The Squats of Inso's Reach (Astra Militarum Squats)

[Inso]

I have sorted out a list of detachments that my army will fit into (it's not a gaming list... just a way of making all my miniatures fit into an organisation). The only unplanned units were the additional Sentinels and Heavy Weapon Squad (to fill up mandatory slots)... the rest of the 'to build' units were already planned:

 

[Tallarn Commander]

A fluffy and flexible force configuration. I look forward to seeing your Panther Russes painted up.

Edited November 7, 2017 by Tallarn Commander

[Inso]

So do I !

 

Sadly, I only have one built and the vehicles are WAY down the list when I build armies... I prefer converting troops to building/painting vehicles... and before you say it... Yes, it disappoints me as well ...

 

 

Although I am going to continue painting (slowly), I've started the next veteran squad. These will all have berets. The main weapons will be shotguns and meltaguns. There will be a comms trooper and the sgt will have upgraded close combat weapons (probably a bolt pistol and power weapon):

 

Edited November 7, 2017 by Inso

[Inso]

Ready for arming... then arming :) :

 

[Inso]

The troops are now armed so next up will be a layer of putty on the wire before I start sculpting the arms properly :) :

 

[Guardsman Bob]

This is moving so stupidly perfect I think I’m gonna cry.

 

Bravo Inso!

[Inso]

I'm glad you are enjoying the topic :) ... It is most certainly something that I am enjoying putting together :) .

 

Remember this?:

 

 

 

Well, all of the leg casts have now been sold and I won't be casting any more. That said, I have had an offer for the green so it is likely that it will be sold and may be cast up by someone else in the future. Sadly, there wasn't the demand for me to keep casting them :( .

 

It's funny how loads of people suggest doing something and then, when you have done it, they lose interest :( ... I guess gamers are fickle :o :D

[Guardsman Bob]

Inso, some people get paid for their sculpting. In this area the people I’ve know who did it as a contractor side thing for companies.

[Inso]

I have done commissions... so I know the game :) .

 

It's just when you sculpt something that you are going to paint (or get a few casts for yourself) and people are keen to get copies... up until the point they are available (that's when they lose interest)... that's a bit sad.

 

But hey-ho... on to the next thing :)

[Inso]

First layer of putty on the arms, ready for the next stage which will be hands :) :

 

[Inso]

I decided that I wanted Sly Marbo in my army so I have started to convert one... this is still WIP :) :

 

[Tallarn Commander]

Looking good. Your sculpting skills never fail to impress!

[Inso]

Cheers :)

 

Hopefully, I'll get the hands right too :o :D

[brettfp]

Great work as always. Glad to see this thread back! My only complaint is that i wanna see these all painted up :)

[Inso]

Cheers :)

 

The lack of paint is my complaint as well... I promise I'll get round to it at some point (I am as keen as anyone else to see these painted) ;) .

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I commend your sculpting skills. Crafting a Squat Marbo out of green stuff cannot be easy. Edited January 12, 2018 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Inso]

Cheers :) ... I've had quite a lot of practice :) .

 

Here's the finished Sven Marbo :) :

 

[Inso]

After a wonderful idea was shared in the 'Sly Marbo' topic, I will be putting together a full crew of Predator Hunters...

 

I have Marbo finished, Harker on the table (he'll be getting a nice hat) and will have a platoon commander and command squad for the rest of the team.

 

I have just ordered a Corvus Blackstar that will be converted into a Valkyrie to carry them all into the jungle :)  .

 

It will be a Vanguard detachment in its own right :) .

[Inso]

Well... the Corvus has arrived and I am in the process of blotting out all of the Inquisition symbols as we speak. Lots of green stuff with a touch of gouging and plasticard :)

 

Harker has a whole arm now... and is also getting beefed up a bit.

 

I also started chopping up another German half track to turn into a ground transport vehicle (like a Chimera only a bit more floaty :)

 

It's all ticking along nicely :)

[Inso]

Preliminary symbol removal is complete :) ... I just need to sand a few things down and it will be ready to be assembled :) ...

 

 

The Corvus Valkyrie has started :) .

[Inso]

I've finished the conversion work and have now assembled my counts-as Valkyrie (it hasn't got the heavy bolter upgrade but is WYSIWYG otherwise):

 

 

Now that distraction is out of the way for now (I need to get some green spray paint for it), I should be able to concentrate on my troops again :)

[Spyboy]

That looks pretty good inso

[Inso]

Cheers :) . I think that removing all the icons has really given it a smoother look that will really suit my force. I was also glad to see that you can upgrade Valkyries with a nose mouted las-cannon and you don't have to take the door heavy bolters... so that worked really well with the options in the kit.

 

Luckily, there were some little tabs on the flight stand... I trimmed one to replace the left-off las-cannon so apart from a bit of green stuff and a small amount of plasticard on the front doors, I didn't need any bits from my bits box :)

[Inso]

It would appear that I had so much fun building the Valkyrie proxy that I felt the need to keep building... so I have started to build some amphibious transport vehicles :) :

 

 

I have another Hanomag on the way so that I have enough for a platoon (1 each for the command, 2 infantry squads and a heavy weapon squad). If these turn out OK, I may have finally beaten the curse :o ...

[Inso]

Things have moved on slightly...

 

 

I have decided to wait until the fourth one turns up and I have got it to the same standard before I continue with all four. I have (more or less) decided how I want them to look... but how I am going to do it is actually preventing me from sleeping :o :D ... I know... it's madness, isn't it? Once I start working on them again, I am sure all the little niggles will disappear and I'll be able to get some sleep again :D .

 

In the meantime, Sgt Harker has had his heavy bolter sorted out and I have started to work on his supporting arm. I won't be going too much further with the arm until I have sculpted the head because I need to think about how the layers interact. He's certainly getting there though.

 

In  other news... did you hear about Gene Thorssen? He's an eccentric inventor and veteran of many battles against Tyranids. Before he disappeared into his workshop, he just said "you have to think like a Tyranid, to deafeat a Tyranid". Since then, there has been all sorts of noise coming from his workshop but no one knows what is going on inside :o ...