Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: Faust23 on September 17, 2011, 10:53:50 PM
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I'm a die hard Traveller player from the early eighties. I've been looking for better Imperial Marines in Battledress than the old Grenadier 25's and am not too keen on the GZG versions either.
So, thankfully, Reaper and Hasslefree have provided me what I needed to make these:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MzNikHM691E/TnUV15oYCpI/AAAAAAAAAfU/1pg-QqLpp-c/s1600/Imperial%2BMarines%2Bin%2BBattledress.bmp)
My phone isn't emailing me all of the pics. But here's the Force Commander:
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ujd66pcOCRQ/TnUV_ysvNrI/AAAAAAAAAfc/Nbkz-_QIi4k/s1600/Imperial%2BMarine%2BForce%2BCommander.bmp)
The CAD #9 guns from Hasslefree looked good to me. I can use them either as laser rifles, gauss rifles, or plasma/fusion guns man portable.
Strike from Space!!!
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Here's more:
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5kN_413vkYQ/TnUhlQ9L-YI/AAAAAAAAAgM/uEMQH0y7eCY/s400/maring%2Bstanding.bmp)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c4J6RLbtxiU/TnUha0noc_I/AAAAAAAAAgE/hXHGK3GjVZI/s400/marine%2Bhelmet%2Bfront.bmp)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xZxCHwzY_lQ/TnUhRSv3DRI/AAAAAAAAAf8/-7r35b7qND4/s400/marine%2Bhelmet%2Bback.bmp)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VBl4dbHUqP8/TnUhMQFPMxI/AAAAAAAAAf0/beUqnorvREU/s400/Marine%2Bfiring.bmp)
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Nice conversions. I look forward to seeing them in paint.
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Thanks! I have more to convert. Once they're painted I'll post 'em.
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Forgot to mention that the guy with the beret is a head from Secret Weapons line of resin heads.
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I just discovered the Ventaurians by Denizen. They look like Zhodani from Traveller. I'm gonna pick some up and have some opposition for these Marines I'm working on.
Do any of you have these figs? I'd like to see some better pics of them.
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They are lovely figures. They might be a little slight for your purposes, but they would work for me. I have some comparison photos on my blog:
http://saxondogwarband.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html
You will have to scroll down quite a bit to see them.
Hope this helps.
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I dig your blog Hroth! Thanks for the link. I think the Ventaurians will size right against my marines because marine battledress puts them around 7 feet tall.
I'll have pics up next week.
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Ok, so I decided to push through and finish one of these guys to see if I liked the result. I will make a few tweaks to the others, but overall, I'm really happy with the outcome.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nEUDJ6BUU9Q/TpixbDRtpiI/AAAAAAAAAgs/EQqYrMClUbU/s660/ImpMar.bmp)
I'll post the others as I finish them.
Thanks!
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Interesting choice of colour! I do like it though. Maybe the beret could be a different colour? Otherwise it's very good :)
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The color is from Traveller canon. The 'dress' color of the Imperial Marines is maroon, which is more like a burnt cadmium red, and that's what I used. The beret's are a match of the same color.
While Battledress armor has holographic surface options, dress red, as it's called is usually the color associated with the Marines. It's also the color they display on Embassy and Extrality Line duty.
Normally, I'd have the beret a different color, but this time there is a background reason for the match.
Thanks for your comments!
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The color is from Traveller canon. The 'dress' color of the Imperial Marines is maroon, which is more like a burnt cadmium red, and that's what I used. The beret's are a match of the same color.
While Battledress armor has holographic surface options, dress red, as it's called is usually the color associated with the Marines. It's also the color they display on Embassy and Extrality Line duty.
Normally, I'd have the beret a different color, but this time there is a background reason for the match.
Thanks for your comments!
Bravo! :o
It's clear that you have made your homework, sir! :)
I cannot wait for the remaining ones (especially the ones in full battledress, helmet on). ;D
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Thanks G.K.! I'm glad you appreciate the 'research'.
I have two with helmets on that should be finished in the morning.
Stay tuned and I'll throw some pics up tomorrow.
I'm going to buy the Zhodani look alikes from Denizen and do up some opponents too.
