Goff Dreadnought (Part 6)

Whew! That was close, but I managed to get this thing done by the deadline! Here are the final stages, picking up from the previous post, Part-5.

I used the old Citadel Color Blood Red to punch up the red areas. Nothing says "Games Workshop model from the mid-'90s" like an overwhelming amount of intense red. Blood Red.

Going thru a red phase.

Here is the model's base, which I sufficiently rusted up. I like the idea of the concrete slabs being a side walk, mainly because I wonder if some now departed citizen once walked his Cyber Collie thru this sector on a morning walk before starting his 18 hour workshift...

If sidewalks talked...

After tightening up the red parts I painted the hydraulics and rivets using Mitheril Silver.

Metal!

I superglued the arms into position and the hatch. I employed a Q-tip to prop up the hatch until it was firmly glued as well.

Propping up that hatch.

Finally, it was time to attach it to it's base, making the model whole and together.

We are one.

But I felt it needed something. So I added a few grass tufts to the sidewalk cracks and this gave it a touch of realism.

The finished model.

And with that, I finished this model! I am pleased with how it turned out. It will fit in wonderfully with my Goffs who are so deliciously '90s retro (right down to some of them having red guns) it almost hurts.

This has been fun. Well, back to my art chores, hopefully I can knock out a few more paint jobs in between task...

Goff Dreadnought (Part 5)

Moving on from Part 4, I continued by focusing on the chequered pattern.

Desert Sand layer.

Apple Barrel Territorial Beige was the tan color I used for the base coat, and I used Americana Desert Sand to serve as a middle coat.

The featured colors.

I then used a thinned White Scar to highlight those cheques before I applied the final highlight of solid White Scar.

Add caption

Once that was done, I simply painted in the opposite cheques with Abaddon Black straight from the bottle. After a few minor touch-ups, the chequered grid was done to my satisfaction.

Abaddon Black chequers.

Next I finished painting the flesh on the Ork pilot. Now I am contemplating how to paint up the cybernetic bits on his head...

Finished Pilot flesh.

See you back here soon!

Goff Ork Dreadnought (Part 4)

As if I didn't already have enough challenges to my time, this week I got a ill! It was easier for me to do a bit of painting than it was trying to do 2-D art, especially since I am not at any sort of detailing stage, yet, on this thing.

What little I got done was some touch-ups on the Goblin Green flesh layer and paint a tan color onto the main plate of the Dred itself. This color will ultimately be a White color by the way.

Touched up flesh and tan main plate.

 Next, I mixed up Green Ink and Yellow Ink to get a color resembling anti-freeze and washed it over the Goblin Green. I had a bit of that left over and applied it to another ork model I had in queue, but more on that in a future post.

Grid lines drawn on.

Last thing I managed to do, between coughing fits, was that I drew on the chequered grid using a mechanical pencil. No ruler or edge, just straight-hand drew it. I can't imagine the gretchen artisans tasked to apply decor to Ork machines are as skilled as some 'Eavy Metal painters would have us believe. So the end product won't be perfect, or as perfect as it appears on the original box, and that is how I intend it to be. More as I progress...

Image from the original box.

Goff Ork Dreadnought (Part 3)

Here is this week's episode of "I'm getting there, slowly but surely, I'm getting there."

I was about to paint the driver all the way, when the urge to test-fit him into position hit struck me. Thank goodness I did too, because the efforts to work him into the compartment scrapped and scratched off a lot of the basecoat. I would have been quite upset if that had happened to the finished paint job!

 Battle scars earned...

I decided that ultimately I would have to paint him while he was permanently in position. I am not thrilled about that, but it is what it is.

The red basecoats were done using Khorne Red. The middle coats on the black areas were accomplished using Apple Barrel Graphite. I still have a lot of work to do on this thing, and I am running out of October days...

Goff Ork Dreadnought (Part 2)

Progress has continued on this Dreadtober project.

First off, I had to take the time and file down and otherwise remove the flash and mold lines. Something that can be quite time consuming when it comes to pewter miniatures.

A metal puzzle.

After that I superglued the hull assembly together. I left the arms slack so that I could paint them more easily. I will glue them into their final positions at the end of this project.

Together at last!

After this I took the miniature outside and spray painted it with Chaos Black. After a few days I got back to it and applied Abaddon Black to solidify the black coat and make it more consistent. (Um, looks like I may have a few spots...ah, the Joy of working with metal!). While doing that I started to work on the base by basecoating the sidewalk.

Primed.

I am still considering what to do about the pilot and whether or not I want to just go with a closed hatch on the model. I will likely dwell on this right up to the last post, but I wouldn't mind to hear opinions on the matter, so feel free to leave a comment.

Pilot or hatch?

Goff Ork Dreadnought (Part 1)

Hello and greetings! It's that time of year once again where the leaves are changing, and falling, and when some of us miniature hobbyists commit ourselves to painting either a Dreadnought (or something in its class) for Dreadtober, or something Orky for Orktober. As I have cheekily done in the past I am combining them both and once again I am painting up an Ork Dreadnought. This time it's a Goff themed one, straight out of Warhammer 40,000 2nd edition.

