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Lonkelo dives into Kill Team

Lonkelo dives into Kill Team

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Project Blog by lonkelo Cult of Games Member

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About the Project

A friend of mine recently bought some Kill Team sets and seemed eager to have an opponent. Whereas I don't have the time or money to fund a GW large-scale army, Kill Team did sound like an ideal way to scratch that hobby itch!

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In come the cuirassiers!

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I completely forgot to update the project after I added some Vostroyan Cuirassiers to my Kill Team collection. Cuirassiers? Yes. This is me attempting to game along the gaps.

Since I built my Vostroyan Navy Breacher kill team to be a bit more generic, I was able to use most of them for a regular Imperial Guard kill team. This meant that I could either field two groups of seven guardsmen or two groups of Tempestus Scions, or a combination of the two. I went with the latter and decided I needed to make some minis that looked like how I’d imagine the Vostroyan counterparts of the Imperium’s Tempestus Scions.

I give you, the Кираси́ры, or Cuirassiers!

Black basecoat and white drybrushBlack basecoat and white drybrush

For these minis I again made heavy use of the fantastic Grognards from Wargames Atlantic, but with some parts also from the heavy weapons set, which allows you to have some of them kneeling down.

Tempestus scions are normally armed with hotshot lasguns, which I simulated by using old school GW Cadian arms, to which I added some bent paper clips as a power cable to their backpacks.

Like my other Vostroyans I used the following colours:

  • Army Painter (AP) Speed Paints blood red for the coat
  • AP Speed Paints gravelord grey for the fur hats
  • AP Speed Paints hardened leather for…. well, the leather
  • AP true copper
  • GW leadbelcher
  • GW nuln oil

To this I added some silver highlights to the crests on the helmets, to help them stand out more.

Sorry for the somewhat fuzzy photos. I only noticed just now… Anyway, from left to right: cuirassier gunner with grenade launcher, two regular cuirassiers and a comms cuirassier.

I’m especially happy with the cuirassier sergeant, however:

In come the cuirassiers!

This was my first attempt at OSL and I’m not displeased with the end result. The lightning effect on the sword is somewhat disappointing, but the light effect worked out nicely.

Note that the arms I used for the sergeant are from the old GW Empire militia pack. I’ve used these arms on countless miniatures, both fantasy and scifi. They just work really well.

As a bonus, I remember @avernos saying I hadn’t managed to get the logo right on the bases in the past! Finally got one right! Can you find it?

Golden Button

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Wow! Such proud!Wow! Such proud!

Thank you very much OTT team for the Golden Button 😀

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 3

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“VOSTROYAAA!!”“VOSTROYAAA!!”

“VOSTROYAAA!!” A warcry pierced the air as Timohin launched himself unto the Deathwatch Warrior and brought down his mighty two-handed power axe. The shimmering blade sunk deep into the neck of the superhuman, who dropped to the floor wordlessly.

Lihachov, now covered in the blood of both his comrade and the space marine, let himself fall backwards against the wall. Timohin put his foot on the astartes’ back and with some difficulty managed to pull out the axe. He held up the bloodied weapon and said “When hunting angels, bring a big fly swatter, eh Lihachov?”

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 3

Back in the main hallway, the Deathwatch unleashed their deadly counterattack. They recognised that the reason that these navy rats were able to advance so quickly was the sharp eye and quick wit of Surveyor Lazarev. A brutal volley of bolter rounds was fired by Brother Quellus, ripping the Void Shrike to shreds.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 3

Brother Luniel wasn’t going to sit idle after he had seen his Brother Terratis hacked down by the Navy Axejack. He aimed his missile launcher and fired a shot that only an astartes could have pulled off: the missile narrowly missed the edge of the hallway and the edge the door, roaring straight towards its target. Lihachov saw the projectile slam into the side of Timohin, who still held up his axe. He was blinded by a flash and before he knew it he was thrown backwards, sliding along the cold walls, shrapnel ripping into his uniform.

Quellus, who had witnessed the shot fired by Luniel, berated his comrade: “To wreak vengeance upon ants is unbecoming of you, brother. Make sure to speak to the Chaplain after battle.”

