+ inload: Alaitoc Craftworld Dark Reapers +

+ inload: Reaping, Eldar style +

+ It's looking like the new Epic Legions is going to be delayed – sad face – but to find a silver lining, that means there's space for something a bit different. Enter the swift-striding Eldar, who were first to the front of the queue. +

+ An overview of Rogue Trader army number 2 – my Alaitoc Eldar project – is  found in this inload: [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and while it's been slow going, it is creeping along. +

+ The Guardians, detailed here [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], were relatively involved conversions, but the Aspect Warriors have thus far been very minimal, because the aesthetics of the latest plastics hew fairly closely to the Rogue Trader-era originals. +

+ With a small squad size of three, I could have tackled a little more  involved conversion work, but to be honest I think that would have been making unnecessary work for myself. Both the original and modern sculpts are lovely, so beyond the helmets, I left the modern iteration unconverted. I have nodded to the monopose look (perhaps a deliberate choice, perhaps simply owing to scheduling and available casts) by angling heads and arms to evoke the 'ranked fire' look of the original squad, but couldn't resist including the cool reloading option. +

+ The helms are the only major change. The modern ones are quite distinctive, and very different from the cone-headed originals. While I don't actually dislike the new ones, I wanted to capture the pointed helm with the frowny-eyebrows look, so used Storm Guardian helms, and attached the rangefinder vanes (the big 'ears') that were carefully trimmed from the Dark Reaper helms. +

+ Conspicuously missing from the Guardian faceplates are the distinctive nose and teeth markings; I'll be painting these on. +

+++

+ The aim of the project is not so much to replicate the original army so much as create a modern spin on it – as with my Blood Angels [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], I want to use the opportunity of modern materials and models to evoke the atmosphere of the period. One of the things that I really loved from Jes Goodwin, Andy Chambers and Rick Priestley's original lore was the warpaint. +

+ Beyond conversions, this was never explored in miniature form at the time, so I'm quite keen to include a couple of bare-headed Aspect Warriors in the force. With only three in the squad, however, I didn't feel the Dark Reapers were the place to start; besides which the facepaint itself is fairly predictable. I think I'd rather the impact of the three red helms.  +

+++

+ Dark Reaper Exarch +

+ With just three Dark Reapers needed, I was left with two bodies from the plastic kit. Perfect for converting the Exarch 'Skull-Taker' (not the daemon!):

+ Exarchs have changed quite a bit since Rogue Trader. Where nowadays they're effectively just squad leaders with access to special equipment, in their first appearance, they were relatively high level personalities with access to a range of special abilities and equipment, and like any independent personality, could work as an individual, rather than being tied to a squad. +

+ A snippet from WD138 – these four models make up a whopping third of the points of the initial 'block'. A five-strong Guardian squad, for comparison, is 70pts all-in. +

+ Skull-Taker here is a Dark Reaper Exarch, but unlike the modern version he's armed with a shuriken pistol and an Ancient Weapon (an Exarch-exclusive wargear option) 'Web of Skulls'; a sort of bolas. +

+ Being the default of the original model, the Web of Skulls was for more familiar than any other option for most players of a certain vintage, and was thus a must for inclusion in my conversion. While it can work in melee, I felt that the original pose was perhaps a bit static, and since one of the new bodies is in a moving pose, I opted to use this to help bring a bit of attention to Skull-Taker. +

+ My plan is to drill three wires into the hand and sculpt on small skulls to the ends of each. Head-size skulls would look far too clunky, and fortunately the lore suggests these are crystal skulls rather than literal head-innards! +

+ The new kit is interesting in including a hand clutching a skull; likely a nod to the original. Unfortunately for me, it was in the model's wrong hand, so I had to trim it away and attach it to the new arms; both taken from the new Guardian kit. The big skull is going to form the 'pommel' of the Web of Skulls. A real bolas, of course, doesn't have a pommel, but I'm keen to avoid the weapon looking like a bunch of flowers. A final flourish for this arm is to carve out the shoulder pad and replace it with the Exarch-specific one. A minor (and awkward to do!) touch, but every little helps. +

