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.

 

 

TA 2 Dwarf Juggernaut

 I originally built this back in about 2002 but was never really satisfied with it. The base was certainly lacking something but I never really did anything about it. Recently I decided to revamp it. I started by removing it from its base and then taking it apart as it was loose in several places. Then I went about re-highlighting it and reassembling it; this time with epoxy resin insted of super glue which was never going to be strong enough. I never cared much for the original crew so I used imperial Dwarfs. Some of them survived the revamp whereas some were replaced. Then it was rebased after the original terrain was scraped off.
 I regret not taking photos of it before its makeover now.

Probably my favourite Dwarf figure of all time.

The champion on the right and one or two of the others I got for Christmas way back in 1988. I think Andy Dufresne spent less time in Shawshank than it took these guys to wait for a paint job.

 

Apologies for the dodgy wheel; as I believe it states in the original instructions, it suggests replacing the weak axle with brass rod. I however, did not. In fact two of the rear wheels aren't even connected to the vehicle. One front wheel has the same problem.

Chaos Battering Ram

 Welcome to the Work of Shaitan! I have been meaning to start my own blog of my work over the past (nearly!) 30 years so here is the very first post. Over the next few days/weeks I'll be posting more of my classic Citadel pieces. Up first is the legendary Giant Chaos Battering Ram from the Arcane Monstrosities range.

This was once my most sought after item back in the day and spent years during the pre ebay times looking in vain for it. Then, after finally getting my hands on one, it spent over 10 years in a box waiting for a time when I felt up to building and painting it.