Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: Scarper on April 16, 2012, 09:23:38 AM
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Hey everyone! First post on Lead Adventure, but I've been lurking for quite a while. Hope I'm not breaking any rules! So many blogs on here have been really inspiring, so I thought I'd post up some of my own stuff, on the offchance I can show something new in return. This blog details my post-apoc gangs, and a lot of the fluff I've written to go with them. It's based in the 40k universe, which I realise is not everyone's cup of tea, but everyone I know who paints and plays does so in the GW setting, so it made sense to jump in. There's a lot of text, so feel free to skip over it and just look at the pics if you like! My painting and modelling is nothing on a lot of the people in this forum, but I thought some people might be interested, and I was actually hoping to pick up a tip or two! Finally, please let me know what you think - I love all criticism, good or bad, so be as mean as you like. Best way to improve!
TL;DR campaign fluff - Caitiff is a planet recently returned to Imperial control. It’s economy boomed on the offworld export of a mineral known as rusinate. As supplies dwindled, unrest developed, and Easthollow hive eventually fell during a civil war, triggering an environmental disaster. An evacuation was planned, but only a miniscule proportion of the planet's population were able to reach evacuation points. The planet now has no system of government and conditions are anarchic outside of several larger settlements. Much of the air on the surface is poisonous, though settlements have sprung up in pockets of clearer air, and hive cities with their own air filtration systems remain. Major factions include Ridgeway's Remnants - a small community originating from civilian and PDF remnants; the Quadring Accord - a group originating from prisons and penal legions; the Hollows – a community of oppressed survivors of Easthollow, many of whom are twisted by the effects of rusinate runoff; and a few others. The two main gangs at the moment are the 21st Jackals (the first gang), affiliated with the Remnants; and a scavenging cell of the QA (the second). Hope you enjoy!
Info on the planet setting:
Caitiff is a medium-small temperate world on the outer southern fringe of Imperial-controlled space. Its population once stood at around 15bn, with several small hive cities containing the vast majority of the population. Its income and value to the Imperium came from a rich supply of rusinate below its surface, a material essential in the production of, among other things, bolter cartridges, temperature regulation cells and in the refinement of various mineral ores. For several hundred years after its reintegration, Caitiff prospered – a bolstered economy, protection and trade with newly contacted Imperial fleets produced a new upper class of self-made industrialists and traders.
As stocks of rusinate dwindled, however, so too did Caitiff’s value to the Imperium. With a relatively small population and little other minerals of value, the off-world contact and trade that had been the life blood of the new Caitiff slowly ebbed away. The economy suffered, and rising food prices and increasingly squalid living conditions kicked off a process of grumbling unrest among the working classes of Caitiff’s larger cities. The planetary governor at the time, Dyran Lavenne, was a corrupt bureaucrat widely recognised to be in the pocket of various industry moguls, and little to no relief effort occurred. Food riots in Skew Hive and The Point were met with live fire from PDF forces, and an increasingly brutal arbite force enforced draconian ‘austerity laws’, leading to the disappearance of many dissenters. Civil war seemed a certainty. A number of popular resistance groups arose, and a pattern of ‘liberated’ population centres being mercilessly retaken by government forces began to emerge. Civilian casualties numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but it was only when several companies of the PDF defected to the rebel cause that the rebellion became a real and credible threat. Reports of executions and massacres on both sides could not be verified.
The downfall of the government of Caitiff didn’t come through military action, however, but through accident, poor construction and bad luck. The last hive city to spring up on Caitiff was different from the others. Over thousands of years as the previous cities had grown, councils had been elected to ensure adequate ventilation, constant power and water supply, and structural integrity of the spire itself. Most of these councils were hereditary positions, chosen from the educated and wealthy elite. Some were benevolent, some self-interested, but all ensured the safe growth of their cities, both in height and spread. Easthollow, however, was in essence a vertical shantytown, a swaying and ever-expanding structure that sprang up over less than two hundred years. It was composed entirely of the dwellings, both official and makeshift, of workers employed at the hundreds of vast rusinate refineries that made up the hive city’s base, and whilst an Easthollow council did exist, its members were hand-picked by the plant owners. At every turn, the council made concessions in the name of ‘austerity’, pocketing the funds that went unspent. A looming tower of plasteel, corrugated metal and scavenged building materials, housing a workforce of labourers widely considered disposable, run and maintained by a panel of corrupt and uninterested industrialists. It was a miracle that the hive stood as long as it did.
It’s unclear exactly what happened on the day that Easthollow collapsed, and survivor’s accounts are few and far between. It’s known that the ventilation system for one area of the hive was damaged in a wilful act of sabotage by a small rebel cell, though it’s unlikely that they were fully aware of what kind of chain reaction they were setting into motion. As their bomb, fashioned from stolen mining and factory equipment, exploded, Sector 12, location of one of the largest reactors powering the spire, lost both atmosphere and temperature regulation. The fires that started in the sector should have been stopped by auto-regulated flooding systems put in place to protect the lives of the inhabitants in such an emergency, but these never engaged, even as the fires spread into the power plant itself. Immense explosions ripped through the facility, containment domes failing and contingency measures overcome. It is likely that the colossal supporting beams housed in the area collapsed or melted in the intense heat, bringing entire layers of the hive down with them. The sudden and immense pressure on a single quadrant of a structure already weakened by cheap materials and years of poor maintenance proved too much to bear, and in less than an hour, the hive tore itself apart.
Refinement of rusinate is not a clean process. Several of the by-products produced are toxic to both plant and animal life even in miniscule amounts, and many of the radioactive elements have a half-life of thousands of years. Official policy required all waste from the process to be shipped off-world as soon as it was produced, and conveyed to planets designated ‘dead’ for long-term storage. This course of action was, of course, highly expensive, and many unscrupulous plant owners had taken to storing waste on site until such a quantity had been produced for a more efficient round trip. This efficiency measure proved disastrous with the collapse of Easthollow hive, and millions of tons of untreated industrial waste escaped into the atmosphere.
In the weeks following the incident at Easthollow, it became quickly apparent as the death toll rose that there was no containing the environmental pollutants, even if the various warring factions could put aside their differences long enough to enact a plan. Evacuation of ‘loyal citizens’ of the planet was organised by the planetary government, but woefully few evacuation centres were arranged, and rebel blockades, rioting, and bandit roadblocks made travel all but impossible. It is estimated that of the entire population, less than 1 million people were on board when the evacuation ships left for good.
The current story on Caitiff takes place fifteen years after the ‘evacuation’, and the planet is a very different place. The air on the surface itself is in many areas poisonous, though microclimate and uneven spread of the toxins from Easthollow results in wide variation - small pockets of more hospitable land exist, whereas the radiation in some areas would kill a man within hours. The atmosphere has thinned, and water vapour is scarce, resulting in sweltering days and freezing nights. Plant life, too, has been all but extinguished on the surface, and sprawling cities stand empty and abandoned – almost all surviving humans live in the vast hives, where filtration systems ensure relatively clean air to breathe. Humanity still thrives, adapting as it always has, and small, self-governing settlements exist throughout the world. Supply leads to wealth, and the settlements near clean water or functioning manufactorums quickly grew in power. With no central government, though, war and conflict are constant. Manufacture still takes place, though with no off-world interest raw materials are scarce. Scavengers pick through the corpses of the old world for technology that can no longer be reproduced, or simply materials or product that would be useful to surviving communities. This work is lucrative, but dangerous – many a team of fully equipped soldiers has failed to return from relatively simple pick-ups. Hardier creatures still stalk the surface – wiry, venomous nightmares that occasionally find their way into the deeper depths of the towering cities. Outside of the rudimentary justice system of the settlements, anarchy reigns, and gangs of murderous outlaws and bandits control vast swathes of the surface. Dark rumours persist of cannibalistic or mutated sects sweeping the land (always one continent over, or in an uncontactable hive); or of hive cities on the other side of the planet unaffected by the toxins, where crops still grow, the air is clear and clean water flows. The sensible take these stories for what they are. Life is hard on Caitiff, but, for better or worse, humanity prevails.
Area map and some important settlements:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/3/7/338879_sm-.jpg) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/338879-.html)
Pinepoint: A large settlement run by Ridgeway's Remnants in the mountains North East of the Skew, Pinepoint used to be a Mechanicus centre for research on hydroponics. It was founded by Lukas Ridgeway, a Captain of the loyalist PDF who had once served in a company defending the facility. Unlike many of the other settlements outside of the hive that unfortunate survivors flocked to for shelter after Easthollow fell, Pinepoint's high altitude kept it mainly clear of toxins, and the air remained relatively safe to breathe. As the air throughout the surface cleared in the months following the crisis and residents of the Skew ventured back onto the surface, Pinepoint rose to be a centre of trade. The mechanicus equipment provided a unique ability to grow various fresh crops and foodstuffs, enough even to sell to outsiders for vital equipment - it was not long before Pinepoint became a waypoint on every travelling merchant caravan's route. Many of the settlers are previous members of the PDF, and a military training program keeps Pinepoint relatively safe from raiders. Leader: Lukas Ridgeway
Quadring: A former penitentiary overtaken by it's denizens in the days shortly before the evac. It's residents were sheltered during the months of toxic air by retreating into a network of underground cells and the extensive mines where the convicts worked. Originally, Quadring survived as a settlement by providing manpower for the construction and protection of the new settlements that sprang up around it, though with changes in leadership the citizens of Quadring have a history of raiding and enslaving the nearby populace. Most residents of Quadring are vilified by the citizens of the local wasteland, and with rumours that their supplies of food are dwindling, many are hoping that the settlement will not stand for much longer. Leader: The Warden
Roth: A settlement found right on the border of The Skew, 3 domes below the surface. A centuries-old leak from high on the spire has run off the outer dome throughout living memory, providing a filter for the poisonous air. With the effluent come spoils from the hive above, and the water erodes deep into the underhive, bringing many treasure hunters to the area. The constant flow of water and sewage has cracked many older domes around Roth, and though the risk of flash floods and hivequakes is high, the lure of archeotech draws many. Surrounded on most sides by water, Roth provides a safe, though expensive route into and out of the Hive, and relative shelter from the foul climate of the surface above. Leader: Rena Crane
The Hulks: Formerly an offshore fuel derrick, attached to the Skew only by a walkway of pipes several miles long. In the days that followed the Easthollow disaster, many ships docked at the derrick, their contact with the anarchic mainland lost. Over time, the crew of the ships began to intermingle, developing their own roles and jobs within the group. Eventually, the vessels were bolted together, and a complex system of walkways, gantries and platforms was formed. Over the years that followed, the settlement of The Hulks grew, with vast structures springing up on the floating city. The water that surrounds them protects the Hulks from both bandits and toxins, and many crave the relative safety of a home there. The residents of the Hulk survive by selling prometheum siphoned from the derrick and food caught from the sea, as well as charging toll for entry to thier boats. Active Hulk wagon trains sell their produce in the hive. Leader: Tharan Locke
Info on Jackal cells:
Among the residents of Pinepoint, service is required for citizenship. Outsiders, paid in credits, alcohol or food, are hired for work, but military service is a requirement to stay within the relatively safe and desirable Remnant settlements. Ridgeway was criticised harshly for the introduction of this system, but he called for realism among his people – there simply were not the resources or room to shelter everyone who came begging. Despite this, he relented, saying that those too weak or ill to serve could also be sheltered provided another within their group would serve double time to take their place.
Newcomers wishing for full citizenship in Pinepoint or one of the smaller Remnant settlements had two options – work with Ridgeway’s Remnants themselves, or service in a Jackal team. The Remnants were a form of defence force and military police. Once given brief training, they would carry out local patrols outside the settlement, settle disputes between citizens, and form the only line of defence should the settlement be attacked. They were reasonably well equipped, with each ‘volunteer’ issued a rifle and armour from the remaining PDF stockpile, to be returned at the end of their service. Whether this equipment was still functional was another question. The minimum service within a Remnant squad is one year, though many stay longer than this. With steady (though meagre) pay, free equipment, and a relatively stable lifestyle, service in the Remnants is seen by many as a great way to live.
For those wishing to finish their service sooner, give something back to the community, or simply the poor misguided souls bored with life in the settlement and seeking adventure, joining a Jackal cell is an alternative option. Usually led by a veteran of the PDF, Jackals receive no training, no equipment and have no official instructions. There is no fixed term on service within a Jackal cell, but the cell is dissolved once it is judged to have acquired a resource of “significant value” to the settlement itself. The Jackal cells are usually a ragtag group with scavenged or homemade weapons and armour, and many have not returned after leaving the safety of Pinepoint. Others have forged trade routes with other settlements, discovered large caches of fuel or medical equipment in the wastes, or travelled to old military bases to pick through the broken equipment left behind. Some have been rumoured to have sacked other settlements for the resources they own. No questions are asked as to how the gain was made, but those proven to have stolen or murdered face the full force of Remnant justice. Any weapons and equipment that a Jackal may come across during their service are theirs to keep. Service with a Jackal cell is seen as a quicker way to gain citizenship in Pinepoint itself, but few are fully aware of the dangers that they face when they sign up.
THE 21st JACKALS
Murdock
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/6/17/236209_mb-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/236209-.html)
Leader of the 21st Jackal cell. Claims to have been a sergeant in the PDF, but carries a lot of ‘non-standard’ equipment. He has spent many years on the scavenger teams training and living with Jackals, far more than his required service. If asked, he tells people that it’s because he upset a high ranking officer in the Remnant forces themselves, but other stories have been suggested. Some believe that he hates Pinepoint, and will do anything to leave it. Others have suggested that he is fighting to his death, his only means to reunite with a family killed in the rebellion. Others, perhaps more realistically, have wondered if he simply enjoys the work. Whatever the suggestion, put forward to Murdock it results in scorn and hard labour. Often brusque and unfriendly, he will nonetheless go out of his way to protect those under him. Reports of personal trinkets or new equipment discovered in their packs by Jackals who have been struggling to cope have never been linked to Murdock, though many have their suspicions. Murdock recently suffered a serious head wound after a blast knocked him from a window during a skirmish with some local outlaws. He recovered well, but on recent occasions his reactions and instructions have occasionally seemed slower during combat situations.
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Farrell
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/8/25/263102_mb-Archers%2C%20Grafitti%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Plasma%2C%20Roof.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/263102-Archers%2C%20Grafitti%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Plasma%2C%20Roof.html)
Medic and plasma gunner. Farrell was found in the wastes a mile outside of Rukob by a different jackal cell. He was bleeding badly from embedded buckshot and a (clumsily stitched) stab wound to the stomach. He was carrying an infant girl, unharmed, but with a strange symmetrical birthmark on her back. Both were carried back to Pinepoint, the largest Remnant settlement. His wounds were infected, and the fever almost killed him as he raved about mutants and monsters. As he recovered, he first asked about the girl, then about other wounded who may have been brought in from the same area. The medical staff became concerned that he may have a bounty on his head. Many of the Remnants don’t trust him, and from his strange arrival to his refusal to explain where he came from, he hasn’t helped himself. The plasma weapon he carried was also a rare find, unusual to see outside the slaver camps to the North. Leaving the girl in the safety of the camp, he joined a Jackal team to pay back the kindness he was given, believing that his skill with medicae, and especially his work with bionics (an especially unusual skill in Skew State) would prove invaluable. Friendly and jovial when spoken to, Farrell was nonetheless rather quiet, with a tendency to stare into space and tune out of conversations. He was most vocal when discussing his frustration at the lack of medical equipment available – there was nothing on the planet, he said, more heartbreaking than knowing exactly what was wrong with a man and being able to do nothing to fix it. He regularly wrote notes in a small book, telling any who asked that it was a diary. Convinced that that he was a spy for the QA, Twitch stole his book and handed it to Murdock. Whilst he did write detailed notes of his own activities, almost the entirety of Farrell’s book was filled with letters to a woman, none of which it appeared had actually been sent. Murdock spoke to him about it, but saw no reason for concern. Farrell went missing following a series of engagements with an offworld private security company, and is presumed dead or captured.
Completely unrelated vox-file:
+++ Case file 6134:49C4 +++
+++ Caitiff Enforcers Automated Service +++
+++ Security-level gamma+++
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
…Validating
…building access channel …copying transmission
…file loading
…building vox feed
LOCATION: Skew State, 233 494
DATE: 388.M1
AUTHOR: unknown
NOTE: 4235 DAYS HAVE PASSED SINCE VALIDATION OF FILE SYSTEM. PLEASE INITIATE SYSTEM REBOOT TO STABILISE.
begin vox feed
male voice. Slow, laboured
Malaena,
heavy breathing
it’s me.
I’m sorry I haven’t sent word in a few weeks now – I wasn’t sure anything was getting through. It’s been tough.
I’m not –
I’m not going to be coming home, Malaena.
It’s all gone to hell. Everything out here, just – I don’t know what happened to the others. Eli, Pirren, Clara. I think they might be dead. I took her with me, the girl. It was stupid. Throne, it was stupid.
But she was so desperate...
pause, heavy breathing
I’ve been missing you, Malaena. I wanted to come back to you. I tried to tell them we should go, that we should have left when the guards did, when he moved in – but... Crucien wouldn’t let us. He said it was humanitarian, but it – it wasn’t humanitarian anymore.
I don’t know how far I can –
Rustling. Subject grunts with pain
I’m going to keep moving. If I leave her here, she’ll die. If she dies, it was for nothing. I’m leaving the transmitter, I- I won’t contact you again. Crucien will look for you. Play him this. He’ll know.
I love you, Malaena. Always will. I’m sorry.
Stay safe.
file ends
Skragg
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/8/25/263105_mb-Heavy%2C%20Heavy%20Stubber%2C%20Necromunda.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/263105-Heavy%2C%20Heavy%20Stubber%2C%20Necromunda.html)
Heavy weapons enthusiast and inventor. Apparently mute, but adept at rigging technology from scrap, Murdock considers Skragg an idiot savant. Many of the others in the team think his silence is not a result of lack of intelligence, but rather a conscious choice. He had a close relationship with a younger Jackal named Scout, who was killed early in the campaign while the pair of them rescued Blind from rising floodwaters. Extended fluff story in the spoiler below. Skragg’s hearing has suffered as a result of his fondness for loud weaponry.
Skragg and Scout part 1:
The guy with the...? Oh, you mean Skragg! Big guy, spiked hair, doesn’t talk much, carries a gun that looks like you couldn’t lift it? Yeah, that’ll be him. Don’t take offence or anything, he doesn’t talk to anyone. He’ll smile at you, laughs at jokes and that, but he’s been with us for years and I never heard him say a word. Nothing wrong with his head though - You know he built that gun himself? Parts from two autoguns, a couple of chips and springs out of an old transit cart we found out near Saltash, some rings out of a piston, Throne, I don’t know. Put it all together with that welding gun on his hip. Makes his own bullets, too! Keep an eye on him next time we’re out in the wastes. He stops every now and again, picks stuff up and pockets it. Trash, utter junk. The kind of thing you don’t look twice at, but give it a week and it’s part of a firing mechanism, or he’s fitting an autoloader on your rifle. Murdock reckons he’s some kind of idiot savant, but I’m sure he’s all there. Just keeps himself to himself, y’know? Just cause someone don’t talk, doesn’t mean they don’t know how to.
His story isn’t the happiest though – you sure you want to hear it? Well, take a smoke, it’s kind of an epic. Nah, don’t worry bout it, got packs of them back at camp. Factory uphive was run by some friends of ours from Roth for a while, Coop worked security for them. Perks, y’know?
Right, well I can’t tell you about Skragg without telling you about Scout, the kid we met him through. First time I saw either of em, they were in this drinking pit together in Hole, some kind of sewer water between them. This was maybe two years back, I think. We’d been following these rumours of some kind of tech stash that had been uncovered near Lent (turned out to be bunk, before you get your hopes up), and Murdock had us out hunting for someone who knew the area. We’d had a fair few choices, loud mouths proclaiming themselves the best around, wanting paid upfront. Crow’s a good judge of these kind of things though, wasn’t having any of it. We’d heard mention of Scout from a few different people, this kid who’d been in town for a few years, supposed to be the go-to guy. He wasn’t like the others – he was calm, relaxed. We’d heard his name and he knew that. He was 16, maybe 17, no older. Sitting at the table with Skragg, this giant of a man, just talking away at him. Told us he’d learnt his way around scavenging for tech to sell for as long as he could remember, and if we wanted a guide in the badlands, he said, he knew routes and domes that few others did. He knew where the local gangs holed up, and where the local wildlife hunted and nested. If that sounded useful to us, he said, we could hire him and his associate for a 10% stake of whatever was found. No questions about what we were looking for, who he’d be working with. He was good to his word, too. While he was with us, raids went smoother, we didn’t get ambushed once, not even a cave in.
He was a great guy, too. Generous with what he had, great sense of humour. Laughed at himself – not many men around who’ll do that, a real rare quality. He was always with Skragg though, just talking to him. The guy never replied, of course, but he always listened, and listened intent – had that look, you know what I mean? Complete concentration. Always together, too. They were more than just friends – maybe that way, maybe not. Never felt it was my business to ask.
