Kanak Sentinels

Tactics

The Armored Sentinels are my heavy hitters. My Armored Sentinels are up gunned to Lascannons. As my tanks are mainly geared for anti-infantry and my infantry the same, I need something to help pop any vehicles I encounter. I don't always bring my Heavy Weapon teams, but I will always make room for my Sentinels. Depending on who I am facing, or if I am going second, I may hold them in reserves to prevent them from being hit early. These guys will aim for whatever threatens them first, gun-wise. Otherwise, whatever big-nasty is available will be their main target. I'm lucky enough that they usually connect on the first volley. But that is not something to rely on at all. That's when they start dancing away and keep shooting. Their armor of 12 is a real boon for their survival. Beyond the weapon upgrade for my, they do not get anything else.

My other unit of Sentinels simply Scout to the enemy's backfield and cause havoc. They are very basic in cost and build. The multi-lasers don't really do much damage, but they always get my opponent's attention. The strength of the multi-laser pretty much means they can harm anything short of a heavy vehicle. These little walkers can also tie up units or be used to charge other heavy weapon teams. In practice, they are usually a throw away unit. In use, they more than make up for it.

Painting

As for painting, I had some old Sentinels sitting around in their old jungle green coloration. Old as in from 2001 or '02 when I was really into the Imperial Guard. They looked pretty good in general, but didn't really fit in with the rest of the company scheme-wise. When I got another Catachan Battalion box that had a Sentinel inside, I figured I would go ahead and get them all in line with the rest of the Kanak units.

            

With the newest sentinel, on the right above, you can see the slight lean toward corruption taking place. The pilot is from one of my old lascannon Sentinels that received an armored canopy. I simply pulled the pilot out. It was simply to save time. I get lazy.

               

 

The one in the middle used to be open topped. Just a couple of clips and glue down an old metal piece I had laying around, POOF! I am so glad GW started making the plastic version. The metal parts never really fit that well and made it very top heavy to boot. Games Workshop has really upped their game, pun intended, with their new sculpt across the range. Everything is coming out nice and sharp with a great fit.

                       

          

Here are the walkers after their layers of grey. All of them were primed in black, then Tamiya Light Grey Surface Primer. A few pieces of Tamiya masking tape were added and a layer of Mechanicus Standard Grey was airbrushed on. Following the regular steps, I did all base painting followed by decals. They were all then sprayed with a gloss coat from Testors and the weathering began. Starting with a filter for grey german tanks and sponging some dark paint onto it. The basic dark brown oil wash was applied to every crevice and rivet.  I then used Mig weathering products on these guys to see how it works out. I can say I was very happy with them. The streaking rust was strategically placed in locations that water would stand or spots where I added damage. Then some of the Mig Streaking Grime onto the hydraulic areas or places where there could be a gasket leak on a leg or so.

Those are the basics steps I used. There were others in between depending on what I thought they needed. Much of modeling is finding a way of doing something and growing from that. 

Other Choices

I wanted to show off some guys I picked up from Blight Wheel Miniatures some time back. I believe Blight Wheel is out of France. Anyway, they make some great third party Astra Militarum figures. These guys are not a 'cheaper' alternative to the GW figures. But they are a 'standout' alternative to GW and FW. They are detailed resin pieces allowing for some really nice detail.

Admittedly, they were a bit finicky to construct. I ended up putting a pin all the way across from shoulder to shoulder for the arms to stay. Not very difficult overall, but somewhat time consuming. I will say, once they are glued, they won't come off, unless you are really pissed at them.

This ranges is Blight Wheel's Britanic Hell'ington figures. Very dark looking guys, and quite similar to Forge World Death Korps of Krieg, as in trench warfare style. The best part is, they are extremely easy to paint. All you have to worry about is the armor, the clothing, guns, and maybe some straps and what not, no skin involved. So if you are one of the guys that hate painting flesh, these guys are for you. They are not as hyper intricate as the Forge World pieces, but they still have some features.

Beginning with a black primer, I painted the clothing Steel Legion Drab added some decals, and gave it all a thorough dry brush with Baneblade Brown. Next step was a wash of Agrax Earthshade on the clothing only. By just applying the wash to the clothing, you get a dirtier appearance. This was followed by another dry brush of Baneblade over the entirety of the model, then a lighter dry brush of Kommando Khaki on top of that. I added one more wash of Agrax over the whole model, and a last dry brush of Baneblade, and that was all I needed.

To add extra bits, I painted on some armor nicks, stippled some Steel Legion and Baneblade onto the armor for effect and they were done. A very effective paint job that can work great with Cadians or Kreig. 

Really quite simple to paint up and get done fast. I may incorporate them into the Kanaks as a Veteran squad possibly with shotguns. I know shotguns suck, but they look cool and fit the models.

