Inquisitor on the cheap: fun with 54mm models

A few months ago, I was chatting with Curtis of Ramshackle Games. I had just been notified that a lot of my classes had been cancelled (I am fine; please don't worry) and I was feeling a bit down. We got chatting about playing games with larger-scale figures for that proper "toy soldier" feel; we also discussed the old GW game Inquisitor, which used 54mm scale models and consequently always felt a bit inaccessible because of the high price point. He mentioned the cheap toy soldiers produced by Russian firm Tehnolog. Browsing eBay, I discovered that I could get a random assortment of 50 models for under £30. 

I have always had a bargain problem. The mental conversation goes something like this: 

Me: Wow, James, 50 models for £30. That's 60p a model. What a bargain!

Also me: It's not a bargain if I don't want 50 models in the first place. 

Me again: But think of the savings!

So that's how I wound up ordering 50 random 54mm models off eBay. It was a nice little treat to get myself in an uncertain time, and as I made the transition to working from home I had the fun of anticipating when my armyman playtoys would arrive. And arrive they did!

As you can see, I got a pretty good mix. There are elves, dwarves, knights, Vikings, samurai, orcs, undead, futuristic soldier types, historical soldier types ... all sorts. A pretty promising start for some future-fantasy conversions. I decided my party would be the crew of a Rogue Trader. These are the flamboyant space pirate crews who act as deniable agents of Imperial interest but often include lots of shady characters. Unlike most groups in the Warhammer 40,000 setting, Rogue Trader crews are highly diverse, and could include robots, aliens, mutants ... whatever! It seemed like a good start for an adventuring party. 

I began with my Rogue Trader himself. I loved the authoritative pose of the Cossack officer figure, but I wasn't wild about the hat. I decided to cut the fancy tricorn-hatted head off one of the figures representing soldiers of the Preobrazhensky regiment. 

I added a few flourishes and we were off. One of the things I learned here was that scale is very much an illusion. The plume and ornament here are from GW models -- nominally 28mm -- but they look fine on the 54mm character. In the heroic sculpting style of GW minis, items that the viewer should focus on, such as weapons, can be very exaggerated in size, meaning that they look much larger when you put them on more realistically scaled models. 

I also gave him some Imperial bling for the back of his cloak. 

As soon as I saw this Joan of Arc type model, I knew she would be a great Sister of Battle. She even has the distinctive bob haircut that you see on a lot of those models. I didn't like the weapon she was carrying, so I cut it off, together with the whole forearm. The replacement right arm is from an old Chaos Warrior, and the sword is a Reaper accessory. I thought the hooded, winged figure looked suitably spiritual.  

And here they are, my Rogue Trader crew! From left to right: 

• Ron Jambo is an Imperial guard veteran who became a mercenary after his unit was betrayed and left to die on a remote death world. The only conversion I did to this model was to cut off the feathers tucked into his headband, which I felt were a bit much. You can't see it, but he has an Imperial Aquila tattoo on his left shoulder. 
• Sister Eleutheria is a Battle Sister of the Order of the Sacred Rose (I picked them because I liked their colour scheme: white armour and black robes with scarlet linings). But she's also Captain Mortsafe's cousin, and the family pulled some strings to get her assigned to this mission. Her power sword provides some close-up punch. 
• Lord-Captain Anaximander Mortsafe is a dandy space pirate with a fancy hat. He is more of an investigator than a fighter, but he can handle himself if he has to, fighting with exotic alien sword and dagger. The reliquary at his neck also houses a force field generator. He is accompanied by his loyal servo-skull, Skully. 
• Combat Automaton 80-N35 is an experimental device created by Mortsafe's chief engineer Volund (whose model I plan to get started on any day now). 80-N35 lays down heavy firepower with his shoulder-mounted plasma gun. 
• Major Kuznetsov commands the detachment of Mortsafe household troops stationed aboard the Lord-Captain's vessel. He's a disciplined and determined officer, often driven to frustration by his employer's reckless curiosity. He bears a hot-shot laspistol as his sidearm. I decided this was a lasweapon despite its bolty barrel because the question of what the magazine was doing right behind the muzzle was driving me nuts. I decided that it was clearly just a battery pack and could therefore attach to the weapon anywhere. 

