Hey everyone, KrautScientist here, with a follow up post about the Centurion kit. While my last post on the matter was supposed to take a closer look at the kit itself and show you some promising conversions, today I would like to feature even more takes on the heavy hitting Astartes assault suits.
Since my last post, to my great pleasure, more people seem to have realised the potential that rests within the - admittedly clunky - Centurions. So let's take a closer look at another generous helping of interesting conversions and kitbashes using these big guys as a jumping off point:
1. Migsula's Skitarii Battle Suits
While the first test model was already featured in my last post, the highly talented migsula has managed to complete all three models in the squad in the meantime. The result is excellent, as per his usual standard.
It's stunning how the slightly different weapons setup and the addition of hooded heads have managed to transform the models into something that looks far more AdMech than Astartes in origin.
More pictures (along with the rest of his stunning work) can be found over at migsula's blog, Legion of Plastic, which comes highly recommended!
2. Silver Fang's Centurions
I came across Silver Fang's conversions while browsing the threads over at The Bolter and Chainsword, and I immediately liked his addition to the Centurion idea pool. The first thing he changed about the models was to swap out the regular heads for Grey Knight heads which makes for a pretty cool alternate look:
I also like the idea of using some of the armour plates intended for the model's groin area to cover up the slots for the chest mounted secondary weapons: certainly a pretty cool option if you're not too fond of that particular element!
Silver Fang's real claim to fame comes in the form of adding badass looking rocket launchers of any kind and shape to his models, though. Take a look:
Here's silver Fang's WIP thread for you to check out.
3. Sir_Isenhar's Centurions
A very recent discovery, yet already one of my favourites, Sir_Isenhar's Centurions over at B&C are really excellent: The Mk III helmets are a perfect fit for the heavily armoured suits, and the more interesting poses and creative bases make this into a standout squad that should look fantastic on the table! Just check out how massive these guys appear:
Sir_Isenhar's thread is here and has the added benefit of doubling as a showcase thread for several Centurion conversions, so I am interested in seeing what all the other people posting in the thread have come up with.
4. My own Behemoths
In closing, let me show you the progress on my own Centurions/counts as Obliterators:
The first two models, already featured in the last post, are basically complete at this point. I did add some smaller decorative bitz and some claws on the feet, though.
And I started to work on the third model in the squad. Here it is:
I actually even composed a little piece of background for my "Behemoths" to make them fit the lore of my army:
Behemoth pattern heavy fire assault suits
Even in an army as focused on combat at close quarters as the World Eaters‘ 4th assault company, there are those who hunt by different means. These brothers of the company are called the Behemoths, and they are an enigma to even their brethren.
During the Great Crusade, the armies of the Legiones Astartes were faced with an ever increasing number of deadly adversaries. Often enough, wars were only to be won by attrition, and the head-on assaults led by the death seeking Primarch Angron were threatening to bleed the 12th Astartes legion dry before long. While Angron seemed oblivious or even indifferent towards such concerns, there were those among his officers who sought a more balanced kind of warfare, at least until the bite of their Butcher’s Nails consumed the remnants of their sanity.
It is said that, during this time, First Apothecary Fabrikus himself experimented on a number of battle brothers, trying to adapt their cranial implants to a different kind of fight. These warriors were outfitted with heavy combat suits, almost on par with the fabled Dreadnoughts. Their suits were equipped with a plethora of heavy weapons, and where the regular World Eaters would throw themselves at the enemy with wild abandon, the so-called Behemoth squads would hang back and lay down a barrage of heavy fire. For Fabrikus had changed the battle brothers’ minds yet again, hardwiring their implants to their weapons systems. The members of the Behemoth squads started to find grim joy in killing, just like the rest of their legion, but the greatest joy for them was to pick out enemies from afar, tearing through flesh and steel alike with bursts of laser fire and plasma, and seeing a red marker turning green in their targeting recticles.
The Behemoths remained a highly experimental unit that only saw limited use during the Crusade and subsequent Heresy: The weapons systems they were outfitted with proved too difficult to maintain during the arduous campaigns, and Angron would always favour a more hands-on approach. Only few of the valuable suits have endured over the millennia, and only those warbands of the XIIth Astartes legion who still count a Warpsmith or Dark Mechanicus ally among their numbers can hope to make any kind of use of this hallowed equipment. For most members of the World Eaters, the kind of warfare exemplified by the Behemoth squads remains forever beyond their reach, replaced by frenzy and costly head-on assaults. Yet within the ranks of the 4th assault company, some of the Behemoths have endured, and in Khorne's Eternal Hunt, have become hunters in their own right: .
These frightening giants still fill the role of heavy fire support, yet the long centuries and millennia have wrought havoc upon their minds: Growing ever more divorced from their humanity, Behemoths are more machine than man, gripped by a tranquil fury where their regular brethren are frenzied. They can only perceive life through their targeting systems, and each situation becomes an equation that can only be solved by heavy fire. They tend to see living beings as either targets or inconsequential elements, even referring to their battle brothers as “fleshkin”.
When away from the battlefield, the Behemoths are normally content to spent time in deep, deathlike sleep. They dream of worlds burning and planets shattering under a barrage of heavy fire, while the other members of the company take relief in the knowledge that their troubled brethren are not at large. Even in an army of frenzied killers, the Behemoths are perhaps the most inhuman of all, since for them life and death are the only variables at any given time, and death is always the preferable outcome...
Anyway, all in all, it looks like the Centurions are really beginning to come into their own as a ressource for interesting conversions and kitbashes! And, of course, I hope that this post has given you a taste for coming up with your own creative spins on the kit. Or do you already have your own Centurion based conversions to show? I'd be happy to hear from you in the comments section!
This has been KrautScientist. Thanks for tuning in!