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Greetings fellows, I have some painted stuffs to share with you today – I have been busy preparing for BOYL, which is kicking off in just 4 days’ time!! For those not in the know, Bring Out Your Lead is an annual Oldhammer extravaganza, which is generously hosted over a long weekend by the Ansell clan, (including Bryan, one time MD of GW), at the family owned Wargames Foundry in Newark. It is an amazing weekend where all the older versions of the core GW games, (and later specialist games), get a damn good thrashing, along with a feast of gorgeous minis from that era. If you can make it, then I really do encourage you to come along – you won’t regret it.
Last year I had a great time playing Rogue Trader, (that’s 1st ed 40k to the younglings), including an excellently GMed multiplayer game. This year I aim to be getting involved in various games based on a board modelled on Helsreach – a rough frontier town on Logan’s World, as presented in Rogue Trader. There will be a rolling campaign based on the Necromunda ruleset and a bespoke game of Jet bike racing, so I decided to put together a desert themed force to participate. I will actually be playing them as Guard as per the new Shadow Wars reboot of Necromunda, so this gave me an excellent excuse to paint up some of my all-time favourite Guard miniatures – the Tallarn. Here is my starting 1000 cred team:
Now, this squad is nowhere near my best work – I was against the clock, so I mostly used inks over a Zandri Dust base coat & kept to a very restricted colour scheme, (apart from the freehand on the shoulder pad – my rogue trader’s personal livery). While it is all a bit rough and ready, I actually kind of like the dusty, weathered look on these guys. The flesh tone is a little darker to suit the theme, and I’m also quite pleased with the OSL glow on the two plasma guys.
In terms of fluff, these guys are desert-world mercs – guns for hire, and tough as old boots. This group has been contracted by Rogue Trader Arturo Lamina, (hence the somewhat incongruous use of the Trader’s personal heraldry on the shoulder pads), to go to Helsreach and get stuck in to some potentially profitable shenanigans that the crafty trader has heard about. In my mind, Arturo has forked out on some knocked off Army gear to equip them, and hopefully give them an air of legitimacy that will help them to avoid any ‘imperial interference’. Devana the huntress, from Arturo’s personal retinue has joined the team – ostensibly as a special weapons op, but also to keep the mercs in line on behalf of her boss… any sign of betrayal, and she’ll be behind them to put a bullet in their skulls.
I also have a few more troops prepared to join the squad in future campaigns, (and if the Helsreach game mechanic allows for advancement):
Commissars are also a thing in Shadow War, so I’ve included one of my all-time favourite models to provide a desert-flavoured equivalent, (again, for future games, but also if the Helsreach mechanic allows):
Finally, I wanted a desert themed jet bike to take part in the racing side game, so I did a bit of Toyhammer turned this:
In to this:
No… I wouldn’t want to ride it either… :-/
This was great fun to build, and uses some old Hotwheels thing and an old Imperial Guard medic rider as the main components. The rider got a headswap (for thematic reasons, but also because the original was so messed up), and a quick delve in the bits box provided all the doodabs and gubbins, while the saddle is sculpted in Greenstuff. The kids saw it finished and said it looks like something from Star Wars, so I reckon that is a win :-)
Here’s the whole expedition force together, ready for the drive up to Newark on Thursday:
So, that’s it for now dudes – I’ll also be taking my Praetorians with me for a bit of RT action, and I am also planning to play one of the early editions of WFB with my Undead. I may get lynched for my heretical round bases, but I’m really excited to give it a go – WFB wasn’t in my local meta where I grew up and I have never played any of the pre-AoS editions, so this is kind of a bucket-list item for me. With that in mind, I’m having a last-minute push to get something ‘new’ painted up for my undead -specifically for BOYL. It’s a little bit special, so fingers crossed I can do it justice & get it finished in time! I’ll keep you posted :-)
Leadballoony - It's a lead thing 
Lucky you!! You’ll have a ball I’m sure. The guard looks fantastic but that jet bike thing has blown my mind this evening. Excellent, excellent work. It really fits in well and could also be used for some crazed Ork. Can’t wait to hear how you went on the Oldhammer weekend. Have fun.
