Sunday, December 27, 2009

Griffin Cannon's: Part 1











I started work on these cannons to help me field a valid Griffin Temple army list for Confrontation: Age of the Rag'narok. Every faction list but Temple of the East requires a Cannon to fill out. Having two of the box's of metals I never picked up a plastic cannon and crew. I spent a couple hours on these cannons. I kept their painting simple as I wanted the crew to be more of a draw for detals. Cannons being of simple construction and a work machine I felt they shouldn't have much trimwork and the like to their layout. As always you can click the image to see the full size photo.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Griffin Executioner

Finally laid my hands on a blister of Griffin Executioners. Been wanting to pick up a set of these for some time now. Ihad originally thought they would be great as a D&D 4th edition Avenger miniature. Although now my gaming group is going to be rolling back into some Dogs of War soon, I was glad to have this unit in my free company. They perform pretty well on the table, although they are a glass cannon to be sure. Painting them was a bit of a treat. Although the second model in the blister was a bit of a let down. The details in the pocket of his chest left something to be desired. Still the armor and mask are such intresting aspects of the miniature that I truly enjoyed the details. Especially the mutagine syringe on the first minatures leg. (Second photo shows it best.)



Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Operation: Purifiers, Part 2

I finished up my unit of purifiers today with the last two. This leaves me with only 1 minature to finish until my Hybrid board game by Rackham is finished with all the miniatures from the set painted. I was experimenting with some highlighting for these figures, the blue dosn't work as well as some of the other color sets I've worked with. More color layering would work out better allowing the shades to work together better. Still the overbearing color layers almost seem to work with these miniatures evoking a feeling of blue-jean like material in the fabric of the figures. I think this works really well for them thematically. As always click the images for a full size image.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Back to the paint again.

Sorry for the long delay between posts. I took some time off from painting, then left my camera at my inlaws over Thanksgiving. I had gotten back into painting mid november and have been working to up my production pacing since then. As I was getting back into the miniatures I started off with some sci-fi work. I'd been playing a lot of Star Wars Saga edition, and was inspired to work on some power armored soldiers.
Although I don't play G.W.'s 40k I picked up a box of Space Marines to paint. I was in the mood for some power armored figures and had been seeing a number of space marines out on the tables in Crossroad games. Although I don't follow any of the chapter or typical painting scemes, I wanted to do some of my own designs. I tried to apply some decals, but failed misserably. I'll have to figure out how to apply them later on. I was inspired by the Outcast Brotherhood of Steel from Fallout III for the color sceme of these figures.
Lastly I did real fast paint job of a Star Wars miniatures figure, after reading the latest novel by Karen Travis. 501st Imperial Commandoes. I was inspired to get some commando's painted after my favorite Star Wars series.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Star Wars: Saga Character



So here is a quickly repainted Star Wars miniature for the Saga game I play in. We started during the clone wars and I am playing a Clone Commando. See LINK for a shot of the mini I painted to start the campaign with. A couple sessions ago Order 66 came down in the game and my clone went traitor. So at the first stop our group made I sent the group noble out to pick me up a pancho and some red paint to work up a disguise. Hence I paint job on this mini. I'll be using him for the first time tonight, should work pretty well. It was a pretty fast repaint, not a lot of details to pick out on the Star Wars miniature line of mini's anyway. Especially the commons. Took me about an hour or so all in all. Had some fun with the base. Pulled out some train modeling scenics that I havn't touched since I was in grade school. The look cane out pretty good.

Operation: Purifier



Today's mini is the Seneschal Purifier from the Hybrid board game by Rackham. As the more experianced hand in the team of Purifiers sent down into the Hybrid labs to purge them of abominations I opted to show his age in his hair. Wanting to show some grey hair I chose to give him that salt and pepper look of black and grey witht eh one stand of grey hair to represent the toll facing such horrors has caused this man.



