Fully Painted: Pig Iron Sci-Fi Infantry, and More

A couple years ago, I got my hands on a big ol' box of gorgeous sci-fi infantry figures from Pig Iron Productions. Now, if you know me, you'll know that I'm a sucker for anything by Pig Iron. The gritty, near-future aesthetic of the figures aligns perfectly with my sci-fi wargaming interests. I've already got a big skirmish army built from Pig Iron's Heavy Infantry figures, as well as a hefty group of the totally awesome Kolony Ferals.

This new lot -- offered up by fellow club member Karl after one of his many bargain-hunting transactions on ye olde Internet -- included 30+ Kolony Militia figures. These guys have greatcoats and gas masks and military gear, and they look fantastic everywhere I've seen them. The militia guys were unpainted, and they sat in a box at least a year while I fiddled around with other projects.

I finally got started painting them last summer. My goal is to do small groups in different paint schemes, so they can be used on their own as warbands, or as squads in a larger army.

Here are the first two groups. I'm not sure what to call them -- either half-squads or reinforced fire teams, or something similar.

And just for fun, here are a few more sci-fi figures I finished up recently.

This guy is from from Ratnik Miniatures (via Lead Adventure Miniatures) ... he is called an "assassin," but he could easily work as a squad leader, sniper or forward observer.

These are a couple female troopers from Hasslefree Miniatures. I really like them because they don't have the typical ostentatious armor and crazy proportions that characterizes the female form in most miniatures. Their armor and poses look fairly functional and realistic.

And lastly, we have three character models perched atop some really amazing resin bases that I picked up at the Games Plus auction last year. The resin bases were unpainted, unlabeled and I have no clue where they came from.

The figures themselves are (from left): Pig Iron Kolony Militia, Reaper Chronoscope (trying to be a Gears of War guy) and Warhammer 40k Vostroyan (some of my favorite recent 40k sculpts).

Studious blog readers will note that a few of these guys have already hit the table in various battle reports this year. They're not particularly new -- this is just the first time I've gotten them all together for some decent photos!

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

A Harryhausen-Themed Stop-Motion Monster Warband

I have always been an avid fan of stop-motion effects in film. Once the bread and butter special effects in the age before digital animation and CGI, they are now seldom seen. I grew up on films such as “The Seven Voyages of Sinbad” and “Clash of the Titans” wherein actors hacked and stamped in stilted sword and shield combat with bone-dry skeletons, or fought giant scorpions and colossal bronze statues brought to life.

When I saw the models from the Fractured Dimensions Infernal Minions Kickstarter by Brett Zeleznik, I couldn’t help but notice that the Cambian Lord looked very similar to the character of Caliban from the early 80’s "Clash of the Titans" movie. Coupled with a giant scorpion model from Pardulon Models that I had acquired, I suddenly had the idea to build a "Clash of the Titans" Harryhausen-themed warband for Song of Blades and Heroes.

The idea simmered in my mind, and I picked up several models for the warband over the course of the next year

The Cambian Lord (Fractured Dimensions), who was to become “Caliban”

The resin Giant Scorpion (Pardulon Models) dubbed “Fluffy,” one of the most realistic scorpion sculpts out there. Many of the Reaper and similar scorpion miniatures are very unrealistic in proportion and form, and often end up very comic compared to the real thing.

An Abbot Dol Warrior (Fractured Dimensions), very similar in form to the Cambian Lord model. This figure was to become Grimus, a minion of Caliban. (I said themed, not exact to the films!)

A Demon Type V model (Fractured Dimensions), originally a six-armed figure with a snake tail instead of legs and two options for the torso. I also aquired a Reaper Bones Medusa, but eventually opted to instead use the demon model for “Medusa” even though it required some conversion. The PVC material in Bones figures is too flexible in small models.

A Demon Type IV model (Fractured Dimensions) using the helmet and trident option became a flying Warthog monster called “Oinkos” who has been the bane of my opponents this campaign season. While not really a proper fit with the Harryhausen monsters, this model had the same absurdity of form and was thematically a classic in it’s own right.

Skeleton Warriors (Wargames Factory). I looked at several models, primarily looking for the greek style sword and shield. While there are others out there that fit the bill including some produced by Reaper and Otherworld, the cost or materials were negatives. As an added advantage, the Wargames sprues contained the perfect bow and quiver set for the Medusa conversion!

