A Series of INQ28s: What Imagism can teach us about the Shadow War

A SERIES OF INQ28S: WHAT IMAGISM CAN TEACH US ABOUT THE SHADOW WAR

The early years of the Twentieth Century were a time of growing cities, continuing industrialisation and relentless progress. It was a modern world that required, it was thought, modern forms of art to reflect and express it. And so it was that a nascent group of poets known as the Imagists began to emerge in London, writing in reaction to (and in rejection of) the Romantic poets that had dominated literature since the late 1700s. They argued that the Romantics' work was over-wrought and too elaborate; that their meaning was contorted to fit poetic meter and form, diluted to such an extent as to obscure their expression. The American writer Ezra Pound was a central figurehead of the Imagists, exerting an autocratic control over the movement. He promoted those writers whose work he believed extolled Imagist values, such as Hilda Doolittle ("H.D.") and Richard Aldington; he publicised the work of his "Imagistes" and influenced how Imagism was perceived by others. (Pound would later go on to express admiration for the policies of Adolf Hitler and Mussolini’s fascist Italy, finding himself put on trial for treason against the United States and incarcerated within an insane asylum. But anyway…)

The Imagists took inspiration from, among other places, Japanese verse-forms such as the haiku - powerfully condensed and concentrated images, stripped of poetic artifice and freed from the tyranny of the metronome. Their poems, they thought, expressed images of pure intensity. Perhaps in them, you might see a yearning to find a concise and distilled vocabulary that could adequately describe the modern world as they saw it in that moment.

But hang on -- this is a blog about a narrative wargaming in the Grim Darkness of the Far Future, not a discussion of literary movements in the Twentieth Century. Why are we talking about this? Well, for us fans of Inquisitor and Inq28, there is some useful fodder for consideration. Imagism was a rejection of the past – of forms that did not fit modern life in favour of a renewed imagistic clarity. Perhaps Inquisitor can be thought of as a rejection of a stylised and archetypal 40k universe in favour of dynamic and realised 40k characters.

Inquisitor is distinct from 40k, despite sharing many of the same key concepts, in that it affords us the opportunity to explore what Dan Abnett once called the “domestic side” of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It’s not about the high-level view of massed battlefields, but about the street-level – furtive cultist summonings, trade deals ending in double-crosses and agents of the Throne fighting the shadow war in the Emperor’s name.  Certainly, anyone playing a game such as Inquisitor must have a great affinity towards (and be fascinated by) the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It is bleak (almost absurdly so at times, depending on the level of grimdark you add to taste) and overwhelmingly dystopian. But there is something within it that speaks to us. And each of us in our writing, our artwork or our modelling are searching for a visual language with which to express our reaction to that universe, experiencing that same yearning the Imagists once felt to express what it means to us or perhaps even to give voice to the parts of ourselves we find reflected within it. The themes of the 40k universe can be brought into sharpness and clarity in Inquisitor when we drill down to find characters - characters that are far more defined than those of a Warhammer 40,000 army. In a skirmish game we follow the fortunes of our heroes from a far closer perspective, an "over the shoulder" perspective. We see their successes and their failures first-hand. We are responsible for them and they may even live or die based on the roll of a die – their story may come to a sudden end, or continue. That resonance and significance creates that vivid clarity.

Perhaps inevitably, the Imagists eventually fell into infighting and the sorts of doctrinal disagreements that High Inquisitorial Conclaves would be proud of – Ezra Pound argued furiously with his peers and left to found the similarly short-lived Vorticist movement. At about the same time, the writer Amy Lowell entered, encouraging a shift from Pound’s autocratic iron-fisted control to a more democratic system where writers were able to contribute writing of which they were proud. Pound derisively referred to it as “Amygism” and demanded that they stop using the Imagist name – but it was the carnage of the First World War that would ultimately end the movement. Short-lived as it was (approximately five years, all told), the Imagists had impacted Modernism and left an indelible mark upon the English literary tradition.

