>--------------------<
The planet of Todth was colonized by mankind during the Dark Age of Technology, a world of verdant abundance not entirely unlike a young Earth. It is located in Segmentum Tempestus, to the galactic southeast of Tallarn. Todth was cut off from the rest of mankind by one of the many warpstorms that swept through the galaxy during the Age of Strife. The Todthite colonists survived for many generations in complete isolation from the rest of humanity, nurtured by the material wealth of their world. It was a time of great productivity and prosperity for the folk of Todth. Their colonies grew into cities of unparalleled artistry and sophistication, each a monument to their creator's mastery of engineering and artifice. The psyker gene that proved such a burden to the rest of mankind was strangely absent in the Todthites, sparing them from being torn apart from within by daemonic incursion. The world was for all intents and purposes an idyllic paradise, an oasis of sophistication in a galaxy increasingly descending into complete barbarism...
>--------------------<

The Imperial Guard has always interested me, as I have long maintained that "there's something elemental about an army of dudes and tanks" (I know, my ability to communicate knows no bounds ). Unfortunately, when I started Warhammer 40k back in the days of yore (known to you kids as Second Edition), Imperial Guard were the single most expensive army to play (just imagine all of your Guardsmen being metal models). Being not just a gamer but also a cheapass, I never made the jump into the Guard, instead messing around with Space Marines, Necrons and (later) Dark Eldar. Fast forward to last year, when Wargames Factory previewed their Greatcoat Shock Troopers. Suddenly I had a cheap source of Imperial Guardsmen that tapped directly into my love for Helghasts and Panzercops. Much to the chagrin of my half finished Blood Angel and Dark Eldar armies (nevermind the horde of partially assembled Tyranids that I still regret buying...), I took the plunge into the Imperial Guard.

When I finally got my Greatcoat Shock Troopers I was a little underwhelmed. I wasn't expecting GW quality, but the lack of definition presented a bit of a challenge for me as I started working out highlight/shading patterns for the individual troopers. Beyond that, a lot of the bits and heads supplied with the kits were non-functional, limiting my options a bit more than I expected. Luckily enough, working on a WHFB Beastman army taught me that I love to kitbash things. I gathered up all of the Imperial Guard and Space Marine bits in my collection, and began sprucing up my WGF Shock Troops.

>--------------------<
The doom of Todth came thousands of years later, in the 33rd millennium. As the warp storms surrounding the Todth star system abated it was quickly assaulted by an Ork tribe borne upon a highly unstable space hulk. From on high the Orks rained down upon Todth in improvised landing craft, looting and burning the high towered cities of the Todthites. Lulled by generations of peace thanks to their period of isolation, the people of Todth fared badly in the early months of the Orkish invasion. It was only when the industry of the planet was turned to craft of war that the fortunes of the Todthites began to reverse. Drawing upon STC data, the factories once used to fabricate the infrastructures of the great cities began churning out a cavalcade of potent war machines. Waves of Orks were driven back across scorched plains by formations of BaneBlade and Shadowsword super-heavy tanks, their Trukks and Battlewagons smashed to pieces by humanity's vengeance. Yet still the greenskins came, raining down from the orbiting space hulk with greater frequency. The ruling council of the planet decreed that for peace to be restored, the hulk would need to be destroyed. Newly forged batteries of Deathstrike Missile Lauchers prepared to deliver their payloads skyward...
>--------------------<

Around the time that I started researching color schemes for my Imperial Guard, I developed an increased interest in World War I and World War II (shock of shocks, no? ). For my Dark Eldar, I used a simple but effective grey urban scheme. I knew that my Imperial Guard would have a classic grey/black scheme, so I didn't want to put them on grey bases. Trench warfare was a natural choice for my guys, so I elected to try my hand at creating mud bases.



I achieved the mud base look by using spackle on the base of each of my guardsmen. This also allowed me to cover up the blob-stand connected to the feet of each Shock Trooper model. As it was my first attempt to use spackling, ever, I was pretty happy with the results.


As I had mentioned, many of the bits supplied with the Shock Trooper models were useless for my purposes. Most of the unhelmeted heads were actually larger than their helmeted counterparts (this may have been some misguided attempt at offering aliens, though they just look like humans with face masks and really big heads), the pistols were a complete joke and the clip/knife bits were largely too fiddly to look right on the models. In the end, I began adding Cadian and Catachan accessory bits to my Guardsmen in order to give them a bit more visual interest.



I also began employing some Marine, Guard Command Squad and Scout bits to build up better Platoon and Squad commanders.

>--------------------<
The destruction of the Ork Space Hulk was a catastrophic mistake. As the powerful missiles hit home the hulk began to break up, its orbit destabilizing as it did so. Thousands of Orks perished in fire as their vessel plunged into the atmosphere of Todth, but several larger sections of the ancient stellar barge slammed into the planet largely intact. Massive gouts of dirt and debris were kicked into the skies of Todth, soon plunging the world into a sickly twilight. Worse still, the Orks now had an overwhelming presence on the planet's surface. All thoughts of artistry or restraint were lost to the Todthites now, throwing the full weight of their engineering prowess into outfitting the armies needed to battle against the alien despoilers who now had them on their heels. The war degenerated into a bloody stalemate, with neither side able to claim the decisive victory needed. In their fevered minds, the Mekboyz of the Orks began to dream of giants. Giants that would storm across the trenches of the Todthites, that would smash down their city towers and trample their tanks into scrap. When the first Gargants of the Orks appeared in the Orkish forces, it signaled the end for the Todthites. Their armies were scattered, driven to death or surrender by a seemingly invulnerable foe. When the Orkish conquest was complete, the greenskins refrained from slaughtering the planet's human population. Instead they enslaved them, marching them back into their own factory complexes to create materials for the Ork Warboss who now claimed the planet as his own.
>--------------------<

A bit of a disclaimer to any German speaking readers out there: I am going to shamelessly butcher your language. I don't do this out of disrespect, but to my silly Anglo-American ears, there's a uniquely evocative quality to the sound of the German language. Also, most of my Guardsmen are wearing stahlhelms, so there's also that.

As I work on this blog, I plan to keep posting updates about the history of Todth and the particulars of the Jagdmacht itself. I had to wait four months for my Shock Trooper models to arrive, so it gave me ample time to spin a back story for my regiment. At current, I have 44 Imperial Guardsmen painted and based. I haven't actually played a game with the army, so my build list has changed a few times over the past year as I get new ideas and discard old ones. Right now, I'm looking at running five Infantry Squads and two Veteran Squads in my 2,000 point list.

Infantry Squad One

(Squad Sergeant is converted from Space Marine Scout bits applied to the Greatcoat models)

Infantry Squad Two

(Squad Sergeant is converted from a SM Scout CCW arm and another arm with an added Chaos Space Marine Bolt Pistol)

Infantry Squad Three


My Autocannon Team is built from a mix of Cadian Heavy Weapon Team, Cadian Shock Trooper and Greatcoat bits. For simplicity, I decided that some units in my armor will sport lighter "Cadian Pattern" armor where appropriate. As these two guys are from the artillery corps, not the regular army, they have the lighter Cadian armor equipped. The gunner himself has one of the Shock Tropper "welding mask" heads. I tend to use these on my gunners, tank commanders and some special weapons troopers. Here's a closer look at the Autocannon Squad.




Being a cheapass (I mentioned that, right?), I decided that I wanted to be able to get two Heavy Weapons from each of my Weapon Team kits. I accomplished this by picking up a couple of extra bases at the FLGS, and by generously converting from the bits available to me to create a second weapons team. My Lascannon Teams (which I will post later) incorporate Mortar and Missile Launcher bits to make up the pieces that they're supposed to share with the Autocannon.

Infantry Squad Four

(The squad sergeant has a SM Scout Bolt Pistol and a Shock Trooper command arm, AKA the Pointy Finger of Pointing Death)

My next challenge is to get my three Lascannon Teams knocked out, then begin work on my Platoon and Company Command Squads. That should just about take care of my regular infantry, leaving me with Veterans, Tanks, Chimeras and Vendettas to paint up. Hopefully you've enjoyed this glimpse into my Guard regiment.

Looking good, enjoying the Killzone look you have going on!

Thanks! I could have tried to put more of a spin on it, but frankly I like the Killzone/Jin-Roh aesthetic so much that I felt no need to change it. Not like Helghast armies are popping out of the woodwork or anything.

Concerning the German, here a more accurate translation:
"Mein Imperator, mein Leben!
Kommen Sie zur Jagdstreitmacht / zum Jägerkorps.
Melden Sie sich noch heute bei Ihrem (örtlichen) Rekrutierungsbüro / beim Rekrutierungsbüro."
Don't know what the last sentence should mean.

Hm, ...

Duty is mandatory?

Exercise is required?

Loving the look you achieved using those models, combined with the color scheme based upon the helghasts. Nice work, I am definably subscribed.

Thanks for the assist, fellow Dakka-ites who actually know the German language and don't just hamfist their way through the problem with Google Translate. The poster was supposed to say

"Join the Jagdmacht! Report to your local recruiting officer! Service is mandatory."

I know that Kaiser/Imperator would have been a better translation of "Emperor," but I also thought that the Imperial Creed might actually prohibit the use of any title other than Emperor for the God Emperor of Mankind.

Just a quickie. Last Tuesday I got to play with my Guard for the first time. We were only able to get in three turns before I had to leg it, but I brought 1,250 points of Guard against 1,250 points of Orks, and got pretty well hammered.

Still, we played a game with five objectives, which quickly brought to attention the fact that neither myself nor my opponent had any Objective Markers. With that in mind, I took some time last evening to knock out these...



Clockwise from the 11 o'clock position we have an ammunition cache, a fuel dump, a dead Imperial courier with satchel, a small shrine to a Defiant Martyr and a wounded Jagdmacht Tank Commander. All bases are spackled, for eventual conversion to mud bases (to match my army). I used square bases for my objective markers in order to make them stand out from the units on the table. Most of this was made from stuff in my bits box, or pieces that I accumulated over the years for terrain projects.

Heeresdienst ist verbindlich.

Vielleicht?

I'm not fluent by any means.

I've always thought of Ausgabe as something to do with work or school.

ANYHOW, sweet looking army here. Like the KZ look.

Ok, does anyone want to tell me what this reads as before I slap it onto a poster?

"Wer schützt sie vor Schaden? Sie werden!"

SkaerKrow wrote:Ok, does anyone want to tell me what this reads as before I slap it onto a poster?

"Wer schützt sie vor Schaden? Sie werden!"

Wouldn't use that as it doesn't make sense.
May I suggest to post in english what you wanted to say and have it translated?

"Join the Jagdmacht! Report to your local recruiting officer! Service is mandatory."

know that Kaiser/Imperator would have been a better translation of "Emperor," but I also thought that the Imperial Creed might actually prohibit the use of any title other than Emperor for the God Emperor of Mankind.

GW translates to Imperator in localization, so it seems the man with the highest endurance in sitting upon golden toilets is fine with this.
Remember some imperials use also additional/different names to refer to the Emperor.

Did you consider Kroothawks translation:

"Mein Imperator, mein Leben!
Kommen Sie zur Jagdstreitmacht / zum Jägerkorps.
Melden Sie sich noch heute bei Ihrem (örtlichen) Rekrutierungsbüro / beim Rekrutierungsbüro."

Should work as propaganda poster.


Service as mandatory would be: "Heeresdienst ist Pflicht."
Maybe as : "Heeresdienst ist Pflicht, denn euer Leben gehört dem Imperator."

