James WRR’s Rank & File 2: Dread Red Treads

Tarantus revved the bike as it crested the rise. The Black Shadow’s spiked wheels were practically choked up with a thick mixture of blood, oil and sand. With a flick of his finger, he commanded the telescope built into his helmet to zoom in on the valley below. His suit’s Machine Spirit protested at the sight, with runes of warning blaring and flashing as Tarantus trained his mechanical eyes on the chaotic forms below. 

The last survivors of the Imperial Army were desperately barricading now. Artillery was frustratingly futile as the Daemons below advanced upon the line. But, still, cannon fire rang out and lasguns painted the surrounding valley walls a bright, fluorescent red. Trenches were being overrun now, with gore-slicked butchers from beyond the stars throwing themselves into the pits to slaughter their defenders. 

Tarantus sighed. Another front lost due to all-too-human incompetence. Thankfully, salvation was soon to arrive. Rhino APCs were speeding towards his forward location as he watched the carnage unfold. Their cargo: squads of his battle brothers in grey. There would be no human victory today, but those who had long-ago left their humanity behind still had surprise on their side.

Surprise, and superior fire power.

Revered Brother Bethor stepped up alongside Tarantus’s bike. The Techmarine could feel each heavy footstep of the Dreadnought, could hear the internal pistons pumping like muscle, feel the poisonous heat radiating from the plasma cannon it carried.

“THEN THE DAY IS LOST.” Bethor asked across secure comms channels, battling the noise of the battle below and the distortion caused by the presence of Warp entities.

“Not yet, big brother.” Tarantus replied. “There is still target practice to be had.”

“HELLFIRE WILL BE GREETED WITH HELLFIRE.” 

“Fire when ready, Brother Bethor.”

With a deep vibration that felt like it came up from the earth itself, then a high-pressure squeal and, finally, a deafening thunder, Bethor fired the plasma cannon. A section of trench below was engulfed in sun-hot plasma. Smoking bodies of both Imperial soldiers and chaotic spawn alike flew through the air. 

“Clear the trenches.” Tarantus commanded as Bethor continued to fire on the front line of defenders. “Oooh, look at that one fly!”

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Greetings, Imperial subjects.

It’s February, the shortest month. And with a bunch of birthday celebrations to organise, it’s even shorter.

And so, like during my previous challenge, I thought it wise to paint as few models this month as possible. And so, I present to you the most mechanised detachment of my Ordo Malleus army.

Tarantus and his mechanised escort

Techmarine Tarantus came to me by chance, after randomly spotting an eBay auction while out to a dinner a few months ago. I knew I needed a Techmarine to unlock vehicles in my army and finding this fellow with his big wrench and his absolutely radical bike was a real blessing. I had to excuse myself from my noodles as I smashed down some bids.

It is funny how these armies come together. You start to gather a lot of interesting memories and feelings as you collect each individual piece — layering on top of the memories and feelings already imparted onto the metal by previous owners. Each model eventually become a little artefact in its own right, and the armies made up of them become playable shrines.

I’d never intended to include a bike in this army, but I’m glad I have as I just love the model. There’s something really nice about the chunky, near-single-piece design. It’s detailed, but not overly engineered like modern plastics. 

In a bit of a break from my original scheme, I decided to paint this mount in a nice, rich equivalent to British Racing Green, mirroring that of my dad’s old Triumph from many moons ago. A layer of dark green Contrast paint over some stark highlights did the job nicely. Of course, it certainly stands out in the middle of the army, but I’m happy with how it turned out. Maybe it’s non-regulation — something the Techmarine just bought off the lot, second-hand, with his own credits.

The Rhino has been painted in a colour scheme much more aligned to the squad that rides in it. Unlike my previous Rogue Trader Rhino, I didn’t have to do any fancy effects to hide flaws and wrinkles. No, this model came to me absolutely perfect, already spray painted silver and all! Again, I think fate must have been playing a hand here. A few checks, flames, icons and angry screeds later and this magnificent vehicle was ready to hit the battlefield.

The Dreadnought, Brother Bethor, was a gift from a friend of a friend of mine who happened to be clearing out a humongous old collection of his own at just the right time. I couldn’t be more grateful to him for this (and the other vehicles and characters he sent over), and can only hope that this paint job does it justice.

The kitbashing of more modern weapons with the stocky “Eddy” type Dread body was a choice of this previous owner. While they might not be the original pieces, I think they look great, giving the model a real timeless silhouette. And the conversion is practically flawless, anyway, so I’m certainly not complaining.

In terms of painting, there’s not much more to add to my January post. The metallic base of the armour was treated with a series of progressively brighter drybrush passes, before getting highlighted for a real pop. Details like checks and flames are proving to be my favourite part of the process, though I must admit I’m running low on horrible slogans to slap on things already. I’ll need to flick through some punk comics to get more inspiration.

I’m quite happy with how the plasma glow came out on the dread, though the vibrant Pro Acryl Bright Green is a colour I certainly didn’t expect to use in this project. I’ll probably put these lovely, electric paints to use in future, less-grimdark projects. Maybe some Second Edition Space Marine stuff? I suppose we’ll see where inspiration strikes.

And that’s about it! Another month in the bag and more painted models in the growing Rogue Trader collection. I don’t think it’ll be too long before I can actually play a reasonable game with these models. I supposed I’d better started thinking up some campaign ideas…

Brother Bethor faces off against the corrupted Dreadnought Neadalus 

But, before any dice are rolled, there’s still more work to be done. We’re charging forth to the painting table again, shaking up silver paint for the next squad.

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Army list as of February

Techmarine Tarantus
Techmarine
Basic equipment
Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle
97 points

Brother Bethor
Deredeo Dreadnought
Missile Launcher, Heavy Plasma Gun
Standard Sensor Package, 2 Power Fields, Power Field Synchroniser
270 points

Squad Heliod
Tactical Squad
Sergeant with Bioscanner and Power Glove
1 Marine with Missile Launcher
1 Marine with Flamer
275 points

Bright Sword
Rhino APC with Techmarine Pilot, assigned to Squad Heliod
2 Bolt Guns
387 points