And finally a Talos (Mierce Miniatures), to represent… well… “Talos” a very classic Harryhausen monster of course. I don't have a pic of this fellow just yet.

All of these sat unbuilt and unpainted on my desk until the SBH summer campaign approached, and suddenly I had a week to put together my warband. In three evenings, I assembled and based the entire warband. The Fractured Dimensions models were all very well cast with very few mold lines to remove. The Medusa conversion was very fiddly due to very tiny pieces, and I was forced to drill and pin the bow through the hand so that it would not get knocked off during game play.

Contrary to much of what I have read about the Wargames Factory skeleton models, they were actually very easy to assemble, and work with. The legs are thin, but sufficient to hold up the model, though there is some flex. On the fourth evening of this project, I finished assembly and basing on three skeletons, and painted the warband to a satisfactory tabletop standard, with all of the painting except for a basecoat on the Scoprion model taking place that evening. Talos was not completed at that time, and will be featured in a later blog post.

The detail on the skeleton shields was completed in a follow-up hour of painting.

Overall, while I may yet touch up some of the models, I am very happy with the completed result given the short time frame, and they look great on the tabletop as "Caliban’s Cursed." I created the warband as an "evil" team, allowing Medusa to shoot into combat, and used the standard SBH stats for the skeletons, Fluffy, and Medusa (with the addition of unerring aim to add a small amount of potency without making her overpowering).

Caliban, Grimus, and Oinkos all all received the mutant ability to represent the “Cursed” moniker. I have found it to be a flavorful (but negative) inclusion, since all but two of my mutation roles have been detrimental. I've been forced to use experience advancements to bring them back up to or near original stats.

Caliban was given the necromancer trait to raise more skeletons from combat casualties as the existing ones are destroyed. This is another skill that has proven very difficult to actually use in game. Oinkos has proven to be the brute of the warband. His big, flying, and long move skills make him dangerous in combat, and his primary use has been to quickly take objectives or as a mobile combat support which he excels at. His brutish capability has, however, been offset as the campaign progresses by the fact that fully half of the warband are undead or animals and do not take experience or advancement.

"Caliban's Cursed" has definitely been one of the most creative, fun to build, and fun to and play warbands that I have put together in a summer campaign!

-- Jon, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Bridges and Scuttles from O-Scale Train Cars

Over the past few years I've picked up a number of broken O-scale train cars, and I've finally put them to good use. Most of these damaged in some way, usually lacking wheels and trucks, but that didn't bother me since I didn't need them anyway. Aside from price, the main benefit to using model train cars is the great detail, which makes drybrushing a breeze. Check out those great rivets and ladders!

Here are coal and sand scuttles made from open-topped hopper cars. I used my Dremel 543 blade to cut off the bottom of the cars and smooth them out.

Then I glued in a cardboard bottom and added ballast. The coal is gravel painted black, drybrushed and then given a bit of magic wash for a coal-like sheen.

Done correctly, the ballast will bring the floor level up just enough to allow 28mm figures to take cover but still see over the edges.

I did similar work on two gondolas and a Fisher Price Geotrax bridge. I filled the molded-in tracks on the Fisher Price bridge with cement and gravel, though I probably should have cemented over the whole area. The odd melted section of the middle bridge one came that way, which is probably why it was so cheap. Looks pretty cool to me.

The black bridge simply had the ends cut off.

The red bridge was also shortened.

The Fisher Price bridge was actually meant to be used flat on the ground and had big chunks of ground detail molded on the sides. I cut all that off!

All three were simply spray painted, then washed and drybrushed with tan. The end result is a set of extremely useful terrain pieces for very little money. I've got a number of industrial terrain pieces that have buckets or spouts that will spill nicely into the scuttles. Likewise, sturdy bridges and gangways are an essential part of any Necromunda layout. If your local train store doesn't have a bargain bin, a quick search of eBay will show various lots of broken or outdated train cars that can be had for a fair bargain.

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Shipping Containers from Micro Machines Playsets

A while back I came across a bag of old Micro Machine playsets at a resale shop. They were largely incomplete, but the bag contained 11 of them and the price was great, so I picked them up as a basis for sci-fi shipping containers. In their original form they would have looked something like this.

