The Chimera is the armoured workhorse of the Imperial Guard. This tracked transport has been with us in plastic form for over a decade now, and recently had a revised kit produced, with a nicer turret and better fitting parts. But one feature puts many people off; the Lasgun arrays. Not only can they be fiddly and annoying to align, but they are very easy to break. Some choose to not use them, but then you are left with six round holes in your hull. Well, it appears that Blood and Skulls Industries is here once more to save the day, with the
Capricorn kit.
For £12.30 you get a new upper hull and turret, which comes with a cannon, pivot point and operable hatch. For those who do not want a turret, the hull is available
by itself, for £8.41.
The hull is a one-piece section that replaces the standard upper hull and roof. It is a much shorter hull, being about an inch shorter than the stock part. It is just long enough to reach the edge of the upper front hull piece, and leaves the round hole at the front, which can be plugged with a hatch. Do note that newer Chimera kits do not come with a spare hatch. Fortunately I had an old metal one from the previous Hellhound kit. The shorted hull set the turret further back, leaving it fairly central on the model. Be aware of this is you plan to give your tank a Heavy Flamer, as you will loose about an inch of range.
The square hole in the roof is the exact same size as with the plastic chimera, so the plastic hatches are compatible with the resin parts. The resin is of a good quality and easy to work with. The rear side sections of the hull, if warped, are very easy to bend into shape.
Fitting the roof to the rear hatch is no problem, though there is a slight difference in angles.
The turret sports a look similar to the
Artemia Hellhound from Forge World: with a low and wide silhouette and off-centre main gun. Building the turret is fairly straight forward: you have the turret body, hatch, gun and gun mantlet. This makes for a simple and easy assembly. The turret is held on by a pin, similar in style to the original chimera. this does mean that the standard Chimera turret, with its twist and lock design, is not compatible without some work to the turret underside. This is important knowledge for anyone who decides to buy the hull on its own.
There was one part that confused me, as I didn't know what it was for.
However, after some investigation, and trial and error, I found that it is an adaptor for the Chimera weapons, allowing any of the plastic turret weapons to easily fit the new turret.
This upgrade set has a lot of potential, not just as a chimera. With just a bit of work, this turret has been given a unique Inferno Gun, making this model a perfect start to a new Hellhound for the Vraksians. The main gun is reminiscent of the KV-8, which boasted a disguised main gun, to fool the enemy into thinking it was a normal KV-2.
as an upgrade to a new kit, or as new parts for a repair or salvage job, Blood and Skull's latest kit provides a fantastic alternative to the Lasgun arrays so many of us seem to hate using. Its contemporary and functional non-flamboyant design is perfect for guard armies of all styles, in an army which is well known for function over form.
