Ghurkhanite mountaineer

Finished.

a new design on warhammer 40k imperial guard death world army.

the fluff:

Ghurkhan, you see, is derived from Gurkha, real world ww2 heroes fighting japs in Burmese jungle and all that. Special ops, guerrilla style, down and dirty with the kukri knives and sten smg.

i have been thinking for a long time of developing a new deathworld regiment with hindustan and nusantara styles and cultures

Ghurkhan is a rocky-wasteland-mountain deathworld. the whole planet, due to seismic activities, had ripped apart the tectonic plates of the world and through the millenias, formed it into jagged rocky wasteland spanning continents. Food is scarce and the environment is unable to cultivate farming of any kind. Strong gales swept through the rocky valleys, capable of smashing a man's bone into bits. Unpredicted geyser eruption destroying camps and infrastructure and contagion spread from the icy depths of the planet. It is hell, but the people who colonize the hellhole had a reputation. It is their home after all, they are proud to be there. XD

so, for a deathworld, its tithe to the imperium is of course nothing else but the hardy soldiers it breeds. Ghurkhanites are born resilient, fierce and with the gift of navigation. Their regiment are famed for long range mountainous recon, fighting in rough terrain, winter campaign, and often famous for their front line action as cavalry corps.

illustrated is an early experiment, a fella riding a snow grox armed with a big ceremonial kukri (awarded for warriors who had achieved a certain tally of the enemy he slain) strapped to his chest and standard rough battle lasgun. Along with his gear of goggles, compass, cold weather wear and so on. ^^

ok, now a bit of their society.

They are a warrior society, with the planet dwell by clans of different kinds. Each clan have a leader, the raja. Now, raja is a king. But in Ghurkhan, because of the deathworld mentality and environment, kings are two a penny. Their status is more akin to clan chieftain rather than royalty. Often, a raja and his entourage will sign up for the guard for glory and fame,and of course, beat the boredom of his homeworld. They will be the command squad of the regiment. From all the rajas, one will rise to the coveted position of khan, warlord of sort. A khan is the closest equivalent of a planetary governor in Ghurkhan, and he share a ritual pact with all the raja of the world and from there all the warrior in their command so that the armies of Ghurkhan is an "expanded family" based on kinship. Yea, these fellas stick like glue together. esprit de corps and all.

suggestions? ^^