Tech-priest and some infantry

Finished these off and varnished them. Seem a bit shinier than the other varnished models for some reason.

Forgeworld Titan Tech-Priest [Officer of the Fleet]:

 

This guy was an absolute bastard to put together - lots of fiddly bits that needed pinning - each arm has three components!

Sharpshooters:

Not happy with the way the ghillie-cloaked guy's camouflage went, but it'll do. Will probably use as Ratlings.

A few infantry bods:

All the infantry models I have finished building - except my stormtroopers - are now painted, varnished and properly based. Nearly there!

Body options

Further to the Maxmini torsos shown before, a wealth of body parts options is now floating around:

Maxmini:
 Combat Armour torsos:

Ash Junkers heads:

Greatcoat legs:

Combat armour legs:

Puppetswar:
Anzac heads:

Victoria Miniatures:
Gas masks and goggles:

Kromlech:
Kneeling guardsman legs:

Blight Wheel miniatures:
Regular troop torsos:

Grant's Spectres - legs (various):

Statuesque miniatures:
Resistance fighters - helmeted heads:

Resistance fighters - gasmask heads:

Filling Gaps

I have finished my Harker conversion, shown below. When I have finished painting him I will fix the grave marker to the base properly and add some reeds to tie him in with the rest of the veterans.

Note the studded and quilted armour on his left arm. That was a particular bitch to do.

I am currently working on a sniper so that I have enough for a Ratling proxy squad, and a heavy bolter team for the Veterans. When I have finished sculpting I will upload photos.

Here is an example of the FW-style greenstuffed shell-strikes:

Harker

I have begun work on a Gunnery-Sergeant Harker conversion for my Veteran squad. Parts are:
- Vostroyan sniper body
- Chaos marauder horseman head and arms
- Chaos space marine autocannon
- Ork big shoota strap and bullet belt (not shown)
- Cital scenics resin 40mm base (not shown)
- Kromlech guardsman backpack

Since these photographs were taken I have pinned him to a base and sculpted some quilted armour onto the left arm to finish it. The finished model will sport camo ragging and a scenic base that ties him in with the rest of the squad. Is he looking towards the sky because I accidentally knocked him off the table, to add variation to the otherwise quite samey poses of the army, or to reflect the change in the meta-game that commonplace flyers have introduced? Who knows....

A Sudden Flurry of Activity - Part IV

Not painted, but finished modelling:

Stormtroopers

Stole the Necron skull-mask with gas filters from someone else's Inquisitorial stormtroops, but can't remember where I saw them.

In the words of the great warrior-poets Metallica: 'Look to the sky just before you die / it's the last time you will...'

Melta, vox-op and officer.

Heads from tank crew, Space Wolves, Catachans and Marauder Horsemen.

A Sudden Flurry of Activity - Part III

And now...

Veteran Squad

Ten veterans with camo-cloaks. Camo-ragging idea stolen from Bungaroo (see previous posts).

Three riflemen and the Sergeant.

Marksman, Vox-Operator and grenadier

Medic, Marksman and Scout

I'm going to add a heavy bolter and Harker stand-in later.

I am trying to add a bit of 'realism' to every squad, by ensuring that each has a medic (right) and a stowed anti-tank weapon (centre), with a loader (left).

A Sudden Flurry of Activity - Part II

Next up....

Company Command Squad

Lurks in cover in the centre of the gunline. Comprises Creed stand-in, Master of Ordnance, bodyguard, Mortar, and sometimes Astropath.

In its entirety.

Creeeeeeeeeeeeeed.

.deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerC

Astropath.

Fluff-wise, I don't really want any psykers in my force so narratively this chap is just fecking wise, which manifests itself in prudent pre-battle preparation, hence the reserves bonus.

A Sudden Flurry of Activity - Part I

At last, I have got round to painting and varnishing several squads. First up...

Platoon Command Squad

Al'Rahem, standard Platoon Commander and Vox-Officer

Heavy flamer and three flamers

 This lot usually roll as a standard platoon command squad with a vox and three flamers, and lurk with an infantry blob squad to provide a counter-charge capability.

Who are these frightful savages?

A firm idea of the socio-economic background (oh dear god, what have I become?) of your pretend soldiers is all well and good, but what do the grubby primitives look like?


Digging around, I found a couple of images from an old 'Famous Regiments of the Imperial Guard' article...

Finreht Highlander

Mordant 'Acid Dogs' Sergeant

What I love about these two is that they look like combat soldiers - back-up weapons, grenades, and - most importantly - ammunition. The run-of-the-mill Cadians have what, three magazine pouches? British infantry carry six. They look feral, but also ruthlessly practical - she has a thick vest of some kind (not some eighties Escher-ganger bikini), he's lugging around a respectably sized bergen - this is something that most (even heavily converted) GW minis lack, and what I am endeavouring to create without making the models too 'cluttered'.


What I imagine the characters to look like, and what I manage to make my minis look like, are slowly beginning to converge. Seriously hacked-up Vostroyans with Space Wolf, Marauder Horsemen or more obscurely sourced heads accompany my 'second generation' models pieced together from heavily green-stuffed cadians with Forgeworld bits and all sorts of other odds and ends, who are in turn accompanied by some bulked up and de-eighties-ed Escher gangers. It's taking time, money, and a hell of a lot of effort, but I must admit it's rewarding when it works properly.

Heavy Gear II

Squad II, Team I

Squad II, Team I

Squad II, Team II

Squad II, Team II

The photos of the third team came out badly - I'll put them in another time.

Heavy Gear I

After considerable tinkering, I also cobbled together two Heavy Weapons squads - one of autocannons, one of heavy bolters.

Squad I, Team I

Squad I, Team I

Squad I, Team II

Squad I, Team II

Squad I, Team III

Squad I, Team III

This is how my army stood in 2007 - two squads of Vostroyans (of which only one was painted) plus a motley crew of Teutogen Guard conversions as a Hardened Veteran squad with the doctrines that gave them WS4 and Carapace armour.

Warlord.