Ezra Pound wrote that "[one cannot] learn English, one can only learn a series of Englishes," and this idea of a multiplicity of meaning is something to think of.   It is when we find others who share the same common language - others producing models, artwork and writing that speaks to us – that we have the sense that there are others who see the universe in the same way as we do – that we are not alone. That there are kindred spirits with whom we can construct a vocabulary and express ourselves, confident that we can be understood.

Perhaps one might think of that series of Englishes – the series of Imagisms – and the series of Inq28s that we have experienced across the world. To misuse a quote by René Taupin about the Imagists, the Inquisitor community, such as it is, has been an association of hobbyists “who were for a certain time in agreement on a small number of important principles.” We see this in the different gaming groups across the internet – the “Dalthan School” of myself and PDH (et al), the Swedish Enclaves, those who made Pilgrymages to Holy Terra, fought upon the Yggdrasilium, those who entered the Thorn Moons, the plains of the Carrion Pass or the frozen wastes of Gelida. The many, many iterations of INQ28s, Inquisimundas, Kill-Teams and Shadow Wars across the world. Each gaming group speaking a different dialect – possessing a common DNA but evolving separately and in quite unexpected directions. Perhaps once we might have demanded conformity, for gamers to abide by tradition and be dictated to by the rhythm of the metronome. But now with the internet, we can allow these groups to cross-pollenate, to bloom and die and bloom again. We can reach out and find those who speak the same language as us, unencumbered by geographical boundaries, and feel as though in this millennium or a darker one, someone understands us and that we are not alone. 

Returning from the Warp

It is a darker time. 

The galaxy is riven, beset on all sides by implacable foes who seem without number; without end. 

Our allies and comrades-in-arms are scattered and distant, fighting wars of their own. 

We are older now, tired -- and yet we endure.

What other choice do we have?

Is this thing on?

I've not been particularly assiduous this year. Life happens, and it's gotten in the way. I have been modelling, and been working within the INQ28 community, but I've not had a lot of time with work to always blog.

The above picture really sounds very interesting, doesn't it? It's interesting how many of the Specialist Games have survived and thrived without Games Workshop's support. I'm proud of the INQ28 events we've run - and it always makes me smile when I see random people on forums talking about INQ28 and Inquisimunda - about the retinues and warbands that've been in Blanchitsu.

And yet, it holds the promise of much more - that's rather enthralling, really.

What are your hopes for the new iteration of Games Workshop's Specialist Games studio?

Battle Report - 28/3/15

Hello all,


I have been a bit slow in getting things updated here, but I have decided to make more of an effort in getting the blog back up to speed. I'm going to be trying to add all the previous entries that were deleted in the last great purge.

It's a very Blanchean image - the idea that all the great works of the blog have been lost to the ages - and sustained by that guttering legacy held in the mind of those few that continue to visit, it creaks onwards...

Still, I will be trying to get that posted soon, and will be doing what I can to continue posting, even in times when my output is minimal (or not entirely INQ28 related.) Part of that will come in showcasing the work of others, or asking others to write posts for the blog.

Today's post is cribbed from MasterBuilder, a relatively new poster to the INQ28-verse, but one who has firmly gotten to grips with the community and is even now in the midst of planning a INQ28 game day in Stockholm this year. He is perhaps the INQ28 community's first travelling missionary.

At the end of March, just before my birthday, I made the annual pilgrimage to Warhammer World in order to get a couple of games in against PDH, my long-time compatriot and nemesis. MasterBuilder's puritan Inquisitor was there to get in the way (and his ragged band of zealots made quite the speedbump!)

Over to MasterBuilder for the pictures and the write-up.

The board we ended up on was The Hobbit's 'goblin king' board, which was absolutely ideal for its multi level, narrow corridor approach. This worked really well, and made the games of the day very dynamic, as all three of us had to consider our actions carefully (or not in my case...)

