The Dreadnoughts Thread

[Valerian]

Dreadnoughts

 

Closest to the Iron Priests are the Dreadnoughts, ancient battle machines inhabited by the shriveled bodies of crippled Long Fangs and Wolf Guard. When dormant these machines are tended by the Iron Priests; when they awake, the young priests listen to their stories of ancient days. For the Dreadnoughts are virtually immortal and have often been alive for a millennium or more, linked as they are to the life-support systems of their armoured carapace. These systems will keep the Dreadnought alive even if it is disabled in battle, and only the near complete destruction of the suit can cause the death of its wearer.

 

Bjorn the Fell-Handed is the oldest living creature on Fenris. He is almost as old as the Primarchs of the Chaos Space Marine Legions, and they are the oldest known living things in the galaxy, with the exception of the Emperor himself.

 

Bjorn walked at the side of Russ himself, and was the first Great Wolf of the Chapter after the Primarch disappeared. He led the Space Wolves on the first Great Hunt, the Chapter's epic but fruitless quest to find Russ, and it was he who reluctantly gave the order to cease the Hunt, when it became obvious that Russ was not to be found. As the first Great Wolf he was instrumental in resisting the attempts of the newly created Administration to force the Space Wolves to accept the dictates of the Codex Astartes, even going as far as to threaten to rebel if the Administration persisted. Such was the fragile state of the fledgling Imperium that the Administration withdrew its demands. Thus was the unique nature of the Space Wolves preserved.

 

Bjorn's heroic career as a Great Wolf was cut tragically short during the Proxima Rebellion when he heroically led a raid to free brother Space Wolves trapped in the embattled Dreadsun Fortress. The raid was successful but Bjorn suffered so many wounds that he was left paralysed and crippled, and not even the best efforts of the Wolf Priests could save him. Eventually, to preserve his life, what was left of his shattered body was transplanted into a Dreadnought.

 

For the nest five hundred years or so, Bjorn was constantly in the forefront of battle whenever the Space Wolves fought. He distinguished himself on Algol Nine when he slew the Daemon Thran'saba, and saved the Planetary Governor from sacrifice. On the desert world of Quaran he slew the Ork Warlord Makrina and thus broke the Waaagh-Makrina. On the Hiveworld of Thranx he slew the rogue psyker Vornalan and thus averted a terrible rebellion. Slowly, though, the years took their toll on this proud and ancient warrior, and he took to spending longer and longer periods dormant, in stasis sleep. Given his exemplary record and long history of dedication to the Chapter, his fellow Space Wolves left him undisturbed.

 

Since then Bjorn has been lovingly maintained by the Iron Priests of the Chapter, and is revered almost as much as Russ, as a living link with the Chapter's distant founding. Every thousand years he is awoken and tests the Chapter's Rune Priests on their knowledge of the sagas. He is only otherwise woken during periods of great crisis, when the Space Wolves have need of every warrior, or when his, particular brand of wisdom and knowledge is sought after.

 

Other Dreadnoughts are not so ancient but are nearly as revered. They dwell apart from the Great Companies in a chamber within the Halls of the Great Wolf where they are available to him at an instant's notice.

 

 

This thread is dedicated to the revered Dreadnoughts of the Space Wolves Chapter.   Members of The Fang are encouraged to post pictures of their own Dreadnoughts, provide their own fan-made fluff for them, and to share their preferred Tactics, Tips, and Tricks related to using these ancient warmarchines in games of 7th Edition Warhammer 40k.

 

[skeletoro]

I don't have a model to show off but I plan on getting a contemptor and lucius pod one day when I am rich. The lucius pod actually seems quite good -pop it between your infiltrating/podding forward elements and 80% of your opponent's army, and then focus fire the other 20%.

 

Possibly works better with other pods than with infiltrators given that those infiltrators might be exposed on turn 1, if you go second! That said, might work well for fast units, especially those with jink, even deployed normally. Drop a pod and get those swift claws behind it - with shrouded, their jink will now be 2+, they can still charge next turn, and they have a contemptor buddy there to help them out.

[Spazmonkey]

I have a space wolves dread i will post when i get a chance. It was one of the first 2-3 models i ever tried to convert in anyway, and one of my first green stuff attempts. will try to get it up this weekend... 

