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| "But you have no weapons! No defenses! No plan!" |
These three 28mm scale models of a Dalek are produced by “Warlord Games” and can be assembled from the plastic sprues found within the "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" "fast-paced tabletop miniatures game". Created by Terry Nation (and Raymond Cusick) in 1963, this particular variant of the Kaled's Mark III travel machine is based upon their Time War shell and first appeared in the April 2005 BBC Television series story "Dalek".
As I have already finished my force's Patrol Leader and three Daleks, these particular new additions will now provide me with enough Skaro mutants to field the three Dalek recruitment cards needed for the rule-set's opening scenario "A Meeting Of Metal"; an introductory six turn battle which sees the Daleks and Cybermen fighting over the scattered cargo of a crashed space freighter.
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| "We would destroy the Cybermen with one Dalek!" |
Having super-glued the 'Metaltrons' onto 40mm lipped circular stands, the miniatures were initially primed with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna before being treated to a double coat of Brass. I then generously washed all three models with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and gave them a heavy dry-brush of more "Vallejo" Brass.
With the 'easy phase' finished, I subsequently picked out each of the Master Race's eye stalks, control arms and multi-range variable power destructors with a combination of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. In addition, the Daleks' audio scanners were 'picked out' with "Vallejo" White and Pale Grey, whilst the pepper pots' fenders were painted with "Citadel" Abaddon Black.
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| Destroyed Dalek WIPs - The objective marker has been primed, washed, and dry-brushed |
Despite having yet to play "Doctor Who: Exterminate!", I am already somewhat keen to build up my Dalek faction to four Recruitment cards. This will enable me to then use Davros' pitiless creations as the attackers in the rule-book's second scenario, "Ship Of Death", where they'll be attempting to thwart the Cyber-Leader from launching a powerful starship which "will end the war."
Unfortunately however, one of my remaining "easy-fit plastic" Dalek models simply refused to go together, and resultantly has become an early casualty of their war with the Cybermen. This change of fortune for the figure in question though does not mean it won't see any tabletop action, as I have simply glued it to a 40mm thin-lipped circular stand in order to use it as an objective marker.
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| Necron Raider Objective WIPs - The partially destroyed robot has been thoroughly rusted |
I actually seem to be on something of a 'run' of painting distressed robots and broken automatons, as I've also been progressing a second partially destroyed "Games Workshop" Necron Raider at the same time. This old Second Edition "Warhammer 40K" miniature has lost both its legs, and is seemingly defunct. But one can never tell with the "race of mechanical warriors" and it may well be, should the vignette be utilised as a 'spawn marker', that it is simply the first of the Necrontyr's creations to reach the surface...
Nice tin cans Simon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave :-)
DeleteVery nicely done with your Daleks mate. :)
ReplyDeleteCheers Leon, much appreciated :-)
DeleteAll the best in the world with your Exterminate adventures. It looks like you have a plan and are sticking to it. Bad luck with the `easy fit` Dalek, but at least you have turned it into something worthwhile.. a cool objective token, so not all is lost. If you write to WG customer service (address it to Richard or Lorenzo) and give them the link to your blog as proof) and tell them what happened, I do not think they would be ungracious in their reply and replacement of the offending Dalek.
ReplyDeleteIts all rather exciting seeing how close you are now to playing your first game of this. We are all watching with keen interest to see how you get on. Sometimes we have such high expectations, and when we actually get to the table.. the rules and the whole experience simply falls flat (this is what happened to us with "Land of the Free" for FIW, we had such high hopes and frankly, when we finally tried the rules out, the whole thing played like a sand beached whale). I am hoping Exterminate is the complete opposite and plays wonderfully.
I would also be very interested to see you play repeat the scenario(s) using M&DRG to compare both games, and hear which you prefer.. a sort of mini review of our findings.
The figures are looking great, the battle lines are being drawn, soon it will be down to battle woohooo!!!!
Thanks Hils. I've had excellent service from "Warlord Games" in the past with missing parts, and won't be holding one stubborn plastic Dalek against them. I have though emailed their customer service to give them some feedback on how my sprues went together (or rather in the odd case - didn't!).
DeleteMy fingers are crossed for "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" too, and I should be posting up the first BatRep next week. The idea of repeating the scenario using "Mutants And Death Ray Guns" is inspired, so I'll certainly give that suggestion some thought. I certainly plan to have both the Daleks and Cybermen feature in the Cursed Earth adventures of Mega-City One's toughest lawman as he continues to fight the 2T(FRU)T virus ;-)
Its sure getting exciting, like waiting at the cinema, popcorn to hand, slurps of coke from the straw, the rustle of crisp packets and sweet wrappers... looking to the walls to see when the light start to dim, and the main feature start to roll.
