Infinity Shasvastii

Here we go again! More Infinity stuff!

You may remember the PanOceania and Yu Jing minis I've been painting for my mate, so here I am with another little commission. This time we're leaving the Human Sphere behind and venturing into decidedly less friendly territory. Meet the Shawarm... no, sorry, my bad. Meet the Shasvastii!

These chaps belong to the Combined Army, a rather unpleasant collection of alien forces serving the "Evolved Intelligence" (EI; not to be confused with AI. Although, come to think of it, who's to say this isn't ChatGPT's secret army? And here I am, happily painting its invasion force. What could possibly go wrong?). The Shasvastii specialise in infiltration, deception, sabotage and generally making everyone's life miserable. Not exactly the sort of neighbours you'd invite round for tea.

Anyway, enough background. Let's have a look at the minis!

First up is the Shasvastii Expansion Pack Alpha, which includes three different specialists: a Mentor, a Haiduk and a Cadmus.

The Mentor is something of a sneaky tactical mastermind, specialising in counterintelligence and deception. The Haiduk is a sniper, because apparently lurking in the shadows wasn't dangerous enough already. And the Cadmus is an infiltration specialist and hacker with some rather disturbing biological tricks up his sleeve.

I had to look up for the names, sorry

Next comes the big fellow. The Sphinx! This is a TAG, the Shasvastii Special Armoured Corps' answer to the problem of having to kill lots of people without being noticed. It's a fast, heavily armed machine equipped with sophisticated camouflage systems, designed to strike from nowhere and disappear before the enemy can respond. Yes, apparently someone thought that making a giant killer robot practically invisible was a perfectly reasonable idea.

I love the design of this beast. It's quite different from the PanOceanian TAGs I've painted before, with a much more alien appearance. A little bit District 9 vibes.

Despite being a Sphinx, there's no record of it ever asking anyone a riddle

Next up, a couple of Drone Remotes. These are the Combined Army's robotic support units, providing everything from reconnaissance and electronic warfare to some rather serious firepower, depending on their equipment.

You may remember that I magnetised the weapon options on the PanOceanian and Yu Jing Drones I painted previously. Well, I've done exactly the same thing here. The weapon arms can be removed and swapped, so my mate can choose different loadouts.

Your friendly neighbourhood killer appliances

Some assembly required. Some disassembly now possible

Now for a rather interesting character: Special Operative Ko Dali limited edition mini.

Her story is actually quite cool. She was once a celebrated Yu Jing operative, a former intelligence agent who became a legendary member of the Tiger Soldiers. She was believed to have died fighting the Combined Army, only to reappear later... fighting for the Borg Combined Army. Quite a career move, I'd say.

Yu Jing's HR department would like a word

And here you have the whole bunch together:

The Human Sphere is going to have a very bad day

OK, so this is it... No!
BONUS! 

There's one last mini, although this one has absolutely nothing to do with the Shasvastii. Meet Ksenia Lavochkina, another limited edition mini.

Ksenia is a character from the Infinity: Aftermath graphic novel (again, I had to look it up). She's the ruthless leader of Struktura, a criminal organisation operating within the Tunguska mafia. So, for a change, we're dealing with good old-fashioned organised crime rather than alien infiltration and galactic conquest. Somehow, that almost sounds reassuring.

She's a very characterful miniature, and quite a different painting experience from all those alien warriors and mechanical monstrosities.

No aliens, no giant robots. Just a perfectly respectable businesswoman. Probably.

 Well, that's all for today! Another little Infinity project finished and ready to join the ever-growing collection. I have to admit that I rather enjoy these occasional commissions. They're a nice excuse to try something different and explore new designs.

But don't fear, I'll be back to Warhammer Quest pretty soon...