Since I got the 3D printer in August, most of my prints have been infantry, with a few Rhino sized tanks
But this project is the biggest print so far, and required 3 full to the brim plates done!
It’s a proxy for the Macharius Heavy Tank called the Lupercal, and it’s a beautiful model.
The first plate which had on the turret, sponsons and part of the tracks, took just shy of 9 hours to print
The second which had on the sides and engine block was a chew on to print. The first attempt failed at 77% done, which was fine for the engine block, but the sides were partly completed. The printer appeared to have crashed, which was annoying.
The second attempt was just the sides, plus the Heavy Stubber Sponsons which I had forgotten was the only configuration the Solar Auxilia version could take, and that didn’t print at all.
The third attempt was successful and took just under 9 1/2 hours .
And finally the third plate, containing the front hull, rest of the tracks and the Vulcan Mega Bolter parts took 5 1/2 hours.
Once it was all printed cleaned and cured, it was then time to put it together, as you can tell I decided to print the parts for all three weapons that can be swapped in and out,
Those being the standard Battlecannons, Vanquisher Cannons and a Rotary Bolt Cannon (used to be a Vulcan Mega Bolter and that was much cooler)
With it all assembled, I then primed it in Poundlands grey primer spray paint, which is an excellent can for just £2.50!
And this where the problem was, it just look too much like a Soace Marine tank, so as much as I loved it, it’s going to be joining the Imperial Fists
So back to the drawing board and look what I found on the Purple Site, a version that has more rivets and it far more Solar Auxilia looking!
So then this was primed in that very same Poundland Grey
And then painted up in my urban camo scheme I am using for the Solar/Guard to allow vehicles to be used across armies.
This has a base of Mechanicus Standard Grey (AP Deep Grey), then the camo pattern using Thunderhawk Blue and Abbadon Black, with a recess wash of Agrax Earthshade then a Dawnstone dry brush
When it was finished I coated the tracks in Stirland Mud and added some static grass for texture after which I drybrushed it with Gothor Brown and then Screaming Skull.
I am pretty happy with how this turned out and it’s adding a decent big tank to the Solar Auxilia even though it’s pretty pointless for its cost, and a Leman Russ Vanquisher is far more points efficient.
So what have I learned from this project, well if I want to tackle anything bigger, I will need a wash and cure station, a Stormhammer is something I want to do, but would have issues with the processing of it due to size
And to be honest, it’s given me a lot more confidence to run longer prints, which is something I have tried to avoid in the past cause I didn’t like being unable to monitor them.
But here is the thing when it comes to my 3D printing and Warhammer, I don’t want to be the guy who 3D prints everything. For the Solar Auxilia, so much stuff is still in very expensive resin, or just not in production, even in resin, that I found myself needing to 3D print a good ton of models.
I want to support my FLGSs, but at the same time, I enjoy the hobby of 3D printing, especially tanks, for my Krieg I want to print some Chimeras and Hellhounds for example.
I guess I am just trying to find that middle ground, where I am trying to 3D print some stuff but also making sure to buy actual plastic models for others.
It’s an interesting balancing act.
Website Update
I have added a new page to this website, its a list of the armies I own and a link to a Google Doc for each of them, listing what I have painted and ready to play with.
Its only partial, I am expanding it slowly as I catalogue what I have and get NFC tags attached to the boxes, which allows me to pull up the lists easily if I want to know what in the boxes.
What I Am Modelling
I started out with the Terminators for the Ultramarines Combat Patrol
Followed by the same squad, but this time for the Dark Angels
After that I had some Allarus Custodians to complete the new Custodes Combat Patrol
And I am starting a rebuild of my Aeldari army, starting with the Farseer from the Combat Patrol
And I also painted two Chaplains on a Bike, one for the Ultramarines
And another for the Dark Angels
Then I turned to the Tyranids and painted up some Barbgaunts
Followed by some Termagants
And a Ripper Swarm
This was followed by a pair of Ammo Monks for Trench Crusade
Finally I painted Skragrot the Loonking
With a Rabble Rowza
So what’s up next?
- Blood Angels Landspeeders
- Ardboyz x 10
- Rockgut Troggoths x 3
- Atheon Heavy Sentinels x 3
- Rettributes x 5
- Malcador Heavy Tank & Dracosan
- Swampboss Skumdrekk
- Ultramarines Brutalis Dreadnought
- Imperial Fists Command Squad
- The Ancestors’ Wrath Einhyr Champion & Kâhl Yôht Grendok
What Tabletop Games I Am Playing
It was the monthly Hartlepool 40K tournament on Sunday and I went along with Necrons.
I had originally planned to take Guard, but with the new codex seemingly deleting the Imperial Armour units, I was left well short of having a list.
