From NoelW: Epic Imperial Guard at Mudry’s Mesa (188 points)

The jungle here is tougher than any we have previously encountered, almost as if every element of the vegetable environment conspires to impede and delay our progress. Even the local brush bristles with problems.

Unexpectedly we stumble upon a creature of the isle, an unshaven wanderer who seems as confused as we are. Each time he starts to speak, he interrupts himself with some odd musings on the precise colour of khaki or the exact green of the underside of the banyan leaf in mid-autumn. Yet his meandering steps lead us steadily upwards, till we see emerging distantly from the tree-tops the muddy Mesa he calls his own – which would be pretty impressive, if he didn’t call the mudholes, mosquitoes, westerly wind and birdsong his own, too.

We soon leave him. Our last glimpse sees him measuring the size of grit specks on the slopes, mumbling something about inauthentic groundwork on the windward slopes of an igneous pillock (possibly misheard).

Around the mesa we see yet another miraculous display: hundreds upon hundreds of golden warriors, stretching into the misty distance, some driving horseless carts, as bright as the sun’s own carriage in the firmament of heaven, each the size of a house and bearing cannon the size of chimneys.

As they appear a formidable force, and obviously very busy, it seems more than a little impolitic to trouble them with the minor difficulties of our small and poorly armed band. Beyond the mesa we can dimly make out the shadow of the vaunted peak of snow to the north-west, but that field of golden warriors fills the fields between us, and we wouldn’t want to disturb their manoeuvres, so, reluctantly, we turn away from the peak, and head south.

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For my second entry, I was inspired by Millsy’s GW Epic Imperial Guard, submitted near the beginning of Challenge IX. 

As usual for Millsy, this was a hugely impressive submission, both in size and quality, but it also reminded me of my own Imperial Guard army, created in the very early days of the Epic game. In the 80s my two sons and I collected just about every Epic force that GW released, but with the usual lack of foresight, eventually parted with them, lured by the glitter of new armies.

I was particularly fond of the Imperial Guard, and Millsy’s creation revived that itch. However, these days the only way to get Epic models is Ebay, and prices are generally not the cheapest, so I held off.

My eldest son came through for me at Christmas – he had bid for almost every Imperial Guard offering on Ebay, and struck lucky with a couple, enough for a core force. Meanwhile, I’d stumbled across Alternative Armies’ own 6mm armour which is close enough if you’re not too worried about “authenticity”, which I’m not. I want a nice looking army, not necessarily composed of kosher models.

So this submission is both inspired by last year and is a recent purchase. The army is known as the Sunwasps. They’re a Faction of the Imperial Guard little known in the heart of the Imperium, for their independent tactical creativity led them to be dispatched to its rim. There, largely forgotten and entirely neglected, they must forage amongst alien resources for replacement equipment, especially armour, so their appearance barely conforms to the dictats of central control. Moreover, they’re a fiercely independent force with their commanders strongly committed to the Tactics of Mistake* (at least, that’s my excuse), so, though nominally loyal to the Emperor, it’s not unknown for them to find themselves opposed to the same marines they fought alongside a year ago, as political interests oscillate in the Imperium.

Here's the four heavy tanks:

plus the other vehicles:

Rather a lot of Rough Riders: 

Beastmen and Inquisitors:

Troopers:

And the whole thing:

I've put various transfers on most of the vehicles to identify them on the battlefield, though there's no system there. And I've not decided whether to use the flagpoles, which implies some organisational principle for flags, or remove them. 

That's 4 heavy tanks, 21 other vehicles (50 pts), 30 mounted figures (30 pts), 156 foot (78 pts) and 30 for Mudry’s Mesa = 188 pts total.

*For those not in the know, the "tactics of mistake" are documented in the Dorsai novels of Gordon R. Dickson.
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Fabulous entry, Noel. I'm very much enjoying your Island entry preambles, as they really help to set the mood of your submissions. 

Yes, Millsy's past Epic entry was excellent and I'm sure he'll be delighted to find that his work inspired you to reacquaint yourself with one of GW's better game systems and create these for us to enjoy.

I like your background for the Sunwasps - with them being in some neglected backwater, having to come up with their own workarounds for vehicles and equipment. A hardened, resourceful but loyal force to the Emperor, no doubt.

Is all the armour from Alternative Armies? They look quite good and are very similar to their 'official' progenitors. Must look those up.

The Sunwasps, along with the bonus of Mudry's Mesa will give you 188 points. Lovely work, Noel!

-Curt