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So, I'm a bit of a fan of Rough Riders. I'm an Australian that grew up in a rural area with horses, and those aussies with an interest in our military history are rightly proud of long tradition of mounted infantry regiments in the Australian army. From the slouch-hatted bushmen that served in the Boer War to the infamous charge of the Light Horse at Beersheba, there's an imagery to horseman in war that captures the imagination. My 2nd Ed Imperial Guard army had a single squad of Attilan Rough Riders. My 3rd Ed Imperial Guard army had a Squadron of Attilans supported by a squad of Tallarn Rough Riders. I missed 4th through 7th editions and when I came back to the hobby in 8th I found that my beloved horseman had all but disappeared, with the exception of an Index entry. No new miniatures, no access to the old miniatures and then when the new Codex dropped - nothing at all. Granted, there are the Death Riders of Krieg, which are awesome miniatures with some badass rules to back them up. However, they're Forgeworld, they're expensive as all get up, the mounts are a bit of a diversion from actual horses and I just wanted something closer to my original Rough Riders. So enters the world of third-party miniatures. Originally I had thought to work up tabletop version of the Australian Light Horse but the new line of Dress Uniform troops from Anvil Industries caught my eye. Before long I had a theme in mind - Napoleonic in terms of era, a combination of French Cuirassiers, British Dragoons and perhaps a touch of the Prussian Hussars all helped on by watching too much Charge of the Light Brigade, Sharpe's Rifles and The Duellists. To quote Tennyson: Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of hell Rode the six hundred. In the end, the French Cuirassiers theme won out: For those that want a touch of Krieg: For those that like a little more starch in their britches: The good news is that the bits used in the kitbash are compatible. The arms and legs from Mad Robot Miniatures blend seamlessly with the torsos and heads from Anvil. Furthermore, the riding legs fit to the horses from Perry Miniatures with just a slight material removal from the back of the saddle - I basically shaved about 1mm from the bedroll at the back of the saddle in order to seat the rider properly. The one sticking point - those used to heroically-scaled miniatures might find the horses slightly too small in scale. I collect historical miniatures, so it looks close to right to me, but I can understand the viewpoint of those that disagree. As a point of note, the shafts for the Hunting Lances are just brass rod (supplied by MadRobot with the tips) and can be trimmed to length - which I haven't done yet. Also - I'll be mounting them on 40mm round bases as it 'feels' like the right size base. When I put them together properly (once i've decided on torsos) i'll add holstered laspistols and chainswords to the saddles to tie them closer to the 40K aesthetic. Now for the list of bits featured and links: MadRobot Miniatures. Imperial style lance arms: https://madrobotmini...products_id=314 Imperial style riding legs: https://madrobotmini...products_id=315 Hunting lances: https://madrobotmini...products_id=316 Anvil Industries. Calvary Helmets: http://anvilindustry...cavalry-helmets Stahlhelm with Gasmask: http://anvilindustry...ahlhelm-gasmask Cuirass Torso: http://anvilindustry...m/cuirass-torso Hussar Torso: http://anvilindustry...rm/hussar-torso Perry Miniatures British Light Cavalry horses: https://www.perry-mi...roducts_id=3297 Note that VictoriaMiniatures also does a Rough Rider conversion kit: https://victoriamini...rsion-kit-resin which looks pretty good. I love the stuff from Aunty Vicky, but MadRobot won for me based on the cuff details on the arms. The true beauty of this setup is the modular nature of assembly - in theory you could use any of the Anvil head/torso bits with the MadRobot limbs (Steve also does riding legs with fatigues and bare lance arms) to cover a host of different rider types from different regiments/worlds. The injury to your wallet: So to break down the costs for a squad of ten Rough Riders, something that is always a worry when kitbashing 3rd party bits: Mad Robot Rider Lance Arms (Imperial) x2 (10 pairs in total) = $10 (USD) Mad Robot Rider Legs (Imperial) x2 (10 in total) = $16 (USD) Mad Robot Rider Hunting Lances x 2 (10 in total) = $12 (USD) Perry Miniatures British Light Calvary Horses x 4 (12 in total) = £14.00 (GBP) Anvil Industry Torsos (Cuirass or Hussar) x 2 (12 in total) = £7.00 (GBP) Anvil Industry Heads (Calvary) x 2 (14 in total) = £6.00 (GBP) Total price (approx exchange rates) $76 (USD) or £55 (GBP) Not cheap, not overly expensive. Compared to Forgeworld's DKoK Death Riders at 10 for $192 (USD) or the Mad Robot complete Rider Squad at 10 for $130 (USD) Well that's it, hopefully it is of some help to those of you looking to take the plunge but were worried about intercompatibility of the bits. Good luck and good hunting! -Ran

