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I've been into Space Marines since WD99 and over the years I have collected and converted a large number of vehicles. I created my own Chapter based on the Legion of the Damned (flames and skulls) but at normal points values. I stopped painting and concentrated on converting things when my boys were born. It was easier to make and convert things in the hour in the evening I had after the kids had gone to bed. As they've got older, I'm getting more time to get back into painting. I've seen a lot on YouTube and started reading articles from Mig Jiminez and FW Masterclass and decided to go the whole hog, buying an airbrush and compressor and to start the weathering of my vehicles.

I thought I'd start this topic to keep a record of all my completed variants. Without further ado:

Assault Land Raider



I wanted to convert a Land Raider to look like something from WW1. So I reversed the tracks, making the front the rear and vice versa. I gave the variant a twin redeemer flame cannon turret and twin assault cannon (actually Vulcan mega bolters) sponsons as I thought these would be good weapons to clear a path to allow the Terminators to disembark from ........



..... A Crux Terminatus badge (from FW) on the Front Assault ramp.



I tried to match the flames over the sponsons. In this view, the front is to the right and the rear is to the left.



This shows some of the weathering that I added to the front.



This is what I did at the rear. I use the Adeptus Mechanicus logo from the Manufactorum from the cities of death on all of my variants to show my Chapters close allegiance to Mars and the Adeptus Mechanicus (and to explain why they have so many variants that other chapters don't have).

Hellhound Land Raider

Taking the good parts from the IG Hellhound, the Adeptus Mechanicus created a LR variant (removing the troop carrying capacity and replacing with a large fuel tank) and allowed the Legion of the Dead to trial it before releasing to other chapters:



I used flames cut out from plasticard and some milliput over the front, top and sides of this variant and then used an airbrush to paint them.



I armed this with a Twin Redeemer Flame Cannon turret and Twin Redeemer Flame Cannon sponsons.



This shows the flame tank used to store all the promethium....



.... and finally, the rear.

Thunderfire Land Raider

To give the Imperium's finest some mobile heavy weaponry, the Adeptus Mechanicus have created this variant:



The turret has been removed to fit in extra sensors to ensure accuracy. I also wanted to try wrap around tracks (again, something akin to WW1 tanks).



This shows the left hand side. Flames and skulls as per usual!



This shows the top......



...and rear.

Honoured Imperium

To have an Honoured Relic on a battlefield gives the legionnaires added desire to complete their mission:



I armed this with a Vulcan Mega Bolters (which can be played as a Twin Assault Cannon). I liked the wrap around tracks on the Thunderfire variant so did it again on this one.



I heavily converted an Honoured Imperium statue to make this Hero holding his sword in both hands. I wanted to add some verdigree to show how old this relic is.



I made an Imperial Eagle and flames out of plasticard. An airbrush, paint and some time later, it looked like this. I haven't glued in a sponson yet as I plan on using magnets to allow a large amount of different weapons.



And finally, the rear.

I have plenty more variants to come. I have 2 more almost completed and once so, I'll add these to this thread.

Comments and critiques welcome.

Regards, Phil.

My words have a poor ability to add or detract from the quality of your work. It seems patience has been kind to you. Continue on.

Those are some seriously cool, hot-rodded up Land Raiders! Inventive use of the Honored Imperium statue.

Very epic Land Raider.....I like everything you've done!

Cheers for your comments guys.

I finished another 2 Land Raider Variants:

Achilles Land Raider

When FW released their LR Achilles, I liked the payload and decided to convert and make my own. Without further ado....



I chopped up a Fortress of Redemption to make the statue and then decided to run with this theme all over the Land Raider. I was going to give the statue a "marble" paint job, but in the end, I painted it to resemble stone. I used 2 of the inserts from the Fortress of Redemption as front trackguards and then sculpted some flames out of milliput. I used an airbrush to paint the rear flames. Once dry, I used blutac to mask off the rear flames and then airbrushed the front flames.



I got the Thunderfire Cannon from a bits site and then made the front armour out of plasticard and a cut down front ramp from the Land Raider. Apocalypse Command sprue, Storm Lord Mega Bolter and Valkyrie sensors were added as well as some tichytrain rivets to add a bit more realism. Dark Angel icons were added on every other track tread (from Machinator at Blood and Skulls Industry). I added a bit of metal and rust weathering to hopefully look realistic.



