CAV Models

Reaper's CAV is a decent combined arms mecha game, but what really shines about it are the models. Brilliantly designed by John Bear Ross, these heavy, 10-12mm scale mechs possess a unique character all their own.

They also make excellent stand-ins for RoboFire games!

Here's a shot of a Wraith and a Thug, two of my favorites that I painted up in a simple military scheme.






Even the smallest CAV makes for a hulking brute in classic BattleTech terms, but it's all a matter of perspective!

Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

D&D Essentials: Dwarf Slayer

At some point, if I get the chance to play a fighter-type again, I'd like to use D&D Essentials to play a Dwarf Slayer. No, not a guy who slays dwarfs, but rather, a Dwarven Fighter following the Slayer path as laid out in the Essentials Heroes of the Fallen Lands. Don't confuse this with Dwarf Slayers from Warhammer--any race in D&D can take up the mantle of Slayer.

D&D Slayers specialize in 2H weapons, not the sword and shield of the standard fighter.

Anyway, I picked up a dynamite Reaper dwarf to use for him, Thorvald Clawhelm, from the Dark Heaven Legends line. Great name, but I am calling him Ulli Firebeard, for reasons that should be obvious!







And a nice comp shot with my Dragonborn Druid:



Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

WFB: More Savage Orcs

I finished three for Savage Orcs for Phantom, and added some warpaint to these fellows.








They've got super-dynamic poses, but positioning on the base is key when building them so they rank up properly.

More to come with these guys!

--Scott

Blue Moon Robot Preview

Just a quick post today previewing another mini from Blue Moon's upcoming boxed set release of multi-part robots.

This one represents one of the many possible combos you'll be able to come up with when this box hits the stores. Again, I am unsure of the release date on these, as even more are in the works, but the figures are quite nice, and all done by Bob Naismith!







And a somewhat blurry comp shot next to one of Blue Moon's British Agents:



Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

Warhammer Fantasy Battle: Savage Orcs!

I've been asked by my local shop (Phantom of the Attic) to paint their preview sprue of the new plastic Savage Orc Boys for WFB.

Here's my test paint using Army Painter Army Green spray primer as a base. I'm very pleased with the results!







More Savage Orcs to come this week, along with some other stuff!

Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

RoboFire: More Stand-ins

The sheer breadth of the Blue Moon line of miniatures, and my strong ties to it, make it a perfect source for miniatures for RoboFire. Last night and this morning I knocked out the beginnings of a small combined arms, 6mm force for some potential RF games.

I used some old 6mm NSL infantry from GZG to help provide a sense of scale. From the Blue Moon line, I grabbed one of the 15mm Robot Legion Velon Skirmisher models, and I also pulled out a recently arrived robot from BM's currently unreleased set of multi-piece 28mm robots. When this kit is released, it is going to be phenomenal, as Bob Naismith has just outdone himself on the designs. It's loaded with different heads, arms, and bodies to allow gamers to make whatever combos they like!

Anyway, this one makes an ideal medium RoboTank for my game. Here are the pics!



In my game, you're forces will be at most, 6 - 10 units. A single RoboTank counts as one unit. This 28mm Blue Moon robot makes for an excellent medium RoboTank in 6mm.









Sticking with the hunched, non-humanoid style of the above piece, the 15mm Velon Skirmisher stands in well for a lite RoboTank, a scout or spotter, if you will. I included the 6mm GZG infantryman for a sense of scale.





Finally, you quickly loose the "thread" of any smaller scale sci-fi or fantasy game without infantry, as they help provide that sense of scale I keep jabbering about. Here are a unit of GZG infantry doing just that:



Another key aspect of the RoboFire rules will be the ability to play with whatever minis you have to hand, and in whatever scale you like, between 6mm - 15mm, and even bigger if you like. Having a go at 6mm sci-fi again has been fun, and I will add more to complete this quirky force.

Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

RoboFire and EM-4 'Mechs

If you're a follower of the Baron's blog, you know I've been working on a set of Goalsystem "mecha" rules for the last couple of months. The Baron and his crew have been kind enough to kick the tires on these rules and give me some excellent feedback. I really think we might be ready for layout in the next six weeks or so.

In the meantime, I needed to figure out what to do for pictures of Mech miniatures for the book. These rules are not tied to any specific minis line, and they're really designed with the intention to let people play with whatever they have at hand. I needed access to some figures that I could use in the book without "entanglements" from other well-known Mech properties. Enter EM-4.

