Alpha Legion Melta Support Squad

Combining aspects of Gun-Kata with posed special weapons, this is an Alpha Legion support squad armed with meltaguns. Now, in an environment dominated by Armoured Ceramite, there's probably little reason to take Meltaguns. Unless you're encountering zero meltaguns, in which case you've probably saved points by not taking the armoured ceramite upgrade. In which case, here's my meltaguns coming to make friends. With extra melta bombs just for fun.

Although the bases need some work and attention yet, the squad is essentially complete, including arduous (near hobby-mojo-killing levels of truescale leg conversions).

Alpha Legion Heavy Support Squad

I finally finished assembling a small squad of five Alpha Legion heavy support marines with missile launchers. 

As with my initial test models of these men, they're toting Eldar missile launchers. The reason for this is that I see this particular Alpha Legion splinter group as having zero tolerance for not making use of anything and everything that they come across. Therefore, isolated and away from central command structures, they actively use everything that they can land their hands on - including Xenos technology, just like their Primarch, Alpharius is observed to. 

Each of the space marines is a true scale interpretation -- they have had their legs lengthened by an extension to the thighs, as will almost every marine in this army. This gives them extra height. For the squad sergeant, I've used terminator legs rather than regular marines to make him look more sturdy. In addition, I've attempted to model some high-tech binoculars in his hands as well.

All of the marines in addition to the main conversions are extensive kit bases from a variety of sources. These include not just Forge World parts, but also Eldar, space marines, chaos space marines, grey knights, dark angels and others. 

I'm looking forward to painting these guys up using the air compressor!

Warhammer World: Space Wolves vs Tyranids

This is an exhibit from the Imperial section of the Warhammer World displays. It features the Space Wolves chapter facing off an invasion of Tyranids across a frozen diorama. The images have some nice gems inside them, including modelling of icicles, as well as the Tyranid hanging off the tall spire at the back! I lingered on this exhibit for a long time, and came back to it repeatedly, each time, able to see and pick out more details of the ongoing battle that was unfolding around various focal points. A truly exquisite diorama that is up there with the Isstvan V diorama for me.

30k Legions vs Veterans of the Long War

In the next few weeks, we'll be playing a series of games in a round robin style format or tournament. This will be purely for fun, of course. I'll be using a 30k Alpha Legion army list and will be testing out a list that I've never used before.

However, one entertaining rules query has already come up. One of the other players will be using Codex: Chaos Space Marines. Without thinking about the background fluff too much, how will Veterans of the Long War special rule interact with a 30k Space Marine Legions army list?

I am personally going to suggest a ruling that it'll have its full effect. It seems only fair. Regardless of whether I declare my Alpha Legion to be Loyal or Traitor, the wording of Veterans of the Long War is such that it effects "Space Marines". I regard that the pre-Heresy (certainly) and the immediate post-Heresy Alpha Legion (arguably) were still Space Marines in effect and were not highly influenced by chaos until later on. 

I'm wondering if others have come across this before (or other interactions of 40k and 30k rules) and what they've done? 

Horus Heresy Review: Auxilia Gorgon Heavy Transporter

Background.
The Gorgon is a super heavy tank that is designed to be a massive armoured transporter. Its use in the annals of the Great Crusade are noted to be primarily to secure breach heads and generally overrun enemy positions where the survival of troops would otherwise be nil.

Strengths.
Its a super heavy tank! With excellent AV on the front and sides, coupled with a huge amount of hull points, this is a serious vehicle for serious armies!

As if to demonstrate just how serious it is, there is space for a whopping 40 troops to be transported on board. Indeed, so huge is the capacity, that even the rules note that the model itself can only fit something like 15 on the tabletop -- just leave the others to one side for when they're ready to be disembarked! Also, its worth noting that only two squads can disembark per turn from the vehicle.

The Heavily Armoured Prow makes the vehicle very impressive with an inbuilt invulnerable save. The mortar battery, although one use only, is not too bad an armament either.

Weaknesses. 
The rear armour is a bit of a concern at AV=10. Outflanking can cause problematic holes in the rear of this tank. Its also open topped, hence the rear armour is of top concern to defend against opportunist attacks.

Builds.
There are actually a number of options here, depending on how one wants to run it. I primarily see two things to do: make the weapons strong and long ranged, or shorter and focussed (e.g., in an anti-infantry sense).

Gorgon, Armoured Ceramite, Mortar Battery (300 points).
This is probably the baseline build. The auto cannons and mortar combine well to give a good anti infantry role, although I could be tempted by some heavy flamers or multi lasers to replace the mortar.

