Much like my recently published post about the Ironclad Dreadnought, I saw this Rhino on eBay and decided to buy it and repaint it.
The Space Marine Rhino is the most ubiquitous of the METAL BAWKSES. The steel workhorse of dedicated transports, the iconic Rhino is a competitive stalwart of Space Marine Armies. At a measly 35 points, it’s also an incredibly cheap transport with a capacity of 10 models and a storm bolter! Two models can also fire out the top hatch giving it some additional punch and overwatch potential.
Rhino model as it arrived from eBay
This particular tank model looked pretty rough when I received it. I got a pretty good price for it so I knew I was getting what I paid for. It had a rough blue colour and some thatch which I imagine was supposed to represent some sort of camoflage. I tried scraping it off as best I could and then primed it white.
Rhino primed white
Like the dreadnought, it was really tricky getting a nice even yellow colour across the whole tank. I started with Averland Sunset then topped it with Yriel Yellow.
I had an older-style Imperial Guard pintle storm bolter which I mounted where there used to be some sort of missile launcher.
I wanted to add my own flair to the tank, I wanted to add optional hunter-killer missiles. I see that the new style is the small pods that look like infantry missile-launchers, but I like the old style that look like a huge box.
And I used some really powerful magnets to make them optional. One was mounted on each side of the hull. I had to carve out a lot of space for the magnet.
Concealing some strong magnets within the hull of the rhino.
I was able to successfully hide the magnets with a lot of liquid green stuff and then several layers of paint. You can hardly tell that they’re there. But, the magnets on the missile launcher are definitely going to stick, and swivel as necessary.
Imperial Fists Space Marine Rhino
I felt that the dozer blade was totally necessary. I expect the rhino to drive up the field flat out 18″, so passing those dangerous terrain tests is a must. As a last resort, it can also ram some tanks in the back. And, finally, it kind of maintains the “construction” look I was going for with all of my Imperial Fists.
Imperial Fists Space Marine Rhino (rear view)Imperial Fists Space Marine Rhino with two Hunter-Killer Missiles
Imperial Fists Space Marines with Rhino in back right
Can you see the “construction” theme?
I have the parts to make another Rhino. I was thinking of making it an Inquisition Rhino, but I hear that Rhinos can be taken as Fast Attack units in the next Space Marine Codex. If that’s the case, I can put a squad of Astra Militarum veterans in one and treat it as a cheaper troops unit… hmmm… decisions decisions.
This model was something of a labour of love. I saw this Ironclad Dreadnought on eBay and decided I needed to have it. It came with a hurricane bolter for its right arm, and a choice of Seismic Hammer or Chainfist for the left arm.
The purpose of an Ironclad Dreadnought is to get into CC with things, preferably vehicles and wreck them.
So, I did a dirty coat of white to cover the old paint scheme.
Getting an even coat of yellow over the formerly grey was really tricky. I find painting any models yellow is a labour of patience and persistence.
I didn’t like the stats of the Seismic Hammer. It’s 2X Strength (so, 12+D6 damage) and AP1, and unwieldy and comes with a built-in meltagun. Reading a few reviews, many recommend replacing the seismic hammer with a chainfist. The difference is that the chainfist is only AP2, but has armourbane which means its damage will 12+2D6. Another recommendation was to replace the meltagun with a heavy flamer. I think this makes a lot of sense because the meltagun’s effective range is within charging range of its dangerous CC weapons, and the heavy flamer gives this dreadnought some potential anti-infantry punch, especially on overwatch! Both substitutions are points neutral.
As an Imperial Fists dreadnought, I imagined it really needed to have a fist, in particular, a Power Fist! Most tactics blogs I read recommended ditching the hurricane bolter in favour of a power fist.
I got a power fist from eBay and it fit nicely on the left arm. However, the chainfist arm I had was also meant for the left arm. Since the hand would look weird flipped, I decided to modify the arm so it would go backwards and fit on the right arm. It took a lot of glue and liquid green stuff, but I think it looks almost like it fits on that arm now.
