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Greetings everyone! First I want to apologize, it's taken me way too long to join this great site. There is some tremendous talent here so I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring as well.

Some time ago I during a night of insomnia I got inspired to build a series of Space Marine tanks that reflected the character of each of the original loyalist Legions from the time of the Horus Heresy. But these wouldn't be just any tanks, these would be the super-heavy Fellblades of the Adeptus Astartes! The first one up was the Blood Angels' Sactimonia Cruoris (previously known as the Sanctimonia of Cruor before someone corrected my Latin ). Below is some fluff I wrote on its background that set the tone for this project.

Even though I've already started on #2, the Imperial Fist Iron Breaker, I thought it would be good to give you some history as to how the project came about and bring you up to speed to where I am now. So without further ado, here...we...go....

The Fellblade is one of the most ancient war machines available to the forces of the Imperium. Much like its other heavily armed brethren the Fellblade bristles with potent weapons capable of laying low the most powerful of foes. However, what makes the Fellblade most dangerous is not its formidable guns or massive treads, it is that this hammer of mankind lies within the hands of the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines.

Once a common site along side the elite of the Emperor during the Great Crusades there are but a scant handful remaining amongst the original Legions. Yet in the midst of these few are the Fellblades of Renown, artifacts of a thousand wars that rise up like gods above the titans. One such as this is the Fellblade of the Blood Angels known in antiquity as the Sactimonia Cruoris, the Purity of the Blood.

As old as the Chapter itself, the Sactimonia Cruoris was used as the test bed for many of the new technologies and weapons discovered by the Blood Angels during the Great Crusade. Although not always in the same configuration, the Sactimonia Cruoris was forever at the forefront of battle and has the great distinction of being one of the few recorded vehicle to have participated in the Battle of Terra during the Horus Heresy and survived to this day. Even though its current pattern has not changed in nearly three thousand years the tomes of Master of the Forge still identifies its present form as “Experimental.”

Now a treasured relic, the Sactimonia Cruoris is only awoken from its slumber when the call to arms is so great that the entire Blood Angels Chapter is mobilized. It last took to the fields of war during the Second Battle for Armageddon. During the initial bombardment outside the Hive of Hades the Blood Angel performed a daring move deploying the Sactimonia Cruoris and a squadron of Baal class predators by rapid insertion into the heart of the ork horde. In less than a minute the sheer firepower of the Sanctimonia of Cruor and its comrades massacred the xenos within a half a kilometer of their drop zone in all directions. By the time the orks could regroup the void had been filled with the entire 3rd company and elements of the 1st. The Blood Angels had established their beach head allowing the rest of the angelic host to descent from the heavens and wage war against the invaders.










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Let's start with the main turret. I wanted the Fellblades to have a unique looked from the Baneblade so one of the first projects was redesigning the turret. The Visions of Heresy shows the old bubble top design like the old predator tank from eons ago. I decided to use that as a base but make it multi-faceted so that it blended in better with the overall sharp angled look of the tank.

First I built the basic form out of plasticard, filled in the gaps, and sanded it smooth until I had a nice base to work with.



Next up were all the plastic bits and wire that made it look more like something you'd see on a tank. Oh, and rivets...lots and lots of rivets. I got these from a company called Tichy Train Group that makes rivets, nuts, and bolts in all different sized. The ones I used here are the 0.040 and 0.050 inch diameter:





Finally I cast the whole thing up in a silicone mold so that I could make turrets for all the Fellblades to come....




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Next were the secondary turrets that were to replace the side turrets on the sponsons and the main hull. As I planned to move the heavy bolters up from the lower sponson to the turret I needed something a little taller and wider. Also the original turrets didn't match the look of my new main turret.

I built the turret from plasticard much like the larger one. It too has a removable weapon mount that rotates up and down. I also added a targetting box up top that looks space mariney but a little older and bulkier. Kind of like the predecessors of today's targetters, this thing is 10,000 years old after all



Front:


Back:





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Next up are the less than sexy fuel system and engines. The fuel drums on the Baneblade look great and give it a sense of scale but I wanted something that has a more integral look for the Fellblade, kind of like today's modern tanks and APC. As such, I came up with this angular thing of pipes, bolts, and rivets:





Then there is the engine. I was really happy how this turned out. Very space mariney and it fits well with the overall model. Also the back plate has a cutout in the center for the shrine. Like its counterparts it's all made of plasticard, strips, and tubes. It was a bit of a challenge to assemble but I think it turned out rather good.






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Finally came the assembly, which was also the most fun part of this project. Given all the new Blood Angels bitz that have been released there was a real plethora of parts to use on the Sactimonia Cruoris.

Starting with the Baneblade kit I cut out the old main turret section and added my new base plate that move the main turret more to the center. The rear engine portion was replaced with the new one along with the engines and exhaust. I also carefully cut out the shrine from the old piece and added it to the new. The rear tread covers were replaced by my new fuel tanks, which matched up nicely with the fuel ports on the Baneblade model. The Baneblade's twin-linked heavy bolters were trimmed to fit onto the new side turrets and a Baal Predator twin-link assault cannon was added to the new one mounted on the main hull. As for the sponsons I modified a Land Raider Redeemer flamestorm cannon to fit on either side. Finally the Baneblade treads were replaced with my Liberator Pattern 1.0 treads available from my eBay store.

