A while back I set myself the goal to finish painting a core of 1,000 points of Mordian Iron Guard using the 7th Edition Codex Astra Militarum, and this weekend finally saw the finishing touches being completed. I started this force literally decades ago and I have a lot more half-painted and unpainted figures to add to it, but with constantly jumping between projects, it still took a while to get all the bits for even this completed and add a few additional details.
The Mordian Iron Guard are moving in to secure a shattered city
The 3rd version of Codex Imperial Guard from 2003 contained rules for regimental doctrines and background on preferred weapons, which are reflected by the addition of a Sanctioned Psyker, the use of grenade launchers and the fielding of a lascannon squad. For the Veterans in the Command HQ I added aiguillettes like those on the squad Sergeants to distinguish them from regular troopers.
A Primaris Psyker lends advice and supernatural powers to the Captain
The infantry is equipped with a variety of heavy weapons to take on any foe
City fighting is really where the Mordians are at home, so the tanks in the force are suited for close support in built up areas.
The Demolisher’s siege cannon can clear the path for advancing infantry in urban environments
The Hellhound can flush hidden enemies out of cover with gouts of flame
The Chimera provides transport and communications to the Command HQ
Infantry is the backbone of all my armies, and especially for the Imperial Guard they define the character of the force. The Mordian Iron Guard are famous for their parade style uniforms, but rather than go overboard with colours, I opted for a mass produced grey with some bright accents in fitting with their background as part of the imperial war machine.
Led by a Commissar, the infantry advances in the wake of a Hellhound
A Mordian fire support squad creates a kill zone ahead of the infantry
Fantastic mate!! I loved these models when I was a kid and dreamed of having them one day. These along with the Praetorians are my kind of old school. Great collection and paint job man. Nice quality photos too.
Thank you! I started collecting them myself when they first came out and got the Praetorians as well at the time. Next in my list of Imperial Guard regiments to paint up for 1k.
I wish/hope GE release both armies in plastic one day.
For Praetorians, I think chances are better that Perry Miniatures will release a plastic set of British colonials with conversion potential.
Are Perry Miniatures close in scale to GW?
I have a box of the 15th century mercenaries, they are less chunky than later GW stuff, but pretty close to the earlier Perry metals e.g. from the Dogs of War range.
Ok, good to know. Thanks man
Awesome job mate, nothing fills me with joy like hoards of painted metal Guardsmen. I did it the other way around though – I got a ton of Praetorians painted up first, and have a load of Mordians & Tallarns on the lead pile :-)
Thanks, indeed there’s no guardsman like a metal Perry guardsman. I’ll leave the Mordians to garrison duty for a while now and see what’s left to do for my Praetorians and the Rogue Trader style Imperial Army.
These are incredible, well done!
Thank you! Good feeling to have them done, even if it is a rather modest contingent by Imperial Guard standards.
Great work – excellent models well painted; the colour choice is really nice. Perhap the tanks need some yellow on them though?
Brilliant!
Thanks! I contemplated adding hull markings but didn’t want the tanks to end up looking too colourful. Also, I find them a pain to paint with all the angles. Adding large areas of yellow on the tanks would make them look a bit too colour coordinated I think. I do want to add some more markings over time, for the regiment, squadrons etc. to break up the grey areas a bit without changing the overall appearance.
That is an awesome-looking army! I’ve always liked the Mordian models for how different they are to the other Guard infantry, and the colour scheme you’ve chosen looks great.
Cheers! The more sombre looking colour schemes in the old Codex books always appealed more to me, and I think this combination does justice to both aspects of the Mordian Iron Guard. I might add a veteran squad in House Atreides colours at some point. Which could spiral out of control into a separate army if I’m not careful.
Great work on these guys – they look amazing. I have to admit, I would never have considered painting them in grey, but it really works well. It gives them a bit of a Prussian-influenced feel.
Thank you! I think they have a late 19th century look to them. Since the Perrys always took influences from historical forces, there’s most likely some Prussian in there.
Absolutely stunning work Subedai. As usual I am floored by your brush work and your choice of pallet is impeccable. You should be very proud of this army, it’s truly a masterpiece!
Thank you very much! With Imperial Guard it’s all about the numbers for effect, so I was very happy with how the eye level shots came out with ranks of soldiers firing and advancing. Since the colour scheme is uncomplicated, I hope the army will grow over time with a second platoon.
Just saw this. Very nice pictures of a well painted force. I started some Cadians that are looking at me disapprovingly with only primer on.
Cheers mate! Even a moderate Imperial Guard force takes a lot of work to get ready for battle – gives one an idea of what the Adeptus Administratum has to cope with on a daily basis! Mind you, looking disapprovingly it totally out of line, you might want to get a Commissar in there first to restore morale.
I remember some of these models from 20 years ago (almost) in our Nottingham Meadows abode. Wow! What a great feeling it must be to see the result of all these years assembled! Kudos to your perseverance!!
I wanted to stay true to the background of the army – requisitioning reinforcements via the Adeptus Administratum should take decades. I still have more troops half finished and a box of metal, so there is more to come over the next 20 years.
Pingback: Warhammer 40k Armies – Praetorian Guard | The Lost and the Damned