Ironclad dread -- Finished. Check the Hall of Honor for pics

[JeffTibbetts]

Haha! Nope, no room for birds on this one, unless you count his feet. And strangely enough I'm making massive progress on him. Got the green, silver metal and bronze all base and washed so far. Now onto highlighting, decals, basing, weathering... Okay, there's still a lot to do, but I'm impressed with myself so far. 

[Kobrakei]

That green's really nice. Have to say I'm a fan of the concept, but like Dosjetka I'm finding it a little 'off'. I think for me it's more a limitation of the kit design itself, and I applaud the effort and thought you're putting in. I never did get around to painting that Eagle Eyes marine either did I? I'll be sure to follow so I can get the paint scheme right!

[JeffTibbetts]

That green's really nice. Have to say I'm a fan of the concept, but like Dosjetka I'm finding it a little 'off'. I think for me it's more a limitation of the kit design itself, and I applaud the effort and thought you're putting in. I never did get around to painting that Eagle Eyes marine either did I? I'll be sure to follow so I can get the paint scheme right!

 

Yeah, I agree completely on the arms. I wish they worked out a little better, but with this kit I'm not sure what else I can do. If you look at the stock model, they even look like they 'sag' and this pose makes it a little worse. I think the shoulder mods help a little as opposed to just leaving them be, but without rebuilding the entire arm I don't know how to make this any better. 

 

Oh yeah! I've got the whole recipe laid out on my blog, but in a nutshell it's a Waaagh! Flesh base. Wash with Agrax Earthshade. Layer highlights of Warboss Green, Skarsnik Green and then a very small Krieg Khakhi highlight. Glazed with Lamenter’s Yellow. If you skip a few of them I think it'll be totally fine, since you're shooting for a much less dramatic look in your army. I also have some decals, but I have no concept how hard it would be to get them to you across the pond. How much is a small envelope via airmail, you think? 

 

EDIT: Because of you, Dosjetka (and your partner-in-crime Kobrakei), I've ordered the Space Wolf Venerable Dreadnought arms off eBay, because the right one is swinging out to the right and it will look like he's gearing up for a big smash. It looks like I can pretty easily put it on a 'normal' shoulder, or even carve this one up so I have options. That's $10, sir. Don't say I never did anything for you. But seriously, I think it'll look pretty cool. I wish I would have just bough the SW dread kit at this point, as I now have the legs and arms out of it. Oh well. 

 

I'm hoping that the right arm being posed will help take away from the relative lack of pose on the left arm... The underslung weapons won't work on the new arm without some doing... I'l have to put a little thought into that. 

[JeffTibbetts]

Okay. New arms have been ordered off eBay, but in the meantime I've continued painting. I think I'll just end up cutting the front of the right arm CC weapon off and magnetizing it, and then making an extra heavy flamer for the other arm since that's what I'm likely to use most of the time. I'll keep this arm around if I ever want to run the storm bolter, since I don't think that would be worth making with the ammo feed off to the side. Huge pain for minimal reward. I'll just magnetize the hand so I can use either arm.

As for painting, I added decals since I want them to get weathered along with the rest. I decided to work on starting some of the details last night while I hit the decals with 18 hundred coats of Microsol. Have a look.

I got the red down, and since I find it really quick to do the glowing effect I'm using on this army, I figured I'd just work on those after I washed the various elements.

This is where I ended up last night. The glowing lenses are pretty much done for now (I'll hit them with gloss after I matte seal this whole model). Same with the visor. I did that the same way I'm doing the eyes on my marines now, which is just by painting a white slit and then flooding the area with red glaze. I started the lamp, finished the wax on the purity seals, and finished the bronze. I'm not done with the purity seal parchment, scroll on the sarcophagus, or anything else, really. The decal still looks like hell, but the area around them should clear up once I put another gloss and then matte coat on them. They're much thinner now, but I'll probably hit them with microsol at least once or twice more. Once those are looking good, I'll be able to highlight the green and the metal.

Thoughts?

[Disruptor_fe404]

I really like the verdigris effect. Looking forward to the final result!

[JeffTibbetts]

Thanks! Compared to most of my recipes it's really easy to do. Warplock Bronze, Coelia Greenshade, thinned Nihilakh Oxide pin wash, drybrush Balthasar Gold, then lightly drybrush Sycorax Bronze. That's only, what, 5 steps? A record! 

[Machine God]

@JeffTibbets - Very quick and very nice. I saw this thread yesterday/thursday and now its pretty much done!

A couple of minor suggestions/critiques.

I know the humble Dreadnought is a much simpler kit that an Imperial Knight but...

I don't like that raised flat right foot. It has always been in my mind at least that the toes flex and

move thus producing the required stability much like RoboCop II or the ED-209.

