The Price of a Mile

[Uprising]

Hello everyone

 

I gather everyone here to hear the dreams of a visionary, rants of a mad man, and the vision of infinite importance yet limit overall impact.  Basically, the quest to finish a dream I have.  After reading the siege of vrak, I fell in love with both forces: Krieg and Renegade.  For once, humanity became applying in a sci fi setting(I am one of those people that hate playing anything human). Saying that, I am not a player of 40k(I have AOS for that), but 40k lore is something I always loved.  So today, I come to the vets of the guard for advice.  My plan is to build a display board depicting the seige of vrak.  Krieg vs Renegades.  No space marines, no daemons, no grey knights, no inquistion, just humans and their machines of war(I might throw in a titan).  What I am asking for is input, idea, and advice.  This is purely hobby, no point having rules impact decisions, I have retire from 40k.  

 

General plan:

• The display board is 72 inchs(182.88 cm) in length, 14 inches(35.56 cm) in height and 33 inches in width. 
• It will have both a top layer(no man land) with a bottom layer(underground fighting) with trenches
• one side is defending renegades.  They are heavily entrench, and fortified near a mountain range.  Lots of bodies, artillery, and lacking tanks. 
• Krieg is assaulting.  Tank heavy, troops in transport, death riders charging, but massive causalities(its no man land for a reason).  Might have a titan. 

 

Thoughts and issues

• I need to reread the vrak trilogy, and maybe try to tie it in with one of their stories.  I need to pick regiment.  Thoughts.  Favorite moments from vrak? 
• I am going with an assault regiment for krieg for three reasons:Death riders, grenadiers, and gorgons transports are amazing models, krieg troop are expansive(more so than renegades), krieg artillery hard to find. 
• Fluff questions:  I have ten chimera transports.  I know death korp uses centuars transport, but can i get away with chimera?

 

This display will have over 300 models depicting bloody trench warfare. It will take 3 years to complete(my estimations)  and about $1500 with 1500 man hours at least.  i want to iron out the details before starting.  I am in the planning stages, so let talk and see if this will go from concept to reality.  Thanks for your time. 

[vampyrerodent]

I'm getting my popcorn ready and setting my alarm for three years from now! I want to see this!

 

Are you doing it as a side shot of the siege trying to show the depth of the conflict via the 72 inches of length? Or showing it from a broad front view?

 

As for your questions, I don't believe Krieg was just tied to using Centaurs. I am quite sure you can use your Chimeras for the battle. They may be the only ones who use the Centaurs, but don't use them exclusive to other transports. I am sure others know more than me, so please chime in.

 

Either way, I just want to see it done!

 

Good luck and keep us informed!

[WarriorFish]

This is going to be a big project - in all senses! I don't think the Death Corps really use Chimeras, but that might be FW trying to get you to buy more Centaurs. Perhaps the renegades would be a place for them?

[CoffeeGrunt]

This will be huge. Vraks is effectively WWI in space, so looking into Verdun, the Somme, and other pivotal battles of that era would be a good reference. Perhaps a playthrough of Battlefield One may give inspiration for the texture of the artillery-churned fields of mud, and how to bring that across visually.

 

There was also a major tank breakthrough that was countered, so having something representing that would be sweet. Burning hulks, some mired in the mud. Crew bailing out on fire, Fury and White Tiger would be good references for how that could look, (White Tiger has a particularly brutal scene involving a load of T-34s being annihilated by a Tiger. There's shots of soldiers shellshocked, burning crew being put out by other bailed-out crew, and the general, brutal misery of war.)

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

So, in the Krieg Assault Brigade, the Chimera is an available dedicated transport option, so it stands to reason that they use them. The Fall of Orpheus is where you'll find most of the fluff on the Assault Brigades (in terms of organization) so maybe take a look at IA12 as well as the Vraks trilogy for Ideas.

 

Assault Brigade Chimeras are very restrictive, so you'll need them to have track guards, extra armor, and autocannon turrets. The other thing with the Assault Brigade is that only Grenadiers (the AB's equivalent to veterans) can take them, so you'll still need lots of bodies in the form of platoons to go over the top.

