Recruiting from the Hive Worlds

I have always seen my IG Company as being made up of the remnants of other companies and regiments. On the real battlefield you would re consolidate surviving troops into another formation. I also do not see why this could not be a more permanent state of affairs. The regiment could be formed and prove itself battle hardened and simply be shifted onto the next battlefield without breaking them up again and doing a costly amount of moving small squads around.

This at least gives me the excuse to use the models I like rather than be tied down to one particular style of models of type of regiment.

In my IG army I have mostly Cadians and Catachans, but I have a healthy number of Tallarns, old style Stormtroopers, Orlocks, SoB Militia and a few Mordians.

I like to think of them as a platoon of each type. They all have a common painting scheme (although the ones that are more like PDF/Militia/Conscripts have a simpler style and less camo).

In my opinion the older Orlock models make excellent additions to the IG, especially alongside the Catachans. In fact they work quite well the other way round. I always had a Catachan plasma gunner in my Necromunda gang and he did not look out of place.

Man Down!

These are some of the casualty models for my Imperial Guard.

These models are from Pig Iron

Pig Iron Casualty Models

Although not exactly the same wargear as your IG trooper from GW, the fact that they are casualities means they could be local IG, PDF or some other person. Scale wise they fit in nicely and do not look out of place, and although they are clearly non GW they still fit in the universe. Their weapons and gear could easily be IG or PDF and in fact I think they look a little like drop troopers.

They make great objective markers and add a bit of spice to the battlefield, which is why I have painted mine up to look different to my guardsmen (all several hundred of whom have a common theme and battle dress). This is also why they are on the larger square bases.

Rough Riding

There has always been something unique about the concept of the original Rough Riders. This strange anachronism of riding a horse into battle alongside laser and plasma weapons and giant mechanical constructs is quite telling about the 40K universe.

I know these are not the best painted examples in the world but I was a bit scared doing the horses with another 100 Bretonnians sitting on the shelf waiting for a lick of paint.

Gaming wise I always liked to field these, even if they have been over costed ever since Second Edition. I just like the idea of them rolling across the battlefield and throwing back a squad of power armoured monstrosities!

Medic!

I have always imagined that training for a decent regiment in the IG is a bit like the scenes out of Starship Troopers - where the trainer keeps giving them object lessons such as throwing a knife through their hand... then shouting "Medic!" in a manner of fact way.

Well these are the guys that have to wade in the middle of the battle and perform that function. Somehow I do not think there is a Geneva Convention on Red Cross/Medics in the 40K universe so they are still tooled up.

These are pretty much all the old metal models - they had some great character and I have finally got around to painting them up.

Ogryns!

I have always liked the original Ogryn models. I think a lot of the old gamers liked the short story about Norg Deddok.

I never really thought the models gaming-wise lived up to their reputation. They should have been tougher, harder or cheaper. But the models themselves do capture the essence of some brute force, simple minded, applied... well... brutality!

Hive Platoon

I have always loved the metal Orlock figures. They seem such a nice mix of guard, army, hive, scum and gang.

I actually use a fair few of them for a couple of squads (I have enough for a platoon... just need painting up and some need stripping).

They are also my chosen gang for Necromunda. I managed to get a fair few of them cheap on ebay many years back and eventually decided to paint them up for my IG army.

My IG army now has a platoon (of various sizes, but at least 3 squads) of: Catchans, Cadians, Tallarn, Orlocks, Militia, Old Style Stormtroopers.

They seem to fit the ideal of a hive platoon or even just conscripts/PDF.

Penal Legion

When you are really really naughty in the 40K world you get the joy and privilege of joining the Penal Legion.

Life is very short in the legion. With a lasgun thrust into your hand (maybe some clothes and shoes if you are lucky) you are kicked off the drop ship into the maelstrom of battle and pointed in the general direction of the enemy. If you manage to clog up their tank tracks with your lifeless body for a couple of seconds you will have done your job.

I wanted my unit to look like they were just a rag tag bunch they had been thrown into the fray. The blind nutter with the flamer and torch. The madman in the stocks with two live grenades in his hands. The masked one wielding some massive club. The crazy bearded fanatic with the banner pole and a laspistol.

I also wanted to give them a leader/shepherd who was not a commissar or similar. Perhaps he is also a condemned guardsmen but one trusted enough with all the keys and told that if he can lead his unit through another 10 battles he might earn back some freedom.

I plan on doing a good few more to add to this unit. These were just an idea. I have always wanted to make a Penal Legion unit right from looking at the 'codex' pamphlet that came way back with Second Edition (another unit I always wanted, just from the basic entry in that was the Electro Priests. Somehow the new models for them just don't jive with how I have imagined them the last 20 years).