Armiger Warglaive

The Business End

This is the last model to paint from my Forgebane Box of miniatures. It is now complete, finished, done!

The Meltagun

I have given it a heavy stubber for self defence against unarmoured targets, and a meltagun to kill armour and monsters.

Reaper Chain-Cleaver

The Cleaver on its left fighting army is a great close combat weapon, agan for taking out vehicles and monsters.

All in all, a useful all-purpose unit.

Adeptus Mechanicus Galvanic Servohauler 2 - Mobile Crane

This is a a great model of a crane on a rotating platform attached to what looks like a railway wagon low loader. I chose to attach the claw to the end of the chain as being more 'Grimdark' but a standard hook is also supplied.

The Techpriest is there purely to show scale but the fire extinguisher and toolbox come with the kit.

I glued the fire extinguisher onto a corner of the bogie.

I can see this looking good in a Steampunk or Weird World War II setting.

This whole kit set is great value for £25.

Highly recommended.

Adeptus Mechanicus Tractors - err - Galvanic Servohaulers

Adeptus Mechanicus Tractors from the Galvanic Servohauler Box.

These are great kits with a limited degree of exchangeable bits, although I have to say they look best the way you are supposed to construct them according to the plan.

They are easy to put together and chunky and tough so very robust to play usage.

The back of the small tractor cries out for a rear platform and enginseer or servitor to be added as a controller.

The full boxed set is great value at about Twenty Five of our Brexit Pounds.

New 40K Army: Adeptus Mechanicus

To celebrate the arrival of a playable version of 40K, I decided to paint a new army. My family gave me an Adeptus Mechanicus starter set for my birthday. As a STEM person, I have always had a hankering to the theocratic engineers.

The starter pack includes an HQ character, the Dominus. This is a great model which would appeal to steampunk gamers as well as 40K-ers.

The troop choice in the set is ten Skitari figures that can be built as Rangers or Vanguard. I liked the look of the Rangers. I tried to give them coherent weapons, fluff wise, rather than an optimum gamer mix, as you get quite a choice.

And finally the heavy support in the set, a Dune Crawler. Again there is a wide range of weaponry available but I decided on the AA version with a general purpose Icarus weapon system.

I bought an additional set of heavy battle servitors to act as a bodyguard for my Dominus, as per the fluff.

Again, I went for a weapon system that supported army coherence without worrying about optimum gaming strategy.

A view showing the engine mix. These are great models and the set is great value for money.

I've had this somewhat knackered metal Tech Priest for at least a decade. He was a stalwart of my Imperial Guard.

Four old metal servitors from the same era.

These are OOP 'Iron Brotherhood' figures that I bought years ago because I thought they looked cool. I believe MicroArts (?) made them. I have never used them but now they make a nice alternative servitor unit.

And finally, the whole army in all its glory: it makes up about 40 PPs so is fine for small games or as a detachment in big multiplayer ones.

Review Adeptus Mechanicus Dunewalker

The Business End

I really didn't like the look of the photos of the Dunewalker when it first came out but when I actually got to see one I found that I liked the real thing a whole lot more. I was fortunate to be given a starter set for my birthday.

Rear Threequarter View

It is one of those new highly detailed kits that I suppose date back to when GW deluded themselves that their main market was modellers rather than wargamers. In fact it is over-engineered for a wargame model, but that is a not uncommon problem with kit manufacturers these days.

Showing The Icarus Weapon System

The legs, for example, have a number of joints which one is advised not to glue, which does make for a very posable model. But it also results in it collapsing in a heap like a dead spider so one ends up gluing the joints in position one by one after the event. Some of the detail is a pain to put together - the tiny rods connecting the turret rail to the turret for example. Also there are some very delicate bits of plastic that are unlikely to survive long.

Come In No. 74, Your Time Is Up


Nevertheless, the finished product looks very nice indeed and there is quite a choice of weapons and equipment for those who must have one of everything.

