How to build: Imperial Guard Landspeeder

It's a bank holiday in most of the UK today, but not here in Scotland, where it was 3 weeks ago. It's very hot and very sunny, and most of my neighbours have taken the day off. As such, I'm finding it hard to get motivated.

My mind keeps drifting back to Saturday's post on reclaiming the Land Speeder for the Imperial Guard of 40k.

The biggest issue, beyond getting the relevant guns (multilaser, lascannon, plasma cannon), is the crew. The majority of surplus crew that collecting Guard produces are designed to be poking their heads out of or standing in tank cupolae. There are 8 that i can think of that aren't: the artillery deck crew from the Accessories sprue/Basilisk, the 2 deck crew from the Hydra/Wyvern, the commander from the Baneblade, who has legs allowing them to be assembled as a separate model, the commander for the Deathstrike/Manticore, the 2 crew in a Taurox and the crew of the Sentinels. The 3 standing models and the squatting one are completely unsuitable for squeezing into a land speeder, leaving the Deathstrike commander, Sentinel and Taurox crews, who are sitting. The Taurox crew are visible when the vehicle's built with opening hatches or open-top hold, and the Deathstrike commander abbreviates at the knee to allow the awkward fit, which means some awkward sculpting to give him full legs.

So, for crew, it looks like we're down to the Sentinel crew. Thankfully, the Sentinel can be built without the crew, by using the Armoured rather than the Scout Sentinel, and adding the roof and using the front shield with the closed hatches. The Sentinel also provides the needed guns.  It's just a matter, then, of buying and building enough Armoured Sentinels to get the crew of 2 each.

Back in one of the earlier editions of Apocalypse (from when it was a supplement that allowed super heavy vehicles, rather than a new version of Epic, using larger models), there was a Sentinel formation, called Armageddon Stompa Hunters, which had 10 Armoured Sentinels (1 command vehicle and 3 squadrons of 3). This cost 100 points plus the cost of the vehicles and meant, while in formation, they got enhanced AP and an option to fire twice, at a single super heavy target, rather than moving, although that would mean that they couldn't move or shoot the next turn. 10 Sentinels would give enough crew for 5 speeders, and could work nicely to fill out FA slots in Brigades...

Of course, another option, and one I've been considering, is a proper recon company. For this I'm delving even further back, to Imperial Armour Volume One (2003), which, on pp134/5 gives us a sample reconnaissance company, in the form of 1st Kreig's Armoured Regiment 2nd Armoured Reconnaissance Company. This company consists of :
2 Salamander Command Vehicles, 201 with the captain and 202 with a lieutenant;
2 squadrons of 4 Salamander Scout Vehicles, 211 and 221 having platoon lieutenants in command;
2 squadrons of 4 Sentinels, again each including a lieutenant.
This list predates the distinction between Armoured and Scout Sentinels (back then the distinction was on the basis of armament alone), and uses squadron sizes that have never appeared in the army lists, but it could be a good starting point for a Recon Company Outrider detachment.

An Outrider detachment requires 1-2 HQ, 0-3 Troops, 0-2 Elites, 3-6 Fast Attack, 0-2 Heavy Support, and 0-2 Flyers. The above structure would give us the 2 Elites, in the form of the Salamander Command Vehicles, and 4-6 Fast Attack in the form of the Salamander Scout and Sentinel squadrons. Obviously, with the Salamander being discontinued, they'll require a lot of conversion work, but we could, instead use Hellhounds in place of the Scouts and Veterans or Command squads in Chimerae with heavy flamers for the Elites (and a company commander for the obligatory HQ). This revised version, of course, lacks the Scout move before the first turn, especially since we're using Armoured rather than Scout Sentinels, but is still a fast moving force when it needs to be.

Of course, if we don't mind the conversion work, or have the models, or can find them on Ebay, the listed structure, with a cheap HQ, comes in at about 1,200, depending on upgrades and weapons, 1,300 if we really push the boat out and take the extra vehicle to fill 6 squadrons. Using the Salamanders (11 of them, all-in) to Scout move out before the first turn will severely impede the opponent's ability to deep strike anywhere near your deployment, even with drop pods. Fill the rest of the force however you wish, and make the most of the Salamander Command Vehicles' ability to boost another vehicle's ranged attacks (whether a Salamander Scout, a Sentinel, or that Super Heavy Auxiliary unit), and this could be a real pain for the enemy to deal with.

So, yeah, I guess before I start ordering box loads of land speeders, I'll need to either buy a bunch of Armoured Sentinels, or trawl Ebay for a bundle of crew...