Dreadtober 2024: Completed World Eaters Leviathan

The World Eaters Leviathan is done!

I genuinely love the final stages of painting World Eaters. To some it might seem like I've ruined a particularly crisp and nice paint job. I disagree. I set out wanting to have a battle worn and bloodied leviathan. The only way to achieve this is with weathering. And blood. For the blood god. The weathering features two toned grey and black speckles using a sponge applicator. I've made chips using silver inside of significant wear and tear to emphasize this aspect. The blood has been both painted and sponged on in a consistent manner to hopefully show some up close and personal work. This features most prominently on the chest (close range fire I suspect), and on the shins (he kicked his foes, clearly). There's a lot less blood on the rear of the miniature for obvious reasons (don't turn your back on your foes!), but the weathering features both wear and tear as well as explosive impacts on the rear. 

And for reasons I am unable to explain adequately, gravitons are green. Too bad. I've decided. 

Hope you've enjoyed following along with my Dreadtober leviathan project! I'm really pleased with the outcome here and I hope you've enjoyed seeing the progress week after week! Very glad I did this, and even happier with the end result. 

My original plan was to sell this miniature on eBay, but now I'm not sure! 

Dreadtober 2024: Leviathan with Decals

Progress report on my Dreadtober project: a World Eaters Leviathan. Here, I have got to the stage of applying all of the decals to the miniature. I can now get a really good sense of what the finished miniature is actually going to look like. 

The miniature looks very "clean" at this stage though. I am intending to make it a lot more mucky and stained with explosive barrages. Let alone liberal application of Blood for the Blood God to match up with the other miniatures in this particular allied detachment! It's certainly looking a lot better and even though I've been away, I am well on course to finishing this miniature on schedule - possibly even by the end of next week. Who knows. 

Dreadtober 2024: Leviathan based coated in World Eaters colours

Dreadtober continues! Progress has now included applying the base coat to the Leviathan dreadnought to bring out the legion identity! As can be seen, I've settled on World Eaters here. 

In addition to the base coat of blues, whites, and iron, I have also started to pick out the recesses using Guilliman flesh. This is deliberately sloppy in application. As well as going into the recesses of the armour, there's also a stain around these recesses which will accentuate the dirty / "in action" vibe that I'm aiming for with this miniature. 

The next step will be to get some World Eaters decals in place before progressing to some edge highlights and other fun stuff. 

Dreadtober 2024: Undercoated!

Dreadtober 2024 progress. It is Week 1. An undercoat has happened. 

That's this week's entire progress on the Leviathan Dreadnought!

And what progress it was. The spray out of the can started going a bit dribble dribble. As you can see from the image, the front armour plates have long streaks of white all over them! Oh no! It's not a complete disaster, but I've not had such a poor start in a while. Hopefully the base coat can correct this and I can get going properly soon enough!

Weekend Build Part 2: Complete Leviathan - but for which Legion?

The second and final installment for this weekend: a complete Leviathan dreadnought. 

The loadout here was an interesting choice given that the plastic set doesn't allow duplicate weapons which would ordinarily be my inclination. I opted against the melta lance simply on the grounds that I wanted a machine that was firing against heavy infantry - as opposed to a true tank buster. Of course, I'm sure I could have just picked up a duplicate weapon from eBay, or even a claw, but I kind of like the look of the longer ranged dreadnought here. Plus I've not actually used a graviton weapon recently and their whole aesthetic appeals to me.

There remains one question though. Which legion should I paint this Leviathan for?

Here's the options:

Iron Warriors: Pro: very fitting. Con: already have a contemptor and don't want to overload this legion with more single member unit choices.

Alpha Legion: Pro: would complement my previous contemptor. Con: really don't want to expand this legion any further otherwise I'm going to have to sell parts of it!

Shattered Legions: Pro: could fit any of the three main legions of the shattered legions. Con: already have a Salamanders contemptor, and the shattered legions rules suck. 

World Eaters: Pro: much needed fire support. Con: everyone expects close combat armed leviathans.

Emperor's Children: Pro: would be amazing to paint in these colours. Con: wouldn't fit with the allied detachment as I already have sun killers. 

Blackshields: Pro: temptation. Con: I don't own any other blackshields nor do I yet have time or plans! 

Other: Name it! Con: I don't own much of any other legion nor do I have plans at this point in time!

Weekend Build Part 1

Uh oh! A leviathan grows!

Took a bit of fiddling to get the stepping foot to sit flush with the groin area thanks to the way that the components all glue together. The foot at the front is a flat one and rests on the (junk) of some old style imperial ruins. I'm going to get the rest of this one glued into position tomorrow. Can't wait to see how he turns out!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Deredeo Dreadnought Talon

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4/5 stars. The rules are good. These are long range fire power support dreadnoughts and have to be treated as such to work well.

