Inquisitor (54mm): Central Casting (Bit-players, Day-players, Extras, Background, and Supporting Castmembers)

The Inquisitor bug that overtook the mind (and wallet) of the middling opened up a whole world of possibilities (and necessities) to fill the narrative skirmish game that is GW’s Inquisitor with more than courageous heroes and powerful, but flawed villains. To tell an effective story, you need a supporting cast, and extras to fill the scene, to serve tables, or fight a filler-skirmish before the big-bad is faced.

One of the pure joys of Inquisitor, being a limited range and at 54mm is the challenge and opportunity the game presents in attempting to find (and represent or simulate) different groups or types of models. One must get creative and inventive, and it can be quite enjoyable to stumble upon a model that opens up the Inquisitor game a bit through its addition in your collection.  Because GW didn’t make an extensive amount of general figures for their line, one must seek them out. Here are some (but not all of models) acquired for the purpose of setting, background, and scenario – and all painted to a partial, middling quality. They are mostly extras or bit-players

Below (and familiar to many 54mm Inquisitor players) are the Russian-produced Tehnolog “insurgent” figures that make spectacular (if large foot-ed) mercenaries, gangers, and hired guns.

Marx Toys 54mm (1:32 scale) Romans, were cheap, crappy sculpts with lots of flashing, but make fair ‘townsfolk’ or extras for street, pub or arena scenes. With a little more conversion work, they could be ‘grimdarked,’ but these were speed-painted for an imminent scenario. 

This particular alien is actually a Hasbro Star Wars model, who through fluke of scale, makes for a convinving Xenos for a crowd or bar scene.

An astute (and geekly) observer will recognize the below models as extremely skinny colonial marines, from the “Aliens” movie franchise. Painted in greys and with their lithe and long frames, they make for reasonable Imperial Guardsman, security forces, or mercenaries from low-gravity worlds.

These below (and highly weird) skeleton-fish-dinosaur-slug aliens also from Tehnolog make for interesting and characterful alien mercenies, Tau Auxiliary, or a Xenos threat to a warband. The models have since been based on scenic bases – although they lack highlights, details and their skin (in pale blue) is not ideal (nor final).

These silver men are un-identified 54mm scaled toys that were easy to paint up with metalic paints via airbrush, black washes, and drybrush. No use has been found for them, but perhaps as non-Imperial bounty hunters, or bar toughs?

These two models (perrenial and utilitarian favorites) are resin models from Poland, of Polish nobles, who have already played the part of up-scale-taven attendees, aristocrats and nobles, Imperial spies,  and patrons of the gladitorial arena. Painted with airbrush, and some base-coats and washes, these models, if time is ever found, could be brought up to a higher-standard quickly. These sorts of models are perfect to add background to inquisitor games as bit-players, as well as excellent bases for Inquisitor protagonists and villains

The two figures below of Emperor Palpatine (in his two guises) are roughly 54mm scaled Star Wars plastic models (from a boardgame, it is believed) that have been extremely useful to central casting. The uncloaked variety has played the role of a turncoat Imperial Governor, Mr. Johnson, tavern-goer, and no-named aristocrat. The robed figure has primarily played the role of mysterious, cloaked chaos cultist leader or inconspicuous contact. The robed (Emperor) figure was greenstuff-ed (poorly) as both figures had very fiddly integrated bases — which can be see a bit of on the unrobed Palpatine model.

Models that can play these roles, without weapons in their hands add a lot to the game, as when always-armed-and-at-the ready models are used, it can make every scene appear like a gunfight or brawl is breaking out. Most likely the inquisitorial warband is already brandishing their weapons, so having some relaxed, non-combantants and flavor models provides difference and flexibility to scenes.