Shadowsword Super-Heavy Titan Destroyer
Posted: 04 Jan 2021, 18:18
In the wonderful wacky world of Warhammer 40.000 the Imperium of Man's standard heavy tank is the 300 ton Baneblade, sporting eleven barrels of hell to defend against any horrors a brutal uncaring universe might throw at it. Here you can find Raoul's build from last year with an excellent introduction to the subject matter.
But the same chassis is also used for a range of specialist versions, usually sporting a huge weapon in a casemate superstructure. One of them is the Shadowsword, equipped with a long range laser cannon to destroy the huge bipedal war machines known as Titans. Thanks to Adam we also have one on the site. His build is a smaller version, with the largest Imperator-Class Titans being considerably larger. Common to all Titans are potent energy shields which render conventional weaponry virtually useless. The Shadowsword's Volcano Cannon is one of the few weapon systems effective against such targets. Naturally it is equally devastating against lesser protected opponents. Originally designed to be used by Titans, it's main drawback is its ravenous appetite for energy. Since the Baneblade chassis is not equipped with a high energy fusion reactor, its power comes from a large capacitor array that has to be charged between each shot by the tank's combustion engine. To maintain a reasonable rate of fire, the tank has to remain immobile to fully dedicate its engine power to the attached generators. Therefore it is vital to keep the vehicle well protected and as far away from hostile forces as possble.
So much for the lore of this monstrosity. As mentioned in the Christmas Thread, Raoul graciously gifted me this kit and the itch to get started has grown ever since Raoul did a short review of the contents in this build, so I'm diving right in.
The build starts with the running gear, which looks complicated at first but goes together fairly quick:
The overall construction is fairly simple, as is typical for a tabletop kit. Games Workshop took some effort to hide obvious seams and gaps, but in some areas they are quite visible, most of all the fuel drums on the back:
Instead of filling and sanding the seams I tried my luck with my compass cutter and masking tape. If it looks bad after primer, I'll change it for styrene.
The wheels are moulded attached to the hull sides, due to the closed nature of the running gear there's not much visible anyway except for the outer wheels. I suspect the "real" tank would have a suspension somewhere between a Churchill and a Char B1. Note the embossed part number, which makes life easier for those who cut first and ask questions later
That's all for now, I suspect the rest of the build won't take much longer...unless I start superdetailing, which I probably will
Philipp
But the same chassis is also used for a range of specialist versions, usually sporting a huge weapon in a casemate superstructure. One of them is the Shadowsword, equipped with a long range laser cannon to destroy the huge bipedal war machines known as Titans. Thanks to Adam we also have one on the site. His build is a smaller version, with the largest Imperator-Class Titans being considerably larger. Common to all Titans are potent energy shields which render conventional weaponry virtually useless. The Shadowsword's Volcano Cannon is one of the few weapon systems effective against such targets. Naturally it is equally devastating against lesser protected opponents. Originally designed to be used by Titans, it's main drawback is its ravenous appetite for energy. Since the Baneblade chassis is not equipped with a high energy fusion reactor, its power comes from a large capacitor array that has to be charged between each shot by the tank's combustion engine. To maintain a reasonable rate of fire, the tank has to remain immobile to fully dedicate its engine power to the attached generators. Therefore it is vital to keep the vehicle well protected and as far away from hostile forces as possble.
So much for the lore of this monstrosity. As mentioned in the Christmas Thread, Raoul graciously gifted me this kit and the itch to get started has grown ever since Raoul did a short review of the contents in this build, so I'm diving right in.
The build starts with the running gear, which looks complicated at first but goes together fairly quick:
The overall construction is fairly simple, as is typical for a tabletop kit. Games Workshop took some effort to hide obvious seams and gaps, but in some areas they are quite visible, most of all the fuel drums on the back:
Instead of filling and sanding the seams I tried my luck with my compass cutter and masking tape. If it looks bad after primer, I'll change it for styrene.
The wheels are moulded attached to the hull sides, due to the closed nature of the running gear there's not much visible anyway except for the outer wheels. I suspect the "real" tank would have a suspension somewhere between a Churchill and a Char B1. Note the embossed part number, which makes life easier for those who cut first and ask questions later
That's all for now, I suspect the rest of the build won't take much longer...unless I start superdetailing, which I probably will
Philipp