Lihachov coughed in the smoke-filled hallway. Of Timohin, nothing remained. The boisterous idiot should have sought cover, he thought grimly. The ringing in his hears didn’t seem to become less. In fact, it seemed to become louder. He then noticed that it was the sound of a melta gun being fired up. Karataev had entered the scene and unleashed the molten beam through the smoke tendrils at the silhouette of Brother Demetrius behind them. As unfathomable temperatures reached the tall Storm Shield, the mixing energies seemed to throw off purplish lightning, that scorched the walls. Suddenly the light was gone and the smell of ozone filled the air.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 3

The after image of the flashes had seared itself into Lihachovs vision, but he could see enough to recognise that Karataev had managed to burn a hole through the storm shield. His aim had been off, however, and whereas some of the armour on the astartes’ torso had been eaten away, it seemed that only the marine’s shieldarm had been wounded seriously. Demetrius’ sword arm was still fine, which he proved when he stepped over Lihachov and split Karataev in twain.

As Lihachov checked his shotgun, he hoped the others in the main hall were faring better on their end and that he and his comrades had bought them enough time. As the hulking space marine turned his attention to him, Lihachov wondered whether today was a good day to die.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 3

The Deathwatch had now also reached the engine room and secured the objective on their end. Grenadier Alpatich knew extraction time was approaching fast, so now was time to swallow his fear and do what Void Shrikes do best. As his sergeant-in-arms came up next to him he asked: “Permission to do something stupid, sir!” Lovaisky sighed. “My dedushka always said: ‘the Emperor requires both heroes and fools in his court. Some to make him proud and others to make him laugh.’ Find out which one you are, Grenadier.” Alpatich smiled and rushed forward. As soon as the Deathwatch marines noticed his approach he had already taken out the demolition pack. The astartes raised their weapons just as he threw down the small package at their feet. He pressed the detonator and dove backwards. A flash lit up the room, temporarily illuminating all present, which was followed by a shockwave that carried him backwards. His landing was all but graceful and he slammed onto the floor multiple times before he slid to a halt.

Sergeant Lovaisky had braced himself and shielded his eyes just in time. He was as mad as a hatter, but Alpatich was the kind of soldier you were thankful for in your squad. He was about to promise to buy Alpatich good bottle of wodka when they got back, when the dissipating smoke revealed the two astartes still standing. Curse them. Just how tough are these beasts? It was clear however that they had indeed suffered from the explosion and especially the one with the plasma gun seemed to be close to kicking the bucket.

You can bring someone to death’s door, but sometimes they need you to hold it open for them and shove them through. Always the gentleman, he decided he should show the poor man the way and he pulled out his heirloom autopistol and fired it into the marine as he walked towards him. The bullets pierced the shredded remains of the power armour and the space marine sank to the ground. He turned to the second astartes when he heard Alpatich shout something. Before he knew it, life was burned out of him by scorching plasma fire.

Brother Numenis dropped to his knees. He could feel life slipping away from him. He tried to aim his plasma gun at the grenadier in front of him, but could not feel his arms anymore. Darkness came over him and brother Numenis was no more.

—–

The endThe end

And that is where it ends. The scenario was three rounds long, but we weren’t able to finish the last one because I had to catch a train. My friend suggested it was a draw since we had technically achieved the same number of victory points. I do wonder, however, whether his Deathwatch marines might have been able to contest one of my objectives before the end of the turn. I wouldn’t have made it easy, though!

Short game review

The game was fun and full of watercooler moments for us. The alternate activation meant that we were engaged in the battle and never found ourselves being bored, waiting for the moment to finally push our own minis accross the table.

This was our first game of Kill Team and that of course means that we had to look things up every now and then. The game is also quite granular and whereas this adds a lot of flavour, it can bog a game down because you have to look up even more. This meant that in between taking turns, most time was spent with our noses in the books and rosters we’d brought. We took about four hours to play almost three turns…

I think that you definitely get more accustomed to the core rules once you play the game more often. However, for people like me who cannot play games very often, we will have to re-learn the game to a degree every time we play it.

