Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: Rob_Jedi on 03 September 2013, 04:25:13 AM
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I think everyone has to do either zombies or aliens or both at some point ;D
I'll warn you now I have no idea how fast I'll get around to painting but I've commited pretty hard to this project over the last couple months so hopefully there will be some good progress.
I know I collected a pile of Grenadier not colonial marines many many many years ago, then EM4 when they rereleased them and more from Copplestone Castings later still but never really did anything with them until recently when Hasslefree had a May the 4th sale on their sci fi troopers and Khurasan 28mm APC came out about the same time which I'd been waiting to order since last year when the prototype got painted and shown off.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3089_zps00d4d427.jpg)
So here is some rambling reposts from my blog:
"All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed? Another glorious day in the Corps! A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! I LOVE the Corps!"
Oh man awesome new goodies. When I 1st saw the Caimen on Dwartist's blog I was so damn excited to get one. Kinda annoying it took like another 8 months before I'd get to throw them some money and another month to get my hands on my own.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3150_zps45835ce9.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3157_zps03083ba6.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3151_zpsdeaf4f6f.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3154_zpsb78e4e0b.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3148_zps0d49e41c.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3152_zps40fa4351.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3155_zps675190e1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3156_zps5db6e52a.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3148_zps0d49e41c.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3167_zps2bdc426c.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3163_zps42f69ac5.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3164_zps2af5c13d.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3165_zpsb9f4d10c.jpg)
You can kinda see I was excited to finally add an APC to my collection of old Grenadier, EM4, Copplestone and recent Hasslefree marines so I bought 2 instead of 1 and an extra one still in the box for my friend Andrew. The likeness to the movie APC is great, not 100% of course but instantly recognizable.
Giving the kits the good once over and dry fit assembly they go together very well, except the front mini turrets (they're upside down in the photos) I'm going to either have to drill out the socket to make it bigger or file down the pegs on the turrets a fair bit to make them fit. Everything else slotted in fine. The casting was very good with not too much flash or bubbles. I was surprised to note a few of the bubbles on the underside had already been filled with putty and sanded back already.
I was a bit surprised the entire main body of the APC was one big cast. It's about the same width as a Space Marine Rhino but much longer. In scale it's much more Main Battle Tank sized than APC sized but it has no problems giving the impression that a whole squad would fit inside. The rest of the kit is the the 4 wheels with big solid pegs that just slot in easy, you would have to do a lot of converting if you want to pose the vehicle turning but it looks good with the wheels straight. I guess you could try and drill in axels but I'm not going to have them spinning. The Top turret slots into a socket up top at the front of the rail. You could probably convert it with a bunch of dremmelling to be in the stowed position on the back but it would not be easy. The side door slots onto a pair of rail grooves and can be put on open or closed. There is a bit of an inset doorway but no internal detail. Lastly the mini turret which as I said doesn't actually fit yet. Maybe magnets is the answer. [Edit: Turns out getting the front mini turrets to fit was quite easy when I started cleaning the model, I just had to use a knife to trim the lip of the socket and it was fixed in just a minute.]
Hopefully the cleanup will be quick and painless so I can get to painting them.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3159_zps04b23c0f.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3160_zps210ad764.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3162_zpsa7b2b21b.jpg)
I also grabbed the much smaller Polecat Armoured Command/Utility vehicle. It looks like a futuristic armoured Humvee but with only 2 doors instead of 4. I think it goes well with the APCs. Similar to the APC it was one big cast for the body of the vehicle with 4 seperate wheels and a choice of 2 turrets, the pictured sensor array with minigun or an anti air missile launcher with 8 missiles. I like the look of the little boxy turret I have on now but I'll paint both and maybe put in magnets. Again the casting is quite good apart from a big bubble in the right hand rear tail light.
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While going over my kits sanding here and there getting them ready for paint I noticed something odd. The large turret on the Caimen is probably the biggest diversion from the look of the Aliens APC appearing to be quite a different shape and covered in gribblies on top compared to the very simple movie version. What I noticed though was that most of those gribblies were actually the runners that should be on the rails running along the back of the APC.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3184_zps62a83187.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3185_zpsf605036c.jpg)
They had flipped the turret UPSIDE DOWN! I have no idea why they did this.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3186_zps1479dac4.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3187_zps9b3a8b83.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/aliens-apc-_zpsd44118ca.jpg)
So what I did was cut off the tubes then sand the runner flat. Then use a razor saw to cut the peg off the other side then glue it to the runner.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3188_zpsf87d623c.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3189_zps33b115ca.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3190_zps34cb106b.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3191_zpsa8bfe4ca.jpg)
Here is the comparison of the 2 turrets before and after the mod.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3192_zpsdceb3dc0.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3193_zps901a42c2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3194_zps85c9e6e2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3195_zpsd79aa5e2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3196_zps799a76ed.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/Work%20In%20Progress/IMG_3197_zps68a61295.jpg)
After this I converted the 2nd turret and sanded off that circle bit and also put magnets into the pegs to make them stay on and rotate.
