Rogue Trader: Snargrel Barffbagg's Space Ork Raiders

The Wailing Reach may be far removed from Orkoid space, but small bands of Ork raiders and pirates have always been present in the region.  Lately, their numbers have increased as various small warlords have descended upon the Reach, eager to pick the bones of the isolated and war torn planet  Geminion Secundus. Most come in search of slaves, plunder, feasting, fighting, or just a chance to pick through the blasted and fascinating scrap-pile which Geminion Secundus has become over the last few centuries.

An eccentric few have taken to serving as mercenaries in the forces of the planet's notorious Gang Bosses, or have taken up the distinctly un-Orky business of trading goods with some of the locals.  Sometimes that gets boring, though, and you just have to start a fight with somebody.
Which is fine. really 'cause in The Reach there's always somebody who's willing to fight about something.

There are the Voldraadi, who run the place and who are attempting to run the Space Marines and Imperial Guard out of the system.  The Emperor's finest are not budging, but they don't have the strength to launch a direct assault on the Voldraadi capitol of Geminion Prime.  So they content themselves with trying to destabilize the Voldraadi power structure on other planets in the system.  On Geminion Secundus, Imperial loyalists try to help the Space Marines topple the Voldraadi government while powerful Gang Lords attempt to carve their own squalid empires out of the decaying flesh of Voldraadi society.  In and out of the chaos and carnage wander the Orks and the Eldar pirates, the dreaded Void Wasps and the Steel Breeze.  All have clashed with Imperial forces, and are happy to help the conflict continue as long as possible in order to gain the greatest possible profit from it.

Snargrel Barffbagg is fairly exemplary of the hateful Orkish scum who have haunted the Wailing Reach in the last few years.  He is well known to have traded weapons and drugs to Geminion Gangers like Pieter Porque in exchange for human slaves, has fought the Dead Men Space Marines as a mercenary working for the Voldraadi, and is believed to have been behind the infamous raid on the Imperial armory on Nepenthe.  The sooner he is hunted down and made an example of, the better.

Yar!  My first new Space Orks in many a moon!  The oldest Space Orks, the ones that came before they all had the separate plastic arms are my favorite range, and I intend to build my Ork gang more or less exclusively of them.

I tried to match the colors on the boys to those on the old Space Ork Raiders boxed set 'cause I'm very fond of it and tend to wax mighty nostalgic when gazing upon it.

"Let's get 'em, boys!!"

Rogue Trader: Pieter Porque - The Butcher

In one of the innumerable crumbling, post-urban hells of Geminion Secundus, there is a dirty shop in a dark street.  Behind a greasy counter a bright, quick girl with a shock of electric blue hair atop her otherwise naked scalp sells soy-lend cake and fungus bread, the sort of bland and miserable food which is the lot of all but the elite in the Geminions.  But no one comes to the Blue girl for Soy-lend cakes.

They come for the sausages.

 For generations, meat has been a luxury exclusively enjoyed by the ruling Voldradi class, it's production deemed too expensive to permit it's consumption by mere proles.  But a few enterprising individuals, especially on the relative backwater of Geminion Secundus, have managed to do a brisk trade in imported illicit comestibles.  Pieter Porque did well in this forbidden business for some time.  As Voldradi agents began increasingly  to hound him and to interdict his shipments, however, he began to supplement his supply of Pork and other meats with more...readily available stock.  No-one asks exactly what it is in Pieter's sausages these days.  No-one wants to know.  It is enough that it is meat.  No one asks why Pieter has taken to wearing the head of a gigantic boar as a mask.  No one wants to know.  It is enough that he supplies what their famished bodies require.  

And the blue girl?  They say she keeps a little las pistol behind that counter.  And she's quick to use it.  And if she's working the counter, Pieter's sure to be chopping up the goods somewhere in the back, within easy call.  So mind your manners, and don't try anything.  Or you could be the next to go in the grinder.

Here is Pieter with a few of his enforcers.  Pieter runs a small empire in verboten foodstuffs and slaves, which he trades to the Orks for things which are in high demand among the gutter-scum of Geminion Secundus, notably weapons, exotic squigs, and drugs.  The Orks have been mightily impressed by his fighting and trading prowess and by his alarming personal style, and are happy to do business with him.  Some have even expressed an interest in working for him!

Most recent recorded digi-image of the degenerate Ganger Pieter porque.  Bolter-Brother Baddluch , of the Third Company, was interred at the fortress monastery on Ran shortly after the fight in which he captured this image.

