Jopall 99th Indentured Foot

Finally, after so many years of looking at my unpainted Guardsmen, the motivation that I had been waiting for has arrived. For the first time since the second version of the Imperial Guard codex came out I have a clear idea as to which IG regiment I want my guys to represent. A random comment from a WarSeer forum thread about the Jouran Dragoons directed me to Lexicanum's list of regiments, all of which have at a minimun been mentioned or named in offical GW background material. I was really just hoping for some inspiration with regards to an interesting color scheme and so just started clicking on the entries in hopes of seeing some sample uniforms. Few of them feature an example of their regiment's appearance, but in the process of searching through the data base I came across the Jopall Indentured Squadrons, for which there was even an illustration of their uniform!

After reading through the little bit of info available about them, I soon realized that the men of Jopall would be just right for my Guard army. Although I'm not crazy about the camouflage pattern, I do like the basic colors and they look simple enough to make doing a full army realistic. What really sealed it for me though is their characterful background. They have a great potential for narrative and they have a much more humanistic feeling than what I'm used to finding in the insane universe of the 41st millenium. Also considering my interest in our current political situation, I think it would be kind of funny and ironic to work on an army taken from a population of people born into a lifetime of debt to the government.

Here then is the little background I've thought up since last night. As I don't particularly like the "Squadrons" part of the regiment's name, I'm probably going to drop it in favor of something else. I'm considering designating them as Pioneers or Rifles, but I think they'll most likely end up as the Jopall 99th Indentured Foot. When the Imperium demanded its most recent tithe of soldiers for the Departmento Munitorum's use, Jopall consolidated the PDF regiments of the 432nd, 433rd, and 434th Jopall Indentured Squadrons into the Jopall 99th Indentured Foot. Although Jopall regiments are typically armed with older pattern equipment, I have decided to award these Agri World farmboys with the honor of carrying into battle all new weapons and armour. This also conveniently spares me from having to track down OOP miniatures and I can instead use the ones that I've already purchased and assembled.

Having sorted out who my Guardsmen shall be and with the rudimentary elements of their background in place, it's now time for me to paint up a test figure. I still don't know how I'm going to approach painting the army's tanks but that can wait for a bit. If I'm satisfied with the test figure I will be ready to commence work on the first batch of infantry, approximately 500 points worth. It's not much but it does include the Company Command Squad and the first 35-man platoon with an attached heavy weapons team.