In a galaxy-spanning empire of a million or more planets, there are a multitude of regiments of the Astra Militarum, all sworn to uphold and defend the beleaguered Imperium of Man. Imagine how upset they all get every time the Cadians turn up and hog all the limelight.*
We’re big fans of all guardsmen here at Warhammer Community, whether they’re Cadian poster boys or less well-known regiments. The new Cadian Shock Troopers kit set minds whirring, so we cracked open the communal WarCom bits box and got into it. A few weeks ago, a few of the office ne'er do wells indulged in pathetic heresy, constructing Brood Brothers and Traitor Guardsmen – but this time the (good) boys are back in town.
Luke: Cadian 342nd – Status: Missing in Action
Ever since seeing the Tallarn Desert Raiders in an old issue of White Dwarf long ago, I’ve thought they’d make a great regiment to riff off in an Astra Militarum army. Initially, I wanted to make a regiment with its own lore – but after building these guys, I felt they looked more like Cadians who had got stuck on some hellish fringe world – scavenging materiel for years, taking extreme measures to survive but still retaining that Cadian spirit.
Feeling emboldened by the simpler head swaps I had done for The Wyrmcrown in our last article, I decided to see how the Cadian kit would work with the Ash Wastes Nomads, who I felt made for a good base for desert infantry. The kits are quite different in construction, but with some chopping, drilling, and a little modelling putty, I was able to get arms and heads looking natural on the Nomad bodies. I reckon a whole unit would be possible with more time and some more bits.
I kept to the desert colour palette with lots of light yellows and browns like Zandri Dust and Rakarth Flesh, but added some Cadian colours in there with Castellan Green. They may be covered in rags and flasks, and one might have lost his leg to some gnarly desert dweller, but they still have their standard-issue lasguns – they can’t risk getting rescued and court-martialed immediately afterwards!
Charlie: Sahmjat Grease-cats
Sahmjat is a salvage moon, a barely-habitable scrapyard of half-sealed hives where passing Navy vessels dump the wreckage of a half-dozen warzones. In years when the recycling quota cannot be met, the planetoid instead offers its tithe to the Astra Militarum in flesh – though cunning and stubborn, these ragtag "Grease-cat" regiments are little-liked by Ministorum quartermasters or attached Tech-priests.
Fusing the Shock Troops with Orlock gangers gave me a range of options. Cadian heads and arms on Orlock bodies? Orlock heads and arms on Cadians? Even swapping up torsos and legs? I explored them all, and loved the results.
The Grease-cats have a jumbled, motley look, like they're supplementing their gear with private salvage. This made it easier to mix-and-match as the mood took me, meant I never got tired of coming up with new troopers, and opened up a great variety of parts from both kits. It also disguised some of my mistakes...
The new Cadian Shock Troops have incredibly dynamic poses and detailed wargear. This makes them a joy to paint, but also means you can't simply swap out one torso for another unless you're willing to put in some work with clippers and Liquid Green Stuff. Fortunately, I'm just as happy with the head-and-armswaps, which turned out to be much easier!
Charlie (again): Zynod Beltbound
The orbital girdle of Zynod II is a wonder of ancient technology, a vast and slowly decaying network of interlinked space stations and self-sustaining void-habs that blankets the planet's sky. Soldiers tithed from the Zynod Belt are willowy, superstitious, and precise, suited to boarding actions and low-g planetary assaults.
The Cadian helmets, shoulder pads, and lasguns are so distinctive that I honestly think you could use them on any human-sized models and get a plausible – if outlandish – look for an Astra Militarum regiment. To test my theory, I merged them with the slender and robed Delaque gangers – and was proven right by the creation of the Zynod Beltbound.
This was a delightfully simple conversion – I only needed to clip off the Delaque shoulders to get the Shock Troops arms to fit. I also used my Citadel Knife to shave the inside collar a little and really jam the Cadian heads in there, cutting down that impressive Delaque height a bit and giving them a more mysterious look.
Charlie (again again): Off With Their Heads!
The shrine-moon of Puceilles Beta maintains grand holo-glass memorials for each regiment it sends forth into the galaxy, praying for their martyrdom – these Puceilles Bannerets refuse to return home except as glorious relics.
Siraxues High-hivers maintain a tradition of martial sponsorship, as wealthy chem-syndicates win prestige by funding ambitious platoons in highly publicised battles to ascend spireward. The patronage continues when these soldiers are called up, repaid with constant bulletins of victory.
To prove just how much of an impact a little tweak can have, I used two spare troopers to try simple headswaps. This trooper of the pious Puceilles Bannerets uses a Battle Sister helmet for a crusading look, while a sponsored soldier of the Siraxues High-hivers nabbed a spare Lumineth Wardens helmet and even a sword for his backpack. It's not an Aeldari if you can't see the ears!
Loads of kits come with extra heads to add variety – the Battle Sisters box includes a whopping 27 in total – so raiding your other armies or swapping parts with friends is a great way to get some unique heads.