And that's the crew! Next I need to work on some opposition for them. I'm thinking a Chaos cult -- and, unusually for me, I'm thinking Khorne rather than Nurgle! Time for a little change-up. I'm going to make them as filthy and gore-splattered as these guys are clean and colourful. 

I also sent off selections of models to a couple of other people who created their own warbands. One of those was game designer and publisher Grant Howitt, who has just posted photos of his cool Inquisition party. Check them out here!

Armies on Parade wrap-up

So, my great Armies on Parade project is finally done. I say "great" -- by the standards of a lot of people's armies mine wasn't all that large. Still, I'm pretty pleased with it.

This project completes something I've been collecting for a long time. These Nurgle models include some of the earliest figures I ever bought. While on a trip to the UK as a kid, my brother bought the Plaguebearers in the now-long-defunct Games and Puzzles in Cambridge. One of the early spikey-helmet Plague Marines was bought on a contemporary or slightly later trip to Ireland, and many of the others are from the 2nd edition Chaos era, which occurred when I was in high school.

Ever since then, off and on, I've been acquiring Chaos models for this project: just a guy or two here and there when I see them at affordable prices. I still have a good number unpainted, but this made enough to display and I'm happy with it.

It was a very satisfying moment -- to take these models, some of which were among the first I ever owned (or, more accurately, "swiped from my brother"), and get them painted and ready to display and play with. The project seems to have really resonated with people, which was tremendously gratifying.

The army included:

28 plague marines in four squads of 7
7 poxwalkers
7 cultists
7 plaguebearers
1 sorcerer on foot
2  spawn
1 sorcerer on palanquin, with 4 plague marines as bearers
1 dreadnought
1 bloat drone
1 predator
1 Great Unclean One

Total: 61 models. I've shown photos of most of these in previous posts.

I also created a scenic board to hold the army, depicting a shrine of Nurgle on a former Imperial world. It included my first lighting effect: I popped the plastic "flame" off an LED tealight and replaced it with a bead from Hobbycraft, then slathered everything in hot glue to give it a foul wet shine. It looked pretty good and I'm definitely going to do it with future techno-gubbins.

The base itself was made from EVA foam. This stuff is cheap, lightweight, portable, and you can paint or print on it. Texturing is a little more difficult, but six 24 by 24 inch panels cost £10 at B&Q, so I can overlook it. I'm going to use this as the base for my Shadow War Armageddon terrain, and it's gonna look pretty great. I have ideas.

Anyway, the shrine itself is made from scrap polystyrene; the big skull is a foam Halloween ornament I bought for 50p. The spikes and other decorations are either from the bits box or are beads and junk; the wall texture is just polyfilla mixed with PVA glue and slathered on, with some sand sprinkled on in places while it was still drying. The diamond panes in the windows are auto body mesh. All the slime and ooze is just hot glue, which is ideal for the purpose.

Anyway, enough talk; here are some photos!

An overview of the board as a whole. 

The sorcerer conducts a foul ritual to the Plague God. 

Banners of the Legion adorn the shrine.

The Greater Daemon and his capering brood. 

Nurgle's favoured child advances. 

Veterans deploy with armour support. 

A daemonic figure inhabits the Predator's hull.

Nurgle's worshippers, their rites complete, march to war. 

The deadly effluent of the shrine creates new Spawn. 

Anyway, I won an award for Best Scenic Board at the Cambridge store, so that was nice. It came with a little pin.

Yet more progress reports!

I have legit painted every model for my Armies on Parade entry. I am pretty pleased with this. Here are some non-exhaustive photos:

Squad 3 is the early 2000s metal Plague Marines. 

Squad 4 is the new plastic Plague Marines.

Just some of the models in a big group shot. 

The sorcerer is based on an old Sauron model. 

The Great Unclean One and some Poxwalkers

Dreadnought and cultists.

Squad 2 is the late 80s/early 90s spikey-head marines, leading up to the monopose plastics from the 2nd edition.

Now all that remains is to create a board for these bad boys!

Progress updates

Over the last few weeks, I've been working steadily away on a couple of ongoing projects.

