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I love GW miniatures but I also like making my own armies using existing stats and finding suitable model kits, toys and miniatures to make something a bit different. This force is designed with pulp adventure and interwar tech level in mind. Think Indiana Jones, Archer-Danger Island, Porco Rosso , Laputa, The Mummy (1999) etc. I'll be fairly fast a loose with what I use. Anything from the late 19th century to the mid 20th is fair game as long as it broadly fits the theme
I try to find items that are close to the correct size and serve basically the same role. Eg-A leman Russ should be a tank or should at the very least be something big and tough with guns on it. I don't tend to bother with las gun swaps as I'm fairly ambivalent about the standard las gun design and in the fluff there are many different types, so I prefer to use whatever rifles the infantry I get come with rather than butchering them in an attempt to give them a gun design that I don't really care about one way or another

To get the ball rolling , here's a pic of an infantryman for the army along with an armoured car that I want to use as a Chimera (roughly the right size and type of vehicle and armoured cars definitely fit the theme). The figure is a Perry British infantry from the Sudan range and the vehicle is a 1:43 diecast Panhard. Although mechanised lists are not the best at the moment I want to make the whole army very mobile as part of the theme, so it'll be all tanks and mechanised infantry.
The armoured car will need some minor mods and a re-paint to fit in with the desert theme

I'm really looking forward for this project. I think this historical period had some really interesting vehicles and I also love to proxy heavily myself. So good luck and have fun, I will watch with appreciation and a bit of envy now and then

This i am going to bookmark for theft of ideas and models for use

Nicely painted infantrymen btw!

Thanks! Yes, one of the reasons to do it is that there are so many great model kits and what have you that I want to use in it Also camel riders if possible. Fingers crossed they bring back 'Rough Riders' in the new book. Otherwise maybe I can use camels as scout sentinels?

Armoured car mods. I am starting things off with three standard infantry squads and I'm mounting each one in a Chimera. These Panhard cars are a tiny bit too modern looking (although the design was begun in 1933 and they were used from 1937-so it is within the time frame). To combat this I made some minor mods. First of all I turned the turrets around so that the back became the front. This was very difficult and taxed my modelling skills to the limit but I managed somehow.

A front engine made them look a bit closer to other earlier armoured cars, which makes them fit in a bit better with the look I'm going for. To help sell this I added some very basic front facing lamps using bits of sprue. I also added some rivets to the turrets using 'puffy paint' (a type of textile paint used for making designs on clothing and also quite good for making easy rivets on vehicles-Just made sure you give it at least 12 hours to dry).

To finish the look I added some vehcile stowage items from 'Warlord Games'.

You might be interested to take a look at Wespe Models 1/48 line:
https://www.wespemodels.com/military_models/military_models_scale_1_48

They have a lot of trucks and armored cars that are seldom seen from other model companies

Thanks for the tip! I do prefer more obscure vehicles in my proxy armies as the more famouse ones (Panzer 4, Sherman etc) are a bit too heavily linked to their historic setting vs less iconic vehicles that can be re-purposed more easily. There are some interesting vehicles here for sure-A lot of these definitely fit the bill

Also Blitzkrieg Models have some rarely seen models like Vickers Light tanks V and italian tanks that are worth a look:
http://www.blitzkriegminiatures.com/html%20pages/1-56%20scale%20tanks/British%20tanks%20final%2056.html
I myself have an eye on those Vickers tanks as I want to try and put a Gryphonne Chimera turret on top. But also just wanted to mention them as another source of obscure historic tanks for your project.

These look good as well. 1/56 is often a bit too small for 40k so I tend to go with 1/43 (a common diecast scale) or 1/48. That said, the light tanks or armoured cars might make good proxy sentinel walkers

This is the core of the force. 3 infantry squads and their transports. This was my first time using a sponge to create a paint chip effect and I was fairly pleased with the results. The decals on the armoured cars are from the Warlord Games WW2 French line (along with a few from old 40k transfer sheets I have lying around).

Some more shots of the infantry. Again, these are Perry Miniatures plastics from the Sudan range. I plan to add a special weapon to each squad at some point but otherwise I'll keep them bare bones. Heavy weapons seem like a bad idea for squads mounted in Chimera.

A heavy tank, to be used as a Leman Russ. Almost identical in dimensions. This is a Meng Toon Tank of a Churchill. The deformation of the dimensions made it ideal for me as it brought it more in line with 40k vehicles (real world vehicles tend to be longer and thinner). It also made the tank less recognisable than would have been the case with a properly proportioned Churchill. I was very impressed with this kit. It was pretty inexpensive, went together very easily and looks great imo. The only down side is that the tracks are rubber, so paint flaking may be a problem. Okay so far though

This is all I've done so far, but I'm currently working on a proxy for a Manticore.

I like the proxying very much, I feel too many people allow themselves to be beholden by GW models when there are so many options out there.

So did you have to convert 3 die cast Panhards to create those Chimeras? That sounds really hard core but the results look good! If anything I would say even more stowage

Lovely painting throughout, and the Meng Churchill actually looks pretty convincing to me.

