Grey Knights can use Land Raiders! When I first started putting this force together I knew that if I was going to get a Land Raider it would have to be the Forgeworld MkIIB Land Raider. This is the Forgeworld display model.
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 within Space Marine Armouries, having been replaced with newer marks and patterns of the standard Land Raider Phobos. However, some Chapters may still possess one or two as treasured relics of their ancient past.
I did get one in the end at GamesDay 2006.
As well as the plastic Land Raider parts you get the following resin pieces. These are the main sponsons and hull structures.
This is the rear plate and replacement exhausts.
These are the lascannon weapons.
Though you don’t get much in the way of instructions, but you do get doors.
Now I made a mistake, you get a set of doors and I (foolishly) asked them to replace the supplied eagle doors with Grey Knights Land Raider doors. Now what I didn’t realise was that the side doors on the sponson are not the same size as the Land Raider doors, but are in fact the same size as Rhino side doors. So the Grey Knight doors are too big!
As with a lot of models I do I do have a look first at what others have done, though not many people have posted pictures of to the internet.
Will Hayes displayed his MkIIB a few years back.
This is the Forgeworld display models of the MkIIB…
…and the Grey Knights Land Raider
First stage will be to work out how to put the whole thing together.
As I said on the previous page, I made a mistake, you get a set of doors and I (foolishly) asked them to replace the supplied eagle doors with Grey knight Land Raider doors. Now what I didn’t realise was that the side doors on the sponson are not the same size as the Land Raider doors, but are in fact the same size as Rhino side doors. So the Grey Knight doors are too big!
To overcome this I purchased some Inquisitor Rhino doors from Forgeworld.
Another thing I bought was the Inquisitor and Grey Knights brass etched sheet also from Forgeworld.
I also have some purity seals hanging about, which I also intend to use.
I put together the two side sponsons. These went together quite well, sometimes with Forge World models, the resin is warped and won’t fit together.
I cleaned up the rear engine plate and the exhausts. There were quite large tabs (sprue) on the parts.
I also cleaned up the top armour structure which will hold the twin-linked heavy bolters.
I stuck the track units together.
I added the (Rhino sized) doors to the two side sponsons. I think the Inquisitor doors work quite well.
It was quite difficult to put the Land Raider together, partly as I hadn’t done it before and more importantly I didn’t have any instructions. I started with the resin top armour before adding the front door parts, the top part of which was a resin Grey Knights door.
I then added the floor, then the rear (resin) engine plate before finally adding the other track unit.
I then added the top armour and track guard. Unfortunately it was not a neat fit, the resin pieces seems to have shrunk slightly.
The next stage was to glue the sponsons to the side of the Land Raider.
They fitted quite well.
I then added the engine exhausts.
I really do like these chunky exhausts, so much better than the supplied plastic versions.
Having prepared the model I gave it a black undercoat.
As you can see from this shot though, the undercoat didn’t really cover the front, so I might need to give it another coat.
The next stage was to start the basecoat of Tausept Ochre.
I decided that I would try using Citadel’s spray gun to base coat the rest of the Land Raider. However due to thinning the paint too much I didn’t get the result I hoped for.
I tried using the spray again with the paint less thinner than it was before.
For the basecoat I used the old Foundation Paints from Games Workshop, specifically Tausept Ochre.
This was taking it’s time, so I decided that I would try using Citadel’s spray gun to base coat the rest of the Land Raider. However due to thinning the paint too much I didn’t get the result I hoped for.
I did give it a second coat, and then lost interest in finishing the model like my other Land Raider. So, it got put into storage.
However having liked the paint scheme I was using on my Deimos-pattern Rhino, I decided that I would find the model and paint this Land Raider in the same scheme.
The Land Raider does have a fair amount of Inquisitorial and Grey Knights iconography on the model, but I have decided to leave it on. I also noticed that there is a part missing the, the hull top front bolters. I will have to find where I put that piece.
The first thing I did was spray the underneath of the model with Citadel Zandri Dust.
The rear view.
Well I was pleased to find the missing parts and these have now been reunited with the Land Raider.
Still got to decide what colour I will be painting the model.
The planned painting process I was originally using, eventually it would have turned out and looked like the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers Repressor Transport.
Though I am pleased with my Repressor, and it works with the painted Inquisitorial Stormtroopers I painted a few years back.
I wasn’t sure if this was the best way forward for the Mark IIb Land Raider. I wrote up some reflections recently on my MkIIB Land Raider, on the current state of the painting and what I needed to do next. However having liked the paint scheme I was using on my Deimos-pattern Rhino, I decided that I would paint this Land Raider in the same scheme. I first decided that I would try out the paint scheme on my other Land Raider first before doing anything drastic. With that Land Raider I followed the process I had used on the Rhino with a yellow spray various shades, dry brushing and detailing.
I was really pleased with the progress on that Land Raider so as it neared completion, I decided I would use a similar process on the Mark IIb Land Raider with one minor change. Whereas with the other Land Raider I left the base coat Tausept Ochre before applying the yellow. This time I sprayed the Mark IIb Land Raider with a spray of White Scar paint.
I left the underside Zandri Dust to add some shadow to the future yellow basecoat.
The next step will be a spray of yellow paint. Games Workshop don’t do a yellow spray and I don’t have an airbrush. I did use a paint comparison site to find a close alternative to Yriel Yellow. The Daemonic Yellow spray from Army Painter seemed like a good choice, and I had one which I bought for the Deimos-pattern Rhino.
I also started on the tracks for the Land Raider, which were given a spray of Mechanicus Standard Grey.
I then did a heavy drybrush of Gorthor Brown. The tracks, once dry, I then gave them a wash of Agrax Earthshade Shade. After painting and shading them, I drybrushed them lightly, first with Leadbelcher. I then did a very light drybrush with Terminatus Stone.
After giving the model a spray of White Scar over the original base coat of Tausept Ochre I gave the model a new basecoat of Daemonic Yellow spray from Army Painter.
The next stage will be painting the exhausts, weapons and iconography. Having painted the Deimos-pattern Rhino, my other Land Raider, and the Repressor I feel confident in painting the details on this model.
I also painted the rear exhausts and starting on the iconography.
I do like the exhausts on this model which differ from those included with the plastic kit as seen on my other Land Raider. They are single chunkier exhausts.
