Inside was my copy of Horus Heresy Massacre, which I have to say is a fantastic book. I am definitely going to be collecting a Mechanicum army (well, dark mechanicum).
In my order I also had some Chaos Rhino extra armor, which I had been eagerly anticipating. I am a big fan of classic tanks such as the Panzer IV, and the idea of side skirting on my predator was very appealing.
While nowhere on forgeworld does it state these kits can work with a predator, I just went with it assuming if it didn't work I would make it work.
It turns out they do - So for anyone out there looking at these side skirt kits, dont worry about it they do fit on predators as well as rhinos without affecting the sponsons too much (if at all, slightly obscures shooting but not enough to worry someone who likes the look of them)
Another issue I had with the predator was with realistic weapon placement. The havok launcher just didnt feel right, it was either too large and bulky placed on top of the turret, or it would impede the turrets ability to rotate if placed on the hull. So, remembering the glorious Mammoth tanks from my beloved Red Alert (the original), I decided to slice my havok launchers in two and place them on either side of the turret.
As well as this, I removed the strange camera from the auto cannon (If the twin linked lascannons don't need a lense, why does the autocannon?) and replaced it with a co-axial combi-bolter. I felt that this would be a nice touch without changing the 'pintle mounted' weapons firing arc.
These photos are of a blu-tak fit for my tank, and are nothing like the end result I have pictured. But its a step in the right direction. I will be adding skirting similar to the forgeworld extra armor to the turret, which will bulk it out as well as give a proper mounting for the new havok launcher. These are being made from plasticard of the same thickness as the forgeworld resin.
Overall I am shying away from the spikey chaos look in exchange for a decorated but not over the top, practical chaos battle tank. I want this thing to look like a beast next to its loyalist counterparts.
On a quick and unrelated note, I went down to my local games workshop on the weekend and asked for a quick lesson in NMM for power weapons. I had never touched NMM before and felt I needed to learn a new technique to advance my painting skill as well as make my chaos weapons stand out.
After being shown the technique, I painted up a Raptor power sword in store, but felt it was too 'busy' as well as needing a more gentle blend between shades. I went home and whipped up a power axe and am very happy with the result.
I love how the weapons seem to glow and will definitely use this technique on future weapons. Going forward I may bring the highlights up a few shades closer to yellow, but I haven't decided yet.
Thanks for reading! Next update should be the completed predator build OR, failing that, an Obliterator!
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