A New Boss and Some Other Boring Figures

I'm still painting bugs and building my xenomorph army. I'm enjoying painting sci-fi stuff at the moment. It's easy and gives pretty good results for minimum effort. This week I wanted to paint up the big 3d print critter that bought. I wasn't really sure what I was doing but it came together okay in the end.

It is a great figure with very nice detail. I wasn't sure if I could do it justice with the minimalist colour scheme that I'm using for my bug host but I think it came out all right. Here is is with the other bugs I currently have. It seems suitably huge to me. It's on an 60mm base... The other regular sized bug on the right is on a 40mm base.

I also put together and painted the second box of Mantic Reapers (at least I think they're called Reapers). Horrible figures to put together but they do look weird and scary. I like them and, as mentioned in my previous post, I'm calling these Xenomorph Hybrids. I now have 20 of them and here they are with the new boss.

And they other thing I made during the past week are some Firefight Enforcers - once again from Mantic. These figures were pretty easy to construct but I think they're a bit boring. They were easy to paint too. I didn't bother doing much detail on them as I found the sculpts to be ill-defined and sort of indefinite. They are not really very crisp and lack something. I don't find them are very inspiring although they do have hard-sci-fi look about them.

Having said that I think they came out okay and it should be an easy task to build and paint up the rest of them.

And that's what I did last week. I also played a Napoleonic game over the weekend. I played General d'Armee 2 for the first time. It was an interesting game but, strangely I found it to be a very "gamey" set of rules and a bit of a departure from the original rules. Maybe I'm wrong - after all is was my first game.

Thanks for reading,

IanKH

Still Got The Bug, Bug ~ Mobile Cosmonaut Legion

Greetings folk!

I'm still moving ahead with my bug related modeling and over the past couple of weeks I've added a few more figures to the swarm as well as working on their opponents. I mentioned in my last post that I got a a bit ill: well that turned into a major infection in my sinus and chest which knocked me out for a while.

First up are my revamped Mobile Cosmonaut Legion. 

These were originally my GCPS for Firefight but I haven't played the game for a long time and these figures were looking a bit sad and forlorn in their box so I gave them a rejuvenating lick of paint. They came up looking quite nice. Their original colour was black with a drybrush of Prussian blue which made them very dark. When I originally put them together I needed them quickly so I opted for a very simple and intimidating palette. The green makes them look a bit more interesting.

I also topped their bases which were plain grey. I decided to base them the same as my bugs because that's who they will be fighting. I have a platoon with some support options and I'm writing a set of beer & pretzel solo rules based around a single platoon fighting bugs with the option to add support options. Very similar to how force building in Chain of Command works. - (For example: Roll a couple of dice depending on the scenario. Add them up and you may select that many points worth of support options to help out your platoon.)

One of the support options is below: Elite Jump-Troops that can drop into the action and cause trouble with their heavy weapons and things. I still have a bit more work to do to get the rest of the supports up to scratch.

How they originally looked: The actual figures are Warlord; Beyond The Gates of Antares figures. I got them cheap several years back. They're really nice figures and I've heard that the game was really well done but it never took off and I think the whole game has been defunct. Shame.

Next up are these guys:

These are from Mantic and I think they're called Reapers (or some thing like that) ~ I'm calling them Hybrid Bugs. They look great with paint but they were crappy to assemble. Seven of them are made out of the weird plastic/resin stuff that Mantic often use and the other three are resin. I picked them up cheap but apparently Mantic are now making them in plastic on sprues. That sounds like a good move on their part. However, I have a second box of these cheap ones to make before I move on.

And last but not least I got this model in the post a couple of days back. She will be my Queen-Bug. I bought this figure from a small one-man business up in Queensland that does 3d prints. It's a nice big model at a very reasonable price. 

And that's it for the time being. I'll keep painting and get back to writing up my rules. And when I'm finished the bug wars can begin.

Bug In or Bug Out!

 A short Space Bug update.

I have a bug at this point in time. I'm coughing and full of snot. Hot lemon and honey with a shot of whisky is the only cure. At least it's the only of which I approve!

Anyway, enough of my misery and complaining... I've continued to paint bugs and I've managed to finish two of the larger bugs that I bought - the Ankeg 3D prints I recently bought. They took a bit more effort than the others and they came out looking great. I might see if I can get my hands on a couple more. At $20 for a pair they're pretty good value compared to other "space bug" miniatures on the market.