I wasn’t too sure about the tokens on the battlefield. Using the actual GW terrain with our own painted minis looked awesome, but then you have all these little counters signifying this or that strewn over the battlefield like confetti. Meh.

Let me end with a good point of the game, to turn this review into a compliment sandwich. Even if the rules were somewhat dense, they really got the feeling of the respective killteams down to a T. The Navy Breachers really felt like soldiers who were specialised in naval combat. The space marines were clearly big, mean and brutally perfect (ugh so boring!), but luckily not impossible to take down once you threw enough C4 on top of them.

All in all, I had a great time playing Kill Team.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 2

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Meanwhile, Armsmen Komarov and Lihachov raced through the northern hallway, feeling secured by Timohin and Glinka, who were keeping an eye on the door. Of all the enemies that could have been waiting on the other side of the door, they didn’t expect two battle brothers from the fabled Deathwatch standing but a few feet from them. How thin the door must have felt if they’d known…

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 2

Astartes cannot be called prideful. They just know that they are superhuman. Whereas lesser men could worry about the quick advance of their feeble peers, they knew that their faith, weaponry and the skill with which they wielded both, would bring glory and victory to the Emperor.

With grim determination they advanced into the main hallway. As Brother Numeris laid down covering fire with the already feared plasma gun, Brother Eziraphel – his power claws crackling in the dark – was able to secure their first objective.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 2

“By the Emperor’s gilded balls, it’s the Deathwatch!” Gerasim shouted hoarsely into the comms, as he recognised his foes in the light of plasma fire. The Endurant wasn’t a fearful man, but the presence of multiple Space Marines at the other side of the room, who could break his reinforced shield like an egg shell, was enough for him to press himself as far into his small corner as he could. He hoped it would cover him.

The crunching of Durak’s fried remains beneath his feet snapped him out of his shock, however, and he carefully opened the hatch towards the main generator room, all the while keeping his position and his eyes on the dark far side of the room.

Surveyor Lazarev was able to recognise this tiniest of lulls in the fire lain down by their enemies, and in that moment sent Grenadier Alpatich racing across the room, through the hatch door. “Second objective secured!” he shouted to his fellow navy breachers.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 2

There was no time to celebrate, for at that moment, the Deathwatch broke through the Northern hallway door. The Void Shrikes wouldn’t have believed that such a tall and broad warrior could move so swiftly, if the Deathwatch Sergeant Demetrius hadn’t dashed past them and cut down Gunner Glinka with a fell swipe of his xenophase blade, before they could even blink.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 2

In the dark doorway another pair of eyes lit up. Armsman Lihachov was the first to move into action. He shouted to his companion Komarov: “are you waiting for him to pour us a drink? Shoot, damnit, SHOOT!”. With deft hands, trained through years of service, he changed his ammunition of his shotgun for dirty close-range fighting, snapped it shut and opened fire into the door opening. The sharp cracks of navy shotgun fire echoed off the iron walls, lighting up the mighty silhouet of their opponent. The combined rounds fired by the two armsmen had hit home and would have ripped an ork to shreds.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 2

Indeed, they had pierced the Deathwatch Veteran’s armour and even wounded the ancient warrior monk. Brother Terratis felt annoyance at this: he would have to miss the regular after-mission service to visit the Apothecary, who would have to tend to his wounds. He sighed as he strode through the doorway and brought down his powered blade on Komarov. He split the man in twain as if lazily dropping a hot knife through butter. Splattered by the blood of his comrade, Lihachov tried to move his bayonet between this angel of vengeance and himself.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 1

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Every day countless battles are fought in some nameless part of the void. All but few of the citizens of the Imperium remain ignorant of these, which does not diminish the importance of the men and women laying down their lives to protect the Imperium from enemies without and within.