He told me they’d been partners in the scavenging business since they were kids – they’d been slaves together, working a chem pit in the Northern Wastes. Do you remember Derrick? No? Ah, well, little settlement to the North West, got overrun by the QA maybe 10 years ago. Everyone killed or captured, Scout and Skragg included. Reckoned he was 6 years old at the time. Second night they were in the mines, a friend of his dad’s, a barkeep named Garret, caved in the skull of their guard and made a run for it with four of the neighbourhood kids in tow. You ever met the QA? They’re pretty soulless, even by badlands standards. One of the kids was shot in the head as they ran, and Garret took a bullet to the gut, bled out in a basement a few miles from Hope. Sounded like a real fighter – apparently he didn’t even let on to the kids that he’d been hit ‘til he couldn’t run anymore. That left three of them. Skragg, aged maybe 7, Scout, and an older kid named Relleck. They did what any kids would do in the situation – panic. Scout wanted to go South, keep running until they found another settlement. He’d heard horror stories of what happened to kids who tried to pass through the wastes on their own, but he knew it had to be better than the fate that waited for them in the mines. Relleck wanted to go back, thought that if they returned, hands in the air, they’d let them rejoin the chain gang as if nothing had happened. They’d have been crucified, for sure – the QA don’t forgive the killing of one of their own. Skragg, as always, said nothing. They argued for a few minutes before Relleck pulled the pistol off Garret’s belt and pointed it straight at Scout. For a few minutes, no one did anything. No one knew what to do. Scout cried. He told me that - no bravado, you see? Didn’t take long for Relleck to realise the position he was in. He broke into a smile, and told them to walk. He could at least save himself, he told em, if he bought the escapees back. He'd tell the guards he’d been dragged along, that he’d killed Garret himself, thought he'd be a hero. He told em he wouldn't care if they got boiled alive. Skragg elbowed the kid in the face, put him flat on his back before he could say another word. He broke his wrist and took the pistol, shot him three times before calmly handing it to Scout. Just like that. No simpleton, right? I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.
With just a few bullets and a single pistol, they headed South, into Ruckarnlan
Blind
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/3/20/199694_mb-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/199694-.html)
Blind used to be a gun for hire. He was never well known, never put his head above the parapet, changed his name every few months. When he met the Jackals, he was going by 'Jackdaw'. He had been hired with some other mercenaries by some off-world noble to retrieve a unique power cell he believed to be located deep in the Western Skew underhive, close to the water’s edge. After discovering that the manufactorum had already been looted by Murdock's Jackal cell, Blind contacted RiffRaff, an old friend with whom he had once worked a caravan route, to arrange a trade. When they met for the handover, the stranger's men sprang a trap, blowing a resevoir dome and causing the area to flood with water. Blind was badly injured in the initial explosion, but was carried to safety by Skragg and Scout as many others drowned. After Murdock sold Blind's equipment to pay for medical supplies and bionic replacements, he joined the cell, with few other places to go. Gruff and unfriendly to strangers, Blind feels most at home with other professional soldiers and often seeks out the company of bounty hunters and other hired guns.
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Crow
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/8/25/263104_mb-Cloak%2C%20Female%2C%20Ghost%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Snipers%2C%20Tanith.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/263104-Cloak%2C%20Female%2C%20Ghost%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Snipers%2C%20Tanith.html)
Before finding the Remnants, Crow scavenged the rocky and mountainous wastes North-East of the hive with her brother, who had raised her since they became separated from their parents during the Evac. After serving several months as a construction worker in the compound, Crow volunteered to join a Jackal team to rediscover the adventure and excitement of living rough. She may or may not regret her decision. Agile and sure-footed, Crow tends to stay high above the hive floor, shooting from vantage points wherever possible. She is good humoured and friendly, though with rather a dark sense of humour. She rarely takes off her rebreather, pointing out the very real danger that surface pollutants pose to the lungs. When pressed (or after a little too much wildsnake), she may relate the fate of her brother, who suffered worsening breathing problems on the surface. A few days prior to Crow’s discovery by a Remnant patrol, he left their camp in the middle of the night and shot himself without a word. He had complained over their campfire that his laboured breathing was slowing them both down, and one day waiting for him might get her killed. She had brushed him off, joking about carrying him. To this day, she resents his choice to make the decision without her, forcing her to carry on alone.
Ferret
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/8/25/263099_mb-Cover%2C%20Female%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Scavenger.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/263099-Cover%2C%20Female%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Scavenger.html)
Joined the Remnants after being caught attempting to steal food from the Pinepoint stores with her teenage son. Both agreed to serve in Jackal teams and eventually join defensive patrols if it meant access to the compound. Before the evacuation, Ferret worked as a teacher, educating the upper classes in Caitiff history, and the value of their contact with the Imperium. She was forcibly conscripted by the Eurata Separatist Front once the rebellion began, and served several years in a guerrilla unit, fighting hit and run engagements with government forces in Crockfall. Ferret is very fast and a reasonable shot, but has been injured several times whilst in the 21st. Keen to return to base, Ferret rarely socialises, but will scavenge during her own time, hoping to find some archeotech valuable enough to merit a return to Pinepoint, and the peaceful existence that she craves.
Riggs
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/8/25/263103_mb-Bionics%2C%20Dog%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Wolf.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/263103-Bionics%2C%20Dog%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Wolf.html)
Friendly and affable, Riggs was born inside the Remnant compound. Initially charged with farm-work and looking after the animals, he joined a Jackal team as soon as he could, and acts as a friendly second-in-command to Murdock. Despite his affable demeanour, Riggs has a natural gift for negotiation and persuasion, and often accompanies Murdock to trading posts or to form treaties with rival groups. He tends to know a lot of residents in the settlements they regularly visit, and takes care of the team’s dogs, Loki and Cass. Riggs was badly wounded and one of his dogs killed by an unknown animal during a scavenging excursion on the surface. Farrell fitted him with a bionic replacement taken from the remaining PDF supplies.
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Coop and RiffRaff
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/2/11/184258_mb-Flamer%2C%20Hat%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Rust%2C%20Smile%2C%20Water%2C%20Wooly.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/184258-Flamer%2C%20Hat%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Rust%2C%20Smile%2C%20Water%2C%20Wooly.html)(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/8/25/263100_mb-Female%2C%20Hat%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Shotgun%2C%20Water%20Effect.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/263100-Female%2C%20Hat%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Shotgun%2C%20Water%20Effect.html)
An ex-penal legionnaire with a history of forced service with the QA, and a once-wealthy runaway who served with a trade caravan specialising in electronics. Coop and Riff sold their services as caravan guards together for several years before meeting Murdock with his previous Jackal cell. Tired of life on the roads, they planned to complete their time in the Jackals and acquire citizenship in Pinepoint, where they could live peacefully. RiffRaff knits (badly), and Coop has been known to decorate buildings where the Jackals camp with vast, spray-painted murals. The two were inseparable, and a few fluff stories are under the cut. During the campaign, RiffRaff drowned in an engagement with the QA. Coop continues to serve with the Jackals, acting as a kind of carer to Twitch. He has struggled to cope with the loss of Riff, however, and has developed several self-destructive tendencies. He fights with a jerry-rigged flame-thrower created by Skragg, and tends to throw himself into close quarters fighting whenever the Jackals are engaged by rival groups.
RiffRaff origin:
Ah, Riff and Coop. A great pair, those two – funniest bastards I’ve ever met who weren’t trying to get me to buy something. You’ve got to get them started on something, there’s – you won’t have heard nothing like it. No one else gets a word in, once they’re going at it – It’s always a competition. Just got to outdo eachother’s stories, you know? Has Coop told you how he ended up in the Penals yet? Oh, he will. I don’t want to spoil ‘em, but there’s one for every occasion – last I heard he got busted impersonating a Commissar to get at the Amsec rations in his PDF conscription. As to what he actually did? Pshh, who knows. Something small, I’d bet. Can’t imagine him hurting a rat if it wasn’t looking funny at Riff. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t cross him; he wouldn’t think twice if he had to, you know? Just - not one of those men who gets enjoyment from it.
They’re good people, basically. Twitch too, though he’s not right any more. The fact that they stick by him, what with his new mindset and all – kind of thing that says a lot about a character, I’d say. They’ve been through a lot together, and I wouldn’t believe how they tell it neither – the real story’s a lot less cheery. Less bear-wrestling, too.
So RiffRaff first, right? From what I’ve heard, she really did live in Haverbrook, and she did leave of her own accord before the Evac. I know! It’s not the ‘coming of age’, swashbuckling adventurer type exit she likes to spin though; it was a little more sordid; a little more sad. She wasn’t the same girl back then. There was a man involved – I know, I know – but this wasn’t a romantic story. Not through his eyes, anyway. He was some real scum from Skew, some gangbanger from deep in the Underhive. His settlement kicked him out and he found his way to Haverbrook. He was living rough, stealing whatever he could to survive. Got cornered by the enforcers, of course – they didn’t used to put up with the underclasses there. By then, though, he’d met Riff, and Riff’s parents were in the guild – real important people. She wasn’t so smart back then, too trusting, too naive. Typical surfacer. He span her a story about false accusations, an evil associate setting him up to steal his business or some such, saving orphans from landmines, I don’t know. But she bought it, and begged the watchmen who came for him to let his crimes slide, for her. Promised to make him her personal project. Considering how upset her parents would be if their daughter didn’t get her way, they actually listened. You believe that? Bastard probably couldn’t believe his luck either.
The guy kept in touch, of course. Wasn’t going to lose a mark like RiffRaff. Over the course of a few months, he started giving her a taste of underhive life – spun it as a way of thanking her. He had some old contacts who sold him ghost, kalma, spur, whatever they’d scraped out of the chem pits, and she took it all; she’d never seen anything close. Thought she was doing something spiritual, some kind of cultural vibe, and you can guess where it led her. There’s no place for addicts outside of the hive, no tolerance for them. She needed her hits, and he was the only place she could get them. He knew it, too. When her parents began to suspect that she was spending their credits on something other than booze and clothes, he suggested they run away together, live on the road and follow the rebels. He talked her into stealing nearly ten thousand credits from her parents – after all, what had they done for her? They would never understand. If she took what she could, they would have all they needed to live the good life, away from their meddling. The good life for Riff, of course, began with multiple stab wounds in a ditch barely three miles from Haverbrook.
Amazingly, that’s not where her story ended, though no doubt been the end of many other lives these days.
A trade caravan ran from Skew city (that’s the polite name for the sprawling expanse of corrugated plasteel and concrete that surrounds Skew proper) to Easthollow, run by a young guy named McCaughey. They dealt mainly in reconditioned electronics, buying and fixing mining and industrial equipment – junk that others considered beyond repair. The caravan stopped at some of the smaller shanty towns along the way to sell their wares - an old-fashioned way to do business, at the time, but they made good money in the places that the bigger conglomerates didn’t consider quite profitable enough to cater for. McCaughey and his partners made a comfortable living, and Skew state was fairly secure in governmental territory, meaning that the route was also ‘safe’, as far as trade routes went. Course, the rebellion had been underway for a fair bit of time, and bodies turned up on quiet stretches of every highway. No one asked questions anymore; it didn’t matter who they were. Some were dissenters, killed by governmental forces; some were soldiers – men and women who had fought on either side. Some, no doubt, were the poor bastards killed by bandits: desperate men feeding their families in any way they could, or simply those that had come to enjoy the anarchy. It’s hard to judge a man who couldn’t watch his children fade away, you know? Whoever they were, they all carried equipment and goods, and McCaughey quickly realised that a corroded autogun or repainted flak armour could fetch a decent price on the black market. It was in this capacity that one of his men discovered that RiffRaff was still breathing.
McCaughey was a businessman, and mercenary as all get out, but he wasn’t a monster. Riff rode in the back of one of their trucks as their expedition medic, an old PDF dog named Kew, looked her over. He gave her as much medication as they could spare. She had lost a lot of blood, gone septic from the dirt in her wounds, and was going through one hell of a comedown from the drug withdrawal. She would have been raving, seeing things; fighting and lashing out. Wouldn’t have been easy to deal with, even with the ReBound they pumped her full of. They took her anyway. Good people. McCaughey planned to offload her in one of the last few free clinics that the sisters were running once they got to Easthollow – keep her safe, but no longer his problem.
Over the few weeks they travelled, Riff recovered. Physically, at least. Her temperature dropped, the demons left her vision, and though the shakes came back with every missed dose, the gnawing pain in her gut was much more short lived. The pain in her chest, though, was there to stay. She had betrayed her parents, left her home, burdened and attacked strangers, and nearly died, all for the sake of protecting a man who then tried to kill her. She’d thrown away everything – everything she had ever known, you understand? – and she was only realising now how well she’d been played. The man she’d saved had stolen her life, and she would probably never see him again. Riff knew that she would never return to Haverbrook. How could she? She begged McCaughey to take her on for work, anything that he might have going. She had no skills (who the hell does, growing up in a palace?), but was desperate to repay the debt that she felt she owed. McCaughey turned her down though. He wasn’t one to refuse free labour, but the girl was a liability. Since she wouldn’t tell him where she was from, he would leave her in Easthollow, and that was that. Only, they never got that far.
Before the haze, you could see Easthollow for days. A crooked spear jutting into the sky, mottled orange and brown, like rotten wood. There was no getting lost, it was just there – on a clear day, you could almost make it out on the horizon from the Skew. Which is why, despite being a few days travel away, the men and women working for McCaughey saw Easthollow fall.
RiffRaff’s never really told anyone what happened next. Doesn’t like to talk about it, you understand. You ever see someone that’s been burned with rusinate runoff? Nah, I suppose you wouldn’t have. No one goes near the dumping sites anymore – most of ‘em are wired off and signposted by now. But this stuff, the stuff they used to ship off world? It’s – I can’t really properly get across the horror this shit provokes in anyone who survived Easthollow. It’s corrosive, it burns you, right? But that ain’t always what kills you. Sometimes it’s slower, more painful, inevitable. Get contaminated, and it burns you fierce on the contact site, sometimes through to the bone. Some people died then and there – I don’t know if it was the burn, don’t know if their blood carries the poison around their bodies, burns ‘em up from the inside. Just a splash, though, step in something out scavenging, stray too close to a restricted site, that won’t kill you by itself. I’ve got no idea how it works (Farrell’s your man for that, if he’s in a talking mood), but those who die outright are maybe the lucky ones. The survivors - they got the burns, sure, but there’s something else in there too, something that stays in your body once the burning’s stopped. Over a couple of weeks, they just started to swell up. Cancers, tumours, I don’t know. Some kind of growth that just starts out and don’t stop. Didn’t hit them evenly either: might just affect one arm, might be your face; could be your liver, might be in the brain. Some people went crazy – turned violent and aggressive, beat someone to death just for staring. Farrell says it must have been compression – in the skull, you know? Others just went vacant, staring into space or just walking into gunfire. A lot of people killed themselves. Barely looked human anymore, guess they didn’t feel it either.
You’ll still see them around, sometimes. You probably have, just wouldn’t recognise them. People don’t take too kindly to those who got burned. After the hive fell, a lot of people saw the crazy ones, saw what they’d do if they got close to you – There are still people around who’ll shoot a hollow on sight. I’ve only met one or two, but they keep wrapped up, no skin on show. I don’t think there’s many left now. It’s - just no way for a man to live.
Ah, Throne, you’re right. Sorry, where was I? Poor bastards always throw me off. Right! Easthollow. And the aftermath, I guess. Rumour is, it rained runoff in parts of Shantytown. Literally poured from the sky. Think of the worst acid shower you’ve seen out on the wastes, kind of thing that strips paint from your truck, and imagine it doing the same to people. Reduction compounds got thrown up into the air too – you know the stuff that gives you blight throat? This is where all of it came from. ALL of it. Hard to imagine, isn’t it? There were rebreathers and gas masks around, of course, industrial protection for workers and the like, but nothing like as many as we’ve got today. More people back then, too, so less to go around. McCaughey’s train had masks – reconditioning gear like that was what they did, but the general public had nothing to protect themselves. Riff would have seen it all – the burned, the people whose lungs were slowly dissolving, the hollow crazies, hell, starvation and regular disease will have taken thousands. At first, they sold to the crowds, but Kew eventually talked McCaughey into giving out the spare masks they had left for free to any who would take them. It was already too late, really. All I know for sure is that once it was clear that there were more refugees than there were resources, people got desperate. Once the shooting started, McCaughey made the wise decision to get the hell back to Skew.
Their flight took them past Haverbrook, of course, though they didn’t slow down. Riff still wakes up sometimes convinced that the glow off the generator is the fires of her home. She had no idea if her parents had reached an evac, fled to safety, been killed in the fighting. Who knew? She had the realisation, then and there, that she didn’t really care. She felt nothing when she thought of them, of all her old friends and neighbours. It was like a different reality. Numbed.
Over the course of the next few months, McCaughey let Riff work. She’d told him she was from Easthollow, and as far as he knew, she had just watched every person she had ever met burn. In a way, she had. Bresnan, one of the younger lads working for his team, showed her how to make repairs as he fixed up the few things they had left, and slowly but surely she began to pick it up. They stayed in Skew Hive, for a few months, same as everyone else on the continent. Too dangerous to head out, back when the air was still poison. That’s when Riff learned to fight – the hive was crowded before, now there was scarcely space to move. You fought for what you had, or you lost it. They were one of the first caravans to head back into the wastes, though, among the first to re-establish contact with all the new settlements that had sprung up in the carcass of the old ones. Over the course of the next five years, they helped more than thirty settlements start up in the wastes – mostly for profit, of course, though I understand McCaughey was known to sell below cost if he could see that people were dying. Once again, though, he was making himself a tidy living. They had a pretty high turnover of caravan guards: riding shotgun was dangerous in the early days. Lot of desperate people.
The last day that Riff saw her friends from the caravan route, they were travelling from Pallain to Ruckett. A pretty safe route, usually – through the bones of the old world city of Newhall. Lots of stories were told in the camps of sinewy monsters eating travellers there, or gangs of cannibals, creatures that used to be human. Nonsense, of course, but it made for a quiet route. They were a small convoy – a couple of smaller buggies up front, heavy stubbers and flamers on pivots, to keep the road clear. Riff and Bresnan were in the back of the first merch truck along with a couple of guards. One more truck ran behind them, a single buggy following up from the rear. Safe, but manoeuvrable. She was chatting with Bresnan, she remembered. Joking about vampires ambushing their route.
The first explosion, the one that killed her driver, knocked Riff to the wooden floor and threw boxes from the flatbed, spilling scavenged circuit-boards behind the truck. Shots rang out as the truck skidded to a stop. The caravan guards, kids McCaughey had hired from a local settlement, began firing wildly into the buildings along the side of the street. The leading cars were on fire – Parin and Holt, the men who had built Riff a shelter back in The Skew, already dead. Bullets ripped through the canvas around her, killing one of the mercenary guards and catching Bresnan in the shoulder. He screamed, and fell from the truck. More shots echoed out, and his screaming stopped. The other guard jumped from the back, dropping his rifle as he ran. Poor kid had probably never been shot at before. Riff saw him collapse. Before she had even taken it in, the shooting had stopped. She could hear men laughing, two voices arguing over the stimms in Kew’s medical pack. A louder man with an Easthollow accent barked orders. Shaking, Riff pulled a pistol off the belt of the man lying dead alongside her, trying not to meet the empty stare of his wide eyes. When a face appeared at the foot of the truck, a young man in a penal collar, she pulled the trigger. Nothing happened – a faint, repeating click revealing the jam in the firing mechanism. The butt of a rifle met her temple, and the world slipped away.
And though she didn’t know it yet, this was how she met Coop.
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Coop on the planet surface:
The surface – the true surface – now had a strange kind of beauty to it, Coop thought to himself. The emptiness, the silence, had a unique sensation, a feeling all of its own. Between the settlements, in the mainly intact ruins of the old world, it still felt like trespassing, like sneaking out as a teenager. The truck growled through the silent city, echoing back and forth in the empty buildings. He felt as though he were walking through Greenmile City again, footsteps echoing impossibly loud in the early hours of the morning when the streets were dead. You could be the only person in the world. It would be easy to ignore the signs of what had happened, if you kept your gaze high enough. Facing skyward, the pockmarked walls and burnt out vehicles would slip out of view, the upper levels of what used to be Ruckarnlan jutting dark and silhouetted against the yellow-hued sky, looking now as he imagined they always had. He’d never come here before the evacuation – the empty streets of the old city were all he’d ever seen of it, a passing blur thrown up and down from the back of Carson’s caravan. The city told stories, like every place on the surface. He’d learned to read the environment as they drove, hear the history it whispered, just below your hearing, through the tedium of the long ride. Here a former shop-front was boarded up with scrap scavenged from nearby buildings, corrugated iron and rotten wood. Empty food cans littered the ground, a rainwater collection duct rigged to the front of the building. A scavenger, maybe a family, had lived there once, maybe died there. Picked the area clean before moving on, or succumbing to the poisonous air. Conditions on the surface were harsh, and few survived up here for long.