You also don't need to kitbash every single model in the army! When I build up my Siraxues High-hivers, I'll definitely reserve the Lumineth heads for highborn Officers and Veterans, to ensure they stand out while giving the army a distinctive flair.
Tom: Iconian ExcubitorsIconia is a wealthy port world, a hub of sub-sector commerce with hundreds of major routes running through it. Its regiments reflect that wealth, with quality equipment and shining gold trim. The Excubitors are their veterans, seconded to Imperial shipping as it passes through. These crack troops specialise in protecting senior officers during void operations and boarding actions, wearing vacuum-sealed combat suits and high-yield power packs.
As we’ve already seen, the Cadian kit is brilliant for head and arm swaps – but as I quickly discovered, torso swaps are a rather different proposition. The poses you get out of the box are incredibly dynamic, but I wanted to give them all long, swirling cloaks – and they required a lot of chopping to fit the Skitarii torsos I used. Each Cadian body comes in four parts, and the top of the hips isn’t a flat plane, so be prepared to do a little cut-and-cover-up work.
The Skitarii have tiny waists, so I removed a lot of the Cadian bottom parts to make it all fit. I then needed to place slivers of plastic between the legs and torsos to make them a little taller. The joins are disguised with belts, grenades, and pouches I had in my bits box, and with bits of webbing I had clipped off the Cadians.** The heads are from Imperial Navy Breachers, which I happened to have lying around – providing an ornate, sophisticated look.
I’m an adequate painter at best, but I’m pleased with the results. The cloaks and tunics are Altdorf Guard Blue, shaded with Drakenhof Nightshade, while the padding is all Kantor Blue. The metals are Retributor Armour shaded with Reikland Fleshshade, while I used Mechanicus Standard Grey everywhere else. Snakebite Leather is my favourite Contrast – perfect for one-coat leathers. My tip for hazard stripes when you don’t have a steady hand? Make sure Emma from the Warhammer TV painting team owes you a favour.
Chris: The Terran Redemptionists
With the dawning of the Great Rift, disorder erupted across the sprawling hives of the Throne World itself. Loyal soldiers of the Astra Militarum were called upon by the Ecclesiarchy to protect Terra’s most sacred sites from the rioting mobs.
The Imperial Creed is a powerful drug, and for these brave men and women, torn from their worlds and stationed within spitting distance of the Golden Throne itself, its power became overwhelming – driving them to the brink of madness. These troops have now taken it upon themselves to seek out the heretics and blasphemers in the seething underhive and purge Terra of their taint with the Emperor’s holy flame…
These characters were created using a mix of Cadian Shock Troops and House Cawdor Gangers, along with a few bits from the Cawdor Redemptionist kit, the odd Necron piece, and some of the Citadel Skulls set.
They retain some of their Astra Militarum-issue fatigues, but they have donned the panoply of their new cult. They wield a mixture of standard weapons combined with what they have managed to scavenge from the hive worlds, while carrying grim trophies of xenos slain in battle across the galaxy.
Ed: Psyclopean Sharpshooters
Located at the barycentre of a binary system of gas giants on the border between the Segmenta Solar and Ultima, the death world of Psyclopea exists in eternal darkness. The planet only sustains human life in subterranean caverns deep within the mantle, heated by the volcanic activity that continuously wracks the planet. The sub-zero temperatures on the surface and constantly shifting tectonic plates ensure that prolonged exposure is almost always fatal.
And yet, mega-fauna stalks the surface, hunted by the Psyclopean Sharpshooters. Equipped with night-vision helmets, thermal body armour, and trained to deliver precision lasfire, the Sharpshooters pride themselves on leaving no visible wounds so the planetary elite may display them as trophies. The most fearless hunters wait to open fire down the beast's throat. This skill set of foolhardy bravery and incredible precision makes the Psyclopean Sharpshooters sought-after as snipers.
I wanted to take advantage of the heavily armoured look of the Palanite Enforcers, while making use of the coolest Lasguns in the entire Citadel range – those of the Van Saar Gang. After chopping arms, legs, waists, hands, and weaponry left right and centre, I settled on poses I was happy with.
I wanted to evoke both a wintery and a nocturnal look, while maintaining a military air. I used Corvus Black for the carapace armour and gloves, and Kroxigor Scales for the fatigues. The helmet lenses and parts of the armour were picked out with Striking Scorpion Green over a White Scar base to convey their night vision equipment, while Retributor Armour was used on the shoulder details and armour riveting.
There’s a Cadian kitbash to suit every level of skill or bloody-mindedness. From simple head swaps and arm replacements to full torso surgery, there is an almost infinite number of Astra Militarum regiments waiting to enter duty. If you’ve converted regiments of your own, why not show us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? And remember – the second wave of Cadian reinforcements lands tomorrow! Check back in on Monday for one final kitbash article – one fanatic’s attempt to turn all the new plastic into Kriegsmen…
* They lose one planet and everyone loses their minds…
** The new Citadel clippers really are miraculous in this respect.