Organising the squats' return

No, I'm not going to lay out a plan to get GW to revive the squats. I have a strategy in mind for the return of other things, now that the Legends have dropped, but that's an entirely different story. What I'm talking about here is my plan for the building blocks that will make up my squats. 

Having started to build the army using the Dispossessed Thunderers and Warriors for the grunts, I'd planned to continue to do so, but the models got discontinued while I was 4 boxes short of what I planned. Rather than abandon the project (since I've 65 models still to build) i started looking at how to integrate the surviving options into the force. There are 3 sets that could be used easily, the Dispossessed Ironbreakers, Dispossessed Hammerers and the Kharadron Overlords' Arkanaut Company. 

The old dwarfs had mail tabards, which I've painted as camouflage netting. I've used a few Ironbreakers, left over from an ancient RPG campaign to provide the Hearthguard for my Grand Marshall, and they look like the older models with extra armour. The Hammerers have big scale coats, which could Be worn over whatever the others are wearing under their tabards. The Arkanaut Company are wearing jumpsuits, which could be what everyone else is wearing underneath, and, with a bit of greenstuff, could be made up to be akin to the original squat models.

So, my first thought was to use one kit for heavy weapons teams, another for infantry, etc., but that would just be a bit too mismatched. I then considered simply randomly mixing them. I thought I'd build up all the bodies, stick them in a box and and draw them out as i built a squad, but this would be even more mismatched and generally piecemeal. 

Then along came the Start Collecting! Greywater Fastness set. This has 10 Ironbreakers, a Warden King, a Cogsmith and a Gyrocopter. I have a Cogsmith as a tech priest and a Warden King as a Company Commander already, was planning on having a few gyrocopters anyway, and, on-line, the box can be found for less than the Ironbreakers and Gyrocopter. A solution started to fall into place. 

I have 65 old Dispossessed. If i use 4 to provide a Hearthguard, that leaves 61. I already have a special weapons squad built using them, so, if i use them for the remaining 3 such squads, 18 models in total, that leaves 43. Keeping on a theme, i could use them for the 3 heavy weapons squads, another 18, I'd have 25 left. Another 4 to provide a Hearthguard for the heavy weapons platoon leaves 21. I want a pair of Hades Breaching Drill Squadrons, which would be 20 infantry and 2 pilots, 22 more models. I'm one short, but i can ebay for a sergeant, I'm thinking the old Burlock Damminson, with a nice big power glove. So that's the models i have accounted for. 

A few Greywater Fastness sets would give 30 Ironbreakers, 3 Cogsmiths and 3 Warden Kings. I want the sergeants to have bolters and some sort of close combat weapons, so the Cogsmiths seem perfect. 27 of the Ironbreakers will give 3 squads, with 3 models spare. Another 3 (yes, i am talking about getting 6 Start Collecting! sets, since they're great value), and i can do a pair of Veterans squads, and 3 Hearthguards, with a model spare, 3 spare sergeants and enough Company Commanders to do the force. 

Add a few boxes of Hammerers and/or Arkanaut Company, and that's a trio more infantry squads for the sergeants, with a few spare. 

That's the maths element covered, but it's still going to be a mixed aesthetic. I've calculated it as above for that express reason. Rather than trying to dodge the mixing of uniforms, I'm thinking I'll steer into it.

In the old lore, squat forces are made up of Brotherhoods. Each Brotherhood provides a detachment for their clan's forces, detachments formed from a Stronghold fight together, Strongholds forces combined to form Leagues, etc. 

The Grand Marshall's Stronghold will, thus, be providing the more Engineers detachments: a platoon of line infantry, a heavy weapons platoon, a special weapons platoon, the Grand Battery and the Pioneers divisions. These will all be wearing the mesh camouflage, with the line infantry overlaying some plate armour. 

The Veterans platoon that isn't Pioneers will be emulating the style of the Grand Marshall's troops. I'm seeing these as Nobles, essentially an officer training detachment, so i might reverse the colours on the armour to distinguish them. That also fits with the lore, wherein nobles would wear bright, ornate plate to war.

Any further detachments can have matching uniforms, whether Hammerers or Arkanaut Company, marking them out as coming from a different Stronghold within the same league. 

This actually ties in remarkably well with the Squat army list for first edition Epic. Therein, a Warhost, led by a Grand Marshall and personal Hearthguard, consisted of a reserves list, 3-9 Brotherhoods and an Engineers Guild per every 3 thereof. The Reserve consisted of up to 8 detachments, up to 4 of them as 5-strong Nobles detachments, up to 2 detachments of 12 Guild bikes, up to 2 detachments of 5 trikes, and any number of artillery and robots. The Brotherhood had 2 Hearthguard units and up to 6 infantry detachments, 2-4 of them "Tactical" detachments, 30-strong, up to 2 Support, essentially 3 heavy weapons teams, and up to 2 25-strong Berserkers units. An Engineers Guild Division had 4 detachments, 1-4 of which were bike squads, up to two were trikes. 

By that, my plan has the Grand Marshall with his guards, and, in reserve, a Grand Battery, some self-propelled artillery, robots, a full compliment of Nobles, a Tunelling detachment and a transport pool. The Brotherhood has a pair of Hearthguards, at least 2 "Tactical" detachments, each of 3 Infantry squads, a Support detachment of 3 heavy weapons squads, an Assault detachment of 4 Special weapons squads, and a fifth detachment, the second available Assault detachment or a third Tactical one, consisting of the Pioneers. Supporting this, an Engineers Guild Expeditionary Force of a bike squad and 3 trikes. I'm out a bit on numbers, but I'm not too worried, what with the system being 28 years gone...

A couple of years earlier, the 40k list had similar chunks, which are what I'm actually trying to fit. A Brotherhood consisted of a Warlord and Hearthguard, 3-4 8-man infantry squads, an optional Guildmaster, up to 2 bike squads, up to 3 Living Ancestors, and up to 2 Weapons Teams, each either a single artillery piece or a trike. An Expeditionary Force was a Guildmaster, 2-4 8-man bike squads, up to 2 trikes and an optional Living Ancestor.

...and, by now ive been rambling on for a long time, and so, I'll leave it here, for now.