As I didn't have a pic of the board sans minis, here's one I borrowed from teh internetz:

So, as mentioned previously, here is the Dramatis Personae:


Mistress-Szlachta Salia Veeta accompanied by her warband (PDH)

From Left - Right: Einz, heretic-prisoner Dwimmer-Craft Izsefin, Mistress-Szlachta Salia Veeta, Haigtesse, Dreii.

Inquisitor Gilliam Harrow accompanied by retinue (Commmisar Molotov)

From Left - Right: Gunner 'Banner' Cobb, Cyber Mastiff "Terror", Servo Gun-Skull, Inquisitor Gilliam Harrow, Stormtrooper Drexler, Pyremaster Korbin, Trooper Drexler

Inquisitor Dobros Malik, accompanied by Penitentia cult militia (Masterbuilder)

From Left- Right: Tybalt Voss, Jeremiah Aspen, Inquisitor Malik, Yameck Baral
So, our first game consisted of all three warbands being deployed in full strength at various points on the board. Each member had both a primary and secondary objective, and were clearly at odds to have a monumental conflict.

The chaos champion, Salia Venta had broken into an inquisitorial facility on a remote asteroid, and had broke out a prisoner being held captive by Inquisitor Harrow, in this case this was the Sorcerer Iszefin. He was fairly weak at this point after suffering a prolonged interrogation by Harrow, and had to hold onto Venta in order to move. They entered the board on one edge. Salia's objective was to cross the board to an exit and get the sorcerer to safety, while avoiding the attentions of both Harrow and Malik, who were in the vicinity.

Inquisitor Harrow had the objective of recapturing the heretic prisoner, and possibly to kill or wound his nemesis Salia Venta by whatever means necessary. He was placed across the other edge of the board, ready to stomp across and block their way.
Inquisitor Malik was tasked with several objectives, to subdue/capture any heretics for information and subsequent execution, and to humiliate Inquisitor Harrow, who had recently scuppered the purges of an inquisitor Malik had sponsored and supported. Malik and his militiamen retinue were placed close to Salia's entry point, but at this point no warband was truly aware of where the others were located. Obviously... carnage was soon to erupt.
Deployment for the encounter

Turn one - a tense undertaking:Following deployment, all warbands began to move through the area with caution, looking out for any other parties. Harrow stomped over to the central spur of the asteroid sending his cyber-mastiff out to look for the escaped prisoner. Salia Venta cautiously sent her minions Eins and Dwei forward to scout while she and the sorceror advanced behind. The Haegtesse trailed them, again vigilant for any signs of movement or activity, and readying her staff for any psychic force she may need. Malik began by sending Aspen along one route to the central spur, walking behind and following him. Tybalt Voss and Yameck took a different route, the zealot Yameck choosing to jog along and reach the ladder and climb it nearby, readying his autopistol for any action. Poking his head above the level of the ladder, Yameck sights Salia's group, particularly Eins, though had no actions left to shout out and alert anyone. Voss followed behind, autogun at the ready and scanning for any indicator of movement, though could not be alerted to the presence of a powerful chaos champion and her warband several paces away from him!
Turn two - first contact:

Turn two underway, and contact is made in true action packed Inquisitor style! Salia's renegade Dwei moved along the right hand route , shotgun up and safety off. The warband were alerted to the presence of Malik's zealot Yameck climbing the ladder, and Eins took a run along the boardwalk, opting to kick him in the face and swing with his sword. His initial attempt to kick Yameck off the ladder through hot boot-to-face action failed, with him missing, however his sword swing hit. Unfortunately this was parried by his autopistol, which Yameck retaliated by firing up at his surprise assailant, knocking Eins down prone. 

The gunfire was heard by Tybalt Voss, who quickly got himself into cover, and fired off a torrent of full auto fire above the ladder. On the other side of the spur, Inquisitor Malik, now hearing the gunfire and frustrated at not being close to the action, pulled Jeremiah Aspen past him on the walkway and ordered him up the stairs with some choice language. Aspen climbs the ladder and sights Harrow's Pyremaster Korbin advancing towards him with pyrestaff in hand. 

