Irregular Wars Wargaming

As a bit of a palette cleanser between all of my Bronze Age projects, I've been ducking in and out of my three 28mm sci-fi forces. First up, here is a squad of terminators for my subversive marines from the Éireannach Preservers chapter . These models are a 2023 range of 40K terminators and are huge compared to earlier equivalents. However, they seen pretty 'in-scale' with the rest of th e Éireannach  force when you account for the big-boy armour. I stuck with the same dark green and bone livery used with the tactical squad, with each marine bearing a small piece of Irish knotwork on their right pauldron (in green for regular marines, and bone for sergeants). I also finished off a squad of 40K 2nd edition scouts that have been hanging around for some time, and started a second squad, so perhaps more of them anon.

The first and last time I painted GW space marines was in 1993 - 30 years ago. They were 1992 mark VI 'beaky' marines - the first sci-fi miniatures I ever painted. So when JB showed me his 2022 Horus Heresy army recently, I mumbled something about all the nostalgic feels. JB then generously pushed a spare sprue into my hands. He's like that! So two weeks later, here is my second ever attempt at painting the nostalgic beaky bastards. I'm rather pleased with the result. I've no intention of painting a 30/40K army, but these gents will be used for something sometime. Most likely as a preservers warband for This is Not a Test . Nicknamed the Éireannach Preservers, they have an Irish bent and carry letter identifiers rather than having names panted on bases like my other TNT crews. In TNT , the barter script for a starter warband of elites all wearing power armour would only allow for three models. Powerful I'm sure, but unlikely to win many scenarios! The taoiseac...

After a few weeks where I was unable to paint due to the house being painted and being away for with family and work, I've managed to grab a few hours this weekend to finish off some stuff that has been sitting half done, eyeing me impatiently. First up, to support characters for my  Éireannach Preservers . Asset F is a more lightly armoured preserver with sniper rifle, ready to provide some long-range precision to the unit. He is a 40K 2nd edition Space Marine scout (c.1998?) that I picked up cheaply on eBay. I have another clutch of scouts of the same generation on standby in case I ever need more  non-power armoured characters in the force. And a wee cyborg gruagach providing tech-support. I love this little chap from CP models! I tried to weather and scratch up his power-clamp-fist to make it look like he's been doing a whole lot of clamping. Hopefully it will still work when needed!

Jumping back to the days of yore, Andy T and I played our first game of Warhammer 40,000 , 2nd edition this week. Andy played Rogue Trader back in his youth, and then took a break and came back to 3rd edition, so he's never played 2nd ed before. I last played second edition in 1998 - almost 30 years ago - indeed that was the last time I played any Games Workshop game. So this was very much a learning/re-learning game. Running 500 point 'armies', I had two Space Marine scout squads led by a chaplain hero from the Éireannach Preservers , supported by a squad of ratling snipers. Andy had a single Spacemarine tactical squad of a Spacewolves-like chapter led by a captain. The opening shot of the game - Andy's rocket launcher - evaporated four ratlings, causing the fifth to scatter into the ruins. Closer at hand, my first scout squad left the cover of the purple shipping containers and occupied that combat squad for the remainder of the game, trying to whittle them down - bu...

Every so often, as a palate cleanser, I return to my Éireannach Preservers, custodians of the craic in the grim dark future. Born of nostalgia, raised on whiskey, and released onto the galaxy, these subversive space marines bring me a combination of joy, satisfaction, self-loathing, and a wonder at how many potential wargamers have been put off over the years by edge highlighting and panel lining space marines!? Here are the latest additions to the little battle force - previous posts can be found  October 2023 ,  November 2023 , and  February 2024 . Initially built with This is Not a Test  in mind, I now have far more than I could ever use for that. Nostalgia draws me back to the one true edition of Warhammer 40,000 - 2nd edition, but I'm not yet convinced it would be worth the effort of tracking down all the books when there are several very viable alternatives out there. Sure, won't we see in due course?!

Taking a slight detour from the painting schedule, I added a sixth Mark VI preserver to my beaky marine squad this weekend.  A little background for the rest of the squad was given back in October 2023 . Now, a heavy-weapon toting chappie joins the crew as Brother F. I already have a wee tech support asset and a scout sniper  and another five 40K 2nd edition scouts that can be scrounged out of the bits box if I ever need to add them. I'm not sure when they will see action. I have very little interest in what 40K has become over the last 25 years really. Ideally I'd like to use them in an over-sized game of This is Not a Test   at some point, but should the need ever arise, I also now have enough painted marines for a Kill Team.

Over the course of the year I've been slowly working on some old (mostly) 2nd edition 40K Space Marine scouts and a chaplain. These likely lads have been painted up to join with my much more recent subversive Irish marines, the Éireannach Preservers . However, if fielded with a squad of ratlings from the Flores Minor Ranger Corp , there are 500 points of 2nd edition Warhammer 40K recon goodness. Ah yes, 2nd edition - back in the good aul days when the grimdark of the war-torn future was a lot more tongue-in-cheek.   Scout squad with swords and bolt pistols, with one lad with a heavy bolter. Scout squad with shotguns and sniper rifles. I believe the lad with the shotgun on the far left is actually 3rd edition (if still dating from the 1990s).  The Brother Chaplain is good aul craic.

I've recently been pottering away in the background, fleshing out my (mostly) 2nd edition Warhammer 40K Space Marine scouts. I now have a 1,000 point reconnaissance platoon consisting of three scout squads, a chaplain, and a wee inquisitorial team - almost a multiverse version of Jaq Draco, Grim and Meh'Lindi. Inquisitor Brigid Immaculata, with her Callidus Assassin-consort who's name shall remain unspoken, and their pet ratling sniper, Thumper McMuckstart. The inquisitor herself is a 1998 Sisters of Battle cannoness with a rocking gesture of benediction hand-swap. I bought her thinking she was 2nd ed., but of course she is actually early 3rd edition (by which stage I had stopped playing 40k). As a 90s miniature, she still fits the bill for my wee platoon. The Imperial Gueard special character, Thumper (Mc)Muckstart is a 1989 Rogue Trader ratling. I already have this mini, converted into a shotgunner for my Flores Minor Rangers Corps , but this time I left him whole and un...