Pass in Review: Fire Support for the 187th Dragoon Regiment in WH40K

 

Lehman Russ Tanks and Chimera Infantry Fighting Vehicles aren’t the only means of support for the troopers of the 187th Dragoon Regiment (Composite) in the dystopian universe of .Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K).

For protection against air attacks, there’s at least one Hydra flak-tank available.

(Note:  All the vehicles featured in this post were painted by my friend Dan).

Right-side, in-transit view:

Left-side, in-transit view:

Ready-to-engage mode, left-oblique view:

Ready-to-engage-mode, right-oblique view:

For ground targets the regiment needs to pound, there’s the Wyvern Suppression Tank.

Left-side view:

Right-side view:

Front-oblique view:

Rear-oblique view:

In addition to vehicular fire support, the 187th Dragoon Regiment also has numerous dismounted heavy weapons squads.

These units come equipped with lascannons...

...heavy bolters...

...or mortars:

I have a couple of autocannons, but no crews to man them.

When the regiment really needs to “reach out and touch someone,” the commander calls upon the temperamental Manticore Rocket Launcher. 

In-transit, right-side view:

In-transit, left-side view:

In-transite, front-oblique view:

Finally, the Manticore is in position to rain fire upon the enemies of Mankind holding the distant hill top:

So there you have it.  All the supporting firepower available to the 187th Dragoon Regiment—due to the limit of my collection and available storage space.

My next upcoming WH40K post will feature the troopers and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) of the 187th’s F-Troop.

Pass in Review: Tank Support for the 187th Dragoon Regiment in WH40K

 

My previous Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K) posts featured two of the Lehman Russ Tank variants in my collection that support the 187th Dragoon Regiment (Composite):  The Punisher and the Exterminators (with one possible Annihilator).

Now for the rest of the regiment’s tank support...

The 187th has one Demolisher available to take out any fortifications.

Right-side view:

Left-side view:

In addition to it’s main armament, this version mounts 3 x heavy bolters as secondary weapons.

The regiment has a full platoon of Lehman Russ Battle Tanks available to provide fire support, or to exploit any breakthroughs.

Tank #1 is among the first vehicles I purchased.  The battle cannon’s barrel is longer than normal, but not quite as long as a Vanquisher’s.

The secondary armaments are hull and sponson-mounted heavy bolters.  I added the pintel-mounted heavy stubber.

This is the platoon’s lead tank and is commanded by none other than someone like Oddball from Kelly’s Heroes.  And of course, Moriarty and Turk characters are part of the crew. 

Tank#2 should have 3 x heavy bolters...

...however, sometime after it arrived, I noticed the left-side sponson’s weapon was missing.  I don’t know if it came this way, or the weapon came loose afterwards and I accidentally threw it away when I got rid of the shipping package.

Someday I hope to find someone with some extra parts, and who’s skilled enough to fix this.

Both Tanks #1 & 2 feature commanders standing in the hatches.

Tank #3 has all it’s weapons in-place along with the pintel-mounted Storm Bolter I added.

Right-side view:

Left-side view:

The 187th’s tank platoon operating together:

I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance to field this much firepower all at once.  However, at least it’s available for any possible Apocalypse game sessions.

Pass in Review: The 187th Dragoon Regiment's Kill Team for WH40K

 

Unlike my delayed entry into Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K), I bought numerous Kill Team items as soon as they became available. 

While my Tempestus Scions are my primary Imperial Kill Team, that doesn’t mean the 187th Dragoon Regiment doesn’t have it’s own for localized missions within it’s Area of Operations (AO).

My friend Dan painted several figures for me to represent a pack of Astra Militarum die-hards.

This particular team was derived from the 5-man box set that often provides simple figures to beef-up one’s forces.

The sixth figure, seen on the left, is a sniper which I purchased as part of a larger collection. Dan converted two of the “filler” soldiers into a medic and demolition specialist.

The regiment’s kill team isn’t a permanent organization.  It’s only assembled when a critical mission needs to be conducted and team members are selected by either volunteers, or more likely, by troopers that have committed infractions that aren’t severe enough to warrant summary executions or exile to a penal legion.

Once the mission is complete, the survivors will return to their original assignments without any blemish to their record, but are warned any further infractions will not be tolerated.

The miscreants will only be given this one chance to redeem themselves.

A review of my “187th Second Chancers,” from left-to-right are the team leader, the demo specialist, medic and three riflemen who may be other types of specialists:

Despite the temporary nature of this group, I decided to name them after some of the main characters from the movie, The Dirty Dozen.

