Finally, the ships are all painted, and just in time for a big weekend of tabletop gaming!

The Flaming Scimitar can control the elements, and even change the weather to benefit the Grand Alliance’s sail-class ships. Powerful and versatile, the Scimitar has many tricks to throw enemies off guard.

Tags: dreadfleet, Flaming Scimitar, painting, Warhammer
Category Dreadfleet |
My first model painted over a white basecoat, I think it looks alright!

The Seadrake is the most agile ship in the game, and can easily turn the tables on enemy pursuers or slip between the most dangerous obstacles. It may lack firepower, but it has access to one of the most powerful auxiliaries in the game: fire-breathing dragons.
Tags: dreadfleet, painting, Seadrake, Warhammer
Category Dreadfleet |
The Dwarf ironclad / aircraft carrier / tank warship is complete!


Damaging Grimnir’s Thunder is a tough prospect for any ship, let alone sinking it. The most durable ship in the Grand Alliance is also armed with flame cannons and flying dirigible auxiliaries.
Tags: dreadfleet, Grimnir's Thunder, painting, Warhammer
Category Dreadfleet |
Finished the Curse tonight! That’s the five Dreadfleet ships done. Now, time to finish the last three Grand Alliance models.


The Curse of Zandri may be sluggish (probably because it is weighed down by all that gold) but it has great offensive ability.
The five animated statues around the hull give it good boarding attacks, while its ranged attack can set enemy ships ablaze.
Tags: curse of zandri, dreadfleet, painting, Warhammer
Category Dreadfleet |
I chose some ‘rotten’ colours for the Skabrus, which I thought matched the look a bit better than the brighter colours in White Dwarf.
– The guts and innards were painted in Scorched Brown, then layered with Red Gore and Blood Red. I then washed it down with Baal Red and coated it in Gloss Varnish.
– The Skin areas were painted in Knarloc Green then washed with Devlan Mud.


The Skabrus is animated from the remains of an Orb Leviathan and its last meal of Skaven sailors. It has a superb ranged attack, thanks to warp lightning cannons that ignore the enemy’s armour. It is also difficult to pin down, as the Skaven are masters of running away!
Tags: dreadfleet, painting, Skabrus, Warhammer
Category Dreadfleet |

The Swordfysh is one of the most versatile ships in the Grand Alliance. She has a respectable attack at range, a powerful ramming attack and good handling. Her unique captain’s ability improves all of this further to be even deadlier in combat.
Tags: dreadfleet, painting, Swordfysh, Warhammer
Category Dreadfleet |
Another simple ‘ship’ to paint!
The ship was undercoated in Chaos Black.
All Metal and bronze areas were picked out in Boltgun Metal. The bronze was then layered with Dwarf Bronze and highlighted with Mithril Silver.
The recesses of the mechanical parts were then washed with Badab Black.

The Black Kraken has a powerful boarding attack and good handling to match. She can also submerge to ambush unsuspecting enemies.
Tags: Black kraken, dreadfleet, painting, Warhammer
Category Dreadfleet |
The Shadewraith was simplest to paint, due to its ghostly nature! I didn’t bother following most of the White Dwarf guide with this one:
– Undercoat spray all Chaos Black
– Base coat spray Skull White, lightly. The reason I didn’t base-coat in White was so that the shadows inside the ship remain as dark as possible.
– Thraka Green wash entire model, focusing on the shady areas on the lower half of each sail, and the lower hull.
– Paint the seaweed Scorched Brown, then highlight with Khemri Brown
– Dry-brush a 1:1 mixture of Codex Grey and Skull White across the upper edges of the model.


The Shadewraith is one of the most survivable ships amongst the Dreadfleet, being hardest to destroy at range. It is also capable of flying to avoid obstacles and attack the enemy from an entirely different direction.
Tags: dreadfleet, painting, Shadewraith, Warhammer
Category Dreadfleet |
Bloody Reaver done!
I noticed that the small mast toward the rear of the ship has space on the banner for words, but there were no image references for what the actual text is, so I added my own: “BEEFUS”

The Bloody Reaver belongs to commander of the Dreadfleet. It has the highest number of attacks during boarding actions, and a durable, regenerative hull.
It may not be quick, but the commander can also take control of sea monsters to do the dirty work for him.
Tags: Bloody reaver, dreadfleet, painting, Warhammer
Category Dreadfleet |
Finally! After too much work and not enough play, my first Dreadfleet ship, the Heldenhammer has finished painting. Let’s see how much painting I can do in 3 days of annual leave…ready….GO!
The Heldenhammer was painted by loosely following the Dreadfleet issue in White Dwarf.

The Heldenhammer is commanded by leader of the Grand Alliance. Though not very nimble, it has the strongest broadside attack in the game, and the steam-powered hammer in her figurehead deals out massive damage during boarding actions.
Tags: dreadfleet, heldenhammer, Warhammer
Category Dreadfleet |