Gorgon, Armoured Ceramite, 2 Twin-Linked lascannons, replace the battery with Lascannons as well (340 points).
Plenty of lascannons here to play around with! This is one that can blow up tanks and then disembark its own contents to take care of any troops that were riding on board. Add hunter-killer missiles to taste.

Legion Assault Squad Marine Conversion

Another day, another conversion. This time, its an assault squad member. Unlike most of my other space marines, the assault squad will not be featuring true scale legs. I feel this is unnecessary for this squad given its dynamic nature and huge range of poses that I'm going to undertake for it.

The parts are as follows:

Forge World: Torso, right arm
Khorne Berserkers: Legs
Grey Knights: Helmet
Maxmini: Jump pack
Space marines: left arm, bolt pistol, shoulder pads
Eldar: right hand, sword
Base: 32mm

Despite such a wide array of bits being used, the overall aesthetic is certainly one of a legionary, and will make a good complement for the growing 30k forces that I'm assembling. The 32mm base is something that I can whole heartedly recommend to other space marine fans. With miniatures of this scale and with such a large, dominant jump pack, the large bases allow a range of positions and poses to be readily modelled and offset with a quality scenic base.

Vexilla Bearer

Based, legged and bodied, this is the complete, but unpainted, legion Vexilla Bearer for the Alpha Legion force I'm assembling. The parts are as follows:

Chaos Space Marines: Head, torso, arms, pole

Space Marines: Bolter, vexilla, backpack, right shoulder pad

Forge World: Legs (with truescale legs conversion)

Anvil Industry: Barrel drum on the bolter

Metal Alpha Legion shoulder pad (left shoulder).

Base: 32mm, with cork.

Overall, the miniature is actually rather tall. I don't know quite why I should be shocked at this given what I've done to his legs and the approximately half-centimetre of cork on the base. He really stands out and stand tall - proudly propping up the vexilla for the Legion.

Alpha Legion: Dynamic Heavy Support

A new model just recently completed for my growing Alpha Legion forces. For this model, I wanted to communicate a certain level of dynamism that is not ordinarily seen in a heavy support trooper. Hence I decided early on that this model would be posed to be firing his bolt pistol side arm, rather than his heavy support weapon. We don't get to see this kind of thing often enough in my opinion: a trooper who is flexible and has the presence of mind to remember that he actually has a side arm and knows exactly how to use it on the move. This, if nothing else, screams Alpha Legion to me. 

The heavy weapon itself is interesting. For this, I've used an Eldar missile launcher to represent a regular missile launcher. The weapon is mounted on a chaos space marine heavy bolter plastic fist in the left hand, slung away from the body to communicate the trooper being in motion. This is helped out by the pose -- the forward foot coming down hard on a ruined tyre and the back foot nearly off the 32mm base that I've used here. Indeed, this model is so off-kilter and off-centre that it had a permanent wobbly model syndrome. I've therefore glued a small coin to the underside of the base to prevent it from toppling over all the time. 

Apart from the helm being from the Grey Knight range, everything else is Forge World. Including the legs which, as can be seen, have been green stuffed to give this marine extra height as part of my drive to have true scale for many of these marines (I probably won't do this with some of them though -- particularly assault marines -- it tends to kill my modelling mojo and just isn't needed on every model to be honest). 

Overall, very pleased with this model! 

Horus Heresy Review: Imperialis Militia Reconnaissance Squad

Background.
These are the scouts of the Imperial Army, the trackers and the outriders who reconnoitre the way ahead.

In many ways, they're like the space marine legion recon squads. Except they're mortals.

Strengths. 
To be clear, this is a relatively cheap squad with access to weapons like sniper rifles and shotguns. As such, they are functionally almost identical to the space marine recon squad and have some of the same advantages such as built in "move through cover", as well as "infiltration". Of course, they also have scouts which lends itself very nicely to combine with infiltrate.

Weaknesses.
As with almost everything in this army, these scouts are mortals. They are strictly worse than space marines in almost every statistic apart from wounds! That said, they do have BS=4 which makes this squad well worth the (low) price tag associated with them. They're going to be shooting just as well as space marines. I'd therefore use their special rules to get them into position and try to release a suitable volley of shots in the first turn or two of a game before their (almost) inevitable demise.

Notice as well that they're not scoring -- they have the support squad special rule. Treat them accordingly.

Builds.
Quite a few options to think about here, but they're analogous to other scouting units. I'll therefore keep to only two examples: the snipers, and the distraction.

