Inq et Nunc - Imperial Navy Bodyguard

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.

Psyker Killers - Confrontation Gang Final Additions

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.

Ulanti Top Brass - Elite Leader & Champion

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!

Elite gangers may not be upper-hivers, but they are definitely classy!

Ulanti Reinforcements - More Elite Gangers

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.

The Elite Gangers of House Ulanti

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:

Inq et nunc - The Ancient Slann

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!

Originally intended for 28mm gaming, this slann will also see use in 54mm.

Inq et nunc - Inquisitor Janez Belec

Inquisitors come in all shapes and sizes. I've always been fond of those in the Eisenhorn mould - radical-leaning and a bit world weary. Those with a more subtle nature rather than being god-like warriors.

One of John Blanches concept sketches for a veteran Inquisitor from The Inquisitor Sketchbook really stands out to me:

Here is an imposing character in a commanding pose. He carries a cane almost as a mark of office. I love the echoes of Don Quixote and that slender bionic arm.

Inq et nunc - Rask Dogar, 54mm Ratling

(One of the) glaring omissions in the 54mm Inquisitor range were abhumans. Where are the ratlings, beastmen and ogryns? OK, maybe ogryns might have been a bit unsubtle and overpowered, but I'd have loved to have seen a ratling. Rask Dogar is my attempt at filling that gap. He's not actually my first attempt at a ratling (more on that in a future post), but is the one I'm most pleased with.

Inq et nunc - 54mm Castellan Robot

The robots that Citadel released for Rogue Trader are some of my favourite 40k miniatures. They are big (for 28mm scale), fun and interesting sculpts that really do draw on the sci-fi artwork of the era. A few years ago I picked up an upscaled resin version of the one of the RT robot designs (the Castellan) that was available from the short-lived Troll Soup Miniatures. I'm not entirely sure what the rationale was behind the enlargement, but to all intents and purposes the sculpts were carbon copies of the originals, but bigger. Much bigger! In the event, I decided the larger Castellan was too big for 28mm gaming, but I put it aside with my 54mm Inquisitor figures for a rainy day!

Dick Slevlan suddenly looks pretty brave with his tough-guy associates!

Inq et nunc - Soemon, Gun for Hire

My latest model is an attempt to use a suitably-sized miniature from the current Games Workshop range and adapt it for 54mm-scale gaming. Soemon is a gun for hire (another desperado character) who will get used as a nice bit of supporting firepower (and muscle!).

Look out behind you!

Inq et nunc - Jutta Gyldentheld, Rogue Trader

Although every Rogue Trader's authority is set down in their Warrant of Trade and Letters of Marque, in truth every individual's approach to exploring and exploiting the galaxy on behalf of the Imperium is different. Some Rogue Traders control battlefleets and large personal armies to overwhelm and conquer. Others seek lost secrets with just a few hand-picked companions.

The leader of my first completed 54mm Inquisitor warband is Jutta Gyldentheld - a Rogue Trader firmly in the low-key camp!

Rogue Trader Gyldentheld & companions exit their shuttle in search of new opportunities.

Inq et nunc - Wurmbi, Jokaero

One of the fun things about shifting scale is that figures can take on a different feel. A large hulking figure can become small and nimble or vice versa. I plan to use a few figures in 54mm for Inquisitor that were originally intended for use in 28mm games. My new jokaero character, Wurmbi is available from L72's Miniatures Musings and was designed as a leader / alpha for a group of techno space apes. That said, he's large enough to be a credible jokaero in 54mm gaming!

Wurmbi points out some interesting tech to Dick Slevlan.

Inq et nunc - Dick Slevlan, Hive Scum

I think I have more bits of Slick Devlan than any other Inquisitor model. I think most people do. Slick benefits both from being one of the original releases and from having flexible components that can be used for a variety of characters - not just gunslingers, but also mutants, bounty hunters and even Inquisitors.

A few months ago I snapped up a partially converted Slick Devlan from eBay. The previous owner had resculpted Slick's hair and nose, filed down his padded flack armour and sculpted it into a carapace armour breastplate. They had added cloth bindings around Slick's lower legs and resculpted his loincloth. A lot of work had gone into the figure, and I decided that although I already have plenty of Slick parts, I could add to the conversion work and come up with a nice new character. I started referring to the character as Dick Slevlan mid-way through the process. I think that's going to stick!

Dick Slevlan and Mono-152 cautiously move through a junkyard.

Inq et nunc - 54mm Servitor Mono-152

Inquisitor (published by Games Workshop in 2001) is a fiendishly complex table-top RPG, with figures that at 54mm scale do not fit with anything else in my collection. Not many people play it. Having enough terrain is a constant issue. Games Workshop's figures are long out of print, and there is a real dearth of suitably-sized and styled sci-fi miniatures from other manufacturers. There is absolutely no justification that warrants spending time to make and paint anything for Inquisitor. Except that maybe, just maybe, I want to because I fancy doing it.

In terms of my Inquisitor gaming history, I was totally enthused when the game was published and built and painted a hooded, powerfist wielding Inquisitor (I sadly no longer have him). Some time after that, I made a small group of 54mm Eldar (I still have them; chipped & missing bits). Then I left Inquisitor alone for at least 15 years, possibly as long as 20 years. But after chatting with buddies Asslessman and Antipixi, it seemed that we all had a bit of an Inquisitor itch to scratch. I'm not sure how far I'll get with this project - I'm currently working on about half a dozen figures. I might make and paint 1, or 3 or even more depending on how enthused I end up!

Mono-152 goes on a pre-progammed rampage

Whistle for the Big Dog - Final Dogskin gangers

A final pair of gangers to bring my Confrontation dogskin gang up to ten members strong. This means that I can field them as a Stargrave crew, and have just about enough members for a short Necromunda campaign.

Every Pirate Crew Needs a Ship - The Squat Jetskull

When I originally put my squat pirates together, I knew that they would need something to ride around in. My initial thought was to buy a second-hand Action Force Roboskull and adapt it, but it turns out that vintage toys are collectible and expensive, so I would need to do something else. I ran with the flying skull theme though, and put together what I've been calling the Jetskull.

Squat pirates prep the Jetskull in the landing bay of their mothership.

Pirates on Board - Squat Surfers

On Saturday just gone I attended the inaugural Lead & Steel event at The Outpost in Sheffield - a new and hopefully regular event on the Oldhammer calendar. I took part in a multiplayer game of Necromunda set in the badlands town of Far Corfe (more on that in the next post). The game required a small gang plus some vehicles. I decided I was going to use my squat pirates, but needed a few more vehicles to accompany the crew and their only existing vehicle, the Annihilator. First up - some powerboards!

What's that in the background? You'll have to wait until the next post.

Hammer of the Hounds - Yet More Dogskins!

Part of the fun in building these Confrontation gangs is converting or adding in models that fit the look of the original sculpts. Today's pair of Dogskins includes a gang champion that hopefully fits that bill (as well as a standard Dogskin ganger to fill out the ranks!).

Flea-bitten & Feral - More Dogskins

I had hoped to finish my Dogskin gang over Christmas, but plans changed and they're still very much WIP. Nonetheless, I've finished another pair to bring my total up to six.

Typical gang behaviour - picking on the weak and vulnerable.