Star Wars Legion: “Echo Station 5-7, we’re on our way.”

My take on the Limited Edition Luke Skywalker, a 1/47 scale figure for Star Wars Legion. 

Fantasy Flight Games recently released a Limited Edition version of Luke Skywalker. A convention exclusive, in a year without conventions, this model was offered in very limited quantities to game stores as customer incentives, prizes, etc. (Shout out to Brian at Amuse 'N Games in Winnipeg!)

This is a lovely figure. The likeness is very much a young Mark Hamill. It comes with three different options for the head (including helmet and visor), and you can choose either a right arm wielding Anakin’s lightsaber, or a blaster pistol. Luke is sculpted as he appears on Hoth in the movie The Empire Strikes Back. 

I primed the figure with Chaos Black and hand brushed flat white onto the saber blade. Then, with an airbrush and compressor blowing at ~18 p.s.i., I laid in zenithal highlights and spotlighting with Vallejo White. I masked the figure with a plastic baggie, and airbrushed the lightsaber effect with Golden High Flow Fluorescent Blue. 

I have been asked about how I did the lightsaber blade. Briefly, I airbrushed the fluorescent blue really thinly (7 drops pigment, 5 or 6 drops each of thinner and flow improver, and about an eye dropper’s worth of water). Worked from the tip of the blade back towards the hilt, angling away from the hilt. Several applications (with some reloads in the paint cup) built up the colour at the tip, fading out at the base of the blade. The thin paint leaves no spray pattern.

Afterward, I under painted the face using the Vallejo acrylic face painting set, using those colours they suggest for tanned skin. The uniform was quickly laid in with acrylic glazes. Blending and final details were done with artists' oils. 

I painted the pupils indigo instead of blue, so they stood out a bit more. I painted the gloves and boots as black leather instead of white cold weather gear, more like his regular pilot’s uniform. I painted the sculpted base to match the sandy terrain of my other SWL figures. 

The Snowspeeder is shown for scale. It is a pre-painted model from WotC; I have not yet assembled and painted the FFG kit, which is basically the same size.

I am very happy to have a copy of this figure. It is very striking, and will make a cool addition to my Rebel forces.

Star Wars Legion: General Veers

 

 

General Veers, a 1/47 scale figure for Star Wars Legion, from FFG. I started with zenithal highlights and spotlighting with an airbrush, acrylic glazes, then details and blending with oils.

 

 

I used FFG’s Imperial Uniform as the base for the clothing, and Vallejo German Camouflage Dark Green (which I originally bought for WWII German helmets) for the helmet and armour.

 

 

  

 

For the game Star Wars Legion, points-wise Veers is a cheaper commander than, say, Darth Vader. His rules also make him good for coordinating vehicles with his troops and such. Fitting for someone who is, arguably, the most successful ground commander in Star Wars lore.

 

Star Wars Legion - Sabine Wren and a Gonk Droid

 

 Sabine Wren and a Gonk Droid, 1/47 scale figures for Star Wars Legion. Zenithal highlights and spotlighting with an airbrush, acrylic glazes, then details and blending with oils.

The Mandalorian is from FFG, and the droid is a 3D print from Skull Forge Studios.

 

 

For Sabine, her armour’s helmet and chest decorations are loosely based on her appearance in the series finale of Star Wars Rebels (see below). I also increased the contrast between her armour and under suit. The shoulder markings of the mythasaur skull are decals that I used decal solvent on to conform to the rounded surface, then over painted slightly with oils to give a little shading.

 

 

 

 

Sedition Wars Cthonian - Boss Fight!

This is the latest addition to my Sedition Wars Project: the Cthonian, a large, tough Strain monster used in the final scenario in the Outbreak Campaign rules included in the Battle for Alabaster boxed set. In the above photo, the Cthonian is shown next to a 28mm Hasslefree figure, that I painted in the same colours of the Samaritan infantry that oppose the Strain.