[skeletoro]

IT may be a tad off topic but I'm also quite tempted to convert a walker - an imperial knight from house hawkshroud. They take the insignia of their sworn allies, etc. So I can totally imagine one allied to the wolves adorning themselves appropriately. They'd still be yellow etc. But it would be entirely appropriate to bedeck them in pelts, runes, etc.

 

Again, not a dread, but hey.

 

Every time I think about fielding a dreadnought though, I find myself looking somewhat enviously at the 12" move the knight has.

[Max_Dammit]

Time to show some progress i made painting over the years

My first dread, the metal Bjorn/Ven dread

http://members.home.nl/maxdammit/40k/Dread%20small.jpg

My 2nd, plastic dread

http://members.home.nl/maxdammit/40k/wip/dread/acc.jpghttp://members.home.nl/maxdammit/40k/wip/dread/fist.jpg

http://members.home.nl/maxdammit/40k/wip/dread/lasmis.jpghttp://members.home.nl/maxdammit/40k/wip/dread/plasma.jpg

And My latest, the Forgeworld SW dread

As you can see, my painting did evolve a tat over the years.

[pedrogzc]

Ahaha

My Old Sven, a Long Fang of Morkai Company who used to enter in "fire rage" when carry his heavy bolter.

When he fell, we gave him a pair of TL-autocannons. Feared by FMC

[Cate]

My Dreadnoughts.

Ancient Olaf Contemptor.

/C

[Valerian]

My submission is going to be almost exactly the same as Max's, ha!

I've had these first two Dreadnoughts for just about 20 years; you can definitely tell that they were painted to the old 2e era painting style, with the very bright orange-reds, etc.

Original Bjorn the Fell-handed:

Brother Snorri Krakenslayer:

Bjorn the Fell-handed (Modern Forge World Version):

V

[Valerian]

On the subject of Dreadnoughts, I'd just point out that they are one of the coolest concepts within the 40k universe. To me, there is almost nothing more iconic within the armies of the Adeptus Astartes, as these ancient Brothers fighting side-by-side with the Marines of their Chapter. Unfortunately, from my perspective at least, they have always been underwhelming on the tabletop and in play. Their WS and BS is no better than an "average Joe" Marine, which doesn't reflect well that the only Marines that get entombed (due to limited resources) are the Heroes of the Chapter. Likewise, they only get base 2Attacks, which is the same as an average Veteran/Wolf Guard. One would expect that they'd at least deserve some Hero stats, and that perhaps the Dreadnought platform would improve upon the fighting capability that a given Marine might have had when alive. Consider that, in ongoing close combat, a standard Dreadnought is only going to kill an average single enemy Marine per fight sub-phase - to me, that is a travesty!

 

I like to use the Grey Knights' Dreadknight as a unit to contrast Dreadnoughts with. In my opinion, if Dreadnoughts were designed 'right' then the Dreadknight wouldn't have been necessary; he'd have been redundant. However, as Dreadnoughts are so underwhelming in a fight, the designer felt obligated to invent something new, to do what Marine Chapters ought to be able to with their Dreadnoughts. I would happily pay extra points for a platform that was really reliable in both ranged and close combat.

 

Now, that being said, in games against Blood Angels, I think it is vital to have a Space Wolves Dreadnought nearby to intercept Furioso Dreadnoughts with Blood Talons, and take them down. Blood Talons will tear apart a squad of Grey Hunters, but do almost nothing against an opposing Space Wolves Dreadnought, who can give it a S 10 beatdown in return. Taking the Wolf Tooth Necklace is a no-brainer, too, so you can hit on 3s with your piddly 2 Attacks. Otherwise, however, I just don't bother to take them anymore, although I would love to include them if I felt they could really contribute more than my other options - they just don't.

 

V

[Leif Bearclaw]

I wish I could like a post more than once Valerian, I agree absolutely and dream of a time when Dreadnought's crunch batter matches the fluff. I miss the 3 attack venerables we used to get, never left home without one .

[Baulder]

Tend to only run mine as another (albeit expensive) lascannon platform. Needless to say it stays on the shelf 9 games out of 10.

