The Cult Ascendant! - A Genestealer Cult log

[Ambience 327]

Thanks! And don't worry, the Limo is on its way. It doesn't make the list until I hit the 2000 point mark though, so it might be a few weeks before I get to it.

I plan to convert the model kit below, extending the back end some, armoring it up a bit, giving it a gun (of course) and putting some flags on the front bumpers (for that "diplomatic immunity" look).

[Ambience 327]

More work done on my Genestealer Cult for the Escalation League. Got another game tomorrow, so I had to get these models finished up to hit my 1000 pts.


Here are the Support Squad Heavy Weapons (2 Missile Launchers, 1 Lascannon). I am quite pleased with how these turned out, especially the Lascannon, which is converted from a Heavy Stubber and a cut up Sentinel Lascannon. I love how versatile these Chaos Cultist models are - so many possibilities! I plan to eventually put some RPG-style rockets sticking out of the missile launchers for that insurrectionist feel, and I think the guy on the left might get an extra rocket in his left hand as well. For now though, they are good enough for the tournament.




On the left is my first Disguised Genestealer. These guys lurk hidden in units of Brood Brothers or Hybrids, just waiting for a chance to leap out at unsuspecting prey and tear them limb from limb.

On the right is another Hierarch.. My intention is for him to hang back with the support squad to supplement their low Leadership and keep them in the fight. With this in mind, he is armed with a Grenade Launcher so he can lend some additional firepower to the unit as well, at least once the enemy gets within mid-range.






Next up is my Sentinel, armed for tackling transports and other light vehicles with an Autocannon and Tube Missile. Improvised armour and smoke launchers might just allow it to survive long enough to actually accomplish something as well!







Last up for today are a pair of Gun Trucks. On the left is the tractor-based version featured earlier. As you can see, it is much closer to completion now, though it still needs some rivets and a few other small details added. The other is a another dollar-store toy - this time an SUV. It is tooled up similar to the Sentinel above, with an Autocannon and Tube Missile, but also carries a Heavy Stubber for a little extra firepower against enemy infantry, or miraculous glancing hits against the rear armour of light transports.

I included a brood brother as a size reference, so you can see how these things match up alongside my troops.

[madd0ct0r]

I think those are going to look really good with some paint on

[Ambience 327]

Thanks! Eventually I'll get around to painting some more of these, but right now I am spending all my hobby-time building for the tournament, so it will be a while before I can put a brush to them.

[Ambience 327]

I've made a start on a scratch-built Griffon Heavy Mortar. I am mostly using Plastruct styrene sheets, rods and tubes, with a few GW bits here and there as well. I still need to make the tracks and the big gun, and of course add lots of details, but I thought I would share it in its current form to see what people thought. Comments? Suggestions? Undue praise?

[madd0ct0r]

the slope on the front of the cabin looks a little too steep - you need room for an engine block in there, so a bit more of a bulge might look more 'realistic'.

exceelent detailing so far though.

[AndrewGPaul]

Aren't Chimera engines in the sides, surrounded by the tracks?

[Ambience 327]

Thanks for the comments. It is definitely too late to change the slope now (which is quite similar to the actual Chimera by the way), so it will stay as-is. I'm running with the engines being in the tracks (as AndrewGPaul suggests) - especially since my tracks ended up being a bit wider than the standard Chimera tracks!

[Samsonov]

Very nice foamboard work. Tempted to try something like that myself.

[Ambience 327]

Only the substrate of the tracks is foamboard, the rest is mainly Plastruct plasticard. I have been in awe of the creations people are able to achieve with this stuff for some time, but it is really easier than it looks at first. My confidence is building with each vehicle I modify or construct with it!

[Ambience 327]

Back with another update on my growing Genestealer Cult. First up is the heavy mortar for my scratch-built Griffon. I used a heavy cardboard tube, a plastic tube, some inner workings from a pair of correction tape rollers (the large gears), and some plasticard. I think it turned out pretty well. I am keeping it separate until I get it and the tank's weapon bay painted.






Here is the Griffon as it stands now, with the heavy mortar in place, but still unglued as mentioned above. I've added quite a bit more detailing, including tracks, more armour plating, and lots of little sunken rivets which I added simply by drilling a shallow hole. The little wheel-caps on the lower track areas are alternating halves of clothing snaps that my wife gave me from her sewing box. She is a great source for little fiddly bits sometimes! I would like to add further detail to the tracks, but I'm not sure exactly what I want to do to them yet.