So this is what I took
Tournament Necrons (1995 Points)
Necrons
Starshatter Arsenal
Strike Force (2000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Catacomb Command Barge (135 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Gauss cannon
• 1x Staff of light
• Enhancements: Miniaturised Nebuloscope
Hexmark Destroyer (75 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Enmitic disintegrator pistols
Overlord (85 Points)
• 1x Overlord’s blade
• 1x Tachyon arrow
Royal Warden (50 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Relic gauss blaster
Skorpekh Lord (80 Points)
• 1x Enmitic annihilator
• 1x Flensing claw
• 1x Hyperphase harvester
BATTLELINE
Immortals (70 Points)
• 5x Immortal
◦ 5x Close combat weapon
◦ 5x Gauss blaster
Immortals (70 Points)
• 5x Immortal
◦ 5x Close combat weapon
◦ 5x Gauss blaster
Necron Warriors (90 Points)
• 10x Necron Warrior
◦ 10x Close combat weapon
◦ 10x Gauss reaper
Necron Warriors (90 Points)
• 10x Necron Warrior
◦ 10x Close combat weapon
◦ 10x Gauss flayer
Necron Warriors (90 Points)
• 10x Necron Warrior
◦ 10x Close combat weapon
◦ 10x Gauss flayer
OTHER DATASHEETS
Annihilation Barge (105 Points)
• 1x Armoured bulk
• 1x Gauss cannon
• 1x Twin tesla destructor
Annihilation Barge (105 Points)
• 1x Armoured bulk
• 1x Tesla cannon
• 1x Twin tesla destructor
Canoptek Doomstalker (145 Points)
• 1x Doomsday blaster
• 1x Doomstalker limbs
• 1x Twin gauss flayer
Lokhust Heavy Destroyers (55 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Gauss destructor
Lokhust Heavy Destroyers (55 Points)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Enmitic exterminator
Night Scythe (145 Points)
• 1x Armoured bulk
• 1x Twin tesla destructor
Skorpekh Destroyers (180 Points)
• 6x Skorpekh Destroyer
◦ 6x Skorpekh hyperphase weapons
Tomb Blades (75 Points)
• 3x Tomb Blade
◦ 3x Close combat weapon
◦ 3x Twin gauss blaster
Tomb Blades (75 Points)
• 3x Tomb Blade
◦ 3x Close combat weapon
◦ 3x Twin tesla carbine
Triarch Stalker (110 Points)
• 1x Heavy gauss cannon array
• 1x Stalker’s forelimbs
Triarch Stalker (110 Points)
• 1x Heat ray
• 1x Stalker’s forelimbs
So my first game was against Leon and his T’au Empire army, which was battlesuit heavy
He had a very good opening round of shooting taking out my Canoptek Doomstalker, and Annihilation Barge and Lokhust Heavy Destroyer.
By the end of turn 3 I was pretty much gone with just a few troops left, but they survived until the end of turn 5 which was good
For my second game I faced Christophers Space Wolves with an allied Armiger Warglaive
It was a much closer match, but I struggled to score in the primary mission because the Necrons are quite slow, I think I really need some transports for them
And finally I went up against the Chaos Space Marines of Ian, and for the first couple of turns it was reasonably equal, and I thought I might stand a chance at a close loss
But losing a couple of my heavy hitters really turned the tide, as the much faster Chaos Space Marines utterly trounced me
So what have I learnt, well the biggest is that my Necrons need transport, so I think I need to invest in some Ghost Arks at some point soon, because I am finding they struggle to get Warriors on to objectives
But regardless of the outcome, I had fun and well, the wooden spoon is what I live for!
On Tuesday I played a game of Age of Sigmar for the start of a local escalation league, with the first games at 750pts
I am using this list
750 740/1000 pts
-----
Orruk Warclans | Ironjawz | Ironfist
Drops: 1
-----
General’s Regiment
Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (360)
• General
Ardboyz (180)
Brutes (200)
My first game was against Michaels Nighthaunt and oh it went badly, the buffs and rebuffs from his characters just really stopped my Ironjawz from getting enough attacks to hit home and as a result they crumpled pretty easily
Ah it is what it is, but it was none the less a fun game!
What Video Games I Am Playing
Still plodding away at Assassin’s Creed: Unity, starting off by concentrating on collectables and clearing stuff area by area
What I Am Spending
I got some Tempestus Scions to add some of the models I need to get myself to have the new Scions based Kill Team, I need some Tempestors and Scions with Grenade Launchers
I still need another box to make the command squad guys with and another Tempestor, but will get that next month
I managed to finally pick up a Pariah Nexus deck, the stars never have seemed to quite align on this!
Gamers@Hart had a deck in on Sunday, during the tournament in which we were supposed to be using it, so I picked it up!
I needed a can of Wight Bone for priming Tyranids, I wanted to get it from Gamers@Hart but alas they didn’t have it in stock, so had to go to Amazon!
And a top up in paints from Element Games, alongside the Thousand Sons Combat Patrol
Video game wise, I picked up Red Dead Redemption 2 on sale at its lowest ever price on Steam, and Rogue Trader too, based mostly on the recommendation of Graham
I also added Fates Divided to Total War: Three Kingdoms
I indulged in a mystery bundle from Fanatical and got myself these
And with it being Humble Choice week, I got that and gained me the following
- Immortals of Aveum
- Trepang2
- Total War: PHARAOH DYNASTIES
- Fabledom
- Griftlands
- Tales & Tactics
- Naheulbeuk’s Dungeon Master
- My Little Universe
- Mood:- Tired
- Caffeinated Beverages Consumed:- 1
- In My Ears:- Romeo – Basement Jaxx
- Tabletop Game Last Played:- Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
- Video Game Last Played:- Assassin’s Creed: Unity
- Book Last Read:- Eidolon: The Auric Hammer – Marc Collins
- Audiobook Last In My Ears:- Fabius Bile: Clonelord – Josh Reynolds
- Movie Last Viewed:- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
- TV Show Last Viewed:- What We Do In The Shadows
- Podcast Last In My Ears:- The Imperial Truth
- Current State of Projects:- Infernus Marines with two colours and a wash on the table!
