DreadTober 2025 - To DONE!

 

DreadTober has come to an end (*sniff*) and it's time to reveal the my completed project. I painted a Dark Angels 1st Company Dreadnought, a member of the Deathwing, I'm pleased with the outcome after taking some time off from painting to build lost of stuff over the summer.

I went with a fairly straight forward sarcophagus. I want to put something on the scroll, but I didn't make a decision before the time was up. I'll wait for some future inspiration to give me a name for this entombed hero. 

I used my usual red armor for the weapons and added some soot and heat damage where applicable (in my naive imagination, at least).

I did manage to remember to paint the Mechanicum icon on the engine, and added a purity seal to the rear of the armor to bring the Emperor's blessing to the power plant.

This warrior bears veteran honors and bears the 1st legion numeral. I got through weapon and armor highlights. I tried a medium mix I use for making shades/washes to seal weathering powder on the base and it seems to have clumped up as white "snow" patches for lack of a better word?  I'll probably for back and try to reactivate that somehow.  But as it stands, maybe it is ash and not snow?? It's odd...not terrible, but odd. 

I'm still adding some water effects to the pool, but here is how it stands at the end of the challenge.  The crater was deep enough, I guess, that I should have added the water effects more slowly in thinner layers, but I only left two days to complete that part and with drying time I needed more.  It's fine, but the "water" kept sinking in after drying so I've been adding layers to fill the crater. It will be fine in the end - and my be fine since I added a bit more just after taking these photos. But to be fair to the challenge this is where things left off at just before midnight on the 31st of October.  I was down to the wire on this one! SO much so that the picture were actually not taken until 11/2, when I finally made time for them and this post.

Another DreadTober in the books. Special thanks to Marc van Holst for hosting again this year.  Definitely head over to the DreadTober blog to see all the great work there. I'll end with a big seal o' DONE fo rthis project.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!!

DreadTober 2025 - Week 3

 

Greetings and welcome back!

DreadTober is drawing to a close and I have been way of my blogging game. But not so with the painting progress. This dreadnought is very close to done.  The legs are glued to the base and the arms are glued to the body.  The torso is left free for now to assist with the remaining painting.

I'm working on the highlights and cleanup now, to push this project over the finish line.

Oops, still need to paint the Opus Machina on the power plant.

As always, I had great fun with the transfers.  I would like to add more, but decided to cool it for now.

 

I wanted to strike a balance with veteran honors and typical Deathwing iconography. Honestly though, I think this veteran needs more honors to warrant the blessing of this armor.

I'm pretty close to the finish line here.  There are lots of highlights to go, and a few details to complete.  but taken in all the progress has shaped up nicely against my vision for the project.

I'm about ready to glue the torso on and lock in the final arm positioning.  Once the paintwork is completed, I'll matte varnish the whole thing, the try my hand at filling the small crater with water effects such the the skull appears to sit in a pool of water. It's just something different for my dreadnought bases.

Anyway, check back next week to see the final results. I'm confident that I'll complete this project by the end of All Hallow's Eve... 

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

 

DreadTober 2025 - Week 2

 This week I worked on highlighting the armor using dry brushing.  I then needed to clean up adjacent red and metals colors that were affected by my otherwise fastidious dry brushing technique. 😂 The I worked on the Adeptus Astartes symbol on the front armor a bit.  Not a lot of change over all, but the model definitely is settling into it's Deathwing role. Week three will have a log of cleanup. highlights to the red and metals, and transfers.

Maybe during week three I'll glue down the torso and arms - however that will wait for week four if I don't feel I have enough access on the bits that become more obscured once things are glued down. 

 Best wishes for the other DreadTober projects out there. 

Cheers and Happy Gaming! 

DreadTober 2025 - Week 1

 

Ack!  I missed an update deadline. Well it's not because I haven't been busy with my project.  Everything started out well with a successful build setting things up nicely. The I primed the model and the base, and that's where things went sideways.

 The base and twin-linked stubber went fine.  But I decided to use a satin finish rattle can that I had for the body of the dreadnought.  I liked the color for a Deathwing base and figured, what the heck. A satin finish might lend itself to shading. Welllll...that maybe.  But I wasn't thinking about managing touch ups and the like where I would not have the same base color to work with....and the finish was more than a little hydrophobic as it turned out. This last issue made base coating more than a little time consuming as I needed many thin layers to ultimately lay down a sufficient coat of any base colors.

