Finished Sentinel Squadron

Hello again!  Thanks for swinging by once again.  Today, as promised, a (final) update on my Sentinel Squadron, complete with a little bit of provisional fluff.

Make sure, if you missed them, to look at the first post and the one detailing their construction.  Now all that's out of the way - the painting!

The commander of the squadron, Wolfgang Darius de la Rontoire-Khol
(I know!  See the fluff ... )

The 'part-of-the-terrain', scenic bases were a big priority for me.

So you don't think Sentinels are scary?  Try being stepped on by one.
(FAO GW - scary models don't need to be eight inches tall and cost a fortune)

Some of the rust work, using FW Weathering Powder

A bit of the (blurry) stowage.  Again, with these guys I had a very strong concept, of the original 3rd Ed
rogue mavericks, operating self-sufficiently behind enemy lines.

A less blurry picture.  I did toy with some crazy camo schemes, but
in the end I just decided to do a simple green but
spend a lot of effort on shading and highlighting it all.

More rust - and an example of how you don't have to paint shadows etc all the time,
you can let natural light do all the work for you!

The squadron commander's sentinel negotiating some difficult terrain.

Supported by heavy weapons and support squads, the commander guides the
Palladian infantry into the previously-reconnoitred positions.

Phew!  Rather pic-heavy, let's talk about the commander.  The idea of the commander leaning out the cab came from a comment on one of the WiP posts.  When painting him (originally as a standard Sergeant/Over-Sergeant), I had a sudden impulse to paint something a bit different.  I put some navy-style rank rings on his tunic for no reason whatsoever.  And from that simple (albeit fiddly) act, Wolfgang Darius de la Rontoire-Khol was born ...

One of Seventh Company's newest members, former Third Deck Officer de la Rontoire-Khol has nonetheless become one of the most colourful.  Born the son of a noble on Cadia, he was conscripted for service into the Shock Troops regiments.  Not fancying a life of servitude and, ultimately, a gruesome death, he deserted his post and fled onto a private merchant ship.  Initially a stowaway, he survived among the ruthless community of fellow travellers by doing card tricks and rigged gambling stands on the expansive lower decks of the ship, populated by thousands of fellow deserters and ne'er-do-wells.  It was this that brought him to the attention of one of the ship's security officers (who tolerate the violent stowaways as a sort of distant, benign insurgency).  

The two were playing a game of Drax's Holdem, when the earpiece Wolfgang was using to cheat failed.  Wolfgang of course lost to the officer, so instead an elaborate 'sting' was set up, in which Wolfgang managed to slight the money back (like Robert Redford and Robert Earl Jones do in The Sting - incidentally a great film!  See the clip at the bottom if you haven't seen the film).  To escape the vengeful officer, he slips onto an Imperial Navy mercantile ship when they briefly dock to trade, bluffing his way on and posing as a Deck Officer.  So successful was he at this deception that he actually began appearing on the ship's roster and actually got paid.

It couldn't last, though, and once discovered he was marooned on the war-torn moon Edethor Luna, where the Palladian Guard were stationed.  After living hand-to-mouth as a refugee, he eventually came across the 122/7 Company under Captain Nero.  About to be executed as a heretic (the soldiers could not understand his accent), Nero stepped in.  It was clear the two men knew each other ... but from when?  With a little fiddled paperwork (the X.O. was seen smoking some particularly fine Vostroyan cigars the next day), there was a new 'Guardsman Wolfgang' in the ranks.  One of his many skills is piloting Sentinels, from his days of using a Powerlifter on Navy ships, and so he found himself in the commander's seat of the new squadron when it was attached to the company.

Wolfgang is an enigma - most of the men cannot understand his strange accent, and those that do are resentful of his privileged upbringing and disgraced career.  But it has to be said, despite his lack of training, he's a damn fine Sentinel pilot.  And he can get you anything you want.  Amasec, plasma cannons, a timely ride in a Navy lighter, women, artillery strikes ... anything.  Which is a useful asset in war.  But what of Nero?  He's strangely tollerant of the outsider.  What lurks in their past?  Is it an old meeting?  Blackmail?  Simple corruption?  Whatever he is, Wolfgang is likely to ruffle a fair few feathers before this campaign is up ...

Literally, all that came from the 'navy' background he had.  A bit like how my officers' backstories are inspired by the poses - and now there's a nice new slant to the dynamics in the company!  We'll just have to see what he's like in battle, shan't we?

Thanks again for reading - my new historical project will be up next time!  Until then, game well - and prosper!

The Colonel

Bonus Video Clip:  The Sting