(Picture via Toys from the Past)

After cleaning off any stickers, I clipped off the hinges and glued them shut. They're a very nice size, being tall enough to completely conceal a 28mm miniature or even a small vehicle, but thin enough to not take up too much space on the tabletop.

The round details are status markers from the Sedition Wars game that are meant to stack under the bases of the miniatures.

The logo details are mutation markers from the same game.

I used a heavy coat of "Magic Wash" (Future Floor Polish and paint) to weather these. I'm not entirely pleased with the results, as it's almost too dirty and drippy. If I use Magic Wash in the future, I'll probably use ink rather than paint. Still, the results are quite serviceable. I have three each of three different types, each type painted in a different manner.

They are pretty stable and can be stacked to make a rather impressive tower.

I also kitbashed a flatbed transport truck from various toy parts and a removable double container.

Again I'm not entirely pleased with the Magic Wash, but it looks fine on the tabletop.

These are a welcome addition to my sci-fi scatter terrain collection. They've already seen use in Necromunda and Mech Attack and I'm sure that's just the beginning.

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

The Exchange with Mattias, Part 2: Escher Gang

Before his departure to Hawaii, Mattias and I arranged a trade of terrain and miniatures. Earlier I showed off the buildings and cliffs that I built for him. Today I've got 15 Necromunda figures that he painted for me. All but one of these are unmodified Games Workshop Escher figures, based on Inkwell Industries resin bases.

The smaller size pics don't do these justice so I've uploaded large versions of each. If you really want to see them close up, go ahead and "open in new tab" any of these images to see the figs in their full glory.

Juves
The lowly cannon fodder of the gang. I had asked for a variety of skin tones. In Mattias' unique grayscale-based painting style, this results in a range from an elfin pale to a shadowed grey.

Ranged Weapon Gangers

At first I was a bit confused by the somewhat monochrome bases, but now I think it's really a nice unifying effect.

More Gangers and Heavies 
Note the great sludgy wet effects. Most of the figures have a bit of it on their bases, but it's particularly notable here. Also, I'm really glad to have the plasma gun figure. The weapon is a nice in-between size that could easily be work as a plasma or heavy plasma gun.

Close Combat and Leader Figures
Very glad to have the iconic (and now ridiculously expensive) "Mad Donna Ulanti" figure as seen on the right. Also, the figure on the far left is not Games Workshop and has a rather interesting history. The original sculpt was a "Mutant Dominatrix" in the Shockforce game. Mega Minis (now Johnnyborg) acquired the rights and re-released her in a slightly resculpted form without her mutant characteristics (gills, tail, etc) and this was the example I acquired.

Unfortunately, the arms and hands were just terrible, so I chopped them off just below the elbows and attached the arms from a Heroclix Elektra figure, with a Necromunda autogun attached. She also has a Rogue Trader-era bolt pistol holster on her right leg. I think she fits in pretty well, and for those interested, she is still available here. 

As a bonus, here's a neat figure I picked up from Mattias when he was selling off a few of his painted figures. Lots of potential uses for him (cultist, mage, mutant, you name it) in a variety of genres, but I particularly thought that in Necromunda he could be a Wyrd, which is a sort of independent magic user. He scales pretty well with an average ganger. Not sure of the manufacturer, but I'm pretty sure he's a vintage sculpt of some sort.

Lastly, my pictures have made the paint jobs slightly more muted than they appear in real life. Here's a shot with flash that washes out the figs a bit, but still shows off a bit more of the contrasts and certain details and reveals the wet effects on the bases.

And there you have it! Fifteen excellently painted Escher figs with enough variety to cover most any gang arrangements. I'm very happy to have these, as the Escher have long been favorites of mine, but I never felt that my dip-based painting style would have been appropriate for these sculpts.

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Fully Painted: Flesh Mutants and Sci-Fi Objective Markers

A couple of months ago I was on a big STALKER kick -- playing the game every evening and browsing some of the excellent, inspiring work that folks are doing on the tabletop to bring this oddball genre to life.

Along the way I uncovered a pile of Sedition Wars Strain figures that I had acquired from Karl last year and promptly forgot about. I decided to give them a quick and dirty paintjob so they can serve as mutants and/or rad zombies for my post-apocalyptic games.

I used just three colors for the figures -- flesh tone, army drab for the pants, and a couple spots of yellow to highlight the weeping sores on the bodies. Then, of course, they got the dip, which brought everything together nicely. They won't win any awards, but they don't look half bad for an evening's work. You can see more pics of the mutants in action in our recent battle report.

