Classic Warzone - Request for pictures of painted squads/armies

[Major_Gilbear]

A little while back, I asked you all about some classic games in this thread, with Warzone amongst them.

Well, I've spent the last year (already? wow!) gradually collecting old Warzone figures, and I now have some representative forces for each of the corporations. The thing is, a lot of the old figures only appear (if at all) in a single small picture in the magazines or books, and there are very few unit or army shots, and almost none that show the minis from different angles or as unassembled parts. In fact, most of the unit shots were for the 2nd edition boxed sets (so often later models). And when I searched online, I found mostly unit shots posted by LAF's Agis - which were extremely useful by the way, especially in trying to work out whether models were complete, and what models were in which units. I also found some photos by LAF's JiNNai, which were helpful in showing me some useful compatible alternative figures and conversions, and also what 1st edition forces might look like to play with.

All of this left me wondering... Did everyone just paint their units in individual or official schemes, or did people coordinate schemes across their armies? And does anyone have some nice clear photos of their armies or units that they would be willing to share here please? I guess I am from the school of thought that armies painted and based with an overall scheme/theme in mind look more coherent, but I couldn't quite shake the feeling that many of the units were supposed to have their own distinct schemes regardless.

So whilst I appreciate that I can just do what I like, yes, I was curious as to what others though and had done with their own minis? I also thought this this could be a nice opportunity to see some of the rarer or more unusual minis, and perhaps even some themed forces?

[Cypher226]

Are you aware of Mutantpedia?

http://www.mutantpedia.com/eng/index.htm

All the published books are on there iirc, including full colour scans.  From what I recall most players tended to stick with the published schemes, though some obviously created their own.  They were strong schemes for the most part.

[FreakyFenton]

One of the older Warzone Mutant Chronicles game came with a companion volume that basically illustrated the various factions along with their corresponding units. That book as well as the rulebook had shots of painted miniatures in it. No idea how paint samples were set, but there were definitely certain styles for certain factions. Such as blue for Bauhaus and some examples of painted Venusian Rangers and a lot of silver for the Cybertronic side with some random camo thrown in.

If I can recall Bauhaus usually had blue armour, i.e. helmets, vests and body armour with the rest ebing sort of open to what you want to paint really. I'll try to see if I can find the book, I used to have it, not too sure if I sold it on the Bazaar here though. 

EDIT Also just saw what Cypher posted whilst I was typing. Even better! Cheers!

[Major_Gilbear]

@ Cypher:

Yes I do know that site, thank you - I have most of the Warzone rulebooks for 1st and 2nd edition too.

That's all I've found though, and the same individual model photos get used again and again each time they are referenced. Hence my request!


@ FreakyFenton:

Heh, Bauhaus and Cybertronic are probably the most consistent schemes across all units!

[Malebolgia]

Here are my Warzone figs, in random order:























And if you want the official pictures, check out http://www.mutantpedia.com/Warzone.html for a ton of awesome stuff!

[Daeothar]

I can only offer my Capitol squad for viewing, even though I too have amassed quite a number of Warzone miniatures over the past couple of years.

These were not painted as an actual Warzone Capitol unit, but rather as a squad of corporate marines for use as generic scifi troops. Still; they're a coherent force, using minis from several Capitol units, mainly Sea Lions and Heavy Troopers, but I do have some Free Marines lined up to eventually go with these guys...

Oh; forget about the droid in the background; that's from a different line altogether...

[Cypher226]

@ Cypher:

Yes I do know that site, thank you - I have most of the Warzone rulebooks for 1st and 2nd edition too.

That's all I've found though, and the same individual model photos get used again and again each time they are referenced. Hence my request!

Cool.  I only ask as I only discovered it recently!  In terms of coordinated schemes across armies in more detail, what I remember is that 1st ed players usually had more variety - as you would typically have 1 squad of each type, unlike 2nd onwards where you'd likely have 2-3 squads of basic infantry, then additional specials in custom schemes - for example 2-3 squads of Imperial Trenchers and then a squad of Golden Lions and a squad of Blood Berets, each in their own scheme, and a squad of Wolfbanes in their own scheme again (that'd be a big game but certainly playable).

There's a very few websites showing player's collections, I found the best by searching for specific unit names.  I'll see if I can dig them up later.

[Cypher226]

@Daeothar - you've really made them shine and brought a smile to this old Capitol player's face.  I wish I still had mine 

[Major_Gilbear]

@ Malebolgia and Daeothar:

Beautiful work gents, really! 

I have a folder in which I have been collecting images of Warzone figures, and not only has it been really helpful in ID-ing old figures, but features many of your painted figures too! Yours, Agis', Demi Morgana's, JiNNai's, Basement Dwellers', Dr.Falkenhayn's, and a couple of people on Dakka (Oshii and JoshInJapan) are partly what prompted me to post this in the first place.