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He looks great, I'm looking forward to seeing the whole squad. :)
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Try a little linework to separate the berret from the guys head, around the armour joint points etc, maybe a darker undersuit. Also add some highlights as from here it looks a little too drybrushed, might just be your camera.
Finally, though that base is ok, there are nicer resin bases out there, maybe some Fenris sulacco bases would look a bit more gritty?
All for your own growth. ;)
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Lovely work and nice bit of background, though I agree that it might look better if you break up the uniform a little bit. Some blacklining will go a long way and as Vyper said you can give the undersuit a slightly different colour. The same goes for the tidbits like gloves and such. I'm looking forward to seeing more 8)
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Thanks Vyper & Pil for your comments.
Here are some production notes: 1. It's not supposed to be a body suit with plates, even though the mini is sculpted that way. As I mentioned in my first post, its the closest thing I can find to the full body carapace of battledress powered armor that Traveller marines wear. Its supposed to be rigid plates. Marine battledress has holographic surfacing, so it can change to any color schematic. When they are on embassy duty, or guarding the Extrality Line at Starports, they usually wear their 'dress red' which is supposed to be maroon. I found burnt cadmium red to be the better color. The outlining that is done is intended to produce an effect of hard armor, not a softer bodysuit underneath, as sculpted. They keep a uniform color throughout, which is why this may appear to some as 'plain' or unfinished. For example, no black gloves, etc.
2. The beret separation line is not needed and would be far too stark a contrast for such a small space. The crappy photo came from my phone, since my camera battery was dead. I'll be re-shooting the lot of them when the others are finished.
3. Not dry brushed at all. If you've viewed my other work, you'll see that I'm not a fan of the over highlighted, cartoon-like style that is en vogue (not to say that is what you are advocating Cmdr Vyper ;) ). I prefer my models to look more realistic and therefore don't highlight every edge. This may cause some to look down on my work, but I'm used to it after 31 years of painting.
4. My dream is to have a company sculpt actual Traveller battledress Marines that look like the artwork from the rpg. Until then, these converted Nova Corps figs will have to stand in! :D
5. The base is plain. It's just a prototype. I've looked around the web for fancy resin sci-fi bases and they are either too busy, or have beveled edges, and I prefer straight edges. I will be adding some enhancements to break up the blandness of the flat grating.
Good feedback from you both, and if it were any other use for these minis, I'd implement them. However, its pretty close to the look I was going for.
Thanks for looking!
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Looks good.
I especially like how you've painted his face, especially the eyes. Very realistic.
I'm on board with helping to get the original designs sculpted and made into minis. If you can just get the permission from the rights owner, I imagine Eureka Miniatures in Australia will be happy to add them to their 300 Club, which is a good way to get them made.
They recently produced 15mm Ventaurans which look superb, and are very similar in style to these.
I'd love to see Traveller Imperial Marines, and Zhodani in both 15mm/18mm, and 25mm/28mm scales.
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Mako: Right there with you buddy! I am planning on contacting Mark Miller next year regarding Traveller licensing for my skirmish game. At that point, I'll be broaching the miniature licensing question. Because that would be so friggin' awesome in 28mm.
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I'm surprised Mongoose never did anything miniatures wise for Traveller.
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Me too Rev.
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Here are some more finished minis. More at my blog www.4sparta.blogspot.com
I'm not happy with my lighting and camera issues right now.
But here are some snaps:
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j41gLGXD9BQ/Tpt4JVNWV1I/AAAAAAAAAhE/bZf71eCuRPg/s400/ImpMarCmdclose.bmp)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v54I9rsDHFc/Tpt4Ja9r7SI/AAAAAAAAAhY/OVmCzUJJG_I/s400/4ImpMarFrnt.bmp)
Strike from Space!
