Zebraoutrider joins the Ordo Xenos and the Mubraxis Dustdogs

Time has come again to think about how I will display the miniatures as a potential Armies on Parade in a similar fashion to my ‘Beware the Jabberwock, my son!’ Project that I’m also recording through a blog on BOW.

Last year I entered my 3rd Armoured Division Savlar Chemdogs at GW Uxbridge and came a valiant runner-up with my nine tanks (you can see that project log in my completed projects on BOW). Apparently I lost out to the winner by one vote, but his miniatures were fantastic and the feedback I received was really positive.  But this year, I want to take the step up by creating a more integral display board than I did with the Savlar Chemdogs. In reflection that ended up more like a ‘tank park’ with an abstract conceptual linkage, so this time I want to tell a story. This will be an Oasis in the Great Desert on Mubraxis which the Ordo Xenos along with the Astra Militarum have to investigate when communications with the maintenance team has been lost…

To this end, I’m recycling a failed gaming board project and creating a 2’x2’ display board that incorporates a significant amount of 40K scenery that’s been sitting around waiting to be made for near on three years (when first released)!

Scenery sets: x4 Ferantonic Furnaces; x1 Ferantonic Megnavent; x1 Alchantic Stack (new); x2 Manufactorum old kits (recycled).

WIP gallery shows how I cut up the MDF gaming board and using polystyrene blocks and ceiling tiles, I created an elevated section for the tanks with a minimum width of  6” (15 cm) to ensure enough space for the tanks on each of their round bases.

The beauty of the GW kits is their modularity and so I tried out a number of combinations until I was happy with the height, stability and aesthetics.

As you can see, I’m also into recycling and not wasting materials, so I will also use two empty “Coffeemate” tins and cut-down, reinforced cardboard tubing to add extra height to the main scenery – reminiscing on an old-style model making from my youth…

I also want to see if I can get a Valkyrie to land on the top of the facility!