Thanks 1had. It's kind of disappointing that online translators are so daft. I mean, obviously they're no replacement for true knowledge of the language, but you'd think that cross referencing them wouldn't give you absolute jibberish.

The second statement was supposed to read "Who will keep them safe from harm? You will!"

your guys kinda look like death korps

Love the Killzone feel to this blog.

I would also like to see the stroy progress abit more

SkaerKrow wrote:Thanks 1had. It's kind of disappointing that online translators are so daft. I mean, obviously they're no replacement for true knowledge of the language, but you'd think that cross referencing them wouldn't give you absolute jibberish.

The second statement was supposed to read "Who will keep them safe from harm? You will!"

Google translate is alright for simple sentances, but I like to use Leo.de for any real translating I might need to do (nur auf Deutsch).


As for the other, maybe: Wer gibt ihnen die Sicherheit? Sie werden/müssen! (Who will give them safety? You will/must!)


Don't get to hung up on the translations. The army is more important. Keep those pictures coming man.

Thanks a bunch Luther . Right now I'm working on painting up some Lascannon teams. Should have them done (with images posted) within a couple of days.

Luther wrote:
As for the other, maybe: Wer gibt ihnen die Sicherheit? Sie werden/müssen! (Who will give them safety? You will/must!)


Don't get to hung up on the translations. The army is more important. Keep those pictures coming man.

Sorry, "Wer gibt ihnen die Sicherheit? Sie werden/müssen!" suffers from the 2-words-answer, like the one Skaerkrow wrote,
it is not used that way in German.

->Wer gibt ihnen die Sicherheit? Sie werden/müssen! should be:
* Wer sorgt für deren/ihre sicherheit? ( insert pic of cute and innocent imperial citizens and a recruter looking at you )
* SIE ! ( insert bubble of text next to recruter pointing at you ). If you intend to have it as "promotional" poster.

-> "Who will keep them safe from harm? You will!" Should become:
* Wer wird sie beschützen? Sie ! ( using the same pic of course ).

In both cases "werden" and "müssen" aren't neccessary at all. Because this text should have a pic as background. Pure text would need
a detailed description of the threats the interested reader is expected to feel his duty to deal with.

Agreed on the second point. Let the pics come... .

Dude, these are great, fantastic models there as well! I am definitely using them as storm troops, they fit the bill perfectly (you could make a cheap steel legion army with them for that matter...)
But yeh, they scream storm troopers (and the price is much better than GW)

I am watching this with interest...want to see some tanks soon though!

"Service is mandatory." = "Es herrscht Wehrpflicht!" (has the added advantage to be virtually impossible to pronounce byEnglish speakers )
(Your translation meant "Surrender is mandatory!" )

"Who will keep them safe from harm? You will!"
"Wer schützt Ihre Liebsten? Sie!" (Actually "Who protects your beloved? You!")

Ack. My bad. I thought that 2-word answer might be off. My German needs work. :|

Thanks for all of the kind words, guys!

Imperial Monkey wrote:I am watching this with interest...want to see some tanks soon though!

My Leman Russes, for the time being, are based on some 1/48 scale Tiger I models that I rather enjoy. They aren't heavily converted at the moment, though that will change when I build up a few to accept sponsons.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
>--------------------<
Once an idyllic landscape of green and blue, the savagery of war and the blight of unchecked industry soon reduced Todth to a sickly pall of yellow and grey. Shelter, such that existed, was found only in the work camps and factories, where defeated humans cobbled together terrible war engines for their Orkish masters. Crude rebreathers served to prolong the miserable lives of the captive populace, though few survived to see even their fortieth years. Much of what the Todthites had known was forgotten, and the nobility that had been instilled in them by years of enlightenment twisted over time, becoming an uncompromising hatred for the Greenskins and all things alien to their world. For the Orks, Todth was an incredible resource, functioning as nothing so much as a Forge World for Stompas, Wagons, Trukks and Koptas. The weapons fashioned in the Todthite foundries were usually superior to (or if nothing else more reliable than) the gear hammered together by the Meks and Spanna Boyz. Over the next several centuries the world would change hands dozens of times, with new Warbosses riding the momentum of their Waaaghs to claim Todth and bend its efforts to their own ends. Unbeknownst to the slaves on the assembly lines, the efforts of the Todthites had accounted for millions of Imperial and Xenos deaths, granting their Greenskin overlords the steel of arms needed to besiege entire worlds....
>--------------------<

Got my first two Lascannon Teams done ahead of schedule.

Team One





And Team Two




So, I had a problem accepting the fact that I could only build one Heavy Weapons team per box (I mentioned that I'm a cheap ass, right? ). With that in mind, I grabbed some spare bits and decided to stretch each of my first two Heavy Weapon boxes into a mostly stock Autocannon Team and a coverted Lascannon Team. I used some standing Cadian legs for my spotters so that I could build four gunners, and snagged some extra heavy weapon arms from (I believe) my Chimera kits. The heads are from the Wargames Factory Shock Troopers, naturally. I've decided that the larger "welder's mask" style heads are used primarily by the Artillery/Munitions arm of my army, so they pop up most frequently on my Heavy and Special Weapons troopers. The Lascannons themselves are built by taking the Lascannon bit and affixing the Bipod to the rear, with the butt-plate from the mortar (extended with a bit of extra sprue and covered in green stuff) attached to the chin near the front of the Lascannon itself. Finally, I took the blast shield from the Missile Launcher and used it to create something of an iron sight on the cannon itself. For the price of a couple of bits and extra bases, I was able to get my Heavy Weapon sets to pull double duty. I'm pretty pleased with the Lascannon conversions, they remind me a bit of anti-tank rifles.

Didn't do anything too exciting today, just painted up two of my objective markers and started working on the three others. I really need to settle on a list soon so that I can make sure that I have everything painted in time for the GT in July.

So here's a look at one of my Leman Russ tanks for the Jagdmacht (which I'm calling Sturmwagens for the time being)...







The tank itself is mostly a Lindberg 1/48th scale Tiger I. I upgunned the turret with the tube from an office pen and added a muzzle brake by drilling out the cap from a craft knife blade refill container. The hull mounted Lascannon is a recut of the Space Marine Hunter Killer missile, and the Smoke Launchers are from he 4th Edition Chimera kit. I added a Guard symbol to the top of the turret as well. Personally, I really like the way that the conversion came out. Yes, it's very easily recognizable as a Tiger I, which is a blessing and a curse. My only concern is, while it's a centimeter longer than the listed length of the official Leman Russ, it's also a centimeter shorter as well. I don't want anyone to accuse me of modeling for advantage, so I'll have to be a bit careful about how and where I use my figures.



Unfortunately, I have next to no experience at painting vehicles. I did a few (old) Dark Eldar Raiders at one point, and they turned out terrible. While the Sturmwagen turned out better than that, it still feels as if its missing something. Can't put my finger on it. Might be too clean, but I haven't found a technique to weather it that didn't seem as if it would turn out looking juvenile.

Not sure about the tank for now.
How are you gonna go with these guys, mechanised? or mainly footsloggers? If you go for the mech. option the read Gunheads from the Black Library
http://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/gunheads-ebook.html (although this is the ebook version)
It is brilliant for anyone looking to do mechanised forces, I loved it!

Not sure about it in what way? Paint job, the model itself, scale? Just curious.

I'm trying to avoid going heavily mechanized, since I'm trying to avoid at least some of the IG hate that seems to fly around for some reason.

Wow! They look ace! I like the red glowy eyes and I'm a huge fan of the converted tank. As I'm planning a scratchbuild Leman Russ myself it gives me a little inspiration.

Great work!

Personally not a fan of the size or shape of the cannon barrel.

Other than that, looks ace.

Thanks Josh! I'll have to keep tabs on your gallery to see how your scratch build turns out.

Well, the stock gun on a scale model is far too small to be a Leman Russ Battle Cannon. Do you have any suggestions on better alternatives than what I came up with?

SkaerKrow wrote:Not sure about it in what way? Paint job, the model itself, scale? Just curious.

I'm trying to avoid going heavily mechanized, since I'm trying to avoid at least some of the IG hate that seems to fly around for some reason.

If you want to fix it in terms of scale, put it on a base that is thick enough to bump it to the proper height. In other words, maybe put a couple monster bases under it then cover them over with grass and putty. I don't think anyone will care about the length as it actually puts you at a disadvantage.

I'll probably bring a couple of extra bases along to do just that, in case I get into a particularly competitive game. I wouldn't glue them on said bases as they'll likely look pretty silly, but I wouldn't mind using them for someone that felt they were being short changed.

No, the scale is just as bad as GWs (5 men in a Leman Russ? Are they all anorexic midgets?)
I dunno, it just looks a little out of place, i guess it doesn't quite have the 40k look to it yet...although how to get that look i'm coming up blank...

That makes perfect sense to me. I think that's why I like it, though. I spent too much time looking at historical tanks before I started this army, and because of that I kept finding myself grumbling about the features of the Leman Russ. In picking a tank that doesn't fit the IG aesthetic, I could very well inspire that same response in people looking for the style of vehicle that I tried to move away from.

I'd try and ick out a few details in Boltgun metal and maybe Camo it a bit. Weathering Guard vehicles is tricky as it's easier to take to far. I'd also paint the tracks and track wheels something. The infantry looks classy and the fluff reads well. Good work and I'm looking forward to more.

mabey some futuristicy looking engine to bring it foward a couple of millenia

Leman Russ tanks can run on wood! I don't associate the Imperial Guard with much of a "future," honestly. Warhammer 40k is, in a lot of ways, World War I in space, after all. Still, food for thought. The tank actually has more highlighting on the metals than that picture lets on. Unfortunately, when I dull-coated it, most of my highlights got obliterated.

Managed to get my first Platoon Command Squad done today. Well, most of it. One figure suffered a catastrophic glue mishap when a piece broke off just before I started picking out the final details. He's in the bits box now to be used as a casualty counter later.

Just a quick update, I did a group shot of the models that I plan on taking in my tournament list at Buckeye Battles just to show my progress so far...



Not pictured: Two Griffons and two Vendettas. I haven't figured out how I want to convert the former, and I'm waiting until my infantry is painted to start the latter.

Bit of a proof of concept, but I got my kitbashed Sentinel put together today. The conversion seems to work out ok, so it looks like I'll be making another bits order soon.

After a lot of cutting and repositioning, the first of my Griffon builds is mostly complete. I still need to clean up some rough edges and file/add green stuff on some seams, but here are some shots of the work in progress.







The basis for this one is, once again, the Lindberg 1/48 scale Tiger I. The gun shielding is a severely cut down Basilisk Blast Shield, the gun carriage is a Leman Russ Demolisher Cannon married to the Imperial Guard Dozer Blade mount. I cut down a plastic dairy container to give myself some plastic card needed to flesh out a couple of spaces (notably the divider between the fighting compartment and the engine compartment at the rear). Some extra track sections were added to the sides of the vehicle for aesthetics (and I'm sure the blind hope of the crew to give themselves a little more protection ). The gun and the crew aren't glued to the model, and won't be, so that I can more easily store and swap the configuration of the vehicle. Since this is my proof of concept, a lot of the cuts and mounts are a bit rougher than I would like, but I expect that I'll have those refined when I knock out the second Griffon next week.

Hmm pretty interesting. I would never have ever thought of using a tiger for an artillery unit

I drew a bit of inspiration from the Sturmpanzer II Bison. There's enough similarity between the earlier Panzer designs so that the design layout carried over for my attempt to convert my Tiger models to artillery carriers.