The scene is an Imperial Cruiser, which had been lost in the Warp for centuries, before reappearing suddenly as little more than a wreck, devoid of life. The Vostroyan 1054th regiment, the “Void Shrikes”, have been sent to secure the vessel. Unbeknownst to them, a small detachment of the Deathwatch also boarded the vessel, who, for reasons known only to themselves, attacked the Imperial Navy soldiers and seemed to want to take the vessel for themselves. Bloody battle ensued in the cold, dark husk of the once proud Navy vessel, which would become a claustrophobic tomb to many.

The mission we played was Subsidence from the Into the Dark box. Both killteams had to rush towards the subsidence edge of the killzone, where both Killteams have to secure the generators on board the ship. The ones marked three and four confer 2 victory points each, whereas one and two in the closed room at the back of the killzone confer 6 victory points each. Deployment was only allowed in the corners of the respective rooms we started in.

 

1054th Vostroyan First Born “the Void Shrikes” (as Imperial Navy Breachers)

  • Navis Sergeant-at-Arms – Lovaisky
  • Navis Armsmen (armed with slugs) – Komarov, Lihachov, Shtcherbatov & Shapovalov
  • Navis Axejack – Timohin
  • Navis Endurant – Gerasim
  • Navis Grenadier – Alpatich
  • Navis Surveyor – Lazarev
  • Navis C.A.T. Unit – CR-845 “Durak”
  • Navis Gunners (melta gun and plasma gun) – Karataev & Glinka

 

Deathwatch Veteran Fireteam

  • Brother Demetrius (leader): storm shield and xenophase blade
  • Brother Eziraphel: lightning claws
  • Brother Terratis: bolter and power sword
  • Brother Numenis: plasma gun
  • Brother Quellus: bolter
  • Brother Luniel: Missile launcher

The battle report got a bit out of hand, so I’ll have to post it over multiple entires.

(A small disclaimer before we kick off: I realise that this battle report is mostly from the point of view of the Void Shrikes and therefore not really an objective account of the battle 😉 )

Deployment and initial moves

The Deathwatch had managed to take the initiative in this battle as the Void Shrikes didn’t have any intel on enemy forces also boarding the vessel. Let alone them also being agents of the Imperium! Both forces split their kill teams to approach the objectives from two avenues.

Even though the Deathwatch made the first move, the Void Shrikes immediately showed that this was their turf: they had tapped into the system opening the main room door towards the first objective and were able to send out the C.A.T. Durak to mark its location.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 1

Just as Durak relayed the images of the objective and its surroundings, its feed was overwhelmed by a high heat signature: Durak had been fried to a crisp by a well-aimed plasma shot.

 

Survivors swear they witnessed the hand of the God Emperor in the hallways of the space-wreckSurvivors swear they witnessed the hand of the God Emperor in the hallways of the space-wreck

“We’ve got contact!” Surveyor Lazarev shouted across the comms. Years of experience had taught the Void Shrikes that danger may lurk around any badly-lit corner corner. Often the hard way. Quickly Axejack Timohin and Gunner Glinka with his melta gun took up defensive positions around the closed hatch door in the northern hallway.

They rightly suspected that their enemy was waiting for them on the other side.

Battle Report - Void Shrikes VS Deathwath, pt 1

Lazarev felt annoyed at the early loss of yet another Durak: he would have to do this on his own. Again. The coast seemed clear for now and he steered Gerasim the Endurant across the hallway. Just as the latter took up defensive positions and secured the first objective, again plasma seared the stale air and burned into Gerasim’s shield. He felt the heat of the plasma burning through his shield, but managed to hold his position.

Painting is done! (for now) pt. 2

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If you read my previous posts, you may remember me being a bit nervous about how the Axejack’s gloves would turn out. Well, I’m actually quite happy with the result!

The Grenadier

The pose for this one feels very dramatic. The backpack really shows how nicely the Speedpaints pick out details.

Pause for dramatic effect!Pause for dramatic effect!

The Gunners

These are the chaps with the big guns. I’m not sure what the guns represent, but for now the big one is a plasma gun and the smaller a melta gun. Note how bad I am with lighting effects: I really need to get into that at some point in the future.

And last, but not least, the Armsmen

They may not carry any special weaponry or gear, but they are just plain cool and in-game you are allowed to activate two at a time!

