Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Adeptus Mechanicus Kastelan Robot Maniple!

Way back in 2015, Games Workshop introduced the Adeptus Mechanicus faction for Warhammer 40K, and man was I stoked. In fact I was moved so far as to proclaim that GW had gotten its mojo back. Well, we've had our ups and downs since then but I still love me some AdMech.

And I've finally put my money where my mouth is! Here is a Kastelan Robot Maniple I finished just in time for the MMSS Show at Legions Maxximus.

As you can see, these aren't exactly the "stock" Robots from out of the GW box. Like many, I'm lukewarm on the "Robby" heads that the Kastelans come with, so I replaced them with these spiffy heads from Wargame Exclusive. In addition to these very cool bits, Warex also makes some amazing looking Inquisitor models, vehicles, and even "not-Tau" characters.  I think their heads suit the Robots perfectly.

Not to be left out, the Kastelan box comes with an Adeptus Mechanicus controller dude to control (?) the Robots. I've always been a bit intimidated by all the detail on these new AdMech character models but never fear, Leadbelcher and Nuln Oil cure all. Add in a skosh of Brass Scorpion/Balthasar Gold here and there and Robert's your mother's brother. Robes are painted with Mephiston Red, washed with N.O. and highlighted with Mephiston and Evil Sunz Orange.

The pistols on this model are notably cool sculpts.

The giants robos got a coat of Mephiston washed with good old N.O. with Mephiston over top again. Sponge weathering and some random Leadbelcher chipping finished them off.

During assembly one of the model's hip joints were cut up and reposed slightly as well, just for some variety.

I'm a big fan (and somewhat less skilled practitioner) of the Magnet Revolution - mainly because I'm cheap and I love having flexibility to use the same models in different ways. So for the Kastelans, I magnetised the hands and painted both sets for both models - so I can field blaster-bots, handy-bots, or a combination of both in the same Maniple.

Here's a family portrait of my Adeptus Mechanicus "army" so far. It will be added to - I have a bunch of unassembled models to build yet - but I think there's a sufficient number for a small multi-player Rogue Trader/Kill Team type game. I can hardly wait to get them out on the battlefield.

3 comments:

Greg B said...

Great work on these Dallas. I love the after market heads!

A Roguu Trader game beckons...

Unknown said...

Gorgeous models! How did you go about magnetizing the Kastelan fists? I'd like to do the same but it looks a bit tricker with these models.

Dallas said...

Thanks guys! In answer to the question, the fists were fairly straightforward to magnetize. You need to superglue one magnet to the forearm, and the other one goes inside the fits itself - there is a space. They don't need to necessarily touch each other if you use strong magnets, as the fist is pretty light. Just make sure to get the polarities correct! Hope that helps!