Painting Challenge Submission #8 - Ricco's Republican Guard

Ricco's Republican Guard stand ready for contact!

With this submission to Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge another Regiment of Renown takes its place in the line. Fantasy warlords with high cash flow rejoice! Ricco's Republican Guard are here to serve your military requirements. These are 28mm figures from GW's long-gone "Dogs of War" collection - beautiful, beautiful metal castings from the late 1990s! This whole project is a mega-nostalgia-trip for me, but this unit really stands out, as my original "Dogs of War" force had this unit as one of its core formations.

Pikes lowered for action!

Hailing from the wealthy Tilean Republic of Remas, the Republican Guard represent the higher-end of the Dogs of War mercenary pike regiments. Whereas the Alcatani Fellowship are kind of a "pike-block-on-a-budget", the Ricco's Republican Guard are the choice of the discerning military commanders of the Old World who have cash to burn. The Republican Guard have higher levels of training and wear heavy armour - and once you factor in the pikes, they make for a terrifying unit on the Warhammer Fantasy Battle gaming table. 

Ricco and his unit got their start in Remas, but ultimately had a falling-out with the ruling council - they tried to have Ricco executed because he would not share his loot with them! His loyal soldiers would have none of that, and so they liberated him from the jail. Now he leads his Republican Guard into battle across the Old Word. Ricco himself still brandishes a bloody rag going into battle, a tribute to their roots in the revolutionary street fighting in Remas.

A view of some of the pikemen.

Love the heavy armour on these guys.

Throughout this project I have been singing the praises of GW's classic Dogs of War figure range - and I will do it again here! Sculpted by the Perry Brothers, these miniatures were an absolute joy to paint. I just love the look of the Italian (Tilean) style heavy plate armour worn by these figures - and then all of the classic Warhammer accents such as the feathers and the varied bags and sacks. They have a uniform look and yet there are many subtle variants to be found among the sculpts. 

"Steady lads!"

Getting these fellows built in such a way they can be packed into ranks took a bit of work, and this was a particularly tricky unit because all of the castings had some variant of a lowered pike pose (as opposed to the other pike units, which have more sculpts where the pikemen are standing at ease). Fortunately I recalled the troubles I had back in the late 90s and planned ahead this time, ensuring a functional mix of front rankers and was able to vary the positions on the bases so they could crowd together in the unit. 

A silver trumpet to inspire the men - and a handy mace to back up any missed musical notes.

Ricco and his bloodied rag are ready to engage.

Standard bearer.

Flank view of the Republican Guard, in formation.

"Liberty! Equity! Liquidity!"

That's it for this post - thanks for reading - watch for more AHPC content soon. Cheers! 

Painting Challenge Submission #7 - Thousand Sons Detachment for Epic 30k

A detachment of Thousand Sons Space Marines ready to deploy to an Epic30k gaming table

This submission to the AHPC contains - surprise! - more Space Marines. Once again they are from the XV Legion Astartes - but we leave 28nm behind - these are little 6mm chaps! All of these are plastic figures from Games Workshop's "Legions Imperialis" game range. The assorted elements portrayed here include a high-command stand, two units of tactical marines, a small group of tactical support marines, and Rhino APCs to haul the lot of them. They are supported by a group of "Tarantula"-type automated weapon turrets and some assorted dreadnoughts. 

High-command base with a hero, flunkies - and their own Rhino to ride around in.

Sylvain, our Wednesday Minion, is quite the master of 6mm painting and basing, and each Painting Challenge I enjoy seeing the material expansions to his massive historical 6mm collections. Inspired by Sylvain's tremendous small-scale work I thought it would be good to continue with efforts to expand my own 6mm Horus Heresy collection during this edition of the AHPC. 

A tactical squad - 20 little marines and a pair of APCs to transport them.