Kanak Specialists and Theory

I painted up quite a few Special Characters and Regimental Specialists for my Kanak Guard. I may never use many of them, but I had them. They all came out pretty nice and were rewarding to paint up.

The first ones I put together was the Master of Ordnance. There can only be one per Company Command Squad, but I ended up painting three of them. I figured, the Officers would be more 'civilized' than regular Kanak troops. I envision them as being attached to the Skull Takers and not really being part 'of them'. The first one, is a simple creation from Cadian parts, nothing fancy. Now the other two are a combination of old metal Leman Russ commanders attached to plastic legs. I pinned them onto the legs, else one little fall would see the parts flying in different directions. The guy in the middle, I had to extend a pistol holster on the model, down onto the thighs with a little green stuff. Once painted up, you probably couldn't tell if I never told you. I paid a tad bit more attention to these guys as they aren't the cannon fodder that everybody else is.

The Officer of the Fleet figure is a great model from GW. It has a ton of character and even oozes an air of betterment over his earthbound allies. I followed the general look of the guy from the book for lack of inspiration.

The other guy sitting there is 'Good Guy' from Schaeffer's Last Chancers. I've been sitting on that box of minis for the last thirteen years or so. He looked like a strong Commissar model, so, POOF! He got painted up like one. I know he isn't very WYSIWIG. Eh, he hasn't fired a shot in anger yet.

I am going with Psykers in this army. They can be so much fun, especially if I can pull out the Invisibility power for my Astropath. Either way, I love the potential of Psychic Shriek. I was able to take out a remaining nine Salamanders after their Sgt was killed via Interceptor. I was lucky enough to roll a 17 for the strength of the power! Blam! Nine dead marines! I may even push for some Daemonlogy powers later on to really make for some fun moments in the Psychic phase. Anyway, this guy is mostly an Empire Flagellant from a sprue I had picked up when they first came out....about nine years ago. The staff is made from a pair of old Goblin shield add-ons. Sorry about the terrible picture, but think of the Eye of Sauron, and you will get the picture.



The other Psyker in the army is the Primaris. This guy I got from eBay. Another old classic figure from the GW heydays. I really could have done a better job on him. For a 20yr old piece, there is some good detail. You can see the eyes along the hem of the robe with fire flowing up around them. In battle, I pay for the 2nd level of Mastery, and give him the Divination discipline. I place him inside a blob squad for his own protection. The malediction power Misfortune, has helped quite a few times. I was able to wipe out a marine command squad with it. Especially, when the unit was in range of my Punishers!

The Ministorum Priests are carry overs from my Sororitas army. These guys keep my squads from running, leaving objectives, and really help keeping a blob squad stuck in combat. Once in a while, I can get a power off due to their poor leadership. Re-rolling to wound against MEQs really comes in handy. I tend to let the squad sarges take any challenges before I let these guys get in. I just wish I could add an eviscerator or power weapon to these guys.

The last two guys I have this week is Iron Hand Straken and Sergeant Harker. Iron Hand is the older model released with the original Catachan codex way back when. Since my guys are mostly modeled after that style, Straken makes for a perfect fit. I don't think I will ever use him, but this was a perfect opportunity to get him all dressed up. On his left arm, I put a little celtic style arm band on him. It came out really nice. The trick is to just paint the two wavy intersecting lines. Then using the flesh paint, I cut the lines where they met to give it the overlapping effect.

Sergeant Harker is another of the Last Chancers. This guy is known as 'Ox'. He's much like Bragg from Tanith. The set of figures are still available from GW. If you can, I recommend grabbing one before they disappear, as they are metal. They are all so great individually. Anyway, I added a Mom tattoo to this version of Harker.

Painting-wise, I kept to the same general steps and palette as the rest of the company. I will cover the painting steps next week. It's really quite simple and quick.

Kanak 2nd Platoon and Heavy Weapons

The Second Platoon uses bands to designate their squad. With the first squad having one band on their upper arms and the second having two bands. This is also mirrored on the squad banner. The basic idea of the squad composition is basic lasguns and a flamer. That's it. The sergeant may get a melta bomb or so, but really that is all.

Why does each squad have a banner, it doesn't do anything? Well, I had so many extra as the Marauder sprue has two types. Why not give each squad one? It sorta gives an old feel to the army. You may notice that each and every unit also has a musician. I have these guys to represent my vox caster. The squads will have drummers with a lasgun strapped to their back. The command squads use horns. Just another way to differentiate the basic squad and a command unit. 

