Customer: David Stark

Project Outline: I'll be building and painting a couple of 'green' models for this one. The new Forgeworld Salamanders Dreadnought, Bray'arth Ashmantle, is up against 'Da Prophet of da Waaagh' himself, Ghazghkull Thraka, for the title. Who's da Greenest? I'll let you decide.

Up first is Ghazghkull Thraka, one of my all-time favorites in 40k. Not only is the model really cool, but rules-wise Ghazzy is a beast on the tabletop.

I opted for a metal version of Ghazzy that I picked up on eBay. I'm still not sold on the whole 'Finecast' thing that Games Workshop is doing. Don't get me wrong, I love resin models, Forgeworld stuff is some of the best out there, but the quality of the Finecast stuff just isn't up to par.

besides, Ghazghkull is Prophet of the Waaagh! for crying out loud! He needs to be heavy! I also repositioned his arms to make for a more dynamic pose.

Next up is the new Forgeworld Salamanders Dreadnought, Bray'arth Ashmantle.

This is what resin models should be!

The detail is fantastic, there a no air bubbles and virually no mold lines. They hit the ball out of the park on this guy.

Here he is from the back. As is typical with all resin banners, the pole itself is a small gauge piece fo resin that has a tendency to break...

... so I drilled up into the pole and inserted a length of steel rod to reinforce it.

I also magnetized the arms for ease of storage/transport, and so you can pull them off easily for 'Weapon Destroyed' results on the damage chart.

These things are ready for primer and paint.

Here's Ghazghkull, all painted up and ready to roll. While I did reposition his arms for a more dynamic pose, I kept the paint job very traditional, using the same scheme as the painters at GW.

Here he is from the back.

Here is Bray'Arth Ashmantle. One of the things that impressed me about this model was the amount of 'flames' it has molded on to the armor.

To carry that motif a step further, I added some freehand flames to the extra armor plates on the shoulders.

Here he is from the back. I really like the design of the powerplant. The circular reactor core is very unique.

The extra armor plate on the left shoulder has a relief image of Bray'Arth's death at the claws of a Tyranid Genestealer.

I went for a etched gold/bronze look for the relief image, much like you'd see in similar images from ancient Rome.

Here's a close-up of the relief image.

So who's da Greenest?

Well, from a painting perspective I'd go with Bray'Arth. Just look at all that green armor.

However, in a fist fight, it would be Ghazzy, hands down. I don't have Bray'Arth's stats in front of me, but Ghazghkull is an absolute beast on the tabletop.

He's got 4 wounds, immunity to instant death, and the ability to make his 2+ save invulnerable. I don't think Bray'Arth can cause enough damage to take him down before Ghazzy beats him into scrap with his powerklaw.