Ulrik_Ironfist Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 So, I've become enamored with the Tallarn Desert Raiders, and I'm seriously considering stripping my plastic guardsmen and attempting this conversion. I was also inspired by P3AKHOUR's thread here. I won't be able to begin the conversion work until after I finish building some of my backlogged models. Currently I have a Leman Russ Command tank, a techpriest, and a Vulture to build. Models I have that will get repainted: Company Command Squad, after conversion Guard platoon (30 guardsmen, 5 heavy weapons squads, 1 Platoon command squad), after conversion 2 Leman Russ (I have 4 total, 1 unbuilt 1 unpainted) Vendetta Gunship 2 Armored Sentinels Fluff Time: The world of Arrakis (yes I named it after Dune), is a largely inhospitible desert world. The Polar regions however are temperate, with many fjords, rivers, lakes, plateaus and mountains. Small seas separate these polar regions from the expansive desert that covers much of the world's surface. Arrakis was not always this way, it suffered a brutal bombardment by the World Eaters during the Horus Heresy, which would have engulfed the world in ash and dust and night, had it not been for the odd magnetic fields that shielded the polar regions from the devastation. The rest of the planet was not so lucky, having been reduced to a barren desert in which only the hardiest of life may flourish. The deserts are inhabited by a nomadic people, which have perfected hit and run tactics, much in the same way as the famed Tallarn regiments. After the bombardment of their world they emerged from the craggy mountains in which they had sought refuge from the devastation. They faced the World Eaters in a bloody insurgency, and eventually drove them off. The Polar Regions, are inhabied by a myriad of wildlife, and a hardy people, accustomed to their own hardships. Arrakis is host to an Imperial Knight house, That of House MacGinnis. Unlike many knight worlds, it is not a fuedal world. The polar regions are home to the world's limited manufacturing capability. The manufactorums built into the mountains of the polar regions produce anything from Knights, to lasguns. Regiments raised from Arrakis typically come in two Varieties, they are either Air Mobile Mountain regiments, consisting of heavy infantry and Knight Titans; Raider Regiments that favor light infantry, tanks and walkers with limited air support. It is very rare for the two peoples to get along, despite their history of cooperation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Mehman Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 As long as there are no giant worms and Spice I think we'll be ok ! Anyway, this sounds like a plan and I look forward to it. The dual nature of the people on the planet sounds like it could make for some great fluff for the regiments. Keep us posted ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorFish Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Indeed, I think that quick and simple GS conversion is a great idea so I'd love to see it rolled out across an army! There's no small amount of inspiration from Dune in 40k, so they will fit right in :) Looking forward to seeing what you do with this Ulrik :tu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Aiwass Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Sounds like a cool theme, what scheme do you have in mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted August 15, 2016 Author Share Posted August 15, 2016 Sounds like a cool theme, what scheme do you have in mind? The scheme I had in mind was going to be based on the US 3 color desert for the fatigues. I was also going to add shemaghs and tagelmust to some of the models. I want less of a Lawrence of Arabia feel, and more of a Taureg/Levantine Bedouin feel. My tanks will have a pretty standard tan/brown scheme, with white and red stripes. I'm going to try my hand with sponges for chipping and weathering for these, and the use of some grit to make them dirty. As long as there are no giant worms and Spice I think we'll be ok ! Anyway, this sounds like a plan and I look forward to it. The dual nature of the people on the planet sounds like it could make for some great fluff for the regiments. Keep us posted ! No, no giant sand worms, and no spice. The World's exports are mainly soldiers. All of Arrakis's sparse agriculture and mining is devoted entirely to supporting the World's own population and industry. Arrakis has the benefit of being self sufficient, in that it produces all of the war material it's forces use. More fluff: The People of the Northern Pole called their homeland Gotaland, and they call themselves Gotar, the People of the Southern Pole call their land Scania, and they are Scanians. The desert people are the Amazighs. The peoples took on names from terran history, based on traits of those who adapted. All of the peoples of the world tend to be very pragmatic, Amazighs tend towards ramshackle and expedient repairs, as their vehicles are precious heirlooms. The Amazighs are tribal in nature, and each tribe is tithed separately, as it became apparent that some tribes would not cooperate, due to long standing fueds. Gotars and Scanians have a wary relationship with Amazigh tribes near their borders. They trade, and it is usually in the form of new tanks and sentinels. Tribal warfare is the most common way more central tribes gain access to newer equipment. Gotars and Scanians both excel at Mountain warfare and special operations. They are experts in air mobile tactics, utilizing Valkyries to get their troops directly into combat. Gotars and Scanians both have a Jarl, who commands not only the Vaeringjar (the air mobile heavy infantry) but the Huscarl (The knightly houses). When the Polar peoples