Hello, all! This being my third army and first ever P&M blog, there's going to be a lot of experimentation going on. Without further ado, here's a summary of what I'll be doing with this army:

Base Codex: Imperial Guard, 5th Ed.
Designation: Mechanized Infantry
Origins:[Begin fluff] Asphodel, a grave-world(which I have decided to toss somewhere in Segmentum Obscurus, east of the Cadian Gate), home to the remains of a great many decommissioned Imperial tanks and starships which have been discarded on the surface. Population lives in one of several hive constructed around the joined remains of Imperial ships that were no longer spaceworthy but still liveable. Industry centered around colossal Manufactoria charged with melting down or re-assembling the equipment left on the planet's surface. What does this mean in terms of modeling? Plenty of armoured vehicles, but they all look kinda shoddy and scavenged. Also lots of metal bitz and special weapons because of all the rare equipment they dig up.
[End fluff]
Style: I'll dub it frilly cyberpunk; clunky armour and bionic implants poorly concealed by puffy sleeves and foppish hats.

Without further ado, my current list.

HQ:
Company Command Squad

Troops:
2 Infantry Squads
1 Veteran Squad

(Blue: On wish list. Red: Not started. Yellow: Assembled. Green: Painted. )

This ends my ranting. Hopefully by tonight I'll have some Veterans to show you.

Nice fluff, I like the sound of a grave world. Are you going to use the Empire range from WHFB for the steampunking?

I'm going for more cyberpunk than steampunk; the frilly clothes are going to be dirtied up to match all their rusty bitz. Think of all that fancy attire as a way to give my disheveled army a little dignity and set off the grimdark aesthetic with a helping of irony. I don't have concrete plans for the sleeves but I've already figured out how to do the hats with some simple Green Stuff work.

Owain wrote:I'm going for more cyberpunk than steampunk; the frilly clothes are going to be dirtied up to match all their rusty bitz. Think of all that fancy attire as a way to give my disheveled army a little dignity and set off the grimdark aesthetic with a helping of irony. I don't have concrete plans for the sleeves but I've already figured out how to do the hats with some simple Green Stuff work.

Well ya got me hooked looking forward to some pics.

I like the idea of this and look forward to seeing the results of your work

Foppish hats mixed with scavenged armour sounds... interesting to say the least . It could look ridiculously cool, or it could just look plain ridiculous: I'll be watching this one with interest .

UPDATE:
I still don't have a decent camera, but I've completed three models for my command squad and I'll do my best to describe them.

Company Commander, Captain Gwydyon Cylfarr:
Armed with a prototype compact boltgun(read: small boltgun with power cables from backpack) and power sword. I've sculpted him with a beret and a nice cape, and he gets a personal standard on his back. This particular standard came with a 4th Edition Terminator Squad and has been carried by a Terminator Sergeant, a Veteran Sergeant, a Chapter Master, and a Terminator Librarian before ending up in Gwydyon's hands... and I think I've finally found the miniature it's going to stay on.

Medic, Borys Vallar:
Converted from the Catachan Command Squad kit. He gets a surgical mask and some scary goggles already, but I decided to add a patched, blood-spattered apron with Green Stuff. Since his hands are occupied with a large syringe I slung his lascarbine on the side of his backpack. Even the medic has to do his share of the fighting!

Vox Operator, Lancer First Class Arden Kayn:
He's got a beret-like hat over his comms headset, a standard voxcaster backpack, and a lasgun in his left hand. As I didn't want them to have the typical barbaric Catachan appearance, I filled in the front of the vest with green stuff and then gave him a short tabard and a frilly shirt. I added some armour to the left shoulder but left the arms bare as I'm doing with most of my command squad; most of my troops will be pretty uniformed but my commander has surrounded himself with some real thugs to keep himself safe on the field.

I'll finish off the squad and get some pictures tomorrow. I'm getting two boxes of Cadian Shock Troops tomorrow that will somehow have to match my command squad; hopefully I'll be able to achieve this by mixing and matching leftover bits from the Catachan box and doing more Green Stuff work.

Well they sound good, but a visual is needed here, lets see some photos and we can offer a comment.

I rigged up a primitive lightbox and took a snapshot of the work I've done so far. Captain's weapon was changed to a scavenged-looking plasma carbine.

[These images were removed. The miniatures in them have been updated and they were so huge that they probably prevented a lot of people from reading the thread properly.]


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Captain is WIP. I'm fully aware of the crude join and the flash at the end of the gun.

Coming soon! Captain Gwydyon's pet daemonhost and the first of several heavy weapons teams.

I'm liking the greenstuff so far. The surgeon looks creepy.

Thanks. He'll look even creepier when he's been painted up with bloodstains.... human and otherwise. That syringe is good for more than dispensing goodies, y'know.

Wow, it's a good start. (I find myself 'green stuff slowed')

Ditto on the surgeon.

This is my first attempt at green stuff. Fortunately all the horribly disfigured models aren't in the picture.

Pending some advice at the P&M forum they're all getting feathers in their hats to make them look yet MORE foppish. As for the surgeon, I'll have to figure something out to make him match the others a little.

Having improved my sculpting skills a little, I gave my surgeon and vox operator improved armour kits and challenged myself by giving Lancer Eiran(the colour sergeant) a nifty scarf. I also finished up the Daemonhost, who has a massive sucking chest wound. The idea is that in his haste to create the host a rushed Inquisitor inscribed the runes of binding on the knife and jammed it into the tormented thing's heart. One almost feels sorry for the creature.... almost. Last but not least is Grenadier Tarv, who gets a meltagun because no one else in the unit is all that well-equipped to take out tanks. Neither the captain's powersword not the Daemonhost's strength strike me as sufficient to survive a close encounter with an armoured vehicle and and only two of the Guardsmen in the squad can hit anything at above 12" with their flashli- err, lasguns anyway.




I've also redone my ranks as follows; I've decided on a cavalry theme as most of my squads will be "mounted" in transport vehicles.
Trooper = Basic Infantry.
Trooper(II) = Private, First Class
Grenadier = Infantry trained to use special weapons or man heavy emplacements. Grenadiers in Lancer detachments enjoy the same seniority but maintain their title for identification purposes; it always pays to know who has a krak missile handy when enemy tanks come to call.
Lancer = A somewhat unique rank, those who have served for an extended period of time and proven themselves competent and reliable under fire. Lancers are attached to infantry squads as leaders or formed into Lancer Troops(equivalent of a Veteran Squad) which are usually lead by junior officers who have a respectable amount of battlefield experience. They also tend to form bodyguards and command squads.

