Delayed Reinforcements

Everyone else can stand down, the Guard are here!

 

(some of them)

Much as I like the Imperial Guard, there has been a shocking lack of output for the Emperor's Finest.

This either goes back to 2018, where I painted an infantry squad as a proof-of-concept (the concept being that it takes me forever to restart a project) or this April, where I quickly needed an eighth army for the Skypehammer campaign and feverishly painted some more (whilst suffering an actual fever, which may explain my reluctance to revisit them).

Also, I may have gotten carried away with the customisation of the troops, and added all sorts of different heads and weapons to distinguish them. 

While it's nice that my squads look varied (my vision of this army is that it's very irregular), next time I should channel the Guard mindset and just crank out some faceless grunts to make up the numbers.

That said, it was fun to kitbash together these guys, especially when you're not bothered by the uniform code. Such as this guy who appears to have been given all the grenades.

I hope he brought enough pins.

At least the special weapon operators have a good rationale for extra customisation (since they're usually last to be removed) and so I could use a couple more of my Statuesque Miniature heads (and a Scion plasma gun, which seems in better condition than its Guard equivalent).

I've been trying out some 'muzzle burn' effects on anything that will take it - it's simple combination of Seraphim Sepia, Druchii Violet and Drakenhof Nightshade washes, and works quite well.

Finally, the trust Grenade Launcher. This seems a decent default option for a squad, if you don't want to waste points on anything more lethal.

Another model ripe for customisation are the heavy weapons teams, which are practically a diorama in their own right. As well as a few sandbags, I even treated these guys to some barbed wire. 

It goes without saying that I'm mixing in some regular infantry models in there to get more mileage from the heavy weapons sprues.

And for a platoon commander, this was the model requested by Monkey to represent Commander Q. Eernheart III - hence the generous addition of a bolt pistol to his personal armoury.

I'll have to rename him, since I wouldn't dream of hijacking such a heroic narrative, and I have several more candidates for command.

For additional infantrymen, I looked to the Blackstone Fortress set. I said these guys were irregular...

They may have a few more spikes than usual, but it's a perfect match for the Cadian uniform, and the seven Traitor Guardsmen models are packed with character. 

Frankly, it was this or Cultists, so I may have actually improved their odds of survival.

The paint recipe for all these Guardsman was deliberately quick and simple, so I could rush them out (that didn't work out so well):

• Prime everything Halford's Grey
• Helmets & Armour: Castellan Green
• Weapons and Kit: Death World Forest
• Boots: Skavenblight Dinge
• Gunmetal: Leadbelcher
• Wash everything with Nuln Oil
• Drybrush aquila: Celestra Grey

And then add skin tone, brass buckles & handles, leather straps & handles as required.

One fly in the ointment was, when painting this batch, I neglected to shake the bottle of Nuln Oil. So instead of the nice, muted colours of the original batch, these fatigues came out all shiny. I brought it down with Lahmian Medium and a spray of Testor's Dullcote (this is more trouble than my 'quick and easy' method warranted) - but important note: shake that wash.

So it's just a drop in the ocean, but given I wasn't expecting to paint any Guard this year, having a patrol's worth is some kind of progress.