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On the rising wave of mania over the plastic Valkyrie I have for a long time been obsessing over a Imperial Navy landing force. Based on the fluff that say there are armsmen that (like Elysians) are restricted to light infantry roles with no ground armour and limitations on heavy weapons etc... I decided it would be a wet dream come true if I could field Naval troops.

The reality would mean that the troops would to all intents and purposes play like Imperial Guard. The fluff states that armsmen use shotguns and that SOMETIMES there are elements at least that are similar to Storm Troopers. This gave me all I needed to inspire me to flights of fancy (pardon the pun). With the new Valkyrie pilot models coming out as well as a promised Naval Officer model for the IGs, I felt I could start making solid plans which could develop in small details as I went on.

Apart from developing fluff, I have been looking around for ages trying to find models that would suit my ideas. I plan to customise my models heavily but one thing I was sure about -no Imperial Guard!

I have a plan for three levels of troops (fluff)
1) "The Watch"
Counts as Conscript Platoon.
Fluff: These are Naval Crew militia, called up for emergency duty. Led by NCOs and Officers in bicorn hats. The sailors will be basically like old Russian or British Naval Rifle Divisions, trench coats, ammo belts etc. They will be supported by heavy weapons.

2) "NavSec Armsmen"
Counts as Sniper Team, Grenadiers/Veterans etc
Fluff: These are fairly well written about, highly trained and given some decent equipment they are mainly used as support to the special forces, and as boarding/rangers to spearhead the Watch.

3) "Imperial Commandos"
Counts as Storm Troopers although I see them more as Commissars or Assassins (for own rules)
Fluff: Similar to British SBS, US Navy SEALs etc. Small units with demo charges, grenades, bolters

Since the Navy is not allowed infantry in the normal sense, they have strict limitations over equipment. I call this Naval Issue which means I can deviate from the Guard-look although they will probably end up counting as lasguns, shotguns etc. Basically it is an excuse to convert and do what I like. The idea is that they all have projectile weapons since the Imperium doesn't want the Navy to have light infantry that can hold out forever without supplies, which in theory lasweapons might allow. Also the literature such as Eisenhorn always talks of the Armsmen using shotguns or shotcannons. The Navy troops need some weaknesses so that they are not immune in case they rebel etc.
So in old doctrine terms- I am going for airborne (loads of flyers) light infantry, conscripts, storm troopers, grenadiers, some heavy and special weapons, no ground vehicles. I may add some 'counts as sentinels' which would be NavSec in breaching armoured suits, similar to Ripley's cargo lifter but compact for use in Space Hulks as much as on a planet surface.

Right, so that's my statement of intent. Now to buying all the basics and seeing what the scales are like, then I will buy in all the bits and bobs, weapons, equipment, backpacks extra heads etc.... then hopefully they should start to come alive a bit more. A landing party of these boys backed by some nasty Valkyries would be very cool, if only for nutty fluff value or to look good on my shelf!

Right bit of forewarning to start the necromancy off. I have bought 3 packs of plassie Cadians and a pack of Sniper Scouts.
With these I am going to make two units of NavSec Armsmen (counts as a sniper team and a grenadier/veteran squad). I have two Reaper minis that I plan to make Squad Leader for each. One of which is going to get some conversion of weapons and head.
I have also bought some Russian sailors from Westwind, hoping the scale matches. If they work I will use the rest of the bits from the Cadians and start basing a conscript platoon around them which I fluff-up as emergency troops I'm calling a 'Watch'. I have also bought a Westwind officer and radio operator which I will probably convert to look more Navy, this will count as Officer of the Fleet and Master of Ordinance. Keeping in mind that all my officers are technically Fleet Officers, this could get confusing so I am going post everything with labels
1) what it is/where I bought it, which will be interesting investigatiing what ranges are compatible
2) what it will count as under Guard rules
3) fluff, how I motivate it in my mythology

Will have some pics in a week or so as and when they arrive in the post. Goody gum drops!

You can read my extensive insanely obsessed fluff here http://armaaeronautica.blogspot.com/

Sounds good so far, I'm looking forward to seeing the Fleet start to assemble

Least you got it planned out looking forward to the fruits of your fluff er labor.

Sounds good but you should use shock troopers as the ulk of your force , conscripts although cheap in game terms they are not very good unless you. Build a tactic around them and even then they are just ok . I have seen a lot of people myself included try and stay true to the fluff but when you put so much time into a force it can get frustrating losing most games . Now if you have no care at all about the gaming end by all means go conscript crazy , but as a very long time guard player and decent tourny player conscripts in this edition of guard fail to impress .

Now if your using a lot of storm troopers and vets , why not just use shock troopers to fill the role that the conscripts would fill .

I'd have to agree; conscripts just don't seem like they are worth taking, unless you're desperate for a speedbump to use with Chenkov's special orders... even if you are trying to be all fluffy; which is much more preferable to being all power-gamer-y.

I would, however, like to see the return of the Commissar training squads from the 1st edition, just for some fun

A note about the weapon types. I'm sure I read in a Gaunt's Ghosts book that the Navy use projectile weapons as they have less chance of piercing the ship and causing decompression, which a lasgun could do apparently..

I love this idea as I'm doing something similar myself. (An army done up in US Navy digital pattern blue camo with Navy blue tanks, y'know because school colors make better camo than camo does)

Something I think will help and inspire you-
Watch The Sand Pebbles, it's a classic starring Steve McQueen about Sailors on a Yanghtze river gunboat during the 1926 Chinese Civil War. Near the end is a gripping boarding action that I think you'd get a lot from.

The Sailors where dressed in a mix of dress whites and working utilities, armed mostly with bayonetted 1903 Springfield Rifles, a Browning Automatic Rifle (beef up a lasgun and turn it into a two-man shooter/loader team and it could count as an autocannon or a heavy bolter). The Captain lead the action, .45 M1911 in one hand and a traditional cutlass in the other. Besides bayonets, BARS and shotguns there was a Lewis machine gun or two and Holman (McQueen's character) ended up with an axe.

The first Eisenhorn book refer to boarding parties using low velocity autoguns to avoid hull penetration. I'm sure you're right about the Gaunt books too, I just can't remember which one it's in

I forgot to mention this before- Don't forget to have Chiefs, they are a Naval tradition. You could possibly have them stand in for Comissars or simply senior enlisted leadership.

Thanks guys, really appreciate the feedback! -And Napalm- some great tips, can't go wrong with McQueen! I will defo check that out.

I have ideas for some kinds of mixes of those axes and automatic weapons, gun crews and use of chiefs/comissars etc I hope they evoke the navy atmosphere enough.

I agree that the navy should use some high-end elites in the form of special forces and killteams but to balance that out there would be these light infantry platoons. I agree that conscripts would leave this army very weak, but I think you have all understood that I have to counter the strengths with weaknesses in another areas to make them playable.

The way I see it the navy cannot have all-round good infantry. Using specialist units makes the best sense fluff-wise. But I wonder if the conscripts/light infantry crew militias would be worthwhile if they had an extended range weapon? Something between autogun and sniper rifle?

If the Conscript squads were just press-ganged shipmen, wouldn't they be armed with a mixture of weaponry?
And fluff wise wouldn't it make more sense for them to be Penal Legions?