Reinforcements for the XIII Legion: A Deredeo Dreadnought

Ready to bring the Emperor's Righteous Fury down upon the Traitors

I have finally finished my Ultramarines Deredeo Dreadnought.  First assembled Spring last year and primed and base coated Macragge Blue in the Summer, it has been sitting patiently in my Ultramarines' project box, whilst I worked on other units; a bit like my Legio Custodes, which have been primed and basecoated Retributor Armour ready for the Winter.  And of course, there is my box of tanks, primed and basecoated, to paint over the Winter (when the air is too cold and humid to use the spray cans) too.  And Winter is Coming!

Kratos the Destroyer

Dreadnoughts are always more enjoyable to paint than a tactical squad, and this Deredeo was no different.  I know the shape is not to everyone's tastes, but to me it looks great for what is meant to be a gun platform.  I would love to paint a Leviathan Siege Dreadnought, but I don't see what role it would fill in an army I would want to field.  I have been careful with the weathering, using only a little sponge "chipping" with a mixture of Eshin Grey and Abaddon Black; a Deredeo Dreadnought is not meant to be in the forefront of the hand to hand fighting, unlike perhaps a Leviathan.  The base is a converted resin base, where I have glued together sheets of plasticard (including one embossed with a tread plate pattern), and I think it has come up quite well in the end.  There aren't many suppliers of 80mm resin bases out there, especially in an industrial pattern, and I do like the weight of the resin bases, as well as the fact that I can easily glue a rubber steel circle on the bottom, so the miniature can sit in a box with a magnetic rubber floor.

The most satisfying part of this project was the blending I used: very thin coats of Kantor blue for more shaded regions of the miniature, and thin coats of Temple Guard Blue for the curves that would catch the light more.  Not too much: I don't like the model to look incredible from one angle, and a little odd from every other.  That's just a personal preference.

So Kratos the Destroyer should be coming to the Spear of Konor in the not too distant future.

What next?  My second Ultramarines' Contemptor?  Or my new Iron Warriors Praetor?  And of course, it is still terrain season, so I am busy working on my Sector Mechanicus scenery and even painting a couple of Zone Mortalis boards (the Beta Complex boards that I knew would be a pain to paint, which is why I didn't paint them last year).

A little rust here and there, and a few "chips" but I wasn't going for the "hero of a thousand battles" look