From Studio McVey:

"Phase 5 Exo-form – Cthonian: A massive conglomeration of evolved bio-mass combined with a powered armour carapace. The outer shell is a fully functional exoskeleton wrapped around a squid-like body composed of extremely resilient tissue. Capable of regenerating damage with dark matter conversion, this creature is nearly impossible to kill without the use of high output energy weapons. In addition to its defensive capabilities, the creature is armed with a gravitic beam weapon and a lethal nano-weapon capable of mutating a living target almost instantly."

Again, cleaning up this resin/plastic model  had its problems, which I outlined when first starting this project some years ago. You can't file it, you can't scrape it easily; you have to cut off mould lines with a fresh, sharp X-acto knife. It took hours with a zirconium nitride blade, and I am still not fully happy with my cleanup job.  I posed the figure lifting one foot, and cocked the head off a little to its left, to add some visual interest. There's a thick piece of wire pinning the right foot to the 50mm diameter plastic base.

I used many very thin layers for the zenithal highlights. Only 6 drops of colour (5 drops Vallejo white and one drop Golden sepia airbrush paints) in the small metal cup in the airbrush, 5 drops of thinner, and the rest water. This was airbrushed downwards at a 45-degree angle all around the model. Then, switching the pigment portion of the mix to 6 drops of only Vallejo white, I airbrushed downwards at about a 60 degree angle from above and in front of the head of the model, giving a spotlight effect on the front of the figure. As I have described before, with such thin coats you don't see the spray pattern of dots of pigment, just smooth transition from light to dark.

The various exposed tubular bits and the flower-like protuberance of the left "arm" (the nano-weapon) were highlighted and shaded with various purples, reds, and pinks from the Army Painter Zombicide Warpaints Sets (Crusted Sore, Toxic Boils, glazed with Zombie Shade).

The chitinous armour plates got several glazes of Citadel Seraphim Sepia shade. The upper portions of the carapace and the armoured face got some punched up highlights with various Vallejo acrylics and artists' oils. I also did some dot filters using oil paints to break up the surface of the plates a bit.









The rear of the figure falls into shadow, but details of its major structures can still be seen.



The gravitic beam weapon on the right arm was worked up from Winsor Blue to Titanium White.



The base was airbrushed with Secret Weapon Stone wash, then finished off with weathering powder and some oils.

After the whole figure got a coat of Tamiya Semi-gloss spray (TS-79), I went back with some Citadel Blood for the Blood God, to add some fresh blood effects. This was used judiciously around the fleshy tubes, the flowery nano-weapon, and seeping from between some of the chitin plates and between the tentacles.

After painting up the figure, I actually like how it looks. It seems to radiate menace, and is a good implementation of the original Studio McVey concept art:

With the 55 figures I have painted up, I can now run all the games in the Outbreak Campaign provided in the basic box, with some extra Strain models to boot.

I recently received some pre-production Strain models, cast in a very crisp resin; easy to work with, and will paint up nicely! I look forward to adding more to this project. With those plus all the extra boxes' contents and some Kickstarter exclusives, I am spoiled for choice

What a Tanker! - Barbarossa

Recently I had folks over for another game of What a Tanker!

Barbarossa-era game, with 1941-era tanks. Same scenario: capture 5 objective markers on the ground for 1 VP each, and be within 6" of a fixed objective (the knocked out armoured car and command tank) at the end of the game for 2 VPs. The small markers would be dropped in place if the tank capturing them was destroyed.

Forces available for use included: T-34-76 (1941), KV-1A, BT-2, T-26 (1933), Panzer Mark IV D, StuG III C, and a couple of Panzer 38(t)'s.

Rolling for sides, Bill and Kevin were German, respectively fielding the 38(t) and the Mark IV. Frederick and I were Soviet, with the T-34 and the KV (I had been itching to play with this model, the oldest 1/48 model in my collection; ironically, I had never played with it until now).

Below, the Germans move to seize an objective. The block of buildings in the middle of the table ended up featuring prominently in everyone's tactics. I placed it so as to shield the two fixed objectives from each other, so no long range sniping by an objective holder.




The T-34 moved behind, then over the sandbag barricade.




Bill's Fast 38(t) whipped around the table, seizing two objectives.



My KV, being Slow, took awhile to get going.




Kevin's Mark IV moved in support of the 38(t).




