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.

Adeptus Mechanicus Siege Engine

I conceived this originally as a piece of terrain but with the coming of Apocalypse I guess that I should work out a stats sheet.

It is not intended to fight so no defensive guns but the Skitarii have set up an autocannon on a tripod just in case the enemy have not read the manual.

It is just about finished. I would like to add an FW tech servitor when I can and some mechanicus badges, if I can find any.

Last Man Standing

I finished the story today. My editor at Black Library has graced me a few extra days for editing. This is the most ambitiously structured story that I have attempted. I hope that i have pulled it off.

John

The pic is of a scorpion made from two despoilers.

Kitbashed Malcador

I had this Sturmtiger that I picked up in a sale.

Enter a kitbashed Malcador for my Renegades of Vrak Army.

I put a couple of tank riders on for versimilitude.

I prefer plastic models to resin as they are easier to store.

John

Malacador Defender

This was the first Forge World Kit that I ever attempted. I made a bit of a bodge of it in some ways. It is kitted out as a Renegades of Vrak tank.

I used a battleship gray as it is supposed to be a mothballed vehicle that they have brought out, daubed in chaos symbols and committed straight from recommision.

John

Imperial Dropship Data Sheet

I did promise the data sheet for my Dropship model. So here it is.

There are rumours of a Planetstrike supplement coming for 40K so I'm getting ready.

I hope you can read the writing. I know it's rubbish but I am a doctor and we spend years learning to write like that.

Deathrolla

This another of my super-heavy Ork vehicles. It is 'loosely' based on a Rhino. The is a great deal of plasticard and Robogear plates in there. The rolla is from my wife's garden storage box. The orks and grots come from old and new models and kits. The twin-linked rocket launcha and zap gun are Forge World. The cannon are Emhar 1:35 WWI field guns. The twin-linked big shootas are cut of an old Ghazghul Thraka model and the grot bomb is a modified Star Wars missile from a Y fighter.

I used the usual weathering techniques.

The grot in the tower, Wozzy, is there to spot targets but also as a roving reporter for the OBBC, the Ork Battle Broadcasting Corporation. When the 'Rolla gets stuck in he gives a rolling news broadcast for the ladz on foot left behind, denouncing them as nancy-boys.

This ensures the infantry keep up - so they can break that bloody grot's neck when they catch him.

It's a tough life in the OBBC.

Have at you d'Artagnan

I couldn't resist putting this up.
Sean's new official stompa duelling with his scratchbuilt stompa.
John

Skullhamma Battle Fortress

First let me apologise for the photo quality.

This was a difficult model to photograph as it is highy-detailed but large so getting all the bits in focus was a challenge.

It is a more or less canon Skulhamma with special Kannon, lobba, and two twin-linked big shootas in the pods. I have added the two optional Supa-Rokkits and also an AA mount in the form of twinn-linked big shootas in a can on the turret (from an old scorcha kit).

This is my warbosses personal vehiclen for my Kult of Speed so it has his warbike on a crane on the side. You can see a Mek making a few adjustments. The tank is equipped with straphangers (yes, I was a London commuter). The turbos are from an Airfix Robogear kit.

The weathering uses MIG Rust and concrete powders, as well as my usual Tamiya sticks. The concrete has to be put on AFTER you varnish the model - I used PVA glue.

I tried to make the finished product interesting by adding customised detail on every surface.

John

Shadowsword

Here it is, the new Shadowsword kit, and it’s a cracker. There are six different variants but I elected to make the basic Shadowsword. Game-wise, you are probably better off festooning it with lascannons and heavy bolters but I opted for a plain simple Titan-Slayer layout. I think it looks better and the rationale makes more sense. A specialised, expensive vehicle like this would never be expected to go toe-to-toe with the enemy. I have given it a single twin-lined front heavy bolter as a last ditch defence.
This layout does have some advantages. The side armour is bumped to 14, meaning that a strength nine weapon is the minimum needed to have any chance of armour penetration, and the Ballistic Skill is bumped to four (extra targetters). That BS upgrade may make all the difference when you have a Titan in your sights.
I also enclose some pics comparing the Baneblade and Shadowsword kits.