5 Scouts, sniper rifles, cameoline (95 points)
A nice build that many people will probably be tempted by. Functional and probably worth the price tag as well. Just make sure to get off a volley or two in the early turns. Take infra visors to taste.

5 Scouts, lasrifles, sergeant with melta bombs (60 points)
A bit of a distraction squad. Use via either outflanking, or position them at range to make some long shots (recall the 30" range on the lasrifles), or perhaps even get close to a tank to use the melta bombs on. They're expendable, and that's part of the point and the attraction.

Horus Heresy Review: Imperialis Militia Fire Support Squad

Background.
The fire support squad are the Imperial Army equivalent of the Space Marine Legions heavy support squad. As such, they're able to take a variety of heavy weapons.

Strengths.
As they're operating as a team, each team has two wounds. This means a trifle more survivability, but don't forget that a S=6 hit will mean an instant death. They are mere mortals, after all.

The variety of weapons available is comparable to the Space Marine Legion heavy support squad: lascannons, heavy bolters, heavy flamers, and so forth. In addition, they get access to twin-linked heavy stubbers as well as mortars.

Weaknesses.
They're pricier than normal mortals - presumably because the weapons they tote are more valuable than the entire earnings of their whole career put together. And they still die like mortals, have a poor Leadership value and a poor save. As such, they need to be placed in a good position from the start of the game and get off at least two turns of significant firepower to ensure that they're worth their points.

Builds.
Some suggestions on builds. Some are more appealing than others.

10 Fire Teams, all with Lascannons (300 points)
A pricey investment, but the sheer number of shots is needed here to counteract the poor BS and cause serious damage on enemy vehicles. There are probably better ways to kill vehicles than this in 30k Imperial Armies though.

5 Fire Team, all with Heavy Flamers (125 points)
Hunker down on an objective and flame anything that comes close. Alternatively, go on the run and try to flame enemies hunkered down in shelter of their own. Since they're templates, you're not too worried about the BS of the wielders.

6 Fire Teams, all with missile launchers, Flak missiles (180 points)
Anti-air, combined with punching power with krak missiles, and anti-infantry power with the frag shells. All round well worth it.

6 Fire Teams, all with Mortars (120 points)
I like mortars in the Imperial Army. They're cheap and cheerful and provide strong suppression that can be important in many situations.

Whilst other weapons are available, I personally like the above a lot. Certainly, multi-lasers are a great idea here, as are heavy bolters. I'm not sold on the basic heavy stubbers in this environment though. They're just a touch too expensive and just a little too ineffective. Autocannons are certainly viable though, and should be taken in number if you're going down that route.

Horus Heresy Review: Imperialis Militia Grenadier Squad

Background.
Although they might be called `Grenadiers', this term has been authorised in the administration to mean well trained soldiers. These are the elites - so to speak - of the Army. The professionals. The nobility. As with other elements of the army though, they can be as varied as the worlds that they come from.

Strengths.
In terms of their stat line, they are basic human mortal levels with one additional pip in their BS. This is critical as it takes them up to the same level as space marines. Therefore when armed with something like laslocks, or even bolters they're just as deadly.

With an option to take two special weapons, they can also be customised to a good degree. This makes the squad very versatile and able to fulfil a wider amount of roles in the army compared to other troops choices.

Weaknesses.
As with other mortals, they die rather easily. A transport option is probably a virtual must here unless the player has a better way to transport them (or if they're just going to knuckle down on an objective).  Twelve or less is good for an Arvus, or the Gorgon otherwise. To help with their flimsiness, they're cheap. So its easy to fit plenty of them in an army.

Builds.
Several entertaining thoughts here. See what you think.

12 Gernadiers, 2 plasma guns, all with bolt guns, 1 Vexilla, Sergeant with blast pistol (140 points).
Put in an Arvus and go shooting the plasma weapons at viable targets!

12 Grenadiers, 2 melta guns, all with bolt guns, 1 Vexilla, Sergeant with blast pistol and melta bombs (145 points).
A tank hunting variant of the above. Melta bombs for extra effect hopefully.

20 Grenadiers, 2 grenade launchers with either gas OR fire burst upgrades, all with laslocks, 1 Vexilla (160 points).
A large squad to use as sacrifices to keep the grenade launchers going.

20 Grenadiers, 2 flamers, 1 Vexilla, Sergeant with hand flamer (135 points).
Sit on an objective and try to look threatening with all those flamers to deter incoming charges? Sit in a Gorgon tank as well preferably.

