Terrain: Alien Plants

My Battlefront desert buildings might have sufficed for playtesting but I felt the time had come to start looking for more alien options. After two months, a very small shipment of aquarium plants wound its way to my door from Hong Kong.

As a proof of concept, I decided to make five bases of alien plant life. The base materials were quite simple. I pulled all the red leafy elements off the aquarium plant and made a small pile of bits. I dug out some Renedra 40mm round bases to use as a... base. (Not pictured: I prepped the bases with sand and washes before gluing on the "plants").

Using four leafy elements per base and a hot glue gun, I created the above. Emboldened by success, I went on to make another seven. All are now sitting awaiting use. Having little experience with hot glue, I don't know how they'll handle the rigours of play and storage but if they don't work out, I'll add a note to that effect here.

Minis: Commissar Kaine

As I try to impress on the young whelps in my charge these days, it isn't the scarlet sash and the fancy hat that makes you a commissar, it's the way you wear them. - Commissar Ciaphas Cain.

This chap was actually painted back in the beginning of the project but managed to duck out of his photoshoot until now. You can't really have an Imperial Guard force without a Commissar. Well, I suppose you can but they're less combat-effective (even if a lot happier). Traditionally to be found dressed in black or red, I went a different path with this chap. Having spent too much time with the Mordian Iron Guard, he's taken to wearing his dressiest dress uniform, all day, every day. It's a tasteful Celestra Grey with Evil Sunz Scarlet trim.

He's taken from the Ion Age Cold Climes platoon pack. I must say that I really really like the final product. The colour scheme, the pose, a battered copy of the Imperial Creed in one hand and oversized plasma pistol in the other. Just lovely.

Minis: The Void Children

In one of their infrequent spasms of activity, the Lords of Terra sent a vast taskforce, led by a Legion of their super soldiers, out into the void between galaxies. Decades later, they returned, utterly and horrifically warped in mind and soul. Now loyal only to the primordial forces of Chaos, that grand army has splintered a thousand times over and scattered itself across the galaxy, mindlessly killing all who fall in their path as they roam from world to world.

Or so we are told. The truth is that some elements of Chaos are a little more restrained than others. Some have carved out small empires, some appear to be enacting a grand plan of their own devising and some (whisper it) can be bought. The Void Children are a mix of all of the above.

The models are drawn from Ion Age's Nox Ordos platoon pack. About a third of the models have these nice crested helmets and I decided to combine them into a small squad, separate from their fang-masked comrades (for whom I have other plans).

As they are Chaos Space Marines, I went with a paint scheme inspired by the old Emperor's Children colours. As I have learnt to avoid black on 15mm troops, it was replaced by a dark grey. The core colours are Eshin Grey, Emperor's Children and Screaming Bell. The pinks were used for contrast rather than as the primary colour.

Frankly, I did find these sculpts a little harder to paint cleanly. I'm left thinking they're just okay sculpts. It's partly the dark grey swallowing detail in some areas and details being a little blurry in some areas. At least, the pink and brass came out fine. I do occasionally look at the weapons and ponder splashing a bit more colour around.

Minis: Local Dealer

Psstt... kid, wanna buy some crunk? Make you feel like the High Lord himself.

There was something about the sculpt that made me think that this chap was shady. It's either the shifty eyes or man-bun, methinks. This "herb" merchant is from the Ion Age Far Traders set. I kept things very simple as it was a ten minute job. The main colours on the clothes are Pink Horror and Jokaero Orange.

To be completely honest, I can't really identify what he's holding so it's painted as a green-brown organic blob of some sort. I'm pretty sure you smoke it. There was more of the ... stuff at his feet so it received the same tender, through paintjob. He'll grace some manner of futuristic neo-bazaar, I believe.

Minis: Commando Joe and Paws

Thought for the Day: Against the traitor, the rebel and the alien, there is no fair way to fight. Harry them, hunt them, hang them.

