Painting Challenge: Week Five - 6mm Micro Armour

Week Five of my painting challenge sees my three-month project's subject return to 6mm "GHQ" miniatures and five more bases of Modern British "Micro Armour". This should mean I'll be able to finish off both my second Rifleman Section and Saxon APC Battalion Asset, and thus finally field a basic British Army platoon.

 

In addition I also hope to complete a few more North African resin buildings by "Baccus 6mm" so I can populate a couple of recently acquired MDF bases and create some 'Built Up Areas' for my battlefield.

 

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, I'm still slowly trying to complete a few more bases of "The Ion Age" 15mm Prydian Army models. Once finished I'll be able to game some small 'Rogue Trader era' exchanges between the 'Imperial Guard' and LV-426 Aliens, using the "Science-Fiction Companion" setting of "Savage Worlds".

"Too Slow Lawbreaker!"

Having recently painted a handful of Street Judge models from the "Judge Dredd Miniatures Game" by "Mongoose Publishing", I was looking forward to painting the man himself, Judge Joseph Dredd. Unfortunately I've not had the best of times with model MGP10153 Judge Dredd 1, and whilst much of this frustration is doubtless down to my skills with a brush (or rather lack of), the sculpting on the model itself has also contributed to my dwindling enthusiasm for the project.

As with the other far-future lawmen I've painted I used "Coat D'Arms" Black for Dredd's uniform, and then Vallejo" Heavy Green with a "Citadel" Thrakka Green wash for his knee pads, boots, gloves, belt and elbow pads. His belt buckle, shoulder pad, badge and chain, and shoulder eagle were painted using "Vallejo" Gold and "Citadel" Devlan Mud.

A simple enough colour scheme which annoyingly took several applications on certain parts of the model. Such as the somewhat crushed 'iron fist of Mega-City One' where I really struggled to find where the glove finished and the elbow pad started, and Dredd's red helmet trim, which seemed to simply disappear once it got round the back of his head. I even had to paint on the downward stripes on the helmet's gold badge as there appeared to be no raised detail on that particular area. 

This has all lead to me rather disliking this figure, and as a result, for now at least, he's simply going to be one of my nameless Street Judge extras. Luckily I'm also painting the alternative "Mongoose Publishing" Judge Dredd sculpt (Code MGP10155), so, hopefully having given that model a better paintjob, I'll still be able to field the law's number one judge, jury and executioner as a wildcard (for "Savage Worlds").

Ultimately I can always use this model as the Chief Judge Fargo clone Judge Rico, who graduated from the Academy of Law in 2122 having actually been assessed by Joe Dredd himself; and that way I can field two Judge Dredds.

 

Having spent so long to finish this legendary senior Street Judge (and he was already half-painted at the start of the week) I've continued to 'potter' away at some more of my "Heroclix" plastic miniatures by "Wizkids", with a view to quickly finishing off three of these figures over the next few days.

"Judges Can Bleed Too"

Despite spending the past few days slowly progressing the small handful of the "Mongoose Publishing" Street Judge models I've set aside to paint this week, I've actually ended up finishing one of their figures from their 'Perps and Mercenaries' range first.

 Sold under the "Judge Dredd Miniatures Game" brand as MGP10183 Blitzer, or alternatively as JD20114 Mobster Blitzer by "Warlord Games", this 28mm metal miniature was reasonably simple to paint, despite some minor casting flaws on the inside of his clenched fist.

The model was predominantly painted with "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey and a "Citadel" Nuln Oil wash. His flesh was painted using an undercoat of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone, which was then washed with an old pot of "Citadel" Ogryn Flesh, before being highlighted with more "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone. The majority of the mobster's gun was simply painted with "Citadel" Boltgun Metal and (more) Nuln Oil. But in order to break it up somewhat, the firearm's grip and under-barrel were painted using "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Quickshade Strong Tone.

Finally, and actually after some thought, I painted the model's hat using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Brown and (more of the) Quickshade Strong Tone ink by "The Army Painter". With this colour scheme in mind I now plan to later buy a second mobster miniature and paint it with an opposing brown suit with grey hat; the Blitzer brothers? 

 With a view to completing this week's painting goal of finishing five 25mm models, I've quickly based and undercoated a number of "Heroclix" plastic miniatures by "Wizkids". This is predominantly because I'm presently really struggling 'wrestling' with some of the casting/sculpting flaws I've encountered with the current batch of 'Justice Department' figures on my painting table. Therefore if my enthusiasm levels for the "Mongoose Publishing" models does fail, I can quickly complete these (essentially) single-colour super-heroes and arch-villains instead. 

