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So after many years of lurking and reading threads and dipping my toes back into sharing a bit on Facebook groups, I decided enough, it's time to start a real WIP/P&M thread on DD.

Quick background on me, I played a lot of 40K from about 1995-1999 as a teenager in 2nd Edition, when I also worked at my LGS throughout high school. I left the hobby right after 3rd Edition between getting a "real" job, partying, etc. In 2019 I returned to a Games Workshop hobby that made little sense to me. I did not know which end was up, to be honest. But after spending a couple of years struggling to see how I fit into the "meta" (I don't), I gave up and just decided to do my own thing!

So I am mostly Oldhammer, entirely Oldhammer at heart but it's just too expensive to buy every model from the 80s and 90s that I would really like to own again! I just love P&M so I don't care about rules or which edition is out or which FAQ contains which errata. So here is a thread of the stuff I'm working on!

First up is the "set back" Chimera conversion for my 9th Necromunda project:





And then after a slow worday on Friday, I got to prime, basecoat, and get the camo stripes on with a mix of Tamiya (primer and USAAF Olive Drab) and Citadel (Zandri Dust) rattle cans. Spent most of the day Saturday weathering and, bar a few minor details such as additional stowage to be added, and painting the glass on the various viewports, the first Chimera I've built for over 25 years (assigned to 1st Platoon Command Section) is complete!


The aquila on the front is an original Chimera decal from the 1990s. It not only tore (the sheet was creased), but the decal paper Citadel used back then is super shiny! Knocked that down as much as possible by painting the film around the aquila. Lots of Tamiya MarkFit went on top of it. I expect it to blend in well enough once I hit it with the final coat of matte varnish.


Current run decals/transfers on the turret and I have to say that they're much better quality than the ones from the 90s. Same can't be said for the kit, but I digress. Not sticking to any sort of rigid numbering scheme as you so rarely see that on real military vehicles. Vehicles are destroyed, replaced, pulled for repairs, transferred to other units, etc. But the iron first army badge will remain a constant throughout. Haven't decided which "real" crusade they're a part of in M41 yet but I will!

Hope you enjoy! Work has already begun on my Sturmtiger "Demolisher" kitbash, and I'll share my Sentinel kitbashes later. So glad to be back among the faithful here!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So I decided to kitbash some Sentinels based on the Tamiya 1:48 BA-64 Armored Car kit, not because I dislike the GW Sentinel models, but because I really liked these. I'll probably do another squadron of GW Sentinels at some point.

The command car has a current production Chimera commander (right), the middle car has an OOP metal Chimera commander (one of the best vehicle-related models that GW has ever produced), and the leftmost car has a slightly converted GSC Brood Brother (removed the brow ridges, that was all I had to do) as the gunner because I liked the whole bandana over the face look, and since all of my boys are from Necromunda, a lot of them are former hive gangers.

Really cool models, both from modeling and painting points of view! And your way of thinking is right up my alley: doing your own thing and not being too concerned with the rules of the game.

The Sentinel proxies look oddly nice! Of course the cars are tiny when you look at them from our real world PoV, but they look just about plausible for one or maybe two-man crew.

Looking forward to your next projects!

 mcmattila wrote:
Really cool models, both from modeling and painting points of view! And your way of thinking is right up my alley: doing your own thing and not being too concerned with the rules of the game.

Thank you, sir! I probably made it sound like I don't like 40K but that's not really true - I don't like the direction that GW has taken it over the past 20 years. I still absolutely adore the universe of Rogue Trader and 2nd Edition!

The Sentinel proxies look oddly nice! Of course the cars are tiny when you look at them from our real world PoV, but they look just about plausible for one or maybe two-man crew.

I am a lifelong military scale modeler as well, so I look at things (particularly scale) very differently than I think most wargamers do. I would, in fact, argue that the 40K scale is absolutely huge and not remotely realistic (although we are talking about a gaming universe set 39,000 years in the future so that is also a bit comical to say that). Those armored cars do indeed look small, especially compared to a GW model intended to serve the same purpose, but military vehicles are not known for being spacious and comfortable for their crews. I consider my kitbashes to be "true scale 40K" and part of me really enjoys how likely that is to enrage fans of Primaris Space Marines!

Looking forward to your next projects!

