Painting Update - Random Figs

Hello everyone,

Over the past summer I made some effort to tackle figures that, while bought with the bestest of intentions, unfortunately got into the painting waiting room and drew a 3 figured service number.  Amongst that crew of recently 'NEXT' or 'served' was a trio of packs from Artizan, Hasslefree, and Reaper.

Dr. Klomps Laboratory was a purchase I made at NorthBay Hobbies during one of my drop-ins while driving through...I always like to try to support LGS's.  The figures looked good, I liked the theme, and I figured they could fit into pretty much anything from WW2 with some weirdness, post-war, or even some fantasy.

The figs were pretty good to paint...Dr. Klomp screamed mad scientist and I couldn't help but think of Red Skull while I was painting him.  His goons were pretty easy to decide on...laboratory smock and a secret police typical suit.



From Hasslefree I finally got around to painting up his version of Ash.  I recently finished watching the Ash vs. Evil Dead on Netflix...incredibly entertaining, and Lee Majors is his Dad!! Simply gold! The figure looks great and is excellently sculpted...lots of detail on this one! It painted up quick and was a hoot the entire time.



Finally, the last pack was the Brass Bull from Reaper...this was a really easy purchase from Cangames a few years ago...in the end it was dead easy to paint up and really tested the highlight and shadow techniques.  At first, I was going for all brass/gold...I can't remember what made me change, but at some point I went with lower limbs, tail, and horns as gunmetal/silver.  The spine of the beast I painted up with Vallejo Desert Yellow...the main body was Vallejo brass...the body was hit with a mix of army painter strong tone wash and citadel sepia...and any silver was hit with nuln oil.  The best setting I could imagine for this one was somewhat Frostgravey and the Northern City...

Thanks for the views and your time...cheers.

2019 Expedition up Mt. Lead.

Painted:
28mm-ish     41 (+5)
15mm           3

Bought:        11

Progress:   +33

Test Painting - Fallout Wasteland Warfare

Hello All,

Quite some time ago, I was looking through my emails and eyeing some of the nice previews of what was coming out and what I might be curious to paint and/or try gaming.  One of the previews that caught my eye was Modiphius's Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.  When I saw the initial renders of the Fallout figures, my interest was definitely peaked.  I had been playing Fallout 4 off and on for some time and I really liked the feel of the story, the setting, and retro sci-fi post apocalyptic world that was created.

Needless to say my son was a huge fan of the game and whenever he was not keeping me abreast of his progress, he made sure to check in on mine.  So, when I read the email and saw the figs, I passed the email to him.

I can definitely say he was a fan of what he saw...the downside has been that he greatly appreciates the work that goes into the hobby, he has not caught the painting bug...so, if I was going to jump into this it would be somewhat one-sided on the whole venture.  For the most part, I did not hop on the Fallout bandwagon and kept my distance by and large.  I kept track of the progress from Modiphius and admired the figures via email but it wasn't until I saw the starter box in my LGS at a VERY reasonable price that I made my purchase.

To be fully transparent, I have yet to game this thing...I do like the looks of what they have made, I also bought the Boston Companions expansion because I liked the looks of the figures.  At the moment, it remains a painting project nothing else...

After unboxing the starter kit and expansion...and after getting paintbrush downrange on these guys I am somewhat torn on what to think.  The figures look good! They are sculpted well, I seem to have not been bitten by any of the production bugs that I heard were out there.  However, when stacked next to my current 28's (pick your range/manufacturer) they seem rather small and certainly unepic. 

For 32mm's they look scrawny...I think this is why it took me some time to get them on the paint station...they just didn't live up to my expectations.  Now, to be fair, there were also some cost considerations that also kept them off the table, but the boxart did look really good.  With that, I bowed, and took to the Boston Companions Expansion...the best part of the model is definitely the sculpt...they look good, very dynamic, and you get a dynamic base to go along with them.