These miniatures are for "Legions Imperialis", a specialist-type game released by GW a couple of year ago. It is meant to be a re-boot of the old-time "Epic" game, a truly classic and fun set of rules from GWs older 1990s/early 2000s era. Indeed, the GW studio has often demonstrated an ability to release some really outstanding rules over the years. The state of the 40k rules has ranged from "difficult" to today's "unplayable", but games like Epic/Space Marine, Battlefleet Gothic, Warmaster, Space Hulk and others were creative, fun, engaging and fantastic. The more recent re-boot of "Adeptus Titanicus" had a few issues, but was, in general, outstanding! I had high hope for this game when it was (at last) re-released...

Tactical squad number two...looking a lot like the other one because...well...they have the same kit and same ride :)

Sadly, "Legions Imperialis" did not live up to the legacy of the 90s/2000s specialist games studio. The rollout of the game was a complete fiasco. The "Legions Imperialis" rules themselves are deeply disappointing and highly excremental. They are poorly written and generally very bad even once you "understand" them. One run through the game will be more than enough for most folks.  

Tactical support Marines sporting plasma guns - and, naturally, their own APC!

Yet, even while the rules are trash, the miniatures for the game are just excellent! Small, of course, and with a number of fiddly bits that will easily disappear into ANY carpet...but they are just great! Wonderful little tributes to the Horus Heresy, each of them! These things are just great IMO. 

Was it a bit of a process to get there with the models? Yes. At first, I was concerned that there had been a "re-scaling"...but the effect, especially for the infantry, has been slight-to-nothing. There are also some tricky models...some of the infantry bits are two-piece kits, and all of the vehicles have very small components. I struggle with this...but odds are, you won't. I am not a very good model-builder - have always been "average" at best. My frustration with that aspect is an outlier...I might suck with these, but you'll do fine.

"Tarantula" automated turrets - these can be left to cover objectives etc. while the Marines themselves head to deal with matters requiring personal attention...

Sane hobbyists would just speed paint these things, I suppose. I find I cannot...rather, I paint these little guys in batches of two and three infantry or vehicles at a time, in no particular rush. I amazed at the level of details the sculptors managed to place on them all, and I like to make an effort to catch it (even if that effort often comes up short). The results in a tremendously slow/plodding pace to my accumulation of completed units with which to expand my collection, but that doesn't worry me too much.  

"Contemptor" type dreadnoughts - mix of fire-support and close action help for the Marines.

"Deredeo" type dreadnoughts - lots and lots of firepower here.

So if the rules are hot garbage, why bother with the figures? Well, the good news is that great rules ALREADY existed with which to use these models - namely "Epic: Armageddon" and its fan-made 30k mods. I also understand there is a sci-fi mini-scale game from Mantic that also has excellent rules, and frameworks exist to adapt this to 30k, so that is something I will be looking to try as well. Trust me, if you like the Horus Heresy, you will love "Epic 30k" and you will love these little figures. 

Close up of the supreme command guy with all of this troops...

One last aerial shot of the whole group!

Stay tuned for more AHPC catch-up posts...the dash to the finish is nearly upon us, as spring is allegedly around the corner...but that's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Painting Challenge Submission #6 - Contemptor-Osiron Pattern Dreadnought for 30k-era Thousand Sons

"That museum exhibit has armed itself! Run for your life!" - A Thousand Sons Contemptor-Osiron pattern dreadnought.

My sixth submission to Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge features some more kit for my growing collection of XV Legion Astartes, the Thousand Sons, in GW's Horus Heresy setting. This is a "Contemptor-Osiron pattern" dreadnought, a 28mm multi-part resin kit (with plastic weapons) from Games Workshop's "Age of Darkness" figure range. This was originally a Forge World model, now available from GW at-large.

Autocannons, ready for action!

The dreadnoughts of the 30k setting are functionally heavy combat armour suits used by the Space Marines for various battlefield support purposes. There is a "pilot" in there, so to speak, but there is a catch (because of course there is!). This "pilot" is actually near-dead Space Marine, rescued from battlefield wounds that were somehow not quite terrible enough to kill him but still terrible enough to put him near-death. What happens to these fellows? Why they just get plugged into a dreadnought, and, voila! Your existence of endless warfare in The Emperor's name can continue! Lucky you! 

"I'm FINE. Yes. Really.STOP ASKING."

