Squat Mole Mortars.

I've been painting more Squats. I have a lot of infantry awaiting basing, but for now some of the  artillery.

One of the two iconic weapons associated with the Squats is the Mole Mortar, the other of course being the Thudd Gun. The Mole Mortar was released with two Squat crewmen. For those of you unaware, the Mole Mortar was a very sneaky weapon, being a Mortar which fired it's projectile underground, bursting up through the ground to explode.

I have three of these. Two have the original crew, the other I have added spare Squats to crew. I have kept the painting broadly in line with the early Rogue Trader look. They, like all the Squats so far, have been fun to paint, and quite quick to do. These took only a couple of hours.
Enjoy :)

 Mole Mortar battery.

 The first of the original crew supplied, the 'Firer'.

 The second of the original crew supplied, the 'Loader', with ammo round. He also has a twin ammo pack on his back.

Replacement crew, ' "Blish" Browning' (left), and 'Capt. Khyrk' (right).
I chose "Blish" because he has a handset of somekind, and I chose 'Khryrk'  because he looks pretty cool, he looks like a crewman, and I had one spare!

 Mole Mortars.
I based them on a 40mm round bases.

The original miniatures from the 1980's release advert.

Next blog update, more Squats!

Lots more Rogue Trader Squats.

More early Rogue Trader era Squats, but alas I still have'nt purchased a new camera, so the photographs are a little so-so.

I've been busy. Over the last couple of weeks I have painted 21 Squats and a Thudd Gunn. Well, I've actually painted more than this, but the others are awaiting basing. I am really enjoying painting these miniatures. They are very quick and easy to paint. I've found with the Squat ranges that it is very simple to make the same miniature look different by varying the painting on each of them, whilst still keeping within the overall approach, in this case the early paint schemes used io the inital Rogue Trader Squat miniatures. It does'nt take long to paint two or three of the Squats of an evening after work, so I am making good progress, and having fun whilst doing it. As I am working within the Hylgar's Hell-Raisers army list, I have started targeting which Squats to paint so I could start completing some squads.

Enjoy :)

Some of the couple of weeks painting.

 Seven 'Smoothbore Sten' miniatures.

 Three 'Luger Gerlich'.

 Two 'Gal Von Benko', and one 'Enfield Chambers'.

 From the RT302 Squat Command range, 'Uzi Marakov' (left), and 'Brew Ithica' (right).
These will be used as sergeants.

 Rear view.

  'Barry Schmeisser' and 'Koch Wesson'.

 He's Dead!!!
'Ross Von Dormus'.

The two RT303 Heavy Weapon Squats, 'Gunner Kief' (left), and 'Gunner Karl' (right).
They are armed with the original separate Imperial Heavy Bolter (also used on Ork Dreadnoughts).

'Thudd Gun'.
Well, not strictly speaking, it's actually a Rogue Trader era cannon made in France by AGMAT, who produced miniatures under license. It was also released under the name of 'Imperial Autocannon', and it seems to have been available for a time. I can't recall where I bought mine, but I think it was the late 90's or early 2000's.

 Side view.

 Rear view.

 The gun crew.
It did'nt have a crew with it although it was sometimes supplied with an Imperial Guard crew. I have chosen to used ' "Blish" Browning' , and 'Loader Grigg' (from the RT303 Heavy Weapons range). Grigg is carrying a large encased ammo magazine over his shoulder, so I thought he fitted the role nicely.

 The entry for Squat Tactical squads in the Book of the Astronimican (1988), page 73. These are the most lightly armoured of the Squat squads.

 Tactical Squad using mainly 'Smoothbore Sten'.

Tactical squad using a mix of 'Gal Von Benko', 'Enfield Chambers', and 'Luger Gerlich', all the Sqauts armed with the AK-47 looking las-gun.

Next update will be more Squats!!! I have Mole Mortars and more infantry as WIP.

More Early Rogue Trader Squats... but terrible photographs! :(

I've been a busy Goblin. But first of all, an apology.
My camera has broken, and so I have been taking photographs with my phone. Some of them are fine, some blurred. I did try with some several times, but I'm just not getting there. So, here are the Squats. Think of it as bad sub-space comms (been watching DS-9 again  :)  )

Anyway, apart from work and other such nonsense, I have been painting Squats. Lots of them, and they have been fun to paint. After a recent lull in painting, I am quite enjoying painting the early Rogue Trader era Squats. As I mentioned in my last blog update I am loosely basing them on the early release paint schemes, which are a mix of greens and browns, with dashes of colour. When I think of this era of Squats, these paint schemes are that which spring to mind, so why not choose them?

I am basing the army on the Hylgar's Hell-Raisers army list from the 1988 Book of the Astronomican, but ignoring all but the compulsary Human elements, and focusing on the Squats. I have done this because I think that this list better reflects the miniatures, it will also act as an opponent to the Ork list army I have, and I also have enough plastic Squats to create an army from the layer Squat list. I'll detail more on the exact composition of the army in a later blog update.