Here, a faded mural. Scorpions, a gas mask, crossed rifles. A gang? Perhaps just a lone waster? Might even have been prior to the rebellion – images of warfare and revolution were nothing new on Caitiff. There were others around Ruckarnlan, less warlike, less violent – things of beauty. Real artworks, sprawling growths of painted plants, painstakingly etched representations of women, surrealist blooms of colour. Multi-storey buildings covered in swathes of pigment - hours upon hours of work in the deadly conditions of the wastes. He’d often wondered about who could produce such things: could they be the work of a single man? Some crazed artist lost in the wilderness? Coop had seen shadows moving through the buildings, all of them had – ghosts of the old world, they called them. Killed so quickly when the violence began that they’d never realised that they were dead. Stories were common in the hive of people taken by these shadowy spectres, vanishing silently from the back of vehicles in dust storms, not a trace of their passing, only to be seen in the painted walls of the surface. Coop didn’t believe them, but he still shuddered as the wind picked up.
There were still signs of the life that had once thrived here, if you looked high enough – tattered rags hung on what had once been washing lines, faded curtains still blew from open windows. The signs were always there, though. Windows, shattered. Paintwork peeling and torn. With time came decay, and decay was all that was left in the wastes.
Pulling at his uncomfortable mask, Coop nudged Riff awake. It was her watch, and he’d seen enough.
Coop and Riff join the Remnants (written a waaaay back, hence especially bad :P):
[spoiler]Riggs moved through the shattered entranceway, following the glow of the fire. He could hear them talking - low and cautious, still unsure of themselves. He smiled. It would be good to get some new company. The dog growled, leaning into the rope around her neck as the campfire came into view. Riggs bent down, pulled her in and patted her side as her hackles rose.
"Easy, Cass. Calm down, girl. They're friends, ok? No one's trying to kill me today."
The strangers by the campfire turned towards him, the male half rising. His hand was at the holster hanging off his belt. The girl spoke first.
"Uhh... hey. You okay, man? We're new. Murdock's cleared us, so... no need for the dog, alright?"
Riggs laughed, raising his arms in what he hoped was a disarming gesture. "She's not that bad, honest - just talks a big game. She'll be fine once she's used to you." He tied her off against a door frame and patted her muzzle once more. "You mind if I join you?"
The man sitting opposite the fire still hadn't lowered his hand. The girl turned to him, and he nodded, sitting back where he had been. He smiled, and appeared to relax. Riggs pulled a bottle optimistically labelled "Wildsnake" from his bag and offered it to his new companions. With a muttered ‘thanks’, the girl took it and drank deep before spluttering a few times and passing it back.
"Not the best, huh? Got it in Jento - should have been warning enough, I guess." He took a sup of the spirit and passed it on to the man opposite him. In the light of the fire, the thick gouges in the newcomer's arms were thrown into relief. "Name's Levin Grigg, though the folks round here tend to call me Riggs." He sighed. "Guess two syllables was a little much to ask. The girl growling at you on then end of that rope is Cass. I know the welcome Murdock gives to strangers can be... a little less than friendly, so I figured I'd stop by and say hi. What're your names?"
"Coop." It was the man who had spoken first. He was tall and heavy set, but probably no more than 25 or 30 years. Fresh cuts lined his features, and fresh bruises covered much of his face. His nose was set at an awkward angle - a look that seemed recently acquired, based on the crusted blood underneath it. Riggs could make out the profile of a penal collar beneath the man's coat - an interesting one, no doubt. "My friend here is Riff Raff." He paused for second, and grinned a smile with more than a little wince in it as he extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Riff Raff?" The girl laughed. She was about Riggs' age, with dark eyes and bright green hair cropped short to her head. Slung at her side was a heavy backpack, filled with what looked like computer equipment.
"It stuck! I grew up in Haverbrook – you know it?" Riggs looked blank. "Haverbrook! Oh, come on. Big, fancy, posh oppressive ass community, couple miles outside the hive? Lots of trees? Back when there were still trees, that is. You'll know it if you see it." She paused for a second. "You know what a tree is, right?" Riggs smiled wanly, took the proffered bottle from Coop.
"So it's an ironic thing?"
"Sort of. Fucking hated that place, ran away the second the factories blew up. I like it - burning out my roots, y'know?” She paused, taking a sup of the alcohol and grimacing. “Guess my family got evacced though – maybe I shoulda stayed." She laughed.
Riggs thought for a second. "So how did you guys end up in Rukob?"
"Series of coincidences, I guess." RiffRaff grinned. "Coop, me and Twitch - have you met Twitch? You'd uh... You'd remember if you had." She chuckled quietly to herself. "We’ve been working as caravan guards. Good work. Couple of different employers, of course, and a few disputes over pay, but there’s plenty of opportunity around Skew. This latest asshole though -"
Coop, who had been valiantly swigging at the bottle, cut her off with a smile. "Aw, come on Riff. He wasn't that bad. For a guilder." RiffRaff glared at him, turned back to Riggs.
"This latest asshole –“ A pointed glare at coop. “– was a solid gold prick, even for a trader. He ripped off everyone he met."
"It was his job." Coop shot back.
RiffRaff ignored him. "He charged more for drugs if people were sick."
"Demand was up."
A smile hung on the corner of her mouth, but she beat it back. "What about the maps he kept selling after the QA took Derrick? People died."
"He had to make his money back."
"He shot that trader in Saltash!"
"The one who tried to stab him?"
"I’d have stabbed him too!" RiffRaff was laughing now.
Coop broke into a playful smile, which was apparently a little too wide as he grunted and rubbed his bruised jaw. He turned to Riggs. "Carson was an underhanded, backstabbing con artist, but that just meant that he was good at his job. With us though, he was a good guy. Mostly. We sat shotgun on his caravan between settlements. Easy money. There were the odd raiders or waster lads, but between me, Twitch and this one, they didn't really have a chance."
"So what happened?" Riggs took another swig of the 'wildsnake' Coop had passed him, gagging a little as the aftertaste hit him. It really was foul stuff.
"Well," RiffRaff muttered. "like he said, we covered his ass between settlements. If Carson wants to shoot his mouth off to every guy in every drinking hole in Skillett, we can't be there to stop the guy who... well, shot his mouth off." Coop laughed and put his arm around her shoulder, but stopped when she threw him a look. "Turned out he insulted one of the local mercs, some real badass apparently. And apparently he wasn't in the mood for Carson's shit talk." A look of sadness spread momentarily across her face, before her features quickly hardened. "Either way, we found ourselves between employments." She passed a bacc-stick to Coop, lighting her own off the campfire. "You want one?" Riggs shook his head."Eh, your loss, they're good."
Riggs smiled, patting his shirt sleeve. "Got my own. From uphive." RiffRaff looked briefly impressed, but pulled it into a good natured sneer, rocking her head from side to side. "So how'd you find yourself here? Skillet's what, like, 10, 15 miles East?"
"Business venture." Coop replied. "Whatever we think of Carson," a glance to RiffRaff, "he went out owing us a fair few creds in backpay. He also left behind a fair few crates of spirits, munitions and condensor parts that he was no longer using. We heard of a trader who didn't ask many questions out at this end, but unfortunately didn't quite make it all the way here. The guide we hired was the same guy who gave us the tip, and said he knew the fastest way from Skillet to Rukob - yeah, yeah, I can see in your face that you know where this is going. It was stupid as hell, I know." Riggs raised his hands and shook his head, trying to repress a grin. "There were 20-odd armed men - thugs hired by the local guild interest - waiting for us in a pass about 5 miles out. We did what any sane people would do in that situation - gave em everything." He paused for a moment. "Twitch was – having a bad day. He was raging, practically frothing at the mouth, couldn’t stand to think that we were just going to let them walk away. We managed to calm him down before he shot anyone though, or I'm guessing we wouldn't be here." He spat in the fire and watched it hiss. "Still, I'd love to meet that 'guide' again. Just the once." RiffRaff cracked her knuckles.
"They let us live, which was an unexpected courtesy. Took everything, of course, but let us go. Not before their boss had given me a "lesson about trade rights"." RiffRaff put her hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and smiled at her. "We made it though. It's almost hard to hate them, they played it so well."
The dog had been whimpering for a few minutes. Riggs pulled another bottle from his pack, set it on the rubble he'd been sitting on.
"Well, you’re welcome here. We could always use another couple of experienced eyes, and you’re one hell of a lot friendlier than the last batch. Look, I need to move, or Cass here'll never forgive me." He gestured at the bottle. "That's yours, if you think you can stomach it. Sounds like you guys could use it." He untied the dog from the post, pushing her back as she licked his face. He stood upright, turning again to the two newcomers. "Welcome to the Jackals. Hope it treats you better than your last post."[/spoiler]
Twitch
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/8/25/263101_mb-Bionics%2C%20Hoodie%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Scavenger.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/263101-Bionics%2C%20Hoodie%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Scavenger.html)
A close friend of RiffRaff and Coop, Twitch worked with them for several years as a caravan guard. Somewhat of a heavy drinker with a talent with cards and a fast mouth, he was known widely as a story-teller and writer. Around a year before the three came into contact with Murdock, though, he was thrown from his truck in a collision with some local wildlife, striking his head against the road. Whilst he survived, he has been wildly unpredictable since, breaking down into tears with no provocation or attacking strangers over imagined slights. Despite this, he still experiences periods of lucidity, and can for days at a time seem the man he used to be. Whilst most men in such situations would not have lasted long, Riff and Coop stuck by their old friend, even though his outbursts cost them several contracts. Murdock was not happy with his inclusion in the Jackals, but allowed him to remain, as long as the others accepted responsibility for his behaviour.
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Scratch
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/8/24/262662_mb-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/262662-.html)
At 19, Scratch is the youngest member of the 21st Jackals. Optimistic and adventurous, she spends as much time on the surface as she can, and adores the ruins. Scratch had no real experience of the world before the Easthollow disaster, and was carried to Pinepoint shortly after the evac by her parents, both of whom have since passed (her father of rusinate lung, her mother of radiation sickness while serving with the Remnants). She was raised mostly by Elara, another orphan girl discovered by Remnant patrols shortly before her arrival. The two are very close. Scratch revels in finding what she can of life before, and has developed a penchant for old world luxuries – she has spent many an evening with a begrudging Elara combing ruined stores in Crockfall for lho sticks, soda and sour candy. She also delights in finding gifts for others, hunting out undamaged spray-paints for Coop and Riff, or interesting mechanical parts and wiring for Skragg.
Originally from the poorer quarters around The Skew Spire, Scratch’s parents had little money for medical care, and her birth was complicated. She suffered a nerve injury to her right leg, resulting in a complete loss of sensation that led to multiple fractures and injuries as she grew. Though it does little to slow her down, pain and fatigue quickly set in if walking longer distances and Scratch is loathe to admit this, pressing through the pain for as long as she can. She learned to drive at a young age and has developed some skill, often being entrusted with the truck by Murdock on their expeditions outside of the hive.
Elara
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/6/350218_mb-Copplestone%2C%20Female%2C%20Jackal%2C%20Launcher%2C%20Missile.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/350218-Copplestone%2C%20Female%2C%20Jackal%2C%20Launcher%2C%20Missile.html)
A few years older than Scratch, but willing to put up with her, Elara served as her begrudging big sister as they grew up together in Pinepoint. She looked out for Scratch, keeping her out of trouble with the local gangs and ensuring she had food and water, but mostly allowing her to find her own way. Elara taught her what she could about the world before Easthollow fell, and what to avoid in the world since. Elara has a boundless interest in seemingly everything, and her shack in Pinepoint is a treasure trove of books and holodisks – acquisitions from years of scavenging and trading. The darker side of this voracious interest is the obsessive hoarding tendencies that she has developed, building collections of seemingly useless trinkets that she will trade anything to obtain. Whilst she understands that her ‘collections’ often defy logic, Elara has difficulty controlling her compulsion, and has developed some kleptomaniacal tendencies, kept in check mainly by Scratch. Through badgering Farrell and some instructional data drives, Elara has taught herself basic first aid, and will happily sit watching Skragg repair equipment for hours.
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THE QUADRING ACCORD
Background on the QA:
The QA, or Quadring Accord, are a loose band of ex-convicts, penal legionnaires, miners and manufactorum workers, working under a vague common goal. They emerged from, and are still based in, the Quadring Penitentiary, a detention camp North of Skew Spire where prisoners were held before their assignment to a legion or labour duty. The exact details of how the group came to be are unclear, though their founder, a man calling himself “The Warden”, was widely believed to be Colonel Lockwood, an officer of the PDF awaiting sentencing for insubordination at the time of the evacuation. Not all of the inmates in such facilities were dangerous, or even guilty – as the Revolution dragged on and governmental forces found their numbers dwindling, penal legions proved invaluable as disposable assets to take entrenched positions or provide a distraction. When numbers fell low, governmental forces were known to arrest large numbers of citizens for arbitrary crimes, filling out their ranks once again. Colonel Lockwood was rumoured to have been imprisoned for refusing to carry out such arrests.
Many loyalist penitentiaries were found to have massacred their inmates as the shuttles left the planet, but the denizens of Quadring had overthrown their guards in an armed uprising a few days previously, leaving them in control of the facility when the PDF arrived to dispose of them. It is more than likely that a bloody power struggle took place within the walls of the detention centre, but no one outside of the complex will ever really know how The Warden took control.
It was several months before anyone emerged from the complex, and the extensive underground network of cell blocks is understood to have protected the inmates from the worst of the rusinate storms and radiation that plagued the surface in the months following the Easthollow event. To the surprise of the surrounding settlements, who had been dreading the day that the prison doors would open, the initial emissaries from the penitentiary were friendly, and keen to establish trade. The ‘Quadring Accord’, they told them, had been created as a place for the downtrodden – the jumpsuits that had marked out poorer manual labourers and prisoners were now a badge of honour. For several years, peaceful contact existed between those in the prison and the outside world, and many flocked to Quadring itself as a sheltered and safe settlement. Small contingents of QA soldiers, armed with the weapons of their former guards and whatever could be manufactured within the facility, were eventually hired to protect the smaller satellite settlements around the prison. The Warden himself even introduced a rudimentary system of law – any who stole or killed were forced into labour for a set term, constructing new housing around Quadring, or working the nearby mines to provide Quadring with a resource for trade.
Eventually, however, the Warden changed. Those within the inner workings of the QA would swear blind that the man leading them was their founder, but it was fairly clear to all that the reins of power had changed hands. The new Warden’s policies were rather different than his forebear’s, and it became quickly apparent that those who had not served within a legion or labour team were second class citizens. Murder and theft by the ‘protection’ teams became commonplace in the surrounding settlements, and crimes committed by the former prisoners went unpunished. As there was never any substantial proof, QA teams would often drag away individual citizens and travellers for crimes that they themselves had committed, and few survived the labour sentences they received.
As the profit from mining increased, so too did the number of ‘arrests’. Eventually, the soldiers of the QA dropped the pretence and dragged away any remaining citizens of the surrounding wasteland at gunpoint, killing those too weak or old to work. The shanties that had formed around the complex were put to the torch. Discipline among the newly captured slaves was by brutal example, and the QA developed a vicious reputation for sadism and cruelty among the settlers of Skew State. Whilst not all members of the QA were involved in the atrocities committed in its name, it is rare for an outsider to greet them with anything but fear and hostility. Most denizens of the wastelands will shoot a man dressed in blue fatigues on sight.
The title of ‘Warden’ changes hands regularly in a society of cut-throats and thieves. Whilst the face of their leader changed regularly and the uniform that marked him out acquired more holes, the attitude of the QA remained relatively stable for many years. Settlements further and further from Quadring were raided and enslaved, and it was only with a drying up of resources that the hostile advances of the former convicts seemed to slow. Those trading on the surface have little opportunity for making moral judgements on their customers, but even the most amoral trade caravan will consider their own safety first. Attacks on caravan routes through QA territory became more and more commonplace as The Warden’s influence over his hungry citizens waned, leaving very few settlements willing to trade. The area surrounding Quadring itself was hit hard by toxic runoff, leaving very little arable land – the penitentiary was dependent on outside trade for supplies of food and clean water. It seemed that the QA had burned itself out. For several years, the compound has been quiet, while ex-QA defectors have become a more and more common sight.
The man holding the title of ‘Warden’ today is attempting to move away from his group’s violent past. QA envoys dressed in civilian clothes have made contact with settlements throughout Skew State, offering protection for trade routes and free shelter and work for any who come to Quadring. Many such envoys were lynched by the settlements before they could get their message across. QA scavenger teams have been sighted – groups of men out salvaging the old cities, interacting (relatively) peacefully with other prospectors. Cynics would say that the new behaviour of the QA is a desperation measure – a forced civility with nowhere else to turn. Others, perhaps naively, believe this may represent a change in the group, a rise in influence of the less violent political prisoners held within the prison walls. The new Warden himself is somewhat of an unknown. He is not a wicked man, in wasteland terms. His hands are not clean, by any means - Perhaps some innocents have died under his orders. Perhaps he has killed a man for the equipment he carried. There are few on the surface who could plead innocent to such claims.
It will take a lot to erase the legacy of the years of murder and violence, but new caravans have been sighted within QA territory, and Quadring-produced munitions have begun to appear in the stocks of merchants as far afield as Roth. Whether this marks a new chapter in the history of Quadring, or simply a blip before the inevitable assassination and rise of another Warden remains to be seen.
The Warden
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/4/25/214319_mb-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/214319-.html)(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/4/25/214320_mb-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/214320-.html)
///datatagsearch drive C:// “Warden”
searching… #ERROR 7C##: no results found.
///datatagsearch drive D:// “Warden”
searching… #ERROR 7C##: No results found.
Magpie
///datatagsearch drive C:// “Magpie”
searching… #ERROR 7C##: no results found
///datatagsearch drive D:// “Magpie”
///searching… 2 files found. ///locating files… ///downloading… complete.
///displaying pictoral feed 1 of 1
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/12/353067_mb-Crew%2C%20Gas%20Mask%2C%20Scavenger.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/353067-Crew%2C%20Gas%20Mask%2C%20Scavenger.html)
///displaying data fragment 1 of 1
Ah, this one. Apparently known locally as ‘Magpie’ – doubtless due to a predilection for shiny objects belonging to others. A ‘vagrant’, I understand? Charged with assault, participation in a riot, and public inebriation. Oh, and I do love this defence entered here – no memory of events, “not a violent man”? Moving. You’ll be right at home in the mines then. No violent men there. 30 years! Next!
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That's it for now. I have some more vehicles, a couple of copplestone figures and some other models to post, but I think that's enough of an image and text dump to last quite a while! Thanks in advance to anyone who looked at the models or read (any of!) the backstory, and I hope you can find something you like. Now to use my new account to comment on all the awesome stuff in here!
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Damn that's allot of back ground, you posted up there. I really liked the running narrative of your campagne threw the interactions of your crew. Pretty inspiring. I guess you are using necromunda rules. Am I right?
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Hello Scarper.
It is really nice to see your minis again. They are just as nice as I remember them.
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I am Glad to see that I am not the only one mining 40k for gaming the Post Apocalypse. Though I am nowhere as far along in my work, only the broadest of outlines and factions yet.
But there are so many great ideas floating around in the old 40k stuff (Mind you I really stopped playing and buying 40k some time in the middle of 2nd edition).
This stuff is fantastic. Keep it up...
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Great writeups! Everything looks fantastic. The great thing about the 40K universe is that anything is possible...
Thanks for sharing!
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Really nice painting style on those figures. Got a great way of painting eyes... coop and rifraf... lovely stuff.
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Some great looking minis you have painted up there, and a great amount of backstory.
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Great background fluff and minis.
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Wow, thank you so much for all the responses, everyone!
@commissar moody - Thank you! We do indeed play necro rules - best game GW have ever put out IMHO. The fluff is a little obsessive, I guess, I tried my best to keep some of the initial faction fluff fairly open so we could go whichever way the players chose to take it. Feels a lot more involved when what you choose to do affects the game world...
@MGK - Hey again, great to see you too! I noticed that you've posted your fallout stuff here too - really awesome stuff, I love the buildings! Thanks a bunch for the kind words.
@Infojunky - Oooh, I'll have to have a hunt through the older stuff. My only experience of 40k is 5th ed onwards, really, so I'm probably missing out on a lot. Thanks so much for the compliment! Have you posted your post-apoc stuff anywhere? I'd love to give it a look if you have...
@MrHarold - With some planets fighting with blackpowder rifles and others using bipedal laser robots, it does seem like there would be space for whatever you want in there, doesn't it? lol Thanks so much for the kind words!
@Blackstone - Thank you so much, that's really kind to say! I kind of cheat with the eyes a little - micron pens are my friends ;D
@A_Train - Thank you!
@Mattblackgod - Thanks so much!
Finished up painting another member of the QA tonight, but not quite done with the base. Hopefully an update tomorrow or Friday, so stay tuned!
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@Infojunky - Oooh, I'll have to have a hunt through the older stuff. My only experience of 40k is 5th ed onwards, really, so I'm probably missing out on a lot. Thanks so much for the compliment! Have you posted your post-apoc stuff anywhere? I'd love to give it a look if you have...
1st off I do have a blog that gets update irregularly ( Walled Gardens (http://walledgardens15mm.blogspot.com/2012/04/paint-table-parking-lot.html) ), but it has been mostly on the models I am making, though I have been considering throwing up some more game related stuff as i finish banging on rules.