Undaunted (OK, I was pretty well daunted, to be honest), I set about filling in a black base coat for the metals, and then dry-brushing that with a dark silver from the Pro Acryl line. This was irritating enough that I paused to complete...the base.  I don't think I have ever completed a base in the first week of a project.  but here it is...

Given the campaign against Ork Waaaghs on Piscina IV and V, Almace and the Tharsis Reach forge world, I thought is would be fun to include this Orc skull.  If all goes well, it will be resting in a pool of water when all is said and done. But I can't add the water effects until final weathering powders are applied and varnishing is done.

Ok, pissing and moaning done, I got back to the dread proper and painstakingly painted red on the various weapon casings, to match my force. This was really great fun over the satin finish I must say (NOT!).  Much cursing and ranting followed, but I remained on task.

As we often say in the hobby, "Trust the Process!".  And I did.  Things here look proper messy, but the dreadnought is starting to take shape. From here I finally painted a base coat over the armor. 

And this is where things stood by the end of the week. Tears were shed, teeth we gnashed, but in the end this Deathwing dreadnought has taken shape.  Week two will no doubt go more smoothly as I'm back to the matte finishes and color palate that I am familiar with.  For more on that, please check out the Dark Angels Paint Recipe tab above.  I am using the Pro Acryl colors on this project.

Happy DreadTober to my fellow challengers.  Sorry to miss the week two update, but it was great to see all the projects coming along so nicely.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!!

 

DreadTober 2025 Kickoff!

 

Hello and welcome to DreadTober 2025! We're ten years in, I guess, and there's going to be more DREADful projects this year.  Make a point of hitting the DreadTober link to see more about this year's projects as the month progresses. DreadTober continues to be my favorite community challenge of the year, bar none.

This year, I will be painting up a Dark Angels Brutalis dreadnought.  This veteran of the chapter served in the 1st company before taking grievous wounds on the battlefield.  Such was the valor of his deeds that  Belial himself bade he be honored with interment in a dreadnought chassis.

 

This is the third in a series of Space Marine dreadnoughts based on the modern Redemptor pattern. It's a close combat beast and should serve well among the terminators of the Deathwing as they roam the galaxy bringing the Fallen to heel.

A few past projects from 262krieg

Check back weekly to see progress on this project and do make time for the DreadTober site itself.  The challenge never disappoints! I look forward to closing out the challenge with a new family photo for the Decade of Dreads. 

Cheers and Happy Gaming! 

On the Workbench [May] - Marines and stuff...

 

Hello and welcome back! While puttering away on the Death Korps of Krieg heavy weapon squad, I have been assembling various other nice-to-haves for my 40K Dark Angels collection.  Here we have a Gladiator Valiant tank.

It was just a stock build with some Dark Angels bling added on, but will paint up nice. Next I added five more assault intercessors with jump packs to bring an initial squad of five to full strength.

Then out of the blue I chose to assembled the 'Corsair Voidscarred' kill team. You just never know when those evil Xenos are going to make an appearance...

All joking aside though, these are fantastic Aeldari models. Very characterful models, I thought.  I mounted mine on 32mm Sector Mechanicus bases I had in the bin.  Larger than the 25mm bases they come with, but more interesting (and stable) for kill team games.

Not done with the building itch, I also put together an Acastus Knight Porphyrion I picked up on eBay by mistake (I can't count apparently...). And then two Acastus Knights Asterius. The heat sinks (?!) are left off the weapons for future painting.

I have these knights in resin already in my Adeptus Titanicus collection.  However after some thought I felt it might be nice to have a couple for Legions Imperialis to support the Mechanicum. And of course that meant I needed some Cerastus Knights Atrapos.

The Questoris Knights box is still awaiting assembly to fill out the household. Though I haven't decided just what household that will be. It will likely be something other than House Taranis which I chose for my Adeptus Titanicus collection (not that I've put paint on any but a couple Questoris knights there yet...). It will be nice to have a different paint scheme to work on for the experience.

So anyway, that's what I've been working on from late April into May while not painting. I very much enjoy the process of snipping, cleaning and assembling the models - probably more than painting them if I'm being honest.  I'm definitely more deliberate these days as to what I assemble, but it's still hard to keep up. :)

For me, the goal is to hobby in general, not arrive at any specific set of painted miniatures.  Assembly for me is every bit as important as the painting, Maybe because I grew up with loads of unpainted green plastic army men?? At least I matured past lighting them on fire with loads of plastic cement and detonating them with firecrackers. The flamer dudes always got the upper hand in my games as a kid...
 

