Artillery Detachment

[nutty]

In an attempt to paint more stuff I decided to start work on some artillery pieces I've had laying around for a while. I'm trying to keep myself motivated and actually complete the units (rather than painting them halfway and sticking them on a shelf) so I'm trying something new.

The crew members are going to be slightly different from my regular guardsmen: maybe just a different paintjob, or a small conversion. So fluffwise they are going to belong to a different regiment, that is seconded to my main force.

So far I've got:

6 Heavy Mortars with bits for 3 crew members each, and I figured I'd stick a commander and Command squad in there as well.

The Mortars are from Victoria Miniatures:
and are fun little models to work with.

So I'll be working towards the following:

Spearhead Detachment

HQ:

Company Commander
-laspistol/Chainsword

Elite:

Company Command Squad
-Banner
-Medkit

Heavy Support:

Heavy Mortar Battery
- Heavy Mortar
- Heavy Mortar

Heavy Mortar Battery
- Heavy Mortar
- Heavy Mortar

Heavy Mortar Battery
- Heavy Mortar
- Heavy Mortar

Which comes out to around 500 points.

The command squad is mainly a fluffy addition, but the banner/medkit might actually help the artillery crews stick around.

I don't really expect to field the detachment on it's own, as the mortars are 'alright' but not exceptional. So it's more of a fluff decision, although it would allow me to run them using a different doctrine.

[cheminhaler]

Were the models metal or resin?

If you're trying to decide what to do for the next detachment, rough riders from the Index book could be a good counterpart if you hide them behind a few Russ.

[nutty]

The models are resin, I think most of the stuff they make is these days.

I actually got the parts to make 10 roughriders at the same time as I got the mortars. Before deciding to work on the artillery I was also considering a detachment built around sentinels, maybe a recon force of sorts.. so the rough riders might find a place there in the future.

For now I'm trying to stay focused on these guys and actually get them done. Although I'm already getting distracted by the idea of adding a thudd-gun battery, and if I should add the artillery tanks I own to the same 'detachment', and how to build earthshaker/medusa/manticore emplacements... but so far I've resisted buying new stuff, which is probably a good sign.

[RedsandRoyals]

Do the batteries need two guns minimum? If not, I'd take a second company commander and split the guns into detachments. For an extra ~30pts you'd be getting another CP.

[nutty]

The batteries can have 1-3 mortars each. I have them set up in batteries of two because the crews of each gun in the battery form a single unit. It worries me that if I have a lone gun, the crew only consists of three guys. So a single casualty would force a leadership test, which could lead to the remaining two guys running of leaving the gun unable to fire.. Now the crew can only be targeted if they are the closest unit in a same way as characters, but I assume that they can be targeted in the same way.

I do like the idea though so I'll give certainly it a try. Not only would it generate an extra cp, but fluffwise it would mean that each 3 gun "battery" has an officer to coordinate it, and perhaps some support staff in the form of a command squad.

[judcottrell]

These look like great fun!
Have you thought about fielding them as Krieg? That way they just won’t run if you only take casualties from shooting!
Even if not I’ll look forward to seeing your progress. Love artillery!

[nutty]

Krieg would be an option, although I was thinking about running them as Catachans. The doctrine will hopefully squeeze a bit more consistent damage out of the mortars, and between the officer and banner the crew would be at ld 8 (within range) which would make a 3 man crew "immune" to morale tests in their own way

But first: I'll pick up some new glue this afternoon and than it's building time.

[nutty]

So I made a bit of progress with the guns:



I started by putting three mortars together (because why would you start by building a single one) and when I got to painting them... I realized the wheels got in the way, so I took those off for now. Some of the pegs got damaged in the process, but it shouldn't be to big a problem.

Hopefully the arms I ordered for the crew will get here soon.

[cheminhaler]

You can drill and pin the wheels back in later.

Can't see the picture unfortunately.

[nutty]

cheminhaler thanks for the tip, and the heads-up.

I made the previous post on my cellphone, which makes retrieving image URLs a bit tricky. The picture should be visible to everyone now, but I didn't realize how poor the quality was until seeing it on the bigger screen of my PC. With a bit of luck I'll find the time to complete the first three guns over the weekend, and post some better pictures afterwards.

[cheminhaler]

The artillery pieces look good so far. Looking forward to seeing the crew.

[nutty]

Ah yes.. the crew.

I got sidetracked painting a 30 man platoon whilst waiting for the parts to arrive, so I'll probably try and get those done first. It'll also give me some time to consider if I want to add greenstuff shoulderpads to the arms to help them blend in with the rest of my force.☺

[teku18]

Hey bud nice job on the mortars. Really liking the look of these. Can't wait to see more.