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Welcome to the Corp - Making better Colonial Marines from EM4 and Copplestone Castings Troopers
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/Aliens-m41a-pulse-rifle-12_zps767e8e10.jpg)
"I wanna introduce you to a personal friend of mine. This is an M41A pulse rifle.
Ten millimeter, with over-and-under thirty millimeter pump action grenade launcher."
―Cpl. Hicks (from Aliens)
It's hard not to think back to the awesome action movies from the 80s especially being a wargamer / board game player wanting to recreate so many of them as games, especially ALIENS, which GW must have thought too when they created Space Hulk. But like quite a few other gamers out there I always had in the back of my mind the idea to swap out the genestealers for proper xenomorphs (or leave off two of the arms) and to ditch the terminators for Colonial Marines. I know that was my idea when I bought the Grenadier Future Warriors range of troopers by Mark Copplestone many many years ago. Unfortunately I only ever painted a couple of them and didn't use proper reference so my momentum stopped as I was unhappy with the results. Though I did add to the horde over the years when EM4 brought the molds out again and then Copplestone Castings did new varients. One problem was the guns always annoyed me with their inacuracy. Sure they immediately evoked the movie guns but they weren't right. This was very obvious when I recently bought the troopers available from Hasslefree miniatures. Though the armour is even less accurate to the movies than the old Copplestone sculpts the use of 3D printed movie accurate guns just made you excited to paint them up. I then got it in my head to update the old models. Hasslefree sold sprues of Pulse Rilfles. I didn' t quite anticipate how many hours of clipping and cutting and hacking would be involved to convert these one part metal models but damn it over a week I did it.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_3754_zpsf5542c41.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_3737_zpsa109695a.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_3738_zpsdb55638e.jpg)
Before and after hacking the old gun out. To get rid of the old gun I used a pair of side cutters which was easy to snip off the top section of the gun and then it gets tricky getting rid of the magazine and the grip in the forward hand. Cleanup was done with a heavy hobby blade.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_3741_zpse092006b.jpg)
progress continues...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2208_zps326f1d0a.jpg)
All Done :)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2207_zps3dfac3e3.jpg)
Damn missed one in the 2nd bottom row that was hiding out with the missile launchers and Hasslefree minis. I fixed him after I took the photos. Though the fully painted guy up top will stay as he is, I think the partially painted ones will get stripped and painted with the rest.
Now of course after giving all the troopers movie accurate guns I feel I need to improve my Smart Gun heavy weapon troopers.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/tumblr_me325pg7gh1qdkeiao2_1280_zps74e81e9f.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/M56_Smartgun_zpse82af8ea.png)
The movie guns most iconic things were the way they were held with the steady cam arms and those triangular motorbike part frames on the sides of the barrel. The EM4 marines have the pose and the support arms but lack the detail on the barrels. So after tracing the frames from a dismantled photo of a replica I printed out several sizes on a sheet of paper to compare with the miniature for the right look. Then cut thin plastic card and used plastic rod to make the frames. After making one set I made a press mold and cast some more from green stuff. I also added the large cocking handles on the sides of the receivers, the wire underneath the gun and new muzzle breaks. I cut a slot across the front of a bit of aluminum tubing and scored some lines around it and glued it over the tip of the guns.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5278_zps5c4c03b3.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5277_zps9ccc2606.jpg)
My line up of smart gunners from EM4, Copplestone and Hasslefree. I may cut the hands holding up the front of the Hasslefree ones so they are holding the gun on the side instead.
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In the back of my mind for years now was some cool bases I always thought would go well with my Colonial Marines I'd seen a review from Dr Faust's Painting Clinic (remember him?) Of course my marines were in the back of the cupboard at the time...