So I've been using my ponies, during 8th edition. They are solidly mediocre. (Caveat is they have fought Necrons). The biggest issue is that they have rubber lances. Or to better phrase. At 5-6 Man their lances only hit 3-4 times and wound 2-3 times killing a marine equivalent. However they have two wounds and put out a solid number of attacks. A 5 Man Squad will put out 16 Attacks. 6 of which are Lances. Counting Pistols 21 Attacks. All in all not too shabby. However, the lack of Mounted Officers bar Krieg. And of those 16 attacks, only 6 are Lances (if you charge). Means your damage output will kill 2 Marines maybe. So Riders cannot kill MSU MEQ. (While I fought Crons if I looked at how I rolled overall the scenerio would not change). What they are excellent vs in theory is mass T3. As Lances will kill 2 (more like 1.84 or 1.66). The additional attacks of S3 begin to make their mark. As 5 hits. 2.5 wounds. Anywhere between another 1-3 dead (depending on save). Which is 4-5 Dead. Meaning if only 4 die, enemy LD 8 say 8. That is another 33% chance to kill another. Gives a charging Riders 4.5 dead. And then the following turn if you use 2 Riders. We will kill another 1-3. Which while not breaking a conscript horde. It will break units like Avengers or similar types in the backfield. Especially if your ponies are massed. And/or properly supported.

In my "New Rough Riders" review thread, the important question was raised: Since the aforementioned thread was about their effectiveness and tactical uses, I thought a seperate topic to focus on the modelling aspect would be good. Gothical got the ball rolling with this suggestion: Of course, the most straight forward option is to simply use Death Riders of Krieg: https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-CA/Death-Korps-of-Krieg-Death-Rider-Squadron But that won't fit with everyone's regiment. However, fear not! There are a few options out there to build your own by bashing together some of the following bits with the kit of your choice (be it Cadians, Catachans, 3rd party, etc). Here's what I am aware of: 1. Legs: Victoria Miniatures: http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/product/rough-rider-legs-x5 Curious Constructs has two varieties: Dress uniform: https://kirtongames.co.uk/products/colonial-empires-dress-uniform-cavalry-legs-set "Militia": https://kirtongames.co.uk/products/colonial-empires-militia-cavalry-legs-set 2. Lances/arms: Victoria Miniatures: http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/product/rough-rider-arms Curious Constructs doesn't seem to have a way to purchase just arms, but if you email Rob Angell (Col. Gravis) I bet he'll sort something out for you, he's a super nice guy and helfup: https://kirtongames.co.uk/products/colonial-empires-cavalry-conversion-kit Kitbash: looking at Elmo's motorbike rough riders, looks like he just put a grenade and a combat knife (available from various GW kits) on the end of a pole -- not sure where you can get those brass cylinders Forgeworld sends out with Death Riders but that would probably be a fairly low cost option. *NB Victoria Miniatures sells legs and lances in a combined conversion kit which comes with 10 legs and 10 lances: http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/product/10-man-rough-rider-conversion-kit 3. Mounts: (a) Horses AoS Freeguild Outriders: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-CA/Empire-Outriders Perry Miniatures Napoleonic British Light Cavalry horses: https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product_info.php?products_id=3297&osCsid=jk6rpseoscs9fbrp32odbv45r4 (b ) Lizards AoS Drakespawn Knights: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-CA/Dark-Elf-Cold-One-Knights AoS Saurus Knights: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-CA/Seraphon-Saurus-Knights (c ) Bikes Mad Robot Azog Treat Bikes: https://madrobotminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_16&products_id=157 Mad Robot Motorcycles: https://madrobotminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=242 Ramshackle Games Scrambler Bikes: http://shop.ramshacklegames.co.uk/index.php?id_product=54&id_product_attribute=0&rewrite=20mm-biker-gang-11-models&controller=product POST YOUR IDEAS AND I'LL UPDATE THIS FIRST POST WITH LINKS!