The hunter-killer missiles on the shoulders aren’t the most competitively functional items. At 10 point each, two 1-shot S8 missiles may not make their value back, especially if they miss. But, they looked too cool not to keep.
Imperial Fists Space Marine Dreadnought “Fort” (Front View)
Imperial Fists Space Marine Dreadnought “Fort” (Side View)
Imperial Fists Space Marine Dreadnought “Fort” (Other Side View)
Imperial Fists Space Marine Dreadnought “Fort” (Back View)
The name “Fort” has a double meaning. Fort is a boys name, and could be the short form of Fortuanto. Fort can also be a short for fortification. And lastly, in Italian and French, fort(e) means strong, which makes sense for such a large beast of a machine.
At 155 points including the 20 for the two hunter-killer missiles, it’s a big sink for points. But, if I can get in range of a few enemy tanks and rip them apart, it will definitely be worth it.
Actually getting it into combat may be a challenge. Without a drop pod it will have to walk to the enemy tanks. Its front and side armor of 13 are impressive, but I still don’t want it in the open too much or it will be destroyed before it sinks its chainfist into heretic, traitorous and/or xenos enemies.
Imperial Fists Space Marine Dreadnought “Fort” with other Imperial Fists
Bullgryns are an interesting new addition to the Astra Militarum Codex. They are effectively abhuman Ogryns that have have traded some offensive bite for serious defensive gain.
However, I didn’t really like the look of the new Bullgryn/Ogryn models. And I’m partial to pewter models too. So, I cobbled together bits from a number of purchases to create my own custom Bullgryns. In the end, they probably cost more than buying 3 new ones in a kit, but they’re uniquely mine.
Bullgryn Slab Shields from eBayOld Ogryn models from eBay
I got 3 Ogryn models through various eBay purchases. They weren’t quite complete. I had to order bases seperately. One was missing a head, but an Ork head made a surprisingly appropriate replacement.
Various pieces of Ogryns and Bullgryn bits ready to be assembled
I also had to purchase the slabshields and grenade gauntlets separately on eBay as bits. Two of the Ogryns were missing their left hands that would have held their ripper guns, so I substituted ork hands.
The model that would be the Bone ‘ead was the most difficult to modify. His left arm was way up in the air and not appropriate for holding the shield. I had to break his pewter arm and had a hard time getting it re-attached in an appropriate position.
Astra Militarum Bullgryns
I’m quite happy with the final result. They look imposing, ugly, and very tough. They don’t look like they’re wearing carapace armour, but I can say all the chains they’re wearing help to protect them.
Bullgryns taking cover behind their slabshields
Tactically speaking, I think they will be a very interesting addition to my army. When two or more of them are in base contact with each other, they improve the cover save of all models behind them by +1. Any models behind them will already receive a 5+ cover save because they are obscured. This would even apply to tanks behind them! With the +1, all models behind them could receive a 4+ cover save. If the models behind them have camo cloaks or stealth in some other way they have a 3+ cover save!!
They’re a pretty tough unit in general too. With 3 wounds each and T5, they will be hard to disgorge, especially with the 3+ armour save they get from linking slabshields. The leadership 6 (7 with the Bone ‘ead) is a little worrying though. They’ll need something to keep them from running away. I’ll probably stick a ministorum priest with them to keep them from running away. And, in a codex sorely lacking CC options, the one-two punch of Bullgryns with a priest may help with this unit tango at close range.
At 145 points for 3 models, they certainly aren’t cheap! I’m curious to see how they’ll play on the tabletop, but they do look cool in my display case!
Better view of my Astra Millitarum Bullgryns. From left to right “Otis, Deathlok, and Enzo.”
