Fighting Tiger Heavy Support (Part II; Updated 04/2010)
I have two Land Raiders: one of them is the original model that came out in the late 1980's, and the other is a Land Raider Crusader.

Land Raider (“White Tiger”)
This one is made from the original "Rogue Trader" plastic model (long out of production). This tank was once Shiva Nagordarika’s command vehicle, so it has all kinds of accessories, including extra armor, a searchlight, an H-K firing from the left side, and an external storage compartment on the right. The pawprint emblems on the flags are pre-printed circular self-adhesive decals. The middle flag boasts a traditional Fighting Tiger battlecry ("Welcome to the Jungle") and the standard top (an enlarged replica of Shiva's helmet) is from a plastic toy robot.

I painted this tank some time in the 1990's, back when my opinion on painting tiger stripes was that more is definitely better. Now I find this model crude, cartoony, and amateurish, but I am not included to strip it and re-do it. It is what it is: a reflection of my ability (or lack thereof) back then.  

Land Raider Crusader (“White Tiger II”)
Many years after I built and painted "White Tiger," the Land Raider Crusader kit was released, and I was overjoyed to get one. The original version of the model had all kinds of features (doors opening and closing, guns swiveling freely) that were cool but an incredible hassle to put together. I wasn’t about to indulge in all that. Like all my other models, “White Tiger II” has hatches sealed shut and weapons glued in place. Not only was this approach easier and faster than trying to do it “the right way,” but it also results in a sturdier model: moving parts are cool, but anything that moves is more likely to break. Not to mention that with the doors on, I didn’t feel obligated to paint the interior. I’m a busy guy, you know….

For a couple of reasons, I also made sure to mount the Hurricane bolters up front, in the closer side port. First, it just makes sense to me that troops disembarking from the side of the vehicle (and this goes for the regular Land Raider, too) would do so behind the battery of guns and not in front of them. I can’t imagine that any Marine, even one in Terminator armor, would want to hop out in front of a bunch of guns during a battle. All real-life warriors fear “friendly fire” almost as much (if not more) than enemy fire.

Second, placing the guns up front gives the bolters a smidge more range—and I’m all for getting as many guns as possible in range. Third, it’s not detrimental to disembarking—the whole transported squad can disembark by the front ramp, so no worries there. 

Notice is that I left off the frag assault launchers that are supposed to be on the front. Having painted those Imperial Eagles on the tracks, it seemed a shame to cover them up—so the smoke launchers on the top will have to pull “double duty” and fire frag grenades too. Leaving them off helps make my Crusader distinctive from all the others out there and has no effect in game terms. 

I put a lot of thought into how I would paint the vehicle. Because I had one Land Raider and one Crusader, I started thinking of them as a pair. The new, cutting-edge Land Raider Crusader would complement the old, traditional Land Raider. Hence the name (“White Tiger II”) and the colors (Skull White and Bestial Brown). Why not just paint “White Tiger II” in white and black, like its namesake? The design of the Land Raider Crusader is similar to, but not identical with, the old, original “Rogue Trader” Land Raider. Thus, I thought it best to paint the Crusader similar to, but not identical with, the original tank. 

Looking back on some of the vehicles I’ve done, I felt like I painted too many stripes on them. In my opinion, these models look fine up close—say, in your hand—but from a distance—a few feet away on the tabletop—they look too “busy.” So with “White Tiger II” I was determined to use lots of big stripes and ease up on the amount I painted. I made sure to leave plenty of “white space,” and I think this vehicle looks better than, say, the original “White Tiger.” Just for gits and shiggles, I also kept track of how many stripes I painted on “White Tiger II”: 140.  That's still more than I would put on a vehicle now, but it was a step in the right direction.

Next page (pg 12): The entire army Previous page (pg 10): Heavy Support, Part I

Related Pages
Fighting Tiger Heavy Support
Tactics: White Tiger II
 

Originally posted August 2001. Updated April 2010 

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