100th Drookian Fenriders – A Cavalry Company

Amid worldwide chaos I bring you a big update!

The CAD designs for the Tow Guns are near enough complete, and therefore, ready for printing.

A method was devised on how to attach the gun to the cart. A solid connection made more sense than a second trailer hook since that could cause the cart to fishtail really weird in rough terrain. Now there’s a single balljoint connecting the horse to the cart so it is pulled more like one big trailer.

Hopefully the next time you see me I will have the prints done, and something assembled.

Just a quick update today

Progress has admittedly been rather slow, and that is because I am currently under the affect of the COVID19 quarantine in China. On top of that my glue has dried out, and now I am relatively stuck with what hobby I can do in my apartment.

That said, I received an update on the TOW Gun kits that I am commissioning, and the variable lids representing different weapons ammunition has been finished.

Until the next one, have a great day

Close to eleven years ago, Dave Taylor and Chris Wynn came together to build the awesome truck you see above. (Facebook: Dave Taylor Miniatures)

You can follow the build process here

• Part One

• Part Two

They then very kindly released the templates for the build so that others can copy this awesome conversion.

Now I always wanted to make this conversion but, was never willing to draw out all the templates by hand, especially if I ever wanted to make more than one. Therefore I converted the templates into DXF Files so that they can be accurately laser cut.

I reached out to Dave Taylor and Chris Wynn for permission to share these (Evidence available upon request), and wouldn’t you know, now they can too be yours.

You will want to cut into 1mm thick sheet styrene

Again thank you to Dave Taylor and Chris Wynn for designing this awesome conversion, and everyone praise them for letting me share the DXF files with you

The Files can be downloaded from here

I have been riding that surge of hobby energy, and finished off my Dragoon concept and rounded it out with the other 7 standard infantry. Making it one “count as” Infantry Squad currently minus a Heavy Weapons Team.

After removing the riders I had to rebuild

• The Saddle
• Baggage
• Stirrups
• Reins

The Stirrups while fiddly were not too difficult. If I was to make more I would 3D print them just to save time.

The Reins on the other hand were annoying to do, particularly the ones over the head. The Greenstuff ones are shaper but the Plasticard one has far better shape.

You will see from the pictures that there are only eight Dragoons, that is because a heavy weapon team will be joining them. Maarten has been chipping away on the CAD files. Here are some of the newest renders (Rivets will be the last thing added)

Games Workshop recently announced the new Adeptus Mechanicus Unit: Serberys raiders. I of course looked beyond that and finally saw a far simpler route to making

Bio-Priest Fleshseer AKA ‘The Vet’ (Count as Tech-Priest)

Here is some inspiration I will be working off of for it:

While the CAD Files are being worked on by someone else, I have had some time to pursue a side project that I have wanted to do for a very long time; A 40k Willys Jeep.

Now the use of Scale Miniatures in 40k has always been met with mixed results. They suffer from scale issues, and not being ‘heroic’ enough.

• Tamiya 32552
• Wheels – Blackdog US Jeep Accessories
• Stowage – BlackdogBritish SAS Jeep North Africa
• Heavy Stubbers – Forgeworld DK HWT
• Brass Barrels – RB Models 20mm Oerlikon L/70, grooved barrel
• Legs – Victoria Sitting Kilt Legs
• Arms – Mad Robot Miniatures

Where it fits into my Regiments Organisational Structure I do not yet know, nor do I know what rules I would use for it if it ever graced the table but, what I do know is that I am very happy with it.

The corrent consensus is either a Staff Car for the Command of an upcoming Field Artillery Company or as part of a future kill team (Long Range Desert Group esq)

It has been suggested that with a little moderation to its loadout (Which I note will never happen), it would make a good count as Tauros. To that I say, a 1/48 Wasp Flamethrower Jeep would be an even better replacement.

I am excited to say today I can show a sneak peak of what is being worked on. Doing an all cavalry army would get a little boring if it would only be made of only one squad, in this instance Rough Riders. Therefore other squads are being converted to incorporate the cavalry element of my army.

Heavy Weapon Teams are the first to get said treatment, after all it quite clearly said it in the 3rd edition rulebook

Now I am certainly mad enough to do such a thing.

Despite my best efforts and some valiant attempts I found it rather difficult to create such a conversion, that would be easily replicated. Therefore I reached out to Maarten van der Zalm, a miniature designer to create the trailer and gun in CAD so that it may be 3D printed and easily replicated.

