Ultramarines Venerable Dreadnought 'Vorenus'

My Golden Demon entry for this year. Also, my first ever entry into a major painting competition.

The total time taken to paint this model is around 3 1/2 weeks, equating to around 100 hours of working time, including cleanup and assembly. Click the above image for a larger version.

Edit: This model made the cut at the UK Golden Demon and secured me a finalists' pin.

There are a number of details that I wanted to include from the outset. First I wanted the Tyranid trophy to be in Hive Fleet Behemoth colours (ie blue carapace, red skin), and to look aged. The red skin was eventually dropped as I felt it would detract from the red on the banner and other spot details (hips, head, ammo drums). It was important to have an ancient feel to the dreadnought, rather than the more utilitarian schemes I use for line troops, so copious freehand was employed all over the model, together with very careful hand painted chipping (as opposed to my normal sponge technique). I also wanted a feel of character to the dreadnought, so I chose a homeworld for him (Iax, an agricultural world) and included the wheatear motifs on the back and the latin phase on the back of the banner.

The brass plaque was done for me (several times to get it right) by an excellent little engraving place in Nottingham called Joblot Trophies. I can't recommend them enough for their dilligence and professionalism.

Click on the images below for larger versions.