So, what’s up next? Well, a game for starters, which is planned for tomorrow (27 September 2023). I will try to take as many pictures as possible and hopefully turn them into a battle report of sorts!

Painting is done! (for now) pt. 1

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<self-congratulatory-rant>
YAAAAAS! I’ve done it! I set the deadline and I got it done!
Last year has been a happy but difficult one in the private life with very little time for the hobby. To be honest, finding time was still difficult. So I did a half an hour here and there. I even tried painting in bed (not recommended: pain in the neck and lighting is horrible). I know the end result is not at the level of what many of you hobby wizards conjure up, but it looks decent, has character and is actually done. Hah!
</self-congratulatory-rant>

So, without further ado, here is the magnificent band of the 1054st Void Shrike regiment of the Vostroyan Firstborn:

Painting is done! (for now) pt. 1

The Sergeant-in-arms

The sergeant is simple and maybe the least interesting model to me. I had to look up the markings of a sergeant in the Grande Armée (different Emperor, same oomph), I hope I found the right one!

The Surveyor and his faithful houn...erm CAT

I think the cat and the surveyor turned out nicely. I feel the bot still needs a name, but I haven’t thought of one yet.

The Endurant

I love how this guy turned out with his mighty shield. For the ‘1054’ text I used the old Cadian transfer sheet (I don’t know whether it is still packed in newer sets). Note that ‘1054’ is not on there, so what you see is actually a loose 1, 05 and 4 carefully positioned together.

(I’ve reached the limit for the number of sections in this entry, see part 2!)

Finishing the bases

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So, I returned to the bases, had a look at them and agreed with past self who said that they might be too simple. But since the game they are for was only two days away, I again went for quick and experimental. So, after trying some different washes, I went with a Sepia wash. This made the bases not as crisp and clear, which would clash too much with the grimdark look of the Killteam I was painting. To finish it off, I added some scatter to three of the bases, made from odd bits and bobs. There is a toothpaste cap in there for example. I painted these bits simple leadbelcher with some Nuln oil on top. To finish it off I used the Speedpainter blood red to spatter on some blood.

To be honest, I’m happily surprised by the result!

Slapping some paints on!

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Getting startedGetting started

So, since speed is of essence, I thought I’d try my hand at some Slapchop™, the simplest kind: black primer, white dry brush and then some Army Painter Speed Paints.

The colours I’m using are:

  • Army Painter (AP) Speed Paints blood red for the coat
  • AP Speed Paints gravelord grey for the fur hats
  • AP Speed Paints hardened leather for…. well, the leather
  • AP true copper
  • GW leadbelcher
  • GW nuln oil

 

So, I’m halfway through the batch. I’ve got a first Void Shrike done though, more or less, which I used to test out the scheme.

Quite happy with the look. I might add some colour to the eye glasses if I have time left, and I think the back should be copper as well in hindsight.

So… how grim do you like your grimdark? Grim and dark please.

Basic bases!

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So, I mentioned earlier that I was looking for a simple way to tackle the bases for the deadline that is coming up rather quickly (27 September!).

I went with the first thing that came to mind and went with it. I sprayed them black, added some strips of masking tape and then sprayed them grey.

I like the look of them more or less, but they are still too simple for me, I think. I’m pondering adding a layer of some ink to dirty it up. Maybe some blood spatter. I’ll keep you posted!

Small addition to the Axeman

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The Axeman – not to be confused with an X-man (hurhurhur) – needed an update. I like the idea of a guy wielding a large axe during boarding actions, but felt that my conversion was missing something.

The Navis Axeman immediately reminded me of the following photo:

Sappers of the French Foreign Legion (courtesy of Wikimedia)Sappers of the French Foreign Legion (courtesy of Wikimedia)

This picture led me to try to add gloves to my existing conversion. I don’t use greenstuff often and up close it looks…. well, let’s see how it turns out when painted!

 

Note that I didn’t add an apron. Firstly, I do not think I could pull it off, secondly, I’m not sure it would work with the greatcoat he is already wearing.

