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Okay, so I've been thinking about this for a while. In the real world militaries there are vehicles, usually modified APCs, used by the combat command units of a force to pull them around a battle field. They both transport the commanders to the front so that leadership is directly imparted to the troops while giving the commander a ground's eye view of the battlefield and bring in support of a light armored vehicle. However, these vehicles are not always APCs or lightly armored vehicles, but sometimes they are staff cars with an extra weapon bolted on somewhere. The IG doesn't really have these.

The Chimera is an armored troop transport designed to move squads around the battlefield. In the fluff of 40k there are varients that are packed with communications and observation equipment, but besides that, they're still Chimeras with a bit less space in them.

I am proposing a sort of Razorback of the Chimera. An additional turret or a replacement larger turret, up armored chassis to protect the leadership, and a diminished transport capacity. Of course this vehicle would provide and increased leadership influence. Here are the stats thus far.

Combat Command Chimera (CCC/TriC) :

Points : 100

Armor : Front/Sides/Rear
12/11/10

Armament : Turret/Hull
Autocannon with Multilaser Coax OR coax heavy flamer/Heavy Bolter

Transport : 6

Options : Regular Chimera Upgrades Available (hull mounted weapon already applied). Assault cannon could be switched out with a twin linked autocannon, the hull heavy bolter with a heavy flamer, and the mortar has to be bought for 15pts.

Special Rules : Command radius increased to 18" while the commander is in the vehicle, reflecting the troop's knowledge that their command and additional support is within only moments of being at their position if needed. All other Chimera special rules apply. Ogryns can not occupy this vehicle at all.

Combat Car (Quad Car/Auto) :

Points : 35

Armor : Front/Sides/Rear
9/9/9

Armament : Heavy Stubber

Transport : 6

Options : Regular light vehicle options apply from the Imperial Guard Vehicle Armory.

Special Rules : Fast vehicle. Command radius increased to 18" while the commander is in the vehicle, reflecting the troop's knowledge that their command and additional support is within only moments of being at their position if needed. All other Chimera special rules apply. Ogryns can not occupy this vehicle at all. This vehicle may not move without at least one occupant and it is open topped. Any Glancing or Penetrating hit renders this vehicle immobalised.

The CCC would be a simple conversion of the regular Chimera with a bloated turret and a larger comms array, perhaps a dish even, where the top access panels are located. The mortar would be a bit more complicated, but possible I'm sure.

The Quad Car would be a bit more difficult. I was imagining something akin to the old Willy Jeeps from WW2 and onward. The Stubber would be mounted on a pedestal and roll bar in the rear of the vehicle. The hard part would be squeezing in six spots for models, so futurefying it would make sense. The pedestal the stubber is mounted on would be about mid-vehicle right behind the driver and passenger seats. This would leave room for a semi-bed area around and behind the gunner's position. On the rear of the vehicle in a three seat system. I'd imagine the front end of the vehicle would be snubbier and snout-like while the rear would taper down to the back which would not have a gate. It would have to be as much the opposite to an ork trukk as possible.

Okay, so I've started working on my TriC and it is the first time I've worked with plasticard. Apparently, I bought stuff a bit too thin, 0.500mm to be exact. So it's being difficult and I'm not as good with it as I thought I would be. But it is forming. Fortunately, green stuff is the duct tape of modelling.

I have begun to convert a wrecked Chimera I was going to make into an auxillary transport into a Combat Command Chimera. This is the first time I have worked with plasticard, and I think I purchased a material that was too thin. But it is working out well enough.

Hate to be a kill joy, cause it's a good idea, but there already IS an IG Command vehicle. Salamander Command Vehicle

Platuan4th wrote:Hate to be a kill joy, cause it's a good idea, but there already IS an IG Command vehicle. Salamander Command Vehicle

The Salamander "Command" Vehicle is, as I remember it last I read the stats on one, was really only a command vehicle as fluff and to replace platoon command sections in mechanised infantry companies. It does not carry any troops nor does it seem to affect the command radius, nor bring much additional fire support to the battle field then a basic Chimera. So it doesn't really fill the slot of a command and transport vehicle.

Now that I have the time, I'm moving the pics to the first post. Look up there now if you want to take a peak.

Looking good, but PLEASE try not to multipost.
As tempting as it is, it is just REALLY hard to look at, please just edit your first post.
As to the stuff in question. Looking good man. I dunno about the fluff though. A Chimera is a TRANSPORT. Not a tank. For you to justify the chimera needs to be a little more heavily armed, and armored. Is just.....Anti Guard. The Forgeworlds Manufacture arms and munitions CHEAPLY. They want A LOT of tanks, not just a few big tanks. The Adepta Astartes Rhino the army with the option to take HEAVY armored transports. I think If you wanted a heavily armed Chimera, model it off of a Rhino, or just....I dunno.... It's hard to say, when you are talking fluff because anyone can say "My army is the EXACT way i want because the Emporer decrees it so!"
All in all, I think Maybe reworking the fluff may be good, But that model is looking sweet. I wanna see it completed.

