Earthshaker carriage proxies

[micahwc]

I've been asked about these in a couple of threads. They are Marx brand German WW2 88mm cannons. I've modified them by cutting the barrel nub down, and replacing it with a dowel slightly smaller than the thickest part of the barrel. The dowel is inset into the barrel, which was carved out with a dremel cutter. Card was added to make a muzzle break. This was done by wrapping a strip of card around the dowel I cut the barrel from, and super gluing it in place. Finally, the gun shield was cut an shaped with the Drexel, and then glued and green stuffed into place.

 

This is the gun before modification next to a tempestus scion for scale. The stumpy barrel extension is what I cut off.

http://i.imgur.com/yNrjXAy.jpg

 

And here it is after modifying and after spraying it black.

http://i.imgur.com/f0TNyGC.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/yqVjzLD.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/4tDNtsG.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/QDg475b.jpg

 

And finally, the entire battery:

 

http://i.imgur.com/yvL0HDn.jpg

 

These models where approximately $7 each, I think I paid $25 after shipping for all three.

[major higgins]

Look solid. If you are interested, now victoria miniature sell shield plate for big guns

[micahwc]

I didn't see the big gun plates, but I did see the BFG shells and those look promising. Though the boxes of ammo are not particularly realistic for large artillery shells. 155mm comes in a pallet of 8 rounds stored vertically, and three such pallets are generally connected together. Each pallet kind of has a side profile shaped like a capital I, as there is a top wooden piece and a bottom wooden piece which are horizontal and then 8 rounds stored vertically between them. One pallet of 8 weighs approximately 800 pounds (362 kilos I think). These are generally "broken down" and moved by hand, 1 round at a time per person. The full 24 count pallets are moved via crane as they weigh over 1 ton. 

 

According to one of the 40k wikis, Earthshakers are 130mm, so they would be slightly smaller than 155s, or about 5" in diameter. 155mm is approximately 6". 105mm shells are in smaller crates of 2 rounds, but they are what I like to call "cute baby artillery", that hope to one day grow as big and strong as the 155mm. 

[major higgins]

https://victoriaminiatures.com/collections/artillery/products/sledgehammer-bfg-blast-shield

[SydonianDragoon404]

This is great. I'm looking for a Manticore platform proxy now that FW don't sell them anymore.

[micahwc]

The gun is a seperate piece from the base, so I don't think it would be difficult to convert into a manticore.