Harbo's Headshots

Like the 9th Necromundan, the 4th Dunbarian Ratling Regiment was bound for the escalating war in the Isa sub-cluster before being intersected en-route by an Inquisitorial delegation. The Inquisitor requisitioned a platoon of ratlings for his own use before ordering the rest of the regiment onward.

Since that time "Harbo's Headshots", as they came to be known, have proven to be a mixed blessing for the other troops indoctrinated into the Inquisitors service.

Whilst they are reasonably proficient snipers, the Headshots cause mayhem, dissention and disorder within the ranks when not active on mission. The theft of equipment, implementation of gambling rings, antagonism of different abhuman and human factions and blatant disregard for authority, other than the Inquisitor himself, leaves them on shaky ground at best, and firmly in the sights of dangerous men such as Di'Anno at worst. 

If it weren't for the fact that the inquisitor clearly went out of his way to recruit the headshots then they would have long since suffered a friendly fire "accident" like the former commissariat officers attached to the 9th Necromundan.

Harbo himself is clearly the ringleader, with his circles of organised crime present throughout the Inquisitorial forces. His discinctive red bandanna is said to be a taunt to his enemies within the "friendly" forces he serves alongside, daring them to take an easy shot at him. However based on the modus operandi of certain Death Blade members, he is much more likely to get a dirty shank in the back when the time is right.

I bought these ratling models second hand, and quickly painted them up in the same colours as the Death Blades. While not part of the regiment, I wanted the army as a whole to look cohesive so was keen to give them the same colouring as the rest of the regiment. It is a little difficult to see in the poor quality photo that I took, but the Headshots are armed with black weapons, like my Deach Blades, with the rest of the model being grey. They don't wear any distinct flak armour as such, so I didn't paint any black on the bodies. I think this looks fine, as it means that they blend into the grey bases better, which is precisely how I imagine them operating. To take this a step further I added extra grass to their bases, to help portray that they are deployed in cover.

Their leader has a red bandana. I wanted the unit to have some red on it, even if it is only a little bit, as the bulk of the army will be grey and black, with just a dash of red (well in most cases anyway). While wearing a red bandana might be a bit suicidal for a sniper, I just went with it anyway and created a little bit of backstory for it.

Overall I'm quite happy with how Harbo and his Headshots turned out. They look gritty and battleworn, like all future space hobbit snipers should.