Harrow by this point has advanced to the front of the central rock spur and broadcasts 'Halt - in the name of the Inquisition'. Salia's warband respond by the Haegtesse attempting to affect Harrow with a psychic power, which does little more than leaves a frosted coating on his armour, and obviously causes his annoyance! Harrow's other members of the warband, Gunner Cobb and the Stormtrooper Drexler, advance across another route to the side of the central spur, in a bid to block another potential exit. Harrows cyber mastiff is ahead, advancing behind Pyremaster Korbin at this point.

Pyremaster Korbin aims his pyrestaff with a threat at Jeremiah Aspen. Inquisitor Malik cannot get up the ladder as Aspen is currently at the top, and decides to spend his turn shouting insults at Harrow. Though initially frozen by the threatening Pyremaster and Harrows demand to halt, Aspen, like a true zealous militiaman backs off from the Pyrestaff and reaches for his autopistol (he's currently unarmed). As a result, Pyremaster Korbin unleashes a torrent of flame at Aspen, setting his legs and face on fire and he falls to the floor screaming as he dies.

Inquisitor Harrow commands his cyber mastiff to 'fetch', and the faithful mechanical hound obeys, charging forward to savagely chew up the now burning body of Aspen.

On the other side of the fray, while on the ladder the militiaman Yameck decides to ready and toss a grenade (with precision accuracy, indicated by the white dice in the pic!) over between the now prone Eins and the rest of the Salia's band. This goes off, though it only causes light damage to Eins' leg, however the concussion of the blast knocks down Salia and the Sorcerer, though the damage is little more than cosmetic. Tybalt Voss decides to get up from his position in cover and heads over to Malik's position, hearing his leader shouting and cursing and the screams of Jeremiah Aspen as he is barbecued in the name of the Inquisition.

The Haegtesse while on the first bridge decides to spend her turn concentrating and attempting to enfeeble Harrow's mind, but this fails.

Over on the far side of the central spar, Cobb and the Stormtrooper Drexler are making their way along the walkway to cover the potential exit, and reinforce the central crossing area, which is about to become the site of a very violent altercation between the three parties...



Turn Four... time for a spot of ultra-violence!
Salia manages to get up from the explosion and hauls up the sorceror, heading down the walkway with him, the better to make their getaway. Salia makes a couple of hasty shots with her pistol at Harrow but these miss.
Sighting the chaos champion Salia, Harrow jumps down to the walkway below to engage the group, landing in very close proximity to the renegade Dwei. Dwei then unloads his combat shotgun into Harrow, the shots that hit bouncing off his heavily armoured body. The benefits of being more machine than man I guess! You just know Dwei is about to experience a world of pain any second now...


Hearing the screams of his loyal militiaman Aspen as he was torched to death angered Malik even more. Seeing the cybernetic hound at the top of the ladder and knowing it was heading over to chew up Aspen's burning corpse, Malik charges up the ladder, determined to kick the dog or hammer it off the walkway. Being encased in an archaic suit of relic armour, Malik is rather heavy and snaps the final rung of the ladder, falling flat onto his front in front of the charging dog and the pyremaster, who is still aiming his staff in the direction of his charred militiaman. It's obviously going rather well for him, and to make matters worse, the dog savages his leg, doing little more than scratching the armour but humiliating the proud puritan inquisitor further.

The conflict between Salia's warband and the zealous militiaman Yameck Baral is about to hot up even further. The renegade Eins manages to stand up and advance towards Yameck, determined to finish off this annoyance and make him suffer in the process. Yameck, noticing that Tybalt Voss has abandoned him, and noting the heretic leader and her lackeys getting away, decides to charge suicidally at the warband with a crude bomb he has prepared earlier, determined to martyr himself for the Emperor and rid the Imperium of these heretics. In his zeal however, he trips on the ladder and manages to spring forward far enough to tackle the renegade Eins. The bomb goes off and rather than a glorious charge of Imperial Martyrdom, Yameck manages to kill Eins, turning himself into little more than a bloody pile of rags and an inglorious memory, while Salia and the sorceror sneak past.

