This was my first Warhammer 40k army from a long time ago. The models are mostly from the Rogue Trader plastic set which was a marvel at the time. The paint job is pretty limited from today’s perspective, but I recently updated the bases – replacing the classic “green sand” look – and now they almost fit into the 21st century (almost)!
This is the infantry core of an Imperial Guard formation supported by an ancient ArmourCast Baneblade (giant resin model!). One day, I will paint some more regular tanks to make this reasonably playable under current 40k rules. The formation is broken into a classic platoon-level structure.
HQ: The Reinforced Company is led by a the Headquarter Company including Commander, Second in Command, Medic and Standard Bearer.
Some special characters were added in the 90s when these were released. A Confessor, Commissar Yarrick and Ogryn Bodyguard.
The Commissariat keeps morale up – by force if needed – and is composed of some old school Commissars as well as “Commissar-Cadets” which are old Valhallan models that I used with the Priest rules as attachments to individual squads.
Assault Platoon: The first platoon – colour coded with red helmet stripes as was the style at the time – is led by a Leutnant and includes two squads with flamethrowers (one of my first conversions…). Both squads could be mounted in Chimeras which still need to be photographed (or repainted…). The third squad of the platoon is a group of parachuting Storm Troopers of the era with the heavy weapon gunner converted into a para-drop marker.
Tactical Platoon: The second platoon – with blue stripes – is a mid-range formation at the center of the Company’s advance. It is led by a Platoon HQ with plasma guns and features two squads with melta guns (metal Cadian models). Attached to the platoon is a group of Ratling Snipers.
Support Platoon: The third platoon – with yellow stripes – is a more static for defensive deployment. It is led by a Platoon HQ with plasma guns and features three squads with medium weapons (two heavy bolters and one autocannon, though these old models can really pass for anything these days).
Heavy Support Platoon: The fourth platoon – with green stripes – is the heavy weapon contingent of the Company. It is composed of three Fire Support squads armed with lascannons, missile launchers and mortars (the latter being Cadian metal models again).
Tanks: This giant paperweight is an ArmourCast resin model for the Baneblade Super Heavy Tank released long before Games Workshop ever made such a model (or any other Imperial Guard tanks for that matter). Still holds up decently even 30+ years later.
Wargaming Workshop 