Category: adeptus titanicus

Adeptus Titanicus Manufactorum Imperialis

I have had the Manufactorum Imperialis box on my wishlist for a while now.   When I visit a gaming store I always promise myself that I will buy it if there isn’t something else I want or what I want isn’t in stock. Alas even when it has been at the top of my shopping list I have found it was either not stocked or unavailable. So was pleased to receive the box recently as a present.

The Manufactorum Imperialis box allows you build terrain and scenery for your Adeptus Titanicus battle.

Across the war-torn worlds of the Age of Darkness, Titans battle amongst ruined cities. Some of the most hotly contested battlefields are industrial sectors, their resources greatly desired to repair and refuel the mighty god-machines and their allies.

The Manufactorum Imperialis box has 234 parts to build 26 pieces of terrain.

I do think that the box does show that GW has both the potential and the technical capability to deliver an Adeptus Titanicus version of Epic 40000 or (Epic) Space Marine in this new(ish) scale. Technically they can do it, however I suspect the reason they wouldn’t is that they don’t have the capacity to stock and sell the range of models required (and would be demanded), and I also think there is a real risk it would (at the larger scale compared to Epic) it could cannibalise sales of the full size Warhammer 40K. There is also the pricing issue, I would expect the prices of any Adeptus Titanicus scale tanks to be quite high.

For example original metal 1997 Epic 40000 Thunderhawk was £7.00, whereas the Aeronautica Imperialis Thunderhawk plastic kit has a list price of £28 four times as expensive. Yes it has been over twenty years, but even so this means we would be paying over £6 for an Ork vehicle and £12 for a Land Raider if GW ever did go down a path of making vehicles and infantry for Adeptus Titanicus.

Ah well, one can dream.

There are four sprues in the box, two of the larger sprues with the cranes on.

There are two smaller sprues for the containers and other smaller pieces of terrain.

One consideration is how to use the terrain, as individual pieces or to base them, or to add them to a terrain board. So how do you use your Adeptus Titanicus Manufactorum Imperialis terrain?

Dire Wolf Heavy Scout Titan

A new model of an Adeptus Titanicus titan has been announced, a Dire Wolf Heavy Scout Titan.

Is that a Warhound? Is it a Reaver? No, it’s a Dire Wolf Heavy Scout Titan, an all-new variation of the Warhound Scout Titan with a big old extra gun right above the cockpit. And it’s disturbingly good at ambushes. It introduces a bundle of new armaments, including two carapace weapon options – the armour-busting neutron laser and the old, reliable volcano cannon. On top of that, it sports twin Ardex defensor mega-bolters.

This is a nice looking Titan and looks like it will be a useful addition to any titan battleforce.

The Dire Wolf Heavy Scout Titan will be available from Forge World later in the year

Undercoating the Titan Armour

It is recommended in the Adeptus Titanic Titan instructions to paint the legs before adding the armour plates. Looking at the armour plates I did think it might be challenging to paint the back of them once affixed. So I decided to follow the instructions and paint the legs first and then paint armour plates separately.

I also decided to paint the armour plates “on the bone” leaving them on the sprue.

I gave the sprues a white spray undercoat on both sides, before giving the rear side of the plates a spray of Leadbelcher.

These are the Reaver sprues.

These are the Warlord sprues.

Still thinking about the actual paint scheme for the titans.

Landscaping the Titan bases

I have been browsing the web, Instagram and Twitter looking at how people have been basing their Adeptus Titanicus titans. I was a little surprised by how many people were using Epic models and scenery. The new Adeptus Titanicus is a different scale to the original Adeptus Titanicus (and Epic) with a figure scale of roughly 8mm compared to the 6mm of Epic. In other words a third larger!

However I knew I had a box of old Epic 40000 ruins sprues somewhere in the garage and went to hunt them down. I was a little surprised by how many of them I had in the box. 

So I took some of the ruins and affixed them to the bases that came with the titans, focusing initially on the Warlord Titan and the Reaver Titan (as I had constructed their legs so had an idea of where I could put the scenic items. I also used some plasticard strip, as well as a few spare parts I had from one of my Ork Aeronautica Imperialis model kits.

Having done that I added some slate rubble from an old Warhammer 40 Urban Basing Kit. This I left to dry before then finishing off the base with some Citadel Sand.

This is the Warlord Titan base.

I then gave the base a white undercoat.

With some Warlord Battle  Titan legs.

I did a similar thing for the Reaver. Continue reading “Landscaping the Titan bases”

Basing the Titans

I have been browsing the web, Instagram and Twitter looking at how people have been basing their Adeptus Titanicus titans. I was a little surprised by how many people were using Epic models and scenery.

The new Adeptus Titanicus is a different scale to the original Adeptus Titanicus (and Epic) with a figure scale of roughly 8mm compared to the 6mm of Epic. In other words a third larger!

However I knew I had a box of old Epic 40000 ruins sprues somewhere in the garage and went to hunt them down. I was a little surprised by how many of them I had in the box. 

So I took some of the ruins and affixed them to the bases that came with the titans, focusing initially on the Warlord Titan and the Reaver Titan (as I had constructed their legs so had an idea of where I could put the scenic items.

I also used some plasticard strip, as well as a few spare parts I had from one of my Ork Aeronautica Imperialis model kits.

This is the Warlord Titan base.

This is the Reaver Titan base.

Overall I quite like the bases. The next step will be adding rubble and sand.

It has legs…

As part of the boxed set of the Precept Maniple Battleforce as well as the Warlord, the Nemesis and the Warhounds you also get one of my favourite titans, the Reaver Battle Titan.

The Reaver Titan forms the mainstay of most Titan Legions, and is a key component of many Adeptus Titanicus maniples. Swifter than its Warlord cousins and more durable than the smaller Warhounds, with a wide range of devastating weaponry, the Reaver Titan is the perfect addition to any battlegroup.

The kit comes with three sprues for the Reaver.

I started construction and have finished the core legs.

Reaver Titan legs

I will paint these before adding the shields on the legs.

I will add the legs to a base before undercoating and painting

Constructing the Warlord Battle Titan

Having got the Precept Maniple Battleforce, I have started constructing the models that came with it.

One of the first models I have been building is the Warlord Battle Titan.

Warlord Battle Titans bestride the battlefields of the Imperium, their thunderous tread heralding the destruction of the enemies of Mankind. A mainstay of the Collegia Titanica, Warlord Battle Titans are among the largest and most powerful war machines ever devised by the Mechanicum.

The kit comes with three sprues. One is the weapons, another are the (external) shields, whilst the third is the core body structure and the legs.

The first stage of construction is the build the legs. These go together quite easily and you can model the Titan in different stances, even striding forward.

The instructions recommend to paint the legs before attaching the shields.

The main body is quite easy to put together, and like the legs it is recommended that you paint the core body before attaching the shields.

Here is the model so far.

The next stage will be to put the base together and the painting what I have constructed so far.