Ground Zero Games Xenomorphs - Final Part

I've completed another six stands of my 15mm alien models by "Ground Zero Games". I actually still have a handful of these miniatures left over, including two which I'm halfway through stripping down, having seriously over-painted them. However I think I can only get so many blog posts out of code SG15-X01 Xenomorphs, and the two model variants the plastic packet contains, so I don't plan to paint the last few LV-426 life-forms anytime soon.

All the miniatures have been painted using my 'quick and dirty' method of dry-brushing "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey over a "Coat D'Arms" Black undercoat before washing them with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. They were then super-glued to "Battlefront Miniatures" plastic bases.

 

Once dry I then built up the areas around the models' bases with green stuff in order to create a simple slope. If I've one complaint about these "Ground Zero Games" figures its their thick(ish) stands, and that one of the poses seems to suffer horribly from 'giddy alien syndrome'. That is the pose has a terrible lean to one side which when simply glued flat to a base makes the model appear to about to fall over to one side. Hardly the terrifying 'H.R. Giger image' I want them to somehow capture and one of the reasons I moved away from my original plan to base three models on a larger 40mm x 60mm rectangular base.

As a result many of the models have had a small blob of greenstuff placed beneath their base in order for me to 'straighten' their pose. This meant I then had to fill in the gap between the figures' stand and the "Battlefront Miniatures" base, as well as smooth out the join so the metal stand didn't 'jut out' from my basing later on.

 

As soon as the green stuff had hardened I then gave each base a coat of PVA glue and covered them in grit and sand (using a combination of model railway scenic ballast and other grainy basing materials I've collected over the years). I then painted the bases with "Coat D'Arms" Black before applying a heavy dry-brush of "Citadel" Doombull Brown, and then a lighter dry-brush of "Rakarth Flesh". Finally all the bases were washed with Agrax Earthshade and given another coat of PVA to seal everything together.

Before I applied the "Games Workshop" static grass, I tidied the bases up by applying two coats of "Coat D'Arms" Black along the edges and treating these areas to a coat of "Citadel" Colour Varnish.

Muster First Patrol - Part One

These two stands of 15mm "The Ion Age" miniatures are from a combination of Prydian Army models found within IAF021 Muster First Patrol Command and IAF022 Muster First Patrol. They've been based on a couple of small bases by "Battlefront Miniatures" in order to indicate that the first contains a Sergeant (i.e. a wildcard for the "Science-Fiction Companion" setting for the "Savage Worlds" core rules system) and the other a heavy weapon.

 

In order to try and tie these infantrymen in with the "Rogue Trader" feel of my previously painted Prydian Retained Knights, I've sought inspiration from the old "Warhammer 40K" Imperial Guard; back when they were metal miniatures sculpted by Mark Copplestone and came with separate plastic arms and weapon sprues.

 

    As a result the Guardsmen were all undercoated with "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil and then had their shoulder pads, boots, and chest armour painted with "Coat D'Arms" Black. Any leg pouches and backpacks were painted using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Quickshade Strong Tone. All the weapons were coated with "Citadel" Boltgun Metal and then washed with Nuln Oil. In line with the old Imperial Guard colour scheme, I painted the Sergeant's chest plate, helmet insignia and shoulder pad epaulettes with "Vallejo" Gold and more Quickshade Strong Tone by "The Army Painter".

I've still quite a few more of these 15mm Prydian Army models from "The Ion Age" left to paint. But am currently 'cracking on' and concentrating on five (more) 25mm "Judge Dredd" miniatures by "Mongoose Publishing". The Mobster Blitzer figure is proving a joy to paint, whilst his Judge Dredd (sold as JD20001 Judge Dredd 1 by "Warlord Games") counterpart has so many of the miscast and poor sculpting issues that have so frustrated me with previous 'Mongoose Matt' miniatures from this range.

Painting Challenge: Week Four - 28mm Judge Dredd Minatures

The subject of Week Four of my painting challenge consists of five 28mm models, and as a result I'm going to spend the next seven days finishing off the "Mongoose Publishing" "Judge Dredd" Street Judge 'gang' I've been slowly painting and putting together over the past couple of months.

I've already got a couple of the range's 'older' models half-started, so have added two more Judge models from Matthew Sprange's September 2012 Kickstarter to my painting queue. This will allow me to 'field' a few Wildcard heroes along with my Extras when using the "Science Fiction Companion" setting for "Savage Worlds".

In addition I also plan to get started on painting the first of my Street Judge's criminal opposition, and the Mobster Blitzer (as sold by "Warlord Games") seems a good place to begin.

Ground Zero Games Xenomorphs - Part Three

I've finished painting a load more of my 15mm alien models from "Ground Zero Games" as part of this week's painting challenge; all from code SG15-X01 Xenomorphs.

