Turnipocalypse Now

Over the last year, I've been trying to paint more cleanly, and to use better shading and detail, especially in my Eldar and Space Marines. I fancied a change from that - a palette cleanser, so to speak - and dragged out a few random historical sprues. I stuck bits from Soviet infantry, British Commandos and Frostgrave mercenaries, and made a couple of bandits.

I really like making rabble models. Whether it's 40k, Mordheim or some other system, there's something very appealing about sticking together odd bits to make a shabby lunatic wearing mismatched, scavenged clothing and holding a gun made from drainpipes. I particularly like Chaos Cultists done this way: to my mind, cultists should look less like devil-worshippers from a Hammer film (not that I'm entirely against the look) and more like desperate, crazed survivalists, who probably eat whoever they kill.

Anyhow, the bandits I made are for the skirmish groups inspired by the Turnip 28 setting. They'd actually be no use in the official game, which is a massed-battle thing, but they've got a grimy, slightly Napoleonic feel. To be honest, the painting is pretty ropey, but that made a change after all the Eldar, and these aren't as finely detailed.

That inspired me to dig out two slightly naff Mantic undead models, made of some kind of bendy plastic that doesn't lend itself to fine detail. I sculpted green stuff over their heads and added little bits of static grass. Now they're turnip-men. No idea why.

They have joined the horde of turnip-monsters. Are they veg turning into humans, or humans turning into veg? All we know is that the Turnipocalypse has arrived, and the End Dinnertimes are upon us.