Tuesday 20 November 2018

"A Jeep Drove Him Across The Vast Space-Field At Cape Canaveral..."

"Action Man sat in the back of the jeep, silent, watching and listening."
This 15mm scale "all-metal multipart kit" is produced by "Ground Zero Games" and is model MG15-USV02B US Lunar Force Buggy from the company’s "Moongrunt" range. The vehicle is actually a variant of USV02A as it comes with a new nose section, and "includes two seated USLF crew in vacuum suits with backpacks."

Having previously painted similarly-sized transports before, I decided to paint the buggy's under-belly before I permanently attached it to a large “Battlefront Miniatures” plastic stand. However, I did mark the position of its four wheels on the base before gritting and painting its groundwork, and was therefore later able to simply super-glue the automobile in place before applying some static grass around it.
Nox WIPs - The elite troops have been primed, shaded, dry-brushed and had their details 'picked out'
The buggy actually comes in eighteen separate pieces, including its drivers, their oxygen apparatus, two sets of seating, and lots of wheels and axles. Resultantly, its assembly took some considerable time and patience so as to ensure each part was firmly affixed before I moved on to another part of the conveyance. Once built though, it was fairly straightforward to paint, courtesy of its double undercoat of "Vallejo" Dead White.

The model was then heavily washed with "Vallejo" Pale Grey and dry-brushed with (more) Dead White. Subsequently its wheels were painted using some Black, whilst the astronauts' space-visors were 'picked out' using a combination of "Vallejo" Gold and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. I did momentarily debate as to whether to not flock the vehicle using my normal green grass method, as admittedly this doesn't seem terribly moon-like. But the recent discovery of a still unopened boxed ESU Naval Infantry Starter Force in my collection, which largely consists of Earth-bound Soviet Union soldiers, made me decide to stick with my usual basing process.
Stone Golem WIPs - The "Bones" model is slowly having all its details layered, washed and dry-brushed
Maintaining my 15mm momentum I am also steadfastly ploughing my way through my backlog of Nox figures by "The Ion Age". These elite troops of the Shia Khan Army are proving enjoyably simple to pigment, considering that their wonderfully characterful space armour is predominantly red. Initially I hadn't intended to go to all the trouble of painting their black leg piping and gauntlets. Yet now I've started to do so I think the extra effort makes them stand out as demonic warriors all the more.

In addition I have dug out an old partially-painted 28mm Stone Golem by "Reaper Miniatures" to provide a bit of variety to the scales I'm currently working on. Already primed and washed, this "Bones" model will probably end up with a snow-covered base so it can be used on both my "Frostgrave" tabletop, as well as in my long-stalled "Metamorphosis Alpha" campaign.

12 comments:

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    1. Thanks very much, Simon, I'm really pleased with how it turned out :-)

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  2. Nice work on the buggy and crew. :)

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    1. Cheers Leon. The "Vallejo" Pale Grey wash is great imho.

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  3. Will the buggy get any markings at all? Looks pretty good either way.

    Almost bought one of those golums myself. Liking the colour scheme mate.

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    1. I might put some US Flags on the buggy at some point Dai, not quite sure, as currently I can just use it as an Earthman vehicle rather than just NASA.

      I have a second Golem, which I may well paint precisely the same, but base it on static grass so I can use it with my regular minis.

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  4. The jeep has certaibly turned out rather well and the Shia guys look very menacing too, but I guess they're meant to.
    The golem is an interesting figures too, no doubt it'll 'pop' when finished.

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    1. Thanks very much, Joe. I'm hoping the snow will make a marvellous contrast to the grey of the stone golem's flesh - as will my usual green flock when I paint up my second.

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  5. An interesting post. I like the moon buggy, it looks really great. Really nice paint job. The little red things are coming along nicely. They are weird looking though! The stone golem looks ace. Lovely sculpt and the colour scheme looks great. You are certainly on form at the moment.

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    1. Cheers Undercoat, I'm hoping to get more of the "Moongrunt" vehicles finished over the next few weeks, as well as all the Nox I own - weird is certainly a good description for the heavily armoured chaotic creatures. The Stone Golem should be finished soon, and has proved useful in keeping my 15mm momentum going as an alternative scale.

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