Here are my pair of autocannon-armed Gun Trucks. The one on the left I have shown before, but it has had a bit more detail added - most notably the shield on the hood, and the large bolts on the front bumper. The one on the right is newly constructed, and I decided I wanted a gunner standing on the back. I think he turned out fairly well. I plan to paint up the large slab of plasticard on the hood as a large piece of concrete or something similar to really sell the "improvised armour" look. They still need some rivet work, either sunken rivets like the Griffon above, or else raised rivets like the transport Truck earlier in the thread. The raised rivets look great, but the sunken version is a lot easier! Maybe since these vehicles are more ramshackle, a mix of the two would be appropriate.






These three zealots are armed with martyr harnesses, allowing them to blow themselves up and (hopefully) take quite a few enemy with them. They are generated from hidden tunnels (a fortification exclusive to the Genestealer Cult - see my homebrew codex for details) at a rate of one per tunnel per game, and don't give up a kill point, but cannot hold or contest objectives.




Last up is the third in my trio of Hierarchs. This one is armed with an Autopistol and a Rending Claw. I decided he would have his pistol holstered and gave him a suitably brutal-looking war-ball weapon stolen from one of the other chaos cultist models. I love how easy these guys are to convert, despite being fixed-pose models.

[Ambience 327]

Small update tonight. First up, a unit I've been eager to get to, but they didn't make the Army List cut until the 2000 point mark, so I had to wait until now. They are called Hulking Hybrids, and are basically what happens when a Genestealer implants Ogryn and they mate. I used Vampire Counts Crypt Horrors as the basis, with a few Tyranid Warrior rending claws added in.

I've gone for early-generation style with big claws, multiple arms (one has 2, one has 3 and one has 4), with the earliest hybrid sporting a 'Stealer head as well. Like the Neophytes, they need some work - I will give them loin cloths at least.





The other unit I got together tonight is my Brood Brother Bodyguard squad. These guys have big heavy shields with which to protect the Patriarch or Magus from enemy fire, and various power weapons (2 swords, 2 mauls, 1 axe) in order to deal with various enemy types.




I should have the Cult Limo up soon, as least as a WIP, since it makes its appearance at 2000 points. Expect it tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest!

[DeathCat147]

Great work so far Ambience 327, the Hulking Hybrids in particular look brilliant.

[Ambience 327]

Thanks! I can't wait to see the looks on my opponents' faces when I slap them down.

[Harwammer]

You should glue viewing slits on to the windscreens of those trucks and paint the 'wind screen' as armour.

[Ambience 327]

Actually, I am leaving the glass intentionally, as they are meant to be swiftly-converted civilian vehicles (much like those used by modern-day insurgents, many of which have very little armour added to them), and also because in my Codex they are open-topped vehicles, which I feel is well-represented by the glass. (I did up-armour the tractor quite a bit, but that was mainly to hide the slightly over-scale farmer riding inside...)

[Ambience 327]

Got a decent start on the Limo tonight. I have extended the cab from a two-seater to a more appropriate length, which of course means I need to rebuild some sections of siding and roof. However, I think this is giving it a great appearence of having actually been modified from its original form to better suit the cult, with up-armoured windows and a heavier body.

I still need to finish enclosing the passenger compartment, add a few details here and there (like hinges and handles on the front doors), and of course arm it. My army list calls for a Storm Bolter and a Tube Missile. I think I may have the Storm Bolter on the hood, possibly looking more like twin-linked bolters firing fixed-forward, just because I think that will look cool. Not quite sure where I want the Tube Missile. Probably on top, but I am open to other suggestions.

[Harwammer]

Ah, fair enough comments regarding the windscreen. It will be interesting to see them painting as I imagine it will require a slightly unusual technique.

Have you considered mounting the limo weapons the other way round? A pintle mounted storm bolter and the tube missile on the hood, on the sides of the cab or even protruding from the grill (though that might be a bit too orky).

[Ambience 327]

You now have me considering trying to model a sun-roof into the top, with the Storm Botler mounted in front of it.

[Ambience 327]

The Limo as it stands now. It is in a playable condition, but it will get more details eventually. (Vision slits on the armoured windows, hinges & handles on the front doors, hand grips for the extended running boards, etc).