Deadzone - Asterian Strike force & Scenery

[Malebolgia]

Me and my mates have been playing Deadzone 2 for some months now and so far we’re having tons of fun. Nice models, easy rules, fast games, great scenery, lots of epic moments and we can play two games in one evening. So, perfect for the working dad
Mantic is currently running a Deadzone campaign: the battle for Starfall. That seemed a good opportunity to get a decent Strike Force painted!

My force are the Asterians, space elfs. No, they’re not Eldar…very different actually. They field remote controlled Cyphers (so the elf is logged into the suit from a nearby space ship), weapon drones and robots. So lots of metal. I decided to keep it simple and fast by using ‘Martian Green’ from Green Stuff World[/u]. This iridescent paint shows a green to purple colour, depending on how the light reflects off it. This gives a nice sci-fi and advanced alien look. Perfect for space elfs! And it’s easy to do. Prime them with gloss black, airbrush them with the colour shift paint (I’d stay away with a regular brush, it’s a chore!) and then do some blacklining. I added bright orange and light blue lights for some contrast and to have them pop well and some neutral tones for the weapons.

Group shot


Cypher Prime (leader)


Ten Ur’Go (character)


Black Talon (specialist)


Cypher Specialist – Grenade Launcher (specialist)


Cypher Specialist – Light Missile Launcher (specialist)


Cypher Specialist – Fission Beamer (specialist)


Support Drone – Camouflage Module (specialist)


Cypher (troop)


Cypher (troop)


Cypher Warden (troop)


Kalyshi (troop)


Marionette (troop)


Sky Razor (vehicle)


And some mercs…lovely models and great options for the game. You can add 1 character to your Strike Force, so nice to have some choice.

Project Oberon (Nameless merc)


The Survivor (human scientist who is infected by the Plague Virus and now seeks a cure)


And right from the start I made sure I had a good collection of scenery done…the game needs lots of scenery. And since it works with 3” cubes, it really helps to have the official scenery. This really speeds up the game. I wanted to do these as fast as possible. So I primed them with a mint green and then sprayed several cans of Modelmates Weathering sprays or splashed Modelmates Track Dirt all over them. I then used a damp cloth to wipe some away. Add some OSL, metallics and burnt edges for the broken scenery and done!





The campaign is in its second week now, so three more weeks to finish my Strike Force and play some games!

[Inso]

Excellent stuff .

They seem to be a great faction for the colour-shift metallic paint as well... it really suits them.

I'm not a huge fan of the style of scenery (boxes, stacked on boxes) but you have done a smashing job with the paint .

Will there be more?

[Malebolgia]

Thanks!

I'm not a huge fan of the style of scenery (boxes, stacked on boxes) but you have done a smashing job with the paint .

I think it takes some getting used to. At first we had to get used to the cubistic approach, but now we like it. Of course, it's mainly a gameplay thing, but it works so very well. Away with measuring, no situations where models might be or not be in range, much faster. I think it's one of the best elements of Deadzone and Mars Attacks. And you can use round(ish) objects to make it all less boxy, but in the end these designs work the best in the game IMO.

Will there be more?

Of course! I'm planning to add 1-2 models per week. Once the campaign is over, I will switch over to my Enforcers...and they will need some paint too

[Hobby Services]

Very nice.  I played Asterians a bit in 1st edition, haven't tried them in 2nd yet.  Very fond of cribbing and kitbashing some of their models for other purposes though, as seen on my blog here:  http://brokenstarsburningships.blogspot.com/2018/03/dance-puppets-deadzone-marionette-kit.html

[Sir_Theo]

Lovely Asterians. I really enjoy Deadzone when Ive played, really should do more!

[Commander Carnage]

 
Excellent work on your DZ collection. I'm enjoying the campaign as well. Congrats on the Hobby Medal Award. Your army is very deserving. DZ is a game that should get more love, great playability, models, terrain and so playable with limited space and time.

[Malebolgia]

Thanks guys!

@Commander Carnage: Thanks...it was real cool to see I won an award! And I have been continuing painting, it's such a great game and the models are ace too.

[Malebolgia]

Week 3 of the campaign has started, so time to add reinforcements:

Kalyshi #2


Marionette Specialist with Grenade Launcher


Tomorrow another game and I will do two more models this week.

[Malebolgia]

The campaign is now into the last week and I have painted four more models:

Black Talon Prime

This started out as a Dreadball model (Alo-Khan), which I converted with the extra metal parts from the Ten'Ur Go/Black Talon Prime blisterpack. So I cut off the hands and replaced them with the metal pistol and Light Blade and replace the head with the metal one. Finally, I added a backpack from the plastic Marionettes box to simulate a Jump Pack.
I also wanted him to be more special...so I painted him with colour shifting blue. So also in iridiscent paint, but in blue. But then I had to do the blade in a different colour too. All in all I think it really works and I'm very happy with him.

Cypher

And another conversion. This time it's a Cypher Warden (the robots with the KAMEHAMEHAAAAA hands). I cut off the right hand and replaced it for a Noh Rifle, giving me a unique Cypher. Cool pose and fits in well with the rest.

Kalyshi Dervish

One of the excellent Kalyshi models. These are resin models and are very well done. Great sculpt and the cast was perfect. Love the dynamic pose. I put some extra effort in this model as she's so cool in the game and I'm very happy with her.

Blaine

Mantic's own mascotte who features in most of their games and such a great model. This is a Dreadball version. Nice pose, not too much annoying details and he was great to paint. In the end he took only 2.5 hours from start to finish. Probably because of the colours used. But I'm happy with the result and I think he's a real badass .

Total Strike Force

And the final Strike Force of all models together. I had a blast painting them and playing in the campaign was great. So far this is one of my favorite games I have ever played: it's fast, it's well designed, has tons of epic moments (also due to the exploding d8s), the models are great and it won't take long to play fully painted.
For now I'm finished with the Asterians (yes, yes...I have tons more...) and it's time to move on to the Plague!

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Nice looking figures.

[Brummie]

Those Asterians are lovely, was it easy to pull that paint job off?

Like the other characters as well, they look pretty grim which contrasts nicely with the Asterians touting that neon orange/speak metallic look.