Muster First Patrol - Part Two

These two stands of 15mm "The Ion Age" miniatures are from the Prydian Army models found within code IAF022 Muster First Patrol. As these Muster Patrol Troopers are all armed with Moth Type 6 rifles, they've been based on a couple of medium bases by "Battlefront Miniatures" in order represent a small group of Guardsmen (i.e. Extras for the "Science-Fiction Companion" setting for the "Savage Worlds" core rules system).

In order to try and capture some of the feel of the 'Imperial Guard' from the 'Rogue Trader era' the infantrymen 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. Their cap badges were painted using "Vallejo" Heavy Red and the "Citadel" glaze Bloodletter.

In the meantime I am trying to concentrate on yet another 28mm "Judge Dredd" miniature by "Mongoose Publishing"; this time the man himself, Judge Joseph Dredd.

Pendraken Miniatures Face Huggers

As something of a simple distraction, I've painted up all ten of my face Hugger models by "Pendraken Miniatures". These excellent metal second stage xenomorphs are available either as code SFC8 Face Huggers, or as part of the Alien Creatures Army Pack.

In my opinion however, the parasitoid models are somewhat too large in scale for the rest of the Alien creature figures in the Science Fiction range, and appear more in proportion to the 15mm Xenomorphs by "Ground Zero Games" I've recently painted.    

All the miniatures have been painted using a simple application of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre followed by an initial wash of "The Army Painter" Quickshade Ink Strong Tone, and then a wash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

 

Meanwhile I'm progressing with the remaining 15mm models I own from "Battlefront Miniatures" "Flames Of War" blister BR758 LRDG/SAS Dismounted Patrol.

Painting Challenge: Week Six - 15mm Battlefront Miniatures

This week's painting challenge is to complete just a couple of bases of 15mm figures. As a result I thought this would be a good opportunity to make some more progress on the sixteen unfinished "Battlefront Miniatures" I recently discovered, all of which come from the "Flames Of War" blister BR758 LRDG/SAS Dismounted Patrol.

 

In addition I thought I'd also try and paint the final few stands of Retained Knights and Prydian Muster Patrol models (by "The Ion Age") I need to finish as part of my current 'Aliens verses The Imperium' 15mm project.

 

Lastly, I have fully based the first of three MDF air vents/sewer openings I bought whilst at "Colours" last year. A simple "Citadel" Boltgun Metal and Nuln Oil wash worked well for the metal grates, whilst I used "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey with more "Citadel" Nuln Oil for the concrete support.

Modern UK Infantrymen - Final Part

These five bases [n.b. only four pictured] of 6mm "GHQ" miniatures predominantly come from the "Micro Armour" blister N139 Modern UK Individual Infantrymen and are the final stands I need to complete a second Rifleman Section's Fire Team for my British Modern Army (loosely based upon the platoon structure found within "Battlefield Evolution: Modern Combat" by "Mongoose Publishing").

The models were undercoated with "Citadel" Knarloc Green and then washed using "The Army Painter" Quickshade Ink Strong Tone. They were then dry-brushed with more "Citadel" Knarloc Green before I 'picked 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 Milan anti-tank rifle system model comes from the "Micro Armour" blister N140 Modern UK Individual Infantry Weapons. Whilst the four armoured personnel carriers are from code N515 AT-105 Saxon.

I'm currently painting up some simple MDF scenery to use as large air vents/sewer entrances for an upcoming 'Aliens verses The Imperium' project. I plan to play out the campaign using the "Science Fiction Companion" setting for "Savage Worlds" with a unit of Imperial Guard and Crimson Fists Space Marines investigating the disappearance of the inhabitants on the conquered colony LV-426. Hardly original but hopefully fun. 

In Need Of Repair - Part Two

Just over a month ago I started to try and re-paint the Emperor's Champion model I used as the HQ choice for my (Fifth Edition) Black Templar Space Marines Force.

Time had most definitely not been gentle with the "Games Workshop" metal miniature, having especially left its Black Sword battered and chipped; something especially disappointing as the "Warhammer 40K" model never saw a 'battlefield in anger', so I can't even explain away the damage as 'war wounds' and cite some heroic actions.

As a result I have been spending some time trying to re-paint the figure's defects, and also add some extra detail to the Chosen of the Emperor's colour scheme. In particular I wanted to break up the sheer white the model's left leg.

Unfortunately, the coating of PVA glue I used to use to coat all of my models has made any such attempts a disaster, and despite the considerable passage of time, the glue returns to a sticky liquid state just as soon as paint (and water) touch it. This has meant that the "Vallejo" Gold kneepad I intended to apply, quickly became a lumpy stodgy mess as the glue mixed with the paint both on the model and on the brush tip.

