Muster the Guardsmen: Squad 924

Here is the first squad, modeled and green-stuffed. I had meant to have these pictures up earlier, but preparations for Summer term have kept me busier than I anticipated.
I chose the squad number 924 as, with as many artillery and and static fire lines my army list has, I wanted to have the feel of a rear guard element. To me, squad numbers toward the end of the three number spectrum helps to do that.
I tried to model them all with a fire line idea in mind for unified poses, and used as many bits as I could fit onto their belts. I am a firm believer in the WYSIWYG rule of 40k (as it makes for interesting models), so if the unit write up states that a model has a grenade, he does. If he has a close-combat weapon, he does. &ect &ect. You can see it on the models here. They also all have backpacks, as with the rest of the guardsmen in my army do/will, as I had wanted them to have a campaign look to them. Soldiers go into war carrying everything and their grandmothers, which bothers me about the standard GW guardsman. His light infantry impression. I chose the shovel carrying backpacks from the Heavy Weapon sprues for the most of my models, since the guardsmen often have to dig in, with smaller backpacks for the sergeant and special/heavy weapons.

The green stuff around the base was left over after using on the models, so I put it about the bases to keep them from being flat and static at the end when I base them.

First is the sergeant. He has a few bits from Forge World, a laspistol holster clipped and filed out to look empty, and a green-stuffed headset similar to the one found on the sergeant's head in the Cadian Shock Troops sprue.

Three basic guardsmen from the squad, not a lot of work done to them other than green-stuffing some gaps around the arms.

Another three guardsmen, one with the grenade launcher. He has a small combat knife bit from Forge World. Since he does not carry a lasgun, it did not make sense to me for him to have a bayonet for close-combat, but in the squad write up he should have a close-combat weapon, so that was the answer. It is also just a neat bit.

Last are the vox-caster and heavy weapon team. The vox-caster's right arm is a Forge World bit. I had seen a picture of a model from 42nd Cadian where he had used the binocular holding arm of the Heavy Weapon sprue as a hand shielding the soldier's eyes from the sun. I liked the idea, and used it for his left. The heavy weapon team is rather standard. The ammunition carrier's lasgun is waiting to be propped against a rock set upon the hill in front of him, after basing.

There they are, my first Imperial Guard squad I have ever modeled.