Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: Mammoth miniatures on August 27, 2021, 09:00:36 PM
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I grabbed a sprue of the new stargrave troopers from northstar to use in my planet 28 /inq28 games as NPC security guards/warband extras.
I've painted up a quick test mini - I want to get these done fast, so nothing fancy, a very quick and dirty paintjob BUT i think they come out well for it. The sculpts are nice, very generic which is exactly what I want. With the right heads you could make anything from mobile infantry to stormtroopers, or go for a more imperial guard look with the right paintjob. My only gripe is the weapons - they have the tendency to look like fancy hoovers rather than guns, So I'll likely do a quick weapon swap on the rest of them.
(https://i.imgur.com/pDk9Xfb.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/U97nL2q.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/16z656c.jpg)
He scales up nicely with my own sculpts, So that's good!
(https://i.imgur.com/j7r5wKQ.jpg)
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Impressive weathering and rugged. Well done
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like the yellow :-* :-* :-* :-* :-* :-*
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Very nice :-*
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A very effective paint job. Well worn and properly dingy.
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Looks great :)
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Uuh gloomy looking fellow. Well done.
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Like that, especially the weathered pattern on the armour plates, lovely detail.
Is that head on the sprue?
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Like that, especially the weathered pattern on the armour plates, lovely detail.
Is that head on the sprue?
Ta!
Yup, all standard off the sprue stuff apart from the pauldron on the right shoulder.
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Great work!
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I agree - nicely grungy.
-Michael
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Glad you all like him - I knocked a couple of extras out last night, trying to do them fast since i tend to just do single characters.
I've replaced the guns (I may repaint these since i'm not sure on the blacked silver) and heads with parts from the GW cadian sprue and added a pauldron to break up the symmetry.
I only bought a single sprue of these but now I'm thinking of buying a full box to convert up a couple of extra squads, maybe some command characters...
(https://i.imgur.com/0mWNI3B.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ouVLW3o.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/9pVafgH.jpg)
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Great work! Lots of character in their faces and your distressing is outstanding.
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Ig heads look great on these!
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What major smith said!
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I grabbed a sprue of the new stargrave troopers from northstar to use in my planet 28 /inq28 games as NPC security guards/warband extras.
I've painted up a quick test mini - I want to get these done fast, so nothing fancy, a very quick and dirty paintjob BUT i think they come out well for it. The sculpts are nice, very generic which is exactly what I want. With the right heads you could make anything from mobile infantry to stormtroopers, or go for a more imperial guard look with the right paintjob. My only gripe is the weapons - they have the tendency to look like fancy hoovers rather than guns, So I'll likely do a quick weapon swap on the rest of them.
(https://i.imgur.com/pDk9Xfb.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/U97nL2q.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/16z656c.jpg)
He scales up nicely with my own sculpts, So that's good!
(https://i.imgur.com/j7r5wKQ.jpg)
If Star Wars can have guns with bits on 'em and Spielberg thinks Nerf guns painted black is fine, who are we to mock the humble battle hoover ?
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Indeed remember the Star Trek TNG - dustbusters lol
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Perhaps I have been too hard on the humble battle hoover. It's not as if the lasgun is any less ridiculous, I've just gotten used to it lol
I spent some time playing with the photobooth the other night to show these three chaps caught in an underhive ambush! I'm in two minds about putting miniature photographs in the second edition of planet 28 and these shots are swaying me.
(https://i.imgur.com/xrVEtnH.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/SF0LXZM.jpg)
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Go with minis photos. Your painting's more than good enough, your photography skills are up to the task, and people have come to demand pretty pictures a lot more than they used to.
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Go with minis photos. Your painting's more than good enough, your photography skills are up to the task, and people have come to demand pretty pictures a lot more than they used to.
This.
One of the things that lets the otherwise brilliant 5 Parsecs book down, and one of the great things about Rogue Trader WFB and WFR, the pictures of minis and table set ups are some of my favorite bits in many rulebooks.
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Mate pictures like yours serve to inspire and entertain, I say go for it.
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looking forward to planet 28 2nd ed!
would be awesome if pics like this were included, but i'm a big fan of your drawn art as well!
include both please :D
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looking forward to planet 28 2nd ed!
would be awesome if pics like this were included, but i'm a big fan of your drawn art as well!
include both please :D
That. It's not like it's an either/or decision.
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looking forward to planet 28 2nd ed!
would be awesome if pics like this were included, but i'm a big fan of your drawn art as well!
include both please :D
Of course, I start the drawings before I even start thinking about the rules! :D
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A little thread-cromancy never hurt anyone...
I converted up these proxy catachans based on the stargrave trooper sprues back when I made the original figures, but then I moved house and they got shoved into a box and forgotten. Anyway fast forward and I was looking at a wonderfully painted catachan army and lamenting how ugly the plastic figures are (even 20 years of nostalgia isn't making them look good...) and how expensive the metals are, and I remembered that I had started a small planet 28 warband of converted catachans. Coming back to them I realise that the arms I used (from the arguably much less horrific catachan command squad) are still a bit gorilla like on these torsos, so moving forward I'll be using anvil industries arms or warlord games desert rat arms .