It may not be readily apparent but this time of the year in Maine the weather has become very humid. As in the best humidity level I have seen in days is around 75% humidity. As such I am having issues with my sealent. I keep getting that nasty old fuzzy look on everything I seal. I've been trying diffrent ways to help keep the air mosture down as the mini drys. Everything from only spraying them at 1pm (least humid part of the day) and then putting them in a small room with its own AC turned on to dehumidify the room while they dry to brush on sealer over the particualarly bad spots while keeping a hot lamp on them while they dry. Although those steps have improved the issue some. They haven't been able to eliminate it. Coupleing this is the fact that I am using a new can of sealer, so I'm not entirly sure its the humidity level that is responsible for this issue.



Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Operation: Hybrid



Today I'm posting up a series of shots of my three Scorpion Hybrid mini's from the Rackham board game Hybrid. I enjoyed working with my new set of Reaper master paints on this. I was trying my hand at a little blending, mind you with only 3-5 shades of blend. The reaper pro paints come in groupings of three shades. A base, the color and a highlight. For the purple of their cloaks I think the highlight was a bit off from the darker colors causing the shades to stand out from each other to much. I should have done some intermediate shading between the color and its highlight to sort of phase that in more as right now you can see the a color line as I switched shades. It worked much better on the mettle though allowing me to do some shading with metallic paints. I think this was giving them a much better look as the bottom of weaponry and armor could be darker than the portion on top in the light.



Although the purple highlight and coloring needed more shades to really blend well together these three where and experimental paint job and a bit of a learning experience so I'm not too upset with how it came out. It is not amazing but I still think it looks better than a flat purple with a wash. It's more stylized this way and looks pretty decent on the table.



As always you can click on the photo to see a full size version.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Lt. Francesca Fortuna

Started on this model last night with brush on primer. Again I have mixed feelings about resin miniatures. They go together great, if you assemble it all at once, but super glue seems to dry much to quickly. While trying to glue the two feet pegs in I placed glue in both holes, then lined the mini up, when I got the second peg seated in the whole the first peg had already bonded fast, not yet down flush with the base. Makes basing a little more difficult if your not ready for it. Here is the first shot, a work in progress as I neared completion on the head. I think this is one of my best faces. Eyebrows, hair and even pupils are all on this face. A lot more detail, on this then I am normally able to.

First of four shots on the completed model.

Second shot of the mini.

My favorite shot onthe mini, really shows the laser coloring and a neat "actiony" shot.

Last shot showing the back of the miniature.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

AT-43: Grim Overseer

So I got this little bugger in the mail yesterday. Got it wrapped up this afternoon. It was definatly a lot of fun to work on. It was my first go at a resin miniature and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot. Resin seems to hold detail very well, and has much cleaner lines and assembly than their metal counterparts. Only thing odd was painting the primer on seemed a little wishy washy to me. (Didn't seem to apply very well) But once that dried painting it was easy enough to work with. I have included a series of shots, as I worked on the miniature. The first shot is of the pieces after primming them, I painted them all pure black (Reaper Pro Paints).

In the next shot you can see the face a little better along with the eyes. The eyes are just blood red in all the sockets, the primary eyes got a hit of phoenix red to highlight them.

Here you can see the finished assembly. At this point I had added the metalic coloring for the blades, toes and some highlights.
I did two photo's at this stage as the flash in the second shot really demonstrates the drybrushing I had done over the black.

Lastly we have two completed shots with the rust brown wash and black over wash to help tone down the redness of the model.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Repaint: Star Wars Republic Commando Sev



So the left is my repainted mini with an original version on the left. I wanted to go with a more dirty, mid battle look. The old black ink wash I had sitting on my desk did a pretty good job of that. Picked out some more of the texture on the mini, as well as leaving behind a much more dirty/sooty look over the rest of the armor as well.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Lessons - Ice Floe Indy

