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finished this today:

ammo cart for the Eoforwich artillery crews...

made from a pair of krieg heavy weapon platforms, a panel from the hellhound (barrel mount, cut and trimmed) with I-beam plasticard trim, decorated with a tiny aquilla from a second ed boltgun.
The tailgate is a trimmed deimos rhino ram.
Boxes are from the old imperal tank sprue and the tarp greenstuff...

Really, I guess, after the sucess of the technique in the blue grey on the 'Chiron', last post, this was a test to see how far I could push the layered stipple technique and it still work on a mini with smaller much surfaces... I returned tot he green to match the other pieces in the scheme already...

but honestly, this is something thats been living in my head for ages but I guess I was waiting on the plastic krieg heavy weapon platforms to make it a reality.

a fun diversion nonetheless...

Awesome work mate and a great IG army. Very impressive. I like the AI art work interesting concept. We are doomed.

The Chiron looks awesome. Kevan Downey was a legend and this build really does remind me of his stuff! I love all the cobbling together of parts you've done and the paint scheme is spot on.

Artillery carriage is really thematic too, some lovely narrative behind these latest pieces.

Some top notch work as always mate. Love all the little additions and converted vehicles!

cheers guys. tis most appreciated!

and another vehicle for the Selby Motorpool today:


This Mk1 Rhino is an old ebay rescue and is the ideal stand in for the Centaur assault carrier, of which it shares surprisingly similar dimensions!


I wanted this thing to represent the heady days of rogue trader, when Guard took rhinos, I mean, hell, everyone did then, but I wanted this to be an old relic of those days, still running in selby troops and kit.
Eoforwich system is a bit of a backwater. As such, it has some older designs in the fleets of armoured vehicles on display in the ranks, even to this day...
Unlike the LTV inspired Chiron, that goes in with first wave, this is firmly part of second wave, bringing in supplies, kit, ammo and medical stuff. Its clearly of the same family of vehicles, allbeit with a different role.


To sell the fact that this is a rhino firmly in guard hands, not marine, the first thing I did was add more rivets. (cut from styrene rod) this was done to the sides, doors, hatches, top.
As much as looked chimera/russ levels of detail, but not into levels of absurdety...
While I was at it I replaced the missing exhaust stacks with ones from the newer (but not 30k new) russ kit. These updated designs, funnily share dna with the original stacks, but are less cartoony and thus, look better doing it. Also helping to cement the guard feel to them. yes they are clearly russ exhausts. I guess at one point they needed new stacks and this is what they had in the workshops.
I even thought for half a second about turning the tops to face the rear but remembered that that was a fundamental design flaw on the original that I hated. I guess thats why the Diemos rhino has straight stacks...
Next thing was the tracks. This is an old trick from the gw studio days of mk1 chaos rhinos in second edition onwards. They trimmed all the side nubs off the tracks, then, using one long length and four small links form the imperial guard tracks (old kits) per side, they simply clip them right over the original tracks. The result adds height, bulk, detail and a very specifically guard issue look to them. So I did the same.
At this stage I decided to add the SOB immolator (old metal mk1 variant) front plate that had the stowed tracks in place on them. A perfect piece to add detail and solidify the idea that this type of track was always on here.
I then cut out the existing cast side vents and created new ones with car body mesh and a cereal box card frame added to each one. pva rivets added to these, as well as the round doors that then got russ hatch style handles added using bits of styrene rod.
The rear hatch got the vision slit removed and replaced by the vent from a russ engine and an aquilla added above the hatch. who'd bee looking through this at ankle level anyway?
I added the heavy stubber (on an altered searchlight fitting) and customised the ammo drum by using one from a cadian grenade launcher.
The guard tow cable bit fit too nice not to use and and the addition of some tow-hooks, rings and some homemade tow-chain helped to further give it that industrial vibe.
I made the little storage cage on the side from perforated mesh and a bit of angled plasticard. Opposite side has the little triangular russ hatch on it. As it fit too nice not to use. You'll also notice a few of those cast bullet holes fore/aft like on the chiron.