First post in a while, but I hope there are many more to come.
eBay picture of three Adeptus Arbites models with boltguns I woneBay picture of two Adeptus Arbites models I won. One has a bolter and the other has a grenade launchereBay picture of four Adeptus Arbites models with boltguns I won
I recently won a couple of eBay auctions and I’m looking forward to receiving 9 Adeptus Arbites models soon. I’ve been eyeing these models since I played 2nd Edition of 40k. They’ve been “out of print” for a LONG time so I’m happy to pick up several because I really like how they look.
I was thinking of fielding them as Inquisition Acolytes with Carapace Armour, but I recently started thinking of fielding them as Astra Militarum veterans with the “Grenadier Doctrine” which equips them all with carapce armour. I could still attach an Inquisitor as an Independent Character to either. Here’s how they compare.
Inquisitional Acolytes
Astra Militarum Veterans
Unit Type
Elites
Troops
WS
3
3
BS
3
4
Leadership
8
7 (8 with sergeant)
Points for 10 models
80 points
75 points
The biggest difference is how they play in the rules: As Inquisitional Acolytes, they are elites rather than troops, so they lose the “objective secured” special rule. And Inquisition Acolytes can’t take Orders. But, the Inquisition has access to nicer toys like Boltguns for all, and Storm Shields.
Their transports are a little different too. An advantage to the Inquisition Chimera is that it’s 10 points cheaper, and can have 5 units fire its fire point instead of the AM which only has two. The AM has the lasgun arrays, but they aren’t very special.
Inquisition Chimera
Astra Militarum Chimera
Base Cost
55
65
Searchight
1
0 (included)
Dozer Blade
5
5
The Inquisition Chimera could also have Psybolt ammo for 5 points more, which could make it very dangerous with two heavy bolters firing three S6 AP4 shots each!
I suppose I have to choose first though. Inquisition doesn’t have access to grenade launchers for some reason, so I’ll have to modify that model. And If they have bolters they have to be Inquisition. An Inquisition Acolyte with carapace armour and a boltgun is 9 points. A Tactical Squad Space Marine is 14! Perhaps if I run them as Inquisition I’ll probably give most of them storm bolters. Only 11 points each then!
Or, as Astra Militarum veterans, I’d have to remove their bolters and give them lasguns or shotguns.
I bought this Ogryn model for Nork Deddog as part of another wave of eBay purchases. I’m not very fond of the new, plastic model for Nork Deddog, so finding a version of the old, medal model made me pretty happy.
Original Nork Deddog model, primed white
I tried to follow a similar colour scheme to the rest of my infantry models. But I did make it a point to give him big medal shoulder pads. And I have him a beret. A soft fabric hat seemed ironically appropriate for a brutal giant assigned as a bodyguard!
Tactics:
He makes a very interesting character to add to a command squad. At 85 points he’s more expensive than a Chimera! So, obviously in a mechanized list, he’s not useful points. But, as Imperator Guides states, he can be very valuable in the right deployment.
In my previous games, my command squad was decimated in close combat, and my commander murdered in close combat challenges. This powerful, very tough, close combat-oriented character can now absorb challenges that would normally decimate my commander. And his Heroic Sacrifice special rule is rather ridiculous: If slain in close combat, he gets to make all his attacks (again if he already hasn’t) before he expires!
He also makes a very efficient meat-shield. He has look-out so he can take a wound for another character, including the regimental advisers. Having Feel No Pain almost replaces the need for a medic. And 3 wounds with T5 and 4+ armour save is nothing to sneeze about!
Nork Deddog with a Company Command Squad
He also looks interesting as part of the Command Squad. Like other Ogryns, he’s head and shoulders bigger than all humans. So, he looks like the most intimidating character in the group, even though he’s “merely” a bodyguard.