Tybalt Voss over on the other side of the spar, sights the two troopers advancing towards the bridge between the two spars. He quickly aims and fires his remaining rounds on full auto into the Stormtrooper Drexler, felling him with a beautiful headshot. In reply, the similarly armed Gunner Cobb gives a similar reply, and peppers Voss with rounds, felling him in a haze of bloody mist. These militiamen are clearly fitting the profile that Molotov gave me earlier which read 'The militia are all dispensable'. It's a shame that wasn't actually an objective, as I would've fulfilled it beautifully by this point.

Turn 5. It's all going on at the bridge!
Harrow is first up, and in reply to the barrage of shotgun fire by Dwei, neatly draws his chainsword and decapitates him with a contemptuous first sweep of the game. He then blocks the way of Salia, who takes some shots at him with her pistol while advancing down with his former prisoner.

Back on the top level, Inquisitor Malik manages to haul his bulk up and manages to smash Harrow's fetch hound with his hammer, though manages to damage the external armour, exposing the fragile workings within. One more blow should finish it off. Keen to assist, the Pyremaster Korbin cautiously advances on the Inquisitor, jabbing with his staff at a safe range. Enraged, Malik manages to turn the blow aside with a backswing from his trusty hammer. 

The hexagrammic wards on Maliks armour, etched with loving care by the Ordo Malleus' artificers on Hyades begin to glow - what could happen next?

Turn 6 - Chaos unleashed...
Down in the whirling melee on the bridge leading to the central spar, Inquisitor Harrow is pinned to the wall and falls to the floor by psychic energy while the sorcerer as a daemonhost rips forth into being!

Sensing this new turn of events - the staunch daemonhunter Malik breaks off from the combat with the cybermastiff, barging it out of the way and jumps down into the melee. Unfortunately this jump lands his considerable bulk down onto the decapitated body of Dwei, crushing the already dead renegade trooper into paste. Seizing the golden opportunity, Mistress Salia and the sorcerer barge past the two downed inquisitors.



Turn 7 - The chase is on!
Noting Malik's eagerness to throw himself into lethal combat with the wretched daemonhost, Inquisitor Harrow quickly gets up and launches his every effort into chasing the Mistress and his former prisoner, though they do manage to take full advange of their headstart running away from him and nearly reaching the final walkway to their exit.

Back on the bridge, Inquisitor Malik leaps up, swinging his blessed Terran hammer round in a number of fierce attacks on the daemonhost, which manages to dodge all of them. In reply, it manages to open up a small section on his chest armour, though at this point a little light damage does nothing but incense Malik even more.

Turn 8 - Hellshrieks and Hammerblows.
Pursued by the relentless Inquisitor Harrow, Mistress Salia unleashes her hidden weapon - a hell shriek of epic proportions. With the presence of the Daemonhost, and the sorcerer by her side, this blast of psychic force sends waves radiating from her golden armour, buffeting Harrow, who manages to take several painful steps forwards towards her. She manages to reach the top of the stairs, tantalisingly close to the exit. She pushes the sorcerer towards the doorway while her power radiates through the cavern, drawing her pistol and aiming it at her nemesis Harrow as they face each other.

Back on the bridge, the combat between Malik and the daemonhost continues. The host manages to rend another opening in Malik's armour, however this does no damage to the veteran daemonhunter within. 

In reply, Malik swings several wild blows at the daemonhost, missing with two, but with his final weary, double handed backswing he manages to knock the daemon to the ground with a blow to the chest, glowing ichor spraying across the floor and smoking on his thrice blessed relic plate.

Turn 9 - an ending... of sorts!
Standing over the shattered body of the daemonhost, Inquisitor Malik dedicates a prayer to the Emperor as he swings his hammer round once more.

The weapons head, formed of marble claimed to be from ruined statuary of the Imperial Palace, falls onto the abdomen of the screaming chaos construct. The daemonhost, though already re-knitting its injured form simply cannot withstand a blow from such a weapon and the vile creature implodes, the glowing ichor sucked back into the form and dissipating, leaving little left but a shrivelled, shattered husk.

