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 1^st 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 :-)