2021/04/06

40k: Crassus Command, Sentinel Powerlifters, and Other Assorted Tanks

The Moribundan 1st Armoured Regiment, despite its cabinet-straining bulk, has a few gaps in its roster. Well no longer!

Crassus Command Vehicle


As originally discussed in this post, the Crassus Command Vehicle has a fully detailed and totally useless interior diorama.

The end result is fairly close to what I'd originally planned. Fitting all the models into the space was tricky, but they're all in there and in appropriate medieval tableaux poses.

Here's a WIP shot with the models still in test positions. Plenty of detail, greebling, and grime.

Sentinel Powerlifters


After a long search, I finally found 3 Sentinel Powerlifters in decent enough condition to refurbish (casting new bits where I had to). They've been out of production for years.

Side Note: 40k Physics
Forgueworld had 2 in-house Sentinel Powerlifter models. One, used for most photos, the official sketch, and the instructions, had the rear counterweight attached to the chassis:
The second model had the weight attached to the cab.
Now, if the weight is on the cab, the waist joint acts as a pivot point. The weight of anything held in the lifter arm is balanced across it. But if the weight is attached to the cab, the waist joint is subject to terrific opposed forces.

If the counterweight is on the cab, the sentinel can't pivot from side to side as much, but that seems fairly sensible given its role as a walking forklift.


The Malcador Castigator



The Malcador Castigator carries a hull-mounted Castigator Boltcannon. The Macharius Vulcan carries only 20 seconds of ammo. The Malcador Castigator carries considerably more, thanks to its dedicated ammo trailer, and can be reloaded in the heat of battle. Unfortunately, its main weapon has a very limited field of fire, and the crew tend to be "thoroughly agitated" after a few seconds of firing. Like the Malcador Primus, the Malcador Castigator is an unpopular and often overlooked vehicle.
 

Malcador With Battle Cannon


A standard tank without any significant conversion work, other than the track guards.

Engineering Chimera



A support vehicle similar to a Trojan Support Vehicle, this modified Chimera can be used to transport 2 Cyclops Demolition Vehicles, a mobile field hospital, or a Techpriest Enginseer. The magnetized top mount can support a crane or a searchlight.

Final Notes

Just a handful of vehicles remain! Soon, all the red boxes in this post will be filled. I've obtained, but have yet to paint, 2 Medusa Siege Tanks, 3 Solar Auxilia Basilisks, and 1 Minotaur Artillery Tank. And then it's done! Hooray!


EDIT 2020/10/04

Rather than create a new post (and split several dozen views over 2 approximately equally useful posts), here are the final images from the project.


All 3 Solar Auxilia Basilisks are complete, with magnetized weapon options. Basilisk cannon on the right, M
edusa mortar on the right, and a Neutron Laser (for shooting at... very tall things? Aircraft?) in the middle.
 
Side Note: eyeball math time. If the minimum elevation on the Neutron Laser is 22.5 degrees and the maximum elevation is 45 degrees, and the average Titan has some useful bits about 30m off the ground, then the tank has to drive between 30m and 60m to land a hit. In 40k-scale, that's not too bad, but it is a bit silly in real-world scale. Maybe they bounce the laser off aircraft-mounted mirrors...
 

The Final Cabinet


(Left to right, front to back)
Shelf 1: Malcador Battle Tank, Stormhammer Battleship, Crassus Command Tank, RT-era Land Raider (hidden), 3x Hydra Flak Tanks, 3x Hellhounds, 4x Sentinels with Lascannons, 4x Sentinel Powerlifters, 4x RT-era Eggy Scout Sentinels.

Shelf 2: Malcador Castigator, Stormhammer Land Battleship, 3x Dracosan Transports, Infantry Squads + Command Squad + Psyker Squad, 3x Chimera Transports.

Shelf 3: Malcador Primus, Shadowsword, 2x Cyclops Demolition Vehicles, Ratling Squad, Valdor Tank Hunter, DOOMBLADE, Infantry Squads, Land Speeder, 2x Destroyer Tank Hunters, Power Generator Trailer, Fuel Tank Trailer.

Shelf 4: Commissar Command Leman Russ, 2x Centaur Tractors, Baneblade, Command Car, Macharius, Macharius Omega, 3x Leman Russ (Vanquisher turrets), 3x Leman Russ (Exterminator turrets), 3x Leman Russ (Demolisher turrets).

Shelf 5: Converted Chimera Recovery Vehicle, Atlas Recovery Vehicle, 2x Trojan Support Vehicles, 3x Minotaurs, 3x Solar Auxilia Basilisks (Neutron Lasers equipped), 3x Medusas, Solar Auxilia Carnodon, Chimera Engineering Vehicle, Salamander Scout Tank.

Huzzah! No idea what the total points value is.

5 comments:

  1. Aside from the diorama, which was the most involved model to convert?

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    Replies
    1. Hrm, hard to say.

      -The Malcador Castigator required a fair bit of hot-water bending and very stressful cuts to get the ammo feed from the trailer to the tank to work. It's magnetized, so the trailer can detach, but finding one boltcannon+ammo rack was hard enough. I really didn't want to have to find a replacement.

      -The two Stormblade Battleships took a long time to assemble, but I had a very clear plan going in, so it was just a matter of slowly accumulating all the right pieces.

      -The giant siege mortar is based on a proper model kit and took a fair bit of gap-filling and hull work, but it was an entirely improvised spur-of-the-moment thing, so the conversion wasn't too involved.

      -I think the Doomblade was the most involved. First, I had to convert new upper hull plates for the Baneblade hull to replace the extremely damaged original. Used models are cheap, but sometimes you get what you pay for. The Reaver meltagun is actually flipped; the front cage and barrels are the right way up, but the rest of the gun is upside-down compared to the way it's held on the Titan. That was a bit of a perilous job. The resin cage is fairly sturdy, but a crack would have been hard to hide during painting. Integrating the gun into the hull took a long time as well, and required a stabilization jig made of spare sprues.

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  2. Impressive Display! I really like how some of the tanks borrow that old ww1 Mk 1V style.

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  3. Hello Skerples.

    Ive been trying to find a sentinel power lifter for the better part of two years. Where did you find yours?

    Much thanks,

    George Lukes

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    Replies
    1. Hi, I piked up 2 on ebay and a friend found a 3rd in a swap group somewhere. They all needed fairly significant repair work.

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