Greetings one and all
Today we’re going to continue my New Year New Army series.
As some of you might remember, I have decided to start a new Astra Militarum for the new year using the hobby bingo in the back of White Dwarf issue 459. In part 1, I discussed the way I went about designing my armies background and theme. If you missed that blog, you check it out by clicking here, but if you want the short version; I went for a blend of Victorian England, Divine Monarchy, and near-total bureaucratic control that pumps out imperial guard regiments.
In this blog, I’m going to discuss the style of models and the colour theme I decided on for my army, and share with you the progress I have made so far; my first unit, a Leman Russ battle tank!
Now there is an old meme about how Games Workshop designed the Leman Russ, and I honestly think it’s bang on the money. And as much as I do like the Leman Russ, there’s a glaring detail that I just don’t like.
I hate the over the top tracks of imperial guard vehicles. It’s the year 40,000 and we're still using a track design from 1915…? I don’t think so. As such, I decided the top of the track would be covered. And as the world which the crew all come from is highly religious, I thought I would add small items to convey that.
It’s well known that the Imperium like skulls (almost as much as Khorne), and so I decided to put a skull on the top of the tank's turret so that in the lore of my army, the skull of the former tanks commander would be enshrined so that their gaze can still observe as their enemies are mowed down by the mighty weapons of the tank.
The base colour I have decided on for my tank is Vallejo Model Metallic Air Arctic Blue. This is a lovely metallic blue that, honestly, I’ve been looking for the perfect excuse to use it. I’ve blended this with white along the lower hull, which in my mind helps the tanks blend into the blue skies and white snow of their home planet.
I added some decals, which I normally avoid, but they turned out really well and I owe it all to Micro Sol (which I’ll review at some point).
Then came the mud. I thought that a tank moving over frozen snowy ground would quickly turn that ground into mud. And once that was done I added the snow. I’ve never done snow in this way before, but I love the result.
Overall, I think this first tank has been a great success.
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