40k: Custom Implausible Tanks

More 40k minutiae.

Mars-Pattern Baneblade

The restoration project is mostly complete. The Mars-pattern Baneblade is ready for deployment.

Painting is extremely simple. I've used the same methods for all vehicles in this army.

• Prime flat grey.
• Pin wash with brown, brown-orange, and black.
• Drybrush light grey.
• Paint gunmetal details.
• Wash metals with black.
• Highlight metals with silver.
• Add badges (red, yellow, black stripes).
• Drybrush lower hull brown.
• Wash lower hull with a dark brown texture paint.
• Add a layer of mud and vegetation mix.

I haven't picked a regiment name or numbering scheme yet. If I knew what I was doing, I'd add decals before weathering instead of making more work for myself. Oh well.

I wanted to try a paint scheme with less chipping and weathering than usual. The idea is that these vehicles rolled out of storage, painted in plain grey primer with simple and hastily applied markings. These aren't seasoned veterans. 

This Baneblade is the command tank of the "core" section of the army: 1 Baneblade, 2 Macharius tanks, and 9 Leman Russ tanks of various models. There is also a Tank Hunter section: 1 Stormblade, 1 Valdor, 1 Malcador Primus, and 1 Destroyer Tank Hunter. And the Artillery section: 1 Siege Gun, 2 Minotaurs, and 3 Medusas. Plus infantry, transports, Sentinel walkers, flamethrower tanks... You can see some photos here.
 

Macharius Omega-I

I'd like this regiment to include some strange vehicles. One-offs, test platforms, decommissioned hulks, or archaic vehicles too difficult to maintain in the field.

When the Macharius Heavy Tank was first developed, optimistic calculations of its power output and capacity lead the Tech-Priests of Ryza to mount a full-sized Plasma Blastgun on the chassis. The design was plagued with stability and overheating issues. The turret's lone cupola, despite the addition of powerful heat transfer vanes, was referred to by test crews as the "commander-cooker". The turret's crawlspace was frequently filled with insulating sheets. Traverse speed and accuracy were very poor.

Unwilling to admit failure, yet recognizing that the Omega-I was unsuitable for mass production, the test vehicles were dispatched to various depot worlds "for extended testing, priority tertius". In practice, the vehicles were mothballed indefinitely.
 

Hellblade

The Hellblade is one of the esoteric Baneblade variants deployed by the Imperial Guard.
 

Centaur Artillery Tractor

The smallest tank in a regiment without towed artillery, the Centaur Artillery Tractor has been repurposed as a supply vehicle and light tank hunter. The vehicle sacrifices transport capacity for firepower, darting forward to fire a few rounds before retreating behind heavier vehicles. 

Valdor and Malcador Primus

The Malcador Primus is an ancient vehicle. It may have originally been a field conversion, mounting a twin turbolaser in place of a neutron laser. The Malcador's engine has been significantly upgraded to power the titan-scale weapon, further reducing the vehicle's top speed.

The design is not well-favoured. The vehicle's centre of mass is decidedly forward of centre. The weapon's twin barrels are mounted vertically instead of horizontally, so a second shot is unlikely to strike the same vehicle unless the first is perfectly aimed. The power plant requires constant maintenance; one vertical and one horizontal engine, built on arcane patterns, consume esoteric reagents and alloys.