Meet Colonel Scipio - Part I

Hi all, welcome back to Palladian Guard.  Very exciting conversion today, as I prepare a model to go with my Iron Hearts Honour Guard.  I cryptically revealed my intentions to convert a regimental commander at the end of the last post - Colonel Scipio, my name on forums and blogs internet-wide, is in fact the name of the regimental commander of the First, or Praetorian, Regiment of the Palladian Guard.  Let's see what the Background Book has to say on this:

First-Colonel Titus Cornelius Scipio Edethoria, Regimental Principal, I Praetoriae

Colonel Scipio, known as Scipio Edethoria, is the current commander of the Praetorian regiment and only twenty-three years of age. Fate denied him the more traditional rise to command of his regiment and dictated that he be catapulted straight into the upper echelons of command in a time of crisis. Scipio was born the first son of the famed 1st- Col. Marcus Siculus Scipio, who led the Praetorians on Cadia and fell at Dyrok Fields on 999.M41. It was at this time that the young Titus Cornelius was attending the Palladian Military Officer’s Academy at Perseus. Despite proving extremely promising at his studies, in the circumstances it was decided that the young officer would take up his hereditary command immediately in this time of crisis, returning to complete his studies after the conflict. On 458/999.M41, Titus Cornelius was granted the brevet rank of Colonel, despite being younger than most of the regiment’s subalterns.

You can see the Mordian legs here, and how the dilemma
with the hands and scale looks in comparison to
the rest of the model.

This did not hinder his command, and within days of assuming command the young colonel-in-chief had seized the initiative and sought to avenge his father’s death. He led the Praetorian Guard and a number of other auxiliary battalions on a 10-day offensive across the St. Gaven Bridge on Cadia, and after some of the bloodiest fighting the Palladian Guard has ever witnessed, finally captured the 800-yard bridge with casualties spiralling into the thousands on both sides. Following this notable engagement which saw the first ever double-award of the Servim Sub Mortis for the survivors of the action, Scipio was granted the substantive rank of Major, remaining Brevet Colonel of the regiment. It was intended that this allow him to return to complete his term at the Military Academy, but the Emperor’s Unseen Will had planned otherwise. No sooner had Scipio resumed his studies than war again returned to Palladia, upon Edethor Luna in the third insurrection there since its colonisation. The fighting was again bloody, but the Praetorian regiment did not shirk its duty and was present at every major engagement of the campaign. For his services, Scipio was granted the agnomen Edethoria, which he has borne with deserved pride. 

The BTD shield, and the FW Chaos icon.

Well, a pretty impressive record demands a pretty impressive model.  In this instance, it came from Warlord Games Early Imperial Roman range.  While browsing the site for more WW2 stuff, I saw this model flash up on the front page and promptly bought it.  He looked ideal for my slightly Roman-esque theme, and I loved the idea of a dog as a trademark item after seeing Drax's Regimental Mascot.

When the model arrived, however, I was quite disappointed.  The quality was there, but unfortunately it seemed to be 25mm and didn't fit at all with the GW 28/30mm range.  Oh dear.  Suitably disheartened, he sat unbuilt on my desk for weeks, until I got the Catachan Command Squad set (bought at a discounted price from Total Wargamer), and I saw some of the heads.  I wondered - if I could change the legs, head and arms, might he fit?  A simple head swap was easy enough.  The legs were a bit more complicated, but using some of the Mordian heavy weapon team gunner's legs chopped to size and green stuffed into place seemed to look the part.

Here's the Colonel in comparison with
a regular Guardsman.

That left the hands - still too small.  I covered one with a spare Black Tree Design shield left over from the Iron Hearts, but then it seemed to look okay.  I'll let you judge for yourself, but I thought with the shield and dog as the focal points for the model, the undersized hand wouldn't matter so much.  Basing him was easy enough, and I gave him a Chaos icon to trample on.

Next time, I'll hopefully have the whole thing painted up!  As with the Iron Hearts, this conversion probably won't be used on the field of battle but is mainly for fun.  Let me know what you think, and hopefully will have painted shots up next time!  Thanks for reading,

The Colonel (in person!)