I pretty much quit playing 40k with 2nd Edition, kinda. With that I play a boat load of Necromunda/Gorkamorka which to be honest is a variant split from 2nd Ed. But that was years ago, right now I am using Savage Worlds/Showdown as there is a lot of RPGish character/gang detail going on. With all that I am banging away on a Reboot of the Classic game Car Wars with a more of emphasis on Pedestrians in that I am streamlining vehicle design, as well as re-scaling it to 15mm. Pedestrians are starting to look like Traveller characters, kinda in the skill system and being able to fit both a character and his vehicle on a single index card. (and to be honest a lot of GW's Dark Future is inspiration and grist for this particular mill)
As for Background and inspiration I am stealing from all over, video games are a great source, my favorite ones are the entire Fallout series (I still boot up the old WinME (Yes I still have one that runs, on the original factory install of the OS to boot) to play the three earliest titles. (Note all three title have been updated to more recent Windows OSs and are available at Gog.com (http://www.gog.com/)). The other game is Borderland which is a hoot in it's own way, but the visuals are so wonderful. I am building world maps off of how they are laid out in the game. Beyond this there are all the usual suspects of books, games and videos. Oh!, and lots of Westerns.
In general the setting is a post higher tech war than a lot of PA settings, with lasers and robots and related silliness to be included, most notably it is post Man's expansion from earth, but with the twist being we drove to the stars through permanently open stargates that connect planets of simular characteristics (i.e. earth like). The war was a multi-faction fight including both major governments, corporations, Alien species and at least two separate A.I. factions.
As for the details of writing a backgrounds I us a mind/concept mapping program called TheBrain (http://www.thebrain.com/) and I toss both Ideas and the snippets i am working on at it to give myself a nice relational database. There is a service to post a Brain i.e. the collection of ideas, to the web for public access, and one of these days I probably will do so. Which probably the best way to display the entire conceptual sand box.
Nuts and bolts there are 3 or 4 games I have kicking around for this setting, the 1st is rather Necromunda/Gorkamorka-ish with gangs trying to control various resources in the wastelands. Next is a Setting I like to call Crash-Test Clones, which is a combination of Dungeon Crawling and Paranoia where the characters are serving a insane A.I. in a bombed out city, think Paranoia the RPG crossed with Portal the video game sorta goodness. Then there is the classic Heroes sent out on a mission A'la Fallout and related games. Last is a another Necromunda-ish game but all the gangs are robots. I also am considering a jetbike racing game.
As for Miniatures I am using a broad selection of 15mm figures and vehicles. Which really an excuse to build lots of one-off models, the vehicles are mostly wheeled, but with largish minorities of Hover/Gravity Skimmers, Tracked and Walkers, as well as the occasional watercraft. And being this is all for a Post Apocalyptic setting said vehicles can be fairly Orky.
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Wow, thanks, infojunky! I'll have a proper look through your blog as soon as I can, looks really interesting from my quick flick through. Sounds like you have a lot of the same influences as I do (seriously, has anyone on this forum not played the Fallout games?!), but I'm a big fan of Westerns too, watched hundreds of em with my Dad growing up :D I haven't heard of a lot of the game systems you mentioned, but I'll have to look a bit more closely into them - I could always use new inspiration!
I've got a few photos of my latest paintjob - Lodge, one of the QA. He's also the most frustratingly difficult to photograph model I have ever made. Here's some shots, the best of a bad bunch. Hope you like him!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/21/356281_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/356281-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/21/356291_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/356291-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/21/356292_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/356292-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/21/356293_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/356293-.html)
I honestly spent ages highlighting his face, I guess putting under a MASK DESIGNED TO BLOCK LIGHT was a bad plan if I wanted that to show up :D
Final shot is one that I thought was atmospheric, even if it doesn't show much up:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/21/356290_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/356290-.html)
I've also got a couple of shots of a random wastelander I painted up recently. He's based off one of the Copplestone Scavengers, with a few modifications:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/6/350217_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/350217-.html)(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/6/350215_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/350215-.html)(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/6/350216_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/350216-.html)
and his base, once I painted it up:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/15/353992_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/353992-.html)
Please let me know where I could improve, I'd really like your input! Fluff will be up soon. Hope everyone's having a nice weekend!
Scarps.
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Here is another Blog that I find inspirational http://rustyrobots.blogspot.com/2012/03/world-of-rusty-robots.html
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Nice, I particularly like the partial grafitti on the broken wall.
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Thanks guys! Zizi, thanks for the kind words! The graffiti was really fun to do, so I'm planning on incorporating some on my terrain when I finally get round to painting it. Infojunky, there are some really inspirational ideas on that map, so thank you!
Today's update is another QA. Not much story behind him yet, and he still needs some detailing on the crowbar and his neck, but basically done. Hope you like!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/30/360591_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/360591-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/30/360592_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/360592-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/30/360593_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/360593-.html)
I'm trying to model these guys hunting through a caravan they've sacked for documents and lootable gear, hence the searching. Please let me know what you think, and thanks to everyone who has commented so far.
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Now he is too cool for words.
We had a long conversation about PA Wastelands occupational specialties on the SFRPG board on the TMP (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=24365), book collectors were one of the ideas kicked around. What to name them as a group is kinda where we left it.
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Great stuff! Love the attention to detail.
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Thanks guys! Zizi, thanks for the kind words! The graffiti was really fun to do, so I'm planning on incorporating some on my terrain when I finally get round to painting it. Infojunky, there are some really inspirational ideas on that map, so thank you!
Today's update is another QA. Not much story behind him yet, and he still needs some detailing on the crowbar and his neck, but basically done. Hope you like!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/30/360591_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/360591-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/30/360592_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/360592-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/30/360593_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/360593-.html)
I'm trying to model these guys hunting through a caravan they've sacked for documents and lootable gear, hence the searching. Please let me know what you think, and thanks to everyone who has commented so far.
You have quite a lot of talent young man! VERY impressed! I hope you don't mind an older fella stealing some ideas!
Looking forward to seeing more!
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Thanks so much for the interest guys!
@infojunky - I'm glad you think so! I like the idea of book collectors - seems in a world where less and less people are literate, finding and keeping knowledge would become more and more of a specialised affair. Would love to see the conversation you lot were having, but could you please repost the link? The one up at the mo goes to a short conversation on a French wargaming mag, and won't let me access anything else lol
@Supervike - Thanks a lot, really appreciate that.
@Too Bo Coo - Thanks so much for the kind words :) Feel free to borrow whatever you like - it's all been inspired from something else anyway. Really glad you've seen something you like!
Today's update is a scrappy conversion, but a functional one - captured gangers in necro need a marker for rescue scenarios, and I wanted something fairly utilitarian, in case he needs to represent gangs other than my own. He'll eventually have some jewellery chain between the manacles, but I thought it would be easier to put that on after I've painted the lacerations on his back (the QA don't play nice!). Hope you like!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/3/361886_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/361886-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/3/361887_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/361887-.html)
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Today's mini is my absolute favourite from the Copplestone line. I haven't converted him at all, and the paintjob was a 2 hour quick job, but I'm pretty pleased! I was trying out some different skin tones - I wanted to see if I could pull off a sunburned surface-dweller look. Also! Realise the jacket looks a little flat, but it's just the photos, honest. I'd love any input you've got, good or bad :)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/7/363445_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/363445-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/7/363444_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/363444-.html)
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I love that guy with the welders mask and that guy with the books. Ace work! :-*
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Thanks, Matt, they were a lot of fun to make! Still trying to come up with a few cover designs for when I finally come round to painting the books though lol
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Thanks, Matt, they were a lot of fun to make! Still trying to come up with a few cover designs for when I finally come round to painting the books though lol
Painting detailed covers!?! That make may attempts to just make books (in 15mm) pale. ;)
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I can't even imagine how tiny detailed 15mm books would be - you're a masochist! lol
Today's update is a little macabre, and not the best picture, but the gent in the blue parka brings the number of unlucky individuals posing as loot markers to 3. These gents carry the potential spoils that our wasteland gangs will fight over in Necromunda scavenger games. Looks like the local wildlife don't leave much to waste, anyway!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/14/366360_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/366360-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/14/366381_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/366381-.html)
(CLICK FOR A ZOOMABLE IMAGE!)
Hope you like them!
I've also got some new little fluff synopses up for two of the recent additions to the QA. Nothing special, but just a bit of info on who they are!
Lodge
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/21/356281_sm-Cover%2C%20Heavy%20Bolter%2C%20Hoodie%2C%20Mask%2C%20Weld.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/356281-Cover%2C%20Heavy%20Bolter%2C%20Hoodie%2C%20Mask%2C%20Weld.html)
Lodge was an engineer. Course, he hadn’t always been. Fought with the Desert Rats before, a ‘revolutionary group’ that quickly went the way of most revolutionary groups – vying with others for territory. Killed a fair few people, but not one of those bastards didn’t deserve it. Among the best up close and personal, Lodge led his own squad. Tried to lead by example, show his lads how to do it in person. No patience for weakness or cowardice. He was wounded when the slave caravan he was leading was ambushed by governmental forces – cowardly bastards couldn’t face them head on. His squadmates abandoned him, even as he shouted curses after them and tried to drag himself upright with the good chunk of thigh he had left. Treacherous scum left him to his fate the first time he’d ever really needed them. He learned a lesson then. Not a quick one, and not an easy conclusion to come to, but as the beatings went from hours to days he realised where he had made his mistake.
Didn’t matter who he had been anyway, he was QA now. Engineering is what he did.
He had served in the penal mines near the Quadring Penitentiary for two years, far longer than most survived. Hard time. He’d seen then how engineers were valued, how vital they were to everyone in the mines. Makeshift respirators and scratch-built structural columns saved lives, and with this salvation came privilege. The engineers, or even anyone who knew a little about the trade, could work shorter shifts, get better food, and get fewer beatings. Even the guards had respect for those who made the place safer: The convicts were manual labour, and the guards little better – as many of them were killed in mine collapses as the inmates. Lodge learned the trade from Borth, another man who had served with the Rats – he traded hard-earned lho sticks and smuggled alcohol for the knowledge he would need. Lodge had learned to make himself essential. Even if that involved ‘engineering’ an industrial accident for Borth.
Magpie
///datatagsearch drive C:// “Magpie”
searching… #ERROR 7C##: no results found
///datatagsearch drive D:// “Magpie”
///searching… 2 files found. ///locating files… ///downloading… complete.
///displaying pictoral feed 1 of 1
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/12/353067_mb-Crew%2C%20Gas%20Mask%2C%20Scavenger.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/353067-Crew%2C%20Gas%20Mask%2C%20Scavenger.html)
///displaying data fragment 1 of 1
Ah, this one. Apparently known locally as ‘Magpie’ – doubtless due to a predilection for shiny objects belonging to others. A ‘vagrant’, I understand? Charged with assault, participation in a riot, and public inebriation. Oh, and I do love this defence entered here – no memory of events, “not a violent man”? Moving. You’ll be right at home in the mines then. No violent men there. 30 years! Next!
A factory worker from Hollow State, Silon had tried to flee with his family to the relative safety of the Skew in the final weeks before the Evac. The PDF were closing on pockets of resistance around Easthollow, and civilian casualties and reports of atrocities had caused panic in the local populace. The refugee column they were travelling in was attacked by slavers near the border, and Silon panicked, losing track of his wife and daughter in his flight. He escaped alone, but had witnessed the brutal deaths of many of the others who had tried to run. Eventually finding his way to Crockfall, he lived there for several months, begging and stealing whenever he could to stay alive. Though he found other refugees who had made it through the mountains around Crater Lake, he never heard word of his family again. His years of living rough have made ‘Magpie’ a useful asset in the QA scavenger teams – he has developed a reputation for making valuable finds, though much of his share is known to be spent on liquor.
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Great fluff and minis. :-*
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Those conversions are boss!! Some really great stuff there, I look forward to seeing more!
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This is awesome stuff dude. An interesting little corner of the 40k universe.
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Thanks so much, guys, I really appreciate the comments! Just realised that I haven't posted this here yet:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/21/368670-Apocalyptic%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Post%2C%20Qa.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/368670-Apocalyptic%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Post%2C%20Qa.html)
In the most dysfunctional family photo ever, here's the entire QA. I'm done with the sculpting on all of them, but most have yet to be painted. From left to right: Tracker (Branan), Unfortunate victim #1, Colm, Sidekick, Latchkey (Caleb), The Warden, Magpie (Silon), Tollen, Lodge, Scaff, Raston. It's a pretty big picture, so you should be able to click on it and zoom right in for a better look.
Hope you like them, and please let me know what you reckon, good or bad - I'd love to know how to improve!
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Look fantastic. Can't wait to see them all painted as the painted ones look great.
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There is nothing like a well converted fig :-*
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There is nothing like a well converted fig :-*
hear hear!
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hear hear!
Ain't that the truth!
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@Diakon - Thanks so much! Painting is ongoing, albeit slowly. Should have a bit more time in a few weeks, after my finals.
@inkwell - Thank you for the kind words - I really appreciate that :D
@Too Bo Coo - Thanks again!
@Infojunky - Hehehe, thanks again for keeping up, really glad you like it!
Today's update is another LA mini, with a little conversion. The dead stalkers make great loot markers, but i didn't like this lady's hand too much, so scratch built a replacement. Hope you like her!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/26/370368_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/370368-.html)
I should have some fluff or a new mini up in the next week or so, but I'd love any tips on painting - the level of skill on this site is fairly incredible, and I'd love to improve! So feel free to critique away, I'm grateful for anything, good or bad ;)
Cheers for the interest so far!
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Hey you are doing a great service to me, in that when I assert that 40k is a great source for Post Apocalyptic goodness I have a project to point at.
I have been working on to paralel projects for a while, ok on is really a side project, but any hows... They are Post Apocalyptic silliness framed by the Fallout francise and 40k in 15mm, and formed a 3rd tangental project that combines all the bits while removing the spaceships parts.... My current thought is what good is a dystopian future if you can't drive to it?
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Thanks so much, infojunky - hope you can convince a few of your mates! lol I'd love to see your own project - have you posted it up on LAF?
Panting, Solomon slowed his sprint to a jog, finally stopping and collapsing against the railing beside him. It shifted, but took his weight. Several figures stumbled behind him, heavy packs and gear thumping against their backs, headlamps flashing in the half light. Solomon checked the charge on his power pack, setting the rifle down on the rusted metal floor. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he turned to the oldest of the group behind him, a man with sparse white hair, cradling a battered long rifle.
“Alright,” He muttered. “We’re clear, I think. Lor, did you get the one that was following?”
The old man nodded, a grin revealing his missing teeth. A younger girl slid to a seated position, hands trembling
“Good.” He whispered to himself. Sitting down beside her, he cuffed Jorn round the back of the head, half miming. “Lot of trouble we didn’t need, kid.” She looked up at him, smiling. “Leave the walkers to themselves.” The leader turned to the other men - “Mule, can you keep a watch? Might be more behind us. Corin, you’ve still got some more heat packs, right? Get one going. Got a couple of cells I need to recharge.”
“What were they?!” Jorn was still out of breath, a slight quaver in her voice. “Why didn’t they go down?”
“Walkers?” Solomon sighed. “They’re sick people. You really need to learn to keep your cool, Jorn. You find them in some of the older parts of the Hive, or out in the Wastes. You come across any more, save your ammo. Takes a lot to drop one, and they’re not the brightest. Steer clear of them, and they’ll leave you alone”. She looked chastened, then her features hardened. Solomon regretted being harsh on her – he could barely remember the first time he’d seen the damned things.
“I’m sorry,” she spoke. “They just startled me, is all. “What happened to them? Why are they - like that?”
“No one really knows, Jorn. They’re sick, they’ll pass on what they got to you if they bite you, so just stay the hell clear, alright?”
Lorek coughed, sifting through his pack for a canteen. “You’ll be too young to remember the militias, eh, girl? They were around before the Evac – pro-government, pro-rebel, whatever. Bad people. Killed a lot of civilians for living in the wrong place, being kin with the wrong people.” He turned and met her gaze, taking a long swig from the canteen before offering it to her. “That’s what happened to them after they did what they did – it’s a curse. Poor bastards can’t die – you saw the state they were walking around in, right? That’s what happened to every one of them.” He sighed as the younger man sitting beside him held in a laugh. “Deserve what they’re getting, course, but you wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” A pointed glare in Kaylan’s direction.
The younger man, a heavy set, dark skinned giant in a creaking mass of enforcer plate and leather, sneered at him. “There’s more to em than that, old man. Besides, a decent shot’ll still drop one. You seen the ones in the combat gear? You ever notice how many have PDF stuff on them? Mate of mine back in Roth used to put em down for their gear."
The old man scoffed. “Then your mate and everyone he sold to are probably more of them by now.”
“I heard that it was what the government used to do to defectors." Kaylan continued, his voice a few degrees louder. "Some engineered virus. A warning to everyone else.”
“Whatever they are,” Interjected Solomon. “They’re dangerous. So leave ‘em be.”
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/30/371995_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/371995-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/30/371996_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/371996-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/30/371997_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/371997-.html)
What self respecting Necro player could have got this far without a few plague zombies?! There are a few more in the works, but just thought I'd post these up for now. I wanted to do some that would fit into Caitiff, so I was going for a scavengery vibe, as always :D The gent who looks like he would have the most difficulty playing a guitar looks like he had a pretty rough time pre-infection - he is supposed to have an officer-style cap attached to his skull (you can see the nail that someone has kindly attached to stop it from blowing off in the 3rd pic). I'm having a little difficulty in sculpting the rim - does anyone have any ideas? I've had trouble getting GS to support its own weight at that thinness, and my plasticard-fu is pretty poor, so I'm not really liking that option.
Anyway, hope you like, and thanks to everyone for all your comments so far - they are, as always, hugely appreciated! Hope you like these guys, and I'll try and keep a presence here as I drown in exams for the next few weeks ;)
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One more zombie, and probs final model for a little while. I don't like him as much as the others, but he was still fun to make!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/31/372234_sm-Zombie.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/372234-Zombie.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/31/372198_sm-Zombie.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/372198-Zombie.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/31/372233_sm-Zombie.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/372233-Zombie.html)
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Splendid stuff, one of these days I'll actually open up my packs of green stuff and try some of this... :)
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So happiness is a full flamethrower?
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Thanks guys!
@Elbows - Give it a go! It's got a bit of a learning curve, but as long as you use some tools (not your fingers!) and keep everything wet so the GS doesn't stick to anything, you'll get something passable in no time. I'm no expert, and it's a lot of fun to make something your own.
@infojunky - That or a steady hand and a high calibre pistol lol
Just some quick terrain type pieces from Black Cat Bases I knocked together between revision over the last few days:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/5/374233_sm-Furniture%2C%20Sofa%2C%20Terrain.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/374233-Furniture%2C%20Sofa%2C%20Terrain.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/3/373481_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/373481-.html)
There was a fair bit of bubbling and what looked like parts of the mould(!) still attached to some of the bits I got from these guys, but for the price and the character, I'm not complaining at all! Paint job's a little sloppy, but they were fun to paint up. Hope you like em!
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They look great.
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What you mean sloppy ?
They look like something someone left at an illegal dump site.
Oh wait... they're supposed to look so ;)
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This so reminds me that I need to do some furniture in 15mm...
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Thanks so much, guys!
Today's update is a medical themed zombie that I've been working on with spare GS for a while. I'm actually pretty proud of how he turned out - not as gory as the others, but hopefully with more of a story to him.
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/9/375603_sm-Zombie.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/375603-Zombie.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/9/375602_sm-Zombie.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/375602-Zombie.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/9/375605_sm-Zombie.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/375605-Zombie.html)
The rubber gloves will be in a translucent medical blue when they're painted up. If you look close, you may see the source of infection on his forearm!
Just for an idea of how much GS went into this guy:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/9/375604_sm-Zombie.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/375604-Zombie.html)
And a group shot, just for fun!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/9/375601_sm-Zombie.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/375601-Zombie.html)
Hope you like him! Thanks so much again for your comments, I really appreciate the support :D
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(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/9/375604_sm-Zombie.JPG)
:o ;D :-*
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Hahaha, if I am deciphering your hieroglyphics correctly, does that mean you like him? Thanks, Dr.!
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(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/9/375604_sm-Zombie.JPG)
Oh Look its Dr. Ned (http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Ned)!
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I dig the zombies
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He's pretty close, actually! Just missing a taped on mustache. Unintentional, but now I can't unsee it lol
@commissarmoody - Thanks a lot!
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Another day, another exam. Next one's on Thursday! In the meantime, here's the final zombie, a much quicker job than the rest, though the strapping was pretty fiddly. It looks rough as anything here, but honestly, it's just caught the light weirdly :D:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/11/376343_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/376343-.html)
Made me laugh how little modification this comms officer head from the GW Catachan Command kit needed to look zomberiffic - it's a really terrible sculpt. The eyes are on different levels! This guy will be pretty soaked in promethium, even if some quick scout has made off with his actual flamer. I like the idea that he's leaving a long trail of fuel behind him, staggering around fighting the weight of the tank and the constriction of the sling, just waiting for someone to light the touchpaper and stand back :P
And here's the final group shot:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/11/376344_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/376344-.html)
Each of them is carrying something semi valuable - grenades, medical gear, a gas mask, whatever. Anyone who drops one in a game can get a couple of cred reward - the gear's not going to be in great nick, but if you lie about where it came from, it'll still make a cred or two!