Once all the resin pieces had been fitted I went to town gluing on all the extra plastic bitz. The teeth along the side armor skirts were replaced with the Blood Angels icons from the Drop Pods. The high mounted headlights are from the IG Valkyrie. The machine spirit and radar dish on the main turret are from the command upgrade sprue from Apocalypse. Everything else are bitz from other kits and Forgeworld. It was quite the conglomeration.









Then came the buckets of primer, paint, and washes. The end results you can see at the beginning of this thread or in the BoLS article. I'm quite happy how it all turned out. My goal was to create something that looked old but had enough design elements from the Space Marines to really distinguish it from just a Baneblade painted in Blood Angel colors. Overall I think it worked out pretty well.

So one down, six to go....


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So this brings us on to Fellblade #2. After taking a quick poll on another site the overwhelming response was that people wanted to see a Fellblade from the Imperial Fists. Now this one I had been planning to hold off for a little bit as my idea for it was rather more complicated than the first. But I bowed to the fans and started work.

Now the Imperial Fists are renowned for their expertise at siege warfare so it would make sense that their Fellblade would reflect this characteristic. This train of thought lead me back a couple of decades to an insane super-heavy GW put out for Epic that was beyond ridiculous in the amount of firepower it carried. We're talking two turrets each armed with heavy cannons and four sponsons loaded with weapons. I am of course talking about the Stormhammer.

First up I needed to make a medium sized turret that would allow me to fit two onto this beast. So as before I build another one out of plasticard that turned out about the same size as the current Baneblade turret. The weapon mount I kept the same as the larger main turret as I needed something wide enough for two battlecannon sized weapons.










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Next up was the cannon. This was made using a number of plastic tubes of different diameter that I shaped on a drill using some chisels. Simple but it worked.



Now it was time to begin assembling the beast called Iron Breaker. In order to fit both turrets onto the chassis I first needed to raise and push back the main turret mount about a half inch. This of course required a lot of hacking and sawing of the top chassis to get it all to work. Then using some of the bits left over from the hack job I pushed the old demolisher mount forward until it was even with the front (don't worry, that demolisher size hole in the front isn't getting a demolisher). I now had enough room to mount the two turrets in a staggered pattern such that one could fire over the other. Now I just have a lot of filling in to do....

That is awesome. Can't wait too see that rest of them. Awesome conversion and storyline.

Here it is with the finished the top of the new chassis, all it needs is detail now. To help even out the additional height of the rear turret mount I raised up the rear sponsons about a 1/4 of an inch. The engine was quite a bit of work but luckily I had some Shadowsword bits laying around that filled the hole nicely. It too was raised up a bit giving the engine a larger look.









So what do you think, is five twin-linked heavy bolters enough?

I think this may apply to this thread. Very much so indeed.

Here it is nearly done. I'm planning to redo the headlights as they don't quite look right. As for the rest I'll see if there is any more room for detail then it's off for clean up and priming. Hopefully I can start painting tomorrow.

I have to say this thing looks insane, but in a good way

Welcome to Dakka. That was one of the most detailed and incredible WIP I've read in a while. Amazing work. Thank you for sharing it. I'll be watching this thread and following more of your work in the future.

Thanks Skalk. Hopefully there will be more in the coming days. I hope to have it all finished in the next week or so, but that is going to be a lot of yellow paint....

Please tell me your doing a Space Wolf Superheavy.

Holy crap, those conversions are amazing. You've done a fantastic job with both of them.

I think the only problem that I can think of is that the barrels on the first Fellblade (the BA one) feel kind of short and stubby, even though they're pretty much the same length as the Stormlord, from what I can tell. Not sure.

Other than that I love them both. Wonderful job on the conversions, can't wait to see what else you manage to come up with!

very nice scrap work.

holy feth those are awesome

I think there might be a market on ebay for this sort of upgarde kit. hint hint

Exellent scrach build. Only conplaint is the tracks, they are to big.

Awesome, awesome, awesome!

Oh.... And did i mention, that it's awesome?


How the heck do you make those white copy thingies, from the 4th WIP-picture?


Anyways, it's amazing what you can make with something so simple as plastic sheets! And yet more amazing you just put it all together and form your very own super-tank with it. Truly amazing!

Lovely, I like the touch of using the old style land-raider tracks on it. How many are you making, the one in the WIP is different to that painted.

Holy sweet Emperor, that is glorious. Enemies of Man shall tremble before these awesomely high-quality machines of war!

Oh man. That is cool. You, sir, have just won one (1) internet and a lifetime supply of cookies.

These are awe inspiring. Upon looking at that first image, I didn't realize how much of it was custom made.

I was all like "Pfft SM Baneblade with kitbashed sponson guns." Then I was all like "Holy gak, that's amazing!"

This is some of the best custom built stuff I've seen; it blends so well with the existing range - and I mean in an epic way.