 In addition I've also discovered a bag of "Pendraken Miniatures" from my 'lead mountain' which will be ideal as objectives and second stage xenomorphic parasitoids. The models are actually part of the North Yorkshire company's 10mm Science Fiction range, and but the egg cluster, eggs and face huggers actually appear more in scale with 15mm.   

Retained Knights - Part One

These three 15mm "The Ion Age" miniatures come from the Prydian Army range selection IAF008 Retained Knight Post Charlie and have been based upon a "Battlefront Miniatures" stand.

As with their less armoured Muster patrol brethren, I think these miniatures have something of a "Rogue Trader" feel to them, and as a result felt it would therefore be appropriate to paint them in the colours of the Space Marine Chapter that adorned the cover of the first "Warhammer 40K" rulebook, the Crimson Fists.

 

The models were therefore initially undercoated with "Vallejo" Heavy Blue before being washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil". Their hands were then picked out with "Vallejo" Heavy Red, before these areas were treated to a glaze of "Citadel" Bloodletter. Finally the models' Angis rifles were simply painted using the "Citadel" combination of Boltgun Metal with Nuln Oil.

 Despite being slightly distracted with these excellent Retained Knights, I'm still working on several of the Prydian Muster Infantrymen.

Painting Challenge: Week Three - 15mm Ion Age

The third week of my painting challenge is going to require some serious effort to complete as the target will be ten stands of 15mm; utilising miniatures predominantly from the Prydian Army range by "The Ion Age" as well as (for simplicity and sanity's sake) some more Xenomorph models by "Ground Zero Games".

 

I've already got to work on some of the Prydian heavy weapon and officer models from "The Ion Age" Muster First Patrol bags, having been really taken with the figures (and company) at Salute 2014. Indeed, I've since received a subsequent order of even more Prydian figures from them, as well as the majority of their Space Goblin miniature range; their Malig Infernus Tank being a particular highlight (http://theionage.com/products/iaf046-infernus-tank). 

I plan to base all of these models using "Battlefront Miniatures" stands, with command (wild cards for "Savage Worlds") and heavy weapon teams pairing up on small bases, and three regular infantry models being glued on medium-sized bases. Colour scheme wise, the uniform of the Prydian Army is famously red and white but I plan to go with the simple black and grey uniforms of the Imperial Guard, from back in the good old "Rogue Trader" days. This'll be far simpler (and quicker) to paint and also give me an excuse to give the officers some nice gold chest armour.

Baccus 6mm North African Buildings - Part One

These three North African buildings are from an old packet of "Baccus 6mm" resin Eastern Mediterranean buildings I've actually owned for a couple of years. Despite some numerous (and in some cases obvious) bubbles in the cats, the models are packed full of detail and proved reasonably quick to finish.

On the "Baccus 6mm" website the buildings have been painted using a simple 'almost bleach white' colour scheme, but because I may well use these models to represent built up areas for other areas conflict zones (and periods) I went with a less stark cream choice. In addition, because of the level of detail on the miniatures, I even dry-brushed a second colour over the buildings, to really help 'bring out' the stairs, windows, and shop fronts; something I wouldn't ordinarily consider even for 28mm scale scenery.

As a result the models were all undercoated with two layers of "Vallejo" Iraqui Sand. I've had this bottle hanging around for some (bought as part of a boxed set for Afrika Korps models) and thought it'd give me the cream effect I was after. Once dry, each building was then washed with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade; a Shade which has been consigned to simple scenery and basing duties since I discovered Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter".

Each model was then dry-brushed with more "Vallejo" Iraqui Sand before I applied a final highlight of White. The windows were then 'picked out' using "Coat D'Arms" Black, whilst the doors painted using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna" and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

I also made the decision to base the buildings using the same 'mud and grass' colour scheme I predominantly base all of my models in this 'day and age'. I must confess to being somewhat tempted to go with a desert basing scheme, but that would have meant either re-basing my 6mm British Modern Army (a depressing nightmare of a scenario) or having my scenery 'jar' with the force's fighting over them.

In addition I've also managed to squeeze in painting another base containing two armoured personnel carriers from the "GHQ" 6mm modern "Micro Armour" range. This means my Modern British Army will now be able to field two complete Spartan Armour assets (i.e. eight models based upon four stands).

"...In Defence Of The Law"

I've managed to finish one of the 'newer' "Mongoose Publishing" Street Judge models in my collection and it's definitely been the easiest to paint of the handful I've so far painted. Certainly I've not needed to 'sculpt' any missing details on the figure with green stuff on this occasion and even the casting's flash was minimal. However, just like the large artistic variance of the future lawman's look found within his actual comic books, the sculpting style of this 28mm metal miniature is strikingly different to both the 'older' models I've already painted, as well as the new models produced by the "Judge Dredd" Kickstarter. Indeed the helmet badge, square knee pads and boot knives all smack of Brian Bolland's legendary artwork.