I then played with the idea of stowage.
Taking my cues from the old steel legion chimera stowage cages made for the studio army at the time of the armageddon campaign:

Remember these..?


I made one from plasticard angle, square rod for the sides and more of the perforated metal for the bottom.
in this I put an ammo box (kromlech heavy bolter), jerry cans (ogryn sprue) a krieg lasgun, the krieg detonator and some home made dynamite sticks (plasticard rods), a kasrkin landmine and the kit stowage from the tiny legends blitz legion to finish it off.
As well as this I made a bundle of bangalore torpedoes from rod/tube, making sure to give one a bull-nosed end, and had them 'held-down' under the weight of a sandbag (greenstuff) and a shovel (classic heavy weapon team) slung on top of this.
I also added a Tamiya 1:35 jerry can in the side stowage as a water can.
Its all just resting there, making it optional. I like the idea of it being seconded to the Krieg 22nd engineers operating in the kugelstadt campaign alongside the eoforwich and selby troops. hence all the breaching and combat engineer themed stowage!


Painting was +/- the same fare as on the chiron. As it worked nicely last time and I didnt want it green!
It fits with the Selby stuff better anyhow...

Some seriously heavy artillery next methinks...

This Rhino looks frakking brilliant. I love the photos and writing that went into this port- revitalising an old model with a nice new paint job and gubbins is balm for the soul!

The heavy stubber is key to me when it comes to Imperial Guard, that was a great idea. If I were to start again I'd replace all my Heavy Bolters with Heavy Stubbers in my Guard force, they just make more sense to me thematically.

Lovely weathering work, my friend. One day I'll get round to my tanks!!

Nice work, the old rhino looks like an absolute work horse.

That rhino woiuldnever get mistaken for a marine vechile! Good job on it, it looks amazing, all the extra detail is fab and really well done! And I agree the heavy stubbed just screams imperial guard (sorry Astra militarium)

Even Tony Cottrell would be proud of what you've done here! Impressive. Thanks for sharing all the details on the build.

Also, cant believe I missed "Sally" earlier! Another superb conversion, that one..

High praise indeed! too kind sirs!

with that in mind then, If you liked that? You're gonna love this
I revisited this old gem at last...


"The Moose" - Imperial Bombard, Eoforwich pattern

made out of the left-over bits from the valkyrie (the one that I turned into an F302 in my old royston rifles thread), an old leman russ and a bunch of plumbing junk and an extensive bitzbox.
as most of the deck (made from the back ramp of the valk) is taken up with the immense gun, including the rear access, the engines must be under the gundeck and in the tank's sides, as on a chimera or basilisk. as such I turned the sponsons into exhaust sections and added some appropriately shaped pipes to match those found on the old FW DKOK centaur artillery tractor.
Even though I don't own any of these (now discontinued) vehicles I felt It looked fitting this way.


The gun, is, in turn, made from the flight-stand mount and side doors of the valk, with plumbing fittings, a big penlid and bits of the valk missile pod, supported by ig tank-sprue ram joists all held together with the earthshaker pivots. the two bits on top are from the russ exhausts, therefore referencing not only the official FW bomard model, but also the old epic one.
Under this is an old lego technics gear sliced in two to represent geared mechanism. this fits into a bit of deimos rhino dozer-ram with a crank on it to represent manual workings for said gears.


The completely re-jigged driver's compartment is made from a cut up and re-built frontplate and spares from a hellhound kit.
The observant among you will notice a landspeeder door as a hatch and the camera-sight and winch from the vindicator sprue, the winch modified a bit of an IG tow cable; this old girl gets stuck in the mud very easily, needing to be tugged out more often than not.
This leads me the rear out-rigger spade, which is just tankguards on a dozer ram.
The shell-loading mech is an old white-metal ork stormboy backpack, mounted on a trackguard with stowage doors from a landspeeder, all mounted on a dozer-ram strut.
also borrowed from the speeder sprues are the hop-up steps on the rear, alongside the screen from a marine bike as a pickup for the fore-end camera-feed and a console from the valk as a control-panel.