[nutty]

teku18 Thanks.I'm currently trying to scrounge together enough bits to build the crew. I had originally planned to use regular armoured Cadian torsos, but now I'm thinking that I'm going to build them using the unarmoured vehicle ones.

[nutty]

I didn't realize how 'small' those mortars are untill I got my Quad guns in the mail. That discovery put a bit of a damper on the project, but I picked up some plastic tubing the other day and decided to bulk out the mortars a bit. I'll be adding a little less than an inch of tube with a suitable "cap" to the front, and the round piece of a plastic mortar to the back of the gun. So it'll come down to adding an inch or so to the length of the gun. I still want to extend the carriage back a bit as well, but I need to find a way to do so without cutting up the nicely detailed original.

[nutty]

After messing around with extending the barrels a bit.. I ripped them of again (although I did keep the barrels in case I change my mind again)

As you can see the mortar is a fair bit smaller than the thuddgun.



When looking at them as a group though...



The difference does not seem as bad, and a bit of stuff on the bases might give them a bulkier look. So I'm back to being undecided..

Any thoughts?

[Trickstick]

You could add a sandbag redoubt around the gun, which would really bulk the base up. Also a stack of 3-4 shells behind it. Sandbags are really fun to do!

[judcottrell]

I’d say run with it. The size difference isn’t too bad.
The Thudd guns are meant to be a group of mortars bolted together.
Like Trickstick said a sand bag parapet or some barbed wire would look cool and bulk them up a bit.
Any progress on the crew?

[nutty]

I'll experiment with some sort of sandbag redoubt for sure, and see if I can find a couple of shells to go with the ones held by the crew members I've started.

For the crew I've got some of Anvil Industries mortar/howitzer arms:
(http://anvilindustry.co.uk/Regiments/Infantry-Arms-Shoulder-Pads/fatigue-arm-mortar) the pose on the arms really adds a feeling of heft to the models, but the shells aren't crazy big.

In addition I have some modified Cadian arms. My original plan was to use the unarmored torsos from the GW vehicle kits. But I'll probably go back to the Cadian flak torsos, since I can't find any heads that I like in combination with the unarmored torsos.

The Heavy Mortar guys are almost built, so I'll post some pics of them later today. For the thudd gun crews I'll probably use the arms/hands holding the mortar shells that come with the Cadian heavy weapon crews. The shells in the FW crates look about the same size to the regular shells.

[nutty]

Today I did a bit of work on the first three artillery bases:



Since I'm running low on greenstuff/milliput, I decided to improvise a little by making some barrels to add a bit of bulk to the redoubt. I might try to make some boxes and stuff to add later on; crates with a couple shells in them, but also empty/closed ones as part of the barricade.

For another part I could use some help: I've seen (but can't find) pictures of artillery where wooden boards are placed on the ground to keep the guns from sinking into the mud. Now I want to do something similar for the thudd guns to add a bit to the bases without filling them up to much, but I don't know how those boards are called... So it's hard to find some reference pictures. I know they use a similar technique (but with big metal plates) to keep heavy machinery form sinking into soft ground during construction projects, but again: don't know what they are called. Any ideas on what to search for?

[Trickstick]

Duckboards? I know they were what was put in the bottom of trenches, don't know if artillery ones have a different name.

[nutty]

Sept 7, 2018 19:00:00 GMT -5 Trickstick said:

Duckboards? I know they were what was put in the bottom of trenches, don't know if artillery ones have a different name.

Thanks Trick; it's not quite what I was looking for (starting to doubt myself on having seen it) but it'll help in what I'm planning. Whilst I was looking for a reasonably priced trailer to rent, I also found the "construction plates" I mentioned. Turns out the are called 'road plates' in English.

They might not have a practical use (the widened wheels on the arty are designed for the same task) but I'll probably add some "steel"-plate duckboard hybrid to the bases.

[nutty]

No progress on the actaul guns, sice I've been working on the bases:







I've been playing around with weathering powder/pigment for the first time, and I'm glad I've tested it on the bases first. It's fun to work with but some parts have faded out much heavier than others after I varnished the bases. So I'll probably go back to some areas, and see if it'll stick around without varnish over top.

[judcottrell]

The bases look good I reckon, very realistic.

As far as I know the powder will rub off if not varnished.

[nutty]

Thanks Judd. Yeah I guess the powder will rub off without some kind of protection. Maybe I'll try a heavier layer of powder on a test piece and hit it with the varnish.