Cerastus Knight Atropos - Painted

Greetings all! Sorry posts have been a bit few and far between, I've been working from home these last few months and it's been a bit disruptive for my blogging schedule. I haven't been idle on the hobby front though. I used the time to break out my Cerastus Knight Atropos and get her painted.

Hazardous!

The Atropos is my favourite pattern of Imperial Knight so I pulled out all the stops to try and do the model justice. I tried really hard with the hazard chevrons and the checkerboard and overall I'm really pleased with the way she turned out.

Some tasty transfers too.

The kit itself was delightful, absolutely festooned with quirky Mechanicum details. Anyone who's handled one knows that the Cerastus kits are immensely poseable and I tried to get some dynamism into mine without going too crazy.

Profile shot.

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will be familiar with the green and beige scheme common to my knights and adeptus mechanicus. I've used the same scheme here and I've tried to add some more interest with the patterned panels and transfers. I tried to make the base interesting too by adding a small piece of terrain and some rocky debris.

Detail of the base.

I'm really thrilled to have added the Atropos to my collection. I've had the kit for a couple of years but was put off from attempting it because I wanted to do it justice. Now that it's complete I'm pretty damn happy with the finished product.

Right side.

As far as the tabletop goes, 9th edition is looming and we are supposed to be getting revamped rules for all Forgeworld models. I'm not sure what this will mean for the Atropos, but even if her rules are rubbish I'll still love her.

Hopefully I will be doing another post shortly showing off some of the other things I've been painting while at home. Come back soon and check it out!

Painting Tyranids in lockdown

Sorry for the shortage of updates. Like everybody else I've been stuck at home, unfortunately for me that has meant a lack of internet connection. However I'm back online and have a bunch of newly painted stuff to show off. First up, the Tyranids I've been painting over the last few weeks.

A scythed Hierodule, kind of a classic model.

First up is this scythed Hierodule. I've always thought the Hierodule models were a bit old hat, but having one in hand I have to say that the sculpt has really held up to the test of time. She's a lovely thing and I'm pleased to have one as part of the swarm. I may even look at adding a barbed Hierodule at a later date.

Ok, she's a little goofy, but I still like her.

In terms of painting, all of these were done using the usual quick paint scheme for my Tyranids. I've been painting them this way for twelve years and although the scheme has undergone some refinement, it's still broadly the same.

Next up we have another classic Forgeworld sculpt, the Hive Tyrant.

Getting some 'Alien' vibes off this one.

It was really nice to get this one done as it's a bit of a classic. As you can see I changed out all the weapons, mostly because I thought it looked cooler with the Deathspitter/Bonesword loadout. It's not the most competitive thing on the planet, but rule of cool wins out every time.

Why stick with one Hive Tyrant when you can have two? I also painted myself a Swarmlord!

Bonesabres are cool.

I've said it before, I'm not really a fan of Tyranid special characters but as the swarm cruised past the 6000 point mark I thought it was about time I added The Swarmlord to the mix. It helps that I like the model but I doubt I will field him much.

Apparently I love painting Tyranid HQ choices, so I went and added a pair of Neurothropes too.

One of the two in question.

Then I felt bad, so I had to paint up a termagant brood.

Spiny spinegaunts!

I know spinegaunts are basically rubbish but I like the way they look and I had a bunch of them hanging about. I'm pleased with the finished brood and I predict they will see a lot of tabletop time, even if they spend most of it dying in droves.

Once I'd done all of that lot (and a few other bits) I got all giddy and decided to get the entire swarm out for some photos. Unfortunately they were a bit difficult to photograph but I think the overall impression is nice.

The Great Devourer hungers.

After this was taken I even added a handful of additional models which had come out of storage while I was rummaging.

Some of the zoomed in shots are a little better.

So it seems this lockdown business has been really good for bashing my painting backlog. I've also done some more Custodes which I hope to share soon.

Monster March - Adeptus Custodes Contemptor Achillus Dreadnought - Week 3

Sorry for the slightly delayed update, I wasn't able to post over the weekend, so this is going up on Monday. Still, it was a weekend of excellent progress as I'm sure you will agree!

Behold! The finished Dreadnought.

Somehow, I've managed to finish painting this beast in about two weeks. That's got to be some kind of personal best. Not only that, but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out!

I particularly like the eye lenses.

As you can see, I've followed the same colour scheme as my Vertus Praetors, using purple for some of the armour panels and green for the weapons etc. The sculpted base allowed me to get a bit more green into the model with the small elements of foliage.

Got a bit freehandy with the shoulder pad.

I tried to push myself with the freehand on the shoulder pad. It was only after I had painted it that I realised Voldus is a Grey Knights character. Doh! Oh well, it's probably am pretty common Imperial name right?? Anyway, I was so happy with the way it looked that I didn't want to go back and change it.

Shows the raised areas of the base a bit better.

Thus my Monster March challenge is concluded. But wait, there's two weeks left to go! Perhaps it's time for a little stretch goal.

How about another Dreadnought??

