From SimonM: Natalia, Xenomorphs & Gretchen Scout Contraptions (Lady Sarah's Star Yacht & LV426) (59 points)

For my penultimate post I thought I would take another trip on Lady Sarah's Star Yacht from Cybertron to LV426, and finally start working through the last few plastic bags of Xenomorphs I own. As a result my opening model is Natalia, Female Secret Agent by "Reaper Miniatures". This 28mm two-piece metal miniature comes from their Chronoscope range and can be purchased as code 50149.

Having assembled the disconcertingly fragile-looking figure, the model was undercoated with “Vallejo” Black Primer and subsequently treated to a couple of layers of “Citadel” Abaddon Black. The entire model was then dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal, before having her gun holster, leg strap and belt ‘picked out’ with Heavy Sienna.

I also applied some “Vallejo” Gunmetal to the deadly assassin’s pistol, before all of these areas were ‘drowned’ in “Citadel” Nuln Oil. The not-Black Widow’s belt buckle and thigh gadget were treated to a combination of “Vallejo” Gold and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. Finally, Natalia’s hair was given a lick of “Vallejo” Heavy Red, shaded with “Citadel” Agrax Earhshade, and carefully dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Red.

Having landed on LV426 it only seemed fitting to pigment five 15mm scale metal miniatures Xenomorphs by “Ground Zero Games”. The figures are available as code SG15-X01 from their Stargrunt Infantry range, and come in packs of six figures (consisting of two alternative sculpts).

Due to using the models for some homemade rules, all of the models were super-glued onto a large-sized plastic “Flames Of War” stand by “Battlefront Miniatures”, and primed using two layers of “Citadel” Abaddon Black. The extra-terrestrials were then dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, before being given a double-helping of “Citadel” Nuln Oil in order to help tone down their highlights and better blend them in.

Finally, I have made a start on some of the smaller German Land Ironclads produced by “Brigade Models”. These eight Gretchen Scout Contraptions are approximately 8mm x 3mm in size, and had previously been super-glued in fours upon a 30mm x 40mm plastic rectangle. All the Small, nimble scout vehicles were primed with a couple of layers of “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, and shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

I then carefully dry-brushed them all with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, before patiently picking out all their guns with a combination of Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. As with my previously painted British Mk.I Armoured Gun Carriers the hardest (and most time-consuming) part in painting these little guys was tidying up the grit surrounding the vehicles so I could later dry-brush their bases and get them tabletop ready.

Hopefully this latest AHPC entry will provide:

1 x 28mm Figure = 5 points

Lady Sarah's Star Yacht (assuming you can claim the points every time you use the yacht) = 20 points..?

5 x 15mm Xenomorphs = 10 Points

LV426 = 20 Points

8 x 2mm (small) Vehicles = 4 Points (based on their size/painting time being similar to 6mm Infantry figures)..?

Total = 59 Points

I like your Natalia. I am getting tired of multi-part metal figures; they are a lot of effort and can be fragile. Your xenomorphs and scouts have come out well.

Barks

From SimonM: "Brigade Models" Land Ironclads (10 Points)

These 1/1200th (or as “near-as-makes-no-odds the same as 2mm”) scale Land Ironclads are by “Brigade Models” and are from their Great Britain Range. They consist of two VLI-104 Warlord class Ironclads, two VLI-103 Britannic class Ironclads and a whopping VLI-101 Sovereign class Ironclad.

Rather embarrassingly, all of these metal models were found buried away in a drawer having been left neglected for over a decade. So, having re-primed them, all the Royal Mechanised Corps vehicles were given a generous double-helping of “Vallejo” Earth as an undercoat, and shaded using a combination of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

All the Ironclads were then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Earth. Probably due to their scale, the sculpts are actually a little flat-looking, so in order to more easily distinguish them on the tabletop, I ‘picked out’ any turrets and wheelhouses “Vallejo” Heavy Green. These areas were later washed with “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green, and carefully dry-brushed using a little (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Green.