Background.

A fusion of mechanicum and Terran might. The Deredeo is a weapons platform strapped onto a dreadnought design. It combines fire power, staying power, and a slightly goofy looking aesthetic to my biased eyes which results in good outcomes all the same. 

Strengths.

Undoubtedly the strength of the unit comes from the weapons it carries in combination with T=7, W=6 and BS=5. 

The real question is what side arms to use, and which missiles. Coupled with the helical targeting array, this beast is a solution to air superiority attempts by opponents as well.

Weaknesses.

Forget close combat. This is not the dreadnought you are looking for. Accordingly, do not waste your time swapping out the twin linked heavy bolters for twin linked heavy flamers. They just aren't worth the deterrent. Stay out of close combat - leave that to other dreadnoughts. Sure, they will be just about okay in a fight, but you're not paying the points for that!

Difference to First Edition.

The dreadnought has obviously lost its armour values in comparison to first edition, but much else remains similar and familiar.

Builds.

Deredeo, Hellfire Plasma Cannonade, Aiolos Missile Launcher (225 points).

This is the de facto anti infantry build and the only one where I'd be taking the Aiolos. The plasma can double up to threaten lighter tanks as well. The autocannons are a bit less reliable due to their AP. Similar can be said of the Volkite Falconet. 

Deredeo, Arachnus Heavy Lascannon Battery, 4 Boreas Air Defence Missiles (225 points).

The best anti-tank, and anti-air option. Note the points cost is the same as the anti-infantry option above.

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Leviathan Dreadnought Talon

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. They are awesome. They also have a role in defining the whole setting along with their contemptor cousins. Well worth the points, but don't overdo it with Fury of the Ancients rite of war if you want any friends left. 

Background.

When you have the resources to create an Imperial Knight, but want to keep a dying space marine alive instead and combine him with astonishing firepower or close combat potential, the Leviathan is the outcome. Their incumbents paid the price for this tough, glowing brightly but burning out fast; whilst the Mechanicum looked on uneasy at their creation. 

Strengths.

Superb stat line including T=8 and W=7. Nicely customization as well. 

Weaknesses.

I=4 is about the weakest thing that I can think of here, although Movement=6 is a very close second.

Difference to First Edition.

Lots of changes to dreadnought rules compared to First Edition, but these bad boys are pretty game defining to be honest and here in second edition they're also slightly cheaper than they used to be. Unless you are playing with close friends, you might want to limit the number of them you include in your army list. Just my polite advice -- take it or leave it. 

Builds.

Leviathan, 1x Siege Drill, 1x Siege Claw (275 points).

The super scary close combat monster. The main issue with this build is the comparatively slow movement rate (in comparison to your presumed targets). A drop pod is probably necessary. 

Leviathan, 2x Storm Cannons (290 points).

Mid range rather than long range (unlike some of its cousin's contemptor builds), but the fire power here is genuinely scary. 

Leviathan, 1x Siege Drill, 1x Melta Lance (295 points)

Mixed threats, and my personal favourite build! Take phosphex dischargers to taste. The volkites are probably not quite worth it to be honest. I don't mind the siege claw either - it is amazingly good, but here the build is anti-tank. The grav flux bombard isn't a bad option either, its just the melta lance is more dangerous!

Horus Heresy 2e Review: Legion Contemptor Dreadnought Talon

Warpstone Flux Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5/5 stars. Taking a bit of a risk giving them 5/5, but I can live with that!

Background.

If there is one unit that is a talisman for 30k games then I would think that the Contemptor dreadnought must be it. When 30k first came out, the comtemptor was up there as the new unit to own (Angron was a close second place as he featured extensively in Betrayal and was the first primarch sculpted). In game, they are the most advanced and recent variant of dreadnought, at the price of going boom spectacularly thanks to the advanced systems within.

Strengths.

The variety of armaments coupled with an impressive stat line makes the contemptor a flexible unit that can be configured for a long range fire fight, an up close and personal encounter, and all length scales in between. The only real quest here is what the player wants out of them.

Weaknesses.

When they go boom, try not to be near them, or that S=8 hit to the face will hurt. 

Difference to First Edition.

The most obvious difference here is the stat line. Gone are the armour values on different faces and in their place is a wounds and toughness characteristic. This is not too bad since T=7 and W=6 are perfectly respectable for this game and the contemptor is still well worth the points cost.

Builds.

