Rough Riders (40K)

My 40K project is coming along nicely. As long as I have models to put together, I don't have to start painting, right?

Ten Rough Riders. Returning from patrol. The lead rider with the sword is the sergeant. I've got two 5-man squads of rough riders, but so far only one sergeant model (I need two). Sergeants are out-of-production, so I'll be waiting for another on eBay. Rough Riders come in two models (1 and 2), not including the sergeant. The sergeant seems to be required to have a lance in the rules, but the model isn't provided with one. Maybe that's why they're out of production?

These models are not very good, with tons of flash, giant gaps, and not a lot of detail. I now miss plastic models whenever I have to work with crummy metal. The riders were troublesome to put together. They each took five stages, not including prep work, and could be done three at a time in assembly line fashion:

1. Put horses together, including the filing out the notches for the tail.
   
2. Put bottom of rider on base and allow to dry.
3. Put top of rider on bottom half of rider and allow to dry.
4. Put lance or weapon arm on rider and allow to dry. The key here for me was to find a secondary attachment point for the lance on the horse and use Zip Kicker to make it stay. Once that weaker kicker bond was established, I could allow the primary bond of the arm against the rider to dry naturally, which is always stronger.
   
5. Plastic putty the arms and horses butts (possibly horse heads later, but the gap is pretty thin).

Basilisk Crews. These were mortar crews "re-purposed" to be in charge of the basilisks. I'm debating on whether to bother painting these guys, as the basilisks will have camo netting over the crew area (another project I'm waiting on parts for). You won't see these guys. Still, they look good standing around.



Overview Shot. Here's a look at what I've put together so far. Three basilisks, a chimera, ten rough riders and six basilisk crewmen.


On Deck. The two officer models (senior and junior) are drying, but they were pretty simple. The three blisters are the auto cannons and crew.

Coming Soon. The main troop force, six boxes of 10 Tallarn raiders, is back-ordered from GW. They were supposed to arrive with the autocannon's, but no such luck. GW is telling me a week or two. A new item came out this week from specialist games, a single grenade launcher figure. Normally you need to buy a special weapons pack, which includes him and a plasma gun model, which I don't need. I ordered four grenade launcher figures which should arrive next week. Three apocalypse class Sentinels are also on order from Specialist Games. These are the fully enclosed model that look almost as cool as the Forge World Tallarn Sentinels.

I'm also looking for some realistic red sand for the mars paint job. There is hobby supply red sand, which is bright red and there is uniform red ballast sand for railroading. I'm looking for a more natural, rich in iron mix. One modeler online got his from the deserts around Las Vegas.


1500 Pts - Imperial Guard Roster - Imperial Guard Tallarns

HQ: Command Platoon (14#, 453 Pts)
0 Command Platoon @ 453 Pts
0 Command Squad @ [97] Pts
Cameleoline
1 Senior Officer @ [62] Pts
Cameleoline; Iron Discipline; Surveyor; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol
4 Guardsmen @ [25] Pts
Cameleoline; Master Vox-Caster; Lasgun (x4)
6 Fire Support Squad @ [125] Pts
Cameleoline; Light Infantry; Sharpshooters; Lasgun (x3); Autocannon (x3)
0 Sentinel Squadron @ [231] Pts
3 Sentinel @ [231] Pts
Armoured Crew Compartment (x3); Camo Netting (x3); Extra Armour (x3); Rough Terrain Modification (x3); Searchlight (x3); Autocannon (x3)

Troops: Infantry Platoon (36#, 506 Pts)
9 Armoured Fist @ 202 Pts
Cameleoline; Sharpshooters; Vox Caster; Lasgun (x7); Grenade Launcher; Autocannon
1 Sergeant @ [6] Pts
Cameleoline; Sharpshooters; Lasgun
1 Chimera @ [94] Pts
Rough Terrain Modification; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Heavy Bolter; Hull Heavy Bolter
0 Infantry Platoon @ 304 Pts
0 Command Squad @ [88] Pts
Cameleoline; Light Infantry; Sharpshooters
1 Junior Officer @ [45] Pts
Cameleoline; Iron Discipline; Light Infantry; Sharpshooters; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol
4 Guardsmen @ [13] Pts
Cameleoline; Light Infantry; Sharpshooters; Vox Caster; Lasgun (x3); Grenade Launcher (x1)
9 Infantry Squad @ [108] Pts
Cameleoline; Light Infantry; Sharpshooters; Vox Caster; Lasgun (x7); Grenade Launcher; Sniper Rifle
1 Sergeant @ [6] Pts
Cameleoline; Light Infantry; Sharpshooters; Lasgun
9 Infantry Squad @ [108] Pts
Cameleoline; Light Infantry; Sharpshooters; Vox Caster; Lasgun (x7); Grenade Launcher; Sniper Rifle
1 Sergeant @ [6] Pts
Cameleoline; Light Infantry; Sharpshooters; Lasgun

Fast Attack: Rough Rider Squad (5#, 73 Pts)
4 Rough Rider Squad @ 73 Pts
Vox Caster; Close Combat Weapon (x4); Hunting Lance (- LP) (x4)
1 Veteran Sergeant @ [24] Pts
Surveyor; Laspistol; Hunting Lance; Melta Bombs

Fast Attack: Rough Rider Squad (5#, 73 Pts)
4 Rough Rider Squad @ 73 Pts
Vox Caster; Close Combat Weapon (x4); Hunting Lance (- LP) (x4)
1 Veteran Sergeant @ [24] Pts
Surveyor; Laspistol; Hunting Lance; Melta Bombs

Heavy Support: Basilisk (3#, 394 Pts)
1 Basilisk @ 132 Pts
Camo Netting; Rough Terrain Modification; Searchlight; Earthshaker Cannon; Hull Heavy Bolter; Indirect Fire Capability
1 Basilisk @ 131 Pts
Camo Netting; Rough Terrain Modification; Earthshaker Cannon; Hull Heavy Bolter; Indirect Fire Capability
1 Basilisk @ 131 Pts
Camo Netting; Rough Terrain Modification; Earthshaker Cannon; Hull Heavy Bolter; Indirect Fire Capability

Total Roster Cost: 1499