That's all the zombies I'm doing for now - should be more than enough to be a distraction in game!
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They look great.
Could you tell me who makes the metal heads that you've used in these two photos:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/4/30/360591_sm-.JPG)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/9/375604_sm-Zombie.JPG)
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Thanks Hubbabubba, I'm really glad you like them!
The first head (the guy with the book) is one of Victoria Lamb's Penal Guard line, which you can get here (http://www.victorialamb.com/store.html), if you like them. She's a sculptor who works in Australia, and you've probably seen a few of her things before!
The second head is part of the Afro-Caribbean line by Tom Meier, one of my favourite sculptors. I got mine from here (http://dragonforge.com/Painting%20service/for%20sale/conversion_parts.htm). Be warned that these heads are fairly massive though - work on GW infantry, but if you're going for a more realistic 28mm scale they might be pretty large.
Hope that helps :)
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Isnt' that the head that looks surprisingly similar to the HEAD...as in Head of the United States?
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Aye, it really does! I would like to point out at this stage that zombifying a model with that head was not a political statement lol
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Aye, it really does! I would like to point out at this stage that zombifying a model with that head was not a political statement lol
lol lol lol
Thanks for the info
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Dragonforge is a good guy to buy from so you should have no issues with ordering from the US.
Lovely characterful zeds there, very nice.
The Commander
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Thanks for the kind words, Commander!
Here's a little backstory to give a little more flavour on the world of Caitiff. It's the story of a different Jackal cell to my gang, and has probably one more episode to go before it's concluded. Hope you enjoy it, and I'd love any feedback!
Day 27
So we met some others out in East Crockfall today – traders out carting goods from Lakeside to Roth. Not the route I’d have taken. It all got a wee bit tense at first, warning shots fired, itchy trigger fingers. My boys are all fresh, no idea how to keep their calm yet. Had to pull Corin down, knock him behind some ruins, and Kaylan got to test whether that flak armour he’s so proud of still works. Could have gone bad, but no one dead on either side – don’t think things would have worked out so cleanly if their shots hadn’t swung so wide. Once things got calmed down, once we’d established that we weren’t trying to rob them, and they weren’t setting up an ambush themselves, things got a little friendlier. Kaylan held a grudge, went off and sat by himself, but that’s just his way. I got chatting to their train leader, this enormous Trypto bloke, called himself Boln. Turned out they were with the Kinsmouth Company, taking sea salvaged gear by road – Pretty seasoned, by the sounds of it. We shared some food, traded information, went on our way. Nice to see some friendly faces occasionally. Or, sort of friendly, anyway.
Nothing much else going on. Had to duck underground for a while when the wind picked up, found some pistons in an old growler wreck someone must have been putting back together. Serious contraband, back in the day – can see why they worked in the basement. Tubes are pretty corroded, but no cracks, seal’s still pretty good. Might be worth a few credits once we’re out of the wilds. Found an old waster nest with an ex-family in it, too. They’d been picked pretty clean, but Jorn found an autoclip in the jacket of one of the little ones, a couple of mask filters that looked pretty solid, as well as a few baccsticks. I let her keep them - she’s a good kid, and I’ve got no doubt at all that Mule or Kaylan would have pocketed that gear without a word.
Day 28
Corin bust his mask. Kicked in a barred door and the hinge caught him in the face. It’s just a crack in the visor, might not even have broken the seal, but he’s hive-born, not used to the surface. He’s convinced he’s going to die. Apparently some asshole back in Goreth sold him extra filters by warning him of the ‘airborne runoff’ round here – if it’s who I think it is, we’ll be having a few words next time I’m back that way.
Got everyone on the lookout for a replacement, but I’m almost tempted to give him my own, just to calm him down. Air seems pretty clean today. Tempted, but I won’t. Bloody room was useless anyway – mouldy fashion clothes. Too fragile to wear before they rotted.
We’re in riot country now, near where the Crockfall evac left. One ship. The area immediately around the shuttleport housed six munitorums, four hundred thousand workers. The area of the city they were supposed to be evacuating held nearly fifteen million people. One ship. There are bones lining the roads here – the loyalist grunts didn’t discriminate. Can’t stand these places.
Still, the surface layers of Crockfall caught the rusinate rain when no one was prepared for it. Whatever people owned, it’s still here. And it might be worth finding. We’ll try munitorum B59-C tomorrow – I can’t imagine there’s anything left, but it’s never been picked over by the Jackal cells, so you never know, might be a ticket home for this lot.
Can hear shots tonight. A way off, to the West, but something to bear in mind. Never been out that way myself.
Day 34
Leaving the munitorum tomorrow. I made it clear before we headed in that we were not there to fight, and if anyone else had a claim to it, we stayed quiet and backed the hell out. Lot of these places are pretty sheltered, out of the rain and out of sight. Nice bases for some of the bandit gangs that prey on the caravans out here. This lot are green as hell – we wouldn’t stand a chance against the cutthroats.
Place was open – couple of warning signs around, some of them pretty recent, bit of gang-style graffiti, but nothing too threatening. It was dark inside, not too dark to see, but dark enough that Jorn thought it was a good idea to put her headlamp on. A quick tap, and she had it off again pretty quickly. Good kid, but not the smartest. We stuck close together, weapons drawn. Had to show Mule how to unjam his pistol this morning – apparently he hasn’t cleaned it since we set out. Could have taken his hand off if he’d tried to fire it, especially with his homemade shells. Says he’s used to bigger weapons, but for an ex-enforcer, he sure as hell doesn’t seem to know a whole lot about weapon maintenance. Worth remembering.
Couple of hours sweeping, and we knew that the place was ours.
According to the map, B59-C was ‘a production facility for promethium tanks for use in larger cargo trucks’. No actual promethium, no actual trucks, just the tanks. And there were a lot of them. Lorek said he was hoping some of the production equipment might still have the ‘spirit units’ or some such intact – never really understood all the technobabble, here or with the mech units back in the day. Either way, they’re supposed to be good for driving other gear too, so would have been perfect for fixing some of the purifiers back home. ‘Technoheresy’, he called it. I kind of like the term. Nothing there that hadn’t already been picked over anyway. A few saleable things, though mostly scrap now.
Someone had been here recently – couple of scorched firemarks and a few discarded food cans. We heard the gunfire again today too, still to the West. A little closer now though, seems like. Might be worth making tracks while we can. Mule and Kaylan are on watch tonight, and the rest of us are getting some sleep. We’ll head South in the morning.
Day 38
We found the shaft this evening, looks like an old elevator. It was in the basement of a wrecked hab block on 296th street, covered over by rubble and a large metal grille. Pretty well hidden, really, nothing you would have seen from the surface before the bombs hit. We were only down here because of an acid shower, and even in the same room, we only found it because Jorn almost collapsed the cover. The grille’s got a cog and a skull on it – only other place I’ve seen that is the hydroponics facility I used to guard with the Captain.
I’m pretty excited, to be honest. I’m trying to hide it so as not to get the boys too worked up, but – it goes deep, really deep, and it looks like it hasn’t been disturbed in decades. We’re too far out from the hive for it to be an older dome, and there are no research facilities documented in this area - if we’ve found one, it’s new. Vox contact with home is pretty sketchy from where we are, and it’ll only get worse as we go down. We’ve let Crail know where we are and asked for an extraction if there’s no further contact in a week’s time. No knowing how big this place is, and I’m sure as hell not leaving it til we’ve found whatever’s down there. If it is more of that greenhouse gear, it’ll be the most important find any Jackal cell’s ever made. Might be nothing though. Got to keep myself grounded. I’ve set up a relay here for my logs too. That way, if we’re not back up by the time extraction comes, they’ll know where to find us.
If anyone’s listening to this, personnel include myself; Lorek, our engineer; Mule and Kaylan, ex-enforcers; and Jorn and Corin, seeking citizenship in Pinepoint. We’ve been scavenging Crockfall and the craterside area for a few months now, so we’re all looking forward to you dragging out whatever the hell we’ve found down here and getting our asses home. Get some beers on ice for us!
It’s already dark and it seems like the power’s down, so we’re camping here tonight. I’ve sorted all the ropes, and we’re looking to move out in the morning.
Day 39
Four stories down, and I don’t like it here. This place is vast – biggest facility I’ve ever seen out in the wastes. I don’t see how it hasn’t been mapped out and picked clean by now. Each floor is at least three times the size of the manufactorum, and around the same height too – Corin dropped a mag a couple hours back, and other than almost getting him shot, the noise it made rang back and forth for a full quarter of an hour. And that’s one storey.
I’m excited, sure, but there’s no way this place can have gone unnoticed. All we’ve come across so far is storage units, five floors of them. Huge, unmarked containers sealed shut, can’t even find a hinge. Lor tried to pop one with some of that putty he carries around, but it barely dented it, and nearly deafened the rest of us. Shipping labels on some of them are for some site in Trypsane – Kaylan’s convinced it’s in the Burned City. Whatever’s in here, it’s either valuable or dangerous. Either one could get us home. If we can get in, that is.
It’s cold, too. I knew it would be, this far underground, but Throne, is it cold. Three layers of vest, Koan-fleece pullover and my jacket and I’m still shivering like a child. Dark too. With the mist that builds up in the mask, everything’s got kind of a haze to it. Keep seeing shapes in the torchlight. Kaylan’s been griping about it, wants to take his mask off. Says he can’t see properly and it’s fogging up his bionic. I gave him some gentle encouragement to keep it on – we’ve got no idea what the air’s like down here. No sense in risking it over a little discomfort. Corin and Jorn are terrified – Jorn’s hiding it well, but Corin’s the jumpiest I’ve seen him. I took his rifle from him. Didn’t even complain. He knows why. I’m keeping an eye on Jorn – she hates tight spaces, not sure if she’s been underground before. Have to see how she handles.
Lor, on the other hand, is like a little kid for a different reason – convinced himself he’ll be finding old world tech down here, can’t even keep himself from grinning. Crazy bastard’s served 3 jackal terms now. Lived in Pinepoint for years, didn’t even need the assignments. He’s brought home sealed ration crates from submerged PDF convoys, forged trade deals with Hope and Karlath and scavenged parts for the auto-doc from some terrifying gear out in the old penal colony, but he’s still not happy. This shit is what he’s here for. This is why he left the nest. Old man with a tech-bug, ever since he worked on the shuttleport tramways. I’m glad he’s with us, anyway.
The vox-caster’s just picking up static, and I can’t get a message out either. Not a problem, of course, thought we might lose contact for a few days. I think it’s the thickness of the walls – this place is built like a bunker. I hope this log’s still working, anyway, or I’m talking to a box down here. The power’s out too, of course, but this floor’s different from the others. We found what looks like a generator, hooked up to these massive turbines. Lor’s trying to get it running now. We’re staying put for tonight – no sense going further down if you can’t see your hand in front of your face.
Day 40
Couldn’t sleep. This place creaks. Not a gentle one, like the hive, but sudden, sharp. Like shearing metal. Every time it happened, I woke up convinced the place was collapsing on us. The others slept through it. Bastards.
The generator did nothing either. Lor got it going, eventually, once the rest of us had fallen asleep. This screech of grinding metal shocked the life out of me, got all of us up and weapons drawn. He was laughing his ass off, until he noticed I was having trouble controlling my temper. The lights didn’t come on, the turbines didn’t turn, no power to anything. Just this low background hum that lasted maybe thirty seconds, then more silence. No surprises this stuff’s not working like it’s supposed to anymore – looks ancient, might even have been abandoned before the evac.
We moved on this morning. Down around 10 stories now, and there’s nothing bloody here. There’s no light at all apart from the head lamps, just a single line of light from each of us, projecting all the way down to the far wall. A single, unbroken line. Huge, empty warehouses, not even dust and dirt. Not a sound either. Every footstep bounces off the walls and back. I caught Jorn and Lorek whispering, like they don’t want to break the silence – stupid bloody thinking, and I told them so. Caught myself doing it too though.
Kaylan’s worrying me. I don’t like the way he’s talking. Cowardly bastard wants to leave – he acts like he’s just being lazy, “leave it for the footsloggers”, but I can see that he’s bricking it. I know his type; dangerous. Shred morale without a hair on their own head out of place. Worked with a few of them before. I’ve heard rumours too, about why the two of them left the Skew. Mule was an Arbite’s kid. Incompetent, sure, but no Arbite’s little boy gets kicked out for that. Story is that Kaylan was a racketeer – ran chem trades with some buddies of his, arrested his competition, sent them up Quadring way, or on a short walk to the gallows. Can’t work that way for long, not with the Guild interest in chems that they pretend doesn’t exist. Word is, the two of them left in a hail of shrapnel. Feel almost bad for Mule – can’t imagine he even understands what happened to them.
Some more of the sealed crates on the 8th Floor down, but they set Lorek’s counter ticking, so we left it. Leave the radioactive nonsense for the boys with the gear. Starting to wonder if this place is worth the trouble, to be honest. Got a little excited this evening when the vox kicked in with something other than crackle – thought maybe the cavalry had turned up. Sounds like old recordings though, all monotonous voices and heavy static. Turned the damn thing off.
Day 41
The lights are on, which is a nice surprise. No idea what tripped it, but the lamps kicked in without a sound in the whole facility this morning. I was awake when it happened – was pacing around our camp, could have sworn movement had woke me up, near where Kaylan was sleeping. Place is making me jumpy. Even more surreal in the light down here – clean, clinical white, like a med centre. No sand, no damage. Whoever lived here could have moved out yesterday.
Took all day searching, but we’re five floors deeper. Til this floor, we could have been where we fucking started though – more of these thone-damned untouchable containers. These ones are different though – All scorched, peeling paintwork and burnt shipping labels. I’m having a job working out what can possibly have caught fire, but there’s water marks everywhere too – they must have had one hell of a fire response system.
We can see the ground floor through the shaft now, far below, with what looks like it might once have been an elevator. Damn good to have a goal in sight: The boys are getting antsy, and even I was starting to wonder if this bloody place ever ended. I’m considering whether we should be heading up to the surface again – the cavalry should be in tomorrow or the next day, and this place doesn’t feel right. Whatever’s in these crates better be worth dragging them out of here.
Couldn’t sleep again last night – I can’t relax. I think I know what it is now, same sensation I used to get in the field, back in the day. Just as I’m falling asleep, I’ll wake at a noise, but there’s nothing there. It’s nerves, I know, but there’s no way in hell I’m going back to sleep until I’ve checked it out – it only ever happened when the loyalists were posted nearby.
Corin was awake too – I heard the kid mumbling a prayer. He’s terrified, never really been in any situation outside of the safety of a settlement. Cruel to send them out in this state, really, but it’s a choice he made - followed Jorn into it, as far as I understand. We got to talking, as much for my own entertainment as to calm him down. I need something to kill the nightime hours in here. He’s a musical kid, not used to the real world – sang with some others in a bar in Jento; a guitar, some homemade drums, used to sing harmonies. Made good credit, apparently – not good credit, of course, but enough to keep them fed and watered, at least. Not bad for a job that keeps you indoors.
He fell out with one of the others – over a girl? Money? Sounds like he barely knows himself. Left town in a rage, burnt all his bridges, figuring he’d do fine solo. Drinking holes round Lent taught him the hard way that he was just a part of a whole. Must have been even harder to find out that he had no other skills. He bounced place to place for a few months, finally ended up meeting Jorn in Hawthorn’s place in Roth – she let him tag along with her to Pinepoint. Good girl. They’d have eaten him alive out there.
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Sorry for the mini absence - finished my finals a few days ago, and got my results on Friday, so lots of sitting in corners rocking slowly back and forward, first out of fear, and then due to hangover :D I passed though, and graduate a week today! Still no time to do proper projects as I'm also moving this week, so sorry if I'm dipping in and out. That being said, here's another quick zombie! Pretty simple stuff, but I was trying to get across the idea of a military policeman or something similar. He's got an unnatural arc to his spine, and he's just noticed that juve you were trying to sneak round the back :P
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/23/380669_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/380669-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/23/380670_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/380670-.html)
Luckily he's a leftie.
I also picked up this set of modular plaster terrain from markiemark here on Lead Adventure:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/23/380668_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/380668-.html)
It's a great set, came quickly and was incredibly well packed, so I've got nothing but the highest praise for him, if anyone else is considering a trade ;) There are a fair few more tiles out of shot. It's obviously medieval rather than futuristic, but should still be a lot of fun for skirmish games until I've got a bit more space to make my own proper terrain! Got a chance to try it out today - played a zombie / objective collection game with my friend Mark over a few beers. 100 points each - a scavenger guard squad for me and 6 tooled up marines for him. There were 6 or 7 zombies on the table to start, and 4 objectives, with the zombies cycling back on by one of three randomly allocated entrances when they got put down. We gave them a 3+ invuln to represent their toughness, and a 2D6" move for a bit of a zombie shuffle. Anyone they took down also stood up and attacked the next round, so they were a scary force!
In typical zombie movie style, everything was going great until it all went to hell incredibly quickly. The shamblers didn't seem too much of a threat at first, and both sides swiped 2 of the objectives and put them down with ease. Just as we were discussing maybe upping their difficulty a bit, 4 zombies burst out of a side room and sprinted down one half of my guard team (we decided that it must have been a Red Bull storage compartment), they nommed away while the 2 survivors limped off with their objectives. The sarge was the first to go down - his 'lead from the front' plan didn't go so well. The space marines promptly shot most of the remainder dead as they fled around a corner corridor, stealing the tokens that they were carrying (bastards). A lucky bite then resulted in a couple of zombie marines (seriously tough guys!), and in the end, of the 16 who ventured into the catacombs, it was only the SM sergeant who emerged with all 4 tokens!
It was a lot of fun to play, and the homebrew rules were exciting, even if it did result in a messy end for my side. Was really great to get a game in - it's been so long since I had the time! :D
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*tumbleweed* lol
Mini update again today - just put together some existing bits for some more junkyard terrain. Hope you like it!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/26/382092_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/382092-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/6/26/382093_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/382093-.html)
Would love to know what you think! I'll hopefully have an update with more painted figures soon.
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They look great! How did you do the garbage bags? Looks like real garbage bag plastic tied into shapes.
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They look great! How did you do the garbage bags? Looks like real garbage bag plastic tied into shapes.
I'm also interested in how you did that. They look great.
Cheers.
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Thanks a lot, guys! Pil pretty much nailed it - they start out as 2 or 3" squares cut from a regular plastic bin bag. I then make a (very) small pile in the centre of offcuts of plastic sprue, shavings from mouldlines or left over GS, junk I've saved in a little tray while making other things. I then put a little dollop of PVA glue on top of it all - just a small amount, or it'll squeeze out of the bag when you try to close it. Final step is to tie it shut with twine, and hit that with Devlan mud. With the glue in there, you can squish it into the flattened shapes binbags actually take, and it'll eventually set that way. I saw someone else do something similar online quite a while ago (really wish I could remember who, they deserve the credit!), so it's not the most original idea lol Hope it's useful to you though - it's a great little technique, and I use it a lot:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/3/5/337802_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/337802-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/2/8/327418_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/327418-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/2/8/327419_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/327419-.html)
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I think we're in the same buisness ;) I really love the expressions of those zombies. Very inspirational!
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Cool pieces.
How'd you make the coke bottle on the matress. clear sprue or acrylic rod ?
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@thenickeninja - I was literally just admiring your thread! Thank you so much, that means loads coming from yourself - I'd kill for a board like yours. Maybe some day... :)
@zizi - Thanks for the kind words! The bottle is actually from a friend of mine on another forum - he casts them in different coloured resin depending on what you're after. You can usually find a few on his ebay store, here (http://www.ebay.com/sch/rattlesnakejake19/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686).
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The bottle is actually from a friend of mine on another forum - he casts them in different coloured resin depending on what you're after. You can usually find a few on his ebay store, here (http://www.ebay.com/sch/rattlesnakejake19/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686).
Now that's interesting. Will have to order some. thanks for the link :)
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Lovely work
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Thanks a lot, guys! Pil pretty much nailed it - they start out as 2 or 3" squares cut from a regular plastic bin bag. I then make a (very) small pile in the centre of offcuts of plastic sprue, shavings from mouldlines or left over GS, junk I've saved in a little tray while making other things. I then put a little dollop of PVA glue on top of it all - just a small amount, or it'll squeeze out of the bag when you try to close it. Final step is to tie it shut with twine, and hit that with Devlan mud. With the glue in there, you can squish it into the flattened shapes binbags actually take, and it'll eventually set that way. I saw someone else do something similar online quite a while ago (really wish I could remember who, they deserve the credit!), so it's not the most original idea lol Hope it's useful to you though - it's a great little technique, and I use it a lot:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/3/5/337802_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/337802-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/2/8/327418_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/327418-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/2/8/327419_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/327419-.html)
This is a very useful tip. Thank you.
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@Commander Vyper - Thank you!