[Max_Dammit]

bjorn is what got me in to the game, i was at a store to get magic cards that i played with two buddys , they where having a game in the store and i thought it was fantastic.

I went in thestore to look at books of the game and they had de green citidal miniatures book, on the first page of this book there is a drawing of bjorn, and i was sold.

It was only years later that i got in the game 100% but by that time i already had the metal bjorn model and the 3th ed sw codex. but i only started the game with the nids/ ultras starter box.

 

 

sorry for the oldmans ramble

[Nrthstar]

I've always loved my dreads.  They're in a stripper bucket right now, but they'll get posted soon.  I love the dread concept so much I was going to buy a contemptor last week, at least till I realized we don't get the anti air option.  still might.  In 7th I've ran a Dread all three games and only lost him once so far.  PC and CCDW/HF and some extra armor and he is a force to be feared.  First game he fought off three waves of Ultramarines to hold an objective for me, second he sadly went down to tau flyers, and third he won me the game.  I had the card to hold all objectives, and I needed a run of 5"+, rolled it, got the 5, got 6 objective points out of it and owned the game.  I need to name him, and mark these victories for him.

[Kasper_Hawser]

Seriously guys, where in the world do you get all the wolf pelt blings? I know the Wolf Guard terminator box set has some pelts, if you are willing to cut it from the legs, and in one case, is suppose to go over the terminator's shoulder. For Grey hunters, only one leg has wolf pelt, along with a backpack with pelt cloak. Where else do you get those pelts?

 

Another alternative is to "canibalise" the Thunderwolf set, instead of actually making thunderwolves. don't tell me that GW does sell wolf accessories separately?

[Max_Dammit]

Most of these dreads are Pre new SW box and wolfguard box, back in the day we got a stash of the SW sprue and go our conversion bits from there

 

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-NL/Space-Wolves-Accessories-Frame

[Dantay VI]

I am a genius, got it to work... woohoo!!

 

This is my Bjorn, I made my own lightning claw for him to represent the 1 he had in life (plus I thought the one on the metal model was a bit weedy.

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb456/dantay_xv/Space%20wolves%20in%20progress/07102010116.jpg

 

This is a better picture of the claw, basically its just 4 zombie scythe blades, some green stuff and a stormshield to cover up the mess... I have plans to do another one, but use the terminator shields instead.

 

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb456/dantay_xv/Space%20wolves%20in%20progress/07102010113.jpg

 

 

I also put a shield on him to represent his extra armour and to show him as slightly diferent from other dreads, I also went with the plasma cannon as, well you can. Plus I have the old metal one with the assault cannon, so I can use either or.

 

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb456/dantay_xv/Space%20wolves%20in%20progress/07102010114.jpg

 

Hope you like it, I did this about 4 years ago, so maybe I should get another and see how my painting skills have changed..

 

[mactire]

Here is my contribution to the cause.

My plastic dread done lately and the original of the species, my third ever purchase.

[Arez]

First up Kaalrik (Thanks goes to Russ Brother 92 for the name)

http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy55/Arez181/Kaalrik_zps702c4808.jpg

No Saga yet as I havent fielded him yet

Next is Tipsy

http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy55/Arez181/Tipsy_zps229cc0d6.jpg

He got his name for never wanting to stand up in battle . He has proven himself capable though; in a game against nids he stood up to the thingy that pukes out genestealers and a couple other bigger models,mind you most of his shooting was done from a prone position...... Mind you i am proud of him since he has been standing since i first put him up when i took my army shot.

Next up a nameless dread(once again name suggestions appreciated)

http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy55/Arez181/vendread_zpsa3716816.jpg

no saga since he was made shortly before i stopped playing.

and thanks to all who have been showing off their FW SW Dreads now i want one....or 2. you all suck

[Kasper_Hawser]

@Dantay - damn, I think i love your one the best because of your crazy designs which is totally out of the box for convetionally designed Bjorns. although I think the extra round shield on the right plasma cannon is a tad too much, but still I love the whole crazyness of it, which screams AWESOME!

@ Valerian and Maxdamnit - I absolutely love the old school models, makes me almost want to buy the GW Space Wolves accessories. Sadly I've maxed my budget for awhile, so I'll have to make do with what I have from latest WG and Grey Hunter boxes.