Anyway, here's the first test figure given a very rough paintjob just to get the vibe right - Captain gorilla hands ready for service.
(https://i.imgur.com/gAHeukg.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/LzcmCOs.jpeg)
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Great retro themed troopers!
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I'm very happy to see this thread pop up again, gave me the pleasure of scrolling through the whole thing again.
I like the new chappy, the arms are bulky but it adds to his own particular charm.
I really like your painting too.
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Fantastic kitbashing and painting, exactly the sort of thing I fall short of... lol
Have you thought about using the Wargames Atlantic SpaceNam Arms? They are basically more realistically proportioned Catachans.
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Fantastic kitbashing and painting, exactly the sort of thing I fall short of... lol
Have you thought about using the Wargames Atlantic SpaceNam Arms? They are basically more realistically proportioned Catachans.
I looked at them but like the oldschool look, Plus I enjoy converting and hacking far more than putting together kits straight from the box. They look absolutely massive and lean a bit too heavily on the vietnam era weapon aesthetics for my liking. Also I realize it's a silly thing but I don't like wargames atlantics plastic - I can't articulate why but I just don't get on with it.
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Yes, I know what you mean about the WA plastic, it seems more oily, slippery than other manufacturers. I haven't had any issues with it taking glue or paint but it does feel different.
I meant just using the arms though, if you don't want a whole platoon of gorilla handed mooks. The kits are no bigger than Stargrave stuff, and probably slightly smaller than actual Catachans.
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Very cool conversion! Maybe it’s the helmet and shouty face, but this guy gives me a Sgt. Rock vibe, in a good way.
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I would call the test figure a resounding success...! He looks great.
Mike Demana
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Wow, you did really great job on those figures!
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Great figures, great post.
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The kits are no bigger than Stargrave stuff, and probably slightly smaller than actual Catachans.
That is interesting- from the pictures they always looked big to me but if what you say is true I may pick up a sprue. I’ve enjoyed bashing their Cannon Fodder with Warlord and GW stuff.
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I think they're a fair bit beefier than the stargrave stuff.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54378426431_d6e63147e2_k.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54378426426_85436221b9_k.jpg)
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Got home today to find all the parts for my infantry have arrived - desert rats for the arms, commandos for the heads/accessories, more troopers for the torsos.
Despite being a busy day at work I did manage to get this done in-between helping students. I love MK1 rhino tanks and regularly pick them up on eBay if they're cheap enough. This one was in an absolutely state so I figured it'd be worth a bit of modification to get it ready for my soon to be catachan regiment. I did look at getting a chimera but they're out of stock with he which means they're currently silly money second hand.
Anyway I tried to do my usual dazzle camo but with a jungle twist - I think after the chipping and weathering it doesn't really work - it just looks a bit muddy. But this happy lad will serve as a chimera/hellhound proxy if I ever play with these minis.
(https://i.imgur.com/D3yHUgI.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/1DVpQc2.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/eFRQJP5.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/M2Ofzsi.jpeg)
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Cool work on the Rhino, Space M113 adds to the Vietnam in space vibe too :D
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I think I it looks great for the jungle.
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A nice slow morning at work - no students need me and the admin is all done - that means it's time to do some plastic surgery.
These are the first 5 catachan troopers - we've got two with lasgun, 2 with pistols, and 12 demolitions expert. For the most part these are all just careful cutting and slicing using a variety of kits, but for the demo guy I did some leg surgery that will need gap filling with green stuff. the northstar troopers come with a torso in what I can only describe as "man on the bus" pose, and so I decided to make him a bit more dynamic.
(https://i.imgur.com/IeWGzAA.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/xIUu2XU.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/iwQdpCa.jpeg)
I don't normally show bare plastic since I think it's a bit boring but I'm happy with how these came out - I wasn't sure if everything would mesh but the commando bags and accessories along with the desert rat arms really sell "soldiers who play by their own rules" and help pull things away from being just Vietnam war in space.
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Some great looking plastic bashing there - looking forward to seeing them with paint on
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Painted up the first of the troopers. these are all made using a mix of stargrave troopers with warlord desert rat/commando pieces, with the odd US marine head tacked on from the bits box. I much prefer this look to the balloon armed result of using actual catachan arms.
(https://i.imgur.com/2ZNr4AA.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/HteyyZW.jpeg)
My thinking with the hazard guns is that
A:it looks cool.
