Warbringer Titan 'The Crucible of Terra'

Late this past summer GW reissued 'Adeptus Titanicus', a game which caused a bit of a stir for some geeks of a certain vintage. The new ruleset is great homage to the 1988 version - easy to learn, fun to play and very evocative of the Horus Heresy/Titanicus backstory. 

Perhaps the biggest drawback to the game's launch was the high cost of the models (actually, still very much a problem) and the weird way GW decided to release the various 'classes' of titans. The initial uber boxed set included only the largest, the Warlord, and the smallest unit, the Knights. This  in turn made it virtually impossible for players to fully appreciate the tactical nuances of the game as the hulking Warlords usually just stood in place, trading long range fire while the Knights usually got plastered somewhere in the middle of the table. It took a few months for GW to get its act together and release both the medium Reaver and the scouting Warhounds, but in the midst of that gap many of us Titanicus nerds were looking around for alternative models to fill the ranks. For me Thingiverse came to the rescue as there were several gifted designers who had come up with great versions of the various titan classes, especially the Warhound and alternative Warlord weapon loadouts.

During one of my searches for possible stand-ins I came across Nuclear Shrimp Games, a small company based out of the Ionian Islands in Greece. These talented guys are doing some wonderful stuff with their own 'Black Earth' range, and also creating a few alternate 'not-GW' designs in the margins. On top of some impressive 28mm stuff, they also have two titans which are scaled on the large side of 6mm. One is an excellent Ork Gargant, and the other is an amazingly close rendition of an early 'Mars Lucius Pattern' Warlord titan, reminiscent of the 'Imperious Dictatio' engine from Dan Abnett's graphic novel series 'Titan' (1999).  Loving the comic series, I immediately ordered one of these bad boys to add to my collection. 

'Imperious Dictatio' from 'Titan'

What arrived from Greece was a relatively clean, but complex resin kit. I would say that it's not for the faint of heart, as it involved a good bit of straightening and filling to get it ready for priming (in fact it's has eaten up a lot of my hobby time since the start of this year's Challenge).

In addition to the main titan chassis, I also picked up a selection of optional weapon loadouts. 

'Jeeves, I think for today I'll go understated. Let's have the Apocalypse Missiles, Hellstorm Cannon and Plasma Devastator...' 

I really like the ridiculously huge Power Fist (as big as a super-heavy tank!) and the rather rude looking Void Missile launcher. 

The titan's power fist next to a Falchion super-heavy tank. Silly but fun...

'Accept the Imperial Truth, or I'll fire these honkin' huge suppositories at you...'

Yup, it kinda cracks me up. Each of these weapon options required a some creative trimming, drilling and magnets to allow the ability to swap them in. 

Something a bit preposterous...

...and something a little less ,um, striving.

'Be honest, do the missiles make my @ss look big?'

Byron kindly provided an appropriately shaped MDF base and I tarted it up with some wreckage and a parked Rhino (probably some Blood Angels trying to find a place for a  decent cappuccino).

'I heard there's a guy named Franco that needs sorting...'

So there you have it, my newest, stompiest titan, 'The Crucible of Terra', ready to blow the Arch Enemy to smithereens, or at least punch them hard in the owchie parts.

Thanks for dropping in, folks. Paint hard and have a great week!