[WIP] Sons of Horus, 65th Company

[Vykes]

Eh thanks mates! Good to be back! (never quite left, juuust been busy)

 

Y'know it Pearson! Aye, I'll admit I like seeing full armies too that are more troops than just toys. Still gotta get another table and set it all up so it doesn't feel as compacted and squished. Maybe by then I'll get some of these new projects done too. The command termies I'm thoroughly happy with, with one exception (The blank standard pauldrons were a knee jerk reaction. I absolutely should have just used the 'fancy' tartaros ones with the embossed circle and gone for the painted eye of Horus on them. Wonder if I should try tearing them up to replace it). The big two handed chain halberds were a weapon I always wanted to show up beyond just the one or two World Eater double handed axes. They feel like a stately 'bodyguard' weapon: and I'm considering either a full 'ceremonial' breach unit of them, or equipping some Justaerian with them, too.

 

Aximand, I'll fully admit, is probably my favourite. The shield feels functional, it's simple, feels like a warrior's equipment. Though MAN, I still can't get over how big the herald is as a model. For as tiny as the Sons of Horus legion command set is, The Herald/Aximand is in the other direction and is bigger than a 40K Primaris. Which in itself is cool, but it makes Abby look small.

 

Eh, thanks a ton Brother Pheidias m'dude. Reavers... man, I ended up snagging a 3D printer and every part I couldn't find, I ended up just making (now I finally have some kneeling mk IV marines). I've seen so many Reavers that are just the axe and pistol 'spikey' marines, but I've always had a thing for the slightly more uniformed 'void marine' look. So, mix some old Anvillus style packs, a ton of spare mk III parts, some mk II legs, and making sure the helmets had the picklehaube so they're proper spikey enough t say 'reaver', and it ended up with that. I hope it works. I'm pretty happy with the psuedo-Deathshroud command, I wish there was more like them (solid Death Guard models. I did some up a few years ago and I guess they always stuck in the back of my mind, eh?)

 

-laughs- all good MegaVolt. I kinda like Tarik's face, but I'm a fan of most that aren't the bald and glowering marines or the perpetually dour sorts. Tarik... I think he was said to be 'ruddy' and 'saturnine' so a little darker at points, but I just call him a 'strawberry blond'. Seemed to fit the sort of trickster/joker feel and makes him stand out from angry shouting blond Loken, angry shouting bald Abaddon, and 'I'm disappointed' gloomy Aximand. Lupercalii are something I'm more brainstorming than working on mostly just because I haven't gotten them figured out yet. I NEED some, I just am not entirely sure what to do or even what to picture them as. Kinda mulling over Argel Tal's 'dog' demon form.

 

The Legion Baneblade that the old Visions art had has always been in the back of my mind t'tell you the truth, Marshal Vespasian. The modern Fellblades are a cool looking tank but I've just never quite 'got' the dual cannon look. It's a little computer-gamey for me and lacks that 'navel artillery piece' look I think they were going for. But one of my other mates has something like 8 baneblade kits (Guard player... apparently this is normal) so I'm gonna be getting my hands on a barrel and see about some spare sponson casings. It's gonna be a chore to figure out how to fit that to the tank, but other than that, I think it should go fine. Here's hoping at least!

 

Eh, thanks Varyn! -laughs- still need to snag a few more vehicles and maybe a couple more troopers here and there, but at least we're getting to a 'company sized' force that I'm starting to feel comfortable with. Glad that Aximand stands out, he's one of those tough ones, but when I was looking through the usual selection of 'bald heads' in my bits box before, I couldn't help but think they did look a lot like the Warmaster. So, I took a chance, had a spare herald body after someone else just wanted the icon, and ended up with what I think is a fairly decent approximation before the face-removal procedure. -laughs- worst part was hollowing out that blasted Custodes sword for him. Glad the terminators really come across as that 'deathshroud bodyguard' feel, good to have the bodyguards really look and feel like proper bodyguards. 

 

And we aren't done yet, Astartes Consul my dude. We aren't done yet :P Got some jetbikes on the table right now, and after a discussion with a few friends on the local facebook group, it looks like I'm gonna be doing some mod work on a particular family of vehicles. All while I wait for a FW order that should come in hopefully later today. We'll see.

 

Thanks again mates! Should hopefully have something interesting (and some better pictures) soon enough.

[Vykes]

Well, I said I'd update a little more frequently so I might as well live up to that at least for now, eh?

After a significant amount of mental gymanstics and swearing at the design itself: the Predator squadron has undergone something of a modification. The idea that a legion MBT (or medium cavalry tank, I guess, pends how you want to classify 'tanks' in 30K) could have a punctured engine and reactor while getting shot from the front was ridiculous. The Raider, Sicaran, and Sabre all have a rear mounted engine block, so an MBT like the Predator with the side mounted stacks was just... ugh, especially when it had a full aft ramp like it was a mobile break room. So, I changed it.