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Ok, tried this again with my cell phone camera and some better lighting. Still not happy, but it will have to do for now.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KznWVivHxG8/Tp4NKBt_5AI/AAAAAAAAAi8/z1XRABUl-4s/s400/Mar4LineTop.bmp)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PZVS6AXNXGM/Tp4NKJKzURI/AAAAAAAAAiw/83paWpgNsmI/s400/Mar4Lineback.bmp)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T2iWv8_BBdE/Tp4OpIgC1gI/AAAAAAAAAkE/OP8x9yQTxuQ/s400/MarFrcCmdFront.bmp)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yUgxMqNYdDg/Tp4NLCnRrLI/AAAAAAAAAjc/YemT9vBREe0/s400/MarFrcCmdBack.bmp)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lznDj4zE8bI/Tp4NWKA9PTI/AAAAAAAAAj0/A33ciOu2RDA/s400/MarGrdFront.bmp)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i27nx0X-Wis/Tp4NV3bZc3I/AAAAAAAAAjs/Ip9c25aT9jU/s400/MarGrdBack.bmp)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zMosHSzEdbc/Tp4NKzltPUI/AAAAAAAAAjU/wQKnwQt0JDo/s400/MarAdv1.bmp)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bLYp36mS5Pg/Tp4Mnip39oI/AAAAAAAAAio/onpn6Z6j0hA/s400/GeigerBack.bmp)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IBMmt0dCJjI/Tp4MniO5oFI/AAAAAAAAAiU/d8roo0nuo4w/s400/GeigerDownBarrel.bmp)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kkiIEEc4vF0/Tp4MnbM1PnI/AAAAAAAAAiM/s10f1pf3lDU/s400/GeigerFront.bmp)
I hope those of you who are Traveller players old or new enjoy these!
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Very nice.
They have just the right heavy but not bulky look.
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Thanks. The trick is to deceive the eye into believing that the whole suit is hard carapace when its not really sculpted that way.
Best minis on hand though for getting close to a proper Traveller marine.
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Nice figures and good use of the weapon swops from Kev and all but, not keen on the bases, the miniatures are clean and lacking in bulk, the bases just look heavy and clunky to be honest. Some very nice subtle sci-fi resin bases out there, which would compliment not detratch from the minis.
Hope you can see where I'm coming from.
The Commander
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Nice figures and good use of the weapon swops from Kev and all but, not keen on the bases, the miniatures are clean and lacking in bulk, the bases just look heavy and clunky to be honest. Some very nice subtle sci-fi resin bases out there, which would compliment not detratch from the minis.
Hope you can see where I'm coming from.
The Commander
I see where you're coming from. I know you like resin bases, but as I mentioned to you earlier, I'm not a fan of the beveled edges on those resin bases. These work for me for now. It may not be grade 'A' base work, but they are less plain now then they were before. :D
Always appreciate different points of view, I say! ;)
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Here are two examples of what I was trying to approximate with these minis:
(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS9ugVPrdaQ9jWurWb6LsmJkz7mCxZovmmP2glP69XWTZgHIq5j)
(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRsWi6XLuBrT-i9FqybnvLgpJNjdGQ22T1fIYPeKFTjDwWu4LMqOw)
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I see where you're coming from. I know you like resin bases, but as I mentioned to you earlier, I'm not a fan of the beveled edges on those resin bases. These work for me for now. It may not be grade 'A' base work, but they are less plain now then they were before. :D
Always appreciate different points of view, I say! ;)
Remember that you also get the normal chamfered slotta base style as well as the DS (beveled) edges, like these from Fenris games:
(http://i.ebayimg.com/24/!B8G0+vwBWk~$(KGrHqV,!lsEy+jC1VezBM2Fu+T0kQ~~0_12.JPG)so you've no excuse ;).
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I am familiar with those. I just like the vertical edges that I get from my wood bases more.
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Nice work on the whole squad! I'm not familiar with Traveller much but I appreciate the background info 8)
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Thanks Pil. I just took some crappy photos of my last trooper. Here are some more shots. I'm going back to my old camera from here!
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qWc__BAGLfQ/TqT3DWsx5DI/AAAAAAAAAmc/O2lzsOCPHnE/s400/Jamison%2BZ%2Bfront.bmp)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SBuSLIPlgp4/TqT3DH1dJGI/AAAAAAAAAmI/Be3u-ufidmQ/s400/Jamison%2BZhunastu%2Bhead.bmp)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6w5TeYlJEkE/TqT3DYifQII/AAAAAAAAAmU/sB5cS0W7D04/s400/Jamison%2Bback.bmp)
Enjoy!
