The Leman Russ "Crusader"

First, apologies for the long hiatus. This is connected to the second apology for getting no work done on the monitor. I have done no work on it, and have thus managed to put off updating this blog with what little I have done. Let us grandly sweep that aside.

From the above title you might think I have come up with a derivative Russ based on the Landraider Crusader, bristling with Sponson Bolters and so forth. In truth I have something derivative from quite another source, Britain's Crusader I tank of WWII. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusader_tank This beasty had a forward turret mounting an anti-infantry weapon, which struck me as the solution to a problem I have toyed with on and off for several years. The Leman Russ chassis thoroughly displeased a friend, even to the extent that it put him off the Guard. To be precise, it was the existence of the sponsons that so seriously dismayed his ordered mind. Over the years I have had a few goes at finding a solution to modelling a Russ that looks right for gameplay and makes sense on the battlefield. I am closer now than I've been ever before!

The initial "Russader" is shown here with stand-in turrets for the main gun (a FW Annihilator turret) and the hull-mounted Lascannon (an old Chimaera turret with IG Heavy Weapons Team Lascannon replacing the Multilaser).





One of the problems I have had is trying to have a fairly realistic allowance of space for the crew of the Russ while sticking as close as I can to the existing dimensions. The Russader is pictured here with a Chimaera chassis doing duty as a lower (and slightly shorter) local variant of a Russ. You can see here that I am pretty close to having the right length.





I am also near perfect for width.



Last, height is very near spot-on, too.





As you can see, the wheels need work. I have coated some bottle caps in plasticard, and am not at all happy with their appearance. I've used them on superheavies before, when the skirts have hidden their defects. I may take that route with the final cut of this vehicle, too. This evening I shall try to sort out my final plans. I appreciate that the above vehicle doesn't at first glance appear to address the concern of sponsons! This rough draft of the next generation should give some idea of my plans.



I shall shift the existing turret on the forward hull slightly to the left, add a mirror turret on the right, and perhaps increase the height difference between the fore and main hulls in order to fit in the hull-mounted weapon.