Inferallti Hussars Transport and Heavy Flamer Squad

 A while back I started a new 30k Army based on the Imperial Militia and Cults army list for Horus Heresy based on the "Old Hundred" regiment known as the Inferallti Hussars. The army list allows for extensive customization in the form of Provenances of War that bestow special stats and bonuses usually in exchange for certain restrictions. On of the options is survivors of the dark age. For people unfamiliar with Warhammer 30k, it follows a period known as the Age of Strife which saw the technological achievements of the previous era largely lost. however, not all societies fell quite so hard and some remnants maintained more advanced technology from a bygone age. Rules wise this Provenance provides +1 to all units armour saves, representing more advanced armour. This rule also allows you to take rhino's and a Land Raider Proteus as a dedicated transport! Thematically, I wanted to add both to the army. I painted up a rhino a while ago, but kept putting off the Land Raider. Last week I finally managed to get to it.

I also painted up a heavy weapon squad. The army list allows you to field a base squad of 5 heavy weapons. The options include all the usual options for an Imperial Guard army with the addition of heavy flamers! With the survivors provenance, they get a 4+ save too. I used a 10 man squad of Forge World Solar Auxilia flamer section mounted 2 to a base.

I doubt this army would perform well against any of the Space Marine Legions, but that's fairly thematic. It sucked to be a normal dude fighting alongside superhumans.

Thanks for visiting

28mm 8th Army Valentine and Universal Carrier

So here's another random update of the ongoing War in the Western Desert project... some tuned-up British "armour" (and I use that term quite loosely).

Many years ago I acquired some desert armour in a trade... among the stuff I got were some Shermans (since repainted for NW Europe), a couple of early Pzkpfw IVs, a Fuman/Bandai Valentine, and a Tamiya Universal Carrier. The latter two models are pictured here.

The models were painted in base colours with a wash of some kind, and decals had been applied. I just needed to tune 'em up a bit with some more washes and sponge chipping, plus adding some stowage and a Perry tank commander to the Valentine.

I also added crew to the Carrier - these are standard Tamiya dudes with berets swapped for helmets. To complete the model I stuck a metal Bren gun in the firing port.

Insignia of 6th Armoured Division on rear fender. This will be fine for North Africa.

I kinda wished I could find a crewman for this Carrier other than "pointing guy". But oh well.

I have a Tamiya Matilda to be assembled yet, a Stuart Honey from Blitzkrieg in primer, and a Grant supposedly on the way from them too - already bought and paid for but they missed packing it in my order. That should do for British armour for the time being.

Meanwhile, back to the DAK platoon that is sooooo close to done! 

28mm 8th Army Six-Pounder AT Guns

Escalation in the Western Desert continues... I picked up these 28mm Bolt Action 6-pounders and crews from Tista Minis a couple weeks ago - they're the first Brits I've painted for the 8th Army part of the Western Desert project.

Each gun comes with three crew. The base is wood, from Michaels. It's 3" diameter and just about ideal for mounting AT guns. They come 6 in a pack for $3.49.

The crew and gun were painted in the usual way - starting with AK Interactive Light Earth and an Agrax Earthshade wash, highlighting back up to AKILE, and adding some sponge chipping for weathering.

I quite like the animation of the crew here, they're all quite busy with essential tasks. It's just too bad there's no obvious commander for the gun.

Should cause some trouble for the Panzers, what? I decided to go straight for six-pounders in the 8th Army arsenal as the German armour I've got going is on the heavier side, and two-pounders just wouldn't make much of a game.

Fortunately the desert is still holding my attention (re-reading the excellent "War Without Hate" is helping) and I have some more stuff in the pipeline, including the DAK infantry platoon and Panzer reinforcements. Stay tuned!

Getting Back to 30k

Land Raider, Armoured Proteus Variant, painted in the colours of the VI Legion Astartes - resin model from Forge World.

It had been a while since there has been 30k content moving across my painting desk, and as the dust settled on another Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, the thought had been growing in my mind that it was about time to add to the painting side of my 30k pile. When Curt's annual Challenge wraps up, I always take a short breather, but I do sort of always need to be painting something, and usually only a few days go by before I am itching to get the brushes to work on something.

Always fun to check out the not-carbon-neutral propulsion systems on The Emperor's vehicles...