Horus Heresy Review: Inducted Levy Squad

Background.
Where people commit crimes that are not worth of the death sentence, then they can be drafted in to the Army. Where people are from a low tech background or a gang wants them to prove themselves, they join the Army. Where near abhumans needs to be got rid of, they're sent to join the Army.

The inducted levy squad includes all of these, and which one precisely will depend on the nature of the army being created.

Strengths.
They're cheap. Dirt cheap. You might like to think Tyranids are cheap. These are cheaper.

Weaknesses.
They are strictly worse than the mortal human stat line with one less pip in Leadership, WS and BS. And they have a worse save. No wonder Tyranid Gaunts are better. At least Discipline Collars are possible here.

Builds.
50 Inductees with lascarbines or laslocks, Discipline Collars (120 points)
A humongous blob of troops. They're a meat shield at best. At least some massed shooting could take out a few space marines if push comes to shove. Add frag grenades for fun. And probably a Vexilla (but that won't truthfully help all that much - fearless would be better if you have an option).

20 Inductees, Custodian with hand flamer, 1 Vexilla, frag grenades (70 points)
Rather expensive for what they are really. But hey, you can afford 70 points, right?

50 Inductees, 1 Vexilla, Discipline Collars, Frag Grenades, all with auxilia pistols, Custodian with blast pistol (135 points)
The maximised squad built for close combat. Cheap enough and cheerful. An entire army could be constructed with 6 lots of these. Does your opponent have enough fire power to take care of them all?

Horus Heresy Review: Imperialis Militia Infantry Squad

Background.
At the core of the Imperial Army are the Infantry Squads. Large, mortal and armed with standard fare, these men and women can be built in a small number of combinations, that ultimately shine (or not) dependant on the rest of the army and the choices made for Provenances by taking a force commander.

Strengths.
Twenty bodies for a cheap price is nothing to be sneezed at. They're very reminiscent of Imperial Guard or Tyranids in 40k -- lots of bodies that are weak in isolation, but in great number present an issue for many armies to supply sufficient fire power to deal with them all.

Weaknesses.
If their cheapness and their numbers are their strength, then their obvious weaknesses are their mortal stat line combined with a save that even a bolt gun will melt away. They're going to die in droves against Space Marines and run screaming. Hence a dedicated transport option is advisable here not only for survivability but also for getting them in to position.

Builds.
20 Militia, with 2 close combat weapons, sergeant with power weapon, 1 vexilla, krak grenades (75 points).
Fundamentally a close combat orientated squad that could potentially be a tar pit for a turn of two. Give them a transport. Hook up with other elements. Hope you've got some good Provenances (Gene Crafted? Jackers? Hordes?).

20 Militia, all with laslocks, 1 vexilla (80 points).
With a S=4 gun, this squad can shoot as well as space marines. They still die like mortals, so take a transport.

20 Militia, all with larcarbines (or auto guns --they're functionally the same), 1 vexilla, krak grenades, sergeant with melta bombs, blast pistol (90 points).
Almost a fully upgraded squad to provide full tactical flexibility. Take a transport, plus some half decent Provenances. And then multiple other squads. 

Alpha Legion Headhunter

This is the first of my Headhunters that I unboxed yesterday. I'm not sure if this will be the Prime or not, but regardless, I'm very pleased with the result here.

The bits I used are as follows:

Shoulders, Torso, Weapon, Head, Accessories - Headhunters upgrade kit;

Legs - Sternguard Space Marine;

Arms, Base (32mm) - Betrayal at Calth boxed set;

Backpack - Grey Knights;

Base - Cork and bits from a Drop Pod.

The overall impression is a marine who is sinister and serious about his business. I like the way that the combi-bolter looks -- even if I might just use it or count it as a regular bolter to be honest. The backpack gives a clue as to how I might deploy this guy -- by deep strike. This can be achieved via Armillus Dynat for those wondering. Equally, I don't have to deep strike headhunters in the slightest -- infiltration and scouts are an ideal choice for how they can set up.

Alpha Legion Headhunters Kill Team Unboxing

Fresh from the factory, and delivered to my door today: a set of new Headhunter Killteam bits for my Alpha Legion force!

The image below is what the components look like fresh out of the clam pack, with no tidying up work performed at all.

Some comments in no particular order:

The copyright date is 2015. That is perfectly reasonable, of course, for a product advertised in January 2016 and shipped in February 2016. Unless I'm cynical and think that the product was finalised in early 2015. 

