The Neurode Crusade

[Brother Christopher]

I am pleased to report that a significant part of the Land Raider's rear is finished. Below are is a collection of photos that will give you a rough idea of the assembly process. For the rounded engine covers, I used 3 layers of 0.25 mm plasticard over a 1 mm thick base with sharp edges. I am very fond of the middle part made from a dreadnought sarcophagus cover: I find that it fits quite nicely and the gap may serve as a brake light.

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050910_zpsfx0fr3ks.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050911_zpseo8yat2y.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050917_zps15nyodod.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050918_zpscxzs1y3i.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050919_zpsbwwij4ng.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050920_zpswfndkh2o.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050921_zpsrlgaogf8.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050922_zps89leddmu.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050923_zpskvpmjnoj.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050924_zpshbxd1kxz.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050927_zpsicpilnnz.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050927_zpsicpilnnz.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050926_zpsyaq2ryet.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050929_zps5gs12zwu.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050930_zpsyftvnrva.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1050931_zpsq7fgytbk.jpg

 

So it seems that now I have to get back to the side sections.

 

By the way, which Lord of War Superheavy tank would you recommend? I'd like to plan my model assembling schedule for this year and I'm torn between three options:

 

1. Typhon Siege Tank of my own design, based on a GW Land Raider chassis. A vehicle I find very fluffy and rather cheap for it's 350-400 points and relatively easy to build. Also, a part of my Crusade is supposed to be a siege detachment, so having a proper siege vehicle could help.

 

2. Fellblade (either a conversion from an Imperial Guard Baneblade, or a full-on scratch build). The tank delivers a lot of firepower and has an impressive number of hull points. It's also a big unit, so that's very tempting. I like the idea of the tank, but am not so sure whether it fits my Crusade's needs from a fluff perspective.

 

A Typhon will blend in well with 3 Land Raiders, assisted with Vindicators and Ironclad dreadnoughts. The Fellblade will also have some company, with 2 Predators and a Sicaran. But it looks so great, this huge main battle tank thingy!

 

3. A Mastodon transport, unlike Forge World's, inspired by the huge tank from the Third Edition cover (below the building on the left). A project I will most certainly attempt at some point of my life, but am not sure this is the right time, as I have so many other things to complete.

 

For once, I can't wait till my next Monday's lecture. I'll finally have some time to scribble designs of super-heavy, time-consuming tanks

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Impressive work on the Dreadnought. As for a Lord of War, I think a super-heavy's points are better spent on larger numbers of regular units, unless they have sheer firepower no other units can match. (I really wish Games Workshop will build Earthshaker cannon-armed Land Raider variants, or the "Space Marine Panther"- a Vanquisher cannon-armed Predator variant I proposed years ago.)

[Brother Christopher]

(...) As for a Lord of War, I think a super-heavy's points are better spent on larger numbers of regular units, unless they have sheer firepower no other units can match. (...)

 

Oh, it seems that I really needed to hear this. Thank you for being the voice of reason. The biggest advantage to super-heavy vehicles is that they look super-cool, impressive and what-not. So, after finishing this tank, I'll probably do some painting and/or finish the projects I've started and settle with a Thunderhawk being the centrepiece of my army (I WILL finish it after I'll do my degree :D). So no Fellblades, Mastodons and other things of this sort. The Typhon... that's a different matter because I already have the plasticard Land Raider started. So I'll either go for another Land Raider (a Redeemer, I think) or a Typhon.

[Honda]

As always, it is very humbling to see your mad modeling skills at work. Always inspirational.

 

I would agree with Brother Firewalker, except in one case. Land Raider Terminus. It's not really a LoW, but given that they are only 300 points, you can urn them in a pair and they are very painful to any other 600 points out there. They'll also take out Baneblades, Stompa's, and are a pretty decent match for a Fellblade.

 

A pair of them put out 10 BS4 lascannon shots, 6 of which are twin-linked.

 

I know, you're having so much fun you can hardly wait to start two more land raiders. :P

[Brother Christopher]

This is quite interesting. Thank you for mentioning this! The Terminus remains a Land Raider (yeah, this is an extremely smart, observative and generally acute statement...), so it's a realistic project offering some room for introducing the adjustments I have in mind. I'm sure I won't build two more, I just want not to waste the one I've started. I'll search the Internet in the future for any additional Raiders. Also, building the tank as a proper Land Raider will allow me to easily replace weapons and field it either as a Redeemer or Terminus.

 

The thing now is how does a Terminus compare to a Typhon and a Spartan.

 

For a similar price, the Spartan has 4 twin-linked Lascannon shots, 3 Heavy Bolter shots and a huge (and quite useless) transport capacity. It seems to be a good anti-tank unit with the potential of delivering melee units.

 

The Typhon is more expensive and delivers one blast of doom that should be able to decimate infantry. However, it seems to be a bit obsolete now that we can field 3 Vindicators for a similar price (which I can do), which also have comparable firepower. They also may be more durable, as they are three targets, not one, right? So, despite the cool looks and 'fluff', the Typhon seems a bit redundant in my force.