At around the same time the Challenge wrapped up, GW made the formal announcement of new plastic models coming for the Horus Heresy range...well, the jolt of marketing hype pushed my brushes into action. You can see the initial results here - an "Armour Proteus" Land Raider, painted in the colours of the VI Legion Astartes, the Vylka Fenryka. 

I should note, however, that this particular tank was more of a re-paint than a new assemble/paint job. I am doing a bit of consolidation on the loyalist side of my collection, and the vehicle models that had previously been part of my small Iron Hands force are being "re-assigned", as it were, to other loyalists. I'm sure Ferrus Manus would be furious, but...well, who cares, he was beheaded anyway.

Land Raiders are iconic pieces of 30k/40k kit, and I am particularly fond of this "Armoured Proteus" variant for the vehicle, with the twin heavy bolter mount on the front. These vehicles provide combat power and transport capability - and if you play using the fan-made 8th/9th edition of the rules, they are also close to indestructible on the table.

Twin lascannon batteries on the side sponsons, classic Land Raider armament, ready for action on the gaming table.

GW's marketing has launched the steady drip of preview photos and articles that will be released bit by bit in the run-up toward the release of what appears to be a new edition of the Horus Heresy rules. Wow! There will be lots to say and vent about that as time goes along, but for now, it is good to be painting some more stuff for my 30k collection - I hope to be sharing more with all of you as the spring goes along. That's all for now - thanks for ready, and happy painting and gaming!

“Mayday! Mayday!” Star Wars Campaign Game 4

Thursday night, I  ran Game 4 of the ongoing Star Wars campaign for my fellow Fawcett Avenue Conscripts, using the Galactic Heroes sci fi skirmish rules set. 

The Imperials were about to take off in a small free trader starship, when a Rebel strike force boarded them. The goal of both sides was to  control BOTH the engine room and the bridge. Anything else would be a draw. 

The Rebels were led by Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren. Each led a squad breaching one of the ship’s two airlocks. The Imperial Navy crew was joined by an Inquisitor, the Second Sister (the former Jedi, Barriss Offee) leading some Deathtroopers. The photo at the top of the page are the various leaders used. 

The Navy crew set up in the bridge and engine room, and others set up in the main corridor as a reserve. The medical droid was in the cargo hold riding shotgun on an occupied bacta tank. 

With a good card draw, the Inquisitor stood Ready at the main airlock. As Ahsoka opened the hatch, the Inquisitor Pushed against the crowded Rebels, throwing some back but receiving some Shock herself as she faced her former friend, Ahsoka. Failing to draw any red cards, Ahsoka attacked anyways. The resulting epic lightsaber duel lasted a couple of turns, but Bariss eventually went Out of Action with a severed left arm. 

Ahsoka managed to clear out the bridge, rolling successive natural 10+ die rolls. Her accompanying Rebel Troopers mixed it up with the Deathtroopers in the corridor. 

Meanwhile, at the stern of the ship Sabine survived a couple of shots to the face (hooray for the Queen of Hearts!) and engulfed the entire engine room with her flamer. The flamer shot caused only Shocks, then the affair devolved into a series of Multiple Combats as figures moved into the engine spaces. Here, Sabine and the Medical droid had the advantage, being the only ones armed with close combat weapons (respectively, a vibroknife and surgical instruments). 

Back in the corridor, both sides took losses as another Multiple Combat mid-corridor was fed by successive activations. Ahsoka joined the fray, but she dropped her short shoto lightsaber and was then knocked out cold by a rifle butt to the head. 

By the 7th turn there were only two Imperial models left on the table. A Deathtrooper was down and wounded in the corridor facing a trio of blaster armed Rebels, and a double-shocked Navy rating stood outnumbered 3 to 1 in the engine room. The Imperials threw in the towel and we called the game. 

In the immediate aftermath of the game, the Rebels took off in their stolen ship. Sabine unceremoniously shoved the bacta tank out the cargo hold into space, eradicating whatever Imperial clone experiment lay inside. Ahsoka will have some time to recover from her concussion, and also to nurse Barriss back to health and try to convince the former Jedi healer to come back to the Light. 

xxxx

Thanks to Bill, Frederick, and Hugh for playing with me, and to Dallas for stopping by to hang out and show off some new figures from Sqaumous Miniatures, including a squad of Hoth veterans for me!