In the case of the Thousand Sons, there is an extra wrinkle. Sometimes this nearly-dead-but-not-totally-dead XV Legion Space Marine is also a capable psyker. What to do then? Why, plug his bits into one of these special "Osiron" dreadnoughts, of course! That way he can wander around the battlefield shooting things, punching things AND leveraging his mastery of mysterious warp powers! It's the best of all worlds! Unless you are the one trapped in this thing...but hey...I think everyone can relax. I mean, it's not like having psychic abilities and visions while trapped inside an armoured sarcophagus for near-eternity would cause any sort of extra mental stress or trauma. Right? I'm sure it's all fine...and we all know everything turned out great for the Thousand Sons in the end.

Also equipped for...close combat? Harvesting grain? Maybe both?

All of the Space Marine Legion collections in the Horus Heresy have custom bits designed for them, capturing the look that makes them "unique". In the case of the Thousand Sons, that "unique" look is generally an answer to the question "what would happen if the local ancient Egyptian history exhibit somehow came alive and armed itself with futuristic science-fiction weapons"? It is more than a little silly, but I love it and I'm here all day for it! 

The Forge World sculptors went to town on this crazy thing. We get a lot of whacky pseudo-ancient-Egypt accents - which are great - on various parts of the armour (mysterious etching, scarabs galore). We get a pile of extra cables and extra connectors near the "helmet", speaking to the extra bits in the armour helping to manage the psychic capabilities of the "pilot". Finally, to make things extra nuts, there is the end-of-days-sized khopesh-style blade affixed to the end of the power fist. 

Like...how does that even work? Do you impale enemies on the blade, and then...punch them...somehow? Or is that not even for combat, but some kind of agriculture-related side gig the dreadnought handles between missions? 

No matter - the "pilot" will have a near-eternity to figure it out, after all. Hopefully he can still use that Thousand-Sons-mind-relaxation technique he learned in his pre-dreadnought career...

Gotta love the vestments on this crazy thing!

And topping it all off, he has VESTMENTS. Because obviously! What kind of near-dead-psychic combat master goes to battle entombed in a battlesuit WITHOUT a prayer cloth? That would be crazy!

Woohoo! Magnets without a total catastrophe!!

Modelling-wise, I was chuffed that I managed to figure out how to install magnets on the ranged-weapon mount of the right arm! Most normal hobbyists are able to make use of magnets with no problem, but I am, at best, a very "average" model-builder, and tend to be a total f*cking disaster with magnets, no matter how careful I am. This time it worked out! I'll paint up some more ranged weapon options for this fellow at a later point - for now, the paired auto-cannons will do. 

Pseudo-Egyptian glyphs etched into the armour.

I hoped to get a bit of an interesting effect with the markings etched into the legs and shoulder. It was a chance to try and make use of the Contrast Paint/Speed Paints at last! I have always found these to be a hobby product that is a solution-looking-for-a-problem sort of tool. The results were...mostly just OK, but in aggregate I still like how the effect came out.

Now THAT is a can-opener...

I also wanted to make the whacky khopesh look a little more dramatic, so I added decals along the blade, and tried to have a little fun with them. Once more, Contrast Paints were applied in the hopes of achieving something of an "effect. Again the result is...OK...I should try and catch a tutorial on how to do cool blade effects sometime...but for now this will do, as the overall model is just so whacky.

Size comparison with "The Axehole", painted earlier. Things will get dramatic when these two hit the town!

This was painted a few weeks ago now, but has yet to see service on the table. As a newly-painted model, I'm confident this fellow will have no problems at all when he makes his battlefield debut! Right?   

Painting Challenge Submission #5 - Warmaster Dogs of War Artillery

10mm "Galloper Guns" for Warmaster. 

A participant in Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge had been inspiring me with his Warmaster-scaled Dogs of War entries. I too love playing GW's "Warmaster", and I also love the "Dogs of War". Now, the "Dogs of War" were done by GW in 28mm, never in their old 10mm version of the Fantasty game. But thanks to the efforts of genius 3D designers and printers, there are now some really awesome "Dogs of War" suited just perfectly for the scale - and submission #5 to the AHPC is a prime example. This is a battery of Mercenary "galloper guns", modeled on "Bronzino's Galloper Guns" from the original "Dogs of War" collection. I believe these were designed by "MiniRat". 