Modelling an Imperial Guard Dropship

“the three shuttles were military dropships, heavily armoured and carrying enough weaponry for close air support.......the barrage of autocannon rounds and sporadic rockets from handheld launchers barely scratched the paintwork as the menacing formation descended. All the defenders really succeeded in doing was to pinpoint their positions, the ones bracketing the shuttle’s flight path falling silent almost at once as the dropships’ nose-mounted lascannon replied to deadly effect.”
Extract from Cain’s Last Stand by Sandy Mitchell, 2008.

An armed and armoured dropship for my Imperial Guard, oh yes, I just had to have one. A search around the internet convinced me that there was nothing available, not even at some horrendous price from Forge World. So I had to scratchbuild one. I used balsa wood (and balsa glue) to build the basic box as it is both light and rigid. I wanted a brutal-looking shuttle, not some high-tech machine. I coated the frame in plasticard using white glue. Then it was just a case of adding on decoration. The twin-plasma engines are from a Star Wars Y-Wing kit. I also used various bits from a Trumpeter Chinese MIG-19 1:35 kit. The Hellstrike missiles on overwing launchers and the lateral vectored thrusters are from Old Crow.

The dropship is armed with a forward firing lascannon, a dorsal-turret with twin-linked heavy bolters and two hellstrike missiles to make the defenders keep their heads down. The bolters can also be used while the shuttle is on the ground. There are lateral exit hatches, including one large set that is blown off with bolt charges to facilitate getting the troops out quickly. It has a tail rocket-jet as well as the plasma engines for space flight.

It has four crew, a captain-pilot, an enginseer, and two gunners in a sealed cabin in the bow. The shuttle has a ruby laser long range comm to communicate with orbiting ships so it can act as a command vehicle.

The model is painted Tamiya German Grey. Citadel shining gold was used for various sensors and panels. These were hand-varnished with Citadel ‘Ard Coat after the whole model had been sprayed with Citadel satin varnish to make them shine.

It is about 40cm long with a 24cm wingspan.

Planetary Assault, anyone? Rules and datasheet to follow.

The Pictures are clickable

Baneblade II - A Plaguereaper of Nurgle

I have a renegade Nurgle army so the Plaguereaper conversion of a Baneblade was just too tempting and, as Oscar Wilde so pithily put it, ‘The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield’. My efforts are shown in the photos.

The model was quite extensive converted by the use of Milliput. This may not be the world’s best modelling clay but it is cheap and I am used to working with it. A useful aid was the modelling tool from Citadel. The paint job is built up in many successive layers:
1. Black Citadel undercoat spray (this is the best undercoating agent you can get),
2. Dark Brown (e.g. Citadel Scorched Brown),
3. Mid brown,
4. Mid Green,
5. Puky green (e.g. Citadel Camo), and
6. Translucent bright yellow (e.g. Bad Moon Yellow).

I tried to put something interesting on every surface of the tank so that there was detail wherever the eye rested. I put on Milliput boils, Milliput goo, nurglings, arms etc and even a zombie in a tattered Guard uniform emerging from bubbling goo at the back – this usefully covered up Imperial symbols.

The original model is currently on display at the Maidstone Games workshop

The datasheet is on p. 172 of the Apocalypse rulebook.

Baneblade

One of my favourite miniatures set is Citadel’s Warhammer 40K models. 40K is probably the world’s most successful wargame. Its play mechanics are now in a 5th edition and are OK rather than scintillating but the background ‘fluff’ and models are exceptional.

The new Apocalypse mega-mad game system has given the game a new lease of life. I have been very taken with the new plastic Apocalypse vehicles.

I have built three Baneblade super-heavy tanks, two of which are heavily modified. The photos show the standard build. It was undercoated in Citadel’s excellent black undercoat spray and then painted with Tamiya German Grey (XF-63) and drybrushed with lightened shades of same. The aim was to give the tank a Panzer look, hence the black uniforms for the crew. It was far too pristine when finished so I tried weathering it with a Tamiya weathering stick (Mud shade). I had never used one before but was pleased with the result. These are like lipsticks and are just as easy to use, so i’m told.

The model is currently on display at Games Workshop’s Maidstone store.

I worry that I overdid it a bit but it does look like a tank that has been in the field. I once asked a veteran of Vietnam what colour the tanks were, as they seemed different in every photo. His answer was that they were the colour of the last thing they had driven through.