UMC / Combat Androids pt.2 (TW)

I've now painted-up a fireteam & an AT RPG team of colonial combat androids.  I'm very pleased with the colour scheme - it's straightforward to paint on such tiny miniatures; striking, but also plausible for the setting.  To the right is the droid AT team, & below is the 4-robot fireteam.  Click on the images for a larger view.  As mentioned previously, the models are Rebel Minis Shalur Mercenaries.

I've also tried-out a 'jewel effect' on the visors of the UMC troopers (see right), which I think was semi-successful.  The models are Rebel Minis Earth Force Marines.  I'm still not 100% satisfied with the paint scheme for these human soldiers, but I'm not sure what it is - possible the camo scheme still needs work?  Any suggestions welcome, thanks.

UMC / Combat Androids pt.1 (TW)

I've been closing-in on final paint schemes for my Unified Marine Corps troops & colonial combat androids.  I want something that will look plausibly military but futuristic, whilst working in a colourful extraterrestrial jungle setting.  To the right is a rework of the UMC trooper camo that I posted a few days ago.  The visors are now plain grey, but I will add a 'jewel effect' as a final touch.  The camo has slightly bolder strokes, & the boots have base-green plates on the front.  I'm quite pleased with this scheme now.  The pattern isn't too riotous, & seems to blend the troopers into their surroundings well.  These models are 15mm Rebel Minis Earth Force Marines.

For the colonial combat androids, I'm aiming for something that will mark them out as an opposing force, whilst still looking military.  I've gone with a simple vivid green colour, with highlights along the upper edges of the armour plating.  This lends a slightly mantis-like appearance, where the camo is more about looking like harmless foliage rather than blending-in.  The model is a 15mm Rebel Minis Shalur Mercenary.

Possible miniatures for Tomorrow's War

I thought I'd do a list of miniatures that I have in mind to represent the units in the Tomorrow's War setting that my friend Tim & I are developing.  There are two factions - the expeditionary forces of Earth, primarily consisting of the Unified Marine Corps; & the disparate but increasingly high-tech colonial forces, who rely more on android & mecha units.  Items in orange below are things that I have already bought:

Trial UMC camouflague (TW)

I recently posted several pieces on the extraterrestrial jungle scenery that I've been putting together for Tomorrow's War.  Today I've been trialing a possible camo scheme for the UMC (Unified Marine Corps) infantry that will feature in this setting.  These soldiers will be part of an expeditionary force from Earth who are battling the more advanced but initially factious separatist forces in the jungles of a colony world.

The models are Rebel Minis Earth Force Marines.  I've used Citadel Paints.  I'm fairly pleased with the palette of colours - a base of Camo Green, with a Flesh Wash for depth & lightened Camo Green highlights.  On top of this I've painted a traditional 'jungle pattern' using Dark Angels Green & Liche Purple (the plants in this jungle are quite garish).  The webbing & backpacks are Dark Angels Green.  The visors will have an orange 'jewel effect' once finished.

The figure on the the left has his helmet & armour in the base green, & the one on the right has camo all over.  I think the left one looks unfinished like this, & as I will be using high contrast between armour & undersuits/mechanisms on the colonial forces, I think I should go with the right-hand approach. However, I think this scheme can be improved - perhaps with a larger, more angular pattern, to reflect the oversized foliage of the scenery?  Any suggestions & ideas welcome, thanks!

Converted French with GPMGs (FoF)

I haven't got much hobby stuff done over the past month, as I've been away at music festivals, ill with a heavy cold, & sorting out Christmas presents.  But here are four conversions that I've done as gifts for my friend Tim's French platoon in Force on Force.  He needed some figures armed with FN Minimi GPMGs to go with his Peter Pig French Foreign Legion; so I've converted some USMC gunners, using French beret heads from Peter Pig's Odds and Ends (Mostly Heads) range. 

