inload: Catachan Goliath Guntruck complete

+ 'Nutcracker' + 

 

'The Leman Russ Company? Yer talkin' about using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, Colonel.'

'You have a better idea, Captain?'

+ All polished off +

+ Like Judith Kerr's Mog being given an egg for breakfast, I am very pleased to have this fun project at a stage where I'd be happy to show it off. +

+ Most of last night's efforts were turned towards the banner and the base. I repositioned the awkward branch that was obscuring the technpriest, then got to work with static various grasses, fluffy flock to represent lichen, and birch seeds to look like fallen leaves. These were variously secured with superglue and PVA. For the drifts of birch seeds, I painted on watered-down PVA and sprinkled them in. I'm sure there's a better/more secure way of attaching them, but it's eluding me. I should probably do some research and experiment for future projects. +

+ Perched precariously on the too-small plinth, I'm still hoping the bigger one will both {answerAVL='a') arrive in time, and {answerAVL='b') be the right size. I don't fancy trying to trim the base to size after the fact! +

+++APPENDEDIT – it has arrived. Woot!+++

+++

+ This shows how the moving the branch has opened up the space a bit. I'm a little conflicted on this, as I really liked the look of the tree before – but ultimately, the base needs to serve the content, not the other way round. +

+ I'm still not delighted with the banner, which is annoying as it's one of the focal points, so perhaps I'll refine it a little further. I'm also wondering if those bumps below the rear lights are also intended to be lights. I'd interpreted them as some sort of metal blister or access port, but do they look weird? I don't want them to look like traffic lights... +

+++

+ 2nd Company Command Squad – the crew +

+ In the famed understatement of Mustermaster-General Klous fon Saynt of the Adeptus Munitorum, 'Catachans don't work like other Regiments'. The name of their infamous Deathworld on an Army docket is as likely to be met with groans of frustration as sighs of relief as the Navy or Guard Commanding Officers realise that they will be working with these incredibly capable but frequently truculent – and often deliberately antagonistic – soldiers. +

+ The 634th are an unremarkable Catachan Regiment, combining some 15,000 soldiers that operate across various specialisms. Now designated a 'mixed infantry' force, the 'Ever-Readies' have been fortunate in operating close enough to Catachan to have been reinforced on a number of occasions and remained largely homogenous – never a certainty for an Imperial Guard force. This has meant that the Regiment has benefitted from an intake of – amongst other groups – specialist combat engineers. These Catachan men and women built on their own experience of trapping and wayfaring, and have received specialist training and equipment since induction into the Guard. +

+ The 2nd Company began as a standard Light Infantry force, but has since been equipped to operate as Armoured Cavalry – that is, entirely mounted. Its relatively large cadre of Combat Engineers also means that it is able to function as a pseudo-siege force, and it is to the 2nd Company that the Regiment turns when defence is required. +

+ In charge of these warriors is Colonel Carl Oakland, a number of whose relatives are dotted throughout the 634th. Beneath the Colonel, command is split amongst the Majors and Captains of the various Companies – which are then so diverse as to exclude useful categorisation. +

'The things I seen out there in the green, man... You wouldn't believe half of 'em.'

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