From here, ranks are Guard standard; Lieutenant, Captain, Major, et cetera. I plan to give "promotions" to my officers as I fight battles. Hopefully Gwydyon won't be a captain for long!

Can we get a better pic of that greenstuff please?

You got it. Commencing image bombardment.

No offence, but the bloke with the two claws looks a little bit silly IMO. They just look way too oversized. The rest of them look cool though.

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get to the chopper! wrote:No offence, but the bloke with the two claws looks a little bit silly IMO. They just look way too oversized. The rest of them look cool though.

Admittedly looks silly without paint since he looks like a Catachan with two massive power claws. I think he'll come out quite nicely once painted.

Actually I quite like the over size cyborg cybernetics. Some really good finicky greenstuff details as well. Cyberpunk is a nifty idea for an army theme very Necromunda/RT Era!

RT, you say? I'm flattered.

Very nice.
Hope to see more.

Thanks. I'll have the first infantry squad done by tonight; Chimera proxies haven't been chosen or ordered but will hopefully be in my hands before next weekend.


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Speaking of which, does anyone know where I can get my hands on some tank and APC models of the proper scale for 40k?

looking good so far, as for an APC model give pig iron productions a go , keep you p the good work

Ramshackle Games has lots of stuff the right scale but not necessarily the right style. Old Crow Models also has some nice stuff. Another good source is 1;48 and 1;32 vehicle models if I remember rightly 1;32 looks right for infantry and 1;48 for vehicles.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them all out. I'm putting together Infantry Squad alpha right now; it's a medium-ranged shooty squad that gets an autocannon team for support. In keeping with my armored cav strategy, they'll mount up in a Chimera which I'll use to shield their approach and to tank shock enemy assault troops before they overrun my heavy weapons.


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This Wednesday I'm going to buy some Empire State Troops at my FLGS and arm them with shotguns and some really hard-hitting assault weapons. They'll be one of those Lancer Troops(counts-as-Veterans) I mentioned earlier. Being the best of my army, it's only fitting that they get puffy shirts and feathery hats; the breastplates will also be great WYSIWYG insurance for carapace armour once I add some nice, heavy-looking shoulders.


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Picture time! I've painted up this Grenadier as a test for my colour scheme. Let me know what you think!

Also, here's a WIP lascannon team. Note that they're sheltering behind some track bits and road wheels in keeping with my junkyard theme, and I replaced the ammo feed with something I thought looked cooler.

Cool.

http://shop.ramshacklegames.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=1

I'm going to use the extra weapons from my Heavy Weapons Sprue with these; they'll act as Sentinels. I'm also debating using motorbikes as Rough Riders. I'm not sure how much tactical use they'd have but it would be a fun conversion and I'll have spears left over from my Empire State Troops set.

That new ammo feed looks awesome, great job!

I'm starting to think that Daemonhost is a HUGE waste of points.


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I'm changing the role of the Daemonhost, perhaps using him as Marbo unless I take him apart and do something else with those claws, turning him into just another Guardsman. What do you guys think? Is he too different to work with my theme or does the poor bastard deserve a shot?

I run a DH army and have always felt that the daemonhosts are too random to be usable, I realize that you are running IG with elements of DH but the same principle applies, when you pay that much for a character you need to know that it will acheive the task you give it.
You are obviously running an inquisitor if you have daemonhost so why not try the model out as one of the assassins?

BLACKHAND wrote:I run a DH army and have always felt that the daemonhosts are too random to be usable, I realize that you are running IG with elements of DH but the same principle applies, when you pay that much for a character you need to know that it will acheive the task you give it.
You are obviously running an inquisitor if you have daemonhost so why not try the model out as one of the assassins?

Unfortunately when it comes to Daemonhosts, you have to apply the "Magic" theory to them: put in the max amount to reduce the random factor as much as possible.

In other words, bring 3 to increase your chances of getting the power(s) you want when you want them if you want Daemonhosts.

Thus far I can't find any appropriately scaled APCs that are cheaper than the Chimera... a shame seeing as there's no way in hell I'm spending $105 on transports for a single Troops choice. Does anyone have further suggestions as to where I can get my hands on potential Chimera stand-ins for $25 or less? I don't care about them being detailed since I'm just going to convert them anyway.

http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/11666/353/armoured_infantry_vehicle_btr70_spw70

Whoopsies! Double-posted. Text deleted.

An earlier poster pointed out the BTR 70, however I think that at 216mm long, its actually kind of big, IMHO, in 1/35

I'd recommend the 1/35 universal carrier. It can be had for less than $20 with shipping - http://cgi.ebay.com/TAMIYA-British-Universal-Carrier-MK-II-Kit-1-35-35249_W0QQitemZ220490251425QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item33563e3ca1

buy it now on ebay - and there are tons of them. At 10.5 cm long, its a pretty good size, you could bulk it up a little if need be. Nominally open topped, but its easy to fix that.
Failing that a 1/48 BTR might work - the only question would be if the wheels and turret would look right. 16 CM, 6 cm wide, maybe a little narrow.

Server error where I was posting lead me to accidentally double post.. oops! XD

Disjointed Entity wrote:http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/11666/353/armoured_infantry_vehicle_btr70_spw70

My thanks to Disjointed Entity for this awesome website suggestion. I'll be able to get free shipping to my father's company offices in the UK and have a friend bring them back across the pond next time they're over there on business.

No touble dude!
I got some other links too. (Hind, T-80 and a Halo Wathog)

THE FINANCE GODS HAVE STRUCK. No more mechanized for me. I'm going to keep my current theme but gunline the infantry and focus on unique armoured units while making my infantry more urban-focused.

sweet guardsmen

BLACKHAND wrote:I run a DH army and have always felt that the daemonhosts are too random to be usable, I realize that you are running IG with elements of DH but the same principle applies, when you pay that much for a character you need to know that it will acheive the task you give it.
You are obviously running an inquisitor if you have daemonhost so why not try the model out as one of the assassins?

Your thoughts are appreciated; I'm thinking I'm going to drop the Inquisitorial elements and use those nice lightning claws somewhere else.

My apologies about the lack of updates; there was a suicide at school and this past week has been a bit... hectic. At the very least, I'll have my platoon primed by tonight.

Ouch good to see you've taken my advice about Ramshackle!

Cheers. I scored counts-as Sentinels for five quid a piece.

Pictures of my WIP Veterans inbound in about an hour. I've mixed the Cadian and Catachan sprues with Empire State troops for even better results than I expected.


