Category: Modelling and Painting Articles

Dark Age Warriors

Andy K gets to grips with his inner beast…

I needed another eight figures for a Dux Bellorum game at the club recently, so dug into my boxes of Gripping Beast plastics for suitable figures. I decided to split them half and half, four armed with spears and the rest with sword or axe. These figures are made up of four parts: the body including left arm, right arm with a number of weapon options, head and shield.

They were assembled and painted these up in about a week; black undercoat, followed by shades of grey and brown for the tunics and trousers. A variety of hair colours were used. The paints are mostly Vallejo acrylics, with the odd bottle of Army Painter used. Once dry the figures were treated with appropriate shading paints from Army Painter.

The shields were painted white, and Little Big Man Studios transfers applied. All then given a coat of matt varnish

Strapping Jocks

John Lambert brings us up to date on his Scots SAGA warband

I’d bought a Gripping Beast 4 point Warband over a year ago. With the advent of Saga Version 2, I had the incentive to get them table top ready. I added one unit of Levy archers and a third unit of warriors to bulk it out to 6 points and out of 45 figures I only had 3 duplicates – well done Gripping Beast!. I replaced the Warlord with the Welsh Warlord on foot and used wire spears in place of the white metal ones supplied to ward off curious fingers.

I used Artist’s acrylic throughout ensuring that any intense pigments were dulled down to colour matches I had for Dark Age dyes and employed a three shade system that these figures suit. The figures themselves had plenty of flat surfaces on cloaks that would need the plaid treatment so once the basic figures were done, I sprayed with matt polyurethane to apply the plaid using a lining brush.

Levy Archers.
I decided that these would be the Warlord’s Estate workers so would have a shared colour palette – Brown, Yellow, Grey, Green, Blue.

Warriors
These would have a more varied palette and I decided to try wet blending on the shields to get a colour gradient which worked well. For shield designs, I chose simple crosses or Pictish designs.

Hearthguard
These would have more plaid cloth and more red on the clothing. I decided that they would have black shields with a white motif to match the Warlord.

Warlord
I seem to remember a doughty character in Macbeth called Lennox, well this would be my Warlord. Another trip to the Memory Bank reminded me of Bobby Lennox so he had to be kitted out in Green and White. For the cuirass, I used gunmetal/Silver and a thin coat of silver white to highlight. I added a dark purple cloak with yellow plaid. A black shield with Stags head motif completed the figure.

Basing
I added filler and stones to the base before undercoating the figures. When the figure was complete, I started the bases with black all over. I then drybrushed mid grey and then a light grey to pick out stones and boulders. I wanted a dark peaty soil with granite showing through and then the boulders. I then dry brushed the areas I was going to apply static grass in mid then light brown. I then applied Static grass in two shades.

Heather and grass tufts
To make the heather clumps, I used a piece of black pan scourer from B & Q, which I ripped open to make clumps which I attached to greaseproof paper with PVA. I drybrushed the surface with PVA and then sprinkled Heather flock lightly on the surface. Once dry and fixed with sealant spray, I could peel these off and attach to the bases. I bought some 6mm forest green static grass for the tufts. I dropped blobs of PVA onto Greaseproof and then dropped the Static grass on top. I pushed this into a clump as the PVA dried then fixed with sealant before peeling off and fixing to the base.

Gaslands Build – The Lost Prophet

John Lambert takes us on a bus ride…

One vehicle missing from my Gaslands inventory was a bus. I found a reasonably priced Airport Coach in our local ASDA and started to plan the build. I envisaged a political “Battlebus” that I would turn into a real battle bus. From the deep memory bank I remembered Clint Eastwood in “Gauntlet” where he drives a witness to court in a coach equipped with an improvised armoured driving position. He wins through but the coach is riddled with bullets so it had to feature that. I wanted a massive engine to power it and found the ideal unit in Hot Wheels “Te’ed off”. The coach came apart easily, I cut up the interior to fit the engine and armoured the seat, then drilled bullet holes in the windscreen and side windows. I then put it all together painted it red and scuffed up the paint with a pan scourer, then added the slogans on the sides. I built it for a friend to introduce him to the game. There’s plenty of scope to add more equipment. There’s two hatches, I could use to hide weapons, a minigun perhaps but the standard bus build is quite well armed, I could fit a turret on the roof or a ram to the front.