The first, as I've mentioned previously, is my Armies on Parade project. This is developing! I have been painting up unpainted models and retouching and rebasing old models. Here's my tally so far:

28 Plague Marines: 18 painted, 8 unpainted, 2 to be retouched.
Sorcerer: waiting to be retouched.
Palanquin bearers: 3 painted, 1 unpainted
Palanquin platform: unpainted
Palanquin rider: partly painted
Great Unclean One: painted
Dreadnought: painted
Predator: to be retouched
7 Poxwalkers: painted
7 cultists: painted
7 Plaguebearers: to be retouched

Totals: 59 models. 37 painted, 12 to be retouched, 10 unpainted.

Days remaining: 33

I've also been adding new episodes to my AD&D 1st ed. Monster Manual podcast, MONSTER MAN. You should check it out if you want to hear my voice talking about stuff.

I've also been adding images showing some of the monsters I talk about on the show using models and toys from my collection!

Anhkheg!

Ant, Giant!

Ape, Carnivorous!

Basilisk!

Baluchitherium!

A possibly impractical plan

So, Armies on Parade is this thing where you put together an army of Games Workshop models and take it down to your local GW shop and people vote on their favourite. I have decided to enter this year, largely as a way to motivate myself to paint some damn models. This may not be smart.

I will be entering my Warhammer 40,000 Nurgle force. Because it's a patchwork of models from so many different eras, I've decided to make that sort of the theme of the entry.

The goal is to include:

Commander on palanquin. This is a custom model made from an old Citadel Sauron supported by four converted plastic plague marines. This model isn't quite finished yet, but most of its component models are almost ready. 2 are still to be painted.

Sorcerer. This is just a regular old sorcerer from the late 2nd / maybe early 3rd edition era. Maybe needs a new base but otherwise pretty much ready to go.

Great Unclean One. The classic. Ready to go.

Dreadnought. Likewise. Ready to go.

Predator. The old plastic rhino with the second edition metal parts and a bunch of kitbashing. Needs a little touching up but otherwise ready to go.

7 80s Chaos renegades. 5 are completely finished, while 2 need new bases and some touching up.

7 pointy-helmet Death Guards of the late 1st / early 2nd era. This combines a few waves of models. 4 are done, 1 needs to be touched up and rebased, and 2 are not done at all.

7 of the not-so-great 2000s metal Death Guard. 2 are completely done, 1 needs touched up and rebased, 1 is partly done, 3 are not done at all.

7 of the new Dark Imperium plastic Death Guard. 1 is done, 1 is in progress and 5 need to be done.

7 Poxwalkers. Completely done.

7 cultists. Completely done.

7 Plaguebearers. Need to be rebased.

In total, then:

Models to be assembled, painted, etc: 13

Models to be touched up and rebased: 12

By the end of October? That's not too crazy.

Also I should make a 2 x 2 foot scenic board for them. That might be a little more challenging, but I have some rough ideas.

More progress reports as I, er, progress.

More frugal monsters -- with bonus Rogue Trader content!

I've been to the zoo again, which means it's time for more cheap monsters from the zoo gift shop!

These plastic jellyfish are 40p each or 10 for £3.50 in the gift shop. Mount 'em on a length of floral wire, base them on a coin, cover the wire up with some foliage, and Bob's your uncle.

In the jungle ruins of the equatorial region, an Imperial officer and his Schweintruppen bodyguards
have a chance encounter with a stingpod.

I think they'll look great as juveniles of the larger floating space jellyfish critter I made from an ornament I found in a charity shop nearly a year ago.

Anyway, here's a writeup of these monsters for Rogue Trader, the first edition of Warhammer 40,000.

Stingpod

This lighter-than-air species is indigenous to Peterson's World. Typically found in schools of 1-2 adults and 2-6 juveniles, they drift across the landscape, paralysing prey with their stinging tentacles and consuming them. The gas that fills their lift sacs is highly combustible; ranchers and mine companies have encountered difficulties when stingpods collide with electrified fences or other energy barriers.

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Int	Cl	WP
Adult	5	4	-	4	4	3	4	d3	8	2	8	8
Juvenile	5	3	-	3	3	1	4	1	8	2	8	8

On its first round of hand-to-hand combat, the stingpod attacks with its tentacles, attempting to incapacitate its prey. If successful, it will bite in subsequent rounds unless attacked by another opponent and driven off.

