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This summer (winter here) project sounds interesting. Is it cool if I participate as well? I have tons of big stuff just sitting around as well.

From your list, I vote for either Dread Maw or the Troggoth.

Absolutely, Josh - that's the idea.

Excellent idea!

From your list, I vote for one of these:

Great Unclean One (Citadel Mid-1990’s model)
Nurgle Daemon Prince and Herald (or maybe not the Herald) (Forge World)

I'm going to vote for the Dread Maw as well, such a cool model.

I love your work on that old fallen Dark Angel! Although he looks more like a Space Wolf with that hair! The old models had so much more character than the current ones.

As for what I think you should paint in January, I say tackle one of those Great Unclean Ones. I wish I could pick up one of the FW ones myself, as that model is so much cooler than GW's official one that is smaller than a Daemon Prince...

I'm thinking I may save Mortarion and get him done in January myself, assuming I'm not too busy knocking other stuff out preparing for Adepticon. Are you going to start a thread for everyone who's participating in that?

Thanks guys. I may well do the Dread Maw and that giant Bones worm together at some point. I think they'd make an interesting pair to work on alongside one another. Not having any 40k rules for them is a bit of a drawback when it comes to motivation right now, though. I'm also been thinking about the Nurgle Brigade a bit more and maybe the two Daemon Princes (Cor’Bax and Mamon) and even the 90’s GUO might be a better way to learn/practice some techniques before I tackle the gigantic FW one, because that's one intimidating model!

Any more people here interested in working on something big of their own over the holidays?



As for painted stuff, three more Slugga Boyz again today. I literally finished these off yesterday, so I bumped them up in the blog post queue so I could “Orktober” them. (I’ve gone from having not much to show to a backlog of stuff to show again.) Not much to write here that I haven’t already said before. A mix of 40k and Fantasy bits used again, as well as muted palette and camo schemes.



Our leftmost Ork wears UK Desert DPM, the middle one wears an AUSCAM top with a made-up camo on his pants, and the third Ork has that same made-up camo on his top and a different made-up camo for his pants. Both of the “made-up” camo schemes are (loosely) based on the Yugoslav variant of the “puzzle” pattern of camouflage – though both with 3-colours and my own arid-themed palettes.

Looking good I'll have to think about it. Thing is January is a fair way into the future for me and I usually go to my unpainted shelves and drag of whatever I fancy and finish it as I fancy it. I usually have 4 batches on the go and won't start something until their done so I don't have the half done backlog. Maybe remind me in January.

I think I'm going to actually make it Decembuary. As in - you may commence whenever you begin your Christmas/Holiday/Summer/Winter break for the end of 2017 - which recognises that people have breaks at various times and for various lengths of time.

Assembly and preparation may of course take place in advance.



And yep, another three Orks today. I figured that I could have shown all six in one post on a 2-day turnaround, or just post them three at a time over two days. So I’m doing the latter to give them all a bit more space. Besides, they took me long enough to get finished, so I’m good with giving them a bit more individual showcase. It’s not like it’ll happen for these models again as any new posts with them will either be much larger group shots or battle reports, so I’ll give the hours of work these guys took their moment in the spotlight.

I would be happy to join in. Do Necron Monoliths count as I have a pair of them to get done and I am in desperate need of some motivation.

Are they a big centrepiece thing that's different to what you usually paint? i think that question answers itself!



This next pair of Plague Marine models hail from two years later than the previous batch, this time the models are from 1995. At this point they had been redesigned somewhat. Or perhaps tweaked is the more appropriate term. The helmets had been changed from the MKVII (Aquila) variant as GW started to back off slightly from the overly-aggressive retcon of all marine armour from MKVI to MKII. Their new helmets are a more unique style. The “gas mask” look was starting to creep in, influenced no doubt by the Pickelhaube-esque spikes on their helmets – which had also been toned down and were now more in tune with actual Pickelhaube spikes.

This pair are based on the same model. One that I’d painted previously, modelled doing the crotch chop (nWo, not DX) and the other, originally modelled in the pointing pose and part-painted by Matt F and acquired by me after he lost interest in a Plague Marine force, which sat in a case for 15 years before being repainted in the copper-and-black livery of these guys over the last month or so.



The trio of skulls on their pauldrons are of course reflective of Nurgle’s mark. The stowed bolter on the left-hand plague marine has been repainted from a metallic red, and I think looks much nicer now.



