Sunday 9 May 2010

Praetorian Pattern Chimera



So, I've been working on getting my Chimera ready for painting. Now, I've never really liked one key aspect of the Chimera model; the turret. Even on the new version its painfully small. I really don't see how anybody could operate that without having his feet in the drivers face. I also dislike the fact its forward mounted. I wanted my chimera to look something more like this:

Bradley APC.

I was also really inspired by SandWyrm's excellent Chimera Conversions. Its a really great tutorial if your looking at doing something similar...

Sooo, after buying two different tank kits and some extensive cutting, filing and plasticard-ing, heres what I came up with:

Praetorian Pattern Chimera








I've got to be honest, I'm pretty damned pleased with it - it certainly looks more bulky and 'tank-like' than the normal Chimera model. It also gives the impression of more space for the passengers, which is no bad thing...

Let me know what you think!

7 comments:

RobKanci said...

Very nice im a big fan of bringing real world tanks to 40k, adds a certain touch of realism.

Cawshis Clay said...

Looks great. I love the Predator turrets on Chimera conversions...every single one looks a bit different, but they all look great.

Anonymous said...

The tank does look cool, However, I would replace the gun on the turret with a legal Chimera gun.

Zzzzzz said...

Nah, auto cannon is fine. If you pay the Imperial Armour points cost.

Are you going to enough for the whole of the 5th ?

It'll leave you with a whole pile of Rhino bits (Good for the Emperor's Children, if you don't have a home for them).

SpeedyFrenchy said...

I love it, but the gun looks more like the gun on an MBT than an IFV gun. If you look at the warrior or Bradley IFVs, you'll notice that they carry much smaller guns than real tanks do. For this reason I would swap out the Predator main gun for something about 1/2 as long, and 2-3 mm wide. just my 2 pence. I'll be using this design for my IG as well.

sovietspace said...

Thanks everyone for your comments! I'm glad you all liked the basic conversion.

The length of the main gun was a point I thought about I'll admit. Although I do accept that it probably is too long for a Multi Laser, I'm not sure if I'm going to trim it down/change it. I don't know if a smaller barrel might ruin the 'balance' of the tank. I'm going to have a think, watch this space!

Hymirl said...

Cool, I really like this its definately a nicer proportion with the turret set at the back of the tank.

Incidentally how you doing mate? Shame you couldn't get to Spoils of War this year... The Bristol Vanguard isn't the same without our praetorian player... the Exeter lot still have theirs! :P

Cheers, Al

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