Thought I'd take a moment to think over the last mission and nitpick my playing. I’ll break this up by faction.
Therians:
• Learn to use the routines more than I have been. Since I’m playing myself I need to “pre” spend some LP for activations thus freeing up my LP pool to only those LP I have for combat drills as well as routines.
• Ice sucks. Therians have no infantry that do not slip and spill all over the place. Coupled with small islands of ice with water on all edges their troops are in constant threat of a watery death. It wasn’t until mid game that I realized getting up ON the container would fix that issue.
• Maximized units are a poor choice. At only 2,000 AP maximized infantry units are a poor choice. Smaller unit sizes with more units would allow the Therians to be better able to control objectives, and keep heroic units from being forced into Reserve status because that is the least depleting choice for reserve units.
• Smaller Reserves. Coupled with that don’t choose 500 RP units. Instead break it up into small costing units so you can actually deploy them.

U.N.A.:
• Wing Troopers are a must on the ice.
• Small units like the Wing Sniper team are perfect for capturing far flung objectives that enemy units have little hope of getting to.
• Wrath Golgoths are very durable, as are Red Blok AVF’s. Make a concentrated effort to bring anti-AFV weaponry. Defender Cobra M8 would be a better choice then the Defender Cobra. The mortar is decent but is not very capable of broad infantry destruction, and with only 2 missiles the chances for damage are too little.

I’m not sure if it was the AP or the map, but the game felt VERY constrained. Considering the next game is Abandoned Base with Karmen vs Therian we shall see if it was limited units vs limited map that made me feel this way.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Operation:Frostbite Week 1: Ice Floe Indy


Operation: Frostbite Phase 1, Week 1
Battle: Ice Floe Indy
Therian Company 1 vs U.N.A. Company 1

Round 1:
U.N.A won the opening authority roll and opted to have the Therians enter the field of battle first. The Therians spent 2 LP to pass. U.N.A. then spent 2 LP to pass as well. Therians opened up by first placing the Wrath Golgoth behind the orange crate using rush movement. U.N.A. responded by moving the Defender Cobra forward to a small island of ice again with rush movement. The Therians then moved their Storm Golems forward to surround the light blue crate in the south. Their footing being designed for the uniform surfaces of Damocleas they slid on the ice right up to the edge. U.N.A. responded by sending out Captain Newton in her Firetoad, she jumps to the crystal location.

The Therians then moved forward their Bane Goliaths placing them as near the orange crate and staying to the center of the ice, and command them to take cover. Unable to hold their position from making such a fast rush movement they slid back into the blue crate. The U.N.A. deploys their Wing Trooper squad and assigns them the capture of the crystals that Captain Newton is covering. They do so taking a knee and trying to use the cover to keep the Therians shots from finding them. Lastly the Therians move up their unit of Assault Goliaths hugging as close to the Bane Goliaths as possible and similarly take cover behind the crates, slipping only a little they slid to the waters edge on the right. U.N.A then deploys their Wing Trooper Sniper Team who first take a pot shot at the assault goliaths, disabling one, before moving out to the crate on the right side taking cover behind it. Lastly the U.N.A. Steel Trooper squad leery of the cold water surrounding them on all sides, and also not wanting to risk the jump over it they attempt to hold position, but slip to the waters edge on the south.

The U.N.A. capture and control both the north east container and the northern crystal, scoring 2 VP, and 200 RP.
The Therians capture and control two containers, scoring 4 VP, and 100 RP.

Round 2:
Once again U.N.A. won the authority test, opting to maneuver first command the Defender Cobra to take up over watch. The Therians then move forward with the Wrath Golgoth, Defender Cobra opens up with a full salvo firing both the missiles and the mortar at the Wrath Golgoth. One missile penetrates damaging the hull for two points. Surviving the salvo the Wrath counter attacks firing all weapons on the Defender Cobra, alas its armor proves too thick for even the advanced Therian munitions. Captain Newton then fires off both lasers at the Wrath Golgoth damaging the Medium Sonic Cannon before moving back behind the crystal leery of return fire. The Therians then moved their Bane Goliaths up once more taking cover, again the footing proves difficult and they move south west towards the water, finding no clear shot they hold their fire.

