The pipes are a'callin'

Whee, got lots done tonight.

First up, Green/D is built, minus their backpacks which will be done curing tomorrow.


And the piper is built, too! That means that Green/Command is also ready for painting. I can't decide whether to paint them or Green/D first...



And finally, the two Sergeants for Green/A and Green/B are also ready for paint. When I had to move all my lovely shotgun Sergeants into a Vet squad (obligatory fist shake, as that's my only issue with C:IG, and it's a feeble one at that) I was short two Sergeants, so these two got made.



In other news...um...oh, yeah. There's been some response to my post about the Special Characters, mostly about Pask. I've been recommended Bob Elliot of the 19th Field Regiment, but I know very little about him and haven't been able to dig up much yet, as well as Major David Vivian Currie, who was awarded the VC for his actions during the Battle of Falaise. I've also decided after all to swap Jack Churchill and Brian McMourne (really? Nobody gets that? Where are all the REH fans?) around, mostly because I had an awesome idea for the McMourne/Marbo model, and so that I could make a squad of Commandos around Churchill, with the West Wind Para heads.

Other than that, a little bird told me that my future may hold something...wolfy...

Flashlights 'r' Us

I think my ability to come up with words for these posts is inversely proportional to the variety of what I'm posting pictures of. First six of Green/D, minus their backpacks and some GS work for the Sergeant's breastplate.

So close now...

Green/C is done. I can almost taste how close I am to being done my infantry. One more infantry squad, one more Heavy Bolter squad and two Command Squads... It's good to be making solid progress on these guys again!

Running out of post title ideas...

Didn't get any work done yesterday, as we had the office Christmas party. I realized about halfway through the night that I was drinking with the guy who made Hot Coffee, as well as one of the guys who invented GTA. I love my job.

Anyways, here's tonight's efforts, finished the fatigues and pouches, etc on the second half of Green/C.


I also did some work on Green Platoon's piper a day or two ago, but forgot to post the pic. I'm not as happy with how these ones are turning out for some reason, even if I am building them better...




I was also doing some thinking about counts-as Yukoni versions of all the Special Characters. Straken is in my 2000 points list as Major Michael Brown, as is Marbo who I'm thinking of basing on "Mad Jack" Churchill. I'm thinking his background might be a high-born Praetorian adventurer who couldn't take the starchy discipline of the Praetorian regiments, got adopted by a Yukoni Highlander regiment and eventually became one of the founders of the Yukoni special recon division, or something to that effect.

Creed and Kell were easy: Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, a personal hero of mine, and John MacDonnel.

Pask I have no idea about. I guess I need to do some research into accomplished Canadian tank commanders...

Bastonne will, I think, become Captain Brian McMourn (virtual cookie if you can guess the origin of that one), last scion of a Riatan (I've decided that the Yukoni Highlanders' world is called Van Riatan's World, and is home to Byzantine politicking between all the various houses over trade, etc) who is seeking to regain his family's honour on the battlefield.

Harker, Yarrick and Chenkov don't really interest me in terms of their rules, so I may not bother with them. Al'Rahem looks like he could be fun, and I've been considering inventing a Riatan/Highlander character for him, as there aren't any historical Canadian figures that spring to mind. Mogul Kamir I'm on the fence about, as his rules don't really seem, to me, to fit with the Canadian cavalry in WWI.

More grist for the mill

First half of Green/C painted. Yay!


Just because I felt like, here's an army shot. I can't believe it's taken me over a year to get this far...






And, finally, I decided to have another go at sculpting faces. Here's the result. I'm pretty proud of it, but I'll let you judge for yourselves.

Inching closer

Three weeks of 80-90~ work hours slowed me down a bit, but I've got Green/C built, and a bit of progress on the platoon command squad as well as planning out the platoon HB squad.

Here's the built squad, all reposed to be running.





And here's Commissar Hakes-Exeter, who definitely subscribes to the 40k school of thought on weapon sizes...

Everything is better with space pirates!

Okay, I'm exhausted and have to go back to work in a few hours (that's what I get for staying up building minis), so I'm just going to let the pics speak for themselves, mostly.

Here's Green Platoon's Command Squad. The officer and basecoated trooper (armed with a hakapik and skinning knife) are not new, but the rest are.


New Platoon Sergeant Major:


Very WIP piper:


Their Commissar, the legendarily unkillable Bryn "the Blessed" Hakes-Exeter, sole survivor of numerous charges and artillery strikes and who once destroyed an enemy Titan by shouting at it (according to regimental legend). Internet Points to whoever can guess what two people he's based on.


According to the army list, he's got a power weapon, but I can't bring myself to carve off his power fist. Ideas, anyone? Right now I'm contemplating either having him holding a big power mace or turning the fist into a power claw.


And now, a little side project where I give into one of my life-long obsessions (not, not kilts): pirates! In this case, space pirates, as so unsubtly foreshadowed by the entry title. The 40k universe is perfect for piracy, and it's much mentioned in the fluff. However, the prime examples, Dark Eldar and the Red Corsairs, just aren't pirate-y enough for me. The Dark Eldar are space elves, and I have an unreasoning prejudice against elves of all types, and the Red Corsairs, especially in their new look, strike me as just another renegade Marine warband. I've wanted to do 40k pirates for a long time (I even wrote some background), but I could never figure out how, mainly because I was thinking about Pirate Marines, which probably would've either had the same problem as the Red Corsairs or descended into cartoonish-ness quite quickly. However, I think I found a way. You be the judge.