Posing a dread

Hello all!

I was asked around a month ago to do a post on how I go about posing my dreads. I have recently built a contemptor for my Emperor's Children and took some photographs as I went to show off the process that I go through.

I always aim to pose the dreads in a human way. What I mean by that is no poses that I can't do myself. So if the dread is running it's legs are alined in a way that you would expect to see from an athlete running on a track. Legs don't bend back much at the hip and should stay inline with the back.

The other thing to remember is that they are very heavy!! I imagine that they are agile and able to do whatever a marine could do but with a lot more weight. This means that the joints  and stance of the legs will need to compensate for this weight. Legs are therefore unlikely to ever be completely straight and wide stances would be used to balance themselves.

Momentum will be a huge factor in a dreads ability to cause damage. They have weight and would want throw that weight around. As such I think arms will keep moving and hips keep turning to stop them from getting bogged down.

I chose to start with my double close combat contemptor for the EC and a knew I wanted it running forward, cutting enemies down as it went.

Get all your parts cleaned up and cut off the sprue. Get some blue tac ready, you will be using it for setting out your pose. 

Example of how I apply the blue tac. Be patient, it can be a pain to get it stick together sometimes! 

As I wanted the running pose I started with the legs and working out a rough layout for them. All of this is blue tac'ed together. The blue tac under the feet is built up a bit and will potentially end up as green stuff. Adding some green stuff under the feet will help you to lift the feet and create some more dynamic poses. It can be covered by your basing materials later. 

Torso and hips added to check that it works. The current layout is what I was referring to above with the running poses. 

I often add green stuff to joints at the hip and feet to give a wider range of movement to them, this again allows you to creates a more dynamic pose. The blue tac can work like green stuff to space joints to give you an idea of what movement you might be able to achieve. 

I have started working on the arms. Originally I had planned to have the front arm shooting and the back swinging back ready for a punch. This changed as it went along and I ditched the front arm shooting in favour of creating a bigger looking punch. 

By removing the front arm from shooting it freed up the pose a lot. I turned the hip more to create the dramatic back swing of the left arm. One thing to note it that you need to pick a focal point for the face. This would be the enemy that he is fighting, I turn it to be looking at them along the line of sight of the primary weapon that it is currently using. For example a dual shooting weapon dread will be making use of the one of the arms and it will be looking down the barrel of that gun, straight at what it is shooting. In the case here he is looking at the thing he is about to swing his fist into. I added a bit of green stuff under the head to lift it up slightly as the torso is angled down a lot. 

Use the hips to tilt and turn the dread. I have both of the hip joints pivoting in slightly different directions and angles to create movement. Experiment with turning them all to get a feel what they can add to the appearance. 

I have reached a point I'm now happy with. Now start pulling bits off and get the glue and green stuff out and carefully recreate each part of the pose. It will change slightly as you get glueing, the blue tac pushes the parts apart more than the glue will so it won't quite look the same and some parts don't hold as well with the blue tac and sag slightly. 

Here is the final pose on the dread. 

I'm pleased with the final pose. I did mess up the claw on the left arm. I glued it at the wrong angle. The claws should have been on top. I noticed it too late and the glue had set! I'm deciding if I'm ok with it or not, so I may change that. 

Hopefully you have been able to pick up a tip or two, comment below if you have any further questions. I have another 2 contemptors to build for the EC so can expand more if needed. 

Happy Hobby!

Darien

Thousand Sons Contemptor

Hi all,

I thought this week I would showcase my Thousand Sons Contemptor.

The Thousand Sons are lucky enough to have a legion specific model, and it is easily my favourite sculpt across the whole range!  It is unmistakable in belonging to the XVth Legion. 

 The kit itself was a joy to put together, as with all Contemptors, with minimal flash or warp slippage.  I ended up pinning all of his major joints as insurance, as it is almost impossible to repair the red should a joint shear off.

I was torn on what to arm him with, but I eventually went with the dual Volkites.  I was initially met with some skepticism as they are far from being the most popular choice. 

In the end though, the rule of cool won out.  I have to admit I have been pleasantly surprised as to how well they have performed.  They are rather good at popping light transports, especially if the said transport has had misfortune cast on it!

I’d love to add a second Contemptor to my army, but I have to admit I am starting to look longingly at new projects. 

I still need to finish my Castellax, and then I have Magnus left.  That will take me to a nice round 3000 points.  I might start a new project at that mark, but am still somewhat undecided!

Happy hobbying!

Death Guard - Contemptor and Deredeo

Hi all,

I thought I would continue with the theme I started in my last post and talk about my last two sarcophagus interred XIV legionaries – my Contemptor and Deredeo.

