Apocalypse Update #1: The Call Up

 

Raising the Imperial Guard for Apocalypse Soon-ish

     Time to look at some of the forces I plan to bring to the Apocalypse game. One of the regiments that I was drawn to back in the early 2000s was the Steel Legion who very much had a German WW2 Fallschirmjager feel about them with the style of helmets, ammo pouches and smocks obviously inspiring their sculptor. However building a large enough force of Steel Legions for an Apocalypse game these days requires an equally large amount of spare cash sitting in the bank as they are very pricey to purchase on the second hand market with prices on eBay that make you wonder if you are buying wargaming figures or a pristine conditioned, classic car!! Well maybe that's a slight exaggeration but nevertheless some of the prices on ebay etc do induce a lot of tooth sucking.  As I wanted at least one platoon of at least three squads with the necessary integral fire support then the Steel Legion route was going to be a non-starter (I did, however invest in some Steel Legion figures but more about them in a mo..)  

WW2 German Fallschirmjager...

GW Armageddon Steel Legions :oD

    Instead I took at look at what 3D printed figures there were available for Steel Legions and, naturally, I found some on Cults3D (the link to these particular models I can't find now which is annoying) but they lacked heavy weapons. However I found lots of alternatives; so many that it was difficult to choose. Ultimately I did choose something that I thought looked Steel Legiony enough for my purposes. Contacting my resin 3D print dealer, Martin at Barnyard Prints I placed an order for a platoons worth; that is a platoon command squad and three infantry squads. In due course Martin delivered the goods and I was mightily impressed with the results. However, reflecting on the size of game that I had in mind compared with what I had purchased I quickly realized I needed more troops and support options. Before you could say "Praise the Emperor of Mankind!!" I was knocking at the barn door and putting in another order for said supports; missile launchers, mortars, heavy bolters etc as well as more specialist weapons; melta-guns, flamers etc as well as another platoon (only two squads this time though) 

The core of my Imperial Guard force. Five squads, two platoon command squads and the  best part of five Special Weapons squads at the rear. On the flanks are the Steel Legion based Veteran Squads. I have no doubt this force will expand especially as those Special Weapons squads need more troops. Not pictured are the heavy weapons teams. Some chump forgot to order the correct bases for them but rest assured they are on my shopping list

   That felt a bit better. In the meantime I had failed to not buy any actual Steel Legion figures....if you follow me. I had a squad from my earlier 40K days and I was wondering how to fit them into my 5th Ed IG army and the obvious; at least to me, answer was to use the 10 man squad I had as Veterans. The trouble was I didn't have a squad sergeant figure which meant a trip to eBay and before you could say "Steel Legion Mechanised Infantry" I had bought the best part of another two squads (including missile launcher teams...though I should call them rocket launcher teams as the word "missile" has the word "miss" in it which merely encourages those fickle dice gods to look with disfavour on any rolls to hit by those teams equipped with such named weapons!! It's true! Trust me)

   As the eagle eyed among you will have noticed I have made a start on painting them and I have done it utilizing an approach suggested by the very competent chap who runs the Sonic Sledgehammer Youtube channel. It has made painting my troops incredibly straightforward which is a plus. 

 

Enter The Drakes   

   Now as you may or may not be aware of, I am a chap who likes a narrative game and I have been mulling over what to name my regiment; I can't call them Armageddon Steel Legions as, well, they ain't ASL. I did think that maybe Savlar Chem Dogs might suit but looking through the 4th Ed Imperial Guard Codex I saw this picture and thought "Remarkable! Very similar to what I have in front of me so why not"

You have to love stuff like this in the older codexes

    

       So they'll be The Fire Drakes, which might mean a preponderance of melta-guns, flamers, heavy flamers, melta bombs and las-cannons and maybe a Regimental war-cry like "Burn, baby; Burn!" (ach, have got the Detroit Spinners "Disco Inferno" as an  earworm now :oD )

   I'll write up a post on their lore/fluff/background at a later date. There is nothing much more on them that I can see other than what's attached to that sketch so I will have cart blanche for their background.

    The only problem with these 3D prints is that there is only one HQ squad available to fill both the company and platoon command slot. Fortunately I managed to get my hands on a Tempestus Scions Kill Team box set; originally for the terrain that comes with the box set but on opening it up I realised that the set comes with command squad figures and these will fill that blaring gap. 

Supporting the Drakes

      Naturally the Fire Drakes can't be expected to go into battle on their own; those two platoons require the help of some big guns and a means of getting onto the battlefield safely....well fairly safely; this is 40K after all. And Apocalypse 40K at that. So waiting in the wings I have some armoured support

My armoured support so far, The Basilisk is one of the Horus Heresy 30k Space Marine ones which looks a whole heap better than the usual Guard one. I need to add crew to it and, hopefully, pick up at least another one down the line as I would love to have a troop of these bad boys

    ...as well as airborne reinforcements in the shape of Wargames Atlantic's Death Fields Ooh-Ra Marines doing duty as Elysian Drop Troops....more on them anon..

    To date I only have the one Valkyrie but my aim is to have at least three come the big battle!! I will also have to pick up some of the Scout Sentinels to act as drop troop Sentinels; a multi-melta armed special version designed for the Elysians. If my memory serves they can also be armed with heavy bolters too. This will save me the bother of trying to kitbash heavy weapons teams from the Ooh-Ra Marines and Citadel parts. Though I might be able to find something on Cults 3d....

     And that's it for this update; there is a lot more to report on; allies (the Imperial Navy and the Inquisition) as well as the opposition (I am hoping my chum, Jamie, will command my Black Legion Chaos Space Marines and they will include a 3D printed Greater Daemon of Khorne; hence the Inquisition involvment. I'll have to twist his arm; not to make him play Chaos but because he likes that sort of thing, the weirdo :oD ), bespoke terrain and background. I am thinking a wee build up campaign might be on the cards too but more of that later too if it comes to anything.

Till then, pip pip!

Jimbob, General Issue....