Really liking this. I have two suggestions.
First, make sure your squads all have vox units, it helps when issuing orders.( Unless I missed them, you workk is pretty distracting)
Second, add some stowage to your tanks. I picked up several different kits for WW2 and modern tanks.
I think you are doing an excelent joband will be following this with interest.

Thanks Aidan, I'll take a look at some stowage kits to see what catches my fancy.

I do have Vox Caster figures in my collection (a couple of them are even painted), but right now I'm relying on my Commissars to help bolster my Squad's order efficiency. When I draw up a 2k list I may drop them back in.

Dude, you're Griffon looks awesome. Great work on that.

Nice work on the Griffon. What legs are you using for the Sentinel?

Great work on the Griffon

Thanks guys. The legs for the Sentinel are from a Mechwarrior: Dark Ages Clix figure. I flipped them around from their original configuration.

Got four Plasma Gunners painted for my Company Command Squad. I'm using one of the Greatcoat Shock Trooper guns for my Plasma Guns. They're pretty distinctive from the other guns in my army, and I'm happy with the way that they turned out (though for some reason painting these four guys was a grueling exercise). I also got seven more regular Guardsmen painted, including a few that I modeled without helmets. I'll get pictures of them up when I knock out the Heavy Weapons needed to complete their squads.

Looks pretty good although I think it would also help if there were some extra color on those plasma guns to make them look more different

Well, the red coolant tanks at the back of the guns are unique to any other weapons in the army.

Looking good i love the infantry! killzone army for the win!!!

SkaerKrow wrote:Well, the red coolant tanks at the back of the guns are unique to any other weapons in the army.

Ahh I just noticed those

kenshin620 wrote:Ahh I just noticed those

S'ok, they may not pop as much as I thought that they did. I was looking at my Plasma Gunners this morning to see if there's any other detail that I could pick out without breaking my color scheme. I may try painting part of the gun's body structure red just to make then more distinct.

looking good all over!
one question tho... the legs on your sentinels... where are they from? they aren´t the stadard issue legs...

You could alway colour one of the shoulders to make them stand out more.

Using the dozer blade genius. Got so many of those things sitting around doing nothing.

Good work of the fluff as well.

Ah true, if you painted the shoulders a bit differently that can help differentiate the separate roles

The Sentinel Legs are from a Mechwarrior Clix figure. I spotted them while I was looking at Mechwarrior Clix stuff to use for Deff Dreads or Killa Kans if I ever decide to actually get into Orks.

I like the metal shoulder pads, so I don't plan on painting them all one color or the other. I had considered painting Squad Markings on the fins that bisect the Shock Trooper shoulder pads, but I actually don't want to adopt Squad Markings for this army any time soon (since I'm still tinkering with builds/load-outs), but I could easily use that system to differentiate Special Weapon troopers from regular troopers. I'll give that a whirl tonight and see what I think. Thanks for the suggestion!

thx for the hint skaercrow, will keep that in mind...ebay is my friend ^^

How about picking the base of the top ridges out in red?

>----------<
The seeds of revolution begin in the heart, but only flower through action. For generations the savage Dunkelvolk of the wastelands waged guerrilla raids against the Orks, but their actions were little more than a nuisance to the greenskins. Organized revolts among the Todthites were quickly put down through displays of extreme brutality, often resulting in entire labor camps being vacated as their occupants were incinerated or dragged to death behind the very buggies and bikes that they had built. The Todthites raged against the injustice of their fate, but their spirits were precariously close to breaking. It was during this time of despair that rumors began to circulate, tales of figure in a heavy coat and miner's mask, emblazoned with the visage of death. The stories were small at first, telling of simple vigilante killings carried out against Orkish patrols and the Herders that tortured labor gangs. Over time however they grew more grandiose in their scope, and their protagonist began to take on almost super-human qualities. The masked figure emerged from an explosion of brimstone and flames, appearing to strike the fatal blow then disappearing just as easily. To the enslaved Todthites their avenging hero was known as "Der Faust," a fist striking back at the Orkish occupation. It is said that every myth contains a kernel of truth, and the myth of Der Faust was no different. In the shanties the Orks were hunted, their vehicles sabotaged and their war gear stolen. With each act of vengeance the resolve of the Todthites was emboldened, until finally the whole of the world hovered at the brink of an uprising...
>----------<

Today I started working on my counts-as Vendettas. Without further delay...









I wager that this thing is about 75% finished (lots of gaps to fill, and a few detail pieces to add beside). The majority of the figure is a 1/48 scale Revell Mil-24D Hind Helicopter model, with Imperial Guard Heavy Weapon Team Lascannons added. I had to cut the ends of the Lascannons off and turn them upside down in order to achieve the weapon mountings that I wanted. The twin-linked Lascannon mounted on the hull is built from two Lascannons, a Lascannon power pack and an ammo container from one of my Leman Russ/Tiger builds. I also added some aquilla symbols from the Imperial Guard Chimera kit to the side doors of the chopper. I'll be magnetizing the flight stand that I'm using with my chopper, which will also mark my first use of magnets, ever. I plan on painting the canopy/cockpit of the model, so I wasn't too broken up over glue fogging up the sections of clear plastic on the figure.

Personally, I've always been a big fan of attack helicopters (they're like tanks of the sky! ). When developing the backstory for my Imperial Guard regiment I decided that some of their technology would be inspired by the time that they spent as slaves to the Orks, fabricating Orkish technology. Their inspiration for this vehicle would have been the Deffkopta, a nasty chopper bristling with guns. The fact that I'm not a huge fan of the Valkyrie model (awesome for a plane, but I hate it for a skimmer), or its price tag (for the price of one Vendetta I can get three Hinds) also pushed me to dig up an alternative model. The Hind has a mean, almost science-fiction look to it, so I decided that it would be perfect for my IG army. I'll update with more pictures as I make progress on it.

Kinda funny you're using a russian heli (reminds me of green earth in advance wars who use A10's and Hinds even though they're the german faction)

Looks like a nice start. The Revell kit looks very nice at a very attractive price on some sites

The Hind looks really cool.., what colors will you paint it in?
I've also considered using hinds as Valkryries/Vendetta's.., what length is the model?

Funny thing is, in a perfect world I would probably be using Late War/Cold War Russian armor for my tanks. They have a nasty look to them, and I think that they fit well next to the Shock Trooper models. Unfortunately, scale Russian tank kits from that period tend to be really expensive, hard to find, and don't have a layout that's particular conducive to conversion. But yes, my Leman Russes and Vendettas will probably suffer some kind of Animosity rules.



Next to a humble Imperial Chimera. The Hind model measures 14" from nose to tail tip.

Knocked out my second Griffon last night. I only need two for my tournament list in July, so I'm holding off on the third conversion until afterwards (since I'm going to have trouble enough getting everything done in time for the tournament!).






Here are a couple of shots of what the conversion looks like without the gun. I'm planning on eventually putting together another gun rig with the Eradicator Nova Cannon to use as a Colossus Siege Mortar.

Like the Griffons, think they came out really well.

2nd Griffon looks pretty ace

This army looks amazing ^.^ I love it.

SoK

>----------<
The chaos of war has erased the specifics of the Todthite uprising's beginning from history, but it is known that in a handful of foundries humans turned the weapons of the Orks back against them. Caches of guns and ammunition, slowly built up over the generations by thieves and saboteurs, were opened and used to arm the labor camps. Even the warlike Orks were taken aback by the speed and raw savagery of the revolting humans. Despite this, it is all but certain that at any other time, the Todthites would have been destroyed in their bid for revolution, crushed by the overwhelming forces of their greenskin masters. However, participation is a disastrously unsuccessful Waaagh had left the planetary warlord's armies weakened and in need of resupply. Without mercy the Orks were driven from a few of the world's ruined cities and pushed out into the polluted wastes. At seemingly every battle, the revolutionaries told tales of Der Faust, that mysterious figure having become the true embodiment of the revolution's heart. In even the most hopeless of engagements the Todthites would hold the line, believing in their heart of hearts that their hero would appear at just the right moment to turn the tide in their favor. If the folk tales and war stories are to be believed, more often than not their faith truly was rewarded...
>----------<

Hey all! Sorry for the delay in updates lately. I had a birthday, then spent several weeks cracking out figures while trying to prepare for a tournament. Unfortunately, some personal issues came up that both prevented me from attending the tournament and sapped my will to paint for a bit. Also, there was a bit of nastiness where both of my Vendetta conversions broke (I had finished a second one shortly after my last update), and only one was salvageable. Beyond that I had to work out a new tail rotor for the kit because the existing rotor broke off constantly. Enough of me gabbing, here are some pictures.


This is a shot of my Company Command Squad, now finished. You may remember the Plasma Gunners from a previous update, though I just finished the Company Commander today. As you can see, I ended up going with a Red Stripe marking on my Special Weapons troopers (Hooray Special Weapons!) in order to make them stand out a bit more from my regular troopers. Hopefully this proves to be enough of a distinction for my opponents.


"Kill THAT guy, over THERE!"



I also finished my second Platoon Command Squad. The Platoon Commander came out pretty well. I painted up a few more Grenade Launcher troopers so that I could outfit a full PCS and a couple of Infantry Squads with Grenade Launchers. Again, these guys have the red stripe to designate them as Special Weapon carriers. This actually makes sense from a flavor text perspective, as red is the color of my army's Munitions Corps (the guys that operate my Heavy Weapons and vehicles).


Same Squad, side shot.



These models have been uploaded in shots before, but I added a red stripe to their shoulder pads and combined them to form a single Platoon Command Squad. This takes care of both of the Platoon Command Squads in my standard Imperial Guard army.


Side view.

I've managed to get a few games in with my Guard as well. Things haven't gone so well for us, with a not at all impressive record of 1-3 . Most of the advice that I've been getting is to either run Mech Guard/Leafblower, or start stocking up on Manticores. While a Manticore is somewhere in my future (because I want to have at least one of everything in my collection), I'd rather stick to playing a balanced Guard list than going Mech. Plus, it wouldn't give me as much fun stuff to convert.

Thanks for the votes of confidence, everyone.

I didn't realize just how much I hadn't uploaded to the project log yet, so here goes.

First off, I got the crew models for my Griffons painted up. These were converted from Cadians, Greatcoats and pieces from the bits box.




Next up are the two Meltagunners that I have done for my Infantry Squads. Why I elected to use GW Meltaguns instead of something from the Greatcoat kit I'll never know, as I have a bunch of extra GW Plasma Guns, but no extra Meltas.



This is my newest Infantry Squad Sergeant, who for once actually has Infantry Squad Sergeant arms, and not a mishmash of Scout and Greatcoat arms.



While cracking out the last few models for my Infantry Squads, I decided that I wanted to mix things up a bit. As much as I like the Greatcoat models, they're all very similar in their poses and details. After a bit of recutting and bits swapping, I was able to do a couple of guys that were a bit more distinct, just to bring a little variety to my squads.

Here are some Grenade Throwers, which I accomplished by trimming down a couple of extra grenade bits and repositioning the Shock Trooper grip arm.



I also did a pair of guys reloading, using a clip bit and another reposing of the arm. In this picture is also a figure that I converted up using a bit from the Command Squad box. He's injured, with his arm in a sling. I was going to paint blood seeping through the sling, but it never came out quite how I wanted so I abandoned the idea.



Last but not least, I did two Jaegers without their signature stahlhelms. One guy has the bare, scarred head from the Company Command Squad boxed set, the other has an old Chaos Warriors head that I salvaged from my bits box. Both have the Cadian rebreather masks added to them, since I didn't want to break the mask theme completely on my common troopers.