My Contemptor was one of my original Death Guard models.  I purchased five MkIII marines at the start of the project and was determined to stick with infantry purchases until I had enough to field two 10 man tactical squads.  I stuck with this decision for about a week until I buckled and ordered my Contemptor.  The kit was a joy to put together and I must have easily spent two hours playing around with posing him.  I’ve found blu tack to be quite useful in working out various poses before committing.  In the end I settled for a pose that I thought conveyed him striding forward, using his grav gun to blast some Iron Warriors to smithereens.  Hopefully it comes across that way!  His other armament is a Kheres assault cannon, which has more than proven itself in the XIVs numerous engagements.

 I’ve always been impressed with the versatility of the Kheres as it always seems to step up the mark whatever the situation.  The grav-gun has also served me well, often chipping away at hull points when most needed.  It recently plinked the last hullpoint off a grav-flux bombard equipped Leviathan that was getting ready to unleash on a ten man strong terminator squad.  Needless to say the terminators were rather grateful!  I have tried running it as a Cortus, but I have never been impressed despite the point reduction.  Has anyone had any success with them as opposed to regular Contemptors?

The Deredeo is another one of my must take units.  I always struggle with my heavy slots, but it is almost an auto include.  Mine is equipped with the autocannon battery and the Aiolos missile launcher.  Both weapons are rather good, but the Aiolos missile launcher just pips it for me in terms of effectiveness.  The ability to blast away at separate targets regardless of intervening terrain is amazing.  Its ability to hammer away at tucked away artillery is not to be trifled with. 

Having said that, the autocannons are still very effective, especially as you get to reroll both to hit and pen armour thanks to being to having twin linked and sunder.

My most memorable kill to date was sniping Horus with three missiles, denying a charging Perturabo his kill!

Has anyone had any lucky with any more unusual variants?  I’ve never faced off against the lascannon battery or plasma cannonade, but I am planning on adding one to my Thousand Sons. 

I have just finished a dual Volkite wielding Contemptor for my burgeoning Thousand Sons.  I was initially sceptical as to its performance in game as I built it more for the rule of cool.  However, it more than held its own in several games of Zone Mortalis, often outperforming its rival which was toting dual Kheres! 

Legio Custodes Contemptor-Galatus

Hello!

In the bunny camp we have a few group projects for some of the forces involved in the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. You may have seen some of them before in the form of the Mechanicum and Solar Auxilia. Since the Custodes and Sisters came out we have slowly been collecting a sizeable force to create a Talons of the Emperor army and we are making some really good progress. We will be sharing what we have been working on in the coming weeks.

Contemptors have always been one of my favourite models. I really enjoy building them and ever since the Custodes version were previewed I was keen to get my hands on them! We had the Galatus and I got to set about building it.

We wanted an aggressive look, making use of the shield to hold off and knocking his foes out of the way and providing quick short jabs with the sword. This is what I ended up with:

I am really pleased with how it has come out and I can't wait to have a go at the spear wielding version when we get our hands on one! 

We have a lot of other Custodes to show off in soon and we are very excited about them! Once we have a good size force painted up we will do a review of how they perform on the table top. 

Happy hobby!

Darien 

Community Question: How do you arm your Dreadnoughts?

Hello everyone,

I'm back with a question for you all! In my Iron Hands force I now have access to two contemptor dreadnoughts. My latest one to be completed was a dual twin linked lascannon contemptor for some ranged and relatively mobile shooting that could target both ground units and flyers. I have also been really happy with the paint job on the new contemptor and it represents how my scheme has evolved since my original dual kheres contemptor was built and painted.

I went for a cleaner look with the grey dry brushing building up into the silver highlighting which acts as both an edge highlight and battle damage. This is the scheme I am looking to carry through into two other dreadnoughts so I have a cohesive look that I'm happy with when I display them or battle with them.

So I am going to be adding another contemptor and a leviathan to the mix as I have been icthing to have a go at painting one for the Iron Hands. I am mainly looking to arm the next two as combat based dreadnoughts but I am pretty open to suggestion at the moment.

They do look awesome...

So my question is how do you arm your dreadnoughts, both contemptors and leviathans? Or what do you think is the best weapon option to go for if you don't currently have one and would like one or want more like me!

Feel free to comment below!

Thanks again,

Aveinus Kaane

Pre-Heresy Iron Hands: Contemptor Dreadnought

Hello everyone,

I'm back with a short post to show you my completed contemptor dreadnought! Its been a project that has taken a while to complete but that is mainly down to me working a lot recently and worrying about using purity seal!

So here he is, I haven't had a chance to think about a back story but I hope you like the model.

