Going Over to the Dark Side

I taught my nephew how to play Star Wars Armada.  Being a fan of all things Star Wars, it was a hit with him.  It was also his first experience with miniature wargaming.

I took a few pictures to show the painted TIEs in action and to get better shots of the glittered felt cloth I've been using as a mat.

I've been pretty busy lately, with not much time for painting.  I like the way the painted fighters look compared to the unpainted ones, so plan on continuing doing more.

Just before that Imperial Star Destroyer went bye-bye...

We Don't Need No Water...

Great rioting citizens, Batman!

These two angry cits are from the Foundry Street Violence range.

They could fashionably fit into any block war party you are throwing.

Being young hipsters, in touch with the youth of today, they bring a certain energy to your next angry gathering.

This fellow really knows how to light up the night.

When he's not tossing molotovs, you can find him pitching softballs for his block's league.

Trench Coat Mafia

This dapper fellow is from Coppletstone.  He could make a PI or police detective, but he's dressed well in a retro style that seems too rich for a noir detective or public servant.
He's much more of a mafia or corporate type.

How about we fit you for a pair of concrete galoshes?

I tried to give him a conservative look to match his clothing, but felt a splash of color (the gun) would give it something special.

Organized crime features heavily in Judge Dredd stories.

His companion is from Reaper, the Chronoscope line.  This model is much smaller and slighter than the Copplestone model.  I've found that the Chronoscope models are all sold as 28mm, but they vary greatly in size.  This is probably due to using different sculptors and a line that features a wide variety of models from different periods.

This model strongly resembles a Hasslefree miniature and I wouldn't be surprised if it is a Kev White sculpt.  She reminds me of a cold war secret agent.

TIE-ing It All Together

Star Wars Armada has got some fairly nice pre-painted ships, but it's squadrons are bare plastic.

Silver TIE fighters?

These are pretty good sculpts and (even with some warping) are cast well.

Running away???

They are functional and easily identifiable, but next to the painted ships, they sort of stand out.

Not lookin' silver, here!

There's some variation in color of the fighters in the movies.  Sometimes they are grey, others a grey-blue.  I decided to try out a bluish grey.

Pew Pew Pew

I first tried out a Vallejo Black Gray base, with Citadel "The Fang" (formerly Shadow Gray).

Stay in formation

The contrast of colors is not strong enough, either on the wings or in the cockpit window.

I decided that (closeup photos not withstanding) it wasn't going to look good enough on the tabletop.

Much better.

I changed my base color to black and the results were quite positive.

The interior sides of the wings lack sculpted detail, so had to be painted on freehand

So much better

Yippee

Happy Valentine's Day

Undercover Judgers

These Foundry detectives make for decent Wally Squad judges.

Greater Craters

Craters/shellholes are perfect terrain elements for any modern to sci-fi gaming setting.

Years ago I bought a Plastruct set of vacuum-formed sheets that were filled with craters.  I had used these in WWII games.

6mm mech and 28mm model for scale.

There's nothing wrong with them, they work just fine -- except that for gaming they don't provide a natural feel since they are two regular, rectangular sheets.

I decided I would try my hand at making my own.  I came up with the idea of using the Plastruct craters as molds for casting and I filled them up with pva glue (I was really broke back then).

I glued my new 'castings' onto scraps of wood I had around from other modeling efforts, covered them in fine gravel and painted them.

I made a dozen or so of these.

They worked out well.  Not the most beautiful of craters, but they are functional.


One day I was in my local shop and saw the Gale Force 9 crater sets.  I was looking to spend some money there and nothing else caught my eye, so I picked these up.

Prepainted, semi-flexible resin.

There are two sets.  One set of small craters and one set of larger ones.  The small set has several pieces similar to those pictured above.

Big booms went here.

The larger crater set has two craters and a ruined 15mm house.

They have a nice look to them, they came already painted and are easy to throw down on the table.
I would have preferred them to be a bit deeper. 

If you are feeling lazy, looking to burn money (as I was) or just like the look of these, I think they are a decent terrain investment.  The smaller set seems to give more "bang" for the buck, especially if you are not going to use the small 15mm ruined building.