That’s it for now! I might spray on some primer on the freshly assembled team as well as think up some easy-peasy basing during lunch break today!

Getting my @$$ into gear

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So, my friend called and said: “How about we meet Wednesday next week for a few games of Killteam?” Me: “Awesome!” Me after the call: “So much work to do!!!!”

So, I could just go with my finished Imperial Guard Kill Team and relax for now. I was really looking forward to fielding the Void Shrikes, however. This means that I really need to shift gears and do this thing. So for today, I quickly built enough Vostroyans/Grognards to have a full Killteam. So I’m going for the following list:

1 x Navis Sergeant-at-Arms
4 x Navis Armsman
1 x Navis Axejack
1 x Navis Endurant
1 x Navis Grenadier
1 x Navis Surveyor
1 x Navis C.A.T. Unit
2 x Navis Gunner
= 12 Imperial Navy Breachers!

Navis Grenadier

It is the life of an Imperial Navy Breacher to become very accustomed to explosions. Even more so for the Grenadiers. These Armsmen carry demolition charges designed to crack through bulkheads and sealed doors, enabling their squadmates to keep moving and reach their objectives.

I figured that any self-respecting Killteam would need a guy that can make things go BOOM when they need to. In comes the Grenadier!

Building the Grenadier was a lot of fun. They carry every kind of grenade, as well as demolition charges. So I put as many grenades and other packets (which are actually energy packs for lasguns, but here represent the 40k equivalent of C4, I guess) on him as a could! To distinguish him more from the other Armsmen, I wanted him to throw a grenade, rather than holding the gun with both hands.

This lead me to a problem in the Grognard set: there are hands holding grenades, but there are no loose rifles, or rifles with just one hand attached. In the third picture you can see (can you?) that I chopped off the back bit of the rifle and the hand and glued on bits from a lasrifle from my bitsbox. Not looking too bad, if I may say so myself!

Gunners and Armsmen

The largest troops in the squad who don’t fulfil the role of Endurants carry their squad’s heaviest ranged weapons. A las-volley unleashes devastating salvoes, the searing heat of a meltagun shot burns through a reinforced bulkhead, and even heavily-armoured enemies cannot withstand a plasma gun.

So, I figured I’d get two Gunners to take care of anything chunky my friend might field. I have to admit that I wasn’t too sure what each special weapon on the Grognard sprue could represent in the 40k universe. The one on the left seems to carry a big plasma rifle, whereas the one on the right has a melta gun (at least, I think so).

Well-trained, well-drilled and well-equipped, the Armsmen of Imperial Navy Breacher kill teams are formidable troops in the close confines of ship-to-ship combat. Any foe they cannot blast aside with their powerful shotguns they hack down with vicious blows from their hatchets.

So, for ‘hatchets’ read nasty bayonets. I went with four of these guys since they can activate two at a time. I can imagine that this will allow me to press on with some numbers at critical moments. Like with the gunners, no conversions here. Just some beautiful Grognard mini’s <3

Herding the CAT

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Navis C.A.T. Unit

Cyber-Altered Task Units are tracked reconnaissance vehicles that have served the Imperium for millennia. Fitted with pict-recording equipment and frequency scanning augurs, they can be remotely operated to provide vital tactical information for their kill team.

I love kitbashing and it’s simple things like building an autonomous recon vehicle (i.e. little robo) that make happy. I found the wheels in my bits box and they look like they were scavenged from the ground somewhere. It’s definitely one of those things I found, where I thought: this may come in handy some day! And guess what: it did! The body is from an old Imperial Guard Chimera set, I think, and the head is a pair of binocular from a (now old) Cadian command set.

I can imagine this guy zooming around, dodging shots left and right, all the while scouting ahead for his handler. His hard job reflected in his sad WALL-E like eyes…

Navis Surveyor

Knowing what is around a corner can mean life or death for Imperial Navy Breachers. By using a C.A.T. unit, which is capable of navigating narrow tunnels and holes, a Surveyor can investigate and prepare their squad for what might be ahead.

