Mounted Gorillas (and pics of all Planet of the Apes figs)

 

    Zoomed in view of my mounted gorilla general leading my entire Planet of the Apes force

My Planet of the Apes figures are from three different manufacturers. The first batch I ever painted, years ago, were from Eureka -- their "Boiler Suit Apes." I am assuming the name refers to the coveralls their wearing, but I could be wrong. They are excellently cast figures and very animated. My next batch I picked up were from Sgt. Major Miniatures. The line is now carried by Battle Valor Games, who picked up many other of their lines besides the Planet of the Apes figures. Thrown into the mix recently were the 3-D printed miniatures from JS Wargamer Printing. Since I had only a single pack of three Battle Valor mounted gorillas, I bought one of JS's Gorilla Cavalry packs of four figures earlier this month at Cincycon 2024.

    My five Gorilla Cavalry to round out my Planet of the Apes detachment for Xenos Rampant

How do they all mix together? Well, I would have a good chance to see that as I set out a squad of five mounted gorillas! This squad is a last-minute addition for my Planet of the Apes detachment for Xenos Rampant. I used all three of the Battle Valor metal figures and two of the JS 3-D ones. Height-wise, they looked okay together. I based all five on the pill-shaped bases I'd picked up from Litko awhile back. As I brush primed them my usual acrylic white, it was easier to some differences. The most noticeable was in head size. The proportions of the metal figures tend to be somewhat exaggerated, while those on the 3-D printed ones are sometimes a tad slender or small. My hope was that, once painted up, these differences would be lost on the eye.

    Three mounted gorillas from Battle Valor Games -- metal minis, more my style and liking

With the Battle Valor figures, I had to glue the metal rider to the horse, as usual. With the 3-D ones, it was the upper torso that needed to be glued to the lower body, which was sculpted onto the horse. Unfortunately, this pack of Battle Valor figures had the most flash I have ever had to clean off from either them or Sgt. Major. I don't know if these were old ones or new ones, but it took some major X-acto knife work to clean them up. The 3-D printed figures, of course, required no cleaning up.

   3-D printed mounted gorillas from JS Wargamer Printing - clean, slender figs...our hobby's future?

For horse colors, I pulled out my Saga Mongol army and picked out five color patterns that I liked. Why reinvent the wheel? If I have horse markings that I have done and liked, why not recycle them for another period and army? The 3-D printed horses were noticeably more slender, though, but not quite as dynamically posed as the metal ones. I really liked how all five horses looked painted up, though. So far, metal and 3-D printed were running pretty even and looking good enough together.

    Good look at my entire force of 28mm Planet of the Apes figures from three different manufacturers

It was when I got to the riders that the differences were most noticeable. The metal figures are MUCH chunkier. They have the exaggerated, raised detail common on metal miniatures that I am used to painting. The detail on the 3-D printed figures was shallower and somewhat muddier -- especially on the gorillas' faces. I know that is not a characteristic of all 3-D printed miniatures. For example, I like the ones from Wiley Games -- they seem more similar to what I am used to painting, detail-wise. It's not that I dislike the 3-D printed figures. It just seemed different - almost like I was painting 1/72 plastic figures with their shallow detail rather than 28mm ones. I think if a whole army or project was done in the 3-D printed minis, I would be fine with them. Supplementing an existing project with a pack or two of these is when you notice the differences.

    The first apes I painted up -- a force of well-armed chimpanzees from Eureka Miniatures

Will there come a day when the majority of our figures are 3-D printed rather than manufactured in the traditional sense? Perhaps. I just hope the designers retain the convention of slightly exaggerated, raised detail that makes our miniatures easier to paint. It's hard to dry brush figures with more realistic, properly scaled details, for example. I think that in many cases, plastic multipart or "kit" boxes have begun to outnumber metal ones. With the historical backlog of metal releases, choices in metal probably still outnumber those in plastic or 3-D. However, in NEW releases, I think metal has begun to fall behind. Of course, this is all my own opinion, and directed mainly at 28mm scale. In smaller scales, metal may still outnumber plastic. I'm not sure and haven't done any detailed research into it. Just rambling!