Turns out it also increases the field of view for the sponsons as well, and slims the profile out to feel more 'predatory'. Now I just gotta work on making up some fun 'accessories' for them.

[Stix]

WOW! That army shot in fantastic! Glad to see you work progressing. I also love smug on Tarrik's face, very fitting. Aximand has nice, stern look, I really like your version even though I am not huge fan of the mini this conversion is based on. Alway flt a little bit clunky. But as I said, your Aximand looks great.
Nice predators too. I have been sceptic about that round deimos turret but it is growing on me and seeing your tanks def helps  :D

Waiting for more.

[Vykes]

Eh, thanks mate, though that shot still feels a liiiittle claustraphobic to me.  Not much to be done about that quite yet, buuuut I'll get on it quick enough and set up another photo-op.  And glad ya like the smug Tarik too, felt nice having someone who wasn't all scowls and glowers.  Aximand... I wish the model was a touch smaller.  It's a very busy kind of model, feeling at home with some of the Visions style artwork, and kinda massive.  It's not my favourite base model but when it comes to Aximand, I figure it works.  And it was a left over piece, so I HAD to use it somehow. 

 

Predators, I'll admit I love a love for the little T-55 expy tank turrets but not a huge fan of the tall bodies on 'em.  They're undergunned and vulnerable, usually getting a 'pop top' treatment every time they get hit in a fight, but I kinda love that about 'em.  They're still not my favourite tanks either (someone did up a render of a 'predator' Sabre and it definitely gets my vote), but I do love the cold war turret and how disposable I think of them as.  

 

Just gotta make some magnetized Schutzen for these three, then I'll think about adding some reactive armour blocks onto some other Deimos turrets to make it look a little more T-72 esque.  If anything, I kinda want to show the transition between the deimos and sloped Mars pattern turrets and what better way than taking from what works, eh?  

[Stix]

oh, this pred-sabre mix sounds interesting. Need to look for that pic. Kromlech has recently released some nice turrets. They are designed for Russ but I have seen picture of it on rhino chasis and it does look pretty nice I have to say. But yes, rhino chasis is a little bit too tall for a tank.

[Vykes]

 

There's the little file up of the 'carnivore' style predator/sabre.  I'll admit, I like it more than the little tankette we have now.  Even if that is growing on me (and I didn't think it would).  Doubt I'll be adding the existing Sabre to my usual armoury but it's still cool. 

 

Innnnteresting, I haven't seen Kromlech's newer releases in a while, so I may have to check in on that.  Russ parts may work, more a matter of joining the turret rings together, eh?  And aye, it really is a rhino chassis problem right now (hence why I'm mulling over some skirting to make up for a bit of the issue there).

 

*Glorious tank from Danny Cyanide

Edited September 15, 2020 by Vykes

[Stix]

yup, I don't want stock predator tank anymore, this one looks amazing. Thanks Vykes

Edited September 15, 2020 by Stix

[Vykes]

I mean, I can't say I blame you at all, Stix. I really reaaaaaally can't.  

 

Man, that looks perfect in a 'fast' tank army. 

[Pearson73]

That's a really interesting change to the Predators, not something I'd ever thought about, but it makes a lot of sense. I'm surprised just how much it does change their appearance.

 

Damn but the Sabre/Pred crossover looks perfect.

[Lucerne]

Was this a 3D print or a kitbash for the Pred mk 2?

[Vykes]

Aye, Pearson my dude, I'm a little surprised by the look of 'em too.  It does change the profile considerably, though it still draws attention to how tall they are.  In general I do prefer this look, makes them a little longer and gets rid of a few of my 'logic through it' things for the predator series.  I had no idea how much that back hatch bothered me until I started really thinking about it.  The sponsons do actually look a little more sleek and 'militant' as a result, hopefully I'll have a decent picture up when I finish working out some replacement gun shields (and maybe some other stuff at the same time).  Really thinking about if and how much stowage to put on them right now.

 

Aaaaand yeah, that Sabre Pred looks terrific.  It's gotta be about the same size, too: Sabres are a touch smaller than a Rhino but I don't think noticeably so with the turret and sponsons.

 

For the back end, I had to resort to a print, Lucerne.  I really wanted to make a solid, consistent engine block, so I went with that as I knew otherwise I'd be fumbling with how to really get the 'projection' for the aft of the vehicle and cover the ramp convincingly.  I do wish it was a kitbash, mostly because then I'd have probably been able to take enough time to think up a solution and use all 4 stacks (like the Sicaran) but I couldn't quite figure out how to make it look 'right' without just sticking the bits on the back. 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Vykes

[Astartes Consul]

Well, I said I'd update a little more frequently so I might as well live up to that at least for now, eh?

