No one expects the Inquisition...

Over the next few posts I'll be covering the HQ for my Witch Hunters - an Inquisitor and his retinue. Unfortunately no WIPs of these guys.

The truth is, while I rarely get a chance play miniature games (because life), I rarely paint figs just for the sake of painting them.  I almost always paint to add to my various armies.  Of course, that hasn't stop me from buying a vast number of very cool, but very random one off figs from wide range of manufactures. A big draw of the Inquisitorial warband, beyond the cool fluff, was the opportunity to use (and therefore paint) all of these orphan figs for 40K.

I decided that I'd paint each fig individually, picking the colour palette if that I felt worked best for that fig, without too much concern for the overall aesthetic of the warband.  While I knew this might lead to a more disjoint appearance on the table, I'd get more satisfaction out of painting (and frankly I figured I'd paint more figures that I'd ever field).

Inquisitor Kanis Sol

Born on the harsh winter planet on Fenris, Kanis shares the same icy demeanor and rugged pragmatism of his countrymen.  A member of the Ordo Herticus, Kanis casts his attention to the edges of the Imperium - those far flung realms where the Emperor’s light is perhaps more dimly felt.  He is a firm believer that if these regions are not monitored, the Administratum may come to find the Imperium is much smaller they once thought.

The fig is the stock special edition Inquisitor mini from Games Workshop .  I did up a slightly scenic base to reinforce his 'rural' nature.

Two Chiurgeons: Dr. Mannheim Gaust and his assistant Verlin

Gaust and Verlin serve as both the retinue's medical staff and information extractors - for in the Imperium there is no Hippocratic Oath and the role of healer and torturer often overlap.

These are 2 of the old metal Malifaux figs, McMourning and Sebastian, from Wyrd Miniatures.  

I enjoy the themes and, well, weirdness of Wyrd Miniatures and their quasi Gothic nature can fit well into the 40K universe.  I do feel they can veer into the cartoon/caricature realm, so I've only picked up a few minis so far (though, to be fair, many of the new plastics are far better at avoiding this).

Adepticon 2016

Back from Adepticon and had an absolute blast.  Was really impressed with the organization, layout and feel of the convention - thanks to everyone who undoubtedly put in a ton of effort to make this the premier miniature con!

I put up a few images on here, but check out the Facebook page or the Instragam account for more photos. I took a few photos of the Crystal Brush entries but an iphone and display cabinet lighting do not do these masterpieces justice.  See CMON's page for beautiful photos of all the pieces.

Definitely recommend getting the VIG badge - bypass the registration line and get extra swag (and the rumours are true - the Adepticon Swagbag does not disappoint!)  The highlight had to be the two player Horders starter set from Privateer press (Legion and Circle).

Vendor hall was fantastic - most of the miniatures game companies had a presence (Forgeworld, Privateer Press, Mantic, Wyrd, Corvus Belli, Reaper, CMON, Battlefront, Wild West Exodus, Arena Rex).

The CMON booth had absolutely fantastic painted miniatures for Rum and Bones, Dark Age and Wrath of Kings.  Arena Rex had equally spectacular figs and Warsenal had some mind-blowing MDF tables.  This is also where Dave Taylor's Warlord was on display - nice work Dave!

Many very nice display/demo boards including the Adepticon charity auction Mechanicus army, the epic (if unfortunately named) Fist Full of Seamen pirate naval combat game, the Beasts of War Hoth table, massive Warhammer 40K and  Fantasy Battle games, Saga Vikings, and James Wapple's Wild West Exodus terrain.

Lots of nice armies and terrain across the various Tournament halls - so many games: Warhammer 40K, Age of Sigmar, Infinity, Malifaux, Kings of War, Dropzone Commander, Firestorm Armada, Guildball, Saga.

If you love your toy soldiers, Adepticon is not to be missed!  Will be back next year.

Here come the minis!

While some of these posts will cover whatever I'm currently working on, they'll also server to show off some of my existing armies, in the form of a project log.

First up are Witch Hunters/Sisters of Battle.  I started this army at the time the first Inquisition codex came out and has been the slowest of slow burn projects.  I was originally going to do Deamonhunters but a friend of mine jumped on the Grey Knights (of which, many years later, he has a very nice 4000pt force).  I really had no interest in either Grey Knights or Sisters, I just wanted to do Inquisitors, so I switched.  It seemed like a fantastic opportunity to

  1. bring in some of the more esoteric concepts around 40K into the game - all those fluff elements that really sell the 40K background
  2. use (and therefore to buy) a wide range of minis from various manufactures as count-as 'agents of the Imperium'

To start the army I painted up an Inquisitor, a small warband (which I'll feature later), two units of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers (back when they were a thing) and a couple of Chimera's for their ride.  Here are a couple of WIP shots of those Chimeras:

I had three concepts when I started

  1. I wanted them to have more bling that a traditional Guard Chimera (this was the Inquisition after all).  I did a little green stuff casting of some Forgeworld bits using Super Sculpty - a stick and bake putty.  Not a super sophisticated technique but with a little practice can yield some decent results.  Over the years I've amassed quite a few of these molds
  2. I needed to get rid of the side lasguns (which always struck me as the most ridiculous part of an otherwise very nice kit).  I removed the guns, puttied over the lasgun hatches and replaced them with a few cast eagles
  3. I wanted a more substantial turret (the original seems a little weedy).  I subbed in a Space Marine Predator turret, modifying its autocannon option to be the Chimera's multi-laser.  This just makes it feel a little more 'tank like'

The turret is fully magnetized (you’ll find out how much I love magnets!), so you can remove the turret, the gun, the hatch, the power pack (and there's a hard point next to the hatch to add a hunter-killer, spotlight, radar, etc).

In terms of colour I went for the classic Inquisitor colour scheme of red and black.  Its a dramatic combination and ties in very well with my Flesh Tearers Space Marine army.

THE FINISHED PAIR

DETAIL OF TURRET and FRONT

'360 VIEWS' OF BOTH TANKS

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me at mechanicusrexminiatures@gmail.com.

Ok, post #2!

Thought I'd provide a setting for this little tale.  Here is my office/painting room - the usual well organized chaos of paints, tools, current projects and projects yet to be.  

Here is my overworked display case chocked full of Witch Hunters, Space Marines, Orks and Undead.  You'll see more of these guys later - as I get more decent photos done I'll open up the Projects section that will showcase my completed armies.

...and of course, the odd bit of geekery