These were surprisingly simple - for the standing figures I made an incision each side of the jaw using a Stanley knife, then twisted the original head slightly one way, then the other using needle-nose pliers.  The head came off in good condition, and can be used elsewhere!  I then used a fine-gauge hand drill to make a hole for the peg/neck of the French beret head, & glued it in place.  The prone figures were slightly trickier, needing the use of a small vice to hold the figures whilst I razor-sawed the heads off, prior to drilling the holes & filing-out indentations for the chins.  I'm pleased with the results, & will be using the 'insurgent headscarf' heads that I bought at the same time to convert various figures for my PLO force & Middle East civilian bases.

Iraqi T-55 (FoF)

Back to Force on Force - here is my T-55 with crew, to support my Iraqi platoon.  Not a very exciting paint scheme as I went with the basic bone-white desert hue seen on many Iraqi vehicles at the time.  I haven't yet tried any conversions on 15mm scale models, but ideally I would like to convert this T-55 with the characteristic side armour & turret plates of the Iraqi 'Enigma' T-55.

The tank & figures are from Peter Pig's excellent AK 47 Republic range.  I want my mixed regulars & Saddam fedayeen Iraqi force to look suitably ill-equipped & a little ad-hoc, so I left the fuel tanks off this T-55 & fitted the unditching beam in their place.  I purchased this tank a while ago, before Peter Pig added a turret MG & hatch crewmen to the pack, but I may add an MG if I can get hold of a DShK.

Even more jungle terrain (TW)

For a change... even more jungle scatter terrain for 15mm Tomorrow's War!  I've started to use pieces from the bag of more colourful plastic plants, which I think is helping to make this jungle project look more alien.  I started with 8 'average tree size' pieces, mounted on Ø30mm Fenris Games bases:

After that, I revamped some of my previous jungle bases with  pieces of the new plants, to help tie it all together visually.  Coming up with decent camouflage schemes for this terrain will be an interesting challenge...

More jungle scatter terrain (TW)

Next up... more jungle scatter terrain for 15mm Tomorrow's War!  Again, I've used plastic aquarium plants.  Not sure what to call this stuff.  Maybe 'mammoth grass'?  It comes set out on a regular grid, so I sliced it into pairs & trios so I could glue it out more haphazardly on the Fenris Games Ø50mm ply bases.  To hold them down more firmly, & to reduce the flatness, I textured over the ground using premixed filler/thickener.

I decided to paint the pegs which hold the leaf-blades in place as a flower or perhaps fruit.  I think this makes them look a bit more unusual.  The colour of these plants is very vivid, so I tried to break it up a bit by painting the veins of the leaves in pale green.  I enjoyed adding other details to these bases, such as severed stems leaking glossy sap, & a fallen blade.  So far greens have been the dominant hues of my growing alien jungle, but I'm about to try using some of the more garish plants I have in stock...

Jungle pitcher plants (TW)

Following on from my post yesterday, this morning I finished these 'pitcher' plants.  They are mounted on Ø50mm ply from Fenris Games, & use the same flock & undergrowth as my first scatter pieces.  Again the large plants are plastic aquarium decorations.  The materials are very cheap, & putting these bases together doesn't require as much precision as making buildings, although the process definitely benefits from batch-producing each stage of the assembly/dressing.

I may buy some water-effect resin to try & fill the 'bowls' of these pitcher plants, but for now I have gloss varnished inside each one with Games Workshop 'Ard Coat.

Jungle scatter terrain (TW)

This week I put together a my first set of scatter terrain for Tomorrow's War.  After initially planning an urban Bladerunner/Ghost in the Shell inspired setting, I'm favouring an alien jungle world now, because it's something that I've never tried before.  This would be a colony planet where Earth forces are battling separatists.  I've had Avatar's Pandora & Warhammer 40,000's Catachan in mind, although less deadly to Human life.  I think I'll have to decide on infantry/vehicle/mech camo schemes based on my finished terrain.