 

The Terminus, I didn't think about it. I've reread its fluff and it seems like a suitably dangerous and unique unit. It also fill a gap in my force, being a dedicated anti-tank and anti-super-heavy armour vehicle. My other units in this role are two Predators, a Sicaran (though the Accelerator Autocannon isn't that great against higher armour values) and a squad of heavy weapon Initiates. Moreover, if I understand correctly, the Terminus is also a GW's vehicle, so using it sits better with me.

 

So, once again, do you have any additional thoughts when comparing a Tyhpon, Spartan and a Terminus? The Terminus does feel a powerful, fancy, 41K-era vehicle...

 

BTW: How many hull points does the Terminus have and where can I find it's updated rules? (Or could you please summarise any special rules it has, if any?)

Edited March 18, 2017 by Brother Cristopher

[Honda]

It has the same HP as a Land Raider, which could be a detrimental depending on what you are facing.

 

I guess the way I look at it:

 

Spartan - Can carry 10 terminators and ICs. Has one more HP than a LR, if I remember correctly. The lascannon sponsons are more powerful (i.e. more twin link shots) than a standard LR,.

 

Terminus - Dedicated AT vehicle. A very cost effective AT weapons platform.

 

Typhon - ...just use your three Vindicators, unless you really want to build one. BTW, someone on BnC built a Typhon using a standard LR chassis rather than the Spartan variant. It's not significantly larger than the standard LR, so maybe magnetization is your friend?

[Golf33]

Terminus sounds like a viable AA platform with that number of TL shots.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Terminus sounds like a viable AA platform with that number of TL shots.

It needs Skyfire weapons to be useful as an air defense vehicle.

[Marshal Mattias]

Don't slow down now, your pace on this project is most impressive! The detail is great, really bringing it to life now.

[Honda]

Golf33, on 19 Mar 2017 - 05:05 AM, said:http://bolterandchainsword.com//public/style_images/carbon_red/snapback.png

Terminus sounds like a viable AA platform with that number of TL shots.

It needs Skyfire weapons to be useful as an air defense vehicle.

 

 

Actually, all it needs is a "six". :P

 

Amusing anecdote from a real game:

 

We were playing a big Apoc game, GK + BA vs. Tau + Elysians. As the Elysian player, I had 10 aircraft (3 Valks, 3 Vendettas, 2 Vultures, 2 Lightnings), the Tau player had 1 AX-1-0. The GK player had boatloads of Land Raiders.

 

Guess how many aircraft we lost to three Helios dedicated AA platforms with BS of 4? <anybody?>, that's right zero.

Guess how many aircraft we lost to TL-lascannon sponsons on Land Raiders? Go ahead guess. Four, one of which was the AX-1-0. True story.

 

In that game I learned to never underestimate twin-linked lascannon sponsons. It was one of the more hilarious parts of the whole game.

 

That being said, I would not bet the farm on being able to rule the skies with LR lascannons from a Terminus. I would keep them focused on AT duties.

 

However, I still get a little twitchy around his LRs if I'm flying something..

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks everyone! You really helped me a lot and sold me the Terminus. In a future (sic!) I'll build it with swappable weapons. Now I just need to waste some time to make some drawings, as the sponson layout needs adjusting. I've always found the tank to be silly, as in the pictures of it that I've seen it appeared to be unable to point both sponsons forward because the front ones blocked some of rear's line of sight. For 300 points it really does look like a great weapon platform, plus it has this 'elite' feel to it, as a dedicated heavy vehicle hunter. It also is a tank from "the good old times", before all the Forge World resin nonsense (Spartans, Typhons, Fellblades etc.), times which were simpler and Marines only had the Terminus and Thunderhawk as super-heavy(esque) options.

[rye0006]

Where can I get hold of the official rules for a Terminus?

[Brother Christopher]

That's a good question. I only know about the 'old' rules available online, for instance here. These are or were official rules, but as you can see this is from the old days, 5th Edition specifically, with no hull points listed.

[Brother Christopher]

Update: this time most of the sponsons are ready for assembly:

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060017_zpsptu5vdsg.jpg

 

Luckily I didn't use my spare vehicle Lascannons for this built. Thanks to this decision, I now have exactly the number of symmetrical Lascannons required for the Terminus. I don't imagine building the barrels from scratch - that's a level of masochism even beyond me

 

Speaking of which, what do you think about placing two of the Terminus' Lascannons on a turret (either 'manned', let's say that of a Predator, or 'unmanned', like that of a FW Razorback) instead of the the sponsons blocking the rear's line of sight?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Instead of putting two single-lascannon sponsons on the Terminus Ultra, replace the hull-mounted twin-linked lascannon with a quad lascannon.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Rules for the quad lascannon (from Forge World's Spartans assault tank download- no longer available on the website, IIRC) are:

 

Range 48", S 9, AP 2. Heavy 2, Twin-linked.

[Brother Christopher]

Instead of putting two single-lascannon sponsons on the Terminus Ultra, replace the hull-mounted twin-linked lascannon with a quad lascannon.

 

That's another idea, one with which I might eventually end up. It would be easu to build the hull-mounted weapon out of the spare Stormtalon lascannons. However, firstly I'll probably try to come up with an alternative allowing me to keep the weapons in their original/intended places. I've also thought about making a triple lascannon: a regular TL-lascannon with another barrel below them, in the middle.