Bronzino directs his crew as the gun is laid for action...

The match is lowered...

Of course, the original 28mm version of Bronzino had lost a leg, poor chap. The battery commander here still has both - so one might assume this is simply a younger, less-veteran version of the famous mercenary commander (or perhaps the more famed commander is available as a separate hero sculpt, something I need to investigate). These figures have been gathering dust in my pile for years...after all I painted a 10mm version of Braganza's Besiegers back in 2022, and I would have picked these up at the same time... 

On this base, we have a limbered version of the gun - move lads!

These "MiniRat" designs are just brilliant. The proportions have a slight amount of exaggeration, done just right, to enhance the look of the 10mm sized figure. I tried to catch every detail I could manage. 

These sculpts are just tremendous! They are really fun to paint.

Maybe the only issue I encountered is that they did not size very well on the bases...in hindsight I should have shaved off the sharp edges, as they are all sculpted/printed together on the single base...oh well...contract firepower to support the highest bidder is now available for my Warmaster collection! That's all for this week - hope to be back with more "catching up" posting from the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge soon. 

Submissions for the Painting Challenge

 Here are my submissions for the 16th Analogue Hobbies Painting Contest. Most of my entries have been for my Badab War Tyrant's Guard army project. Enjoy!

Command Squad

Armsmen

Legion Auxilia

Turrets to swap out my steel legion chimeras

2 Leman Russ and a Thunderer tank.

I did a brief detour into another project of mine related to the fallout games. Using Horus Heresy models and some appropriate bits on Etsy and elsewhere, I've recreated/reinterpreted T-51b power armour from the Fallout video games.

Thanks for visiting.

Painting Challenge Submission #4 - "Axehole - The Sequel"

"Saturnine Praetor" for the XV Legion Astartes. Multi-part plastic kit from GW. 

In strict technical marketing terms, this Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge submission consists of a "Saturnine Praetor" kit for Games Workshop's "Age of Darkness" setting (a.k.a the Horus Heresy). He is wearing the colours and symbols of the XV Legion Astartes, the Thousand Sons.This is a multi-part (like, a LOT of parts) plastic kit from GW. 

But never mind what it said on the box. Let's call this figure for what it is: I give you "Axehole: The Sequel". 

NOTE: You may be asking: "Sequel? Who/what was the first one?" See the original "Axehole"at this link. 

"And I took that personally" - a lot going here. I was disappointed that the decals did not show well on the scroll of the chest plate...I might go back and work on that.

In the "Age of Darkness", the Space Marine Legions ape the terminology of ancient Rome's military structure. Thus the Praetor is a senior command figure for your Space Marine Legion force. Nicer armour, fancier kit, more capabilities etc. all designed to have him stand out from his fellows. Like the original Axehole, this figure was included as part of a core Horus Heresy box set, in this case the 3.0 edition (which dropped last year). 

You will surely have observed the powered armour this fellow is wearing is rather bonkers, even by the already rather bonkers standards of GW. This is the "Saturnine" armour, and it was the "big new thing" clumsily and careless retconned into the setting and included with the 3.0 edition of the rules. Now you don't even have to be a fan of the setting to see this and think "wait, WTF? Saturnine what?"

Example of an original "Saturnine" EXO ARMOUR figure from the Rogue Trader era. Metal figure on a 25mm round base.

It is always funny to contrast the lackadaisical approach GW's studio types take to the treatment of their own established lore and stories for their various settings with the absurdly aggressive posture of the corporate office who unleashes lawyers on any outside party who tries to do anything with it. The studio will retcon anything with little regard to impact on the story as established, while the GW lawyers will sue anyone out there making their own twist on the existing story through products or small add-ons...but I digress...

How does "Saturnine" armour fit in all of this? Well, I should be fair - it wasn't just pulled out of thin air. It has roots in the era very early 40k sculpts. They were, near as I can tell, the very first of what would evolve into "Terminator" armour.  The "Saturnine" sculpts, with their bonkers shoulders and big double-looking boaters were the original proto-terminators.