    Mounted General Urco leads my force of gorilla infantry to take over the world of humans

I painted my mounted gorillas to match my previously painted foot ones with leather armor and dark purple uniforms. Both metal and plastic painted up easily and well, I feel. All five are "rank and file" types, so no fancy leaders here. I will use them as Berserk Infantry (yeah, I know they're mounted) for Xenos Rampant. I can see the gorillas eagerly wanting to charge into close combat. I want to use a variety of troop types in my XR detachments so that I can get a good feel for how they all work. Speaking of which, I will be borrowing a couple detachments from my friend Keith at our usual Sunday evening gaming. I expect six players for my first game, so will field my own Bronze Legion, Machines, Anadorans, and Planet of the Apes forces. I expect to be making unit cards and designing a Quick Reference Sheet this week.

   Some character types - a chimp general and bodyguard, Dr. Zaius and Maurice the Orangutan

What's next? I am finally getting around to making my fatigue markers for my Saga Thracians. That will definitely be my next post. In addition, I am going to try to get some 3-D printed Sci-Fi terrain that I bought from Sea Dog Game Studios and Diabolical Terrain finished up for my first XR game, too. Stay tuned -- lots more on the way!!

    More Eureka Miniatures -- these are billed as Gibbon Monkeys and another cool set of figs!

    Another shot of my Planet of the Apes forces assembled, with the Gibbons protecting the right wing

    Maurice, Dr. Zaius, and the gorilla cavalry guard the left wing of the battleline

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 64
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 41
  

Final Squad for Anadorans Finished - Whole Detachment Pics

    With the latest squad finished, the Anadoran Detachment for Xenos Rampant is complete!

The final squad of my "blue-skinned aliens" (who I have decided to call Anadorans just now) are finished. So, that's my fourth detachment for Xenos Rampant finished, which means I can start planning our first game. These are once again plastic Stargrave miniatures from one of the Mercenaries boxes. I think I am getting reasonably competent at gluing the various arms, heads, etc., together and making them not looking like mad vivisectionist's nightmare.

    The last 5 "blue-skinned alien" Anadorans prowl through a power facility off-world

With the previous squad, I had exhausted the box's supply of that particular alien head. I had to improvise with other head choices that I thought would look well. Those who look closely will notice these guys actually have relatively human schnozes while the first batch from the Mercenaries box had the much cooler and alien looking sunken noses. Otherwise, I attempted to paint everything identically to the last batch. 

    I admit I do like the variety of weapons that you can equip figures with in the Stargrave boxes

The uniforms were done in craft paint Khaki, with a lighter "Wild Rice" dry brush. I did the straps, ammo pouches, holsters and such in white. The armor panels are done in Iron Wind Metals Steel first, then a craft metallic brown over top. The skin on the faces is a Sky Blue base coat with a wash of watered down Vallejo acrylic medium blue. Any visors are done in Steel again.

    I like the color scheme on the Anadoran uniforms -- not flashy, but practical and utilitarian

The weapons I followed my usual Sci-Fi formula. I used a craft paint metallic gray for a basecoat and pick out other areas in the metallic brown and a bright silver. The uniforms and straps get a brown wash, while the metal and weapons get a dark black vehicle wash (which I need to order more of ASAP!).

    My entire Anadoran detachment assembled - two squads of elites, two of heavies, and one walker bot

After finishing up the flocking to match the rest of the figures in this Sci-Fi project, I decided to set out the whole Anadoran detachment of troops. This consisted of two squads of Elite troopers (using my post-apocalyptic survivor squad, The Nightstalkers). They are supported by two squads of Heavy Infantry using the Stargrave Mercenaries. I also gave the Anadorans one of the crab-like mechanical Droid walkers (the one painted in blue, of course!).

    A narrow view of the Anadorans gathered -- I think the two types of figures look nice together

I think the force looks pretty nice on the tabletop. It is a very similar force composition to the Bronze Legion. Maybe once I have a couple games under my belt I will tweak it some more. 