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Scratch on the pictures until the squad's done, actually. I'm tired.

Update time! Some of my Veterans and my WIP Executioner with hull-mounted lascannon.


From left to right:
-Veteran, armed with a melta-on-a-stick. I wouldn't want to be too close to a portable heat-ray, either.
-Haven't decided, probably a Platoon Commander. The officer who wears a helmet(/heresy?) is the officer who lives to get promoted.
-Veteran Sergeant with laspistol and power sword. The sword is slung across his back, taking advantage of the sheathed blade from the Catachan sprue and the straps that were already on his armour.
-Veteran with flamer. Probably the most time-consuming so far. The torsos on the Empire State Troops sprue all have a bunch of random knick-knacks like skulls and hourglasses(Because no self-respecting halberdier would be caught in battle without his trusty hourglass, right? ) hanging off the right side of the belt. A lot of trimming, cleaning and subsequent reconstruction had to happen to make room for the backpack and promethium tubes.

My Archduke(Read: Leman Russ) Executioner Lex Ferrarium before and after priming.






More painting progress. I need to wash the belly and wheelwells and add details at some point.


The scheme is as follows:

Skull White spray -> Bleached Bone basecoat

Coarse, heavy drybrush of Boltgun Metal for chipped paint.

Light drybrush of Bleached Bone creates effect of faded and partially removed paint.

Badab Black wash brings it to life.


EDIT: No more Archduke. I want to play in official tournaments which means all(or mostly) GW stuff and nobody seemed to like it enough to comment anyway. My birthday is coming up; I'm planning on getting a couple Russes and magnetizing the weapons so I can use them as whatever I want. On a more exciting note, I'm snowed in tomorrow so I'll finish painting my Veterans.

Wait a tick, is that a real battery on your lascannon base?! Awesome!

Anyways, neat conversions you've got!

Edit: Only issue with the custom tank is as you said, probably not enough GW parts to be tournament legal, but also, no sponsons D:

I like the subtle cammo effect It suits the tank well. Personally I don't care about GW tournament legal as you may have noted with the stuff on my blogs. I would however say that to me the gun looks like an MLRS system which to my mind would suit a Vanquisher more. What tank was the base model anyway?

The Molex of doom!

YES. Well spotted, Million. The Molex would have looked more like a plasma cannon once I added the glowing effects. The base tank was an M41 Walker Bulldog. I chose it because the models cost $15.

My other reason for swapping to official GW kits was the wide range of weaponry options. I'm going to buy a Demolisher kit and magnetize everything so I can reconfigure for each match.

Shots of my Veterans and first Infantry Squad will be up tonight. I've also made some adjustments to my commander that you'll see.

How are they supposed to move the lascannon battery? It's huge.

We can assume for game purposes that there are grav-plates on the underside of the battery, allowing it to be moved easily. On a world like Asphodel such technology is not in short supply. The gunnery teams prefer such a system because the single, large rechargeable battery makes it easier to keep the lascannon fed than the abundance of single-use power units carried by other regiments. This has no impact on the game itself; though it's easier for the gunners to handle it still shoots the same.

Also, yet one more reason for not taking the counts-as Executioner. At twice the length and width of a standard Russ and almost the height, it would bring up a few gaming-related issues; at that size it provides a very large wall of cover for my Guardsmen to shelter behind. Conversely it prevents a big target and the standard Russ can better take advantage of obscured LOS.

Just assembled my first Chimera. Not pic-worthy, but those treads are really time-consuming. I don't know how those with fully mechanized armies do it.

Yesterday was my birthday. Great haul this year; you're about to see a Valkyrie, Russ, Executioner, and loads more infantry.

[Removed due to idiocy.]

There are actual pictures this time. The camera's machine-spirit was tainted, so I borrowed one. After making the proper benedictions and intoning the Litany of Macro Focusing.... 'ere we go!


1st Infantry Platoon. Two squads, each with autocannon and grenade launcher. Autocannon on the left is WIP.


Closeup of the finished Autocannon team.


Left to right: Grenade launcher(note the conversion on the barrel), Sergeant, Guardsman with some minor conversions.


The Lancer squad and their transport.


A few highlights from the Lancers.


Detail of the Chimera.


Platoon Command Squad with four flamers, one of them heavy. The commander's mainly from the Tank Accessory Sprue with a Cadian sergeant's pistol and a cut-down Chaos Terminator arm for the heavy augmetic/power maul(counts as power fist).


Couple updates to the Company Command Squad. Plasma gunner with parts from the Tank Accessory and Catachan Command sprues. Captain Gwydyon gets a bolter with a powered feed; the connection should look smoother when painted. The drummer counts as a standard bearer; it would do just about the same thing. His arms look a little spindly because they'll be painted as augmetic. Spring-enhanced, they lack physical power but are ideal for drumming and give the user steady aim with a lasgun.

Responding to clever/shameless plug. Some very interesting ideas here. He you considered doing up an article on magnetizing the demolisher when you get to it?

Cool army. The weapon conversions are nice.

Loving the GL!

Thanks. It's the front of a missile launcher from the Cadian Heavy Weapons team.


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@Manchu: Dakka seems to be lacking one of those, so sure. It could be a while until I find magnets; if they prove elusive I may just pin.

I hate to be the one to notice it BUT.... The Heavy Flamer has some fingers from the previous user, or have my eyes started doing tricks again?
BTW i really like the Lancers. What kits went into their construction?

Disjointed Entity wrote:No touble dude!
I got some other links too. (Hind, T-80 and a Halo Wathog)

Would you mind posting the warthog link i've been looking for one that fits 28mm scale.

More on topic, the infantry looks great and extremely creative, the one thing is the chimera doesn't fit aswell with the more ancient looking troops.

@konst80hummel: The Lancers were made from the WHFB Empire State Troops. Shotguns are made from lasguns from various boxes, some accessories are from the Catachan Command Squad. Demo charge came from the Heavy Weapons team. And I missed the fingers on the heavy flamer... /facepalm

@smeezilla: The Chimera should be a bit less futuristic when it's been painted up with heraldry; vice versa for the Lancers when they've been painted to look a little less medieval.

smeezilla wrote:

Disjointed Entity wrote:No touble dude!
I got some other links too. (Hind, T-80 and a Halo Wathog)

Would you mind posting the warthog link i've been looking for one that fits 28mm scale.

More on topic, the infantry looks great and extremely creative, the one thing is the chimera doesn't fit aswell with the more ancient looking troops.

No worries, hang on.

