We chose to base the action and imagery of the book on the Imperial world of Vogen, with the 122nd Cadian Regiment facing off against the Night Lords Chaos Space Marines. In order to fight the battle report, both armies needed to be assembled ready for battle. The Night Lord army were no problem, but the 'Eavy Metal team were faced with the challenge of painting a new Imperial Guard army in just under a week! Keith Robertson of the 'Eavy Metal Team takes up the story...

The 122nd Cadian Regiment, as seen in action in White Dwarf 261 and the Cityfight book.

KEITH: "So, which armies were going to fight in the Cityfight battle report? As it turned out the battle would be between the Night Lords Chaos Space Marines and a force of Cadian Imperial Guardsmen. We had already painted lots of Chaos and Imperial troops for previous Codexes so all we had to do was check the armies to see what models were available.

''The Night Lords were the first under scrutiny and after a quick review it was agreed that the army we had looked just great. All it really needed was a new commander converting and the bases of the army repainted to match the Cityfight terrain. The Cadian troops were a different matter. After a long hard look at the current army, it was decided that, although it's a nice balanced army the green uniforms weren't suited to an urban setting. It would be really cool to have a shiny, new army to go in the new book."

HQ squad with urban camouflage colours.

The only details left to work out were how many points worth of miniatures would have to be painted and when the army would be needed. The army would be 1,000pts; that was fine, now for the deadline... Next week? Arrgh! that was just five days away! Normally it takes more than a month to paint a full army, let alone an Imperial Guard army choc full of troops. The gauntlet had been well and truly thrown down - could the seven painters of the 'Eavy Metal Team produce a 1,000pt Imperial Guard army in just 5 days?

"Firstly we got the army list from Roland Cox, who would be fighting the battle. We then took a trip down to Mail Order to get the miniatures we needed. When deciding on the colour of the army for the Cadians we didn't have time to do colour tests as normal. However Dave Andrews came through with his Cadians (two of which you can see in the Showcase pages of Codex Imperial Guard) and suggested them as a colour scheme for the new army. According to Dave the colour scheme was quick and easy to paint as there was no shading on the fatigues: everyone liked it so we went with it. With a flurry of spraying and painting the army was completed, with a few extra models for luck. All in just 4 days, 1 day inside our deadline!"

Cadian Sentinel and Leman Russ Demolisher.

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Imperial Guard Miniatures Gallery | Painting Imperial Guard