Their other shoulders have been updated, once again with “Iron Legion” Skull icons from Pop Goes the Monkey on Shapeways for the Iron Warriors army badge. I really do like those badges, and I think I’d best grab another set ASAP. These guys don’t get a IV Legion army badge, since they’re very likely later, post-heresy additions to the Iron Warriors.

Man, going through your blog is like strolling through a museum. You got some awesome paint jobs on those older GW models. I really like the camo Orks too. I was considering something like that, wasn't sure if it could be pulled off. You have certainly shown it can.

But I have to say my favorite are the Iron Warriors, of course.

One of the coolest things in this blog is seeing you paint different generations of the same models and how they evolved into what GW makes today. Those old Plague Marines are much different from the much beefier ones found in Dark Imperium and the current Death Guard range. It's interesting seeing models like that in the Iron Warriors scheme instead of the off white/green of the Death Guard.

Another nifty set of models there. The Pukelhaube 1 /gas mask look great in IW colors-- much better than Plague Marines, IMO.

1 Another new word! Dakka is becoming downright educational.

Thanks guys - I'm enjoying the motivation that the new 40k is giving me to get stuff painted up - and while it's mostly been older stuff that's largely because I've been rather excellent at starting stuff over the years and quite a bit less awesome at finishing things off. I spent a good 6 months completing fantasy models, and now with 40k I've got an impetus to do the same for the 40k models. (While throwing in some new ones to keep me interested, of course!)

I'll (hopefully) have finished off showing the single squad of Iron Warrior Plaguemarines by the end of this weekend, though it does leave me with the question of what to do with the rest of them, since I'll be doing Death Guard using only the newer models. I guess I can add them as squads into other CSM armies, as I'll be doing some Black Legion and Word Bearers, and maybe a second Iron Warrior squad. Decisions, decisions...

And speaking of Iron Warriors...



Yep, I’ve been pretty quiet on the Dreadtober front. Basically, I joined a little bit late and already had a pile of other models on my plate that I was trying to get finished, and they were ahead in the queue. On top of that, I picked up Shadow of War, because despite the Shadow of Microtransactions hanging over the game, I really enjoyed Shadow of Mordor, even completing it (again) in the final days before SoW’s release. I’ve since spent a good 40+ hours in SoW, which has largely come from the same weekend and after-work times that painting comes from.



So I’ve been doing a little here and there, but last weekend, I noticed that the month was nearly up, and I was in no danger of finishing any of the three models I’d aspired to complete. So… time to get stuck in. Luckily the gloss of Shadow of Mordor had started to come off by that point, and I’ve started hitting the grind wall (please buy an xp boost for this full-price, single-player game!) So it’s not been terribly hard to redirect myself to painting in my time. The focus of most of my attention has been the Iron Warriors Dread, which believe it or not has had a pretty severe overhaul over it’s original paint since the start of the month. Since the scheme is mostly identical, it’s hard to see, but the current model has more tonal qualities in the metal while remaining, well, Iron, and also stuff like weathering, scuffs, heat discolouration, rust and rivets. In fact, all that’s left on it is to complete that Lascannon arm and then some final tweaks on things like lenses.



I pried the Loyalist dread off it’s old “diorama” base, as dead chaos marine just isn’t the look I want on my base for it. It’v every possible that this fallen Word Bearer (probably) will also be pried off the base in turn and turned into something else. An objective marker, perhaps?



How dead is he? How long has he been there? I guess it depends on how undead he was at the point when he had his hat knocked off his head!



So here’s the new base. Yeah, I know – so far, so standard – but this way he’ll fit in with the rest of his chapter, that I also need to get started on upgrading to 32mm bases and finishing in the near future.



The rear view shows where the red cabling has all been replaced by dark copper. What was I thinking? I think I know, actually …it was probably leftover 40k 2nd edition influence! Anyway, it looks much better now.



Plasma cannon hasn’t had much done to it yet. Just some highlighting and shading on the fuel tank’s metal brackets. Back in the day, this was the only way to get a Plasma Cannon (Heavy Plasma Gun) on a Dread – convert the bloody thing yourself! Out of metal components.