What with "Salute 2014" and the many discounts/offers currently available through wargaming websites, this really has been the week of adding to my lead/resin/plastic mountain as opposed to 'whittling' it down through painting. But I'm still persevering with some 6mm "Baccus 6mm" buildings; albeit my interest in this scale has significantly diminished due to my latest "Salute" purchases.

Painting Challenge: Week Two - 6mm Baccus Scenics

The subject of my second week's painting challenge will actually follow on nicely from the 1:285 scale "GHQ" "Modern Micro Armour" I've painted over the past week or so. It's going to be more 6mm but this time from the North African Building range of "Baccus 6mm"; plus I need only complete a single stand over the next few days.

I actually bought these nine splendidly detailed resin buildings around the same time as my "GHQ" British Army, and believe that some of the models are now actually out of production; as the "Baccus 6mm" website would only seem to be selling them these days as a collection of six Eastern Mediterranean buildings.

I've already based them on similar plastic stands to those I use for my 6mm collection, flocked them and even started undercoating and washing a few of them ready for their windows and doors to be picked out, and the models dry-brushed with cream and then white.

Modern UK Infantrymen - Part One

The vast majority of these 6mm "GHQ" miniatures come from the "Micro Armour" blister N139 Modern UK Individual Infantrymen and have been based in order to form a simple Rifleman Section's Fireteam, complete with Corporal stand (i.e. base with kneeling figure pointing and radio operator).

The models were initially undercoated with an old 'out of production' pot of "Citadel" Foundation Knarloc Green, in order to fit in with the colour scheme of the first batch of "GHQ" figures I painted a couple of years ago. However, as the miniatures are so tiny, I thought they'd prove an excellent test for the shading capabilities of "The Army Painter" Quickshade Ink Strong Tone. I've heard it discussed on a recent podcast that its every bit the equal of the "Citadel" wash Devlan Mud my original "Micro Armour" British were all shaded with, and I wasn't disappointed.

I then dry-brushed the models with more "Citadel" Knarloc Green to bring out their detail, before 'picking out' the soldier's footwear, weapons, hands and faces with "Coat D'Arms" Black. The areas of skin were then painted using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone and "Citadel" Ogryn Flesh wash.

 The mortar and two anti-aircraft models are from the "Micro Armour" blister N140 Modern UK Individual Infantry Weapons. Whilst the two armoured personnel carriers are from N59 Spartan APC.

 

I've managed to start painting a few more "GHQ" models, such as some (wheeled) armour personnel carriers, in order to offer my British sections the option of being mounted within vehicles and being far more mobile. 

Painting Challenge: Week One - 6mm Micro Armour

In an effort to both 'chip away' at my lead mountain and 'complete' some of the many projects I've begun but never finished over the past few years, I've decided to start a weekly painting challenge for the next three months. In brief every seven days, at the turn of a playing card, I'll have to paint a small collection of figures I already own. The models will range in scale from 6mm - 28mm, and consist of anything from one to ten models or stands (depending upon the miniatures size); in addition they'll (hopefully) be weeks when I can paint what I like (upon the turn of a picture card). If I fail a challenge then I'll be not be buying any new 'shiny things' for the following week (as my current addiction is that bad).

To get things going I'll be painting eight bases of 6mm this week and have chosen some British Army models from a couple of "Modern Micro Armour" blisters by "GHQ". I've owned these "super detailed 1:285 scale" figures for a couple of years now, having bought a couple of army boxes whilst at the Newbury-based show "Colours" and then a load more from the webstore "Wargames Emporium".

I originally planned to use the miniatures with the "Battlefield Evolution Modern Combat" rules by "Mongoose Publishing" but now hope to use them as a small British force for "Savage Worlds" by "Pinnacle Entertainment Group".

Whilst searching for my "Modern Micro Armour" packets I've also found a load of 6mm "Exodus Wars" models by "Steel Crown Productions". I picked up a few blisters from this range at around the same time as the "GHQ" figures with the intention of having the British Army face off against an Undead (Edenite) Zombie Horde; similar to that seen at 'the Battle of Yonkers' as depicted in the novel "World War Z" by "Max Brooks".

I've already started painting up and basing a few of the British Army 6mm vehicles and soldiers, and, inspired by the blog http://rantingsfromunderthewargamestable.wordpress.com/, started undercoating another plastic "Marvel Heroclix" 28mm.