Straight from .94.

This model was released in early 1994, mere months after the launch of 40k 2nd ed. It was a replacement for the cardboard dread that came in the starter box, and the design of this model was very close to the image in that 2-D "model". (re: Waaagh Bink}.

They were nigh invulnerable from the side...

In fact, I think I like the way it's colored on that cardboard Dreadnought than I do the one on the box. Something I shall ponder on while I get closer to that stage...

exploded view instructions. 

Assembling this model is fairly easy but just in case the back of the box has this simple exploded view available. When I put mine together it be without the back banner, as those things are just to fragile and prone to snapping. Also, storage is more challenging with them and I am having enough challenges in that regard as it is and don't need any more complications in that matter.

Pre-assembly.

Here is the model, bear in mind that this is not glued. It never has been during the past 25 years that I have owned it. It's a testament to the design by Norman Swales and Alan Perry that this thing can practically snap together and stay together to some degree. I will finally choose a pose for it and glue it properly in the upcoming weeks.

I am still facing challenges to my hobby time but I am getting to a spot where I can squeeze in some miniature work. It's practically lamentable how little output I have had since June but the 2-D art I have produced has been very satisfying (and I am getting paid for it). But I have every intention to complete this Dreadtober project by the Halloween deadline (bookies are now taking bets).

Once it's done my goal is to have it clank across the battlefield blasting my enemies with it's mighty guns and ripping them apart with it's massive power claws. Just like it says on the box!

Dig that flavor text. 

See you in October!!!

Dreadtober Blood Axe Dreadnought (Part 3)

The month Is still young and I have made more progress on this thing. Remember, the spirit behind the Dreadtober event is to try to get at least one Dreadnought (or Dreadnought sized/class) model fully painted in the month of October. Here is it's current state, followed by the steps that got it this level:

Current stage. 

Moving on from the previous post, I picked out some areas in black that will likely be painted in a metallic color. I also went hog wild on the base, almost finishing it.

Black basecoats and a mostly painted base.

 Next I decided to darken the recesses and grooves by applying some ink. I mixed a classic Citadal Green ink with black Game Color Wash, with another dot of yellow. The result didn't turn out the way I though it would however. I wasn't sure quite why. And since it was still wet, and colors can look distorted while still wet, I decided to sleep on it and check how it turned out in the morning.

Dark green ink...

 Looking at it in the morning, it was apparent to me that had unintentionally performed an amateurish faux pa so grievous that could lose my art certifications: I highlighted the lowlights and lowlighted the highlights!!!

Luckily I immediately determined the solution. I went over these areas again using Agrax Earthshade. And wow, and I am super pleased that I did! This really kicks up the Olive Drab while also giving a dirty/rusty/worn vibe to the whole thing.

Agrax Earthshade to the rescue.

And this is where we are at currently, we will see where it is at come the weekend or next week. I say that because I have a careeer change occurring this week that may challenge my hobby time.

Dreadtober Blood Axe Dread (Part 2)

Dreadtober  continues! 

The Jolly Green Dread.

As you can see, considerable progress has been made. Um, assuming one actually considers an Olive Drab spraypaint prime/basecoat progress. But as nutty as life has been lately, it's the best I could do.

Backside. 

 I tried to give it a good solid coat, but I am afraid I may have to blast on another layer as it isn't quite matching how I visualized it. Still, I am excited to finally start my quest to have a Blood Axe detachment like I discussed in Dreadtober Part-1.

Bird's eye view of the open hatch.

Note that, unlike last year's Dreanought, I have decided to not have the pilot visible on this one. Once I track down the hatch, I intend to seal it onto this one. Just to be diffrent I suppose. However I will paint the interior (somewhat) in case I change my mind. Also, I neglected to talk about this in Part 1: the las cannon is upside down on this Dread. This was done to allow the top arm to be able to swivel (yes,  the model is fixed, it can't actually swivel) without busting it off. And I also think it looks cool. But the real reason was because back in the 2nd edition (which was the current edition way back when I first assembled this) when the Ork Dreadnought was attacked, a table was randomly rolled on to determine which location on the Dreadnought was struck. It seemed I was always either loosing both my Klaws, or both of my shootas! Mixing this up seemed to help this thing survive a bit longer.

Basecoat of Real Brown on the base. 

A dark brown paint, specifically Folk Art Real Brown, was used for the base layer on the base.

Territorial Beige.

This was followed by Territorial Beige on the next layer. Curiously, those green rocks have given me some ideas for a Wood Elf project I want to do at some point. They remind me of mossy rocks, and that intrigues me for some reason. On this model however they will likely end up being painted in a grey scheme. 

And that was the extent of my progress on this model so far, hopefully I will get much further in the next installment...

Dreadtober Blood Axe Dreadnought (Part 1)

It's October, and it's time to celebrate two things: Ork (Orktober) and Dreadnoughts (Dreadtober). And just like last year's Dreadtober challenge , I am once again going to try to have a dreadnought fully painted before the month is over. Yes, this is the same miniature as last year, just with the arms positioned differently. I got them both as a set.

Rogue Trader era Dread #2.