+ For the rest of the conversion, the pistol arm has had a cable trimmed from the Rogue Trader-era arms, just like my Guardian conversions. Rather than using a RT-era shuriken pistol, I've kept a modern shuriken pistol for a few reasons. Firstly, practicalities. The RT guns are hard to come by, and I'm struggling to equip even the Guardians with them. Secondly, the additional size will help to bring balance to the visuals. Finally, it seems appropriate for the long-ranged Dark Reapers to have a variant gun that has a comparatively long, fluted barrel. +

+ In an inversion of the heads for the standard warriors, I've trimmed the rangefinder vanes off the Exarch's helmet and attached it – though I'm in two minds as to whether to try a bare head here. For the moment, I'm erring on the side of keeping the helm. While I don't love it, I think paint might bring it to life (particularly the red faceplate). Besides, the change in pose is already going to make him less recognisable, so I want to keep as many details of the original as I can. +

+ Speaking of details, I'm going to try adding a necklace of skull-beads. It's a cool and distinctive feature of the original. +

+++

+ The name Skull-Taker is perhaps a little unfitting these days, so I'm open to any elfish-style translation ideas for his name; I'm currently playing around with Gaelic translations and ending up with Neach-gabhail claigeann (Scots Gaelic); Glacadóir cloigeann (Irish Gaelic) and the reconstructed proto-Celtic [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] Krāsjano-tagat (or 'skull-thief'). All rather wordy! +

+++

+ inload: Blood Angel remnants +

+ Those left behind +

+ Lurking at the bottom of the box in which I store my Blood Angels army [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] are a few figures which were unfinished when I sent them off to be displayed in Warhammer World. For the most part, they're addenda to the main army – that is, they weren't amongst the models as the army appeared in White Dwarf 139 (the theme and inspiration for the force), but have some form of connection. +

+ Pictured here are four figures. The Terminator captain was never part of the army, but the model is inspired by a Rogue Trader-era figure who was part of the original Terminator box release. +

+ Beside him are two lieutenants – these were compulsory in the Rogue Trader army list, though as far as I'm aware, the GW studio army never had them... or did they? If you look closely at the list in WD139, you'll spot that the Lieutenant is present in the army list – but only ever appeared as the driver in the Land Speeder [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]; hence the egregious yellow shoulder pads. +

+ Finally we've got a standard bearer. When I reimagined the apothecary [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], I reduced the giant banner he was bearing to a back banner. While I think this was the right decision, I also think that banners are a key part of the overall aesthetic, and wanted to include a Ancient – this is the result. I had intended that he carry a large version of Captain Tycho's heraldry, as my version of the model follows the (back-bannerless) artwork. Sadly, blank banners seem to be a bit few and far between these days, so I've instead used one from the Sanguinary Guard kit, which at least is Blood Angel themed. +

+ All are at a fairly basic level. You'll notice that I've completed the bases and faces – a common way I start off, as it immediately makes things feel more interesting to me.

+++

+ Next up are the scouts. These were never shown as part of the army, but were knocking about at the same time, owing to the release of Advanced Space Crusade. I still have a quiet ambition to get that out of the garage and play that some day... And it'd be fun to use original models for it. +

+ Close-up of the faces. +

+++

+ And apropos of nothing beyond having the figures out to photograph, here are some close-ups of some others from the army. +

+++

+ The Mark of Khorne +

+ Finally, I'm very pleased to see Krautscientist return to the noosphere – go check out the ever-entertaining and inspirational Khorne's Eternal Hunt. [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] +

+++

+ inload: Barbari Kills and the Bridge of the Ẹtì Alubarika +

+  A short story today, intended to illuminate the characters accompanying  the Primaris Gatebreakers. I've got plans to build and paint a few of these – I'd love to hear your thoughts on which catch your imagination, and who you'd like to see realised. +

+++

The Ẹtì Alubarika wallowed, the void-engines sputtering to a halt as the materium drives took up the slack. The choirmaster retrieved his wand from the podium and began directing the Liturgy of Gracious Thanks.