What's next? I have five Planet of the Apes gorillas on horseback that is almost halfway complete sitting on my painting desk right now. They are a mix of the Battle Valor miniatures and JS Wargamer Printings 3-D figures. Seeing how I am progressing, I would expect one more update this week with them before I take off for a week-long spring break. I have adjusted my Aquired vs. Painted numbers below to reflect the Anadoran squad being completed.

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 64
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 36

The Bronze Legion - Ready for Battle!

    The Bronze Legion assembled - five squads totaling 24 points for Xenos Rampant

 

With the last squad of heavy infantry for the Bronze Legion finished, I can officially say this "detachment" (as Xenos Rampant calls a player's force) is ready for the tabletop. These last five figures should have been a breeze to paint up, but when they were about 3/4's of the way done, I got sick a couple weeks back. It sapped all my energy, so they sat there, partially painted, in the basement waiting for my recovery.

    Progress on the final squad of heavy infantry for the legion was delayed by two weeks of sickness

The heavy infantry for the Bronze Legion comes from the "Troopers" box of the Stargrave Miniatures plastic kit. I'm ashamed to say that it wasn't until gluing together this batch that I noticed the left and right arms had matching numbers. That certainly made positioning the arms of the figures bracing their weapon with their left hand easier! I'm still a bit of a novice still at this "assembling miniatures" stage of painting figures. I prefer metal miniatures, but realize that so many people like the kit-bashing aspect of plastic figures that they are here to stay.

    I think the Wiley Games 3-D printed and Stargrave plastic figures go together well for this force

I painted them up identically to the last batch. They were spray primed with Krylon acrylic matte black, which I always follow up brushing on a 50/50 mix of water and acrylic black paint. Next, I do a medium gray dry brush over the figures to bring out some highlights on the black. I remembered this time to NOT do a black wash over these areas at the end. Last time I did that and it erased my gray highlighting! It was on to the armor next, which I painted using a metallic craft paint called "Ancient Bronze." After some bright red detail on the belts and back armor plate, all that was left was the figures' weapons. I like how my method for painting Sci-Fi weapons has been working out. I start with a metallic gray craft paint base color, add some details in metallic brown, and finally highlights in silver. Weapons, faces, and the armor then receive a dark black vehicle wash from Vallejo. At that point they are ready for clearcoating, with one final step of painting gloss on their visors and the red dot on their backpacks.

    Wiley Games B3AST provides some heavy support for the legion, counting as a "Fighting Vehicle"

I'm sticking with my urban style flocking on the bases, using Woodland Scenics fine Mixed Gray Ballast. Before applying it, though, I glue a couple bricks to represent rubble, and then over bricks and ballast I do a black wash. One or two tufts and mixed green flocking and the figure is ready for the tabletop. It was fun to assemble the whole detachment and take some pictures. I am giving the Bronze Legion a fighting vehicle (in Xenos Rampant terms) to round out the force. This is the B3AST tracked Bot from Wiley Games. Its color scheme somewhat matches the Bronze Legion, so I figured it would be a good fit.

    Seeing how few figures it takes to field a force in Xenos Rampant, I ditched the 2-figs = 1 SP scale

I have also pointed out my detachment for Xenos Rampant, too. I have officially backed off of the two figures equals one strength point. I am going all in with a one-to-one ratio. As you can see with the legion, it really doesn't take that many figures to do a 24-point force. Here is how I plan to field the legion:

• 5 strength points Elite Infantry with Commander: (includes Back into the Fray, Firefight, Ranger), +2 points for Heavy Weapon = total 8 points.
• 5 strength points Elite Infantry: (includes Back into the Fray, Firefight, Ranger) = total 6 points.
• 5 strength points Heavy Infantry: (includes Go to Ground, Firefight), +1 point for Armor Piercing = total 3 points.
• 5 strength points Heavy Infantry: (includes Go to Ground, Firefight), +1 point for Armor Piercing = total 3 points.
• 5 strength points Fighting Vehicle: (includes All Terrain, Anti-tank, High-powered blades), -2 points for Light Armored Vehicle = total 4 points.