My KV fired only one shot all game. It was a big one, knocking out the 38(t) with three hits scored and  all Bill's dice failing their Armour roll .






Bill's tank quickly re-spawned, and he soon re-captured his dropped objectives!




Meanwhile, the lumbering KV made its way down the board, grabbed one objective marker, then parked itself beside the German fixed objective.



Frederick's T-34 raced around the centre buildings, capturing two more markers.Both the 38(t) and the Mark IV chased it around the building complex, slamming shells into it but only forcing the T-34 to back up.






Bill moved to the Soviet fixed objective just as the game's time ran out. Final tally: Germans = 4 VPs, Soviets = 5 VPs!



As always, it was a fast, furious game, with a lot of canny maneuver by the lighter tanks. Next time we do early war, I want to run a Fast BT tank!

The boys have also expressed interest in doing some later war stuff. I have several Panthers, long barreled Mark IV's, a later StuG III, a Panzer II Luchs, some Marder III's, an SU-122, a T-34-76 (1942), and even a T-34-85 ready to take the field.

What a Tanker! at Game-iToba and with the Conscripts

Game-iToba 2019

Lately I have played a lot of What a Tanker! I love its simple rules, concentrating on the confusion of fighting a tank as 3, 4 or 5 crew get in each others' way. Also, there's the low bar to entry (one tank per player).

I ran three sessions of What a Tanker! at the Game-iToba game convention (in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) back on November 9th. I brought out 1941-era tanks. Simple scenario: capture objective markers n the ground for 1 VP, and be within 6" of a fixed objective (the knocked out armoured car and command tank) for 2 VPs. I was scheduled to run two 2-hour slots, but there was interest, and the table was free, so I ran an third impromptu game! Yet again, talked myself hoarse. People seemed to have a really fun time.


Game One: 
Russ and Don go head to head, pitting a StuG III against a T-34 (76)


Below, Russ' StuG III moves past a disable Pz. I command tank as Don's T-34 crashes through a fence to seize an objective.






General view of the table:





Russ moves forward his second StuG; I allowed re-spawning like in a video game.

Don, having seized two objectives, moved his (Fast) T-34 toward the German command tank objective. However, by this time he was reduced to only 1 Command Die! The game ended in an exciting  draw.




Game Two: 
Andy, Cole, and a couple of other kids slug it out.


Below, Cole moves his T-34.




Below, Andy's Pz.IV E seizes an objective marker.




The kids in the fray.





Cole rams Andy's tank, destroying it!





One of the other kids moved his T-26 (1933) past his friend's knocked out Pz. 38(t).




Game Three: Four more bystanders got introduced to the game.



Below, the T-34 rides again. In the background is a well modeled Frostgrave table; the GM ran her game a couple of times while I was there. 





The smoke of defeat.





World War I What a Tanker!

Last Thursday, just a few days after Remembrance Day here in Canada, the Conscripts played a WWI scenario loosely based upon the tank on tank action at Villers-Bretonneux in March 1918. Dallas hosted and I facilitated the game. The rules we used came from WillieB's gaming group on the WaT! forums: https://toofatlardies.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10318

The Mk IV’s just could not stand up to the A7V’s, with their thicker armour. My own Mk IV was reduced to one Command Die, LOL!


Below, the German players; their mission was to exit the opposite (short) table edge.




Club member Frederick painted up three of the 1/56 scale tanks just that week!




Another one of the new models.




Hugh’s A7V advanced to point blank range, just before passing Dallas’ damaged tank.




Me contemplating the futility of action with only two command dice. Little did I know.




Below, Bill’s captured Beutepanzer poured a ton of fire into my hapless Mk IV.




A7V’s can be seen exiting the table...




...as the Germans win the scenario!




For the future

I have been collecting die-cast or finished, built-up models. The beautifully painted StuG III seen above came from FloZ. The great KV-2s below came from modelers in, respectively, the US and  the UK.








Thanks to Conscripts Curt and Dallas, I have unbuilt model kits for another Bandai T-34 (1941) and a Tamiya SU-122, both in 1/48 scale. There are even variants online for Arab/Israeli War and Warhammer 40K! I look forward to playing and running more of this game.