Various Inhabitants of the Imperium

 Greetings. As the Irish government have effectively stopped me from going to pubs, and even playing games at my buddies houses I have managed to get some shit done! So here are the fruits of my labours;

Some TSR Ickle Dragon People

So here are the first items. Some 25+ years ago I was in Forbidden Planet in London and bought half a dozen TSR blister packs. There were Dretch and some unidentified vampire monkey things, and these. I think they were set on some weird non DnD setting whose name escapes me. A generous slap on Volpus Pink and they were virtually done. To give them a slight 40K feel I painted the shafts of their implements Athermatic Blue to give the impression they have some sort of power weapons so they might have a chance in the 41st Millenium. If you know what these things are called give me a shout in the comments below please.

"We might be little but we have stone age weaponry!".

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

My moldlines brings all the boys to the yard!

 Howdy. My rather lackluster painting progress has finally improved! Yes, I've managed to get a few off my to do list. So here's what I done;  

 Brood Brothers

My Genestealers have been bolstered by some rather ancient Imperial Guard models. A purplish tint to the skin and some dull clothes denotes these are members of The Drabb Butchers - the name of my cult that are an offshoot of The Innerwyrm Cult, hailing from an abattoir world. You will probably notice there is a trooper pointing forward with a 33% arm addition. This is trooper Urkk, he normally tucks an extra arm under his uniform but he just got  bit excited in this picture. 

Ready and willing to throw themselves in front of a character at the slightest whiff of danger.

Colony 87, Aeldari Artillery, Sergeant Bloke and Strangler Arris

Greetings people of Earth! It's been a few months since I put some painted models on here but now I'm back! 2018 was shaping up to be one of my most productive years ever as far as painting models was concerned (well it was back in July), then I got caught up playing games and writing batreps so the production line ceased. I played a few games of Killteam which were great craic but as my Stealers weren't painted up I didn't feel the need to report them here. I may do, but not today.

Aeldari Support

First up are my Aeldari. Two support weapon crewelfs, two Aeldari missile launchers and a Distortion Cannon. They were painted up to slide (oo-er) in to my Moonkillers pirate band/guardians/clandestine agents of Ulthwe. So they weren't painted black. Yellow over-armour, green underwear and assorted extraneousness, blue weapons as Space Elfs don't use metal, they use plastic. As a result their meltaguns and flamers must be one shot weapons. I painted black leather (or is that also plastic?) jackets on these models as a nod to their Craftworld of origin.

Two little space elf Fonzsies.

Deathworld Flora and Fauna Episode 2; The Miral Catcher & Catachan Mantrap

Welcome To The Jungle!

We've got fun and games. So here I am with another collection of virtually finished foliage for your perusal. Like I said in my previous post, I love the idea of lethal plant life on alien planets. So I got some more inspiration from White Dwarf issue 242. I think I will put up the picture from the magazine then my attempt so you can judge how accurate/inaccurate I am.

Mangrovian Trees

The first non-lethal trees I made were these palm type trees. Simply made with twisted wire, masking tape and surgical bandages they are very easy to make. To make them a bit more 'alien' I tried to elongate the roots that go into the ground, a lot like mangrove trees here on blessed Terra but slightly different.

White Dwarf 242 a Prince of a magazine

At the surgical bandage stage.

Getting leafy. After making these I figure some walking plantlife shouldn't be too difficult. The Day Of The Triffids will come!

Avec Bases.

In all their glory! I sculpted a green grub type thing at the base of the second from left tree with a nifty pipe, tube and tentacle maker from Green Stuff World. I am sure an entire post devoted to the tool is on it's way. Be warned. 

Sergeant Cutter of the Catachan 79th regiment shows newly recruited trooper Terry some wildlife. "See these Mangrovians? Chop here, here and here. Careful no Eyebiter Grubs don't land on yer head, mind".

