New Post-Apoc Gang: The Bass Reeves

    The Bass Reeves - a black post-Apocalyptic force for my newest period that I am gearing up for

I have been intentionally taking a break from painting Saga miniatures lately. The pause may not last forever, but it did allow me to finish another post-Apocalyptic gang. These are figures from Foundry's Street Violence range. Most of them wear long "duster" style jackets, which remind me of what you see gunslingers wearing in stylized Hollywood Westerns. A couple of them had dreadlocks, which led me to paint them as black. That also inspired the force's name -- the Bass Reeves. Reeves was a famous African-American cowboy and was the first black U.S. Marshal in the West. I seem to have settled on painting seven figures up per group, which I hope will be enough to provide a good game in whatever rules I end up using (my own home brew or otherwise)!

    The figure on the right is my favorite - I love how his captain's hat and striped shirt turned out

 The first batch of two figures pictured above feature my favorite miniature in this group. I really like how the captain's hat and striped shirt lends him character. Stripes are never my strong point, but I couldn't imagine any color for a shirt other than the classic, stereotypical red and white striped sailor shirt. I decided to give all the poses jeans for pants in this gang. I postulate jeans would be standard apparel after the apocalypse for their rugged nature and common availability from looted stores or warehouses. For the duster jackets, I decided to use Howard Hues "Bay" horse paints color. It has a nice leather look to it, but was light enough to look like faded material. I dry brushed them khaki and washed them brown to give the jackets depth of color.

    My second favorite is the one wearing the Jamaican-inspired hair bag for his dreads in the middle

My second favorite miniature in this batch is the Rastafarian-looking guy who carries a boom box over his shoulder. Doubtless, it is playing Bob Marley or Peter Tosh for as long as the batteries hold out! I actually Googled "dreadlocks hair bag" for inspiration on what color to paint it. Lo and behold, a Jamaica-looking one popped up in my search and I had to adapt it for this figure. It mean more stripes, though! The miniature is a great casting and has a lot going on. He wears headphones, has rolled up sleeves, a vest, and of course, the boombox. Normally, I might look askance at such whimsy in my figures, but this guy was too good to pass up. Like the captain, he also has a great face. 

I debated whether I was going with too garish and bright of a color for the other dreadlocks-wearing figure to the left. I always picture Rastas in bright, garish colors, though, so I went with this bright green. I think it adds a nice splash of color to an otherwise dull-colored group. I honestly don't know what the piece of equipment is slung over his shoulder, though. I painted it in a brushed steel color, so it can be another boom box or whatever the controlling player decides! The third figure in the group has a gray suit jacket or vest on underneath his duster. He carries a high power sniper weapons of some sort. I like the variety of firearms these figures have. Not everyone carries an assault rifle or shotgun -- there is definitely an irregular aspect to their weaponry. This fits for a post-Apocalyptic force, of course.

    These guys have similar dramatic poses and sport goggles - which were a challenge to paint!

All of the weapons were painted Iron Wind Metals steel. I had realized recently that my newest batch of the color was noticeably brighter than it has always been. I was disappointed because I have always liked the dark steel look of it -- especially when dry brushed silver for things like chainmail. This new tone didn't have as much contrast with silver. So, I dug through my box of paints and found a half-used jar of the old steel color. About half of it had dried up and was unusable, but when I pried that out the remainder seemed okay. I asked Rich S of Iron Wind if its possible to get the "old recipe," and he said to bring that jar along next time we meet and he will match the color. The highlights of the weapons were done with craft paint metallic pewter. I think the two tone look of the guns really gives them a nice, weathered look -- also perfect for post-Apocalyptic!

The last two figures above have very dramatic poses, I think. They have a lot of character in their hair and faces, made even more interesting by the goggles either perched on their heads or around their neck. I wasn't 100% sure how to paint the googles, but decided on a light gray with sky blue lenses. I'm not fully sold on how they look. If I were to go back and redo them, I would have done a black line around the sky blue lens, at least. Otherwise, these two have very interesting shirts. The one on the left is loaded up with ammo pouches so much his shirt is invisible. The one on the right has a very unusual texture to it. So, I painted it a light, gray green and did a medium green wash over it to bring out the texture in the folds. I like the patch on the shoulder of his duster, so did that in bright reds and blues, wanting it to stand out. The skin for all seven figures was done with a dark brown base coat and dry brush of Howard Hues Camo Brown. The hair was painted back with medium brown hightlights. However, the final black wash I did over the figures seems to have hidden the brown highlights, unfortunately.

    Two Patrol Bots search the ruins for signs of humanity, continuing their war of eradication

Next up, are two poses of what I will use as Patrol Bots. These were 3-D printed by my friend Joe from the Thingiverse website. I love the retro look of these figures. I decided that I would mix in a gold-colored bot to go with the colored metallics I used for the Scout Bots. I really like how it came out, but then again, I like the robin's egg blue one, too! I know the prints are not as crisp as metal miniatures, but once you see the next two stages of large bots, you'll understand why I saved money going with these. Joe always gives me a good deal on stuff he prints for me. Of course, who knows? A day may come when I purchase my own 3-D printer...but it is not THIS day! Ha-ha! Anyway, I painted the bots the new Iron Wind steel color as a base coat, then added the gold or blue over it, leaving the steel in the joints and creases. The equipment festooned to the back of the bot was painted in contrasting metallic colors, and the gun was given pewter and silver highlights, as with the Bass Reeves, above. 

If you remember, my post-Apocalyptic world is modeled after the Terminator movies. The main difference is humanity is fragmented into quarreling and fighting factions. The machines have been seriously depleted in the Holocaust, and are more of a constant menace rather than an invading and organized horde. 

What's next? Well, I have decided to give Jenny a birthday present by painting up the demon models she bought for Reign in Hell. The first four Armored Demons are complete, but their bases are not done, yet. They will take priority on my painting table as I would like to finish the dozen or so figures up in time for the holidays. And her demon lord is a HUGE figure! It will easily be the largest miniature I have ever painted. So, look for some new demons in future updates. I've also laid out my next unit of Mongols for Saga to be cleaned and primed. See? Told you that my break from Saga may not last that long!