First Stargrunt squad done!

Things that I have learnt painting my first 15mm:
*My eyesight is going
*It really doesn't matter if each mini isn't that good. "That'll do, pig".
*DO NOT USE VARNISH. The white on the bases is my Humbrol varnish melting the base. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT
*A full army/squad always looks better than an excellently painted single figure Read More......

I wish I was a better painter.
That is all. Read More......

Leviathan and Stargrunt projects!

I've had this mini (well, it stands 12 cm tall) for over a decade. It is from the now defunct 'Leviathan' game, and I've always loved it but never had a reason to use it. I looks like that know I might thanks to Nuclear Renaissance! Over the years, and moving country, it has taken a beating and will need a lot of attention to get up to scratch. Embarrassingly, I've never painted a mini this big before so I may have to approach it with a little caution.





As you can see, it needs a lot of filing and putty before it is painted.




On top of this, Stargrunt! I've been playing (and loving) SG a fair bit recently so went and bought a platoon of New Israeli from Ground Zero Games. The two APCs are from Old Crow.

All thats seven 8-man squads, a command squad and 2 mounted sentry guns all for 25 quid +p&h. Bargain.





I almost don't want to paint them because the promise of what they will be will always be better than the reality of how I will paint them. But we've all got to grow up, children, and I should start these this week.
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on the cheap 2

So here they are. Not as yet complete, still debating whether to use the backpacks. 2 sessions to paint, about 3 hours in total whilst watching some awful Martin Lawrence film. They are ok, I'm still debating whether to get 20 more of them because, whilst they are fine for scenarios, I wouldn't want to claim them as "my army".



also,





My next two Nuclear Renaissance figs. They look a bit chalky, will need to put a wash over the blue to settle it down a bit, but it's going to plan. I just need enough figs so I can mix-and-match as I choose. Read More......

on the cheap

Saw these at this site. I'm looking for some cheap security figs for scenarios and they don't get much cheaper than this. 5 for £2.50 is not bad at all, but I tend to get what I pay for and may end up trying to polish a turd.

To Hell with it. I'll try one box and if they are ok I'll get a few more. Three 10-man squads for £15. I can dream, can't I? Read More......

Made a 1:1 mock up of grav tank

As ever, spending time on my work placement productively:

Ok, this shot isn't exactly bathed with glory, but:


Ptchoo! Ptchoo!


Exploiting articulated design!

Note the auspicious use of pennies and coins. Now I have a tangible guide, I'm going to start making the front bit tonight. Ptchoo!!!


EDIT:

It's coming together! Read More......

Nuclear Renaissance!

My NucRes gang to date. This is pretty much an entire gang, but I think I'm going to continue the colour scheme throughout all my squads so I can mix-and-match and still get a cohesive look to the force.

The next batch will be:

Note minor conversion, giving the mech God's Own Shotgun.

Have been playing a lot of Nuclear Renaissance with a Power-Gaming friend. I'm enjoying it more and more, mostly because we are using scenery and scenarios better and better. I created a city scape where a Nuclear power supply had to be taken from a building and pulled off the other side of the board. I actually forgot the rule in NucRes that says that players can shoot/hack/ram down walls, which added a fun dimension to match. I'm giving myself a week to get these guys block painted, then a week for highlights/shading. Then AAR with pics. w00t!

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More design work.

Will I ever get to actually making this thing? Front chassis, rear chassis, mid chassis, turret, barrel/muzzle. 5 pieces so far. As far as I can tell, my limited skills can make masters for all pieces, and all should be able to be cast from a one-directional mould. Now just transferring the images to reality. The basic shapes are OK, but need more details so they don't look so boring when they are cast. Doors, hatches, armour plates, etc. So, time to start making masters!

EDIT:
This is as much drawing as I'm willing to do. I'll wing it from here.
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Final design?

This may be what I end up making. Instead of copying tanks that I can buy from a toyshop I might as well try to make something I haven't seen before. So, GRAV TANK TO THE RESCUE!

What I have in mind is an articulated tank, that is, 3 main body pieces that can be positioned however one chooses. This would be how the tank steers. On 2 grav pads, the tank would have a turning circle of 0 metres. I think 20-30 of them would look pretty good on a battle field.

The turret needs to be bigger. I may change the middle section to be a thin support for a larger turret/crew section. TBC.

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Sketch-up 3 - everything's changed

This is the new design for the tank:

I like it more than the other one, which looked a bit like a buggy or a dodgem car. Still may make it later on, but not as a tank and not that big.

The new one is flatter, which I like. I've also gone for treads over wheels to give it a tankish look.

I'm beginning to realise that I may not currently have all the tool (sanding disc, drop saw) that I would need to make the model I want. I may have to compromise on some things depending on what I have lying around. dammit.

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Sketch-up part 2

Whilst well and truly still in the planning stages, I'd thought I'd knock up some CAD drawings to help me visualise what it is I want the tank to look like.

As you can see, I haven't yet decided what I want the turret to look like. Who knows, I may decide I just want lots of little buggies. That's allowed, right?

I'm thinking that it is a bit tall for a tank. Modern tanks (e.g. Abrams) are about 8 feet high, where as this is 12 feet to scale already, not including turret. I may reduce the size of the upper chassis from 15mm to 8-9mm, reduce the wheels and the lower chassis, and make any turret wide and flat. It will still be larger than a modern tank but that's the future for you.

I've thought about how I will cast it. Rather than have a 2-piece mould and all the problems that come with it, I'm thinking about doing two 1-piece moulds and pinning the castings together. The top half of the chassis will be one, the bottom the other. The front guards and wheels I can sort out afterwards:

This leaves the issue of how I want the turret to look like. I may need to be a bit creative with it if I only want to use 1-piece moulds.

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Casting project time!

I'd thought I'd start a new blog with a new project. Basically, I've been very inspired by these two blogs. I want to make and cast my own tanks for 15mm Sci-Fi (in a word, Stargrunt) in resin and make hundreds of them and zoom around the table top with a unique battalion of tanks.

Having been MANY years since I've done anything with resin, I'm gearing myself up for some mistakes along the way.

Sketching!

Fail to prepare and prepare to fail. I thought I might draw a 1:1 plan of what I think the tank should look like. I haven't drawn a turret on it, namely because I'm not sure what I want it to look like yet. Read More......