With the revival of my project with all the new vehicles and lovely Hasslefree guns got me thinking about how to base all the models. I was considering the rather nice Sulaco bases by Fenris Games but being resin it gets rather pricey. But I remembered to look up Champ Industries again and see what they had on offer. After a simple paypal transaction my order was off and a week and a bit later they arrived in Oz.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5383_zpsa4fe23fd.jpg)
I ordered a big bag of 150 industrial bases which will see out all my marines, aliens, and probably any Infinity stuff I do in the near future. I also grabbed 30 of the urban bases for zombie survivors and stuff, though I think it would fit 40K stuff pretty well or Infinity.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5384_zps70cead47.jpg)
Here are the 4 different Industrial designs. I flipped a row to let you see how the facing changes the look.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5385_zps18b5f7cd.jpg)
Here are the 3 different Urban designs.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5386_zps3f010c08.jpg)
And with some minis blutacked on to see how they look, I think I invested pretty well in these. It's kind of surprising but apart from the occasional pre detailed base by GW no one else out there has made plastic pre done bases. The detail is very crisp and unlike resin bases you still have the void at the bottom of the base so they sit on the table really easily you can also use plastic glue to stick down plastic minis instead of pinning down with super glue. Dr Faust seemed to think you can get away with just super glueing down metal minis without pinning as well, I'll give it a try.
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Welcome aboard the Colonial Marines dropship, mate. Fantastic work so far... :-* Now I have one more thread to shamelessly copy from.
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You're in the pipe, five by five!
:D
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Nice job on the weapons Rob - the Hasslefree ones are by far the best, and really put the others to shame.
8)
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This is some really impressive stuff. The conversions of the guns on the old Grenadier troops must have taken half of forever. I've done three gun swaps and it seemed like I'd never get done.
Those Caimans look great. The conversion on the turret works surprising well. Has a comparison shot of the 28mm Caiman next to a Galoob APC?
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an impressive start! Actually, that's much more forwarded that the 99% of my projects! lol
I'm curious about the bases, i tried to google them, but no results...
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an impressive start! Actually, that's much more forwarded that the 99% of my projects! lol
I'm curious about the bases, i tried to google them, but no results...
Here you go: http://www.champindustries.net/bases.html
I've always wanted to buy some, and after seeing them in this thread, I really have to buy them lol
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Here you go: http://www.champindustries.net/bases.html
I've always wanted to buy some, and after seeing them in this thread, I really have to buy them lol
thanks! they're actually really really good, yeah! Only four "poses" are a little few for me, since i'm used to build my own bases, but... those are VERY sweet and cheap!
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Those Caimans look great. The conversion on the turret works surprising well. Has a comparison shot of the 28mm Caiman next to a Galoob APC?
Wouldn't happen to have a spare you don't need do you? I've been chasing the tail of trying to get a Galoob APC for years unsucessfully :-[ The Caimens meant I could finally just buy some damn APCs from a shop and not have to try and fight a bidding war at 3am
Speaking of the Caimens what do people think of the guns at the moment? Thinking of cutting them off and flipping them back pointy end up.
Has anyone done up a suitable looking tank for the USCM? I ordered a 1/48 MerkavaII from ebay since the ones in the Colonial Marines Technical Manual look like they are based on the Merkava II and IV. Has anyone used the Secret Weapon Miniatures 6X6 tank. I'd buy the Khurasan tanks if only they made them in 28mm.
Oh and thanks everyone, all of your projects have been huge inspiration on trying to get this going. I'm super jelous of the mass piles of horrrclix aliens but very happy LAF came through on getting some Aliens :D
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Thid looks great. I have many of the same figures and the Hasslefree pulse rifles but have shied away from changing the guns. The APCs look good. I have the Scotia Grendel one but yous look way better. Nice work!
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Outstanding work and dedication to the Corps! Take Ten - you earned it.
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Great start!
Love the conversions and like Elk101 have also shied away from changing the pulse rifles but will copy the changes you made to the smartguns.
I prefer your converted turret for the APCs. Looks sharp.
Looking forward to your next update.
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WOW! fabulous project I'll be following with great interest. Re 6x6 - I ve painted a couple of these (have a browse of the blog) and they're really nice (particularly as they've done some improvements to the earliest releases - quite a few 3D print lines though). I can do a couple of comparison shots next to the Caiman if that'd help and though I have no copplestone minis I have all the hasslefree (unpainted) minis so can put some alongside the 6x6 too.
Both Khurasan (yes I know it'll be ages) and Antenociti are releasing new tanks in 28mm that might fit so watch out for news. I'm sure you're happy with the 'Caimans' as your APC's but Timeslip Creations http://www.timeslipcreations.com/ did have a very nicely cast resin (and hollow) Aliens APC for future reference.
edit: just checked Timeslip's site - the APC is not shown!
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Quite stunning work, the gun swaps are a touch of psychosis which suggests even greater things to come. 8) 8) 8)
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Hey Dwartist absolutely love your stuff, your Hasslefree troopers have been an inspiration. Especially the way you paint camo. Doing the camo on all the BDUs is totally daunting but not sure yet if it'll drive me bonkers or be easier than I thought.