From left to right:  

Captain John Reisman (played as a major, by Lee Marvin), 

Corporal Joseph Wladislaw (played by Charles Bronson), 

Corporal Milo Vladik (played by Tom Busby), 

Sergeant Clyde Bowren (played by Richard Jaeckel), 

Private Samson Posey (played by Clint Walker), and 

Private Victor Franko (played by John Cassavettes).

As of now, there’s no rules in Kill Team regarding vehicles.  I guess because even the smallest vehicle could unbalance a game session.

However,  kill teams have to get from Point A to Point B in order to do their killing.

Since this team is part of an armored cavalry regiment, the best means of transportation would be by modified Chimera command vehicle often "appropriated" for such missions, if one's available.

The 187th’s Second Chancers will often be deployed beyond the regiment’s forward line of own troops (FLOT), it’s necessary to provide the team with a means of long range communication. 

In addition to it’s turret-mounted laser cannon the Second Chancers’ Chimera is equipped with a hull-mounted heavy bolter, and a Krak Missile—at least at the beginning of the mission. 

The vehicle is also devoid of unit markings or other colorful displays for a thin attempt at maintaining plausible deniability.

Pass in Review: The 187th Dragoon Regiment's Reconnaissance Troop

 

One of the problems about being such a late-comer to Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K) is that I’ve missed out on obtaining items that are no longer produced, especially from Forge World.  Ever since I started reading the Ciaphas Cain novels, I fell in love with the Salamander Scout and wanted to outfit a reconnaissance unit centered around these vehicles.

Sadly, I couldn’t find any and I’m not skilled enough to assemble a run-of-the-mill Chimera without any help, let alone doing a conversion job.

Fortunately, I discovered that the Lehman Russ Exterminator tank is often used as a heavy reconnaissance vehicle...

...of which I acquired three of them over the past few years.

I paired each one with a specially-painted Chimera to form the 187th Dragoon Regiment’s Reconnaissance Troop (“R Troop”).  Typically, the Chimera and it’s crew will scout ahead while the Exterminator provides overwatch.

1st Platoon or Headquarters Platoon/R Troop

The platoon’s Exterminator originally came equipped with a dozer blade and 3 x heavy bolters, in addition to it’s main armament.  For additional firepower, I added a 

Pinter-mounted heavy stubber.

Right-side view:

The left-side view displays the tank’s camouflage netting secured to the turret:

The platoon’s lead Chimera is one of three painted by my friend Peter.

Right-side view:

In addition to the vehicle’s las cannon main armament, it’s also equipped with a pintel-mounted storm bolter and a Krak Missile.  This particular vehicle also features the commander standing up and brandishing a bolter.

Left-side view:

1st Platoon, R Troop operating together:

The Chimera can also carry up to 12 human-sized soldiers, more commonly referred to as “troopers” in a cavalry unit.

This unit typically carries a scout team, which based on my collection, consists of two troopers equipped with sniper rifles and tracking specialist represented by a 

Catachan Jungle Fighter.

The Catachan Jungle fighter is named “Ahnold,” after Arnold Schwarzenegger, while the snipers are Willie and Joe, based on the characters created by wartime cartoonist, Bill Mauldin.

2nd Platoon/R Troop

Right-side view of the platoon’s Exterminator (which may actually be an Annihilator):

The vehicle was originally equipped with a hull-mounted laser cannon, and 2 x sponson-mounted heavy bolters in addition to it’s main armament, along with having a pile of sandbags in front of the commander’s hatch.  I added the pintel-mounted storm bolters.

Left-side view:

The second platoon’s Chimera is outfitted the same as the first, along with having the same camouflage scheme.

Right-side view:

Left-side view:

2nd Platoon, R Troop operating together:

The platoon’s dismounted troopers consist of two snipers and a tracking specialist. 

The next trio of scouts, I took from one of my favorite classic movies, Gunga Din.  They‘re named after sergeants “Mac” MacChesney, Tommy Ballantine and Archibald Cutter.

3rd Platoon/R Troop

Right-side view of the platoon’s Exterminator: 

This vehicle was one of the first sets of Lehman Russ tanks that I purchased.  It originally came with 3 x heavy bolters in addition to its main armament.  I added the pintel-mounted weapon.

Left-side view:

The platoon’s Chimera is identical to the other two.

Right-side view:

Left-side view:

3rd Platoon/R Troop operating together:

This platoon’s dismounted troops consist of two snipers and a heavy weapons specialist.

Since the sword-wielding, heavy weapons specialist, is a buff female, I named these three after characters from the movie Aliens, from left-to-right:  Private Vasques, Private Hudson and Corporal Dwayne Hicks.

I chose to discuss this unit first because I’m fascinated by reconnaissance missions.  I think they lend themselves well to small-unit actions, skirmish-level games and even role-playing games (RPGs), where player-characters (PCs) can operate semi-independently.