From her standpoint near a navigation-organ, Kills stretched lazily. The headache that warp travel inevitably brought upon her was already ebbing away, and she smiled with relief. She glanced around, her vision blocked by the two hulking marines that flanked her. Their gleaming power armour was swathed in fabric tabards, picked out with core Imperial decoration. They were in all ways identical, their armour clean and unmarred, polished to perfection. Seeing her move, Septival nodded politely. He stepped backwards to let the Inquisitor see past him. 

The bridge of the Ẹtì Alubarika was dressed stone. Turquoise-studded granite columns soared in a great gallery, and desks of void-whale baleen were piled high with scroll cases, records and dataslates. There were few vid-screens or electronics visible; the crew interacting with the craft through embedded haptics and keyboards more akin to musical instrumentation than the ascetically practical models cradled by the hooded tech-adepts. It was, Kills had noted when she had been invited aboard, quite something. The crew were also singular: smart, clean-limbed and beautiful figures from a dozen different worlds. Taiwo was proud of his bridge crew, whom he demanded to be exemplars of humanity. After all, as he had proudly declared to the Inquisitor: 'These may be the first men and women a species will see. I will have them see us for what we are: Perfect.'

As far as anything was typical for the rogue trader, Taiwo was every inch the commander. He sat, almost lost within the opulence of his command throne, looking out across the bridge. His glittering augmetic eyes drank in every detail, and Kills could see his gaze piercing the stars even as his advisors muttered and proferred reports. Taiwo and Kills had reached an uneasy rapprochement. He was an inveterate explorer, keen to push the boundaries – both literally and metaphorically. The idea of ferrying a proto-Chapter of Primaris Space Marines to an ancient backwater on the very rim of the galaxy had not caught his imagination, until Kills had intimated the lack of Imperial authority over the area. As far as the Ordo could determine, celestial drift had left this region of space unmonitored and unexplored for millennia – possibly since the establishment of the Imperium itself. 

He had agreed – though he remained a Rogue Trader. His demands were large, but payable: exclusive rights to the frontier, colonisation fiefdom guarantees on all inhabitable worlds... and the tip of Kills' little finger. As Taiwo's rich voice rolled around the bridge; directing his staff, the Inquisitor flexed her new augmetic at the memory. The loss of a fingertip was, in the end, a small price to pay – after all, her fingerprints and generunes were banked and warded by the Ordo Propter –  and the Expedition's augmetists were second-to-none. The skinsleeve was indistinguishable from her birth flesh. 

Inquisitrix Barbari Kills had little of the sentimentalist about her. She had taken the opportunity to have a digitial microlaser and elegant vox-thief fitted. If little else sat well with the proto-Chapter she accompanied, that lack of sentimentality was at least in tune. Chapter 333 were new-forged. They had taken their oaths, and were as prepared as Space Marines could be – but what little fighting they had seen was desultory. Kills suspected that accounted for a large part of their obsessive training and fastidiousness. 

She had had the dubious pleasure of serving alongside Astartes before, and had the peculiar feeling that the Primaris soldiers of Chapter 333 were trying a little too hard to impress her. Their armour gleamed. Their steps were perfectly synchronous. A sense of order radiated from them. That easy, knowing smile came to the Inquisitor's face again. It was sweet, in a way. 

Scipius, the Chapter's Interim Master, had assigned Septival and Coriolanus as bodymen to her, and they had – despite her efforts – remained politely but stubbornly glued to her as she wandered the halls of the Ẹtì Alubarika and its accompanying fleet. The presence of the two hulking warriors had prevented her from making any personal progress with in-fleet investigations, and so she had, with resignation, delegated her more shadowy work to her acolytes.

+++

She thought of Master Scipius as she strolled, hands clasped proprietorially behind her back, towards the viewing platforms, where she could – at last – look outside the ship again. Coriolanus and Septival followed a studiedly short distance behind. Barbari Kills was an experienced star-sailor, hardbitten investigative member of the Inquisition, and – when called to be – a ruthless killer. Nevertheless, she had never lost the thrill of wonderment at the galaxy. It was at the heart of her; and seeing stars and planets never failed to stir a sense of the divine in her. It almost made up for the damn headaches, she thought.