Total Detachment Points = 24

    I'm excited to play my first game of Xenos Rampaint, which could be very soon...!

What's up next? I have assembled another squad of five figures for Xenos Rampant. This will be another batch of Blue-skinned Troopers for Xenos Rampant. This will finish out that detachment, as well. When that squad is complete, I will have four detachments done.

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures purchased in 2024: 15
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 31

Heavy Infantry for the Bronze Legion & Xenos Rampant

    Heavy Infantry for the Bronze Legion for my Xenos Rampant 'Detachment'

As I continue to flesh out my Xenos Rampant "Detachments" (as the rules call a force), I definitely want to get the Bronze Legion on the table in the first game. The legion began with two squads of Wiley Games Space Marines that I painted up back in November and December of last year (2023). I really liked how they came out, but wanted some more variety for other squads. I picked up a Stargrave Troopers plastic kit box from Jeff Gatlin at Shieldwall Gaming Club. These looked like they would mix well, and now that they're painted up, I feel they did.

    I used the Stargrave 'Troopers' box for this 3rd Bronze Legion squad & glued them together myself!

I like the ancient bronze metallic craft color and black combo. I feel the black clothing accentuates the bronze colored plates. Assembling the figures with model glue wasn't too horrible of an experience. I do like how the pack numbers the arms (discreetly -- missed it on the first batch I'd assembled awhile back). So, the right hand #10 goes with the left hand #10. That's important as many of the left hands are cupping or supporting the weapon they are holding in the right. And as much as I prefer one piece miniatures (particularly metal), I guess I can live with gluing on two arms and a head. I'm sure others out there do a MUCH better job gluing these together, but hey! I actually accomplished it, so am happy.

    Plastic details tend not to be as deep as deep as metals, so dry brushing only partially brings out folds

 

I like the rocket launcher weapons that come with the box. That'll let me give them heavy weapons or some other such upgrade when I finally get around to pointing out the detachment for Xenos Rampant. After assembling them, I spray painted the figures Krylon matte black and followed it up with my usual 50/50 mix of black acrylic paint and water. Next, I gave them a medium to dark gray drybrush to pick out some of the detail which might otherwise simply look all black. This also helped me be able to see the detail better to paint. I have my lighted magnifying lamp on my painting desk, but every little bit helps! Following that, I painted the bronze plates, followed by the flesh, which in this case was just the bottom half of the face. I painted the helmet visor Iron Wind Metals Steel, as well as the forearm band with communications gear.

    The Bronze Legion assembled - 2 Wiley Games elites, 1 Stargrave heavies, & 1 Robot Vehicle

I tricked up the comm gear with a metallic blue screen and green, yellow, and red glowing buttons. After clear coating, I would go back and apply clear gloss to the helmet visor. I felt it still needed something, so I painted red dots around each figure's waist belt, as well as on the center backpack. I'm sure something in the Troopers box is supposed to glue to that circle, but nothing jumped out at me as belonging there. So, I left the circle in the red accent and also went back and hit it with gloss, too (much like I did with the space marines figures). I was tempted to make the bronze legion's skin color an alien one, but decided they would be a human faction. I already plan on a few other different colored skinned aliens, so I didn't want to go overboard. I like how the final black wash I put on it brought out detail and depth in the face. I used watered down black vehicle wash for this batch rather than my pre-mixed black Vallejo wash. I like how it looks better on metallics. My premixed makes metallics look a little cloudy, in my opinion.

    The legion sends its heavy infantry to investigate a bombed out settlement on a battlefield planet

So, what's next for miniatures? I should probably point out the Bronze Legion and see what I actually need to get them up to 24 points. My best guess would be simply another batch of these figures. I am rethinking my 1 figure = 2 points idea for Xenos Rampant, though. For some reason, I thought that I would make ALL infantry squads "Increased Squad Size" (up to 10 strength points from 5). Now, I see that isn't necessary. And if I keep some squads -- or maybe most squads -- at 5 strength points, I may need one final batch of Planet of the Apes figures. I have a pack of 10 "Planet of the Monkeys" gorillas with sub-machine gun that I bought from JS Wargamer Printing at last year's CincyCon. So, I may prime and paint those up instead. However, I want to compare them to the Eureka and Battle Valor metal miniatures the rest of the force is to make sure they don't look odd next to them.