This shows the front left quadrant and the Quad Multi melta sponsons. The sponsons were made from 2 Storm Raven front weapons, some plasticard and milliput. The sensor was from a Vindicator. The flames were originally cut out of and made from thin plasticard. After airbrushing the rear flames, I again masked the rear flames with blutac and then airbrushed the front flames.



Here's a shot of the whole of the left side. The Dark Angel was sculpted from milliput with a plasticard scythe.



Parts from the Cities of Death (Adeptus Mechanicus logo) and vindicator fans were used here.

I made this model around 4 years ago and I am glad to have finally finished it!

Assault Ram

When the Caestus Ram was released, I liked the idea of it crashing into vessels and allowing the Space Marines within to be released unharmed directly into the space ship. With that in mind, I wanted to try and make something similar using the Land Raider and the Shrine of Aquilla as a base. Without any further ado, I give you the "Assault Ram".....



I widened the LR by using plasticard. I spaced the LR hatches either side of the Eagles head. Thin plasticard was used to make the flames which were then airbrushed. The tracks were made from lots of skulls and was a pain to make!! The Twin Heavy Bolter was converted from the Sisters of Battle Immolator.



I decided to give the Eagle a plasma glow effect to the eyes. The head was converted to look forward, rather than the usual "look to the skies" with milliput.



I made the side armour out of thick plasticard and then made the flames out of thin plasticard. The flames were airbrushed as usual. The only thing I haven't decided upon is the sponsons. Peoples thoughts?



This shows the Shrine of Aquilla that I had to convert to fit. The vindicator fans were added at the rear.



And finally, the rear. The engine was made from the usual Adeptus Mechanicus logo and 2 Baneblade engine pieces.



These are the sponsons I have made so far:

Twin Frag Cannons, Demolisher Cannon and Quad Las Cannon sponsons.

Comments and Critiques are always welcome.

Regards, Phil.

Finished another Land Raider Variant today:

FW Land Raider Achilles



Front showing my usual airbrushed flames and rust and metal sponged weathering.



Slightly higher view.



Top plan view.



Right side.



Left side....



... and finally, the rear. I've since added a small amount of black airbrushed over the top of the exhausts to simulate soot.

Till next time, Phil.

All of the different variants are very cool and they seem logical to fit with your "fluff". Great job.

I must ask where did you get the Skull Tank tracks ?

Nevermind you homemade them =). Great Work BTW

That Assault Ram variant, particularly, is a work of twisted genius.

Thoroughly enjoyed looking at all of them - great work.

Even your tracks have skulls? Now THAT is grimdark
I like it.

Land Raider Ares



When the Ares conversion was released a number of years ago now, I wanted to build one and rather than copying the design exactly, I wanted to create my own variant. I have always thought that the Land Raider looks very similar to the WW1 tanks and with that in mind, I wanted to see if I could have wrap around tank treads using only the GW version supplied from the box. I was torn between having my usual airbrushed flames over the shield or the Iron Warriors Hazard stripes. Having not tried the Hazard stripes before, I thought I'd give them a try. I think this has turned out really well. The Demolisher Cannon has been magnetised, allowing me to swap out weapons should I wish.



This slightly blurred shot shows the wrap around tracks to full effect. This was such an easy conversion involving minimum filing/sanding or cutting. To fill the top and to make it a bit more realistic, I added Vindicator and Baneblade engine parts/covers. The hatches are not glued as the plan is to get some Mk3 helmets and have a commander poking his head out of this monster! The assault cannons were recycled from another LR I made years ago. I normally have the barrels painted red, so a minor paint job will be done some time in the future.



I love the side views on this conversion: Imperial Eagle cloaked in flames!!! The Imperial Eagle was simple to make: find an Imperial Eagle image on the internet. Print off. Photocopy at different sizes e.g. 50% or 200% etc. Find an Imperial Eagle of the right size to fit the side of the Land Raider. Using sellotape, stick the paper on top of sheet of the right thickness plasticard. Using a scalpel, lightly trace the Imperial Eagle on the paper through to the plasticard. Remove the paper and there should be an outline that can then be cut out. Simple technique, but very effective.

The sponson has rectangle magnets mounted on them, which means the sponson weapons can be changed if required.



The rear shot. I decided to do both the heat and soot on the exhaust stacks out of pigments - I'm not 100% taken and may revert back to blue/purple ink and a quick blast of black from the airbrush.



Here's the left side.



and finally a shot that shows most of the conversion. I built this in 2009 and it took me 5 years to paint it. Not bad eh!!! This vehicle was fun to put together, but now I can now start thinking about the next model I wish to paint.

Regards, Phil.