ReplyDeleteCheers Steve. These days I like to post up a sneak 'trailer' a little before the BatRep is posted, so keep an eye out on Monday ;-)
Deletenow, what a brilliant idea. I might have to borrow that one.
DeleteFeel free :-)
DeleteCool. I just might end up with some Daleks, too, at some point in the future. Can Daleks invade Gotham?
ReplyDeletethey do in my campaign **winks**
DeleteCool. Thanks Tarot. Just been checking out the Warlord Games webstore to see how much this is all gonna cost me. Blast you Simon! :))
DeleteThanks Roy. Sorry this posting would appear to be costing you money, but I certainly recommend "Warlord Games" "Doctor Who" range, and them as a company. Indeed, these days they are one of the few manufacturers I buy my minis direct from, as I like them to 'pocket all my change' rather than another E-Store (even if the vendor is selling them at a discount).
DeleteYep, I buy direct from Warlord. Seems quite a nice little box set the Exterminate game. I like the look of that play mat.
DeleteThe "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" set is very nice indeed, Roy, and the double-side mat is certainly nice to look at, if not a bit difficult to flatten due to its folds. I'm hoping "Warlord Games" produce a 'mouse mat' one in the future, like "Fantasy Flight Games" have done with "Star Wars: Imperial Assault".
DeleteDaleks are awesome of course and the damaged one is excellent. The necron is of course very cool
ReplyDeleteCheers Andy. Now my frustration with the damaged Dalek has abated, and I've added to the shell's distress with my drill, as well as realigned its head, I'm pretty happy with it.
DeleteI'm rather pleased with the Necron Raider objective too, and might now try and do the entire party with rust.
The force of Daleks look great, what you've done with the damaged one is fantastic and would add character to any gaming board, if it wouldn't cost a fortune a battefield littered with dead Daleks and Cybermen would look awesome ! The new Necron is coming along great, you really seem to be in your stride with all the mechanicals at the moment Simon
ReplyDeleteThanks very much Dave. Very much appreciated :-)
DeleteIf the only way I can buy Davros is to purchase him with some additional Daleks, as seems to be the case currently, then you can be sure that they'll be more Dalek casualties coming; and Cybermen too as I want Missy as well, and presently she can only be bought with the Mondasians as well.
Look forward to seeing them, recently visited the Dr Who experience in Cardiff where one of the sections is lots of battle damaged Daleks, looked very effective. Unfortunately you weren't allowed to take pictures in that part
Delete"Unfortunately you weren't allowed to take pictures in that part" - Oh, how very odd. Was that because Terry Nation's estate didn't like people seeing his creations all-battered? Or was it a big feature of the experience, and they didn't want people forewarned as to what it looked like?
DeleteI believe it's the second so it's only word of mouth on the first part, once out of the interactive part your free to take as many pictures as you want of the exhibits upstairs
DeleteMakes perfect sense, Dave. I recall the Natural History Museum has/had something similar with their electronic Tyrannosaurus Rex display?
DeleteIt could also be a marketing take so they can charge for postcards and or video of the experience, plus the latest Doctor interacts throughout so may also be something to do with royalties. Worth a visit but I enjoyed the exhibits upstairs more
Delete"Worth a visit but I enjoyed the exhibits upstairs more" - I certainly plan on giving it a visit if I get to go back to Cardiff again.
DeleteSuperb Simon! They look wonderful and ready to take on the Cybermen - is it bad to cheer on a Dalek? Love how you have found a use for the one that didn't conform.
ReplyDeleteCheers Michael. Personally I'm a Cyberman fan, but to each his own :-)
DeleteThat destroyed Dalek is a triumph Simon, as said above a battlefield covered in destroyed Daleks and Cybermen would be sooo cool. I used to have some pictures (computer rendered I think) of some destroyed Daleks for use as PC wallpaper, there was one of some Dalek "corpses" under the sea with algae and seaweed growing on them and another of a Jungle based "travel machine" with creepers growing over and through it, fantastic stuff (wish I could find them again).
ReplyDeleteI too would favour the Daleks over the Cybermen Michael they are just "cooler" IMHO, my sister in-law is terrified of the Cybermen though (and moths, so that's not saying a lot really).