The second type of tree is made using exactly the same method, only with much longer and broader leaves. I also used the masking tape tree trunk method instead of the bandages. Although this tree is nicely different to the previous ones it is rather impractical as it takes up a lot of room without any great benefit. I also left the roots bare and applied pva to them to give a pretty gnarled look. Painted a fairly luminous green that will be washed with a darker shade to tone it down a bit.

"Now these Crusherleaf trees are a different story, chop here, here and here. While your at it give it a good hard kick to make sure any filthy xenos get dislodged and fall down for a good bayoneting.".

Miral Catcher

The Deathworld of Miral has to my knowledge two dangerous things the Miral Land Shark (just ask commander Stracken about those) and this nasty plant, the Miral Catcher. It has tentacles according to the WD article, Sadly stamen was used in the first entry so an alternative was searched for, inadequately found, so the T word was used even though they're not a fitting plant accessory. Anyway, the Miral Catcher's overly sensitive roots detect prey and it's 'tentacles' lash out trapping it with it's powerful paralyzing stings. Leaving it's victim to death by compost. Anyway My version is in some ways similar to the studio one. Not as good but there is a definite similarity.

The Miral Catcher shares a page with the Venus Mantrap

"So these Miral Catchers are tricky buggers. a few chops should do it, but it's always better to bring a couple of mates with heavy flamers. Just to make sure it won't sting you on the arse. This particular Catcher seems to have very bloody long appendages, someone is bound to trip over it. Better get health and safety down here".

Catachan Mantrap

The 'official' Catachan Mantrap in the magazine is very different to my attempt. It's sensory tendrills are far more discrete than my versions. The jawlike leaves on the one in the studio looks less like eyeless Kermit the frogs, than my one, but I think I captured the ethos of the original. According to the blurb the Catachan Mantrap moves it's leaves around actively seeking prey but GW's version, like mine doesn't show any evidence of how it is achieved. All I will say though, this one is newer! 

Catachan Mantrap and a Sucker Tree.

"As you well know, Catachan Mantraps are horrible bastards, with all that aggressively seeking it's prey with its jaw-like leaves. Just chop here, here and here and stick a frag grenade up it's hoo ha. That should do it. Careful it doesn't blind you with pollen though. There was that nasty business with that overly curious Butafucco 12th regiment over on Pseudo Earth 9 ". 

So there you have it, some jungle vegetation that my Catachan fighters can frolic through and kill the enemies of mankind. A member of our gaming group suggested a 'Get To The Chopper' scenario where my squad of Catachans try to escape the clutches of an evil Lictor, Predator style. There are also a couple of cool scenario's from the Rogue Trader rulebook involving jungles, dinosaurs and unfortunate Imperial employees trying to get home for Thanksgiving. So as my tables get a little bit more occupied here's to me getting some proper Oldhammer gaming going on!

Thanks For Reading.

My Shopping List in the Grim Darkness of the Far Future!

Having made a bit of cash via PayPal I'm eager to piss it away, but reluctant to at the same time. My reluctance is mainly because of the disgustingly huge pile of lead/plastic that inhabits my loft. So I think I will put together a post made up of stuff I want to buy but I can only get them if I paint something up beforehand. First up is this little beauty from Reaper miniatures; Doctor Totenkrantz, and absolute babe of a model (if you're into rotten old half dead mutant naked guys). I see him as being a rather tasty bad guy for my Inquisimunda games.

From Moonraker Miniatures comes some more Spacelords models, space craft crew. General standing around in the way types who will either aid or hinder good honest folk or get in the way of slavering maniacs (an end up as interesting costume jewelry for them). There are quite a few very nice models from that site and the prices are very reasonable too.

Pilot, cigar smoker, equipment carrier, doctor, poser and gawper.

Next up are some novelty items from Black Cat Bases firstly an old decrepit Bag Lady aided and abetted by her diseased cats. Either an undercover agent of the Imperium or a Slaaneshi cult leader who likes it dirty, you decide! 

