New Drekport Corps - Part 1

The "Hot Heads", 5th Irregulars Platoon

New Drekport's tithe regiments, the New Drekport Corps, sustained heavy casualties in the early stages of the Noctis Aeterna. The fall of Duskhurn and Beloch and the open rebellion of Morrdragor also robbed them of vital supplies. Constantly under siege from both Chaos and Xenos forces, and still cut off from the Imperium Sanctus, Imperial command has resorted to press ganging any civilian owning any sort of fire weapon and forming them into the Irregular company, together with veteran survivors of disbanded units.

Command of the Irregulars has been assigned to Lexar 'Angel Eye' Harrak, a former Commissar that had retired to Finis Sidera and embarked on a successfull career as bounty hunter. Years of fighting alongside Rogue Trader crews and even less savoury companions have though him the value of flexibility in interpeting Imperial rules, though he still thinks that a bolter round in the head is the best way to ensure combat efficiency. Angel Eye's nearly complete disregard for the Commissariat procedures is most notable in his choice of advisor: the extremely skilled but unsanctioned Pyromancer known simply as Yago, one of the dozen or so survivors of the daemonic incursion on Beloch.

As the duo has turned a motley assortment of scumbags into a viable fighting force, Imperial command has systematically overlooked their disregard for military discipline and even went as far as granting Yago a temporary pardon for his unsanctioned use of psychic powers. The Irrregulars, the argument goes, are a key asset in the defence of New Drekport, one that could not be compromised by removing their questionable but effective leaders.

The most recent addition to the Irregulars are the 5th Platoon, led by Izark Denk, a firebrand missionary whose procession of Frateris Militia was stranded from their pilgrimage to Imeria as the Noctis Aeterna descended upon the New Drekport system. Frateris Militia thus form the core of the 5th, reinforced by a few well placed veterans responsible for passing on some military training. Despite those veterans' best efforts, the other members of the 5th Irregulars have not lost their fanatical tendencies, earning themselves the "Hot Heads" moniker for their nearly suicidal attacks.
Rather than trying to curb such tendencies, Angel Eye and Yago exploit them, regularly assigning the Hot Heads to the reclamation of mining and production facilities on New Drekport, so that they could be rebuilt to support the planet defence. This has led them to often fight alongside the Wreckers, a crew working on the rebuilding of reclaimed facilities. To the horror of Enginseers and the tacit approval of Angel Eye, they fit their industrial machinery with heavy weaponry, lending mobile fire support and scouting ahead of the Hot Heads.

This 25 Power Level force of Astra Militarum started life in 2011 or so as a 2nd edition Necromunda gang. They were painted in the same colours as the Fatebenders, my Heretic Astartes Kill Team. After seeing some action in 2017, I kind of forgot about them. Now, with the release of the new Kill Team rules and the Book of the Outcast for Necromunda, I decided to revisit them.

The first thing I did was scratch-building three barricades to complement the objective markers I did in 2011 and have everything needed for Kill Team games. They are pieces of cardboard glued on old square cavalry bases and decorated with etched brass and resin details from an old Urban Combat basing kit. I've painted them to match my urban ruins, which like them were originally imagined as locations on Necromunda, but are now part of the New Drekport System.

I haven't still worked out a gang for Necromunda, but since that was their original function, I'm sure it will be really easy to put one together. The picture above, is the selection of models I will use in games of Kill Team: two well equiped Fire Teams of Astra Militarum Guardsmen.
Like the rest of the models, I've repainted their robes using Contrast paint and some edge highlight over the previous paint job. The originally purple areas were coated in Black Templar and highlighted Eshin Grey. The originally magenta areas were coated in Talassar Blue and highlighted Alaitoc Blue.
Since I was at it, I've also given a wash of Agrax Earthshade to their weapons and Reikland Fleshshade to their skin, which were admitedly badly painted.
They now look a lot better than they did previously and, most importantly, I can now field them against my Heretic Astartes in some solo games. Let's face it, as getting together with friends to play is still hard, I better find other ways of getting my gaming fix.
Stay tuned to see them in action in the new year!