Let’s Get Medieval

Stephen gives us an end-of-year Medieval treat…

I’ve a couple of bits on the go at the moment, one more or less complete and the other just starting.

First up is a 15mm Wars Of The Roses army to give that young upstart, Earl Jeremey ‘Hotspur’ a run for his money. These will be for Sword & Spear. I bought a few test packs of Essex archers (since I knew I’d need lots of archers) to get my juices flowing. I have it on good authority that I’ve been a good boy this year (well, good enough) and that Santa is going to be bringing me the rest of the army. We’re really enjoying Sword & Spear and I’m looking forward to re-fighting some battles from the WotR.

Archers

The other thing I’ve been popping away at over the last year is a medieval Irish army for Lion Rampant. These are suitable for the 13th and 14th century. I’ve now got 24 points worth with two units of Gallowglaichs (dismounted men at arms), two units of Bonnachts (light foot with javelins) and two units of Kerns (scouts with bows). I plan to add another unit of bonnachts and kerns during the year to give more flexibility and for some bigger games. These are destined for a game at 2019’s Open Day with an Irish round tower build in the offing as well.

Irish Army

Whither Shall I Wander

We had a game of Lord of The Rings Battle Game on Saturday and Tony had made some terrain pieces that just add that little bit extra to a games table.

So with that in mind, and a wet and miserable Sunday to fill, I decided to make one as well. Only I was a little bit more ambitious. Rather than just a sign post on its own I decided to make it a bit more comprehensive and to theme it to a medieval setting since road junctions in medieval times were important boundaries and points for outsiders.

I’m afraid I didn’t take any work-in-progress shots, but it was surprisingly quick to make. I thought it would draw out over several days. But no. Got it all done in a day!

The gibbet cage was made from styrene strip. It was a straightforward build, but fiddly whilst waiting for the glue to dry. The posts were made from balsa and the stones around the base made from milliput. Most of the time was spent waiting for the milliput to set – put it in the boiler cupboard where it’s warm and then off to Sainsburys to do the shopping whilst it cures. The water trough and parish boundary stone were also made from milliput.

Painting was simple as well. Both wood and stone were from the same colours – a mix of khaki and medium grey. But more medium grey in the stone and more khaki in the wood. I decided to keep the destinations on the signpost generic. Then add some ballast on the base, then add some static grass. And finish off with some clump foliage. The water in the trough is from epoxy resin (the Wickes’ home brand one is nice and cheap). The skull was from GW’s excellent (and splendidly OTT) ‘Box Of Skulls’.

And there we have it – a signpost with gibbet cage, boundary marker, and water trough for tired animals.

Gaslands Monster Truck Build

John Lambert shows us his latest Gaslands build

I’d always wanted to build a chrome Monster Truck after I’d seen ‘Fury Road’ so this is how I did it. The build also coincides with the Gaslands TX2 supplement which includes details of new weapons.
From this:

To the finished article at the top of the page.

Truck body
Firstly, I drilled out the rivets on the Pickup Truck to separate the components. The bonnet air inlet on the truck is a bit naff so this was removed and replaced with a resin part. I added mesh for the windows and windscreen and built a weapon mount from plastic tubing and plastic strapping. I put it all back together, sprayed with Humbrol chrome and dry brushed Burnt Sienna as rust. Job done.

Chassis
I drilled out rivets to separate the body and cut down the chassis to the top of the springs and checked the fit. I toned down the garish chrome on the original, sprayed the suspension parts chrome and black washed over to pick out the detail on the springs which is really good.

Harpoon Gun
I wanted this to be like an old whaling gun. I built it from plastic rod, tube and plastic card. I added a gunner and a 28mm wire spear cut down made an ideal. I painted the harpoon dark grey and dry brushed gunmetal.

