Ladies and Gentlemen and you Beards at the back! I feel I should begin with a warning. What follows is probably not canon. It probably breaks every rule of what is supposed to be the accepted norm for competitive play. So please, don't stick a comment at the bottom saying the barrel is slightly too long, or the stuff on the back isn't right. Frankly, I don't care. What you'll see in this and every post in this blog is all about the fun I'm having getting sucked back into 40K courtesy of 8th Edition. I don't have a large income. All the models you can see in this post have been purchased pre-built in the state you see them at the start of each post. I'm bowled over by the sheer volume of things I've been able to get and at such a ridiculoulsy cheap price. They might not be the latest models. They might have a few parts missing. But I'm just humbled to have been able to get the Cadian force I always wanted, and to get so much more than I ever thought would be possible. Astra Militarum armies aren't cheap to come by. At least not under normal circumstances. So please, If any of this offends your gaming sensibilities, please accept my apologies and please don't read any further. It'll only make your blood boil. But if you're into converting, proxying, and frankly just making it up as you go along, pull up a pew and join the ride. You're in good company...!
So this is where I began last night. I'd received a bag of bits from the friend of a friend recently. He'd heard I had got my hands on some vehicles theat had a few missing parts and wanted to help rectify this situation. Obviously I'm extremely grateful for his generosity.
So without further ado, here's what happens when I get let loose with an opportunity to kitbash!
First, let me introduce you to my original Leman Russ. It's the first one I owned and dates back to the nineties. And as with most of my Astra Militarum collection, I also got this one second hand. It came assembled and undercoated.
And here's one of the other Leman Russ tanks I recently acquired. It's the only one that has a commander in the cupola. Obviously, this one would be my Tank Commander.
However, the open cupola on my old Leman Russ needed some attention. And as I now had a number of extra pieces to play about with, an idea balegan to form in my mind.
You see, one of the benefits of the old Russ is the large hole in the underbelly of the cupola. You can see the difference between the old and new in the next photo.
And here's the extras I received...
It was at this point that I realised the apperture of the cupola is narrower in the old verson compared with the new. So my commander torso needed a little paired off each side to make him fit. I also realised that the fitting had been placed on the wrong way around by its previous owner. The absence of the hatch also began to frustrate me at this point, but we'll return to that problem later.
Anyhoo, here's my commader's body and head in place. By this point I had decided that this model would be my Knight Commander Pask.
And after adding a pair of arms and a spare set of binoculars to complete Pask, I began to have ideas involving an antenna and the flag from this command frame.
This conversion began with cutting off the antenna, attaching the flag and then adding the top of the antenna.
Having held it together until it set, making sure I didn't let it dry wonky, I decided to prop it up overnight to make sure it didn't wilt...
I then turned my attention to the 'nude' rear of my Leman Russ. I was able to add a spare box thing. I went for a rummage among my spare sprue bits in the loft, but to no avail. I'm afraid I have no exhausts. I'll have to think of something, but so far I'm stumped. Any ideas will be gratefully received in the comments section below.
On the upside, my rummaging did unveil an old circular hatch. I think its from the original Rhino sprue. Not a perfect solution, but much better than having nothing.
It does however have a hole in the middle which you can see in this next photo.
I decided to avoid the resultant frustration by taking different photos of what I had achieved so far...
And then I set about adding arms and a head to the lonely torso protruding from the top of one of my Hellhounds.
Then I added a head to my other headless commander.
As I began to scoop together my remaining spares, I noticed the ornamental head of the banner which had not made it onto Pask's tank. It would make a perfect ornamental handle on the hatch...
I then began to tidy up the more modern of the two Leman Russ tanks I had been working on. I wasn't happy with the way the front turret was sitting. Thankfully it was relatively easy to prise off. With this done I could tidy up the parts, cut away the glue and rebuild it.
I then set about using the remaining stowage pieces.
And sat back to enjoy my handiwork.
So without further ado, here's what happens when I get let loose with an opportunity to kitbash!
First, let me introduce you to my original Leman Russ. It's the first one I owned and dates back to the nineties. And as with most of my Astra Militarum collection, I also got this one second hand. It came assembled and undercoated.
You see, one of the benefits of the old Russ is the large hole in the underbelly of the cupola. You can see the difference between the old and new in the next photo.
And in the morning, I was delighted to see the results of my labours!
Just before going out to pick up my copy of the Astra Militarum Codex which has arrived in store!
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