Stay tuned and see what's next!

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures purchased in 2024: 15
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 26

Battle Droids & 2nd Batch of Bronze Legion

    My 2nd squad of the Bronze Legion faces off against Star Wars Legion B1 Battle Droids

Now that it is winter break from school, my hobby production is picking up its pace. The last time I was at the Dragons Guildhall in Beavercreek, OH, I picked up a box from the Star Wars Legion line. I know its figs are a bit overscale, but these were B1 Battle Droids, so I figured it'd be okay. I mean, how tall is a battle droid supposed to be, really? 

    The B1 Battle Droids will supplement my Machines force for Xenos Rampant, finishing it up

When I got home, I opened up the box, and smacked my forehead, "Oh, no!" Nothing that looked like a droid was attached to the sprues -- WAY too many individual pieces for me to glue together. I took them to our regular Sunday night gaming session and handed them over to my friend Keith, who is skilled at assembling these fiddly types of models. He gave them back to me the next weekend and said it had taken him all of 15 minutes. For me, it would have been hours of frustration, maybe a little screaming, and possibly a broken droid or two...!

    I like the 'Imperial Gold' metallic paint I used on the droids, and the figs themselves look very cool

They seemed VERY spindly and fragile. So, I gave them a spray prime of Krylon matte black followed by a 50/50 water and acrylic black paint mixture. I figured I would need all the layers I could get to keep these mechanical ankles from snapping! Once they were done, I gave all four a head-to-toe ( or armored boot?) base coat of gray metallic craft paint. Then I did something I rarely do. I painted each miniature individually. First, I used an "Imperial Gold" craft paint to paint some of the metal parts of miniature. I left enough of the gray metallic in the recesses and on various other parts of the miniature to give a nice contrast, though. 

    Unlike most of the time, I painted these figures essentially one at a time because it seemed easier

The backpacks were done in a metallic brown, while I added a deep metallic red for their eyes (sensors?) and as glowing components on their weapons. For the eyes, I also added in a dot of a metallic pink in the middle of the red to hopefully give an impression of a more brightly glowing center of the sensor.  I did their backpack antennae in silver so that it would stick out from the rest of the miniature. Finally, after all four miniatures were done, I went over the entire figures with a black wash, weapons and all. I wanted the figures to gleam a bit, so I didn't use a particularly dark wash -- just enough to add some depth and shadow. All in all, these went fairly quickly. Each figure took more than an hour to do all the detail on, but it was easier to do them one by one. All four poses are different, so going from one figure to another at the same stage really wouldn't have helped with efficiency much. I'm happy with how they turned out!

    With only 4 droids in the box, I'm not sure what category of troop type they'll be in Xenos Rampant

I also completed a second squad of the Bronze Legion for Xenos Rampant. I went with a completely different approach this time. I painted the entire figure black first, then added the bronze metallic. Last time, I did the opposite -- bronze first, then adding the super-fine detailed lines for the black. Which was easier and faster? I think this way was, at least marginally. I also did not do multiple layers of the bronze as I knew the effect I was going for. I was counting on the final wash to flow into the recesses and do that highlighting step for me. Otherwise, it was the same basic plan for the first batch of miniatures. 

    The second squad of the Bronze Legion reporting for duty, getting that force closer to the tabletop

Since I'd ordered five of the Wiley Games marines for this squad, I didn't have to do a Reaper figure in this batch. They were all from the same 3-D printed line. I definitely like the Wiley Games miniatures. They are heftier and seem less fragile. I am not as worried about them snapping at the ankles or having arms break. If you haven't checked out their line of figures (they are most well known for their Fistful of Lead rules), I encourage you to do so.

