Agastus ballistic surgery.

[Nephaston]

Got my box a tad earlier than I'm used to so I got to play with a couple ideas for "alternative assemblies".

 

First off the easy one: Turning the Twin Icarus Heavy Stubber into a "Twin Icarus Heavy-ish Bolter".

Almost the right dimensions but I'll just handwave it as a different pattern of bolter.

 

Up next was the Sergeant, with his very McLargeHuge-Launcher turned Rocket Rifle.

Still very large, and admittedly even top heavier (almost as tall as Abaddon with his decorative fence), but I think a smidgen more reasonable.

 

For the Castellan Launcher I used the cylinder pod and the Superfrag tubes to repurpose the right booster/exhaust thingie and keep it out of the way of the optics.

The pistol holster also got posterior duty to cover the grooves where the Castellan magazine should have been seated.

When I get around to making the rest of the squad they'll get the big tubes since for missiles it's what's on the inside that counts. Literally.

 

I did also decide to keep the belt feed opening as an exhaust of sorts even though I'm still not 100% on that.

 

Overall the brutalis' stubber was barely an effort, while the Vengor Launcher was an ordeal to properly saw apart only for it to still be obnoxiously massive. A Compensator-pattern Vengor Launcher if you will.

I'm almost positive that the regular launchers will turn out better. Almost.

[Triszin]

Brutalis is a great conversion.

 

 

[Dr. Clock]

The pack-mounted tubes work really well for me!

 

Unfortunately bringing the Vengor tube up front like that makes it even less sensical/practical IMO; is there a scenario where that tube and/or the krak tubes are also put on the back? In that case the right arm could just have a bolter, second pistol, knife or a fancy optic/controller/auspex? If it's a sergeant, then even a chainsword would be kinda nifty to represent the +1A? The idea of 'hands-free' missile troops is sort of interesting tbh, but you could also just swap the optical unit and the vengor tube so he's got 'racks on the back' and the 'point and shoot' unit on right arm is just a fire control system.

 

Anyway - if you like / are leaning into the impracticality of it all, then I certainly don't wanna yuck your hobby yum. It's well executed, and helpful to see the potential from the kit. Please write some suitably angery slogan on the big missile tube!

 

Cheers,

 

The Good Doctor.

 

 

[Sergeant Centurion]

Superb conversion on the dreadnought!

[Nephaston]

And the next one;

This one confirms my suspicion that the Sergeants Vengor Launcher is just way too big. And now the back mounted tubes manage to balance the model out.

 

Now to deliberate on the next Sgt until I get around to it, maybe just a regular launcher painted different, or Dr.Clocks idea of making him a tubular pack mule... decisions.

[Triszin]

Holy crap that looks solid

[Nephaston]

And that's the squad. Overall the kit is alright, if unnecessarily monopose with the launchers cabling, and gaps left for the Castellan ammo box on the buttflaps.

The independent left hands are still the best feature, and I dearly hope future kits will do the same.

[Nephaston]

Got around to finally painting these.