 

Krieg Artillery can be approximated with artillery from laser cut card, especially given the nature of the Vraks campaign (being Verdun in space, and the fact that Artillery Motor Carriages were not a thing in WW1). 

 

As for the trenches, I look forward to seeing what you come up with, and feel free to pick my brain. I've got a ton of experience building terrain, and I've given a lot of thought to how I'd build a trench board. 

 

I have a fascination with The Great War, and with my current switch in focus to Solar Auxilia (which has a distinctly turn of the 20th century steampunk feel) I'd love to help you accomplish your goal however I can.

 

I greatly anticipate your progress.

[Uprising]

I would like to thank you all for your time and input.  I will be honest with everyone, this idea is going against 4 others ideas(want to here?).  The plan for one of these display will start construction around jan/feb 2017.  I do love the vrak idea, so let work it out. 

 

@Vampy: I basically have a wooden crate for the base.  It needs to be sanded and stained.  It will be a mix of a side view, and broad view.  The height will be build up to be 24 inches tall to show all stages/threater of the war. 

 

@Warrior:Might as well go big or go home.  Centaurs might be a problem here(dislike the models). 

 

@CoffeGrunt: notes taken

 

@Ulrik: good point about Orpheus fall.  storm chimeras are a possibility.  How would you build a trench broad?  I have an idea, but would like to hears your idea. 

 

I will give a list of what I have.  This might help to decide how to do this. 
 

[P3AKHOUR]

This sounds great, as Coffee said, the Battlefield 1 will be good inspiration.  That opening mission was one of the most intense video game experiences I've ever had, and the way they represent the mud and chaos and futility of that theatre of war is so vivid.  Definitely required viewing for a project like this I think.

[Shamansky]

BF 1 is not really inspiring in my opinion stupid modern shooter. Better read or watch  'All Quiet on the Western Front'

[WarriorFish]

Go big or go home is the Guard way :D There's nothing stopping you having an element of the battle with Chimeras instead of Centaurs - or no transports at all :)

[CoffeeGrunt]

I think people were mainly looking at it in terms of visuals. All Quiet on the Western Front is a fantastic tale narratively, but a diorama tends to work better from visual references. :)

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

For a trench board, I'd start with a piece of plywood in the size I wanted. On top of that I'd start layering foam. The 3 inch thick pink insulation foam would certainly do the trick here.  You want the foam to be taller than the models, so that when the trench is finished the top will be taller than the models, because you'll have firing steps that some of the models will be on. 

 

To make the actual trench I'd make a template from cardboard so that the trench will be symmetrical, and cut the foam so that the trench is removed. Save the scraps, they'll be useful later. To finish the trenches, I'd use popsicle sticks (cut to resemble planks) to line the sides of the trench and the bottom. I'd also take some dowels to make the pilings used to keep the planks in place (planks and pilings will be glued later). At this point nothing should be glued together.

 

Here's where you'll want to start carving some things out of the foam. Like entryways for the sleeping berths and situation rooms. You'll also want to carve out some holes for your heavy weapons teams to occupy, not deep just deep enough that they'll sit just below ground level, with enough room to get a single layer of sandbags under the barrel of whatever gun they have. 

 

I'd recommend getting a hold of some schematics of the trench systems used in the Great War, to give you some accurate reference. 

 

Then glue the foam to the board (make sure you made locator marks so you remember which piece of foam goes where). After that sets, start applying the popsicle sticks and dowels. Make sure to build the firing steps, and line the top of the trench with sandbags. Remember to make the firing steps high enough that when models sit on it they'll have LoS (though you might not play, you'll still want to abide the game rules for the sake of appearances). You'll have to exaggerate some of the proportions of the trench to accommodate the models bases (unless you plan to glue them in place). 

 

Now, if you want, you'll do this same process on the other side (I'm envisioning that you're having once force going over the top and assaulting a trench on the opposite side). 

 

No man's land should still be pristine at this point. Take a dremel tool, or a chisel or a hobby knife and start cutting divots in NML. they don't need to be deep, we'll get to that. Artillery craters in WW1 tended not to be tremendously deep, since impact explosions just tend to move dirt away from the center of the blast (bigger explosions cause bigger craters). Use your blast markers to outline where your craters will be (this way you keep the scale consistent). Take the divots no more than a quarter inch deep, and then use some thin cheap paper towels to line the crater, and dab with a water and glue mixture (white PVA glue). Yes, you are going to paoer mache the craters. Scrunch up the paper around the rim of the crater to get the effect that dirt and debris piled up around the rim. 