Smelly Mable.

I also very much like this cat man holding an empty tray. A bit of magnetising and he can hold a severed head, esoteric weapons or a bunch of grapes. I see him as the snooty servant of some intergalactic crime kingpin, but for now he is just a dream........

Cuddles the butler.

Also from Black Cat Bases (there really is a massive range) are  Smoggers, a small alien race that look a bit moleish and can be seen painted up on  The Tales From The Maelstrom blog. The is around 20 different Smogger models and if I ever manage to wend my way through the many hundreds of unpainted 40K figures, a warband and scenario would be on the cards. I like the models very much, thick robes and rodent like teeth, ideal for representing Hrud in my semi regular games of Inquisimunda.

Proper Old School - Goblin Green Bases!

They also come with heavy weapons, so a small Imperial Guard vs the peace loving alien inhabitants of an idyllic planet is very much doable too! A one sided war of extermination seems like a laugh!

Rocket Launchers out for the lads!

From Lancer Miniatures come these techno apes, definitely not Jokaero. Nice sculpts and if I ever get round to enacting some of the old Rogue Trader scenarios, the one with Jokaero ravaging and imperial settlement for parts, these models seem to be excellent proxies rather than buying 7 or 8 of the single GW model.

Bracelets and strange shaped tools.

About to consider flinging faeces no doubt.

More bracelets, metal ones this time.

Blind Beggar Miniatures are where the next few bits I like are to be found. I have funded a couple of their kickstarters and I do like the models simplicity, as much as I like Games Workshop's highly detailed models with pouches, holsters and such coming out of the wazoos, it's nice to paint up a figure who isn't all filigree and lace, overlaid with ropes, chains and skulls. The first picture are Dune Tribesmen who are denizens of Blind Beggar's own setting Farport, I think. Anyway there is a passing resemblance to star Wars Sandpeople and for that reason they are on my 'to do' list.

Sandy cracks I bet.

Another Blind beggar treat is some multi species special force group also from Farport. Nice uncomplicated models, that may be purchased once the new 40K comes out and the fluff concedes that xenos and humans can get along and work together. Failing that this squad is a mercenary band who lives and works in some of the remoter parts of the galaxy.

The picture below has some cultists that - if ever I go the road of pulp gaming - would make a rather nifty collection of adversaries. as it stands now they can be chaos cultists without any leanings towards a particular deity. I really like the leader on the throne.

So that is part of my never ending list of things I wants to buy. With the new 40K supposedly around the corner and me ordering the Shadow War : Armageddon rulebook, my list is subject to change at a whim, the main reason I made this post was so that I didn't forget about Doctor Totenkrantz. So it will be interesting to see if any or all of these items remain unbought for the rest of the year.

Anyway thanks for reading.

A Very Bloody Rescue Mission

The Problem with Rescue Missions

Following on from my previous game against Pat and Vinny, I captured a member of The Greater Profit, now, in my experience rescue missions are seldom played, as the mission itself is quite unlike an average game, with all that skulking around and not shouting and firing off your weapons and that. Also I found a lot of the time it was far easier to pay the hey-I-just-found-your-ganger money, as a lot of leaders see tax free non deductible ransom as a way of keeping Throne Geld out of the grubby mitts of their wastrel fighters. In my experience I also found captures seemed to come in groups of two or more with many times both warbands capturing an opponent. I myself, don't suit the rescue mission as I'm far too keen to go in guns blazing then failing to rescue my fighter and totally cocking up the attempt. In any case, Pat decided to rescue Ashict an autopistol wielding human ganger with a WS of 4. Just the sort of thug the Inquisition want down the mines so they can't do any harm. 

My initial deployment, in the centre of the board,Ashict is proudly dsplayed standing on a crate. Clumsey stands guard next to him, Greylocks to the right on a gantry, Hellion to the right of him and Mr Bom, the new recruit stands in the bottom right of the table wedged in such a way he can only move left and right.