Note that dreadnoughts can be taken in talons of up to 3 and can take a drop pod. Both are great options. The builds below reflect just a single dreadnought.

Contemptor, 2x Melta Cannon (185 points).

Can't go too wrong with a tank buster contemptor in the right position on the board. Certain legions also gain a lot here too.

Contemptor, 2x Kheres Autocannon (205 points).

Iconic. Also the de-facto standard for sheer firepower. Little not to like.

Contemptor, 1x close combat fist, 1x chainfist (185 points).

The close combat monster. The only question is whether to take additional upgrades (such as graviton guns inside the fists, and a havoc launcher on top) or to keep it a bit more "naked".

Contemptor, 1x close combat fist, 1x las cannon (195 points).

A fair build that provides long range and melee threat. But you don't get it both ways in the same turn in all probability. 

Contemptor, 1x close combat fist, 1x Conversion Beamer, 1x Havoc Launcher (205 points).

Overlapping ranged threats and a combat fist to boot. Cheaper than the last edition as well. 

Horus Heresy Review: Deredeo Pattern Dreadnought

Background.

The Deredeo has already featured in Book 5, Tempest, and in Book 9, Crusade, we find the rules have been updated a little bit compared to the earlier book. 

The Deredeo remains a heavy weapons platform that has its history in the Contemptor class and the earlier styles of Terran and Martian designs. It remained in high demand by both sides of the conflict in the Heresy, although there were few forges that could produce them.

Strengths.
With helical targeting, the Deredeo is fantastic at taking out aircraft with its weapons. Given the weapons, its also fantastic at shooting nearly everything in the game to be honest. Monstrous creatures? Yep. Terminator equivalents? Yep. Its got it all.

The entry level Anvilus auto cannon battery is S=8 with plenty of shots and sunder. The reasonable range means it can reach across the board to ensure they reach the desired target.

The Hellfire Plasma Cannonade is AP=2 at just one pip less in strength and has two modes of firing: sustained, which provides a good number of shots, or maximal, which gives a big pie plate. And terminators are fans of pie, so I hear.

Meanwhile the Aiolos missile launcher gives a huge ranged weapon that can do significant damage to space marine equivalents. Hitting side armour is just icing on the cake.

New in Book 9 is the addition of the Volkite falconet battery. I kind of like this for pinning and the combination of the high rate of fire and quality strength. It will shine against Guard equivalent armies. But I might still err on the side of the autocannons instead.

The Arachnus heavy lascannon battery is also very impressive thanks to the exoshock rule: there's a 50 per cent chance of a second penetrating hit if a first one is scored. This is very dangerous stuff.

Boreas air missiles are a nice idea but I suspect many will be put off playing this due to its one use rule. Other than that, a first turn volley at just one less strength than a lascannon with independent tracking is really nice, and probably spells doom against transport tanks and White Scar jetbikes thanks to invalidating Jink saves. 

Weaknesses.
This is fundamentally not a close combat dreadnought. That said, it is still a dreadnought with an invulnerable save and good frontal armour.

My suggestion is to run a Deredeo with ranged terminators -- upgraded with Atomantic Pavaise, it can grant a bonus to the invulnerable save of regular terminators nearby which is very nice, but also costly.

Builds.
Several builds to mull over here, including the ones from Book 5 that I have already noted previously.

Deredeo, Anvilus autocannons, Aiolos missile launcher, armoured ceramite (240 points).
Drop the armoured ceramite if you must, but this is something of a baseline build.

Deredeo, hellfire plasma cannonade, atomantic pavaise (270 points).
I like this one - lots of plasma goodness, teamed up with protective invulnerable saves.

Deredeo, Arachnus heavy lascannon battery, 4 boreas air defence missiles (259 points).

Add extra shielding where required (armoured ceramite). Fire those missiles in turn 1, and blast everything else with the lascannons.

Dreadtober 2020: Project Complete!

Behold: a mighty Salamanders Legion Contemptor Mortis! (Warning: Picture Heavy!). 

Fully painted and ready to extract righteous vengeance from the traitors on Isstvan 5. 

Different angles are shown in the images below. 

[Background: Kraken Mats desert war zone city.]

Salamanders Contemptor Mortis

For my first post of this year, I wanted to show off my most recent build: a contemptor mortis pattern dreadnought from the Salamanders legion. It totes a pair of multi-meltas for what I trust are very obvious reasons considering which legion this dreadnought belongs to. The build was straight forward, but I did have a bit of green stuff filling to do on the top of the thighs for each leg -- the resin had not flowed well at all in to those locations. The base features some plastic from the shadow sword (bane blade) kit, along with a series of cork pieces that will eventually be complemented with some finer grit on top to finish the look. 

