At this year’s Knavecon, sho3box ran a game of Dinoproof. He provided a table full of jungle terrain and crates of dinosaurs, and participants had to make a Warhammer 40,000 big game hunter. This was the excuse I needed to model someone wearing a pith helmet, much like the classic Mœbius character Major Grubert.

Un explorateur colonial un peu ridicule.

Just for this occasion I’d stashed away a Praetorian gunner torso. His hands, unhitched from a heavy weapon, look like they’re clutching binoculars – a conversion idea seen on countless 1990s tank commanders. The bottom half of the figure is a Dark Ages archer, as he was wearing a pair of shorts that would reinforce his British pomposity. (I challenge you to name a 40K human wearing shorts.)

“I, of course, do not have a British accent. That’s just how things sound when they’re properly pronounced.”

I sculpted the bottom of his tunic, then added a pouch and some frag grenades to distract from the Dark Age archer’s slightly narrower waist. The Plasma Gun is from a Forge World Elysian, which tucked under his arm nicely enough to not have to be carried by an attendant or modelled strapped across his back.

Initially I painted his clothes entirely in Death World Forest, as he’s trying to camouflage himself in a … death world forest. But the epaulettes bothered me – ceremonial affectations seem at odds with jungle stealth. Then I realised the initial vision of tropical fatigues was further undermined by the dress tunic. I threw in some more colours and re-imagined the uniform as regimental rather than camouflage.

“An air of superiority is the ultimate expression of military power.”

Major Henry Fortisque-Smyth fared badly in the tropical jungles, being eaten by a series of sho3box’s childhood plastic dinosaurs.

There’s a blog about the dinosaur skeletons here.

There’s a blog about sho3box’s DinoProof Ogryn here.

There’s a blog about testing the DinoProof rules here.

There’s a blog about making chocolate cakes here.