PDF Patrol Boat WIP

[Gunmonkey88]

So it's been almost five years since I last dabbled in 40k but the recent enforced free time has given me the inspiration to get back into at least the modelling side of things.  I've had this idea for a few years that I'd like to see what an Astra Militarum patrol boat might look like - I always imagined some piratical looking crew that's been mostly ignored and left to their own devices.  So I decided to build one myself!

 

The fluff:

The planet Serra, not particularly noteworthy in any way, has long been mined for it's rich cobalt deposits - critical in the manufacture of various Imperial ship and munitions components.  This led to the construction of several hive cities and a number of domed garden habitats for the wealthy nobility which protects them from the blue-grey cobalt oxide dust that covers most of the planet.  While the air within the domed habitats is never a concern, the rest of the planet is forced to rely on massive air filters around the planet to provide air that won't destroy the lungs of those who breath it.  However, they were never able to keep up with the pollution caused and the passage of three millennia hasn't done anything to improve their effectiveness.

 

The planet's surface is covered in industrial canals and waterways connecting the various cities, mines, and processing plants.  Some time ago, the planet was invaded by a splinter of an ork Waaagghhh!!! that devastated a number of hive cities and domed habitats.  While a combined Imperial force of Astra Militarum, PDF, space marines, and even an Imperial Knight household ultimately eradicated the orks, the nature of the orks' reproduction means that the remaining facilities are still at risk of periodic attack by feral orks.  Forces of the PDF responded to this threat by developing a force of patrol gunboats whose mission was simply to patrol those industrial waterways and destroy feral orks whenever they encountered them.  However, once the immediate threat to the ruling elite ended, they ceased to care what happened outside their domes and did not allow any resources to go towards the proper construction and outfitting of the needed boats leaving the crews to scrounge and "borrow" whatever material they could to create them.

 

This has led to the re-purposing of various yachts and tugboats to make up the hulls and the fitting of whatever weaponry the crews came across.  They are essentially left to their own devices - their only mission from the ruling nobility is to not allow them to be bothered with trivial matters such as feral ork incursions or the need for weaponry, food, or other supplies.

 

Anyways, this is requiring a bit more modification than I expected but, since I have all of this time on my hands, I'm diving back in.  I'll post periodic updates on the construction and painting of the boat and it's crew.  Let me know what you think!

 

 

[Paulinus]

Looks good. You would think that with the size of the imperium and the various worlds that the IG or PDF would have waterborne forces.

[WarriorFish]

A good start, looking forward to seeing what you get up to :tu: I remember long ago a water borne escapade in White Dwarf though it was Ork if I remember right? The Emperor's domain stretches to all parts of His planets, so this naturally means His forces needs to guard the sea also ;)

[duz_]

There is a Ciaphss Cain book where they discuss a few different patrol boats

 

Can't wait to see the final product

[walter h]

Look to the brown water Navy. Vietnam era,there many interesting craft,and fits your concept. You know the cool thing is you don't have to show the boats bottom just from the base up which will give you an excellent opportunity to show the bow wave,or even a rooster tail(the wake). This sounds like an awesome idea.

.

Edited April 22, 2020 by walter h

[Gunmonkey88]

Well I wasn't able to get a lot of modelling done yesterday but I made up for it today!I've been modifying the overall construction plan as I've thought of new ideas and found things on sprues. Because the model ship is 1:144 scale, I have to do a lot of modifications to make it work. For instance, the doors molded into a lot of the parts of the boat would be the size of cabinets to 28mm models. Right now, I'm in the middle of effectively designing the bridge from the ground up to work for 28mm models - I'm glad I have plenty of plasticard! There are still plenty of rough patches, I'm hoping that green stuff will be able to solve that once construction is complete. I've also not glued down the base of the bridge yet to facilitate painting.

