Warhammer 40,000 – Tank Wrecks Pt 3

Let’s continue with our work on our eBay-rescue Leman Russ tank and turn it into a proper piece of terrain. I do not need a base for every terrain piece, but it makes sense in this case: it will help the wreck blend in more naturally with the tabletop and the surrounding scenery.

Just as with the cactus plants, I used PVC hard-foam board in A3 format and 3 mm thickness. Roughly mark out the outline, leaving a little extra room so that you can angle the rim of the base. I also used a few smaller pieces to create additional height and variation across the base.

To reduce the amount of putty needed to sculpt the ground, I used aluminium foil to create some volume underneath.

I had several options to choose from, but went with Milliput. I had not used it before and wanted to give it a try; beyond that, it had been recommended to me for this sort of work.

I have to say, it is easy and comfortable to work with. You can smooth it out without much effort, it hardens in a reasonable amount of time, and overall it caused less hassle than other two-part modelling materials I have used in the past, especially for this kind of application. Once it had hardened, I gave it a quick dip in my endless sand pit. Milliput is a two-part, self-hardening epoxy putty that can be sanded, filed, drilled and painted once cured, so it is well suited to terrain work like this.

I primed the piece medium grey from a rattle can, then painted the ground brown with a brush, just as I did with the cactus plants and the other terrain pieces in the retro collection so far.

I want to paint this one in a way that fits the retro gaming table, so the base will receive a proper layer of green flock. I am still somewhat undecided about the Leman Russ itself, though. Ideally, I would like it to carry the same camouflage scheme or regimental paint job as the 2nd Edition Imperial Guard force that will appear further down the road.

I went through a number of old White Dwarfs for inspiration, but decided to give Nano Banana a try and have it generate a painted version of the terrain piece. I have to say, the result is rather impressive.

We are not going to endorse or jump on the AI-slop train. Therefore, I want to be transparent about its use and will mark AI-generated or AI-modified content accordingly, as in this case.

Another eBay rescue is already in preparation. I picked up this Chimera some time ago with a particular conversion in mind.

There were two terrain pieces that used the Chimera as a wreck. One was the resin Forge World Wrecked Chimera; the other was a collaboration with Ziterdes, a foam Chimera bunker called the “Imperial Improvised Fighting Position”.

I intend to recreate the foam version using this model, as it fits the overall look and feel of a retro gaming table. First of all, though, I need to remove that thick coat of paint from the Chimera.