I'll try to get some more up today! I am cursing my way through doing the tracks on a 1:48 Sturmtiger that will become a Leman Russ Demolisher. Sponsons are going to be a big challenge. I generally do not like the look of them and do not add them to Leman Russ models, but that's not really an option with the Demolisher. While I'm not bothered about the 9th Edition rules for anything, I would still like to be able to use this in a 2nd Edition game at some point.

I built a BA-64 into an IG scout car at one point and started with a 1:48 Tamiya kit, but it wasn't in keeping with the other WH40K vehicles so I upgraded to a 1:35 scale kit for the IG, and converted the smaller 1:48 vehicle into a 'Grot-mobile', with six figures in and (mostly) on it. You're right though, if you properly scale things, they look too small next to their WH counterparts.

I like how your colors and painting indicate close proximity between the uniform and vehicle colors- showing different levels of wear based on usage, frequency of washing and etc. Very realistic and it makes each vehicle and commander a much more 'living' piece.

Rock on.

I'll have some more photos up soon, but pesky work and visiting family has been getting in the way of hobby!

 Meer_Cat wrote:
I built a BA-64 into an IG scout car at one point and started with a 1:48 Tamiya kit, but it wasn't in keeping with the other WH40K vehicles so I upgraded to a 1:35 scale kit for the IG, and converted the smaller 1:48 vehicle into a 'Grot-mobile', with six figures in and (mostly) on it. You're right though, if you properly scale things, they look too small next to their WH counterparts.

I can understand, and I imagine the 1:35 BA64 looks great! I will eventually get one to build as a historical model, as I would like to build an interior for one. I thought about knocking up a simple interior for the 1:48 command car, but then decided I was turning it into a diorama and I did intend to have it ready for use on a battlefield at some point.

I like how your colors and painting indicate close proximity between the uniform and vehicle colors- showing different levels of wear based on usage, frequency of washing and etc. Very realistic and it makes each vehicle and commander a much more 'living' piece. Rock on.

Thanks very much! I've been forcing myself to take more "risks" when I'm doing weathering, trying new techniques, and so far it is really paying off! I love using Hull Red on a foam sponge to hit the edges of the surfaces as well as the flat surfaces. Does a great job to simulate shallow chips, and then I paint in metallics where the damage is meant to go all the way to the base metal. I'm going to experiment soon with using 3+ colors on some to really give those scrapes some depth.

I've got two Chimeras (each will see conversion), two Basilisks (will convert, but mostly plasticard work), and a Hellhound (this will be wheeled instead of tracked) in the queue besides the Sturmtiger/Demolisher. I also have a Leman Russ but it went back on the shelf as I was really just not impressed with it at all. Eventually I'll figure out how I want to convert it and off we'll go! But I'll be honest, I'll probably buy at least two more Chimera kits for conversion haha! I can't help it, I really like converting that kit!

Until next time ...

A couple quick pics of the in-progress Demolisher. Other than stowage, Guard decals, and possibly some crew peeking out, I am really not going to convert this model much. I like the look of it the way it is, and I checked my 2nd Edition Demolisher Datafax and I can delete the sponsons for -30 points! So it will not be getting sponsons. Maybe they're worth 30 points on the table, but I have never liked the way they look and none of my tanks are going to have sponsons.


Showing the converted lascannon in the front. Was easy enough to widen the tiny original hole, but it didn't want to "weld" using only Tamiya Ultra Thin. Luckily it did weld enough so that it didn't fall out, and then I ran some thick CA glue in there to fill the gaps and now it's solid as a rock.


It was a self-inflicted wound, but these tracks have been giving me hell. Finally got them on the right way round and all repairs made after cutting things apart that got glued together. It has not been an enjoyable process but it was certainly a learning experience! Won't be nearly as problematic next time.

And finally some more shots of the Chimera now that the armor glass has all been painted and the final coat of varnish (Testors DullCote) applied.

I love the setback chimera design, nicely executed!. I had a bunch of them as well

 endtransmission wrote:
I love the setback chimera design, nicely executed!. I had a bunch of them as well

I'm going to do all of mine this way, but I haven't decided yet if I'm going to convert them all the old fashioned way or pay $13 for a replacement resin upper hull (is it "cheating"?). I'm going to do one more by hand and then decide if it's worth the time and effort!

I guess it depends if you plan on doing a lot. For one or two more $13 seems reasonable... if you're doing a lot you may be better looking at making your own top plate to cast in resin as that will work out about $1-2 a pop instead.

