Wednesday, 7 April 2021

A Squat Inquisimunda Warband (with an unusual associate!)

Time for another fun little project, this time a small Squat warband I've just finished as a commission (hence the lack of basing, the client will be doing that.)

6 Squats, and an Eldar Trader, an unusual mix to be sure, but they work together surprisingly well I think:


 More pics and info after the cut! 

So, I really enjoyed this one. The brief was fairly simple, to convert and paint up a Squat warband and their Eldar 'associate'. The Squats were to have been supplied mainly with Eldar weaponry, and they were to be in 'off-duty' poses as if they were lounging around a dingy spaceport, on guard but not actively engaging in combat. 

First up, here's group shots of them all, doing a dainty little pirouette for your delectation: 




As you can see, they're all Saxon fans, as they're all wearing denim and leather, though I didn't go with any dodgy tattoos on these guys, wanting to keep them nice and clean, in general. 

Now, on to the individual shots, firstly the Eldar Trader: 







I like to think I've managed to make him look a little more intimidating than this model usually does when painted up, though that might be down to the large Power Sword at his hip. Although not wanting to push it into stereotype territory, I've gone for a very slight nod to Native American themes with him, specifically the 'warpaint' and his moccasins. I'm really pleased with his face especially, I think I managed to nail the pale skintone on him.

Next up is the leader of the Squats: 







A more rough looking fellow you're never likely to meet! Serious to the core and armed with a plasma gun, he's not going to take any nonsense. Most of the arms on these models are from a company called Uscarl Miniatures, they were supplied by the client, and they work really well. 

 Next up is an even more dangerous guy: 








Eldar flamers apparently use a lot of fuel. Unable to obtain any more from their source, this resourceful mechanic has retro-engineered the Eldar weapon to use more readily available standard flamer fuel. Although it's not exploded yet, it may only be a matter of time...

Another heavy hitter, this time with a melta gun: 







A fairly straightforward conversion here, just a dude with sunglasses and a gun. Again, the Uscarl arms worked perfectly. 

Next, a Shuriken Catapult trooper: 








A bit more of an in-depth conversion here. As part of the 'lounging around' look, I wanted a guy with his weapon slung over his shoulder. The Shuriken Catapult fitted into the location quite nicely, and the Uscarl arm (with a bit of bending) worked well to hold the sling. 

Next is another Shuriken Catapult wielder: 









I converted this guy with some old WFB bare dwarf arms and some sculpted ripped sleeves to  give him a bit of a 'Rambo' vibe, after the hair and headband reminded me of him a bit. I quite like how it turned out. 

Finally the group's long range sharpshooter: 







Also the oldest member of the Squats (who knows how old the Eldar is!) He's armed with a lasgun so he can work at a distance and pick off enemies, staying out of the close combat if possible, but he's still got his armoured gauntlets on just in case anyone gets a bit too close. These are again some random fantasy arms out of the bits box, probably dwarf but not sure. 

So, there you go. I've really enjoyed these, and as always, my biggest regret it that I don't get to keep them! At least the new owner gets to play with them, and I look forward to seeing some photos of them in a game in the future. 

8 comments:

  1. It's nice to see that denim and leather brought them all together ;)

    Great looking warband, and an interesting mix! The Eldar trader is one of my favourite RT minis and you've done a great job on him.

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  2. Great job, Evo.

    Squat biker smugglers with xenos weaponry are likely to be unwelcome pretty much everywhere, I’d have thought.

    It looks like the random fantasy arms on the lasgunner are from the Knights of the White Wolf accessory sprue that was also used for the Mordheim mercenaries to represent Middnheimers.

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  3. Squat Bikers were some sweet sculpts. Still trying to figure out why I sold mine years ago. :(

    Love what you've done with them and somehow the Eldar weaponry works exceedingly well, nicely done!

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  4. Love the background! Did you sacrifice an old book or make copies of the images?

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    1. Thanks! I just found the images online and printed them onto photo paper.

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  5. Unexpected! I think you did an outstanding job. The Eldar weapons suit them much more than I could have thought and the paintjob is awesome. Pretty cool!

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  6. Nice work! These are a case study in the value of black lining minis, not to mention nice conversions.

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