23th Sahrian Ashwasters

Five years ago, this regiment appeared in-system, conducted an impeccable orbital assault on an outlying farming settlement and razed it to the ground. Not a single soul escaped.

This came as a surprise to all concerned (especially the farmers) as Agri-Zone 17 was home to a notably devout and pro-Imperial population.The cause of the entire incident is suspected to be a clerical error. Precise details have been suppressed but some speak of the settlement's annual Celebration of Corn as a factor.

Sensing the utility of such highly trained manpower, the nobles of Ursis have been assigning them to urban pacification missions ever since.

I couldn't think of a better place to begin than the humble Imperial Guard. The models were all chosen from Ion Age's Cold Climes platoon. It had a fair mix of troops so any model with a fully masked face was conscripted. These are painted as Steel Legion analogues, clearly drafted in from a nearby Hive world. The uniforms are a mix of Desert Yellow, Abbadon Black and Death World Forest.

I went with a bright orange on the respirator tubing to brighten them up, perhaps they find the local air a little too clean and need some industrial solvent blended into their air mix to give that little taste of home.

The colours are perhaps a touch too drab for 15mm and I have some concerns about how well they'll stand out on the table but they do look quite nice in the flesh. As miniatures, the sculpts were very clean. They were also straightforward to paint with clearly defined, sharp features.

There's eight models in total, including our fallen hero, so that will make about a squad's worth of grunts.