 

Speaking of sponsons, here are the completed ones for my scratch built Neurode pattern Land Raider.

 

Firstly, a picture of when they looked cool:

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060023_zpsm9ve6wfh.jpg

 

And now the final version, ruined with the boxy targetting stuff I put on top. It turned out rather cumbersome, but it stays. I really want to get over with the project and I suppose that after the initial disappointment goes away and I put some paint on it, I won't even remember the trauma I'm experiencing now. I can always claim that this is a design feature: reinforced armour to protect the lenses and electronics, or some other nonsense.

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060026_zpsbfvla8pm.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060027_zpsuwpzzegx.jpg

 

In the 'spoiler', you'll find some of the in-progress pictures I took to 'document' the construction process:

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060005_zpsfc1nsdji.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060006_zpselmtiyxw.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060008_zps0ntcwjuc.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060009_zpswbmq3n5j.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060010_zpsx0t0rn21.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060016_zpsbnbzmwum.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060018_zpsxqn9cro7.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060019_zpsvemjgog7.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060020_zpsgkoe2cko.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060022_zps8m9fgjzz.jpg

Edited March 21, 2017 by Brother Cristopher

[Marshal_von_Speer]

Dude, you're a beast! I'd never have the patience for such amounts of  fiddly work...

[StrangeGuy]

Wow. Great work.

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for visiting an leaving a post! Marshal_von_Speer, I sometimes feel silly assembling the models and posting them here. I fear I may turn out to be the crazy nerd locked in his room in glue fumes, wasting hours on building from plasticard thing he can grab for a reasonable price of an online auction. And I don't want to be that person and I'd rather think of myself as hobbyist/enthusiast. However, I also notice a certain change in my attitude towards scratch building. Something that started as a cheap way of bypassing Forge World's and Games Workshop's steep price curve (as a student, my budget was significantly more limited than it is now) and an attempt to reproduce the originals as faithfully as possible, to this current state where I justify the effort not on money basis (the time-money exchange rate isn't anywhere near good), but derive satisfaction from assembling my own modified variants of SM vehicles.

 

Now, regarding progress - the model is at 92% completion. As far as 'large' parts/sections are concerned, I only need to build the tracks. There's also some minor 'post-processing' work to be done here and there, but apart from that - the thing is done. What a strange feeling Over all these years I started at least seven scratch building projects and managed to finish only one. With this Land Raider, it'll be two - and that's a start. Unfortunately, real life stuff becomes more demanding and time-consuming again. Though,I sincerely hope that I'll manage to finish my custom Storm Raven soon.

 

Here are some photos of the finished sponsons:

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060028_zpsgwglvl4x.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060029_zpspoaxwwvk.jpg

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k260/krj_38/Land%20Raiders/P1060030_zps7vtt3qfz.jpg

[Honda]

I'd rather think of myself as hobbyist/enthusiast. artisan

 

 

FIFY

[Brother Christopher]

You are too kind, good sir!

 

I need your advice again, Brethren! I'm designing my future build. Nothing changed in my graphics processing skills department, so I'll just list the 'inspirations' (sorry for posting them in 'link' form; when I wanted to post them as images, I got a prompt about an extension not supported by this community). The tank is going to be based on a regular Land Raider, with an Achilles' front section (including the lack of an assault ramp):

 

link

 

It will have extra armour but I don't how it'll look.

 

It's either going to be a 'regular' Land Raider extra armour:

 

link

 

or something of this kind, with the extended plate at the rear:

 

link

 

Right now, I'm leaning more towards the first option.

 

Another modification that I want to go with is the Mk3b sides and sponsons:

 

link

 

Regarding the tracks, I'll be going for an easy built, that is something like the OOP Land Raider links.

 

link

 

My question pertains the weapon layout.

 

1. Should I go with the variant proposed by Bjorn, i.e. TL Lascannons sponsons + a hull-mounted Quad Lascannon or

 

2. should I go with TL Lascannon sponsons, hull-mounted TL Lascannons and a turret in place of the rear hatch with remaining two Lascannon barrels?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Go ahead and shoehorn a Razorback's twin-linked lascannon turret in place of the Commanders hatch- or use a Predator turret, as seen in 1d4chan's article on the Land Raider.

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Also, I just want to say that the assembly of my scratch built Land Raider is 99.8% finished. I just need to wait for GS to cure and add some rivets here and there. I'll post some more WIP images later, as well as the whole thing blue-tacked together.

 

Overall, I'm quite happy with the result. Retrospectively, I'd drop making the whole thing wider/bulkier - the tank looks a bit awkaward as it is, and I'm not satisfied with the implementation of that idea. I should've gone with either a regular Land Raider, or whole Spartan front, with the extended ramp (which I'm not a fan of). The second thing that I don't like are the targeters above the lascannon sponsons.

 

Now with a project completed, I'm torn between following the strike and finishing my Stormraven (a project that's 'going on for 3-4 years now) or painting the tank.

[AndrewChristlieb]

I vote paint, love to see her finished.