Greetings followers of Hashut. I am Vantraxx the Thrice Cursed, Warlord of Khorne. My forces have been raining death upon the forces of the Old World since the early 90’s. A few months ago i had the itch to build a Chaos Dwarf force that would fight alongside my massive horde. I mean seriously why would a WoC army have hellcannons without any Chaos Dwarf units? This has always bugged me and I am here to set things right. You can check me out over at Chamber of the Everchosen. I have ordered a large Dwarf army from Mantic that i will convert to CD and i have begun building my warmachines…
Your siege engines look really good, and I agree completely about the lack of other Chaos Dwarf units in the WoC army book. The option should be there, especially for Blunderbussers or Fireglaives to provide some shooting phase.
You’ve chosen surprisingly well for the two pairs of scratchbuilt wheels, since one doesn’t even notice the lack of spokes which is otherwise so apparent with scratchbuilds.
The Magma Cannon is a real beast. I’m impressed by the amount of machinery detail put into it. You might, however, want to decorate those large “wings” on the nut (if those are the correct words in English). Furthermore you should break up the large rifled surface of the large black cap in some way. Plasticard bands to simulate iron bands with rivets could work in your favour, as would the occasional grisly trophy.
Thx for the great feedback. Yeah i was stumped on how to break up the flat surface on the “wings” and the circular top bit. I had a round spiky section but it looked a little strange because it sdidn’t reach all the way around… i should just sculpt it or use plasticard as suggested. I think some more skulls and chains will liven it up a bit. Definatly will be working on those bits asap
the big wheels on the rockets were heroclix bases i had removed from the LOTR range… i knew they would come in handy one day!
That Magma Cannon actually looks like an honest working machine of some sort…It would not surprise me if it really would torch something (and burn your fingers) if you flipped that switch.
I am sorry but I will be the voice of discontent. The magma cannon is far too large, the drum that is over the barrel is massively out of propitiation with the chassis and the cannon barrel itself. While I do admire the scratch build of the machine itself I just do not like how huge that reservoir is. The other problem I have is the size of the wheels to the rocket batteries, again the wheels are huge way too big for how small the rocket tubes are. The one with the small wheels works, the others not so much. I would suggest making a frame out of sprues and mounting rockets from the imperial guard kits on that frame. Kinda like a steam punk Napoleonic rocket only with several rockets per rig instead of one. In a nutshell bigger rockets smaller wheels. Yes I know how this sounds and yes I am sorry for being so blunt while others rain praise, but not all will agree with the works of another. I actually have been the target of critics many times for my works.
HA! no reason to apologise! Thanks for being honest. I am here for advice from real Chaos Dwarf players/converters/painters! To be honest I too have an issue with the over sized reservoir. I had 2 bits that looked like that and i was going to use them for earthshaker nozzles but i got a little carried away… I wanted to get rid of it but the rest of the model is kind of stuck to it. I think i’ll try to either cut the top off to shorten it or remove it all together in favour of more pipes.
And thanks for the pointers with the rockets, i will keep the big wheels but i think they need to bulk up a bit.
BTW this forum rocks, thanks for the great input and feedback!
I am sorry but I will be the voice of discontent. The magma cannon is far too large, the drum that is over the barrel is massively out of propitiation with the chassis and the cannon barrel itself. While I do admire the scratch build of the machine itself I just do not like how huge that reservoir is. The other problem I have is the size of the wheels to the rocket batteries, again the wheels are huge way too big for how small the rocket tubes are. The one with the small wheels works, the others not so much. I would suggest making a frame out of sprues and mounting rockets from the imperial guard kits on that frame. Kinda like a steam punk Napoleonic rocket only with several rockets per rig instead of one. In a nutshell bigger rockets smaller wheels. Yes I know how this sounds and yes I am sorry for being so blunt while others rain praise, but not all will agree with the works of another. I actually have been the target of critics many times for my works.
I’m not sure about the Hellcannon, but the Magma Cannon is looking better with each update! Don’t hesitate to keep it as large as it is, but be careful to fill in ugly gaps and remove mould lines. I think the cannon carriage would look mighty fine if you added more wheels or even small sleigh parts somewhere.
I'm not sure about the Hellcannon, but the Magma Cannon is looking better with each update! Don't hesitate to keep it as large as it is, but be careful to fill in ugly gaps and remove mould lines. I think the cannon carriage would look mighty fine if you added more wheels or even small sleigh parts somewhere.
That's one beauty of a scratchbuild!
Admiral
Thx Admiral, great advice. New sets of wheels to help bulk it up, a few rivets here and there will sort it out :) i only noticed the mould lines from the photo haha, gotta get onto that...:yar
Quick fluff update to tie in my Chaos Dwarfs with my main WoC forces:
The history between Vantraxx the Thrice Cursed and Fleet Master Kurgen Blackheart is one of Blood and Fear. Together they have terrorised the realms of Man and Elf for hundreds of years. To mobilise his Dark Host, Vantraxx enlisted the service of the Ironfist Brigade. They are known as fierce pirates that mostly operate in the Sea of Claws. Their steam engines and daemon powered floating fortresses were all Vantraxx needed to wreck havoc upon the Old World. In return for passage and assistance with deadly siege engines and weapons of Hellforged power, Vantraxx offered slaves. Many slaves. More slaves than the fleet could carry. Anyone the Chaos Dwarfs could capture before or during the slaughter will belong to them. If they left it too late all they would collect will be the dismembered limbs and heads of the enemy…
This is the alliance that will bring fear and terror to the reams of the civilised. Together they will watch the Old World burn…
Good job. That magma cannon is getting really awesome. Looking forward to seeing it painted - or just base coated. A base coat does a lot for a converison like this - much easier to enjoy it as a model.
Any plan for crew? It’s gonna be tough to make guys to match the crazyness of the machine.