Along with the mutants, I also finished off a half dozen resin objective markers. Originally designed and sold for Dystopian Wars, the markers are like little mini-dioramas with all sorts of nifty details, perfect for sci-fi or post-apocalyptic games.

That's it for now -- back to the workbench!

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Fully Painted: Post-Apocalyptic Russian Scavengers

Earlier this year I decided to look into purchasing some select models from Ratnik Miniatures, a small-batch Russian manufacturer distributed by Lead Adventure Miniatures (and sold domestically here in the U.S. of A. by Cool Mini or Not). Imagine my surprise (and glee!) when I strolled over to CMON and saw that the entirety of their Lead Adventure Miniatures stock was on clearance!

I quickly pieced together an order, snapping up a half dozen packs of post-apocalyptic figures that I've been salivating over for years. Much of this stuff is inspired by the STALKER video games: lots of scrappy scavengers with gas masks and bandoliers and pieced-together military kit. Very heady, atmospheric stuff.

Anyway, the figures arrived and I set about painting up two batches of Russian scavengers, for a grand total of 10 guys. They're armed with simple 20th-century weapons -- no laser rifles here -- which fits perfectly with our post-apocalyptic games.

As an added bonus (and just to see if I could), I gave each guy a name, written in Russian along the base. Somewhere my college Russian professor is chuckling!

These guys already hit the table earlier this year in a game of The Dogs & The Dust. I'm sure they'll be a familiar sight on the wastelands for a long time to come!

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Terrain for Mattias, Part 1: The Negotiation

There's a lot of painting talent in our club. One member in particular has a very unique style that I like a lot. Mattias's approach has a palette and look that is quite unlike most other painters. You can see it on his less-than-accurately titled Amateur Hour blog.

When it came time for Necromunda, I really wanted him to paint my Eschers for me. I simply don't have the skill to paint these amazing miniatures in a satisfactory way. However, knowing his schedule, and my inability to pay him what his skill would deserve, I knew I would have to make a big offer.

I convinced him to accept two Macross models, a mess of custom terrain and use of the Eschers in the our Necromunda campaign in exchange for him painting up a 14-member Escher gang. In a few weeks we should be able to see the entire gang (his starting warband is already finished, and some are in this post), but today I will present my half of the bargain.

The rocks are seat cushion foam, torn by hand and then painted black with drybrushes of brown and bamboo.

A few of them have tunnels running under them. The piece near the middle with the monster on it was cut from the piece in the upper right with an electric carving knife. It perfectly matches and can be used separately or together to make a taller piece.

I hadn't though much about it, but Mattias showed me how they can be combined for some cool looking formations.

The buildings below are made with my typical methods of Dremeling away any sections I don't want, then covering the resulting openings and details I don't like with corrugated cardboard and sci-fi bits, plus lots of additional greebling. These first two in particular have lots of nice junky bits in the receptacles. Feel free to ask any construction-related questions in the comments section.

The first two buildings are similar in style, both based on Thomas and Friends railway buildings. I've painted them similarly and made them into a sort of recycling center.

I'm particularly proud of the spot on the back where minis can be placed in a lookout.

This second piece is more like two buildings on the same base.

I've cut away the chute that once connected them and put a dumpster in between them. A few bits on the other side implies a covered trash compactor.

This third building is a stock model from Dust Tactics Airfield Quonset Hut Accessory Pack with an added smokestack.

I really think that 28mm wargamers owes it to themselves to buy a box of these. About $20 will get you 4 incredibly useful buildings that can fit into any setting from 1941 through the far future. They even have opening doors! I've also found them useful as roofs on top of Dust Tactics Warzone Tenement buildings.

The final building is a converted Fisher Price toy.

I removed a window to allow access to the upper story and added a bit of machinery inside.

I also removed a variety of other parts and bracing from the boom and bucket to make the area accessible to miniatures.

An added shelf makes the upper first story window a nice lookout.

I was so happy with this one that I didn't want to let it go, so imagine my joy at finding another one at the resale shop a few weeks ago! I'm eagerly awaiting the completed Escher gang, though I will have to wait until the end of the campaign to take possession. When they're ready, I'll post them up and you all can judge if I made a good bargain.

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member