@Verd - Glad it's helpful - I've used it a lot lol
Been absent for a little while - moving flats and sorting out a change in job. Managed to get a new workstation set up though, and today's update is a finished Sidekick. couldn't get a decent shot of his face for some reason, but I'm pleased with the woodgrain and the neckerchief. Hope you like him, and I'd love any input - it's been a while since I got anything painted...
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/7/20/391842_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/391842-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/7/20/391843_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/391843-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/7/20/391844_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/391844-.html)
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Looks great man. Where's the gun from? Love it. :D
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Thanks, Diakon! The shotgun is from maxmini (http://www.maxmini.eu/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=79) - you can specify which type you want if you are after the same style :)
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Today's update is Ralston (almost) done. I'm out of matte varnish, so I can't do any gloss or blood effects until I get more, and can't attach him to the base yet either, but he's most of the way there now. His right eye got obliterated a bit by the photo, but honestly is okay in real life. Not sure what happened! Hope you like anyway.
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/7/22/393104_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/393104-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/7/22/393103_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/393103-.html)
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I'm taking part in a competition on another forum to produce some terrain using cookie packaging - the end product is going to be some hive / post-apoc terrain, so I thought someone might be interested on here too :)
Here's my original products:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/7/399015_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/399015-.html)
And here's how it's all looking so far:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/7/399014_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/399014-.html)
I've never really done much plasticard work before, and it's turning out to be really fun! Can you guess what it'll be yet?
I'd love any feedback, and more to come soon.
Tom
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Some sort of generator?
I'm interested to see how this turns out, but isn't the cookie packaging a bit flimsy?
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Hey Steve, thanks for the comment! You're right - The packaging is thin as anything, but I filled it with plaster to give it some bulk. You could smash bricks with it now if you wanted! lol
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Won't someone miss their insulin/morphine/werewolf syrum or whatever medication it is in that bottle? lol
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Some of the 'Girl Scout Cookies' have similar packing, though rounder, and you can't help but think, Star Wars generators!
Squared like that, almost looks like a transport, though that's less 'terrain'.
I've some that veggies come in that look like shipping containers.
Still too thin to trust. Problem with heat from curing plaster?
I thought about using low expansion foam sealant, but the plastic's thin enough, would still bow it out.
Doug
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Thanks for the interest guys!
@Papa Spanky - I was wondering when someone would ask about that! Not to worry, it's expired werewolf serum. Would do more harm than good to take, honest ;)
@The Beast - Thanks for the ideas! I'll have to keep an eye out for girl scout cookies, though to be honest I'm not sure we get them on my side of the pond. I was surprised by how useful a lot of different containers are when you start looking at them closely though! The plaster didn't seem to do any damage to the package, though I didn't even think of the heat! I was using excess plaster while making other moulds, so only pouring it in little bits at a time - perhaps that allowed for a more controlled temperature. A happy accident! I'll have to try the expanding foam next time though.
Not too much to report today, just some progress on the door. All done with the box cardboard!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/11/400461_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/400461-.html)
Hope you enjoy :)
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Ace thread. Cracking terrain and minis! :-*
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Thanks a ton, Matt! Really kind to say :D
A bit more of an in depth view today! The setting I'm going for is a storage centre / pipeline control platform on a floating industrial platform. It's fallen a long way into disrepair, and may have picked up a squatter or two over time! Still very WiP, but here's how my cookie terrain is looking right now:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/12/400737_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/400737-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/12/400738_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/400738-.html)
I'm planning on using it for necro terrain, so single models can pass behind where Scratch is standing to utilise the pipes for cover, or climb up on top of the storage building for a better, though more exposed view. The whole lot will be floating in a swampy sump when I'm done!
Here's what I still need to do before painting:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/12/400740_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/400740-.html)
A - A rubber band fan belt for the generator. Is it clear how it's supposed to work? I didn't think wind would be too reliable a resource in some areas of the hive, and this seemed to me like a fairly reliable power siphon :D
B - A proper fitting for attaching the water wheel to the platform - it's just tacked in place for now so that I can paint it seperately.
C - Tons of gap filling - I've left sorting the edges til last because I wasn't sure where i'd be attaching platforms until recently!
D - Entrance walkway
E - Basing! Hopefully a sump full of detritus in the style of Neil's recent amazing work, though it sounds like it'll take some doing...
F - A tatty awning over the doorway - as part of the comp I need to use some of the cellophane that came with the cookies. No clue on how it'll paint up though :-X
G - Cabling to attach the generator to the storage centre. Gotta do something with all that power!
And finally, a little more progress on a den for the owner's pet!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/12/400739_mb-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/400739-.html)
So lots still to do in my few days off, but I hope you like it now that you can see a little more clearly where I'm going!
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Oh that is a fantastic start. What are those pipes and where did you get them?
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...
@The Beast - Thanks for the ideas! I'll have to keep an eye out for girl scout cookies, though to be honest I'm not sure we get them on my side of the pond. I was surprised by how useful a lot of different containers are when you start looking at them closely though! The plaster didn't seem to do any damage to the package, though I didn't even think of the heat! I was using excess plaster while making other moulds, so only pouring it in little bits at a time - perhaps that allowed for a more controlled temperature. A happy accident! I'll have to try the expanding foam next time though.
I suppose you call them 'biscuits'. :D
I'm sure I've seen euro snacks so packed, though it might be hard to tell from the outside. Heck, it's hard to tell anything about the contents... >:(
Hope you enjoy :)
No fear that!
Doug
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That is looking great. :-*
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That looks fantastic! I just put away all my Platformer stuff because it was distracting my from another project. Now that I see what you're doing with it I'm tempted to dig it out again. This project is infectious. (which is fitting for a swamp scene)
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@Papa Spanky - Thank you! The pipes are plaster casts of a Hirst Arts mold (http://www.hirstarts.com/). The molds are a little pricy, but if you use the parts a lot, they're fantastic for building unique terrain on the cheap. Plus the gent who runs it is a really nice guy!
@Doug - Indeed I would! You guys use that to describe sourdough or soda bread or something, right? ;D
I'm sure I've seen similar packaging to what you're describing around here too though, so I'll have to keep an eye out. Thanks again for the help!
@Matt - Thank you! That's very kind :D
@Michka - Thanks a ton for the kind words! I absolutely love the Pegasus kits - they're a huge pain to put together, but you can really do anything with them - I've wanted to do a floating industrial wasteland for aaages and they're ideal. I hope you can do something similar!
Sort of relevant update! A friend of mine, Neil (neil101 on Dakka Dakka), very kindly gave me the recipe for his awesome sump, and I've been trying to do something similar. This is a test piece - not the base that my terrain will go on, but a test ground that will do as a mini pool for some later terrain. I've got the first few layers down (still 3 or 4 to go!). Hope you like!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/13/401216_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/401216-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/13/401217_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/401217-.html)
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That's just disgusting! :o
Oh, wait, that's still a compliment...
Keep us 'in the loop.'
Doug
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A friend of mine, Neil (neil101 on Dakka Dakka), very kindly gave me the recipe for his awesome sump, and I've been trying to do something similar.
Well don't taunt us, pass the recipe on so we can join in your gooey joy.....
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Thanks a lot guys, you're very kind! :D
The recipe, as I received it:
as for the sump.. as far as i can remember
mdf 3mm
panted with liquid nails ( for wave texture )
painted green
added yellow inks ( windsor newton )
added many more inks all sorts..
pour woodland scenic realistic water on top
before that dries add even more Windsor newton inks
pour in satin clear wood varnish .
add inks
pour in clear wood varnish
add inks
pour in pva
add inks
leave four/five weeks to dry. crack warp lol
complete nightmare and would not recommend it .. must be an easier way ::)
No quantities at all, so a lot of room for variation! His latest work is mind blowing though, I can only recommend you give the last 3-4 pages of this a look:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/1410/318718.page
In the meantime, here's a little bit of teasery progress on my sump platform!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/17/402456_mb-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/402456-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/18/403059_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/403059-.html)
I hope you like it, and please let me know what you think - all this salt/hairspray stuff is pretty new to me, so I'd love to know what looks good, or where I could improve.
Scarp
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All I can say is :-* :-* :-*
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Wow, this all is looking absolutely great!
I really like the narrative you're injecting into your gaming/setting. :-*
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Thanks a lot guys, you're very kind! :D
The recipe, as I received it:
No quantities at all, so a lot of room for variation! His latest work is mind blowing though, I can only recommend you give the last 3-4 pages of this a look:
My that was quite the recipe.... Thanks for sharing...
I have to say every time I look at your stuff i want to do some 28mm stuff.....
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Thank you all - I really appreciate the comments, and I'm really glad you like what I'm doing! It can all seem a little ridiculous at times lol
This is still WiP, but it's coming together:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/26/405605_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/405605-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/26/405606_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/405606-.html)
Hope it's still up to scratch!
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My goodness,it sure is!!! Cracking work :)
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Sweet! How did you make the belt? It looks like a rubber band.
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Thanks guys! The fanbelt is indeed a rubber band - just cut it shorter and painted it black lol
Not as finished as I would have liked, but I am pretty pleased, considering the time constraints of 12 and a half hour shifts. Kindly ignore the tin foil please - the sump is not quite set!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/9/3/408499_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/408499-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/9/3/408500_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/408500-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/9/3/408501_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/408501-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/9/3/408502_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/408502-.html)
And a detail shot:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/8/26/405605_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/405605-.html)
From what I can remember:
Box card -
Connects the girders supporting the fan
The bands on the generator
The pneumatic door to the silo
The slab of corrugated iron on the back of it
Plastic vacuum formed packaging -
The silo itself
Cellophane -
The tarpaulin over the entrance
Please click the picture - the photos are fairly massive, and you can zoom in and see my shoddy paint work.
Hope you enjoy!
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Shoddy my @$$
that's a fine PJ worthy of such a fine construction.
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AWESOME!
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And now I'm planning this type of a project, and have one Heavy made, and another ganger on the way. ;D
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For more on the salt/hairspray technique check out Fichtenfoo's tutorial:
http://fichtenfoo.net/blog/rusty-texture/ (http://fichtenfoo.net/blog/rusty-texture/)
Duncan
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Thanks a lot for the comments guys! Talon, you should post online, I'd love to see what you've done. Really glad you like mine too :D
I am still alive! Just coming to the end of a 12 day block of 12 and a half hour shifts, and have had almost no time off. Monday at 8am brings a four day 'rest period', though, so hopefully some modelling time in there if I'm not too exhausted!
Today's update is some 'not dead' work - just quick things I've managed to bash out between shifts.
First up is a quickly painted NPC -
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/9/22/413922_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/413922-.html)
Unfortunately his matte varnish finish frosted, so I had to gloss varnish over the top to get rid of it. I've done a few more coats of matte now, but can't get rid of that horrible sheen. Don't supposed anyone has any suggestions?
I've been trying to change up an escher to lose the tights and spandex theme and dress a little more normally - hopefully it's working!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/9/22/413924_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/413924-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/9/22/413923_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/413923-.html)
And finally I've been practicing my GS skills with some simple reposes and clothing / features for some zombicide zombies. Early work, but good practice on models I have a hundred of that don't really get close inspection!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/9/22/413925_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/413925-.html)
Hopeyou like. Sorry about the rushed nature of this, but I'm on again at 8 tonight, and I have to go! All the best, and please let me know what you reckon ;)
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Bit closer to my usual today - have spent a lot of my first day off painting up another wastelander!
Ivy was born and raised in the Hole, daughter to an ex-PDF mother and a travelling chem-dealer who probably never knew of her. She had a good upbringing, all things considered. Helped her mother to build shelters for the new settlers in the shanty outside of town, trading her work and expertise for whatever they had picked up in their travels. No great riches, but enough to buy food. Over time, she got good at it - learned a few tricks to gauge the strength of standing structures, got better at scavenging strong materials to build the supports that held a building upright. Rarely had collapses, in the end - learned quickly that if something she had built fell down, she'd starve until enough time had passed for her name to be forgotten.
At 16, madly in love with a local scratcher, Ivy left Hole to travel with him from town to town, where he hoped to find enough clients to hone his trade. She carried with her a pistol stolen from her neighbour, enough food to carry them to Jento, and the marks of her partner's endless practice on her arms.
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/10/6/418374_sm-Escher%2C%20Female%2C%20Pipe%2C%20Rust.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/418374-Escher%2C%20Female%2C%20Pipe%2C%20Rust.html)
Fairly simple conversion, but hopefully a little removed from the vaguely S&M vanilla eschers. I was going for a slightly restricted palate, and a 'pale and interesting' skin tone, both of which are new to me. I hope you like her - please let me know what you reckon!
Vernon is well liked in Roth. One of the oldest surviving men in the settlement, he works hard for the community. A man who knows the difference between a corroded energy cell and one that has seen some love, he has developed a reputation among the scavengers of Crockfall as a fair and reasonable tradesman. He spends time with the local children, teaching what he can about maintaining the machinery that keeps them alive, and the little history he remembers of the Skew. Vernon has lived in Roth for decades, and he is proud of what it has become. There were so few places in the years following the Evac that were truly safe, and his own family aside, he intends to keep Roth a haven for future generations too. Most people know better than to ask about his military past - there are few on the surface today who like to talk of their old allegiances, and Vernon is no different. The rumours of his youth have largely subsided with time, the tales of assassinations and government contracts mostly dismissed as far-fetched. There are still some who are overcome with curiosity when he is seen leaving the town confines in the early hours of the morning, but to most, it doesn't matter. As long as the bandits steer clear of Roth, then it doesn't matter who Vernon was. The smiling old man can keep his secrets.
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/10/6/418375_sm-Snipers%2C%20Vostroyan.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/418375-Snipers%2C%20Vostroyan.html)
Alright, yes, everyone and their dog has done a conversion with this model, but it's possibly my favourite in the whole GW line. Pretty simple changes, but I feel like it might change the feel of the model - I like the 'peering' feel he has, rather than the fairly static starting pose. Hopefully you enjoy him too, and remember that I really appreciate any and all advice!
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Finished another ganger today. I'm satisfied, but a little disappointed. I can't put my finger on it, but his pose seems awkward, and the expression is all wrong. He also needs a fair bit more shading on his skin, and some more work on the map, which he won't be getting any time soon. The whole model was giving me a lot of trouble, and I ruined some things I'd already done with stupid errors because I was rushing - wanted to just finish before I got too frustrated. He's fine, but not really what I pictured, which is a shame. Still, some new techniques learned and a bit more experience, so bonus there :)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/11/4/428054_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/428054-.html)
Story to come over the next few days.
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I can't put my finger on it, but his pose seems awkward, and the expression is all wrong.
I probably wouldn't have noticed, but since you mentioned it...
It looks as if his left foot is crooked.
As to the pose: why put just 1 leg on the crates. Most people would probably get comfortable and put both legs up or none at all.
His pose would suggest he's got a broken or wounded leg.
Anyway, I like him already. I see him rising the ranks to become one badass leader. :D
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Thanks for the honest critique, Zizi! I know what you mean about the pose - it was pretty solid in my mind, but just didn't translate well to the mini. Ah well, next one will be better!
Nothing much new to show (just finished a 12 day 12 hour shift block at work!), but here's a little progress on a shanty town that I'm making :D
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/11/17/432174_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/432174-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/11/17/432175_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/432175-.html)
WIP, of course, but hopefully it's clear how it will develop. Hope you like!
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Hey again LAF. I hope you all had a great time celebrating whatever you happen to celebrate in Winter time!
Apologies for the extended absence - no real excuse, just a case of work getting on top of me. Been working on this for a while though, so I hope you like!
Remember Coop? He's the gent on the left here.
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/2/11/184258_mb-Flamer%2C%20Hat%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Rust%2C%20Smile%2C%20Water%2C%20Wooly.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/184258-Flamer%2C%20Hat%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Rust%2C%20Smile%2C%20Water%2C%20Wooly.html)(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/8/25/263100_mb-Female%2C%20Hat%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Shotgun%2C%20Water%20Effect.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/263100-Female%2C%20Hat%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Shotgun%2C%20Water%20Effect.html)
Story wise he was in a relationship with Riff, the girl on the right, but she was killed in action during an (avoidable) skirmish with the QA. He's pretty central to the plot of a campaign I was writing, and his pose doesn't work so well now that he's by his lonesome. Thought I'd redo him, and the results are below.
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/1/2/448178_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/448178-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/1/2/448179_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/448179-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/1/2/448180_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/448180-.html)
It's not hugely clear in the pictures, but a lot of sculpting work has gone into this gent. His left hand, for example, is sculpted from scratch, and he's holding a small stuffed toy in the right. There are a few character touches - The hat was made by Riff, for example, and hopefully offsets the rough look a little. The flamer weapon strapped to his pack was made from spare parts and salvage by Skragg, so should ideally come across as pretty improvised. It's a few months down the line from the prototype!
Hope you like, anyway. Story to come, hopefully sooner than another month. Thanks so much for all the interest, I'll try to be a bit more regular!
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Great looking mini!
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Great looking mini!
x2. Really nice conversion work on him.
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Great conversion!
The guy has loads of character.
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Thanks very much, guys - really appreciate the kind words.
Next up is one of LAF's own Scurv's 'Future sports' models - fantastic minis with some obvious inspiration from salute of the Jugger and Brink. This is my first painted one, but I'm planning on doing a full team with the grey-blue as the uniting colour. I'm also really hoping that it's the first painted one to surface on the internet :D
They really are ace - so much detail. Hopefully someone can get a better paintjob up at some point to properly show them off lol
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/3/9/471833_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/471833-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/3/9/471834_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/471834-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/3/9/471835_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/471835-.html)
Hope you like em! 'Scurvball' will fit into Caitiff as a sport played between rival settlements. Fairly violent, but no weapons allowed, it'll serve as a source of gambling profit, and entertainment in some pretty tough times.
Please let me know what you think - I've been working really hard to improve my skin tones, and I'd love some tips!
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Not too much in the way of updates today.
I've been trying my hand at scratch building some necro terrain on the cheap for some games with a friend of mine here in Edinburgh (who has an awesome blog full of zombie hunters and scratch built Battlefleet Gothic ships that you should totally check out (http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/396704.page), incidentally). These are obviously early WiPs, but you can see what I'm trying to do. Expect a lot more hazard stripes!
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/4/480735_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/480735-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/4/480738_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/480738-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/4/480736_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/480736-.html)
I've not done much of this terrain building malarkey before, but these have been a lot of fun to do. I'm also bursting with terrain ideas at the mo, which is nice as I've got a little more free time on my new shift pattern! Expect some tin cans, platforms and lots of walkways in the near future ;)
I've also given a quick lick of paint to another of Scurv's 'future sportsmen', this one the team 'bruiser' with some shoddy wound suturing on his scalp :D
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/4/480737_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/480737-.html)
Hope you enjoy, and I'd love to hear what you think!
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These are turning out great. Have you been thinking of doing a mash-up of future sport and Necromunda? That might be awesome - sort of like American Gladiators meets Salute of the Jugger meets parkour, with players trying to carry a ball to the other end of the table or something similar. That's what your terrain got me thinking...
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The rules scurv and I developed allow for that which adds a whole be dimension to the future sports game.
Those are looking good scarper. Can't wait to see them with paint on. :)
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Thanks a lot for the kind words, guys! I thought the warpaint would be a fitting way to differentiate teams without having to paint up all their gear the same. I have indeed been thinking of using them for a necro-sport type crossover, but I haven't yet had a chance to try out Scurv and Beefcake's rules (though they look like a lot of fun, and pretty ideal for that!).
Wasn't sleeping too well last night, so I thought I'd do some work on some more terrain I'm building. This is very WiP, but it's the start of a sump bridge for the toll bridge necromunda scenario. It swivels on a pivot that I'm still building, and will come replete with a sump to cross!
Thought I'd have some fun and set up a mini diorama with the work I've done so far.
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/21/486884_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/486884-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/21/486885_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/486885-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/21/486886_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/486886-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/21/486887_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/486887-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/21/486888_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/486888-.html)
I really like the idea that the sentry on the sniper's nest was busy cooking his dinner, and his friend downstairs building the barricades was caught off guard. I was really going for a "Oh shiii-" kind of moment :D
Just a bit of fun, but I hope you like it, anyway. Please let me know what you think!
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Some close ups of the zombies:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/21/487032_sm-necromunda%20plague%20zombies.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/487032-necromunda%20plague%20zombies.html)
And a few walkways that I'm working on:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/4/21/487033_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/487033-.html)
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Great project over here! Everything looks pretty nice! :)
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Thanks a lot, suber! Really appreciate the kind words :)
Here's latest sportswoman from Scurv's 'future sports' line:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/5/2/491503_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/491503-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/5/2/491502_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/491502-.html)
And the group so far:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/5/2/491504_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/491504-.html)
"Anyone seen the ball?"
Hope you like, and please let me know what you think!
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Very nice. I like the look of the ball too.
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Thanks guys! They're beautiful minis - have either of you managed to paint a set yourselves? I'd love to see them!
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What mins are you using as a base for the sports figures?
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Looks great and I really like the skintones on the new girl, very hot!
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Very nice tones on the figures.
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Brilliant as always.
