Forgeworld Chaos Dragon

This agreed to paint this massive model some months ago. Of course I knew it was large from the scale shots found on the Forgeworld web site but I had no idea how huge it was. To really illustrate the size of this model I took a battle shot of the bare model with the wood elf army before I sent it away.

This is the largest most complex model I have every worked on. To follow is a journal of the work and struggle to build and paint this abomination of the chaos gods.

When I got the package I didn't really know what to expect. I have had both good and bad experiences from Forgeworld. Upon unpacking all the pieces I was happy to see that none were broken and that there really was very little in the way of flash tags to remove. There were only a few intrusive mold lines that I had to remove. The problems started to surface when I started to 'dry build' the model. It became very apparent that the pieces would not fit together well and it was at this point that I was happy I have some sculpting skill. This model is not for anyone that does not feel comfortable filling large gaps and form in continuities. It was also at this point that I discovered that I had two left wings. I contacted FW and had a replacement sent out the next day.

Once I ensured I had all the parts I set down to the task of cleaning each part. The model is made of two kinds of resin, the hard dark resin used for vehicles and the softer white resin. The dark resin usually has 'impregnated' mold release agent in it so I had to work hard to get the grease off. I washed each piece in excess of 20 times with degreaser, scrubbing with a toothbrush and old paint brushes. I went to all this work so that when I primed the model I would not have any areas where the primer did not stick. It worked, after priming I was happy to see no areas where the primer did not take.

Early on in my planning of this model I decided that I was not happy with the pose of the dragon. So, I altered it, giving it a forward attack position that is much more menacing than the rear tipped stock pose. Of course by altering the position I had to make a heavy base so that the model would stay upright once the wings were added.

The first pictures will show the model in an unsculpted form. From these pictures it will be evident what I mean from large gaps at the joints. In the first picture you can see that I used old Space Marine reinforced armour bits to add weight to the base.

This picture shows the built dragon minus the wings. I held off attaching the wings until all the sculpting on the body was finished. This just made it a bit easier to work with in the end. If I could have attached the wings after painting I would have because they complicate the painting process immensely. However, for me to conceal the seams I had to resculpt each joint and this has to be done before the painting process.

It took a bit of planning to double pin each wing but I felt that a single pin would not be sufficient to attach them securely.

SCULPTING

These pictures shows the finished base and the resculpt of the left knee joint. The base was sculpted over a period of one week. I would do a little on the base after I had done a section of seam sculpting on the dragon.

This piture shows the extension to the knee I had to make to facilitate the forward pose. As with every part I sculpted I tried to carry the organic nature of the existing form so that it would be less obvious once it was painted.

The following pictures show the resculpts of the wing seams. Due to the size of each gap and the discontinuity created I could not just fill the gap. It was necessary to fill and resculpt in an effort to hid the gap better once painted.

These pictures show the seam sculpts found on the necks and the central tear.

This picture shows the sculpted detail added to the wrist seam.

This is the completely built and sculpted dragon. It is hard to see the power of the pose from this angle but it is a huge improvment. I am sure I will have some difficulty photographing this model once done.

PAINTING

These pictures show some of the resculpted areas after priming. It was here that I was happy with the sculpts because they do the job of hiding the seams very well.

STAGE ONE:

STAGE TWO:

STAGE THREE:

After I finished stage three I put the airbrush away and started with an actual brush. I must say that painting this model has been a huge learning experience for me. Not only was it huge but it was assembled. The scale caused all kinds of problems with the perceived depth of field. I would agonize over detail that was being observed as if I was painting a 25mm figure. After reading some material on painting large statues and busts I pulled my depth of field back and the result was appealing.
The fact that the model was assembled was not a lot of fun. I really wish that the people at Forgeworld would create multi part kits that assemble cleaner. I think that the fact that I had to build the model prior to painting created a huge time sink on this project. Had I been able to paint each wing independent of the model I would have been able to finish sooner with a lot less trouble. As many of you know painting an assembled model creates areas that are awkward to paint. This guy was no exception to that. I felt like a gymnast at times painting an area through the neck arch of one head and under the hand of one arm.

All in all, now that I am done and can look back, I am happy I had the opportunity to paint this beast. It has got to be one of the most fantastic models that I have ever painted.

FINISHED PICTURES:

The base was painted in desolate yellow greys. I felt this balanced the colour of the model well and was the perfect setting for such a terrible beast.

These two shots are of the various mouths that protrude from his massive belly. I think that his torso and belly were the most fun to paint. They are very dynamic and the sculpt is very twisted allowing me to fully utilize my chosen pallet.

This picture shows the entire beast in one shot.

This picture is likely the best for showing the altered, forward pose. Rather than rearing up on his tail he is now poised to annihilate anything in his path.

This picture of the inside wing shows the depth that was generated using the airbrush. It also shows that the painted areas help to accentuate that depth.

These four pictures show the heads of the beast. I painted each head differently, one is a brightly highlighted purple and one is a dully highlighted rotten green. This was planned originally to give the model a more chaotic look. The inside facing of each head is done in a grey bone since the skin can be seen to be peeling off from the head.

These two pictures show the lower portion of the model very well.

These three pictures show the depth of the painting on the top side of the wings. The wings were the hardest part of the model to paint since they have such huge tracts of area.