By brining them back in multi-part plastic form the GW studio is going "Hey, cool more nostalgia! Just like the plastic 'beakie' Marines from version 2.0!" But the similarities between the Saturnine kits and the new/old plastic "beakies" end right there IMO. 

Hobbyists clamoured for years for a return of the "beakie" armour, but nobody ever gave a sh*t about the old Saturnine designs -mostly because they sucked hard.  I will readily acknowledge that a few 3rd party sculptors were out there with some interesting, Saturnine-style sculpts, but on the whole this kind of armour was a fringe interest.

A look at his whacky cape!

What was more jarring was that the Black Library has something like ten years (or more) of Horus Heresy novels where "Saturnine Armour" did not ever come up, at least to my knowledge - through like 40 or 50 novels and novellas etc. This includes the Siege of Terra novel actually titled "Saturnine"  in which the most elite forces of the Warmaster confront the most elite forces of the Loyalist defence, in the "Saturnine District" of the Imperial palace, and nobody on either side is using this amazing, elite, super powerful armour...it is never mentioned. 

So...that is cartoonishly clumsy retcon work. Just lazy. But...whatever..."Saturnine Armour" is "back". 

But let's put the retcon clownf*ckery to the side. One thing that I feel unites the core of 30k fans around the world is a shared fear of the game becoming "like 40k" (i.e. unplayable trash). If GW's studio wants to ignore the Black Library, that's one thing, but when they act to wreck what made playing 30k games so fun and special, that is of much greater concern. 

A tool fit for an Axehole!

Now, I acknowledge - one set of models doesn't "wreck" anything. But it points to a direction of travel for the game. "Saturnine" units are popping up on Horus Heresy gaming tables, and while they are technically 30k models, they have 40k "vibes". This includes, but is not limited to:

- The blind indifference to the established story (note: "well they have always changed the story" does not equate to "every change they make is great - or even good"). 

- The scale creep (that fellow is on a 50mm base). The over-the-top weapons (I'm SURE that axe isn't compensating for any emotional problems, right?). 

- The terrain built into the base (FFS, STOP DOING THIS - IT MAKES EVERYONE'S MODELS LOOK THE SAME). I enjoy goofy models and silly guns, but like all recipes, a balance of ingredients is important - even too much good stuff can throw things off. This one...I'm not sure...

- The worst part: comically over-powered rules for these new models on the tabletop - rules that are "broken" right out of the gate, and the new "Saturnine Terminator" units slaughter everything on the table. 

And just wait until you see the "Saturnine" dreadnought...

"Where is my latte???"

"Greg, you're a ranting nut, just take a chill pill man - it can't be all that bad."

Fair counterpoint, imaginary intervenor. Look, it's not all bad. I am just one ranting nut. Many, many 30k players seem excited about these new models - whatever I think (not sure "excitement" is a word I would use for the new rules, but that is for another time).  People are painting them up, gaming with them, modifying them and coming up with their own cool conversions. People are just making up some of their own head-cannon and fitting them in. Is that so wrong? No. 

I did get a starter box of the 3.0 edition, so I have some of these "Saturnine" models, and after ignoring them for months, I figured the Painting Challenge might be a way to get them under the brush. I am in the process of continuing to expand my Thousand Sons Legion forces, and I thought I might as well designate this chap to join them! Why not let this Legion have a taste of the insane power of these new models, if only just for fun. 

Size comparison - on the left that is a Sekhmet Cabal Terminator, previously the "big guys" of the collection...well, there is a new boss.

These "Saturnine" models are not easy to assemble...they are designed to be flexible in their posing, and yet they are SO large that the real scope of their poses is extremely limited. Like any model type, the more you work on them, the easier they get, but these Praetor ones in particular are a bit tricky, and probably best painted in sub-assemblies - although I rushed on this one and only painted his cape seperately.

Sweet, sweet SKULLZ. Guaranteed to make your axe even axe-ier.

So, "The Axehole" is ready to march to war! As a newly-painted figure, I've no doubt he will do just fine. Look at all of that armour. What could go wrong?