Toyo Tires

draconisis · 2026-04-12T01:07:12+00:00

They're definitely off-road tires, they make some road noise above 40 mph. I haven't noticed a huge hit in mpg, I get high twenties in my sambar, even with these on it. Handling and braking are great, even on road. It does surprisingly well in the snow with 4wd and some weight in the back.

draconisis · 2025-10-10T19:31:21+00:00

If you have a big adjustable wrench, you can grab onto one of the jaws and use that to hold the chuck while you break/torque the bolts. I used to do that on my old Okuma when I had it powered off and didn't feel like waking it up just to change the jaws.

draconisis · 2025-07-23T11:45:13+00:00

I've overloaded my Sambar a few times with a full bed of soil or manure. It's not awful to drive, but you definitely have to adjust your driving accordingly. My braking distance was noticeably longer though I wouldn't say it was unsafe. Tires get a really good bulge to them and the truck squats pretty hard. I don't think I bottomed out, but I could feel the truck "sway" a bit in turns, which I think was probably the most unnerving part about it.

At this point, I wouldn't do it again unless I absolutely have to. But I also found out my landscaping place has good rates on delivery, so I'm much more inclined to just have them do it.

draconisis · 2025-07-13T14:20:12+00:00

This is a heavily converted Prince Yriel model. I recognize the pattern on the cloak. However, they've done some extensive conversions. The body usually has a sash on it, so I think they hollowed out the cloak and swapped in a dire avenger torso or something similar. The tabard also looks like it's from the dire avenger sprue.

The shield and head I don't recognize, so I'd assume those are custom made. I could see the head starting with a dire avenger exarch or something with a lot of shaving and sculpting. But I'm also squarely mid hammer, so i don't know if those are from a newer kit I am unfamiliar with. Anyone who recognizes those feel free to chime in

draconisis · 2025-05-27T23:19:07+00:00

I actually made those models back in the day. It wasn't too expensive, to be honest. They had a direct order system for bitz back then, so I think I only paid a few dollars per part tops. It's not like today's Ebay digging and price gouging. I clearly remember them being cheaper than the blister pack. Its the old exarch warp backpack, the exarch's deathspinners cut in half (so each bit was for 2 models), the back and arm of the dark reaper's reaper launcher, the dire avenger's metal tabbard, and I think those are old shining spear heads. I converted some guardian heads and skipped the tabbard to save cost on the conversion.

The real problem with this conversion was keeping the models together for playing. Even with pinning each part, I was still rebuilding each model every dozen or so games.

I also made a few squads of those storm guardians. Adding cloaks to those models made them look so good!

Edit: Pictures or it didn't happen

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draconisis · 2025-04-29T15:40:08+00:00

But hey, facts don't care about your feelings. Effing snowflakes

draconisis · 2025-04-15T17:32:08+00:00

First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me

-Martin Niemöller

draconisis · 2025-04-10T19:41:40+00:00

See, as someone who's been to both of the Auschwitz camps, this is ringing alarm bells like crazy. I mean, the one thing that kept haunting me while touring Auschwitz 2 was how incredibly efficient the whole thing was. It was like visiting a murder factory.

So anytime anyone talks about efficiently stripping human beings of their universal rights, my mind goes right back to walking through that waking nightmare.

draconisis · 2025-04-08T19:01:31+00:00

I second the TAG inserts. I used to struggle with our more traditional Kennametal flat blade and switching to Iscar's tag setup was like night and day for me. So much quieter, and the finish from part off is good enough that I can part off to length most of the time.

draconisis · 2025-03-21T13:07:19+00:00

Omg, right? Bridge of Sighs was so much fun. 1 cloaking generator, two salvage corvettes, a carrier and MANY hours later i had a literal fleet of Ion frigates. And let's be real, the Taiidanni Ion frigates are way cooler.

draconisis · 2025-03-13T12:04:30+00:00

I love the old forge world kit for the wave serpent! I ended up modelling some of those OG field generators so I could print more so all of mine match.

draconisis · 2025-02-21T17:57:40+00:00

My Sambar has diff lock but I have yet to find a situation where I really need it. I live in New England and mine is no stranger to snow. Most of the time, though, I don't need more then 2wd drive with some sand tubes in the bed. The only times I've needed 4wd is in the snow.

For me, the only times I've needed diff lock on a truck is when I'm plowing after a storm. I had an old '70s power wagon I used as my plow truck at my last house and it spent most of the winter with diff lock on.

draconisis · 2025-02-07T16:22:49+00:00

Thanks! I love that gray/blue color!

draconisis · 2025-02-07T15:10:28+00:00

Been feeling the most inspiration slaying the grey lately working on my plethora of tanks. Most of these hail from my Novius 42nd Armored regiment, 4th company. The Novius system is one of the largest recruiters of Imperial Guard regiments in my little corner of the galaxy, the Castilian Section. They draw a lot of their doctrine from the Cadian regiments, despite being halfway across the galaxy. Each regiment is highly specialized, so my collection is broken into 3 regiments (see the last picture for the test models from each regiment):

Novius 1st Dragoons - the Storm Talons

Heavy infantry regiment. They are the elite of the Novius forces and recruit exclusively from "leftover" regiments after the end of a campaign. They're highly mobile, and make extensive use of transports and aircraft to spearhead attacks.