Cheers and Happy Gaming!!

On the Workbench [ March] - Dark Angels Assault Intercessors w/Jump Packs

 

Hello and welcome back!  Wow, how time flies.  I let posting get away from me for a bit, but no worries.  We're building and painting as always here at 262Krieg. Today I'm sharing some Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs for the Dark Angels chapter.  Only minor customization here with Dark Angles chapter shoulders, fetishes, and hooded heads.  Oh, I also used a spare bionic plasma pistol arm for the squad Sergeant.

 As with many hobbyists, the Primaris range of space marines didn't sit well with me at first. However, I have to say that since embracing the range, I have very much enjoy building and painting the Primaris models.  These intercessors are no different.  The poses take some getting used to here, but I do like the motion and energy in each model.  Above, the squad Sergeant twists mid-jump to fire a blast of plasma at an unseen foe.

Next, a squad veteran takes a second plasma shot. I figure carrying plasma weapons is an honor amongst the assault intercessors bestowed only on those who earn it. As such, this veteran and the squad Sergeant bear distinct helmets under their hoods that stand apart from the standard issue.

I love all the war gear on these models.  Lots of pouches and grenades ready for the assault.

After the fact, I recognized that these probably weren't the best models to put hoods on.  You can imagine the hoods never staying put with the force of the jumps.  It does allow this small squad to stand out amongst the rest of the chapter where I typically do not use hoods for the rank and file.  Again, I imagine jump packs to be special issue and handed out only to those who earn the right.

Like any true assault warrior, drop the shoulder and charge!

It's a small squad, but very fun to put together.  Perhaps I'll bulk them out to full strength at some point.  Regardless, they add some more interest and tactical flexibility to my 5th Company Dark Angels. It's great to see the jump packs finally make it to the Primaris line. And I like that they incorporated the flight stabilizers seen first on the Reivers.

So there is my small building project for late March.  I continue to putter away on the Death Korps of Krieg heavy weapons, so more on that project soon. I've taken a much more laid back approach to the hobby recently which has lowered productivity somewhat.  But I'm still happily hobbying for a bit most nights.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

On the Workbench [January] - Pt. 2 Inner Circle Companions

 

Greetings and welcome back!  I don't believe I ever posted the build of the three Dark Angels Inner Circle Companions that came in the launch box with Lion'el Jonson. Well, that was three models and a full squad can be six.  That's well and good, and I'd probably have stayed with the three models, except that the kit builds two variants of each model.  So, the collector in me was nonplussed that I had only half the available variants.

So I had the occasion to fix that yesterday, as I made a trip to meet a friend at a local FLGS that opened last year in the area. I did not intend to pick up anything as regular reader may have become aware that I am fully stocked on plastic soldiers - most in bad need of some paint. However, one does wish to support the local economy AND the typically struggling FLGSs.  So I HAD to pick up a box of the Inner Circle Companions to complete the collection.  The three once missing poses are shown above.

These models are just fantastic - particularly if you find yourself with a multi-decade love for the faction as I do. So, 'nuff said on that.  I will look forward to putting paint on this squad at some point. I may take that on sooner rather than later to get back into shape for painting Asmodai, Belial and the Lion. Say what you will about crossing the rubicon, but it sure is great to finally have decent sculpts and scale models for the faction.

And I haven't stopped painting.  Above are a set of the latest tiny Sicaran variants for Legions Imperialis.  I'll hopefully have something further along to share by the end of the week. It's still a pleasure to put colors on these tiny tanks.

What's on your workbench?

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

On the Workbench [January] - Dark Angels Desolation Squad

 

 Greetings and welcome back.

While continuing my painting break, I have continued to look at my collection and choose a few kits to build.  I finished the launch box of Mechanicum for Legions Imperialis and so have a box and a half of those models assembled and ready for paint one day.  I have some of the Dark Mechanicum models now too, but they are still in boxes while I patiently await the Battle Foam trays. I got email that they were available, but the new trays are absent from the sight...so not sure what's up there.  I assume they'll be available very soon.

So I decided to put this Desolation squad together to one dayget painted up for my Dark ANgels collection.  Now, 40K is totally over the top in terms of larger than life stuff, right?  So I shouldn't be surprised here, but these fellas look very, very odd.  I've had just about given up on building them.  However, after building the equally odd Primaris Invictor Tactical Warsuit, which I had also given up on, I decided I might as well go all in. I mean, I went to the trouble of collecting the models so...?

