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 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 5)

At the end of the part 4, I promised some outside natural lighting pics. And today I was able to find a moment to make that happen.

Natural lighting in a sea of moss.

I still may or may not toss a few decals on this thing but time has yet to be available to do so. And I am OK with that simply due to indecision on my part. So for now this shall remain as is.

Check me out on the good side here..

The olive drab does cameo this model well, something that other orks shun but the sneaky Blood Axe gits totally get a kicks out of.

And that wraps up this year's Dread/Ork-tober event for me. I am thinking next year I will paint up a traditional Goff Ork Dreadnought, but my mind could change by then. Thanks again to the guys at the Dreadtober page for inspiring and organizing this year's challenge!

Dreadtober Blood Axe Dreadnought (Part 4)

Finding a few fleeting moments last week, I have managed to complete this model. Well mostly anyway. I have some decal ideas I want to try out. But here it is 95% done.

Done but for the decals.

The finals steps to get me here are next. The first step being painting the hatch. This didn't take hardly any time at all.

Hatch applied and painted.

Next I painted the windows. It still cracks me up that these dreads would have windows, but hey, there they are!

Windows painted.

Then I focused on the weapons. I chose to make this one's fuel tanks a brighter red that last year's dread.

Fuel tank painted.

After a few touch-ups, I decided that this was actually done! So after finishing the painting of the base, grass tufts were added.

Tuft love.

There are two skulls, 'umie of course, that had to be finished also.

More grass tufts.

Pretty much done! 

I hope to get some outside natural lighting pics soon, however it was raining when I last had the opportunity to do that. Since I have some decal ideas this is probably for the best anyway.

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! 

The Rise of Mad Dok Grotsnik part 2

In part one  of this glorious tale of greenness, I touched on some highlights from the previous game where Screech challenged us with his Space Wolves. Da Masta Cheef, my ally in that battle, wrote a more detailed battlereport. That first part ends with me packing up Mad Dok Grotsnik and heading off to a match against Da Cheef's  Red Corsair Centurion and his dreaded Murder Sword. After reading what that guy did to Max's Ultramarines in a recent battle I was unsure how well the Mad Dok list I used against Screech would fair against a Chaos Space Marine force, especially without 500 points of grot allies!

My Orcs assembled and ready for WAAAGH!!!

Note that unlike the previous game I didn't use the mob we nicknamed 'Ork Pizza' but instead used my original plastic boyz from the '89 boxed set. They are a Technicolor dream aren't they? Cheef was intimidated by their mohawks! LOL

The Centurion's force complete with anticipatory Soul-blaze tokens.

The field of battle.

This would be my first game playing on the Realm of Battle board. I like the surface and think it makes for some great pics. I lament the fact that I had so many unfinished models still to meekly place down onto such a fine battleground.

So we rolled the mission and got 'Emperor's Will' (which made for a good chuckle considering that neither of us had Imperial forces) placed objectives, and deployed. I can't recall if I stole the Initiative, but I do recall setting up very defensively in response to Cheef's set up so I must have.

Ork Deployement.

Chaos Deployment

 And then the fighting began! I threw a bunch of templates into the closest Chaos Cultist unit and eliminated a lot them, but they were steely in their resolve and stood on the hill speaking in tongues at the ork army in crazed defiance!

First blood!

 My Lootas brought down a scary looking dreadn -Hellbrute that just looked like it could kill lots of orks fast.

The extent of the Ork advance, Grotsnik and his Burnas are bottle necked in their effort to race across the board.

 Chaos Turn One.

Cheef kills these three Orks. But sets his friends on fire with Soulblaze.

 Turn Two

In turn one we kept discovering that some units would be out of shooting range by just under an inch. A theme that would continue throughout this game.

The Ork army's advance on turn 2.

 The rhino containing the Centurion, who was determined to murder my Big Mek, who is my warlord in this game, is blown up quite spectacularly. Note the big blast template. I had both the Kill Cannon and Shok Attack gun scatter onto that same relative spot!

Deff Dread wants to get you!

 Meanwhile my Deff Dread attempted to get to grips with either the Chaos Dreadnought -Hellbrute or the Rhino, but despite losing a Hull Point to a plasma gun (what the heck is in that Rhino?!) he rolled a 4 for his charge range only to find he need another 1/4" to reach it! Drats!

Chaos Turn 2

A small squad of Chaos Terminators land in my back field and kill a few of my Lootas!

"I just flew in from hell, and man are my arms tired!"

Charge!

