a little bit more movement into them and they'll look great.

H..how did you manage that. Awesome conversion man!!!

Cheers!

The body and legs are the Forgeworld Dark Angels Venerable Dreadnought kit. The close combat arm is also from Forgeworld. The fist and plasma cannon arm are from the plastic Venerable Dreadnought kit. It was just a case of build the base and then positioning everything else. There's nothing complicated about it.

Thanks for the comment though.

@ Million: as monkeytom has said, you should make them a little thinner so as not to obscure the beautiful detail of the stained glass style panelling. If I could make a suggestion though- I would suggest using actual cloth over paper. Paper just doesn't have the correct thickness for the job and, no pun intended, falls flat.

Cloth is also more versatile in that you can fray its edges/distress it to give the stole a weathered, well worn look. To get it bent into shape/flow simply dilute some super glue in a small spritz bottle and apply very gently. After a few hours it will get stuck into the desired position.

I agree, you could always use cloth, just be awake of the thickness of it though and the size of the texture. If you find something thin enough then go for it.

Thats awsome, excellent work so far look forward to seeing where this goes.

Thanks guys, sorry again Tom if I led your thread astray. The bits on my dread are actually a kind of paper coated foil that sutures come packaged in - you can pose and position it like foil, but you can paint it like plastic. This was a sort of draft, great to have feedback. I will refine them and see how it looks, may just leave them

No worries. I'd say stick with the material you're using then. Just trim the width of them a bit and you're sorted.