Anyway, here they are. Everything looks better in Dark Angels green and these models are starting to grow on me. I especially enjoy the sergeant's pose.  The models were upgraded with Dark Angels fetishes and shoulder pads, and the Sergeant got a helmet form the Dark Angels accessory sprue as well.

I'm not sure when they'll get paint on them, so for now they go in the bin with the rest of the unpainted stuff. I need to go back to the Lion and I'd love to finish up some more Bladeguard and the new Deathwing Knights and Inner Circle Companions. So this squad has a ways to go before it rises up the priority list.

So that's that for recent builds.  I might go back to painting tiny First Legion stuff for Legions Imperialis. I'm still sorting numbness and some weakness in painty hand and need something straight forward without a lot of fine detail...maybe tiny stuff seems ironic based on that.  However, the vehicles at least are mostly sprayed and dry-brushed.  The tracks, weapons, and other minor details are small areas and I don't think they'll pose too many challenges.  I guess I'll soon see. 

I hope your projects are going well as we cut unto the New Year. I've been enjoying some great hobby content out there.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Lion'el Jonson WIP - The beginning

 

Greetings!

Not a lot to share today, other than evidence that I have embarked on a project to paint up the Primarch of the Dark Angels this month. So far, I have just started by layering on a few base coats to get started and block out the overall look.  I'm referring to the box art here, but painting with Pro Acryl paints from Monument Hobbies.

I started things off with a base coat of flat black from a rattle can.  I'm having issues using the air brush with any decent primer.  Just continues to clog and be generally fussy.  I should probably accept that I can prime with other paints and not get hung up on using a primer.  but OK, I'm hung up on that. 😁 And I recognize that while there can be issues, this is largely user error and something I can continue to work on.

I fear it's going to be slow going, but we'll see. I've been trying to correct and heal up a pinched/impacted ulnar nerve in my right shoulder/arm. It's been a minor annoyance for six months or so while I've sought physical therapy and chiropractic help. But last week I moved into a phase where I have reduced strength in my hand - which happens to be my dominant and most painty hand.  So that's put a damper on things in the short term.

So more appts for me this week and we'll see where I get. Blocking in the big colors here has not been too hard. But I'm not sure I'll have the dexterity for fine work. If it becomes an issue, I'll put this aside and build more tiny Mechanicum - assuming I can still manage the clippers.😂 It is what it is and I've plenty of projects here to work on!

Stay safe, stay healthy.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

On the Workbench [December] - The Lion and the Mechanicum

 

Well, setting up for December, I put together The Lion. Lots of sub assemblies so I can get at everything. I feel like I've done enough on the dark Angels for 40K that they need their Primarch now that he is back among the living.

In addition, I have built a small Machanicum force from eBay while I waited for my pre-order from a local game store to arrive. I would have waited for the pre-order, but experience with the rules says I need a few bits more than the basic box to make a viable force...for all the games I likely won't play since I have not opponents currently...no worries though.  Have models will find gamers!

At the time of publishing this article, I have the pre-order.  So there will be plenty more Mechanicum forces to come. It will take some time to assemble them though.  Wow, are some of the models fiddly!! I mean at this point, I've been assembling various scale GW models since the 90's..and yes, they are fiddly. :)

Stay tuned for some Primarch goodness... I need to get paint on The Lion before the new year! Merry Xmas!!

Cheers and happy Gaming!

Deathwing Terminator Squad 2 - TO DONE

 

Deathwing in the House!

 

Greetings and welcome back! At long last, I am posting the final pics of my second Deathwing squad project (begun in September for those keeping track...). The first squad was a five member trial. Then I was on to this full ten marine squad. I love how they came out!  Sure, the perfectionist in me is yelling about all the lost opportunity here. Honestly I spend FAR to much time browsing the projects of others on Instagram, not to mention all of your fabulous blogs. But I'm honestly happy to call this squad done so I can move on to other projects.

So that's TO DONE.  Here's the happy Deathwing family in the display case with some HQ at the rear...

At some point I need to get things out of the case for a better photo shoot...but no time now, must build and paint MOAR!! 😂 Scroll down after the break if you want to see all the gory details on these terminators.  I have to hand it to GW.  These updated sculpts are great and were a joy to paint. Somewhere down in the basement, tucked away in their foamy beds, decades of first borne terminators weep and cry themselves to sleep...  

Cheers and Happy Gaming!!