New Plastic Contemptor Dreadnought Kit for 30k

Contemptor Dreadnought, ready to make a stand on Terra with the VII Legion Astartes.

Back with another "catch up" post, and back with more 30k painting to share. Here we have a Contemptor Dreadnought, painted in the black and yellow colours of the VII Legion Astartes, the Imperial Fists. This is a multi-part plastic model which came with the new "Age of Darkness" box set for GW's Horus Heresy setting.

"Net zero compliant" power pack on the rear of the model.

I would expect anyone taking the time to view this post beyond a quick scan is already familiar with the idea of the dreadnought armour from GW's 30k/40k setting. These are sort of "enhanced suits" of great combat power, but it's just that the pilot is, well, in there forever - a severely wounded marine, somehow still alive, but no longer able to operate in his "regular" armour. If the apothecaries don't put him out of his misery, the tech marines will simply "install" him into one of the Legion's dreadnoughts, and he can go on fighting for his Primarch and his Emperor or Warmaster...

I love the OTT look of the twin auto-cannons, probably one of my favourite weapon options, but there are so, so many choices for guns - very 30k!

The Contemptor Dreanoughts were a fun stand out feature of the early 30k efforts from Forge World. The dreadnought models of the 40k setting had become these really weird walking boxes...they had a certain charm, I guess...but these Contemptors were much, much better looking IMO. They were also a shout-out to the "Epic" roots of the 30k game (along with the Rapiers, the "Deimos" pattern vehicles, etc). The Contemptor sculpts look much more like what they are nominally supposed to be - a Space Marine stuck inside even bigger combat armour, shooting even bigger guns and punching enemies with even bigger power fists.

These models were always resin, and came with the joys and (mostly) frustrations of hobbying with Forge World resin. GW did release a plastic version of the Contemptor with the "Betrayal at Calth" box set, but that model was a cut-rate two piece plastic kit, a pretty weak effort by GW. 

If the job calls for shooting AND punching stuff, the Contemptor is ready for work!

With the advent of the "Age of Darkness" box set, 30k geeks now have access to a true, proper multi-part plastic Contemptor kit, and wow, is it a beauty! It goes together very nicely, without too much fuss, and as an added bonus it is possible, without too much trouble, to magnetize the weapon mounts! This opens your collection the full spectrum of bonkers 30k weapons which can be used to equip this thing! Adding the magnets might seem fiddly, but trust me: if I can manage it, anyone can, and it is worth it in the end - sure, you want autocannons or lascannons or whatever....but you also want to try out the conversion beamer in at least ONE game, right?

Here the twin-lascannons have been swapped on to the weapon arm. You also get twin multi-meltas or twin heavy bolters as weapon options in the "Age of Darkness" box, and separate frames are available which contain beamers, volkite weapons etc.

Are there downsides? Maybe a couple, at most. The building sequence makes sub-assembly very, very hard, and this, in turn, can create some challenges when painting the model, especially the "helmet". If you want to paint the helmet/head separately, then you basically cannot assemble the torso very much at all. It would have been better for the "neck" to be one separate piece - but that is picking the flyshit out of pepper. This is an annoying, but not insurmountable, and in the end, overall, this is a HUGE improvement over the resign models and pole-up-its-ass plastic kit from the Calth box. It is just a great kit, 30k fans will really enjoy it!

This brings me to the only other "criticism" I might have of this kit - and it is not really about the kit itself, rather, the fact that you probably already have one or two (or maybe a lot more) of these Conetmptor models in your collection already, and as such, the advent of this kit is sadly late and perhaps a touch pointless. That said, for new entrants to 30k, or the deep hard core nut cases like me, well...this is still just great! Enjoy building and painting it!

Last stand, anyone?