Yes, your painting is really excellent. Really nice work

Thanks a lot The coversions of the Diecast Panhards were very easy. Just some minor tweaks and a new coat of paint. Yeah,I think you're right- If I do any more I might go heavier with the stowage

1:43 diecast vehicles seem perfect for 40k. Generally about the right size for 40k, pre-built and often not too hard on the wallet if you shop around a bit. I tend to look for youtube videos of all the proxy models I use before I buy if possible as videos will often give you a better idea of the size of the thing. In the case of the Toon Churchill I took a bit of a gamble (as I was not certain of the size) but luckily to paid off and it's almost perfect vs an official Leman Russ

actually some 1/35 models can also work out well, if they are small that is.
The german Wespe from tamaya is pretty decent size wise for chimera based stand ins.

That sounds like a good idea. Might make a good Basilisk Yeah, it depends on the vehciles I suppose. I used a couple of 1/35 Stugs for a previous guard force (as Vanquisher Russ) but they were a bit too big really. I do have a few 1/35 kits I'm planning to use. A couple of 1/35 tanks that will make good super heavies. A T-35 and a Char 2C. Both were very large tanks, so having them in 1/35 will make them into real monsters

Some raw materials I got out of storage. I got some of these for a Napoleonic/Victorian themed Guard army I made a while ago but I decided they were a bit too modern for that project. They're perfect for this army though A FT17 (1/35), a Type89 tank (1/35), a pair of 1/48 fighter planes from the movie 'Porko Rosso' and a couple of kits that I'll use as super heavies.

 SpaceGoblin1980 wrote:
That sounds like a good idea. Might make a good Basilisk Yeah, it depends on the vehciles I suppose. I used a couple of 1/35 Stugs for a previous guard force (as Vanquisher Russ) but they were a bit too big really. I do have a few 1/35 kits I'm planning to use. A couple of 1/35 tanks that will make good super heavies. A T-35 and a Char 2C. Both were very large tanks, so having them in 1/35 will make them into real monsters

Hmm, some tubeing and you could make a nice special looking interware baneblade?

I know the Wespes because i used them for my P&M blog, either as count as griffons or Basilisks, since they fall pretty much inbetween. Calibre that is .
Sizewise they are a tad smaller then a chimera but slightly higher and equal in length.

If you'd find a decent Hetzer kit, you'd probably have a better option then the stugs, since the hetzer was based on the 38 or was it the 35 t czech tanks which were a lot closer to the PZ II comparatively to the Stug which were PZ III chasis if i am not mistaken.

When in doubt, there 's a nice scale converter in the historical kit for use in 40k thread in the news and rumor section of dakka.

Some artillery-A Katyusha truck to stand in for a Manticore. Being a 1930s era truck it fits the theme quite well. I may get one more of these as they are quite effective in game, and having a bit of indirect firepower is definitely quite handy-Though I don't want to go overboard on the static gun line units (as that goes against the mobile theme of the army and can get quite boring for all concerned) so two will probably be enough

This vehicle is another 1/43 scale diecast model. All I did was prime it and paint it up.

I love it. Would fight.

Thanks! That's good to hear. Some people are a bit fussy about Proxy armies

Another armoured car. One of two that will be used for the veteran infantry. To be used as Chinera with two heavy bolters plus las-array. The model has 4 heavy machine guns so I guess that would balance out at about the same level of damage output

Well some people clearly fuss too much cos I love these proxies! Looking forward to more, good stuff mate.

This looks like a real fun army to play against!

Thanks! Yes, it shouldn't be too much of a chore to fight. The mechanised Guard list is certainly not a strong build right now and the models are broadly representative of the stats, so it shouldn't be too
confusing for my opponents

I got an ebay purchase through the post today. A P-61 black widow that I'm going to convert into a light bomber for the Desert Legion. I plan to chop the tail
off to turn it into a flying wing and also make the back into the front with the propellors pushing the plane forward. I won't be doing it for a while, but here's
a mock up of the plan
Not sure about how realistic this plane will be post surgery in terms of actually being able to fly, but if Space Marines can fly into battle in a skip/dumpster with engines, I think this is probably okay

Pretty cool idea. From a realism perspective it would either need the wing to extend much more to the "back" or at least a small horizontal stabilizer to not tilt upwards all the time. But as you said: WH40K has flying bricks, so do as you please

Thanks for the input! I may try one or the other of those suggestions when I eventually get around to doing this, though my limited model making skills might limit what I can do. I'll have a go if I think I can do it without making a total hash of things

Aye, it all works except the thickness of the wings is backwards: wings are thick at the front and thin at the back (where the flaps are). I doubt that you could clip the wings off and reverse them smoothly though, so you may just have to live with that.

Looking good! I'd add the stabilizer in the back, as has been said before. For the guns, have you considered taurox gatling guns? they're small-ish for 40K guns, and can be subbed as whatever you want them to be.