Resin casting is pretty easy

That's a good point, and I already have everything I need to do my first small batch of creating silicone molds and casting resin. I guess I am just a little afraid to jump into it haha! Eventually I will get over it. Thanks for the encouragement!

Love the rear turret Chimera!

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Love the rear turret Chimera!

Thanks very much! High praise indeed from one of your stature!

I started another Chimera today, which will be converted into an open top "Barmkin" from Blood & Skulls Industries. Taurox is mostly finished (including wheel kit) with minor conversions to make it less appalling. Wheeled Hellhound on deck as well depending on how demanding work is this week. Pics coming soon!

 commissarelvis wrote:
Pics coming soon!

OK, so this was a lie. What a month at work! But I wasn't completely idle, either.



So this is what the setback Chimera looks like before the plasticard and before everything is mated up properly. There is a few hours of work here, but I don't find it particularly unpleasant. In the background I have started on the wheeled Hellhound.





In my mind, a fast attack vehicle should be wheeled, because that's gonna be faster than a tracked vehicle! Also, it just looks cool and I want to differentiate between Chimera and Hellhound here. The resin hull sides are from Blood & Skulls Industries. They required a lot of hot water and reshaping just to get here, and one side still looks like it's crushed in (that is not repairable). Will be interesting to paint, but I'm noticing a number of QC issues like this with BSI resin parts. The open top Barmkin is a disaster when it comes to fit, but I'll figure something out. It will be in progress before the end of the year.

The only thing glued together on the Hellhound in this photo is the basic hull. Everything else is dropped or pushed on (wheels) just to test fit. Surprisingly OK, actually! This is going to have to be painted in sub-assemblies, something I really dislike. But the end result should be worth it, I hope!



The Taurox gets its share of stick, and I would say that's because it's an objectively awful model. I've seen some on various blogs that I liked, so I decide to have a go myself. But I can tell you, dear readers, I absolutely hate this model in almost every way. The turret is ridiculous (why is there a HOLE in the front of the turret?!). The mini-tracks were so horrible that if this wheel conversion kit did not exist, I would never have bought the model. And it was absolutely covered in pointless detail that detracted from the model (in my humble opinion, of course). This kit embodies everything that is wrong with modern Games Workshop. Expensive, terrible, and aesthetically insulting. I hope whoever designed this monstrosity, this was their very first job as a model designer and that they took away a lot of lessons learned. From what I see being released by GW, however, none of those lessons seemed to have stuck.



So I removed a ton of the "cutesy" detail that served absolutely no purpose other than to annoy me. The over-use of skulls, nonsense details like external headers, and all of the "Gothic" detailing. In a civilization fighting for its life against the horrors of the Warp, traitor Legions, and xenos scum coming from every direction ... if an Administratum clerk approved such extravagance, he should be summarily executed and made an example of to his colleagues.

I absolutely jumped the gun on spraying this thing olive drab, however. It needs more sanding, as the primer made so painfully obvious (part of its job, though). And it will need a lot of stowage, weathering, and "battlefield details", the sort that should be included in every GW kit for such exorbitant prices (compare a $60 military scale model kit to a similarly priced GW kit ...), such as picks, shovels, ammo boxes, camo netting, tarps, fuel cans and all the other minutiae that is necessary while on campaign.

Lots to do! But this thread is a long, long, long way from dead!

So after spending November's post doing more moaning and whin(g)ing than actually building models and painting them, I had a hellish work situation and actually got a lot done!

But only just now getting around to sharing that progress.

First up is the converted Hellhound. Hull got beaten (quite literally) into shape, slapped a few coats of paint on, decals, and began weathering.





Wheels will be going on "eventually" and #126 will be ready to roast heretics and xenos scum alike!


Almost finished with a new Chimera as well. Converted to "set back" as shown in previous posts. Got the stowage, paint, and weathering onto it. Commander model will be added to the open hatch before calling complete.










And even though I still hate the Taurox (even the louvres on the hood are modeled so as to suck maximum dust and dirt into the engine!), I decided to get it as close as I could to tolerable and stop moaning about it (as much ):

Finished sanding, re-primed, got the base coat on and drybrushed for highlights (Scale75 Sherwood Green over Army Painter Army Green spray). Discovered that Tamiya XF85 Rubber Black makes a beautiful Parkerized effect and I will be using this far more than just bare metal colors from now on.