Compared to the Wargames Atlantic, Harvesters they are about twice the size. So they will be perfect for representing larger/tougher bug species or unit leaders etc. I mounted the harvesters on 40mm bases and these bigger guys are on 60mm bases. I wasn't too sure about the ivory coloured mandibles and claws but that's the way I did them and I'm not going to change them now. Since I took the photo's I have noticed that I forgot to paint their eyes but that's an easy fix.

I also took some pics of my other bugs. These are metal figures from Khurasan Miniatures from their 15mm sci-fi range. I considered getting more but I looked at their site and saw a Bugswarm Pack which is what I bought. It has 30 of the green bugs so I must have anther packet of 15 somewhere. I know I've seen them but I can't remember where they are. I don't want to order more in case I find them. I like the idea of using these as something like a large locust swarm, so lots of them would suit that theme.

I'd order more of these but they come with 4 flying and four on the ground and I only really want the flying version. What sort of fool would want flying critters that aren't flying? Not this fool!

So that's it for the moment. I haven't found the big beetle figure from my previous post. It came as part of the Bugswarm Pack. I know I still have it but it's a matter of locating it amongst the various boxes of various armies in various locations around the house and garage.

Thanks for reading,

Ian KH

P.S. The whisky was Jack Daniels for those interested.

Space Bugs Are Coming To Town

Another day and another post about Space Bugs.

I finished off my first box of Wargames Atlantic, Harvesters during the week. There are 20 large bugs and 10 smaller ones in each box so I decided to make them into units of 5 models. As a result I have 15 normal bugs and 5 with ranged bug bio-weapons. That's 20 bigg'uns and 10 little'uns.

As you can see in the photo above they make up a good starting hive. You may have noticed that I stated above; "my first box..." which implies that I have more. This is true. I ordered another box and it's on its way. Two complete boxes should make up a pretty intimidating bunch of bugs. I'll probably change the ratios and squad sizes when I get more models to play around with. I'm not sure yet so we'll see.

Here's just the new ones I added (3 regulars and 5 bio-weapons, 10 little ones). I added some fluro green to the bio-weapons to give them a bit of extra colour. It's not very evident in the photos.

I'm not sure how to classify these small bugs. They are a decent size (the bases are 25mm) so they're not small when compared to a 28mm human. I mean... If you saw a bug that size coming at you I'm sure you'd need a change of underpants. Especially if there was a small swarm of them. I know I would!

I still haven't figured out what game to use these for. I made up a Xenos Rampant list but it doesn't really scratch the bug-itch that I have. I much prefer the Firefight rules but it's difficult to add bugs into it. I can make up my own list but that would only be for my own games. As it is, they will work for either or both set of rules.

That's all for now.

Cheers,

Ian KH

Sir, We've Got a Bug Problem

And we're gonna need some Bug Dust. ASAP!

Hot on the heels of painting a bunch of zombies I intended to complete painting the half finished WSS English cannons that are sitting on my paint table. Instead I broke out a box of Wargames Atlantic Harvesters and started snipping and gluing plastic bugs.

I've wanted to do a hoard of bugs for a long time and I actually acquired a box of Starship Trooper bugs a while back. I painted them up but then lost interest in the whole bug thing and sold them. Silly thing to do: but there you have it! Anyway, now, for what it's worth, I've gone and made anther bunch of bugs.

These figures are difficult to put together and it took me most of the week just to construct this lot. On the other hand painting was easy. White undercoat, heavy wash using contrast paint, heavy light khaki dry brush, then dry brushed the red and then the black. A bit of detail on the fangs, mouth and eyes. Very easy. They are mounted on 40mm bases with a simple pva/grit mix. Reddish to make it look like Mars or any other desert terrain/planet.

I've since constructed a few more with ranged bio-weapons. I have 4 more to construct but I haven't decided how to do them at this stage: close combat or ranged? I think I'll get myself another box of these. I've got a method now for their construction which is still a pain in the arse but at least I know what I'm doing. There are 20 models in a box as well as 10 little ones. I'm not sure what to do with them. Put them onto individual 25mm bases or make swarm bases?

Here's a photo that gives a better idea of their actual colour against a more neutral background.

I also picked up a couple of other figures last week. This first is a spider queen. I think she could work well as a Hybrid Hive Queen. I picked her up a a local store House of War. If she doesn't work out she could become one of the leaders of my evil fantasy army. Either way, this is a great figure.