I'd love to see what the 6X6 and the Caimen look like side by side.
Now to aircraft, apart from Akula and his lovely and damn expensive to buy now Aoshima Dropships (I wish I'd bought one when they had them in a local hobby store years ago). I've got an IG Valkyrie ready to be assembled but it's more a support than a dropship. What if anything have other people been using?
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thankyou for those kind words...I'll do some pics later. Dropships? How about converting this? http://www.starshipmodeler.biz/shop/index.cfm/product/2689/132-terminator-2-aerial-hunter-killer.cfm
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Now to aircraft, apart from Akula and his lovely and damn expensive to buy now Aoshima Dropships (I wish I'd bought one when they had them in a local hobby store years ago).
You can still get the Halcyon Dropship 1:72 plastic kit on fleabay.....
cheaper than the aoshima diecast and still a lovely model.
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I got mine when Matt upsized to those die cast ones. ;)
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thankyou for those kind words...I'll do some pics later. Dropships? How about converting this? http://www.starshipmodeler.biz/shop/index.cfm/product/2689/132-terminator-2-aerial-hunter-killer.cfm
Ah Pegasus Hobbies bless you :) I've always wanted a model of the Hunter Killer. I bought the toy from the last movie and keep wishing I'd bought a few so I could convert them to Firefly like Shuttles. I shall pick up one of these kits for sure.
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as promised
(http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p97/dwartist/Russian%20suit%20and%20Sturmtruppen/2013/2013%20number%202/6x6andcaiman003_zps1a5cf58c.jpg) (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/dwartist/media/Russian%20suit%20and%20Sturmtruppen/2013/2013%20number%202/6x6andcaiman003_zps1a5cf58c.jpg.html) (http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p97/dwartist/Russian%20suit%20and%20Sturmtruppen/2013/2013%20number%202/6x6andcaiman002_zpse22f712e.jpg) (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/dwartist/media/Russian%20suit%20and%20Sturmtruppen/2013/2013%20number%202/6x6andcaiman002_zpse22f712e.jpg.html)
(http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p97/dwartist/Russian%20suit%20and%20Sturmtruppen/2013/2013%20number%202/6x6andcaiman001_zps35836621.jpg) (http://s126.photobucket.com/user/dwartist/media/Russian%20suit%20and%20Sturmtruppen/2013/2013%20number%202/6x6andcaiman001_zps35836621.jpg.html)
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Thankyou, wow they do look nice together. There is a real nice future angled planes look to it that makes them look good together.
The 6x6 has a hard time looking like a MBT next the sheer size of the APC though. Hmmm I will likely have the same issue with any 1/48 kit but I don't really want to go into 1/35, would end up looking super tank size.
The 6x6 would make a very nice light tank.
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Great collection and nice work on the gun conversions.
You have amassed quite a lot of work for yourself haven't you.
Love the bases. I want that APC also.
I noticed an alien warrior in your APC pics, a conversion? Are there more?
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Great collection and nice work on the gun conversions.
You have amassed quite a lot of work for yourself haven't you.
Love the bases. I want that APC also.
I noticed an alien warrior in your APC pics, a conversion? Are there more?
Thankyou. The alien in question was my attemt a couple years ago to convert a GW Bloodletter into a xenomorph. I was pretty happy with the result at the time but the prospect of converting a whole box of them put me off somewhat.
http://robjedi.blogspot.com.au/2009/09/aliens.html
Here's what he looked like all puttied up. It was basically a cut off the sword, smooth over the head with putty conversion and add a tail which I was lucky enough to have a few spares from a previous con that I always meant to stick onto some genestealers. For the resurection of my Aliens project I considered hunting for Horrorclix Aliens but doing so now is prohibitively expensive despite the generous offers of a LAFer to part with some sealed boxes. Instead through a couple other LAFers I managed to get a bunch of Eureka Chaos Weasels and a big pile of Leading Edge Aliens that I can't wait to get my mits on. Should I revisit the converting bloodletters option I'll do up a better more detailed head and make a mold and cast up a bunch to save the hassle. Or you know sculpt an entire multipart alien from scratch and have that cast...
