SAS / special forces

Another group of 15mm scale figures for the zombie apocalypse - British SAS / special forces.  I have my riot police underway, & plan to add both regular police (who have been armed due to the crisis) & an armed response unit.  However, I fancied some heavy-duty opposition for the infected hordes, & these SAS from Rebel Minis seemed just the thing.  I've had the figures for a while, & was thinking of going with yellow or orange boiler suits with black body armour; & then for a while I was going to paint them in the blue boiler suits & black armour of the famous SAS Counter-Revolutionary Wing - before ditching the idea as being too similar to the uniforms of all the police units that I have planned, as well as being a very specific unit with limited uses in a zombocalypse.

After having a long think about it, I reasoned that the military have plenty of suitable 'zombie-proof' gear in the form of camouflaged CBRN (formerly NBC) suits, without having to get in some garish 'HazMat' gear specially.  So I've painted these 2 fireteams as woodland CBRN suits.  If they'd had their hoods up & been wearing helmets, they could represent regular army, but as it is I'll run with them as SAS / special forces.  Maybe they've been sent into an infected zone to rescue a VIP, or retrieve an important 'package'...

Riot police

Back to 15mm scale for today's post - a group of riot police!  These Rebel Minis figures are perfect for any zombocalypse or serious urban disturbance.  I have painted them in modern British riot police uniforms (as featured in the nationwide riots of 2012), as I fancy gaming a zombie pandemic with a UK setting.  Not sure on a rules set yet, but possibly Ambush Alley's 'Ambush Z'.

I'm pleased with the outcome, & the uniforms are a pretty good match for the real ones, other than the additional padding at the back of the helmet (where UK police have numbering in yellow), & the holstered sidearms (in the UK only a small number of Authorised Firearms Officers carry guns).  However, in a zombie pandemic, I think that emergency legislation (or police taking matters into their own hands as society collapses) would mean that firearms would be issued widely...

I considered painting some of these figures with blood splatters & hand prints on their equipment, but at this tiny scale, I want to reserve most of the gore for the actual zombie figures, so that they are easier to pick-out on the tabletop.  This also means that I can use them for less apocalyptic settings too.  Not 100% happy with my attempt at a 'transparent' effect on the shields & visors, but it's passable at this scale.  I may gloss varnish those areas.

Demiurg (W40K)

I really liked how the Battlefleet Gothic expansion Armada cheekily brought Squats back into the official Warhammer 40,000 universe as the 'Demiurg'.  Ever since then I've been wondering what they might look like (I've never been keen on their original Warhammer-Dwarf-like look), & now thankfully there are a few suitable miniatures on the market. 

My favourite is Hasslefree Miniatures's Grymn range.  I see the Demiurg as grubby & industrial, but a little more advanced than the stagnant Imperium, making use of full-AI droids for much of their labour & warfare, especially following the destruction of the Demiurg Homeworlds by the Tyranids.



So here are my first 28mm Demiurg - mining vessel crew with bolters & vac-sealed carapace armour!  These particular Grymn are from the Heavy Infantry range.  I really enjoyed painting these fantastic sculpts, & will be adding a few more from Hasslefree's extensive Grymn collection.  To tie these figures in with my Battlefleet Gothic Demiurg ships, I went with a tarnished, oily iron look for their armour.  Next up: Demiurg in exo-armour!

Picasa Web Albums is still adding blue to most of my uploaded photos... I may have to start using a different storage service  :-/

Imperial Navy chirurgeon (W40K)

I haven't completed much miniatures stuff this month, but this week I finished an Imperial Navy chirurgeon, who will be the 'medic' of Inquisitor Isiah's retinue.  He is equipped with a needle pistol & medical device.  I stumbled on this EM4 Miniatures 'Ganger 5' model, & thought he'd fit in perfectly as ex-Imperial Navy. Wasn't sure if the dreadlocks were 'proper' enough for the straight-laced Navy, but then in a vast Imperium of diverse cultures which produces very distinct Imperial Guard 'ground-pounders', I'm sure the Navy must allow some leeway to accommodate different customs.

The backstory for this bloke will probably be that he saved Interrogator Rath's life when he was shot through a lung during the Heliosphan Purge.

Apologies for the poor quality of the photos - as of about a month ago, Picasa Web Albums started adding high levels of blue to my uploaded images, & I haven't discovered a simple work-around beyond repeatedly re-uploading until the image is as per the copy on my PC. Quite frustrating.

Penitent heavy (W40K)

I finished painting another penitent for 'Inquisimunda' today - every warband needs a 'heavy'!  This is Makk 'Grox' Dunoll, an ex-Imperial Guardsman sentenced to fifty years hard labour for killing two scion officers in a bar brawl.  Like his fellow inmate Kolev Obasan, under the influence of the Redemptionist preacher Thwaite, 'Grox' was loyal to the Imperium during the cultist-backed prisoner uprising that ravaged the sprawling penal facility.  He fought alongside Obasan & Thwaite, killing many of the rebelling inmates prior to the arrival of Inquisitor Isiah & Adeptus Arbite reinforcements.

