Fast conversion idea - Hydra

New 5th edition's rules brought a huge need for efficient LOS-blocking pieces of terrain. It seems that Planetstrike expansion is going to fill this hole, at least if you are able to pay for the pleasure.
But the point of this post is quite different - many of new and old IG players are appreciating the newly standardized Hydra Flak tank, but the price of FW resin model is 41 GBP. Although the crisis-shaped exchange rate to USD or Euro makes it easier to bear, it is still a lot of money. So, I looked at new Planetsrike Aegis Defence Line and what I saw? A Flak Cannons ready to be mounted on Chimera chassis. Please, take a look...

Sure, I perfectly know that the final effect will not be the same like from FW, but this solution is intended to be cost- and (especially) time-efficient. Personally, I'm going to construct such vehicle, even though my budget can stand the price of resin.

UPDATE (02/08/2009): Finally, I found that somebody did this simple conversion. Look into the link below and enjoy:
http://crazyredpraetorian.blogspot.com

Update 2: An alternative approach can be find here.

IG rumors continued - part 2

Being initially impressed by Leman Russ variety included in approaching IG codex, I went at first rather quickly through the other vehicles news. The truth however is that variations of Chimera tank play at least equally important role in the army as the bigger brother (generally speaking; details depend on particular army composition, of course). A common chassis bind together such different-role machines like Colossus, Bane Wolf or chimera, to cite a few. For this reason, now we will have a closer look at these toys.

Hellhound - Inferno cannon (Tmpl within 12" range, 6/4, Hvy 1) - 130 pts
Devil Dog - Melta cannon (24", 8/1, Hvy 1, melta, blast) - 120 pts
Bane Wolf - Chem cannon (Tmpl, 1/3, Hvy 1, poisoned 2+) - 130 pts
All three are 12/12/10 (F/S/R) and BS 3.

Hydra - Hdr. Autocannon (72", 7/4, Hvy 2) - 12/10/10 - 75 pts
This beast has Auto-targeting System disabling both, skimmers speedy cover saves and bikers turbo-boosting ones.

Basilisk - Earthshaker cannon (36-240", 9/3, Ord Brg 1, Large blast) - 125 pts
Medusa - Siege cannon (36", 10/2, Ord 1, Large blast) - 135 pts - can have special shells (48", 10/1, Hvy 1, blast, +D6 armor penetration, for 5 pts/model)
Colossus - Siege mortar (24-240", 6/3, Ord Brg 1, Large blast, no direct fire, no cover sv.) - 140 pts
Griffon - Grf. Heavy mortar (12-48", 6/4, Ord Brg 1, Large blast, no direct fire) - can re-roll scatter dice - 75 pts
All four are 12/10/10 and open-topped but can buy Enclosed crew compartement for 15 pts.

Manticora - 4 x Storm Eagle rocket (24-120", 10/4, Ord Brg D3, Large blast) - 12/10/10 - 160 pts

Deathstrike Missile Launcher - 1 shot fired upon (D6 + modifiers) roll equal or more than 6 (12-960", 10/1, Ord Brg 1, D3+3" special blast, no direct fire, no cover sv.) - 12/12/10 - 160 pts

At the bottom of these, there is a new plastic kit announced for Hellhound/Devil Dog/Bane Wolf (3 in 1) but we have to stick to Forge World (or scratch builds) for others.

Disclaimer: all above are web-collected unconfirmed rumors. You should refer to a copy of official IG codex once it will be available in order to play your WH40K games.