I have decided to go with a cleaner look than my previous contemptor which is in line with what my newer units now look like compared to the more battle damaged look I started off with.

I decided to go for fewer transfers on this model due to it already having a lot of iconography and I also went with a smaller version of the sorrgol transfer, which I think is also an improvement.

I have again had to use different lighting for the sides as the shoulders catch the light badly.

The main problem with my Iron Hands at the moment is applying the purity seal to the entire army. It could potentially ruin some of my models if I get it wrong so I have decided to take it slowly and do plenty of testing.

Before spraying I followed advice from Kaelo, Drake and other people who have used it before me and settled on:

- Leaving the model outside or wherever you spray for 15 minutes or so to let the model acclimatise to the correct temperature.
- Shake the can for 5 minutes, this is majorly important!
- I then placed it in a tub of warm water for a few minutes (without wetting the top of the can) I'm not sure if this helps a lot but i've been told it does.
- Then I shook the can for another five minutes, flipping it upside down and shaking it that way too.
- Finally I sprayed the model lightly from the recommended distance on all sides and from above.
- I did this in separate sprays where I sprayed the model in a passing motion.
- You could do another pass but it depends on the look you want and your confidence.

So pretty happy with how the purity seal went, I think I could have done a better if I was more confident, but its a good first try and I didn't ruin the model! :).

Thanks for reading,

Aveinus Kaane

Pre-heresy Iron Hands: Contemptor Dreadnought WIP

Hello Everyone,

So hopefully over the next month or so it should be an exciting month for the blog as it looks like we really are getting close to continuing our Purokar League campaign. I am personally very excited as the opening battle reports were my favourite part of the blog before I joined and it has been something I've been really looking forward to carrying on.

Now I must say Drake and Kaelo have put a massive amount of effort into this campaign over the years and some of the other bunnies have had a big hand in completing the armies that the Legions shall face. So please bare with us as we are all just hobbyists like yourselves with limited free time and resources so soon enough maybe even in the next few weeks there should hopefully be some games taking place!

In the mean time, I have decided to refocus my attentions on the Iron Tenth to get them battle ready. This will involve completing more transfers on my legionaries and working on my second contemptor dreadnought as you can see below...

I don't often enjoy the building side of the hobby too much but I do love getting a nice pose. So the focus of this build was to get a different individual look for my second dreadnought so he would stand out and have some character.

I'm not particularly good at making building guides so I've just added a few things I encountered during the build that I would like to share. This kit is far superior to my previous one that I probably bought over three years ago and I could not see a single issue with the mould so well done to Forgeworld for that! With this in mind, if you have not built a contemptor before just be careful when you clip and trim the model as areas such as the armour around the ankles and shoulders are still very delicate.

One of the crucial aspects of the contemptor I wanted to get right this time was the pose. So I tried to plan every stage buy piecing the model together to see how the pose should look. To add some movement to the model I had the contemptors right leg straighter but not completely straight and the left leg left behind the other and slightly bent forwards as if he is beginning to shift his weight across to his left hand side.

I also angled the shin armour slightly to the left where it connects to the foot to improve the dynamic look and used the left foot option which is on its toes.

With the legs set as they are it did make gluing it to the base a bit more tricky as the model wanted to lean backwards. So I'm sure there are better ways of doing this but I decided to use some of the clippings I had from building the dreadnought as a wedge underneath the back foot to just balance the model on the base and create a larger surface for the glue to take hold. I will then make sure these are blended in to the base at a later date.

Apologies for the poor photos, time was limited this week, so they were done in the moment!

The one problem I experienced by having a more dynamic pose with the knees slightly bent is that the tops of the hips do come together more than they normally would do. This did make gluing the torso section on to the legs difficult as due to the cabling around its flanks the torso does not sit properly onto the dome where it would normally sit. Therefore to counter this I had to turn the torso to the right hand side so I had enough contact between the surfaces for the glue to take hold.

This actually turned out perfectly for me as with the torso turned it made for an even more dynamic pose, so that I could have the left arm stretched out in front and the right arm being held by his side.

Just quickly as a short product review, if you haven't already used it, the new Citadel Super Glue is far superior than its previous incarnation. It now comes in five small tubes so they can be opened one at a time and it just saves you having to try and unclog the old super glue bottle every time you come back to using it. It also has much faster bonding time than the previous product, so building this contemptor was a much nicer and quicker experience.

 

So with building not being my forte, I am now going to take on some of your advice from Kaelo's post earlier on in the week and do a step by step painting guide for this contemptor dreadnought. It should hopefully be a bit clearer and i'll try and get some nice pictures of each stage as it happens!

