Demiurg Hearthguard & crewers

Back to Warhammer 40,000 this weekend - well, my long running 'Inquisimunda' project anyway.  I've finished painting my three Demiurg Hearthguard in exo-armour, plus I repainted the visors of the previously all-gunmetal helmets on the crewers.  I've gone with a slightly grubby industrial but futuristic appearance.  My vision of the Demiurg is as no-nonsense, practical species (in contrast to the ostentatiousness of many other W40K races/factions...) Initially I like the all-gunmetal helmets as they looked different to anything else in 40K, having no obvious transparent visor or lenses (I assumed it would be advanced metal that was transparent through one side only, or had micro-lenses producing a view inside the helmet.  Anyway, after deciding to paint the slit visors of the Hearthguards' exo-armour with a gold effect, I decided to make the crewers that I had painted previously match them - I think this works nicely at suggesting 'spacesuits' better.

Ever since Squats (essentially 'space dwarves') were subtly reintroduced to the Warhammer 40K canon in the Battlefleet Gothic 'Armada' expansion as the Demiurg (nomadic astral miners, resource-gatherers, & tech-traders), I've wondered what their ground forces might look like.  Armada describes the Demiurg's fighter craft as being repurposed mining vehicles & droids, & my friend Dom & I have discussed how they would probably make extensive use of droids if pushed into direct combat.  There are quite a few 'space dwarf' figures available on the market nowadays to fill the Squat-shaped gap from the old-school days of W40K; but my favourite has to be the incredible Grymn range from Hasslefree Miniatures, which is where all these figures are sourced from.

Olga & partisans with carbines

I've been painting a mob of Russian Civil War partisans this weekend, but unfortunately I've temporarily run out of bases - so only these are finished.  Here is Olga (with a Mauser C96 pistol), leading 3 other partisans with carbines (most likely Mosin–Nagant variants).  Olga is an Artizan Designs figure, whilst the others are from Copplestone Castings.

I really like all these sculpts, but my favourites are the kneeling partisan & Olga - very dynamic poses, plus the greatcoat & fleece jacket look brilliant.

These partisans can be used for 'Reds' or 'Whites' or any other faction.  I may paint-up a banner bearer with a Bolshevik flag at some point to help capture the 'Red Guard' theme though.  

 "К победе, товарищи!"

Elite White commanding officer

Here is another 28mm-scale Russian Civil War figure that I painted this week - a commanding officer for my elite 'White' force.  This miniature is from the Artizan Designs 'Thrilling Tales' range, & it is packed with glorious period detail.  I really like the snow goggles, moustache, medals, & wool-lined hat; but the best aspect for me is the fact that he's armed with not only the classic & much-prized Mauser C96 automatic pistol, but also the esoteric Luger Lange Pistole 08 (also known as the 'Artillery Luger'), which is described as a pistol-carbine, & had a bizarre setup of a small drum magazine feeding bullets up through the handle, & also a shoulder stock.  Essentially it was an early SMG.

Artizan Designs 'Thrilling Tales' figures fit very well with Copplestone Castings 'Back of Beyond' figures.  The only thing I have noticed is that the former are closer to 28mm height, wheras the Copplestone ones are more often 30mm tall.  Perfectly within natural human size variance though.  I have painted this characterful chap in a General Markov Officers Regiment uniform (albeit a well-tailored version befitting his rank, with Russian tri-colour arm badges), to match my other elite White soldiers: officer, sniper, & infantry.