War Rig

John Lambert shows off his Gaslands mean machine

Here’s My War Rig ready for the Christmas Gaslands Game! I’m pleased with how it came out and here’s how I did it. I made it from a Tonka Articulated Lorry, which comes with a load of crates or plastic pipes.

Tractor Unit
I drilled out the rivets connecting cab to chassis. I covered the yellow cab with paint stripper and the next morning it was ready to go. I drilled a hole in the bonnet for the air intake, then added a new bonnet. The air intake was made from Plastic tube and plasticard. I ditched the plastic exhausts and replaced with aluminium tubing. Over the front wheel arches, I added armoured covers from platic strapping and secured them with lengths of chain. I added mesh for the windows and the radiator.
For the Chassis, I added spikes to the wheels using carpet tacks then used cross stitch mesh for the panels covering the rear wheels. For the ram, I built two ‘I’ section girders out of the front to support the ram fashioned from 30 thou plasticard.

Trailer Unit
Fr the chassis, I added spikes and armour as for the tractor unit. For the rear ram, I used an old cartridge from a razor which I covered with plastic strapping armour. I added a mesh surround for a lower fighting platform.

I used plastic waste pipe for the tank, scribing plastic circles for the ends and added strips around the pipe with 20 thou plastic card. I added a ladder from the cross stitch mesh and added details on the rear to simulate fuel unloading equipment.

I built the fighting top using Evergreen rods and girder sections and the front and back panels were from the plasticard I’d used for the tank ends. I covered the floor with panels from plastic strapping added randomly. The Gatling gun was scratchbuilt using plastic rod and tube and the crew figure was one I’d got from Marcus. I finished off the trailer with wire cut from mesh.

Finishing Off
I followed a method shown on U Tube by ‘Vengeful Raider’ . I sprayed Matt Black then applied several very thin coats of dark grey paint. The next step was a dry brush of Gun Metal followed by a dark brown wash. Finally I applied Matt black using a sponge. This gave a good beaten up look and helped break down the large surfaces of the tank and cab. I added a thin brown wash over the chrome exhaust system. For the chequer plate armour, I started with thin layers of red brown followed by a gunmetal drybrush. For the chassis armour, I dry brushed red brown and then Yellow Ochre for the rust. Finally, I painted on the slogans, though I might add some flags later.

Just got to think of a name, I’d thought of ‘The Ark of Redemption’ or ‘Destiny’s Child’.

That’s the end, and it will be for you if you suffer a Piledriver attack from this beast.

Gaslands – Pimp your ride !

John Lambert provides some background and details on our Gaslands Christmas game, and give tips on converting Matchbox cars into post-apocalyptic racers:

As you are aware, one of our Christmas games will be Gaslands featuring a War Rig (I’m building one). For the game it is expected that participants will bring a Hot Wheels/ Matchbox “1/64 scale” vehicle to the meeting, there will be spares available though it’s much more fun and rewarding to build your own. Each vehicle build is points costed and the limit for each vehicle will be 25 cans (there’s a download file on the Yahoo group with basic vehicle costs and available upgrades). The best store to grab your vehicle is ASDA. They stock both manufacturers and are generally the cheapest.

With your prized possession safely at home, it’s time to decide what to do. Go to the Quickplay download sheet on the Yahoo group and determine the class of the vehicle you have chosen. This will give you the vehicle cost and the build slots available. There are build slot costs and cans costs for each weapon. Add it all together and get your total vehicle costs. If you have spare cans, there are perks available which can be added later.

Conversion work can be as simple or complex as you like, the key is to make it as cheap as possible so scavenge as much as possible and think about how you can use it. Do bear Health and Safety in mind though! Cable ties cut into pieces makes good side rams/armour or a minigun ammo belt. Paperclips make good gun barrels or mounts for electrical weapons. The insides of a redundant computer mouse can provide a number of suitable components. Plastic case strapping makes good chequer pattern armour plate and cocktail sticks or carpet tacks can be added as spikes, just use your imagination. There are numerous Youtube videos that do a really good job and provide lots of inspiration, J H Miniatures (James Hall) being one of the best contributors. When it’s done, superglue the wheels so it won’t slide down inclines, spray black and drybrush to bring out the details and you’re done.