After spending more time working on my list, I'm planning on rotating out my (abysmal ) Heavy Weapon Squads in favor of two Veteran Squads to occupy my Vendettas. So, after I knock out my two Commissars (who are next in the painting queue), I should have some shots of my Veterans to share.

...oh, and for fun, here's a shot of my (work in progress) Vendetta paintjob, with a squad of Guardsmen disembarked beneath it. You can see how I reworked the tail rotor in this picture as well. It's not as pretty, but it also doesn't break whenever someone bumps the model.

Hind is looking awesome

Hinds fr Vendetta's is an excellent idea. I might consider stealing it. The greatcoats are looking good as well.

Subscribed. These are pretty good looking models and painting and I like your interest in backround stories! They are so fascinating!

Those Tiger-Russ conversion seems to me really bulky and stupid... In no offence mate, but it just looks silly that there is some 250mm cannon on pretty short tank... No.
IMHO compensatory tanks for Russ would be like Jagdtiger or Königstiger (porsche turret). Normal Tiger (Pnz VI) is not so bulkylooking behemoth as Russ. And Russ has even that special rule of being bulky, so...

Here is Jagdtiger pics:


and oh, I just remembered. BT-42, finnish assaultgun made from BT-7 could also be an answer:

Absolutely loving these, both the infantry and the vehicles (especially the Griffons and the Vendettas). Quite in awe of the smoothness of your conversions, especially that trooper with his arm in a sling.
The only two things I would say is that I agree with some of the others who have said the barrels on the tanks are too big, and that overall everything seems very clean, especially considering the mud bases.

Thanks for the kinds words, all. I appreciate them.

The Hindettas have been a tremendous hit with everyone that has seen them in person, so I'm glad that I was able to work out the tail issue. Shame that I ruined the second Hindetta in the process. :(

The Jagdtiger is not a tank, it's a Tank Destroyer. It does not have a rotating turret. Might be a good choice for a Medusa Siege Cannon stand-in, but it doesn't work for a Russ. I like my Tigers, and they've been well received by all of my opponents, so I'll be keeping them in the army for now. Still, thanks for the suggestion!

I've had trouble adding "dirt" to the models in ways that doesn't just look like I screwed up and got base paint on my models. They do a bit tidy for their environment, so until I come up with a dirtying effect that I actually like, we'll just have to assume that they're recently deployed to Planet Mudbull.

Going to be a pedant, but a tank destroyer can have a rotating turret. Check out the American M10 and the British Challenger A30.

As for the barrels, well if you're happy with them, that's what matters!

Im really liking these conversions and the overall these for the army.
Some nice painting in there too !!

Lux_Lucis wrote:Going to be a pedant, but a tank destroyer can have a rotating turret. Check out the American M10 and the British Challenger A30.

You are definitely correct, though neither the Americans nor the British were as well known for their Tank Destroyers as the Germans or Russians were, and all of their designs used weapons fixed to a casemate.

Indeed, and I think they look much better for it.
The Swedes had a nice one post-WWII where the barrel lay along the length of the hull for about half its length, instead of protruding from the front armour, the Stridsvagn 103.

I quite like the FW Destroyer Tank Hunter myself.

Anyway, off topic. Looking forward to the rest of your work!

Guys, ever heard of "assault guns"? Tank Destroyer is only a term used for tanks whose main mission is destroying other tanks. Assault gun can also have a howitzer in its hull, for example.
Jagdtiger is assault gun, thou assaultguns are tanks as well as tanks with rotating turrets, they just have mainly different roles on battlefield.

Don't try to tell me what is tank and what is not. I've worked as a museo-guide in armour museum. I think I know something about armoured vehicles.



Still, I like your troopers : D

Hey now. I don't think anyone was trying to call anyone into question. We just didn't realize that we were chatting with treadheads, so we began explaining things that were already known. No offense intended!

Well, except maybe about the part where you worked in an Armor Museum, which makes me one jealous guy.

Ah, the infamous Female Commissar model. I bought this figure the day that it came out for (limited) general release, because at the time, it was one of the only human female models that GW had released for 40k (I can't recall if she came out before or after the Sisters of Battle). I've nearly used it for a variety of skirmish games over the years, almost gave her away once, before finally pressing her into my Jagdmacht collection. I think I broke my speed record for painting a character. Got this Commissar done in about six hours (and considering how slowly that I paint, that's impressive ).



I'm very happy with the way that she turned out, especially considering that she's the first metal figure that I've painted in what feels like forever. I plan on giving all of my Commissars red hats, in order to make them stand out from the rest of the doods in coats in my army.

The Commissar alone didn't feel like much of an update, so I decided to post a couple of shots of some of my work-in-progress figures.

First up is my Missile Launcher Heavy Weapon team. Originally, I planned to do three of each Heavy Weapon team, but now that I've decided that I really dislike how they perform on the table, I may stop at the seven that I have done now.



I wanted the team to look more like a Panzershreck team than the typical Cadian Missile Launcher team. Using Greatcoat bodies also enables me to stretch the contents of the Heavy Weapon box just a bit.

Also up is a shot of a Heavy Flamer Trooper that I knocked together a while back. I think that he's technically carrying a regular Flamer, but considering how much bigger this weapon is than the Flamer models that I got out of the Greatcoat kit, I think it gets the point across.


Finally, I have some shots of my unpainted Veteran Guardsmen. For these, I went ahead and used some Pig Iron Kolony Militia heads on Greatcoat bodies, with bits of extra kit and gear added to the figure when possible. Originally I was going to call these guys "Totenkopfe" or something similar ("Death Heads")...until I did about five minutes of reading and realized how stupid that would be (for those that don't know, it turns out that there was an SS unit in WWII that went by a similar name). So, while I do still plan on painting these guys with a skull motif on their masks, I'll be coming up with a better name for them. In the interim, they're just "Veterans."



That's it for now. Next on the painting table is my second Commissar (who may or may not actually just be a Mordian Iron Guard Sergeant).

Quick update, but I got my second Commissar done last week.



The model is actually that of a Mordian Iron Guard Captain...which is strange, since he has all of the markings associated with a Commissar model. I purchased him around the same time that I purchased the female Commissar model, and he's spent over a decade in my model archive. Better late than never!

I'm debating over what I want to knock out next. It should either be some Heavy Weapon Teams, my first Veteran Squad or one of my vehicles. Really dragging my feet on the vehicles because I'm a total noob when it comes to painting them.

Red Hats on the Commissar is an excellent idea really helps pick them out. For the veteran squads how about Jaeger? It's hunter in German and would easily fit the background the Jaeger's originally being those who took the fight to the Orks and even now form hunt teams to purge the few survivors. For the Vehicles spray undercoat is your friend! As well as big brushes. I'd go for an army painter/Krylon can in the main colour you want to use.

Subscribed. I really like the theme to your army.

I love the look of your tanks, they just look so, well, tanky. Really well done. Your troops look really boss as well.

Not a big fan of the sentinel's legs . . They just look a bit ridiculous to me (although that said, I think sentinels look ridiculous anyway).

I'm in the process of starting an IG air-cav army that will use a similiar colour scheme to these guys (black armour, dark grey fatigues, glowing red eyes) so it's great to see that it works so well. Keep up the good work!

Oh by the way you mentioned wanting good priced Soviet Armour kits, try and find a Zvezda stockist they have a good value range including a T60

Love these, as I believe I have said before. The one problem is that there are too many of them coming out with an almost identical space/stance. Even with some GW figs, you get more variation...

Has it really been six months since I worked on my army? Sheesh. As it turns out, the second half of 2011 became a pretty busy/dramatic time for me. I'll spare you the details, you're not here for details, you're here for Guardsmen!

I have finished painting my first squad of Totenfaust Imperial Guard Veterans for the Jagdmacht. The Totenfaust are elite troops who attempt to emulate the appearance of Der Faust, a folk hero of great importance on the world of Todth. To this end they wear a different pattern of helmet than the Jaegers of the rank-and-file, and paint skull like patterns on their masks (since Der Faust is supposed to be a skull-helmed fighter).





I created the Totenfausts by combining Pig Iron Colony Militia heads with Wargames Factory bodies. The Meltaguns themselves are Space Marine bits that I traded for, and then repositioned as needed on Imperial Guard arms. I think that the skull icons on the masks of the figures has a really good presence at table distance, though I admit that it looks less impressive under tight scrutiny. Still, it helps to differentiate my Vets from my regular troopers, which I'm happy enough about.

Truth be told, I took a long break from Warhammer 40k over edition-change fears (I got burned on the WHFB 7th-8th shift, and was really afraid of the same happening with 40k). The 6th Edition leak actually got me interested in the game again, since I generally approve of the direction that it's taking. With that in mind, the Jagdmacht blog should be updated regularly again. My next project is going to be to bang out a squad of Totenfaust Plasma Gunners, then I'm going to attempt to tackle another vehicle (something I'm not too excited about, since I still regard vehicle painting as being a big weakness for me).

And now for a bit of heavy metal...







Painted up my first Griffon conversion. I had hashed these out around June, but never had a chance to paint them as I had retired the army project for a bit. This is probably the first vehicle paint job that I've been happy with. Things would have been a bit easier had I gone with an actual camouflage color scheme, but I wanted to stick with the army's grey tones. Here are a few shots of the vehicle with crewmen...

Any plans on using one of these for your Hydra?



Also you owe yourself to use this on your deathshrike.

There's definitely a Deathstrike somewhere in the army's future, once I get the essential units out of the way. Not a fan of the superstructure on the Wirbelwind's turret, but I'll end up doing something of the sort, I imagine.

Man, its amazing both how long in between blog posts can be, and how long my posts in someone's blog can be Time feels so short

SkaerKrow wrote:There's definitely a Deathstrike somewhere in the army's future, once I get the essential units out of the way. Not a fan of the superstructure on the Wirbelwind's turret, but I'll end up doing something of the sort, I imagine.

For hydras, perhaps something more modern? Like a Flakpanzer Gepard



Or a Wiesel 2 Leflasys?

I like the look of that Gepard. I was thinking of doing something more in the style of the Vietnam era Ontos for my Hydra, but I think you've swayed me.

I like it. I've played around with these models a bit myself, but I only ever got a box or two. They seem to be a natural fit for an IG army.

Before you write off the Wirbelwind, at least take a look at the Tamiya Flak 38. It's one nice model and is priced more than fairly. Heroic scale minis could probably sit in the seats quite nicely; I was planning on snipping the posts down a bit if I wind up using them as I'm unfortunately stuck with truescale. I have an assembled one laying around from years ago if you'd like a comparison picture. 1/35 truescale basically equals 1/48 heroic, as you've probably already noticed.

I may steal your Hind idea. Just saying.

Hmm, nice grey scheme.

n00ber wrote:I like it. I've played around with these models a bit myself, but I only ever got a box or two. They seem to be a natural fit for an IG army.

Before you write off the Wirbelwind, at least take a look at the Tamiya Flak 38. It's one nice model and is priced more than fairly. Heroic scale minis could probably sit in the seats quite nicely; I was planning on snipping the posts down a bit if I wind up using them as I'm unfortunately stuck with truescale. I have an assembled one laying around from years ago if you'd like a comparison picture. 1/35 truescale basically equals 1/48 heroic, as you've probably already noticed.

I may steal your Hind idea. Just saying.

Feel free to steal the Hind idea, I think it would be neat to see what other people do with it. Looking at it, I think the part of the Wirbelwind that turns me off is how puny the guns look. I may be able to 40k them up a bit and get a more menacing look from them.

This is by far one of the coolest armies ive seen to date!
I love your painting style, its really clean and simple, but very sharp

friggen awesome job!

Awesome stuff! Original concept and it all looks great! Cant wait to see more of it!

