MODELLING

WORKSHOP
IMPERIAL VEHICLES

With all the talk about the new Imperial Guard infantry, it’s
easy to forget the heavyweights of the army – the tanks!
Chad Mierzwa shows us how to customise your vehicles.

Introduction

W
ith the release of the new
Imperial Guard Codex, tread-
heads across the world will be
getting their armoured companies ready to
rumble out across the battlefields of the
41st Millennium.
The tank crews of the Imperial Guard
attribute personalities and character to the
armoured behemoths that they ride to war.
™ The hulls of these great tanks are adorned
with all manner of honorifics and blessings,
or customised to better suit the battlefields
they fight upon.
We thought that the release of the new
Modelling Workshop Codex was a great opportunity to revisit
some of the great Imperial Guard tanks in
is your indispensable our collection, as well as take a look at the
guide to getting the brand new kits available this month. We’ll
show you just some of the many ways that
most out of your you can customise and personalise your
models and terrain. In own vehicles.
We asked Chad Mierzwa – no slouch
this installment we when it comes to converting and
show you how to add customising tanks, as you’ll see at the end If the information about tank markings in this issue isn’t
of the article – to show us how to add
details to your tanks. personal touches and details to your tanks.
enough for you, then check out the Apocalypse book,
as it has a whole section on the subject!
 Leman Russ Battle Tank
Chad started off by building a Leman Russ
Battle Tank, but rather than building it
straight out of the box he performed
something of a kit bash. To create a
tooled-up command tank to lead his tank
squadron, he has used extra parts from the
tank accessory frame, the command
upgrade frame and the Baneblade
sponsons and accessories Bitz Pack. The
This marking, taken from This Leman Russ is equipped with
tank has extra aerials and antennae, as the Imperial Guard tank extra fuel tanks, vastly increasing
well as extra flourishes such as fuel tanks transfer sheet, is closely its range and allowing it to roam
and extra armour plates. associated with the Steel far ahead of the main battlegroup.
Legion regiment.

Chad painted the Leman Russ

in the camo scheme of the
Armageddon Steel Legion –
Codex Grey with Rotting Flesh
Chad has used the Baneblade Sponsons and stripes. The side panels of the
Accessories Bitz Pack, pictured above, to add turret are painted with the
many of the details to his Leman Russ. You can squadron markings, applied
order the Bitz Pack especially for the conversion, using a masking technique,
or you might already have a similar array of bits and a campaign badge, taken
left over in your bitz box from your Baneblade. from the tank transfer sheet.

Extra Details A B C
Chad added all manner of extra
details to the Leman Russ, taking
many of the bits from the tank
accessory frame, the command
upgrade frame and the Baneblade
extra armour frame. The Imperial
aquila antennae array has been
added to the turret, along with all
manner of aerials (A and B), marking
the tank out as command vehicle. A
searchlight from the command frame D E F
was added (C), and he has affixed
two of the Baneblade armour plates
to the side of the tank (D) in place of
sponsons, serving as ablative armour.
Extra fuel tanks, taken from the
Baneblade extra armour frame have
been added to the back of the
vehicle (E and F).

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 Armoured Sentinel
After his success with the Leman Russ
kit, we tasked Chad with assembling the Sentinel Assembly
new Sentinel, showing us just how The Sentinel kit contains a multitude of different
options, allowing you to build either an Armoured
versatile the kit is. Chad decided to Sentinel or a Scout Sentinel, armed with a wide
assemble the model as an Armoured choice of weaponry. Chad has assembled his as an
Sentinel (the kit also makes a Scout Armoured Sentinel armed with a missile launcher,
Sentinel) and, in the same vein as the making for a versatile option in his army.
Leman Russ, he added all manner of
antennae and radar dishes to the top of
it. This may represent the Sentinel
being a command walker, or it
could be used for long-distance
reconnaisance operations.
As the only walker in the
Imperial Guard army, the
Sentinel’s base offers plenty of
opportunities for really adding
character to the model. This has
been mounted on a scenic base
covered in rubble and pieces of
debris, suggesting that the Sentinel is
prowling through the ruins of a city.

Chad has mounted his Sentinel on this

fantastic scenic base that really shows off
the poseability of the Sentinel. He started by
using the scenic Dreadnought base, and
then added additional ruined masonry taken
from the Cities of Death ruins.

Squad Markings

The Sentinel was painted in the camouflage pattern of The rear of the Sentinel, showing the
the Steel Legion, to match the colour scheme of his detailed exhausts and the improved
Leman Russ. He has added squadron markings to the comms array, taken from the Imperial
side of the Sentinel with a transfer taken from the Guard tank accessories frame. Chad has
Imperial Guard tanks transfer sheet. The number painted the exhausts to look heat-
denotes the number of Sentinel in the squadron, whilst blackened, in stark contrast to the
the colour denotes the squadron. gleaming metal pistons on the legs.

84 WHITE DWARF MODELLING WORKSHOP: IMPERIAL VEHICLES

 Other Sentinels
Here are some more examples of the poses
and options you can make with the Sentinel
kit, as well as examples of the colours that
other regiments paint theirs.

Armageddon Steel Vostroyan

Legion Armoured Armoured
Sentinel with Sentinel with
plasma cannon. lascannon.
Cadian Scout
Sentinel with
missile launcher
and searchlight.

