Space Marine Venerable Dreadnought

Within the forty-first millennium, devastating weapons exist, that can punch a hole through the Power Armour, of even a god-like Space Marine. Such Fallen brethren, may be saved from death, by their interment within the sarcophagus of a Dreadnought:

Within this armoured hide, the Honoured brethren shall continue to live, and bring his/her wrath to the enemies of the Emperor (of Mankind). Only the greatest/oldest warriors shall be deemed worthy of Venerable status: as they have the most knowledge (often dating back thousands of years) and have earned their right on the battlefield (often by destroying a mighty foe and/or standing against overwhelming numbers). I like the fact that this model has been crafted to a high-standard, and I especially like the amount of Purity Seals present upon the armour (which help to designate it's Venerable status). When painting this model, I wanted to aim for something different: thus it was that I decided upon Legion of the Damned! As black is my favourite colour, I under-coated in Chaos black (spray paint), then built up the layers (with Chaos black and a Tank brush), dry-brushed in bolt-gun, then carefully painted the flames (white base, yellow over the white, red over most of the yellow - with some added fun on raised edges!). I then dry-brushed gold over the entire model, including the flames (although a lesser coverage here). The biggest problem I faced (whilst painting), was with the weight of the (metal) model - as I remember that it became awkward to hold, and I had a growing fear, that something, could fall off! I forget (with my memory), whether the kit was supplied with more than one weapons choice (or not), although I would have opted for the Power Fist and Assault Cannon configuration anyway: as I feel that a Venerable Dreadnought should be both capable of attack from afar, and be able to get in into the thick-of-it (during hand-to-hand), which is exactly what my Dreadnought does! I find it ironic that the model has an exposed head (to represent the Space Marine), as I believe that actually makes him/her more vulnerable (although I suppose its possible that there's a force screen/shield across there). When it comes to playing 40K, I like the fact that my Venerable Dreadnought is (generally) much harder to kill: as it allows you to request your opponent to re-roll on the Vehicle Damage tables. This can cause some dilemma though - can you live without your Power Fist or risk loosing your Dreadnought entirely? At the very least, you may get a chance to save your Dreadnought, from exploding, (by requesting the re-roll of a high dice roll - which I have done before). Overall: I enjoyed painting this model (deciding to mark a Birthday by collecting it!) and know that it is pride-of-place within my Legion of the Damned Space Marines army. I feel that the model is especially suited to the Dreadnought scenic base (because of the link between the skulls on the model, and the skull on the ground). I also know just how imposing this model can feel on the battlefield - as it towers above the height of a standard Space Marine, and often attracts much fire-power (as your opponent will be grinning to destroy it!).