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Thanks a lot for the kind words, guys, much appreciated! The minis are indeed from Scurv's Future Sports line, and are purchased right here on the LA forums.
Managed to drop a knife on my foot a few days ago(*facepalm*), didn't have time to go to A&E as no one could cover my ward, so it's now infected (*double facepalm*). On the plus side, I got the day off work today while the fluclox kicks in, and had some time to finish up this familiar gent. Still needs some basing, but I think I'm happy to call him done.
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/6/4/503654_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/503654-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/6/4/503651_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/503651-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/6/4/503649_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/503649-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/6/4/503650_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/503650-.html)
Couple of things didn't come out perfect, but I feel like he has a lot of personality. Here's his previous, happier incarnation for comparison:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2011/2/11/184258_mb-Flamer%2C%20Hat%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Rust%2C%20Smile%2C%20Water%2C%20Wooly.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/184258-Flamer%2C%20Hat%2C%20Necromunda%2C%20Rust%2C%20Smile%2C%20Water%2C%20Wooly.html)
Hopefully an improvement?! Would love to know your thoughts, as always, and cheers for reading!
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The painting job on the face is top notch, thumbs up.
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Very nice - the character displayed in the face is very realistic.
Only thing I would suggest is dirtying the white pants a little. They give a great contrast, so it'll be a balancing act in not going too far.
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Very nice, thanks for posting these.
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Thanks a lot for the kind words, guys, much appreciated!
@Von lucky - Will have to give that a try!
In the mean time, here's the gang, completed:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/6/8/504881_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/504881-.html)
Hope you like them :D
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Looking good - a nice mix of earthy colours.
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Looks really good! I think the colours are working really well for you.
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Thanks a lot, guys, much appreciated. I tried to stick to quite a limited palate - really chuffed if you think that they come off as coherent. :D
Managed to get a game in over the weekend with a new friend (a gent who goes by Cpn Roderick over on Dakka), which let the Jackals see their first fully painted outing. It went fairly well, with Twitch taking the opposing gang leader out of action with an incredibly lucky shot and Skragg rolling a statistically ridiculous number of 6s, but was pretty close fought all the way through.
After the game, though, I purchased a mutt from the local traders, and a new juve ganger was kicked out of one of the settlements.
So two new models to paint already! This is Ivy, and the mutt with her is Fluke. They have a little backstory to come (hopefully by Weds!).
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/6/30/511959_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/511959-.html)
As you can see, she's pretty tiny.
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/6/30/511960_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/511960-.html)
Hope you guys like them - I'm really looking forward to painting them up! I've got a few character touches in mind for Ivy, and I reckon they'll be a lot of fun. As ever, I'd love to know what you think - any comments and criticism are much appreciated!
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Ivy might be useful for Scavenge Skirmish Survive.
Where did you get her?
Thanks.
--Scott
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Hey Scott,
She actually is one of the SSS models! It's the girl with the sawn off with a head swap and a little bit of putty work.
Here she is with a little paint:
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/8/11/526151_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/526151-.html)
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Finished Ivy and Fluke
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/8/18/528515_sm-Bag%2C%20Dog%2C%20Female%2C%20Juve%2C%20Shotgun%2C%20Terrier%2C%20White.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/528515-Bag%2C%20Dog%2C%20Female%2C%20Juve%2C%20Shotgun%2C%20Terrier%2C%20White.html)
Was quite chuffed with how the white on Fluke came out in the end, but there are still a fair few areas for improvement.
Also made a captive marker for necromunda
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/8/18/528513_sm-Captive%2C%20Captive%20Marker%20I.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/528513-Captive%2C%20Captive%20Marker%20I.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/8/18/528514_sm-Captive%2C%20Captive%20Marker%20II.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/528514-Captive%2C%20Captive%20Marker%20II.html)
And painted up some cargo containers
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/9/4/534330_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/534330-.html)
(http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/9/4/534331_sm-.JPG) (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/534331-.html)
Never done much playing with weathering powders before - steep learning curve, but fun to use!
Hope you like em! Please let me know what you think - I can always use C&C, and it's beginning to feel a little lonely in here ;D
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That captive is a bit terrifying :o
Nicely done though :)
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Love the cargo containers. The prawn logo is really great. Did you scratch build those? What size are they?
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Nice work all around.
I like the graffiti effect on the containers, the SSS female, and the Hostage Marker especially.
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Great new additions! Liking both Ivy and Fluke a lot :-*
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Last update was 4 years ago?
(https://media.giphy.com/media/GrUhLU9q3nyRG/giphy.gif).
So apologies for the massive gap, I've been modelling and painting on and off but also had a busy few years. I've moved country then moved back again, got married and had a son, and also just done a lot of procrastinating. But I've been in a good hobby mojo for the last few months, and I thought I could blow some cobwebs out of the blog and start back up again!
I've got a bit of a backlog to get through, so to start with I'm going to try to post a model or group every 2-3 days, along with any necessary explanation for them. Any comments or criticism are always much appreciated, so please fire away!
First up is Moss.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2016/11/24/840608_sm-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/840608-.html)
Originally a technician born into a caste maintaining hive ventilation systems, Moss is now part of a Railroad group that works to free and protect AI-equipped machines. I'm hoping to have a large group of these folks and their allies eventually, giving me some motivation to scratchbuild some varied and interesting robots. The model is Widow from Hasslefree (http://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=widow~hfa121&category=modern-%26%0D%0Apost%252dapoc~modern-troopers) with some restructuring. I've rebuilt her rifle with some grey stuff and a FW plasma gun, done a little GS work to her chest and scratchbuilt her bionic.
What do you reckon? I used to love the LA community and I'm glad to be back. No straying this time! (Hopefully ;D)
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Nice conversion.
Welcome back.
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Welcome back - you have been busy ;)
Nice work on Moss - conversion work looks seamless.
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Brilliant work on that latest figure. I can see I'm going to have to go back through the whole thread after work and see what other goodies you've produced.
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@Ultravanillasmurf, von Lucky and Exiledadmiral - Thanks so much for the kind words and the welcome back! Moss was fun to paint, and a model I was sitting on for a very long time after converting. Glad to finally have her on a table!
Next up is a slightly scrappier paint job, but seemed appropriate as a follow up. This is Malone, the first 'liberated' tech to join Moss with the Railroad guys.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/1/5/848059_sm-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/848059-.html)
The model is a Yakuza droid from the Ghosts of Hefei Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1931671462/ghosts-of-hefei-tabletop-near-future-gang-warfare) with some modification. I filed off and resculpted the face, changed his weapon and reposed him a little, and added all his stowage. I was hoping to add a little personality into something that is still clearly an automaton. Hope you like him, and let me know what you think ;)
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That is nice. The straps and buckles are amazing.
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Thanks, Ultravanillasmurf! With a decent set of colour shapers and a blunt scalpel, they're really pretty simple to do.
Today's update is an unconverted model, and my absolute favourite of Copplestone's fantastic 'Scavenger' range (https://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/prod.php?prod=27). The sculpt is full of personality, and I couldn't really think of a way to improve him. I'm not quite sure why this pic has been shrunk, but feel free to click the link for a bigger version!
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2016/12/14/844366_sm-Copplestone%2C%20Shotgun%2C%20Wool.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/844366-Copplestone%2C%20Shotgun%2C%20Wool.html)
I love the twisted, limping gait, his tattered collar and jacket, even his sneakers. Lots of fun to paint! This gent has no set role in my world, but will easily fill in for a local vagrant, disgruntled civilian or rebel.
I hope you like him, and please let me know what you think. Thanks for looking!
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This as worked out well for me I missed the start of this thread so now you've resurrected it I have the opportunity to read the start and go seamlessly in the new era with out a four year pause between the two. Looks as though I've got some interesting backreading ahead of me.
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This is an AWESOME and VERY INSPIRING project! :-*
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@moonshado - lol I'm glad my timing has worked well for you! I hope you enjoy what you find - feel free to ask anything about older models, and I can hopefully still help out!
@dinohunterpoa - That's very kind to say, thank you. I've taken tons of inspiration from various projects on here, so I'm really pleased you've found something inspiring in what I'm doing.
Something a bit different today - expanding on some Caitiff wildlife with a new creature, the basilisk. I've been trying to produce more creatures to use as NPCs in various games on Caitiff and it's surrounding planets, and it's a lot of fun trying to base them in your setting! This is something I've finished in the past few days, rather than from the backlog I'm working through.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/7/26/892913_sm-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/892913-.html)
He's a fairly big fella, as you can see here
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/7/26/892912_mb-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/892912-.html)
Big, naturally armoured and cold-blooded, basilisks adapted for life in the Savannah areas of Caitiff, before the large-scale industrialisation that came with the hives. With an incredibly low metabolic rate and little to fear from predators, these creatures will remain perfectly motionless for days at a time waiting for prey to pass by. Their main food source used to be the herds of large grazing creatures found on the plains of Caitiff. When the time is right, the basilisk can move with frightening speed with a burst of adrenaline from a specialised gland, taking down prey and gorging on enough meat to sustain itself for a further week of patient waiting.
Basilisks have adapted well to the deeper depths of the underhive, feeding on spiders, rats and occasionally unwitting humans. They are uncommon nonetheless, being solitary animals that react viciously to a rival within their large territories. Should it have fed recently, an encounter with a basilisk is harmless to a travelling hiver - they have little interest in humans and will rarely attack unless provoked. Even their name was coined by hivers based on the statuesque stillness of the creatures, a spin on a half-remembered Terran legend. Despite this, many tales are told around campfires and watering holes of the terrible ferocity of these ancient reptiles that spring from the darkness where they have lain unseen, and it is not uncommon for them to be blamed for anything from missing children to vanished caravans.
The model itself is a basilisk from reaper's bones line (https://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore/basilisk/latest/77371#detail/77371_w_1). I love the sculpt, but am really not a fan of the material. I lost a lot of detail before I started painting due to problems with the paint adhering, despite a thorough wash to get rid of mould release agent. Ended up needing a coat of primer and a matt spray before any paint would stick to it. Some spiders that I have painted from the same line also reacted strangely, with the paint becoming sticky and flaking off a few weeks after painting. Managed to rescue them with a few coats of a different varnish, but the material definitely seems to have caused me a few issues. Anyone else had similar problems with them?
I'd also love to hear your thoughts on the paint job or fluff for the basilisk. Thanks for looking!
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(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2016/7/1/810809_sm-.jpeg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/810809-.html)
I like the idea that humans adapt to anything, and even in fairly dire situations, folks will find a way to entertain themselves. These are some Salute of the Jugger-style models created by Scurv on this site - they can be used to represent a team for one of a variety of aggressive games played between differenet settlements on Caitiff. One more to go before the whole team is painted!
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Lovely updates.
Question on the basilisk (I like the highlights)- I assume the meat is not much of an option (assuming you can kill one)? And the use of the powdered gland as a stimulant? (I'm only thinking as a hiver would.)
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(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2016/7/1/810809_sm-.jpeg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/810809-.html)
I like the idea that humans adapt to anything, and even in fairly dire situations, folks will find a way to entertain themselves. These are some Salute of the Jugger-style models created by Scurv on this site - they can be used to represent a team for one of a variety of aggressive games played between differenet settlements on Caitiff. One more to go before the whole team is painted!
Scarper, take a look at this 1989 movie starring Rutger Hauer:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blood_of_Heroes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blood_of_Heroes)
;)
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Great job on the Juggers!
Scarper, take a look at this 1989 movie starring Rutger Hauer:
I'm guessing he knows about it, Blood of Heroes is the alternate name for Salute of the Jugger which he mentioned ;) . The latter has some extra footage that doesn't contribute anything positive to the film, in my opinion. I had only watched the American version for a very long time and picked up the Australian version a couple years ago. Love that movie!!!!
I have four sets of Scurv's minis, my intention was to paint two teams stock, and do two teams with Jugger weapons ;)
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the aussie version makes more sense in my opinion. Especially the ending.
What do you think about the encounter with the City security while Sallow's team is traveling on the surface?
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Interesting, I can get behind that. I think maybe I just don't like their vehicle. I'll have to give it another watch :)
Sorry about the thread tangent Scarper- I got all excited to see the post-apoc athletes ;)
Great work on the lizard by the way, I forgot to comment on that miniature.
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Wow, thanks for the interest, folks!
@Von Lucky - Cheers! I was quite please with how the bony plates came out. You read my mind on the gland - I was planning on having a survivalist-type check to see how well an attempting character could harvest the right organ, probably rolled in secret by a GM. Then you may have some surprising effects if it's used in game!
The meat is sour and acidic, but if spiced right and cooked for long enough, makes a local delicacy of a stew lol
@Scurv - They're really lovely sculpts, kudos again. Thanks for the compliment! I actually wasn't aware there were differences between the two titled versions of Blood of Heroes?! Looks like I've got some rewatching to do!
@dinohunterpoa - Thanks for the heads up, but as Dr. Mathias mentioned, I think they're the same movie! Or possibly very similar versions, at any rate. Who doesn't love a good Rutger Hauer B movie?
@Dr Mathias - Not at all, I'm pretty sure that's how these blogs are supposed to work. Thank you for the kind words!
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Really good to see you dredging up all your old stuff, mate (a dredger conjures up unfortunate connotations but you know what I mean!). The basilisk came out well, did you just zap another undercoat on it after I saw it last?
All this talk of that film makes me want to watch it now, I'll go a-hunting for it..
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@Ragsta - Cheers man! Nope, this is more of a 'before' photo. I'm worried it might be going the way the spiders did, with the sticky, shiny finish. May have to hit it with a brush coat of gloss and then matte spray again - seemed to work for them.
@scurv - That sounds pretty awesome! Did you get a chance to see any of them?
Today's update is a couple of wastelander civilians. Originally made them for a specific scenario in which they were adopted father and son, but will be able to fill a fair few roles as NPCs in future games.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2016/11/24/840607_sm-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/840607-.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2016/7/24/815472_sm-.jpeg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/815472-.html)
The lad is tiny, but I had some fun doing a little childish freehand on his pack.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2016/7/24/815471_sm-.jpeg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/815471-.html)
The older gent is an em4 scavenger (http://www.em4miniatures.com/acatalog/SCAVENGERS.html) (£1.50 model!!) with a little greenstuff work. Some of the older em4 models have a little bit of clown foot syndrome, and this guy was fairly short too. I ended up cropping off his legs below the jacket and resculpting them.
The kid is an unconverted model from some awful site I'd never heard of (http://www.lead-adventure.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=85&osCsid=e0186233bd8de0dd26044b43c7828f8c).
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2016/7/24/815469_sm-.jpeg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/815469-.html)
Mourners are known by different names in the various settlements found within Skew spire - some call them 'howlers', 'hunters', 'blanks' or even 'banshees'. However they are labelled, mourners are almost universally feared by colonists in the deeper sections of the hive.
Evolving in some of the deeper cavern systems below Bolne, these beasts are well adapted to the darkness of the underhive. Pack hunters that time and evolution have left completely blind, mourners instead use a complex form of echolocation to tail their prey. From a distance, a pack of mourners emit long, low vocalisations that deeply penetrate the area around them, like a cross between a dirge and a growl. As the pack approaches their target, the sound climbs to a higher pitch as the frequency of the calls rise and the detail of the image returned improves. Yips and squeaks from the excited pack join the crescendo. Settlers who have survived attacks by a hunting pack describe a chorus of mournful screams and wails, rising in intensity even as the group flees. When a pack is upon you, a sudden silence falls as the packs' calls rise above the frequency of human hearing. Respite from these nightmarish wails, however, will be sadly brief.
Some particularly brave settlers have hunted mourners for meat and leather. Their hides are dry and course, making sturdy footwear, and their meat is sweet and slow to spoil. With most packs moving in matriarchal groups with at least 4 members, however, picking off a single target without drawing the ire of its brethren is difficult.
Mourners are Hasslefree mawes (http://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=roaring-mawe~hfsa306&category=sci%252dfi-%26%0D%0Aweird-war~sci%252dfi-aliens) with a little filing and greenstuff work on the smaller ones (http://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=lesser-mawes-x4~hfsa310&category=sci%252dfi-%26%0D%0Aweird-war~sci%252dfi-aliens). Beautiful models, and pretty scary to look at!
I hope you're enjoying the mini bestiary tour, and please let me know what you think of the words or the models. Thanks for looking!
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Dino on the backpack is just perfect but I love his jacket color - I think it singularly make this model into realistic piece.
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Love this thread - the 'griminess' of the wee lad is really good, looks great.
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Thanks folks! Glad you like the weathering - I'm sometimes a little worried that I don't know when to stop!
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Hey again all! Time for something a little different - I'm working on my first crew for Rogue Stars! I'm trying to make them very personal and unique, so each model is going to be largely self-sculpted. The crew are merchants flying on the LCS Samara, though they also do a little less-than-legal salvage on the side. The setting I'm working in is Comora, the system in which my old planet of Caitiff is based, and I have some plans for expanding the background of a few more worlds as I play. Lots of world building fun to be had!
First model up is Imogen Bracken, captain of the Samara and leader of the crew. She's my most in depth sculpt to date - everything but her right hand and head was sculpted from scratch, something I've never attempted before. I learned a lot watching youtube videos and reading up on sculpting and armatures, but there are still a few things I think I would change if I could start again. Overall though, I'm very happy with her!
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/10/14/909325_mb-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/909325-.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/10/14/909324_mb-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/909324-.html)
I've also got a few shots of her green:
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/7/21/891946_mb-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/891946-.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/7/21/891947_mb-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/891947-.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/7/21/891948_mb-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/891948-.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/7/21/891949_mb-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/891949-.html)
And a wee gif of the sculpting process:
(https://s19.postimg.org/6bvcu1tw3/final_sm.gif)
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I've also got a little background for the group and the character:
Imogen Bracken. Trader, amateur botanist, captain of the LCS Samara, and in her own words, complete fool.
Born the fifth daughter of a middle class family in a relatively affluent system, Imogen grew up with an education, but no expectations. Disappointing her family with drugs and 'unsavoury associations', she was told to straighten herself out or leave. Though she cut the stimulants, Imogen found it harder to cut her ties with her friends, and eventually a decision was made on her behalf.
With a sudden urgent need for income, a strong sense of adventure and a fairly naïve view of life in the drift, Bracken set out to leave the planet. With funds amassed with friends, sponsorship from local businesses and in debt to some very questionable former associates, Bracken purchased a small ageing cargo lighter and began heavy modifications to the ship. The plan was to outfit her with an array of hydroponics equipment and life support extension to allow for mid-range travel both within and without atmosphere, allowing the transport of crops and medicinal plants that would not survive the journey in a conventional cargo hold. With a skeleton crew of folk she could trust, Bracken dusted off on the newly christened Samara. There was a potentially a good living to be made in the outer systems, where crops and plant supplies were the lifeblood of the new colonists. Unfortunately, Imogen's reception into the world of interplanetary business was lukewarm at best.
Bracken lacked the ruthlessness for large scale trade. She would sell at a loss to struggling colonies, refuse to undercut competitors for whom she had personal respect, and was over-optimistic in her calculations of potential profit. Pursued by debtors and feeling responsible for worsening conditions and the growing distress of her crew, Bracken went against her better judgement and took on a well-paying job off-system with a man named Vane Finner. Finner introduced himself as an 'Inquisitor', reportedly working for an influential government within the central planets. He required several samples of rare and dangerous toxic plants from a research base on the jungle planet of Amarok, within the Comora system. The payoff for the job was grand, and enough for Bracken to overlook several crew members' serious concerns about the distance, as well as Finner's evasiveness over the purpose of the samples taken. They made the jump mag-locked to the Saragossa, a jump-capable frigate run by Finner's men.
The job was a disaster. Finner had misled them on the dangers involved in the requisition, and they faced hostile wildlife, virile infection and a local militant group. Bracken lost most of her crew to disease in the hostile jungle of Amarok, and the Inquisitor himself died along with all hands of his expedition team fighting cultists on the planet's surface. The Saragossa jumped from the system in the midst of the conflict, leaving Samara, with no jump drive of her own, stranded in foreign space. Panicked and with no defence against incoming hostile forces, Bracken ordered a dust-off before the return of the last stragglers of the expedition. She would tell herself that this had been a required measure to protect her remaining crew. Perhaps this was true.
A few years have passed since the events that stranded the crew of the Samara in the Comora system, and Bracken and her surviving friends have carved themselves a niche among the foreign worlds. The dead have been mourned, and new crew found both among Finner's marooned men and the populace of local spaceports. Bracken has resumed trading as the Broken Tree Salvage Co., with healthy plantlife again a roaring trade on barren worlds like Caitiff or the many moons and satellites of Dullahan. A new line of work has also emerged in salvage and repairs - jump technology is a rarity in a backwater like Comora, but with enough hulls cracked...
Still a touch too trusting, the difficulties of life in an isolated system have hardened Bracken's heart, and her resolve. She is fiercely defensive of her crew, and has developed a skill at inspiring loyalty. The echoes of her actions on Amarok have not left her mind, or those of her shipmates, but Bracken has nonetheless earned a modest respect from many local traders as a fair and reliable captain.