are tithed the Regiment contains both Knights and air cavalry forces. The polar peoples have a great deal of contact with each other, despite being separated by such a vast distance, and typically have a friendly relationship, though when the Imperium comes to tithe the world, they become competitive, to see which will supply the regiment. This can result in open conflict, but more often it is decided by a series of trials that test; skill in battle, raw strength, and endurance. The Test of endurance, is essentially who can drink the most, eat the most, fight the hardest, and still be standing when the Administratum arrives. The choosing of an Amazigh Regiment is a bit more haphazard, as it is usually pulled from whichever tribe can be located. The Amazigh tribes each maintain several cloisters in a certain territory, but only a few are known to the Administratum, and if one tribe cannot be located at the known cloisters, the Administratum moves on to another tribe. Arrakeen Regiments are almost exclusively comprised of one or the other in regards to peoples, as the Gotars and Scanians do not tend to get along with their Amazigh brethren. Their relationship is tenuous at best. For all of the appearances of the Gotar and Scanian peoples being barbarians, they are skilled and professional soldiers. The Amazighs on the other hand, are reserved, and independent, fighting not as soldiers, but as family. So it is that the 18th Arrakeen Regiment, stands as an oddity. It is comprised of remnants of two Arrakeen Regiments. Due to the nature of the Gotars homeland, their tracked vehicles are generally limited to chimeras and hellhounds. Due to the nature of mountain warfare, all of the artillery that the Gotars have is what they can carry in. The Amazigh prize the durability of heavy and super heavy vehicles, as wells being masters of warfare in the open desert, they have the space to utilize such vehicles in conflict. These two distinct styles of warfare have served to make the 18th Arrakeen a force to be reckoned with. The 18th Arrakeen have served in numerous campaigns against Eldar, Tau, and Orks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 So basically I'm hoping to build my army using 2 different lists, the Gotars will be based off the Elysian list, while the Amazighs will be based off of the Armored Battle Group. I have some more forge world buying to do, but basically just a couple of Drop sentinels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P3AKHOUR Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Awesome fluff there mate. I can tell you've done a lot of research into the real-world cultures that you're taking inspiration from, to me that's what the Guard is all about. I'm humbled by your mention of my thread, and I'm so keen to see some models. Elysians and North-Africa inspired guard are my favourites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 I've got to get my unbuilt stuff built before I can really go ham on converting models. The Amazighs are based off of the Berbers of North Africa as well as the Tuaregs, who are more or less centered around southern Morocco, Tangiers and northern Mali. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P3AKHOUR Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 That makes sense, I knew I'd heard the word before, Amazigh is one of the languages spoken around there isn't it? I read a bit about those tribes when working out my own fluff. Tebessa, the name of my regiment's home planet, is a city in Algeria with a bit of Roman Empire history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inso Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 I commend your decision to convert the heads with Green Stuff (it is great fun and every model will be unique) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 So, I tried doing the differing lists thing, and it didn't work out so well. Back to the drawing board... For the Gotars, I changed out my infantry section for Krieg, which I actually really like, since they have grenadiers (which fit the heavy infantry role) and they gain +1 WS, which is also nice. For the Amazighs, I'll have to run Astra Militarum. I can run from the old 5E guard codex, and have access to all the units I want, or I can run out of the Custom/Points Adjusted/FW Amalgam codex I created if my opponent will let me. Here's a question for the veteran players, how do you feel about shotgun vets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Mehman Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 What's not to like about shotguns? Getting to fire two shots and then charge is great fun! But seriously, as a former entryman, I can't recommend them enough. The only downside I could see would be lack of range but, if you're running them in a transport, this mitigates that some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 I'm trying to build each component as a separate army, and then use them as a combined pool for future list building. Since that's what they essentially are. It's a combined arms regiment, so it's a mix of light infantry, air assault troops, tanks and artillery. I realize that I'm not going to get everything I want into a single list, unless I play Apoc. I do want to be able to field either component as a separate army though, each built in a specific way that can be combined to make a single cohesive army. