Conversion Corner - The Cult Gets an Su-76-ish! Part 3 - Bringing it All Together

In this third installment of the series covering the Genstealer Cult Su-76, I've essentially gotten most of the vehicle together (sans a couple of the track guards) and it's ready to paint. There's not a lot new on the construction, but I'll point out where I ended up snagging many of the details I used on the kit from. Overall I'm extremely happy with how it came out, and I can't wait to see it painted up!

New Cult Russ - Gryphonne Pattern Vanquisher!

I'd finished this particular model a few weeks ago, but I've been super busy working on some other items, and never got around to posting the photos. This is yet another of my "vintage" kits that had been lying about the house for ages that I finally decided to re-purpose to the Cult. These kits are from the days when the plastic Leman Russ kit didn't include the vanquisher option, so the only way you could get it was through Forgeworld. This is the Gryphonne IV version of the turret on a Classic Russ chassis. Unfortunately it looks as if the turret has been discontinued, which is a real shame because I kind of like them more than the current plastic offering.

The Cult Goes Ballistic - the Deathstrike Missile Launcher

The industrious cultists down at the motor pool have managed to stea... errrr, requisition a brand new unit for my Astra Militarum Brood Brothers detachment - the Deathstrike Missile Launcher. This particular unit sort of appears to have taken eighth edition off, as it only fires once per game and "blast" type weapons were a bit underwhelming in that edition. However, with the new ninth edition blast rules, Games Workshop promises that "your favourite ICBM is getting EVEN DEADLIER." I'd already had one going just because I loved the look of the vehicle and figured it would go well with my Master of Ordnance.

Brood Brother Basilisk - No Chamber of Secrets Required!

About a year and a half ago I finished up an Armageddon Pattern Basilisk for my Death Korps of Krieg force (which isn't done yet, but I'm hoping to get back to it next year). It was one of the models that got me back into Warhammer 40K, and is an absolutely amazing kit. If you haven't built one and you have reasonably good model building skills, I still recommend it. That was the last Basilisk I'd done, though. I'd build a few of the plastic ones many ages ago and had done some minor conversion work, but I hadn't touched a new all-plastic Basilisk in years. That changed a couple of weeks ago. My son and I went down to Guardian Games, which had just re-opened in social-distancing mode, and each picked up something new for our armies. He picked up a new Hammerhead, and I snagged a Basilisk.

Hail Hydra! Anti-air Support for the Brood Brothers

The Hydra Flak tank is a newer (though not exactly new) vehicle based on the ubiquitous Chimera chassis for the Astra Militarum. It appears to draw inspiration from several real world anti-aircraft tanks such as the Gepard and Shilka, though it uses an open topped turret more reminiscent of earlier vehicles. I honestly liked the look of the vehicle, and thought it would fill a niche as an anti-flyer vehicle in my Astra Militarum Brood Brothers detachment, so I decided to take the plunge.

Brood Brothers Second Squad Transport has Arrived!

In August of last year I posted an entry detailing some of the first vehicles I'd gotten together for my Genestealer Cult army. Included in it was a Chimera numbered "21" that served as transport for my first infantry squad. A few weeks ago I finished up my second squad of infantry, and I figured that they needed a transport of their own. Ultimately I'd like to have dedicated transport for all of my Astra Militarum / Brood Brothers squads, and I'm planning at least two more squads so far, though if I'm honest the final tally will likely go higher than that, because the Four Armed Emperor loves the poor bloody infantry!

Ratling Squad - Reporting for Duty

In our post COVID-19 world, time seems to have taken on a fairly relative quality. Though it seems longer, a couple of months ago I posted a write-up on the first of my ratling conversions for my Brood Brothers Astra Militarum detachment. I still have some post varnish detailing to do, but I'm happy to report four more converted ratlings have joined the fold and I can now field a squad of five of the little buggers. I plan to do five more total to get a full-sized squad of ten as you can never have too many sniper rifles in the character happy world of Warhammer 40K.

Old School Leman Russ Demolisher - Pressed into Cult Service!

Games Workshop first produced their plastic Leman Russ kit way back in 1994. At the time it was a major breakthrough for Guard players, and given the capricious scatter mechanics of the day, the Russ was an absolute beast on the table as battle cannon shells could bend and curve like the Matrix and blast vehicles from the side and rear with near impunity. They also started producing alternate variants of the Russ either through Imperial Armour (later Forgeworld) or through the addition of white metal parts to the standard kit. I had one of these vintage beauties lying around that had never been fully painted, so I decided to "requisition" it for the cult.

This one I'd built in ages past with a rather unusual mixed armament of the Demolisher Cannon, one Heavy Bolter, and two Plasma Cannon. As the Demolisher variant isn't in the normal Genestealer Cult codex, this will purely be a Brood Brother Astra Militarum detachment addition to the force, which is perfectly fine with me. It will give the Baneblade company!

Finally Finished Fragdrill!

The marathon is over, and the Tectonic Fragdrill for my Genestealer Cult is finally done! This thing was an absolute beast to actually finish, but I'm really happy with the final result. It looks very "neglected industrial", which is what I was going for with this particular build. I'm starting to realize how big a task I have ahead of me for this year's Armies on Parade, but if the results keep coming out like this, I'm going to be happy with my entry!

Genestealer Cult - Brood Brothers Reinforcements

Over the last few weeks in the background I've been working on a few new models for my Brood Brothers detachment for the Genestealer Cult. I started with the Forgeworld resin Cadian Command HQ Squad and for the most part performed a head swap on them. I went a bit further with the officer as I wanted to retain the field telephone - so carving out that resin took a fair amount of work.