I mean, I think Contemptor Dreadnoughts are sort of a must-have in any 30k collection, just because they look cool, the design tie back to the good old days etc. Even better, with the new "Age of Darkness" edition of the rules, they are also a lot more impressive in terms of their combat power on the table - now that they take "wounds" instead of vehicle-style hits, they tend to last longer in the game, which is great, much more cinematic, and gives a game performance that feels a lot closer to the "fluff" in the Black Library novels. No doubt this fellow will help the doomed defence of the VII Legion last that little bit longer atop the Walls of Terra.

Forge World continues, for now at least, to sell the Legion-specific Contemptor Dreanought hulls. Certainly, you could combine one of those with the plastic weapons if you wished - that might be something I end up attempting down the road - but these plastic kits are lovely, and it would be just as nice (and cheaper) to customize the hulls using 3D-printed stuff from third party suppliers out there.

That's all for now - thanks for visiting and for reading, and watch this space for more painting soon! 

Contemptor Twins

Here are two Alpha Legion Contemptor Dreadnoughts I completed this week. The Contemptor Dreadnought is a must for any 30k army. It's one of those iconic units that immediately separates a 30k army from a 40k one. This is especially true when they are the legion specific models designed by Forgeworld. I got two of the legion specific dreadnoughts for the Alpha Legion a while ago and finally finished them this week. No transfers were required as they are already covered in chapter icons. I gave them the usual paint job, but painted the hydra symbols on the chest with a different wash. They are also armed differently. One is armed for close combat with a chainfist / meltagun and a multi-melta. The second is armed with dual Kheres Assault Cannons! I wanted him posed like he's letting loose with both cannons while bracing himself from the recoil. I doubt that would be necessary giving what one of these things must weigh, but I imagine the space marine pilot inside retains some of the old behaviours and habits he had in his mortal life.

Posing a Contemptor is itself an artform. The various components that make up the foot, lower leg, upper leg and hips offer a variety of positions, but also tend to produce a stance that is either too narrow (looking like it's prancing) or they're sticking one leg forward in an odd looking swagger. These are by far the best poses I have ever built for the contemptor and I have been unable to achieved similar results before or after these guys. Thanks for visiting.

Imperial Fist - Dreadnought Escalation

No fancy photo booth here so you'll have to suffer through these photos. I managed to complete 3 Dreadnoughts for the Fist. First up is a leviathan with Grav-Flux Bombard and siege drill.

A Contemptor with Plasma Cannon followed by a Contemptor Mortis with Lascannons.

I started these during the summer, but neglected completing them in favor of some mini projects, so they do not count towards the Painting Challenge. I decided to get them done for the mega game today. The paint is still curing so their demise on the table should be all but guaranteed.

Imperial Fist Terminators and Contemptor

Another couple of units completed including a few Elite options and a badly needed HQ for the Fists. The Fists first outing wasn't as brutal as I thought it would be. They suffered the brunt of the Iron Warriors heavy firepower, but they managed to keep them occupied until the end of the battle.

 

All from the Calth box I believe.

 

I'll use this figure as my HQ choice for now. I have a proper HQ unit assembled, but not primed.

 

The first of 3 Contemptor's with Forgeworld decals.

 

Up next is a Sicaran tank and Proteus Land Raider.

Contempt(or) for Prospero

Let's hug!  A Contemptor class Dreadnought for the VI Legion in 30k

More random painting production from my 30k interest/obsession.  This is a plastic Contemptor Dreadnought painted in the colours of the VI Legion, the Space Wolves. This is a plastic model from the "Betrayal at Calth" box game, but given the Legion colours, it will instead be participating in some "Burning of Prospero" games instead :)

The "Burning of Prospero" game box does not come with any Dreadnoughts, but I got the notion from a White Dwarf article published around the same time they released the "Prospero" game. The article included stats and a scenario to include one of these bad-boys on the side of the Space Wolves. I really enjoyed painting the Space Wolves squad for the game, so I figured it would be fun to toss in a dreadnought for them as well.
 

Kheres-pattern cannon adheres to a core rule of any sci-fi genre - that rotary cannons are always, always cool!