Unlike the psychotic Obasan, 'Grox' is calm & level-headed (some would say mildly dim-witted as well).  Though powerfully muscled, Isiah's other agents consider 'Grox' as a bit of a gentle giant.  Having joined Isiah's retinue, 'Grox' considers himself to be repaying his debt to the Emperor; but whilst the madman Obasan has remained a follower of Thwaite's brand of Imperial faith, 'Grox' has started to question some of the Redemptionist tenets.

'Grox' is a solid, dependable presence on Inquisition missions, laying down a pulverising hail of heavy bolter fire when called for.  The miniature is another of GW's Colonel Schaeffer's Last Chancers.

Penitent (W40K)

I'm not that satisfied with my painting on this one, but here's another agent of the Inquisition - a psychotic penitent!  This violent individual, named Kolev Obasan, was serving a life sentence of hard labour when he (along with another penitent that I'm painting) fell under the questionable pastoral influence of a Redemptionist preacher by the name of Fabian Thwaite (another figure that I'm painting).  Thwaite apparently succeeded in moulding Obasan's uncontrolled violent impulses into hatred of the heretical & the xenos, & an acceptance of a debt owed to the God-Emperor.


Along with the Redemptionist preacher Thwaite, Obasan was one of the few survivors of a cult-triggered prisoner uprising at the penal facility, during which he appeared to stay loyal to the security forces, killing a large number of rioting prisoners.  After the rebellion had been suppressed by Imperial reinforcements, Inquisitor Isiah found Obasan sitting in his unlocked cell, caked in the dried blood of his fellow inmates, muttering prayers to the Emperor.


Most of Isiah's other agents have a grave mistrust of Obasan, viewing him as an unpredictable liability; but the inquisitor values the havoc that the penitent can cause in the right circumstances.  When called for, Obasan is usually accompanied by the preacher Thwaite, & wears a collar that can inject combat drugs such as 'Slaught & Frenzon, as well as a tranquiliser when the mission is over... Or the killing is getting out of hand...

Obasan's equipment of choice is a meltagun, chainsword, a variety of grenades, & an auspex to help with tracking down his prey.  The miniature is one of Colonel Schaeffer's Last Chancers from GW.

Crusader (W40K)

Another 'Inquisimunda' player character finished - an Ecclesiarchy crusader!  This deadly woman is Arabella Solbun, a close combat specialist who takes the fight straight to the heretic/mutant/witch/daemon, & is armed with a force blade & psy-bolt-loaded bolt pistol.  She has minor psychic abilities, mainly centred around combat-ability-enhancement.  Solbun was an orphan raised by a minor Adeptus Sororitas order on the Ecclesiarchy shrine world of Cyclosa.


When evidence of her latent psychic abilities began to manifest on the cusp of adulthood, she was incarcerated by the sisterhood, & transferred to a Black Ship for shipment to Terra or immediate termination as deemed necessary.  However, aboard the Black Ship, a young inquisitor named Isiah recognised Solbun's unusual strength of mind, & spared her from a fate as fuel for the Golden Throne or execution as a dangerous witch.  Over the following years Isiah trained Solbun to further fortify her mind & hone her psychic talents, completing her transformation into a lethal weapon of holy purpose.

The figure is another from Hasslefree miniatures ('Jenova'), with a bolt pistol from a Space Marine sprue added to her left hand.  She is protected by carapace armour & an aegis hood in the form of a golden halo.  I enjoyed painting the finishing touch of light-sourcing around her force blade, & am really pleased with the result.

Interrogator (W40K)

Today I put the finishing touches to another 'Inquisimunda' player character.  This is Interrogator Rath Hespidar.  Having graduated from the junior rank of Explicator, Hespidar was attached to Inquistor Isiah's staff by the Ordo in order to gain field experience.  Hespidar is ruthlessly efficient, humourless & completely by-the-book.

Inquisitor Isiah has appreciated Hespidar's professionalism over the many years he has served him, but the pair have never bonded that closely.  Privately, Isiah believes that Hespidar's inflexibility is holding him back from attaining the rank of full inquisitor.  Nevertheless, Hespidar has a calculating, highly tactical mind, & serves excellently as Isiah's representative & mission coordinator.  As the newly promoted inquisitor lord has retreated every more into private esoteric studies & strategic planning, Hespidar is often in direct command of operations.

The figure is a GW Armageddon Steel Legion sergeant, with sections of GW Lizardman armour added to his shoulders with the aid of Green Stuff putty.  The purity seal is from a Space Marine sprue.  He wears flak armour, & is armed with a power sword & bolt pistol loaded with psy-bolts.  His breathing is assisted by a respirator following a lung wound suffered during the Heliosphan Purge.

Tech-Priest Enginseer (W40K)

I've finished another character for the inquisitor's retinue - a tech-priest enginseer.  This is one of my all-time favourite GW miniatures, because it's so jam-packed with '40K' detail, but I don't think I've done the quality of the figure full justice with my painting.  I am fairly pleased with the outcome though.  Not sure if my attempts to make the red cowl/tabard look grimy & well-worn have spoiled the overall effect, although at least it has a clearly different texture to the metal plating of his power armour.

