Tuesday 4 January 2022

Stripped and Repainted - Citadel Arcane Monstrosities TA2 Dwarf Juggernaut

 


 This was something I was aiming to complete before the end of the year but I just ran out of time in the end. 

 For a good while now I've been looking at models in my collection that I feel no longer merit being in my display cabinets due to substandard paint jobs. The juggernaut was a prime example of this predicament and had been residing in a shoe box for some time - and a model of such legendary status...well that ain't no good is it?

 It doesn't really require any introduction of course but the dwarf juggernaut was part of the Arcane Monstrosities range, which were a number of larger, multi part kits, predominantly sculpted by Tony Ackland.

 So after taking the plunge, a fair bit of courage, some careful dismantling, a lot of stripping, some crucial model selection and several weeks of dedication, here is the finished result.

 One of the key changes this time around was a smaller base; less is definitely more in this case. I felt there was way too much unnecessary space on the previous base.

 Some of the key elements from before have remained, most importantly, the imperial flame cannon. The part the original gun fixes onto had been cut off long before I bought it off someone back in about 1995 with my dole money. I always remember someone from school days owned one and a number of years later I made it my mission to track him down and attempt to get him to part with it. This was pre internet/social media days so I had trouble finding out where he lived and took a while before eventually locating him. After he initially refused my offer to buy it, he eventually, albeit reluctantly, agreed to part with it for £30. This did leave me having to live on the proverbial beans on toast for a number of days before I was able to sign on again but at least the fabled model was now mine!

 It had never come with the original crew, which wasn't a problem as my intentions were to always use imperial dwarfs as crewmen. 

From this...
...to this!

Drilling all the way through that was a right laugh.

 

 Something else that I desperately needed to resolve from before was the axles. A number of bits broke off when removing the wheels which was fine as I would be replacing all axles with brass rod - as it is recommended in the original instructions. 

 I decided on reusing the model of The Baron from the BC3 Dwarf Lords of Legend set who was on the base for the previous paint job but now stands on the deck as the juggernaut commander. One or two other models remain and there are a couple of new additions in the crossbowman and gunner with telescope.


 Every piece was painted separately before gluing and it was quite an ordeal working out which order to assemble it all, as I couldn't remember exactly from the last time. 

 So I'm definitely all up for doing this again with at least one other of my outdated display pieces and will quite likely be sooner than later.

 

 

17 comments:

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    1. Was hoping you'd like it mate! Thank you kindly!

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  2. This is a really lovely reworking. I've fluffed stripping jobs before, so I'd be too scared of ending up with one nastily stripped Juggernaut.

    Why did you strip it back to scratch rather than just punching the existing paintjob up? Just outta interest.

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    1. Ah thank you so much Chris! Yeah there's always danger of running the risk of a badly stripped model, not to mention parts getting damaged in the dismantling process. I just felt it was beyond a tart up really plus I wanted the timber painted in a lighter colour. Also, the metals were in need of variation what with the previous incarnation being just in plain iron.

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  3. Congratulations! Lovely model!

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  4. A bold move, but soo satisfactory to see! Sublime!

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    1. Thanks buddy! Always a risk to strip and redo a large model but I'm glad I went for it.

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  5. Great stuff. A blast from the past as I remember seeing a picture of this in the white dwarf magazine when I was young.
    It does make me wonder how many of these things were ever made....to say nothing of the steady losses over the years.

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    1. Thanks Dave. Yeah I have wondered myself how many were made. I think it was £25.95 when it was first released in 1985 which was quite a dent on someone's wages.

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  6. Magnificent! A truly epic job on a truly epic model. I can hear the steam engine chugging!

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    1. Ah cheers Jim! Definitely one of my most satisfying projects to date!

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  7. The more I review the whole process, the more I'm in awe. What a fantastic, impressive job! It looks like a hell of a work, but it most certainly paid off. Congratulations!

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    1. Thank you Suber! It was quite a harrowing challenge at times, especially all the drilling. Blistered finger for a few days.

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  8. "Coup de chapeau!" for the extreme courage in the decision to put your hand to such an elaborate model, and for your skill in repainting it and putting it back together with such success! Excellent the new choice of the crew and the addition of the flag. However in our opinion, one thing could have been saved from the old version: is there still a chance to add a dying goblin under the wheels of the unstoppable Jaggernut?

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    1. * Juggernaut, of course! I apologize to all dwarf readers of this blog for the write error!

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    2. Thank you so much as always for the kind words! Well the dead orc will be used at some point for another project!

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