This Is Not A Test Koyote

[HerbyF]

I have never played 'This Is Not A Test'. I usually play various Two Hour Wargame rules for Post-Apocalyptic games. But I do have a number of interesting war-bands that might like to take on one of yours some time. My Sin-City Irregulars haven't had a good fight for a while.

[von Lucky]

Wow - very nice painting!

[Koyote]

Thanks, guys.

@HerbyF: When I lived in Seattle, I use to drive down to Puyallup, every month or so, to game with bunch of old friends and other invitees, but now that I live a stone's throw away from the Great White North, the drive down to Pierce County is just too much for me. 

[Hupp n at em]

Who makes that Chavez figure?  Really nice! 

[Koyote]

Who makes that Chavez figure?  Really nice!  

I did.  

Well, truth be told, I designed Chavez and Hero Forge Custom Miniatures made the model.

LINKY

Even if you aren't willing to spend $30 on a mini, their 3D modeling tool is fun to play with.

If you select the soft plastic option, the cost is about half, but the soft plastic minis are garbage.  I selected the Premium Plastic material

I had originally envisioned Chavez as a War Leader for my Tribals, but it took so damn long to get my mini, I ended up using a Great Shaman as my warband's leader.  

Hero Forge has Western themed gear, but no Native American gear, so I made due with what they had.  





Here's what the model looked like when it arrived.  





The plastic is slightly pliable and seems quite durable. The detail is quite good and the surfaces smooth. I judge the detail and finish to be slightly better than the best pieces being produced for Zombicide Black Plague, which for non-hard plastic models, is pretty damn good.  There were a few small remnants of tabs, here and there, but these were trimmed away quite easily.

From a purely practical perspective, I can't say that the model is worth the money I paid for it, but I knew that before I placed my order. For me,the novelty of getting to create what I want has a value that is hard to put a dollar amount on. Overall, I'm pretty happy about this purchase.

Why did I add a cat to his base?  Well, there a selection of small objects that one can add to the mini's base. Adding an object doesn't change the price of the mini, so I reasoned that by adding a cat I got two minis for the price of one (very expensive) mini.  

When I cut Chavez off his base to put him on the Micro Arts base, I also removed the cat and added it to my animal menagerie bitz box.  As you can see, I'm a bit of an animal hoarder, but all of my animals are very small and made out of white metal or plastic.

[Koyote]

With all the modeling and painting that I need to do to prepare for the Adepticon SAGA tournaments in March, I know that I shouldn't even be thinking about another painting project, but I just can't help myself.  Inspired by Lead Adventure Miniatures' The Last Project miniature line and my own (short) experience as a commercial fisherman, I would very much like to make make a warband of post-apoc fishermen who supply the settlements in and around post apocalypse Seattle with fresh, albeit mildly radioactive, seafood. 





Keeping with the theme, I'd probably make them a Caravanners warband.

Instead of a Trade Master, my leader would be a Captain and the Caravanner Lieutenant would be the First Mate. Ahab would be too obvious of a choice for a captain, so I'd probably go with Captain Hemingway.  Of course, he'll need one of those classic Aran fisherman sweaters.

The Local Emissary elite choice opens up all kinds of possibilities for using fun minis. As a nod to Lovecraft, I could use a Deep One hybrid model as a Mutant Emissary.  I could find a suitably awesome south pacific islander miniature, name him Queequeg, and use the mini as a Tribal Representative.  I don't know what model I'd use for a Warden. I suppose I could find a cop mini wearing glasses and armed with a rifle, and call him Martin Brody. 'Smile, you son of a b****!'

Caravanner Trackers are grizzled veterans and guides, so of course I'd have to name my Tracker, Quint.  He'd need a cap, large sideburns, and a mustache.  Of course, he'd need a machete. 'Farewell and adieu, you ladies of Spain.'

Do you think this fella is supposed to be a nod to The Old Man and the Sea?

[Captain Blood]

I think he’s meant to be a nod to LAF original Grimm, who is a bit of a larger than life character himself, although rarely found in these waters these days. Honestly not sure why the Prof has cast him as a fisherman or whaler. Particularly since the poor guy’s a vegetarian! 

