.JPG)
I have seen quite a few Leman Russ/Chimera conversions and having seen another excellent one from the aforementioned Col Ackland on his blog recently (go check his recent post out if you haven't already), I got the bug to start mine. I have never seen one that truly looked right in my opinion. There is a lovely example on the Mordian 7th Blog called the Charon Pattern, but again wasn't quite what I was looking for.Please excuse the poor iphone photos, but here is my WIP take on the Chimera Russ. I'm trying to get a more modern battle tank look. Lower and wider mainly. I have never liked the cartoony look of the regular Russ, but wanted to use Russ parts as well as the Chimera rather than any 3rd party products. The Forgeworld turret was a must! Absolutely love it and think it works great, slightly bigger than a standard turret which is important as I find all the turrets too small.
.JPG)
I have also mastered how to get on with modelling when I've had a busy day. It's not great for painting but now when I get home I crash in front of the PC and put some TV on (Once Upon a Time is the latest, entertaining but not exactly method acting!) like usual, but now sit and clean up models and glue while I watch rather than being relegated to my hobby room. Therefore I expect to get a lot more stuff ready if not painted over the next few weeks.
Thanks for stopping by, as usual comments welcome, will hopefully be finished (not painted though) by the end of the week.
I tell you what, I really really like that. It's like a mini Macharius! Turret is ace but I think the real genius is the bit sticking out the back which just pulls it all together.
ReplyDeleteGreat work!
Very cool! I really dig the hybrid Chimera/Russ hull - that's turned out awesome. I tried to just use bits from the old Leman Russ kit on the Charon, but I agree with you that it wasn't quite right. Marrying the two as you've done is definitely the way to go. Might have to try and build one for myself!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing more - keep up the great work!
OMG, The good Colonel is right! It is a mini Macharius! That shape is really cool. Mine looks really squat next to the photo of yours - LOL. But that's OK because it is only a 12/10/10 tank rather then a proper Russ.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy seeing what you have been working on Buffer. Cheers for the shout out!
I like it - I really enjoy doing extensive conversions that just represent stock units. You can focus on creating something characterful rather than just trying to represent all the different guns in whatever model you're trying to scratch build. That's a top-class conversion, doesn't look 'overbalanced' at all and it captures the modern look very well. I know it's only wip but it would be good to see some beefed-up armour plating on the front and sides, just to set it apart from the well-known kits it comes from. Great work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments guys, Macharius was actually a big inspiration, forgot to say that in my post. I think like a lot of us its my favourite GW/FW tank and I wanted something similar shaped. The intention was always to have some element of the back sticking out and after a little bit of trial and error it actually became obvious that the Russ hull sat quite nicely in the position you see, just requiring the side gaps filled with plasticard (and the front removed of course!).
ReplyDeleteHmm.. I'm not sure how to achieve beefed up extra armour (It will be getting track guards though). The reason I picked old chimera hulls was because the top side plates stick out much more giving some differentiation from the new chimera models which I will use (modified of course!) as chimeras. I'm not 100% sure now I see it built as the width is quite nice as it is, I'll have a look before gluing! I'm not a massive fan of armoured side skirts, I think they can look good but its often a fine line between great and terrible with them. I'll have another think when it's as good as done.