Critique over, suggestion (although probably a bit late now).

For a Searchlight I have never liked the one in the kit, so I used the the

sensor that sits on top of the Las Cannon mounts used on Land Raiders.

I also put the smoke launcher behind the searchlight.

PS - Drill the holes in the Exhaust Stacks.

Edit: Exhaust Stacks.

[JeffTibbetts]

Thanks for the tips! However... First, I was going to drill out the exhaust, until my work on the Knight kit made me realize it's actually a heat shroud and there's another tube inside. The holes actually shouldn't go all the way through.

 

As for the foot, I thought about messing with the toes, but I couldn't come up with a reason for them to actually rest in a more clenched position. Sure, they can move, but why would they if it' stunning? The way the spikes work, you'd want to drop your foot down flat instead of toes-first, especially with those claws on the toes. Makes more sense for the foot to remain flat. I could probably be persuaded otherwise, but frankly it wasn't a choice made for convenience. It just seems like they work that way.

 

And the light doesn't really bother me now that paint's on everything.

[Dosjetka]

Kobrakei put my (and his) thoughts into words in a much more precise and polite way than I could ever have hoped for :tu:

Also, I looking forward to seeing those new arms!

[JeffTibbetts]

The arm is on the painting desk as we speak. Not much I can do about the left, but the right is now held wide to side, ready to wing around after he smashes someone with his weight. I think it helps the overall pose, but man, it still looks funny. I tried, dudes. I really did.

[Machine God]

Thanks for the tips! However... First, I was going to drill out the exhaust, until my work on the Knight kit made me realize it's actually a heat shroud and there's another tube inside. The holes actually shouldn't go all the way through.

 

As for the foot, I thought about messing with the toes, but I couldn't come up with a reason for them to actually rest in a more clenched position. Sure, they can move, but why would they if it' stunning? The way the spikes work, you'd want to drop your foot down flat instead of toes-first, especially with those claws on the toes. Makes more sense for the foot to remain flat. I could probably be persuaded otherwise, but frankly it wasn't a choice made for convenience. It just seems like they work that way.

 

And the light doesn't really bother me now that paint's on everything.

@JeffTibbetts - Good points.

 

Especially the first one about the exhaust holes being a heat shroud,

I will remember that on my next Dreadnought.

[JeffTibbetts]

Okay. Got some solid time in with Chicahua, my new favorite dread. I'll just jump in with the pics. First, the arm that Dosjetka and Kobrakei basically guilted me into bothering with inspired me to create with their sound feedback. I mashed the Space Wolf Ven Dread arm with the Ironclad, and ended up with this.

Dosen't look like a lot of work, but it actually was. Mostly getting the ribbed tube to work. Now here's how that changed the pose:

Still goofy? I think it is. Better than before? Yeah, if you count it as closer to my original vision. I think this conveys the sense that he's dropping into a shoulder check, and bringing that right arm around for a vicious haymaker. It mostly looks odd because of the leg that's up. Normally we don't run with the same leg and arm back at the same time, but again a dread's lower body and upper body wouldn't swing the way ours do. Their upper body is relatively stable while the lower half does it's own thing, according to the Space Marine video game. Any fans of anime will be able to imagine the way a samurai runs, because of the way their armor is put together, with their upper body held oddly rigid while their legs flail around below them. Luckily for the animators, it's much easier to draw that way as well. :D I'm calling this good enough, with the source material taken into context. It's basically a body gorilla, and there's just not that much more one can do to make it feel like it's in motion. Along with all the streaming parchment, though, it's working well enough for me. Bonus: the Space Wolf arm actually had a little extra movement where it joins the shoulder, so it looks a bit more dynamic there as well. Can't say I planned it all out very well, but it's coming together.

Now, you'll notice the green is basically all done in those pics, with just some details left to go. I'm moving on to the basing now so I can start weathering and adding battle damage soon. Let's have a look at where I'm at now.

The textured putty was still drying on the base, but I'll do these in my usual burned-village theme. I've added script to the parchment, tried to freehand the name on the sarcophagus, and picked out the AdMech symbol on the engine. I think the paint's pretty good now. I'll add dirt and weathering later, so don't sweat the clean look.

Anyone care to guess where that white-metal dead villager came from on the base? Let's just say I've been holding onto him for a very, very long time. Long enough to let the sequel to Mad Max bring him back into style. He does make for an excellent dead villager, though, don't you think?

[Dosjetka]

Still not perfect, but heaps better. I can look at him with both eyes now :P

[JeffTibbetts]

Bahaha! Yay! I'll take that as 'as good is it's going to get for now' and I'm alright with that. :D 

[Dosjetka]

I didn't mention it in my previous comment, but the paint job looks nice. I quite like that particular shade of green :)

[JeffTibbetts]

Oh, thanks! It's a lot of work, to be honest, but I quite like it as well. I posted the recipe earlier in the thread, but let me know if you want it. 