The first platoon command squad has grenade launchers. Yes, I know they pretty much suck, but that unit is designed to move along with the squads. That whole platoon tends to be my speed bumps. Combining into a single blob squad if needed. The second platoon and command squad are my squatters and my counter-attack unit with the flamers. Pretty simple, and it keeps things cheap. Each of my command squads has an extra guy made up in case I need to cut out a flamer, banner, or something. To have them looking different, the command units have a 'barbed-wire' like band on their arms

I do have heavy weapon squads just in case. I've found that each heavy weapon sprue can make three different ones if you plan it carefully. You just need to decide if you want a lascannon, heavy bolter, or autocannon. As there is only one mount for those. Out of three sprues, I was able to get nine heavy weapon squads. I made three of each to keep things simple. The missile launcher and mortar both have the same bipod mount, but you really don't need it for the missile launcher. With these units, I got creative as the base would just be so empty otherwise. Each type of weapon follows the same theme, the mortars are behind stone walls, the auto cannons are behind barricades, and with barrels sitting in front of the missile launchers. 

With the nine different squads, I can make three heavy weapon squads or even just sprinkle them throughout the company.

Next post will have my cavalry and my Company Command Squad. 

Kanak Skull Takers

Long time no post....
I have finally gone back to the Imperial Guard, oops, sorry, the Astra Militarum. I came up with the plan to make the Kanak Skull Takers when doing the Four Color Chimera Post, link here. Orginally, the name plate showed Malvi, a planet from the Calixis Sector of Dark Heresy by Fantasy Flight Games. Long story short, (too late) I changed the name on the side to Kanak. I just thought the Skull Takers needed to be represented somehow. Also, since I had some extra Beastmen bits and Chaos Marauder sprues, why not put them to use.

So the Kanak Skull Takers are a feral bunch that tend to use axes and flamers a majority of the time. Keeping with the theme, most of my guys also have axes and flamers. I also organized them into clans based on platoons. So each platoon will have a similar skin color, identifying tattoos, and banners-styles that differ by color. First squad has a single slash or bar, the second has two slashes or bars, etc.

Squad One

Squad Two

Squad Three

The figures themselves are incredibly easy to put together. Just mix 'n match a Catachan squad with Chaos Marauders and you are set. I found one sprue of each could usually make a ten-man squad. A word of warning though. Some preparation is required ahead of time. As the chests of the Marauders do not allow for two handed rifles to be added easily. You will notice I use the Catachan bodies for all troopers that are aiming their weapons. The Marauder bodies tend to be carrying their rifles in one hand, have it slung across their back, or some other creative way to fit them in. This was the fun part; thinking of creative ways to fit them together.

Once I got to the Platoon Command Squad, things got a bit more difficult. I want them to be different and stand out more, so I put the Command Squad sprue to use. This sprue is more 'streamlined' as the figures are not as large. The other heads and arms from the troop sprue do not fit quite as well. Luckily, I planned to make some Rough Riders too.

Command Squad

The Chaos Horsemen sprue has sixteen different heads for the five riders. That leaves twenty-two extra heads if I make a full ten man cavalry unit. These heads are AWESOME and fit nicely with the command squad figures. All the helmeted heads go with the Catachan and Marauder bodies quite nicely too. Otherwise, many of the heads can appear too small for the barrel chested figures.

I also added a few little things like giving them something akin to biker jackets.

I am going to leave with just the completed first platoon. Meaning I have to come back and post more pictures of the others I have finished.


If you want to find out more about the Kanak Skull takers, here are another couple of links to the Lexicanum and the Manchurian Campaign put together by the Bell of Lost Souls.

Leman Russ Punishers

In order to create space in my backlogged inventory, I have been working on the many kits that I have accumulated over the years. I am now working on some Russ kits I got back when Apocalypse came out. GW had a great deal on a three Russ squadron for $100 or so. Sucker me, I picked it up even though I didn't have an Imperia... Astra Militarum army. Anyway, these kits are for other variants that I will post in the near future. What I have finished recently are a pair of Punishers.

Everybody was in to the Executioner with its plasma cannons. I thought the Punisher was getting neglected. Besides what help the Militarum more than multiple shots, besides twin-linked? These have been sitting on my shelves for a couple of years before I grabbed them and put them together.

I went for a bit of Urban camo for these guys. They were primed black as usual, then Mechanicus Standard Grey. I added a touch of a lighter grey and hit the larger plates and sprayed vertical lines down the side for some pre-weathering. I then added some irregular shapes cut out from my Tamiya tape. Administratum Grey was then used. A touch of Pallid flesh (now Wyche Flesh) was added and again hit large open areas and added vertical stripes again, but trying to hit the same stripes I used for the darker grey to enhance the effect. It's difficult to see the result as it's quite subtle. Then decals, base colors, a coat of gloss spray, then the weathering. 