I've had this plastic wreath of red & lime green leaves for a few years, but never had the need to make any jungle scenery before now.  The quality of these plastic leaves is particularly good, with a waxy, detailed surface, which I have varnished using Games Workshop 'Ard Coat to really bring them to life.  Sections from this wreath formed the centrepieces of this scatter terrain, whilst I have used hobby lichen & offcuts of smaller aquarium fake plants (highlighted & varnished) for the undergrowth.  The 3 different flocks are from Gale Force Nine. The bases are Ø30mm & Ø50mm 1.5mm thick laser-cut ply from Fenris Games.  Here are the scatter pieces with a 15mm figure for scale:

In Tomorrow's War rules the effects of this jungle terrain will be limited to the 'outer perimeter' of this scatter, rather than actual line of sight.  The individual pieces within the 'jungle area' can be moved as needed to accommodate figures during games.  Today I bought a couple packs of more vividly-coloured plastic aquarium plants. I think the trick will be to limit the number of colours on each base so that overall there is a varicoloured mix to the jungle, but individually the bases don't look too riotously messy.  Other terrain ideas I've had so far for this setting are white-washed futuristic colony buildings, weird rock formations, murky lakes with giant lily pads, & overgrown space shuttle wreckage.  Any & all suggestions for terrain welcome!

Middle East civilians (FoF)

Having finally bought some large 1.5mm thick circular bases, I've put together my first civilian mob for 15mm scale Force on Force.  After toying with the idea of individually based civies, I've opted to split my civilian mobs between two Ø50mm bases, each with around 6 figures on.  This makes for easier movement of mobs, whilst representing their abstract nature in rules terms, but still allows a little flexibility in placement in relation to tabletop scenery.

The bases are laser-cut 1.5mm (to match the thickness of the coins I use for infantry bases) ply from Fenris Games - I highly recommend these bases.  They are very durable & have absolutely no warping.  The civilians are a mixture of Modern Civilians from Rebel Minis plus 'AK Looters', 'AK Ammo Carriers', 'Sudanese Women Civilians', &  'WWII Refugees' from Peter Pig.  I went for a 'refugee' theme for this mob, with most of the figures carrying valuables, children or babies.  I'm planning to use a more relaxed street/market theme for my next mob.

I will use these in Iraq / Lebanon games, but civilian mobs are more integral to Day of the Rangers (Black Hawk Down) battles - I'm looking forward to putting together civilian & hostile mobs for this next.

Chaos Marauders (WQ)

Next minis painted for my 15mm scale Warhammer Quest project: 2D6 Chaos Marauders.  These are Northlander Warriors with Axes, from Copplestone Castings's fantastically-sculpted Barbarica range.  I'll use 'standard Human' stats for these murderous raiders - they'll be one of the 'sword-fodder' groups of Monsters in my dungeon set.

Dire Wolves (WQ)

I'm staying focused on Warhammer Quest for the moment - this morning I finished painting these 1D6 Dire Wolves.  Being the owner of an Alaskan malamute, I opted for sled-dog colour schemes, rather than the all-grey/brown/black/white that I often see on wargame wolves.

These are yet more brilliant figures from the Copplestone Castings 15mm Barbarica range.  Dire Wolves do not appear in the Warhammer Quest bestiary, but I'll use the Warhounds stats for them.  I imagine that they could either be a wild pack which shelters in the dungeon, or semi-domesticated by Chaos Marauders or other villains.  Below is a size comparison photo, showing an unfortunate Savage Orc cornered by the pack:

Cave Troll (WQ)

Yesterday I finished this Cave Troll for 15mm scale Warhammer Quest.  I'm quite pleased with how the paint job came out.  This is yet another fantastically detailed miniature from the Copplestone Castings 15mm Barbarica range - sold as 'Snow Trolls'.

I've included a size comparison photo above, showing the Cave Troll squaring-off against one of my Savage Orcs.

Progress on 3D dungeon sections (WQ)

Here's an update on my progress with building & painting 15mm scale 3D Warhammer Quest dungeon sections.  I have a couple more rooms on the go at the moment, but below are all the sections that I have fully textured & painted.  I'm looking forward to putting together the more ambitious Objective Rooms, starting with the Fighting Pit.

More Savage Orcs (WQ)

Sticking with my 15mm Warhammer Quest project, I've now finished 1D6 Savage Orc archers.  Again, these are from the fantastically sculpted Copplestone Castings Barbarica 15mm range - 'Pict Archers'.  I love the detail on these tiny figures - right down to human skulls hanging from belts!