    Two squads of the Bronze Legion guards a power station on an Earth-like planet

So, the Bronze Legion has two squads ready for its force. The Battle Droids were intended for the Machines army, so it is basically the first ready for the tabletop. Could I be just a few weeks away from hosting my first Xenos Rampant game? My friend Keith has LOTS of Sci-Fi forces painted up, so I could host a game tomorrow using his, if I wanted to do so. Check out his Orcafinn's Basement blog for the incredible variety of minis he's painted up. I particularly like his Tyrannids and they will likely appear in my first game.

How About Some Blue-skinned Aliens for Xenos?

    My next squad for Xenos Rampant Sci-Fi games - from the Stargrave Mercenaries box

I am continuing to paint up squads for my Xenos Rampant project. This was my first batch of plastic miniatures from one of the Stargrave Mercenary boxes. Thanks to my friend Keith Finn giving me the correct glue to assemble the heads and arms to the torsos, I was able to actually put these together myself! You have to remember, I am the guy who likes to brag that the only thing I have successfully super-glued is my fingers to each other...haha! They are posed in front of another Miniature Building Authority building -- 10720 Arcade, from their Middle Eastern Series. This resin building came pre-painted, though I added some color in the mud bricks showing through and also the roof tiles. I also finished it off with a brown vehicle wash that I feel really gave it a warm glow.

    I used "Alien" heads for the torsos, and decided to paint them with blue skin and red eyes

I bought this box of miniatures from Shieldwall Gaming this past September at the Hold The Line convention in Port Clinton, OH. I actually glued them together a few months back, thinking I would use them for games of Galactic Heroes, or maybe Space Station Zero. So, I made sure to include guys holding briefcases or devices in one of their hands. I do like that you can mix up the weapons in these packs, but I still am not a fan of having to assemble my figures. At least these seems solid enough and won't snap at the knees like one of my 3-D printed Terminators did!

    The squad (Andorians from Star Trek?) deploy near the Miniature Building Authority arcade

From what I can see, forces in Xenos Rampant tend to have 4-5 squads. I figured it would be helpful to use my already painted up and ready for the tabletop post-apocalyptic survivor gangs as "cores" to build a force around. One of the most Sci-Fi looking of my gangs is Keith's Nightstalkers. I will likely need to paint up several more of them in metal to make that into two squads. They look a bit like the Stargrave Mercenaries, so I decided to do my best to mimic the color scheme of the Nightstalkers for this squad.

I was originally going to use these for smaller skirmishes, so chose hands holding various equipment

I thought these would paint up relatively quickly, but there were a lot of straps, ammo pouches, armor plates, and other details to put on. I began with a base coat of craft paint Khaki for their uniform. The web gear, holsters, and equipment or ammo pouches were done in a lighter craft paint called Wild Rice. Of course, these being 28mm figs, each color first got their own lighter dry brush shade over top (Howard Hues Khaki and white, respectively). The armor plates were done in metallic brown, which to me looks more golden-bronze. Think San Francisco 49ers football team helmet color. The weapons were done in Metallic Gray with highlights of the metallic brown and silver.

    "What was that...?" Squad turns to check out a noise from inside the arcade, showing their backside

When assembling the figures, I had chosen humanoid alien heads because...well, why not? So, how to make them look suitably alien? I decided to go with a light blue skin. I went with a base coat of sky blue and a wash of a deeper blue. For the eye sockets, I applied more of the blue closer to full strength and with less water. I then did my usual black oval for the eye -- and for an even more alien effect -- went with red eyes. I really like how they turned out! What are those blue-skinned, Star Trek aliens? Andorians? Well, no antennae here, but that was the effect I was shooting for!

    The squad regroups at the rear of the MBA pre-painted arcade (although touched up a bit by me)

Finally, it was time for the washes -- three different shades, in this case. I used my normal dark brown wash on the khaki uniform and lighter web gear and equipment. Next, I did my usual black wash on the armor and dark brown boots and straps. Finally, the weapons got a really dark black vehicle wash. I really like how that makes the weapons look a totally different shade than the rest of the figure. All in all, I was very happy with how this batch of figures turned out...well, other than them taking considerably longer than I thought they would! My usual Sci-Fi basing scheme of Fine Blended Gray Ballast (with a dark wash over it) and craft bricks finish them out. I hope you like them!