Next up the Wing Trooper squad moved up to capture the Karman and UNA container. They open fire on the Wrath Golgoth their multi-lasers proving useless while their two Laser Gun bears are able to score one hit against a leg hobbling its motion. Once more they take cover and a knee to keep out of Captain Newton’s line of fire. Before moving the Assault Goliaths open fire on the Steel Trooper squad killing 3 of the soldiers. Then they move up to keep control of the orange container and use it as cover from the sniper team. Their preferred targets having taken cover the sniper team moves up onto the container taking shots of the Storm Golems eliminating two of them. Having lost two of their numbers but more leery of falling into the icy waters to their south the Storm Golems move north to wrap the container, the footing proves more solid this time and they maintain position. The steel troopers open fire, missing with their missile before moving away from the waters edge.

The U.N.A. captures and controls both the karman and UNA central containers and maintain control of the crystals and container from the previous round scoring 6 VP, and 200 RP. Total: 8 VP, 400 RP.
The Therians maintain control of the two containers, scoring 4 VP, and 0 RP. Total: 8 VP, 100 RP.

Round 3:
Once more Captain Newton leads the U.N.A. to go first. First she calls in the Death Dealer TAC ARM squad to reinforce the sniper team. Hoping to eliminate the Wrath Golgoth before it opens fire itself and opening the way to pour fire into the units behind it opens up with the missile launcher against the Wrath and the mortar against the Bane Goliaths behind it. The missile strikes the Sonic Cannon destroying it. The mortar failed to damage the Bane Goliaths. The Wraith Golgoth fearing that it will be eliminated before it can be fully utilized returns fire on the Defender Cobra this time having taken the time to take aim punches trough some of the hull. The Death Dealer TAC ARMs arriving on the scene move to support the snipers having to make a rush motion to make it over the water. Worried about the sniper team taking unmolested shots and wanting to capture the crystals the Assault Goliaths move up onto the container opening up with their Nucleus Cannons eliminating both snipers. Turning their attention to the Steel Trooper squad they open fire with their Sonic Cannon but the range proves too far and the shots fail to land.

The Wing Troopers split fire the two laser guns trying to make purchase upon the Wrath, but fail to. The rest of the squad takes up over watch positions. Next the Therian Bane Goliaths move into position on top of the container, as they clear the top the Wing Troopers open fire yet fail to make any lasting damage, the Bane’s return fire eliminating 5 of the wing troopers. Captain Newton seeing her men taking losses moves up and fires upon the Bane’s ignoring the nearly crippled Wrath Golgoth. Her shots strike true and she cuts two down. The Storm Golems once again move forward to stay on the ice, their footing having been so far a great trouble. Taking cover and setting up over watch positions while being ready to split their fire. Lastly the Steel Troopers launch their missile at the Wrath missing entirely, before opening up on the Assault Goliaths with their lasers, failing to penetrate with either weapon. The ice pushes them slightly to the side.

The U.N.A. continues to control both the Karman and UNA central containers and maintain control of the crystals and container from the previous round scoring 6 VP, and 100 RP, and spent 300 RP on the Death Dealer TAC ARMs. Total: 14 VP, 200 RP.
The Therians maintain control of the two containers and capture the crystals, scoring 4 VP, and 150 RP. Total: 12 VP, 250 RP

Round 4:
Captain Newton once more leads the charge firing on the lone Bane Goliath destroying it, before firing her second laser on the Wrath, finishing off its last leg holding it in place. Before moving up onto the UNA container the Bane previously held. In retaliation the Assault Goliaths turn their fire onto Captain Newton. They punch two bold hits into her Firetoad’s frame and disable one of her laser cannons. Hoping to clear the deck the Death Dealer TAC ARM’s move up onto the container and take aim on the Assault Goliaths, having cleared their zone of fire of any obstacles the Assault Goliaths take several hits falling to the ground in pieces.

