Legion of the Damned Landspeeder Progress

 

Hi folks,

A couple of months ago this Landspeeder showed up on eBay for a princely sum. Knowing how rare they are to find complete and unassembled, I put my order in very quickly and added it to my Christmas list. Landspeeders are one of the few vehicles that Legion of the Damned can field according to the 2nd Edition army list, so I really wanted one to add a bit of variety to my army. I could take a Rhino as well, but I prefer to teleport my marines in; it is so much more characterful!

All of the parts were accounted for and in excellent condition. I think the base is a more modern one, which I am not going to complain about. The original was such an awful thing. As it is, the model will be prone to snapping due to the weight of the model on such a fragile stem. I am sorely tempted to use metal rod instead, but I'll give the clear base a go first. If I ever have to repair it, I'll be using something a lot more robust.

Interestingly, two of the pieces have different year stamps on them. It makes me wonder if this box was a "Frankenstein's Monster" kind of deal. Again, I have nothing to complain about, especially considering they are both from the mid-90's.

I spent an hour or so trimming metal flash and mould lines with my hobby knife. Metal Landspeeders are notoriously difficult to assemble, so I have taken my time putting it together. I left the engine block overnight to set and will keep it as a sub-assembly. Attaching the seats was probably the most frustrating part (so far, at least), as slight bends in some of the parts have left odd gaps. I doubt you will notice on the finished model, otherwise I would pull it apart again and carefully bend the parts back into shape. 

Hopefully, I'll get some time tomorrow to undercoat the parts and get started with the free-hand flames. 

See you across the table,

Marc

Legion of the Damned Combat Squad 2: TO-DONE!!!

 

Hi folks,

During the Easter long weekend I went down the south coast of NSW with my wife and kids. After a pretty horrible couple of months, I really needed to get away and reset. The place where we stayed is very dear to me and has a way of reminding me who I am. My family has been visiting here for over 50 years (before I was born!) so walking out to the beach is like travelling back in time. So many important things that have shaped me as a person have happened right here. Interestingly, it is also the place where I first played 40K, on an old camping table with folded cardboard figures. 

When I got home, with sand in my pockets and nothing on my mind, I realised I had very little time to get my project done for the 2nd Edition Army Challenge. I have really loved being a part of it, so the idea of falling short in the 5th month didn't appeal to me. I quickly put together some subassemblies an undercoated some things, then raced off at the start of the new school term to a Year 8 camp (supervising 60+ 14 year olds). By the time I returned I had less than 48 hours to finish the squad! Knowing this, I promptly procrastinated for another 24 hours and spent time with my son, playing board games and watching Fellowship of the Ring. During the last 24 hours I posted WIP shots as I burned my way through the painting stages, it was pretty epic and the other challengers gave me wonderful support. Here are some photos of the finished Legionnaires:

This month is bonus month and I have a large backlog of extra models I didn't get around to earlier. I'm hoping I can make a dent in those, or even get them all done. It would be really great to have the whole force complete before I move on to some more modern models and other things.

See you across the table,

Marc