I've had this model for a good number of years and I reckon it's as old as I am, I had always planed on fixing it up but never really knew the direction I wanted to go with it.
I decided to add the model to my Thousand Sons army. Due to the age of the model and its rarity it would always be impressive on the tabletop, especially once painted. However as cool as it is, the lack of fine detail will mean it will never be a real head turner.
Also to count it as a modern Land Raider in game, it would really need heavy bolters and a front assault ramp (as well as its original Lascannons glued back on).
Warning! The following could be considered heresy. However the Thousand Sons have long disregarded what the Imperium has to say.
At the start of the build I disassembled the model, it came apart very easily due to the age of the glue i'm sure. I also dug through my bitz box to find parts to bring this model up to speed.
The next stage was to add detail to the tank tracks, the fact there is no tread on the original model bugged me.
Using a Baneblade track and some Instamold, I pressed green stuff in to each track. I'm hoping once I've added some dirt and grime to the tracks it will look like the model was always like this.
The mold was cut down to fit between each link by the way.
Then came a more fiddly job, installing the front assault ramp. I bought Forge World Thousand Sons legion doors for this project. I figured i'm only doing this once so might as well invest in it. The pre heresy doors will also reinforce the fact the Thousand Sons have had this MK1 Land Raider from way back when.
The Heavy Bolter housing from a new Land Raider was first glued in place and holes were carefully drilled into the model.
Parts were also cut from plasticard to fill in gaps & ensure the doors opened and closed at the right position.
The newer Land Raider hull piece is pretty much the same width as the older parts. However the floor of the model is now lower so the old parts were cut to fit.
I continued this until the hull was complete. Even using more newer hull panels.
For the sides of the tank I made sure they could be removed by adding a magnet. As the front doors opened I need to get to the whole interior of the tank when painting. I personally want to avoid the situation where someone picks the model up, opens the doors and notices the paint only goes back a few centimeters.
The magnet on the side panel also took the place of an existing rivet.
Separate to this model I ended up hoarding a pair of Lascannons over the years for it, unfortunately one was missing the barrels. So I had to update the pair of them with newer, Imperial Guard Lascannons.
I also increased the distance the Lascannons are suspended from the hull of the tank, at the stock position the side doors could never open. They look very thin below but i've done more work to them since this picture.
I've also added some small details to the model after this picture, it's now in my paint queue and I can't wait to finish it.
3rd of April 2019
So after a few weeks of on and off painting evenings the Landy is finished.
Most of the painting techniques in this project are covered elsewhere. However I will detail the steps involved painting the tracks and heat scorch lasconnon barrels.
For the tracks;
* Base coated with Warplock Bronze
* Dry-brushed with Skrag Brown
* Stippled with Fire Dragon Bright (orange)
* Dry-brushed with Leadbelcher (gun metal silver)
* Dry-brushed with Runefang steel (brighter silver)
* Painted in parts Nuln Oil (Black wash) and in other parts Agrax Earthshade (Brown wash)
* Dry-brushed with Runefang steel (brighter silver)
* Stippled with Typhus Corrosion
* Elements painted with thick coats of Seraphim Sepia. A sepia wash that in large quantities leave ivory coloured powder in the recesses.
* Thick lumps of Agrellan Earth painted into the recesses of some tracks, this dries like cracked mud.
* Lastly a heavy dry-brush of Bleached Bone or any ivory.
For the heat scorch;
* Base coat with Runefang steel (brighter silver)
* Coat the whole area 1 part Runefang and 1 part Gauss Blaster Green
* Add a small amount of Gehenna's Gold to the mix and leave some of the previous green furthest away from the end of barrel.
* Add some Warlock Purple to the mix, leave some of the previous stage on display.
* Add some Xereus Purple to the mix, leave some of the previous stage on display.
* Add some Caledor Sky (blue) to the mix, leave some of the previous stage on display.
* Finally use Caledor Sky (blue) to edge the purple end of the barrel.
Anyway here is the finished model; You can see the rest of my Thousand Sons here
I wouldn't say it's completely finished, as I would like to add a Heavy Bolter cover to the hull weapon point. However it's tabletop standard.