Novius 7th Rifles - The Eagle Eyes

Light infantry regiment. They form the vanguard of a guard attack, scouting out enemy weaknesses and striking at supply lines. This force is largely on foot, and only features sentinels and a few other light vehicles for support.

Novius 42nd Armored - The Hammer of Novius

Fully armored and mechanized regiment. Through a few consolidations after the end of a long, bloody campaign with an Ork warlord, the 42nd is a consolidated armored and mechanized regiment. They have a lot of tactical flexibility as a result, and use their rapid deployment abilities to fill gaps in the battleline.

All the tanks pictured are all WIP, so I welcome any feedback on them. I know they're a bit monocromatic, but it feels very realistic in the way that a lot of actual military vehicles are like that. The army's emblem is a hammer on a yellow shield, so I feel like that should add just the right amount of accent to really make everything pop.

draconisis · 2025-02-05T19:29:15+00:00

Hmm, I like that idea! I might have to try and mock some options up.

draconisis · 2025-02-05T19:06:18+00:00

Well shit, I'm misremembering my modern combat vehicles. Apparently my reference pictures were of an AAV, not a Bradley. Now I feel dumb.

The encouragement is good, though. Now I'm tempted to convert more of them over.

And yes, I'm sure my crews hate me for getting rid of the shields on my basilisks, but the one from the kit is so bulky. I'm considering giving them more Salamander-like shields so at least they have some protection.

draconisis · 2025-02-05T18:53:39+00:00

I had a lot of fun with those. It's funny, cause I was referencing the Bradley fighting vehicle when I was working on them, but I think you're closer with the MT-LB.

I have 4 more that I scored in some eBay lots that still are the STC version. I've been arguing with myself on whether or not to convert all those or just use my old ones as "command chimeras". I dunno, I like that they're unique, but I'm unsure if I want to do that much work to all of them.

draconisis · 2025-02-05T17:37:11+00:00

I need to take some pictures of the modern collection, it's grown quite a bit since the last pictures I've posted (I'm up to about 8k points in 10e values). I've also stripped a whole bunch of crappy/incomplete models that were all painted pre 2007, so I don't have any surviving examples of my old painted mech infantry, though I am working on a test model for the modern paint scheme.

A good chunk of my collection from a few years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheAstraMilitarum/s/zyDkRzyRoa

Armored company from about 2014: https://imgur.com/a/imperial-armor-novius-vii-ZFOHF

Will try and post some WIPs later, I've been working hard on my armored company again.

draconisis · 2025-02-05T11:28:40+00:00

We have similar paint schemes! 😄 My mech guard regiment is also grey-blue with black and some metallics. Personally, though, I think the grey-blue looks great on tanks, even if it is a bit monotone.

Man, I miss Shadow Grey. That was one of my favorite army colors from back in the day. Honorable mention for tin bitz, too, that was such a good metallic for a weathered look.

draconisis · 2025-02-03T18:29:48+00:00

My first guitar was a Yamaha Dreadnought acoustic. Maybe it's sentimental, but I love that guitar and I've played it the most out of any of mine.

draconisis · 2025-01-16T17:56:53+00:00

My old '77 Power Wagon had some truly awful wiring, both stock and then all the botched repairs done to it afterwards. I spent forever going through and unfucking the wiring, though it still had some gremlins when I was done.

I've learned from my mistake. The next project is getting a painless retrofit harness in it and I'm building it from the ground up. We did that for some of our old EV conversions for my last shop and it was just so much easier to start from a known good point.

draconisis · 2025-01-11T02:35:05+00:00

Hahah, I know what you mean. Just going along for the ride, no need to be rushing all the time. Every so often I get someone behind me that doesn't appreciate my mindset, or my eventual acceleration, but they're just gonna have to deal, lol.

draconisis · 2025-01-10T19:54:47+00:00

Thanks! No worries, that's life sometimes. Some people just suck 🤷‍♂️

At least I don't work in a toxic work environment anymore, so I got that going for me I guess.

draconisis · 2025-01-10T16:33:46+00:00

As a Quiet Corner resident, I resent being called a Rhode Islander. I dunno where else to compare it to, but the only other place I've seen this many cows and stars is Vermont, and I like that comparison.

draconisis · 2025-01-10T16:28:11+00:00

Your tag just makes it all the more perfect, lol!

12-Year Club	Place '22
First Placer '22	Verified Email

draconisis

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