As with the legs, the Sarcophagus has had all the red cabling replaced with copper. I also completely redid all of the white, cleaning it up from the unfortunate yellowed effect that it had picked up while in storage for a decade or more. I also managed to drop it on the floor(!), shattering a big chunk of paint off the power plant on the rear, but luckily not breaking the tiles. Old-school Metal Dreads are Very Heavy Metal.



A bit of work on the arm remains to be done. I’m not entirely sure what to do with the shoulder. Chapter badge? Aquila? Something else? I wonder if I can dig up a chapter number for this one?



Then there’s old Bellingham Be’Lekor. Nothing’s been done with this guy – but let’s be blunt – we’re getting to the wire of the time limit for Dreadtober, and if I have to make hard choices, it’s the Daemon Prince that’s getting bumped – not the actual Dreadnoughts! Maybe finishing him can be a stretch goal part of P̶a̶i̶n̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶D̶e̶c̶e̶m̶b̶e̶r̶ ̶P̶a̶i̶n̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶J̶a̶n̶u̶a̶r̶y̶ Painting Decembuary?

Nice work on the Dreads so far. You are much braver than I am-- I can't bring myself to post WIP photos. I don7t recognize the Loyalist dread-- Mentor Legion?

LOve the iron warriors dreadnought. I have one of him somewhere, but his hip joint busted in two places and pinning was a pain.

You have your painting months as well as the half yearly group , I can’t even get motivated to paint anything this month. Maybe I’ll scrounge something up to join you in December though.

Thanks guys, I'm really quite lucky to have gotten the IW dread, since FW has discontinued the originals now. I've got a few others, but not another of the IW, sadly. T'was my first IW Dread, though, many years ago. Hopefully the Loyalist Dread will have it's chapter reveal inside a week (if I can get it finished!) This is my first dreadtober, but it seems to very much about the journey, so others post up a lot of WIP, not to mention the stuff others regularly post up here. I tend to do it only when I'm after a suggestion or starting something unusual - and even then generally I keep bumping WIP posts when I have finished stuff to show.

Theo - part of the motivation (to be a bit morbid for a moment) is creeping mortality - especially as the years whiz by... Gotta get as much of the pile painted as I can while I'm around!

As for pics...



A quick and dirty post today – Just something fun to show off all of the Orks that I’ve recently painted in a group shot. Da Boyz are certainly back in town! By the time their codex comes out, I’m hoping that I should be well on my way to a small (points-wise) but playable force. I’m quite pleased how well the Orks from such different eras work together as a group. Consistent basing and an overall shared palette/theme really make a difference!

Orks look awesome. And you are right about the scale. I dont think the old marines hold up as well but the boyz look good in a mob. Lots of character too.

They look fantastic as a whole unit as well as individually. You did an excellent job with them.

I’m having more of those moments where I realize how much crap I’ll be leaving behind when I die. Probably from clearing out grandparents houses.

I think the Orks have a bit more flexibility there because they're "monsters" and so they still look okay in different sizes. We'll see once I get a couple of the RTB02 troopers done. The marines should be fine in their own units, separate from the more modern ones. I guess we'll find out soon...

It's a race against time to watch all of the shows and play all of the games and paint all of the things!



The penultimate post for this first squad of Iron Warrior-aligned Plague Marines. This time, I’m showcasing the plasma gunners. Their unique selling point is really the heat discolouration on their plasma guns. It’s an effect that I’ve been playing with lately, trying to teach myself to get to a point where it looks good. I think I’m at least partway there so far – the tricky part is the transition between the brown and the blue – the purple band. It seems a little harsh on the left hand figure still.



A little about these figures – both are from the same range as the previous pair – the 1995 run. The right-hand figure is a single piece casting, excepting the backpack. No comments about the sensibility or realism of a wooden casing on a weapon that fires superheated plasma, please. Because… containment field? Or perhaps – A Wizard did it!



The figure on the left is a “regular” Plague Marine model from that line with a metal Nurgle shoulder pad of roughly the same vintage. In fact, it’s the same figure that once bore a bright, metallic-red flamer. Now, I’ve said before that I don’t like to change “finished” figures too much, but these guys were already getting a makeover with the new bases and the addition of Iron Warriors heraldry. Also (and rather importantly) Plague Marines can no longer take flamers. Sure, they get plague belchers in their stead, but they don’t look exactly like Imperial Flamers in my version of the 41st Millennium. So a second plasma gun for the squad, which obviously will have better synergy with the other plasma gun and the bolters. Plasma gun is a FW HH model (to keep it old-school) but cut down to fit properly.



