Thorn Moons Crusade: Painted T-26

The Rhani of Yhanzi march next to the T-26.

A while back I posted my efforts at repurposing a 1:35 scale Russian T-26 for use by the human elements during the Thorn Moon Crusade. After some deliberation, I decided to try painting it using some scale model techniques, primarily involving various oil paints and some enamels. For one reason or another, there seems to be somewhat of a gulf between scale model (tanks, airplanes, trains, etc.) painting and miniature wargame painting. Possibly this is because GW’s line of paints are all acrylic ones, and are the easiest to find if you are already involved in the wargaming hobby. While it was quite a learning experience, I am glad to report the tank is complete, and wanted to talk a little about the painting process.

MasterClub 1/35 metal tank tracks: Impressions

"Wherever you are, death will find you, even in the looming tower."

Earlier this year I built and modified a Russian T-26 tank for use in the upcoming Thorn Moons Crusade. One of the most challenging and time consuming aspects of the entire build was assembling the plastic tracks for the tank, since they were assembled link by link and fixed with tiny plastic bolts. I entertained the notion of building another tank for the Thorn Moons project, but wanted to find an alternative to the plastic tracks, one that still looked good but was easier to assemble. After a little research, I discovered that there are aftermarket metal tracks available, and decided it would be fun to see what they are like. There are two major companies that produce these tracks, Friulmodel and MasterClub. I decided to get a set of T-26 tracks from MasterClub because they use resin pins to hold the metal tracks together, rather than cut-to-fit wire (Friulmodel). Read on if you wish to learn about my struggles with building these tracks.

Thorn Moons Crusade: Building a T-26

"That which I cannot crush with words alone, I shall crush with the tanks of the Imperial Guard!"

Earlier this year I started to explore the possibility of using scale tank models in Warhammer 40k. I discovered that both 1/35 and 1/48 scale models work alongside 40k ones, with 1/48 being best if the tank is a medium or heavy one (such as a Russian T-34 or German Tiger respectively), or 1/35 if it is a light tank (such as a USA M5 Stuart). With this in mind, coupled with Adam’s work at creating some Imperial Guard for the Thorn Moon Crusade, I thought that it would be fun to build a tank for them. I have always loved the T-26, a Russian light tank, that despite being largely obsolete at the outset of World War II, still saw widespread use (including use in the Spanish Civil War and the Winter War). Therefore, I decided to get a 1/35 scale T-26 and try to convert it into something for the beleaguered defenders of the Thorn Moons.

Tor Megiddo: scale tanks in 40k?

Find a more reasonable tank?

Those of you that frequent the Ammobunker forums, or follow Inq28 scene, might be aware of a new collaborative event called Tor Megiddo. In an event hosted by Alexander Winberg and Helge "Wilhelminiatures," a group of extraordinarily talented hobbyists are building warbands and ramshackle vehicles to race across the sun scorched ruin that is Tor Megiddo. While certainly conjuring images of Mad Max, the primary thing that came to mind when reading about the project was GorkaMorka (old GW skirmish game with Orks) and my early years in the miniature wargaming hobby. With memories of orks crashing rusted buggies and trucks together on the open sand, I decided that we needed to take part in Tor Megiddo in some way. With some thought, I realized it would be a great opportunity to explore a concept that I have been meaning to for quite some time, can scale historical tank models be used to build Warhammer 40k vehicles? Surely the blazing sands of Tor Megiddo would have a few tanks cruising around, alongside war rigs and motorcycles? Long before the rise of Games Workshop, with people building scale models of airplanes and tanks, particularly ones replicating vehicles from World War II. To see if using a scale model might work for 40k, I decided to build a Tamiya 1943 T-34 Russian tank. Read on to see what I learned!