Riot police

Back to 15mm scale for today's post - a group of riot police!  These Rebel Minis figures are perfect for any zombocalypse or serious urban disturbance.  I have painted them in modern British riot police uniforms (as featured in the nationwide riots of 2012), as I fancy gaming a zombie pandemic with a UK setting.  Not sure on a rules set yet, but possibly Ambush Alley's 'Ambush Z'.

I'm pleased with the outcome, & the uniforms are a pretty good match for the real ones, other than the additional padding at the back of the helmet (where UK police have numbering in yellow), & the holstered sidearms (in the UK only a small number of Authorised Firearms Officers carry guns).  However, in a zombie pandemic, I think that emergency legislation (or police taking matters into their own hands as society collapses) would mean that firearms would be issued widely...

I considered painting some of these figures with blood splatters & hand prints on their equipment, but at this tiny scale, I want to reserve most of the gore for the actual zombie figures, so that they are easier to pick-out on the tabletop.  This also means that I can use them for less apocalyptic settings too.  Not 100% happy with my attempt at a 'transparent' effect on the shields & visors, but it's passable at this scale.  I may gloss varnish those areas.

Demiurg (W40K)

I really liked how the Battlefleet Gothic expansion Armada cheekily brought Squats back into the official Warhammer 40,000 universe as the 'Demiurg'.  Ever since then I've been wondering what they might look like (I've never been keen on their original Warhammer-Dwarf-like look), & now thankfully there are a few suitable miniatures on the market. 

My favourite is Hasslefree Miniatures's Grymn range.  I see the Demiurg as grubby & industrial, but a little more advanced than the stagnant Imperium, making use of full-AI droids for much of their labour & warfare, especially following the destruction of the Demiurg Homeworlds by the Tyranids.



So here are my first 28mm Demiurg - mining vessel crew with bolters & vac-sealed carapace armour!  These particular Grymn are from the Heavy Infantry range.  I really enjoyed painting these fantastic sculpts, & will be adding a few more from Hasslefree's extensive Grymn collection.  To tie these figures in with my Battlefleet Gothic Demiurg ships, I went with a tarnished, oily iron look for their armour.  Next up: Demiurg in exo-armour!

Picasa Web Albums is still adding blue to most of my uploaded photos... I may have to start using a different storage service  :-/

Imperial Navy chirurgeon (W40K)

I haven't completed much miniatures stuff this month, but this week I finished an Imperial Navy chirurgeon, who will be the 'medic' of Inquisitor Isiah's retinue.  He is equipped with a needle pistol & medical device.  I stumbled on this EM4 Miniatures 'Ganger 5' model, & thought he'd fit in perfectly as ex-Imperial Navy. Wasn't sure if the dreadlocks were 'proper' enough for the straight-laced Navy, but then in a vast Imperium of diverse cultures which produces very distinct Imperial Guard 'ground-pounders', I'm sure the Navy must allow some leeway to accommodate different customs.

The backstory for this bloke will probably be that he saved Interrogator Rath's life when he was shot through a lung during the Heliosphan Purge.

Apologies for the poor quality of the photos - as of about a month ago, Picasa Web Albums started adding high levels of blue to my uploaded images, & I haven't discovered a simple work-around beyond repeatedly re-uploading until the image is as per the copy on my PC. Quite frustrating.