The lashing impact of a stingpod's tentacles inflicts no lasting harm, but causes overwhelming agony that can temporarily paralyse the victim. Each creature hit by a stingpod's tendrils must make a Cl test or be paralysed. It may test at the beginning of each of its turns to recover. 

When a stingpod is killed, there is a chance that its lift sac ruptures and combustible gas is released. Roll a d6: on a 6, the creature explodes like a grenade with S4, D1, -1 save, 1.5" radius. If the stingpod was killed with a las, auto, shuriken, bolt, power, or other similar weapon, it explodes on a 4+ . If it was killed with a flame, plasma, or melta weapon, it explodes automatically. 

Further lack of idleness!

In addition to not being idle working on gaming videos, I have not been idle in my painting and terrain-making. I have mostly been trying to catch up with my painting backlog, with special focus on things that have sat around unpainted too long. The fine young folks at the Cambridge University Role-playing and Tabletop Society are starting up a Shadow War Armageddon campaign this coming academic year, so I've been putting together some scenery to go with that as well (and to fit into my existing post-apocalyptic collection). Here's what I've done lately:

I decided to put most of my obstacle and barricade terrain in one place!

This is a collection of scatter terrain, objective markers and so on suitable for that campaign. 

These piles of scrap are made from Ramshackle games miscasts and based on scrap cardboard. 

This walkway is made from 3.5" floppy discs and a few other bits.
Now that I'm volunteering at the computer museum, I suspect I'm going to get through a lot of these. 

Lots of new stuff here, most visibly the Poxwalkers from the Dark Imperium boxed set. 

I finished the storage tank I started about four years ago!

This figure is from Oakbound Games' upcoming minis game, Factious Waste. 

As is this bomb-throwing rebel. 

This barbarian was a quick paint job for my Dragon Rampant army. I think he looks pretty good!

Here's a closeup of one of the Poxwalkers. They're speed-painted with washes. 

A shot showing the construction of the walkways from the photo above. 

Anyway, that's what I've done recently that I have good photos of. More to come!

Paint situation: getting ready for BOYL

Well, here it is the beginning of June, and that means that this year's Bring Out Your Lead event, which will be my third, is just two short months away. I've got my hotel room booked and some games scheduled, which means it's time to start thinking about my painting needs. Here are the games I am thinking of playing and, consequently, the things I ought to paint.

1. Shadow War Armageddon

A new edition of Necromunda obviously has the Oldhammer community's whiskers twitching excitedly, so I expect to get some games of this in. I have quite a lot of models I can use for this and I have already costed up Ork and Chaos kill teams. One of the marines in the photo needed a new base but that is now taken care of.

I should paint up a few more cultists for recruiting purposes.

Status: Mostly Complete.

2. Helsreach

This big interactive table will feature lots of different little games in a post-apocalyptic-type Rogue Trader setting inspired by the alien world depicted in the RT rulebook. I need to stat up a gang according to one of the many editions of Necromunda, but I don't anticipate that being too much trouble other than being spoilt for choice.

I also need to paint up a jetbike (or two) for the jetbike races and complete some more terrain, as I've been asked to set up my marketplace as part of the scenery.

Status: Mostly Complete

3. Heldenhofen, City of Heroes

Like Helsreach but for fantasy! My goal is to paint up a party of adventurers, all of them Citadel models from the 80s. I already have a Cleric and a Wizard, so I'm just going to paint up one of the AD&D Rogues and a Heroic Fighter to complete the set. Although maybe I should just use Lastro Lupintal as my rogue. That would mean I was 3/4 done and I would have a dwarf. Anyway, point is I have options and this is a lower priority.

Status: Half Complete

4. Rogue Trader? 

There was supposed to be a Rogue Trader thing happening, but I don't know if it's still on. I will try to take one case's worth of Chaos or Orks just to play if needed.

Status: Mostly Complete

To summarise, then, what I needed to paint between now and BOYL is:

3-4 Chaos cultists
1-2 Jetbikes
Last market stall
Market trade goods and characters as needed
2 adventurers

I think that is feasible!