28mm Strike Infantry Squad from Khurasan
The elite attack force of the Federation of Humanoid Worlds, the Strike Infantry bring unparalleled power to the battlefield. Dropping in single-man pods to the surface of the attacked planet from starships, these troopers wear thousand-pound suits of powered armour which give them immense strength and enhanced senses. Extending the length of the man’s arms and legs beyond the limit of the human body, the suit’s extremities are perfectly controlled from within, allowing greater stride, reach and dexterity. Jet and rocket boosted, the suit permits the Marine to bounce along the surface of the planet at speeds which would be the envy of 21st century mechanized forces.
Once deployed, the STI stay in contact using suit-borne communications arrays. Once the target is identified, each Strike Infantryman has a virtual arsenal of weapons at his disposal, enough to take on the military of a small nation. Two long weapons provide devestating attack ability — a rocket launcher with low-yield thermonuclear warheads for maximum devestation, and a flame thrower to spray gouts of advanced incendiary fluids distances which would astonish 21 century armies. On their rocket/jet booster packs they mount a rack firing high explosive bombs, and on each arm is mounted a potent secondary weapon — a hand flamer on the left for “close encounters,” and a laser cutter on the right to burn through the thickest walls and fortifications. The rocket launcher and the heavy flamer are both stowed on the Marine’s rocket/jet booster pack when not in use, simply snapping back into place when released from the Marine’s clawed hands.
Of all the foes faced by the STI, only two cause serious concern — the teeming billions of Arachnian Warriors, and the hulking killing machines of the Garn Confederation. Strike Infantry have taken on both and prevailed, but both provide, in their own very different ways, ferocious and hard-fought battles. All others are crushed in a sobering demonstration of military asymmetry, usually causing only token damage to get the point across without undue destruction.
Although the inspiration for these models is no doubt obvious, they were created to provide gamers an elite power armoured force for any gaming needs. Aaron and I worked closely together in designing the suit to make sure that it was built around an actual human form, so that it looked plausible. The models come in a squad of five, two using the heavy flamer, two the nuclear rocket launcher, and a fifth sending flames to the foe with his hand flamer. As every STI trooper has all of these weapons, three loose flamers and three loose rocket launchers are provided to be attached to the weapon rack. The squad comes with five sets of legs as well in three different poses — left foot forward, right foot forward, and abreast — these are supplied with a good random mix (two of one type, two of a second, one of the third). Assembly is very easy, as the pieces have been kept to a minimum — each model is made of a head, a torso with arms attached, a backpack, a weapon to be glued into the rack (two for the man using the hand flamer), and a set of legs. Best of all, all the torsos fit into all of the legs, so that there’s a great variety of poses — five different torsos and three different leg sets.
Sculpted by Aaron Brown of Black Crab Sculpting.
Photo of Unpainted STI Squad Showing Leg and Torso Variants (Five Random Leg Poses Provided)
Price: $19.99 for a set of 5 models