After a significant amount of mental gymanstics and swearing at the design itself: the Predator squadron has undergone something of a modification. The idea that a legion MBT (or medium cavalry tank, I guess, pends how you want to classify 'tanks' in 30K) could have a punctured engine and reactor while getting shot from the front was ridiculous. The Raider, Sicaran, and Sabre all have a rear mounted engine block, so an MBT like the Predator with the side mounted stacks was just... ugh, especially when it had a full aft ramp like it was a mobile break room. So, I changed it.

Turns out it also increases the field of view for the sponsons as well, and slims the profile out to feel more 'predatory'. Now I just gotta work on making up some fun 'accessories' for them.

Absolutely love this! How did you do it?

[Vykes]

Glad'ja like it Astartes Consul, honestly it's a nice bit about having a 3D printer. I printed out the rear engine, chipped off and ground down the side-stacks. That was more or less it. There was the WIP I had for the local 30K facebook chat group.

[MegaVolt87]

Sabre pread looks pretty high tech, I would have C-Beamer up there, the plasma thing etc with lascannon spontoons. Autocannon seems dreadfully low tech on that profile IMO. 

[Astartes Consul]

Glad'ja like it Astartes Consul, honestly it's a nice bit about having a 3D printer. I printed out the rear engine, chipped off and ground down the side-stacks. That was more or less it. There was the WIP I had for the local 30K facebook chat group.

That is class. Will absolutely be keeping this in mind for future tanks.

[Chaeron]

Now, I’ve said elsewhere how good the whole force looks arrayed - but thought I’d echo again!

 

I love the thought behind the Predator exhaust, and it just works aesthetically in such a pleasing way. The ubiquity of the chassis has always been great, but it seems that’s the sort of logical modification that would be made when you wouldn’t need the back access ramp - and it definitely brings it into line with the Sicaran and other similar vehicles in terms of profile. Superb work as always!

 

Might have to think about something similar myself if I ever do an Armoured Breakthrough list...

[Vykes]

I dunno Megavolt, I kinda wish we got an accelerator cannon on it, but part of me just likes the notion of a ballistic tank with a super high power to weight ratio. The quad las cannons or C-beam always feel like it might stall out the power plant on something that's meant to go that fast... make that 'stuttering catalytic converter' sound and have to push your high performance racing predator back to the techmarine because you burned out your space alternator

Always good Astartes Consul, always good. It really wasn't hard to do, the repainting took the most time by quite a margin.

Eh, thanks again Chaeron my dude, it means a lot to me! Man, I definitely agree with ya there, there's something that always sorta 'stuck' with me for the predator and the Deimos in particular but I could never quite put my finger on it. Then it just hit me talking about it aloud and, well, I had to fix it. The chassis is one of those machines that does work, even if it could be called a little tall and clunky for a main battle tank (and not in the Leman Russ kind of way). But given the difference in role between Rhino and predator, I figure it really did need some other modification, or else it's just a sort of uparmoured razorback. And what was that blasted ramp for?! Sooo yeah, it had to get brought into line with the other actual tanks and away from the troop carrier. If'n ya do make a few conversions, be sure to give me a shove as I'm always eager to see what ya come up with, eh!

Well, well. I figure I might as well continue the commitment to post a bit more. I realized I never did put up a full image of the 65th's ship-borne assistants: the voidclades. It's still a grenadier army in progress, but they're the ship borne 'mortal' marines and garrison unit for the battalion.

It's really not a big force at all, but you burn through troop slots like crazy.

The command section was clean and simple, but I enjoyed it. Still thinking about adding some other interesting bits and pieces to the group, and some adjutants to the command in particular. That said, did I ever mention that the grenadier 'add a special weapon to a 10 man squad' drives me a little crazy? 10 man Rhino is an option, can't have a single special weapon as it's 'add' not 'replace'.

With no tanks really fitting into a standard boarding torpedo (and driving them on the hull without a magnet feels... wonky) I decided I needed walkers to fill the role. So, a little bit beefed up dunecrawler fit the bill for a stalk tank that could get dropped off and crack open the outside of a ship or orbital facility. I'm very likely gonna add rapiers as the support pieces just because those would probably be able to get offloaded with the troopers.

[Lucerne]

btw how did you get so many of the GSC "gloved" hands? And is there a particular trick to painting their bases/ their colour scheme?

Edited September 16, 2020 by Lucerne

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

The voidclades stuff is rad, adapting the GSC space-suit aesthetic is a great touch, and I love the Onager conversions

There's the little file up of the 'carnivore' style predator/sabre. I'll admit, I like it more than the little tankette we have now. Even if that is growing on me (and I didn't think it would). Doubt I'll be adding the existing Sabre to my usual armoury but it's still cool.

