Psyker Battle Squad- WIP build phase

Watch the fellow on the right; He says he has a headache.

I made this squad a few years ago but never got around to painting them.  GW had offered up 3 sanctioned psyker models for the previous codex release so if you wanted to field a complete squad you would be saddled with three sets of three duplicates in a group of nine members.  I think this was an ugly proposition that most hobbyists at the time encountered.  As a result there were many proxy conversions that made their rounds on the hobby forums and blogs.

The most popular were probably the empire flagellant kits.  I was impressed by some of the models but none of them were consistent with my own vision of the psyker squads.  The flagellants looked too wild.  The "best of" conversions I mentioned were usually in traitor guard forces where they looked entirely appropriate.

I wanted a more regimented appearance that reflected an existence under fear and constant scrutiny.  The combination of elven archer components and imperial guard components allowed me to combine a long coat that suggested robes or ethereal power while still tying them visually to the concept of order and the guard armies they would accompany in the field.

The second point of consideration was their "otherness".  I wanted them to have an alien quality that would set them apart from their fellows.  I found what I was looking for in the daemonette kits.  The less bestial heads still had unsettling and otherworldly eyes.  They reminded me a bit of the greys in popular culture and also made me wonder what strange eyes like that might have seen.

Bad blurring on limbs; S macroed when I should have macroed

The minder/handler is a holdover from a penal legionnaires squad (I think I found a better model for the job where I made him thinking "warden" and ended up settling on "head prisoner").  He stands out from the rest of the squad and looks cold and professional enough that he would put a las bolt through their skulls without compunction.  He is one of the remnants from the Bradenvoss pictured in the second "Old Soldiers" post.

 I never chose colours for the squad.  I have a problem completing guard armies so it seemed the best bet to paint them in a neutral manner that could be attached to any force.  Aesthetically I liked this choice because it added to the degree of separation I hoped to convey.  I imagine them as being attached to a parent regiment from one of the departmentos as auxiliaries so expect something suitably drab and bureaucratic.