Some of the bits feel to me like they were practise for other things. The triskelion like shoulder pad for instance: I wonder if we'll be seeing that again elsewhere (I'm optimistic for Lernaean terminators, naturally). Some of the heads as well are very reminiscent of the picture of Alpharius' head plume in the third Horus Heresy book, Extermination. I certainly have my fingers crossed for the Primarch coming out soon.

The clean up doesn't look too bad. A good wash and a few flashes to remove and I'll be done. Most of the parts do look like they are connected to the large chunks of resin in sensible places as well - leaving minimal marks to deal with once they're cut away.

I'll be making new miniatures from these parts very soon!

Word Bearers 30k Army List: 1850 points Erebus with The Dark Brethren

Introduction.

The Word Bearers legion is an incredibly powerful one in its own right. I think that many players overlook just how good their basic rules are. The ability to roll 3d6 and take the lowest 2 for leadership purposes is absolutely excellent. Combined with being able to have a bonus to sweeping advances, they can readily clear a board through good close combat.

The other thing that the Word Bearers can do that other legions cannot is to take Daemon Allies and plentiful psykers (NB: at the time of writing, I know nothing about the Thousand Sons -- I hope they're better in the psychic department than the Word Bearers are). In today's army list, I wanted to explore this by looking at a legion army list that features Erebus -- the chief architect of the Heresy -- at the helm combined with the Word Bearers rite of war: The Dark Brethren.

Army List

HQ 

High Chaplain Erebus (195 points).

Here he is in all his glory. He is being used here to fulfil the Chaplain requirement for the Word Bearers  special rules restrictions.

Diabolist Consul, Burning Lore, Jump Pack, Tainted Weapon, Melta Bombs (155 points).

More psychic power here, with a jump pack.

Diabolist Consul, Burning Lore, Tainted Weapon, Melta Bombs (135 points).

As above, but without the jump pack

Troops

Legion Tactical Squad, 20 members, sergeant with power fist and artificer armour, legion vexilla (285 points).

A large blob of troops. Take the diabolist without the jump pack to accompany these guys.

Legion Assault Squad, 10 strong, 2 plasma pistols, sergeant with thunder hammer, plasma pistol, melta bombs and artificer armour (330 points).

An all-purpose assault squad to go with the diabolist with the jump pack. 

Daemons Allies.
Be'Lakor (350 points).
Nasty, just nasty! You won't be making any friends here folks! If you're feeling a bit less nasty though, use Fateweaver instead ;)

11 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (99 points).
To take hold of objectives, of course. Well, not really, they're here for the extra psyker levels.

11 Horrors of Tzeentch (99 points).
Plenty of magic here to do something with.

6 Screamers of Tzeentch (150 points).
Zooming across the skies to take a munch out of tanks and terminators alike.

BONUS:
there are still 52 points to play around with here -- take some more cheese with the cheese, or better yet: an anti-air option. Dark Channeling for the Assault Squad is not a bad option either!

How it works.
This list focuses on psychic power a whole lot. Combining 3 psyker HQs, alongside Be'Lakor, and the Pink Horrors makes for a potentially devastating list. Sadly, the list also has very little way of taking care of fliers. Good luck with that. 

Try to get some daemon summoning going on with all these powers if at all possible. Remember that as daemons, everyone can gain access to the malefic daemon option and have Be'Lakor do some summoning. 

Use Be'Lakor to hide in the shadows and make a surprise assault. Use the Assault Squad to take out tanks. Subtle, this list is not. But it is not unbeatable, it is simply strong and can do some serious summoning if allowed to go on unchecked.

Expansions and Contractions.
This list certainly needs an anti-air option. That is the first thing I would look to expand in to. Beyond that, I think that some more bodies on the ground in power armour would not go amiss either. I would have liked to have taken some Gal Vorbak, or perhaps a tainted Mhara Gal dreadnought as well. I would be tempted to switch one of the diabolist to a full level 3 librarian as well. 

To get the list under 1500 points, at least one of the diabolists has to go, and I'd replace Be'Lakor with a pair of (or even a single) Heralds of Tzeentch. 

[Image Credit: Paulio Geordio; distributed under CC BY 2.0]

Warhammer World: Downed Craft

In this Warhammer World diorama, an imperial craft has crash landed … in the middle of an Ork held town. The Imperial Army are on its way to help out. But there are a whole heap of Orks who are interested as well!

Warhammer World: Battle at the Phall System

As one of the early conflicts in the Horus Heresy, the Battle at the Phall System was also one of the most important in some ways. A clean victory here may have meant that Horus could have swept in to the Sol System with relative celerity and emerged triumphant. History would dictate otherwise.