As with the previous two pair of Iron Warrior Plague Marines, the Iron Warrior icons came from Pop Goes the Monkey via Shapeways. I’ve ordered some more to ensure I have enough stockpiled for what may potentially come, and no, I get no kickbacks for mentioning them. I knew about 3d printed shoulder pads and weapons and stuff for Imperial Knights, but stick-on chapter icons that function like 3d transfers which can be added to any model – including my hoard of old metals? Yeah, I really like that concept.

One more post in this series to go because I really need to go sleep now and can’t write up any more text to go with the final photos for the squad.

Lookign good and the obvious answer is alien trees......

Great looking nurgle iron warriors. The heat distortion worked out well on the guns, but will you darken the front rim any? Right now it looks as if the blast just left the chamber (which is cool ), but I always see them dirtied up a bit as the remnants of the expelled stuff cools and sooties (not a real word ) up the muzzle.

Not sure - I tend to like the exit hole of my plasma guns nice and shiny. blackened can have them just blend in with the barrel too much. I've also just noticed that one of the exit holes is slightly off-centre. I'll have to fix that! And I guess non-flammable heat-resistant alien trees is as sensible an answer as any.



So here’s the final post for this lot – starting with the completed squad photo! Yes, I’ve gone for the 7-marine squad because Nurgle. I still think it was a dick move of GW to sell the new Plague Marine box with only 7 models in it, and especially so by adding three more models in the form of “champions” at clamshell hero prices. I may still pick some of them up to flesh out/vary my DI models, though I’ll wait till I find them for a deep discount.



Here’s a close-up of the Plague Champion. His right arm has been replaced by a Cybork arm from Gorka Morka which still manages to look the part of a cybernetically-grafted-on bolter. We know how fond the Iron Warriors are of mutation (not very) and so this seems a likely consequence of this fellow having sprouted a tentacle – amputation and some cybernetics attached in their stead!



The shoulder pad is one that befits a unit champion. It’s one of the Puppetswar ones that I discussed recently. In fact, it’s one of the miscast ones that they sent me, as the bottom of it is all messed up. How fortunate that years later, I’d work on some Nurgle Iron Warriors, eh?

Those Plague Marines all look awesome! As do the camo Orks. On the Orks, it's pretty cool how all the generations of models fit together well, and I love how those Plague Marines look in Iron Warriors colors. I imagine it took a little while to do all the black and yellow stripes.

Thanks Zerg. The stripes are actually fun to do since they're detail work, and they need a bit of discipline and more than a bit of concentration so I need to "steel' myself to do them each time, but it's satisfying once each batch of them are done.

Next up, the Iron Warriors Warsmith model. Quite an old model at this point, it dates from way back in 3rd edition 40k, more specifically the 3.5 codex release in 2002 (models are obviously sculpted some time in advance). This is one of several of this model that I’ve accumulated over the years. My first one I converted into an Exalted Champion (for 3rd) who I’ve been using as a Chaos Lord in our 8th edition games to date. I’ve also got one that I picked up from eBay as a bare torso, sans arms and pack, and one more, still in the blister to be used later. This one I actually got second-hand & assembled when I bought a some of a local guy’s Iron Warriors many years ago. I picked up this figure, a Rhino, a (converted) Vindicator (based on the Forge World kit of the day), and the Dreadnought/Hellbrute that I’ve been working on very slowly for Dreadtober.



So yeah, I’ve had this figure for over a decade, and again, as part of the finding and finishing 40k figures and putting them into armies that I’ve been up to lately, I finally got this guy done. As per usual, I remounted him onto one of the new Sector Imperialis bases. As he’s got quite a lot of cabling on him, I wanted to make some of them a little distinct without doing the whole “skittles” thing.



It’s a nice model but rather a busy one. Of course, adding in the hazard stripes of the Iron Warriors does nothing but make the model even more busy.



Interestingly, and sort-of amusingly for the “no model, no rules” crowd, this model doesn’t actually have rules in the 8th Edition of 40k – despite still being sold (as you could see from the link to GW at the top of the page). Sooo… I guess I’ll just use him with the Warpsmith rules. Which isn’t quite the same thing in the background (or equipment) but close enough, I suppose.



