Deathworld Flora & Fauna ; The Spiny Abberration

Greetings. The following is an intercepted transmission from famed xenobiologist Zarp Mekradol of the Rogue Trader fleet belonging to  Agusttil The Flamboyant, currently exploring the Mantic sub sector of the Eastern Fringe.

The Spiny Abberration

Since entering the sub sector several encounters were made with an enormous xenos species that we have yet to determine it's original homeworld. It is large, immensely strong and resilient. Possessing a rudimentary intellect allowing them to communicate and follow simple instructions. Our first encounter with one was during trade negotiations with a member of the semi-aquatic species called the Guldphish. The creature seemed to be acting as a bodyguard and posed a threatening sight during the proceedings. We had a squad of Catachan Jungle Fighters as our bodyguard whereas the Guldphish merely had the Abberration. When trade negotiations broke down the creature lunged at Agusttil when the xenos merchant showed agitation. Luckily, it swiped the head from a servitors head before attempting to attack the Rogue Trader. His teleportation device removed him from the scene and the Catachans exacted retribution on the trade delegation with grenades and lasguns. Sadly none but sergeant Croker barely survived the engagement and the Imperium is currently at war the the Guldphish empire.

More Villans and Some Objectives

Greetings all. Following a "painful but not incapacitating" back issue, some more members of Club Painted '24 have joined up. Mainly 40K but there are defo some items that could find they're way on to an Olde Worlde battlefield as well. So enough foreplay, here's the money shots;

A Couple of Voidscarred Pirates

Some time ago I chopped up some Aeldari Guardians to masquerade as Aeldari Voidscarred pirates. They saw a couple of games but as I hadn't created two options for the squad. One is a pirate armed with a sniper rifle and the other is a psyker with a horrible executioner attack. Their current special rule is, nominate a target at the start of the battle and these guys have precision and lethal hits. Very useful to try to get shot of apothecarys and painboyz. So, many days pass, and I have them done. Voila!

Based on an Aeldari Ranger this chap has a Druchari Dark Lance (counts as a sniper rifle), Incubi/Harlequin head mash up and a necklace with some critter's tongue hanging from it. Lovely.

Wayseeker for the pirates. Guardian body, high elf wizard's staff and an old Druchari head.

Chaos Ork

There used to be a Ork Freebooterz book that contained many excellent ideas and cool narrative rabbit holes to wander down. With models made for said excusions. One of these was was a chaos Ork mutant. Here he is, complete with mutated claw arm. I think the fluff was, before it was retconned to be impossible, Orks could follow the four ruinous powers, grow a pair of horns, and still be eligible for inclusion in an Ork Waaargh! Sadly not any longer it seems, regardless I had one for many years and slapped some paint on him. He may, I suppose be found on the table during a chaos incursion, where his mutation (looks like an Ork with horns and a crab claw) will be properly appreciated.

Horny Crabclaw the Duffer-Upper.

Ordo Malleus with Chaotic Leanings

Another ancient model is my Inquisitor, whom, amongst other things can be my Astra Militarum Aeronautic advisor, shady human baddie and even a fully paid up member of the Ordo Astartes*. I put an old chaos space marine backpack on him because it is was more gothic looking than the boring imperial one. There is a good chance he will soon see action in our current 40K crusade when he joins my Astra Militarum force to sort out Scargill Sector.

Turk Badgallows, Ordo Astartes, heretics slain, xenos purged, discount rates for offing Space Marines.

Medi-Bot Saw-N-Chop

As part of a Astra Militarum revamp, a medical robot has been commissioned by High Command, to help boost morale and cut down on wasteful medical activities. His duties include; (but are not exclusive to) amputation, cauterization and emergency battlefield lobotomy. Comes with per grooming attachement.

Ready to dissect in the Emperor's name.