With the line falling apart and the Defender Cobra proving all but impossible to destroy the Wrath fires with the Nucleus Cannon utilizing its sniper ability it is able to finish off Number One. Captain Newton spends the LP to eject, firing her chair and aiming back to the safety of the crystal and the team of wing troopers covering it. Luck being with the stalwart commander she lands near the ice and only stumbles slightly on the ice. She readies her multilaser and prepares to hold her position. The Wing Troopers hoping to avenger their fallen commanders AVF fire their laser gun upon the wrath missing entirely. Not wanting to give up their position covering two containers the remaining troops go into over watch. The Therians seeing their ability to take control of Ice Floe Indy in jeopardy move the Storm Golems forward to take position between the three containers. The ice still giving them trouble pushes them to the left. Finishing the round out Defender Cobra and the Steel troopers open fire on the Wrath destroying its last weapon but intact.

The U.N.A. controls only two containers this round, as well as the crystals, scoring 4 VP and 100 RP. They spend 215 RP to deploy the remaining Steel Trooper squad. Total: 18 VP, 85 RP.
The Therians continue to control the central three containers but loose control of the crystals. Scoring 6 VP, and 0 RP. Total: 18 VP, 250 RP

Round 5:
Wanting to devastate the Therians the Defender Cobra opens up with the missle launcher, it lands punching threw the last of its armor reducing it to slag. Then it opens up with its mortar landing the shell amongst the Storm Golems, reducing a couple to slag. The storm golems return fire on the Defender Cobra with their Sonic Gun, damaging a leg but otherwise leaving it intact. The rest of the Storm Golems hunker down and prepare to ward off defenders taking up overwatch positions. The UNA then calls in the air drop of the steel troopers upon the forward position of the Wing Troopers, their aim falls true and they take up position on the container, the few troopers able to see a few Storm Golems take fire offing a few in the process. The Wing Troopers seeing an opportunity to end this assault now move forward to the container over the Storm Golems under heavy fire. One trooper takes a hit but the medic is able to keep him going. The troopers open up with all guns and nearly eliminate the remaining Storm Golems. With victory near at hand the Death Dealer TAC ARM’s move forward to take control of the crystals. The Storm Troopers try to eliminate the last few Storm Golems but the cover and range prove to much for their shots. The mission ends with a U.N.A. victory.

The U.N.A. gain control of the central blue UNA container, and maintain control of the Karman container. They also control two crystals, having captured the second one, scoring 6 VP and 250 RP. Total: 20 VP, 335 RP.
The Therians loose control of everything this round, including the sector. Scoring 0 VP, and 0 RP. Total: 18 VP, 250 RP

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Operation Frostbite


In the coming weeks I will be working my way through the Operation Frostbite campaign. This after having secured for myself a new Karman and Red Blok army. As such I’ll be posting up the battle reports as they occur. For now you can enjoy the campaign map that lists each company’s beginning movement, and thus the locations of each of the future battles. I’ll post up company lists as each company is sued for the first time, and those not used when the first week of phase 1 is over.



The first mission will be U.N.A. company 1 versus Therian company 1 at Ice Floe Indy.
U.N.A. company 1, lead by Captain H. Newton
Platoon 1
- 9 Steel Troopers (Sergeant, 2 Missile Launcher)
- 3 Death Dealer TacArms
- 2 Wing Sniper Team
- Number One (+ Captain H. Newton)
- Defender Cobra
Platoon 2
- 6 Steel Troopers (Sergeant, 1 Volcano MG)
- 9 Wing Troopers (Lieutenant, 2 Laser Gun)

Therian company 1, lead by Alpha Atis-Astarte
Platoon 1
- 9 Grims Golems (+ Alpha Atis-Astarte, 3 Flamer)
- 9 Storm Golems (Alpha, 1 Sonic Gun)
- 3 Bane Goliaths
- 3 Assault Goliaths
- Wraith Golgoth