RO3063 AFV http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/11666/353/armoured_infantry_vehicle_btr70_spw70
T72 M1 Tank http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/665/353/russian_army_t72_m1_tank
T80UD MBT http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/4227/353/t80ud_main_battle_tank
Hind http://www.hobbies-plus.co.uk/acatalog/info_R04405.html

...d'you mind doing that over PM?

personally I thought you could've put more detail into the colour scheme but the lascannon basing and the conversions are kick ass! Put more detail into the painting and you'll have a tournament winning army (plus add a few more units).

The colour scheme is being redone with more highlights and detail and in black and grey.

Sorry dude.

I've yet to put it together, but I'm already in love with the new Leman Russ Demolisher set. Here's why:

The weapons are practically designed to be modular.

Pictures will come as I assemble it, but as for now I'll tell you that the mount that allows the weapon, such as the Executioner cannon, to swivel up and down is now separate from the guns themselves and attaches via a square slot; this should be insanely simple to magnetise. The real challenge will be rigging up the smaller turret from the standard Russ kit to accept the bigger guns; I intend to do this by using an extra gun mount from the Demolisher kit and rigging the standard Battle Cannon to fit it.

I like the empire theme, with the feather and like. And I like your russ as well good work.

Update! Not painting and modeling-related, exactly.... I've been swamped with school lately. I do, however, have a brief report of the 5th's first battle in which I re-familiarized myself with the latest set of rules. I ran against another small Guard army. Some highlights:

With the new penetration rules tanks are frighteningly durable(as they should be, I suppose). It took five turns of shooting from a BS3 Lascannon to take out a lowly Chimera; while immobilized and often stunned it still kept my Veterans safe and killed FAR more than its points value in infantry before exploding.

Grenade Launchers are wonderful force multipliers. It's easy to underestimate the carnage you can cause when you plunk down two blast templates on approaching enemies.

My first experience with Lasguns... they're called flashlights for a reason. Yikes.

After the last round of exams next week I've three weeks off during which I plan to have assembled the following in their entirity:

Three Infantry Squads.
One Veteran Squad with Chimera.
1 PCS, 1 CCS
1 Techpriest Enginseer
One Leman Russ with options for Demolisher, Punisher, or Executioner(Standard weapons magnetized to turret mount)
One Leman Russ with Battle Cannon; options for Vanquisher and Eradicator will plug-mount into the Battle Cannon barrel.
[This means I'll have a chance to try out most of the LR variants and see what's best before building up.]
One Psyker Battle Squad.
One Valkyrie.
One Sly Marbo.

That's what I own that needs to be assembled and painted. With Christmas coming I hope to add some Stormtroopers and another Valkyrie. I know they're not tournament material in terms of effectiveness but they look like a lot of fun... and if they're really as useless as I hear I can always play them as grenadier vets instead. Depending on how my tanks perform I'll also add more of them or an artillery battery.

A quick note to myself before I forget what I just did; pictures of this prototype scheme forthcoming.

Fatigues: Adeptus Battlegrey, Fortress Grey drybrush, Badab Black Wash.

Armour: Keep black.

Eagles: Red Gore, Badab Black wash.

Boots/leather: Scorched Brown -> Bleached Bone highlights -> Thinned Scorched Brown, Badab Black Wash

Lasgun/Boot Plates: Boltgun Metal drybrush, Badab Black Wash

Flesh: Elf Flesh -> Bleached Bone -> Baal Red on hands/cheeks -> Thinned Bleached Bone ->Skull White eyes -> Ogryn Flesh


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Here, you go.



Squad/platoon numbers will be freehanded onto the left shoulder pad in the same colour as the regimental insignia(A stylized "V" for the Roman numeral five).

In case I'm supposed to ask for it, I would LOVE some C&C.

...pleeeeease?

i love the gray of the fatigues, but the red could use a highlight or some fixing. other than that, great color scheme

Thanks. I think you're right about the red; it could use another coat to completely cover the black, perhaps followed by a highlight.

Alright, here are a few recent conversions in celebration of the fact that I am indeed picking this blog back up in earnest.



A neat Reaper model I saw at my FLGS. I've gotten rid of the cross on her necklace and replaced it with what will be painted to look like a gem and added a laspistol slung over her back. She'll probably serve as an astropath, Primaris Psyker or leader of a PBS. My question to you, dear readers, is as to whether she needs more grimdark. I toyed with giving her some pauldrons last night but tore them off and have yet to make a final decision. I'll also probably give her a sword before I'm through.


I had a leftover head from my Empire State Troops that I wasn't sure what to do with; while he was wearing a nice, practical helm there was a HUGE (actual size, so as big as the wearer's head) skull strapped to the front of his headgear and he had this freaky grimace on his face that just wasn't doing it for me... hence, I cut the skull off for later use(Culexus/Eversor Assassin?) and covered up his face with a GS shroud with a gas filter I hacked together from an old Space Marine frag grenade.


Donut of Inquisitorial Roleplay fame. Rather than re-sculpt a left arm to support the gun I capitalized on his several heavy-weapon wielding killing sprees and had him casually hefting it in one hand. The left arm I used lacked a shoulderpad so I made a nice, beefy one out of Green Stuff. It looks rough since I filed it to achieve sharper angles after the GS cured. (If I messed up and he actually has hair, someone from the RP remind me and I'll gladly sculpt it on.) He'll be painted up in his homeworld's colours(pictures, EF?) and join my Company Command Squad.


Sergeant of one of my line squads; hard to see detail since I just primed him and added a little colour. Torso, backpack and legs from the Catachan command squad, Cadian pistol, and a beefy augmetic arm that once belonged to a Chaos Space Marine. It's not big enough to be a powerfist so I'll just count it as a close combat weapon.


Closer look at my second line sergeant; he's showed up in a group shot before. That ugly GS pauldron is definitely getting a redo. Cadian body, Catachan pistol arm, the rest is from WHFB Imperials.


A quickie conversion; I have three mortars sitting around from the Heavy Weapons Squad box and wanted to experiment with them. Perhaps in smaller games I'll use it instead of the lascannon since points are at a premium and there aren't a lot of vehicles and monstrous creatures to hunt. Instead indirect fire lets me use infantry squads as a meat shield! In order to justify the 2W a normal Heavy Weapons team would get, I added some sandbags that would presumably absorb 1W in damage before he got hurt. The 2A are justified by the fact that he has a nifty spear and looks like a total badass.


Finally, here's an updated group shot showing the one line squad I have primed. Still unassembled are yet another line squad(which will have a radically different-looking Autocannon since I'm out of tripods and gunshields), two Russes which will be fully modular with options for every variant in the codex... I want a chance to play with some wackier builds like a Punisher with triple heavy bolters but don't want to be stuck with them for obvious reasons.