On the other side of the caverns. The duel between Harrow and the heretic champion is far from over. In a feat of sheer will and unimaginable pain Inquisitor Harrow wades through wave after wave of continual psychic force, while the Mistress Salia fires her pistol with contempt at him as he advances. Several rounds strike his armour, though leave little mark.

Reaching Salia, Harrow sweeps his chainsword around, aiming several blows at her with all the force and tortured anger of a man who by force of will refuses to be beaten by his nemesis. One of these blows strikes home, forcing Salia to cry out. 

Summoning her pain into a final blast of psychic force, Salia pushes Harrow backwards several feet, pushing the gibbering sorcerer back through the exit to the cavern and making good her getaway, while clutching her bleeding wounds.

The aftermath...
Mistress Salia managed to escape with her prisoner, completing her primary objective. Inquisitor Malik and Harrow both managed to fail to prevent her from escaping, which will obviously have serious repercussions in time to come. It almost appears as if the Prince of Excess has a plan for Mistress Salia, but only time will tell...

The Trouble with True-Scaling...

Hey all,

A while ago, I saved a backup of this blog and imported it into Wordpress. It seemed to go swimmingly. But when my plan to get INQ28.com up and running didn't come to fruition, it seemed the logical thing to do to try to get this blog working again.

Only I can't.

It means that all the updates I had over the years have vanished into the ether, and while people once came here in their droves, it seems that I will have to start from scratch.

Still, there's plenty for me to share. The INQ28 community grows from strength to strength, I've been working on a few projects, and although work is crushing me at the moment, I hope to try to keep showing off creative Inquisitorial modelling as I continue.

So, the trouble with true-scaling is that when you start, you just can't stop.

I have been working for the last few months on a true-scaled Deathwatch Kill-Team. More on them in my next blog entries, but here you'll see one of my Marines, alongside a Genestealer, a Chaos Marine and an Ork Warrior (not a Nob, just a normal Boy!) - all of whom are significantly larger than you'd expect to see on a 40k battlefield.

Why?

Well, I suppose it stems from the fact that it makes life all the more daunting for the ordinary humans of the 40k universe. We reason that Space Marines are so huge and so intimidating because they need to be - because the horrors of the galaxy are big and ugly and need a seven-foot superhuman to take them down.

You have to feel sorry for the poor guy with a lasgun and flak armour though, don't you?

I suppose in my head, the Orks, the Tyranids and the like are huge, hulking and terrifying creatures that test the sanity of the ordinary human. That just helps make the 40k universe that little bit more grim-dark.

The Tau, though? They'll always be stunted runts to me.

August 2014 Update

A hobby is a hobby. It's not a job.

Missing Mojo
My real life has been busy and frustrating in equal measure. I put a lot of effort into work in order to keep up to speed, and it has paid dividends. I have a new job - a promotion, at that - starting in September, and it will be a somewhat unusual experience to be in a position of authority. On top of that, my dad has had some health issues which've meant it's pretty hard to keep on top of the grim darkness of the far future.

This year has passed us by without INQvitational 2014 materialising. I'm frustrated and disappointed that that's been the case. Still, others have stepped into the breach - Peter has organised a number of games this year (as you can see from this post by Migsula) that've gone very well indeed. The INQ28 forum on the Ammobunker goes from strength to strength, with a number of new posters regularly appearing. Jeff Vader himself seems to outpace everyone else put together, of course.


+DEI CASTIGATOR+
These summer holidays have played host to an unusual milestone, though.

Those of you who are familiar with my internet exploits may remember the Castigators, my DIY Chapter. You can read up on them here, on the Bolter and Chainsword. I posted that thread nine years ago, which is crazy when you think about it. Crazier still when you consider that in those nine years I've never had a completed 40k Castigators army. Abortive attempts have never really managed to get me to where I wanted to be.