 

I will almost certainly add a mechandendrite to the empty socket on the right side of the backpack as you look at the rear of the model - it's a perfect fit for the spare ones I have left over from another figure... (coming soon!) I think a mechandendrite raised over this enginseer's right shoulder, mirroring the servo-arm should look pretty good.

Rogue Trader Captain (W40K)

Another NPC for 'Inquisimunda' finished - a Rogue Trader captain.  Again I can't say too much about his background as the players may read this, but he has the usual dubious reputation associated with his profession as a trader & explorer on the fringes of the Imperium.  I may upgrade his sword to a power sword by adding a 'power node' from the handle onto the blade, using modelling putty.

This is another excellent sculpt from Hasslefree Miniatures ('Privateer Godwin'), & I'm happier with my shading & highlighting on the coat than on Jhansi Lakhshimir's. I wasn't sure how to paint the codpiece at first, but then I thought "it's got to be gold for maximum bling".

Investigator (W40K)

I've finished another character for 'Inquisimunda' - this is Yonas Smyth, an investigator in the employ of Inquisitor Augustus Dissero Isiah.  Smyth was formerly a zealous Enforcement Marshal on the planet Heliosphan, where he sought-out & exposed corruption within government agencies, as well as stamping-out the usual criminal activities.  Inquisitor Isiah encountered Smyth during his purge of a group of anti-Imperial officials who were being directed by agents of the Alpha Legion.

The inquisitor was impressed by Smyth's dedication to pursuing corruption, even though it had cost him the life of his father, who was murdered on the orders of a senator imprisoned as a result of one of Smyth's investigations.  In return for his family being moved to another planet, safe from revenge attacks, Smyth agreed to join Inquisitor's Isiah's retinue.

Smyth always carries his trusty service stub pistol, loaded with custom 'dum-dum' bullets.  Inside his greatcoat he has a stun baton & a selection of grenades.  Though imposing in stature, Smyth is comparatively nondescript, & is the agent most likely to be employed undercover, or when blending into a crowd is necessary.  He is streetwise, resourceful, & single-minded in purpose.  He often acts as a bodyguard for less physically resilient agents, such as the inquisitor's 'pariah', Issla Black.

The figure is 'Harby', from Hasslefree Miniatures.  I used a sergeant head from the GW Cadian sprues though, as I thought the comlink & face better-suited the character that I had in mind.

Kroot mercenary (W40K)

Another figure for my 'Inquisimunda' campaign - a vicious-looking Kroot mercenary with pistol & knives.  This is an NPC rather than a player character, but I can't say too much about his background as the players Tim & Dom may read this post.  I converted the pistol by cutting away the original rifle barrel, & filing the stock down.

The pistol barrel was gleaned from one of the holstered ones that comes with the kit.  GW's Kroot sprues are some of my favourite - lots of nice primitive details like hide pouches, bones & other fetishes.  I'm more pleased with my paint job on this figure than the Void Mistress, & I particularly enjoyed doing the bone hilts to the weapons, the skin patterning, & the quills.

After over a year painting only large numbers of 15mm figures, it's been a nice change of pace to be able to concentrate on single 28mm scale characters, though I'm still getting my hand/eye in with painting quality.  I'll definitely tidy-up the blue highlights on the Void Mistress's coat after getting neater results on this model.

Rogue Trader Void Mistress (W40K)

Over the past couple of weeks I've been carefully painting figures for my long-running aim of running an 'Inquisimunda' campaign.  I'm finally starting to finish some of my figures, & though they aren't as impressive as the many truly inspiring Inquisimunda conversions & paint-jobs out there on the internet, I'm pleased with the results.  Here is Jhansi Lakhshimir, self-styled Void Mistress, a Rogue Trader & captain of the ship that carries Inquisitor Augustus Dissero Isiah & his retinue of agents on their shadowy quests.

The figure is another excellent sculpt from Hasslefree Miniatures - 'Andreah'. My inspiration for her was both trying to capture a feeling of 'Jamaican pirate' & also Captain Nemo's daughter Janni Dakkar from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novels.  I'm most pleased with the skin tones that I managed to achieve, though the highlighting on her (mesh-armour-lined) greatcoat could be better - I may tidy this up a bit.  Lakhshimir is armed with an assault carbine, custom-made by a master workshop of House Van Saar on Necromunda; & a C'tan phase sword, an incalulably ancient artifact, originally discovered on some long-forgotten tomb world.  Lakhshimir stole the xenos weapon from the treasure horde of the Eldar corsair Prince Lii'Alurei.

Engineering modules (W40K)

I've finished some more 'Inquisimunda' furniture this week - 3 engineering modules from Hasslefree Miniatures.  First up: a small plasma generator.  I attempted some light-sourcing on this, & am pleased with the result.

Next,  a water still / vaporator.  I felt this piece was missing something - it appears designed to allow connection of a pipe.  I opted for a mushroom-shaped cap that I found lying around.







Lastly, a machine of indeterminate purpose (I expect only the tech-adepts of the Mechanicum would understand it's workings).

All these pieces should be useful for fleshing-out rooms & locations in 'Inquisimunda' & Necromunda.