Marines Exemplar Attack Bikes - The Punisher Biker Corps.

"Punisher" class Attack Bike

Within my Marines Exemplar army, throughout the games i have been playing lately, it became more and more clear that the force was lacking in smaller "support elements", units that while not costing a ton of points or being the most effective in terms of decimating entire units in a phase, would be vital to shoring up any weaknesses in my battle line.  Speed is also an important element as they need to be able to react to the enemy battleplan.



With all this in mind, the Trusty old attack bike was high on my list, especially with the changes to 6th Edition 40k for bikers, meaning their base toughness is now 5, making them immune to instant death from Lascannons, Meltaguns and the like.  A huge improvement.

"Punisher" class Attack Bike

The Attack model has never really rung through with me, i quite liked the original model, as the sculpt of the metal rider and sidecar had a crtain weight to them.  The newer plastic kit, whilst beautifully detailed, doesnt have the same impact and just looks a bit more flat.  I decided it would be a fun opportunity to do some converting.  I looked up Attack Bike conversions and was originally toying with some kind of four wheeled "buggy" variant, but this had the problem of straying closer and closer to Land Speeder size and when model-repping it's important to stick as close to the original conventions as possible.  Whilst looking around though i re-discovered the "Steppenwolf Bike" remembered from some long-lost White Dwarf magazine i purchased in my childhood.

The original White Dwarf article on Steppenwolf

Whilst fondly remembering this particular conversion i realised it was actually a good deal larger than a regular Space Marine bike, and i started to think "What if the Attack bike were just a larger bike with a mounted Heavy Weapon with a single minor character mounted on it to represent the two wounds and extra weaponry?"  I thought the whole thing seemed quite feasible so i started digging around in my bits box as i knew i had a bunch of unused Eldar Vyper jetbikes sitting around.  The above conversions are the end result and i am very happy with them, and off the back of just one game of 40k with them now in the army i can safely say they will be a constant fixture within my list.  In terms of background i had been thinking about something like this;

"When a Brother Marine has proven himself from the Devastator, Assault and Tactical designations, he is given the chance to join the "Punisher Corps" so named after the unique Mark of Space Marine Bike he is provided with upon inception. For a Brother Marine to prove his worthiness to join the vaunted heights of the 1st Company of Marines Exemplar, he is expected to ride single-handedly into battle upon one of these behemoths, more often than not fitted with a Multi-melta, to engage the greatest threats the opposing force possesses on any given battlefield.
Many have spearheaded assaults and become crushed under the weight of the enemy vanguard, their names however are quickly forgotten and their priceless steeds regained. More often the tales of lone heroes destroying Super-Heavy tanks or felling Xenos Behemoths are shared, those that survive the Punisher Corps are guaranteed a place in history, and at the head of the feast halls where the 1st company awaits."