Cheers Roger.
Thanks very much Roger. I too remember those pictures (this links to the underwater one: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/115967759124430095/). I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how the game is going to play, and whether the rules capture the essence of the two warring factions.
DeleteSome terrific eye candy in this post, Simon. The group shot of your force of seven Daleks is most welcome. Ignore any criticisms of Daleks on grass. I fully understand your reasons for having consistent looking bases and I applaud you for sticking to your guns.
ReplyDeleteThe outstanding piece of this post is of course, the destroyed Dalek. What a stunning conversion! A triumph out of adversity!
The legless Necron so reminds me of the Terminator robot at the end of the first film as it defiantly crawls after Sarah Connor. Relentless buggers, aren't they?
Cheers Bryan. It suddenly seems to be all robots and 'travel machines'. I totally get that people don't always like my grass basing. But I don't like playing with minis if they're even on different types of circular bases (lipped and unlipped), let alone different basing effects :-) My OCD simply wouldn't allow me to play a game without thinking about how much the basing differences were irking me.
DeleteThe stubborn Dalek has turned out rather nicely imho, especially after the drill and re-positioning of the head. I'm hoping to get it on the tabletop just as soon as its completed.
I too think the Necron Raider is very Terminator-like, and love the thought of it pushing its way from out of the earth. hence I think it'll make a better spawn marker than objective; and a great piece for a game of "ZombieTV" using Necrons instead of zeds, as a team of hapless Imperial Guard stumble across a Necron graveyard :-)
"But I don't like playing with minis if they're even on different types of circular bases (lipped and unlipped), let alone different basing effects :-) My OCD simply wouldn't allow me to play a game without thinking about how much the basing differences were irking me."
DeleteYou said it brother!! The only time I can deal with different shaped bases is when the differences denote something (like leader/heroes on hexagon rather than circles for example), but other wise all the bases must match (flock or painting wise). This has caused me so many headaches over the years , in so much as I cant combine figures from different genres in the same game. It's not OCD, it's just things should look right, otherwise it's just wrong.
Cheers Roger.
"It's not OCD, it's just things should look right, otherwise it's just wrong." - Yep. What you just said, Roger. I do like mixing genres which is why, with the exception of "Frostgrave", oh and Mister Freeze, all my 28mm are based exactly the same way.
DeleteI do not consider it criticism to say I preferred the stone effect best.
ReplyDeleteI've never had any problem with your excellent opinions before Steve, and don't plan to start now. I can certainly see why you like the Daleks without the flock, but I really dislike playing with mismatching based minis :-)
Deleteawww that's sweet
DeleteBless you Simon, massive respect for what you do. And totally get what you say about not wanting to mismatch bases. I`d totally be the same. In fact at one stage I had an entire army of 15mm Indian Colonial Raj based with sand and stones, and ended up wishing I had them on grass and pampus (better for the cigar-box battle terrain I had at the time) but the thought of trying to rebase 900 miniatures was to much for me LOL.
Delete"the thought of trying to rebase 900 miniatures was to much for me" - Yep! I'm still re-basing a handful of "Copplestone Castings" zombies, which I've been doing (and admittedly re-painting parts at the same time) for well over a year now.
DeleteIn my case, I ended up gifting this entire 15mm collection to a friend who was always admiring them on my glass cabinet shelves (There were forever nose prints on the glass).. one Birthday I `made his day` as Clint Eastwood would say. Thus the problem of re-basing them was no longer my logistical problem LOL.
Delete..... I believe he kept the bases as they were ^^
Well that's certainly a very generous way of resolving the problem, Steve, and an extremely wise move on your friend's behalf too :-)
DeleteLovely stuff! The destroyed Dalek looks great. When I do get around to picking this up I may just have to destroy one on purpose..though I'll wait until I've easy-fitted them all together first just in case I have any trouble! That said, I'm actually trying to resist Exerminate for the moment as I've spent way too much this month already!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Gordon. I think a few casualties for both sides in "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" might become something of a necessity over time :-)
DeleteI can't believe for an instant that you've spent too much money this month. You'll only been posting up new arrivals on your blog every other day ;-)
Your daleks look smashing all amassed together! The brass/gold really stands out well on those grassy bases.
ReplyDeleteCheers Dai. I'm a big fan of the gold Daleks, and obviously of having all my minis based the same way :-)
DeleteVery cool.
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil :-)
Delete