Category: forge world

Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider

Minotaurs Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider on display at Warhammer World.

Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider
Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider

I quite like the up-armoured appearance of this pattern of Land Raider, and the weaponry looks quite formidable. I can imagine this being used to clear barricades in the ruins of an Imperial City.

The Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider is the most durable vehicle currently in the service of the Legiones Astartes. These vehicles shrug off weapon strikes that would cripple other battle tanks, and are proof against even the most toxic environment. The weaponry of these vehicles is formidable, featuring an advanced quad launcher and powerful volkite batteries.

This Achilles-Alpha pattern Land Raider is from the Minotaurs Space Marine Chapter. The Minotaurs is a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter whose true origins and genetic lineage remain unknown. The Space Marine formation by this name at large in the Imperium today appears to bear little resemblance to accounts of its past.

Avenger Strike Fighter

Avenger Strike Fighter

The Avenger Strike Fighter is used for high-speed low level ground attack missions. This makes it ideal for attacking armoured vehicle formations and high-value strategic assets such as munitions dumps. Compared to other Imperial Navy aircraft of its size, it is equipped with more weapons and munitions.

Avenger Strike Fighter

This Avenger Strike Fighter was in the displays at Warhammer World.

Land Raider MkIIb

The Land Raider MkIIb is probably my favourite Land Raider variant. I do have one of them in my collection. I knew that if I was going to get a Land Raider it would have to be the Forgeworld MkIIB Land Raider. I did get one in the end at GamesDay 2006. Sadly it was recently retired from the range. I wrote up some reflections on my MkIIB Land Raider, on the current state of the painting and what I needed to do next. In the end I went down a different route.

This one was on display at Warhammer World.

The standard Land Raider, also known as the Land Raider Phobos, is an Imperial main battle tank and troop transport which serves as the “armoured fist of the Space Marines.” It is one of the most resilient and iconic armoured vehicles in the galaxy. The Mark IIb Land Raider Phobos is one of the earliest marks of the standard pattern of Land Raider, and it still bears similarities to both the Land Raider Proteus and the Spartan Assault Tank that served as the models for the design. The Mark IIb Land Raider Phobos is the only pattern of the standard Land Raider Phobos that uses the older armoured sponsons, as they do not allow the weapons they hold to fully rotate. This pattern of Land Raider is mostly extinct, however, some Chapters may still possess one or two as treasured relics of their ancient past.

Of course the Mark IIb reflects the Epic 40000 version of the Land Raider from the late 1990s.

Trojan Support Vehicle

The Trojan is a workhorse used by Imperial Guard armoured regiments as a towing vehicle for artillery platforms and as an armoured ammunition carrier, ferrying extra ammunition to the platforms once in position. Each Trojan is equipped with a crane to lift heavy crates of ammunition from it’s hold.

Malcador Heavy Tank

The Malcador Assault Tank, also known as the Malcador Heavy Tank is a venerable pattern of armoured vehicle that predates the Leman Russ tank in the Imperium of Man’s service. It is not widely used by Imperial armed forces at the present time and is in fact little known even within the Imperial military.

Malcador Heavy Tank

In many regions of the Imperium, the Malcador passed out of common service many millennia ago. The few Malcadors that remain in the Emperor of Mankind’s service have been relegated to the Departmento Munitorum’s strategic reserve, to the arsenals of second-line Planetary Defence Forces or are maintained in active service only by a few units of the Imperial Guard due to ancient tradition.

Originally this was a resin model from Forge World, but a plastic kit version was released for the Solar Auxilia for The Horus Heresy. At the recent World Championships Preview, as well as the wonderful little Arvus Lighter, it was annnounced there would be Malcador variants available including the Valdor Tank Hunter and the Infernus which mounts a massive Titan-grade inferno gun.

 

No more Grot Tanks

When I visited Warhammer World in September I did think about buying some more Grot Tanks.

As I toured the exhibition, I decided that I would probably get some more Grot tanks, as I had enjoyed building and painting the ones I had bought before.

In the end I bought some other stuff.

So when I was looking on the online store recently I was really disappointed to see that the Grot Tanks have been retired and are no longer available. That’s a real pity, I liked those models. Not sure if I will be able to get some more secondhand.

Revisiting the Kil Krusha Tank

The Ork Kil Krusha Tank from Forge World was released back in 2009. This was of the first Forge World ork models when I went “wow”. It was released a fair few years ago and sadly is no longer available.

Kill Krushas are a heavy Ork tank design, based around the twin Ork loves of speed and extreme violence. These ‘mirakles’ of Orkish mekboy fabrication are alarmingly complex creations, high-sided and heavily armoured, whose internal spaces are filled with a mass of hydraulics, pistons, mechanised loader-gubbins and a very large and extremely temperamental engines. These are all tended by the frantic ministrations of numerous Grots who keep the rattling monster tank going with constant hammer blows, polishing and judicious application of oiler squigs. The tank’s main gun is its Krusha Kannon; a heavy bore, high velocity weapon capable of firing a variety of different shells. As well as standard explosive rounds, the Krusha Kannon can use armour-piecing ‘Tankhammas,’ shrapnel-filled ‘Scrap Kanisters’ able to rip open swathes of enemy infantry and incendiary ‘Blast Burnas’ which can drench fortifications with burning chemicals to roast alive anyone caught inside.

The model is a realisation of the many different concept images that Forge World produced for Ork tanks at the time.

I got one of them back in 2010 or thereabouts. I did construct it and undercoat it. I realised recently that since I undercoated it, it has spent way too long on the workbench… well in storage and I really should start thinking about getting it painted and finished. They key for me is to not only give it a paintjob worthy of the model, but also one that isn’t going to take all my time and forever to get done.

I am thinking if I should deconstruct the model to make it easier to paint the hull and the tracks.

Well better find it, I know it’s in a box somewhere.

Workbench feature on my Kil Krusha.

Arvus Lighter

Various Arvus Lighter models were on display at Warhammer World.

The Arvus Lighter is a small, general purpose cargo shuttle that is widely used by the Imperium of Man for many tasks, both in space and on the surface of planets. The Arvus is commonly used by both Imperial Navy warships and Imperial merchant vessels, including Rogue Traders.

This Arvus Lighter was part of a Necromunda diorama.

The Arvus is just one of many types of small, void-capable shuttles used by the Imperium. The Arvus is piloted by a single pilot, and is not equipped with any weapon systems, in fact, the Arvus possesses only the most basic navigation equipment, external sensors, and proximity alarms.

The Arvus has a powerful engine that allows it to carry heavy cargo to and from a planet’s surface.

 

Macharius Vulcan Heavy Tank

An Imperial Macharius Vulcan Heavy Tank armed with a Vulcan Mega Bolter, Twin-Linked Heavy Stubber and two weapon sponsons. 

The Vulcan variant of the Macharius Heavy Tank sacrifices much of the anti-armour capabilities of the Vanquisher variant for the ferocious anti-infantry firepower of the Vulcan Mega-Bolter, normally carried by Warhound-class Titans and commonly fielded to provide cover for other super-heavy tanks and suppress enemy heavy weapon positions with a devastating storm of shot and shell.

From Damien Pedley’s collection on display at Warhammer World.

My original thoughts on the model when it was released back in 2007. This is one of my favourite models, and is probably at the top of the list of wanted models. As I write this, it is temporarily out of stock. I think on my next visit to Warhammer World I might treat myself to the kit.