Soooo seems my old plog has been archived from disuse so i guess its time for a new one With the Heresy stuff shelved for the forseeable and 8th feeling like the best 40k yet ive gone back to the Dark Millenium, specifically Primaris marines are super sexy, even if their fluff often feels like being hit in the face with a shoe... Broader focus on the forum is also pretty welcome, for example ive been working on Fantasy stuff and Eldar Corsairs around my Angels None of that for now, but maybe later! So, the Scythes! I went through a long process of picking the Chapter to come back to, other Candidates were the Red Scorpions, Raven Guard, Raptors, Dark Angels and my own old Homebrew the Blazing suns. Let alone all the Alt Heresy Legions ive fluffed out over the years... But in the end a few things tipped it: 1. A Bunch of my buddies have Scythes Armies from an Old Tempus Fugitives campaign weekend (I ran Tyranids, really siiiick Tyranids...) 2. I wanted a Codex Adherant Chapter to play with markings and such, ive been so anti codex for years, i guess this is me growing up? 3. They have amazing fluff! Specifically Heresy links are always cool. 4. The Polish aspect from Rogue Trader is also quite interesting... 5. The Mix of old and new marines should be interesting too... Been a while without a picture so heres my concept models 19095646_10155299917120797_2588717845232583032_o A Squad of Tyranid hunters (Rules wise ill be cloning Ultramarines to steal their stuff!). All Deathwatch Veterans returned to the chapter and attached to the Fledgling 3rd Company long term to keep them honest. 19113773_10155299917410797_640703996637877549_n And Apothecaries! On the Left the 3rd Companies Apothecary and on the Right an Attached 1st Company Apothecary, also a Deathwatch veteran. Ill probably convert a Primaris Apothecary at some point too, i figure lots of Apothecaries around the primaris is kinda inevitable, if only to learn! These figures were basically pulled out of my Bits box to kick around some ideas, A friend of mine gave me some Deathwatch pads in a trade a while back, the Apothecaries got cannibalised to make Heresy Apothecaries for the Iron Warriors and Angels and most of the rest had been earmarked for my last revamp of the Blazing suns, like 10 years ago I also Dug out a Storm i had earmarked for use by Alpha Legion Operatives (And basically mothballed for years ) and the Scouts from Shadow war, plus the old Serf dude from the Battle for Macragge box. 19242989_10155326863895797_4449847247156921192_o The Storms base (POssibly too much foliage...) and Serf! 19275256_10155326863130797_1668137090430596232_n And an awful pic of the PIP Storm, picking a scheme for vehicles based on non standard heraldry is as always a ballache of indecision! The Infantry scouts are still waiting on some heads because the normal scout heads are godawful... I popped some Skitarrii heads on the Storm crew, i figured they are both walking wounded but not 100% thus the slightly less demanding role and heavy bionics The 10th Company assets are a Reclamation team added to back up the Primaris, i suspect a techmarine might be converted if i ever field more than just 1 speeder So thats the Intro.. Ill get some Primaris pics up next!