    A better shot of the roof of the Middle Eastern Arcade, with several Andorians on lookout

    Here is the post-apocalyptic survivor gang, Night Stalkers, I was trying to match this batch with

First Squad for the Bronze Legion in Xenos Rampant

    My first human (humanoid?) squad for Xenos Rampant Sci-Fi skirmish - the Bronze Legion!

I want to paint up a number of forces for Xenos Rampant Sci-Fi rules, so plan on switching back and forth between different types of figures. I started things off with the Terminator 3-D printed figures, so now thought I'd switch to a human (or humanoid?) force. Most of these figures are from Wiley Games intended for their Galactic Heroes rules. I purchased one of their groups of five figures (for the price of four) which included two Marines, as well as a Marine sergeant and captain. The fifth miniature was from Reaper Bones and was a Science Fiction figure called XXXXXXXXXX. He had armor so I thought he wouldn't look completely out of place alongside the Wiley marines.

    These resin figures are from Wiley Games and are billed as "Marines" - I love the helmet & armor!

I'd recently picked up a new metallic craft paint called Ancient Bronze, so thought I'd try it out on these figures. It was much brighter after drying than in the bottle. Almost a copper tone. However, I did a dark black wash on them and really liked how it toned down the color. It was closer to matching what the color looked liked before application. To try for a nice 3-D look, I then watered down the paint some and applied it over the highlights of the armor pieces. I followed this up with full-strength Ancient Bronze towards the center of the highlighted area in hopes of giving a light-shining-on-armor look.

    I mixed in this Reaper Bones figure 'Gavin Markus, Novacorp Hero' to beef the squad up to five

The hardest part was next when I painted recessed areas and deep crevices in the armor black. My thought was that their was a black uniform underneath the armor showing through in areas between the armor plates. For some tinier areas I pulled out the black micron pen and color tiny dimples and other recessed areas with that. It was at this point that I was very thankful I had decided to paint up five figure squads for Xenos rampant, with each figure being 2 strength points. Doing the black on a batch of 10 figures would have been quite the grind. 

    I did several layers of a new metallic bronze paint and wash for the effect of the armor

I wanted the visor of the helmet to look like a dark, smoked plexiglass. I used Iron Wind Metals Steel for that, and really like how it looks. After I was done with dullcoate spraying them, I painted the visors with a brush on gloss paint. For the weapons, I painted them a dark metallic craft paint with accents in a metallic brown. Once I was satisfied with the accent work, I did a dark black wash over it. Finally, it was time for some red accents. The marine captain has a kilt of sorts around his waist, which I did in a Moroccan Red craft paint. I also added red accents on their chest armor and belts.

    A squad of the Bronze Legion investigates an abandoned research station

The Reaper figure has quite a bit more detail with a backpack of some sort. He has taken his helmet off and wears some sort of headset underneath. Once I was done with the four marines, I took another hour or so to finish off his detail, including his human skin, hair, mustache, and eyes. Thankfully, his sizes matches up well with the marines even if he isn't an identical fit. The flocking on the bases was done similarly to the Terminators. I paint the base a medium gray, then glue a couple bricks to it. I then paint the base with white glue and sprinkle Fine Woodland Scenics Mixed Gray Ballast over it. Once dry, I apply a black wash to the base (out of the tub, I think it is too bright). If the wash makes it too dark, I do a light gray dry brush over it again to pick out the texture. Finally, I add some patches of grass and a dried grass tuft to complete what I like to think of as an urban battlefield look.

I really like how the Bronze Legion, as I am calling them, came out. I took advantage of Wiley Games' Black Friday sale and ordered another squad's worth, which should be coming within a week. I have also been flocking up Jenny's new Saga army (Iberians from Age of Hannibal) that she sent out to Ted B to get painted. Still, I feel like I am being incredibly productive of late, what with 2/3's of her army already flocked, the Silent Slumbers Motel MBA building completed, and Droids and Robots, and now these marines. Hopefully, this burst of productivity will continue! Stay tuned to see!!