[Koyote]

I think he’s meant to be a nod to LAF original Grimm, who is a bit of a larger than life character himself, although rarely found in these waters these days. Honestly not sure why the Prof has cast him as a fisherman or whaler. Particularly since the poor guy’s a vegetarian!  

Perhaps The Old Man and the Sea is one of Grimm's favorite books? Or perhaps it's an inside joke between the sculptor and Grimm?

The story's main character, Santiago, is an aged Cuban fisherman.  The model is painted in such a way as it could be a Latino.  

The single starfish in the net that's thrown over the model's shoulder could be another clue.  The flag of Cuba has a single star and if that flag was draped vertically down the model's back, the star would be at the top of the flag.  If you look at just the portion of the net on the model's back, the star(fish) is at the top of the net (flag).



The model's harpoon and oar may be still more clues. In the story Santiago hooks the massive marlin with a line and hook, but when he pulls the fish up to his boat, he kills it with a harpoon.  The marlin is too big to fit into Santiago's boat, so he tows it.  The marlin's blood attracts a big mako shark, which Santiago kills with the harpoon.  In the struggle he loses the harpoon, so he lashes a knife to an oar and uses this makeshift spear in a vain attempt to keep other sharks from eating his marlin.

Now the hair color, body type, and glasses don't match the description of Santiago, but this could simply be artistic license.

Am I reading too much into this?

[Koyote]

This evil bastard goes by the name Pig Iron.  A mercenary gunsmith by trade and a killer by nature, he's a man of few words and even fewer interests.  In fact, aside from Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain, Pig Iron's only other passions are his salvaged minigun, Lullaby, and watching Lullaby turn his enemies into unrecognizable gobbets.  Only the most desperate or deranged warbands would consider hiring this maniac.

Pig Iron (Mercenary Gunsmith)

[von Lucky]

He sleeps. Best time to slit throats.

Nice painting, base looks a little funny with the edges' angles (minor).

[Exiledadmiral]

I really like pig iron! Cool figure, nice painting.

[Koyote]

Thanks.

Now that I have painted models for 5 of the 10 freelancers, I want to paint a models for the remaining five.  Some of the models that I've painted can do double-duty, so I probably don't need five more models.  For instance, my Bounty Hunter will work just fine as a Wasteland Hunter and Doctor Everett will work as a Sawbones, Merchant, and maybe a Rogue Psychic.  What I don't have are models to use for a Deadman or a Wandering Mutant.  

I've long admired Taban Miniatures' Eden minis, so I've decided to recruit a couple for TNT.  Below are product images from Taban's website.

Dhambizao (left) will make fine Wandering Mutant or Rogue Psychic.  With a little work I can "magnetize" the right wrist.  This will allow me to arm him staff, rifle, or pistol and then swap out weapons when needed.

Jendayi (right) will be my Dead(wo)man.  The model will need a bit more work than Dhambizao.  You can't see it from the angle of the photo, but on her back is swaddled infant.  The idea of infants on my post-apoc battlefield makes me uncomfortable, so the baby has to go.  Additionally, I want to arm her with two one-handed weapons, so I'll replace the shield with a second weapon.  Lastly, I'll use some GS to make the model a bit more modest and much less exploitative.

[Koyote]

An old, GW Sisters Repentia model was my first candidate for a Dead(wo)man model, but I decided that even after removing the eviscerator and the small reliquary on her hip, she doesn't fit the image of a TNT Tribal, so I changed course.  Instead of a serving as an outcast Tribal freelancer, the model's hood and bizarre attire makes her a good candidate for my mutant cultist warband. Armed with a hand weapon and pistol, her focus will me melee.  I think I'll put her in charge of the miscreants, Brothers Ick and Ack.

I removed the eviscerator, reliquary, the chains on her left arm, and a weird flat section of her tabard and then used GS to repair and rebuild.  The bat was made by Mad Robot Miniatures and the pistol holster comes from Victoria Miniatures.

[Gunbird]

Nice conversion. A lot more balanced than the 40K ever was.

[Vampifan]

An excellent conversion!