My new Inquisition Stormtroopers are a good reason for enemies of the Imperium to fear the shadows.

The first of my Inquisition stormtroopers have marched off my painting table—but a few reinforcements are needed before they hit the tabletop.

My desire for a military arm to the Inquisition stems from a series of scenarios that I’ve developed for Inquisitor Serillian of the Ordos Xenos, who so far is but a shadowy figure whose existence is only clear from a few comments at the end of blogs and her distant involvement in an Inquisition Team mission: “Inquisition Strikes at Mora” and “Mystery in the Dryilian System.”

As I see it, Inquisitor Serillian has personal charge over a 10-man team of Inquisition stormtroopers, and assorted henchmen—an “army” of perhaps two dozen. When she needs more muscle, she calls upon a DeathWatch team (just bought DeathWatch Overkill for the figures) or the always handy Knights of Altair.

In considering what my stormtroopers would look like, I was quickly attracted to the Militarum Tempestus troops. No conversions were necessary. The figures are perfect.

Nor was the paint scheme overly difficult to arrive at. An Inquisition stormtrooper should be dressed in black—an appropriate color for someone engaged in the shadowy side of war (and, also, a good color for troops that aren’t exactly “nice”).

The aesthetic trick (if I have any) was to avoid a black that was too “deep.” That’s not a technical term, obviously, but I like a “softer” black. To get a black that would offer a more realistic shade, I mixed Rhinox Brown and Abaddon Black in a 50-50 mix. It’s a subtle off-black—what some might call a “silky” black. It’s still very dark, but it’s less artificial, less glossy—at least, it works well for black cloth or any non-shiny armor.

As this is a gothic sci-fi universe, there had to be some frou-frou. Gold trim on the armor trim keeps the model from totally disappearing in a pool of black and provides a nice gothic-style highlight that outlines the figure.

I also decided that all-black was unwise. The trousers ended up an Eshin Gray. The Castellan Green that I usually use for lasgun frames did not work aesthetically, so I went with a Dawnstone Gray. After all, when you work for the Inquisition, you require an overall “dark” look—if only so you can hide in the shadows and look scary.

I need another five stormtroopers. And then it’s on to my Inquisitor, whose appearance (other than being female) is still unclear to me. I ordered one of the older female Inquisitors in one of Games Workshop’s recent Made to Order offers, but now they’re offering Inquisitor Grayfax—a lovely model that’s tempting me to set aside my recent acquisition.

And, of course, now that I have a set of outstanding Deathwatch figures, I’ll need to eventually turn my attention there. Now THAT will be a challenge to my mediocre painting skills.

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The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog that documents our wargaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.