Enjoy (best you can)  :)

WIP army.
I'm filling the gaps via e-bay, and the army is nearly 'collected'.

The last couple of weeks painting.

'Loader Powl', from the RT9/RT303 Squat Heavy weapon range. He is primilarly designed to accompany heavy weapons carriers. He is armed with a Plasma-Gun, and I intend to use him as a Squat Sergeant-Major in the Hylgar list as he fits the entry nicely.

'Galil Lankhester', a musician miniature from the RT302 Space Dwarf /Squat Command Group range. He is a keyboard player. Synth was big in the 1980's . :)

'Gunner Karl' armed with a Conversion Beamer.

Beamer side.

'Waltha Twelvebore'.
Squat armed with a flamer. I have painted him similar to the artwork in the Rogue Trader rulebook, below.

'Waltha Twelvebore' and 'Colt Stoner', jus' patrollin' downtown.

A blurred photograph of a Bloodbowl Dwarf with a Bazooka.
He is 'Barik Farblast', from about 1988, and is armed with a football launching bazooka. I plan to use him as a missile launcher.

Rear view.

Two versions of 'Gatt Gunslinger'.
I like how a different paint scheme, within the overall theme, can work on the same miniature.

Rear view.
Citadel made two different versions of 'Gatt Gunslinger'. The first one, on the left, had a seperate backpack/jump-pack (the same one used on the 'Roth Bergman' miniature). The second version received a minor resculpt, replacing the seperate backpack, with a cast-on one.

On the left 'Capt. Khyrk', from the RT9 Heavy weapon crew range. I photographed him now, as he is off soon on a 5 year misson. ;)
On the right, 'Koch Wesson', a Squat flamer (the backward cap, also popular in the 1980's).

Rear view.

'Heckler Smith' and 'Lee Hotchkiss'.
Both based on the same base sculpt, they are going to be part of the Assault Squads.

Two 'Lewis Gunn'.

Two 'Maxim Bang'.

On the left 'Luger Gerlich'.
On the right 'Mauser von Dreyse'. Apart from the blot gun, he is the same sculpt as 'Lewis Gunn'. 
I do love the firearms names of the Squats.

'Colt Stoner' and 'Barry Schmeisser'.

Rear view.
The 'Barry Schmeisser' miniature has a backpack, maybe a jump-pack, in a similar style to the original metal Space Marine ones.

Next update, more Squats.

Early Rogue Trader Squats.

I have been collecting and sorting out my 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy armies for a little while now, and fancied a little bit of a change. Now one of my great loves is what I consider very early era of Rogue Trader, 1987 to 1988, and one of the key elements to that era were the early release of Squats (Space Dwarfs), before the Iron claw Range, and before the plastic range.

Before the 1989 Squat army list, which many consider the epitome of Rogue Trader Squats, they were more akin to an adjunct to the Imperial Army, so much so that they were an integral part of the Imperial Army list in the 1988 Book of the Astronomican. That is my approach to these. They comprise only miniatures released from the initial releases of Rogue Trader, and I will be basing them on the Hyglar's Hell-Raisers from the 1998 Book of the Astronomican, taking their paint schemes  from that era.

Why? Because I love the look of the early Squats and their green/brown/khaki colours. Also, in the Hyglar list many of the Squats are issued with mesh and flak armour, which I feel befits the miniatures more than just the flak of the later list. Anyway, I have another plastic and metal Squat army to use for the later list.

There is a cavet to all this. I am painting these for fun. I might complete this army or move on. I have a contemporary Astra Militarium army which I am looking to paint, and so many other things to do, but for now, I'm enjoying painting these.

Oh, and I'm painting some Rogue Trader Tyranids as well.

Enjoy :)

White Dwarf 94 release of Squats (Space Dwarfs).
Many of these are in the Rogue Trader rulebook.

Book of the Astronomican Space Dwarfs.

Book of the Astronomican Space Dwarf Command.

Squats!
My camera has broken, so these are taken with my phone!

'Maxim Bang'.
The early Squats/Space Dwarfs were all named, and named after firearms.
He is armed with a las-gun, the same one used by the Space Slann, and many human adventurers, and Judge Dredd miniatures.
By the way, they is a lot of smoking going on amongst the Squats.

Rear view.

'Lewis Gunn' (told you, named after guns!).
His body is the same base torso as 'Maxim Bang's'.

Rear view.

'Mauser von Dreyse'
Again, based on the basic 'Maxim Bang torso. He is armed with a bolter.

Rear view.

'Luger Gerlich'.
He is armed with looks like an Ak-47, but can be used as an Auto-gun. It is later listed (and I am using it here as) a Las-Gun.

Rear view.

'Smoothbore Sten'.

Rear view.

Squats bothering the Orks of the Charadon Empire somewhere in Kolarne system. 

I re-painted my old wrecked car scenery.

My painting table!

What's next? Probably more Squats, I'm having fun painting them. :)