The 'interior' details inside the tracked section's little doors are bits of the interior of the valk, plus another marine bike screen in there too...
afaik the rest is basic imperial guard vehicle sprue stuff or scratchbuilt from plasticard or cardboard.

so glad I revisited this.
To remind yourselves how it looked first time round go check out page one of this thread!

Love it, that's a cracking big gun. Corrosion and battle damage are spot on.

Wow- just wow!

The attention to detail on this piece is amazing and gives an overall very realistic vibe- very easy to suspend disbelief and take this as a real vehicle. I particularly like the loading mechanism: I have some experience jerking 5" shells for a 5"/38 calibre mount, 4.2" (107mm) mortar rounds and 120mm mortar rounds- them things ain't light! To see Earthshaker crews casually carrying what must be 210mm or larger shells around has always been a weak point in many models and dioramas.

Your build is realistic and worn in the places where machinery would wear when put into operation.

Excellent job- rock on!

What an absolute beast of a machine. This is a lovely revamp of your original build, the grit and grim add valuable texture and as Meer Cat says the mechanisms and greebles really boost it. Fantastic.

I've always enjoyed the Guard artillery pieces that are mounted on Leman Russ chassis.

I love the tanks man excellent work. Makes the chaos predator voice over in dawn of war saying “we will crush their skulls under our iron tracks!”

Spectacular. I love playing 'find and remember' with some of the bits on different projects of yours. I miss that old scheme from the gw tanks - very iconic and not the usual green + brown.

Fantastic conversion. Absolutely love it.

many many thaks folks. too kind...

Back to the Eoforwich 39th again today:


All this artillery in the Eoforwich 39th's Motorpool needs artillerymen and at last here they are!
Based on tiny legend's blitz legion bodies, with anvil industry heads and arms as well as arms from the field ordnance kit.


Gunner Essex - loader
A perpetually upbeat and positive individual. Essex finds everything wonderful and cause for jollification. Not even the perpetual slog of rain on kugelstadt since they landed there can bring him down.
He's happiest most loading shells and making tea!


Captain Hathaway - siege officer.
Both his rank and hat earned when its previous owner unfortunately caught a stray mortar in his foxhole.
He's no nonsense but just as authoritorian about getting the kettle on as keeping the guns going.
As much as he takes out his frustration on Essex, its all show. He's not really a hard case, he knows Essex so easy going its like water off a duck's back...


Lt. Ella - Master of Ordnance
Shes got timing, trajectories, payload etc. so sussed, its almost second nature to her.
Not a single round gets loaded thats not been authorised by Ella beforehand.


Corporal West - soldier of the line
Providing support for the loaders as they conduct their duty, West is on constant lookout. Ever ready to repel the foe with not only his lasgun but also his constant stream of harsh language.


Here they are in their natural habitat, at the rear of an earthshaker...

These were a lot of fun to build and paint.
Its cathartic too as this is about as close to the image I had in mind when I started the 39th in the first place as could ever be possible.
The camo is changed too. whereas the original was simple dots over steel legion drab, this erbsenmuster was created with steel legion drab base, with shapes AND dots in deathkorps drab, cadian fleshtone and goblin green. It really works and feels so much nicer alongside my orange and green krieg and the filey 87th...
The scale of the tiny legends are much closer to the new cadians too...

The camo works great now, yeah!

Great work as per. That camo is fantastic, I need to paint my Stormtroopers soon and was planning on giving them camo but very nervous about giving it a go!

Cheers!

Not that you asked for it, but my advice is to practice on a spare base to get used to the colours, splodge sizes, spacing and consistency first.

Get your base colour done. Do your irregular splodges next. (You want the paint the consistency of full fat milk. Not thick enough to leave raised edges once dried, but not so thin so that the pigment is washed out.
After the splodges, do dots of each colour on all the other splodges (and the base colour).
Then highlight the edges of the smock fully. Then shade the whole thing.
Highlight again after the fact if you wish...

Been working for me for some time now.
Only difference is that sometimes I only shade the recesses not the whole thing. But the steel legion drab needed a full shade I felt...