It is armed with a Kheres-pattern assault cannon, a power fist and a little bolter.  Powered by the remnants of a mostly-fallen marine of the Vlka Fenryka, this machine will provide a nice all-around balance of fire support and extra heft for close assaults - the power fist being particularly useful for punching irritating opponents/structures directly in the face.

Power fist, all set to reach out and adjust some attitudes...

The only downside is the posing of the model itself.  GW can do so many things very, very well with plastic, but this kit is not really one of them.  It is set in such a way that basic alterations to the otherwise wooden posing require some modelling work - kinda dumb, and I don't see why that was necessary.   But whatever - it gets the job done!

Veteran Sergeant leads the way - "punch this thing next!"

I am enjoying the look of the grey and bronze on the Space Wolf stuff the more I see it...I had no notions of doing a VI Legion force of any size beyond the squad and character from the "Burning of Prospero" game, but who knows? Maybe I will return from the lake in the fall with a wide selection of loyalists in the grey armour of the VI Legion...

In the meantime, watch for more "Burning of Propsero" bits to appear shortly among some other ongoing 30k efforts...

New Contemptor Dreadnought for Sons of Horus

"Will you welcome the Warmaster?" Contemptor dreadnought for the XVI Legion

More fresh forces for the XVI Legion in this post.  This is a Contemptor-class dreadnought armour for the Sons of Horus.  Somewhere inside the machine is the near-death remnants of a Legion Marine, wounded seriously in action and deemed "worthy" of being permanently entombed in a powered and armoured walking machine. He gets to live on, fighting with his battle brothers through this big suit of power armour.

Heavy plasma gun - a very scary, all-purpose weapon useful for cooking loyalists to just the right consistency of heated vapour...

Life in a dreadnought likely sucks for the Marine inside (even though the fluff tends to portray them as these wise old veterans that somehow manage to hang out between battles). But it's great overall for the Sons of Horus as they benefit from having this fellow strutting around the battlefields of the 30th millenium, zapping enemies with a heavy plasma gun, dousing them with a flamer (inside the mit of the power fist) or just straight-up punching them to bits with a super-large power fist.

Dreadnoughts are a bread-and-butter support system for Space Marine forces, and the Legion marines are no different - save for their "Contemptor" variants are more powerful and perform better than the 40k variants.  Equipped with a heavy weapon, a close combat weapon and some decent armour, the dreadnoughts are very versatile in the battle, able to engage hard targets like vehicles or sweep away infantry.

View of the power plant etc on the rear - I suspect the carbon emissions are an issue...

Forge World has released Legion-specific sculpts of the Contemptor dreadnought hulls for just about every Space Marine Legion (or maybe all of them by now?) and this model is the hull for the Sons of Horus.  The XVI Legion as a group has some, er, "issues" ongoing *cough* and you can tell by the design of their Contemptor dreadnought - lots of skullz and spiky bitz seem to inform their "world view", I suppose a reflection of the grim future and in particular their home world of Cthonia, in which the principal economic activity appears to be murder.  No wonder they want to follow the Warmaster - they need some hope!

Anyway, back to the dreadnought, the original model had too many skullz for my taste, so I shaved quite a bit of that silliness away prior to painting.  In particular the pile of skullz hanging from chains between the legs, and the bunch strung along the left leg. It's still pretty spooky with those things removed, with spiky bitz on the legs, "hips" and torso, but at least there are no skulls hanging from chains on this particular model.

I quite like this version of the shoulder plate - and the big power fist is ready to smash things in the name of the Warmaster...

The skullz may be lame, but I quite like the XVI Legion iconography on the torso and shoulders, so overall it was worth the hassle.  I augmented the sculpted markings with just a few decals, including some of the weird geometric scribbling decals normally found on the Word Bearers, courtesy of a "Betrayal at Calth" decal set.  With the spiked features and ominous icons, he already appears to be on a bit of a dark path, but I think the designs add a pleasant little hint of additional corruption.

"Let's go for a walk...a walk of hope...that's right..."