The Imperium is vast and expansive. If you read the novels, especially those that exclusively involve the Imperial Guard, you'll notice there are a lot of vehicles in use that are not mentioned in any GW Codex. The Forge World armour codexes do fill in a lot of gaps, but there are still some that aren't covered. Most notably, the command Chimeras. It seems every novel series I've read has its own version, though they usually do end up riding in regular Chimeras with extra comms and interface systems stuffed in when they go into battle.

Their are several series that mention light trucks being used as sort of staff cars, popping a stubber or storm bolter on and stuffing in the command and communication systems is hardly a leap (we do this today in most militaries).

I actually do plan to lower the armor ratings on the TriC and maybe get rid of the increased command radius for both vehicles and use the regular radius instead, simply because that is too much of an advantage then actually against fluff. At 18", riding in the middle of a table, you cover most of the battle field, having even just two of these would make an IG army almost completely LD9-10. The mortar will probably stay on the TriC, just to see how it works out, and the Autocannon might turn into something else, maybe a heavy bolter or autocannon with a multilaser co-ax, just something to bring some extra umph to a firefight. The TriC would probably be limited to one per army unless it is a mechanised army (fluff reasons mostly).

My biggest reason for these vehicles is to help offset some of the IG's total lack of close combat and make the list a bit more flexible. The command squads are usually the only units to recieve any close combat upgrades, so making them more mobile can be very important.

I love the Scout car concept but im iffy about the chimera...

The AV 13 on the front and Assault cannon and the mortar.

The vehicle smells of jack of all trades light tank instead of C3 type usage.

A command and control vehicle would not asume a front line fighting position , instead keeping to rear echelons to beter use its communiactions and control suites thus negating the need for such a high AV value on the front.

The assault cannon is not an IG issue weapon nor do they have access to it. It is striclty a Space marine issue pice of equipment. There is no precident for a IG vehicle mounting such a weapon and seem un-guard like.

The mortar would occupy the area where the 6 man crw would be. the Griffon chimera is a precident for design in this case and had no troop capacity at all.

I would recomend making the AC a TLHB. removing the mortar and just buy extra armor. PTs should be about 100.

The vehicle iteself should confer abstract benefits instead of simply adding 3 heavy weapons worth of fire power ?!?...
perhaps +1 to reserve rolls, night vision acute senses to suronding squads.. and so forth, then it truly would be a C3 vehicle ..benefiting the army and not just the lucky saps who get to ride in it!

Im interested in seeing the modified chassy.. it looks interesting tho...

The mortar has been on the chop block ever since I decided on it. It is not uncommon (in modern forces) for a command platoon (often not actually a platoon but two medium sized squads) to have a mortar. Mortars are extremely useful Jesus-meeters (or Emporer-meeters in this case) and can easily turn the tide of an assault on a line. But mounting it to an APC just doesn't make enough logistical sense. I'm not mounting a griffon mortar, you should understand (which they should bring back I mind you), just the regular ol' guard mortar.

As for the assault cannon, it has actually been with the IG for quite a while, but was removed a while ago for no real reason. Similiar gattling weapons exist in the IG extended armory (fluff) but typically do not make it to the battle field.

On the subject of this vehicle staying behind the lines, there are several variants mentioned that have no armaments at all that do. However the commander often needs to get their boots on the line, a vehicle outfitted for that job makes sense.

The armor value was jacked up on the sides at first, but the front followed suit. I will more then likely bring it all down to the basic Chimera numbers.

Twin linked anything is really a waste of points, if you ask me. You almost double the weapon's cost and you don't gain much back. I would like to mount two more heavy bolters but two turrets would be silly. So a coax multi-laser on an autocannon would make some sense.

The original idea was actually to just make a direct port of the old Razorback to the IG's Chimera, mounting a turret on the rear hatches and reducing the occupancy numbers. But this didn't feel like enough, so I boosted a bunch of other things.

I will say, I really do like the idea of increased reserves rolls on all units, night vision, and such. Perhaps allowing a unit per turn to re-roll missed shots would be interesting too.

What you had been suggesting should have been what was on the Salamander Command Vehicle, which pretty much did nothing other then take up a command slot and move fast.

I can't seem to find any tires in the IG that would be the proper size.