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Hey everyone,

I'm usually a Warmachine/Hordes guy, but I'm branching out to 40K a little. I feel a little uneasy in this new territory, so I was hoping I could get some advice from the experts.

I'm kind of at a stopping point with this model, but it definitely doesn't feel finished. I suppose I could do some weathering/battle damage, but I'm not sure if that would look right here. Any suggestions about how to increase the quality just a bit would be most appreciated (when I paint to this standard, I'm usually aiming for about a 6.7 - 7.3 range on CMON. Never submitted a 40K model, so I have no idea where this might fall).

Thanks!

Well the base looks a bit plain. Could use some extra stuff

kenshin620 wrote:Well the base looks a bit plain. Could use some extra stuff

That's a great point, and it leads me to my next question:

It's my understanding that, in 40K, the height of a model affects LOS or other in-game mechanics. I was afraid to do any sort of scenic base that increased his height because I want to keep this guy legal for gaming.

Thanks for the response!

I'm just a beginner so take this for a grain of salt Sir, but from the pictures it looks as thought your las cannon thing isn't shaded ir dry brushed, and Id say the same for your copper(Brass?) smoke stacks. I love your airbush work on the blue though.

I think you just want to add in the chapter iconography and it will finish it off nicely

Well, first thing I noticed is your lascannon looks a whole lot off. Why is it pointing at the sky? The dread is looking straight ahead so it's weird to see it aiming upwards (and if it is aiming upwards, why is the missile launcher not aiming upwards, too?".

heartserenade wrote:Well, first thing I noticed is your lascannon looks a whole lot off. Why is it pointing at the sky? The dread is looking straight ahead so it's weird to see it aiming upwards (and if it is aiming upwards, why is the missile launcher not aiming upwards, too?".

Just thought it might be kind of a cool pose. He's not aiming at anything, just kinda has the gun up. I didn't glue it, so I can rotate the gun level if you think that's better (though I did the gradient with the upward pose in mind)

i think some scorchmarks on the lass cannon maybe a wash to finish it off, some soot and grease on the engine exhausts, the OSL from the searchlight doesnt hit the smoke launchers, some chapter iconology, some paint chipping/battledmg, some dust on the legs and finally some script on the armor plates will really finish him off!

broken down

1) the lasscannon is too clean imo. shooting hot laserbeams will leave some traces of burn around the nozzles.
2) the exhausts of the engine part are too clean imo. there isnt a guy walking behind him cleaning him up all the time he puffs out some thick, black smoke.
3) OSL of the searchlight does hit the sides of searchlight pretty intense, but it doesnt reach the smoke grenade launchers... looks kind of off imo.
4) chapter icons will help break the empty armor plates up a bit and gives more character.
5) paint chipping... this guy is bulky as hell yet his paintjob is straight out of the factory flawless... he might bump into some stuff along the road.. (first 3 steps)
6) space marines like to write tales of glory onto their armor and vehicles. a dreadnought is no exception for this
7) some dust/dirt on the legs, same argument as points 2 and 5

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all the suggestions and tips! I've got an updated dreadnought with some weathering. If you have a free moment, please let me know what works, what doesn't work, and what I can do to make it better. Thank you all so much!!!

Andrew

very nice! The weathering is a bit overdone for my taste, but still a very nice model!

Lookin' awesome! I'd still agree the base looks a bit plain though, maybe some corpses or something could make it more interesting.
On the lascannons, I think they look fine pointing up.

Wow!

Odd note: Before I saw your text in the OP I saw the dread and thought "Hrm. Seems more like a Warjack then a dread."

Don't feel silly bringing the smoother jack lines and art into your 40k. A lot of the grimdark chaps feel a tank aint a tank unless it's half busted and on it's last tread.

Your weathering is really good, though there's a ton. It's like like it fell in the mud after the first pic. I like the pose myself.

Good work.

now thats what a war torn veteran should look like!!
hundreds of years of combat and battle, battle dmg, dirt, grease... awesome!

im very interested to see how this will effect your score

The light shades of blue contrast really nicely with the darker weathering - I bet this looks great on the table - great job!

Love the pose too, gives the dread a bit of dynamics that they're often missing.

Great object source lighting around the searchlight, but maybe needs a little highlighting within the lens itself to give it more of a glass texture; a few lines of orange/red wet blended into the bottom - maybe a dot of white at the top.

Fab painting & modelling skills though - can't wait to see where you go from here!

Only thing I could suggest, is maybe some text on the scroll on the chest plate.

Apart from that stunning!