Pieter needs a lot of enforcers to help him defend his territory against rival gangs, Voldradi army forces, and, lately the Dead Men Spaces Marines.  The Space Marines are currently attempting to wrest control of the Geminons back from the Rebel Vodradi and launch frequent raids on Geminon Secundus to fly the Emperor's banner, to make contact with loyalist factions, and to wreck as much havoc on the Voldradi power structure as possible.  The Marines don't necessarily have a problem with Pieter's smuggling or his cannibalism, but Pieter, like all the Gangers of the Geminions, sees their appearances as violations of his territory, and a number of vicious clashes have broken out between Pieter's private army and the Emperor's finest.

A brace of desperadoes with auto guns.  Note the good quality prosthetic gear on the pirate to the right...Pieter's loyal soldiers are well cared for.  Such amenities could never be available to Geminons outside the Voldradi ruling caste and their servant class, the Bella Canni.

More of Pieter's deperadoes.  Fit and well-fed, their confident and aggressive bearing is in stark contrast to that of most Geminions.

 Mutation is no less common in the Geminions than anywhere else in the Imperium.  In some cases, it is more so.  The mutant on the left has been struck with the dreaded Bird Feet mutation (see W40k Rogue Trader, pg. 53).  Although useful for anchoring one's self to the ground whilst firing a heavy weapon, such as the las cannon pictured above, it can make it very hard to get a girlfriend.  Perhaps he wears the fetching red fez to distract attention from his deformed lower extremities..

Pieter Porque is only one of a number of notable gangsters operating in the Wailing Reach, wherein the Geminions are situated.  His clashes with Orks, Space Marines and Voldradi alike will be documented here.

"Time fer a chow run!"

K is for Korred

The Korred are part of that large family of mysterious and seldom seen creatures who inhabit many of those abandoned and time-worn dwelling places which are to be found throughout the Western lands.  Innumerable tales and legends surround the doings of these faerie folk.  Many believe them to be the last descendants of lost races whose civilizations were destroyed by the powers of chaos during the long and painful decline of the West.

 Whatever their origin, the Korred concern themselves now mainly with singing and dancing by moonlight, and with random acts of kindness as well as mischief.  The Korred can be helpful friends.  Many tales speak of their giving shelter to adventurers in lost caverns or tombs, casting spells to befuddle monsters and other enemies. or guiding a party through dangerous country.

You will note that Mr. Korred is not standing on the Big Board.  This is because he is in Texas where my unit is having to spend 3 weeks decoupling from the Pentagonal Colossus.  It's the sort of thing that could easily be achieved in about 3 days, but it's the government, so everything takes seven times as long as it should.  I knew I'd have a lot of time on my hands while I was here, so I brought Mr. Korred and some other friends, mostly Rogue Trader types.  Well, I'm going to take Mr. Korred out for a sandwich.  Hope to check in tomorrow with a finished squad of space scum for my long-neglected Rogue Trader campaign.

Skrawchutt Blackmaw's Black Skaven Guard

It is a matter of some debate among the wise as to whether the largest and most aggressive Skaven are born with black fur, or if they dye their fur black to mark themselves out as members of an elite.

What is certain in the case of the Skaven of the Fleafell, at least, is that the Verminlord Ratchedd Ticknibble is rarely without his company of exceptionally tough and vicious black-furred led by the Sewertyrant Skrawchutt Blackmaw.  Here for your viewing pleasure are presented a few pictures of Skrawchutt and his crack guardsrats.

Skrawchutt is a good Skaven Lieutenant, which means he is always one or two steps away from murdering his Verminlord, Ratchedd.  Ratchedd keeps a close eye on him and tries to make sure he always keeps the assassins of Clan Eshin in hand for the day when he has to eliminate his right hand rat.

The standard bearer of the Black Skaven Guard.  The standard is not atypical of the banners carrried by the hosts of the Fleafell...head of the Horned Rat emblazoned on a black field.  The chunk of raw Warpstone at the top of the banner pole hints at its having magical properties.

Another shot of the standard being carried into action...

The regimental piper provides us with an interesting study of a Skaven musician and his instrument.  The weird pipes which clan Skyre provides to the Skaven warbands fill the air above a gathering Skaven host with a chilling and unearthly caterwaul.  The precise method of their construction is still not well understood.

A typical Fleafell Guardsrat.  His upright bearing and fierce aspect alone mark him out as a member of an elite unit, but in addition he wears the closest thing to a uniform to be found in the armies of The Fell, enhancing his distinct appearance.