[Montuhotep]

As to the villager, the references to Mad Max lead me to guess someone from the old Dark Future game?

[JeffTibbetts]

Oooooh. That's a damn good guess but no, that was smaller scale, wasn't it?

[Montuhotep]

The cars were, certainly, but I confess I never saw any models for it - my second guess is a Digga from Gorka Morka.

[Stormborn]

Dark Future mini's were bigger than epic and warmaster but smaller than wfb/40k around about 12 - 15mm mark the cars about the same siza as matchbox car from the 80's which meant you had potentially masses to use (such a shame that game died - possibly one of my top 5 GW products).  I'd say a Digga Yoof from Gorka Morka as well.

[JeffTibbetts]

The cars were, certainly, but I confess I never saw any models for it - my second guess is a Digga from Gorka Morka.

 

Nailed it! 

 

Dark Future mini's were bigger than epic and warmaster but smaller than wfb/40k around about 12 - 15mm mark the cars about the same siza as matchbox car from the 80's which meant you had potentially masses to use (such a shame that game died - possibly one of my top 5 GW products).  I'd say a Digga Yoof from Gorka Morka as well.

 

Yup. You guys both got it. I'm not 100% sure it's a Yoof, but it's def a Digga. I never even played Gorkamorka, so I have no clue why I bought it back in the day. Maybe I was going to use it for Necromunda or something. At any rate, it works quite well for what I'm shooting for here. 

[JeffTibbetts]

Alright, almost done now. I started the battle damage and weathering. Just need to do a little cleanup and then I'm calling it done. Let's have a look!

Since I've been in a big hurry to finish this guy, I keep finding small things that need to be touched up. Not a big deal, but I guess I can't say I'm totally done yet. Plus, I screwed up the weathering pigments in some spots, and they need to be redone there. Most notably the tips of the exhausts and the heavy flamers. They were much blacker, but then I hit them with a thinned-down ask layer without even really thinking about it and it sort of overpowered the black. That's an easy fix, though. What do you folks think of the battle damage? It matches the test model I did for a Vanguard pretty closely. I think it's nice, myself, but I'm open to suggestions if you have any? I'll probably clean up a few of the scratch and chip areas where I got a little sloppy, but there aren't many to fix.

[KrautScientist]

Both the conversion work and paintjob are certainly up to your usual high standard! I especially like the red glow effect! Much has been said about the running pose, and I think you've really done all you could with the material. The one problem is that a running pose on a stock Dreadnought will - invariably - pull attention to the fact that those stubby legs would probably far too short to allow for any kind of movement whatsoever in the real world. But that's not your fault, but rather a structural problem of the Dreadnought design. Beyond that problem, the shoulder barge pose has been expertly realised!

 

There's one small thing that does seem odd to me, though: My gut feeling is that his "saw-hand" on the left arm should be rotated so the blade faces outwards at a roughly 45 degrees angle. I cannot even quite explain why I feel that way, just that it would feel more natural, for lack of a better word, to have it aligned in that way.

[JeffTibbetts]

Both the conversion work and paintjob are certainly up to your usual high standard! I especially like the red glow effect! Much has been said about the running pose, and I think you've really done all you could with the material. The one problem is that a running pose on a stock Dreadnought will - invariably - pull attention to the fact that those stubby legs would probably far too short to allow for any kind of movement whatsoever in the real world. But that's not your fault, but rather a structural problem of the Dreadnought design. Beyond that problem, the shoulder barge pose has been expertly realised!

 

There's one small thing that does seem odd to me, though: My gut feeling is that his "saw-hand" on the left arm should be rotated so the blade faces outwards at a roughly 45 degrees angle. I cannot even quite explain why I feel that way, just that it would feel more natural, for lack of a better word, to have it aligned in that way.

 

Haha. Yeah, thanks. As for the saw, I thought the same thing until I tried it. It really looks odd either way, but when it was turned the other way it looked too much like he was trying to hold it up like a shield. I think it worked better this way because it sort of reinforces the angle I'm trying to get the eye to point to. When there isn't an articulated head, it's really hard to convince people he's not doing an electric slide sideways, since he's not 'looking' at what he's barging into. But, yeah, I tried it both ways. In some ways it looks better with the hammer arm, but that thing hangs down so far the weapon underneath drags unless I move the arm up a little, and I didn't like how the shoulder looks as well with that angle. Plus, I think I'd use the chainfist more if I ever play a game... 

[KrautScientist]

Fair enough -- I should really have known that you to had tried all possible configurations anyway. Sorry for being a doubter for a minute there ;)