Fantastic!!

I wanna see how the revolt goes on though!!!!

Those Griffons look awesome! I personally don't like the look of Wehrmacht-tanks, but these are really nice.

@Ethancol
Glad that you're enjoying the back-story bits that I've dropped in here. I'll pick them back up during my next update.

@Shadox
Thanks! I was really happy with the Griffons too. The Leman Russes are the most divisive element in the army so far. Some people love them, others aren't sold on them at all. Hehe.

>----------<
Though they had won for themselves a small foothold of freedom the Todthites were still outnumbered by their Orkish oppressors. Smarting from their loss during Waaagh Orkules, the Orks were all too happy for a chance to “smash sum ‘oomies,” and the bosses of the greenskins lead their ramshackle hordes across the ash deserts towards humanity’s paltry strongholds. The army that waited for them was not composed of slaves using pilfered shootas and trukks, but of Todthite patriots equipped with weapons forged for the singular purpose of spilling greenskin blood. Knowing of the Orks’ love of battle (and general lack of strategy), the Todthites hatched a daring plan. Collecting all of their military forces and equipment within one stronghold, they sent the sick and the young to other settlements behind their own lines. The Orks could have easily bypassed the fortified city to retake their other lost factories, capturing or killing the children of the revolution in the process. A few biker mobs did just that, though their comparative lack of manpower prevented them from causing too much damage behind the Todthite front lines. But there was something in the mind of the Ork, an impulse that drove them battle-mad at the sight of the Todthites red, white and black flags hanging from the tallest spires of their city-stronghold. An entire world of greenskins bore down upon the fortress of Steeltoof, a place that the Todthites knew as “Stahlgrab.”
>----------<

So I've played my Imperial Guard a bit more (most recently against the new Necrons), and decided to prune some things out of my list. Gone are the Heavy Weapons teams, as I find them to be utterly useless in most situations. I apparently have some kind of genetic deficiency, because I also can't get the Vendetta to do anything that I want it to . Going back to the drawing board, I decided to to add more conventional armor to my list, as well as Al'Rahem. With that in mind, it was time to get back to the work bench and assemble some new units. Here are some very early shots of my newest kitbashes and conversions.


This is my newest Leman Russ Demolisher conversion. It's pretty much a match of the previous conversion that I had done. The bulk of the model is the 1/48 scale Lindberg Tiger I tank kit, with Chimera bits, green stuff and a cut pen cap used to flesh out the model.


Next is a conversion that I did of a Leman Russ Exterminator turret. I had a few turrets left over from my Griffon conversions, and decided to use them to make some less frequently used Leman Russ variants. The Jagdmacht Exterminator is supposed to represent a in the field modification, so I wanted it to look the part. I ended up using two of the 8.8 cannons that come with the Lindberg kit for the autocannons, with one positioned in the main gun mount and a second autocannon positioned somewhat off-center in a secondary mount. I don't know if I'll ever actually use the Exterminator, but it was a fun conversion to build.


Since I'm going to be running Al'Rahem I decided that I needed an Astropath. Todth has no psyker mutants to speak of, and I didn't like the idea of a robed wizard looking figure running around with the rest of my army. I decided to model my Astropath as a Headquarters Kompanie Funker, in charge of coordinating with the rest of the Jagdmacht forces in the area. I used a Greatcoat Shock Trooper body, a Cadian Vox-Caster head, a Vox Caster and a Command Squad arm bit with an old Space Marine Auspex bit to represent my Kompanie Funker. I also converted up another Melta-Gunner, and assembled another Chimera. It's my first time putting together the new Chimera kit, and I have to say that it's a huge improvement over the old one (though they're a bit stingier with the extra bits these days).


Finally, I put together two Platoon Command Squad members with Sniper Rifles. The full cloak from the Cadian Command Squad kit doesn't fit the Greatcoat Shock Trooper body, so I originally started putting together a conversion using the Space Marine Scout Sniper Rifle. However, on a whim I tried putting the Cadian Sniper Rifle arm on the Shock Trooper just to see how it looked. I might be totally off my nut here, but I've always liked the look of half-cloaks, and in the end I decided to go with the Cadian army after all. I want to get these guys painted up pretty soon, because I think that they'll look surprisingly good when all is said and done.

For the time being I'm done with assembling, so now I get to work on painting up my first full 2,000 point Jagdmacht list. Should have another update next week.

I to have quiet a few of those Greatcoat Shocktroopers. Oddly enough I painted them exactly the same as you did! lol What can I say, gray, black and red go together rather well.

Great work by the way! I love the use of the Hind for a Vendetta! Can't wait to see your army finished.

Thanks LoS. The color scheme does seem like a really natural fit to the Shock Troops. It also gets a lot of attention at the FLGS, which is a good sign.

I finally finished painting my first Russ conversion. The Battle Tank that I painted before was a practice/proof of concept piece more than anything else, one that I plan on repainting soon. This is the first Leman Russ Demolisher conversion that I did (which I posted here many moons ago).





The second image shows off my Kompanie's runic insignia, which is my way of getting around having to freehand anything as specific as written letters on my vehicles (I'm finding that precise freehand work is not one of my strengths ). I'm pretty happy with the way that the model turned out, both from a conversion and painting standpoint. Considering that this is the third vehicle that I've ever painted, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. People have mentioned to me that my mud based Imperial Guardsmen should be accompanied by muddy tanks, and I agree with them. However, I have no idea how to achieve the "muddy tank" look as opposed to the "noob went to down on his painted vehicle with brown paint" look. Once I figure that out, I plan on revisiting my painted armor and giving it a bit of dirt and muck for effect.

"Hunting make..."

I really like the conversion work and the overall appearance.

I only have two concerns:

You should definitely remove the Helghast symbols and imagery you copied/shopped into the picture, since GW's IP policy for fans explicitly states that you should not combine any third party IP into your army. I'm just looking out for you.

I really like the work that you did on the Tiger tanks, and I support conversions of grimdark/goofy historical tank designs for historical themed 40k armies, I don't support creating Wehrmacht armies. All of the other conversions can easily be a retro-futuristic version of the German Empire, but the Tiger tank immediately ties it into the Third Reich. I really like the feel of the conversion work that you did, and I really think you did a good job on the Tiger tanks, but I just don't think you should use them in 40k.

Another point that might help you improve is to use pseudo German the way I'm trying to do with Sturmkrieg. See example: Fliegenova Festeskaya
That last one is just a thought; it's up to you. I really like your army.

The double triangles aren't actually a Helghast symbol, I came up with them as a simple regimental insignia for the army. As I mentioned before, I suck at freehanding, so I needed something that was easy to paint .

I admit that anyone that elects to do a German themed IG army can find themselves walking a fine line between good taste and bad, but I see the Tiger design used to promote all sorts of WW2 era games that never do anything to acknowledge, glorify or condemn the atrocities of the Nazi Party (Flames of War and World of Tanks both immediately jump to mind). I do appreciate your candor on the subject, but I don't really agree with it. Still, thanks for checking out my blog!

I would go for a Sturmtiger design more for a Demolisher.

>----------<
The Battle of Stahlgrab saw some of the bloodiest fighting in the entire war-torn history of the Todthites. The Orks charged from every side, and only the battle cannons of the human’s improvised battle tanks were able to stem the tide of their assault. Ork Stormboyz, carried aloft by Fighta-Bommaz, descended past the fortifications and into the streets of the city itself, but they were quickly forced into hiding by the retribution of Stahlgrab’s defenders. The situation continued for weeks, with thousands of Ork boyz throwing themselves at the city’s defenses only to be beaten back in the eleventh hour by overwhelming artillery and ordnance bombardments. Orkish aircraft continued to menace the humans, causing them to retrofit some of their tanks with autocannons for impromptu anti-aircraft duty. With an abundance of scrap material and manufacturing facilities tucked safely behind their fortifications, the Todthites were well equipped to fighting a prolonged siege. Rations were tight, but most rebel soldiers were happier with a full clip than with a full belly.
>----------<

I really like the Sturmtiger, but the fact that it has a casemate gun mount kind of hurts its viability as a Leman Russ Demolisher. Lots of potential for a Medusa, though.

So I finished painting my second Demolisher conversion, as you can see...




I think the two of them came out pretty well. I'm really looking forward to seeing them on a gaming table, surrounded by Jaegers.


So I decided to do something a bit different this weekend. I ordered a mess of bits on eBay, and picked up some sheet styrene from the FLGS. I've been wanting to add some Hellhounds, Hydras and Manticores to my collection, but I didn't want to use the stock figures. I like the idea of adapting battle tanks to new combat roles, not APCs. The simple answer would have been to stick a new turret on top of a Tiger, but I thought that would be a bit confusing, seeing as how the Chimera variants play a lot differently from the Leman Russ on the battlefield. With that in mind, I set about converting up a modified version of the Sturmwagen.


Using the sheet styrene, I gave the Tiger I a sloped face (not completely unlike the one that the Chimera variants have). I used some cut bits and styrene to create a hatch/view port, and cut down an Imperial Guard Heavy Weapons Team Heavy Bolter to make the bow mounted weapon. I also reworked the rear section a bit, removing the armored covers from the exhaust system but adding more pronounced exhaust pipes to the engines.

For the Hellhound turret, I cut the bustle off of the back of the Tiger I turret, created a new face/mantlet using styrene and then mounted two cut Razorback Heavy Flamers to the new mantlet. I also mounted Heavy Flamer tanks from the Cadian kit on the sides of the turret, representing a feed system for the Inferno Cannon. The hatch was a bit from a botched Chimera assembly attempt last year. Here are a few additional shots of the conversion, now primed.







To this point I'm happy with the conversion, but the proof will be in how it looks painted. I should also have conversions of the Hydra and Manticore done soon, assuming that my bits get here promptly. In the mean time, I've started repainting my first Leman Russ Battle Tank DIY, and I'm about to start painting the second one that I worked up last year.

Looks good, nice and original. The heavy bolter is pointing upwards a bit too much though, if its an anti-personnel weapon then surely it needs to shoot more horizontally...it may just be the picture angle, I'm not too sure.

Thanks! The angle of the bolter isn't as severe as it looks in the picture. It does have a bit of a slant to it, though.

Here's a 1/35 Sturmtiger that you could use as a Medusa:
http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/tam/kit_tam_35177.shtml

Also, here's a Basilisk/Ferdinand tank destroyer:
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Imperial_Guard/Imperial_Guard_Tanks/ARMAGEDDON-PATTERN-BASILISK.html

Thanks for the links. The Sturmtiger would make a very tasty Medusa...

I repainted my first Leman Russ conversion this week, in order to bring its scheme in line with the rest of the tanks in my collection.





The hull weapon is supposed to represent a low-tech lascannon, which (I believe I mentioned earlier) was done up from a Space Marine Hunter Killer missile. Unfortunately, I need another Heavy Bolter Leman Russ, so I'll have to replace this in my list sooner than later.

Next up is my second Leman Russ Battle Tank conversion, now painted.



The conversion is similar to the first one, with a bit of extra detail added to the turret in the form of extra track sections and a tank commander built from Imperial Guard and Greatcoat bits.



I also added a few jerry cans to the bustle, as an extra bit of visual interest. Here's a group shot of the two Battle Tanks for comparison.



And for the hell of it, here's a shot of the entire tank company so far, with both of my Battle Tanks and both Demolishers.



