One of the advantages of being military for life ( besides aching knees, back, feet, all the MREs I can eat...) you get to make lots of life-long brothers ( friends but better). Shared memories of bad days and good days, they get to know all you like, love, and dream as you get to know their's.
The military does throw out lots of stuff that may be junk, but for some is treasure.
A brother lucked into some old target identification models that had broken parts and we're off to the dumpster. He figured it was a waste, and figured I could give them a new home.
This M60 A1 Patton is a nasty heavy piece of wood resin. The main gun and machine gun were broken and bubbles and flash abounded everywhere upon it.
Kinda sad for a MBT that at 40 plus years of age is still in service with Egypt( 1700 plus) Israel, Turkey, and a few more besides.
Quality in the real world Detroit built slugger was not matched by its miniature doppelganger.
I was going to make it an Ork vehicle, but I didn't want to start tacking on plates and parts all over it. I removed the bulk of the flash, filled a few of the many bubbles, cut the nasty spots out, then salvaged the machine gun with a nail and replaced the broken main gun with a spare 40k cannon.
A few chaos plates and a chain with some skulls* ( the previous crew) and the Patton was ready for priming and a new life as a deserting PDF MBT.
This particular tank is now rebel with the Hours for Hope crew. The accompanying PDF squad is a mostly stock war games factory longcoat Scifi infantry with a special weapon trooper holding a GW plasma gun.
Both MBT and infantry are part of a growing cult army to bolster a Black Legion force. They will be part of the Nurgle faction and will also support my Death guard marines
The conversions were kept simple and I left much of it intact. It'll be a war game piece for me, but it also has a bit of history from the Fort Knox Cav Scout school.
* skulls are required decoration in 40k. The more skulls the model has the tougher it is. If a model has skulls, chains, and spikes; it's probably chaos and best left to be sorted out by an inquisitor or nuked from orbit.
Hilarious - a great example of the utterly unexpected and fantastic stuff you see in the Challenge. Thanks for this Dave!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Greg! It took me awhile to figure out the destiny for the Patton. It was in sad shape.
DeleteGood salvage! I do a skull count, they're essential wargear.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Barks! I should do a skull count too! There is a large swath of GW models encrusted in them and only a portion are initiates of Khorne! ;)
DeleteI concur with Greg, what a grwat story and an awesome rehabilitation of such a venerable piece of hardware.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sander! I spent more time filling, shaving, and hunting conversion bits than I did painting. It turned out better than I planned!
DeleteThis is probably one of the most unusual sources for a model in the history of the Challenge! Creative use of the materials and a terrific repurposing job, well done David!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Evan! I have two more prepped for painting. Hopefully I will get more down the road!
DeleteExcellent foraging skills! Nice job too, fits right into the grimdark
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jamie! I didn't find this one though. I just have some excellent Brothers in Arms that think about me at opportune moments....and a metric ton of plastic and metal bits! ;)
DeleteI love the idea behind this! It would be awesome to do a whole force using just these and would lead to some truly stories while gaming at clubs or events!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Byron!
DeleteI have a two more models and scores of cultists and renegades. I think I have enough to do an entire force without the fallen marines.
Wow, great reclaimation and salvage Op Dave. Great stuff. Sounds like you need one of Barks' Skullometers.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Peter!
DeleteI probably should borrow Barks! I think it's a close run thing over which has the most skulls(and spikes), orks or chaos.I noted a lot when prepping for the Challenge! ;)
What a beast. I love that you've made it part of your PDF force. Some super-rare Standard Tech Construct from the Age of Strife. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Curt!
DeleteThat was my line of thought. I like the idea of aged and "lost" equipment more than an entire force of traitor imperial gear. It adds more to the renegade force.
Great background and nice bit of repourpousing, it's a cool looking lump and the camo finish works really well with it.
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thank you, Iain!
DeleteIt did come out entirely better than I imagined. I'm still considering camouflage for the other two. This particular color combo is a staple for my sci-fi forces. It does match my Nurgle colors really well. I'm pondering changing the camouflage for the different chaos factions.