Hello everyone and welcome back to another entry in our In Review series, where we look at different products within this beautiful hobby of ours. Today, as the lucky boy that I am, Para Bellum Games have sent me the incredible Tontorr to paint up and talk about! Well, they sent it just before Christmas, but I've finally found myself in the position to paint it up and write about it, so give me a break!
I want to start right off the bat with two things; the first is that I'm terrible at remembering to take pictures of every element of the process, and so have nothing other than the finished paint job to show you so you'll have to use your imagination and my words will have to do. The second is that this truly is a huge model. Like, ridiculously huge. I haven't held a miniature anywhere near the scale of this, with the biggest one before this being the Promethean that Para Bellum Games sent over a couple of months ago. You can read the article I wrote on that big boy HERE and see the size comparison between them both to the left (unless you're a heathen and viewing this on your mobile, in which case who knows where the picture will crop up.)
But enough about him, this article is devoted to this beautiful blue blooded sculpt. If you are in any way, a lover of blue blooded creatures, then this model is going to cause a few palpitations in your heart. If you've been collecting your Seraphon miniatures from Warhammer because you're a fan of dinosaurs, then this sculpt is the one for you to branch out into (just think of the proxy opportunities!)
In the box, you receive the sprues to build the Tontorr, plus the three crew members. You'll also receive the command card which comes with every model within the Conquest range. The base is once again combined of both a circular base for the skirmish side of Conquest, which fits inside the larger square base for the rank and file side of the game. This versatility really is very cool and understated, especially when you look at Warhammer: The Old World, which has caused many people to have to undertake mass rebasing to be able to play. That issue would not be present here, as Para Bellum Games are one step ahead looking out for you!
Also, let's take a second here to look at how cool the faction is that the Tontorr belongs to; The W'adrhun. Without delving too deep into the rich lore provided HERE over on Para Bellum Games' site, The W'adrhun are effectively orcs riding dinosaurs, and I'm sure I don't need to be the one to tell you how cool that is. Let's face it, lizards riding lizards doesn't really make sense. I don't ride a human to get to my next destination (unless that destination is pleasure town, which it almost definitely isn't). So if you're a lover of green skins and blue blooded friends, this faction is the one for you!
But back to the task at hand; the daunting prospect of actually painting this giant! Building him was surprisingly easy, only becoming slightly difficult to hold the more I built him. Once fully built, it was the actual weight of him that took me by surprise. I feel like you could really do some damage if you launched the poor Tontorr at someones face. Please note that I don't condone this act, no matter how humorous it could end up being, especially if they truly deserve it. I considered building him in sub assemblies for the ease of painting for the first time in my life, but ultimately wanted to build the Tontorr in his full glory!
I wanted to employ a new painting technique for this model; one I haven't ever tried before. To see if it was possible to paint him from start to finish using only dry brushing. This would be a great challenge for me, as well as a great test of how well detailed the sculpt is, as the dry brushing technique would require a lot of detail in the plastic for the overall paint job to look good.
I had no plan with colour scheme, so just started layering colours on the skin of the big boy. Starting with purple and working my way up from there, it was a pure joy to be so loose, free and experimental with my colours, and I can safely say that it worked an absolute treat, mainly due to how well detailed the sculpt is! I'm really happy with how the skin has turned out by employing this method, as it's a beautiful blend of purples, reds and oranges in a subtle way, that looks like I'm far more skilled and talented than I truly am.
I was able to dry brush most of the other features and details on the model, including a few parts that I decided to make jade, which I'm especially proud of the look of the end result. The finer and harder to reach details, as well as the cloth and then the riders themselves, I decided to move to paint with a normal brush as I wasn't sure I could pull of the same success with dry brushing. I didn't paint the riders as detailed as the Tontorr itself as I wanted the main focus of the paint job to be on the majestic beast, but I may very well come back to them in the future. As you can see, I think this overall model looks fantastic, and I'm really happy with my work on him.
To conclude, I would say that this model truly is massive, majestic and amazing. The detail is wonderful, and it absolutely scratched my need to paint a big old dino. My main problem with the Tontorr, is simply how intimidating and big it is, that it caused me to procrastinate in starting the work on him; that's obviously a very good problem to have, so kudos to Para Bellum Games for causing me to feel intimidated by a piece of plastic. I haven't felt that way since dad last brandished his synthetic leather belt.
This is a truly impressive kit, awesome for a painting project or simply to add to your army to play Conquest with. Whilst he is one of the most expensive models in the range that you can buy, his scale and pure joy to paint more than makes up for it. You can go check out the model HERE and also look at the alternative war drum build HERE. You should note here that you cannot choose to build either version from one kit; they are sold as separate kits.
If you're unaware as to what Conquest is or who Para Bellum Games are, you're missing out, so go and educate yourself via https://www.para-bellum.com to learn more about the game, world, lore and factions. If I've managed to convince you to buy the Tontorr, or you'd like to punish your wallet, head over to the store via https://store.para-bellum.com/?ref=Plasticpreacher@gmail.com. Make sure you also use my referral code 'PP10' to get yourself a sweet discount to dull the financial sting.
A huge thank you to Para Bellum Games for sending me the Tontorr to paint up and share my thoughts on. This company is truly a wonderful and generous one, and is worth branching out into if you've been thinking about moving away from the classic Warhammer.
Once again, if you'd like to get involved in Para Bellum Games' Conquest, head to the shop via the link below, and use my code 'PP10' for a discount to get you started!
Orks on dinosaurs, what's not to love!
Really impressive use of drybrushing there. It's so often looked down on as a technique, but as you have demonstrated, it's possible to work magic with it with proper application.
Love Conquest and the models they make, nice work!