Ratings and crew members parted before the trio as Kills advanced towards the main Observatorio, hidden as yet behind a curve. Before reaching the cyclopean window itself, she paused, and looked back. Past the colossal green-and-yellow Space Marines, beneath the decorated black granite, she could see humanity. Bustling, busy, engaged in tasks – as complex as clockwork, as heaving as an anthill.

Closing her eyes in anticipation, she prepared herself for the glittering beauty of the stars; the soaring columns of nebulae, the painted beauty of illuminated stardust...

When she opened them again, her breath caught in her throat. She felt the overwhelming need to grasp something; anything. Her hand briefly snaked out towards Septival, but she snatched it back, angry with herself. A rolling, tumultous sense of vertigo claimed her, as though she – and the rest of the bridge; the ship; the species – were teetering on the brink of an infinite precipice. 

For before her eyes, from edge to edge of the colossal Observatorio, was what lay beyond the rim of the galaxy. An occasional miniscule pip of light; a faint dusting of gas – and then, between the galaxy of Man, and its impossibly distant neighbours, nothing. Nothing for ever. A blank, black insanity of absence.

She turned away, disappointed and disquieted – though her rigid self-discipline revealed nothing. She looked instead to Coriolanus and Septival, studying those identical helms as they regarded her impassively in turn. Would their sense of order survive here? she wondered. Could anyone's? 

+++

+ Painting has also progressed, and I couldn't resist setting up the parts to preview what the resulting marines will look like. Pleased with the results – I'm fired up to get these polished off and completed! +

+ inload: Thoughts on 40k Crusade gaming +

+ 9th Edition – Gaming Crusade +

+ Yesterday Games Workshop released a preview article [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] on Crusade Campaigns, one of the additions to the upcoming 9th edition of 40k. I'm looking forward to this, and wanted to jot down a few thoughts. +

+ Why am I excited? The short answer is that this seems to be a proper development of Narrative Gaming, a concept that's been around forever, but which GW explicitly acknowledged in 8th. The 'three ways of gaming' – Narrative, Open and Matched – were given equal prominence, but Open and Narrative never quite got the same support as Matched. +

+ Three ways to play: leaving the work to the players +

+ In my experience, Matched Play (by which I mean gaming with an eye to competitive play on an equal playing field) has been, and remains, the de facto method of gaming, particularly when meeting new gamers. It's structured, clear, and well-supported by annual reviews of points and scenarios designed to provide as fair a playing field as possible. This sense of equality and fairness makes it very appealing. It's great if you don't want to think too much, and just get on with a game with a mate. +

+ Let me be clear that I'm not disparaging Matched Play. Any form of gaming requires imagination, discussion and compromise to be successful – and the only reason you don't have to think prior to the game is because there's a wealth of lists (army lists, mission lists, objective lists) and discussion geared towards supporting this style of play. Within the Match itself there's lots to think about. The same is true of Narrative play (by which I mean gaming with an eye to telling or retelling stories to see how things turn out) – the same core gaming rules still apply; but the pre- and post-game guidelines are currently much more nebulous. +

+ That's a problem. If you've been lucky enough to play games with people who are prepared to put the work in to create scenarios and who are genuinely interested in seeing the events rather than the result, Narrative and Open Play gaming are fantastic fun. However, those are some big 'ifs'. A lot of gamers – particularly people who have only ever experienced Matched Play, or who have goal-driven, competitive mindsets, can find it hard to adjust the way of thinking from competitive to collaborative. I think this is because what Narrative Play entails has never been very well explained or supported. +

+ From reaching the end to enjoying the journey: fairness and fun +

+ There is the argument, of course, that because Open and Narrative Play are inherently less restrictive, they shouldn't have as many rules. While I agree with the sentiment that you don't need so many restrictions to govern Open and Narrative Play, that rules are more than that – they provide a framework that sparks people's imaginations. I don't think there are really two tribes of gamers – even the most competitive tournament player enjoys a cool-looking army, and likewise most Narrative Gamers still want to see their force doing the things they want: there's simply a difference in what the goals are. There's a lot of overlap and common ground between the groups, and I hope Crusade helps make explicit more things that people enjoy, so that games of all stripes can find something new. +

