Warhammer 40K: The Cargo-8 Ridgehauler Has Us Excited For Conversions
The new Cargo-8 Ridgehauler looks awesome and it’s opened up some awesome conversion ideas for the community!
Back in February, I was asking for more civilian vehicles for the 40k universe and GW has since showed off the new Orlock vehicles from Ash Wastes. That was already exciting. But then, we got the big rig news yesterday that Necromunda Ash Wastes is getting a new civilian vehicle: The Cargo-8 Ridgehauler.
At this point, the hype-train (or truck in this case) left the station. We’re pumped for this expansion and this kit in particular! Not just because we want to give it a spin on the tabletop, but also because it does two things for us.
The first thing is that it ties back to the civilian life in the Grimdark. One of the things I’ve written about before is how these shipping containers bring a bit of “groundedness” to the setting. We get a peek into the life of just a regular person with these type of kits.
Sure, there’s skulls and guns on the containers (this is the Grimdark afterall) but items like the shipping containers and now the Carg0-8 Ridgehauler help paint that picture of everyday items in the world. We got the same sense from the Genestealer Cult vehicles, too. Those were just “regular people transportation” until they got gunned up for war.
The second thing these vehicles do is open up some amazing conversion options. Now, we don’t quite know how big the Cargo-8 Ridgehauler is. But based on the Shipping Container it’s hauling, it’s gonna be pretty big! And this isn’t the first time the idea has come up to convert things with the containers, either. Allow me to quote myself from (omg it’s been) 6 years ago:
Yeah. Did someone say big rig? Because that’s basically what’s happening here. The point is that there are going to be some awesome conversion ideas to play around with. There’s some pretty straight forward ideas like making the Ridgehauler into anything Orky:
Want a bigger Ork Trukk? The Ridgehauler has a bed…Or maybe you want a Battlewagon that’s more wagon-like:
By the way, the reverse is also true. With some ingenuity and a chunk of plasticard, you could reverse engineer those orky vehicles into Custom Ridgehaulers of your own.
But there’s other things, too. If you wanted to go full conversion crazy here’s a challenge for anyone who’s willing to take it: Make the Cargo-8 Ridgehauler into an Imperial Knight.
“What that’s crazy talk! You can’t convert a big rig into a robot! That’ll never work!” Oh really, imaginary naysayer?! I’ve got a friend that would like to have a word with you:
Can’t make a Big Rig into a robot, huh?
There’s also the fact that you can attach multiple trailers to the Ridgehauler for a real convoy-like vehicle.
I’m SUPER curious about these trailers as well. Why not mount a weapon platform on them? Or maybe create an actual land-train!
“Hey, isn’t that a Squat thing?”
Yes. Yes it is. And also what just got revealed? Anyhow, I could see this vehicle showing up as a transport for Imperial Guardsmen as well. We’ve all seen the WWII movies with all the infantry hitching a ride on the back of a truck. With a custom converted canopy the back of the Ridgehauler could easily be used for that.
I’m also seriously considering using a pair of tracks from the Taurox and swapping those with a set of wheels from the Ridgehauler. That seems like a great fit.
Here’s a quick mock-up. I think it would work well!
There’s lots of room for conversion for this kit and I’m looking forward to seeing what the community does with this kit. I’m a already thinking of a basic swap with the crew and some Orlock gangers to start — but that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
What conversions are you considering for the Ridgehauler? Let us know in the comments!
