Heresy & Heroes

I decided that my Blood Angels needed some wheels (well, cat tracks anyway) and so I’ve put together my first Rhino transport vehicle for them. And, as it happens, I’m pretty happy with it. What’s more, I learned a couple of lessons with this one, that I shall happily share with you here.

But before that, let’s talk inspiration. As you will know if you’ve been following the progress of this army, I’ve been using classic 2nd Ed Blood Angels as an inspiration for this army, and it’s no different here. I took the classic Rhino APC from the below image and updated it a bit, and did a fair bit of weathering too. See if you can spot some similarities.

Now obviously there are some differences – a lot of them really, but this was where my ideas started. The tactical arrows on the roof, the symbols on the front, the general colouring… this was in my head when the project kicked off.

So first lesson to impart; read the instruction that come in the box when assembling. I’ve put together many a rhino over the years, but with this kit, things are a little different. I of course charged into it thinking ‘I know how to do this!’ and then came a cropper when I went to go and put one of the side panels. It’s a lot easier if you do it the way they tell you in the instructions. Just so you know.

Second lesson; Mephiston Red spray is brilliant. A couple of thin coats of it, and you’ll have saved your brushes a lot of time. Heck, you’ll have even saved time with your airbrushes if you’re that way inclined. What’s more, with a slightly elevated angle, you get some great natural shadows in there. So glad I picked it up, and will definitely be using it again.

With this kit, I used a couple of extra bits as well. The pintle mounted heavy flamer (because you can never have too many flamers) comes from the FW upgrade clam pack, and that’s some etched brass on the front piece there. As with any FW kit, there’s a lot of swearing involved in assembly, and plenty of mould lines to clean up, but of course you also get an amazing looking miniature when all of that’s done. I much prefer this kit to the one you get from GW when it comes to looks and design.

I’m really happy with the weathering job here. Typhus Corrosion is a great pot of paint and appears all over this tank, but the effect I really like was required by using a couple of grey paints to give the lower parts of this vehicle a dusty look. I’ve used it on my dreadnoughts before now, and it fits in with the basing of my other minis, so it’s great for tying the army together.

Now, why didn’t I do the big white Blood Drops on the doors? A, the door teeth make that a bit difficult, and B, putting white paint onto a red surface is not easy. And by that stage, I’d done enough of it, as you can see from the picture below.

When I worked out that painting white onto red was difficult (which I always knew but we oft relearn this sort of lesson), it gave me a bit of idea. It would be plenty tough for the guys maintaining the armoury on a space marine ship as well. Especially if they’re constantly coming in and out of battle. Sure, the important vehicles would get perfect spray jobs, but rhinos? The workhorses? Maybe when all the paint was being retouched, it left marks, where the new paint was slightly different or applied too thinly or heavily. So I added this to my weathering plan and it worked really nicely I think. Breaks up the flat red surfaces a bit at least. Won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I like it.

And so I shall leave you with the back end of a rhino to look at. Don’t fret though – you’ll have a new front end to look at soon enough. Like the titles says, this is rhino ‘1’. The next one is primed and ready for a bit of attention so I shall get to work on that soon enough. For the time being, I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at this one, and I hope your own painting projects are going well. Onwards!