There aren’t a lot of things I can look at in this world without going, “I could make that into a 40K unit”. I’ve made Gargants into Dunecrawlers, turned Orruk parts into Kataphrons, and generally kitbashed my way to a pretty unique Adeptus Mechanicus force. And that’s before you even look at what I’ve looted for my Orks.
It’s safe to say that Games Workshop’s sci-fi system is my favourite of its universes. I’ve got nothing against Age of Sigmar, and enjoyed Warhammer Fantasy well enough, but my heart lies with mechs and lasers. That said, I do enjoy a little crossover between the two.
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I converted an Imperial Knight to carry a big-ass shield. The shield in question was kindly gifted to me by a good friend, who had somehow bought too many weapons for his Warlord Titan. As we all do. So, my almighty Knight carries a Volcano Cannon, and its carapace has been stretched and flattened to become its shield [not pictured, as it’s currently in the loft].
It’s an impressive beast if I do say so myself, but I had nowhere to put it. I used it as an ally for my Dark Mechanicus, but it never really fit in. It was too good, too pure. The rest of my army was built of flesh transfused to metal in ways the Warhammer universe had never seen before, and my Knight was a Paladin among the chaos (small C).
Then I saw the new Cities of Sigmar range. The kits are stunning to put together, and each miniature oozes personality like a Nurgling oozes toxic pus. While I put together a small force for Age of Sigmar, I realised that there was kitbash potential for my beloved 40K, too. So I dug out some Cadian bits from my bits box and set about creating an armed force for a feudal world.
The kits fit together without too much trouble, although I needed to green stuff a few joints to make everything flush. The process made me realise just how good the new kits are, though. Where the Cadians have a few options, the Cities of Sigmar models give you a plethora of choices. Whether you’re converting Fusiliers, Ironweld Great Cannon crew, or the Command Corps, you’ve got a host of decisions to make when assembling your militia. Add in a couple of sprues of Cadian Shock Troopers and you find yourself in a state of analysis paralysis at which direction to take your figures.
I persevered, however, and built a handful of test models for my force. These are the most exciting ones, but I have plenty of regular rifle troops on the assembly line to boost their ranks. I also built the Cavalier-Marshal pretty much straight out of the box, because it’s stunning as is. A laser rifle strapped to his horse pulls him millennia through time as the perfect lord or baron.
My feudal world is coming along great, with Ironweld Heavy Weapons Teams supplementing my forces with wooden-shielded lascannons and Ogryn Warhulks doing the heavy lifting. By the way, the turret holding the Fusil-Major from that kit? He’s controlling the planet’s only heavy machinery, an old, battle-worn Chimera fitted with shields bearing the house’s heraldry.
The Cities of Sigmar range makes for fantastic storytelling with your models, even when taken from their Age of Sigmar setting and thrown into the far future. Mine are clearly a feudal world, and the painting is going to represent battered, old armour. The only pristine model in the force will be the Knight itself, which receives all of the planet’s resources in order to keep its enormous frame running.
I’m sure you’d have just as much fun building an Age of Sigmar force, but the Cities of Sigmar range has limitless possibilities no matter what flavour of Warhammer you like. Whether you create a Knightly House for 40K, a Necromunda warband (some of the Command Corps would be excellent for this, and the regular soldiers work perfectly as city guards), or anything else, the only thing stopping you is your imagination.
Thanks to Games Workshop for sending us these new models.