Armies on Parade - The Uprising!

I found out that Games Workshop holds an annual Armies on Parade event a couple of months ago. As I've been working a lot on my Genestealer cult, I figured that this would be a fun opportunity to get the army out on the table and see how it fared against the competition. I had several ideas for a scenic base, but ultimately realized that I just didn't have the time to completely build something new from scratch. I'd already been building several of the ruined plastic buildings available from GW, and I ended up picking up a Forgeworld Realm of Battle 2' x 2' base (the Cityscape Generatorium Sector) figuring with a little work I could make it look pretty good.

The theme for this display was "The Uprising" - the cult has made its move to take control of a planet or large geographic area. I'm still tinkering with the full background for the force, but suffice it to say that they have control of enough of the military which, when combined with their more xenomorphic assets, provide a strong enough force to size control. The area is supposed to represent an industrial area with a large blue fuel tank next to the concrete bunker at the back in the photo below. A yellow landing area is nestled next to the ruins of an old administration building. The iconward proudly displays the colors of the cult at the top of the building (loosely inspired by the Soviets planting their flag on top of the Reichstag in 1945 near the end of World War II).

The whole piece is sort of supposed to have a "storming of Berlin" feel to it as the Genestealer armor rumbles down the thoroughfare past tank traps and (now captured) fixed defenses like the Leman Russ turret bunker in the corner of the display. In the display you see the Patriarch directing the Cult forces from the front in the ruins of the administration building, while the Magus, with her Locus bodyguard, is still scheming in the rear. Abominants advance alongside the armor to clear any enemy infantry while Brood Brothers, Neophyte Hybrids, and Acolyte Hybrids secure the landing pad and other buildings.

While the army didn't medal overall in Warhammer 40K, I did get "Best Painted" - which was a real honor as there were some very nicely painted miniatures and great displays entered this year. I'm already developing some ideas for next year as I'll likely have a whole new crop of Genestealer Cult troops to show off.