Hello again, everybody! Today I want to talk about the development of one of the mainstays of the Crucible Guard, the ubiquitous and versatile Light Infantry.

Like their heavier brethren, these soldiers serve as security and rescue workers when not needed on the battlefield. With that in mind, we started out with some roughs that were inspired by firefighters of the early 1900s.

Partway through this process, we recalled another sketch that had been submitted by the incomparable Andrea Uderzo as part of a different piece. We liked the overall direction of this alternative, but wanted to do some more work on the helmet, so it was off to the races on gasmask and helmet variations:

Option 3 was the decisive favorite among these options, and so I began cleaning up linework and taking care of variants and back views. At the same time, we needed to figure out their weapons and accessories. Along with a sword, an infantryman in the Crucible Guard is armed with a complex firearm that treats ammunition with various alchemical substances as it is fired. Getting the gun right was the biggest challenge we had to create a weapon that looked complex without being a pain for hobbyists to work with.

Sword F and gun 3 were our jumping-off points. These were further refined into weapons befitting our Crucible Guard by making the blade look more utilitarian, and by distilling the most important parts of the rifle to simplify it while retaining its character.

Finally, the Crucible Guard Infantry needed a standard, and I wanted to make it unique. Given their role as rescue workers in hazardous situations, I proposed a chemical lantern that could be used to find the unit in the midst of battle and to ward civilians away from danger when off the battlefield. This went over well, and standard B was the option chosen for further refinement.

After much additional linework, refinement, and pose reference, the Crucible Guard Light Infantry were finally ready. I hope you like them as much as I do!