These pictures were taken in the special exhibition at Warhammer World (nope: I'm not there today for the Forge World weekender - but am certainly very pleased to see all those lovely new models being released!). The board is essentially a modified zone mortalis construction with a huge number of Iron Warriors and Imperial Fists contesting a large space craft. There's some lovely little gems in there in you look closely. The last image is a gem in and of itself: the Imperial Fists `docking' with the Iron Warriors craft!

Hope you like the photos.

Horus Heresy Review: Imperialis Auxilia Platoon Command Cadre

Background.
This Cadre is a collection of the best troops, officers and advisors available to a commander in the Imperial Army (or cult army). For those still loyal, it might be ganger members, or perhaps family of the commander. But for those who have turned traitor, they could be representing the ambitious and deceitful bunch who congregate around a tyrant. Or worse.

Strengths.
The Cadre comes with 6 people, of which the platoon commander has two wounds. As a baseline unit, one has to remember that they're in need of some upgrades and transports.

Weaknesses. 
Poor leadership (despite pseudo-stubborn bodyguards thanks to the standard). Weak in combat. Not particularly outstanding in melee. Why would you take this squad? Presumably because they're really cheap and they're ablative wounds available for the real HQ! I'd actually entertain placing them in a transport like a Gorgon even, alongside other close combat exponents who want a ride and can provide a lot of wounds. Out in the open, they'll perish on the first turn if they're not careful: platoon standard bearer and all.

Builds.
Command Cadre, Commander with power fist (45 points).
The points cost for this baseline unit is absolutely amazing - the "hidden" power fist combines well with other squads for a ride in a transport, whilst this squad is reasonable at what it does (soak up wounds) for other HQ choices.

Command Cadre, 4 extra bodyguards, Commander with melta bombs, refractor field, power fist; bodyguards with grenade launchers; carapace armour all round (155 points).
This is the near-fully upgraded version can be deadly in the right circumstances, and has a bit more staying power than the baseline version thanks to better armour. Its still not going to hang around too much, and hence needs transportation or effective positioning. But its now a squad to be a little more wary of for the enemy. 

Alpha Legion Saboteur Model

I decided to do a little bit of a kit-bash conversion to attempt to create an Alpha Legion Saboteur for my Alphas. 

This one uses resin parts from the Forge World Master of Signals (arms, head, back pack), devastator space marines (legs), betrayal at Calth bits (shoulder pads, melta bomb) and a random bit from a tank attached to the thigh. This last bit is supposed to be a representation of the dreaded Combat Augment Array, to create the nasty auto-tank destruction combo that the Alpha Legion is capable of executing. 

The only ingredient missing is the cameleoline. To be honest, I'm not that bothered about this, as I will simply paint up the miniature in camo colours (or dark blues and blacks at minimum) to give the suggestion of a marine who is trying to be sneaky.

At the same time, I also wanted this miniature to be viable as a Master of Signals. I think this has been fulfilled nicely! Note also the base is a 32mm one -- I bought a stack of these recently from Bitz Box which proved cheaper than the Games Workshop online store retail price for those interested and in the UK.

Overall, I'm happy with how this one has turned out!

Combi Plasma Conversion Experimentation

Although I've created a number of combi-plasma guns in the past, I've never exactly been wholly satisfied with the end results. Therefore, I thought I'd try my hand at them again, now that sufficient time has passed to get me over the initial horrors that I created.

One thing that I think makes the difference in my current endeavour is the use of a plasma pistol -- as opposed to a plasma gun. I think the pistol variant has just the correct size for this conversion, and I feel the full gun is simply too long, and certainly looks awkward when placed on top of a regular bolter.

For this conversion, I'm wanting some terminator combi-plasmas. Therefore the other "half" of the gun is a chaos space marine combi-bolter. 

I've trimmed off the spiky bits from this bolter, as I wanted to tone it down for use with my Alpha Legion army. The combi-bolter was then literally sawed in half from the barrels downward. As can be seen, there's a gaping air bubble hole in the centre of the plastic, which may surprise some people who are new to the hobby. 

For the plasma pistol, I removed the hand and filed down one side of the pistol where I wanted to attach it to the terminator combi-bolter. A little bit of glue later, and a bit of plastic "filling" just where the hand used to be, and its finished and ready for attachment to a new terminator. I will probably go over this with a bit of liquid green stuff to fill in some of the more obvious cracks. 

Several more of these and I'll be done!