+ Even something as simple as a table of names can help gamers make the jump from seeing the toy soldiers as abstract figures to representations of characters – and thus to conceptually start treating their gaming as acting out scenes from books or films, rather than as competitions. +

+ My reservation about Matched Play, therefore, is simply that it's become so ingrained as the 'proper' way to play. The result is that people are often at a loss to know where to begin when they want to move towards Narrative Play. My hope is that Crusade shows players of all stripes that there's more than one way to skin a cat; and that asymmetric gaming – i.e. when a game is not matched and equal – can be rewarding and fun. +

+ I don't think that anyone would really argue that a last stand or ambush-type game is necessarily fair, but if it can be fun then it's still worth doing. If Crusade offers a framework to make storytelling fun, it might encourage people to enjoy their army losing – a largely alien concept to a Matched Play mindset, but one that's core to an ongoing narrative. The trick is in making that defeat engaging. Having some reward to salve the sting of defeat, even if it's simply the spur to convert an injured or interred version of your commander, is good. +

+ Getting started with a different way of playing +

+ For those open to the idea of Narrative Gaming, but without any guidance on where to start, or what it entails – I think Crusade Gaming will work nicely; acting as a reassuring guide on how to develop and grow your army more organically than starting from scratch every time you play a match. For existing Narrative Play gamers, Crusade will – I hope – offer new ideas; more paint on the palette. If nothing else, attention from GW goes a long way to legitimise things for people on the fence – and anything that makes people feel empowered to play the way they enjoy has got to be good. +

+ However imaginative and creative you are, more ideas are always welcome, as they take the burden away. From GW's promises in the article linked above, Crusade gaming will have ongoing material support, and that's invaluable because it takes the onus of effort away without putting restrictions on. You can still do the work – you just won't have to. +

+ There will always be players who just want to play competitively, of course; and that's good – variety's the spice of life, and policing fun is the quickest way to sour the experience for everyone. Having a definite 'Narrative alternative' to Matched Play will help communicate that there's a step change between Matched Play and Narrative Play, rather than one being a subsidiary of the other. That'll be good for everyone: helping people find like-minded gamers, offering more choices and opportunities, and making that pre-game discussion and social aspect that little bit less daunting or awkward. +

+ In closing, I'm not advocating being lazy, or encouraging people to stop creating things. Crusade isn't going to be a salve that removes any social interaction or compromise, but I hope it will encourage people to take a more wholesome look at their model collections, and to gradually build their army from models they like first and foremost. +

+++

+ My Crusade Campaign force +

+ Diatribe over, here are some figures on the bench. With rumours putting a release date at the back end of July, I'd dearly like to have the 50 power level hinted at for Crusade ready to go; and it's also a brilliant way to clear out spare bits with (hopefully) fewer restrictions on what can go into the army. I'm making a lot of assumptions on how Crusade Campaigns will work, but I'm taking the fact that Imperium is one of the options to mean that I'll be able to to combine the various odd squads and characters I've gathered into one single army – much like Rogue Trader. +

+ To that end, I've got some side projects from the Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial Guard and Space Marines to bash together – to say nothing of astropaths, mercenaries, Sororitas and sundry others. My dream is to have a system where I can field the army I want to play without having to justify, explain or discuss how it works – just like I can when playing within the Matched Play paradigm. +

+ Gatebreaker Astartes will form a chunk of the army – probably between a third and a half of the force. The Primaris marines above will be pretty much out of the box, and joined by three or four more involved conversions representing the old-school Gatebreakers. I want to play with the contrast between gothic Astartes and cleaner Primaris, as they'll form a microcosm of the army as a whole, letting me bring in all the fun models I want to use. +

+ Speaking of which... some or all of these figures, along with others from Blackstone Fortress, will hopefully make an appearance in some way. I want to build a specific suite of characters to lead the army – probably an iteration of Inquisitrix Barbari Kills, and perhaps a Rogue Trader. Both would give a really good point of focus for the various arms of the Imperium, and fit into the story of a Crusading group. +

+ No project of mine would be complete without Guard, and these Lamb's Worlders/Port Bromwics have been patiently awaiting paint. Will they appear here, or will some Catachans displace them? Who can say? +