I now have a few sample shots of what we (mainly he) have been working on.

Please while you are here, take a look at his Shapeways Shop Youbreakityoubuyit

It will mean a lot to me if you can support him

The design eerily resembles the Death Korp aesthetics to match well with the rest of my army. The ammo cart will have a removable lid, inside of which will have magnetisable inserts, each one corresponding to the heavy weapon in tow. Ammo Drums for Autocannons, Power Packs for Lascannons etc

As always I hope you have enjoyed, and I look forward to reading any comments you may have

See you soon

It was suggested to me that my dogs were on the slightly chunky side, and after having a few days to think it over, as well as seeing someone else’s work in printing them smaller. I decided to print them again, at 85% the size

People have asked where I got them from, I downloaded the file from Thingiverse, here.

The Company Command Squad is finished.

I shout out to the individual who managed to get me a few Empire/Freeguild horns to me in such a short time. Without them this squad could have been sitting around incomplete for a while

Next up, I am converting/scratch building a fair few tow guns to count as heavy weapon teams. Taking the following as inspiration. Please wish me luck, and any suggestions you may have on how to achieve it.

I have finally gotten around to converting 84% of my command squad

1.The Commissar

The commissar has had a cloak added (mainly to disguise the conversion work done in the body swap), and a fur connector to disguise the join. A servo skull has been added, as well as a stand alone rebreather, and hunting lance sheath to tie them into the squad

2. The Officer

Has a bonnet to further tie in with the Scottish routes of the regiment, a power sword, a lance and personal banner, and a few pieces of additional equipment

3. The Standard Bearer

The simplest conversion. A banner in place of the hunting lance, and a sword for combat. Added rank insignia on the left shoulder

4. The Navigator

Reading a map, and uses his binoculars. Hunting Lance is stored on the back of the horse. Rank insignia added.

5. Medic

I decided the medic would not carry a hunting lance, so instead is carrying a standard lasgun. In addition I thought they would be required to carry more equipment than the others so I added a bit more stowage to the mount, as well as added the medic symbol to the left shoulder

6. Horn blower (Vox) – WIP

See below for more information

You may have noticed I didnt share any individual photo of the Horn blower, that is because I have misplaced (Ed: LOST!) the horn I was intending to use on him. I thought the horn works well with cavalry and can count as a vox-caster, as well as can be used to control the dogs.

Unfortunately I have no idea where my piece originated so I am hoping someone can offer some suggestions to a replacement. I was certain the original was an WFB Empire piece but, have trawled the GW website I have had no luck in tracking it down

It has been an awfully long time since I got back to work on this project. While I haven’t really touched a miniature in about 6 months, I have been busy with other hobby related things relating to this project that I hope to show you soon once the proverbial ball gets rolling again.

So I will start with a small update. I have finally printed off some dogs to sit among my mounted command squad.

Enjoy

As of my last update, my plan was to continue the long arduous process of greenstuffing, filling gaps, filing, and mold line removal. While breaking up the monotonousness of that by working on my conversions.

Unfortunately the parts required for those conversions only arrived on Saturday afternoon (24/11/18).

Eventually I couldn’t take it any more and decided to build some infantry

This simple unit shows what can be achieved when not only do you supplement a kit with a 3rd parties parts but also when you combine multiple sources to create something truly unique

Heads – Puppetswar

You have already seen these heads on my cavalry. Puppetswar cast great quality pieces and I would happily recommend them to anyone. They are currently renewing some of their lines, and the line I invested in is going/gone. (Good thing I own 200 of those heads + my altered versions). The replacements can be found here.

Arms – Mad Robot Miniatures

I ran into some difficulty in getting these pieces that I didn’t foresee. They do not send worldwide so my parts had to be shipped via somewhere else. The quality of the casts are fantastic. How they are attached to some of the sprues could cause problems for inexperienced hobbyists. The rolled sleeve arms can be found here.

Legs – Victoria Miniatures

Victoria Miniatures could be argued to be the most well known 3rd party part supplier. I would like the quality to be slightly higher but the quality is certainly not bad. Their customer service is also very good. The Kilted Legs can be found here.

Torso – Mine

These Torsos are what I used on my Fen Riders. It started life as a Cadian Torso before webbing was sculpted on, and the Victoria Miniature Gas Mask blended into it.