This machine will join a "Contemptor Mortis" I painted last year to double up the dreadnought support available for the Sons of Horus. Looking forward to a Horus Heresy game soon for him to make his debut!  As a newly painted model, I'm sure he won't blow up on the first turn or anything like that... 

Sons of Horus 30k Contemptor Dreadnought

Contemptor Dreadnought from the 16th Legion

I've been painting a fair bit of WW2 stuff recently, but the Warmaster's stout lads in the 16th Legion need some reinforcements in order to take the fight properly to the dupes of the False Emperor. More vehicles, more firepower.  I hope this will help with the "more firepower" requirement - a Legion "Contemptor Mortis" Dreadnought, armed with a pair of Kheres-pattern Assault Cannons. The model is from Forge World.

The "Kheres Pattern" assault cannons - look cool, but they were a pain in the @ss to put together

Dreadnoughts are armoured battlesuits that support Space Marine units.  The dreadnoughts are "crewed", if you can call it that, by the physical remains of a badly wounded Space Marine.  Basically if you serve bravely in the Legion, and are terribly wounded, but still alive enough to be sort-of-saved, you are "honoured" by essentially being entombed into one of these armoured suits, so you can keep on fighting on behalf of the Legion.  Yay for you!

Besides, it's not like your average Space Marine is worrying about a defined benefit pension plan or anything...

Contemptor Dreadnought power system - NOT carbon neutral...

The average Dreadnought usually combines one heavy weapon on one "arm" with a suitably horrifying close combat weapon on the other, but this "Mortis" version is all about firepower, so sports two ranged weapons.  The Kheres pattern cannons are pretty nasty, and this fellow will be laying down fire support for the members of the 16th Legion as they work to destroy rival loyalist Space Marine Legions bring the Warmaster's light of liberation and tolerance to the galaxy.

Love the "Eye of Horus" logos sculpted right on to the models...spooky as heck

Forge World makes generic and legion-specific versions of these Dreadnought models. This model is obviously the Legion-specific make for the Sons of Horus.  On the plus side, I love the iconography and roman numerals sculpted right on the surface of the model - I am generally more and more addicted to the embossed and sculpted accessories Forge World offers for the different Space Marine Legions.

On the down side, the sculpt is a bit..."Chaos"-y for my tastes.  Now, you might say "well, duh, of course it is", and rightly so.  After all, in the narrative, Horus was tainted by Chaos, and so were the Legions that followed him a victim of an arrogant and uncaring Emperor.  It's subjective, but I loathe all the spikey bits, skullz and overly simplistic spooky stuff that adorns the Chaos stuff in the "current" 40k period.  In a bid to appear scary, the effect is instead almost self-parody, and you get laughable models like this. YMMV - you might love the current Chaos stuff, and more power to you if you do! But I remember a time, back when the Horus Heresy was played out through 6mm figures, when the Chaos side was subtle, and Horus and his Legions were more genuine rebels, at least in appearance if nothing else.

Detailed logos sculpted on to the front plates - Forge World does a dreadnought body like this for each major Legion, loyalist and traitor, profiled so far

In the current version of the Horus Heresy narrative that is obviously changing - in today's version, the Legions are already looking a bit "Chaos-y" - some more than others - and by the point they are landing for the assault on Holy Terra, they will probably all look as silly as this thing from the Word Bearers.  But I have to give the Forge World designers credit - they are straddling the line pretty well - the sculpt of Horus looks amazing, and ominous without being goofy (I expect another angry deamon version will be released at a later time...).

I christened this one "Issues" - I figured he was hurt in battle, and woke up entombed in an armoured suit with guns for arms - he would probably have issues

Anyway, all this to say, this Dreadnought model has about as many spikes, chains and skullz as I can tolerate.  It doesn't look too bad - just enough to be angry and ominous.  I have a second one of these still to paint, but I am going to shave a bunch of the spikes, chains and skulls off before I assemble it.

Dallas and I have been plotting a series of 30k games for some time - he's been adding reinforcements of his own.  We are hoping to start a series of linked games as soon as this week...stay tuned for details, and for more reinforcements!