Some Cool-looking Robots and Droids for Sci-Fi Games

Selection of Droids & Robots from three different manufacturers recently finished up for Sci-Fi games

These have been sitting on my desk base-coated for several months, now -- perhaps longer! I began working on them when I was painting droids or robots for enemies in Space Station Zero. With my interest beginning to tail off and my painting schedule for last year's Saga tournaments picking up, they simply sat their dormant and patiently waiting for their turn. Now, that I have a renewed interest in Sci-Fi miniatures with my purchase of Osprey Games' Xenos Rampant (which I picked up from Shieldwall Gaming Club). I based them all on circular bases and pulled them into the painting queue.

    The three miniatures assembled - called Vatacina Sentinels and Purifiers on the Aberrant webpage

The three on the left in the metallic green, red, and blue are from Aberreant Games for their Rezolution Science Fiction Miniatures Combat Game. I don't know a lot about the rules, other than the website says they represent a dystopian 2175 A.D. future. I picked the miniatures up from Bryan Borgman at his flea market at the Origins Game Day this past January. Look at the website for Aberrant, I got an amazing deal. I swear he was selling these packs for $1 each. On their website now, they list for nearly $20 per figure! That said, I ended up failing miserably at putting them together and handed them off to my friend Keith. He's more adept at super glue, model cement, and other types of bonding agents. He did a fine job on putting them together, and I had to admit they looked a lot cooler than they had unassembled in the packed! I wish I had bought more, now...!

Love the look of these -- kind of like a cross between Star Wars droids and Starship Trooper arachnids

The miniatures resemble a cool-looking cross between the Starship Troopers arachnids and Star Wars battle droids. I painted them a base white way back when I started getting them ready. Recently, when I began working on them again, I changed my mind. I based those that were unbased on round magnetic bases and spray-painted them Krylon black instead. Following that up with my usual 50/50 acrylic black paint and water, I waited from to dry, then painted the entire surface with a dark metallic color. I then gave them a very dark black wash to see if I wanted to keep them a dark metallic. I decided instead that they would look better in brighter metallics. I chose my three current favorite metallics, a red, green, and blue. I left some portions the dark metallic and others I did in an accent color. I picked out various other details, such as tubing and silver blades. All in all, I was ecstatic about how they looked. Once again, at a buck apiece, I wish I'd bought more!

    Tracked robots (or droids) from Wiley Games, Reverisco, and Aberrant Games

The next batch is from three different sources. The futuristic artillery piece is from Reviresco Miniatures, the large, tracked robot is from Wiley Games, and the tiny droids are also from Aberrant's Rezolution line. The Wiley Games bot is called B3EAST and is a resin figure for only $5. He needs to be glued together, but that seemed to be fairly easy to accomplish. I decided to try some white metallic paint with red accents for this one to give it a more retro look than the crab-like Vatacinas. It took a couple coats, but it finally covered my original all dark metallic paint, and I like the way it turned out. The Wiley Games minis are very affordable, and I recommend them to anyone who wants to pick up some interesting or odd figures.

    The Droid/Robot artillery pounds away at their human enemies from the cover of a ruined building

The Reverisco Robot Power Gun was rather more interesting to put together. No matter which way I placed the pieces, I had some left over. Maybe it was meant that way to give you some variety? Reverisco is very old school metal minis. They tend to be on the clunky side and not as cleanly sculpted as more modern day miniatures. However, once painted up, it definitely looks cool and will be a good addition to a Sci-Fi force. Xenos Rising has support artillery as a troop type, so this will be perfect. RRB Minis & More has other Reviresco Sci-Fi gun types, so check out their site and pick up some! I just did a search on their site for "Reviresco" to see what they had.

    Another look at the whole batch of cool-looking robots and droids, ready for the tabletop!

 The tiny droids were in one of the packs I picked up from Bryan at his flea market table. I like the way they look and -- shocker -- wish I had picked up some more! All in all, I'm very happy with how this batch of mechanoids turned out. I look forward to using them in games of Xenos Rampant, and who knows? Maybe I'll start playing Space Station Zero again and they'll show up as the enemy in there...