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Storm Shields on bikes


Tjuk87

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Hey guys, just looking for a bit of communal brainstorming to help me with modelling on my latest project - my Minotaurs army. 

 

My army has quite a few bikes, including the Command Squad, which is going to feature at least three marines with a storm shield and another close combat weapon (relic blade, lightning claw and a thunder hammer/power fist). I'm in the process of buying all the parts I'll need to do the army, but I'm really stuck about how to do the modelling on this command squad. My issue comes from the fact that I really dislike seeing biker models without at least 1 hand on the handlebars, I just think it looks so unrealistic for people, giant superhuman soldiers or not, to drive around a battle field shouting 'look mum, no hands'. 

 

To get around this I had had a few ideas, but I don't think any of them are perfect. 

 

  1. Have the CCW and SS on the same arm of the model, leaving one hand free to operate the bike, but I think this would probably look a bit silly. 
  2. Have the CCW sheathed/holstered/stored on the bike on the side that the rider is holding the handlebars and have the SS on his other arm. I think this would probably be the most 'realistic option', and I can fiddle around with my list to get the SS equipped marines using a relic blade, thunder hammer and a chainsword. 
  3. I was thinking that a SS on a bike could just be extra armour/shielding over the rider, so I could try to model one side of the rider with big plate armour, or shielding on the bike. 

 

Do any of you guys have experience with this dilema? Any good ideas? 

 

I think I'll be using the new Ravenwing Command squad as the basis of my models. 

 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Tris

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I have shield on my Captain, this is how I solve this issue: base for conversion was DV Ravenwing Sergeant, left arm holds the weapon, right - the handle. I drilled small hole for magnet in the handle, and put the magnet in the shield as well. I've got some old metal shield with hole in it, for plastic ones from terminators I think you would need cut the arm and drill the hole in its place.

Here's quick photoshoping:

http://s11.postimage.org/sjh53pt2r/bikesh1.jpg

http://s8.postimage.org/qq4cv5bhx/bikesh2.jpg

 

 

Also your 2nd suggestion seems to be great.

Honestly, I'm having some issues conceptualizing the same problem for my captain on bike.  What I would honestly suggest is option 3- melee combat on a bike would be akin to medieval jousting in my mind.

 

To that end, if you haven't already constructed the torsos is to use mk VIII "errant" armor (which you should have a few of in your army anyways if you're playing minotaurs as it's a signature piece of wargear for them), a small decorative shield piece (such as the one in the DA terminator sprue, grey knights sprues, etc) and possibly some command squad champion shoulderpads.

 

Put the command squad shoulderpad on the side you want "shielded" as well as the small decorative shield- this is the area that will be "hit" so to speak on drive by melee jousts, with the hand on the reigns- or in this case handlebars.  That frees up the other arm to hold the melee weapon for a sweep around smack.  

 

If you need to fancy things up a bit, add some guitar wire on the backside of the decorative shield to denote they are miniaturized storm shields, complete with power generator and other technical wibbeldy wobbeldy.  You could experiment with knee pads and other armor pieces to- not only to denote thicker armor, but also to set them apart from other bikers and make them look more like the command squad knights they are. (An example being to cast the master of the armory's knee pads to use on biker legs for an artificer armor feel.)

 

Now you have biker knights complete with gorgets, joust shields and pauldrons that can take a hit! (Hope that helps)

The problem I see with bikes and no hands insn't that you can't ride into combat with no hands for a strait charge or even turn slightly just using your weight.  It is t hat unless the future bikes have an autopilot you can't shift gears or control the throtle.  Given that this is the future you could have a bike that is completely controlled from from the helmet.  Something that would make the stearing lock strait so that only movement from leaning side to side would turn you and brakes or acceleration are controlded by voice through the helmet.  For that matter you could probably build a real bike right now that could do the exact same thing!  Not all that complicated really. For dramatic effect you could even give the verbal comands to your bikes when your unit is about to attack.

BogeyMan and Chaplain, cheers for the answers, I think what I might end up doing is do one model of each of the ideas and then see which one I think I like to look of best.

I think the difference between horses and bikes is that a horse has a far more organic, intuitive relationship with the rider, whereas a( modern) bike is just a lump of metal, with the steering, front brakes, acceleration and clutch all being operated by hand. Of course bikes in the future could be really different, but the inverse steampunk styling (38000 years in the future with but with so many modern day technologies) of the 40k universe I think that way bikes work would be pretty similar to current bikes, but saying that lots of control, especially at speed comes from body movement.

"Siri we need to accelerate"
"I'm sorry sir, I don't know what you mean by :I'm eating acetate. Would you like me to search the web for 'I'm eating acetate'?"
Lol

Henry - way to ruin my Saturday! I had just written about a frustrating Siri controlled bike... and then bam 'there has been a new reply' pops up and you wrote the same thing but only better.... wallbash.gif All that's left for me to say is 'vendetta'.... whistling.gif

For my bike command squad I used a few of the metal storm shields that GW sells.  I drilled a hole in the center of the back of each shield, just deep enough to insert a magnet.  Then I drilled a similar hole in the back of whichever hand each rider had holding the handlebars (all had one hand grabbing on, the other held their stabby/smashy items).  I put the magnet in the back of the hand, and then used green stuff to smooth it out again.  This way I can run them without shields and they look fine, or with the shields should I choose.  The flat shape of the shield allows it to sit nicely, and it doesn't take much of a magnet to hold it on firmly.

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