Hired Guns

 If you have a problem, if no-one else can help...

... just nuke the site from orbit, I guess.

Earlier this year, I painted a squad of Tempestus Scions - the Cindarr Helldogs - as part of my Hobbypocalyse switcheroo for Brapscallion. He liked them enough to commission a few more of them.

Quite a few more.

All these were built and converted by Brapscallion (and will be based, once he gets them, so never fear). But the painting was all mine. So the only one to blame for giving one of a sergeants a pair of tartan trousers was me.

Against all conventional wisdom, I decided to take on all 21 models at once. This takes me back to my Warhammer Fantasy days of painting regiments, and I also get to avoid the 'phew! that's done' feeling of completing half a squad and then have to do it all over again.

 

 

At least the process was relatively simple: a black undercoat, with an Iron Hands Steel drybrush to pick out the details. Thunderhawk Blue and Agrax Earthshade wash for the armour.

Camo patterns for the trousers was another flourish (it seemed a lot less of a faff for the original five Scions), but once that was out of the way, I could get down to individual details of the specialised weapons.

"Say hello to Mister Yellow."

Gal Vorbak Red with Nuln oil for the guns, with plenty of washes and contrast paint for the details. Magmadroth Flame over Ironbreaker for the flamer tanks came out particularly well.

 

The Helldogs don't really observe a uniform code, and I gave one of the melta troopers a pink helmet as a nod to Sabine from Rebels (or Arcee from Transformers: The Movie, depending on your age).

 

What the Helldogs do have in common are the skull-faces on their helmet. Unlike Reivers, these aren't moulded on, so I had to strike a balance between them looking 'painted-on' (i.e. the Scions did it themselves), rather than me painting it on.

Eagle-eyed viewers of Aliens may noticed that Pvt Hicks had a love heart etched on his armour (painted there by Michael Biehn himself, apparently), so this plasma johnny had one too (doesn't mean we're engaged or anything).

But that pales compared to the plasma gunner who also has a plasma pistol as his backup piece. I hope that corpsman is keeping a few spare limbs in his medi-kit.

The company standard was the thing I was dreading the most, but it turned out okay, largely due to painting it with contrast, so I wasn't obliterating the fine detail. Nazdreg Yellow over the drybrushed silver made nice gold, with Black Templar cutting in the big spaces.

And who better to lead them than a cigar-chomping colonel with a fine waxed moustache? Again, the conversion of a Necromunda Palantine makes for an excellent Tempestus Scion.

And that's all the Helldogs done! Great fun to paint, sad to see them go, but that's life in the Guard for you!