And finally the cards I've made for her character in game. Rogue stars is a fun system, but relies a lot on modifiers and rules that can sometimes be hard to find! Thought that this would be a decent middle ground for additional info in game.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/11/914974_sm-.png) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/914974-.html) (https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/11/914973_sm-.png) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/914973-.html)
Apologies for the huge dump on a single character, but I'm really excited for this project!
Please let me know what you think. I'd love any encouraging words, ideas or useful criticism, so please fire away!
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I like the botanist angle on the character. It would be great if one of the crew was actually a sentient moving plant...
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Nice idea! The botanist thing will have a role in the campaign I'm planning, but an all-human crew for now, I'm afraid lol
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Nice painting.
Excellent sculpt.
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Thanks very much, UVS! She was fun to make.
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Next member of the crew is Levin Grigg, ship mechanic. Not a scratch sculpt like Bracken, but using legs, torso and face from Victoria Miniatures, GW hellion arms and a fair bit of green stuff. Hope you like him!
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/7/4/888116_sm-Bag%2C%20Civilian%2C%20Wooly%20Hat.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/888116-Bag%2C%20Civilian%2C%20Wooly%20Hat.html)
An image of the sculpting stuff:
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/5/25/716602_mb-.JPG) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/716602-.html)
And a little character background:
A born engineer, Levin Grigg has spent most of his life underground. Raised in a small community deep within a dilapidated region of Skew Spire just before the environmental disaster that poisoned Caitiff, Riggs was well into his teens before even seeing the surface. He started his career maintaining runners for a merchant in the Warrens, the vast network of transportation tunnels that connected the massive hives penetrating the atmosphere. He served with the Jackal cells of Pinepoint, earning a place in the sprawling town by clearing the mine shafts below it. Even when his military role was ended by a decades-old landmine, Riggs threw himself into improving his home town, working on a water filtration system and rudimentary equipment for the developing hospital. As conditions on the surface improved and off-world trade finally began to return to the barren planet, it was Levin who learned to repair and maintain the often battered trade ships that visited.
Riggs was hired to fix Samara's overloaded afterburner a few months after her arrival on Amarok, taking the initiative to improve her ablative heat shielding and recalibrate the engine drive system as he did. Despite his pride in his work, Bracken's offer of longer-term employment took Levin by surprise. Though he would be leaving behind good friends and good memories, Riggs felt that he had had his fill of life in Pinepoint. It was time to see the sky.
Affable, good humoured, and with a darker sense of humour than his manner would suggest, Levin quickly fell in with the crew of the Samara. His main role on board is the maintenance of the mechanical systems of the ship, but he is also called on for away expeditions where his mechanical expertise may prove useful. Afflicted with a new wanderlust, Levin thrives on novel experiences and new cultures. Fond of cheap alcohol, exotic food and any excuse to explore with his two dogs, Sasha and Bo, Riggs needs little encouragement to join an excursion planet-side.
And finally, the cards for using him in game:
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/10/25/911587_sm-.png) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/911587-.html) (https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/10/25/911581_sm-.png) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/911581-.html)
For folks who play Rogue Stars, what do you think of the homebrew rules for his crap prosthetic? Gives the same effect as a crippled limb, but with the added bonus to armour of a bionic. I've valued it at -2XP. Does that sound reasonable?
As before, I'd really appreciate any comments or criticism on the model, the painting or the background. I'm also open to ideas for the crew or the campaign background. Thanks for reading!
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Wow, the GS work is stunning :o
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Thanks very much, scurv and suber! Big learning curve, but im really enjoying being a bit more ambitious with the putty. Hoping to have something new up tomorrow :D
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Hey again all - two for one today with the next two crew members aboard the Samara.
First up is Willow Teague, another scratch sculpt, with the exception of a Victoria Minis head. Again, quite a few things I'd like to change if I did it all again, but I'm satisfied with how she came out.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/10/31/912810_sm-Willow%20Teague%20-%20Technician%20and%20shuttle%20pilot.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/912810-Willow%20Teague%20-%20Technician%20and%20shuttle%20pilot.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/10/31/912811_sm-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/912811-.html)
A little background for her:
Willow Teague, shuttle pilot and technician onboard the Samara, is more comfortable aboard a ship than off it. Without the gentle hum of the motor, the whirring of the life support and the creaking of metal, the world seems cold and quiet. Willow was voidborn, with no state or planet, on an ancient Ark ship travelling between worlds.
Creations of the Thainian religion over five centuries ago, the vast Ark ships were at the time the largest vessels ever built in a human shipyard. Home to several hundred families, the massive craft were sent out into the void with no navigational equipment, leaving the fate of the hundreds of chosen to their creator. Their religion had taught them that the planet on which they landed would be a holy and promised land, where everything they could ever want would be provided for them.
550 years later, life on Ark 7 was less idyllic. The Ark, though well built, was never designed to fly unmaintained for as long as it had. Over time, circuits failed and cables corroded, and technical problems became more and more commonplace. With localised hull breaches, life-support failures and even rumours of savage creatures in the oldest parts of the hold, death on the Ark was brutal and random. Few remembered the religious teachings of their forefathers, but a new superstition developed among the surviving nomads, passing from generation to generation.
Willow met Imogen Bracken as a young woman in her home city of Tavi, having been placed there as a refugee following her eventual rescue from the Ark. Close friends and drinking buddies, the Samara was a shared dream between them - a freedom to choose their own destiny and escape the enforced paths of life that they had found themselves in.
Notably skilled with technology from a lifetime of fudged and desperate repairs on the Ark, Willow is invaluable to the running of Samara. Her character is odd - she has an optimistic nihilism that some find disturbing, coupled with a few tics and routines that she could not shed on leaving the Ark. Despite this, Willow has an exceptional gift for bringing out the best in others. New crew members initially tend to give the strange tattooed girl a wide berth, but to those who get to know her, she is a loyal and supportive friend. Willow has a fascination with plants both comestible and recreational, having eaten only nutrient slurry for her formative years. Bracken has allowed her a reserved area of the hydroponics bay for growing whatever she can find, and Willow is well known for sharing both delicious foodstuffs and potent drugs.
And finally her cards for the game:
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/10/31/912809_sm-.png) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/912809-.html) (https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/10/31/912808_sm-.png) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/912808-.html)
In addition, I have a little buddy for her, DP714, a maintenance droid. First robot I've made from scratch, and a lot of fun to do!
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/10/21/910735_sm-Civilian%2C%20Droid%2C%20Floating%2C%20Robot.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/910735-Civilian%2C%20Droid%2C%20Floating%2C%20Robot.html)
Here's an image of his green:
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/6/5/881866_mb-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/881866-.html)
A little background for him:
Never far from Willow is her companion and sort-of-pet DP714, known among the crew as 'Dipper'. A maintenance droid originally serving upon Ark 7, Dipper was found in a state of disrepair by Willow as a teenager. Over time she has fixed him up and gradually augmented him with new features and programming routines. Capable of on-the-fly repairs aboard the ship and a fair degree of autonomy in combat with rudimentary AI, DP714 has become a valued member of the crew.
And finally, his cards as well:
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/11/914978_sm-.png) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/914978-.html) (https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/11/914977_sm-.png) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/914977-.html)
Hope you like them, and please let me know what you think. Any input is much appreciated!
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Wonderful sculpts and painting.
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salute of the jugger came up at the pub yesterday and to my surprise one of the guys I drink with knows the brisbane jugger guys who have most of the jugger costume props from the movie. It really is a cult thing that film. I am looking forward to seeing Scarpers ones with jugger weapons.
I know the guy who sculpted the dog skull props for the Jugger games. He also worked on "The Time Guardian" and has a Jen-diki warrior in his garage.
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Brilliant work on these latest pieces, the painting and sculpts come together wonderfully. Your fluff, as ever, is a pleasure to read (I went through it all again last night). I really need to up my game re. Rogue Stars - yet another wedding this weekend then I can devote some real time towards some games!!
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Again, a great little backstory and nice unique mini.
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Thanks very much for the kind words, folks!
@Scurv - Thank you. I like the rusty, lived in and cheap look for droids owned by regular people, rather than new and shiny.
@UVS - Thanks a lot! I'm really glad you like them.
@chromedog - That's really cool! I had actually kind of assumed they would just use the real thing - maybe from a dog that died of natural causes? Less of a biohazard this way, for sure!
@Ragsta - Thanks, man. As I've said, the fact that you like all the fluff stuff is a big motivator, so I'll try to do some more. I've got big plans for our campaign!
@Vodkafan - Thanks very much! I'm way more self conscious about the writing than the painting stuff, so it's really good to hear that you like it.
Up today is the FINAL MEMBER of the Samara crew (who will appear in campaigns, at least) - Ronan Decker. He's an old soldier, and acts as expedition security for the crew.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/11/914966_sm-Bionics%2C%20Old%2C%20Rifle%2C%20Ronan%20Decker%20-%20Expedition%20security.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/914966-Bionics%2C%20Old%2C%20Rifle%2C%20Ronan%20Decker%20-%20Expedition%20security.html) (https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/11/914967_sm-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/914967-.html)
He's another scratch sculpt, with only a GW cadian helmet and a head from Victoria Minis (with sculpted hair and goggles). The bionics are wire and plasticard. I wanted to do some slightly different bionics to the usual terminator-style stuff you see, so these are more of an exoskeleton affair. I was inspired by stuff like recent advances in treatment of folks with paraplegia (https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=rewalk&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiWqb-1jvjVAhUoD8AKHUmkB3gQ_AUICygC&biw=1920&bih=950) and running stilts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iATQCeHHh0)
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/11/914979_sm-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/914979-.html)
He's a big fella with the prosthetics in place, around a head taller that other folks in his group. I tried to keep his proportions in check for a reasonably sized human with the exception of the bionic additions. I was going for something a bit 'other', and I'm hoping I haven't overdone it.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/8/26/899212_mb-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/899212-.html)
As always, here's some backstory:
Ronan Decker has survived a lifetime of conflict. Drafted into the PDF on Osciae II as a child, he has served over 15 standard years in the armed forces, and a further 15 as a mercenary. He has fought for governmental forces maintaining order against radical rebel elements in distant colonies. He has fought alongside freedom fighters oppressed by distant and tyrannical regimes in the central planets. Ronan has assisted in the purge of alien threats as well as the protection of persecuted alien refugees, and been on both sides of an orbital bombardment. For what felt like longer than any other task, he has stood endless nights of guard duty for self-important arseholes who never bothered to learn his name.
As all his years in hellish warzones have blended into one, Ronan realised that he had learned only two things -
- Fate is a bastard.
- Few of the folks on the ground deserve what's coming to them
Decker learned early that the most well prepared soldier in the world can still be the poor bastard to step on a landmine, and that stray shots don't care about rank or training. He has no grand notions regarding the reason for his survival above that of endless colleagues, but he is grateful for every day that he sees ceiling when he opens his eyes.
Ronan has fought alongside a great many different people, and seen a lot of the things folks will fight for. He has seen people driven by love and loyalty, by the need to protect their homes or the people they care about. He has seen many more of these men through the sights of his rifle. He has seen men driven by hatred and revenge (also having once fallen into that camp himself), has seen thousands of those who would give their lives for an idea fed to them by someone with no care for their well-being. Decker has seen many things, and they have made him - tired. When he was young, he was sure of himself, and of the decisions he had to make. Some people lived, some people died, and that was how it had to be to keep order. Lately though, whatever side of a conflict he finds himself on, Decker sees the men and women from his past, both friends and foes. Taking a life seems – bigger, and no longer a choice that is his to make.
In the last few years, the cocktail contained in the darts loaded into Decker's rifle has changed. There was no specific turning point, but the toxins that Ronan mixes have been less and less potent, more sedative than poison. Ronan is no doctor, mind, and some of his targets will still experience the long sleep. Despite his new leaning towards pacifism, Decker is not naïve to the dangers of life in the outer reaches, or the fact that some people will only respond to violence. He values his own life and the lives of his friends, and his sidearm remains as deadly as the day it was issued.
Decker was hired with a large contingent to fight alongside Inquisitor Finner on Amarok, and is one of the few mercs who returned to the ship. Stranded with the crew of the Samara in foreign space, he initially took on Bracken's contract with a view to making enough credits to buy passage elsewhere. It did not take long, however, for Ronan to feel at home among the civilian crew of the Samara, and his credits have now found more short-term use. Decker is quiet, but friendly, and has developed a reputation as an understanding ear amongst the crew.
His cybernetics are attached via ports in his spine, a process both painful and draining - At any opportunity Decker disables the artificial gravity in his quarters, preferring the freedom of flight unrestrained by his exoskeleton. Though he talks little of his injuries and his past, Decker cannot stand crowds, and becomes sullen and unpleasant in such situations.
And the character cards I'll be playing with:
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/11/914976_sm-.png) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/914976-.html) (https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/11/914975_sm-.png) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/914975-.html)
Non-lethal rounds and the combat helmet are homebrew, but I feel fit with his character.
I really hope you like him, as he was the model I was most unsure of when sculpting. I'd love to know what you think, so please let me know, good or bad. Thanks for looking!
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Yeesh, tough crowd! lol
As a wee teaser, here's an action shot from an AAR I'm putting together. Hope you enjoy!
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2017/11/16/915839_sm-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/915839-.html)
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Wow, that looks great! Love the stacks in the background and the ruined building is just excellent!
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awesome tread scarper!! keep posting!!
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The exoskeleton guy is great, really gritty. Nice to see a more realistic take on it rather than a super-suit!
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Thanks a lot for the comments folks!
@Sbloom141 - Thanks very much! I was trying to go with something a bit more utilitarian and civilian, so I'm glad you like it :)
@huesped - Thanks, man, That's very motivational! Was a little bummed that there wasn't much response to Decker, but comments like yours fire me up again. I'm happy you're enjoying what I've posted
@Ockman - Cheers! I'll have a few more pictures of terrain in the next post.
Sorry for the slight gap between posts - I've been working on finishing off some terrain, but I've also got an important exam for my work coming up, so haven't had as much time as I'd like. Hopefully some terrain shots within the next week though, and thanks for your patience! lol
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You have some truly excellent conversion work there. Bravo.
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*bump* :D This is an excellent thread... somehow missed it! :o
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Thanks again for the kind words, folks! Another wee hiatus - I'm DMing my first game of Dungeons and Dragons for my wife and a few friends, and worldbuilding sucks up a LOT of time!
Here's something a little different - I've been playing with the Frostgrave Gnoll kit (http://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=8419) to make an alien species to expand my galaxy of Comora.
These guys are Maroques - indigenous sentients on Amarok, a jungle planet in orbit of the Comoran sun. Though making contact with non-space faring sentients is banned under several universal laws, Amarok has many rich mineral deposits, and a number of corporations have set up base planetside to begin extraction. Maroques are smart, curious, and natural scavengers, though their own tech level was little beyond smelting iron at the point of contact. As such, it did not take long for off-world arms and armaments to fall into the hands of some of the more enterprising Maroque settlements, drastically altering the balance of power on the planet.
Maroques are mainly confined to the planet of Amarok itself, having no real understanding of the science behind space travel, or the weaponry they steal or buy. Some groups have been armed and trained by local interests to attack their rivals or defend their installations, while other groups may attack or harass colonists to steal what they can use. Rare groups of Maroques have stowed away on some of the larger cargo freighters, and can occasionally be found wandering the deeper reaches of space stations or hives. The equipment they use is a mix of scavenged modern weaponry and iron age tech, with different groups' equipment largely reflecting whom they have been able to raid most recently. Laser armaments and other self-charging weapons are highly prized, as Maroques lack the knowledge or equipment to produce kinetic ammunition once what they have is spent.
Modelling-wise, they are a fun mix of medieval parts and sci-fi tech. I wanted to integrate the parts a little to stop them looking too much like medieval figs with guns glued on, so a fair bit of green stuff work, and some mixed added equipment too. I'm looking forward to painting them - going to do a little experimenting, but I'm picturing earth tones for the robes and gear with maybe a green spot colour, plus an incongruent camo scheme (maybe urban?) on their scavenged equipment. Should be fun!
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/3/26/939288_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/939288-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/3/26/939290_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/939290-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)
This gent is the pack leader - a little older and more confident than the others. The smooth top he has on is a scavenged stab vest.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/3/26/939292_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/939292-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/3/26/939293_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/939293-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)
One of the younger pups - less gear, more enthusiasm!
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/3/26/939289_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/939289-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/3/26/939291_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/939291-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)
Close quarters enthusiast. The axe in his left hand is a modern trench weapon and a recent acquisition, the one in his right hand is still his favourite - a well worn crude iron piece.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/3/26/939294_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/939294-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/3/26/939295_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/939295-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)
A maroque with a prized laser rifle - leave it in the sun and it gets all its charges back!
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/3/26/939296_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/939296-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/3/26/939297_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/939297-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)
And my favourite for last - an intimidating gent with a scavenged flamethrower. Works almost as well filled with pitch and tar.
I hope you like them, and please let me know what you think. A little different to some of my other models in this thread, so very open to C&C.
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Cool group of Gnolls.
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Wow, cool conversions!
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Yes, very nice conversions.
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Those are fun! I love the flamethrower guy with the mask in particular. Gnolls work perfectly as space scavenger types.
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Oh I like the scavenger space gnolls. Those are some nice conversions. Gnolls have always been a favorite race of mine.
...regular gnoll, regular gnoll... (https://clips.twitch.tv/CleverInterestingRatRedCoat)
-A
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:o :o :o :-* :-* :-*
I need to steal that idea, it's simply awesome!
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Excellent gnolls.
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Great work on the gnolls.
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like your Gnolls
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Wow, that's a lot of kind words! Thanks so much - really flattered, and I'm glad they've gone down well.
Gnolls are one of my favourite D&D races, so it's a lot of fun to try and translate them to something that fits a sci-fi vibe.
Painted up the first gent over the last few days. I'm new to painting fur which was a bit of a learning curve, but I'm still fairly happy with the results. The drab cloth for his clothes blends a little with the tone I've used for the fur, but I'm trying to go for some variation in their colouring so hopefully it'll balance out once the others are done.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/5/10/947531_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/947531-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)
I'd really love any C&C on this bloke, as I'm working through the others as well. Always looking to improve, so please fire away
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very nice indeed. I got myself the Northstar scoff arms and weapons set too so will do some knolls and cultists too.
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Nice.
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Thanks, folks! I do like the look of the Northstar sci- fi arms, but I've not actually got my hands on any of them. These particular ones are from the gnoll kit with part of a Victoria miniatures las rifle, and a lot of the others are just altered gnoll kit ones. I'm glad you like them!
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Today's update is Pascha the Runt, leader of this pack. I hope you like her!
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/5/26/950561_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/950561-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)
I'm still trying to get a decent tonal separation between the gear that the Maroques have produced themselves and the gear they've 'acquired' - greys, whites and blacks for stolen equipment to match some troopers I've already made, with greens, browns and drabs for their own equipment.
Here's a quick shot of the two of them together.
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/5/25/950439_sm-.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/950439-.html)
As always, C&C much appreciated. Hope everyone's having a good weekend!
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Those are great. SF Gnolls would never occur to me but those are totally convincing.
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Thanks, Dentatus!
I've always had a soft spot for the 'space scavenger' archetype, and the models just seemed to fit for me. I'm glad you like them!
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Very nice indeed - the shotgun arm looks totally natural!
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Thank you axiom! I'm glad it comes together okay.
One more for the pile today, though work has certainly made progress pretty slow lately -
(https://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2018/8/1/963825_sm-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.jpg) (https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/963825-Frostgrave%2C%20Gnoll%2C%20Gnolls%2C%20Sci%20Fi.html)
Found this gent a bit of a pain to paint for some reason, but I'm pretty happy with how he came out. I've been trying to push my highlighting a little bit, as that's an area I feel I've been lacking in the past. As always, I'd love to hear any C&C, good or bad. Thanks for looking.
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Very cool 8)
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Nice job on these.
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These look great - they work really well as sci-fi minis.
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These are terrific!
I've converted a couple of gnolls for sci-fi purposes in the past (here (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=88065.msg1153011#msg1153011) and here (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=88065.msg1321555#msg1321555)), but yours are a much more coherent bunch - and great inspiration to get some more done!
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Wow, awesome minis and cool terrain!
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These gnolls are really cool.
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Looking good. This is definitely an idea I'll have to shamelessly steal at some point.
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Only just discovered these - absolutely ace! Love 'em.
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Pretty cool use of those Gnolls!
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Wow, lots of responses! :o
@OSHIROmodels - Thanks very much!
@Ultravanillasmurf - Thanks again :)
@Jagannath - Thank you! I'm glad you think so - I went through a few stages in the green stuff phase before deciding that they would work
@Hobgoblin - Thanks! And for making me aware of your thread as well, lots of cool inspiration in there! I'm a particular fan of your lizardman, the mandrill-esque ork, and the gnoll in the orange. Hope you keep posting :D
@Ockman - Thanks a lot!
@Billchuck - Cheers, kind of you to say.
@Genghis - Thank you! Feel free to steal away, I'm certainly not the first person to do scifi gnolls. As shown by Hobgoblin!
@Clanmac - Kind words! Thanks very much
@DivisMal - Thank you!