A Warlike Rogue's Big Weekend (Part II)

Inquisimunda : The Wrath Of Pat

Following on from my last post; A Warlike Rogue's Big Weekend (Part I) here is the story of the game that followed. Barely had the post game sequence been completed, when I had to ready myself once more for war! Pat arrived from his abode with 3 large containers of terrain and we set up the very picturesque battlefield below to see who was top dog. The gang's involved were Jenna's Jokers my Inquisition Cell, The Family Of The Hidden Path, Vinny's Tzeentchian Chaos Cult and The Greater Profit, Pat's Xenos Rogue Trader warband.

The field of battle

A Pile of Skulls (But Not For Khorne's Throne)

More Sci Fi Bystanders

In January I decided to try to complete some of my Genestealer Cult Force, consequently I finished some of my Sci Fi civilians and personalities that have nothing to do with Genestealers. Oh well, that's nothing new. So on with the show;

Blinged Up Bloke

Here's the first one, a Moonraker Miniatures civilian from the Space Lords range. He can be used as a bloke going about his law abiding business, or other nefarious stuff. I do like the strut of this model, like he's pretty cocky about his lot in the Grim Darkness Of The 41st Millennium. This is partly why I gave him blue boots, two fingers at the Administratum or Ecclesiarchy, or even Adeptus Sanitorium. 

Give him a floppy hat and it's a futuristic Huggy Bear.

The Search For Shpock

Magus Excreedius was annoyed. Two insignificant humans were unwittingly hindering his plans. Preacher Quisley Tiburculosis was a popular religious speaker who would be of great benefit to the cult if he could be 'persuaded' to preach what Excreedius wanted him to say. And Jocksie Shpock was the quartermaster for the massive manufactorium of Hive of Septus, one that produced weaponry for the Imperial Guard, bringing him into the fold would make any armed insurrection far easier. As luck would have both humans were due to be in the same part of the Hive at the same same, so killing two Ptera Squirrels with one stone would be easy. Two of the less disturbing Brood Brothers were set on survailance duty as luck would have it both targets were in buildings barely a 100 metres from each other. The warband was assembled and final instructions were given. Just as the his cult was ready to strike  another armed group entered the fray! These seemed to be a mixture of Tau and humans, whatever their motives they must not be allowed to steal the cults prey!

Space, The Final Frontier

The table before models got put on it.

Hot on the heels of my last stunning defeat, here's another attempt at victory! A game of Inquisimunda verses the ever wily Pat. My Genestealer warband AKA The Venerable Family of Father Olifarch take on Pat's Rogue Trader group called The Greater Profit. They had a bit of argy bargy against my Inquisition Cell a few weeks back. After my previous game Raiders Of The Lost Monolith, a game with Necrons and an actual point. I wanted to play another game without resorting to the ones in the Necromunda rulebook.

Raiders Of The Lost Monolith

On their way to Bluescreen, Jenna Pursuivant's Inquisitorial warband received a code blood signal that demanded immediate investigation. The mining planet of Scargill, ever a small backward place of no import sent a distress signal via Astropath. The message read :

+++Inquisitor missive. +++Seismic activity in the settlement of Kinnock has unearthed structure of alien design. +++Local operatives unable to gain entry +++considerable  fatalities.+++ Request immediate Ordo Xenos assistance.+++ The Emperor Protects+++

A mere week passed and the warband made planetfall. Scargill was a dour place with a populace with a sullen demeanor. Little time was wasted with the planetary Governor, one Thatcher Magz, a female, ruthless and cold - in fact the perfect Imperial servant. Interrogator Pursuivant made straight for Kinnock.  Initial scans showed the structure to be of Necron design but that was immaterial. It had to be destroyed for the good of the Imperium. As the Joker's advanced towards the structure another group were spotted coming towards the Monolith from the opposite direction! Treasure hunters, thieves or  gawpers, it mattered not. If they impeded the agents of The Emperor on their lawful business then blood will be spilled........