Just as for the Macharius, I followed many of the tips from the Forge World book.

Four Color Camo Scheme on Chimeras

Two completed Chimeras in 4 color scheme

This time I want to show you how to do a four color camo scheme. It's actually quite simple. Even more so if you have an airbrush. If you do not, then do not worry, you can do the same thing with standard spray cans. Here is the final look of my Chimeras. I would love to show you what I had envisioned from the first Imperial Armor, but I don't want to cause any issues with the big guys in Nottingham.

There are a few rules to remember when using spray cans. These are basic pointers, if you already know these skip to the next paragraph. You want to spray the paint on lightly. Spray the paint on from side to side or up/down. You also want to begin spraying before you actually get to the model and carry through till you completely pass the model. Keep the can about a foot away from the model, too close can be too thick, too far can lead to it drying too soon, very not good. Check the humidity in the air, this too can cause bad things to happen with the paint.

I first primed the vehicles with black. Any brand of black will do, although I used Army Painter. This is just a base coat for the paint to adhere to. This initial layer was left to dry overnight. I then used a grey. In my case it was the remainder of my Adeptus Battlegrey, now Mechanicus Standard Grey. I also used Reaper Ash Grey later on for other vehicles. I tried to give the tank a good coverage of the grey. I wasn't too intent on making sure every nook was painted. As I put other layers on, they should get those locations I missed. In addition, having some of the black, or other future colors, peeking through gives it some variety. While this layer was drying, I laid out a strip of Tamiya Masking tape of about 8-10 inches in length.

I then randomly placed the tape onto the tank. The designs can be completely up to you. Be creative if you wish. Cut holes into them to let other layers through. Go round, or add more than 4 sides to each piece. You can vary the sizes from small to large. These will mask the grey under the tape from any other colors that we may put on. When it is finally done and all the tape is removed, the grey will have the appearance of being the last color put onto the tank. When the tape is placed onto the tank, be sure to burnish the edges down to prevent the future layers from seeping under the tape. For this you can use most anything that is smooth and rounded. I used a sculpting tool. Once I was happy with the placement, I proceeded to add the next layer of paint. The next layer happened to be leftover Tamiya Desert Yellow in a spray can. Tallarn Sand is a good replacement. I sprayed this onto the tops and sides of the tank. I didn't go for the bottom of the tank or the bottom of the 'wings' either. Then while that layer was drying, I again got the tape out and cut more designs. I then airbrushed on Graveyard Earth, which is now replaced by Steel Legion Drab. I got the tape out again, but this time I went for varied stripes of tape. Another point, try to have your tape pass over, contact, or in some way contact your previous pieces of tape.

Finally, the last layer of paint was a dark green. I went back to a spray can of Army Painter. I want to point out one thing here. Ultimately, you want to use a spray paint that you also have in bottle form. If you have to do any touchups for any reason, you want the colors to match. This is one of the reasons why using an airbrush is preferred over a spray can. This last layer I tried to get a good coverage over all the tank. In the real world, this layer would usually be the base layer that all the other colors are then added onto.

I let this layer dry after approximately 30 minutes and proceeded to remove the tape carefully. Using an exacto knife to lift an edge on a mask piece, I removed it with tweezers. Here you will see that around the first pieces of tape that there could be raised spots where the paint has built up. You can break these down with a fine sandpaper.  

The next step I took was to complete any extra paining. The guns were painted and washed. The pouches were painted and washed too, the shovels, etc. I then sealed it with a light layer of gloss and applied decals, sealing it again. The gloss coat allows for the decals to settle easier. In addition, the weathering layer is much easier with a smooth coat. 

Using oil paints for weathering is the part that gives most people pause. As they work so much differently than the standard acrylics, many people don't like to step out of their established comfort zone. In this case it was extremely simple. Get a can of turpenoid and a small tube of Van Dyke Brown or even Burnt Umber. Squeeze out a small amount of the paint. I put mine into the lid of an old jar and poured out some turpenoid to create a wash. You may need to experiment here to get the consistency you like. Then, using a detail brush just touch around the rivets with your wash. The paint will fill in the area around the rivet like magic. It'll make you wonder why you never tried it in the first place! Even better, if you went to far or don't like how it came out in some spots, you can wet a qtip with turpenoid and just wipe it away. Here is where the gloss coat really helps you out. Another trick you can try is to dampen a flat brush and lightly drag it down the sides of the vehicle pulling the paint down to create a nice effect akin to rain washing down the side.

Knowing these simple to use tricks, you can change things up and try different combinations. Go for a striking color shame if you wish. This can also be used to great effect of Tau and Eldar craft as well. Imagine a large dragon template cut out in tape and placed onto the edge of a Wave Serpent.