Lastly, I applied some “Vallejo” Gunmetal to all their cannons, darkened these down with “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and gave any funnels a lick of “Citadel” Abaddon Black. I pigmented all their bases using my usual recipe of “Citadel” Doombull Brown, Rakarth Flesh and Agrax Earthshade.

I actually seem to have based the Ironclads back when I first bought them, presumably on the stand sizes recommended inside my long-lost copy of the rules. However, for scoring purposes I’ve applied the self-same logic concerning their painting time and actual size as I’ve done previously when submitting 2mm scale stuff to my weekly minion – i.e. a 5mm x 10mm equals 0.5 points.

Hopefully this latest AHPC entry will therefore provide:

2 x Warlord class Ironclads (10mm x 20mm) = 2 points..?

2 x Britannic class Ironclads (13mm x 25mm) = 4 points..?

Sovereign class Ironclad (23mm x 40mm) = 4 Points..?

Total = 10 Points..?

Small, but sweet! Nice work on these tiny land ironclads, Simon! I'll go with your suggested points for these.

Tamsin

From SimonM: "Catalyst Games Lab" Battletech & "Brigade Models" Land Ironclads (30 Points)

For my ninth post I thought I would work on some more 1:285 scale Battletech models by Catalyst Game Labs which I plan to use to bolster my single French Weird War Two walker, and probably the beginning of a quite large company of French super-soldiers as well. In addition, I’ve started on the beginning of a 1/1200th British force of Land Ironclads by Brigade Models, having found the some flat-looking, diminutive sculpts gathering dust after over a decade in a drawer.

The two plastic models of the 43mm tall Warhawk and 32mm tall Kit Fox are produced by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be found together in the “BattleTech: Clan Fire Star” along with a Cougar, Fire Moth, and Nova Cat. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use these particular sculpts as a Bloch class and Caudron-Renault class French War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign, I decided to go with a predominantly pale blue palette.

Both figures were therefore initially given a double undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and shaded in “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade. They were then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had their tiny cockpit windows ‘picked out’ with the odd a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

In order to add a bit of interest to the rather lightly-coloured models I decided to add a few ‘points of interest’ on them where possible by ‘picking out’ the odd detail using a combination of “Vallejo” German Grey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Later I gave these diminutive areas a delicate dry-brush of (more) “Vallejo” German Grey to help highlight their details.

I also applied some “Citadel” Abaddon Black to all their weapons, before pigmenting them with some “Vallejo” Gunmetal and a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Finally, I applied some French roundels, Tricolore and Croix de Lorraine by “Decal Details” to any parts of the figures I thought appropriate.

The twelve Elemental battle-armoured infantry are all 6mm in height, and were painted using the self-same colours as the Warhawk and Kit Fox. I did however, apply some “Vallejo” Sombre Grey to the super-soldiers’ smoke trails, before washing them with “Citadel” Nuln Oil. The jet-streams were then dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Sombre Grey and some White too.

The twenty-four Mk.I Armoured Gun Carriers are approximately 4mm x 9mm in size, and had previously been super-glued in fours upon a 30mm x 40mm plastic rectangle (presumably so they could be used in Land Ironclads – whose rulebook I’ve currently misplaced). All the tiny tanks were primed with a couple of layers of “Vallejo” Earth and shaded using a combination of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

I then carefully dry-brushed them all with (more) “Vallejo” Earth, before patiently picking out all their side-mounted guns with a combination of Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. To be honest, the hardest part in painting these little guys was subsequently tidying up the grit surrounding the vehicles so I could later dry-brush their bases and get them tabletop ready.

Hopefully this latest AHPC entry will provide:

1 x 28mm Mech as per previous Battletech posts = 5 points

1 x 40mm Mech as per previous Battletech posts = 7 points

12 x 6mm Infantry = 6 Points

24 x 2mm (small) Vehicles = 12 Points (based on their size/painting time being similar to 6mm Infantry figures)..?

Total = 30 Points

I really like the utilitarian blue-grey with deep, oily shadows on your mechs. I think 0.5 points per tiny tank is about right.

Barks