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Magnets have just been ordered; my vehicle magnetizing adventure begins soon. My Techpriest arrived at the LGS and I need to find time to pick him up... my project list for the rest of the year is pretty long:

Two modular Leman Russ tanks.
Two modular Valkyries.
One Stormtrooper Squad.
Some Servitors.
Modular artillery; options for Hydra, Manticore, Basilisk, Medusa or Deathstrike.

Obviously this gives me enough work for the rest of this and quite a bit into next year, especially since I'll also have to get yet MORE troops to accompany these flashy vehicles. My pretense here is to make everythins as modular/interchangeable as possible so I can vary my list constantly and try out all the options available in the new codex. My goal is to collect the entire codex before I graduate from high school; not such a difficult task when to collect all the Leman Russ variants I just need two kits and a couple scratchbuilt barrels.

hehe great models so far
id love a tutorial on how you sculpted those pauldrons.
the colour schemes solid, but i think the imperial skull eagle thing could do with being a bit more vibrant.

donut ftw ^^

Ok so let me start out by saying I think the idea of the army is pretty freaking cool. That said though I have become well rather confused so maybe you can clarify fluff wise or what not for me to help me understand. First you have having a ren. theme which is origonal, and wel pretty cool and I think your doing a good job, but mixed in I am seeing normal cadians which don't really have anything to them in the way of your theme. Could you possibly explain this a little for me.

These are good, especially the priest psyker thing.

Your GS work is solid!
I like the theme, work on your highlights especially the red as stated before!
Waaaaagggghhhhhhhh!

Empchild wrote:Ok so let me start out by saying I think the idea of the army is pretty freaking cool. That said though I have become well rather confused so maybe you can clarify fluff wise or what not for me to help me understand. First you have having a ren. theme which is origonal, and wel pretty cool and I think your doing a good job, but mixed in I am seeing normal cadians which don't really have anything to them in the way of your theme. Could you possibly explain this a little for me.

Sure thing. I think in the process of cutting some analogous fluff I accidentally lost this reasoning as well, so here goes:

First of all, remember that the generic flak armour and lasguns the Cadians are issued isn't necessarily all Cadian; the stuff on the "Cadian" minis is representative of "generic" Guardsmen. Now consider Asphodel's military infrastructure which I've neglected to explain: line troopers are levied from the lower class and given standard-issue equipment, hence the dull, uniform look. As they're all given the same cheap mass-produced Imperial gear, they have that generic Guard look.

Officers and Lancers, on the other hand, are either recruited from among the high and middle classes or promoted from veteran troopers. When an officer or Lancer is inducted they are expected to provide their own uniforms and gear... as such you see elite and high-ranking troops flamboyantly clad in traditional, archaic garb and carrying a wide array of weapons, many of which are family heirlooms(note that my Veterans are equipped with three different melta-gun patterns and a few of their shotguns are non-standard.) Once they've been painted you'll see that these men have their family and personal heraldry worked into the scheme while the low-born cannon fodder are all dressed in dull grey.

...from an artistic standpoint, the more important, high-ranking models stand out against a backdrop of recognizably generic and numerous cannon-fodder. At the same time, their stouter, less flamboyant silhouettes and muted colour scheme show that they're rough-and-ready soldiers in their own right, there to take the tough, thankless missions and hold the line while the glory boys do their thing.
[End rant.]

Now, Ghosty, which pauldrons were you talking about? I've done rounded pauldrons on the Mortar crewman, a carapace pauldron on Donut and Roman-inspired segmented ones on some my vox operator and standard-bearer.

Thank you Owain that actually cleared it all up for me I rather like the fluff you have evolved around them so cheers. Look forward to seeing more.

I'll be gone Friday and Saturday, but before I go I'd like to at least have one squad painted. Next week is the beginning of my winter break so expect to see lots of updates then. Today, I at the very least plan to build some sort of autocannon carriage and finish another squad of Guardsmen. I'll add conversions here and there to keep them interesting.

I've an update regarding Autocannon #3. Right now I've shortened the barrel so it's about the size of a heavy bolter. I've decided to convert an allied tech-adept to make it possible to cart this thing around. His right arm will be a weapons mount and I'll magnetize an autocannon, lascannon(both of these shortened), heavy bolter and missile launcher to fit there. The third infantry squad will be kitted out with carapace armour and plasmaguns and played as veterans to give my gunline some additional punch and durability.... why, you ask? Well, I need SOME sort of outlet for my insatiable plasma-fetish. For some reason these weapons call to me... and I've dreamed up some beautifully bizarre plasma-carbines for them to carry.

Work on the Russes has begun. I can't do any more until my magnets arrive on Thursday; the sponson magnets are to be attached to the inside of the track units so I can't glue those down until that's done. The Vanquisher cannon is made from a marker cap that push-fit perfectly to the Demolisher's barrel and a 9mm Luger casing left over from a day at the range. Also, note that the back-plates of the turret have been left off to be magnetized. This because one of them represents the cooling system of the Executioner cannon.








As a bonus, here's a rough mockup of my new plasma carbine design. The finished version will be much smoother.

Not so sure about the Plasma Carbine I'd suggest you detach the Lasguns Cell Pack and attach a fuel flask to it As those are pretty iconic for the Plasma Gun! Looking forward to seeing what you do with the magnets where are you sourcing them from?

As I said, just a rough mockup. The power pack with go.... I'll point out, however, that there's already a fuel flask on what was once the power pack.

The magnets are from Amazon.com; 100 of them for just over ten bucks!

http://www.amazon.com/Magcraft-NSN0566-16-Inch-Magnets-100-Count/dp/B000SJ7IPS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1261525763&sr=1-5


Later today, expect more plasmavets with carapace armour and a start on the heavy weapons adept.

Hmm, I want to see the smoothed out version of the Plas-Carbine. I like the idea a lot!

Plus, I have pilfered your GL idea.

Tally-ho!

i was talking aboot the roman style ones


looking good so far, really like the cool hairstyles ^^

btw love the fluff, and the whole army looks great. ESPECIALLY the magnet tanks!

i too want to see how the plasma-carbine turns out. i realize it's a rough mock up, but i think it's too long.

What followes is a Tute Oriole for the making of Shouldre Pades.

1. Roll thou the Greeyn Stuffe flat and cut thou a Rect Angle. Cut this wide enough to go over the shoulder and as long as you wish your pauldron to be.



