Cheap Plastic Police Cars, Poundland

I bought these plastic toy cars from one of the many value and discount/thrift stores that proliferate in most English high streets. I state Poundland in the title but it could possibly have been either Poundstretcher, 99p Stores or a BM store (I made these up months ago and have forgotten exactly where I purchased them from). For those unaware these shops differ from charity shops as they don't sell second hand goods to benefit charities but generally offer cheaper items such as toiletries and cheap toys in bulk. They are what my nan would have probably referred to as a 'cheap tat' shop. Think Toblerone from the pound shop is a bargain? Well you're actually getting one less chocolate triangle than the standard pack -  so you really do get what you pay for.

After Wilko (another large UK chain store) shops such as these have become, for me at least, a main source of modelling and wargaming material. You can occasionally spot a complete bargain if you keep a look out.

It was on a scouting mission to such a shop that I spotted a pack of three white plastic police cars (actually labelled S.W.A.T). I thought they might make a useful addition to futuristic terrain for use with games such as Deadzone.

Interior Detail

Interior Detail

I first thing I noticed after unpacking these was how soft the plastic was. I washed two of the cars in soapy water to remove the sticky decals. I won't go into detail about the various additions but I did add a small steering wheel and hand brake, made from a paper clip, just the give the interior some interest.

The glass window screens were made from scraps of clear plastic and fixed into position with a hot glue gun. This seemed to be the only thing that would work on this particular plastic.

Model on the right shows the toy in it's original state.

Bearing in mind that they were just cheap plastic toys I gave them a simple finish, painted the panels black and white to indicate they were used be a security force.

As usual I think I spent far too much time and effort into these models but considering they only cost 33p each I'm happy with the results. I'm tempted to use the last model and create a burnt out wreck but that will have wait whilst I get back to making/painting proper models and figures.

And now for a few shots to show the scale of the cars. The first showing a figures from tge Copplestone 28 future wars range (I think) and secondly a more appropriate Enforcer figure from Mantic's Deadzone.

Plague Stage 3A - Deadzone Marauders, Mantic Games

This figure is part of the Plague faction. He's a Stage 3A commander, you can tell this because he's wearing shoes (it's genuinely the only difference I could see).

Another nice figure with plenty of detail that rewards carefully painting. The pipes was included to add interest to the base

It's a simple paintjob with most of the effects being acheived by applying a simple wash of the first base colour.

Plague Stage 3D “Hellhounds" - Deadzone Marauders, Mantic Games

These mutts are almost as ugly as their owners the Plague faction.

To quote from the Mantic site:
"The Plague affects more than just the human population; infected Hellhounds lope ahead of the main force, tearing their prey apart with unnaturally powerful jaws, while swarms of smaller creatures creep through even the staunchest defences."

"Get down Shep!"

I have a few more Plague Stage 3A figures but as I videoed the painting process which will eventually (hopefully) be posted on YouTube the next Plague faction will be Stage 1 & 2 figures but first I have to paint them!

Plague Stage 3A with HMG - Deadzone Marauders, Mantic Games

To quote from the Mantic website:
Bloodthirsty monsters created by an alien virus, the Plague exist for one thing only – to spread their contagion as far as possible. The virus affects its hosts in a variety of ways...the third stage infected show considerably less extreme physical changes, but they retain the ability to use technology, laying down covering fire with looted weapons while their larger brethren advance.

This figure is part of the Plague faction. He's a Stage 3A with Heavy Machine Gun which is ideal for laying down suppressing fire. This enables you to pin down opponents whilst his equally ugly chums charge down the enemy and knock the stuffing out of them.

'Mauler' Class Ripper Suit - Deadzone Marauders, Mantic Games

This is the chum of the 'Rainmaker' Class Ripper Suit that can be seen (here). As with the previous figure this model was relatively simple to paint. 

'Mauler' Class Ripper Suit

The base detail is made up of plastic card and sprue. I wanted to give the impression that the orc had ripped off the sign with his chain sword after putting a few lasers holes through it.

'Mauler' Class Ripper Suit
Rear View

I think I got a bit carried away applying the rust powders though, once I started I kept on painting on more and more.

'Mauler' Class Ripper Suit

'Rainmaker' Class Ripper Suit - Deadzone Marauders, Mantic Games

And now for something completely different this week...I have somehow managed to accrue a backlog of posts that I have painted other the previous months but have not posted online. These include a number of Deadzone pieces. Regular readers may remember that I initially started making Deadzone figures around a year ago. As part of my commitment to purchase as few figures as possible for the foreseeable future (I'm trying to be lead/plastic neutral) I'm attempting to paint up as many of my previous purchases as I can.

