Does my Bum Look Oldhammer in This?

The pages of 40k Rogue Trader are full of all sorts of interesting and unsavoury characters. I thought I'd have a go at one who wasn't too difficult to reproduce.

He's a human renegade - power armoured, but not a space marine. I imagine him as some kind of mercenary, selling himself and his kit to the highest bidder.

Now at this point I can almost hear the Oldhammer purists sharpening their RTB01 sprues into dangerous weapons as they cry heretic! Yes, he's definitely new Oldhammer. Marine bits from the latest kit, and an Imperial Guard head. Sorry guys. Back in my youth I used to own a moderate stash of the 'good stuff', but not a single one these days. I look at them every now and then on ebay, but they tend to be a bit rich for me!

The guy was a breeze to paint until I got to the checked pauldron. Oh, that was painful. Checks on a curved surface - urgh! I painted over and started the whole thing again a couple of times.You can see one of the early attempts - good at the front, but it all gets a bit wild at the back.

Even the final product looks a bit wonky at the back, but it's the best I could do.

I was searching for ways to tie his base back to the illustration. I tried painting 'Smash' onto his base like grafitti, but it looked pretty naff, especially if you didn't know the significance of it. In the end, I just went with the wanted poster, evoking the papers on the table.

Here he is, admiring his own likeness.

At some stage, I'll have a go at his buddy. Just need to find the right head...and work out how someone would use a bolt gun and a power fist at the same time...