Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIV #6 - Star Wars & Science Fiction

 As part of last year's painting challenge I completed an assortment of retro Star Wars miniatures that were sculpted by Nevile Stocken of Archive Miniatures within weeks of the first Star Wars movie hitting the theatres. Alas, Stocken couldn't get a licensing agreement, and the line was modified to become 'Star Rovers' with enough changes made to circumvent copyright. These were a gift from a friend who got them from the estate of a mutual friend who had passed away. A total of sixteen figures consisting of Obi-wan Kenobi, Greedo, R2-D2, a Tusken raider, four Jawas, and eight Stormtroopers. With the exception of the Jawas, the figures stand 32-34mm tall. Obi-wan's light saber, and the gaffi stick of the Tusken raider  had broken off at some point. I rebuilt them using lengths of florist wire.

I was initially going to build the structure in the background as a Gondorian tower for Minas Tirith, but the materials I had weren't giving off the right vibe. I decided to add another building to my Tatooine collection instead. It stands 8" tall and the base is 8" on a side.

Somewhere in Mos Eisley

 

Stormtroopers

Tusken, Kenobi, Jawas, Greedo, and R2-D2

More Stormtroopers

 

 The last of the Stocken figures is a Bunny Stormtrooper, one of a variety of modifications to the original sculpts made to avoid copyright infringement. It could easily be converted back to a normal Stormtrooper by snipping off the ears, tail, rabbit teeth and toes. Unfortunately there was only one of these in the bag of minis my friend gave me.

In addition to the Archive miniatures, I also painted up two old-school 25mm Star Wars miniatures of Han Solo and Leia Organa from West End Games. They were painted with Vallejo acrylics, with a wash of Citadel Reikland Fleshshade on the skin areas. In the background is a plastic model kit released by MPC for 'The Return of the Jedi' which is approximately 1/78 scale. A bit small for the figures, but it works well on the game table.

 

Keeping with the Science Fiction genre are two female troopers from the Eurasian Solar Union by Ground Zero Games. I picked these up off eBay years ago with plans to add them to the mix of various manufactures that I painted up as my planetary militia. I had done a few of these for a previous challenge, and I used the same colour scheme using Vallejo acrylics and Citadel washes.

Lastly I painted up five resin cast vehicles from Scotia Grendel, consisting of two of their tracked Sci-Fi APCs and three of their wheeled A.T.A.C. APCs. I had purchased these at least fifteen years ago when I was still running an after-school wargames club, and I needed more vehicles for the large number of students who attended. In the end, I never found time to paint them and, after I retired, there was little incentive until now. Once again, the Painting Challenge has provided the necessary motivation to paint up items that have resided in a storage box for over a decade. 

The wolf's head on the back of the tracked APC is actually detail that is cast on the model in slight relief. I painted them white on both vehicles. 

A group shot of all five vehicles

6-wheeled APC, right side and front

6-wheeled APC, back and left side

Tracked APC, front and left side

Tracked APC, right side and back

 All of the figures and vehicles in this post were done for various themed challenges associated with the Challenge Library - Children's Books, Manga and Graphic Novels, Romance,  Science-Fiction, and Lady Sarah's Library Cart. It will be interesting to see what themed tasks will be presented in this year's 'Divine Comedy'.

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIV #5 - Idols of Torment

 Idols of Torment is a dark skirmish game developed by Jeremy of Black Magic Craft, and his friend JP, in which different factions, called Orders, compete against each other to harvest the souls of the Lost in a zone called the Echo. Our local gaming group had a opportunity to play test the rules before they went to publication.

Idols of Torment rule book

A chart from the rules showing the different orders

Each Order consists of a Reaper, a Corrupter, two Slayers, two Lurkers, two Stalkers, and a Totem, each class with is own set of abilities.  Each of the eight Orders also has some special characteristics unique to that faction to keep the game play interesting.  Here is my version of the Insatiate, representing Consumption, Greed, and Need. These are the official minis for the game, although the game is designed to be 'miniature agnostic'. They are all 3D printed, which gives some very detailed miniatures, but at times it was difficult to get the paintbrush into some of the recessed areas. The wings on all the figures are quite delicate, and it was only a matter of time before one got broken. I painted them using Vallejo acrylics and a variety of Citadel washes to get that 'parched vampire' look.

