The Rig Wars - The Red Zephyr

Bonny pulled up her face covering, the cloth hiding her grin as she watched the dockers run for shelter. 

As soon as the gang plank began to retract the whine of the engines started, kicking up ash and reducing visibility to mere metres. The ship rocked as her landing struts retracted and the anti-grav engines took up the strain. 

Her Starboard light cast ethereal shadows across the cavern's walls as she pivoted to the port side, the dust dancing in the green light. The Red Zephyr continued to pivot on the spot, as she drew parallel to the cavern entrance her port side light illuminated the fleeing dust, creating an image like the mouth of hell itself. The illusion was fleeting however, the Landship continued to pivot before its drive thrusters threw more ash into the air and the Red Zephyr left the cavern. 

"We'll pay for that the next time we show up." Yelled the Bosun over the screaming engines.

"We have an appointment with the Captain." Replied the first mate "

"And it's one we dare not miss." He thought to himself.

She's been one helluva build but here's the second part of the Rig Wars journey.

After spending way too much time on this....time that I've really enjoyed however...I'm calling her done. There are still lots of things that I'd like to add like more detailing on the paint job, a winch for the cargo hold and some racks to carry a couple of dirt bikes but something that WarbossKurgen said in a previous post about just getting stuff done and moving on to other projects rang true, so here we are.

I'd decided to add some crew as soon as I'd built the Crow's Nest. Game wise they don't add anything but they help differentiate which weapons are crew manned and which are gang operated.

Overall I'm happy with how she's turned out but even as I type this I keep thinking that she needs more colour because she blends in with my Ash Wastes surface too much....must resist 😉

I have a feeling this may be one of those models that I really do visit again and again.

There are plenty of details that have been added though, like the anchor which has actually has rules...

....admittedly it called an Emergency Brake in Necromunda but it works in my head. 

This Rig weighs in at a mighty 645 Credits but she's armed to the teeth with two side mounted Grenade Launchers and....

...A Boarding Plank. You can't have a Landship without a Boarding Plank.

It's main weapon is incredibly underpowered. Without a doubt the most effective weapon would be a Mining Laser which is only 15 Credits more than what she's armed with...but after a great discussion with my mate Dylan we both agreed that it wasn't right...

...and that it was only fitting that it should be the over-costed and piss weak Harpoon Launcher. This weapon is crewed by the Bosun Hann Bonny who was a kit bash of an Escher and an Orlock. I put a fair amount of work into her, carving the Orlock waistcoat up so that the top half of the Escher body would fit into it. I then sculpted an open shirt and after all that work discovered that it couldn't be seen because of the weapon she is manning. Ha!

The Look-Out has no real purpose, I just wanted a model up there because no based model can fit in the Crow's Nest...And somebody needs to ring that bell 😃

He's built using Corpse Grinder legs and another Orlock top half.

All of the crew are conversions but the 'first mate' was the most difficult to do. I had to make him fit in with the ship's wheel and this proved harder than I thought it would be. Rob gave me a couple of Tricorn hats (from the Nurgle Cultist kits I believe?) and it seemed appropriate that the first mate would wear one.

I added a seat from the old Rogue Trader Kill Team box. This was mounted on an old Rhino door to show that the seat acts as an Escape Hatch.

The raised platform uses the base plate from a Drop Pod. I've had this kicking around in my bits box for years and I'm dead chuffed to have finally found a use for it 😁

I thought the original bannister would provide adequate protection for passengers but I didn't factor in their bases that they were stood on. I added more height to the side rails using the Ladders from the Sector Mechanicus kits. These give transported models more protection (-2 to hit).

Despite wanting to add more detail to the Red Zephyr, I'm happy with the profile of the model.

She looks mean enough to sail the Ash Wastes and deliver her cargo safely...

...be that passengers, Ghast or the Archeotech that she's known to smuggle. 

Of course, she is also at the beck and call of her Captain and his gang of misfits....

...But that's a story that will have to wait for another post.

Until next time....May the Hive Spirits watch over you! 😉