Interlude: Space Crusade Dreadnoughts

Just because. That's it, there's no other reasoning behind this side project. Looking for some other stuff I stumbled on the old Dreadnoughts from the Space Crusade expansion.

It's been a while, eh?

I'll save you the horror of  the original paintjob I did back in the day. Let's just settle that they were previously painted and they could benefit of a re-paint. I had nothing particular in mind, I simply found them in a box, had a nostalgia attack and decided to do a quick paintjob on them. I considered the idea of following the art of the box and painting them in that military green style, but after a while, I thought I would like to see them in white, as the Androids were meant to be.

Yes, remember, these existed!

I knew I wouldn't try any Mike McVey approach. Nothing so flamboyant, I was in the minimalist mood. So I began the 'thousand of different shades of white' quest. Brrr.

Layers, and layers, and then more layers until paint covers it all properly

I lack the virtue of patience, but in the end they are white enough for me

The basic shape of both is interesting and intriguing. I'm curious about why GW never used these designs ever again. Not in Chaos Dreadnoughts nor in any Necron army when they released them. I think the closest GW thing I've seen to them are the new Armigers:

They somehow resemble the concept, but still far away from it

At some point I almost succumbed to the temptation of making some conversions. Just by coincidence I saw this Space Marine Assault Cannon, and dammit, these new weapons look nice. Compare the original and the new one:

This assault cannon is definitely sexy

But if I walked that way I would be likely forced to replace each and every weapon. I really didn't want that, this was just a tribute to the old minis and I was to simply paint them. In the end I think it was for the best.

I hesitated about adding marks. Chaos sigils? Adeptus Mechanicus codes? For now I think plain white works for me. It sticks to the Space Crusade original theme so it's good enough for me.

Plain white. If Apple ever made Dreadnoughts...

Designation code: Grumpy

Please put down your weapon. You have twenty seconds to comply

Not much else to say; it's been a side project made just for fun, I don't have any real project in which these fit (for now). However, I of course also have the other Dreadnought form the Space Crusade core game. I should find it and close the trio. Hmmm, where did I put it...

Punkapocalyptic gratitude

I've been pretty much out of the painting bussiness for these weeks, as the issues in the muggle life tend to be somehow annoyingly demanding. But on the (very) bright side, I received a surprise last week (or maybe it was the previous one? I'm losing track of time!) in the mail. A pal, related to the Punkapocalyptic project, just sent me a whole band, fully painted :O :O

He thought he was in debt to me, but let me tell you, now it's totally the other way around! Just see the minis, please:

The whole Mutards band

 Some close-ups:

Unsure about if it's a teenager or a ninja, but you know

When they told me we were recruiting a creepy slug  for the band I didn't expect this

Talking about 'creepy'...

Best one on domestic work

Man, this Kuato issues are escaping out of control

There's another Total Recall reference here, ahem...

We could say he's somehow anchored to the past

What can I say, this is enormously exhilarating. I wanted to get this band and I suddenly find it at home -and painted!

BTW, the guys at Punkapocalyptic are running a new Kickstarter campaign starting next Sept 25th, this time including a full starter set, so I think it's a good time to get back to the game...

Better late than never

Real life doesn't care of your schedules, and that's also true when it comes to miniatures. Well, in this case you could rightly blame my lack of planification, but hey, I had managed to open the post with a nice sentence, don't ruin it!

I got this Gothic church from Pegasus Hobbies ages ago. I really wanted to have it finished for my latest scenario, but in the end I wasn't able to do so. Sigh. Anyway, I put some effort on it these last days and I can show you the thing.

This is the basic shape of it

The kit has no roof, I added that with cardboard. I originally primed it in beige/brown, as I wanted to do something different, in other tones. But in the end I went back to grey, as otherwise it wouldn't have fitted in my board.

Look at the size of this monster

OK, so grey then.

This is how it's going to look like

It needed a base. I didn't want too much trouble; I found this rigid piece of card and did this for the floor:

Marble everywhere

At some point I thought I could make some paintings on the wall, as I did some time ago on the WHFB Chapel. But honestly, I wanted to move forward. I found a much better solution, i.e., I looked for some real art.

Google, print, cut...

...and glue

Quick & easy!

More or less this will be the general display

Now I had to WH40K-ize it. I built some stuff for the outside, like this relic shrine:

Forgot to take pics of the WIP

It's just a structure made of cardboard and greenstuff for the decorations. The relic itself comes from the Grey Knights box.

I also made these useful props for inquisitorial purposes. The one on the left will be an automatic heretic burner. You know, nothing of all those old firewood stacks and uncomfortable hassle. You just tie the heretic to the rod and the promethium-fed cleansing fire comes from below. Much more civilised.

The structure on the right is for the gibbets you can see in the back

I also made some stuff for the roof. This is quite a common view in Europe, as no church (or, for the case, any rural high structure) is complete without...

...a stork's nest, of course

The head is from a Bretonnian banner pole, the rest is just greenstuff and bits.

I also made some objects for the inside of the chapel. It's pretty tight, so I could not make these fit in:

Thomarillion. I guess I had an optimistic day when I ordered all this

Less is more. I made it a humble chapel, not a whole cathedral. I built this place for candles:

Can't be cheaper and lazier

And this table with a saint and a holy book.

Like three minutes of my time

I added some holy scrolls...

Another... ten? minutes

The scrolls are mere paper, because I did some other signs:

I really hope Pange Lingua is copyright free

The upper right sign is some kind of Inquisitorial warrant on an... eh... Abdul Goldberg?

Finally, a banner for the inside

You can see I couldn't place the banner just top of the structure, as it covered the rose window.

My greatest regret is not being able to make some proper stained glass. For now I'll let it be until I discover a way.

I lowered it and...

This will have to work

It's evocative enough for me

Let's go ack to the outside. We finally get to uncover one of the most precious secrets in all the Warhammer 40,000 lore. Is it the truth behind the two Lost Legions? No! Way more important! We finally get to know...

...where do those freakin' scary 40K cherubs come from!

So one side...

Should have added offerings and stuff to that shrine, hmmm...

And another:

And I should add more dirt and burning marks here, hmmm...

Well, for the moment this is it:

The pilgrims finally arrive to their destination

Everybody expects the Imperial Inquisition!

They stole the offerings from the shrine!!

Now that I have finished it I find myself before a conundrum, as I had 'closed' the urban setting and my mind is set on the Genestealer Cult mining facility now. I'm parking the chapel for a momet until I find a new use for it. But you may have noticed that I have an organ and church benches without apparent use. I wonder if an underground church of the Emperor of Several Arms is feasible... Hmmm...