These next ones are Ankheg - I only know these creatures for D&D. I don't know if they exist in any mythology or fantasy literature. I'm just going to use them as big bugs/bug leaders... Whatever. They should look okay. Also, these are the first ever 3D printed miniatures I've ever bought. It will be interesting to so how the material reacts to painting.

Now, I also have a bunch of other things that I can shoehorn into this bug army of mine. Some of them I actually bought when I started with the Starship Trooper bugs. It was actually waiting for a long time for them to arrive in the mail that crushed my first attempt at a bug army.

This guy is pretty big and looks pretty imposing. He'd make a good sort of tank-bug.

I have quite a few more more of these flying guys than the ones pictured here. I'm pretty sure I still have some unpainted ones too. I'll have to try and find them. I used them as giant flies when I was playing Rangers of Shadow Deep.

I also have these figures that might fit in with the bug theme too. I have a feeling I might have added a saddle and a goblin to the scorpion. The other is an umber hulk. It looks buggy and mean. It doesn't fit with any other figures I have so maybe this is army could be a good home for him.

These are from my evil army and they could work but I don't think they'll fit in. Wargames Atlantic make some fantastic spider models but they are so good that they worry me. I have a very acute case of arachnophobia and those figures just scare me. These GW spiders don't worry me because they look like silly toys. But realistic spider figures just freak me out. I have about a dozen or more of these and I'm pretty sure I rebased them onto round/oval bases at some stage.

So there you have it. Bugs, bugs, bugs.

As far as rules are concerned: I have a copy of Xenos Rampant which I've dragged out. I'm pretty sure there is a generic space bugs list in the book. I'll go through the book again and see what I can come up with. I already have an enemy for them that is ready to hit the ground fighting. All I need to do is work out a good list for them.

On the other hand I also have Firefight from Mantic games. I like those rules although I haven't played them for a while. But the last time I played the game there was no scope for a bug army. Maybe that has changed. I'll look into it.

Back From The un-Dead

 Greetings folks, it's been quite a while since I posted anything here. The reason for this is that I lost all interest in the wargaming side of my life and didn't do anything for quite a while. I did actually paint a brigade of 10mm English for the War of Spanish Succession but I never photographed them and never posted anything. I started painting some guns for them and that's where my interest ended.

But things have changed and I've hopped back on the wagon with a decision to look again at the solo zombie game I wrote during covid: Infection Z. I put it to rest for a while but now it is time to look at it again with fresh eyes. So here I am again, back from the dead with some undead.

Having lots of time to think I came up with a new concept. One of the problems I was having with the game was discerning Active zombies from Inactive zombies. This is important to the game because active zombies react differently to inactive ones. The solution I've come up with is really very simple. Inactive zombies are grey. When they meet the criteria to become active they are replaced by a fully painted zombie figure. They might get replaced straight off the mark before the first turn even begins or they may remain inactive for the whole game.

As it is, it's nothing to write home about but the concept has changed a whole raft of rules that were making the game difficult to write up as rules. I understood what I wanted but when trying to write the concepts they seemed convoluted, confusing and overblown. This idea has helped streamline a lot of these issues.

Painting these guys also gave me a very simple little project that I could start and complete in a couple of days (I had to let the black wash dry overnight). This was good as it got me back upstairs and into the hobby room. A couple of weeks back I took a bunch of stuff to a bring & buy. In amongst the stuff I found a bag of unpainted zombies. I pulled them out and put them aside, and that got me thinking. 

There are 36 zeds here. To place them on the table for my game it's a matter of dropping them and where they land is where they start the game. I'm not too precious about plastic zed-heads, even my painted ones live in a box all jumbled together. I do have some metal figures and I do take care of them but these guys are for dropping and standing them up.

I also dug out this mini-supermarket building that I started making a couple of years back. I started and then got bored with it. I've decided to finish it off. It takes a surprising amount of time to make these terrain pieces look nice and then semi-destroy them to make them look derelict. But the results are worth the effort. I've made a few in the past, some MDF models like this one and some from scratch.

The kit is from Sarissa Precision and it comes with a service counter and a couple of small shelves. I made the larger shelves with thick card. There's enough shelving to make it look like a proper mini-mart and to enable easy placement and movement of figures as well as plenty of places to scavenge for potential loot.

Well that's it. Something small to get me back into my hobby. I'll finish off the guns for the 10mm WSS English in the next few days and take some photos.

Bye.