We now have a trio of heroes for the Iron Warriors. The War(p)smith, Nârik Dreygur: Exalted Champion, and the model who I’ve been using as a Chaos Lord, who will now slot into the role of Dark Apostle. It seems more appropriate for that model’s build, after all. And yes, this means that a new Lord for the Iron Warriors is in the making sometime soon.



Despite my general dislike of changing models for new rules and new editions, I did buckle and replace the Bolt Pistol on the Chaos Lord (Dark Apostle) recently. He now has a Plasma Pistol as a small but effective upgrade.

As ever mate, some beautiful Iron. I really need to get my socks pulled up and catch up with your productivity

Hey! I actually managed to finish some stuff for this thing. Something that JamesY should like, too!

This is my third try at getting this post done because stuff keeps happening! At least the first bump was only a flat camera battery. Anyway - here's the stuff you're here for: Pics!



So as I've mentioned a few times before, this model was one I originally picked up alongside a few others more than a decade ago off ...some guy from the internets who was selling off a bunch of cool stuff because he was done with his Iron Warriors. The Warsmith I posted up here last time was one of those models, though the others are yet to come. I think he was dumping them because some codex release or another had made CSM not so good anymore. I forget, and it doesn't matter. What does matter is that after many, many years, my enthusiasm for 40k has returned and it's helped me to get a whole bunch of stuff done, and that combined with Dreadtober meant that I actually finished this bloody model off, finally!



I kept the basic paint scheme that was painted on the model, though I've repainted entirely over the top of it - simply using the original paint as a basecoat - which is fine. The Lascannon arm is the one that came with the model, complete with gargoyle-headed barrels, though I added the Forge World brass etch Iron Warriors skull icon to the shoulder. That stuff is so soft, and I'm still so inexpert at using it that the mouth-grille got a little mangled when trying to make it stick down. Ooops.



The rear view shows the heat discolouration on the "in" and "out" pipes of the Dread's engine exhaust. As I mentioned the other day with regard to those Plague Marines and their Plasma Guns, that's the latest thing I'm playing with and trying to get down (so expect to see a bit more of it in the near future!) Obviously, a bit of blued metal to add some variation alongside the brassy bits. I've not gone the whole hog on discolouring the entire Dreadnought/Helbrute, as the Iron Warriors livery is, well. Iron. Dull, often dirty and worn silver. Not a multicoloured rainbow of metals (which look bloody amazing when done well by people like Nerdfest09 - but that effect is for another series of models).



The left arm is something I added myself from my stash of Forge World stuff, that I have been accumulating for years now. Replacing a well-intentioned but ...not great converted Thunder Hammer. The mining drill-fist with integrated heavy flamer seemed entirely appropriate for the Iron Warriors, and also eventually provided me (via the elbow guards) with a place for some hazard stripes on that side of the model that weren't overwhelming or over the top, especially since there's so much of it happening on his right side. Fingers open, so - depending on the angle of the arm - he's either reaching out to grab and crush his foes, or spitting out that promethean flame!



As the legion number was added to his right side via the large transfer on the lascannon arm, it also features much more subtly on his left shoulder, facing forward this time in the form of a small disc with the Iron Warrior's designation of IV. The core model itself is one of Forge World's older (and sadly now discontinued) Chaos Dreadnoughts - more specifically what became known as a Ferrum Infernus Chaos Dreadnought, though apparently now they're all called Hellbrutes anyway, and the rules for them are the same regardless.



Oh, and did I mention that I went and magnetised both arms? Because I did! Now this guy is able to represent both the battle damage of "weapon destroyed" results (not actually a thing anymore in 8th edition) and he's also like a semi-posable action figure toy. Hurrah! I say hurrah because he's also cheering in this shot. See?

While I didn't manage to do anything at all on Be'Lakor, I did manage to complete the other Dreadnought for Dreadtober. Another model that had sat half-painted for many years, I'll have it up in a few days. Sadly, Melbourne has re-entered Wintry weather again for the last two weeks as we slide into the third month of "Spring", so it's still a matter of letting that varnish dry before some spot touch-ups with gloss varnish. So, sometime on the weekend, then!




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Hey! It seems I forgot to resize that first pic. But you know what? It looks cool, so feth it - it can stay!

He's a beaut of a brute! So much nicer than the IW contemptor as well. Great work on him.

Thanks James. The IW Contemptor's not all bad, it's just got a ...dodgy chest.