The Radiation Doomed Crewman

The Dunewalker comes with a base which I chose not to use as it is rather large to decorate
and the model really doesn't need one.

Recommended: but be patient with all the small components.

Adeptus Mechanicus Technomage

Adeptus Mechanicus technomage painted froma Scribor Iron Brotherhood model. These miniatures are good value for money for a high quality resin model and there are a number of designs. The only one I don't like are there 'skitari', which are dumpy and overpriced.

Stand Up CogBoys

Suggestions for what was so funny?

Strippers - The Adeptus Mechanicus

The Wheel of Fortune has brought my long awaited Mechanicus Project back to the surface of what I call .my mind' so I dug out some old second hand models and painted them.

I just gave the Techpriest another top coat but stripped the servitors and started again.

Can you tell the difference? Is stripping worth the effort?

Iron Brotherhood Angel - Adeptus Mechanicus

This is a Micro Art Studios miniature from their Iron Brotherhood range. These are very Adeptus Mechanicus. It is mounted on an Iron Halo Deus ex Machina resin insert. The resin of the model is very clean but it needs roughing up where sections are to be glued as superglue does not 'bite' well on the smooth surface. I used the old Milliput dodge to attach the wings. You put a layer of superglue in the socket, then a small ball of well mixed Milliput epoxy-resin clay, and finally another deab of superglue. The wing attachment is then pushed into the socket. The result is a fast, strong, attachment.

The model has a very simple layered paint job. It was sprayed with Citadel white undercoat then base painted black and Citadel mechrite red. Layers of Citadel tin bitz and shining gold were used to build up highlights on the metalic parts and Revel fiery red on the red sections. The base is Citadel scorched brown glazed with fiery red.

Ramshackle Steampunk/ Gun Servitor

This is a Rmshackle games steampunk miniature that I have just finished. I thought that it would make a good servitor, as well as a steampunk heavy weapon automaton.

While on the subject of Micro Art

While on the subject of Micro-Art, they have announced pre-orders for a range of infantry for their Iron Brotherhood range: Adeptus Mechanicus, Renegades, Guard?

As usual with Micro Art, top quality models but they are sold in pairs for Eight Euros a time. If you are well heeled......

Colossus Kitbash

I have been doing a little more work on my Adeptus Mechanicus Colossus. I have painted and added a GW techpriest and an Old Crow resin crane. I have put on weathering and grease using burnt umbar water-based oil paint. This is wonderful stuff as you can plonk it on and then move it where it is needed and rub it off for at least an hour. It dries slowly, especially when thick. Incidentally, diluting it with water forms a coloid that never seems to dry! i have also added rust by putting mig powder on with 'clean' turps.

Adeptus Mechanicus logos were made with an inkjet printer and put on with white glue

The Colossus is now finished. I will do no more on it; well, maybe a servitor and an Imperial propoganda tannoy........

John

PS Sorry about the photos; a quick job with the model perched on my garden waste bin. Note the pastel light of a North European winter.

Titan Build No1 - The feet and legs

After two days hard work I have assembled the basic feet and leg structures.

They are not finished, of dear me know. I have only added the feet, knee and thigh pistons. There are still the ankle and hip pistons to go.

John

300 quids worth of resin

Yup, this is what three tons worth of resin looks like.

Now all I have to do is make it.

It comes with an ownership certificate and the address of a good therapist,

John

kitbashed Gun Servitor

I finally got around to finishing my kitbashed gun servitor. It is made from scrap plastic obtained from half a dozen different kits.

I was inspired from a description in a 40K novel of large clunking servitors.

John

Siege Mortar

The basic siege mortar actually existed. The Germans had a mania for large weapons, most of which were an ineffective use of resources.

This model was based on a 1:35 kit of a "Karl-Gerät" siege mortar. This was a self propellled gun that was strategically moved by attachment to two railway trucks. There were six used. I think the kit was Tamiya.