Here’s the final of the three, very neglected, vehicles I managed to make myself finish through November. I really should have taken a “before” picture of this model, but it was very much something that was warped, repurposed and then cobbled together. Originally, I got this as a secondhand piece, covered in spikes and bits of the original Chaos Vehicle Sprue and painted in a dark blue of (presumably) the Night Lords. After disassembly, I found that the hull was mis-aligned and the hull was heavily scarred with plastic cement from where all of the crap was glued onto it. I covered the holes at the front and back of the hull where the joins were, as well as the scars on top, sides and front of the track assembly.
I considered removing the spiked hedgecutters, but they really did not want to come off, and so I’m writing off that one bent spike as “battle-damage”. I added some etched brass details as well – the large Legion Skull Icon on the front of the hull as well as the smaller IV and Icon on the fender and turret. The large Legion number and vehicle name were from the Forge World decal sheet.
The metal top hull plates didn’t fit well at all, and the same was true of the two halves of the turret. I tried to fix both, but to no real avail – it feels like they’ll be one of those things that other people don’t notice too much but annoy the hell out of the painter (me). I’ve also added some hazard stripe decals on the hull and rear of the turret, as well as painting a small amount of the trim in copper to make the vehicle a little more like my older Iron Warriors infantry.
As one of the engine exhausts was missing, and naturally the fine pipes were all broken, I reattached a pair of the exhausts at the rear of the tank – though with the engine hatches located at the rear of the hull it doesn’t seem a terrible fit. I also needed to fill in some space to bulk out the rear of the track sections, so a combination of a pair each of jerry jans and the original rhino kit stowage crates covered that. With the finish, I wanted it to look “clean”, yet worn – befitting the more orthodox Iron Warriors.
Here is the Predator alongside some of the Iron Warriors infantry that will be fighting alongside it.
Finally a shot of the Iron Warriors Predator alongside the Iron Warriors Plague Marine Rhino that I finished as part of MechaNovember ’19.
Azazel's Bitz Box. 
Super mate. Without wishing to tempt fate it looks to me like you have got your mojo back. Good to see you posting again and hope things are more manageable on the family front.
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Thanks mate – well the thing is that both of these tanks were painted in November last year – so while I’m doing a little bit of painting it’s still nothing like when I was right at it. Still, back at it at all is good, so I’m not complaining! We actually had an emergency hospital run yesterday :x, but thankfully it worked out by evening’s end and he was discharged quickly with some new meds (it could have been bad, but we got lucky).
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Hope it continues to work out for you in a positive way both on the modelling and domestic fronts.
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Hopefully. Just need some more common sense from others. You know how *that* saying goes…
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Very cool predator. It is funny that just last night I was looking at an old predator kit, untouched in the box, that someone gave me some time ago because he figured he’d never get around putting it together. I was wondering if I would end up ever doing anything with it either or instead holding onto it for another 20 years and passing it on to the next hapless victim. I don’t know the answer to that question, but I sure do like what you did with your tank.
If you ever get around to doing anything with the broken tine other than saying it is battle damage, you could wrap some regular or barbed wire around it, that is a little rusty and/or oily perhaps, as a makeshift patch by the crew. Another option would be to have a tentacle or something start to grow out of it, perhaps through too much exposure to those pesky plague marines that your Iron Warriors allow into their ranks as allies/fodder/whatever so much?
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Hopefully this model can help to inspire you to getting something done with that poor old Predator. God knows it took me long enough to get these two old rhino-chassis-models (re)done to any decent quality. I like your creative thinking on the prong, but I’m happy enough to think of it as simply some bent iron as a result of ramming into some poor sod. Maybe an Imperial Fists terminator? 😉
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Yeah, I really ought to. I also have a couple of very badly put together and even more horribly painted (and then stripped and sort of painted again … badly) predators too that have been sitting gathering dust for years in the remaining half of a Space Marine battle box. Someone gave them to me maybe around 2010 or so when they quit 40K. I probably should consider Nurgling them at some point, since honestly that or turning them into destroyed hulks in a terrain piece is about all they are fit for these days. All of your Chaos tanks certainly do inspire one’s thinking in that direction, that’s for sure because I’d have pretty much forgotten all about them.