And since I could not tolerate that gaping hole in the front of the Taurox turret if built in the dual-autocannon configuration, I decided to sort it out myself using plasticard and Vallejo plastic putty (and a lot of sanding). Nicely, the targeter/sensor bit in the middle came from the Taurox kit itself, so I didn't even have to dip into the bits box.





Hope you like the updates! May be rather delayed in finishing these off as none of my gaming friends still play 40K (and I have no interest in any editions but Rogue Trader or 2nd), but we've all gotten the Bolt Action bug. So I am working on a 1250 (Platoon) / 1500 (Tank War) Imperial Japanese force for a late April tournament. Not sure on how that goes down here - am I good to share my Bolt Action work in the same thread?

Cheers, everyone!

Very cool work on those tanks, like the taurox wheels conversion, they do help it look a lot better...

I like how I can try to identify the WW2 vehicles in all of your images.

The demolisher is based on a Brumbarr SPG right? I'd love to see that one painted up.

 Guardling wrote:
Very cool work on those tanks, like the taurox wheels conversion, they do help it look a lot better...

Thanks, mate! I'll try to get this sorted out this week and get the pics up. I really want to just get it done and off my list, but at the same time I want to do it up to my personal standard on vehicles, which can be a bit time consuming. Was looking at your hobby blog as well, you're getting things done at a great pace!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 DoctorDanny wrote:
I like how I can try to identify the WW2 vehicles in all of your images.

The demolisher is based on a Brumbarr SPG right? I'd love to see that one painted up.

Heh, yes I absolutely love kitbashing vehicles for 40K from 1/48 kits, especially WW2. The tank in question, however, is not a Brummbär. It is a Sturmtiger, the larger cousin of the Sturmpanzer (which the Allies nicknamed Brummbär, although the Germans never called it that). The Sturmpanzer IV was based on a PzIV chassis and mounted a 15cm gun, while the Sturmtiger was based on a rebuilt Tiger I chassis and mounted the crazy 38cm rocket-propelled mortar. Both of these tanks were used for destroying buildings in support of infantry, however, and they do look like quite similar.

When I saw that Tamiya had a 1/48 Sturmtiger (and for less than $30 US), I knew I wanted one as a Leman Russ Demolisher. So that is what started that project. It has been shelved for a number of months now, but I will drag it back out eventually. I've also got a SU-122 that was intended for something similar, as some sort of "counts as" tank hunter / SP gun. But I think the SU-122 will be built as its historical version and put on a small diorama base for display. I've been a scale modeler for decades now and still really enjoy that.

So I basically abandoned 40K in February. But not out of a negative mindset! I don't care about the modern game. Nobody I know does, either, but they also don't want to play 2nd Edition. So ... we all ended up playing Bolt Action!

So here is what I've been working on between early February and mid-April. I was able to participate in a couple of Bolt Action tournaments via Recon 2022 in Orlando with this army.

1500 points of Bolt Action Imperial Japanese! Now proudly on display in my first Ikea Detolf cabinet











A few tanks need a little bit more painting and weathering. And I have decided to add a full platoon of Imperial Japanese Navy Special Naval Landing Force (i.e. SNLF, Japanese Marines) as well! So more Bolt Action coming soon for sure. I am hooked!

Nice stuff. Warlord has some really nice kits out for Bolt Action and other games.

I've been looking at some of their Black Power sets.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Nice stuff. Warlord has some really nice kits out for Bolt Action and other games.

Thanks, mate! I took those boys to Recon 2022 in Orlando, Florida back in April. They did me proud. I feel like progress happens a lot faster (for me anyway) with painting historicals than with 40K. Not sure why. Guess I can never decide on a color scheme for 40K but it's kind of prescribed with historicals.

I've been looking at some of their Black Power sets.

I know it was an innocent typo, but I'm enjoying the idea of a Warlord Games "Black Power" range of models (maybe they can start with a Black Panthers and LAPD boxed set)

I'm also looking at their Black Powder range, though. I don't know if it's realistic for me to start another system yet, but Russian Napoleonics are serenading me with their siren song, I can tell you that.

Awesome army. I especially like the tankettes.

 commissarelvis wrote:

I feel like progress happens a lot faster (for me anyway) with painting historicals than with 40K. Not sure why. Guess I can never decide on a color scheme for 40K but it's kind of prescribed with historicals.

Lol. I feel a little bit of the opposite. I started wargaming with flames of war. I made the mistake of choosing Germans and nearly went mad trying to master all those different camo schemes.
40k felt somewhat liberating in comparison.