2. Place thou the Greeyn Stuffe over the shoulder, carefuly smoothing it into an inverted "U" shape. You may need to secure it with a tiny dab of super glue.



3. Cut thou a second Rect Angle of 'Stuffe. It should be the same thickness, slightly wider(as you like), and about half the length.
http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii75/fordking1337/?action=view¤t=e81b950a.jpg&newest=1


4. Place thou the second Rect Angle over the first, lining up the top edges. Smooth the second rectangle, but be VERY careful not to lose definition of the two plates. Make sure there aren't any unwanted gaps where they meet.



5. Using a pointyd sculpting toole such as a toothe pick, push thou an indentation at the inner corner of the pauldron on the front and back, representing the place where the two plates are joined together.



Finally, here's a second Veteran. It may be hard to tell, but he's got a bottle in his left hand.





Automatically Appended Next Post:
Just received a Techpriest, and last night I recieved a gift card which I used to order a Sentinel and a pair of Bretonnian pegasus wings... kindly put two and two together, dear readers. That's not going to be until next week, though; tonight, expect completed Leman Russ tanks as my magnets just arrived.

i think i like you're second attempt at the plasma gun better than the first one. love the sholder pads, too!

Merry Christmas for tomorrow!

Thank you, and merry Christmas to you all!



Alright, crew... this is it. A fully magnetized Leman Russ. Overall I'm very pleased with the results. I believe someone asked where I sourced the magnets from; they're 1/8" x 1/16" magnets from Magcraft.... I bought them on Amazon at $10 for 100.



I've named her Isolde.
--------------------------------------------------------------
For those of you who want to try this yourself, I present to you a brief summary of what I did.
Preparation:
You can assemble the turret and hull, and attach the first half of the track sections with the road wheels. Leave off the tracks, left and right hull sections, and hull weapon housing for now.

STEP THE FIRST:
Assemble thou the sponsons. Carefully place your magnets, using Green Stuff to allow the magnets to stand parallel to the tank's hull; it's important to position them such that details on the hull such as the small side doors don't cause problems. Trial and error showed that one towards the top and one towards the bottom gave good results. Once you've placed your magnets, let the Green Stuff cure until it's hard to the touch; if you move on to the next step too soon the magnets will be ripped out of their mountings by their counterparts inside the hull.



STEP THE SECOND: Place the magnetized sponson up against the detached hull section and hold it there. Use some blu-tac or tape if you don't wish to do so manually; no matter how you do it, it is paramount that you have the sponson positioned properly. Now, grab two more magnets and let them do their magic. Drop one near where you think the magnet on the inside of the sponson it and it will eagerly leap into place. Once you've placed all of your magnets, use a pen or marker to mark their locations with as much accuracy as you can muster. Now, remove the sponson, which in all likelihood will cause the magnets to fall off. Dab glue on the spots you've marked and put the magnets back in their place. Once the glue is dry, test fit the sponsons. Be sure you're satisfied with your progress to this point. Once you move to the next step there is no turning back.



STEP THE THIRD:
At this point you should have your hull plate and sponson with magnets installed and ready to go. Now you can place the hull plate on the tank as normal; in my case, one of the road wheels got in the way of the upper magnet. In this case, just cut or file away part of the offending wheel to make room. Once you can dry-fit the hull plate without any problems, glue it on and then install the treads as normal. (Quick tip: You're always going to get gaps in the treads. Try to install them such that the gap ends up on the bottom or under the track guards.) If your magnets didn't fall off on the inside (in which case you're doomed), congratulations! You have now magnetized your heavy bolter sponsons.

STEP THE FOURTH:
Take your hull-mounted lascannon bit and a heavy bolter; I got mine from the Cadian heavy weapons sprue. Cut off the barrel of the lascannon and the front of the bolter. On the lascannon parts, you'll have a large gap. Fill this with Green Stuff and insert magnets, making sure they're facing the proper direction so that they'll stick back together. I found the bolter half too small to sink a magnet into, so instead I cut a small piece of the thinnest piece of metal I could find (a razor blade) and placed it on the end so it would stick to the mounting. With this done, you can assemble the hull mounting with the back half of the lascannon; you may now install the lascannon barrel or the heavy bolter barrel into the standard mount. While this doesn't look as clean or as pretty as the standard mount, it is quite practical. Look closely at this picture again to see the completed hull-mount without a weapon attached.

STEP THE FIFTH: With the hull and sponson mounts magnetised, you can now install tow cables, bedrolls, and other various gubbinz to complete your tank.

Nice work magnetising the sponsons, so useful.

Are your plas-carbines going to count as plasma guns or normal lasguns?

Kepp up the good work.

My thanks. They'll be working as plasma guns rules-wise.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
UPDATE: I am utterly infuriated. The Sentinel is just the right size for a weekend project, but I daren't paint it until the wings arrive in the mail. As of this morning my collection contains:

Company Command Squad
2x Infantry squad, 4x Flamer PCS
2x Veteran squads (1 Unfinished(
2x Chimeras (1 Unfinished)
2x Valkyries (Both unfinished)
Leman Russ, sponsons and hull magnetized
Leman Russ Demolisher/Punisher/Vanquisher/Executioner
2x Sentinel(one 90% finished)
Stormtrooper Squad
Primaris Psyker
Techpriest Enginseer

I've stayed up until 4AM painting, all just for you. If I don't get some comments when pictures go up tomorrow I will be somewhat.... displeased.

Have to say this is shaping up to be a very cool themed army. Though the plascarbine Id have cut off the lasgun barrel right down the stock to just before the hand and replaced it with the plasma part there. Maybe add in some fine guitar wire as power feed cables to a clunky power storage pack. Still great job and thanks for the tutorial. Going to be making shoulder pads for my hi tech looking guard myself soon so seeing other peoples techniques is always good to compare with my ideas. Maybe have to borrow some ideas for my own models if you dont mind. Thinking of trying melta-carbines.

Success! My coined "Plascarbine" phrase is already off to a wonderous start!

And I intend to post about those images you promise!

That's a second time! I'm truly honored to have my ideas pilfered so.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
First off, here's Isolde with a fresh coat of paint. This is my first time using my airbrush on anything but undercoating or a test model and I'm quite pleased with the results. I've even started using the Dakka gallery! Maybe now I'll hit the front page. *cough*



Here's Squad Alpha, First Platoon. They're 90% done; most still need bases and all of them need squad markings.

Looking good like the camo on that Russ!