I know that everyone isn't a fan of my choice to use Tigers for my Leman Russes, but I'm incredibly happy with how they've all turned out so far. Once I have the rest of the army painted, I'm going to try to get some shots of the army on a gaming table with terrain. My next paint project is looking to be my second Griffon, then I start work on the Chimeras. As it stands now, I'm four Chimeras, a Griffon, two Snipers, a Melta Gunner, an Astropath and my counts-as Marbo away from having my first ever fully painted 40k army!

>----------<
The battle dragged on into its third month, with more and more Orks joining the camp of the besiegers. The humans and greenskins remained at something of a stalemate until a group of Kommandos managed to sneak beyond the siegeworks and open up an approach into the city itself. Boyz, Trukks and Wagons hurtled into Stahlgrab itself and immediately the brutes began to massacre the defenders. Todthite commanders responded quickly, pulling their forces back and creating a fortified pocket around the breach. The orks found themselves caught in a salient, assaulted from all sides while the armored formations of the humans fought desperately to recapture the gate opened by the Kommandos. After four days of fierce fighting, during which nearly half of the rebel’s armored vehicles were lost, the salient was pinched off and the orks that had made it into the city proper were annihilated. The Todthite victory was short lived however, for on the other side of the city the orkish Warboss had finally arrived. Leading a squadron of battle wagons from aboard his own enormous land-kroozer, the Warboss and his Nobz rolled over fortification and defender with equal fervor, cutting a bloody path towards the heart of Stahlgrab. With their forces bloodied and completely out of position, the Todthites could do nothing to prevent the city itself from becoming infested with greenskins...
>----------<

Hell hath frozen over, and I finally got another game in with my Imperial Guard army. My new list eschews the Vendettas in favor of more tanks, and replaces some Veterans and other bits with more boots on the ground. It was with a bit of a shock this week when I realized that I didn't have enough Jaegers painted and assembled to represent my full army. Hooray for late reserves and large bodycounts . Since I was going to have to build more Guardsmen, I once again decided to try to do something different with them in order to set them apart from the other 50 or so that I've assembled and painted...


Here are my first six new Guardsmen. They're kind of a motley bunch, with not a single "standard" assembly to be found between them.


These three are all cobbled together from different kits. The one of the left has a Catachan head, a Cadian rebreather and a Wargames Factory body. I plan on painting his bandana like a wound dressing. The second one is a bit more ambitious. Once again, it's a Catachan head, though it's been cut down. I also cut down an extra Shock Trooper head to give this guy a Stahlhelm. A Cadian rebreather fleshes out the conversion. The helmet isn't as crooked as it looks from this angle. The guy on the right was built using bits from the Wargames Factory Greatcoat Heavy Weapons Kit (which I picked up on Monday), along with legs from a regular Greatcoat trooper that I had botched up. It was a pretty simple exercise in cutting off the ruined torso and adding the "free" torso from the Heavy Weapons kit in its place.


The Greatcoat Heavy Weapons kit also comes with some kneeling legs, and I was keen to assemble some crouching troopers. However, as you can see from the Jaeger on the left, these legs have some nasty overlap in the back where the torso is too wide for the waist. I suppose this could be written off as armor overhang, but I think it's a sign of a bad sculpt. I'm undecided on whether or not I'm actually going to use the crouching troopers in my army, or replace them with more conventional models. The fellow in the middle is also crouching (with the same waist overlap issue), and I've recut his weapon arm and given him a Cadian Heavy Weapon team arm to make it look as it he's spotting. The guy on the right is the squad sergeant, who has another Cadian Heavy Weapon team arm, and a Space Marine Scout arm with Chainsword.

So, my usual Imperial Guard list includes Griffons, and after about four games with them doing next to nothing for me, I decided to drop them in favor of a pair of Hydras. This is unfortunate because I like my Griffon conversions (I was in the midst of painting Griffon #2), and because I didn't have any Hydras built up. The Hydras are going to go on the Jagdmacht general purpose armored chassis (last seen on my Hellhound conversion), so at least I already had that built. After spending part of yesterday researching SPAAGs, and today chopping away at plastic, I give you my Hydra conversion...





Phew. The main portion of the turret is the Lindberg Tiger I turret, which I've reversed and cut. The floor of the turret is sheet styrene, while the guns themselves are from a Robogear kit. I used an assortment of bits from the Lindberg Tiger I kit (ammo boxes, a cut gearbox and a control panel) to flesh out the interior of the turret. The gunner is made up of the chair from the Lindberg Tiger I, a Cadian Sentinel Pilot and a Greatcoat Shock Trooper head. I added an armor plate made from sheet styrene to the front, along with a searchlight from a Sentinel. Bits and pieces from the Greatcoat Heavy Weapon kit helped to decorated the turret, and I added a spare length of Chimera track to its rear as well. The hull is the same one that I presented earlier with my Hellhound conversion, though I took Imperial Monkey's advice and recut the Heavy Bolter to make it point in a more horizontal direction (green stuff coming, I know it has some gaps). The conversion has drawn positive responses from the people who have seen it in person so far, and I'm hopeful that it will look pretty good once I have it all painted up. Next up, I need to convert another Hydra turret, another general purpose chassis and four more Jaegers.

If your ever going into Super Heavys. Might i suggest the Iron Behemoths of Germany?
The 188 Ton Maus and the 150+ ton E-100.
Depending on the model kit the E-100 can have a different turret. (either a Maus turret, a 'krupp turret' or a hensel turret akin to a King Tiger)
1/35th scale is best for them. i have an E-100 form trumpeter (it has stopped production but i got mine on Amazon) and a "Orange Box" Maus for $30 form cyber hobby

Both carry the distinctive harsh lines and angles of German Armor and are approxamatly the same size of a GW baneblade (they are slightly less wide but the addition of Sponsons will fix this)

Your tanks and troops are fantastic keep up the work!





a King Tiger could work as a Super heavy as well as well as others. but thought id suggest the True Super Heavys of German Steel.

Thanks a lot, Engine! I'd go with the E-100, but I'm only up to the King Tiger and I don't know if I want to grind through the E-75, so...

Wait, this isn't World of Tanks!

The only issue that I have with the large German tanks is that they don't have enough guns to represent GW's enormous gunboat vehicles. The addition of sponsons would certainly solve that problem. I have a 1/35th Panther laying around that I was going to convert into an intermediate Apoc Super Heavy, but if I decide to go whole hog for Baneblade conversion, I think I'll take your advice.

And now for something completely different. Not Triarch Stalker different, though I did kitbash one of those last weekend. No, this is non-vehicle related. Specifically, I decided to convert up a Psyker Battle Squad. I decided a while back that Todth had no Psykers of its own, universally lacking that mutation for one reason or another (this is a bit of a boon for the Todthites, as it made their acceptance into the Imperium a bit easier). A side effect of this is that my Psyker Squads weren't going to look like the rest of my army. I checked Dakka to see what other Imperial Guard players had done to create their own Psyker Battle Squads, and saw that it was a pretty varied selection. Some people went with the traditional Imperial Space Wizard look, others had normal Guardsman with different color schemes and weapons, still others used Imperial Flagellents. I did a bit of bits ordering, picking up some Wargames Factory Persian bodies, Skaven Plague Monk arms, Empire Pistolier Pistols and Wargames Factory Spanish Cavalry heads. The Cavalry heads had tall, pope-like hats that I thought would be perfect for the Imperial Psyker look. Unfortunately, when I received my bits, I discovered that the heads that I ordered were smaller than I expected (they look to be true 25mm scale rather than 28mm heroic), so I couldn't use them. As a happy accident, I discovered that I had some Glade Guard heads left over from my Dark Elf Shade conversions (back when I actually played WHFB), and after some fiddling, I was able to mount them on the Persian bodies. Suddenly the entire character of my Psyker Battle Squad had changed. Instead of being robed space popes with antique guns, I had a squad of Psyker Assassins. Enough text, let's have some pictures...







So while creating my Space Ninja Jedi guys, I came up with the name of the "Adeptus Sicarii Psykana." They represent a small order of battle psykers, silent and emotionless killers that wolf pack their targets with precise synchronized attacks. Or with laspistols, close combat weapons and Soulstorm, whatever . The Overseer is a Todth, a member of a small element of the Jagdmacht that is being taught how to deal with psykers (no effect on the battlefield, of course). I made the Overseer model using a Cadian Laspistol arm, a Cadian vehicle driver head, the Captain/Sergeant body from the Wargames Factory Greatcoat Heavy Weapon Team box, a Space Marine purity seal and an arm built from Greatcoat and Greatcoat HWT bits. I need to fill a gap between the left arm and torso on the Overseer, but I'm pretty happy with him. I also like the look of the Psykers, kind of baroque and mysterious. I haven't decided how I'll paint the unit, though I'm thinking of trying to paint them white with red trim and accents. It would make them stand out from the rest of the army immediately, but I'm hoping that the red accent would tie it in with the rest of the force.

My next project will be to build some Leman Russ Executioner turrets, since I'm going to try running them in my Guard list soon.

Honestly, I really like the Tiger tanks for the force, I feel like they really fit with the rest of your army. Painting is very good too.

As for it looking too much like the Wehrmacht, so? Who cares? The Imperium is a brutal authoritarian dictatorship, so why are people suddenly bothered when someone has a tiger tank? It's just hypocritical. I mean I can see where people would get bothered if you started putting lightning runes on your tanks and dudes, but you're not doing that.
People will get offended no matter what so it's whatever.

Let's be real here; the eagles and skulls with wings are already fairly "white power" oriented and I know that people have thought that people who played WH40k were neo-Nazis because of the eagle on the front of the figure cases.

Also I'm a huge fan of the Hydra flak tank! Looks suitably bad ass.

Kind Regards,
Vladsimpaler

If you want an "Intermediate" Super heavy theres only 1 tank for it.

The Macharius tank.
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Macharius_(Heavy_Tank)
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/8/8d/Malcadorbattlecannon.png

can come in 4 flavors (yum)
Duel battle Cannons, Dual Vanquisher Cannons, a Vulcan Mega Bolter, or a "Macharius Omega" which hold the big plasma blast gun.

edit: forgot to mention. Macharius tanks standard weapons (besides the Omega and the main weapons).
front hull mounted Twin linked Heavy Stubbers, and the ability to add sponsons with Heavy Stubber or Heavy bolters (plus of course all the IG upgrades like hunter killers, pintle weapons and so on)

A Baneblade carrys more firepower outright compared to a Macharius but a macharius is still a force to be reconned with.

tank size goes in this order from smallest to largest.

Leman Russ, Malcador, Macharius, and finnaly Baneblade.

a Freind of mine has attempted to make a Panther into a Baneblade (but its too short length and width wise) making it closer to the Macharius (i built one with a 1/35th scale M60 tank model and a ton of plasticard). As for conversion a Maus or E-100 like i said just needs the addition of bits/sponsons etc to turn them into baneblades. Both of mine have Sponsons and guns added.


Also..... Grinding the E-75 is apparently very fun. (i have the 100) its like a "Super King Tiger" with more of everything including a bigger gun and more armor. the 100 can be frustrating (but thats another long story) infact i have both the 100 and the Maus in WoT

@vladsimpaler
Thanks! When I have a few more models painted up, I'm going to take some vanity shots of the army to show off its overall table presence. I think when everyone sees the Tiger Russes alongside the infantry and support units that they'll come around.

@Engine of War
I was unaware of the Macharius, thanks for the head's up. That looks just about perfect for what I had in mind for my random clearance bin 1/35 Panther. Of course, my next insane project is to turn the Tiger I into a multi-turret tank to represent a Leman Russ with Sponsons...

