Hmmmm? Guru thinks “if everything is coming with a rush is it really then a rush”?
I am gradually working through the finishing touches on lots of my painting that was to see me through to Christmas. Much was well on the way and had just been waiting for me to get over the procrastination with these figures to finally get them done.
You will start to see these filter through my posts over the next days and weeks. There was 29 small projects on the original list and already four of these are completed, Tallarn, Snowmen, Zorro figures and the Jazz musicians and dancers. A fifth the Valhallan guard is partially finished with two more infantry squads to finish them off.
This has been my year of painting dangerously and I plan to finish with a bang, but hopefully not a crash!
I ended up with two boxes of the “Masked Men” when a friend (Blake) gave me his Test of Honour collection. This is the first of the two sets to be painted. The next will follow in a few days.
Warrior Monk Masahiro has vowed to fight the injustices of the Japanese clans. He and his followers battle the power of the samurai, taking the armoured face-plates of their fallen enemies as badges of victory.
Warrior Monks meanwhile are an established part of the history of the period and had many conflicts with the ruling samurai clans.
The stealing of face-plates idea has no historical grounding, but it is a cool idea that whilst doubtful might well have happened. The masked head demonstrates what a change to the basic plastic kit look can be made with a simple head swap.
Prefect of the B’taani Penal Colony Alto was always at the forefront of the fighting he has won many honors and friends since the Penal Legion was established.
At the outset of the first Ork invasion of Armageddon, Prefect Alto had only held his rank for three years. To do battle against the Ork warlords would be a hard test of his skills as a leader and a strategist, and it was with no hesitation that the humble Alto agreed to follow Commander Dante of the Blood Angels Chapter.
In battle, Alto and his Penal legionnaires were responsible for re-capturing the Aderbein oil platform, defending one of the few bridges across the Stygies river, against a thousand-strong Ork Speed Freeks column, fighting continuously for three days and four nights and in engaging in countless skirmishes through the hostile Fire Wastes.
Prefect Alto
At the end of the campaign Dante himself sought out the Prefect Gregor Alto and praised him for his valour. This was a supreme gesture as no greater honor can be bestowed upon a warrior than the respect of one’s brothers in arms, especially from a Chapter Master of the Adeptus Astartes.
As well as praise from Dante, Alto is also highly thought of by Commissar Yarrick, because of his actions at Stygies. It is said that when these two great men finally met at the end of the first invasion, they had an instant respect for each other and when the Ork warlord invaded the planet for a second time, a far older and much wiser Alto was one of the first to respond, sending his now famous and pardoned regiments to combat the Orks.
At least three roks were destroyed by the Penal Legions attacks, killing untold thousands of greenskins and preventing the use of their deadly teleporters.
The Armageddon Steel Legion are the Imperial Guard Regiments native to the Hive World of Armageddon. True to its name, Armageddon has been the site of three massive battles in the history of the Imperium, most recently a pair of invasions by the Ork Warboss Ghazghkull Thraka. As a result, the armies of Armageddon are very skilled in fighting Orks.
Command Squad
Much like the Death Korps Grenadiers, the Troopers of the Armageddon Steel Legion are fully part of their own regiments and homeworld. The only noticeable difference is that they are instead split into divisions, this allows them to assist different companies of regular guardsmen during high-risk missions or on important campaigns. (40k Lexicanum)
Colonel ( the Old Colonel Schaeffer model)
Female Commissar Model (the 1998 Games Day model)
Sniper Rifle
Sniper Milo from the Gaunt’s Ghosts set
Medic Corbec from the Gaunt’s Ghosts set
Steel Legion Guardsman model to round out the squad.
The Valhallan Ice warriors Heavy Weapons Company is rarely deployed together. More often they are deployed as individual squads supporting an infantry platoon. They can use a variety of weapons depending on their mission from the anti-vehicle lascannons to the heavy anti-infantry fire power of auto cannons and heavy bolters. Mortars are also deployed to support the attack on enemy positions.
Each squad is supplied with three heavy weapons, 2 mortars and an Autocannon.