And it feels to me like that's nearly always the case - my projects never quite seem to materialise as I want them to. This blog is a shadow of its former self - with all the previous posts disappeared - because I was involved in an effort to create an INQ28 website, which never quite turned out how I wanted it to. I'm not the central innovator of the INQ28 scene anymore - I'm not one of these elite hobbyists - I'm just following the crowd.I want to get some more games in, I want to play around in the 40k universe, but it is difficult with work and family and SWMBO and friends who've in some ways moved on from wargaming.

I've found it difficult to get comments on my latest project, The Battle for Swordpoint. I'm hoping to use it to tie together a lot of the projects that're lying half-finished in my workroom at my parents' house. That's made it somewhat harder to sustain the enthusiasm, but I feel like I might be getting somewhere in trying to create true-scale Space Marines I'm happy with.

My initial attempts were been sporadic. Based on Sebastian Stuart's Brother Stavus, I first started working with plastic terminators, using power armoured arms. Originally I was very happy with the concept, though it does produce Marines that look like T-Rexes - they have very short arms.

My most complete true-scaler, painted by El Diablo

For the Requiem event, I moved towards techniques favoured by Apologist, particularly the use of terminator-armour for the arms. Here you can see the next True-Scaled Marine I made - this one a Chaos Marine, made partly with Dark Vengeance bits and partly with the Terminator Lord kit.

The Dark Apostle created for the "Requiem" Event.

But it was seeing this Grey Knight by Thomas Kyrsting that changed everything for me. He was the first modeller I'd seen who used Tartaros legs for true-scaled Space Marines, and it seemed to work so well that it ignited something in me. I began work on a true-scaled Black Templar for the 2014 INQvitational:

 

This has led me to my project - to create a squad of ten Deathwatch and a small true-scaled force of Castigators. I have begun with the Deathwatch - being more individualistic and unique, it allows me to refine my technique before embarking upon the Castigators. The Deathwatch have always been a real favourite of mine - for a player like me, knowing I'll never have five different 12,000-point armies, it allows me to include some of the Chapters that I love and wish I could collect. 

I currently have four of the Deathwatch in a semi-serviceable condition: The Black Templar you see above, reworked slightly; a Scythes of the Emperor Marine; a Space Wolf; and a Black Shield Librarian. 

The Space Wolf, made with parts from the limited Krom Dragongaze, and the Scythe of the Emperor

Tancrede, a Blackshield of questionable origins and unquestioned psychic ability.

Of course, it takes time to finish these guys, and it will likely take me quite a while to get it all done, but I am pleased to be sharing my progress with you and hope you'll all enjoy it. 

I will try to update when I have some progress to share.

Hope you're all well, 

Mol.

A Long Overdue Reprise

Hey, all.

A lot of stuff has happened since my last post. We're in the midst of a new Imperial Guard release window, and I've bought myself a box of Scions and the Taurox, which I'm hoping to repurpose as a civilian vehicle. I'm trying to hold off and see what ideas present themselves on the internet, so that I can be suitably inspired. I do feel at the moment as though a lot of my modelling is rather derivative, rather than breaking new ground. Still, I want to try to post a little more on here so that you can see what I'm up to - and, perhaps, so that it inspires me to post a little more.

In the past month I've been eBaying quite a bit of the spare figures and accumulated bitz that I've accumulated over the last few years. With finances the way they are, I cannot truly justify spending lots on Warhammer - but if I can earn some money with my bits, then I don't have to feel guilty about spending some of it...

 February's Fallout
 My last post mentioned that I was due to go to Warhammer World, to attend an event being organised by PDH. The day went rather well; we had a healthy turnout of players and fun was had by all.

I played two games of Inquisitor; the first was a pleasant surprise in that I didn't have to GM! The duties were ably taken by Peter, and it was a nice experience being able to enjoy myself and not knowing the surprises that were round the corner.