Can't wait to see all of these finished.

Thanks everyone, you're comments are very much appreciated

wolfshadow wrote:Please tell me your doing a Space Wolf Superheavy.

Oh yes, they're the fourth one in line at the moment. Dark Angels are up next.

Billinator wrote:Awesome, awesome, awesome!

Oh.... And did i mention, that it's awesome?


How the heck do you make those white copy thingies, from the 4th WIP-picture?


Anyways, it's amazing what you can make with something so simple as plastic sheets! And yet more amazing you just put it all together and form your very own super-tank with it. Truly amazing!

I made a silicone mold of the original piece and then use that to cast multiple copies in resin. I plan to make most of these piece available through my eBay store but there is still some tweaking I have to do with the molds.

There's a company called Smooth-On that supplies all the stuff you need to do it yourself. The mold making material is either OMOO 30 or MoldMax 30, the resin is Smoothcast 305 or 310.

Howard A Treesong wrote:Lovely, I like the touch of using the old style land-raider tracks on it. How many are you making, the one in the WIP is different to that painted.

There will be seven all together, I'm assuming the Raven Guard and White Scars never used them in the first place given that they always had the need for speed. Each one will be unique to the character of the Legion/Chapter.

Xca|iber wrote:These are awe inspiring. Upon looking at that first image, I didn't realize how much of it was custom made.

I was all like "Pfft SM Baneblade with kitbashed sponson guns." Then I was all like "Holy gak, that's amazing!"

This is some of the best custom built stuff I've seen; it blends so well with the existing range - and I mean in an epic way.

Can't wait to see all of these finished.

Thanks, that was precisely the look I was going for I wanted something that was Space Marine-y but still looked old and antiquated while avoiding making it look like just a Baneblade with Space Marine parts glued on. In the end I think everything blended well together.

I just hope your particular brand of insanity isn't too catching. I dont want to get served with Divorce papers. :-)

What 'theme' are you going for with the SW and Dark Angel models?

wolfshadow wrote:I just hope your particular brand of insanity isn't too catching. I dont want to get served with Divorce papers. :-)

What 'theme' are you going for with the SW and Dark Angel models?

The Space Wolf Fellblade is going to be more like a long boat on treads: fast and armed to the teeth with crazed Wolves. The Dark Angels Fellblade will be like a rolling cathedral that can also blast heretics with copious amounts of plasma fire.

OYG! That is awesome!! Great job!!
and welcome!!

Good lord those are amazing. They also blend so seamlessly with the Baneblade chassis.

Praise the emperor, and may his enemy's flee in this warmachine's holy might

Man those are some crazy tanks you got going on there Cant wait to see the progress, and welcome to DakkaDakka

Machinator wrote:

Billinator wrote:Awesome, awesome, awesome!

Oh.... And did i mention, that it's awesome?


How the heck do you make those white copy thingies, from the 4th WIP-picture?


Anyways, it's amazing what you can make with something so simple as plastic sheets! And yet more amazing you just put it all together and form your very own super-tank with it. Truly amazing!

I made a silicone mold of the original piece and then use that to cast multiple copies in resin. I plan to make most of these piece available through my eBay store but there is still some tweaking I have to do with the molds.

There's a company called Smooth-On that supplies all the stuff you need to do it yourself. The mold making material is either OMOO 30 or MoldMax 30, the resin is Smoothcast 305 or 310.

Yeah, yeah!! I've found it at Smooth-on dot com... I have a bad feeling that there no way in hell i'm gonna get that shipped all the way to europe, even if i was willing to sell my soul. And besides, i'm a Tyranid-player, so the use for it would be pretty minimal. But heck, just gazing upon your creations indeed makes one consider re-rolling armies
Modelling is just so much fun as it is, and looking over your gallery here really makes ones fingers tickle

Anyways man, thanks for the kind reply, and keep up the good work. Happy you found Dakka Dee, and looking much forward to updates and WIP's!


Cheers
Bill'

Ps.
Have you considered making a Titan at any point?

This is a fantastic and iinspiring thread. Your detailing is top notch. More more more!!!

And I though I was good.

Wonderful, I'm glad you're able to showcase everything and get them finished in a proper manner unlike my stuff, which gets built but never painted. Can't wait to see this thread through to all 7 of your planned creations! If you don't mind me asking, what do you have in store for your Iron Hands Fellblade?

Oh jeez, this is super legit. I'm sure there are people out there that would love to buy these parts.

Love the first 2 'fellblades' , please do 18 of them....

Wait, missed its actually 7 you say?

May we expect 7 different Main armaments? If so which?

Quite possibly the BEST WIP post ive ever seen! Your vision and idea for these tanks are simply amazing! I googled 'Fellblade' just recently and was blown away by the blood angels tank which populated (turns out it was yours). It is a masterpiece, and the subsequent tank you have started is nothing short of that as well. These are superlative to the blades of the IG and rightfully so. Fantastic work! Could you tell me where you picked up the wheel spools on the front of the tank?

I cannot wait to see your progress on this project! 10/10 for your work and effort!