Infernal Super Heavies!

This update is long over due. My apologies but life has been busy and I just haven't had a chance to throw up a proper entry. So, to make amends I will have an image heavy posting posting with a regular show case article and then a special "extra" at the end of the entry. 

I would like to further preface this post with a welcome to my first two followers! Thanks to The Hon. Lord Gordon, and thePhoenixThree for keeping tabs on this blog. Hopefully you two continue to find interesting content here.

So, what could be so infernal about super heavy tanks? Nothing. Super Heavy tanks are just damn cool. I suppose they suck if you are on the receiving end of their game contributions (especially if you don't have something equally as big to return fire) but as a guy who loves the Imperial Guard for its tanks, having over-sized tanks in my collection is like having a paid vacation--it makes a great thing that much cooler.  If there was one complaint I could lay at the feet of Super Heavy tanks it would be that they aren't allowed in regular games of 40k.  While I understand the reasons why these monstrous vehicles are not used in standard games it feels wrong to leave the vehicles in their carrying cases every time I play. That small complaint not withstanding, I loves me some big tanks and have tried to add them to my army whenever possible. 

Earlier this year when Forge World released sneak previews of the Malcador Infernus flame tank I about jumped out of my seat. Literally. I was riding on a shuttle from the employee parking lot over to my place of work and I did an excited hop in my seat.  Dirty stares from my co-workers aside, I knew that I needed to include the Infernus in my Praetorian guard not only for the tank's aesthetic (which is both ridiculous and terrifying) but because the Infernus fit the growing theme of fire that was developing with my army.  The Infernus, when purchased, would be my third Super Heavy tank and on the two previous tanks I used the theme of Sekhmet and flame.  Sekhmet is an ancient Egyptian lion-headed goddess who was a goddess of war and the sun. Since the Praetorians use a lion-headed emblem on their banners I thought Sekhmet was a great symbol for the army.

The first Super Heavy was a Stormlord tank. Imagining the great gout of flame unleashed from gatling bolters on the tank I named the tank Breath of Sekhmet. 

The next tank, a Shadowsword titan-killer, is named Fang of Sekhmet for the penetrating nature of the tank's volcano cannon.

So, for this third tank I wanted to maintain the Sekhmet theme for my Super Heavies and since the Infernus is a flame tank I thought it appropriate to name the vehicle The Bellows of Sekhmet.

I have yet to use The Bellows in a game, but I love the idea of placing the Apocalypse Hellstorm flame template up to 18 inches away from the model and burning multiple squads of troops. My regular opponent plays a Sons of Malice Chaos Space Marine army that uses tons of enslaved lesser demons and I get giddy thinking about lining up a shot on his 20-man demon squads.

The tank has two sponson-mounted Lascannons and a turret mounted heavy stubber. I like the addition of the lascannons which would allow the tank to hit harder targets as it closes in on softer infantry units. I have no illusions that this tank will last long on a game table, especially with its penchant for spectacular explosions if it suffers a penetrating hit. Regardless of how it actually will perform in a game the model is cool, and it will create neat stories when it is used.

The fuel cart behind the tank is magnetized. I did this both for ease of game play and for storage. I use Army Transport bags and I knew the tank would be too long for a standard foam tray if it had the fuel cart rigidly glued behind the tank.

As usual, the Infernus (and the other Super Heavies) were painted by Drew at Garden Ninja Studios and I think he did a wonderful job (bias noted).  I have a fourth tank waiting to be painted later this fall. It will be a Valdor Super Heavy tank which shares the same chassis as the Malcador but mounts a giant laser instead of a flame thrower. I haven't begun thinking of a Sekhmet themed name for that one yet, so if anyone wants to throw out suggests please post below.

It is sad that I do not get to play in very many Apocalypse games (read: none). My friend and I played an illegal standard 40k game so that I could test out my Armorcast Warhound Titan, but that was a 1500 point game and did not utilize the strategems or other special rules normally associated with Apocalypse. I am slowly helping my Chaos friend build up his army so we can move up from 2000 point games and give the big toys some play time on a regular basis.


EXTRA! EXTRA! 

Two months back I had a free afternoon and decided to snap a photo of my Praetorians in the interest of making a new blog entry. Well, the blog entry never manifested, but I did get some fun photos. It took well over an hour to unpack the army and about as long to put it away.  Unseen in these photos is my Warhound Titan which just could not fit on the game table. I am not entirely happy with the composition of the army and when I do another army photo I plan on arranging the troops in block formations. Still, this one gives a great impression of the army as it stands thus far.

This is the fruit of over two years of collecting. If you'll note the color consistency is spot on, with the exception of the Destroyer Tank Hunter (3rd picture) which I asked Drew to paint in a faded color scheme to represent the tank's fluff which describes those tanks as ancient revered relics.  With the superstitious nature of the Imperium I thought the Destroyer might be maintenanced well, but left otherwise unmolested out of fear of upsetting the temperamental machine spirit.   

You'll also note how much smaller the Infernus is from the Bane Blade chassis tanks (1st picture).  I am also woefully lacking in Chimera transports and need to eventually get four or five more to transport my regular infantry squads. Since I tend to "blob" up on my troops I haven't needed Chimeras.

Well, that is it. Thanks again for reading and I promise to post more frequently now that the summer is winding down.

I have begun work on an Ork Blood Axes army that I am *gasp* painting myself. I hope to have some action shots of Orks fighting my Praetorians soon. Already I have an 11 man squad of Orks painted so perhaps some of those battle scenes will be coming sooner rather than later.