Purple Shark (Warzone Resurrection), Prodos Games

And now for something completely different...

Purple Shark & Spotty Herbert

Made by Prodos Games this piece, called the Purple Shark, is taken from one of their Capitol starter kits in the Warzone Resurrection range. From what I've seen Prodos make some very nice resin models. I assume they use 3D printers to create the prototype as on (very) close inspection you can just about see the thin layers that made up the original model. The chaps from Prodos have visited the local gaming shop (Asgard Games Uk) where I got the chance to speak to one of them. His options and thoughts on why Games Workshop's FineCast were plagued with technical issues was very interesting but probably best not committed to paper (or online if that makes sense).

Purple Shark

Purple Shark

Purple Shark

Purple Shark

On a recent visit to the shop and during a break in playing various new (to me at least) games I happened to see this gamer's brand new purchase, the model shown here. After admiring it I offered to paint it up for him as I had a flash of inspiration for the paint scheme, which is pretty much as it looks here. The model struck me as having similar styling to an American 30's fighter or car, hence the stars and strips detailing. The figures supplied with the starter set are very loosely based on futuristic style US Marines (I think) so I gave the driver/rider and desert/urban paint job with light and dark spots added to give the impression of camo. I quite like the juxtaposition of colorful, metallic machine and the rider's outfit (mind you, I should do seeing as I painted it).

Looking at the finished work I think I may been overly influenced by Kevin O'Neill's artwork and in particular his work for Pat Mill's Marshall Law comic.

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.

Warcaster Kommander Sorscha, Warmachine (Privateer Press)

Another month, another project. Not really, only joking. This is just a quick post for my own reference really as it's another figure I painted for my mate Ade (WargamingForFun link).

For this figure I stuck to a rather subdued colour palette, using mainly my standard red and brown leather paints (although saying that I've just counted and realised that I actually used six 'base' colours, that's not including high/lowlights).

I'm getting more and more tempted by this range as the models are very easy to model and paint up. It is one of the few (modern) rule sets that I've been able the grasp the basics off from playing a couple of games. Must resist temptation!

Man-o-War Shocktrooper, Warmachine (Privateer Press)

During a pleasant English summer evening (i.e. taking shelter from the awful recent weather) in my mate Ade's (WargamingForFun) man cave I was perusing his unpainted figures. To repay his hospitality (more tea and home-made cakes than a grown man can handle) I offered to paint a figure for him. As he is currently going through a Warmachine-phase, which appears to me to be a Cold War/steampunk'ish inspired game, I picked this Man-o-War Shocktrooper.

This a figure from the Khador faction (communist?), the utilitarian look and simply colour scheme did appeal to me. I even managed to play a couple of games as I could pick up the simple basics of the rules after a few games.

Normally I would assemble the model after painting but Ade had already glued it together, even so the plastic figure is very easy to paint. Following the examples in the rules boxes this model is basically red all over with gold and silver details. I employed my usual three layer technique playing particular attention with the washes to add shade to the heat affected areas around the vents and shield muzzle etc.

If you noticed a distinct improvement with the quality of the photographs that would be because I didn't take them. Ade kindly did the honours as my mom had asked to have her camera back to take with her on holiday (cheeky minx!).

I'm now painting a Kommander Sorscha Warcaster figure and will post that as soon as it's done.

Just another day in Mega-City One.

Just a quick post for everyone that had their formative years influenced by British comics in the 1970/80's.

Mega-City Judges, Mongoose Publishing

"The judges are the lawkeepers of Mega-City One, fighting to protect innocent citizens from criminals and scum. Few in number, the judges welcome only the best and the brightest into their ranks, and not all of those survive the 15 year training regime. A force of judges will be very well equipped and able to handle most situations."

 That quick overview from the Mongoose Publishing website.

Way back in the mists of time (or for any younger readers: the late 1970's) my older cousin used to collect the comic 2000AD featuring of course Judge Dredd; my older brother used to buy Starlord (the original home of the Strontium Dog character) and I had the Beano and Dandy. Naturally I used to read all the 'big boys' comics when they were literally handed down to me. 

These three figures, from the Justice Department Box Set by Mongoose Publishing, are painted to match how my brother remembered the Judges from the comic. I've seen the figures painted up with golden eagle on the right shoulder and the left shoulder pad painted yellow, but my brother wanted both to be the same colour. I later checked an old comic and the rule book from the role-player game and saw the shoulder pads were, in fact the same colour, normally a dark shade of yellow. 

The older comics also show the uniform to be a very dark shade of blue (navy?), not black or a lighter shade of blue I've seen in later editions of the comic or models. I assume this is because with black it is difficult to show highlights and shades and still making the image eye-catching. Looking at the uniform now it does seem an odd mix of colours but I still like it (nostalgia is a wonderful thing).

Judge Super Dude (remember him Ade?)

Although I did actually want the uniform to have a satin look the varnish is still wet on some of these photos. The camera was borrowed so I needed to get it back to my friend as soon as.

Necrons, Games Workshop - Part 7 of 9

A couple of close up shots. Along with the ‘officer’ figure this is my favourite figure. You can tell when a figure ‘works’ or not and I think this one does. He looks menacing and there is enough tension in the piece to attract attention plus I enjoyed scratch building the side arm.












Last figure to be completed.

Necrons, Games Workshop - Part 2 of 9

To make this figure stand out a bit more I've altered the pose slightly. The left leg has been cut at the hip and the knee and then pinned at a different angle to enable the foot to rest on the block. I may reverse the arm holding the weapon from right to left so the arm is resting on the knee.

Another more obvious addition will be to add a couple of extra blades to the end of the weapon; a Gauss Flayer apparently.

