JohnR's OWAC VII Intro Post - Mini's From My Childhood (Well, Mid-Teens).

Back for another OWAC (unfortunately I had to miss last year’s due to stress and family issues).

My early thinking was to do another WFB army, possibly Dwarves or Empire or maybe ‘Axis of Evil 2 - Son of Aksys!’

However 2024 is shaping up to be hectic: I’m playing Kingdom Death with a group of mates and we’re currently on Lantern Year 11. I’m also painting and playing a crazy amount of Legions Imperialis (the latest edition of epic for the uninitiated :) and Max and I are planning to move abroad towards the end of the year, so I figured a small project would be best.

Consequently I’ve settled on some old Rogue Trader lead. Most of these minis I’ve had for about 35 years now, man and boy, we’ve been through a lot together in that time and they deserve to finally get some paint.

I had an overarching story for each of my last two armies and appropriately enough this project is based on the denizens of an Imperial Rogue Trader's fleet as they explore the twilight zone at the very edge of the Imperium, searching for trade, treasure, fame and glory.

To that end, and in line with the design aesthetic of 1st edition 40K, the army will be made up of about half a dozen small contingents. This will allow me to break the collection down into little units of related minis, then paint a different group each month, coming up with a little fluff / story for each group as I go. 

First up will probably be the Adeptus Mechanicus:

There are a few more Servitors in the dip, which should make it into the final force.

Secondly, Squats - indentured warriors undertaking their compulsory service in the Imperial Armed Forces:

Troops of the Jovian Dawn Mercenary Company:

Imperial Sanctioned 'Privateers' (Space Pirates):

Agents of the Inquisition and Officio Assassinorum:

And finally my leader - Lieutenant Fairfoot, her retinue and some Imperial Arbites:

There are more minis than are in the photos – some are in the dip, having old paint removed, others are more esoteric and might not make the final cut. Oh and there are a few duplicates in the mix so my Secret Santa Overlord Offering will be one of those; to be painted and revealed next month.

On to the challenge, good luck everyone!