 

You'll also want barbed wire, search youtube for videos on how to do that. Then wrap it around a large dowel to coil it, and string it across no mans land, leaving gaps for troops to get through (barbed wire was used to funnel troops into the fields of fire of machine guns). 

 

Now you're ready for paint. remove the wire for the basecoat. Brown will be the order of the day. Take care not to put a thick coat in the trenches, because you'll want the grain of the wood to still be present. If you like you can basecoat before applying any of the wood elements so that no other color will show through. Do make sure that everything has been test fitted and located properly to avoid mussing the final finish.

 

The colors you'll apply will be varying shades of brown, grey, black and you'll use flock for your greens. There are tons of tutorials on youtube to finish this up, as it'll be a bit complicated to describe in text.

 

If you have an airbrush, use it, it will make fading and blending colors so much easier, as well as making the whole process much faster. 

[Ulrik_Ironfist]

I think people were mainly looking at it in terms of visuals. All Quiet on the Western Front is a fantastic tale narratively, but a diorama tends to work better from visual references.

He did say read or watch. They made a movie, which has some pretty decent visuals. The opening scenes to the A&E movie "The Lost Battalion" might be good references as well.

If you can find it, the history channel had a series called "Conquest" and they did trench warfare on one of those episodes. Might be worth trying to find.

[Uprising]

Hello everyone, the project continues

 

For this monthly update, three things has occur.

1. A regiment has been chosen.  It just took reading vrak twice in a month to decide.  It was a close race, but the 261st has won (143rd was a close second).  I love the lore and color scheme looks great(cadian scheme goes well on krieg models). 

2. The scene has been sent.  They will be facing off against vrak renegade, khorne daemons, and a small cadre of chaos space marine(The sanctified, aka khorne word bearers).  Let not forget the brass scorpion charge by a squad of death riders.  They will get there own blog soon.  Also a wip page will be created.  The story,  krieg are the under dog, let it be so.  

3.  My first shipment has arrived of kriegmens.  20 standard guardsmen, 1 commissar, and three heavy mortars plus crew.  painted by end of dec?  Holiday season sucks for holiday. 

 

Two minor issue

1.  Why are my photos not working?  Can someone help?

2.  I was thinking of having a orgyn squad led by commissar.  Anyone have spare orgyn face mask heads lying around?

 

Next update, hopefully some pictures. 

[WarriorFish]

Sounds good to me :D What's the issue you're having with your pictures?

[duz_]

Are you trying to link the pics in or use the board gallery?

The board gallery is great to use (admittedly a bit cumbersome via phone).

[Uprising]

Sounds good to me What's the issue you're having with your pictures?

Are you trying to link the pics in or use the board gallery?

The board gallery is great to use (admittedly a bit cumbersome via phone).

Well when I try to post I get this

"You are not allowed to use that image extension on this community.". I don't get it.

[duz_]

What format image are you uploading? I generally use jpegs and never seen that before. WF maybe know more on the matter.

[WarriorFish]

Sounds like you're using a proper camera and not altering the pictures before upload. It's best to scale down and save images as a jpg, as that way they don't beast anyone's connection but you can still retain the quality if you wish :)

[Uprising]

Sounds like you're using a proper camera and not altering the pictures before upload. It's best to scale down and save images as a jpg, as that way they don't beast anyone's connection but you can still retain the quality if you wish

Make sense. Now how do I do that?

[WarriorFish]

What program do you open your photos in? It should let you scale images down and export/save as a jpg, generally I don't go above 800px wide for uploading to the web :)

[elmo]

If you have access to the file on your desktop, right click on it and click on properties and it should show the file name with a file type extension. That will help us work out what is going on ;)

 

Try opening the photo and save as .jpg file - some program will allow you to do that with no problems...

 

May the Emperors benediction be with you in your moment of trial and remember to use the correct blessed oils and say your prayers to the Machine Spirit.