New Female Astra Militarum/Imperial Guard Kit?
Okay, the title is most definitely click bait, but I've been hoping for this stealth upgrade to the Imperial Guard every since the Necromunda rumours and leaks started last year:
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| Necromunda Release on Warhammer Community |
The question is though, can you use the new Escher Gang kit as the basis for an Imperial Guard army?
I think so...
Price
Okay, you're not getting the solid Start Collecting! kit deals, and you'll never get a specialist squad kit (so no heavy/special weapons without conversion). That's nothing new for the Tallarn, Steel Legion, Vostroyons, Vallhalans and Mordion Iron Guard fans though. The Eschers also have it slightly easier with their multi-part plastic kits.
But compare the standard kits:
Escher Gang Kit - £25
Cadian Shock Troops/Catachan Jungle Fighters - £18
The Eschers are more expensive, as you would expect from a newer kit, but before you say it's not good value, consider the contents of the boxes...
Convertibility
Here's the standard Cadian and Catachan kit contents:
"This box set contains 10 multi-part plastic Cadian Shock Troops, and includes: five leg variants, seven head variants, 10 lasguns, two chainswords, two laspistols, two grenade launchers, two flamers and two Vox-casters. Also included are a host of additional components allowing you to assemble a Sergeant and personalise your squad. Models supplied with 25mm round bases." - Games Workshop web store
"This box set contains 10 multi-part plastic Catachan Jungle Troops, and includes: five leg variants, five variant bodies, seven head variants, 10 lasguns, two laspistols, two flamers, two Vox-casters, and a selection of bladed weapons. Also included are a host of additional components allowing you to assemble a Sergeant and personalise your squad. Models supplied with 25mm round bases." - Games Workshop web store
And here's the Escher kit contents:
"- 10 bodies – 2 each of 5 unique designs – each wearing flak armour. These have been designed with specific weapon options in mind, though of course you are free to model them as you see fit;
- 18 heads – 2 each of 9 unique designs – 4 featuring respirator masks. There are 14 different hairpieces – 2 each of 7 different designs – which can fit onto whichever head you choose;
- Weapons! There are quite a lot of these: 6 lasguns, 8 laspistols, 6 stiletto blades, 2 shotguns, 4 power swords, 2 autopistols, 2 shock whips, 2 needler/bolters, 2 plasma pistols, 2 chem-throwers and 2 autoguns, along with additional frag, krak and choke gas grenades, 4 sheathed stiletto blades and 2 sets of chem-synth packs.
Supplied with 10 25mm Round bases, which feature sculpted textures that match the game board’s aesthetic." - Games Workshop Website
With 6 lasguns and 2 autoguns, you're close to fitting out a full squad of riflewomen with the Escher kit. You only need 9 lasguns and then a laspistol/combat weapon pair for your sergeant for a barebones squad. You might even get away with a shotgun standing in for a lasgun...
Now think of this: to get specialist weapons and officers for either your Cadian or Catachans you'll need to get other kits, which are not so cheap compared to the models you get. The chem-throwers can easily be painted into a flame thrower or melta gun, and the plasma pistol heads can be chopped and stuck onto the needler/bolter for a standard plasma gun.
Better yet, the chem-thrower can be converted quite easily into a vox-caster or grenade launcher, giving you all the bits you'd need to fully kit out any squad more comfortably than the standard kit.
Kit combination
The thing is you also have a number of heads left over after a full squad, 8 of them in fact. Assuming you've used all the less interesting heads for your rank and file, you can then start doing some cool head swaps with commissars or officer models from other regiments to round out the all female army.
I think the best use of the heads though would be for Militarum Tempestus Scions:
I highly recommend it, since the Scions kit doubles as the Tempestus Command Squad kit... you can just straight convert your own Command squads and officers using the bits from that!
Pseudo Starter Army
It's a bit of an odd way to start an army, but I would recommend getting the Start Collecting! Militarum Tempestus kit, along with the Escher Gang kit.
Following my standard guide for building Patrol Detachments, and getting your first games in, this would give you a decent amount of infantry and troops to make a cohesive all-female force:
HQ:
Either a converted platoon commander or Commissar
Troops:
10-woman Infantry squad for grabbing objectives
5-woman Storm Trooper squad for Deep Striking onto objectives or special weapons carriers... essentially a skirmisher unit.
Elites:
4-woman Storm Trooper command squad (for longish range special weapons and fire support)
Transport:
Taurox Prime: Set up as a heavy weapons platform for fire support in smallish games.
You have quite a few options here... the Taurox Prime can easily be left as a regular Taurox, if you wanted to give your ladies a metal box commute to objectives. As far as heads go, you may need to keep a few respirator helms/respirator berets on the Stormies. That shouldn't be an issue though, as the majority of your troops will have female heads, so the mind will just assume there's another woman's face under the re-breathers.
Next steps:
More Ganger kits, tanks, sentinels, converted heavy weapons squads... you can go anywhere with this once you have all the bits (and lets be honest... the hair).
Fluff Justification
I think the only sticking point for some would be the female Storm Troopers or Commissars. I'm not versed in Imperial Guard lore well enough to say if women are or aren't allowed into those roles, but we can side-step the issue entirely thanks to the Kasrkin of Cadia.
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| I kind of miss the old Storm Trooper models... |
So... what do you think? Is anyone inspired? I certainly am, and I think I'd start the project as soon as possible if I had the funds to do so!
If you have been inspired, and are going to start buying right away, think about going through the affiliate links below. I get a 5 per cent tip from your orders through Wayland or Element Games, and that's money I feed directly into my school club. You get a cheaper price on your new project, and a student player gets a new paint brush!
Until next time.
Oh wait, one more thing! Could we do the same thing with the Goliath kit, for a roided out army of Arnold Schwarzeneggers?!
- 20 heads – 2 each of 10 unique designs – 4 featuring respirator masks. There are 10 mohawks, which can fit onto whichever head you choose;
- 10 chest plates, in 5 unique designs, with shoulder pads and leg plates for each miniature;
- Weapons! There are quite a lot of these: 2 brute cleavers, 2 pud-jackers, 4 stub cannon, 2 combat shotguns, 2 ‘Renderizer’ serrated axes, 2 automatic grenade launchers, 2 power hammers, 2 plasma combi-stubbers, 2 ‘Krumper’ rivet cannon and 2 stub guns are included, along with additional frag and krak grenades, 2 sheathed knives and 4 sets of stim stashes.
Supplied with 10 32mm Round bases, which feature sculpted textures that match the game board’s aesthetic." Games Workshop Webstore
No lasguns or autoguns at all, and not even the right base size... damn it.
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