TOEMP #9 - Heavy Metal, part 4

I managed to get the King Russ tanks painted up, but the weather is so cold I'm unable to seal them and add the water slide transfers:

Vanquisher and Battlecannon turrets - The Vanquisher is the must-have variant for me. It definitely makes my marine opponents sweat!

Punisher cannon and Heavy Bolter sponsons for maximum horde-killing!

Executioner and Plasma Sponsons - All of the turrets are swappable, and along with the alternate sponson weapons, I will be able to arm the tank in all sorts of combinations. The one thing I really like about the new Leman Russ kit is the swappable weapons. Definitely nice for flexibility!

I've been gathering bits to build an Ordinatus Minoris for the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the newest addition is a set of interesting-looking tracks. I'm still working on how I want it to look, the intent is to make a gantry section in the back using some Necromunda bulkheads, but I'm unsure how I want to approach the front section. Many sketches have been made and rejected, though I'm leaning towards using a Chimera kit and a mess of plasticard to extend and bulk out the command section. It's not going to be super-massive like the huge Ordinatus Majoris from the old epic game, but I do want to make it an homage to its style:

This will definitely be a long-term project. I don't want to rush into it, and I'm still gathering appropriate bits. I'm going to focus on the Guard for a while though, there's a lot of little projects left for the Mordian 7th that I need to polish off before I hare off on some monstrosity!

If you can't make it good, make it big.

In addition to the upcoming Leviathan, I have another superheavy project in the works. I should probably seek counseling...

What will eventually end up being the centerpiece of the Adeptus Mechanicus Ordo Reductor army that waits in the wings is an Ordinatus Minoris crawler. Significantly smaller than the true Ordinatus superweapons, the Minoris crawler is nevertheless a fearsome war engine. The length of three Leman Russ tanks and sporting several sponson-mounted weapons such as Conversion Beamers and Assault cannons, the Ordinatus Minoris' main armament consists of one of several titan-scaled weapons systems. Cradled within a lattice of supports and attended by numerous tech-priests the main gun is designed to annihilate opposing superheavy vehicles and titans. I felt that it was my duty to try my hand at building one (especially since one of my main opponents is in the process of building a pair of Warhounds), and the rough shape is starting to come together:


The rules and inspiration for this monstrosity in the making comes initially from the old days of Adeptus Titanicus, and more recently from the excellent Cult Mechanicus army list available on the Tempus Fugitives site. I decided on building a Volcano Cannon variant, if only for the simple expedient that I had one left over from building the Stormlord! My plan is to craft the main gun as an homage to the Macro Cannon illustration in the Rogue Trader rulebook. It is not currently attached to the vehicle, merely sitting on the back until such time as I build the superstructure.


The true Ordinatus platforms, while an intriguing project possibility in their own right, would likely be simply TOO big to use on the 8x4 table I have at my disposal. I actually like the idea of the smaller versions, and I'm currently in the process of gathering useful bits to use in the project and experiementing with various ideas. I'm still figuring out how I want to do the superstructure - I'd started with some Cities of Death panels, but felt that the result completely obscured the cannon model and ended up looking fairly bland. I'm now considering using some of the old Necromunda bulkheads which would give plenty of open space to allow a view into the gun carriage and attending tech priests/servitors.

The Adeptus Mechanicus is the next army up on the workbench once I finish the Mordian 7th regiment, so expect to see more of this soon!