Temp Agency

Stormtroopers ready for action!

You know when you think a batch of painting is almost done apart from a few small details, then it takes you the best part of a week to get it completed? So it went with this lot. There's an awful lot of fiddly detail on them, if you want to get into it. Nothing you couldn't do all in one colour, of course, the power generator on the backpacks for example. And I could have done even more if was was really masochistic, armour trim in another colour for example.

See what I mean? No wonder they have to be paradropped everywhere, they're not walking far with that lot. Unless it's to a Ghostbusters sleepover party. 

But no, picking white as the primary colour was self-destructive enough. Blergch, that's a bugger to paint. Worse, it makes using white as your final highlight seem a bit washed out, which is bad news for lens or reflective effects, which of course they're covered in. Only myself to blame, of course!

As well as all the usual little blemishes you notice after photography (this sarge is crying through his goggles, for example, the lacrymose fool), I spotted that I hadn't painted their respirator pipes black as intended. So back to the painting table tomorrow, sigh. There's a single test model I did who has this detail, bonus points for spotting him.

Nice models, though the kit is nowhere near as versatile as you might hope. Although you've got tons of weapon options, and it builds standard storm-squaddies as well as the command group, the weapons are super picky about which backpacks and arms they join with. Although torsos, legs and heads are all good for pose variations, if you want four hotshot volley guns from your four packs (as I did), you're getting four gunners in more or less the same pose.

Spiffing rugged heads under those berets. Green seemed the obligatory choice, given those WWII moustaches.

This monster haul is the fruit of two start collecting boxes. Twenty troopers, two trucks and two Commissars, which whilst being lovely models are also a bit monopose. Nothing the clippers couldn't fix there, at least.

"I got one! Let's surf!"

There's another box to come, though, as I'm going to need a command group. Commissars are nice and cheap, but after all the nerfing this year, they're not ideal to take care of small, expensive squads. If you're at risk of failing morale anyway, a reroll at the cost of a casualty isn't particularly enticing!

While I was at them, I managed to squeeze in a Servitor as well, a scratch build from the bits box and an old Scout body. I have three lead ones already, but the squad minimum is four. Annoyingly, I build him with a heavy bolter originally before spotting that you can only have two heavy weapons in a squad. So I tore his arm off and stuck a big grindy thing (from the Centurion kit) on instead. Hardly noticed, poor sod.

The Taurox is a beast on the battlefield, despite a recent (and deserved) points hike. Alas, I really hate the awful tracks the GW version has, so I got the conversion kit from Zinge Industries to turn it into a nice wheeled version. That's also where the windows and spare bits of kit come from, which also improve it greatly.

Crazy model in terms of interior detail! It's fully kitted out in there, passenger seats, driver and all the controls. But no opening doors, which means it's sort of wasted unless you want to cut the doors open with a knife or do wrecks or something. Weird choice from GW there. At least I've got some bonus ground crew bits for conversions and so on.

Otherwise I've left all the turrets and weapons loose so I can swap about, although this meant having to make a second roof panel from card and leftovers as I'd used one for the missile launcher, and I'm currently also a turret hatch short.

Still, I'm well pleased with them! And this small but hard-hitting army is revving up for the Swoffboot.

Painting Guide:

• White - As for the Valkyrie, so Corax White washed with Nuln Oil, then Celestra Grey drybrush, then a second wash with Agrax Earthshade on lower areas, then White Scar layered on before Eshin Grey stippling for a final weathering effect. Really helps bring out the edges, actually, otherwise it looks a bit washed out
• Trooper Clothing - Eshin Grey and Nuln Oil
• Guns - Eshin Grey and two layers of Nuln Oil, then a careful Dawnstone edging before Stormhost Silver metal details
• Lens Flare and Power Swords- Ahriman Blue with Nuln Oil, then Ahriman again, then Temple Guard Blue and Etherium Blue layers and a White Scar dot or stripe depending
• Red Bits - Khorne Red, Nuln Oil, Evil Sunz Scarlet
• Green Bits - Goblin Green, Green Ink, Nurgling Green
• Battle Damage - Lahmian Medium with Rhinox Hide and then Black
• Flesh - Kislev Flesh with two coats of Reikland Flesh wash, then Kislev again, then Wrack Flesh highlights and a bit of Lahmian Medium with Dawnstone for stubble
• Plasma - Goblin Green, watery White Scar in the recesses and a final wash of Bieltan Green to make it blend green together
• Strappy Bits - Rhinox, Agrax, Gorthor Brown layer

The Command Squad will be joining them later. Not much later, there's only just over a month to go...