B:At some point this regiment were shipped the wrong guns, with a penal legion somewhere else in the galaxy getting their camo pattern rifles, whilst the jungle fighters received the easy to spot penal legion guns (designed to allow commissars and battlefield police to see their charges at all times). When they started to repaint them their commissar demanded they stop defacing imperial equipment. In their next battle the jungle fighters were able to stay camouflaged in spite of their garish weapons, but their erstwhile commissar was blown to bits because he stood out like a yellow and black thumb. When a new commissar was assigned to the regiment he made it very clear that he was FINE with the guns being repainted, but by now the soldiers of the catachan 521st took pride in their ability to go unseen through the jungle even when carrying gear that practically glowed in the dark. as a result the 521st have adopted the yellow and black hazard pattern as an unofficial emblem, with squads adding it to their gear as a sort of competition.
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Nice figure, according to the Iron Warriors fluff they use these hazard stripes as decoration reminding to their industrial origins.
Also you can give them a bee/hornet themed name/backstory :)
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Love the creative use so that old rhino!
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I enjoy the Hazard stripe fluff - very fitting with the Catachan background I've read! lol
Your minis are great. They look like an up to date and much improved version of a kit I used to love (though age has not been kind to them!) You've used an eclectic mix of bits and it works really well. Is the bandolier across the chest of the fella on the far left of your unpainted image hand-sculpted?
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I enjoy the Hazard stripe fluff - very fitting with the Catachan background I've read! lol
Your minis are great. They look like an up to date and much improved version of a kit I used to love (though age has not been kind to them!) You've used an eclectic mix of bits and it works really well. Is the bandolier across the chest of the fella on the far left of your unpainted image hand-sculpted?
Cheers for the kind words - yes, I'm aiming for something that hits the oldhammer style whilst also bringing the balloon armed catachan look down to a more realistic level.
The bandolier is I think from the commonwealth commando set.
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Behold - the pigdog.
"The pigdog APC holds the record for the least requisitioned vehicle in the imperial arsenal. This is in part because it doesn't actually appear on command requisition forms, the ink needed to do so having been dubbed a waste of administratum resources. As a result only those that know the pigdog exists actually use it - this normally boils down to fresh faced officers that lack the clout needed to requisition more expensive armour, and oldhead commanders with a nostalgia for the ugly old transports. Luckily one tends to lead to the other. The pigdog is built on the venerable rhino etc, having been designed shortly after the heresy as a way of building up armour from captured traitor vehicles. It lacks any armament, but makes up for this by being incredibly roomy, extremely heavily armoured, and boasting an engine far more powerful than is strictly needed. The result is a vehicle perfectly suited to the rough routine of jungle warfare."
I built the pigdog from some recast MK1 rhino hull pieces I made during the pandemic for something long forgotten, and a few odd bits from the bits box. Camo wise I'm happier with this look - I think it fits the men better.
(https://i.imgur.com/Re9aIAM.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/WHRjf3s.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/JJwzMpQ.jpeg)
Also pictured is marksman "sleeves" - so nicknamed because he's a stickler for dress regulations and as such always wears his sleeves according to official guidelines. Some say he does it because he once had a nasty encounter with the acidic web of a venuisian mauler spider. "
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A nice addition and back story.
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Those dudes just look badass! I need to pick up the stargrave troopers set some time. :D
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I love the look of these figures...and the Pigdog! Funny, that was one of my friends' names he'd call people who did something to him in a game. "I'm shooting these pigdogs over here..." :D lol
Mike Demana
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A little thread-cromancy never hurt anyone...
I converted up these proxy catachans based on the stargrave trooper sprues back when I made the original figures, but then I moved house and they got shoved into a box and forgotten. Anyway fast forward and I was looking at a wonderfully painted catachan army and lamenting how ugly the plastic figures are (even 20 years of nostalgia isn't making them look good...) and how expensive the metals are, and I remembered that I had started a small planet 28 warband of converted catachans. Coming back to them I realise that the arms I used (from the arguably much less horrific catachan command squad) are still a bit gorilla like on these torsos, so moving forward I'll be using anvil industries arms or warlord games desert rat arms .
Anyway, here's the first test figure given a very rough paintjob just to get the vibe right - Captain gorilla hands ready for service.
(https://i.imgur.com/gAHeukg.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/LzcmCOs.jpeg)
Love the head on this guy, where is it from?
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I think his head is from the warlord games american GI sprue, but I'm not 100% on that.
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Yeah, Warlord stuff is smaller than Stargrave stuff :(
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Yeah, Warlord stuff is smaller than Stargrave stuff :(
It is a bit but if you mix your parts carefully you'll be fine - The warlord heads and arms actually just look fairly realistic on stargrave armoured torsos as it makes the armour look bulky. I think they'd look silly on non armoured bodies but on the troopers it all blends fairly well.
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The steel pot helmet looks great on that mini. I've often thought the Catachans should have helmet head options, for the true Space Vietnam experience.
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The steel pot helmet looks great on that mini. I've often thought the Catachans should have helmet head options, for the true Space Vietnam experience.
Agreed, the space Nam figure range does have helmeted heads as a separate option and I think they look great on the models.