I've seen someone on TMP took my idea all the way and did up a full set using nid tails
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=306666
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this is a biggie... http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/bucephalus-grav-tank.html and if you don't want grav the turret would update a merkava nicely (comparison pics if you want them)
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More progress :)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5409_zpseafe7a50.jpg)
As I mentioned before I sanded back the circles on the turrets to clean up their lines.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5410_zps9c7136e3.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5412_zps0a1c7b08.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5411_zps925dff26.jpg)
I also got in some Kotobukiya option parts from HLJ I figured was worth trying out for a few dollars. This kit is basically addon gatling gun muzzles. I figured the front guns on the Caimens needed improving from the 2 tubes they have now. The smallest gatling muzzle was slightly larger than the molded on guns so I put a short piece of plastic tubing over the regular guns and then glued the muzzles to those. I think it looks much more like the movie APC guns now.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5437_zps238d4645.jpg)
Last night I dug through the cupboard and found where I had hidden all of these kits. The result:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5413_zps3934a9ea.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5435_zpsa75b1a89.jpg)
A nice hanger backdrop for taking photos of the collection as it progresses.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5430_zpsb7d794bc.jpg)
I've also been digging through my library for reference stuff I collected over the years
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5432_zps3e6a60f6.jpg)
Other new aquisitions. Infected bases from Secret Weapon (was playing X-wing for hours in the game store and felt like I should buy something)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5436_zps432b9776.jpg)
and a new Merkava kit from Academy and from the back of the cupboard again an old cheap chinese kit also in 1/48 which may just be a scaled down 1/35 kit from Tamiya. Looking at the 2 kits I kind of think it's the better of the 2. Also an IG Valkyrie that I bought when they came out and never did anything with. I may do some gun swapping to de 40K it a bit.
So this is all good for the USCM but what about the aliens??
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5424_zpsc282abca.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5423_zpsf6bf865b.jpg)
Barks came through for me selling me 14 Ozmade/Eureka Chaos Weasels which are damn difficult to photograph since they are so shiny and black. I'm not planning on repainting them at the moment but may rebase them to the Champ bases.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5429_zps68161d2b.jpg)
I think they do the job pretty well but I can't wait to get the LE xenos from Comsquare for a proper hoard :D
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5425_zpsb3fd0bff.jpg)
There is also the always impressive Konami Alien Queen figure. I also got a LE Queen which I am cleaning up and working out how to pin together and resculpt her broken off little arms.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5415_zps69b4151c.jpg)
Looks like the xenos have noticed you boys
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5418_zps7f3ceb0d.jpg)
dramatic zoom out...
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This is not helping me work on my Blade Runner project at all. Thanks for that. ;)
I so want those hanger sets. Now I have to go check out Hobby Link Japan.
I also want me some Chaos Weasels. I bet those look pretty good next to the LE aliens.
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Haha and I haven't even shown you all the doodads and trollies and crates and stuff that comes with them. Will clip all of them off the sprues next and take photos with my recent sci fi crates from Fenris and Spartan scenics.
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HUDSON
This signal's weird...must be
some interference or something.
There's movement all over the
place...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/motiontracker_zps2240ff36.jpg)
HUDSON
Twelve meters. Man, this is a big
fucking signal. Ten meters.
RIPLEY
They're right on us. Vasquez,
how you doing?
Vasquez is heedlessly showering herself with molten metal
as she welds the door shut. Working like a demon.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5554_zps31ef56d5.jpg)
HUDSON
Nine meters. Eight.
RIPLEY
Can't be. That's inside the room!
HUDSON
It's readin' right. Look!
Ripley fiddles with her tracker, adjusting the tuning.
HICKS
Well you're not reading it right!
HUDSON
Six meters. Five. What the fu --
He looks at Ripley. It dawns on both of them at the same
time. She feels a cold premonitory dread as she angles
her tracker upward to the ceiling, almost overhead. The
tone gets louder.
Hicks climbs onto a file cabinet and raises a panel of
acoustic drop-ceiling. He shines his light inside.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5552_zpsce29db23.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5551_zps8130d3dc.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/dba55189-1b41-459a-ad42-3602c69abe85_zps084fb91c.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5550_zpsba9a8e3d.jpg)
You may have thought there had been no progress lately but I've been busy. I've been scouring ebay and forums chasing old Leading Edge Aliens, marines, doomed colonists and even the ever elusive power loader.
Thanks to Comsquare I was able to get a veritable hoard of LE Aliens and damn I am happy with them. They scale beautifully with the Eureka Chaos Weasels and look good with my 28mm marines.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5540_zps566cfd66.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5544_zpsbf65a515.jpg)
From a local gaming club that runs the yearly MOAB convention I managed to trade some warmachine minis for this treasure trove. Considering my failed attempts to get the Power Loader on ebay I can't thank this guy enough. Seems they'd been tucked away in zip lock bags for the last decade so he was happy for them to go to a good home :D
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2321_zps4d324ab4.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5487_zps386f7305.jpg)
Despite the standing marines from LE being somewhat squished proportions 25mm the Riply in the Power Loader is 28mm and totally in scale with my marines.