 

In keeping with the fluff I decided on, the crew replaced the rear cargo doors with the top of a chimera hull they "found." I've covered over the lasgun ports to make skylights to illuminate the interior (which will not be modeled unfortunately - a bit beyond my expertise I believe). They've augmented the original tugboat engine with a reactor they repaired off a knight they found destroyed in the badlands they patrol. From that knight, they also used the fusion blaster housing as the exhaust from the reactor and and the Icarus autocannon as its forward main armament. The mask of the knight will also be used as the boat's figurehead. A turret with multilaser similarly salvaged from a destroyed Chimera will be the rear armament. Not yet seen will be two crew-manned heavy bolters - one on each side - and possible a heavy stubber on the bridge. I'm not sure if you can see it but the pilot house below the bridge is partially protected by a rhino's armored visor.

 

I'm hoping I'll get the main build done by the end of the week and can finalize my plans for the crew. My original intent for the crew was for it to be 10-12 but I'm finding that I overestimated the actual size of the boat and will likely have to settle for 5-8. Anyways, comments and advice are welcome!

 

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Gunmonkey88

[Gunmonkey88]

Look to the brown water Navy. Vietnam era,there many interesting craft,and fits your concept. You know the cool thing is you don't have to show the boats bottom just from the base up which will give you an excellent opportunity to show the bow wave,or even a rooster tail(the wake). This sounds like an awesome idea.

.

 

That was actually some of my inspiration! I was hoping to use a model of one of the various boats they used or one of the PT boats from WWII but they weren't quite suitable for what I had in mind.  And I'm not planning on modelling the water effects, never done it before and I have no clue how it's done.

[walter h]

I think the craft is looking fine,but if you had only from the waterline up it would be more useable as a board piece. Looking great as a display piece,or dry docked,for upgrade or repair. Have you checked out the ironclad,or frigate of the ,Kharadron(dwarves), from the fantasy world of GW? Edited April 23, 2020 by walter h

[Gunmonkey88]

I think the craft is looking fine,but if you had only from the waterline up it would be more useable as a board piece. Looking great as a display piece,or dry docked,for upgrade or repair. Have you checked out the ironclad,or frigate of the ,Kharadron(dwarves), from the fantasy world of GW?

 

This is meant solely for display, mostly just to get the idea out of my head lol.  It would be super cool to use it as a board piece but I haven't played a game in years.

[Gunmonkey88]

So, after another effectively full day of modelling the boat is largely complete!  Just need to go over some of the more egregious gaps with greenstuff and it should be done.  The next step is to order the pieces that will become the crew, hopefully they will arrive before too long.

 

 

I spent a fair amount of time decorating the boat with various pieces floating in my bits box to make it look less real and more 40kish.  I was able to supplement the knight helmet with some random wings from a fantasy giant bird I had for some reason - I'm glad I found a use for them after hanging onto them for probably about 10 years.  The idea is to model the boat in contact and blasting away Danny Devito style at a bunch of orks.  All mounted guns will be firing off the boat to the left and a number of the crew will be shooting lasguns and a grenade launcher.  The "off side" heavy bolter will be sitting unmanned, the "on side" heavy bolter won't be glued on until I get the crew member so I can get the spacing on the mount correct.  I'm really excited to get the crew going, I have a lot of ideas for them.  The models will largely be a mix of anvil industries and victoria miniatures bits with some GW stuff thrown in there for good measure.  Unfortunately the forward autocannon won't stay upright on it's own - I'll have to glue it down once I finish painting.

 

Again, let me know what you think! Any comments, ideas, and advice are very much appreciated!

[duz_]

This is great work looking forward to seeing it painted! :tu:

 

If it's a display piece only it needs it's own diorama! :yes:

[WarriorFish]

This is really coming along, great stuff! Looks like you have some nice flat surfaces for some aquilas too, and/or transfer space so you'll really be able to go to town :D The odd skull too :P

[Mazer Rackham]

Look to the brown water Navy. Vietnam era,there many interesting craft,and fits your concept.

