Heavy Bolter Done!

I'm really pleased with how this came out. I did quite a few thin washes of umber/light grey for the dust effects, and I like the results. If I can keep this progress going, this army is going to FINALLY come together in the next few months!



Tomorrow it's assembly of the platoon command squad, and some conversion work. For my Chimeras, I'm planning on converting two or three port firing lasguns to have have protective chemical hoods on them. I also want to convert a backup compressor with a couple of hoses for the exterior of the track, to make sure the fighting compartment remains overpressurized in case of a chemical attack. I'm also thinking of taking pintle-mounted heavy stubbers with all six Chimera, but actually repping/converting them as coaxial MGs for the autocannon turret. What do you think?

Back in Action After Nurgle's Rot

I spent a good chunk of last week, along with the whole weekend, sick in bed for the most part. However, after imbibing potions that my Unclean troops kindly supplied me, I am on the mend. Enough, in fact, to get a bit of progress done.

Tonight I put on decals for 1st Squad's Chimera, and painted a little on the turret. I still have quite a bit more work to do with shading and weathering, but I think it's headed in the right direction...

Chimera Paint Job Started

Just finished the basecoat and camo pattern (needs a bit of touchup actually), and masked off/painted the ID stripes. I'm still not 100% convinced that this is the final scheme, but I'm going to go ahead and completely finish the paint job before I pass final judgement. Basecoat is Tamiya Desert Yellow airbrushed over Mr Surfacer Light Grey Primer, with VMC German Grey camo stripes. ID bands are Tamiya White.

Next two pics are a bit random- a Chaplain I painted up a while back for a White Consuls army project that never really got off the ground. The Serpent's Lair, one of my favorite 40K forums, is running an HQ painting contest and I thought I'd make this my entry. Unfortunately, I don't have an Alpha Legion HQ choice painted up, so this will have to do.

Not a whole lot of hobby tonight- the Chimera paint job was started yesterday during the Wesak Day public holiday here. I'll resume work on it tomorrow evening assuming I feel up to it. Until then...

Squad's Done, so Time to Work on the Transport

Due to the REALLY expensive bill of doing a resin-heavy Siege list, I've decided to start my Krieg project as a 1500 point Armored Regiment. With my HQ, Infantry Platoon, and Veteran squad, I'll need six Chimeras to finish this. I have seven on the shelf from previous projects, so I'll kill two birds with one stone and get some serious armored overstock built and painted with this project.

However, being Krieg, I thought I should make a few minor conversions to the Chimeras to reflect the nature of the army they serve in. Yesterday, I posted about the port firing lasgun covers, and today I've got more to show.

In addition to drilling out all of the weapon barrels, I also added rivet detail. I used 1mm styrene rod, which is not a 100% match but close enough.

One of the great things about the new Chimera kit is the choice of turret weapons. Parts are provided to have the standard multilaser, but you also have parts to choose either a heavy bolter or a heavy flamer. The heavy bolter option comes with its own mantlet, while a completely separate mantlet is provided to use with either the heavy flamer or multilaser.

My plan is to use autocannon turrets, referring to the ForgeWorld Imperial Armour rules. Now, of course, you might rightly point out that this is not "tournament legal", as the Imperial Guard codex does not offer the autocannon as a choice. I realize this, but I like autocannons, and my approach to the hobby has always been a figure-centric version. However, in the event I play against someone who is unhappy with the autocannon option, I've magnetized the turret and mantlets to use either the heavy bolter or the autocannon option I've converted here.

After gluing the cut-up autocannon on the spare mantlet (from the IG Heavy Weapons sprue), I went ahead and used Apoxie Sculpt to model up a mantlet cover. This hides the conversion work, and I think is also evocative of the overall Krieg aesthetic. I'm happy with it, and I think it'll paint up great.

The last thing I want to do for all my armor is model them up with sand channels attached. Since I'm going for a desert theme with my bases and weathering, it makes sense to include these. I'll probably make a master from plasticard and a punch, and then mold it up to cast in resin. My tanks won't get stuck in the sand!

This week I'll start painting. Extra bits like the searchlight, smoke launchers, and door handles on the top troop access hatches will be painted separately and attached at the end. I'm doing this to facilitate masking later on. By week's end I should have some pics up and be well on my way to finishing it. Until next time...

Let's Try Posting This AGAIN

I posted these Thursday night, but with the recent Blogger service loss it looks like that post is shot. Khairul, many thanks for the suggestion on including spent brass casings- much cooler!

Today I also tried sculpting gas-proof "covers" on all of the port firing lasguns. If these work out once they are painted, I'll probably make a set of masters and cast them up in resin to make the remaining Chimeras easier to build.

Hopefully this post actually stays up...!