Speaking of LE marines I got a handful of them off ebay for £1 each while I was being outbid on aliens and a power loader.. (and I notice I forgot to upload their photo. Doh I'll edit this later to put them in) Odd thing about them is their scale isn't really 25mm well that's their height but if you compare them waist up they are the same as 28mm but with even chunkier heads, all the small scale part of them seems to be in the legs. I'm semi tempted to give them new legs or mod them. Since I don't have many flamers and I somehow ended up with 4 characters with flamers. The Bishop I got was missing his feet so he will get a bit of sculpting done to make him stand taller. The colonists last stand set minis are weirder still being more like 30mm minis but in funny poses or being dragged off by an alien (love that mini).
Back to my marines I got it in my head that their helmets weren't enough like the movie ones so I decided to add those plates to the front of all of them...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5485_zpsa6259963.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5484_zps37559d09.jpg)
a bunch of gluing on then cleaning up plastic strips later. Since then I've been so very slowly filing off all the damn mold lines and getting them primed a group at a time.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5537_zpsc9d9c5f0.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5538_zps4db7883b.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5536_zps3ce86c91.jpg)
I got this idea to print out sheets of the badges the marines wore on their uniforms, all about 2-3mm in size since I don't look forward to painting a US flag that size on every uniform shoulder so printed lots of them but had room left on the paper so decided to pimp up their carry case too :D
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5513_zps2da1f9ba.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5520_zps66b56f48.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5515_zpsa7b1787c.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5525_zpsb3797e1a.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5531_zps92b8ecfa.jpg)
Also built these on the weekend. Why Merkavas you might ask. Well in the Colonial Marines Technical there is this little illustration
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v624/Zer07/M22JacksonTank.jpg)
Which is obviously a Merkava with a funky gun and some add ons on top of the turret.
The Academy kit was really easy to clean up and assemble, the cheap chinese kit on the other hand was more detailed but was covered in mold ejection marks, flash and was generally a pain to clean up before assembly, also needed a hammer to get the drive wheels on their axel :( Also they seemed to have left off the bottom of the turret for some reason...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5518_zps6b348b71.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5517_zps03d689fa.jpg)
I don't mean under the middle bit, no kit has that covered, I had to make the disc there so I could shape the plastic to fill in the front and back of the turret ring and fill the visible voids around the barrel and the back end of the turret. Also the hull didn't line up too well and was too short, like the suspension had been lowered.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5519_zpse701bef9.jpg)
So I added extra to the hull at the front and back so the bottom and top sections would join up properly and the hulls of the 2 kits would match heights.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5534_zpsac652e11.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5535_zps244b5203.jpg)
My issue is how to sci fi them up a bit and do they actually look any good next to the behemoth Khurasan APCs??? Makes me wish they made their medium and heavy tank in 28mm (that may take a while going by how long it took the APC to come out in 28mm) So I have ordered a somewhat more sci fi looking tank kit this week a Leopard 2 A5 in 1/48. I'll see how that looks with the APCs.
Lastly I've been cleaning up all the damn parts of the GW Valkyrie and the odd and ends from the hanger kits.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5488_zps018ce279.jpg)
I hate cleaning off mold lines :(
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Great work on this project - you have one heck of a collection started!
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....So I have ordered a somewhat more sci fi looking tank kit this week a Leopard 2 A5 in 1/48. I'll see how that looks with the APCs...
If you bought the Academy kit, that's a great choice. This is what I did with mine:
(http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj93/predatorpt/Forums/10072013_001_zpse17fccc0.jpg)
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Disposable razor for scifi main gun? And yes I bought the same Academy kit. Going by the road wheel used on the back as I assume a point defence laser turret you are using it as a grav tank? How long is the tank?
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I saw those single miniatures on ebay.uk and wasn't sure whether I should bid on them or not. At least I know now that they got to someone who will put them into good use. Keep it up, Rob_Jedi. :D
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Disposable razor for scifi main gun? And yes I bought the same Academy kit. Going by the road wheel used on the back as I assume a point defence laser turret you are using it as a grav tank? How long is the tank?
Yep, I made it as grav-tank:
(http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj93/predatorpt/Forums/10072013_002_zps6eadb03b.jpg)
Here's the topic where I talk about it:
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=37141.msg663300#msg663300
I've just measured it and the body it's roughly 16cm long. Of course the gun makes it bigger, lol.