If you wanted to do something more elaborate then you will need some extra bits and pieces.
Separating into components. Check the base of your car. If it’s screwed together you are in luck. If riveted you will have to drill the rivets out. Use a HSS bit as the metal is quite tough. Support the bonnet and boot from below an take it easy otherwise the bit will wander.

Stripping the paint job. Paint stripper will wreck the plastic parts. With the metal body separated you can strip off the paint to the bare metal. I used paint stripper from Homebase (TX10 for less than £4). You don’t have to remove all the paint and a good effect can be achieved by leaving part of the original paint on

Battle damage. Use a metal burr or the HSS drill bit to gouge the metal, use files to add more damage. For heavy damage I’ve used a plumbers wrench or club hammer.

Mesh Windscreens. Isopon aluminium mesh costs £2 from Halfords. Added inside or out, it hides the need for a driver.

Rust. I spray the metal body with Polyurethane gloss then apply Burnt Sienna wash to the rusted parts, then spray matt acrylic varnish from 2 feet away. This gives the rusted parts some texture which can be highlighted by drybrushing.

Weapons. If you have 1/72nd scale kits, these may supply suitable weapons. Otherwise this store has a range of weapons and bits:- http://www.sgtsmess.co.uk

Plastic Tubing and Plasticard. Evergreen supply a range of tubing and rod. Get a mixed pack, it’s all you will need and can be used to scratchbuild weapons.

Hope you find this useful, and see you at the starting grid sometime!

Slammer Update #1

Tony F shows off some of the new models he’s putting together for next weekend’s extended meeting

If you’ve missed the previous updates, we’ve extended the hours for our August bank holiday weekend meeting, with the club open until 7pm. To take advantage of this, two members are putting on extra-large games catering for lots of players.

My offering is a 15mm science-fiction game set in the Hammer’s Slammers universe of US author David Drake. With around 10-12 players expected to take part we’ll need lots of forces to go round, so I’ve been working away on some new mercenary detachments. The first to be finished is this unit of Foster’s Mercenaries, a specialist air-defence and artillery outfit. They are equipped with huge multi-wheeled Centurion transport vehicles – some are command or transport vehicles, the others armed with howitzers or rapid-firing calliopes. The detachment also has an organic infantry element for local defence.

The vehicles and infantry are all from Brigade Models and you can read a bit more about them on the BM blog, including details on construction and painting. Even better, this is another task knocked off my To-do list for the year 🙂

Sci-Fi Gubbins

Stephen has been tinkering again…

Here’s some sci fi scatter terrain I put together for a recent game. A lot of the parts came from the bits box or shops like Poundland – so it can be very cheap to put together terrain pieces.

As we all know, extraplanetary deserts are well known for having jettisoned escape pods buried in them. And this one’s no different. The escape pod is a Revell 1/144 Apollo Command Module kit. It was mounted on an old CD and then filler was slapped on.

And if alien deserts are known for their escape pods they are just as well known for their enigmatic dinosaur skeletons.

I bought this about a year or so ago in The Works. They had several different dinosaur skeletons, in clear plastic tubes, for about £2 each. So I bought one of each, just in case. This was actually more hassle to put together than it looks like it should be. The trick is filling the rib cage. I used expanded polystyrene bits where the ribs would be (which would also keep the weight down) and then slathered it in filler before pushing the skeleton into it.

The next piece is a generic bit of industrial waste. The wheels and the cement mixer tumbler were from Poundland kids toys. The grey container thing is actually an empty stapler cartridge from an office printer/photocopier.

This bunker/shack/whatever is another bit from a Poundland toy. It’s actually the scoop from a toy tipper truck turned upside down and then bits of plasticard and other odds and ends stuck on.

The fun at Poundland doesn’t stop! I can’t take credit for this one – I stole the idea from someone else on a forum somewhere. It’s a pair of toy guns, the handles cut off and covered with plasticard. The end of the barrel is also cut off and used to make some kind of exhaust vent. Then given a slap of paint.

Yup, finally, more Poundland! A toy truck, tyres removed, and given a new paint-job and rusted up as a derelict.