Armoured fighting vehicles fascinate me. They inspire more awe for me than any airplane or ship could. Maybe it's because these rumbling, screeching war machines crush anything that stands in their way. What's too far away for them to run over, they can blast to smithereens with huge shells. Or maybe it's the way small arms fire just patters off their thick, metal hides. Whatever it is, I just can get enough of tanks!

The tanks of the war-torn 41st millennium are massive, ponderous beasts – a throw-back to an earlier age of land-based warfare. Some really do emulate vehicles pulled from WWI and later.

Before I get started in describing how I converted the Chimera shown above, I should clarify the decisions I made with these two statements:

FIRST. Although I'm fascinated with armoured fighting vehicles and seek out model kits and information about them when time permits, my knowledge of tanks is still in its formative stages. I may refer to things improperly or get a few reference dates incorrect. Hopefully these errors won’t upset any tried-and-true armour hobbyists or historians. My goal with this article was to give modelers ideas for their fighting vehicles based loosely on the exhaust-belching, teeth-rattling war machines of wars past.

SECOND. I’m obsessed with the Space Marine Predator turret. This idea may sound like heresy, but I’d replace the current Chimera turret with this Astartes beauty every time. Let me sing its praises: this turret has a higher profile (giving you more area to add any stowage like bags, gear, etc.) and gives the whole vehicle a much meaner appearance. The business end of the turret can be converted to accommodate many different armaments (and if you and your opponent agree to playing with the Forge World rules, you can leave the Predator turret unmolested and make use of its autocannon). The Predator turret could probably even accommodate a Battlecannon, which would make a nice alternative turret for the Leman Russ.