Cheers dude – can’t wait :-) Expect a full photo dump from the event in the near future!
As they say in Masterchef Australia: “Mate that is absolutely brilliant!”
Great work on the Tallarn (Tallarni? Tallarneans? Tallareens?) in general, but that jet bike takes the cake. It’s quirky, fun, oldhammery and a great use of a toy plane. That weekend will be something special!
Thanks dude – yeah, I’m so looking forward to it :-)
Great little squad you got there. The Tallarn are really cool.
The plasma gun effect is very effective and the freehand is top notch as always. I feel sorry for the lady though, no armour and no garbs to speak of. ;) Love the speeder. Excellent toyhammering.
Have a great weekend!
:-) Thanks mate, and don’t worry about her – she’s by far the most kick-ass member of the team!
Brilliant work! I love those Tallarn figures and don’t worry, you have done them justice; the gritty weatherbeaten look works for them very well. The jetbike looks good too!
Have fun at BOYL; I’d love to go one day.
Thanks dude, and wow, it would be great if you could mate, would love to meet properly!
My wife has family in England so we will be over at some point and I will make the two coincide if possible. We were aiming for 2018 but finances may not allow it until 2019 now.
Awesome, I’ll look forward to it mate :-)
Those really are the business – they do look perfectly grimy and worldly – perfect for a bunch of mercs. The heraldry is the great addition – It really does make the whole paintjob pop. Great stuff!
Thanks mate, I am pleased with the heraldry – it does help to elevate what would otherwise be a pretty bland paint job! ;-)
Man, those are enormously cool! Charming group, the livery gives them a strong sense of cohesion, I love them all. But the jetbike.. oh, that’s another level! So great!
Thanks dude – it looks absolutely insane to ride! Perfect RT :-)
Excellent! Tallarns are sorely missed in contemporary 40k (like all the metals really) and your “hasty” paint job is excellent and suits the figures well.
The jet bike of course is ace… hope you can find some more of that jet thingy so you can make a little scouting force of them.
Haha – thanks mate! I agree, the old metal guard regiments were ace, with Tallarns and Praetorians being the stand-out minis for me :-)
Man, that Killteam is absolutely gorgeous — and under normal circumstances, I don’t even like Tallarns for crying out loud! Excellent stuff, however, and once again, a perfect tightrope walk between modern and retro painting sensibilities — your mentioning that this is nowhere near your finest work actually makes me even more envious ;)
The Huntress is a standout piece, as is the repurposed toy plane. Brilliant work all around!
Hey, thanks Krauty! I did feel really rusty when I painted them, but they have been well received so maybe they are better than they ‘felt’ if you know what I mean? The Huntress is from an earlier project, so a bit more involved paint-wise, while the bike was just great fun to do, (and cheep too!)
Anyway, glad you like ’em mate, even if they are Tallarn ;-)
Very cool collection there Alex. I think the Tallarn models are great, though I only have about a platoon worth of them rather tan an army. I was looking at them thinking about bringing them out for paint just a couple of weeks ago, and after seeing yours here It’s really motivating to do so again. I love that Toyhammer skimmer as well – fantastic work there!
Cheers dude & go for it – I reckon a platoon of these dudes would look excellent!
Wow, great looking minis and really nice conversion on the jet bike! I haven’t played any GW games other than Bloodbowl, but seeing minis like these always makes me want to give Necromunda a try. Was Rogue Trader more of a skirmish game or is it also a big war-game like 40k?
Thanks mate, glad you like ’em! Rogue Trader was a funny beast – it has a lot of complexity that doesn’t exist in the modern game, and lends itself very well to a detailed skirmish type of play (making up your own rules & having a GM is highly encouraged in the book). That said, it also works well for bigger battles – I had a game on Monday with 8 players & well over 100 minis per side! I can highly recommend getting a copy of the book :-)