Green Dragons: New Post-Apoc Force

    My final post-Apocalyptic force (again!) - the Green Dragons, 28mm minis from Battle Valor Games

Okay, so I DID say that I was done painting forces for my post-apocalyptic games, right? Well, how can one more force hurt, right? When I finished painting the Barbarozas in December, I had one force for all seven of my regular players. I got to thinking, though, when everyone does show up, maybe I should control a force, too? That would enable us to split it into two games of four instead of one game of four and another of three...or one game of seven! So, for balance's sake, maybe I should paint up one final gang for me to control. Why not?

    Originally, I thought the figures were sculpted in hoodies, but they turned out to be HazMat suits

It just so happened that I also had one style of force from Battle Valor Games (formerly cast by Sgt. Major Miniatures) that I hadn't used, yet. When I purchased them, I thought they were wearing hoodies with masks or respirators of some sort. When I pulled the figures out to clean them up, it seemed obvious that their outfit was a one-piece, Hazmat suit. That fits pretty well with a post-apocalytpic setting, I thought. What color to paint them, though? I went online and found a huge variety of colors of suits under the heading of Hazard Materials Suit. I didn't want to duplicate the color of any of my other forces I'd painted up, so the tans and oranges were out the window (some of my Planet of the Apes figs wear burnt orange jumpsuits). I settled on a kind of bright, almost putrid green. I felt this might blend in more with the battlefield than the bright yellow ones I saw online!

    I debated with myself about the color to paint their suits, but chose a light, putrid green

I also decided that this would be an Asian gang, and I would paint their masks/respirators as white N95 type masks. Not to stereotype, but typically Asian cultures are much more proactive about wearing such masks than your standard American populace -- or at least pre-Covid! I decided that I would call them the Green Dragons, to go with the color of their jumpsuit and the overall veneration of the dragon as a mythical figure by Chinese culture. I selected the brightest and most putrid green color that I had (Howard Hues Light Green), and gave them a base coat of that. I then found a darker green, watered it down, and did a wash over the figure. Finally, I took a chalky, greenish-white color and dry brushed the figure with it. I liked the depth of the green this gave it, and am happy with the Hazmat suit color.

    For their logo, I used a black micron pen to write in the word 'Dragons' in Chinese script

I used the same formula for their skin as I did for my Mongols -- I had mixed up a big batch of it when I was painting my Mongol Saga army using a standard flesh with a different, tan leathery color. It begins too bright, but I put both a brown and black wash on it and I like how it comes out. It is a more weathered, tan wash than a city-dweller in a Chinese city might wear, but for a post-apocalyptic force, I figured a dirty, darker skin is more realistic.

    The green dragons explore the burnt out urban ruins of my post-Apocalyptic world

I painted a black oval on the back of the jumpsuit and then put in a tan or yellowish-white oval inside it. Inside the oval, I would later use a black Micron pen to write in the word "Dragons" in Chinese script. First, though, I finished painting all of the figures' equipment -- which was pretty much just their white masks and their weapons. This batch of miniatures went very quickly as the poses did not have much equipment festooned on them. I did the eyes -- not very happy with how those came out. The mask really squeezed the area I had to do the eyes. Once everything was completely painted, I did the final black wash. In the end, I really like how the Green Dragons look. Once I make their character cards with stats for Wiley Games' Fistful of Lead rules, I will go back and do the character names on the bases. I think the player controlling them will especially need them for this gang! Three of the figures carry pistols, while two appear to have shotguns. I'll offer one of our regular players, Andy, the choice of playing either the Barbarozas or the Green Dragons. I'll take the remaining one for my gang. 

    A Destroyer Bot arrives -- a 3-D printed miniature from Thingiverse

Since the Green Dragons were painting up so quickly, I decided to finally getting around to painting the "Destroyer Bot" miniature that my friend Joe 3-D printed for me. I'd picked out the file from Thingiverse and he'd done a good job printing this one. Some of his prints have a lot of flash, but this one was pretty smooth. When I was painting the Scout, Sentry, and Military Bots earlier, I had primed up this figure. I even put a base coast of a darker metallic silver on it. However, I decided that I wanted this one to be more colorful. So, I went back over and repainted most of it in the Metallic Dark Red craft paint which I had first used on my drones for Space Station Alpha. I really like that color, plus it covers MUCH better than the other metallics.

    Armed with multiple weapon systems, this Bot will likely cause player forces to flee the table

On the areas that I left silver, I went back and repainted them the darker metallic dark gray that I have been using for a lot of Sci-Fi stuff. I think the combination of the dark red and dark gray metallic is pretty effective. I am happy with how it looks. I did accents in a coppery gold metallic color that I have been using a lot in my Sci-Fi terrain, as well. I am not 100% happy with how the green, yellow, and red "lights" came out on the figure. I have used this technique in the past with terrain and bots and liked the effect it gave. However, perhaps these "lights" are too big, and it loses that control panel or LED indicator look to it. 

    I like the 2-tone, red and gray metallic paint scheme - though I am not sold on the colored 'lights'

All in all, he looks acceptable to use on the tabletop. That is, whenever we finally get around to PLAYING one of my post-apocalyptic games, again! My group has been hit with the flu bug of last. We have scheduled to play the second game at my place two of the last three weekends, but sickouts have reduced us below the level to make it worth playing. We're trying again next weekend, and hopefully finally get game two in. The likelihood of the Destroyer Bot showing up is low in a game. The bots arrive, attracted by the sounds of gunfire and fighting. A Scout Bot shows up first, then a Sentry Bot, then Military Bot, and finally the Destroyer. In our first game we had one or two Scout Bots arrive, and one Sentry Bot (which gunned down a character, causing the players to have the rest of their miniatures flee the table. They are programmed to arrive when players lose a certain percentage of their forces, so it may never happen. Either way, I have one ready!

Now, we just need to play a game...!