HYDRA TURRET CONVERSION TUTORIAL: Part 2 PRAETORIAN

All the major pieces got a primer coat. I primed the search light black because it wasn't getting any red surfaces. The guns normally would have gotten sprayed black. But, the sensor arrays have red covers. I hate painting red over black!

Everything after the first base coat. For red, I usually do 3-5 thinned coats of red.

Here the rough details are done. Now they get a thinned wash of black ink....Yes, I still use the old inks.

Another view before ink and details.

The finished turret.

Another view....one of these days I'm going to get a grown up camera.LOL

Finished and sitting on its' new home.

Side view.

I think I'm going to build 4 of these. I'm very tempted to run 2 squadrons. I normally don't run squadrons but.........I am thinking about it. It's a lot of fire power for very little points cost.

HYDRA TURRET CONVERSION TUTORIAL: Part 1

Howdy! I wanted to add some Hydras to my army on occasion. However, I wanted to be able to field more Chimeras at times, as well. So, I decided to convert some Hydra turrets without chopping up my Chimeras. Some of my Chimeras will be doing double duty. Here is the result.

The above picture shows all the parts needed to assemble a Hydra turret. All parts came out of the Aegis Defense Line kit. The only additional parts needed are brass rod, and a bit of plasticard.

Assemble the armor sections as normal, except the top armor. It will be put on the bottom. Next cut a piece of Plasti-card out to fill the top section. I had to shave a little off the back tabs of the armor sections to get the platicard to fit flush.

Drill a hole in each of the side armor plates. I used the center point between the 2nd "bolts"near the back corner to make sure the holes lined up. Cut brass rod to size. Drill the auto cannons to accept the rod and assemble. The "top" armor is glued to the bottom and a strip of plasticard is needed to fill the gap. Next, add the bottom gun mount and drill it to accept some brass rod to allow the Hydra turret to fit in the stock turrets mounting hole.

Side view of assembled turret.

Here is the finished product. The guns elevate and the turret will be able to swivel as well.
Now, I just have to get it painted. Part 2 will go through the paint process and show what this turret looks like on the Chimera hull.

Please, let me know what you think about this project.

BACK TO WORK! MORE PRAETORIANS

Well, I have been side tracked a bit, lately. I've played a few tournaments, Lucky 13s, Ard Boyz, built the pod racer, and most recently have been working on terrain for BoLScon 09. Do you have your place secured, yet? It is going to be a blast! But....I digress.

Having taken a break for awhile I am ready to get back into the swing of things. There is a hobby tournament coming up at Battleforge Games(battleforgegames.com 20% off all GW products! Give them a try!). I am thinking that I may run a good old fashioned gun line for this tournament....with a twist. Yes, I know it probably won't be competitive. But, it will be fun. I plan to get some more troops painted. Probably a 35 man platoon w/heavy weapons squads.....Also with BoLScon around the corner, I need to get the army in presentable shape. So, repairs, touch ups and some changes to my list require additional painting as well(maybe some more Chimeras and more Vets). I'm still not sure on that, though.

Even though, I have not posted any Praetorians lately, I have finished two squads. I did a Praetorian Penal Legion and a Praetorian Vet Squad w/ plasma guns, double barreled shotguns, a Sgt. w/ a power ax and plasma pistol and a demo charge trooper. I havent had a chance to take pictures but, I should have some pics up by the end of the week.

Who's coming to BoLScon? Let me know and maybe we can get a game in during open gaming.

GOOD LUCK AT 'ARD BOYZ!!!

Good luck to everyone playing in 'Ard Boyz today! Have fun!

SPORTSMANSHIP.

In the past few months, I have been playing a lot of 40K. Usually, I play 2 or 3 games every Thursday, 1 or 2 games on Friday, and I try to play 2 tournaments a month.....and I sometimes get pickup game during the week. Most of my experiences have been very enjoyable. However, every now and then there is a squabble over rules or I encounter some one that is just no fun to play against. Winning or losing has very little to do with this. Hell, some of my most enjoyable games were ones where I had my ass handed to me. I had one such game yesterday. In my book, nothing is as much of a buzzkill as a bad sport.

How do you handle playing a sore loser or worse a sore winner? Are you a sore loser or is some one you know a sore loser? Should sportsmanship scores be a higher percentage of overall points?

GETTING SMOKED

Last night I went up to Battleforge Games(battleforgegames.com 20% off all GW products!!!) and played a few games. Talk about two totally different games. The first game I played a shooty IG list @ 1500pts. My opponent was a new player. He was playing SM. The game started and I tried to hold back but, it was one of those games where I was hitting everything and he was rolling the "bad dice from hell". The game ended in turn 4.

I backed this up with a practice game for Ard Boyz. Once again I played against SM. This was a totally different game. Drop pods with Lysander, CC Termies, and melta equiped SM, were in my lines on turn 1. It was pretty brutal. Turn 3 I called it. I could still do damage but, it was apparent that it was a losing battle, and it was close to closing time. I have no doubt that I would have been tabled. But, I learned a lesson about deployment and the level of the lists that will be on the tables at Ard Boyz. This should be fun.

How are you preparing for Ard Boyz?