This year's model however will not be painted as another Bad Moon dread as I originally envisioned it would be. No, this one will be a Blood Axe dread! The inspiration for this comes from the very first White Dwarf I ever owned: White Dwarf 119! One day I might do a top-to-bottom retrospective review of this issue, but for now I am just focused on the cover.

White Dwarf #119. 

The cover features an army of Blood Axes in the heat of battle while a mekboy works to get a Dreadnought operational again. It is an awesome painting and to my knowledge it has never been reprinted anywhere. I came across this issue again recently, and after taking it all in again, decided that I needed to paint a chunk of my Ork army in this scheme. But to start it off I wanted to paint my last unpainted Rogue Trader era dread like the one on the cover of #119.

Rocks added to the base.

I first had to address the base. Or rather dress it up actually. Unlike last year's model, where I used greenstuff to smooth out the topographical differential between the round and square base, I just glued a bunch of rocks down along the  edge where the two meet.

Grit glued on. 

I then used thinned PVA glue to apply the rocky grit to the base on the areas where the base was bare. And now the miniature is ready for painting. But we'll get into that in part 2!

Meanwhile, if you want to learn more about Dreadtober, head over to the Dreadtober blog to check it out and see what all those other participants are doing this month as well.

Original Ork Dreadnought (Part 5)

My Dreadtober project is now finished, and with a few days in October to spare! Hooray!

Finished and ready to Waaargh!

The following is from the battle report in the post called The Rise of Mad Dok Grotsnik Part-2.

Now, this Deff Dread was the original, circa 1988, Ork Dreadnought. It is piloted by a gretchin. The original idea was that in a cruel experiment a Pain Boy and Mek Boy would partner up and stuff a grot into one of these things, and the crazed power-tripping grot would wreck everything in it's path. The next Ork Dreadnought models came out in 2nd edition and featured an Ork Pilot, and was also bigger to accommodate the large passenger. The 3rd edition dred would only get bigger, and with the current plastic model the size difference is quite laughable! In fact, the grot concept is back in the form of Killer Kans, and we all know, they rock, and they are bigger than this original model. But I don't care, as it still does what it does, and I have it on the proper sized base. I decided that when I paint these (I have two of them and they are both armed the same) I will do them in Bad Moon colors. Maybe the extra wealth of that clan can afford the 'miniaturization' of technology?

That was written a few years ago, and as you can see I had the intention for a long time to make these dreads into Bad Moon Dreads. And, now, finally, I have completed the first one!

Finished! Frontview.

As stated at the end of Part 4, I was inspired by the abandoned construction machinery across the road from my home. Especially inbthe way it was weathering. I applied some rust spots to this dread using a mix of Apple Barrel Indian Red and Folk Art Asphaltum. I watered them slightly to get the color thinned so that it pool on the model's surface. This achieved a very natural looking effect to me and I am pleased with how it look.

Left side view.

I was careful not to be overly liberal with the application of this rust color so as not to overwhelm the model. I wanted to keep it subtle.

Rearview.

I then used Mitheral Silver, an ancient Citadel color, to apply stratches and scrapes in the paint. I put them in areas that I thought would most likely make contact with something.

Rightside view.

Lastly I flocked the base, took the whole model outside and sprayed it with a finish. It was a beautiful day out so I chose to take advtage of it and take some natural lighting pics.

And with that, Dreadtober is a wrap! It was a lot of fun and I am glad I participated even though the Dreadtober site never added this blog to it's blog roll or myself to it's participant list.* A minor, though disappointing, quibble. Maybe next year?

But do I really want to wait until next year for this Dread's companion to be done? Hmmm...

*Looking at the email I sent, it appears I had a typo in the email address. Oops! I didn't get a failed message alert so I bet whomever got that email was confused as heck! LOL! 

Original Ork Dreadnought (Part 4)

"Oy, 'hoo ya call'n yeller?!"

The current stage of this model.

Since the Part 3 I have made significant progress on this project. The Grot pilot is now finished. Adter inking him, he was given a highlight of Apple Barrel Kiwi follow by an extreme highlight of Sunburst Yellow.

Finished ork skin.

Then I finished the details like his eyes and wires.

Eyes and wires.

With the grot pilot done, focus returned back to the main model. Bad Moon Yellow, an awesome old Citadel paint from the '90s, was lined around the edges as a highlight.

The original Bad Moon Yellow.

Additional low lights of Firey Orange was reapplied to the grooves that were accidentally painted over. Some of the metallic areas were painted as well. I reached a point where I felt it was time to reattach it's arm, and ta-da, it was whole again. All in all, it's getting there and I am pleased with the progress and the relative speed at which I have painted this.

Re-armed.

But I don't want this thing to look like it just got painted before the battle started (we aren't played 2nd edition anymore, right?) so I want it to appear worn and chipped. I found inspiration just outside the window. Across the street from the shotgun shack we live in, is a failed development. On it there is a piece industrial machinery that has not moved in years, and it just so happens to be in a workzone yellow color. The aging on it is worth studying as is the wear on the paint and on the hydraulic cables. We shall see where this inspiration takes my Dreadnought next...

Abandoned construction equipment near my home.