Your doing really well youve picked a theme and your going for it. As for the standard (Russ) Tigers, the only thing I would say is that they look a bit out of proportion. Ie the guns look to big. How would they stow ammo or even load for instance. The other tiger variants you have used look really cool though, esp the anti air one. Your theme is fine and very germanic. It annoys me when the anti german ww2 brigade come out. When you consider that the IG is completely based on Stalins Soviet army (with Tzar period flags), that seems a bit rich to me. As far as symbolism goes remeber that Germanic/Norse runes and icons were stolen by the nazis, not invented by them.
Good job, all power to you.

Very nice stuff! I like the tanks alot, I bet they look nice on the table eh?

Always been a fan of this kind of german-themed military IG.

The 'dripping?' rust on some of the bolts is a nice touch and helps take away from the slight lack of detail that them real tanks have.

- Dood515

Excellent update as always

Ciaphas wrote:As for the standard (Russ) Tigers, the only thing I would say is that they look a bit out of proportion. Ie the guns look to big.

Blame GW for making leman russes (and almost all the tanks) with impossibly huge cannons that if you put a normal gun right next to them, the normal gun would look like an auto cannon

Vladsimpaler wrote:
As for it looking too much like the Wehrmacht, so? Who cares?

*Puts military history glasses on*

Err what part of the Wehrmacht? The Wehrmacht is the all inclusive term for the 3 branches of the german military: the Heer (army), the Luftwaffe (air force), and the Kriegsmarine (Navy). The Waffen SS forces are not included because they were completely separate from them. All of them had their own unique looks and even behavior (Hitler himself was known to joke that he had "a conservative army, a Nazi air force, and a communist navy.")

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the kind words.

Kenshin pretty much hit the nail on the head. The part of me that cares about historical value knows that the guns on my Russ Battle Tank and Demolisher are enormous, but that's the order of the day for Warhammer 40k. They probably look more out of scale on my tanks because A) the Tigers aren't as bulky as the official Russ and B) anyone who has seen a picture of a real Tiger I knows what their guns are supposed to look like. In something of a telling moment, the 1/48th scale Tiger I 8.8 cannon is about the same size as the official Cadian autocannon.

I finished my first Hellhound today, which is fortuitous because I plan on running it on Monday.







This is actually the second General Purpose hull that I've assembled, the first is still on the painting table with my Hydra turrets. There are definitely some rough edges on the turret, but I think that it looks pretty decent, all things considered. I've finally decided on my color identifiers for my vehicles. Battle tanks (the Leman Russes) have red unit numbers, Artillery and Munitions vehicles have white unit numbers, Special forces vehicles (like the Hellhound) have black unit numbers, and transports have yellow unit numbers.

SkaerKrow wrote: @Engine of War
I was unaware of the Macharius, thanks for the head's up. That looks just about perfect for what I had in mind for my random clearance bin 1/35 Panther. Of course, my next insane project is to turn the Tiger I into a multi-turret tank to represent a Leman Russ with Sponsons...

The only way i can imagine Sponsons on a Tiger Hull is to jury rig proper Leman Russ Sponsons onto the hull sides near the main turret ring.
for minature german turrets im at a loss as well. depending on the sponson weapon i can only find myself thinking of using the turrets off of early WW2 german light tanks (Panzer 1 and 2s) as make shift sponsons, but the panzer 2 turret (no less the Panzer 1) is very very short. giving extreamly limited transverse for a sponson.

a Panzer 1's tiny turrets (later models, Panzer 1 A had no turret) could be used as seperate turret all together (only with a Tigers upper deck the turret would have be to off set to the side on extentions like sponsons to prevent the turrets from hitting each other. Also if using two Panzer 1s or 2s the remaining hull of the Panzer 1/2 could be used in other projects, for what im not sure, its up to you.





Good Luck!



The Hellhound looks great but could use a larger fuel tank (but thats just me , otherwise its sweet )
As for the Russes cannon size.... realistically its estimated at around 250mm to 300....... not really a functional cannon lol. I have a 1/35th scale Atomic Cannon (280mm) and its barrel is a little less then the Battle tanks gun lol.

Great additions to the force the psyker asassins are a nice new take on the Psyker Battle Squad.

If i'm honest, the hellhound needs bigger fuel tanks. Much much bigger. This is a flame belching tank, those small tanks on each side of the turret are going to run dry faster than you can say "burn heretic, burn!". That's what is brilliant about the current hellhound model. The 4 massive tanks in the back. Otherwise it looks great (just needs bigger reserves of promethium).

@EngineofWar
I had actually considered using Panzer I/II turrets for my purposes, though there aren't many places that allow you to bits order scale model components . I will probably use their shape as inspiration for whatever scratch build technique that I use. Since they're standing in for sponsons anyhow, I don't need them to have the best range of motion.

Regarding the Hellhound, I understand the appeal of the official model, but I'm not a huge fan of the open and exposed Promethium tanks on the rear of the hull. I figured that the Promethium could actually be stored, for the most part, in internal storage, though I'm pretty sure that makes the tank just as much of a death trap as if they were stored unprotected on the rear hull. I wouldn't completely rule out of the possibility of making a small fuel trailer for the vehicle (ala' the Churchill Crocodile), though what I will probably do is add a bustle at the turret rear that holds a pair of additional fuel drums. I'll test this on the second Hellhound turret that I make, and if it turns out well I'll go back and retrofit the first turret that I completed.

I see your point, but at least they are secreted unlike the previous edition of the model which was so blindingly obvious (especially when eavy metal paint hazard stripes on it...idiots)
However, it just needs more, no matter how you do it. So, yeah a Churchill-esque trailer would look pretty cool.

what about a pipe? from the internal storage tanks to the turret.

I could do an internal pipe. The fluff-issue with that is the ramifications of having a tank full of promethium inside of a vehicle. The current GW model has an exposed external tank, meaning that a shot that penetrates the promethium reserve will probably cause the tank to burst into a ball of fire. This destroys/disables the tank, but there's a slim chance that the crew of the tank might survive long enough to survive. If the vehicle had an internal promethium tank then the fuel reserve would be less exposed to enemy fire. However, if a shot did penetrate the tanks then the fireball would explode inside of the vehicle, immediately incinerating the crew and probably causing a catastrophic engine explosion.

I'm pretty sold on the idea of a fuel trailer, ala' the Churchill Crocodile. As soon as I find a piece to use as the main body of the trailer (along with time to work on my Guard! Stupid new job ) then I'll set about building one.

In fairness. Men is not the shortage in the IG, I think they'd rue the loss of a tank more than the crew...

True, though if the promethium burnt up inside of the tank it would actually cause more damage to the mechanical components than it would if it just warped and melted the hull from the outside.

Adjusting to a new job has not been good for my free time, but I've still managed to make some headway with my Jagdmacht army. A while back I had a game against a nasty Tyranid list that used monstrous creatures to great effect, which made it incredibly apparent that my army just wasn't kitted out well to deal with monsters. Lots of pie plates are good for wiping out infantry, but a Battle Cannon shell still only does one wound to a Tervigon. With that in mind, I set about knocking together some answers, which took the form of Leman Russ Executioner turrets.

Unfortunately, my next game was against a Necron Armor 13 spam list, which found my Executioners to be the height of comedy, and as such they haven't taken the field for me since. Despite that, I finished up painting one of my two Executioner turrets yesterday, as you can see below...









The main turret is from the Lindberg Tiger I kit, with the bustle cut off. The Executioner Cannon is a heavy machine gun from a Robogear kit, and the power hoses are from a missile bit, also from a Robogear it. I rationalized that a tank using a heavy plasma cannon would need some sort of additional power supply, so in place of the bustle I put a Sentinel Power Plant bit on the back of the turret. Green stuff took care of the joins between the gun, the power plant and the power hoses.. As a bit of a fun fact, my turret hatches are actually cut down Imperial Guard Searchlights from the old Chimera kit. Working outside of the box, and all. I'm very happy with the way that the Executioner turret turned out, both in that it looks distinct and that I think it captures the look of a plasma tank.

My next painting projects are my Chimeras ( ), my Hydras, and a few special weapon Guardsmen, as needed to flesh out my squads. At that point, my Imperial Guardsmen are going to take a back seat to my new Necron army, which has been sitting in boxes patiently since last November. Still, I enjoy knocking together conversions far too much to stop working on my Jagdmacht, so there's still a ground to cover before the Jagdmacht are "done."

That Executioner looks a lot more natural than the demolisher a few posts back. Looks really spiffy

Great conversions and painting keep it up!

Wow, has it already been two months since my last update? Sheesh.

So Warhammer 6th Edition is upon us, and I have to say that I'm enjoying it so far. My tanks no longer explode the moment that they touch the table, a lot of the old shennanigans have been stripped out of the game (not that there aren't plenty of NEW shennanigans...) and there seems to be a general sense of excitement around my local club for the new possibilities of 6th Edition. Also, allies. Oh, so many allies.

The other two Imperial Guard players in my group have added Blood Angels and Grey Knights to their armies, to varied effect (the poor Grey Knight guy hasn't had a ton of luck ). Wanting something different, both from my usual Guard troops and from the allies that my IG brethren have chosen, I started poking around through the Sisters of Battle Codex. Cheapish Power Armor Troops? A tank that can actually make a dent in a Tervigon outside of assault range? Sign me up!

Unfortunately, I gave almost all of my Sisters of Battle models to a friend of mine who was running Witch Hunters at Adepticon last year. More unfortunately, my attempt to convert some up sucked out loud. I didn't want to purchase or paint a whole bunch of single piece metal models, so things were starting to look bleak for my Sisters allied detachment. And then it hit me.



Behold, the Adeptus Mechanicus!

>--------------------<
The Adeptus Mechanicus and the Todths have an unusual relationship. Many of the unique patterns of equipment and armor employed by the Jagdmacht are, in the eyes of the Mechanicus, heretical. Most do not adhere to the familiar patterns laid out by STC data, and the most debased examples are known to have been designed by the Todths themselves while building up their armies to expel the Orks from their homeworld. And yet, many Todthite designs do retain compoents of hallowed relics that date back to the time before the Horus Heresy. The Todth's Wirbelwind Attack Gunship, roughly equivalent to the Imperial Vendetta Gunship, employs an advanced targeting matrix originally used in the Kestrel Attack Speeder, a design lost to time and known to the Adeptus Mechanicus only through records from before the Great Crusade. Todthite medium tanks employ an almost perfect copy of the standard engine of the Astartes' Predator Tank, and their Plasma Weapons appear to use a cooling system that is more in line with the original, less temperamental designs of ages past. The existence of these technological artifacts, and of many others besides stems from the efforts of the Todths to retain their engineering know-how even during the Orkish occupation. STC print outs and original designs were passed from father to son a dozen times over, each one a secret connecting the world's glorious past to the hard won freedom of its present. The Mechanicus and the people of Todth both share a dedication to machining and engineering, and while the Mechanicus may perceive the Todths as something of misguided rogues, they believe that they can eventually strip away the deviant variations in the Todths' designs in order to recover and preserve the precious STC information that the world was able to retain. It is even whispered that Todth may one day be united with the Mechanicus as a Forge World, though whether those rumors hold a kernal of truth or are but flights of fancy, few can say for certain. What is known is that the Mechanicus sometimes dispatches elements of its Skitarii Legion to accompany divisions of the Jagdmacht, serving as advisors, observers and guardians. The rigors of war allows the tech-adepts to scrutinize the Todth's unique military designs to determine which are truly blessed by the Omnissiah, and which are little more than misguided forgings of technological heathens.
>--------------------<

Let's start with the infantry. I created these figures by way of a fairly simple kitbash, using Dark Angel Veteran Bodies/Legs, Tech Marine Chest Plates, Black Templar Bolters and whatever heads that I felt were appropriate for AdMech.