His weapons are also unique to his regiment.  These troops carry the heavy halberd for killing and a coil of stout rope for restraining valuable captives who'll they eventually take back to the Fleafell as slaves.

The regiment prepares to attack...

I actually painted all these minis in Afghanistan, but had to wait til I got home to make up a banner for them.  It doesn't show up very well in this rather poor scan, but I chose to paint my Black Skaven to match the illustration in Warhammer Armies...I liked the dark green on very dark grey fur.  I'm not tremendously happy with the standard.  I may swap it out with a scarier and more imposing one later.  So the Skaven are coming along.  A regiment of Skavenslaves is next, I think.

"Attack-Attack!  Kill-Kill!"

Star Wars Imperial Army Infantry Platoon Pt 1: 1st & 2nd Squads

Although it is the white armored warriors of the Storm Trooper Corps who stand tallest in the popular imagination, they actually make up only a small part of the Galactic Empire's ground forces.  It's the job of the elite Storm Trooper Corps to seek out dissenters, fight and kill them where they live.  For the less glamorous but no less necessary work of securing and policing the Empire's vast territories, the regular soldiers of the Imperial Army must suffice.

The Army is a mammoth organization, manned through a colossal and universally hated conscription program and sustained through the practically inexhaustible material resources of the Galactic Empire.  Army regiments are generally well armed and equipped, but are often indifferently led and motivated.  As such, their battlefield performance is notoriously uneven.  Shown here are two squads who can be seen as more or less typical of the Imperial Army squads who guard the ramparts of Empire.

The Squad above has obviously been configured for ranged combat.  It is most likely part of a garrison force detailed to defend a fixed position, or for patrolling duties in open country.  The Squad leader has chosen to make himself conspicuous by arming himself with a blaster carbine rather than one of the clumsier but more powerful blaster rifles carried by his men.  This is perfectly understandable, since it is the job of the squad leader to direct the fire of his section and to communicate with his superiors, not to fight himself.  It does, however, make him an obvious target for enemy marksmen.

This squad displays a considerably more mixed weapons configuration.  It boasts five blaster riflemen and four carbineers.  The squad has probably been equipped for urban patrol and assault operations.  Should the patrolling squad take fire from a given building, the Squad Leader would most likely form a cordon around the building with his blaster riflemen, who would then suppress doors and windows with long to medium range fire.  The carbineers would then assault the target building, clearing rooms and halls with their short ranged but handy and powerful weapons and grenades.  Note the blast visors worn by the troopers with short ranged weapons, which protect their eyes from flashes of light and flying sparks and debris in enclosed spaces.

I arranged my Imperial Army platoon in 10-man squads as I figured the Imperium essentially sees them as expendable material and prefers to deploy them in nice round numbers that add up neatly.  I didn't distinguish the squad leaders in any way other than their weapons, as I figured Imperial planners probably prefer to deal with tactical problems by throwing masses of men and material at them, rather than going to the trouble of trying to establish the sort of officer and NCO corps that have historically been the keys to success for so many armies.  Dangerous to give that sort of training to men who are only indifferent to your cause anyway.  They might leave your army and take the training over to the other side.

I plan on adding two more squads to this platoon.  That's in addition to the platoon command team, of course.  Finally, some bad guys to fight my rebs!

A young Jedi-in-training named Luke Skywalker leads troopers of the Mon Calamari Marine Brigade in an ambush of an Imperial Army patrol...

                                              Prepare to be crushed, you Rebel Scum!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy Jig!

At the close of the month of February and after a very great deal of hard work, Mrs. Mouse produced a baby Mouse, conceived on the eve of Dad's deployment to Afghanistan.  As the deployment was winding down anyway, Father Mouse was able to get leave to go home early.  Long trip and long evenings awake with Junior have conspired to keep me from posting much, but hobby stuff has not been abandoned completely.  A lot of posts of newly painted additions to my armies are coming this weekend.  Also plans for the blog in the coming year.  Some new pieces on games and on Mouse's doings and findings in Afghanistan are cooking too, so stay tuned, chums!

H is for Half-Orc

The unhappy fruit of blasphemous couplings between the bestial orcs and the most degenerate elements of humanity, the half-orcs are a despised and marginalized group, disliked and distrusted by both their parent races.  Abused and neglected, the spawn of these unhappy unions between mortal enemies rarely live long.  Those that do are tough, resourceful and unsentimental.  With loyalty to no society, they are quick to hire themselves out to the unscrupulous as assassins, scouts, mercenaries and thugs.  Others make a living as members of gangs of smugglers, pirates, or bandits, the only communities likely to tolerate their presence for long.  Presented here are four representatives of the strain.  Look on them, o man, and weep.