Can't wait for some campaign action now so stay tuned for the build up and I hope all your projects are going well!

Thanks again,

Aveinus Kaane

Pre-Heresy Iron Hands: Contemptor Dreadnought

Hello everyone!

I'm back again to show you my completed contemptor dreadnought brother Carinus!

A veteran Storm Walker brother Carinus hailed from Old Albia like many other Terran born astartes of the tenth legion. Carinus' flesh proved weak during the Seraphina Offensive and the Battle of Rust, where he led his squad to the defense of Imperial Army troopers of the Urshan Velites. Carinus' aid saved the Velites and held the position against the Orks but not before the greenskin tide slipped through his own defenses and almost cleaved his torso in two. The last of his strength was spent caving in the greenskins skull before his brothers recovered his broken body.   

Now entombed in a dreadnoughts sarcophagus as an Iron Hand, cold logic and reason now fill his waking thoughts as he repents for his former weakness. 

So here is the first of my older completed units to receive transfers! Brother Carinus is one of my earlier models I started when getting back into the hobby since being a teenager. There are a few mistakes here and there like a few mold lines which I would have removed if I had built this recently, but they are not too noticeable.

Other than that in hindsight I would have 100% taken this kit back to Forgeworld for it to be replaced as the mold was awful! The leg closest to the camera in this picture is a good example, i've made it look more like battle damage but that is actually how the leg was originally when I bought the kit. However when I first started with Forgeworld I assumed this was relatively normal for their models so just left it! Fool! ;P

So that is why with this contemptor I went for more battle damage by using a sponge to apply the Runefang Steel. On this photo you can see i've used a silver transfer for the leg and an Iron Hands symbol on the shoulder. The light and the shine of the Runefang makes it hard to see so i've taken a better picture below. 

Regarding transfers I used the new sheet which Forgeworld has brought out recently. I do fully recommend using these as they as so much nicer to use and sit alot closer to the model with barely any edge visible on them. I will talk about how i've been applying these transfers in my next post, but i'm pretty happy with the result. I also may add a number to the right shoulder in the future when I have finished the other contemptors I have planned.

Although one thing I will say is that i've sponged a very small amount of black and silver onto to the transfers just to help them blend in a little!

So I hope you all like it, I will have another completed character to show you on my next post followed by more Iron Hands now that I'm up to speed on applying transfers thanks to Drake and Kaelo! 

Thanks again for reading,

Aveinus Kaane

Sons of Horus First Company Update 7

Hello all!

This week I thought I would share with you my First Company as it stands currently. I have now fully completed around 1750 points worth of this army!

Abaddon and Cordactus 

I am now working hard on getting 20 Reavers completed. I have added the red to all of them and I am half way through completing the silvers. All being well I should be able to have these completed by the end of this week. 

With the reds done:

With the silvers done:

All 20:

Isaac Cordactus 

In update number 5 I showed off my chaplain, Isaac Cordactus, for the first time and ask for some ideas regarding rules for him. Thank you to all of you that made suggestions! There were many great ideas and I now have a more finalised version of what they may look like. I thought it would be great to get your feedback on what you think of the rules. 

First Chaplain of the Sons of Horus 1st Company

WS 6   BS 4   S 4   T 4   W 3   A 4   I 5   LD 10   Sv 2+

Wargear:
Crozius arcanum (Power maul)
Power fist
Bolt pistol
Artificer armour
Iron halo
Frag and krak grenades 

Special rules:
Legions Astartes (Sons of Horus)
Independent character
Zealot
Outflank
Assassins eye

Potential rule version 1:
Kill for the living, kill for the dead:
Cordactus leads his brother Reavers into battle with a level of zeal and viciousness far above all others. His presence on the field of battle inspires his brothers to fight harder. He leads charges of deadly affect and as he meets his foes his mighty crozius swings in an vicious arc into any unfortunate enemies standing in his way.

Cordactus can only join Reavers Attack squads. He grants his unit the Hammer of wrath special rule and he himself gets D3 Hammer of wrath hits using the profile of his Crozius Arcanum (power maul). He and his unit also gain the furious charge special rule.

Potential rule version 2:

Cordactus can only join Reavers Attack squads. He grants his unit the Hammer of wrath special rule and he himself gets D3 Hammer of wrath hits using the profile of his Crozius Arcanum (Power maul).  Due to his inspiring presence, all Reaver squads within 12" of Cordactus benefit from his Zealot rule. Additionally his unit can make use of the Zealot rule in every turn of combat rather than just the first. 

Finding the right balance between being a fluffy character and not just overpowered is difficult! What do you think? 

Darien