Ever since the Armagedon board game came out, when we still lived in caves, I have been interested in the “history” of the confrontation.
I still have the game, now a bit tatty but still complete. The mechanics are a bit old school but still provides a good game.
When the Steel legion figures came out I put together a 1000 point Steel legion army for a competition. The army was based on an obscure reference about the B’Taani penal legion on page 16 of the “Battle for Armageddon” GW supplement.
“In order to bolster the number of troops in the area, two regiments have been hastily raised from the prison population at B’taani Bay penal colony. These units have been shipped, under armed guard, to the Aderbein oil platform. Currently, the two pipelines that link the platform to the Serestus River refinery are being drained. The penal regiments will use these to gain access to the tunnels and corridors below the refinery, where it is believed a large nest of Orks has been hiding out during the Season of Fire. To prevent interruption to the much- needed oil supplies on Armageddon Prime, the pipelines will be resealed and filled again as soon as the convict units are through them.”
For the competition I put together a bit of a back story calling it a Codex. It can be found here.
Some of the formatting is now out of date and may not transfer, but it is enough to give you a feel for what I was doing, and also how important the “story” is to gaming for me.
Like always I bought about 5000pts worth of figures for a 1000 point army. I have decided to paint up the remainder, but I want to try and match the originals so they will be a bit more like my “quick and dirty” approach.
The current army:
There are a couple of 3 squad platoons and a lot of support and heavy weapons to finish. One platoon and some “specials” are about half done so I plan on finishing these over the next few days.
I have just come across this supplier recently and the models and feedback look really great, so I am hoping my two hundred buck investment is worth it.
I wanted a series of models to complete my Japanese terrain, this time centred on a temple complex, with a lot of small buildings. I can add some of the buildings and gardens I already have done and will use a cobblestone mat as the base.
First I chose a Samurai Japanese Pagoda
A Shinto Shrine:
A Shoro or temple bell
A well:
A Sake Brewery – after all, all play………
Some Villagers to worship:
This should make an ideal 3 feet by 3 feet table for Test of Honour. Hopefully they will arrive before Christmas and will make an ideal New Year project.
Underground, overground, Wombling free; The Wombles of Gorky Park are we. Making good use of the artefacts we find; Things that crews in the exclusion zone leave behind!
A Soviet suit was known as a “Womble” because of its long faced respirator with round visor glasses.
A bit like “Wellington” here!
The painting Stage 1:
I should say that these were not one of my projects to try and complete before Christmas, but hey, what plan survives first contact – ah something bright and shiny – must paint!
I wanted these painted in a night so chose an ink and dry brush method that would be quick but provide enough detail to have them painted well enough to be happy to use.
The undercoat and washing were completed a few days before so that they would be dry for the evening onslaught!
First the figures were sprayed with Tamiya TS3 which I always use as an undercoat, and then washed with GW Nuln oil. The wash helps highlight the detail for painting. I was not interested in painting them up in Russian green but wanted them to look more like Hazchem workers to fit in with my Toxic firemen.
Stage 2:
Next they were dry brushed with GW Averland Sunset and then GW Flash Gitz Yellow as a highlight.
Stage 3:
Next the gloves, high viz stripes and any helmets were painted a bright “safety” orange (GW Troll Slayer Orange).
Stage 4:
To match the wombles nose colouring, I used GW Skrag Brown for both the mask and respirator, and Rhinox hide for the rifle butts.
Stage 5:
This only leaves the metal bitz, the black for the respirator hose and the final wash to finish the majority of the models. The heavy weapons will need just a bit more work.
Here is the nights work. Just waiting for the GW Agrax Earthshade wash to dry overnight so that I can dry-brush the finishing highlights and do the basing.
Stage 6:
The project is now finished with final dry-brush highlighting and the basing completed.
Defend Christmas Town from hordes of zombies, bad Santa, Gingerbread men and impish elves. From Jackalope these Snowmen send a chill down your spine with the ice they have running in their veins!
I have a few more figures in this range which I hope to have completed before the big day. You know the one, the day the big fat guy in a red suit swaps his reindeer for “six white boomers” when he flies over Oz!