The pose that I was going for here was one of the mortis pacing forward confidently from a previously hidden (or maybe even crouched over) position -- perhaps he has just emerged from cover to exact a toll of molten slag from his traitorous cousins. Overall, I'm pleased with this one, and it will certainly complement the new army that I have in progress.

Dreadtober Leviathan Contribution

In an effort to not be entirely out-done in Dreadtober, here is my humble progress to date. I doubt that I will get this one finished up by the end of the month, but its a vast improvement on where this miniature was up to by the last time I focussed on it!

Hope that you like it, unfinished as it is.

Horus Heresy Review: Contemptor-Incaendius Class Dreadnought

Background.
Let me be polite. Some dreadnoughts have jump packs. Get over it. They're only manufactured by the Mechanicum that is stationed on Baal's first satellite, in association with Anvillus.

Strengths.
The careful reader may have already noted that this dreadnought comes with a jump pack. The more careful reader may have already got over this.

Said jump pack allows one of two things to happen. Firstly, the dreadnought can deep strike in to play. I trust this is not a problem for anyone used to dealing with dreadnought drop pods to deal with.

Secondly, and once per game if the above is not selected, the dreadnought can boost 12 inches in the movement phase, or: charge 3d6 inches. None of these three (one use) options is game breaking in itself. I refer the reader back to the statement of getting over it. Sure, it is powerful, but there's a points cost to be paid. But it is also very flavourful. And no one in the Horus Heresy gaming sphere will overlook this facet. Prepare to face three of them, frankly.

Beyond that, they come with talons of perdition. In short, they apply 2 wounds instead of 1 per unsaved strike. This is powerful, and comes teamed with in built heavy flamers.

Weaknesses. 
It is a dreadnought that likes close combat. The Alpha Legion will snipe it off the board with a conversion beamer from the back pocket. Beware. Other than that, there are no serious draw backs here. Treat it as you would an armoured close combat dreadnought, albeit a speedy one (I forgot to mention fleet above as well), and be happy!

Builds. 
There is a temptation here to swap out the talons for a close combat weapon, or the heavy flamer for a bit more dakka. The close combat weapon will get the doubling of the strength value, whereas the perdition blade is just the dreadnoughts base strength. I think because of this one of each might be preferable for maximum utility.

Dreadnought with 1 talon of perdition and 1 dreadnought close combat weapon with in-built assault cannon (210 points).
I think this is the build that most players will be taking. Balanced, with bonus dakka. There are only a few variations to be candid, and although the melta gun might be preferred in some situations, I would still think the temptation to play the assault cannon is high. It synergises well with day of revelation, but I am unconvinced that buying extra armour here is totally worth it. But if you have the points to spare, why not. 

A New Batch of Alpha Legion Colour, and a Leviathan

In preparation for painting Alpharius, I needed to make some more of my home-brew Alpha Legion colours.

In some of my previous work, I have experimented with different types of Alpha Legion colours. Some are very blue. Almost light blue. Others are darker, more sombre. Most are metallic, or metallic based rather than non-metal metals. Some have hints of green. Some a dash of purple. Yet in the main part, I have stuck with having metallic blue as my desired colour, and a darker tone of it at that.

In the image below, I have made up a new batch of my Alpha Legion blue colours. Using an airbrush, I have applied a mixture of various metals (rune fang silver mostly) with Vallejo (blue gun metal) and various dashes of citadel greens and blues for different layers and effects.

To be clear - the Leviathan contains several different layers. This starts with a black undercoat followed by an azimuthal application of silver from above. I follow this up with a metallic blue mixture based on the Vallejo gunmetal blue, and then proceed to add a dash of green tint to achieve the final layer's effect. 

Overall, I am happy with this mixture and will be using it as the basis for Alpharius' armour. Given the level of detail with the scales in his armour, I will also be doing a few other steps including highlighting in green, as well as a differential gradient from blue to green across some of the panels. Or at least, that is the plan at present. 

Horus Heresy Review: Legio Custodes Contemptor Galatus Dreadnought

Background.
The best way to describe this dreadnought is as an anchor point. Armed and armoured with some of the best technology in the Imperium and a pilot who was possible a great friend of the Emperor himself, the Galatus is simply an amazing power house for the slaughter of any enemy of the Imperium from within or without.

Strengths.
There are so many strengths here. The Praesidium shield for a starting point is amazing for the fact that it allows re-rolling of invulnerable saves. Better still, it reduces the typical to-hit roll by one (basically non-gargantuan creatures), meaning that its almost certainly going to have an edge in close combat almost all of the time.