Overall, I am happy with the figs...I don't know what I will buy in the future...as it stands it is only a painting project, however once I get to painting up the starter box I may have a change of heart.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

The Boston Companions...Piper, X6, and Cait

pic taken with flash...I was having a bugger of a time with pics on this day...

 

Piper...I actually had a lot of fun trying to capture her look...the coat was interested and I ended up painting to bands of colour and then wet brushing them in to get the smooth overlap of colours...first time I've tried this technique.

 

X6...I really liked this figure and pose...the coat and syndicate laser just stood out and screamed to be painted.

2019 Expedition up Mt. Lead.

Painted:
28mm-ish          36 (+3)
15mm                3

Bought:             11

Progress:   +28 

Team Yankee...Battle Report - 4CMBG

Howdy folks,

At the beginning of summer we got together at Duncan's place again for some more Team Yankee...unfortunately I'm just getting to posting this report now...if you happen to see Mike's blog you may have already read the French side of the battle...

Mike's French fight - Team Yankee

It was another cold war slugfest with Mike and I on the good side, the Duncan's playing the evil imperialist Warsaw Pact.  To be honest I'm a little hazy on the exact details...each of us brought about 40 points to the fight plus or minus a point or two.  I was very happy to get another outing of my Dragoon BattleGroup.  I can't remember Mike's force, as you can see by the pics below, the Duncan's had buttloads of tanks with half-arsed loads of BMPs.

My force consisted of...

1 x formation commander, Leopard C1
2 x platoons of Leopard C1's (3 each)
1 x support platoon of 2 M113 TOWs
1 x support platoon of 2 ADATS

Overall, the game was quite outstanding...the opportunity to try some missile launchers was a new element for me...and the dice Gods were fair...I made some good rolls, had some excellent shooting, and in the end it was a well deserved victory for the Western world.

a little Team Yankee force comparison...my Canuck force on the left...none of my force parked on the right...

Initial setup, focus on 4 CMBG's side of the battlespace.  The French are on the left flank...Mike has a mix of tanks, vehicles, and other stuff.  They ended up taking a pretty good beating...I have deployed 1 platoon up front, second platoon on my right, formation commander (unpainted hull) behind the ridge with the air-gunners on his immediate left, with the TOW platoon securing the Canuck left flank.

initial action had Warsaw Pact (WP) forces pushing through the ville with Good Duncan pushing tanks and AFVs.  I pushed my second platoon to the rivers edge, kept first platoon in position to maximize targetry, and pushed the ADATS to crest the ridge to maximize their range.

between pictures...a lot has happened...the Canuck first platoon has forded the river leading into the ville.  The missile screen of TOW carriers and ADATS have put a lot of hurt on the WP lead elements.  The Canucks continue to push the river and throw tonnes of money downrange...

 

the French (with US Humvee support, IIRC) took a considerable beating.  Out of frame, they elected to reposition their front line and ended up securing the space behind the Canucks...I can't help but be curious how AMX tanks will 'support' the left flank from behind my missile screen...but I must have lost something in translation, the RCDs are an anglo battlegroup.

a little of both flanks in this shot...the Canucks push right; Good Duncan is running out of tanks and his BMPs are taking 105mm shots from the Leopards.  The French flank is in flux...Evil Duncan pushed hard on the Humvees and AMXs, Mike's air support has left some pain, and my TOW carriers have taken some long range snipes at any tank that passes their frontage.  The brave French tankers have moved forward and parked behind the Canadian TOWs...vive la France!!  The US support troops have pushed hard up the road and sat on the objective...

 

Endgame...NATO battlespace forward...an excellent game overall...not clear either way who was going to win.  The good rolls on my part were largely mitigated by the volumes that WP brings to bear (pun intended).  The stars of the show were the ADATS...they have an awesome range, excellent missile, but are quite fragile...they did fall on the field of battle, but the TOW carriers were the star runner ups who survived for the next engagement.

 

I'm not going to lie...the low point value for the ADATS and TOWs mixed with their effectiveness has caused some non-forecast purchases and will beef up some elements of my Canucks.  Hope you enjoy the pics, take care...

