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| The lads and their Taurox |
Motivation for painting is still somewhat elusive, and pesky actual work is leaving me tired and rather unenthusiastic by the time I get home.
All I've managed so far this month is to get this one small unit completed.
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| Back in May... |
I decided to start with this squad as four were mostly done as part of an earlier test-run, and the group's equipment and colours were already sorted out.
I had to make a few changes for 8th edition - dropping out Sgt. Harker with his Heavy Bolter as his "Catachan" keyword wasn't going to fit with the Cadians. The new Sergeant started out as an attendant for an officer - a "look out Sir" figure - with his arm in a sling to suggest he'd already taken a hit for his boss previously. With these bodyguards going away the figure was freed up and the only conversion was replacing his Laspistol with a plasma pistol to give him a bit more punch. At the same time a test figure I didn't like much was replaced with a Forge World figure armed with a meltagun for the squad's third special weapon.
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| Trooper with shotgun, Veteran Sgt. with plasma pistol, and vox-caster. |
The paint scheme isn't far off my SAS/LRDG troops for Bolt Action, other than the uniforms being base-coated in Iraqi Sand. The flak armour has been treated as though it were a WWII leather jerkin, and the anklets painted to match.
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| Troopers with shotgun, meltagun, and heavy flamer. |
To help emphasize the veteran status of this squad there is a range of heads: a few bare, a few helmeted, and some in Arabian style Keffiyeh.
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| Troopers with shotgun and meltagun |
The shotgun torsos and some of the heads are from a Forge World upgrade pack of Cadian Hardened Veterans and add quite a bit of character and individuality, while this meltagun trooper is from the Cadian Command HQ squad pack.
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| Troopers with shotgun and meltagun, both in Keffiyeh |
The Keffiyeh were formed from green stuff, and moulded over bearded heads kindly donated by some Warhammer Imperial soldiers.
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| Detail of weathering |
After painting the figures were given a coat of varnish and then weathered with an AMMO of Mig Jimenez ochre filter and AK Interactive dust effects.
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| Veteran Sand Scorpions |
So, that's one squad done. I'm planning to alter the colour scheme a little for the regular troops to again help distinguish these as hardened veterans. It won't be anything dramatic, perhaps just a little less of the Flat Brown and more Khaki or Camo Beige - less "leather" and more "cloth" in effect.
Now to try and find some more enthusiasm for painting...