Here she is, all painted up. A quick breakdown of the numbering/insigina:

Leman Russ attached to the 5th Regiment, Squadron 1, call-sign "Scythe". The squadron logo on the track-guard is part of the vehicle ID system I plan to apply to all of my squadrons; each group of vehicles will have the same insignia, with each vehicle displaying it in a different colour.

Here she is from the front:



From the side, with a trooper for scale:


Washing the thing was a pain until I figured it out; one obviously can't apply that thick, glaze-like substance that GW sells to a large surface. Hence, I applied my trusty Devlan Mud to all of the smaller details(Emperor forfend that ANYTHING Imperial have less than one hundred rivets), then diluted it and used a sponge to slather it over the entire model, darkening it to match my infantry and blending the already-washed components into the hull.

The hull lascannon is decidedly non-standard; cut up the one from the Cadian Heavy Weapons team and filled the gap left from magnet placement with Green Stuff.

If there are any questions about bitz or techniques, don't hesitate to ask!

The Empire converions are really cool!

Nice!

Interesting Russ camo! Not too flamboyant to be ridiculous, but just enough of variation to make it two-tone. I like how it's worked!

Nice use of the airbrush- I use one on my Valks. Liking the subtle conversions that make it non-standard, keep it up!

Nice work indeed. Showing a gritty but dynamic look. Keep going!

the tank looks aces, but why switch out the hull lascannon?
aNyway lookin' great!

I like the new lascannon, your still magnetizing everything right?

I like your tank colors as well, luck with the rest!

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

-The hull lascannon got switched out because I lost the orignal bit; the new one looks better, anyway.
-Good to know the airbrush works well on Valks, seeing as I've two to get done!

Owain wrote:Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

-The hull lascannon got switched out because I lost the orignal bit; the new one looks better, anyway.
-Good to know the airbrush works well on Valks, seeing as I've two to get done!

don'T get me wrong, i agree, the lascannon looks 10x better! i was just curious why you switched out after you'd started to paint was all.

Yeah, of course. The original just didn't look as threatening.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As this is the first time I've even properly finished a tank, I've also learned something interesting; this Russ consumed paint like the real thing would consume promethium. Expect to use at LEAST a quarter of a jar of Adeptus Battlegrey when diluting 50:50 with isopropyl alcohol.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, look, I made more Veterans.

Two Plasmaguns and a Sniper Rifle. I may do a quick swap with my Command Squad; then the Vets will have three plasma and the Command Squad will have a sniper rifle and lascannon, making it better suited to hunt vehicles and MCs.







Automatically Appended Next Post:
I've got most of my collection packed up and I'll be heading down to the FLGS tomorrow to play my first legitimate game of 40k in over a year... that'll make a total of two. It'll also be the first time I've fielded the 5th in force... wish me luck! Here are my lists:

500pts

HQ:
CCS with LC, Plasma, Bolter, Bodyguard, Standard

Troops:
4x flamer, powerfist PCS
2x AC/GL Squads
Vets with 3x Melta, Chimera
------------------------------------------
750pts

HQ:
CCS with LC, Plasma, Bolter, Bodyguard, Standard
Techpriest with Heavy Bolter Servitor

Troops:
4x flamer, powerfist PCS
2x AC/GL Squads
Vets with 3x Melta, Chimera

Fast Attack:
Armoured Sentinel with Plasma Cannon

Heavy Support:
Leman Russ with Hull Lascannon

Unfortunately, the store was all but empty with the exception of a couple kids playing Planetstrike and a group of people who'd just opened up some sort of new board game... while everyone was kind enough to offer comments on my army, I didn't manage to get in a game of any size.

story of My life!
there's always next time.

A small modeling update for the new year:

Half of a Stormtrooper squad. For some reason the rest didn't make it through GW's system so I'll have to place another order. Most are unmodified, save the sergeant; I realized after priming him that his hot-shot laspistol would be next to useless with a range of 6", so I chopped off the front of a bolter and built a skeleton stock and cleaned it up with an airbrush; I may add a lasgun muzzle to count it as another hot-shot lasgun(known throughout the rest of this blog as a Maglite) before I'm done.


Here's the Sentinel I hinted at earlier. Bretonnian Pegasus wings are magnetized for ease of transport, as are all the weapons. The brass disc on the cheek is a squadron marking; I have identical pieces for another two. I have another unboxed that I'll put together when I get my second pair of wings. I'm rather looking forward to it; the Sentinel kit was a joy to put together and it's fun to pose the legs dynamically.

hmm..theres some nice stuff but I don't really like the vets with the Empire arms and heads...they kinda look out of place..

That sentinel looks pretty cool, what's the wing for though? Just decoration?

Also, I'm wondering what you think of the stormtrooper model, I've not really had a good look at them, are they good bad or just meh?

Nice job keep it up

starbomber109 wrote:That sentinel looks pretty cool, what's the wing for though? Just decoration?

Also, I'm wondering what you think of the stormtrooper model, I've not really had a good look at them, are they good bad or just meh?

The wings on the Sentinel are mostly for looks. I'm also thinking of fiddling with rules to make a more close-combat oriented Sentinel variant for casual play; sacrificing weapons options/BS for better attacks or WS, maybe even a detachable booster to grant Fleet at additional cost.


As for the stormies, glad you asked. As far as I can tell they only have one flaw; if you pick it up and look at it from upside down, the space between the gun and the crook of his arm is actually filled in, presumably for support and moulding reasons; this would explain why on newer metal models the arms come separate. However, no one is ever going to look at your minis from that angle so it's not much of a problem.Though the hands seem a little large, this is presumably due to the heavy ceramite plating they wear.

I do NOT recommend purchasing the plasma pistol sergeant as his pose is rather ape-like.

Overall I'd rate the sculpt an eight out of ten. Despite the proportions seeming a little off if you stare at them for too long, there's nothing wrong with them, the backpacks/equipment are well done and their overall look screams badassery. If nothing else, it's nice to see something other than Kasrkin.

DEEPSTRIKE SENTINEL!

Thanks for that, I'll definitely stay away from plasma pistol sarge (I don't really like the idea of a plasma weapon on a Sargent anyways, especially when his save isn't all that good)

Most of the reason I ask is I'm planning to start an inquisition army this year, but the first time I saw the stormtrooper model on GW's site I frowned, then I saw some pics of these guys painted up and they looked....not half bad, so I was torn, and wanted an opinion from someone who had experience with the model.

Thanks again, and luck with the paint on them....the bolter conversion is all-right, but the stock seems off and I can't come up with tips on how to fix it.

It probably seems a little too thin in comparison to the rest of the bolter; it should look better when painted.