Druchari Medusa

A while back I bought some Chinaforge tat that ultimately was dissappointing, this Medusa was among that tat. Back when I wanted stuff that a lot of the time I didn't really, but got it anyway. I am led to beleive Chinaforge is on a par with Failcast in terms of quality at a quarter of the price. I only bought a few bits and in all probability, never again. This guy's chain fell off and was likely going to be left in a tin until I thought to put a bit of raider chain betwixt his wrists to give the whole horrific "too dangerous for even the Archon to leave roaming about the place" sort of vibe. I'm certain but this could also be marginally smaller than the GW one.

Gwimble Mindnobbler.

Dungeons & Lasers Objective Markers

Here are some Dungeons & Lasers items that I think can be used for both 40K jungle objective markers and mysterious scenery in Warhammer Fantasy. They're all on 40mm bases so you get an idea of the size. First up is a totem pole style thing, off the top of my head I don't know it's WFB use but I'm sure it can find use in a campaign involving a feral Imperial world with possibly alien interferance. Just slapped on some contrast paints and hey presto!

Probably an incongrueous setting but it will look much better on a properly themed board.

Next up is an otherworldly monument with some vines around it and what seems to be some sort of stable magnetic field that make the sections all float on one another. Probably going to represent something elven in WFB and a proper alien relic for the despoiling of by rabid Imperial troops in 40K.

Here we have floaty alien monument cordoned off from a gaggle of treasure hunting xenos.

Lastly is a much more exsplicable item. For all intents and purposes a slightly vandalised elven way stone. In 40K terms, for the purposes of display, it has been dragged off from it's idyllic home on a maiden world to be further abused, rediculed and spat at, by the honest Emperor fearing citizens of whichever Imperial world it has been dragged off to.

The treasure hunters wait for the coast to clear so they can; return/vandalise more/divine the secrets of the universe said waystone.

 *For those who haven't heard of them, the Ordo Astartes are a secretive branch of the Inquisition who mainly investigate Space Marine incompetence, rebellion, petulance and general uppityness. The Ordo was formed after approximately 1000 chapters of 1000 marines seemed to  fight in 50% of all battles within the Imperium, often against other Space Marine chapters. The High Lords of Terra are probably going to sort them out pretty soon.

So that's what I've gotten finished this update. Until next time hobby responsibly and try not to steal any alien artefacts form other worlds that don't belong to you.

Thanks for reading.

Experimental Creations of Biophagus Nerm

 Hi all, just a quick post of my first finished models of 2023. Some models from the Mantic Games kickstarter for Star Saga. I backed it some 3 or 4 years ago then promptly ignored it when it arrived. It's highly unlikely I will ever play it but I do like a lot of the models. So a couple of weeks ago I was searching for proxies for my Drukhari Court of the Archon models. I was also looking for a Biophagus model to experiment on my Genestealer Cult chaps. So here is what I've done;

Biophagus Nerm

Biophagus (Biophagi plural?) are a sort of geneticist that appears in a cult when needed, which is dead handy for the Patriarch. They sort of mess around with genetic code to make cult members more killy and less pleasant to be around. The model I'm using for said battlefield role is Dr Koyner from the Mazon Labs Faction. He can also moonlight as some sort of heretical sci-fi boffin that might wander on to a Rogue Traderesque type scenario. Who knows?

As a blatant fuck you to the Imperium, he is seen posing on a big Imperial Aquilla on the floor.

Experiments 97 through 103

These Plague models are also from Mantic. They came in the kickstarter but I don't see them on the website at the moment. I think they have a variety of uses in my games. Firstly as Ur Ghul proxies for my Drukhari army. Fluff wise they can be creations of Beldam Qud (my Haemonculus). More than likely some Astra Militarum troops captured and then put through the genetic wringer only to come out the other side as muscle bound almost mindless attack creatures. They also look like the sort of thing Fabius Bile could create after he gets in with a rebellious Imperial governor who wants to cede from the empire and get some fanatically loyal buff bodyguards to protect him from insurgents. They could also represent exhibits in some creepy alien zoo where some unfortunate humans have been stuck there and due to having to eat rank xenos food have regressed into shit flinging primates that give aeldari smug smirks of validation. The possibilities are endless. 