I must confess that Death World Forest is my new favourite colour. It's got a wonderfully militaristic tone about it. Commando Joe (from the Year Two Collection) is largely inspired by what I vaguely remember of Wesley Snipes in Demolition Man. I left the hair basecoated white and used Dark Flesh on the skin. Having used a bright purple on a few models, I went with Daemonette Hide as it's that bit darker and duller. There's an arrogance to his pose that I really liked.

Paws (from the Year Three Collection) is intended as his robotic companion, some manner of jungle fighting bot. Some light silver drybrushing was needed to counteract the dull scheme. I'm not convinced it worked but he's going into action regardless.

Again, they're a nice scenario element. I've got a few more bits to paint for pleasure before I have the time to start focusing on squads.

Minis: The Green Saint

The assassin known only as the Green Saint has long since passed into the realm of myth and legend. The story goes that on one day each year, the Green Saint appears to assassinate a particularly cruel or brutal noble. They claim that no guard can stop him, no threat can sway him and no bribe can turn his blade. Of course, all right-thinking people know that this is just a fairytale and that the killings attributed to the Saint are actually just the result of inter-familial squabbles and political maneuvering amongst the aristocracy. Similar beliefs are held on other planets where the population have not fully acclimatised themselves to the Imperial order. - Heretical and deluded beliefs of the common folk, sector XGAL, vol. 17.

Another single model finished. It's from the Ion Age Year Three Collection, Padraig Malig. Really easy to paint, details are clean and free of mold lines. Obviously, the colour scheme chooses itself. In my head, it's a cross between a leprechaun and the Boondock Saints. The main challenge was getting the head of the pint just so but, thankfully, years of first-hand research saw me right.

The original pose was a bit self-defeating in that the model is hunched forward hiding the details of the face and chest so I added a rocky base, using fragments of cork tile to tilt it sharply backwards and really let it be seen.

On a side note, I was initially a bit surprised and put off by the face which brought up echos of the ape-like representations of the Irish in the 19th century British and American press. Now before anyone presumes anti-Irish sentiments on the part of the sculptor, a quick look on the website reveals that they chose to base the model on their goblinesque race, the Malig and it's the addition of the beard that inadvertently echos "the Irish ape".

The clothes are Warpstone Glow and Ceramite White, the hat, belt and boots are Abbadon Black with Retributor Armour for the buckles, the skin is Kislev Flesh with Jokaero Orange hair. The weapons are Runefang Steel. Finally, Rakarth Flesh for the creamy head of the pint. I haven't quite managed to blend the model's base into the rock but it's servicable.

He'll go into storage awaiting a suitable debut.

Minis: The Last Pumpkinite and Friend

The Pumpkinite is actually indigenous to the sector around Ursis Prime and were quite common in the pre-Imperial era. Colonisation led to a rapid drop in their numbers as human settlements, xenophobia and the effects of rapid industrialisation took their usual toll on the native ecosystems. Their death knell sounded ten years ago when it was discovered that their pustules contain a powdery substance which has unique psychotropic effects. The jaded tastes of the planetary nobility quickly created a huge demand for this Pumpkin Spice and Pumpkinite hunters scoured the region bare of any remnant populations. It is suspected that no more than a handful remain and this individual might in fact be the last of his kind. - Expedition log fragment, recovered in Upsela Heights sector.

The Pumpkinite is from Ion Age's Year Three Collection and the scientist is from their Xenobiologist set. Despite their comical appearance, the Pumpkinite was an apex predator in its time. They move quickly across rough terrain and can spray a pungent solution that stuns their target. Many an incautious hunter met a grisly end, paralysed by their musk and torn to shreds. The colour scheme is straightforward, a mix of Jokaero Orange, Warboss Green and Evil Suns Scarlet.

The Imperium does actually have a few "scientists" and I felt this was a apt time to paint one. We've got a Xenobiologist, dressed in Warboss Green and Teclis Blue. The equipment is daubed in Averland Sunset and Ironbreaker. Now, I suspect his approach to xenobiology is Imperial Standard which generally involves strong nets, sticking them in a cage and shocking them before the inevitable dissection. On a side note, I suspect that this guy was responsible for the infamous "blunt, clumsy claws" genestealer entry in the Imperial primer.