If I were you I'd hold off until you saw these painted; if they end up looking terrible let's make sure I'm the only one who suffers.

hey could you take a photo of the storm trooper next to a cadian guardsman, thanks

btw good stuff

Still going pretty good.

physcosamatic wrote:hey could you take a photo of the storm trooper next to a cadian guardsman, thanks

btw good stuff

Delivered, and thanks.



Man on the far right's one of my Lancers.

As you can see, the size comparison is pretty convincing; the Stormtrooper's armour adds a reasonable amount of bulk and one would expect the Guard's most elite soldiers to be a little taller and more physically fit than the rank-and-file.

I have not seen the pre-Kasrkin Stormtroopers since I misplaced my 5 man sqaud! Ahh, the memories of the good old days.
I like the Boltgun conversion, reminds me a little of a Ingram Mac 11 with the stock out ... and no stupidly oversized scilencers...

thankyou verry much, they are in size with the cadians too ^^

You're color scheme is very similar to mine, as well as the idea of a "dead/junk" world. I like your conversions, though, as they give your army a lot more character! The wings on the sentinel are awesome, and I found your tutorial on shoulderpads useful (it gave me ideas for one-off conversions I am doing for models to use in the Dark Heresy RPG).

And pre-kaskarin Stormies for the win!

Disjointed Entity wrote:I have not seen the pre-Kasrkin Stormtroopers since I misplaced my 5 man sqaud! Ahh, the memories of the good old days.
I like the Boltgun conversion, reminds me a little of a Ingram Mac 11 with the stock out ... and no stupidly oversized scilencers...

Well done, sir! You've hit my inspiration right on the nose!



The real question, however, is whether the muzzle bears replacement.... if that's the case I'll start hating myself for throwing away that big pile of lasgun muzzles from my Veterans.

In a few minutes I'm going to run a quick playtest vs. Space Marines to see if a hot-shot lasgun would serve him better and take some photos of my new Demolisher/Executioner/Punisher.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Test complete! Results indicate that Stormies can easily sweep a tactical squad of equal size. The hot-shot lasgun proved a better option because despite the lower strength value, it proved more statistically reliable by ignoring armour saves altogether. I can only imagine how much more effective they'll be with a special weapon or two.

Owain wrote:

Disjointed Entity wrote:I have not seen the pre-Kasrkin Stormtroopers since I misplaced my 5 man sqaud! Ahh, the memories of the good old days.
I like the Boltgun conversion, reminds me a little of a Ingram Mac 11 with the stock out ... and no stupidly oversized scilencers...

Well done, sir! You've hit my inspiration right on the nose!



The real question, however, is whether the muzzle bears replacement.... if that's the case I'll start hating myself for throwing away that big pile of lasgun muzzles from my Veterans.




The hot-shot lasgun proved a better option because despite the lower strength value, it proved more statistically reliable by ignoring armour saves altogether. I can only imagine how much more effective they'll be with a special weapon or two.

I'm happy to be of service
And please! If you do alter the barrel, don't make it huge like the Mac 11 Scilencers! They look stupid!
And Thanks for the info on hot-shot lasguns... most useful.

"Dark fatigues, grey tigerstripe camo"
get the tigerstripe camo idea from my tank?

Tank looks very cool, but this isn't Vietnam we're talking about. Such an elaborate pattern would also be difficult to reproduce on such a small scale; so far I'm thinking a black basecoat, masking the stripes with blu-tac, and spraying on a splotchy grey pattern. Afterwards I can take care of the rest of the mini.



Lastly, have some fluff for my newer units:

Men-at-arms(Grenadier Vets):
These are rank-and-file Guardsman who have survived enough battles to loot or earn better gear and receive specialist training. While equivalent to Lancers in rank and skill, they tend to favour durability over speed and are not sufficiently funded to take to the field in armoured transports.

Hussar-pattern Sentinel:
The Sentinels of the 5th mount large, wing-shaped gravitic boosters which allow them to swiftly take the fight to the enemy(Fleet of Foot?). Brash and confident, the pilots train extensively in close combat tactics(+1WS?). Experimental rules; I may leave the (magnetized) wings off in formal games.

Demi-Lancers(Stormtroopers):
Lancers who have served long enough eventually recieved additional equipment and training and upgrade their mounts to Valkyries. To an even greater extent than their lower brethren, Demi-Lancers specialize in rapid, surgical strikes against high-value targets.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Here are some photos of my Russ with magnetized everything, now named "Lex Ferri". Still needed are additional hull details and mounts on the turret for a removable Pask and heavy stubber. Configured in the second photo for maximum dakka.

Awesome, another magnetic russ! Great to see the Ferii come to life, I assume you'll be giving pask an awesome hat then?

Like nobody's business, good sir. I've saved some feathers for just that purpose.

Good to see your still going strong. May I suggest some Rough Rider Knights. I did that conversion ages ago and it feels right for this type of project. I also have to say I greatly prefer the Flamer version of the Plasma Gun it looks exceptional!

When I get to Rough Riders I'm thinking of putting them on motorycles.

Makes a lot of sense to me.

how did you magentize the russ and what tools do you need/type of magnets?

edit*

also what size magnets

The magnets are 1/8" diameter, 1/16" thick.

Holes were drilled into the rotation cylinders for the hull/sponson mount and the flat part of the turret mount; magnets were then glued in such that they were flush with the surface.

For the turret, it was as easy as drilling holes and placing magnets on the guns just like I did with the mount.

For the sponsons, it was a little more difficult. You need to cut a 1/8" notch in the mounting block such that it makes contact with the magnet on the tank. I then found it necessary to use Green Stuff to make sure the magnet sits properly in the notch.

I cannot stress how important it is to make sure the polarities of your magnets match!!
I personally make the turret and hull/sponson weapons of different polarities just so things don't stick in the wrong place during transport.

The back plate for the turret was a bit more challenging; with no room for two magnets, I sunk a magnet into the turret where the plate was to sit, then glued a thin piece of metal(I cut mine from a razorblade) to the underside of the plate to make sure it was at least somewhat held on by the magnets.

If you'd like more detailed photos of anything, please don't hesitate to ask.

actually i would love some please

Here's a low-quality image just as a reminder that I'm alive. On the left is my new commissar; the left hand with the book has been replaced with an axe and I'll sculpt on some additional detail where the sleeve of his greatcoat has been torn off. On the right is a stormtrooper sergeant; the colours are a little faded in this image, but better images are forthcoming.

Could you upload a picture of the M41 walker bulldog conversion next to a normal Leman Russ?? thank you.