I was delighted to receive a preview copy of the Lead & Steel 2025 event miniature recently from organiser Mat Lindsay (Indelible Ink Studio). The figure is L'ng Tchun Xlvr, Space Slann Pirate. The figure was sculpted by Aidan at Warfactory and cast in resin by Ramshackle Games.
One of my favourites of all the 54mm Inquisitor models is the Imperial Navy Bodyguard or Bosun. He's an unusual subject - an Imperial that isn't an Inquisitor or Guardsman. I also love his piratical gear and no-nonsense look.
As I'm closing in on the end of the Confrontation project, I've decided to do some gap filling. This essentially means finishing off any WIP figures and making sure each gang is at least 10 models strong. After a bit of a stock-take, this meant that I needed to paint 3 more psykers, 3 more Helmawr, 2 more maniacs. Plus the Scavvy gang of course.
Step 1 was to get those psykers done. I had already converted one some time ago, but had conversions planned. So I got out the figures and the greenstuff and bashed them out.
It's funny how you can warm to a project over a few weeks isn't it? I really didn't enjoy painting the first Confrontation Elite gangers, but I'm closing off the project with a final pair, and they were a lot of fun to paint up. This time round it's a bit of an imposter-leader model, plus a champion with the coolest heavy weapon there is: PLASMA!
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| Elite gangers may not be upper-hivers, but they are definitely classy! |
In spite of not having enjoyed painting the previous batch of Elite gangers, I decided that I needed a bigger gang. So I took some of the duplicate ganger bodies and did some head swaps / repositioning to give me some more variety.
Although the Techs, Brats and Ash Waste Nomads from the Confrontation game got most of the limelight, much of the setting was about hive gangs. The few figures that were produced were split into four gangs which have become known as Dogskins, Hunters, Maniacs (or sometimes Maniax) and Elites. The Elite leader is an iconic miniature with his gnomish hood, pelisse and pit bull. I painted him back in 2015. But the other three gangers are pretty uninspiring. They don't really have a strong visual identity compared to the Hunters or the Dogskins. Maybe this was the reason they'd been in my WIP pile for several years!
However, in search of a quick post holiday project, I pulled them out, added some arms and got them painted:
Back in the early 2000s I planned a space slann army for 40k. The project never got off the ground as I moved towards smaller skirmish games, and most of the slann have long since been passed on. I did however keep the slann leader that I had planned to use - this was a conversion that was done for me by sculptor and Golden Demon winner Jeff Wilhelm. 20 years on, I have finally got round to painting up this long-neglected slann!
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| Originally intended for 28mm gaming, this slann will also see use in 54mm. |