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(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yJ8nR-sCSDE/TqT3tv0axTI/AAAAAAAAAm0/3kHTskpZXAo/s400/Drop%2Bit%2521.bmp)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VHeekkueey4/TqT3tkoYvDI/AAAAAAAAAms/u_ZJNY_pYs4/s400/Task%2BForce%2Bbest.bmp)
That's it for the Marines for now. I need to pic up some Ar-Men from Cobalt-1's range for the Vargr and get some Denizen not-Zhodani for opposing forces.
More pics at my blog as usual.
Enjoy!
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(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yJ8nR-sCSDE/TqT3tv0axTI/AAAAAAAAAm0/3kHTskpZXAo/s400/Drop%2Bit%2521.bmp)
Who's that missus they are confronting? (I think it's a woman, anyhow). Looks nice.
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That's a female 'spaceman' from Blue Moon that I converted for my Traveller project. Better photos of here are in the archives of my blog for 2009 if you want to see her front.
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Very nice job of repurposing and conversion - they definitely look like good Imperial Marines. I think they look great!
I would make two suggestions - the beret on the one guy should probably be a different color than the armor, if only to help maintain the illusion of the armor being hard material and the beret being soft cloth. It might still be maroon, but maybe a different shade?
Same comment with the bedroll on the packs - right now it looks like the exact same color as the armor, so it confuses the hard material illusion.
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AzSteven, thanks for your comments. I am pleased to see that you are of the 'don't confuse the eye' rule of painting that I have preached for 30 some years. :) However, the 'bedroll' is actually ;) a 'ventilation exhaust' and is a hard part of the pack now that I have retooled it as a Traveller marine. ;)
The beret may have to come down with another ink, as it is a sticking point that keeps coming up. I will get to it once I decide how much I want to alter it.
I'm glad they look like Emperor Strephon's finest!
I'm planning on doing Sylean Rangers, Imperial Interstellar Scout Service S-3 commandos & survey Scouts, as well as ship crews, Vargr corsairs, and Zhodani troopers.
I'm also toying with the crazy notion of building a foam core Scout/Courier ship...
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For whatever reason, all I see is the dreaded "red-X" box instead of your pics. But I love the idea of the foamcore Scout ship. It's such a crisp design - all the gribbly parts you'd need would be 3 landing gear struts and a detailed engine section. (I always pictured it looking like the back-end of a Star Destroyer, for some reason...)
I've always loved Traveler - while the other SF gamers seemed to be emulating Star Wars, original universe Traveler always felt a bit more like Dune...
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I don't know why you are getting the red x, but you can see them over at my blog listed in my signature line.
The Official Traveller Universe has always been my favorite.
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"I'm also toying with the crazy notion of building a foam core Scout/Courier ship..."
That's not crazy.
I've been thinking about doing that myself, as well.
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That's a female 'spaceman' from Blue Moon that I converted for my Traveller project. Better photos of here are in the archives of my blog for 2009 if you want to see her front.
Thanks!
And very nice conversions and paintjobs, too. :)
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(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wzVbW3pW50I/SY-4zpTkEnI/AAAAAAAAAIg/3BnK_A4QNrM/s400/space+chick+comp1.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wzVbW3pW50I/SY-51xMwGsI/AAAAAAAAAIo/9eS0CO1WrOk/s400/space+chick+helm+comp1.jpg)
There you go. I'll be painting the rest up sometime in the next month or so.
Enjoy.
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I think they look great, nice job.
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Thanks Wolf!
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(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wzVbW3pW50I/SY-4zpTkEnI/AAAAAAAAAIg/3BnK_A4QNrM/s400/space+chick+comp1.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wzVbW3pW50I/SY-51xMwGsI/AAAAAAAAAIo/9eS0CO1WrOk/s400/space+chick+helm+comp1.jpg)
There you go. I'll be painting the rest up sometime in the next month or so.
Enjoy.
She's one of the old Cobalt line of minis by Bob Naismith. Blue Moon ells them now I guess.
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While I can see the resemblance, I was under the impression that all of the Aliens & Spacemen line were original Blue Moon sculpts. I haven't seen the Naismith Cobalt first run, but I converted her gun from one that looked like a 1950's era zap gun. Didn't look too cobalt ish to me....
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Here's my favorite example of what I was trying to approximate.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--pnRgHVTwmI/Tr3QRNGHAAI/AAAAAAAAApU/vO2ZPk5RxTw/s400/battledress.bmp)