Innnnteresting, I haven't seen Kromlech's newer releases in a while, so I may have to check in on that. Russ parts may work, more a matter of joining the turret rings together, eh? And aye, it really is a rhino chassis problem right now (hence why I'm mulling over some skirting to make up for a bit of the issue there).

*Glorious tank from Danny Cyanide

That's a neat modification on the Predator/ Sabre, very similar to the "Warg Assault Tank" design I'm currently working on:

[MegaVolt87]

Lascannon and c beams work off separate energy cell racks and not the engine though? Isn't the boxy rack at the back of the las pred turret what that is? 

[Vykes]

Ah the 'gloved' hands, Lucern.  Yep, that was always a problem.  Honestly, it was a little tough but it was a mix of getting some Anvil industries arms that I liked, and then taking the GSC arms that were close and making them a little 'rubberized' by taking a rasp of a file to them, and adding some varnish to 'gum' them up and make them a little less defined.  I really did try to keep them from looking 'tattered' even if they were very weatherworn.  

 

Maaaaaan, thanks a ton Iron Hands Fanatic, means a lot coming from ya mate!  The GSC ribbing on the suits and the cosmonaut look always kinda got me as pretty classic sci-fi so I couldn't help but want to work with that imagery a bit more.  Aaah the Onanger, i needed some way to make them look and feel all blocky to match the GSC aesthetic.  I'm sure now with a printer and a little more experience in blender I could probably make up something a little more cohesive rather than sweating every time I had to clip and file one of the magazines from a knight.  Glad ya like it, I'll admit they really grew on me, the ugly little darlings    That Warg is a killer machine, I love it.  Absolutely love it.  Particularly, that driver's compartment and overlapping plate on the turret, nails the aesthetic and ya put my favourite gun on it too.  I'm a ballistic fan, what can I say*. 

 

Aaaand that goes for that one too, MegaVolt my dude.  -laughs- Yeah, the energy track is likely separate, but I still remember the 3E fiction calling out the Raider as needing its massive generators to power a quad las array and keep moving.  Kinda like the cells themselves for the crew served weapons were basically single shot packs so the mars racks were only good for a dozen shots at most.  So they felt like they would put a strain on the system to recharge the battery (or likely capacitors) rather than being fully functioning or having an extended life.  And the Deimos doesn't even have those readily apparent (wet storage in the back, like the autocannon shells I'd suspect... GAH I had to look at the FW pred and now the back end ramp bothers me more!).  

 

*Always liked the big rotary cannons, even if I don't like their real life acoustics, while the Sicaran and Deredeo have the nice big accelerator autocannons that are probably some of my favourite in the setting.  

Edited September 17, 2020 by Vykes

[Hungry Nostraman Lizard]

Mmmm... tanks. Those are gorgeous. You mind throwing me that engine block STL? I'm working on two more predators and might want to see how I feel about it on mine! If you can't or  don't want to, I understand though. 

Love the spot colors of the black vertical stripes. So much flavor with just that alone!

[MegaVolt87]

To be fair, the Las sponsons on the demios pread I could see needing the engine to fire them. The mars pattern pread ones look boxy enough to have independent energy cell racks from the engine power. That type of demios las sponson configuration on other vehicles may very well be engine dependent in comparison.

[Vykes]

Eh, thanks a ton Hungry Nostraman Lizard!  Aye, I know tanks are your jam too, good armoured company vibes goin' eh?  Sure, I'm sure I could manage that.  Public service of sorts as I'm not sure I can stand the stock engines on most of the Deimos anymore    Glad ya like the spot colour on there too, I'll admit one thing... the placement drove me crazy.  On one hand, my Sicaran has them on the front hull, my Raiders are right on the aft of the sponson, and my Rhino's and Vindicators have them RIGHT down the middle.  So I kept going back and forth on where the blasted black strip should go!  And, y'know, if I should cover part of it with stowage. 

 

Aye, MegaVolt, that kinda does feel like the case to me too.  There's got to be some real power drain on it, and with the way the Sabre Pred looks, it feels kinda keyed to high performance and speed where as the older preds always left them with the impression of a 'shoot and scoot' vibe to them going all in.  Something like the Cerberus with its single las sponsons doesn't feel like it would so much as flicker the flair shield, but it notably doesn't have duals or quads like the Spartan (which was supposedly another highly tuned and powerful tank).  I think that might be the impression it leaves on me too: 2 las cannons is fine without any real loss of performance on a Predator, but 4 starts to feel like something's gotta give in one department or another.  And exactly, the Mars is boxy and rugged enough to really get away with having the independent cell rack and quick change.    

[MegaVolt87]

Remember as well the SW invented the tri Las pread on the mars pattern chassis much later. So the mars pattern could very well have separate Las cell racks independent of the engine and a lower spec engine just for movement. Demios could probably either power the turret cells or side lascannons, not both. Who knows.