Just Another COVID 19 Update

Aloha! Welcome one and all! Just a quick (that may end up long) update on my painting progress. I would say hobby progress but as there's a global pandemic going on, bugger all gaming is happening. As previous posts have alluded to 2020 was going to be this brilliant gaming fest when we played a 40K league and everyone had a great time. That's obviously on hold now so on the plus size I have managed to paint some shit up.....

Colonel Schaeffer's Last Chancers

Probably my favourite thing about the Astra Militarum fluff is Colonel Schaeffer's Last Chancers, a nod towards the Dirty Dozen movie where a group of army criminals attempt to assassinate a high ranking German officer in WWII. GW brought out a version out with their 'crimes' in a White Dwarf and a series of rules for each model to make for interesting suicide missions. They were modeled as coming from different AM regiments from across the galaxy and really showed out the diversity of the army with various uniforms and two female troops. 

The whole gang

Once again Citadel contrast paints were used. Colour-wise I used Militarum Green for the trousers (and skirt), Creed Camo for jackets, Gullimann flesh for skin tones and Goregrunta Fur for most of the webbing. A lot have Basilicanum Grey and Black Templar in there as well.

Warrior Woman, Ox, Fingers, Rocket Girl, Hero and part of er, Wheels?

Animal, Colonel Schaeffer, Shiv, Demolition Man, Brains and Scope

They all had cool sounding names and each had special rules that possibly worked well in 3rd or 4th edition 40K (I never played it much). For example Brains (second from right in the above picture) could hack and computer system on a 2+. Very thematic and useful in small skirmishes but in the Grim Darkness Of The 41st Millenium 8th edition not so useful. another rule Ox (second from left picture above this one) lost his shit if Brains died and doubled his strength and toughness for the remaider of the game. I am tempted to recreate the rules for the Last Chancers for the current edition, but with the general lethality of the game 12 models with special rules seems like effort.

Catachan Jungle Fighters

Next up are some more Catachan Jungle fighters. Using contrast paints I knocked these up in pretty much record time. They seem to be much brighter then my previous units so I hope they can blend in without too much visual trauma. These were done at the same time as the Last Chancers so I used the same colours.

Three grunts and a meltagun guy.

A company commander and two cronies, one with a plasmagun and another with a bolter.

The two pictured above with the Commander are both plastic models I got in an eBay job-lot. The one with plasmagun is known as trooper Beard and has the distinction of killing a Screamer Killer during the Second Battle of Lernin Kerv. Trooper Boltgun has no such stirring war story. Maybe he will for the Third Battle of Lernin Kerv that hasn't occurred yet.

Genestealers

No painting update would seem right without some Genestealer Cult models sneaking in to here they are; three Hybrids that have certainly seen some action, like trooper Beard, but due to me not having ever mentioned them in a battle they will remain anonymous for now (just how they like it). Contrast colours were once again the heroes.

These Hybrids seem somewhat lost as they are not dressed for jungle combat.

Another unit sat on the nearly finished area was my Magus and his two little bug eyed friends. Familiars are fun and they can give the Magus some additional spellage at crucial times of a game plus some extra attacks to thin out some rank and file. This gets my GSC army to well over 80% painted by my guess. The main item to finish now is the Patriarch and then  its off to convert up some vehicles to finish the army off.

The familiar on the left has seen lots of action judging by the missing claws on his gnarly little paws.

More Asta Militarum Types

My final three models are a little bit more interesting I feel, if only because I have given them back stories. On the left is an Orlock Juve that's been given a shotgun to play with. Not the best weapon to shoot single handed but it's a testament to cadet Onanism's wrists that he even attempts to shoot it like a pistol. In the centre is an old confessor model. Given the same colours as the rest of the guardsmen he will, (more often than not) represent a veteran with a plasmagun who is the squad's unofficial chaplain when there are no sanctioned Preachers around. He may wend his way into the entourage of an Inquisitor as plasmaguns are a good way to teach the ungodly about The Emperor. Thirdly on the left is a model I bought several years ago from Iron Mammoth Design. Now they seem to be available by Rattrap Production but I can't see them on their website. Anyway, the model on the left is a Shaolin Monk whom I stuck to a rock as he looked all meditatey and then lost interest in painting. Then came Contrast paints and an idea for a combat instructor for new recruits in my Krablokistan army. So Master Xhuc Pan Tang was born. A monster in close combat (for a human) due to his martial arts. Carrying nothing but a staff (which in game terms has to be a blade of conquest) he will more than likely be hitting the tabletop in a batrep near you when the restrictions lift.

So that's it for now 27 more models have made the big time. Hopefully, in the not too distant I can get rolling dice for these little soldiers  and create magically theatrical batreps to enthrall and excite all and sundry. Anyway, feel free to comment below and tell how great I'm doing without much effort. Until next time (there's a very good chance there will be more Catachans) cheers for dropping by.

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