Finally finished up the BIG GUNS for the Tallarn; a pair of Basilisks.... for now... I had other plans for customizing these with more kit in custom racks and baskets full of prometheum canisters... and maybe some camo netting.. and some CREW!? But I just didn't have enough time or energy or money... Someday I may get around to upgrading them... maybe...
Basilisks of the 178th Tallarn Artillery Regiment
Basilisk #666 - Tahtim (Smash)
Basilisk #669 - Alfatha (Shaft)
Both of these I picked up used for a small fraction of what they cost new. Both no longer had the steps to the platform at the back, and one was missing the railing... but new ones are $75 and I think I paid about $20 for each of these, so... I thought of trying to rebuild the step ladder on both and some kind of rail for the one missing it... but then said "fuck it, why!? No one will care!?"
I'm not entirely sure what I'd do about crew... I could just model them out of greenstuff.. or use some spare guard as a base and add stuff to make them look Tallarn...
Victoria Models makes "Desert Scorpion Heavy Weapons Crew", but most of the arm options are carrying lasguns or crate with ammo clearly much smaller than the shells required for this gun (because they are meant to be crew for infantry-poratble heavy weapons - like mortars or heavy bolters) - though ordering from them I could get some appropriate-size shells I could stack on the platform at the back... It would be $50+ to get six crew.. do I really want to spend that much more money on these just to have some crew on the back...?
One option I had considered (and may still do) was drape some camouflage netting from the Gunshield to the back of the platform - to entirely obscure the platform (so I wouldn't really need to put crew on there. I'd probably want to drape some over the barrel too...
Or... I may just leave these as is.. because how much 40K am I actually going to be playing in the near future... and how many of those games will involve these basilisks!?
On to the Manticores!!
What about some plastics? You could even have figures stripped to the waist (heavy sweaty work) which improves options- WW2 legs with barbarian bodies and a bare head? EBay usually sells odd sprues of such things.
ReplyDeleteNeil
Excellent suggestions! Thank you! I particularly like the stripped to the waist idea!
DeleteNice work, Tim!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jonathan!
DeleteGood looking SPGs! I particularly like the work on the barrels.
ReplyDeleteRe: crew, you could use the new Cadian gunners from the field ordinance battery with a head swop/green stuff. After all, it makes sense that an artillery regiment would be equipped differently than a tank regiment. I seem to recall that one of the tank accessory sprues had standing legs as well, which could be coupled with the new cadians or old bitz (or the stripped torsos mentioned above).
Thanks!
DeleteThose crew do look good... but then what would I do with the guns... I'd need the crew for THOSE!?
I do have a few of those vehicle upgrade sprues and that would be the basis for anything I convert!
I wish I'd have spare Tallarn Mortar crew - on of the crew is a gunner leaning away covering their ears. A par of those on each of these guns, leaning in the opposite direction would have been perfect!
well, I was thinking more ebay bitz buy than buying the whole box!
DeleteIf you had any spare Tallarns, particularly sergeants, you could get out the ol'saw and add some different arms. I have a number of (unpainted) steel legion guys I chopped about to be serving a mortar, and you could certainly do likewise.
Ah, Yeah! I forgot people do that. That's a much smarter idea!
DeleteI have a pair of tallarn that have arms cut off already (came that way in a lot I picked up ages ago) which I'd been considering making use of as well... but it's a weird pose, so I'd have to think about how to make it look like they're doing gunnery work - or just chilling, waiting for a fire mission!