Militarum Tempestus: Tempestor Scion

This is my first attempt at a Militarum Tempestus Scion. I deliberately chose the Tempestor, as he is one of the few models in my small force that has an unobstructed chestplate.

At first, I undercoated the model with Halfords Grey Primer, and then basecoated him using 'The Fang' - the Citadel Spray Paint. I was worried that I had made him too blue, initially, but the more detail I added, the lesser the effect - which was good.

A simple pallette of blue, brown, grey and silver  should mean that these guys are relatively easy to paint, whilst also having a distinct look to them.

I used Vallejo Gun Grey (which is a muted, lead-style metallic) for the main metal plates and weapons, and then I picked out the highlights in silver.

I used greens (Kabalite Green and Moot Green) against an Incubi Darkness base for the lenses and electronics to create a little contrast. I think it worked!

Astra Militarum: Cadian Squad

Cadians: the most boring of all the different types of Imperial Guard Astra Militarum, insomuch as they look very similar to twentieth century military folks.  As do the Catachans, to be fair. Nevertheless, here they are.

Astra Militarum: Catachan Jungle Fighters

The Catachan Jungle Fighters are perhaps the least imaginative fighting force within the GW range, based very much on Vietnam-era jungle troops. Think 'Rambo', or 'Apocalypse Now' or 'Platoon'. You get the idea.

That being said, they are a lot of fun to paint, and they tend to look quite good when they are assembled en masse. The palette mix of tanned flesh and combat fatigues helps to give an idea that they are fighting in hot and sweaty conditions on a Death World.

The one problem with these chaps - as with all Imperial Guard Astra Militarum - is that they are as cheap as chips, points-wise.  Which is great news when it comes to building army lists, but not so great when it comes to looking at the list of things you need to paint.  The combined points cost of the chaps above, for instance, is about 80pts.

Astra Militarum: Colonel Schaeffer's Last Chancers

These three folk are a small portion of the penal legionnaires known as 'Colonel Schaeffer's Last Chancers' - hardened criminals and ne'er-do-wells who have been given one last shot at redemption (I guess it's in the name, really!)  Although these folks are metal, they were lots of fun to paint, and the miniatures have lots of character to them.  Highly recommended!

Astra Militarum: Sentinels

These models were really satisfying to build, and didn't take too long.  As with a lot of my Imperium forces, I adopted a dark red (Khorne Red from the Citadel Paints range) as a means of tying the forces together, and used blue as a spot colour - both for the Plasma weapons, and for the searchlight here.

The main base colour for these sentinels wasn't silver or gun grey, but rather a dark, matte grey, with some silver highlighting applied around the edges.  This is supposed to be a vehicle that has been involved in some serious action, after all!  So it shouldn't be too shiny...

Some stark white iconography helps to tie the vehicles in with some of my other armies: my Blood Angels and my Grey Knights Inquisition armies, as well as the Astra Militarum themselves.

Here's a Scout Sentinel which has a lot more of the interior exposed, and a lot less armour.  Annoyingly, I spent aaaaages painting some of the lights and control panels on the interior, only for them then to be stuck down by the driver's feet - firmly out of view!

The red and white livery continues where the previous Sentinel left off, tying the unit together.

There's some of the control instruments that you can see from an aerial view.

And here's the driver!  I tried to give him some stubble, but I don't know whether that's visible from the photographs.

He might offer a better profile from this side!

Astra Militarum: Castellan Creed & Colour Sergeant Kell

More named characters today - this time from the Astra Militarum - and it's Castellan Ursakar E. Creed and his adjutant, Colour-Sergeant Kell. 

Originally these chaps were sat on little 25mm bases, but a) the metal flag held aloft by Kell made him stupidly susceptible to falling over, and b) they seemed like they needed to be more substantial to reflect their standing in the Astra Militarum.

Kell himself doesn't get any adornment, since his flag is decoration enough - it's big and fairly over the top!

Oh... except for a little bit of wall behind him, of course...

Inquisition: Inquisitorial Acolyte

The eagle-eyed among you may recognise this geezer as being from the old Stormtrooper kit - the metal Imperial Guard Kasrkin set. He's such a cool, hard-boiled model that I had to include him in my retinue somehow.

I used red as a spot colour on his carapace armour to tie him in with the rest of my retinue - the Psykers and Inquisitor both have flashes of red on them, as does my Servitor.

I really liked the Kasrkin models, and I was a bit sad to see them replaced by the Tempestus Scions, until I realised how awesome THEY were, too!

Astra Militarum: Cadian Heavy Weapons Team

A finishing touch for my Cadian unit - a Heavy Bolter and artillery team.

These larger bases provide an opportunity to inject a bit of life into a squad with some scenery and accessories.