 

The Insatiate (with a set of Initiative token)

 

Corrupters are the only Idol class that can bind themselves to the prime energy in the Lost. Totems are a superconductor of corrupted energy that enables an Eternal to manifest their Idols and focus their powers into the afterlife realm. Reapers are the Idol class specialized in reaping the souls of the the Lost.

Corrupter, Totem, and Reaper

 Slayers are the Idol class specialized in melee combat.

Slayers

 Lurkers are the only Idol class that can make ranged attacks.

Lurkers

 Stalkers are the Idol class specialized in manoeuvering around the Echo.

Stalkers

 

In addition to a set of 'Order' figures, we also got a set of the 'Lost'. The set I got were eight 3D prints that were a 'test of concept' of the final design. They are now available on sprues and stand 40mm tall. My inspiration for the paint scheme I used was the look of the 'Army of the Dead' from the 'Lord of the Rings' movies. Starting with black primer, I gave the figures a drybrush of white using a soft brush, followed with a wash of Citadel Biel-Tan Green. I think it makes them look very ethereal.

 This project was definitely something different from my usual fare. They were fun to paint, but as mentioned earlier in this post, the 3D prints are very fragile. My minis have experienced some battle damage since painting them up, with one of my Lurkers having a wing and his halberd break off rather easily.
 

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIV #4 - Easterling Warriors and Command

For one of the special challenges of AHPC XIV I painted a group of twenty-two 25mm Games Workshop Easterlings consisting of a captain, a banner, four spear and shield, eight sword and shield, and eight archers. These were in the queue for the previous year's challenge, but the clock ran out before I could get to them. 

The miniatures were second-hand that needed some cleanup and repair to get them ready to paint. They got an overnight soak in rubbing alcohol (2-propanol), followed by a scrub with a stiff toothbrush to remove the previous paint job. Two of the archers had the upper half of their bows missing, and these were repaired with pieces of florist wire. A few of the spearmen and swordsmen had been assembled with their shields upside down, but I didn't think it was worth going through the effort to remove and re-attach them. After being primed with matt black, all the figures were painted using Vallejo acrylics, followed by a wash of Citadel Seraphim Sepia on all the armour, shields, boots, and gloves. Finally I went in with some 'Old Gold' to highlight the raised areas of the armour and shields.

 

A Shadow in the East

Complete group of 22 Easterling Warriors

Command and Spears

Archers (Can you spot the repaired bows?)

Swordsmen

At some point I think I will have to supplement this force with some Easterling Kataphrakts and a few faction heroes, but that is a project for the distant future. Thanks for reading.

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIV #3 - Early WW2 French

 

My third submission for the challenge was a selection of early World War 2 French tanks, transports, and troops of a Division Légère Mécanique (DLM), or Light Mechanized Division. They are something that I have been thinking about for a while, and they have finally come together in time for last winter's painting challenge.

 

First up are the armoured vehicles consisting of a mix of Char B1 bis, Somua S35, and Renault R35 tanks. The Char B1 tanks are 3D prints by the same friend who did my Polski FIAT trucks, while the latter two types are Solido diecast tanks that were repainted to give them a unified camouflage scheme. Historically the DLM tank battalions were equipped with Hotchkiss H35/H39 and Somua tanks, but I already had the R35s, so I went with that. The heavier Char B1 was not found in the DLM, but I always liked the look of it and added two to my French force. All the tanks were given a coat of USA Olive Drab surface primer using an airbrush. (In the case of the Char B1s, they got a coat of black primer first.) The brown and yellow were applied by brush, and then the whole tank got a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade. After the decals were applied, all the vehicles got a wash of Vallejo Model Wash European Dust around the tracks and road wheels.

 

 

The Char B1 served in the armoured divisions of the French army, the Division Cuirassée (DCr). It was armed with a 75mm howitzer in the hull, and a 47mm gun in the turret. Although well armed and armoured, it suffered from the design of a one-man turret, where the commander had to act as both loader and gunner as well. My two models are 3D prints done using an STL file I found online. There must be a flaw in the file because the right track system printed with the tracks misaligned so that they touched the fender at the back of the tank, and didn't sit evenly on the table. To solve the problem, I used a fine blade saw to cut off the right track, reposition it correctly, and glue it back into place using super glue and baking soda (or sodium hydrogen carbonate for the chemists in the crowd 😉). My friend used different resins in the two prints, giving one model more flex than the other. That was the first one where I sawed off the tracks, which worked fairly well. When I went to do the second model, pressure from the blade caused the back part of the fender to break off, along with part of the exhaust system. I still don't know where the missing piece went, and it has probably been sucked up by the vacuum cleaner by now. I was able to rebuild the missing area from bits and bobs from my box of scratch-building supplies. I also added radio aerials to both tanks, but I probably only needed to do that on one model. Radio sets were not distributed below command tanks in the French army.

