Mordian 7th Regiment - New Chimera test build and Leman Russ Vanquisher

Time to squeeze one last blog post in before the month ends! After my previous experience building the Mk. 1 Rhino upgrade kits from Blood and Skulls Industry I was chatting with Tom about the other kits he's made recently. I was excited to hear that I could still order the Chimera upgrade kit he'd made a while back as it's very similar to the Wyvern Pattern Chimeras I'd kitbashed (scroll down a bit) for use with the last iteration of the glorious 7th. For a quite reasonable $15, he offers a replacement top plate, turret and hatch that quite nicely approximates what I'd done before with the added bonus that it requires almost nothing in the way of cutting and trimming like the kitbash versions I'd made did. A week or so after I'd placed the order, a box arrived with 5 of the kits. After trimming away the minimal flash and a quick wash, I snapped a picture of what exactly comes with the upgrade kit:

I especially like the viewports he's used in place of the ball-and-socket lasguns from the standard Chimera, and the low-profile turret is designed to accept the multi-laser from the original kit, as well as giving one room to add whatever turret armament one may desire. I cracked open one of the old-style Chimera kits I've been hoarding in the Closet of Doom and did a test build with the first of the five kits I'd ordered.

 

The kit went together smoothly (well as smoothly as assembling an old-style Chimera kit ever does) and I decided to build an Autocannon turret as well as a Multi-laser turret (as he'd included a spare turret in the package). I decided that as part of the overall sleeker aesthetic provided by the turret and new hull, that I'd leave off the big boxy side armor plates that come with the old kit and instead just add some stowage and whatnot to the sides. Overall I'm quite pleased and I'm looking forward to building the rest of the kits!

 

While I was about it I knocked together one of the newer Leman Russ kits that I picked up at my FLGS. My intent was to build it such that it could be used as either a 'vanilla' Leman Russ or a Vanquisher (I do really like the push-fit weapon options on the new kit), though I decided against adding side sponsons to it. I may add another Leman Russ in the future, but for now the other two heavy support slots for the army will be taken up by a Medusa Emplacement and a Manticore. I loves me some heavy artillery after all!