I look forward to using him in combat and taking down enemies with his “thunderous headbutt”
Anyways, I saw this particular post on Tumblr and decided it was a good resolution for myself and this site: Not to buy any new Warhammer Models until I finish painting all the ones I currently have. (Well, I may buy a bit here and there if I need it to finish the job). There are a lot of models left to paint…
Leman Russ that I will make into a Punisher Tank Commander
eBay picture of Leman Russ kit that will become my Tank Commander in a PunishereBay pic of Tank Commander in blister
Leman Russ that I will make into an Exterminator
eBay picture of Leman Russ that I will make into an exterminator
3 Ogryns as Bullgrnys with Slabshields
eBay picture of Ogryns I will convert into BullgrynseBay picture of Bullgryn Slabshields I will give to the Ogryns
5 Old 90’s Style Stormtroopers (first mentioned in this post)
Old 90’s stormtroopers
4 Servitors
Servitor with servo arm
Servitor with servo-arm
Servitor with Heavy Bolter
Servitor with Heavy Bolter
Squad of Space Marine Scouts (5 models inc Sergeant and Heavy Bolter)
I ordered this set of Regimental Advisors through an independent Tabletop Hobby store. Although I saved a few bucks, it took a month to be delivered, so I won’t be going back to them.
After reading about the Regimental Advisors in the Codex and some tactics blogs, I decided I had to have them as options to add to my Company Command Squad.
Regimental Advisors in the back row flanked by a command squad and Basilisk
Astropath
I feel like I’m going to add this character to my Company Command Squad (CCS) in every game I play. He’s the cheapest psyker in the game at only 25 points, easy warp-charge points. And he generates his powers from Telekinesis discipline which the Primaris Psyker can’t.
My Astropath Regimental Advisor
Master of Ordnance
The Master of Ordinance (MoO) is an interesting character. He’s a T3 single wound character for 20 points. But, he has the ability to call a S9 AP3 Large BlastBARRAGEattack down anywhere on the board. The problem is it’s likely to scatter 3D6″! And since the attack counts as Ordnance, he has to remain stationary. A odd tradeoff, but could be handy for a static CCS.
Master of Ordinance on the back of a Basilisk (being blinded by my camera’s flash)
Master of Ordinance on the back of a BasiliskMaster of Ordinance on the back of a Basilisk with a command squad in the foreground
Officer of the Fleet
The Officer of the fleet (OoF) is character I don’t plan on using, but I’m glad to have.
Upon passing a leadership test, this character improves your reserve rolls by one (so 3+ on a D6), or reduces your opponents reserve rolls by 1 (5+ on D6). This is stack able with other modifiers like a Comms Relay, Emperor’s Tarot, or another Officer of the Fleet. I don’t think this is all that great, especially since the leadership test will only be successful about 50% of the time for this character.
However, from the moment I saw this model, I knew how I wanted to paint him. I hope it’s painfully obvious.
My officer of the fleet. I hope you can recognize his resemblance to a certain Starfleet Officer (hint, see vessel in the background)
Uses and Tactics
I was planning on usually having my CCS in a Chimera, which is fine for protection, issuing orders, and firing a witchfire power. However, if the tank moves at all that turn, it eliminates the ability for my MoO to fire.
Alternatively, I may have my CCS stationary hiding in cover or behind a blob squad. In that case, I’ll either have to be strategic about being stationary, or make use of a trick like the “Forward For The Emperor” order or hope my warlord rolls “Relentless” to make use of the MoO’s attack.
Leman Russ Battle Tank parts, still on sprue, but primed skull white
The Leman Russ is a given because it’s so iconic for the Astra Militarum. Reviews from Grumpy Guardsman and Imperator Guides say the Leman Russ Main Battle Tank (MBT) is too expensive and ineffective because of the ordnance rule. I agree, but it is a nice ‘generalist’ for my first Leman Russ. I expect it’s S8 AP3 will be great for chewing up Space Marines. And, I can modify it like the Basilisk for lights and sound, which is a big plus!
I really like the Schaefer’s Last Chancer’s models and am looking forward to painting and using them. I plan to organize my Cadian models as a platoon from now on, and I wanted some models that distinctly looked like veterans. So, this set of the “Last Chancer’s” looked perfect. A nice treat is that the set includes a meltagun, heavy bolter and missile launcher. I plan on fielding them as “melta-vets” in a Chimera, and some as my new Command Squad.