Below are a couple photos showing the Orc archers next to the Savage Orcs with clubs that I painted in January:

Chaos Dwarves with axes (WQ)

I've just finished painting a few more minis for 15mm Warhammer Quest.  Here are another 1D3 Chaos Dwarves, this time with the more usual armament of axes.  Again, these models are from Copplestone Castings' excellent 15mm Fantasy range.  As with my 15mm Force on Force figures, I've used 1p pieces for the bases.

Chaos Dwarves with spears (WQ)

I needed a mini hobby task to get me back into painting, having returned this weekend from my first foreign holiday in nine years... So I've painted-up 1D3 Chaos Dwarves with spears, for my 15mm scale Warhammer Quest project.  These figures are from Copplestone Castings' 15mm Fantasy Range, & have a fantastic amount of detail:

I stuck to the traditional red-&-black colour scheme for these evil foes, & gave them a swarthy skin tone to suit the volcanic wastes of their Dark Lands, & to mark them out more strongly from Dwarves in the Warriors party.  I considered Green Stuffing the classic Chaos Dwarf helmet shape, but thought it might be too ambitious.  I may do this when I make a Chaos Dwarf Champion & Lord.  I've only painted 3 to start with because they're actually fairly tough enemies for low-level Warriors to face in Warhammer Quest.

Iraqi Republican Guard (FoF)

Whilst I've been mulling over a change of setting for Tomorrow's War with my friend Tim, I've been back to painting my Iraqi platoon for Force on Force.  I've nearly completed the force, which will consist of combined Iraqi regulars / Saddam Fedayeen, as featured in many of the battles from the Road to Baghdad sourcebook.  Below is one of the 3 rifle squads I have painted. They will usually be split into a 6-man fireteam with AKs, & a 2nd 4-man support team, which carries an RPG & RPD:

To save on cost & time I've been looking at dual roles for my Force on Force armies.  These Iraqi Republican Guard can also represent Syrian PLA troops in 'Lebanon 1982' games. Below are the NCO, medic & CO, plus a 73mm recoilless rifle team:

Public Security agents (TW)

Now that I'm comfortable with the look of my fledgling 15mm Tomorrow's War collection, I've painted some Public Security agents.  The inspiration for these was mainly the Section 9 operatives from Ghost in the Shell (I based one of the figures on Major Kusanagi), but I was also thinking of Bladerunner & The Fifth Element when working on these.

They are the first proper 'character' figures that I have painted in 15mm scale.  I thought carefully about colour schemes, & lavished more time on them than standard troopers, & I think it's paid off.  I think I've managed to achieve a bit of a unique feel to each one, to give them some sense of character.

The men are Rebel Minis Irish Hitmen figures, whilst the women are Rebel Minis Black Widow Mercs. There are quite a few other minis there that I have an eye on for my Tomorrow's War cyberpunk setting too.  More of these agents (plus Seriously Wounded variants) will follow...

Public Security assault troopers (TW)

Sticking with 15mm scale, this week I finished some more figures for Tomorrow's War.  Here is a fireteam of Public Security assault troopers:

Public Security is a clandestine department that fights a 'ghost war' against rogue government agencies, cyber-terrorists, & corrupt multinational corporations.  These troops are called on when Public Security agents require some heavy backup, or to carry out raids or hostage rescues.  The team leader on the right has a pistol, the 2 soldiers at the front count as armed with suppressed SMGs, whilst the rear left one has an assault rifle, & the last bloke has a SAW (I cut the barrel off what I think was an SA-80, to give it a blockier near-future look).

I went with a limited urban palette & a simple mottled camo scheme (inspired by Half Life: Black Mesa) but I'm pleased with the results.  I tried painting a glowing effect on the turquoise eye lenses to add a touch of the futuristic.  These miniatures are Rebel Minis SAS, & the sculpts are of good quality, though I thought it was odd how all but the SAW gunner are modeled as left-handed.