So I'm still working on my plague marines for 40K. I am not sure if I ran out of steam, don't have as much interest, or am just going through some executive dysfunction but I've got all the infantry painted. The dreadnought conversion is way more arduous than I originally anticipated. Seeing as how I am not making them for any real purpose other than to finish the projects, it's been hard to motivate myself.

My friend Christopher has managed to convince me to try Trench Crusade, a skirmish game designed by the same guy who created Mordheim way back in the day.

Skirmish games are probably one of my favorite concepts. The idea is instead of a big army of guys, you have a small force of around ten dudes (give or take) who are all individualized and the rules are set up to send them on campaigns of multiple games as they accumulate equipment, xp, wounds, etc. Some folks even customize the miniatures as the game goes by, giving them and removing equipment as needed.

It is definitely an embodiment of the Your Dudes philosophy, allowing you to really get to know your characters and send them on their own little journey across multiple games to build a narrative of sorts with them (and your opponents of course).

It'll be some time before I get my Trench Crusade dudes up and ready, so I figured in the meantime I can share some of my guys from the 40K Skirmish game, Kill Team.

Kill Team was originally an alternative game style for 40K originally developed during 3rd edition (The game is currently in 10th). It was designed to be a shorter game, taking one single squad in a sneaking mission against a lightly armed defender. The game eventually became a full spin-off with a completely different rules set, with specific miniatures made, but still encouraging customization.

I currently have two completed kill teams, though from what I understand they might not have their rules updated much anymore. Just another annoyance from Games Workshop added to the massive pile. It's not like I give them money anymore, at least, but man do I hate the emphasis on trying to make the game appealing like an e-sport. Goes with the hyper-commercialized world we've managed to create.

I started with the Imperial Navy Breachers. These guys don't have a clear analog to the main game, representing a sort of classical marine crew who specialize in boarding warfare between spaceships and the like. They're very specialized, prefering the tight hallways of space hulks, rather than the open battlefield.

I didn't customize these guys too much. I worked on them in 2023 while I was in some of the worst of my anxieties and alcoholism, and I hadn't made miniatures regularly in a handful of years at that point, so I decided to keep it simple.

For the squad leader I modified their pose just a bit to give them something that looked a bit more heroic and professional. I really liked the idea of them being a professional, practical fighting force. It's not something that pops up in 40K very often.

I also had to modify the helmet on the wall cutter guy to connect to the oxygen tank on his back. The proper head for it has their hair exposed and you know I much prefer for soldiers on the battlefield to be wearing all their protective gear. Some folks like to argue that their miniatures represent a moment where perhaps they are not engaged in battle, or just feel that helmetlessness is more characterful or something, but that's not how I roll.

I wanted to give them more of a used-future feel in their coloration, but also maintain their professional demeanor, hence the black uniforms under the bronzed armor. It was a lot of fun to make these guys, but after I was finished I felt a wave of fatigue wash over me. I meant to work on my next kill team immediately after, but it took nearly a year until I was able to drum up interest in myself again.

Now these guys were exhausting to make. By the rules they are Chaos Legionnaries, jackass space marines who worship demons. Since they're genetically enhanced super soldiers, there are fewer of them to maintain game balance.

These guys are servants of Khorne, the blood god. I wanted to basically create a barbarian band with each guy having a lot of personality. I think I was pretty successful.

Each has been pretty extensively modified. I used some parts from the legionnaire box, but most of them came from my personal collection of generic chaos bitz.

The most dynamic figure is probably the iconbearer, his banner was one I modified heavily and I had to cut out the Khorne symbol from a piece of paper and apply it to the banners to give them a little more depth.

Despite being fewer in number, painting these guys was very tiring. I wanted to do some Khorne guys without relying on any red colors, as I thought it was kinda tired and cliche (don't get me wrong, someday I will have a red Khornate army). I imagined them as a rowdy band of bastards barely held together by the personal strength of their leader.

Something I really like in miniatures is asymmetrical eyes. Very often my leaders will have a cyber eye, even if they have a helmet. I just think it's neat. I also like the helmet crest, that shows up on my character figs fairly often as well. I think I got this one by thrashing apart an Ultramarine's head and cannabalizing the crest.

So I haven't even played the game at all. My dudes currently have not had their mettle tested on the battlefield. I was going to play a game last year sometime but unfortunately the springtime blues were very hard on me last year because of how much I was drinking by that point.

But I do hope to play with them soon. I wanted to get some terrain models so I could host kill team games in my house, but there is no shortage of good game stores around here with tables and terrain aplenty. For my next kill team I have a few different options. I have a box of battle sisters (nuns with guns) who I think are really neat. I have the parts to make a very small band of custodes (female custodes, of course. Anyone annoyed by that can get fucked).

But of course, I primarily hope to start Trench Crusade, gonna make some Sultanate monsters and hopefully manage to queer it up just a bit.

Spring and Summer tend to be my miniature powerhouse days, and you all know I have lots of projects sitting around waiting to be finished. I hope to get some done this year, maybe even start on my full Sisters of Battle army for 40K. Hopefully finish my plague marines who have waited so patiently over the years.

Either way, here's to a summer of progress.