@ Mactire, - Holy hell, how did you do the banner? It looks like the whole thing is printed and made exactly into a shaper of banner! Now why didn't i think of that, I pasted a picture unto the banner, and it turned out somewhat crap. (refer below)

@ Arez: Love your contemptor owning the CSM. (stomping on them and crushing on them). But why are they painted somewhat red? Is it part of your fluff where the old ones somehow distinguish themselves in red instead of usual SW grey?

@ Cate - Love how majestic your venerable dreadnought looks, and your contemptor looks menacing!

@ Pedro - Dakkanoughts look awesome! How do you guys convert the autocannon guns though? Are they just lascannons sawed off at the edges, or did you guys use something else?

anyway, my own contribution of Bjorn the Fellhanded, also my first dreadnought built.

Only thing I'm not happy is the banner. that and I'm not sure how to achieve a dripping blood effect from the head in the claw. I think I'll have to make another claw hand from the Furioso set to actually make it "CLENCH" on the head. Oh well, its 1am, too tired to do more. goodnight guys.

[Dantay VI]

Hey Kasper, thanks for liking my Bjorn, yes the shield is a bit much, but you can see a theme developing in my army

He has lost the shield since the picture was taken, so maybe I will give him a smaller one, like the one he may have carried in life.

Your dreadnought looks great, I was a little surprised by what you did with the banner, but if you have another banner pole, or 2 bits of wire to make a T shape held with green stuff or something, then hang the banner on that it would make a world of difference. Either that orcut the staps (the red & white bits at the top) away and paint a nice decoration around the paper to disguise the joins and nobody will notice it.

for dripping gore, I suggest either stretchy glue form a hot glue gun, or if you can't do that, hang some thread and glue on to it so that it beads at th bottom of the thread, like a tear or blood droplet. eihther try this while attached to the model, or let the glue dry and attach to the model.

Use some clear red like tamiya or humbrol, which is nice and red and glossy and pint the thread/ pva and voila blood drops.. Red paint and gloss varnish might work too.

Hope that helps.

[Arez]

@ Arez: Love your contemptor owning the CSM. (stomping on them and crushing on them). But why are they painted somewhat red? Is it part of your fluff where the old ones somehow distinguish themselves in red instead of usual SW grey?

Thanks :) My scheme is actually brown...Choclate bar to be specific.When I was first starting when i thought of chaos worlds i imagined gloomy worlds and figured the SW blue/grey wouldnt be to good at staying hidden when needed and I didnt want black so i looked through my dads paint selection and found the color i liked,it was even better when i was taught about black primer :P

I recently started painting some with the blue/grey to represent the company reinforcements that have to yet paint their armor my color and i was starting to get bored with painting the brown all the time :P

[Bloody Legionnaire]

Wolf brothers! Dreadnought opinions needed, how do you think dreads will fare this edition? I had this idea for a list that involves dreadnoughts dropping in with drop pod grey hunters as fire support and soaking up some fire. What do you think about two dreads dropping in with two full squads of GH on turn 1? My list has 7 pods total. Dreads are kitted with: plasma/ccw and flamer, and AC/MM. I figured forcing my opponent to choose between heavy weapons and troops would force decisions that work out in my favor either way. They won't be the best in CC, but that's what kitted out GH squads are for. With a plasma cannon and multi melts for tanks down in the enemy's throat, there will be a ton of stuff I can mess up.

[mactire]

Kasper I think your being a bit hard on yourself, your banner looks fine. The one in my pic is the original from the Bjorn model with its stand. If your worried about yours cut out the white bits and fold the thin red strips over the top bar and glue behind (thats how the original worked). If it doesnt lie right on your banner see can you get a shorter one, or else paint the white red the same as the backing banner. You could also try GSing to blend them together but due to my lack of GS skills I can't really give advice on this. Hope this helps

[Rift Blade]

Maybe we'll get our HQ Ven Dread back & be able to give him Saga of the Warrior Born. THat would make him into the killing machine he should be. Just take him a while to get worked up is all. Liking all the pics everyone, keep it up. I gotta try & get some of mine posted.

[Valerian]

For what it is worth, and for those interested, here is an older post where I made my suggestions for how to fix Dreadnoughts.

 

V