Ogryn I plan to field as special character Nork Deddog
I don’t have any fluffy special characters, and reading the Codex I decided I wanted Nork Deddog. In my previous battles, my Command Squad has been devastated by close combat. This big, tough, angry Ogryn should act as a good deterant or measure for fighting back!
I don’t like the new Ogryn models, so I was very pleased to get a good deal on this older version of Nork on eBay.
Servitor with servo arm
Servitor with servo-arm
Servitor with Heavy Bolter
Servitor with Heavy Bolter
Since I plan on fielding a rather tech/mech heavy army, a Techpriest and some servitors are practical and appropriate. Some dislike them as not useful or cost-effective. But I like the idea of Techpriest repair rolls being more effective. Further, for 10 points you essentially get a guardsman wearing carapace armour armed with a power fist! Not a bad deal. And two of these servitors I ordered have heavy bolters, which will give them some punch in the backfield and overwatch protection. I’m looking forward to fielding the squad of 5.
Old 90’s stormtroopers
The old stormtroopers are an oddball but I like them. I have a squad of old 90’s stormtroopers which I’ve fielded a few times. But they’re a different colour scheme and hard to field because of the heavy bolter and plasma gun. These additional 5 models give me some flexibility. I can run 9 lasguns or modify one to have a plasma gun and run “plasma vets”. And more importantly, I can try out the new paint colour scheme on them.
Rhino as it arrived
This Rhino is a bit of an oddball. It’s not an Astra Militarum vehicle. However, it could be a Space Marine Rhino to go with my Imperial Fists or as a transport for my Inquisitor. In fact, I’m tempted to modify it a bit and field it as a Razorback for additional mechanized punch. We’ll see how it goes.
This pile should keep me busy for a while! Lots of fun to come!
This chimera is one of the oldest models I own. I bought the kit for this Chimera at the Grand Opening of the Games Workshop at the Eaton’s Centre in Toronto around 1998. It’s one of the few times Warhammer models were all discounted! The store has since closed, but I still have the tank and treasure it.
Chimera “Eaton” before its update
The paint colours reflect the colour scheme I had for my Imperial Guard forces at the time: Black with blue and red trim.
Old Imperial Guard models whose uniforms inspired the old colour scheme for Chimera “Eaton”
My new forces have a distinctly different colour palate. My new infantry models are grey with black and gold trim. I will probably get around to re-painting those old models too, but my mechanized army made me prioritize getting the vehicles up to spec more quickly.
Rather than re-painting the black hull Administratum Grey to look like my other Chimera, I decided to flip the colours a bit. I left the hull black, and gave it gold and grey trim. And I’m really happy with the result!
Chimera “Eaton” with its new paintjob
Chimera “Eaton” with its new colours, side view
Nameplate of Chimera “Eaton”. It says “Espandor VII” in a highly stylized font. I don’t remember what that was supposed to mean, but I decided to leave it.
I found that the gold on black looked really, really sharp. I’m tempted to paint others to look like it, but then I decided this should be a special tank.
The only physical change I made was to switch out the pintle-mounted storm bolter with a heavy stubber. Most tactics I’ve read suggest the heavy stubber over the storm bolter. They’re the same points, and although the heavy stubber is weaker and has a poorer AP, it fires 3 shots instead of 2, which is really important, especially if snap-shooting.
Chimera Eaton Before(left) and After (right)
I’m glad to (re-)introduce Chimera “Eaton” with its new colour scheme. I plan on using it as a stationary “pillbox” for a command squad. That way they are kept safe, the commander can still issue orders, and the tank can fire all of its weapons with full ballistic skill.
I first mentioned my new Basilisk in this post. This has by far been my favourite model to build so far.