I'll try to pain it soon...after doing my own Merkava conversions. I'm thinking about using a Merkava gun from a 1/35 kit in the 1/48 turret ;)
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Hmm so about the same length as the Merkavas but with that massive turret it looks a much bigger tank. Will see what it looks like next to my APCs when I get it I suppose. Will be staying as a tracked vehicle for me.
Friend passed on a copy of Tommorow's War to me yesterday, he wants to see my USCM as an army thus the tanks, been ages since I pushed an army across a table, been nothing but board games and X-wing lately. Very cool to see there are rules for aliens in there too. So many cool vehicles in there, shame they are only 15mm
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Would love to see these in person one day.
If Barks is the same guy I know from a local club, chances are we've actually met before, too.
I'll be dropping down to MOAB this year in a few weeks (shopping trip for my club - alas I can't stay for more than a few hours).
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Uploaded those missing shots
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5492_zpsc0640560.jpg)
the LE minis I managed to get
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5493_zps7576dbfa.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5495_zpsf6099d78.jpg)
you can kinda see what I meant about the waist up matching 28mm
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5494_zps72310540.jpg)
though Gorman is super weedy
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5491_zps34ade557.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5490_zpsff0bdd1e.jpg)
Oh and some shots of the conversion to the female smart gunner to give her the eye piece and added the cable coming off the camera on all the smart gunners.
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Great project :)
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Really nice work who made the power loader would love to get me one of them kits. keep up good work.
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Really nice work who made the power loader would love to get me one of them kits. keep up good work.
It's the licensed Leading Edge version so a challenge to find, they do pop up from time to time though. Also worth asking around on forums, someone out there may part with one. I'll post up some alternatives as well.
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Any thoughts on Rules systems, Great looking set-up and great looking mini's.
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Any thoughts on Rules systems, Great looking set-up and great looking mini's.
well the initial idea for all this was to dig out Space Hulk v1 with all the expansions and use that. But I kinda got carried away with getting more and more USCM so um....
My friend wanting to talk someone into playing Ambush Alley's Tomorrow's War bought me an extra copy of the book so I'm reading that at the moment.
Another friend is trying to convince me they could be used to play out in building skirmishes for Dropzone Commander... though I think he just wants to drag me into that game.
I'm very curious about one homebrew I saw on a blog of combining Space Hulk and Zombicide somehow? anyone know anything about that one?
I bought into Sedition Wars like many others on the quality of the sculpts, unfortunately we all know how they turned out. Are those rules any good? Maybe use that?
Any other suitable suggestions? I haven't tried hunting down the Aliens boardgames... yet
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I've got a few I've found over the years. Col Bagshot uses a home grown LOTR based ruleset Legends of LV426.
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So based on Legends of the Old West / Legends of the High Seas rules?
What mods and stuff to turn it into Aliens?
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So based on Legends of the Old West / Legends of the High Seas rules?
What mods and stuff to turn it into Aliens?
Lord of the rings.
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Lord of the rings.
Yes they also use the LotR base rules with the notable exception being adding in guns. I assumed the "Legends" was a hint. I could of course be wrong.
Another rule set that has sprung up in my memory is from the Star Wars CMG, it was quite a fun game largely to do with the constant back and forth of each player using 2 models then back to the other player which made it far more fun to have characters leap frogging and other manoeuvres which translate poorly in I go You go rules. Also I have all those starship maps I forgot about.
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Yes they also use the LotR base rules with the notable exception being adding in guns. I assumed the "Legends" was a hint. I could of course be wrong.
Another rule set that has sprung up in my memory is from the Star Wars CMG, it was quite a fun game largely to do with the constant back and forth of each player using 2 models then back to the other player which made it far more fun to have characters leap frogging and other manoeuvres which translate poorly in I go You go rules. Also I have all those starship maps I forgot about.
Yeah true, forgot that....
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There's Silent Invader's/Miniature Mojo Bug Hunt rules:
http://www.miniaturemojo.co.uk/products/15/26/stand_up_fight_or_a_bug_hunt/
They're free too… :D
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Tiny update
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2446_zpsf7dc8397.jpg)
sculpting feet on Bishop
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2444_zps265ea5dc.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2445_zps40d06adf.jpg)
and ruining my hand hacking the bases off of facehuggers with side cutters and a big box cutter. Oh if you are curious about the big alien in the back there it is a Hellion from Kryomek with Genestealer arms instead of his sword weilding arms. I should try and get a few more to use as Praetorians
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Thst kyromek praetorian is inspired. Nabbing that. ;)
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That Praetorian idea is a very good one. What's the exact product code of the Kryomek miniatures you've been using for the conversion? ;D
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That Praetorian idea is a very good one. What's the exact product code of the Kryomek miniatures you've been using for the conversion? ;D
KKO-002 is the pack. I bought them years ago but have no idea where the 2nd one went. I think any of the warriors would work as praetorians but I don't like the spike ridges on some of them and I know some of them have weird shield things stuck to their legs so I'd avoid them.
