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.

A Stargrave Crew (Expanded from the Five Parsecs From Home Crew) - The Squat

If you've been keeping an eye on the blog over the last month or so, you'll know that I've put together a 6-strong Five Parsecs From Home crew. I've also been using them to spark other sub-projects, with a 10-strong Stargrave crew foremost in my mind. The final addition to this project is my last Stargrave crew member in the form of a classic Bob Olley squat. 

There's Nothing Worse Than a Squat With a Clipboard...

I have found it a bit tricky to get hobby time over the last couple of weeks, but I wanted to complete something to feel like I'm still actively hobbying! I figured the best option was to grab something quick and easy out of my WIP pile. The figure I selected was one I had converted in 2017 with the intention of using as a dwarf Blood Bowl coach. I never made or painted the team, but held onto the coach to repurpose as a squat storesman or similar.

The Crew's All Aboard Cap'n - Final Squat Pirates

I'm bookending my hobby output quite nicely by finishing off the year with the last 3 squat pirates from the crew that I started in January. I'm really pleased to have got this iconic set of 10 squat pirate sculpts painted with a couple of additions (a squat adventurer, the dwarf pirate and of course the big ugly ogryn). I do have some transport planned for the crew, but for now they'll just have to put their boots on the ground!

The last 3 additions are a nice selection. There's a Time Bandit-esque squat in retro pilot gear, a classicly styled crewman with headscarf and eye-patch, and the frankly maxed out fella with the braided beard, hook and horned hat.

Pirate Rule #11 - Every Crew Must Have a Parrot (More Squat Pirates)

Trouble traditionally comes in threes, and this kind of trouble is the shortest, hairiest kind! Latest off the workbench is another trio of squat pirates (leaving just three more to try and finish before the end of the year).

Part of the reason that there's been such a gap between my last squat pirates and these is related to arms. The metal bodies were intended for use with the plastic squat arms, but unfortunately the plastic arms fit poorly, cover nice sculpted details and don't match aesthetically. As a result, I've spent a long time trying to work up the arm right solution for every squat pirate using bits donated from other models.

A Short Plank for a Scurvy Crew - More Squat Pirates

Another small group of Captain Grugari's Dreadstorm Privateers have made it off the WIP to bring the piratical crew up to a respectable six in number!

These dastardly space pirates are as terrifying  in reputation as their fashion choices!

Sailing the Astral Seas - Squat Pirates

Over the years I have mentally ordered squats according to their coolness. I was never keen on the faux Celtic/Viking feel of the Warlord and Hearthguard, so they're at the bottom of the scale. I love the wildly exotic Iron Claw squats from the hand of Bob Olley, where the ordered militariness of Perry sculpts leaves me cold. But squat adventurers are great (because they're rogues and bandits, and I like rogues and bandits). 

Top of the pile in my book are the bonkers and anarchic squat pirates. They're dripping with pirate clichés (peg legs, fancy hats and hooks). Why any short statured space pirates should be wearing outfits that ape buccaneer clothing from the 17th and 18th centuries is anyone's guess. But then it makes as much sense as Ork Freebooters sporting the styles. Which is no sense at all, but also absolutely perfectly logical!

So I'm launching on a new project without any real purpose other than self-amusement, and am putting together a squat pirate crew which hopefully will be painted over the next month or so.

Deep Space Salvage Crew - New Recruits

Shortly after making my 5-strong Terminator stand-in salvage crew a few weeks ago, it was pointed out that my big robot was on too large a base. Not too large for the model, but too large for the 3D Space Hulk terrain they were going to be deployed on.

Rather than worry about wasted effort, I decided to embrace the opportunity of adding a couple more figures to the crew. Both of the new additions are slightly more exotic than the previous troopers, being an abhuman and an alien.

Irn-Bonce the squat is the very first space dwarf seen in 40k, hailing from the March 1987 releases. His rounded armour is a great match stylistically to the LE10 power armour troopers, and his weapon (later listed as a grenade launcher) could easily stand in as a heavy flamer / blast type weapon in Space Hulk.

"Engineering team to level 17 - we have a problem with waste disposal"



The Ogryns Security detachment had broken the latrine system yet again! What in the name of the Emperor did they try to flush away?! Sub-Engineer Grungi, Menial Holst and mobile diagnostic unit BM-B02 were despatched to investigate...

 



 

I put together this small engineering team after a mate recently gave me the cute little robot. He's made half a dozen or so of these robots to represent bombots for use in his Rogue Trader squat force. If you're not familiar with bombots, then head off to p121 of the Rogue Trader rulebook:

 

Bombots, p121 Rogue Trader

Rogue Quest Level 4: The Rogue

It's level up time in Rogue Quest - the collaborative painting / modelling / gaming project I'm working on in partnership with JB/Asslessman over at Leadplague. My first character was my female Barbarian, Dy-ana.

After JB's very nice wizard from last week, I've taken up the baton yet again with my next adventurer. I was very keen from the outset that I would reflect some of the species diversity common to dungeoneering parties. Although human adventurers are typically well represented, dwarf fighters, elf rangers and even half-orc barbarians add real spice to the mix.

I knew that I wanted to include a squat in my party. Rather than make my squat a traditional barbarian or fighter character, I decided my short-beardy fellow would be a more subtle individual, playing the part of a rogue / thief.

Dwarf Rogue