+ Here's a closer pic of Oto Yeng – a Gatebreakers Claviger Gentle (or apothcary-errant). This is a representation of a Deathwatch character I've been playing, though with some M42-era adjustment to his armour. +

+ ...and here are some bikes. A good example of what I want to do with this army, these are models I bought on a whim ages ago, that have sat unloved for ages. +

+ inload: Are you a Catachan, or a Catacan't? +

+ If it bleeds we Catachan kill it +

+ No prizes for guessing who this Hasslefree miniature [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] represents. The first of those Rogue Trader-themed models I posted about recently to receive paint, he's proving good fun. The over-muscled arms and chiseled features make it fun to play around with lighting, giving an almost cel-shaded look at this stage. I'll be refining him with some highlights, but it's been good to get some variety in pinks and ochres to – hopefully – give some realism. +

+ Not sure how I'll tackle the fatigues etc. Urban or desert could work, letting him tie in respectively with my Red Hand or Imperial guard; but there's also the option of running with the jungle theme of the inspiration. +

+ The same painting session saw me tackle some beards and skin on the dwarfs – there's only tiny flashes of skin visible, but it'll all add up to a nice effect when they're finished (I hope). +

+ To avoid an uncanny-valley effect of models in particular units all having the same beard colour, I plucked random piles of models from across the army, and used slightly variations on a few 'core mixes'. That allowed me to do a sort of half-way house between batch painting and individualy focus. +

+ Further work necessary, but this is proving a marathon, not a sprint. I'm aiming to have 1,000pts finished for a PCRC 'parade' at the end of May, which is still looking fairly likely. +

 + To close, another shot of our 80s action hero. +

+ inload: Rogue Trader 2020 +

+ To the roots of heresy: Rogue Trader +

+ Why do we collect and paint miniatures at all? For me, it's the sheer joy and fascination with opening a window into other realms, and exploring those with other people. +

+ The original Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (RT) did that very well for me; really opening my eyes to science fiction and fantasy in general. I think I'm fairly unusual in engaging with RT prior to other fantasy/sci-fi media – like Dune, 2000AD, Lord of the Rings or Star Wars/Trek etc. For that reason, I've got a lot of nostalgic affection for the sheer oddness and breadth of the setting. +

Glam and deadly Rogue Trader flanked by burly loyal retainers.. 

+ Importantly, it was empty and open. That was the critical thing that always struck me when comparing it with later properties. The Imperium, described in what seemed like huge detail, was simultaneously revealed to be a fragile cobweb of isolated worlds. +

Why yes, this is a cyberpunk-samurai, space-navy officer, creepy eyeless wizard and a dog. Do they go together? Absolutely.

+ That sense of empty, threatening, lonely voids – and the opportunity to dive into them and create my own worlds, characters and forces – has stuck with me; even if most of my modelling and painting has revolved around replication of existing groups. +

+ With that in mind, I thought I'd dig through all the cool models that I've picked up on a whim and just start getting them painted. Not necessarily to fit in with anything, but more to just enjoy painting one-off models and small groups. These'll likely share a basing scheme, but not necessarily. Beyond that, I want the group to look as unusual, varied and motley as possible. +

Senior Princeps (out of his tub for a walk), Moderati and Princeps.

 + These'll all likely find places in my Alien Wars setting, alongside the ongoing Augustine Crusade. And if they don't? Well, then I'll just enjoy painting and having another little window into a future I'm in no hurry to visit! +

Armsmen? Mercenaries? Imperial Guardsmen? Planetary defence force? All of the above.