Yeah, I think you’re probably right, some stupid Imperial Fists terminator probably emptied his stormbolter into the thing to no effect and then ran up an tried to punch it. Unfortunately (for him) the driver decided to also punch it (the gas) and maybe ended up either running him over to impaling him (much more fun!). The terminator guy kept hammering away at the spikes and finally it cracked and dumped him off, but then he got run over and squished much to the delight of both the Iron Warrior tankers, who probably enjoyed the whole sorry episode mightily, and the Death Guard guys, following along behind, who probably harvested his organs, used some of them, and sold the rest on the black market to Dark Angel guys disguised as Space Wolves disguised as Thousand Sons.
That’s my theory, anyway, on the broken tine, now that I think more about it and we have had this nice chat.
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Wow. You’re clearly still onboard with the creative writing aspect of things! 😉 I’ll put the tiniest bit of yellow flake on the end of it in honour of your comment, as paint that got transferred during the impact!
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Very nice, and so different from the other recent vehicles! 🙂 I like the clean metallic look!
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Thanks John! My biggest regret is not taking a “before” photo of this one!
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Looking good, a definite contrast between the two vehicles.
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Thanks mate! 🙂
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Great stuff, Azazel.
You’d never really guess that it was in such a state to begin with; you’ve done a sterling restoration job.
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Cheers – I’m *really* regretting not taking that before photo now! I’ve got another bunch of rhinos in the “secondhand restoration” box, but none of them are in anything like the state this Pred was in.
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Lovely bit of work again “Aza” hard to believe that I bought one of those kits way back in 89 for a ten pound note for three!! and we split it between three of us as we didn’t think any marine force would need all three! Of course I also had the plastic space marines to go with it!
Not as well painted as that though.
Cheers Roger.
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Yep – I also had both – and like you, my first box was split (mostly because I couldn’t afford the full AU$45 for it that was being asked back in those days). How things have changed, eh?
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That is another great looking tank! I do remember when I painted Warhammer 40,000 in the 2000’s (maybe a little before that too, I’m not sure) that a tank I built and painted was really tough to assemble. I think it was an old sculpt for that time so I got flashbacks to that when reading your post and it is a nice reminder of how far we’ve come in the last 20+ years too!
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From that description it sounds like it might have been the original Leman Russ? – that kit was a right bastard that didn’t actually fit together in any of my experiences without a bunch of bodging.
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I don’t think it was a Leman Russ because I only collected Space Marines, Chaos Marines, and Eldar (only!) back then. I might be misremembering but I think it might have been a half-plastic and half-metal Whirlwind, I’m thinking of. Man, that kit was a nightmare to put together and it was a bad idea to do half and half of those two materials!
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Oh yeah, the plastic-metal hybrids were often …not great. This kit is one of those, and that’s why the top plates don’t properly fit with one another, nor do the two halves of the turret. I’ve got some of those Whirlwinds as well, and …yeah.
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Another lovely bit of restoration mate – looks bang up to date & fits in beautifully!
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Thanks Alex. I’m getting keen to try and get the table cleared off so I can see how my armies look these days…
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Nice work man
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Cheers, IRO!
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Couldn’t reply in the thread directly so I’ll reply here:
>” I’ll put the tiniest bit of yellow flake on the end of it in honour of your comment, as paint that got transferred during the impact!”
I consider that a singular honour, thank you. It may be a small blow to strike against the hated IoM, but it a blow and a bit of yellow paint nonetheless and they all add up!
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It’s going to be an interesting day when I start on my actual Imperial Fists detachment and throw in a few nods to the IW. Not a full army of IF, but since I do want to do Crimson Fists and have already started forces of Black Templars and Celestial Lions, I figure I should have a squad or two of the (so-called) originals involved.
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Really great job mate ,I didn’t notice the bent spike at first!!!
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Thanks Pat – you know how it goes – we always see the flaws in our own work more than others do and they can stand out like a sore thumb!
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