This individual is clearly a fighter, one of the mercenary warriors who can be found in the retinues of various less than reputable characters in the Western lands.  He has clearly been successful in his chosen profession, for his armour, equipment and clothing, though fashioned in a style recognizably Orcish, is of markedly superior workmanship compared to that owned by the vast majority of Orcish fighters.  He has undoubtedly had it made for him, and at considerable expense.

Whoever it is that has employed has paid him well for his service.  Perhaps he is less treacherous than most of his kind have a reputation for being.

Standing second from right in the above picture we have what appears to be one of the many lone half-orcs who haunt the forests and hills along the fringe of the Western lands.  Such half-orcs are wild and woods-crafty, and having knowledge of the worlds of both orcs and men, they frequently make a wage as scouts, trackers and guides, hiring out to adventurers and armies on either side as it suits them.  A hazardous, but sometimes rewarding profession,

Though the half orcs are not known for their intelligence or knowledge of magicks, the colorful individual above clearly fancies himself as a holy man or spell-caster of some sort.  Most likely he is a priest of the cult of Gruumsh, who, sadly, has a following not just among the half-orcs of the border-lands but among some of the human communities of those territories.  Doubtless a talented troublemaker in the wild region from which he hails.

Hardened by their lonely, bitter lives, tempted by the savage call of their violent orcish blood, capable of blending in amoung both men and monsters, many half-orcs adopt the profession of hired killers, Here their great strength, knowledge, cunning and absence of sentimentality stand them in good stead, and the half-orcs of the border country have traditionally produced many of the world's most famous daggers-for-hire, as the alarming looks of this ill-favoured fellow strongly suggest.

"Knife in yer back, gold in me sack!"

Lost Worlds Characters pt. 2: Fighter & Unicorn

It's been a pretty slow month for hobby stuff, unfortunately.  Twelve hour days don't leave much time off for painting little people and monsters.  Over the last day or two, however, I've had some very slow and quiet hours in the guard shack to get these additions to my Lost Worlds collection painted.  The rainy days have kept Colonels and Sergeants Major indoors and out of everybody's hair.  Keep it coming. Nature!

Here's the first of the new additions, the old, super-imaginatively titled "Man in chain-mail with sword and shield."  The subject of the very first Lost Worlds book, he is pretty under-powered compared with later characters.  He'll probably end up representing a retainer for more powerful characters in most of my games.

As with all my Lost Worlds minis, I tried to paint him to match the book as closely as possible.  Half the fun of this game is having the figure to go with the book.  It's nice how closely Nova games synched the book art to the Ral Partha miniatures.

This particular figure was originally released as a mounted/dismounted combination.  The only variance between the mini and the depiction on the book cover is that the mini is wearing small spurs.  You can make out the straps around his ankles if you look close.  On the book, however, the straps are shown as a fold or bunching of his mail.  Not sure if that was a mistake by Nova or intentional. I've painted him as shown on the book.

Brave, decent looking fellow,  He'll probably get killed a lot, sadly.  Oh, well.

A few months ago, I got the Lost Worlds adventure sets on ebay.  For the second time, actually.  Last time I bought them, the guy ripped me off and never sent them.  Mrs. Mouse confirms, however, that this time, the transaction was for real, and my sets are waiting for me back in Bag End.  Its in the

Nyarlathotep - The Crawling Chaos

 Nyarlathotep.  The Crawling Chaos.  I will tell the audient void...Spent the last week or so of painty time squinting down the brush at a batch of Black Skaven and had to take a break. Said break consisted of  Maiden's Strange World on repeat on the ear buds and working on Nyarlathotep, here.

Very possibly my favorite Lovecraft story.  Not sure what use I'll have for him on the table top, but I like him.  He makes me happy.  The Grenadier Cthulhu miniatures were much more compact than the RAFM line that followed them.  RAFM's minis were more appropriately weird, alien, horrible, and sculpted on a grander scale, but the Grenadier line still has a lot of charm.

Bossk about to have what has got to be just about the worst day imaginable on The Planet of Very Bad Things.

Back to work on the Black Skaven tonight.



For your listening pleasure...the tale read by the quite enjoyable Nick Gisburne...