SquigBait Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Greetings one and all. My long time Imperial Guard army is drawing towards completion which brings about the need for planning my next long term project. I have had ideas for an exploratory force of the Adeptus Mechanicus for a long time now and I would like some input and maybe a bit of direction. Based on information that I have been able to dig up from various sources, it has become apparent that the Skitarii are not a uniform force, but rather a force from one Forgeworld and Magos may be very different from another. That being said, I have a pretty clear idea for my infantry forces. I am going to be using the Codex: Witch Hunters as the basis for my force using a Magos Errant in place of the Inquisitor Lord. The general Skitarii troops will be the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers. The general components for my infantry will be a Cadian carapace torso, Necron arms with a modified flayer to represent hellguns, and the scale armor legs from the High Elves rather than the cloth covered ones from the archers that everyone else seems to use. I am planning on building up at least 3 Penitent Engines to represent Secutors using parts from the Sentinel kit and other bits. Now, where I am having some question is with the vehicles… Given their obsessive quest for the STCs, are the vehicles that the AdMech use strictly the standard pattern vehicles that are extremely well maintained and venerated, or would they lavish them in ornate decoration (using the personal Landraider of Marneus Calgar as an example), but keeping the general STC intact, OR are they known to depart from the STC entirely and use custom vehicles built/modified to their exact needs? If they are ornate STC’s, what style of decoration is present? Would it be the heavily gothic styling with pointed arches, stained glass, popularized by the ornate vehicles of the Space Marines or would the mechanicus have their own style completely? Would it be drawn heavily from the Roman architecture (given their heavy roman influences), or would it be highly techy using mechanical designs as ornamentation? For example I have an idea for a Landraider that is a blend between the old 1980’s pill box landraider and the new one, sort of like a transitional design, but I want to know whether it would be purely the machine that is well maintained, or if it would be festooned with ornamentation (other than purity seals and the like). Basically I want to be able to have everything well planned out and designed for the army before I even buy parts for the models and I want to really put forth the extra effort for a force that will really stand out on the table, but I also want to have it be ‘fluffy’ in terms of the vehicles and the like. Thank you for taking the time to read this long post... Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/208258-i-need-the-guidance-of-the-omnisiah/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
pueriexdeus Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 From my reading of the Adeptus Mechanicus (as characters in various BL novels) I am of the opinion that they shy away from the blatant decorative aggrandizement commonly found among your average Imperium faction, to me they seem more in favor to function over form. So in order to properly decorate a Mechanicus vehicle I would think functional accoutrements will go farther than decorative ones. As the master craftsmen they are, they do build beautiful/functional stuff. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/208258-i-need-the-guidance-of-the-omnisiah/#findComment-2484905 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquigBait Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 Well, building up a very clean conversion is its own challenge in a way. Most everything that I have been doing is archaic and gritty (WWI inspired Imperial Guard), very different from the clean lines and likely polished finish. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/208258-i-need-the-guidance-of-the-omnisiah/#findComment-2485455 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanhausen Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Hi there, If its an exploratory force, I suggest something more along the lines of the Elysians FW buggie style. Fast deployment, reckon units and similar. For base camps and similar, I would think they use pretty much "off the shelf" vehicles/equipment for pieces issues (easier to obtain, for you and the AdMech). Maybe 1 or 2 special vehicles for specific tasks. For example, if they are expecting to have to drill and excavate, maybe a "whirlwind" type vehicle, with a huge satellite dish that scans the area with ultrasonics or something like that. Those special vehicles would probably be heavily technified: lots of cables, wires, purity seals and similar. Have a look at the Imperial Guard special vehicles in FW... they have some really wierd stuff that myabe can inspire you :D Hope it helps! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/208258-i-need-the-guidance-of-the-omnisiah/#findComment-2486089 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquigBait Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 I guess explorator would be imprecise... More like heavy extraction team for retrieval of lost tech in hot/hostile zones. The codex I am basing the army from is the Witch Hunters codex. The HQ is going to be an Inquisitor Lord that counts-as a techpriest magos errant or the like with his retinue (mostly shooting type including a plasma cannon armed servitor) with the troops being Inquistorial Stormtroopers for counts-as the Skitarii troops. The main reason I want to use the Witch hunters codex is that the 'basic' troops are where I feel they should be (between Imperial Guard and Space Marines) and it allows me access to 2 specific units... Penitent Engines, which I want to model as Secutors and I have a VERY clear idea of how I want to model them, and Arco-Flagellents. I realize that the particular choice of codex will limit me a fair amount, but I think it goes with the more elite nature of what I have in mind. With that in mind, that is why I want to be so careful with just how I will be modeling the one Landraider in the force and the one or two counts-as Exorcist missile tanks. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/208258-i-need-the-guidance-of-the-omnisiah/#findComment-2486226 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanhausen Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 From what you say now, I imagine a heavy duty excavation site crew... something like a stripmine or an oil rig. For the Exorcists, maybe some kind of deep detonation system tanks: imagine that they drill a deep hole, lower a demo-charge and open up huge fractures in the terrain. As for the Secutors... could you give an idea of the general sense? Are they like the heavy lift haulers from Alien? or like the walkers in Matrix? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/208258-i-need-the-guidance-of-the-omnisiah/#findComment-2486238 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquigBait Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 The Secutors will be made as follows: Sentinel legs, hip section, cockpit base, and engine. The hip section is rotated 90 degrees and flipped so that the ball joint is pointing up and facing forward. The floor section is rotated to match and trimmed down with the enging/exhaust section placed on the bottom of what was the floor. The torso section will be made from the Ta XV-25 stealthsuit body with a necron warrior skull in place of the sensor mask. The arms will be modified from the XV-25 arms with the lower arm sections made from battlesuit burst cannons modified to look like quad piston sections with the hands being made from pre-heresy lightning claws that have been modified. For the Exorcist I was thinking about using a pair of Leman Russ track sections with the hull fore section being made in the style of a Rhino, leaving the rear section completely open, and mounting an ancient Mk1 Rhino Whirlwind launcher I also have laying around. I would have the driver section replaced with a sensor pod. I wish that I had a scanner so I could show you my sketches... Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/208258-i-need-the-guidance-of-the-omnisiah/#findComment-2486278 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyaenidae Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 In 'Titanicus' and 'The Chapter's Due', the skitarrii are described as wearing a lot of tribal fetishes (fur cloaks, implanted fangs, etc) to terrify their foes, to the point they looked like techno-savages. That may be dependant on where the maniple is from though, too. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/208258-i-need-the-guidance-of-the-omnisiah/#findComment-2491851 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquigBait Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 Brings to mind Space Wolves bits and whatnot. I maw want to give them a look. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/208258-i-need-the-guidance-of-the-omnisiah/#findComment-2491884 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.