After several attempts, it became clear that the model either needed to be completely stripped or binned and replaced. Initially I was inclined to go for the later option, and simply retain my (old) Emperor's Champion as a sentimental reminder of painting days (and skills) gone by. However I have struggled to find a metal replacement at any reasonable price, and with such a vulnerable pose, I was not willing to consider the "Games Workshop" Finecast alternative.

As a result I have completely stripped the model, although a few bits of paint remain stubbornly stuck to the miniature's cloak and waist. I've also been able to properly pin the Emperor's Champion sword arm to the torso, and replace the figure's backpack with one which actually belongs to the Black Templar Chapter.

 Having now undercoated the model with two layers of "Coat D'Arms" Black, I've started to paint a small 'Rogue Trader era' two-man Crimson Fist 'Sergeant' stand using some more of the excellent 15mm Retained Knight models from "The Iron Age".  

Heroclix Daredevil And Ironclad

This 28mm plastic "Heroclix" model of blind lawyer Matt Murdock, is taken from the Marvel Infinity Challenge range by "Wizkids" and is number 099.

One of the first models I recall obtaining for the New Jersey-based publisher's super-hero collectible miniatures game, Daredevil was entirely undercoated with "Vallejo" Heavy Red before being heavily washed with an old pot of "Citadel" Baal Red I wanted to use up. To make his specially-designed billy stick stand out a little (as ordinarily it's depicted being the same colour as the Marvel knight's costume), I gave it an additional wash of Agrax Earthshade.

Daredevil's face was painted using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone and "Citadel" Ogryn Flesh. I then 'highlighted' his cheeks, mouth, nose and chin with more "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone.

 

Even quicker to paint, but possibly one of the most disappointing miniatures in the "Heroclix" range, is this 28mm plastic model of U-Foe, Ironclad; which can be found as part of the Marvel Web of Spiderman range as number 016.

A simple "Citadel" Boltgun Metal undercoat with Nuln Oil wash completed this model's painting in just a few minutes. Unfortunately though the figure's head bears little resemblance to scientist Michael Steel's square head. Instead it's seemingly been sculpted to resemble that of the Russian X-Man Colossus. As a result I was tempted to try my hand at some green stuff sculpting, but didn't feel I had either the skill or patience to do the miniature justice; perhaps at some point I'll purchase a second one...

"It's Clobberin' Time!"

This 28mm plastic "Heroclix" model of Aunt Petunia's favourite nephew, is taken from the Marvel Clobberin' Time range by "Wizkids" and is number 48. Quite a few variants of Benjamin Jacob Grimm have now been produced for the super-hero collectible miniatures game but this is undoubtedly the best pose of one of the Fantastic Four's founding members.

In many ways this miniature should have been very simple (and quick) to paint. But unfortunately, having forgotten why I shelved my "Vallejo" Umber Shade wash last year, I ended up having to repaint Stan Lee's creation a few times before I was happy with it.

 

Unsurprisingly the model was undercoated with "Vallejo" Heavy Orange, before The Thing's shorts were painted with Heavy Blue and washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. His flexible rock-like hide was then treated to the aforementioned coat of "Vallejo" Umber Shade, and disaster then repeatedly struck.

I chose to use Umber Shade as previously I've found the wash to simply provide a light, almost watery muddy brown shadow to a model, which lets the undercoat still show through; as opposed to "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, which simply stains the model a deep dark brown. In addition, I've found the "Vallejo" shade can itself 'crack' when it pools, and that struck me as a useful side-effect if applied heavily all over the Thing's mutagenic skin.

Unfortunately what the Umber Shade also does is merrily flow everywhere else, all over a model. It simply doesn't seem to have the surface tension I've found inherent with "Citadel" inks, which holds the wash in place in the areas where I've applied it. As a result, every time I built up the shade pools (to create the cracking effect), Ben Grimm's shorts also quickly became contaminated with brown wash and had to be painted blue again; rather annoying.

As a complete aside though I would urge you to visit the "Rantings From Under The Wargames" blog for a totally different take on this "Heroclix" model, following the application of some serious green stuff. The initial posting can be found here: http://rantingsfromunderthewargamestable.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/superheroes-february-2014

 I recently bought one of the Iron Brothers Twenty Man Troop Units from "Ramshackle Games" with the intention of painting them up as proxies for the Souther and Nort (using mole-mask heads) far-future soldiers found within the "2000AD" comic universe of "Rogue Trooper". This 28mm resin model has finally been undercoated "Vallejo" Heavy Grey in preparation for use as a test piece.