These guys seem to have bony growths on their shoulders so they will probably make great bloodbowl players too.

Family photo.

So that's my first seven models of the year, if I can maintain this rate I'm looking at 84 models for this year. Not great but at least it's an achievable target. Until next time take care and hobby responsibly.

Thanks for reading.

Deathworld Flora and Fauna Part 4 The Mantic Ogre Crab

Excerpt from the Mantic Grimoire of Dangerouse Beastes

Three adult Ogre Crabs

The Ogre Crab (turci cancer ardentum) was discovered during the colonization of the Mantic Sector,planet Nameless; a temperate D class planet with 11% landmass the remainder given over to huge oceans of sodium laced H2O. Initial explorators discovered many edible wildlife and of particular note was a small crablike creature that produced highly nutritious meat with an extremely palatable taste. They were scavengers that could eat virtually any foodstuff but seemed to thrive on human waste; non techs quickly gave them the name Turdcrabs. Six limbed with a hard exoskeleton and two powerful claws were the most noticeable feature. Six eyes that could view through the infrared spectrum and a cluster of feeder tendrils allowed them to digest most substances quickly. Approximately 14 cm in height they were thought to be a good source of protein for the ever expanding Imperium. Experiments were conducted on them and were approved as Xenos Nutrititatum and therefore sanctioned for interplanetary export. Either due to incompetence or laziness, servitors omitted a vital piece of information regarding the species growth rates and that was, they do not stop growing. The immature Turd crabs have a tendency to cluster around the coastal areas of Nameless until they reach a size where they can successfully navigate the deeper oceans and defend themselves from the enormous marine life found there. This means that specimens can reach dreadnought size and beyond. The information was hastily amended and was due to be sent to all the Imperial planets that had been sent live specimens for breeding purposes, sadly an unprovoked attack by Aeldari pirates destroyed the Astra Telepathica station before the warnings could be broadcast. Some 80 Terran years passed before contact was re-established and by then the Turd crab had been transported to hundreds of planets and were put to use in many planets sewer systems. On the planets where these creatures are kept under control they are little more than a nuisance. On planets where they are left to proliferate and grow they can become a severe threat. One example of this is the now uninhabited Bulapse Theta planet in the system of the same name. Inquisitor Shablitz Morne landed on the planet on the trail of Idolator Jobes only to find the place swamped with thousands of huge Turd crabs. After accessing the dataslates it became apparent that routine sewage patrol designed to eradicate larger specimens were cancelled due to budget cuts. Turd crabs proliferated until they reached swarm type numbers and overran the planet. Morne declared the planet unfit for human habitation until a major reconquest force is deployed. Due to the current galaxy wide conflicts that will not be in the near future. It was around this time that the name Turd crabs was changed to something more fitting for such a dangerous creature the Ogre crab was reclassified (Imprimir PÃ ¡cancer ardentem). Sadly an organization the size of the Administratum is not without faults, one of the main ones is it's immense size and how quickly it can change the millions of documents in it's archives. To this day there several xenos publications using the old entry for the Ogre crab and a consequence of this is there are still some planets exporting these creatures to new colonies. This, unsurprisingly continues to create new outbreaks of Ogre crab infestations across the Imperium of Man. It has been theorized that the attack by Aeldari on the Astra Telepathica station on Nameless was a deliberate attempt to spread this creature throughout the Imperium. The continued miscommunication between different parts of the Administratum is also believed to be a deliberate attempt to sabotage the expansion of humanity by hostile alien forces. Whatever the cause the Imperium now has to expend a sizable portion of it's resources on keeping these creatures in check.

Turdcrabs scavenging on New Berkshire