Feudal Guard Blog (Updated January 10th)

[fishspit]

Ok, so some of you may have read my lists over in the army list forum, but in case you don't know, I'm starting up an army for a feudal world based on the imperial guard codex. These guys are the standing forces of a world that lost contact with with everyone way back before unification, and technology regressed from "space-faring" to "black powder". Many such worlds exist, and while many are simply left alone, my particular world is the subject of alien invasion/necron reawakening/tau expansion/unification etc. etc.

Anyway, a link to my lists www.commissar.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=armylist&action=display&thread=10983

And now some pics!

I picked up a box of archers and a box of handgunners on my most recent trip to the FLGS. The handgunners are to represent regular, vanilla guardsmen. Oddly enough, in Rogue Trader (the RPG) a black powder rifle does as much damage as a lasgun...the lasgun wins only in clip capacity. ;D

Infantry Squad:


The archer bodies are cool, I love the greatcoats, but wanted my penal legion to have crossbows. Much greenstuff (9/10 guys needed it) and cutting later I come up with these.

Ranger Squad:

Instead of "penal legion" I have decided that these guys represent elite troops, more akin to veterans than prisoners.

I did up some knights as dogs-of-war a while ago, and they fit the bill pretty well as roughriders I think. Pretty straightforward.
Rough riders:

And the sergeant:


As for a paint scheme I decided on a quartered blue and off-white scheme for the regular troops, with a blue and red quartering on the sergeants. Here is the test model:



Anyway, that's all I've got for now, what do you all in the internets think?

[Ogryn Crazy!]

Not enough 40k flavour, they just scream fantasy with 40k bases.

[Ymmot (M.I.A)]

I think fantasy on 40k bases is kind of the idea.

It works, though I think it would be awesome if those knights had pistols instead of shields.

And heavy weapon squads, using mortars and cannons as counts as missile launchers!

And many neat conversions with the steam tank, chimeras and hellhound variants and so on.

[fishspit]

Ymmot hit it on the head there, it is supposed to have a fantasy/steampunk feel to it all.

As for the knights, alas, they were completed long before the idea for fuedal gurad as thought up. I could fix that, but tearing up those guys would kill me. I'll just live without the five laspitstol shots i suppose.

[Ogryn Crazy!]

I think the officers and sergeants could do with having some 40k kit just to tie them into the universe....... just a thought.

[vegna]

Love the idea, maybe just add a couple of looted equipment as like trophies. You know from medieval times you beat you oponent you might take his sword or horse, that kind of thing.

[fishspit]

I am planning on the higer ups (not lowly sergeants even) having some examples of archeotech. The boss (lord commissar) is going to have an ornate thunder hammer from emperor-knows-how-long ago, but I'm still going to put very little of such things into the army. An idea of mine is that this force represents only part of the planet, another part being what was a mechanus settlement high up in the mountians...But alas, during the storms withered and twisted this small branch. They are limited in scope now, maintianing old technology as best they can, with a dabbling in heretek surviving. They don't work too close with my guys though.... </rambling fluff junk>

I don't know, there is a lot of appeal in crossbows vs power armour to me. But I'm open to whatever. What would you suggest I do to tie them in, without alienating them from thier peers?

[ElegaicRequiem]

Haha, I love this. Good work. I look forward to more updates.

[privateflippy]

I like it so far... Maybe give the more wealthy guys lasguns! It shows that they are in short supply. Well done so far. Btw, do those heads fit normal cadian/catachen bodies?

[Deleted]

luv these tho u could put some tech in there as hierlooms
and a game called warmachine use's steam powered armour and some of the power packs come seperate they look cool and would be good for powering ur commissars weapons

[fishspit]

Ok, so i've gone in a new direction thanks to input from you guys and the boys at my FLGS. www.commissar.proboards.com/index....y&thread=10983
Go ahead and hit the list thread to see the changes.

Anyway, I've been painting these guys all weekend, so, pics!

