Land Dreadnoughts x3 with even more pix!

[Col. Aubrey Bagshot]

Gentlemen,
Just finished this little project and thought it nice to share...
No prizes for guessing what the main 'donor' model is, but I'm rather pleased with the result, and she is very impressive on the tabletop...
Give Johny Martian or Johny Mutant something to think about....

Colours are very dark and grime streaked as I am getting a whole bunch of modles togther for a Mutant Chronicals type of game....
set in a late victorian winter western front type thing...

[OSHIROmodels]

I really like that. It would be nice to get a close up of the weathering 

I also like the idea of the offset main gun (although I think the housing behind should be a bit bigger, longer)

cheres

James

[Lupus]

Yeah ahve to agree with Jim on this as it would be very hard to put a round in that and no area to recoil into.

[Sterling Moose]

Nice, though the turrent style sponson thingies look a wee bit to WWW2.

[frontal assault]

Nice conversion mate, how'd you do the main body?

[Viper]

Not tooo sure about the sponsons myself either, but then I tend to be some what of a stickler for symmetry.
 

The paint job is utterly fantastic though, and I love the look of the hull. If I was to do a similar conversion I think I'd just have lots of little MG ports and rifle holes studding it...and maybe a bigger engine.
 

[Col. Aubrey Bagshot]

Many thanks for all your  comments, and yes, I actually agree with most of whats been said.
As for the sponsons, yes, they are rather 'impractical', to say the least! But due to the nature of the donor kit, and also the fact that I still wanted to be able to use it in a Death Korps Amry, the guns had to stay....

Perhaps if I do another one the main gun will go in favour of more machine guns....

I've also just finsihed its baby brother...
Worked out how do do something similar to a Russ....







Even more 1900 - WW1 than the Bane?
Without the front gun it makes a very nice APC type transport!
And is the easiest conversion you could ever do!
So easy, I do actualy wonder if anybody has ever done it?

[Viper]

Again with the lovely paint job.


I've got about a dozen russes in a drawer somewhere from back when I used to be a 40k treadhead, I often looked at different things that could be done with them, but never thought about doing what you've done, I wasn't so into mixing up the genres I liked back then.

One thing I've noticed it really shows how easy it would be to make one of the Destroyer tank hunters, I think they are called, or the version with the demolisher cannon, without busting out £40 or something for the forgeworld ones.

The Malcador and the...I dunno, the self proppeled artillery gun tank with the dual earthshaker cannons...heavy tanks that forgeworld do have often struck me as perfect for all sorts of VSF/Weird WW1-2 type things. Of course I've then quickly been struck by the price aswell and put the idea back in its box.

Nabbing a russ or even a plastic baneblade kit on the cheap off ebay on the other hand is far easier and a lot cheaper, damn it I'm supposed to be building up a collection of stuff to play small skirmish games not thinking about buying superheavy tanks.
 

[rob_alderman]

I think WW1 can be VSF. There were Victorian illustrators and writers that imagined such a war occurring and therefore, these tanks could fit into that!

In fact, I am planning a VSF Great European War background anyway. 

[fastolfrus]

Not sure about that low hull mounted gun - makes the vehicle very vulnerable to an anti tank ditch.
But also dislike the sponsons - too small for gun breach/ammunition/crew and even worse with a turrest on top.

But then I am generally unimpressed by GW designs - 41st millenium and can't out-design 1917 ?
For SF I'd have looked towards the swedish S-tank as a potential starting point, or a Hetzer.

[frontal assault]

Not sure about that low hull mounted gun - makes the vehicle very vulnerable to an anti tank ditch.
But also dislike the sponsons - too small for gun breach/ammunition/crew and even worse with a turrest on top.

But then I am generally unimpressed by GW designs - 41st millenium and can't out-design 1917 ?
For SF I'd have looked towards the swedish S-tank as a potential starting point, or a Hetzer.

Two things about Imperial Guard Tanks, one they're from a society that is literally heading backward, where pretty much everyone else (save the Orks) has better equipment than they do.  Second, the Leman Russ kit is actually an adaptation of a French Char B1 tank kit that Games Workshop bought the licence to.  Space Marine Predators are far more high-tech.

[fastolfrus]

It wasn't the quality of equipment that puzzled me, just the lack of imagination for designs, most of which look like a rather crude cross between Indiana Jones and WWWI, especially when compared to Eldar or Tau designs.
Given that most SF settings seem to feature either high speed vehicles with big wheels (Aliens), or infantry landed in dropships (Starship Troopers), robotic walkers (Robocop or Star Wars), or hover vehicles (Hammers Slammers is the first one that comes to mind) the 1917 design school looks .... outdated ?

Nothing against WWI tanks, they are great, for WWI. But have obvious flaws for SF use - side sponsons with limited arcs of fire, unprotected tracks, limited vision for commander/driver etc.

[Trencher]

Nice conversions. I like them a lot. Especially your Leman Russ conversion is brilliant in its simplicity. 
What I don't like are the general dimensions that GW gave the Russ as the hull is too wide for my personal taste. I came up with a similiar stunt, but with a much more narrower hull:



I hope you don't mind me posting this.

But back to topic:

All in all, the Russ has a lot of VSF potential, especially since the complete track sections pop up on evilbay frequently as bits for a fair price. And the hull is simply a matter of imagination, sheet styrene and rivets.
And if you like it a tad larger, there are still those 1/35 WWI tanks by Emhar around. Sizewise, they have the same size as a Malcador. But with a much more healthier price tag. These tanks might look even huger with some Pardulon sponsons.

[rob_alderman]

I might look into some.

In Wessex Games 'Land Ironclads' the 'contraptions' are actually mostly WW1 tanks anyway!
I really must read some of the VSF books about the great war...

[Col. Aubrey Bagshot]

Trencher, I love the factory fresh slimline Russ....
And you just reminded me that in the shots of my Mrk 1 Russ the steering wheels at the back are missing!
( Orc canon wheels and a dozer blade attachment if anbody wants to make some )

I have now changed the title of this tread and suggest that if ANYBODY has similar pix of VSF tanks with a WW1 look and feel, please add them and lets see what's out there!
It makes a nice change from the frighteningly old fashioned steam tanks...

They are just SO last century....