 

The Somua S35 was considered a 'cavalry tank' in the French army, and was one of the main tanks in a DLM. It had good speed, adequate range, and a gun powerful enough to destroyed any enemy tank it was likely to encounter. Like the Char B1, it had to deal with the problems of a one-man turret, as well as poor mechanical reliability. Its suspension system was too weak, too complicated, and the cast armour made it difficult to repair in the field.  The models are Solido 1/50 diecast that I purchased years ago, but as I acquired them individually off of eBay, they had two different paint schemes. One was sold green, while the other had a random green and dark brown camouflage pattern. As well, one of the tanks was missing the gun mantle off the main gun and the turret machine gun, so I scratch-built replacements. Now they look like they belong to the same unit.

 

The last pair of tanks are Renault R35s that saw service with the French Bataillon de Chars de Combat (BCC), as well as some that were sold to Poland and other countries. It was armed with a low velocity Puteaux cannon. Again, it suffered from a one-man turret, and rather slow speed. Some of the men from the Polish 10th Motorized Brigade, having escaped to France, saw service in these tanks in May 1940. These are also Solido 1/50 diecast models picked up from eBay when they were still fairly inexpensive. One was originally solid green, while the other had a green and tan camouflage pattern on it. I prefer the look of the three colour green, brown, and tan, although all the various colour combinations were used in 1940.

 

 

 

Now we come to the transport part of this submission starting with six Laffly S20 TL trucks designed to transport a squad of Dragons Portés, or motorized dragoons of the DLM. These are again 3D prints done by my friend from an STL file I found online. The file generated a very detailed model, but one that may not stand up to the rigours of the wargame table. My friend said he broke off the two side mirrors and the windscreen while trying to get the first print he made free from the supports. Afterwards he adjusted the files to remove the support problem, and the rest printed successfully without any issues. I also managed to snap off a side mirror, and a rear tire of two separate models while prepping them for painting due to rather fragile axles on the models. Once again I resorted to the super glue - baking soda combination to get a strong repair. I also scratch-built replacement mirrors using some florist wire and a small plastic disc made using my leather hole punch. All the models were primed black, followed by a coat of USA Olive Drab. The seats were painted using Vallejo Tan Earth, and the whole truck got a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade, followed by Vallejo Model Wash European Dust around the wheels and fenders.

 

 

While I was working on the other vehicles. I remembered that I had a Tamiya 1/48 model kit of a Citroën Traction 11 CV staff car sitting in a box in the basement. I originally wasn't sure how I wanted to paint it up, but in the end I decided to add it to my French force. It was an easy kit to assemble, and I painted most of the exterior using an airbrush while the parts were still on the sprue. From unopened kit to complete vehicle in less than a day.

 

 

 

At last we come to the troops, in this case Dragons Portés. All of these figures are very recent acquisitions from Crusader Miniatures. We will start with a platoon of three squads and a platoon headquarters. Each squad consists of ten men, including a man carrying a Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 M29 light machine gun, and his No. 2 holding spare magazines. All the squads have an extra figure armed with a Viven-Bessières rifle grenade cup discharger, as this is one of the options in the Bolt Action rules. One of the squad leaders is carrying a MAS-38 submachine gun.

 

Finally we have have some support weapons consisting of two Hotchkiss machine guns, a Hotchkiss 25mm anti-tank gun, an 81mm medium mortar, and a 60mm light mortar. At some point I want to add some ammunition boxes and spent casings to the bases, but I didn't have anything appropriate in the bits box. That will have to wait until some point in the future, but for now I am calling it done.

 

 For painting up the Dragons Portés, I followed the guide below from 'Flame of War' fairly closely since I had all the necessary colours in my inventory. Two exceptions are that I used USA Olive Drab instead of Gunship Green on the vehicles, and I used Army Painter Leather Brown instead of German Camouflage Orange Ochre on the soldiers' ammo pouches and Y-straps. After the figures were painted, they got a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quickshade. As mentioned in my previous submission, this leaves the figures with a glossy sheen, but I will eventually spray them with a matt coat.

 

 I hope to add some motorcycle troops to this formation in the upcoming painting challenge. Stay tuned.