The squad (so far)



The guy with the red quartering is the sergeant, I think he turned out rather well with the varient scheme.




And now, The airship-valkyrie. I have already named her Goldfische. The scale is a bit odd, but I think I can pull it off. Some big guns will be added, see my list thread for the full plan.



The Barry Shot:



Thoughts?

[martinlarsen]

so very... different!
I like the airship idea - how will you make it 'fly'?

[fishspit]

Fly? With...SCIENCE! a pair of sails coming perpendiular to the hull, a big rudder sail, the top sails, and a screw in the front emergind from the keel. That and a healthy suspension of disbelief will put the Goldfische in the skies.

[martinlarsen]

*puts fingers together, Mr. Burns style*
Excellent!

[igdude]

I would recommend adding a storm bolter or two on the airship, or maybe prop up some lasguns, just to get across the 40k-ness of it

[fishspit]

Eh...that has been a major sticking point for a lot of people... Sure, I will eventually include 40k bitz (hitting flgs for more handgunners this week, after exams) but I really like the way these guys clash with the universe. A unit in bright, heraldic colours loading a cannon hiding behind a stone wall facing off agaisnt superhuman killing machines is a pleaseing idea to me.

People say, "add some bolters, that'll tie it into 40k." (no offense at your idea igdude, just a prime example.) But The reality is, it wont. It'll look like fanatsy on 40k bases even more, becasuse building a grand ariship and slapping a bolter on it looks like, well, a model of an airship with a bolter glued on.

That isn't to say that I won't be using 40k bitz at all. The next wave will have the odd ornate lasgun, and at leats one man will have an archeotech-meltagun. But thats the thing, these should appear truley ancient, remebring that upwords of 20 thousand years has passed scince outdside contact. Just adding bolters would not work. Where would they get the ammo?

So, in short, while your opinions are valued and considered, I have come to realise that I don't want a 40k feel.

[fishspit]

ARISE THREAD! Walk the earth once more in service of your dark master!

Ok, an update for those of you who care, the airship is coming together well. I picked up a helblaster kit and began to add crew/weapons. Here she is all together:




And some shots of individaul crewmen:

The Captain (needs some greenstuff to make his sleeves match, but otherwise he is done.)



Rocket loader:


Rocket igniter:



These guys will be seeing paint pretty soon, and as soon as I can get my hands on another one of those kits the second rocket bay will be installed. The original plan was for this to represent a valkirie with multilaser, heavy bolter sponsons, and rocket pods, but at seeing the size of the helblaster (multilaser) I scrapped the idea of adding two more.


Comments?

[Macfeegle]

Hi Fishspit,

You have some nice fantasy models there, but I have to echo the sentiments of many on the forum - they just don't fit into the 40K universe. You need to change up the models somehow.

Simply put, if you want an Imperial Guard Regiment, you have to remember that regardless of how far the world fell, the machine that is the Imperium has now welcomed it back into its arms and fully supplied its men with the required STC equipment.

GMM Studios with his "Scallywaggin" army, whilst not IG, is an example of what can be done without sticking strictly to the weapons/miniatures available.
Link here: gmmstudios.com/gallery/mystuff/

[fishspit]

Ah, you misunderstand, these guys represent the standing forces of a fuedal world NOT YET brought to unity. So yes, basically just fantasy models on 40k bases using the Imperial guard codex for rules.

[Adam Selene]

Your feudal guard has sparked somewhat of an interest in me.

The fluff would be Priest and his bodyguards (regular lasgun toting platoon) have converted a savage, spear wielding, cloth wearing tribe (rough riders, commissar, penal legion. Instead of laspistols the can throw stones... that's a step up) to fight in the name of the emperor.

Just asking why your men are fighting for the Emperor if they haven't been brought into the Imperial fold, or are they like PDF?

Just asking

[Macfeegle]

fishspit - simply put, if it is a feudal world not brought into the Imperium, play fantasy.
If on the other hand it is an Imperial Guard Army, bring them into the realms of 40K in some way or another. What you are offering is an Empire army on skirmish bases.