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U using those cobalt marines as promethus crew evo suits? ;)
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Thanks! 8) Noted for future use.
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U using those cobalt marines as promethus crew evo suits? ;)
well spotted, was looking for something like this
(http://www.sci-fi-o-rama.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/pressure_suit.png)
I bought the cobalt guys years ago cause the clear helmets were cool. Just wish I knew where the helmets went. Was going to buy another pack to make a squad but they don't even come with clear helmets anymore just metal domes :(
Anyone know of other 28mm pressure suit options?
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Yeah I did wonder. ;)
Use the metal one as a blank for a clear dome vac forming experiment. ;)
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could we get a shot of custom alien. Looks great would like to see it in better detail
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Unfortunately photobucket has again run out of bandwidth :(
I think direct links should still work they just won't be visible in the forum
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2480_zps0f8d8cb2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2479_zps455c9be7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2471_zps6174bd54.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2474_zpsf87721f7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_2477_zpsec4e8cad.jpg
He really isn't converted much. I cut off the molded on base and the horn on the front of his head and sanded it smooth. Left off his arms and glued on plastic genestealer front arms in their place.
could we get a shot of custom alien. Looks great would like to see it in better detail
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Pm me your email if you want a set of legends of lv426
I must say they do work very well, and have a big cast of characters...
Weyland execs, private security etc etc...
Vyper and used the Star Wars version recently and again, that basic LotR skirmish mechanic works very well for these types of games... And is easily scaled from a couple of models to platoon size action...
Just beware of stampeding Banthas.... Lol.....
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Pm me your email if you want a set of legends of lv426
I must say they do work very well, and have a big cast of characters...
Weyland execs, private security etc etc...
Vyper and used the Star Wars version recently and again, that basic LotR skirmish mechanic works very well for these types of games... And is easily scaled from a couple of models to platoon size action...
Just beware of stampeding Banthas.... Lol.....
And bouncing jedi. ;)
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sweet thanks, that really is a cool way to get more and bigger looking ones easily.
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I'm still busy cleaning up all the troops but it's high time I painted something. I picked up a new double action airbrush at the recent MOAB convention for ridiculously cheap and scored a 2nd LEG Power Loader !!!
Using some Tamiya paints that I figured were suitable for the Dropship and APCs I thought I should have a practice run on something so attacked the crashed Aquila shuttle that I had picked up off ebay. If the colours look good I can go ahead on the Valkyrie and APCs if not I can buy some new colours.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5570_zpsbf320442.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5571_zps7990ccd5.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5569_zpsa94d862c.jpg)
I couldn't really do any preshading since the model was already primed black when I got it so I went straight over that with XF-62 Olive Drab then lighter with XF-67 NATO Green then highlight with a mix of NATO Green and XF-49 Khaki since Khaki by itself looked too brownish. The engine bits I used Model Air Steel. Also added a bit of heavy shading with Model Air Black.
After that I went in with brushs and drybrushed everything with a lighter mix of off white mixed with a touch of NATO green and some Khaki. Then lots of lining edges with Steel and drybrushing areas I figured should be well banged up. Then drybrushed all the dirt areas with a couple different greys working up to a bit of whitish grey then lots of Army Painter Dark Wash wherever needed to bring the shapes out and to give some good depth to the Steel areas.
The windows got painted a very dark brown then edged a bit with white then had several coats of gloss and Tamiya Smoke painted over them to make them look shiny and a bit translucent even if they aren't.
Oh and lastly I had a mess around with some Secret Weapon brown weathering powder I picked up along with the airbrush. Never tried the stuff before so messed a round a bit making some areas look very rusty.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5599_zps2a0272fe.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5600_zps33048526.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5602_zpsebeaeef8.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5601_zps8f94ae3b.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5603_zps49b68edc.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5604_zpse7047af8.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5605_zpsb7971394.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5606_zpsb5a1d642.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5607_zps32249fc5.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5608_zps2c17fe3d.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5620_zpsee733ce1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5621_zpsa3328bd2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Rob_Jedi/ALIENS/IMG_5622_zps3e5b405c.jpg)
Think it turned out alright. The flash made it look a bit lighter than in real life though but brought out the shading nicely. Now I really need to get the interior to the valkyrie painted so I can assemble the damn thing.