Merkan 76th: General Starken arrives

 

For a long time my Merkan 76th Imperial Guard have been pretty mundane - lots of guys with guns and some tanks.  Very straightforward.  I left the more unusual things for the Scythiak.   

But lately I've started to add a little 40K into the Merkans, starting with some Sentinels, and now this guy.  I've always liked the MkIII marine armor, and happily gobbled up a squad when Forge World put them out, knowing I would make them and use them for something.  A couple went to service in the Space Sharks, but a few remain.  One less now.  Likely more will arrive whenever Forge World puts out the assault squad version.

Obviously a Col. Straken counts-as, with a little tongue in cheek Iron Man reference thrown in, done up mostly plain, with one shoulder pad done up in the red lightning bolt the troopers have on their patches.  Weapon arms taken from the Sanguinary Guard box after trying some other alternatives, but these looked like the best choice to me.

The Mk III in general and the legs in particular look like the front plates are added on top of the regular armor, creating different layers, so I emphasized that a bit by leaving the back more bare metal.

With 6th edition challenges, it might be nice to have someone who can stand up and not just get picked on.  Yarrick (or my R.T. Frederick version) would fill that role nicely too, but Straken is a bit more of a booster and still gets to issue Orders, so I think he's a more flexible option while still being able to deliver the pain personally.  Striking at initiative he'll also be really good vs. powerfists, and since he "ignores armor saves" instead of having an AP value he can still crack open 2+ armor at initiative.  Booyah.

Maybe I'll get around to making some Merkan Ratlings next.  And maybe Sister Hospitalier Pepper for Starken's medic.