Personally, if you rocked up at my LGS, you would be refused a table. They need to have something more reasonable to the 40k game system to be 'counts-as' than just round bases.

(Edited for errors)

[Ymmot (M.I.A)]

Jul 8, 2010 9:24:14 GMT -5 Macfeegle said:

Personally, if you rocked up at my LGS, you would be refused a table. They need to have something more reasonable to the 40k game system to be 'counts-as' than just round bases.

Why?

Aren't they adequately based GW models?
(No counting the airship anyway.)

Just seems like refusing to let him play because his army looks different(and for no other reason...) is a jerk move, Sounds like the sort of store I would avoid spending my money in.


Do these models give him an advantage any way?

No.

Did he spend any less than he would have on a 40k army?
No, infact all those round bases had to come from somewhere, he probably spent more.

Man with musket, knife, pouches = Guardsman with lasrife, knife, and grenades?

This is where we must disagree I think, to me it seems acceptable, It isn't hard to see what they've got, pretty simple really....so what's the big deal, what harm does it do?

[spazmunke]

I think they are complaining as they dont have lasguns. Which although odd, as in the fluff even primitive barbarians who wear loin cloths still use lasguns, however, those rifles could just be quite (ornate?) lasguns?

[fishspit]

ok, here goes:

I DONT WANT AN IMPERIAL GUARD REGIMENT.

I've seen hundreds of imperial guard armies, and while I love the models in the IG range, I don't want to be like everyone else. I want a unique guard army, something I can really be proud of. True, right now it consists of a bunch of empire dudes on roundbases, but I think it's brilliant. A big part of this army is how it clashes with the established "feel" of the 41st millenium, and thats what I like about it.

Suppose I were to give a guy a lasgun, what would that look like? Or if I had a guy with a missile launcher? It would look dumb. Then it would look like an empire model on a 40k base, with a 40k gun. It would be worse than it is now.

Macfeegle, I think you are being a touch harsh. Would I really be refused a table? I like to think that I have a novel idea for an army, something different, that still conforms to the 40k fluff. If the guys at your LGS would punish me for showing a bit of creativity, then don't worry, I'll never "rock up" to a crowd like that.

True, it's a 100% counts-as army, and most likely not tournement legal, but its reasonable. All you really need to understand is musket=lasgun, cannon=missile launcher, and airship=valkirie then we can be rolling dice and playing with our toys. Fluffwise fuedal worlds exist, so why not let me build an army based around one? It's not like I bought a sack of green army men, primed them, and added the three colour minimum, it's all still GW (except the airship, but thats going to be 50%).

(Edit for clarity)

[Gabriel Lupus]

Fishspit:

*Begins clapping in pure admiration for the work done*

Love it - I actually had a plan to do exactly the same thing. Even to the point of keeping the Empire muskets as 'counts as lasguns'. They're still around somewhere (I'll see if I can dig them up and post a cuple of my favourite examples if you're interested?) One suggestion (though you've pretty much covered it already) is using cannons as lascannons, helstorm rocket battery as missile launcher and (my favourite) hellblaster volley gun as heavy bolter/autocannon. I can't see you having any problems at tournements either really, as long as you make it plain to the organisers/opponents what is what.

My only vice is that I think it would be interesting to see what 40k things you can squeeze in there - such as vox units (I tried these and they actually work quite well), pistol holsters (used on my feudal commander model - again a surprisingly effective success), and (probably more palatable if you really want to keep away from using 40k stuff on the actual models) why not have a few trophies/corpses/scenery/etc on the bases? A Traitor Marine helmet for example, or damaged 40k weapons half buried in the base maybe?

Also, if you ever get the opportunity to get up to Nottingham (UK) let me know - not only will I back the genius of your work in person (and burn any heretics who oppose your inventiveness) but I'll also game with you and give you the well deserved applause I started this ramble with

Keep working on these - I desperately want to see more... _{now, where are my feudal guard...}