+ inload: Crusader and Servitor +

+ Combat Arena Completed +

+ The Crusader and Servitor below are the last two figures from the Combat Arena boxed set, and that means – for the first time in my life – I've painted a boxed game ready to play. +

+ Seems weird – I've painted lots of miniatures, but never a whole set: some figures from every set have either been cannibalised, repurposed, or left unpainted. It's a nice feeling to have a game all ready! +

+ Gotfret de Montbard, Crusader +

+ A characteristically stoical pose, I'm slightly disappointed that GW essentially redid the previous metal iteration of this character type rather than trying something a bit more dynamic. That said, I don't have any of the metal ones, so no great loss. +

+ For the paint scheme, I knew I wanted to keep things nearly completely red in order to suggest Emperor Palpatine's Guard from Star Wars. I think these sinister figures have a lot in common with Inquisitorial Crusaders, and the all-red scheme is very striking. +

+ The shield's an obvious exception – and intentionally so. The helmed head doesn't make a great focal point, so I've made that secondary. Gofret de Montbard is a bodyguard, an anonymous figure; and so his mistress' heraldry – displayed on the shield – is paramount. Nevertheless, I've used a warm, red-tinged yellow for the shield in order to keep things harmonious. +

+ To avoid having all the elements blurring together, I used cool reds for the capes and warm red for the armour. This standalone figure was thus a useful bit of practise for both Blood Angels and Word Bearers. Lone characters are useful for this – had something gone awry, I'd only have to adjust this one figure. +

+ Note the orange eye lens, red purity seals and warm-brown leather – again, all adding to the warm scheme. +

+ The chequerboard effect (or 'dicing', as I recently found out it's referred to) was originally subtler. I used a mid-brown rather than cream. It had a nice effect, but I felt the shield needed more punch to work heraldically. The result is a bit scrappier than I would have liked, so perhaps I'll return to re-work it. Note the lens on the shield is painted in the same way as the eye. The legend on the shield-scroll reads Vici – 'I conquered'. +

+ Combat Servitor X-101 +

+ As mentioned in an earlier inload [+noosphericinloadlinkembedded+], I used a very workmanlike scheme for this fantastic figure, intending this brainless man-machine to appear like a JCB or similar piece of heavy equipment. +

+ Besides the techpriest, this figure is probably my favourite in the set. Clunky, ungainly and asymmetrical, it looks lumbering and threatening – in a brainless zombie sort of way. +

+ The scheme hopefully has echoes of the power-lifter from Aliens, a similar piece of industrial tech that fits neatly into the 40k universe. Like the power loader, it's got a pair of big claws, some pitted metal and a load of lights and dials. +

+ I've used a piercing green for the bionic eye – the other one is rolled back to suggest this poor soul's mindless nature. +

+ The big claw is the only bit of metal that gets the yellow scheme – all the rest is less bare. To show the rigid texture, I've added some light damage – and avoided doing so on the workmanlike 'overalls'. You can add scratches and so forth on those (to an extent, that's how I did the leather coat on the psyker in the inload linked above), but if you're trying to distinguish two similarly-coloured but differently-textured areas on one figure, I find it best to avoid confusing matters. +

+ One thing I've noticed about all these Combat Arena models is that they've got great details on their backs. The dials and switches here, the dangling charms on the Crusader... I'm not sure if it's intentional, but it'll likely look nice during the game, where you're probably looking at the rear of your character for most of it. Nice touch! +

+ As with the dials, I added some red warning lights, but kept the searchlight dim – by painting it as switched off, I didn't have to do any object source lighting, and kept the focus on the face. Note the little barcode on the shoulder, and the yellow banding on the cable around its stomach. Little details like this add some freehand personalisation for very little effort. +

+++

+ ...and so, with the addition of a drybrush and few tufts of static flock, that completes the motley crew for Combat Arena. They look nice together – so hopefully they look equally good beating the [SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT] out of each other, too. I'm looking forward to playing a fully-painted game. +

+ Which one's your favourite? +

+ inload: Rogue Trader and Techpriest +

+ Rogue Trader and Techpriest +

+ Neyam Shai Murad and Daedalosus are characters from Blackstone Fortress: Escalation, and re-used in Combat Arena, which serves as a prequel of sorts. Both models were very enjoyable to paint, and were a great opportunity to play around with some different schemes and ideas. I've always loved ranks of uniformed troops, but the more I paint figures like this, the more I see the appeal of rag-tag bands. +

+ The basing is unfinished. I'll be doing all of the figures from the set in one fell swoop, to make sure it's coherent. Other than that, they're complete. +