These folks were kind enough to grant me permission to use their plastic Mech kits for photography in the book. Having a few of these sitting around the work-shop, I pulled one out and gave it a quick sample paint job using Model Color Dark Sea Blue as my primary base coat. I then highlighted with the same color cut with a bit of GW's Deneb Stone. Added in some weathered metal for the gun barrels, a bit of yellow for the cockpit, and job's a good 'un!

Here it is!

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And here's a comp shot with a BattleTech Crab:



I need to get some more of the EM-4 kits soon and do a whole unit in the Dark Sea Blue scheme.

Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

Comics Plug: Suicide Squad Trade

I usually stick to miniatures topics, since this is a hobby blog along those lines, but I had to take today to heartily recommend Suicide Squad: Trial By Fire, a TPB collecting their Secret Origins appearance and issues #1 - #8 of the classic 1980's DC Comic of the same name.



Although steeped in the politics and events of the Reagan-era that birthed it, Suicide Squad offers a lot to new readers. DC's current "villain-centric" comics like Secret Six, and the previous limited series Villains Unlimited owe almost everything to the Suicide Squad.

Writer and creator John Ostrander took some of the least popular, castoff villains of the DC Universe and made them compelling characters by exploring what made them tick, and the gritty Luke McDonnell artwork complements these largely dark and brooding stories of low-powered supers engaging in acts of espionage and counter-terrorism.

You can get this TPB on Amazon, or better yet, find a copy at your local comic shop here. That's where I bought mine!

Either way, you won't be disappointed!

--Scott

Mage Knight Re-Paint: Wood Elemental

I've had this guy ready for a re-paint for months, so tonight I pulled him down from the "limbo" shelf and knocked him out. This is a great miniature from the Mage Knight line. I've long since lost his base, so I cannot accurately ID him. I'm hoping some keen-eyed reader will step in and do so!

Of course, this guy could be used in D&D, and he would work great in my SoBH Garden Party warband!

Anyway, here he is!









And here's a comp shot for scale:



Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

D&D Essentials: A Kobold Champion

I've got plenty of WotC D&D miniatures to use for foes in my games, but sometimes I like to mix in miniatures from my collection of painted metal and plastic figures to spice things up. The figure featured in today's blog has hung on Phantom's shelves for better than five years, and I finally freed him from his "prison" yesterday and painted him up for this weekend's Sunday morning game.

He's from Goodman Games excellent line of metal Dungeon Crawl Classics miniatures. He'll make an excellent named foe to give my 1st level PC's fits!







Incidentally, we've already played the first part of this delve, so my players are wise to the fact they'll be facing more Kobolds as the adventure progresses--so no spoilers here!

Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

D&D Essentials: Tiefling Paladin!

The early morning D&D Essentials campaign could contain a Tiefling Paladin, so I had to come up with a mini for him, and Reaper once again has delivered! Their "Hellborn" make perfect Tieflings, and this guy is no exception.









Taejas, the guy playing this character, asked that he have a trumpet; it's part of his back-story, so I obliged by adding a horn from the Bretonian Men-At-Arms sprue:



A simple conversion, but it works well. Here's a comp shot with my own Dragonborn Druid:



I picked up the Essentials DM's kit boxed set on Friday and it is really excellent. A great way to re-experience 4th ed. D&D.

Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

Hordes: Croc Proxy

My 25 pt. Blindwater Congregation force contains no duplicate minis (except for my conversion of the Croak Hunter), but I have a 20 pt. build where I'd like to use a second Bull Snapper, that 3 pt. Light Warbeast that is hell to build and practically impossible to convert into a second pose.

Clearly, I needed a proxy. Enter Impact Miniatures. Their slick range of Sarcos croc models contains some medium sized figures just big enough to work as alternate Bull Snappers. I picked one I liked, ordered him, and when he showed up, I gave him a quick paint job. Here's the results:





And here's a comp shot with the actual Bull Snapper:



Not bad, works for me!

This weekend, more role-play models!

Thanks for looking!

--Scott

D&D Essentials: Dragonborn Druid Animal Companion!

Finally got my pack of Reaper figures in to do my Dragonborn Druid's animal companion. In Essentials, the Druid can choose the Spring or Summer aspects. Spring gets a wolf, Summer gets a bear. I chose Summer because it better reflects the fact that my Druid is armed with a staff/shillelagh. I didn't want to use an actual bear model, so to better reflect the Dragonborn race of my Druid, I chose a lizard-like animal companion.

The Lizard Hunting Pack was perfect for this. I picked one of the two lizards in the pack and went to town, sticking to my white scheme. Here's what I ended up with:









And here's a shot of the pair:



I may do some additional blending and touch-ups, but I am now ready for my first Essentials game.

Thanks checking out the blog!

--Scott