When I was first delving into MoI, one of the first projects I started on was a Deathwheel. Unfortunately, I lost my original source files in the Great Accidental Thumbdrive Deletion of '10.

Anyway, I've been thinking Deathwheels again, and was wondering if there was any interest. Here's an early prototype:


It's a little over 40mm tall/wide and a little over 20mm thick at this point. I'm not super fond of the track detail - I had an awesome track pattern on the original, but I can't remember exactly what it was, only that it was awesome.

Anyhow, is there any interest in a Deathwheel model? It would likely be resin, since with the size, metal would be cost prohibitive. I'm thinking of building some sort of weapon mount in the blank circular area, but I don't know if I would produce weapons for the model.

Any thoughts?

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I would be interested and also would like some sort of cockpit and weapons!

I've always thought that style of Deathweel is a ludicrous design and comic looking. It would be too easy for it to topple over and how is it meant to turn? It also lacks the aesthetics and design styles of other chaos things and isn't something I could ever imagine the studio or FW depicting with their unordered forces. I'd rather a design with two large wheels connected by an axle, possibly with a small third one too. Or something like a skaven doomwheel.

One of the bad things with the proxy models people have made of them is that it's often all to easy to make out the familiar W40k track links in them that destroys the sense of scale/realism. Since you're doing one from scratch I'd recommend a different design that doesn't have those.

Something like the lower part of Helge's Lord of Battle, but with the wheels 1.5-2 times the diameter and closer together would be how I'd like to see one done. Wheels that are hollow in places like these look better IMO, though if they can have chaos stars on the spokes or as the spokes all the better.

I would be interested, but only if they showed significant advantages/detail compared to the standard 40mm round bases, tank track and chaos hatch approach.

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The whole damn idea is ludicrous frankly!

It'll take some serious design skills to pull off a Deathwheel model that doesn't look completely stupid.

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Does anyone know the Sawblade vehilce from the last Dune computer game? I think that design could be very cool!

I would think the deathwheel would be able to turn just like any monowheel, by shifting the center of balance.

Was the deathwheel a creation by Audrey and just shoehorned into the Black Legion list?

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Those arrows tesselate nicely, which would make a cool track design.

A ready made deathwheel would be cool.
I would imagine it's piloted and kept in motion by demonic forces.
As for being improbable, no more so than demons, 41st century vox systems that never work, trench warfare that lasts decades, lack of air support (or aerodynamic aircraft), decent tactical nuclear weapons by interstellar capable races , etc....
If you make it, make it easier than a scratch build for the lazy/me, then maybe it would have a market. (weapon/sponson options, perhaps modularity so it could join up like the concept in GlynG above post)
I could almost imagine a demonic death wheel that splits in two when it takes the initial hit, kinda like the old pink and blue demons did.

Deathwheels were created by Jervis, IIRC. He wanted something weird for chaos war engines, not just spiky imperial stuff.

Apoc - I figure it is getting kind of difficult or expensive to get the parts to make the Deathwheels. I figure this would be a reasonable alternative to having to go scrounge parts. It is a relatively simple design, so the cost shouldn't be all that high. The downside is that all the Deathwheels in your army would look the same - not very Chaotic.

GlynG - You're trying to apply logic to a game 38,000 years in the future, where daemons, magic, and science co-exist. Stop it. While I agree that the Deathwheel in its current form is kind of silly looking, I'm not too keen on modifying a design that the community, for the most part, has accepted. If I go outside the accepted parameters of size, we start running into issues of advantage/disadvantage due to model size. If you have two Chaos armies fighting each other, one guy with the current Deathwheels, and one with something designed differently, there could be eyebrows raised. Granted, Epic players are far more lenient than 40K players, but the point still stands.

Personally, the description of the Kaban Machine in Mechanicus was how I envisioned a Deathwheel (or at least a Deathwheel proxy).

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Adeptus Monk-anicus
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4cm tall sounds a bit small for a DC4 war engine (at truescale).

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I'd be interested, though I just attempted my 4th Death Wheel scratchbuild. The less work I have to do in scratchbuilding and converting the better.

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I think that's about average for scratchbuilds. What would be your take on the size?

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I think it looks good and I'd stick with 4cm if you're happy with it. It is quite a wide design so it would look like a 4DC WE to me.
Don't worry about truescale unless it's important to you berzerkmonkey. No one is complelled to try and stick to 1:5 for their toys.

No sense trying to re-invent the (death) wheel. This is an instantly recognisable design that's been around for years. I say go with what you've done as a base.

Looking good mate.

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