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Mehman Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 If I get what you're saying, Ulrik, it sounds like you're making a template out of the sections in your army. Like, this particular Sergeant will always have the same Squad that will always be in the same Platoon, that can be used with or without other Platoons, and so on. At least I hope that's what you mean. I've structured my whole regiment this way and it's really easy to just put whatever I want together on paper. Say I'm going to play a game, since it's in Numbers (Excel for Mac users), all I have to do is copy and paste the units I want into a new spreadsheet, make sure I'm not over the point value for that game, and bam - new army list. It's also useful for keeping track for fluffy reasons ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inso Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 If you get tired of sculpting headscarves, these look good: https://puppetswar.eu/product.php?id_product=277 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 That's more or less what I was going for Meh. That and it'll make it easy to distinguish the two factions. That's an awesome find inso. I had been waiting for the heads from mad robot. I actually like the puppets war ones better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 So, a bit of an Update, I began Construction on my second vulture, and it is progressing nicely. I believe I have a better process for magnetizing my weapons this time, although this may be the last one I magnetize, as I'll probably only have 2. On another note, my Knights Renegade box arrived, and I now have 2 knights in the reinforcement queue to add. And I just purchased 2 Thunderbolt fighters, which I found on eBay (probably recasts, but I'll be damned if I'll pay $117 and change for 2 authentic ones, especially if they rarely hit the table). Next up for purchase will be a second LR Demolisher kit, 2 more sentinels (I'd like FW Drop sentinels, but some modified scout sentinels would probably be cheaper as I do have a few heavy bolters from vultures and valkyries), 4 more infantry squads (2 for the Emperor's shield and 2 to be shotgun vets), a second wyvern, and eventually 3 baneblade chassis. I'd eventually like to add a 50 man blob of conscripts too. Right now though I'm sort of focusing on getting the big things out of the way, since I have enough infantry to be annoying... I have not yet begun the arduous process of converting my plastic Guardsmen, as I want to wait until I get a new airbrush (double action paasche VL) and finally get a hobby saw (tired of using a saws-all for my resin purchases). As both of those will make the process easier. I'm also working on my GS skills, and will need some dental tools for working with the GS, and I'll need to get weathering powders for my vehicles. Got a lot to get before I'm ready to start converting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duz_ Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Pics or it didn't happen! ;) Did you go with the side boards or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 As I'm currently in the process of building my Vulture, I have not. I'm kinda taking my time with this one, since I feel that I rushed the last one. I know how I'd attach them, but it remains to be seen whether that puts men in the way of weapons or not. I don't think it does, but I do get the sense that it would not be advantageous to be anywhere near a lascannon barrel while it's being fired so I'm going to err on the side of not. First weapon option I have that's been magnetized is the punisher cannons, as that's probably going to be my default loadout going forward. The other options seem pretty lackluster even though I feel some of them are really fluffy. Next up is probably the lascannons and rocket pods (for both vultures). I'm basically going to do the other weapon options for display purposes. Ah well, I got the thunderbolts for my air defense/multirole so my vultures could focus on killing ground things. Pics or it didn't happen! I'll post some pics once I have the process completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 So, some things have happened. I have completed the build of my Second Vulture. It has yet to be primed or painted, but it is built and equipped. My thunderbolts arrived as well, and will be needing stands (Elmo graciously offered to send me a flyer stand mount). I have decided to take this army a slightly different direction that I previously imagined. I have been looking very seriously at 30k, and have been considering switching my guard up to be compatible with the Horus Heresy. Now, Aesthetically there are not going to be any changes to my plan. The only Changes will be to organization, and the addition of some 30k models (like Dracosans). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claws and Effect Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 Nice. I actually have a Space Marine chapter hailing from a desert Death World I'm working on. Was planning on having them ally with Tallarn frequently. I might take a little inspiration from your guys if you don't mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted September 18, 2016 Author Share Posted September 18, 2016 Feel free. I borrowed inspiration from elsewhere too. As I get closer to actually taking this project on, I'll be solidifying some of my fluff a bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duz_ Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 UI have you seen these from puppet war? https://puppetswar.eu/product.php?id_product=187 Saw them and thought of your project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulrik_Ironfist Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 I had not seen them. Those are pretty cool though, and I'd seriously consider using them (If I find myself needing more aircraft, though I have 7 currently, and the next might just be a Marauder Bomber/Destroyer). I'm probably going to be giving the aircraft a rest for now, since I'm on this 30k kick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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