The second game, as you can see above, featured Inquisitor Harrow battling against the insidious forces of Salia Veeta, Slaneeshi Cult-Mistress. This was a game that we hope will set the stage for the 2014 INQvitational (more on that later) but was also nice in that it was unambiguously good-against-evil. Well, insofar as a hulking, half-cybernetic monster of a man can be considered good...

After discussing a set-up with Peter and Jake, we created a backdrop on the agricultural world of Orlock II; a relatively normal Imperial planet currently being purged by the ambitious and proud Inquisitrix Calline. Having failed in the election of the Helios Cabal, Calline had been stung and had thrown herself into her duty with abandon. For the cult-mistress Salia Veeta, it seemed prudent to end her business on the planet; her underlings had organised a meeting with a sect of the Dark Mechanicus, where she was trading her cultists for goods far rarer.

Inquisitor Harrow, having hunted Veeta since the wicked woman had killed his former pupil, was leaving nothing to chance and was storming the meeting with what forces he could gather. Surely he could not let her escape his clutches once again...

 It was a game unlike any other I've played, and a real spectacle that was a treat for spectators at Warhammer World. Reinforced by some models freshly-painted by Steve, Harrow  arrived in force:

Harrow's retinue consisted of:

• Inquisitor Gillam Harrow with Gun-Skull and Cyber-Mastiff "Terror"
• Pyremaster Korbin
• Trooper Drexler
• Father Piotr
• Gunner "Banner" Cobb
• Remembrance "Mem" Vane
• Hogan Stovall

Harrow had managed to marshal some reinforcements from the local Arbites precinct; they were all he could bring with him in his haste to capture Salia:

 

Peter's Slaneeshi heretics were small in number, but rather potent: 

 

 Salia Veeta had arrived to attend to Dwimmer-Craft Izsefin, a trusted lieutenant of hers. She had also brought the daemonhost Plisrpijn, bound within the body of her own daughter.

Bruticus had brought a group of Dark Mechanicus individuals, and something altogether more insidious:

The female tech-priest leading this group is flanked here by the Toymaker atop his mechanical spider-walker, a murder-gholam construct on the left, and the traitor astartes known as The Friendless.

With the forces assembled, it was time to do battle... but more on that in my next post!

The weather outside is frightful...

You may not be aware, but England is in the grip of ferocious weather. Fitting then, that a storm should be brewing in the Dalthus sector, too!

Tomorrow - the 15th of February - a small group of hobbyists are descending upon Warhammer World for a series of INQ28 games. Foremost among these will be a ferocious clash between Inquisitor Gillam Harrow, of the Dalthan Ordo Hereticus, and the noted heretic Salia Veeta (played with aplomb by the devilish PDH). If that isn't bad enough, the Dark Mechanicus "Toymaker" (from Bruticus) will be in attendance - and a freaking Chaos Space Marine!

I hope to put together a battle report for this game - please stay tuned over the next week or so!

Excited to tell you more soon,

-Mol

A Return, of Sorts

Hello, all.

So, I "closed the blog" in June. I promised an update in the "next few weeks." And now it's January 2014 - eight months - and I'm posting again. A lot has happened in the intervening time - what with work and moving house, it's been tricky to find the time to post. My production has slown to a crawl, and I've felt bad about that. Other people have far exceeded my output, and put me to shame!

Still, I'm never able to flee from the dark millennium for too long.  I probably won't be particularly prolific in the short term, but we will see.

Still, I think it's worth sharing something funny from Warseer...

Keep your eyes peeled!

Closing the Doors

I started this blog in July 2009. At the time, "INQ28" didn't really exist as such. Nearly three years later, it has become a "thing". And whilst many people may now be looking to people like PDH than me, I'm proud of what has happened.

I'm going to be shutting this blog. Please don't panic - something else is going to be put in its place. Don't hold your breath, but I think it will truly be worth the wait. I'm excited to see it coming to fruition!

Until then, I would encourage people looking for an INQ28 fix to look to The Ammobunker's INQ28 section. There's always plenty there!

Stay tuned for another update in the next few weeks, where the gate will be opened once again...

Until then, have a good one!

- Mol.