I used a Grey Knight Incinerator as my Multi-Melta/Heavy Flamer, and recut a Catachan Flamer to make a Meltagun. For my AdMech Canones stand-in, I used many of the same components, along with the Ravenwing AdMech shoulder pads...



The pride and joy of my little detachment is my Counts As Exorcist conversion, the Scimitar Maser Destroyer. A little background, here. Monstrous Creatures ate my Guard for lunch in 5th Edition, to such a point that I started to see them as being an insurmountable obstacle. A tank that destroys monstrous creatures, something that Guard don't really have, seemed too good to be true. I wasn't sure how I was going to model the missile launcher on the AdMechsorcist, but then I got some inspiration from someone else. Namingly from Godzilla (excuse the...interesting music choice. There aren't exactly a lot of videos of weird Godzilla stuff up on YouTube ).







Can you spot the Necron bit? So obviously the hull of the Scimitar is the Space Marine Rhino. I added a Chimera bit to the front, and scratch built a Hunter Killer Missile assembly from a bit of sprue, a dime, an Imperial Guard Hunter Killer Missile and some bits from the Greatcoat Shock Trooper Heavy Weapons team set by Wargames Factory. I also cut down some Melta Bombs and used them to create something of a containment box around the gun itself. The gun is the Necron Doomsday Cannon, pinned to a circle of sheet styre that I cut. I used pony beads to flesh out the join between the gun and the base (and also to give the impression that the mounting itself would be able to elevate and depress as needed). I also added an old Imperial Guard Search Light, two Dreadnaught leg shields and some sheet styrene to the rear of the gun assembly to make it look more substantial. The tip of the barrel also had another pony bead added to it to give it something of a projector (since I didn't like the empty hole that was there on the Necron assembly). I imagine the Scimitar to be a big brother of the Rapier Laser Destroyer, a relic weapon of the AdMech which they keep for themselves. I'm extremely happy with the way that the conversion came out, honestly, I think it's one of my best.

So there you have it. I also have a Hydra painted up now and I'm about 40% of the way through painting my first Wirbelwind/Vendetta, so look for those in a future update.

P.S. Sorry if the pictures look a little screwy. I've got a new graphics program on my computer and I'm still sorting through all of the settings and clean-up filters.

So a giant Microwave Laser (Thats what Maser means) on top of a wee little Rhino

Brilliant!

Yes, but this is a Godzilla Maser. So it's an energy projector that uses microwaves to generate an electrical charge, then somehow manages to project that charge at a target up to 48 game inches away...


...SCIENCE!!!!

SkaerKrow wrote:Yes, but this is a Godzilla Maser. So it's an energy projector that uses microwaves to generate an electrical charge, then somehow manages to project that charge at a target up to 48 game inches away...


...SCIENCE!!!!

I thought you meant this

Does Todth use sanctioned psykers?

The Officio Munitorum (or what have you, it's late and I can't remember the precise name) assigns them psyker support as they see fit, but Jadgmacht itself does not employ psykers, and the psyker gene is strangely absent from the population of Todth.

Sorry for the lack of updates, lately. I've been working on a few things, but they aren't photo-ready. Assembled a second squad of allied AdMech this weekend, and I've bits ordered pieces for a couple more units. My goal for this winter is to get my greater Jagdmacht list completely painted, so I can start moving onto a new hobby project in earnest. With luck (or at least, some peace and quiet) I'll start having some updates to post very soon.

Sturmkrieg still wouldn't be big on the use of pskyers, but not having any native psykers would be seen as favorable.

So, I've been doing a lot of work behind the proverbial scenes lately. Most of it has been on the AdMech contingent that I run as allies in my army. I'm not sure where I should upload pictures of them, by the way. Should they go here with the Jagdmacht, or do people usually start new project logs for side projects? I know not.

Anyhow, I spent a while trying to figure out how to add gun sponsons to my Tiger Russes. First, I planned on adding additional turrets, not unlike the Vickers A1E1 Independent. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out the way that I wanted it to. Then I had the idea of attempting to raise the structure of the Tiger enough to accept traditional sponsons. That also failed miserably. My third idea (which remains a secret for now) has a lot more promise. Unfortunately, the parts that I ordered to make the conversion happen were lost in the mail , So, watch this space for the eventual dramatic unveiling of my Panzersoldaten...

I've been running Harker in my list for a bit, so I needed a suitable conversion of him. Without further adieu, I present Janos Linde.





He's a bit of a bits box project. I cut a Greatcoat Shock Trooper body in half (the upper torso had been damaged during a conversion attempt), then replaced the torso with the armored torso from the Wargames Factory Greatcoat Heavy Weapons Kit. The head is from a Space Marine Sergeant, with the added gas mask from the Cadian Command Squad kit. I added some loose ammo bits to the backpack, and finally, gave him the Space Marine Scout Heavy Bolter Arms. I'm pretty happy with the conversion, especially given the somewhat thrown together nature of it.

I'll bet you're all just about tired of looking at blurry pictures of unpainted models. Still working out the kinks of getting sharper photos of unpainted models. I never appreciated how much more effective my old photo layout was. Anyhow, here's something a bit more technicolored...







As you can see, I got my first Hydra conversion painted up. This one has actually been done for a while, but I hadn't gotten a picture of it that I liked well enough to post. It's something of a hit down at the FLGS, at least among the Flames of War guys.

I have a few other things waiting in the wings, including an Avenger DIY project and more AdMech stuff. I'm also hoping to have some Storm Troopers put together soon. My plan is to finish out building and painting the units for my standing Sturmkrahen list this winter, before starting work in earnest on either my Dark Eldar or my Necrons come next spring. Stay tuned.

Very interesting thread this! Have not so long ago started a Mech Guard army myself and it's nice to see that there are like-minded people out there! With hindsight, I probably should have done the same as you and used more scale kits to speed things along! I think my favourite part is the Hydra, very cool.

Keep up the good work

Thanks! When I started this army I was a man of more modest means, so my aim was to try to keep the cost somewhat cheap (since Guard armies tend to involve more figures on average than everyone except for Nids and Orks), but I didn't want to use that as an excuse for things to look bad. I was lucky to find the 1/48 Lindberg Tiger kit, because I've been able to get a lot of mileage out of it. I never found an APC kit that I liked as much as the Chimera, but the since I use the Tiger for everything else, it was an acceptable trade off.

Hey, SkaerKrow, I just found your blog. Some lovely stuff here. I really like the style of your Guardsmen, but I'm most impressed with your tanks. The conversions of the Tiger I tanks are excellent! I've been wanting to build a Sturmtiger to use as a Vindicator, but I've been trying to figure out what scale I need, 1/35 or 1/48. Based on your blog, it looks like I need 1/48. Just to be sure, all of those conversions are based on the Lindbergh 1/48 Tiger I tank kit, right? This one here? Thanks, mate!

Thanks Yellowbeard! Glad you like my work.

When it comes to scale model kits, in most cases I find that 1/35 scale tanks are a bit too big when compared to GW vehicle kits, while 1/48 scale are a bit too small. You're probably safe going either way, though if you intend to play in many competitive tournaments, 1/35th scale could save you from accusations of modeling for advantage. In most groups, you should be fine either way.

The model that you linked is the 1/48 scale Lindberg Tiger that I use. It's a simpler kit, with less fiddly bits than higher quality Tamiya or Revell kits, The plastic has good heft to it (I find that a lot of scale model kits, at least airplane kits, use thinner, brittle plastic), a bit softer than GW's but about the same weight, so it's good for cutting and accepts GW bits pretty well. I chose it because it was the cheapest 1/48 scale tank kit that I could find, but honestly, it's held up very well for me. Even as I got better at working with vehicles (when I started this blog, I'd only over dabbled with Dark Eldar Raiders and Space Marine Dreadnaughts, never tanks), I still found it to be a delightful kit to work with.

I'm friggin loving this thread!!! motivating to say the least!

I'm not dead! The rumors to the contrary are just that, rumors. I did however buy a house, and I haven't been able to find many 40k gamers in my area that actually play the game, so my progress has slowed down a bit. I actually have some conversions that I need to get photographed and uploaded, and now that I have regular access to A) well lit rooms and B) a better digital camera, that should come soon.

In the interim, here's a goofy phone camera shot of the collected Tanks, Artillery Pieces and Transports that I've built or converted for the Jagdmacht.

Verbinden Sie das Jagdmacht!

If you're not playing at a GW store, you could use the Whirlwind tanks for Hydras. I saw one in 40k scale recently.

Wunderbar!

In regards sponsons, you could try removing part of the skirt in the middle and stratchbuilding a square sponson that is flush with the deck and goes almost down to the top of the treads with a tapered belly/bottom.

cadbren wrote:
Wunderbar!

In regards sponsons, you could try removing part of the skirt in the middle and stratchbuilding a square sponson that is flush with the deck and goes almost down to the top of the treads with a tapered belly/bottom.

Oddly enough, I'm doing something like that for another project that I'm working on (pictures up soonish). I have an idea for how I want to do the sponsons of my regular Russes, I just need to spend a bit more time on it to bring it up to par with the rest of the models in the army (not that they're master-crafted or anything, but I think the force definitely has a coherent style to it).

Hello All,

WoooW, as a newcomer here, & a newly comeback hobby guy, I have to say, I was really impressed by the display of your troopers & (obviously) your tanks.

I would have known however if a 1/48 Pzr IV (late version) would have matched the size requirements ? I am already on building a Siege small detachment (Infantery, Artillery, Fortifications). But once done, I am eagerly looking for gathering an (very) armoured / mechanized force. Being not (at all) a fan of the Leman Russ shape, I am looking for convenient alternatives. So ...

Anyway, Skaer', your work is really good & innovative (hope it's the correct word :p ), Congratulations !

Thanks Panda! Glad that you like my work. I was actually up until 6 in the morning working on some DIY Knight Titans. I'll hopefully have some new images up soon.

In my experience, a 1/48 scale Panzer IV would probably be a bit too small to represent a Russ in 40k. You might have better luck with a 1/35 scale model. It may actually come out as being a hair larger than a Russ, but when using Counts-As models, I err on the side of going big so that no one accuses me of modeling for advantage.

Hi Skaer,

Your advise is dully noted (!).

Thank you, and Congratuations again (Hope my army would be as interesting as yours ^^)

Have a good evening.
Panda

I have recently stumbled across your army blog, which is pretty epic by the way, and I must say that I am highly impressed as well as inspired by what I have seen and read so far.

I am kind of curious, though. Are you going to be showing off your idea for sponsons? I am currently doing some WIP with both Tamiya 1:48 King Tigers as well as a pair of Lindberg Tiger Is, and was hoping to see what you had come up with.

I cannot wait to see what you have in store to show us next!

Thanks Galen. I haven't had time to do much work on the army lately, as I'm not playing much 40k at the moment, and don't have a good space in my home to work (I've been here a year, and I feel like I'm still unpacking!).

For my own sponsons, I cut the side skirts on my Tigers, and built small sponsons out of bits. They're static, so I'm not sure if it's what I'm going to do for the whole army or not. My other (and I'd say better) idea was to get a few guys in powered armor (not Space Marines, something lower tech), and have them positioned alongside the tanks. Mechanically, they're sponsons, while visually, they're tank escorts. You would just need to make sure that you had a way to fit them consistently alongside your tank, as regular sponsons can't shift around like free-standing models can!

If I can stop being distracted by shiny objects long enough to get something done, I'll borrow the wife's fancy camera and try to get some shots up of the dozen or so things that I've built but not posted. Thanks for the kind words!