The Hellbrute charged my Deff Dread (yes kids, that really is a Deff Dread, I'll explain in a moment), and rolled the exact number he needed to make contact! 4", which we had a good laugh at considering my previous turn! And just like the previous game where's Screech's Space Wolf Dreadnought botched his attacks, the Hellbrute did likewise and was ripped apart by the Deff Dread after two player turns of assault.

The Centurion maximizes the use of available cover.

 Ork Turn 3

Circle 'round the fire!

 Mad Dok's unit has to go after the closest unit, which was now these annoying terminators (he was really wanting to destroy the Centurion!). The Burnas successfully cleanse the terminators with fire!

Careful with that scatter!

 Again the Shokk Attack Gun and Kill Cannon scatter wildly in a sad attempt to blast the Centurion and his unit!

"Come 'ere tank!"

 After killing the Chaos Dreadnoug....Hellbrute, the Deff Dread consolidates towards the Rhino,

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?

Chaos Turn 3

The Deff Dread  is blown apart by the passengers in the rhino, who hit it with more plasma shots!

The Red Corsair Centurion advances up on my Ork Shootas who have taken a lot of casualties from the two Predator tanks down field and from the resulting Soulblaze. How ever he fails on his charge attempt...

Guess who rolled a 4 on his charge dice! Ha! We laugh at you!!!

 One of the predator takes a hull point off of my Gobsmasha which I had moved out of cover in an attempt to try to hurt those annoying Predators. I think the Ork Warbikes were killed off by the cultists this turn as well after they too had failed to roll high enough on their charge distance in the previous turn.

Orks Turn 4

Mad Dok Grotsnik's burna boyz now find that their closest enemy is the rhino that killed the Deff Dread last turn. This target is even more appealing after the Lootas blow up the rhino to reveal the passengers to be a Havoc Squad armed with Plasma Guns! (Ingenious idea Cheef! I got to steal it for my chaos guys!)

My shootas charge the Centurion! They had already blasted away the rest of his unit, but the fearless maniac cared not and challenged my Ork nob. He would've had a lot or re-rolls too, but the Murder Sword was hungry and feasted upon ork meat! I can not recall what his Chaos Reward was...

Nik Fury dies at the hands of the Centurion!

 After another, painful, failed charge, the Burna boys roll too low on their charge distance!
and during Chaos Turn 4, they lose half the squad to concentrated plasma gunnery and soulblaze!

"How come soulblaze has a continuous fire effect but Flamer weapons don't?"

 The Centurion is butchered by the remaining Shoota boyz, who consolidate towards the hill where the remaining Chaos Cultists and Chaos Sorcerer hold on to their objective.

Ork Turn 5.

"Don't shoot until you see the green of their skin!"

 With very few of burna boyz left, Mad Dok Grotsnik declares a charge, only to have his remaining burna boyz killed by the Overwatch. Rolling an 8 on the charge dice, Grotsnik gets the exact number he needs to make contact!

Too close!

And dives into the ruckus!

"Time for yur medz!!!"

And he butchers the Havocs and consolidates into the crater, eying the two predators that have been slowly inching up the field.

"Charge!"

The shoota boyz connect to the Chaos Cultists on the hill. They do well, but remain locked in combat. However in the Chaos Turn 5, the Shoota Boyz would be wiped out, and the objective in his deployment zone is now secure in the grip of the Chaos Cultists!

Turn 6 arrives, and with much of the Chaos force in shambles, and half of the orks gone as well, I decided to move the Gobsmasha out in an effort to ram one of the Predators. I just was out of range for that attempt though...

The I assume shots were taken at the chaos cultist as they appear to have lost a few more from what these next two pics show, but being fearless they were not about to run anywhere.

The Gobsmasha sets up for a ramming attack...

 Chaos Turn 6

Cultist take cover behind the dilapidated bastion and hold on to their objective.

 Mad Dok Grotsnik dies to another las cannon shot to the face from the predators. Oddly, this would be two games in a row where he was removed from the game in this manner.

The face off that wouldn't happen.

 And the game ended, with the final fate of the Gobsmasher left unknown!

The Chaos got 3 Victory Points for holding onto their objective, and the Orks got 5 victory points for holding onto theirs, killing the Centurion (Warlord secondary objective), and First Blood.

All in all, a very fun game!

Inspired again, I took the time to complete Mad Dok Grotsnik's paint job.

And here he is:

Blood For The Blood God was used for the blood on the blades and apron. I like it a lot!!!

Used GW's Middenland Tufts on some of the grass.

Yeah, I left it piss colored for the syringe....ew, right?

 I only wish I had a grot orderly to put on the base with him. Otherwise, I am quite pleased with how he turned out!