[NotifyGrout]

You and I both. I've got so much stuff I probably need to sell some of it.

I'm currently taking a bit of time off my Warpath Asterian army project to speedpaint the contents of the Blood Berets board game. The sculpts aren't the best, but they have that 90s campy charm.

Once that and the Asterians are done, it's back to the Warzone stuff. I still haven't finished my old Blood Beret squad (minus one Sergeant that I painted over 20 years ago), Jake Kramer, the trenchcoated Cartel Agent, a Cairath (that is basically a layering experiment- every time I have leftover AP Speedpaint or wash left in my palette, I put it on the slimy thing just to see what happens. I feel like it's going to end up a mess in a good way.

[Inso]

I don't have very much classic Warzone... but I do have a few Vulkans and Victors...

[Major_Gilbear]

Wow Inso, that's a lot of Vulkans!  I always forget that you have these, as the modifications you made - minor as they were really - completely change their appearance. What's the Victor by the way; are they the spider droids? And are they Warzone figures too...?

@ NotifyGrout:

Well, they are dead games, and so remain patient until you get to them.     I have a copy of the Blood Berets game too, although I struggled to figure out the scenarios and how to play them. The models are certainly weird-looking, and whilst I understand the need to make them distinct, simplified, single-piece sculpts, they do look unnecessarily... Odd? The Necromutants are the most reasonable of the lot though, and as I've had difficulty sourcing some in metal, I did consider getting a second copy of the game just to rob the Dark Legion models from it...

I will probably just pick a faction, and do one of each unit (at least, as many as I have) for them until they're all done, and then move on to the next. I will leave any duplicate units and maybe some of the bigger models until later though, so that factions get a solid core of playable stuff at first pass. I think I want to stick to the "default" colours for the most part, especially as I'm still new to it all, and I just wanted to it to be obvious (1) what a unit was, and (2) what side they were on.

That's why I was asking about whether people's units were painted a particular way or not - as I'm aware that different schemes signalled different units/theatres, and that they often had further special rules too. As the pictures I'd found and saved were of both situations (i.e., units painted as individuals, and units painted as part of an army scheme) that left me somewhat unsure.

[Daeothar]

...I have a copy of the Blood Berets game too, although I struggled to figure out the scenarios and how to play them. The models are certainly weird-looking, and whilst I understand the need to make them distinct, simplified, single-piece sculpts, they do look unnecessarily... Odd? The Necromutants are the most reasonable of the lot though...

I too have a copy of Blood Berets. And traditionally, we play every acquired game at least once. It speaks for a game when/if it gets played more than once, but I don't think this one will see more than that one outing.

Gameplay is interesting, but simplistic. It could have gone any way, but in the end my Legionaires won the day. The mechanic with the hidden deployment and different locations was interesting, but in the end, the limited options were what decided against it, even though we did not explore the higher difficulties, with more equipment etc.

The minis were... red and green

I get the monopose idea; no problem, but my copy came with a foam insert for all the components and especially the Blood Berets simply did not fit in their respective slots. Maybe the insert was aftermarket? (my copy was second hand; only later did I find out that Prince August still sold them new, and I even paid almost retail for my copy... ).

The appeal of these smaller games to me is the fact that they are relatively easy to fully paint up, considering the limited amounts of miniatures in them. But the minis in this one are nothing to write home about I am loathe to admit.

As you say though; the Necromutants are serviceable, but the Blood Berets are basically just all shoulderpad (and that's coming from a guy who actually still likes his Space Marines )...

+++EDIT+++ Hey; 5000th post 

[Major_Gilbear]

Maybe the insert was aftermarket? (my copy was second hand; only later did I find out that Prince August still sold them new, and I even paid almost retail for my copy... ).

Mine was new, from PA. Unfortunately, despite the shrink-wrap, I think it must have gotten wet at some point as the rulebook was wrinkled, and there was a mildew-y smell to everything. No insert to hold the models, so everything was rolling around loose in the box (meaning many components had also come loose and become damaged). I would therefore say, yours is the better purchase!

Even so, many "board games" of that type and of that era were... Not great. Some did happen to be quite good, but most were not. And I think that's okay, as long as you know what you're getting.

I must say, I'm leaning more towards just re-purposing the models from the copy I already have; especially after reading your thoughts on the game. I also feel an actual game of Warzone 1st Ed with some Blood Berets and Necromutants on a suitable board with lots of dense terrain would probably be a better game.

[NotifyGrout]

Wow Inso, that's a lot of Vulkans!  I always forget that you have these, as the modifications you made - minor as they were really - completely change their appearance. What's the Victor by the way; are they the spider droids? And are they Warzone figures too...?

"Some," he says.  I felt lucky to get a couple of Viktors recently

As for color schemes, I need to take pics of my Life Guard Blood Beret Sgt. for you. It's the scheme of the red and black troops surrounding the Imperial Serenity in the rulebook.