How To: Steampunk Artillery for IHMN or Warhammer 40k

Welcome to November and our How To tutorial on Steampunk artillery. This project was designed for "In Her Majesty's Name" but could easily work with your Warhammer 40k Imperial Guard Forces on some dirt ball planet. It uses a good amount of recycled computer and printer parts plus old leftover copper wire.

The main base is a 1972 Tootsie Toy Howitzer which you can find at garage sales or eBay for a buck. This one was found in an old box hidden in an ancient antechamber.

We found a smattering of gears that fit well including the "wheel" with the gear on the end to be our tank. We arranged them in a way that would work if a real item. A key to good Steampunk projects is they should look like they'd work. A small square "gear box" was used behind the gears s a spacer.

On the other side a piece of copper wire was inserted into the tank and positioned upwards for our steam vent. A second piece of wire was positioned to power the gun.

We planned a shield for the cannon and used a chunk of plasti-card measured to fit across the front. A hole was cut in the appropriate shape to slide over the barrel. A second piece was cut as a reinforced edge

For the tire treads we found these belts from an old dot matrix printer being trashed.

We turned them inside out and the paper guides were shaved off using a hobby knife. Then the two pieces were cut to the circumference of the wheel and glued onto them. We used a dremel to shave some of the roundness from the wheels. Being flatter will help the glue hold. Also get a piece of masking tape to hold the ends together while the glue dries.

Using cardstock we cut two circles to cover the wheels. For the barrel we cut a section of a drinking straw and wrapped a thin gauge wire around it. A nut slid over the whole lot to pull it together.

On the wire side a third piece was attached to a recess on the canon and bent to travel up along the barrel, over the nut and onto the front.

Here she is primed and ready to paint.

We used "Metallic Gunmetal" on the front shield, the carriage, wheels and parts of the barrel. most areas did not get a heavy coat so the black primer would show through and look weathered. 

The tank and wires were painted with "Metallic Copper"

Next the gears were painted with "Antique Copper"

Final touches including the nut on the barrel and parts of the carriage were painted with "Pure Bronze"

Highlights on the Gunmetal surfaces were painted using "Aluminium"

To dirty things up for the worn look, a spotty wash of "Black" was applied . This was done mainly in the recessed areas.

The shield was given an extra dose of black wash especially under the gun barrel.

Last was a patina of "Laguna" on the copper areas .

There you have it! Our Steampunk Artillery is primed and ready to fire. 

The Bucharest Brigade stands by waiting for the word to open fire with their Arc Canon!.

Have a Great Battle!

The Old Crow