jeenhoong on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/jeenhoong/art/hell-locust-WIP-162721559jeenhoong

Deviation Actions

jeenhoong's avatar

hell locust WIP

By
Published:
1.9K Views

Description

++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hell Locust interceptor

Sleek, swift and sacrilegious; the Hell Locust have been the most widely encountered archenemy’s aircraft in recent years, predominantly during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade and the Muu’gen Uprising. Cruising at top speed exceeding 2000kph, the Locust brought destruction straight into enemy skies, weapon flashing and its over-revved engines wailing and shrieking. The latter part which resulted in the Navy giving the machine its call sign: Locust; like the famine-spawn with their distinctive noise.

Often mistaken as part of Xana’s lineage of Hell class aircrafts such as the Hell Talon and Hell Blade; the Locust is in fact the design and manufacture of Munitorum Renegades, their forges and factories hidden within the Gukjab Clusters. This misidentification is due to its similarity of appearance to both Xana’s aircrafts and also because of the Munitorum suppressing its information for morale and other classified reasons. Nevertheless, the Imperium will still continue to refer the murder machine as Hell Locust.

Much was speculated as of why the Locust is designed by the Munitorum Renegades. The best suspicions are rivalry, rivalry within the Archenemy numerous factions. When the Dark Mechanicus of Xana began manufacturing their Hell class deamon-machines, every warband in the Eye of Terror wanted to field them as part of their arsenal but not everyone can meet Xana’s price. The Dark Priesthood does not sell their machines cheaply, they ask of certain coffers and favours. This in turn created a void where lesser deamon-forge sought hard to fill in, often with their less superior machines. The Imperium has encountered these inferiors en-masses, call signs such as Venom, Burn, Violator, etc. All of those pose minor threat to the experienced Navy Thunderbolts and Lightings, except one: the Locust.

There is something unique to the Locust. Although inferior in every way to Xana’s standard, this machine is designed with economic in mind. Gukjab renegades could not go head to head with Xana on their production quality or even quota, but they can win them over in terms of simple and innovative design. Rumour has it that the renegades stole the schematic data of the Hell class aircrafts and started modifying Xana’s design; toned down almost everything to a minimum where the Locust is. The frame is the same, only constructed of lightweight scrap plasteel and most of its wings gone. The main engine drive a shameless copy of Hell Blade’s, with most of its aeronautics fitted with inferior parts. The armaments the same, only minimized on the amount of guns aboard. In the end, the Locust was born, an inexpensive edition to Xana’s machines: lightweight, cheap, modular and still deadly. The renegades have made an aircraft design that is so simplified and straight forward that almost any chaos forces with access to technology can built and manufacture the Locust, by themselves! – given the schematics. They did not merely sell aircrafts; the renegades have sold an idea. Thanks to them, chaos forces in the universe have a standardized aircraft that can be built anywhere, even in the battlefield, from scraps salvaged together. Some Imperial scholars even agreed that the Locust is superior, based on those aspects.

Still, Xana’s Hell class machines are better; but with the Locust, almost every archenemy force now field air machines. And even those dedicated warband which utilizes Xana’s aircrafts began to field the Locust as well, just for being able to launch more machines with a cheap price. This could be witnessed in the Enothian Campaign during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade where Magister Sek fielded an air host outnumbering the Imperials 10 to 1, most of them Locust alone. In air superiority, where they lack in armour and performance to the Thunderbolts and Lightnings, they made up with numbers alone.

Specifications:
Although cheaply designed, the Locust still have vector thrust capability and in this case it is more deadly in manoeuvrability compared to the jet powered aircrafts the Imperial PDF field.

Usually a hardwired servitor, brainwashed to a murderous trance, is fitted to the machine. But in cases where some rookie cultists are eager to make a name for themselves, the pilot will be human, or half-human.

The Locust’s weapon is a simple lascannon (operating in the medium 200 megathule range) with welded twin autocannons on the gun snout. Underpowered to most Imperial machines; a Locust however, when used with skill and precision, is still a force to be reckoned with.

The gun snout feeds on a helical ammo drum that is fitted directly beneath the gun port, much like fitting ammo clip to a rifle. This simple design cuts down rearmament time and process, making it easy to rearm the machine with just 1 crew person required; even the pilot could do it himself. That makes the Locust being able to send out on sorties and back to carriers for rearm in a rapid way, making the engine functioning almost non-stop in its duty of murder.

The weakness of the Locust is its survivability in combat. Due to its lightweight frame and thin armour plating, it is already a miracle that the machine could fly at over 2000kph without destroying itself. In intense aerial combat, a few blasts to the body will usually cripple the Locust; however, with its over-revved engines and vector thrusts, the Locust could still evade incoming fires if it is flown skilfully.

++++++++++++++++++++++

New design on chaos wing, Warhammer 40k

When i first read Abnett's Double Eagle, I understood that he have written of a fast versatile vector capable fighter named the Locust, along with bats such as hellblade and helltalon. but imagine my dismay when I go on forge world and did not find the full family of the chaos aviation machines, especially the locust, since it is mentioned so much in the book that when GW & forge world did not design it, that is a great crime being committed.

My take would be more utilitarian than before and confident that a conversion can be achieve with forge world resin kits and such.

ps: refined linework and shades and schematics to go, this is just a preview.
Image size
800x502px 608.21 KB
© 2010 - 2024 jeenhoong
Comments8
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Parsnipsingularity's avatar
I remember those things in Double Eagle. I always thought they'd look more like flat triangles.
Not that it really mattered given how easily they got shot down.