The warblade it carries is amazing as well. Shred, rampage and AP2 mean that it will tear in to almost anything. And just for fun, an inbuilt incinerator as well. Who could want for more?

Weaknesses.
Look, it is not a Caladius. But you knew that already, right? I'm just pointing the Caladius out as it occupies the same force organization chart slot as the Galatus. That is all. There's competition here. And the Galatus doesn't move like a grav tank.

Overall.
This is a very powerful choice that will literally chew up whole enemy infantry units in close combat. Getting the dreadnought there might be a challenge, but one that it should be surviving. 

Horus Heresy Review: Legio Custodes Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought

Background.
Custodes are extremely resilient. They do recover from serious wounds. But once in a while, a custode might be irrevocably injured but their mind remains intact. And so they go in to dreadnoughts in the same manner that a legion marine might.

Strengths.
The dreadnought is strong and has "echoes" of the pilots previous martial prowess and abilities. Refractor fields and extra armour pump up the base points here though.

There are not many options here though, but the achillus dreadspear is amazing. Providing the ability to have destroyer hits on a to hit roll of 6 on the charge is amazing.

Weaknesses. 
Not many weaknesses here, but they have the same issues as some other dreadnoughts such as rear armour being AV=11. Goodness knows how this will alter in 8th edition of the game. The lack of dedicated drop pod might be an issue though.

Builds.
I'll only mention one build here -- its my favourite.

Contemptor Achillus with Achillus Dreadspear (240 points).
Charge in, kill things. Rinse, repeat.

Leviathan

After struggling with the pose a little bit, here is the final, fully assembled leviathan.

The weapons load out for this beast is slightly different to what many other people play around with. Having the melta lance is a weapon that I really wanted to choose due to its high strength. Goodness knows how it will perform in 8th edition, but I liked it enough for 7th. I have coupled this with the siege close combat arm. The purpose of this leviathan is therefore to hunt down and destroy some heavy tanks (even super heavies, or perhaps knights) and hope to at least remove a few hull points (or wounds in 8th) before succumbing itself. Paired up with a drop pod, this guy stands a good chance statistically against imperial knights and has the armour to hang around.

The pose has the dreadnought looking down the barrel of his weapon, whilst the fist is ready to come in to action with a low swing. The base has been gritted and moulded with some additions to it … almost as if the leviathan has recently dealt with a crashed aircraft, or perhaps its unfortunate occupants. 

Painting might have to wait until I get some spare parts for my airbrush sadly. But that's another tale. 

Leviathal Beginnings

Can you tell what it is yet?

Of course you can. A Leviathan. The title of the post sort of gave it away with that invented adjective. So, I caved in and got a Leviathan from Forge World for my Alpha Legion forces. I really love the sculpt of this beast, even if I'm not precisely sold on any particular weapon load out for it. 

To start with, I knew that I wanted to base it on something a little bit less run of the mill. Hence, the legs of this Leviathan are located on the tips of a plane wing that I had lying around as spare thanks to the storm eagle build. One foot is raised and the second one is placed on the ground of the base. I have pinned the raised foot in to place to ensure that it doesn't slip. My goal here is to build upward from the waist and have the dreadnought looking down the barrel of his (left hand) weapon, whilst the right hand is poised, ready as he advances.

More on this build in future posts.

Horus Heresy Review: Cassian Dracos Reborn

Background.
Left for dead on the plains of Isstvan by the traitors, Cassian Dracos did not succumb to his fate, but lived on in spite of everything going on around him!

He took some damage in the process, but came out of the ordeal with something extra.

Strengths.
I will refer the reader to my previous article on Dracos for more information on the baseline dreadnought. His wrought by Vulkan rule is still very strong!

Compared to his previous incarnation, Cassian Dracos can now use the Mechanicum's "magical" powers (i.e. cybertheurgy). Additionallly, he has the Rite of Rededication that means he can potentially take control of an enemy robot and make an immediate shooting attack with it. This could be amazing in the right situation!

Weaknesses.
Given that he took an orbital lance strike, his side and rear armour have dropped by one pip each. This means that his rear facing is especially vulnerable compared to what it was and this merits attention.

His warlord trait becomes fixed, and in addition he can be warlord if no other valid HQ's are there apart from Narik Dreygur or Xiaphas Jurr.

Overall.
This is a nice update to Dracos that is befitting for the shattered legions and their forces. A fluffy choice, and one that will still pack a punch and gives tactical play to try to avoid getting the rear armour shot at. His points value is still very high (more than a land raider) and I would personally prefer his previous incarnation. So, play fluffily and enjoy.