Markings and Organisation

Imperial Guard tanks are drawn from dedicated 1 st
2 nd
3 rd
4 th
5
th
6th

armoured companies, attached to infantry companies

for the duration of a campaign. A tank company
comprises three squadrons each made up of three Examples of different company markings. Colours can vary between
tanks, and one command tank. The vertical stripes Imperial Guard regiments.
denote which company the tanks belong to. This
example shows a complete 2nd Company.
21 22 23
1 st

Squad
HQ
20

24 25 26
2 nd

Squad

27 28 29
Camouflage
3 rd
Tanks will often be
Squad
repainted by their crews as
they are transported to
various theatres of war.

Sulphur desert Urban sprawl Polar Temperate Jungle Night world Ferrous waste Ash waste Death world

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 The Valkyrie
Stormtrooper Valkyrie
Chris Peach painted this Valkyrie to belong to an ace pilot,
denoted by the eagle wing design painted on the wings. He
carefully cut a template out of tracing paper, using that to
help him paint the design onto the wings.

This Valkyrie has obviously seen

plenty of action. Chris has heavily
weathered the paintwork, and painted
the engines to look scorched. He
even weathered the eagle wing
design, chipping it away to show the
paint and bare metal underneath.

Catachan Valkyrie
Valkyries are drawn from the Imperial Navy,
and as such aren’t necessarily painted in the
same colours as the regiment to which they’re
attached. For this Valkyrie Chris has created a
jungle camouflage scheme, perhaps for
operating with the Catachans.

Chris has painted a freehand shark’s

teeth design onto the side of the
Valkyrie. He used photographs from
modern-day helicopters as reference
for the markings. You can also see the
multi-laser, one of the alternate
weapon options available.

86 WHITE DWARF MODELLING WORKSHOP: IMPERIAL VEHICLES

Other Regimental Colours
The ‘Eavy Metal team painted tanks in a number of different regimental patterns
especially for the Imperial Guard Codex. Here are a few examples, focusing on some of
the details and insignia added by the experts.

Mordian Hellhound
The Mordian Hellhound stands out on the battlefield for a number of reasons. First and
foremost is the distinctive yellow and black patterning on the dozer blade and fuel tanks,
achieved by masking out the pattern with tape. Secondly is the dark blue, almost black
hull, designed for fighting on the night world of Mordian. The squadron markings are
distinctive too, very different from the usual red and white stripes on the Cadian tanks.

The yellow and black warning

stripes immediately stand out on
the Hellhound, especially against
the dark colour of the hull.
Whether it’s intended to act as a
warning to friend or foe is unclear.

Valhallan Leman Russ Battle Tank

Tank camouflage is not necessarily designed to disguise the tank or help it to blend in to
the surrounding environment – a vehicle the size of a Leman Russ is hard to hide. Instead,
tank camouflage is intended to break up the outline of the tank, making it harder to target
on the battlefield. With its jagged pattern, this Valhallan Leman Russ is a good example.

The Valhallan Leman Russ is

adorned with all manner of
regimental titles and badges. The
home world of the regiment is
proudly displayed on the dozer
blade, along with the Imperial
Eagle. The turret displays a
distinctive campaign badge
alongside the squadron markings.

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 Cadian Demolisher
This Cadian Demolisher is a great example of the
multitude of tanks in our Studio Cadian army. The tank is
camouflaged for operation in a temperate or wilderness
environment. Extra details from the tank accessory frame
have been added, such as the improved comms unit and
the tank commander.

The Cadian Demolisher has been

assembled with a tank commander
poking out of the top of the turret.
The commander has been painted
to match the uniforms of the
Cadian army.

Vostroyan Basilisk
This Vostroyan Basilisk has a very distinctive colour
scheme, with a light brown-grey hull and brass
detailings. The squadron markings of the Vostroyans
differ dramatically from those of other regiments, with
irregular red stripes on the hull.

The breach of the earthshaker

cannon has been heavily
weathered around the edges,
suggesting that it is slammed open
and closed. Kill markings have
been painted on in freehand.

88 WHITE DWARF MODELLING WORKSHOP: IMPERIAL VEHICLES

Tallarn Chimera
When they go on long campaigns, the Imperial Guard use their vehicles as mobile
headquarters and rudimentary barracks, loading them up with stowage in the form of extra
supplies and ammunition. The Tallarn Desert Raiders are famed for their hit-and-run
warfare, using mobile elements to strike through the wilderness and attack the enemy from
an unexpected angle. This Tallarn Chimera has had all manner of details added to it, such
as cases of ammunition, tools and stowed equipment.

The regimental markings have

been painted onto the side of the
Chimera (above top), displaying
both the regimental home world
and the platoon number. Bed rolls
and blankets have been affixed to
the outside of the tank (above).

‘Chad-eptus’ Mechanicus
Ever since the Baneblade was released, Chad has been tinkering away This plastic gumball has
with this personal project, his highly customised Baneblade (nicknamed been painted to resemble
‘the Procrastinator’ by his comrades for the length of time it’s sat on his a glowing ball of energy,
perhaps an experimental
desk). He sees the Baneblade as some sort of prototype tank built by power source for the
a Techpriest. He kept the bare metal showing, reasoning that as super-heavy tank.
Techpriests revere machines, why would they cover them with
paint? Many of the parts come from Chad’s extensive bitz box,
which is almost as old as he is!
Is this strange device an
exotic weapon, or does it
have some other, more
mysterious purpose?

This Servitor is hard-wired

into the back of the
Baneblade, tasked with
carrying out essential
repairs and maintenance
during battle.

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