Weapons – Forgeworld

I went through many options until I settled on what pattern lasgun to use. Catachan versions were too “heroic scale” for the rest of the miniature. Third party options didn’t fitthe feel so I eventually settled on the Forgeworld Death korps version, which can be found here (I will use their pattern weapons except for the grenade launcher).

With the parts that have arrived, I have quickly started converting a few members of my company command. Below arepictures of the Officer and the Commissar. The Commissar will most certainly be receiving a cape, as well as a lot more greenstuff.

I am debating as to whether the Commissar deserves a rebreather, and as I have recently been leaning in one direction, I thought I would put it out for a public opinion poll

This is where I am at the moment. Fifty Fenriders have been built, minus heads on 25 of them as I wait on a big order from Puppetswar. The Bigger bases in the middle will be used for my Tow Guns (Heavy Weapons Teams).

Next is the greenstuffing which I know will take a while as well as some more general clean up of the model.

I am also waiting on an order from Victoria Miniatures that will allow me to convert some of these to be using their rebreathers

I started toying with the idea of a fancier head dress for the mounts of my command squad (I already knew my mounted commissar conversion will). What do you think?

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the one hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the Emperor!” he said.
Into the Eye of Terror
Rode the one hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the one hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the galaxy wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble one hundred!

The third stage is what is usually everyone elses starting point, building some miniatures. Casting has finally finished and I can begin what I know will be a long slog to building a full company. I believe the conversions I have along the way will be a great way to change it up every so often to maintain enthusiasm.

Talking of enthusiasm, I just had to build my first five straight away

STAGE TWO

The second stage is to cast the miniature. The sculpts were done a while ago, it has taken me far longer than I had wanted to get to this point.

I have a few sneak peaks for you, I will reserve the better pictures until after it is all done, and I have assembled a squadron of Drookian’s finest

From then it took a long time to come back around before I came to the decision what regiment?

Sticking with the Death Korps did not appeal to me, no converting required but, they had the best 40k horses, WFB/Aos horses just don’t cut it. From that moment I knew I would be converting Death Riders. I mind mapped up options for what I thought would be great cavalry armies. Vostroyan, Praetorian,and Tallarn all made it to the final four but it was the Drookian Fen Guard that took it. The Drookian Fen Guard first came to everyones attention with Victoria’s golden daemon squad, proudly wearing their kilts, with beautifully freehanded tartan. They portray both the grim dark future, and maintain that real human element to them, something a lot of regiments loose. I understand they are the faceless regiments of the imperial guard but, that is something I really want to show, that human cost aspect.

Primary Goals:

– Extensive (and exclusive) conversions.
– The use of casting
– Green Stuffing icons and insignia.

Inspiration:

Really because I want to share with you where I draw so much of my inspiration

Taros Campaign
Eastern Empire
“DEATH’S HEAD” – 3rd Krieg Tank Division – Titan Hunter Detachment – Best Guard Blog of all time
Pre-heresy Iron Warriors– Love the organisation, layout and attention to detail in this Log
Three Hives Rebellion– Some of the best custom fluff i have ever had the privilege to read
Tau Drop Troops
Sersi’s Slaaneshi Themed Daemon Army – My first exposure of using casting to turn great conversions into elaborate units

My Requirements

As you can imagine with a project of this size, a lot is required. It takes Games Workshop years to produce theirs, and they have all their very talented members of staff. I have myself, and hopefully a supportive and encouraging hobby community to drive my along. What I really want to show is the human side of the Imperial Guard.

Resources Intended for Use:

GUIDES:

Tutofig (Can’t find something look here first)
Lenses
Decals
Salt Technique
Pigments
Blue OSL
Green lights
Painting true metallics

HOBBY ACCESSORIES:

AK 088 Worn Effects Acrylic Fluid
Micro Sol
Micro Set

COMPONENTS:

Forgeworld Death Riders
Victoria Miniatures Kilts 1 & 2
Puppetswar Cossack heads

The Basis:

Unlike any other army I have attempted, to create this army has required so much preparation work. A lot of details needed to be decided ahead of time so that expanding the army wouldn’t throw up annoying difficulties from rushed planning.

STAGE ONE – Converting/Sculpting

The first stage was to create the conversion that could be cast