Conversion Corner - The Cult Gets an Su-76-ish! Part 2 - Fighting Compartment and Gun

In the first installment of this series I detailed assembly of the track units and lower hull of my Chimera Su-76 conversion. In this installment we throw caution to the wind and start building up the fighting compartment. I then move on to the gun which was another entertaining exercise. Since on of the clear defining features of the actual Su-76 is its prominent fenders, I decided to go with the track guards from the Astra Militarum Tank Accessories sprue. The fit on these isn't perfect, and I ended up needing two sets to do what I really wanted to do with the tracks. I ended up sawing off one to create a double row of rivets on both sides.

Plan view of an early Su-76

Conversion Corner - The Cult Gets an Su-76-ish! Part 1 - Track Units and Hull

If you've been following my growing Genestealer Cult army, you'll be aware that a lot of its background is very much inspired by Soviet Russia in terms of its vehicles, uniforms, and iconography. My local Warhammer store, Warhammer Hillsboro, is having a store Anniversary Conversion Contest. Not being one to pass up an opportunity to stretch my model-building skills, I decided to go through with an idea that I'd had in the back of my mind for a while - convert a Chimera into the Warhammer 40K equivalent of a Second World War Soviet Su-76 self-propelled gun. Although it is now a legend, I figured I could just use the stats for the Salamander Scout Tank with its autocannon main armament and actually field it on the tabletop (along with my old Imperial Armour Salamander once I actually get it done!).

Su-76 on display in Nizhny-Novgorod, Russia

New Year - New Army Part II - Seraphon!

I'd played a little Warhammer Fantasy Battle back in the day, but never really got a full force painted and eventually all of the miniatures found their way to ebay or other resale organizations. For several years I'd toyed with the idea of revisiting the system, but it wasn't until our visit to Warhammer World in 2019, that I was truly inspired. In the exhibition, the full painted Seraphon range for Warhammer - Age of Sigmar was on display in all its glory. I was drawn to the Seraphon because, well, dinosaurs! Last year I ended up buying a few miniatures (the two "Start Collecting" boxes), but I never made any significant progress on getting them together or painted. Fast forward to Christmas 2020, and my son gets a box of Stormcast Eternals (the Easy to Build Sequitors) as a present and is jazzed enough to start painting them. I had a box of Liberators I'd picked up for another project (watch this space) that I contributed to the cause, so he's now well on his way to creating a small Stormcast army. With him taking the plunge, I figured it was time to get my own army and all of its reptilian goodness going!

50 Shades of (not Soviet) Green - or - A Tale of Two Necron Overlords

If you've followed my Genestealer Cult army progress, you'll be aware of my joke regarding "50 shades of Soviet green" referring to the various shades of green used by Soviet and later Russian armed forces for their military vehicles from World War II through to the present. Now that I'm working on Necrons, the "shades of green" reference takes on a whole new meaning! If you read my first "New Year, New Army" post back in January, you know I'm working a Szarekhan Dynasty force largely because I really loved the new paints and color schemes. At that time I'd only really finished painting up one warrior, and he wasn't based. I also concluded the entry with these words:

"So that's the next challenge - to start learning how to do those glazes and edge highlighting well enough to generate some decent energy blades... Provided I'm not crying in a corner in the fetal position after that, I should have the basic paint schemes down for the whole force." 

So, guess what I've been fighting with for the past several weeks? However, it's a fight I think I'm finally starting to get the upper hand in!

Converted Genestealer Cult Armies in Warhammer 40K - How Far Down the Rabbit Hole?

Warhammer 40K has always been a creative hobby. While Warhammer 40K is a game, it is a game where the player has to at least build the playing pieces on their own. Most people paint the playing pieces as well (and this step is generally required for major tournaments). However, some players don't stop there, they heavily convert or even scratch-build forces to create a truly unique army. I've frequently posted my converted Astra Militarum forces that I run alongside my Genestealer Cult as a separate Brood Brothers detachment, but why stop at just Astra Militarum?

New Year, New Army... Necrons!

It's the time of the year when all of the various gaming companies are hoping you'll pick up something new rather than moving on to another hobby or company. Games Workshop is, of course, no exception with their New Year, New Army story where many of the employees from their studio highlight what their plans and projects are for the new year. In my own New Year's post, I indicated that one of my projects for the this year would be necrons, but honestly it is an army I've had a love/hate relationship with for years. In this first "new army" article, I'll go through the army's history, why I haven't done an army until now, my first mostly completed warrior, and where I'm hoping to go from here.

First painted Indomitus Necron - we'll call him "Bob"

Happy New Year - Let's Hope This One is Better!

Happy New Year everyone! With 2020 now finally receding into the rear-view mirror I can truly say I'm looking forward to the new year. To say that 2020 did not go to plan and did not live up to my hopes and expectations is an understatement of epic proportions. This has truly been a trying year for everyone. The pandemic has impacted us in ways both large and small. Very little good has come out of it with pain, difficulty, tragedy, and heartbreak being far more common. Above and beyond the pandemic, the United States especially is also suffering from an intense partisan divide which shows no signs of abating any time soon. My greatest hope is that we're able to begin to regain a sense of normalcy as the vaccines roll out and people can begin to resume their normal lives, but we have a long way to go.