Love/Hate Relationship

I'm sure the work of Jeff Vader must be familiar to many already, but it's always worth a look:

Jeff Vader's INQ28

Were it not for the fact that Jeff is a great guy and a talented artist, I'd hate him. His kitbashing is incredible, and I'm not even going to compare our painting standards.

That said, Jeff's Inquisitor conversions led me to attempt not only my own Inquisitorial force, but also to dabble with 'true-scale' power armour. This gets back to the GW fluff that says Marines are huge compared to a normal man, and away from the models where everyone of the same rank is the same height!

This motley crew are my inquisitorial gang. All of them are converted from GW plastics, and were built over the course of a few months with bits and bobs as inspiration struck. They are most definitely not built with any system in mind!

Left to Right: the Inquisitor, the Scout, the Paladin, the Runt, the Abbot, the Gladiator, and the Gunner.

The Inquisitor, is the true-scale one, and is built using GW Terminator and regular Marine parts. The amount of green-stuffing alone made this the most time-intensive and difficult conversion, while the Runt is simply a Warhammer Ghoul head on a 40K Grot body. The fit was so perfect no other work was needed. I think my favourite, however, is the Gunner (better seen in the close-up, left). Again, a simple piece: a Marine Scout with Heavy Bolter, a Catachan command head and an Ork 'shoota' barrel replacing the original. A simple, but effective heavy stubber.

My other Inquisitorial gang is the complete opposite of this one. With one exception (the Deacon), all these are stock GW models, though the Missionary did receive a bit of a re-sculpt in the form of a green-stuff hood and back to cover up the socket and flat area where his backpack would have gone.

The Guards are simply Cadian infantry (from the snap-fit box, rather than the proper kit), and the Zealots are Necromunda Cawdors. The Missionary is just that: a Sisters of Battle (or whatever they're called now) Missionary (or whatever they're called now). I love the Cawdor models, especially these two shotgunners, and I'm glad that I finally have a use for them! It's worth noting that all the lasgun barrels have been sawn off into more compact, carbine-style pieces. A minor change, but I much prefer the sleek look it gives the weapon.

The Deacon uses Marine Scout, Empire General, Dark Angel and Cadian Command bits. This is by far one of my favourite GW heads, and currently I'm looking for another to use in another D&D Duergar conversion (so if any kind reader has one going spare...). Eyepatch, grizzled beard, bald. The epitome of a veteran soldier.

Similarly, the Missionary is one of the most characterful models GW has ever done. The eyepatch, bionic arm, reliquary and plasma gun really tells the character's story as a long-serving, dedicated servant of the Ecclesiarchy.

As you will have noticed, I like eyepatches.