Genestealer Cult - Converted Sanctus

One of the new units available in the current edition of Warhammer 40K to the Genestealer Cult army is the Sanctus. Unlike the Locus, which serves more as an elite bodyguard for high ranking cultists, the Sanctus is an assassin. Capable of being armed with either a bio-dagger or sniper rifle, the unit can fill two very different niches in any force. I have a copy of the standard Sanctus available from Games Workshop, and like most of their new releases it is a great miniature. However, its pose seems to lend itself more to being armed with the bio-dagger rather than the sniper rifle. An individual online posted a great conversion of a Kroot miniature to serve as a sniper Sanctus and thus inspired I decided to make my own.

Genestealer Cult Baneblade - In Detail

My previous article detailing the new Baneblade I've just finished up for my Genestealer cult spent a fair amount of time going through the history of the vehicle in Warhammer 40K, but less time going through the construction and painting process I used on my example. Given the size and scale of the subject (puns intended) I wanted to take a step back and provide some details on how I constructed and painted the beast. Unfortunately I didn't have time to take any "in progress" photos, but will provide material lists and tips for building your own!

Genestealer Cult... They Have a Baneblade...

The Baneblade - an improbably large super heavy tank fielded by the Imperial Guard has been one of my favorite Warhammer 40K vehicles since I first saw the plans for one in late 1990. As a Brood Brothers detachment, my Genestealer Cult army has access to these behemoths, so I figured at some point I absolutely had to paint one up for the cult. Of course, this month's theme for the painting contest at the local Warhammer store is "monster or machine," so I figured a "monster of a machine" would work just fine!

Genestealer Cult - The Heavy Hitters

Games of Warhammer 40K - despite its futuristic overtones - often come down to hand to hand combat. Most armies have dedicated specialists who excel in this sort of close quarters fighting, and the Genestealer cults have a few fun choices. I've got a couple of these painted up so far. One is a standard troops choice, which the other is an elite choice, in this case supplemented by an HQ choice.

40K Genestealer Cult - Brood Brothers!

One of the standard troops options for the Genestealer cult is a unit called "Brood Brothers." These are standard Astra Militarum infantry that have been infiltrated by the Cult and defect once the grand uprising begins. You can also take certain standard Astra Militarum units as a separate detachment for your Battle Forged force, but I'll detail some of those options in a later blog entry.

Genestealer Cult - First Vehicles!

The new Genestealer Cult forces for Warhammer 40K can take a variety of vehicles as a part of the core Codex list. Some of these are new and unique to the Genestealer Cult army list, and I plan on detailing those in a future blog entry. Others, however, represent Astra Militarum (AKA "Imperial Guard") forces which have either been infiltrated or co-opted by the cult. I'm working on several vehicles of this type, and have a couple done so far.

New Army! Warhammer 40K Genestealer Cult

Time has gotten away from me this year, but I have been working on several projects rather than posting. One of them is my first Warhammer 40K army quite frankly in many, many years. My son has been playing on again off again, so I thought I'd get my own force going. The 40K skirmish level game Kill Team is also a great catalyst (or gateway drug if you prefer) to explore and examine new forces and armies without the commitment required to field a full 40K force.

Armageddon Pattern Basilisk - Done!

You can also call this the "holy crap I actually finished something" edition of the blog. I may ultimately go back and add some mud/dust effect on the vehicle once I get a few more of the ones for the army done, but for all intents and purposes, the Basilisk is ready to roll out. The photos in this entry are taken with my Nikon D90 DSLR camera. Make sure you click on the images for the full size version. The photos ended up being a little bright and some of the more subtle weathering is lost, so I'll likely try another shoot with a bit more diffuse light.

Warhammer 40K - Armageddon Pattern Basilisk - Part 2

Not a lot of photos this time, but I've been making steady progress on the Death Korps Basilisk I detailed in my last entry. I've been working on the exterior at this point, using one of my normal modulation paint schemes - though this is 3-tone camouflage, so it takes a bit of time to build up. At this point I'm using German World War I camouflage as was applied to the A7V tank. For the colors I used the Ammo of Mig World War I British and German Colors set (AMIG7111). The colors used are Dull Green (AMIG-077), Ochre Earth (AMIG-078), and Clay Brown (AMIG-079). For a base coat, I added black to darken the hue, and for the highlight I simply added white and modulated with my airbrush.

Warhammer 40K - Armageddon Pattern Basilisk in Progress

I've finally decided to take the plunge and start a Death Korps of Krieg force for Warhammer 40K. This particular variation on the tried and true Astra Militarum list ("Imperial Guard" for us grognards) was attractive for a lot of reasons - not the least of which was its World War I German aesthetic. All of the infantry and cavalry (including the horses!) wear gas-masks. This not only gives them a unique look, but means I have far fewer faces to paint! As with most lists of the type, they have access to an array of artillery and tanks. There is, however, one drawback. As the force is comprised almost entirely of resin miniatures and kits from Forge World, they're not only expensive, but take a bit to actually build as well.

One of the vehicles I'm starting with is the Armageddon Pattern Basilisk. This is, quite frankly, an amazing kit. The kit includes the plastic parts from the Chimera needed for the conversion as well as a resin fighting compartment and gun. The fighting compartment includes a full interior as even fully "buttoned up" some interior is visible. If you open the rear hatch, then you can see everything - though I'm going to try and find a way to keep my fighting compartment top detachable to people can get the full effect.

As I'm going for a World War I aesthetic, my DKK will be painted up as Great War German infantry, artillery, and tanks. This means their shades will be a bit different from the more familiar World War II versions - at least for the big guns and tanks. That being said, I'm going with Second World War interior colors for my vehicles (where applicable) as, well, that's what I've got handy!

Building the Basilisk is no mean feat. The engineering on the kit is fairly good, but as with any mixed media kit, the build is challenging. The first problem I ran into was that some of the resin parts were warped (in some cases badly so!).