 

Was going to suggest this ^

 

This project is nicely different, looks really good so far - can't wait to see it set sail! ;)

 

Oh and remember - "Never get out of the boat!"

 

MR.

[Gunmonkey88]

Just got the package from Victoria Miniatures so I was able to start a little bit on the crew.  I'm still waiting on the package from Anvil to make all of them but I couldn't resist.  So, I present the skipper of the good ship Orkbane! (any ideas for a better name?)

 

 

I would have taken a picture of him standing at his position on the bridge but he has trouble standing on his own.  The idea behind this guy is that he's been through so many of these fights that, upon contact with the orks, he just lights a cigar and waits for the shooting to be over so they can continue on their way.  Because of his status, he was able to score some actual IG armor instead of relying on the heavy and bulkier PDF armor.  Many of the crew will  forego armor entirely.  Some trimming was required to get the scion coat to (mostly) fit but I think it adds a certain over-the-top quality that is always welcome in the 40k-verse.  I'm planning on doing some OSL painting on this guy.

 

On a separate note, it's pretty amazing how much better the quality of the sculpts from Victoria are than from GW.  I wish GW would step up their game more than they have for the next IG update.

[walter h]

Tell me you got the pirate heads. Aarrrh,matey. All joking aside the officer head with the sail headwear, I don't know what to call it ,but the description should give a clue would be perfect for a young ensign. This whole project has nothing but awesome written all over it.

[Kriegsmacht]

I really like the use of the Chimera turret and the Autocannons. Great work! :tu:

[Gunmonkey88]

Tell me you got the pirate heads. Aarrrh,matey. All joking aside the officer head with the sail headwear, I don't know what to call it ,but the description should give a clue would be perfect for a young ensign. This whole project has nothing but awesome written all over it.

 

Haha that's a little TOO over the top, even for me.  The feel I want for the crew is that it's a bunch of grizzled veterans not too interested in regulations or flashy officers.  I was actually giving serious thought to using this guy with his foot up on a bulkhead or something just hoping the orks managed to swim across:

 

 

but felt it was a little too much event though, as a member of the US military myself, I could definitely see that kind of thing happening if soldiers spend a bit too much time in theater.

[Gunmonkey88]

After quite the wait to get the bits from Anvil, I have the crew pretty much assembled:

 

Bridge:

 

Includes the skipper, stubber gunner, and spotter.  I'd love to add another guy talking on the vox using the scion hand holding the telephone but I can't figure out how to do it without just glueing the armored arm onto the model which wouldn't match the aesthetic.  Any ideas?

 

Forward:

 

Includes heavy bolter gunner, A gunner, lasgunner, and grenadier (converted the victoria miniatures arms to hold an IG grenade launcher that has subsequently rolled off the table, hence him being armless at the moment.  I will find it though!)

 

Aft:

 

2 lasgunners (mostly shirtless to show how they rushed on deck when the alarm sounded even though they were resting below) and 2 ammo bearers.  Not 100% sure where the ammo bearers will end up on the boat, probably won't be finalized until after they're painted.

 

Just have a few more random bits to add to the boat like brass cases of spent rounds and such.

 

One of the frustrating things about GW weapons is that the sizes of the models are ALL over the place.  Depending on what model it's for, an autocannon can be 50% than another autocannon.  There is a corresponding change in the size of the ammo boxes used which absolutely should not be the case.  I was planning on using some of the spare autocannon ammo boxes I have lying around to indicate ready reloads for the forward autocannons but they are much larger than the ammo boxes on the autocannons themselves and I'm afraid they would look weird next to it.  I really wish GW would standardize weapon sizes across models they way they would actually have to be - it would make conversions easier and I have to imagine it would made designing the models themselves easier from the get-go.

 

Anyways, let me know what you think and if you have any ideas about how I can get that scion telephone to work!

 

[walter h]

Where exactly did you come across the boat.