Necrons, Games Workshop - Part 1 of 9

In my youth I would often see how quickly I could complete a model, the faster the better I thought. Nowadays I spend a bit more time planning ahead. Some of this is simply mentally picturing how to complete the minis, a mental dry run. Without wishing to sound odd I can often ‘see’ the finished article before I start, or at least have a very good idea how it will look. It’s a pity I can’t rapid prototype using my mind power alone.

An example of this process is the Necron miniature bases. From the start I had wanted to give the notion of the Necrons walking across a scarred industrial wasteland. I had assumed that all of the miniatures were made up of identical parts until I came to prepare the bases. Checking the figures again I was pleasantly surprised to discovery that there is a large amount of variation possible. With several arm options and separate bodies every model can have a different pose.

Raiding the scrap box enabled me to produce a number of special ‘one off’ bases. The figure standing on the crushed and twisted structural steel section is a good example. This was made from standard plastic ‘H’ section heated over a candle and then flattened into shape with a metal needle file. Interesting odd shaped bits of plastic were used to replicate distressed metal. Using thin plastic rod I cut half a dozen small pieces to equal length and then scattered them to replicate spent shell cases. Small scale metal chain and plastic card complete with 'bullet holes' and rust stains will add to the overall look of desolation. Reminds me of a foundry I worked in once.

One criticism I have of this box set is that the bases supplied are way too small for these figures (20mm dia). Or to be more pedantic, the legs of the figures are too widely spaced. If one foot is placed firmly within the circular base then the other foot almost entirely clears the edge. Both feet will overhang the edge if not positioned carefully leaving, in my opinion, not enough contact to secure them properly. In order to be safe I decided to pin all of them. This is a relatively easy, if a little long winded, procedure and gives the mini a little extra stability. I used a hand drill to produce a small blind hole, the same diameter as a paper-clip, into the ‘foot’ of the miniature. Then cut off a suitable length of paper clip. Bend the metal into a loop with a longer length of metal at ninety degrees to the loop, pass this though the plastic base and glue the miniature into position.

Dark Angel Space Marines, Games Workshop

I realise this is cheating slightly but I will be transferring posts from my other blog page, Ubique SciFi, on to this blog and then closing the old one down. There are a couple of reasons for this; it gives me something to do blog-wise and I have a few more sci-fi figures in the pipeline. I'll be tweaking the posts slightly so they make more sense. Apologies if you're already seen this:

Over the new year I was invited over to deepest, darkest Shropshire by my mate Ade to admire his new man cave. He later kindly gave me a spare box of Space Marines Combat Squad to play around with. Seeing as one of his latest projects is a Space Marines Dark Angels army for Games Workshop’s 40K I decided to paint these up to complement his figures. I considered making these miniatures straight from the box, well more or less, but as usual I couldn’t resist modifying them. I would class these as ‘soft’ modifications as they involved only minor changes and I only used parts that came in the same box.

“Never bring a knife to a gunfight? Why not bring both!”
3rd Tactical Squad, 4th Company, Dark Angel Chapter.
Brother Boaz

3rd Tactical Squad, 4th Company, Dark Angel Chapter.
Brother Boaz

3rd Tactical Squad, 4th Company, Dark Angel Chapter.
Brother Boaz

3rd Tactical Squad, 4th Company, Dark Angel Chapter.
Brother Boaz

As the models come with several accessories including knives and ammo packs, from the start I wanted to have one figure wielding a knife. This was another easy mod, simply cutting the knife handle to fit on to the hand. As the left arm and hand is designed to hold the bolter I cut and carved the hand and rotated it in the process so that it held the other spare knife at a more natural angle.

Naturally this left me with a spare bolter. As the bolters are not supplied with carrying straps I thought they might be magnetised (or whatever is in appropriate in the year 40,000) to fit against the leg. So using the same line of thought as the helmet solution I stuck the bolter to the right thigh. It seems to fit and looks ok.

You actually get seven head options in the standard box. Five normal helmets, one of the older style and one helmet-less head. Thinking about the figure with just the bare head I thought where and how would he store his helmet? Remembering images of soldiers during the modern Gulf Wars, I recalled that they stored gasmasks on their upper left leg. This seemed practical so I decided to replicate this on the model and stuck the spare helmet on to the figure’s left thigh.

3rd Tactical Squad, 4th Company, Dark Angel Chapter.
Brother Ahab

The helmet lying discarded on the base surrounded by spent cartridges is based on that of the Dark Angels 2nd Company, known as the Ravenwing. The older style helmet, black with a central red vertical stripe, I believe is based on the original metal space marine model from way back in the 1980’s. I spotted one of these on display at Warhammer World at the GW headquarters in Nottingham.

3rd Tactical Squad, 4th Company, Dark Angel Chapter.
Brother Micah

3rd Tactical Squad, 4th Company, Dark Angel Chapter.
Brother Hiram

3rd Tactical Squad, 4th Company, Dark Angel Chapter.
Brother Seth

I cut and carved two of the left knee pads on the figures so that they matched the other models. With hindsight I should have left one and painted the whole lower leg with company colours and made him an NCO type character.

The models are painted in Citadel’s paints. Primed black the main body of the miniatures were painted Dark Angel Green (naturally) and simply washed with Babab Black ink and then highlighted with mix of Snot Green and Goblin Green. The colour schemes are all based on the official Games Workshop Dark Angel Codex.

In order to maintain some continuity I’ve kept the bases similar to the ones I used on the Necrons detailed previously.

The actual chapter icon transfers supplied with the set proved difficult to apply due the curved nature of the shoulder pad. I had to slice the transfer in order in ensure that it could lie flat.

"miniatures©Games Workshop. All rights reserved. Used without permission - models painted by Matthew Perks". (Just in case any GW lawyers are reading this!)