What do you get when you cross a die-hard Ultramarines fan with a relentless love of Dreadnoughts? Máryse Ouellet’s collection, that’s what.
We’ve already seen plenty of their work on Warhammer-Community.com, including a turncoat Legionary from Kill Team: Nachmund and a canny Fafnir Rann conversion, but we just had to find out how such an impressive collection of war machines came together. Who better to ask than Máryse themself?
Máryse: Dreadnoughts are one of the most iconic Space Marine vehicles – what’s not to like about giant walking tombs sporting exotic and dangerous weapons? It's the reason I love them and have nearly 50 of various types, from the classic boxy Dreadnought* to the mighty Leviathan and gun-toting Deredeo.
The Ultramarines are my absolute favourite Space Marines (both as a Legion and Chapter), being honourable and loyal to the Codex Astartes. I originally liked them for their tabletop rules, but after reading some of the fab Horus Heresy novels,** I've come to love them for their fighting spirit and vigorous defence of Humanity.
Why do I have so many Dreadnoughts, you might ask? Honestly, they’re just really fun to paint. I love all the straight corners and panel lines, and as an artist who uses strong highlights as my style, they’re really relaxing to work on.
Along the way I've done a few conversions using Contemptor Dreadnoughts from other Legions so they can fit into my army. So far I've taken the Emperor’s Children, Death Guard and Iron Hands versions, removed their iconography, and given them a healthy splash of Macragge Blue.
My future plans include character Contemptors, like a Techmarine or Chaplain. I have one that's further along… but that’s a secret for now.
I’ve also recently started an Adeptus Custodes army and painted a few of their Dreadnoughts, like the Telemon. They’re beautiful models, and I love the two that I’ve done so far.
I think I’ll always be adding to this Dreadnought army – at some point, I want to take it on the road and issue a challenge to anyone brave enough to fight them all. I’ll need a whopping 20 Dreadnought Drop Pods first and I only have two so far, so it might be a while before they’re roused for battle.
Thanks, Máryse! Find the perfect Dreadnought for your Legion of choice over at Forge World, and field the stompy army of your dreams.
* Known to the Imperium as the Castraferrum-pattern Dreadnought, fact fans!
** Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar is a Codex-compliant place to start.