The Cause of all the fuss, The Monolith!

The Great Rogue Trader Swindle

Antikos Karios and the rest of his corsair crew waited patiently. The crew of the Folkvangr were approaching and if they could be swiftly overwhelmed, it would be a simply matter to ransack their ship and take whatever he saw fit. As a pirate crew clandestinely working for the Cliatha Atar craftworld, they were semi autonomous. This attack on a Rogue Trader and her crew was merely some freelance mayhem that, Khaine willing, would net a tidy profit and improve his standing in the League Of Cutthroats - a loose confederation of pirate bands around the Yellowsoul Nebula. Padaxes, his voidmaster was as always quickest to react and set off at a sprint to close with the enemy. A series of Eldar war cries, both Craftworld and Commoragh in origin were heard and battle was joined.... 

More Miniature Action!

Another battle report! This time it's my Eldar Void Pirates (The Moonkillers) against Stuart's Rogue Trader crew, know as the Crew Of The Folkvangr. Our last game was a marginal victory for my Genestealer Coven. Both gangs had fought one game each so it was going to be as fair a game as it is possible in the somewhat skewed world of Inquisimunda.  As is customary, the whole dice rolling rigmarole began, the upshot being Stuart chose the northern table edge  for the imminent Gang Fight. I got the choice of the southern table edge or the southern table edge. I chose the southern table edge. More dice were rolled and first turn went to the Moonkillers.

The Fun Run (not for charity)

After thoroughly examining the orb obtained from the Chaos Coven (after 7 exorcisms and 11 blessings) it was determined that it was some sort of transmitting device. Derric, the AD Mech had bio-probed it and came back with the dna residue of creatures from the planet Bluescreen in the system of G'Lare. The Winchester, Jenna's personal ship had to be readied for the system jump. An errand needed to be undertaken. Due to the clandestine approach needed on Bluescreen a short trip to the Midden - a lawless quasi-legal den of pirates and thieves to collect some surveillance equipment was necessary. A large settlement in the moon of Silaris Prime it was ideal for obtaining unusual items for a price. However, there was a problem, there was another party interested in the occular probe drone than Jenna needed. The customs of the Silarian trade guilds meant that if two prospective buyers wanted the same item the group who wants it more is to be traded with. Unfortunately, this involves a rather old Silarian custom called a scavhunt. The rules were simple, whoever retrieved the package from the designated area got to trade with the Silarian merchant Bocul Charramh. Failure meant that no one would trade with the warband and the trip to Bluescreen would be highly problematic. Jenna was determined that the problems would be someone else's.

Hello again! It's that time of the day/week/month that I inflict another battle report on those curious enough to click on one of the many, many links I scatter around the Internet. This week is myself vs Pat. He went for another newly created gang - Rogue Traders this time. He expressed a preference for fighting my Inquisition Cell - Jenna's Jokers, and I complied.

Excreedius' Bad Head Day

Magus Excreedius' plans were coming to fruition, a simple tip off to the Inquisitor Cell regarding a bothersome Chaos Cult down in the bowels of the hive should give his warband enough time to attack and implant a member or two of the Rogue Trader vessel that had just landed in one of the remote loading bays in Sector 16. A swift strike on the unsuspecting humans will not only prove good experience for some of the younger members of the brood, but if some, or all of the crew can be infected then wherever the ship goes, so does the doom of the Imperium! 

The Cult Strikes Back!

This weeks report is a game had with Stuart, long time Warhammer protagonist. My last game was against Pat's Chaos Cult Wyrdfest, this one was Stuart's virgin Rogue Trader ensemble. The warband's name is The Crew of The Folkvangr (there is an accent over the o but I can't find it at the minute). 

They comprise of;

A leader, navigator,techpriest, arch militant, 3 gangers and a rating (juve). All female models from Raging Heroes I think. Here they are.

The All Female Rogue Trader Crew