Basikisk parts as they arrived from the eBay order: Partially assembled and unpainted
Partially assembled Basilisk
As I mentioned in this post, the parts weren’t complete so I had to partially disassemble and re-assemble the Hellhound and Basilisk so that there would be enough parts for both. Part of the puzzle was that they supports for the Basilisk’s Earthshaker Cannon weren’t included. So I improvised using some spare parts.
After I started painting, I realized I wanted to do something special for this tank. The Earthshaker Cannon is so iconic of the Imperial GuardAstra Militarum that and unsubtle that I felt it needed something. I wanted to make it something I would be personally proud of. And that meant going back to my Engineering roots and adding some electronics and circuitry.
I wanted to make the gun light up and make sounds. The simplest way to do this would be to scavenge the speaker, light, battery and control circuitry from a Dollarama Toy Gun. I got the below toy for $3 (plus tax).
Dollarama Toy Gun that was scavenged for parts
I must admit, I had a lot of fun exploring the device. It was kind of like an autopsy or a dissection of a mysterious object.
Dismantled toy gun showing speaker, integrated circuit, vibrating motor, light, and wiring
Taking it apart, I discovered it wasn’t very complicated. There was a tiny integrated circuit that handled the noise generation. Connected to the circuit was a simple speaker and a LED. There was also a motor that made the gun vibrate. I wanted to use that to make the tank shake, but it was pretty bulky and heavy.
Detail of internal parts of Toy Gun
Toy gun’s integrated circuit I scavenged for the lights controller and sound
I decided I wasn’t going to use the vibrating motor thing. But the light and sound were very necessary and I was looking forward to using them.
Simplified circuit of lights and sound for my Basilisk tank
Actually fitting the electronics into the tank was trickier than I expected. The inside of the tank is actually quite small, so there isn’t much room to work with.
The tank came mostly assembled from the person I purchased it from on eBay, so I actually had to break the tank apart to get inside.
Disassembled Basilisk Tank
I mangled the battery holder from the toy gun and shoved it into the tank. The batteries are surprisingly bulky! At the same time, I slid the speaker into the forward section below the ‘hatch’, positioned the integrated circuit chip behind the battery, and made sure that the control wires and LED light were free to reach the outside of the tank.
Crafting the battery holder and other parts into the inside of the tank.
I punched a crude hole int he top of the tank so that the light and control wires would come out. The idea was that the wires would come up just below the Earthshaker Cannon so that they could go into it with minimal distraction.
Crafting station
The LED went into the cannon from behind, and I installed a momentary pushbutton on the back of the cannon. I rather like the way the barrel of the cannon lights up!
It lights up!!
After all that fancy assembly, I needed to finish the paint job to make it presentable. It’s mostly just Administratum Grey with Auric Armour Gold highlights, like the rest of my army. However, I’m proud of how the wash on the skulls and wings on the top of the guard turned out.
New basilisk, front viewNew basilisk, left side view. You can see the pushbutton on the back of the cannon.New basilisk, rear view. The pushbutton doesn’t stand out much, which was the idea.
New basilisk, right side view
Why did I name this tank Bertha? Well, it’s a very unsubtle tank, so I thought it deserved an unsubtle name. And, there’s the historical Big Bertha.
I really enjoy that it’s an ‘active’ electronic model. I plan to incorporate electronics of some sort into future tanks.
My biggest regret is probably that the battery is inaccessible inside the tank. Changing the batteries is all but impossible, and I’m worried about a leak eventually. It’s something I’ll keep in mind for future projects.
Basilisk Tactics:
Both Grumpy Guardsman and Imperator Guides agree that the Basilisk is iconic but not particularly competitive. The main blast is a very impressive S9 AP3 large blast. However, the barrage rules give it lots of trouble. Its minimum range is a whopping 36″ which means it can’t use the Barrage rule within that distance. And scattering 2D6-3″ means it’s pretty likely to miss its target.
My Warhammer 40,000 Blog featuring Imperial Guard, Space Marine and Inquisitor Models