 

More Legion...aires? Another update

Howdy folks,

I hope all is well with you and yours...we are winding into the mid-point of summer and hopefully we're all getting rested and relaxed.  I was able to push through with some more progress and purchasing of more great looking Star Wars Legion figures.

For accounting purposes...so far:

From the core box, I have finished off 2 x sections of stormtroopers, 2 x sections of rebel troops, 2 x speeder bikes...from expansions I have worked through 1 x rebel troopers, the Emperor, the Fett man, Han Solo, and 1 speeder.  All in all, I have really enjoyed these models...I like the molds, the dynamic poses, etc...and to offer some balance, I have had some issues with how the arms fit into some of the figures, but overall this is a pretty small stressor.

So, with that in mind, I have continued to purchase various expansions as they come up and have pushed through with the painting over the past couple of months.

Enjoy the pics...take care.

Imperial Specialists...

 

the droids...

 

Imperial Commander

 

 

This figure was pretty straight forward...solid body with only the 2 arms to attach...I base coated with the left arm unattached so that I could properly paint up the chest and rank badge.  I chose to go with Vallejo olive green, partly because I wanted a variance in the uniforms because I do have a hard time with painting the same schemes all the time...and because I wanted to have a figure in a brighter shade of green that what I normally use.

I really liked the results and I think the highlights popped much more because of the olive green without being ridiculous or cartoony.  Afterall, there are a ton of pics online of screen caps where it is really hard to nail down a consistent colour...

 

Communication Specialist 

 

Another fairly straight forward figure...the arms and radiopack where unattached for the most part.  But once I had the front of the figure completed, enough...I attached all and made sure to blend in the arms, etc.  I went with a fairly standard black grey on this figure...again to have a variance, and also to reflect some of the boxart and screencaps from Rogue One.

As these aren't "iconic" figures or commanders from the Star Wars 'verse, I wanted to show some difference between the 'standard' characters and these specialists.  I therefore changed up the basing style for these figures...just a subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless.

 

Rebel Specialists...

 

The droids...traditional astromech and medical droid...

 

Communication Specialist...

a lot of the painted characters so far reflect the boxart very closely...because I wanted to meld this figure in with my Tatooine Wolverines, I had to make some adjustments to the uniform colours to keep a nice flow between the figures.

 

 

Rebel Commander 

 

A very traditional looking figure that could sub into any Star Wars battlespace...I kept the uniform very consistent with screencaps and boxart.  Another great figure to paint up.

 

Rogue One expansions...

 

Jyn Erso was a pleasure to paint up, but definitely was a little finicky on the assembly portion.  The main headache came from her scarf which is in 2 parts that connect just behind her head.

Assembly aside, this figure was really great to paint up...as the boxart and painted figs on FFG's website have the model painted much brighter, I hit the net for some looks from the move.  Needless to say, there are a lot of excellent references online from the movie and if you like concept art books or behind the scenes books, the Rogue One Ultimate Visual Guide is an outstanding reference.

I made some subtle changes to my basing style for this figure...my intent was to keep close to my Tat Militia figures, but have enough of a difference that I could also reflect some of the Rogue One setting...my compromise was a cross between Tat and Jedda.

In the end, I wanted a good balance between the darkness of the wardrobe in the movie and the brightness from the FFG site...I'm very happy with how it turned out.

 

Director Krennic was such a great character in the movie and I must say the figure was just as great to paint-up.  While its another shot of white, painting up his cape and tunic were definitely NOT in the same vein of pain as whitewashing stormtoopers.  The best part was adding in the contrast and showing the highlights. 

 

 

The highlights for this cape were a good mix of challenge and fun when the finished product came to life... 

 

 

2019 Expedition up Mt. Lead.

Painted:
28mm          33 (+10)
15mm          3

Bought:       11 (+10, specialists, rogue one commanders)

Progress:   +25