'Rainmaker' Class Ripper Suit

This figure is not part of the original Deadzone box set (they were all 'police' and 'plague mutants' types) but these come from a supplemental set called the Marauders. All the figures had all been glued together and even primed but had been sitting there more or less forgotten until I was clearing up some space to work in.

This big ugly brute is officially equipped with a Marauder “Rainmaker” Class Ripper Suit. The figure is from the Deadzone boxset and represents Mantic's take on sci-fi orcs.

'Rainmaker' Class Ripper Suit
Rear View

I've mentioned previously that the material used to make these figures (Resnic) caused me a few problems, (i.e. it's an absolute bugger to clean up) but the design of the figure is still quite attractive (in an industrial orc way). I was tempted to chop and change the model but decided against this because of the material. From reading blogs and forums I know a few people had magnetised their models so they could change the weapons with the similar 'Mauler' version but the stats card provided with the figures are specific to particular models.

Anyways the paint job on this model was quite simple. The entire figure was painted using Citadel's Bolt Gun metal (now replaced by their Leadbelcher). Once dry a black wash was applied to the grooves and recesses, then highlights using Chainmail (now Ironbreaker) and Mithril Silver (now called Runefang) were used to bring out the details. The spent casings around the feet of the figure are simply short pieces of plastic rod, cut to a uniform length, glued to the base and painted to look metallic.

It's always worth studying a model to see what little details the sculptor added. With this model there are all sorts of details such as grenades, wiring, missiles etc. which all add to the overall 'armed to the teeth' look of piece and are easy to paint.

How to Pin a Miniature to a Base

Following on the the previous video, which dealt with an issue when correcting Mantic's resin/plastic material, this video is more of a beginners guide to pinning figures to a base. 

If there are any techniques or methods that you would like to see demonstrated on Ade's channel please feel free to ask.

Correcting Resin-Plastic 'Resnic' Miniatures

And now for something completely different:



I made this video a while ago to support Ade in his ongoing venture to turn his hobby into a full time career (which I imagine is everyone's dream), this video deals with some of the issues I found with Mantic's resnic figures, in this particular case for the Deadzone board game. Now all I have to do is paint the ugly brutes.

Spring WIP

Following an impulse purchase by my brother I've been doing a lot of prep work on Mantic's Deadzone. The mechanics of the game appeal to me greatly, no modifiers to your dice roll which still manages to confuse my easily confused brain. The success or failure rate remains the same, you simply add or take away the number of dice used.

You get an awful lot of bangs for your buck with the Deadzone game, figures, terrain, dice, playing matt, cards, tokens etc. everything in fact that you need to play the game.

You get a number of nicely sculptured figures for two factions, one of which is the Plague. These figures have turned their back to the camera as they are quite shy (and rather ugly). I'll detail the figures properly one they are all finished, but here is just a brief preview.

I've mentioned previously that I have an awful lot of tiny figures waiting in the my painting queue, actually bought by my brother. In fact my brother buys an awful lot more figures than I do, which I paint. The figures in question are 6mm Franco-Prussian armies from Baccus. To give you an idea of the numbers involved you get 280 figures in a small booster pack and in the starter army pack you get nearly nine hundred figures. 

These are a sample of one base of 6mm Baccus figures that I worked on during March. There are twenty eight little chaps per base and I have ten bases to complete. These are part of my Imperial French army. This particular base hasn't been finished yet, it still needs flocking etc. I've already painted the majority of the whole forces from this particular booster pack.

If you look very careful you may see that the sculptor has even given the figures buckles, straps and even moustaches. I'm not even quite sure how he (or she) managed to do this. 

To give you a sense of scale the MDF bases are 60mm x 30mm (or just over 2" x 1"). 

Another project started (these projects keep stacking up) were the German AfrikaKorps (DAK) from the Perry brothers, which made a quest appearance on one of the Bolt Action videos. These particular figures have been modified slightly, arm swaps, Green Stuff etc. nothing too major. I've recorded the process for these figures but again I'll detail the mods online once they've been painted. These are just a couple of examples of the half dozen individual I made.

I'm currently trying to work out a special give-away pressie. This will be for either achieving 200,000 page hits or 250 followers, I haven't decided which one yet although I'm edging towards the follower option. The prize will be unique to the winner and possibly for a runner-up as well but, as I said, I'm still trying to work out the details. Or I might save myself the trouble and offer it straight to Fran or Ray.

Now all I have to do is paint 'em.