The Unification era, Great Crusade & Horus Heresy - Civilian Vehicles: From Unification to the Heresy

Hi Everyone! Tylar here with another project post. Currently underway so a bit beyond its infancy but it stalled a little while ago so now with the blog up and running it felt time to reinvigorate it.

So What?  Why do we need civilian vehicles in 30K who cares?  Well, I'm not new to scratch building things or a challenge.  Some of you may have seen my Malcador before.  I wanted to fill a gap with something that was not only cool but provided some great visual aspects on the battle field.

Lots of people, gamers and painters always love good scenery and if it comes with a narrative even better.  A while ago I decided I wanted to address the issue and have more vehicles as scenery and terrain in my gaming.  I also liked the idea of civilian vehicles that could be used in narrative play or scenario based games as objectives.

Problem is there's isn't a lot out there.  There ARE some great companies producing a lot of interesting products that could fit the scenery aspect but not ones that really fit the aesthetic for the Age of Darkness that would sit within an STC type look that could conceivable be from the Unification Wars all the way through to the Horus Heresy and beyond.

I also wanted to produce something that could cross over from Civilian to military.  I decided that the Goliath from the Genestealer Cult range was the perfect little vehicle chassis that was likely yo have an STC template that would cascade across the Imperium of Man quite easily.  However I wasn't content with just a four wheeled version because, well out of the box anyone could have one of those right?  So I planned.  First off was could I make a six wheeled version that could double up as both a 'Cab' and a 'Tractor Unit'.  After a little measuring and cutting and a little plasticard work the first version of the six wheeled Goliath arrived.  And I have to say for a short amount of time spent on it, I think it came out really well.

But,  Six wheels just isn't enough if you want to carry cargo not just haul it.  And if I wanted to haul it I needed a trailer.  SO the graduation of the project just seemed obvious.  Eight wheels and a trailer!

Below you have basically two shots of where project got to.

I ended up with an eight wheeled variant that could carry both the Games Workshop container and a custom fuel bowser made from some plasticard and one of the old OOP Forgeworld Fuel Tanks.  Again I have to say I'm quite proud of the project and where it got to.   So what's next?  Well, I definitely need to finish the eight wheeled variant and any planned cargo pods.  I also want to finish off the trailer as it needs a little more work.  

Finally I have invested in some Mechanicum tracks that I plan to use for another two variants of vehicles hopefully, and I've included a few additional shots below of some vehicles I've drawn inspiration from for future project ideas and variants. 

So there you have it ladies and gents.  Hopefully you'll enjoy the progress of the project as it moves forwards.  Please come back and check up on how it's going, feel free to subscribe/follow us here at the blog and all comments and questions are welcome below.

Only In Death Does Duty End

- Tylar