Inspired by my own work on the Contemptor Achillus, I decided to dig out this Telemon Dreadnought and get it built. It still needs a touch of green stuff and undercoat before I can begin painting. Also, trying to do something this big in two weeks is certainly a challenge; but even if I just get a few basecoats on it I'll still be happy.

I'm finding Monster March this year to be particularly inspiring. The other participants are putting in some amazing work and Swordmaster is doing a brilliant job showcasing it over at Path of an Outcast. Keep the momentum going everyone!

That's all for now, come back next week to see if I've managed to make a dent in my second entry this month.

Monster March - Adeptus Custodes Contemptor Achillus Dreadnought - Week 2

Here we are approaching the end of the first week of Monster March. I've been working steadily on my Contemptor Achillus and it's coming along really well.

A bit messy at this stage, but plenty of colours on there.

As you can see from the above, I've got a lot of the basecoats down and started highlighting and detailing the lower half of the model. I managed a bit of work on the left arm last night too and I think things are looking good for only one week in to the challenge.

I'm reasonably happy with the pose.

As far as the model itself is concerned, I was tempted to go for a more complex pose than the one I eventually chose. However, when I considered that this will be a gaming piece, I decided that a simpler pose will be less prone to breakages along the way. Perhaps if I ever get a second Achillus I will be more adventurous with it.

The left leg has had the most work so far.

So that's where things stand at the end of the first week. If I can carry on at this rate then I should have no trouble completing the challenge. That of course, opens up the possibility of a stretch goal.......but we'll see how things progress over the coming days. As usual you can check out my first post of the challenge here.

Tune in next week to see if I've maintained progress, who knows, I might have a second model to announce!

Old Stuff Day 2020

Not a tradition I've been part of previously, but I love the Warhammer 39,999 blog and Old Stuff Day is something he started ages ago. This year I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon too.

Classic blog stuff.

So here's one of my own posts from 2017 when I built an Eldar (Aeldari??) Phantom Titan in a day.

http://berserkerbladeblog.blogspot.com/2017/03/titan-in-day-how-to-build-eldar-phantom.html

I love messing about with big resin kits so this was a heck of a good time for me. It's nice to have a post about it on the blog too so I can go back and enjoy it again.

I'm also going to share a battle report from Tabletop Apocalypse when my Tyranids took on his Steel Legion back in 2018. It was a brilliant game and it's a great write up too so you should go and read it now:

http://tabletopapocalypse.blogspot.com/2018/07/battle-report-steel-legion-vs-tyranids.html

Monster March - Adeptus Custodes Contemptor Achillus Dreadnought - Week 1

With Squaduary just finished it's time to dive headfirst into Monster March! If you're unaware, Monster March is an annual painting challenge hosted by Swordmaster over at Path of an Outcast. The purpose being for participants to build and paint a suitably large model in the month of March.

I've participated in Monster March since 2017 and it's probably my favourite of the blogger painting challenges. It really gives me the incentive to turn out a big impressive model for one of my armies. You can read my previous posts here.

This year I'll be continuing the theme of Squaduary by growing my Adeptus Custodes army still further with the addition of a Contemptor Achillus Dreadnought.

The Forgeworld example. Isn't it pretty?

The Achillus isn't as large as some models I've attempted in previous years but it's still an imposing and gorgeous centrepiece for the army. If I somehow manage to make excellent progress and finish early, then perhaps I'll attempt a second model within the month.

I've made a rough start building the model.

I started building the model last night and have managed to get the legs and body together so far. The rear requires a tiny bit of green stuff where a couple of the panels don't align perfectly, but otherwise the model is delightful. I'm really looking forward to having a go at posing the arms as they appear to be superbly articulated.

I've also exchanged the standard 60mm base out for a scenic base from Scibor miniatures. Hopefully it will remain in keeping with the rest of my Custodes whilst being suitably grandiose as befits such an amazing model.

Check back next week to see if painting has commenced!

Squaduary 2020 - Adeptus Custodes Vertus Praetors - Complete

So the end of the month looms large and with it, the end of Squaduary 2020. I'm happy to report that I finished my squadron of three Vertus Praetors for my Adeptus Custodes force.

The squad, in all their shiny glory.

It's very cool to have a squad of these guys painted up and it really feels like my little Custodes army is off to a flying (pun intended) start.

Those big lances make them kind of hard to photograph.

Unfortunately my work rate slowed in the last week of the month. I was feeling a bit burnt out and had a cold which meant painting was starting to feel like a chore. Nevertheless, I managed to push through and get the squad finished within the month.

The guy in the middle was the most arduous to paint.

As I've said before, I'm thrilled with the way these have turned out. The colours are working well together and I've been able to complete them in a timely fashion. I can't wait to get stuck into my next challenge for Monster March which should be posted up on the blog shortly. Keep your eyes peeled for that one!

Now to see how they fare on the battlefield!

All that remains is to say thanks to Rory at Stepping Between Games for running Squaduary again this year. I hope you all enjoyed my contributions, if you'd like to read my previous posts you can find them here and here.