+ Nayam Shai Murad, Rogue Trader +

+ Daedalosus, Technoarchaeologist +

+ Neyam Shai Murad +

+ The Rogue Trader's a great figure, though she has quite unusual composition – the masked face gives her anonymity and character, but makes it a less obvious focal point. There's also a lot of framing and extension going on with the cables, skulls, pistols and flaring coat. In planning the scheme, I wanted her to look wealthy but deadly, a sort of sci-fi Anne Bonny. To this end, I avoided a really ostentatious colour scheme, instead going for tastefully subdued to let sculpt's baroque weirdness and over-the-top nature really speak for itself. +

+ (And then I added bright red and white feathers, because muted and tasteful is all very well, but she is a Rogue Trader, after all!) +

+ To adapt to this, I chose to make the brightest points the leg-blade (I thought this was a cool sci-if touch that visually explains 'space pirate') and the feathers in her hat. The eye then travels up the length of the leading leg – note the use of cool white (silver), warm white (ivory chasing) and neutral white (breeches) to create some variety without sacrificing the overall hue. The eye is then led up the neckerchief thingie before resting on the head. +

+ I've made the studs on the front silver, on the advice of PCRC buddy Lucifer216 – a nice touch that breaks up the ivory; thanks for the idea. For comparion's sake, you can see the original ivory version in the top pict-capture of this inload. Subtle, but striking. +

+ I included the ivory on the mark and weapons as a way of suggesting opulence and wealth. A warm colour, It also echos the bone of the servo skulls, helping the piece to feel cohesive. To complement the warm yellow-tinged ivory, I used some of its complementary (purple) as a subtle glaze on the armour. +

+ A little freehand ensures that the mid-reloading six shooter has holes for the bullets to go into. +

+ Perhaps my favourite part is the worn leather of her coat. I was tempted to do something more flash, but in the end decided a weather-beaten but comfortable coat would reinforce the privateer-like feel of her character. +

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+ Daedalosus +

+ I was rubbing my automanipulator claws together with glee as I approached this figure. The Adeptus Mechanicus are a huge favourite of mine, and this sculpt has almost everything I love about the faction. +

+ In terms of scheme, I wanted to nod back to my Braun VI Skitarii – a long-lamented army which I lovingly converted and painted a decade or so ago – with the use of purple and green accents. I have moved the robes from the red of the originals to a rustier orange. Less Christmassy, I think. +

+ With such complex sculpts, it's sometimes hard to know where to begin. I painted the whole figure using a similar recipe and techniques as the Iron Warriors of Officio Monstrosa [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. This gave me a metallic figure; and it was then a case of overlaying the fabric, skin etc. with the appropriate colours – in effect, a form of negative painting. +

+ The orange-red was an experiment. I painted it a mucky pink first (a mix of Vallejo white with a touch of Dark Flesh) to ensure the silver was properly covered. Once dry, I overlaid it with Gryph-Hound Orange, one of the new Contrast Paints. This gave a nice clean starting point, which I then highlighted further with creamy additions to an orange paint. I pushed the shadows further with sepia ink and granulation medium, too. This added some subtle visual texture, and generally dirtied him up so the robe went with the beaten-metal appearance of the techy bits. +

+ After the fun I'd had with the astronomical/astrological freehand on the Word Bearers recently [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], I couldn't resist adding some similar 'circuit diagram'-style embroidery on Daedalosus' robe. There's a hint of the Necrons to this type of design, which I thought fitted nicely with the idea of a Technolarchaeologist without banging you over the head. +

+ I think it's very easy for the 'tech' part of techpriest to get emphasised, but the appeal to me of the faction is the mysticism and ignorance of the setting, so I've left the metals mostly fairly dull – with the exception of the tools themselves. I thought that precious technology like his pistol and tool belt would have religious significance, so would be especially carefully maintained. I gave these an addition highlight and some gold detailing. +

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+ Still to go to complete the set are the remaining two adventurers and the servitor. I've got an additional servitor because I love the figure (in fact, you can have a sneak peek of the twins by looking at the opening panoramic pict-capture of this inload), and so my Combat Arena will be especially deadly! I'm looking forward to getting a game in at some point soon. +

+ Next up: the psyker. +