This place won't build itself, you know...

Finally made a start on some buildings over the weekend. My ideas for the look of the place are a combination of Mos Eisley, mixed with some of the photos I've seen of the big ship dismantling yards in India/Bangladesh. Buildings built out of, and even repaired with bits of vehicle and spaceship, all filthy, old and decrepit.

Plenty of pics to follow...

All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what has the Imperium ever done for us?

"Now, write it out 40,000 times before sunrise, or I'll cut your balls off."

A long time WIP: Ogryn mercs.

So, I actually started work on these back when the WFB Ogre plastics were fairly newly released, but now I've got some of my long-lost  paintin' and modellin' mojo back, I might actually get around to painting the buggers.

My take on Ogryns

In my version of the RT universe, Ogryns are a little more intelligent than they are in the 40k canon, meaning that they're able to use half-decent tech, rather than just being the dumb lumps of close combat cannon-fodder than they usually end up as in standard IG armies. These guys have decided to jump ship from the Imperial Guard, and have formed their own muscle for hire mercenary unit, based out of Port Imperiale. Usually working for Pirate bands, their massive amount of firepower makes them very dangerous, if a little chaotic thanks to their low overall skills. (Hey, I said they were a little more intelligent, not unstoppable killing machines!) They're entirely capable of taking out enemy armour, thanks to a plethora of salvaged vehicle mounted weapons.

More info and pics...

Something not Port Imperiale related... The Griffin House - WIP.

Fenris recently released a wonderful Lovecraft-inspired New England Colonial style house, called 'The Griffin House' as part of a new range of scenery, called Arkham Avenue.

I missed out on the pre-release deal over xmas, as I was skint, but saw Steders on the FU:UK board was flogging one at the same price, so I had to have it.

Rather than let it sit in a cupboard, as is what usually happens to my scenery projects, I was determined to get it built, and this is where it gets complicated. As it was presumably a pre-release one, it didn't have any instructions with it, and Fenris haven't put full construction details up yet, so I was flying solo, as it were. This is a sort of stream of consciousness, as much as it's a build explanation, but hopefully it might help a few people making it.

So, here goes...

Welcome to Port Imperiale

You'll never leave...

The Jamakeer Mining Company

The Jamakeer Mining Company, or JMC, is a small, independent Squat mining group that use Jamakeer as their base of operations, due to the freedom it gives them from Imperial interference. Though they largely operate within the law, they do not send any Imperial Tithes to Terra, and so actively avoid contact with official representatives of the Imperium wherever possible to maintain the best Profit Factor.

Whilst not pirates, they tend to scavenge weapons and equipment wherever they are able, frequently from ships disabled by more ruthless inhabitants of Jamakeer, giving them a wide variety of weaponry and equipment. The main obvious identifying feature is the blue uniform, and the JMC logo, which is shown on all vehicles, and frequently somewhere on their uniforms.

Shown above (in the centre) is the current head of the JMC, Gromrek Berginssen, backed up by a 5 squat survey team. Armed with a wide variety of weaponry, including a fearsome scavenged Shuriken Catapult, they are easily able to defend themselves from any hostilies that may come their way. Transport is provided by the Small shuttle, 'Big Bertha', itself armed with a multilaser.

Whilst not a solely Squat enterprise, the JMC is, by and large, mainly comprised of Squats. As their ships have been adapted to their size, Humans tend to find them cramped and uncomfortable, but Ratlings can frequently be found amongst their crew rosters.

Other pirates in the Jamakeer area tend to ignore the JMC, knowing them to be well armed, capable fighters, and not carrying much of immediate value, though Orks have been known to attack them for sport (and food), so there is a degree of animosity there.

Stats:

The Taint of Chaos

For all practical reasons, Jamakeer is beyond the reach of the Inquisition, and so Chaos has reared its ugly head. Still secretive and hidden, its insidious taint has lead to the formation of a number of chaos cults in the area in and around Port Imperiale.

Based, as the city is, around decadence and violence, these are primarily aimed at the worship of Khorne and Slaanesh, though the planet-wide pollution and decay has also lead to the creation of a cult devoted to Nurgle, the Lord of Pestilence, and even a suspected cult of Khaine, the long-forgotten god of murder. Their temples are usually hidden deep in the labyrinthine tunnels below the Port, away from prying eyes. As well as acquiring unwitting victims to sacrifice to their Dark Gods, they are also constantly at odds with each other, leading to secret wars between cults that occasionally burst out into the open, which are then ruthlessly crushed by the Black Guards.

Whilst there are probably many more secret cults on Jamakeer yet to be discovered, the three that have attracted the most attention recently are The Council of Six, The Bladed Brotherhood and The Cryptocracy.

The Council of Six – Named specifically to mock the ruling Council of Nine, The Council of Six is the planet's main cult devoted to Slaanesh. Ensnaring both new worshippers and unwilling victims in the seedier drug dens and fleshpots of Port Imperiale, they carry them off to a network of holding pens before transporting them, underground, to their main temple, located in the remains of an abandoned underground settlement out in the wastelands, known to them as Nu-Gomorrah. Probably the largest Chaos cult on Jamakeer, its grip on the Port is becoming more noticeable, and is the Black Guard's main priority.

The Bladed Brotherhood – This is the major cult devoted to worshipping Khorne on Jamakeer. Responsible for myriad murders, they usually operate in small groups, abducting victims under the cover of darkness, and sacrificing in their temple deep in the darkest recesses of the tunnel system, known to them as 'The Cave of Blood'. Little is known of the temple, other than from the reports of cultists interrogated under torture, that it was created by a truly ancient race, and lined with the bones of thousands of sacrifices.

The Cryptocracy – A relatively recent cult on Jamakeer, this group worships Nurgle, the Lord of Decay. Living somewhere out in the polluted and toxic wastelands, little is known of the group beyond the fact they occasionally raid Port Imperiale in small groups, during the times when the blinding, toxic dust storms envelop the city so they can make off with their victims. Their bodies, occasionally recovered after a firefight during these raids, are covered in scars and pestilence, and draped in tattered, hooded robes.