So, the CAT herder. I just used a basic Grognard build for this guy. Originally I was thinking about handing him the remote controller from the Grognard set, but that might be more apt for the Void-Jammer’s gheistskill detonator (once I build him). Instead I slapped a piece of machinery to his back and put an antenna on top. The machine bit looks GW, but the set…? The antenna is from some other model kit I can’t remember.

In the last post I said that I wanted to cut down the Grognards’ rifles to convert them to shotguns. Well, I couldn’t bring myself to cutting down that fine rifle with bayonet, so for now I’m leaving it as is. I might just decide that my Void Shrikes use long rifled shotguns with bayonets affixed.

1054th Vostroyan Firstborn Regiment - the Void Shrikes

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Vostroyans kicking Tau buttVostroyans kicking Tau butt

So, with my first Kill Team out of the way for now, I decided to start building a completely new one based around the 1045th ahem 1054th Vostroyan Firstborn Regiment: the Void Shrikes. So, these are basically a regiment of Vostroyans that were sent to do what they do best: seiges. What they hadn’t been told, was that the fortress to be taken was in the void of space… The 1054th had to figure this out the hard way, but managed to come out on top. By now, they are specialists in void combat, who kick ass and take names, all the while wearing their fancy fur hats!
I therefore thought that they’d make a very cool alternative to the Imperial Navy Breacher models. Also, a much more affordable one, since I went for the Grognards from Wargames Atlantic, who come with awesome rebreather masks!

Sometimes, the only solution to a problem faced by Imperial Navy Breachers is a heavy, two-handed axe. The Axejacks who carry these weapons can not only smash through blocked doorways obstacles, they are also formidable fighters who hack apart any enemy in their way.

First up is the Navis Axejack! This guy has a big axe and knows how to use it! I basically found a set of arms in my bits box for an old GW Empire Great Cannon crew. I chopped the unimportant stuff off and added an axe head. Done? Well, this means that sleeves are a bit more flamboyant than the others’ will be. I don’t mind really, because they are supposedly (space) sailors, but I did try to add some shoulder pad with green stuff. Not my strongest point, but I think it will do the job.

Only the biggest Armsmen in a squad become known as Endurants. To them falls the task of carrying an Endurant shield and heavy shotgun while either taking point or guarding the rear of the squad. Their sheer bulk makes them highly intimidating to their enemies.

Next up is the Endurant. For this guy I slapped together a large shield using space parts. The shield itself is from a very old fighter jet kit. I added some bits from an old WH Fantasy Dwarf standerd to add a design that felt Void Shrikey: basically a mean bird and below it a skull on a pike. For those who didn’t know: shrikes are also called butcher birds, since they tend to impale their prey on a thorn or anything else spiky they might find (like barbed wire).

To make the shotguns that the Navy Breacher normally carry, my plan is to just chop off the front bit of the guns they Grognards carry. I read later that the Endurant apparently carry a heavy shotgun, so I chopped off some more and added the barrel of an old WHFB Empire gunner and drilled it out.

Navis Sergeant-at-armsNavis Sergeant-at-arms

For the Navis Sergeant-at-arms I went down the easy route and only used bits from the Wargames Atlantic Grognard sprue. I might add some more stuff later to make him stand out more as the sergeant, but I’ll need to think about this and/or do some more research. Ideas are welcome! 🙂

First Kill Team

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First Kill Team

So, to be sure that I had a Kill Team for a first game I quickly looked through my existing minis and found that I had almost enough painted for a basic Imperial Guard Kill Team. The problem was, that Kill Team often only allows only one choice per operative type. This meant I couldn’t use two flamethrowers (pah!).

Also, my choice of special weapons was quite limited since I raided my bits box to construct my fleet for Billion Suns… I did manage to find one grenade launcher, however! I did have some difficulty to find the exact colours of the minis I had painted years ago, but I think I managed to get the colours right enough.

I also decided that I wanted a sniper rifle, but didn’t have any rifles in my bits box left. So instead, I just snipped of the muzzle of a lasgun and put a piece of paperclip in between to elongate it.  I realise I should have taken a before and after picture.

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