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STEEL LEGION - PART FIVE: SUPPORT FORMATIONS & UPGRADES
Support formations are
much smaller than those at company strength, normally consisting
of a single vehicle squadron or artillery battery. They are
however ideal for filling out a basic Imperial Guard force with
specialised equipment and formations. The Hellhound Squadron
Upgrade shown above consists of three Hellhound flame tanks,
ideal for supporting a Mechanised Infantry Company in assaults.
Although support formations are set up independently from their
parent company, they can nevertheless be combined with larger
formations as part of a joint operation (Note: They will
still have to be given separate orders don't forget as only
Space Marine Commanders may combine the actions of multiple
formations under a single order). The single Shadowsword is
also a Support Formation in its own right and gives the army
some War Engine hunting ability with its powerful Volcano
Cannon.
In contrast to the two
tank examples above, I have added two artillery support
batteries to my Steel Legion Artillery Company. Fielded
separately they fulfil a niche battlefield role and are both
normally deployed well behind my front lines where they can be
protected. The Bombard battery consists of three massively
powerful Bombard Siege cannons. Used in conjunction with
the Earthshaker guns of the Artillery Company they are
great at penetrating enemy defences anywhere on the board.
The two Death Strike
launchers on the other hand are kept for special strikes against
critical heavily armoured targets such as War Engines. Their
Titan Hunting ability coupled with a 2+ Macro Weapon strike make
the Death Strike a perfect formation to knock out enemy Titans
with. As they only fire once per battle though timing is
everything in their use.
Painting.
All of the units show
here were painted in exactly the same way as the other
formations shown in earlier articles (see the Steel Legion Tank
Company for more details). The Deathstrike missiles were given a
basecoat of Catachan Green to which I added Camo Green for the
highlights. The missile fins were then painted Chaos Black and
highlighted along the edges with Fortress Grey. Red Gore and
Blood Red were used to finish the tip of the warheads before I
added a few markings around the warhead collar and missile body
for detail.
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