[Doodler's 6mm] War/Security/Industrial Bots || 14 Aug

[Idle Doodler]

15mm's all well and good, but as an increasingly space-strapped gamer I need to double (halve?) down and dip into something smaller. So I've grabbed some little soldiers from various different sources, picked as innocuous a basing mix as I can hide a magnet beneath and started on a new scale.

After several undercoats, drybrushes and constant discovery of new mould lines, I picked a simple colour scheme to get my eye in.



Gosh dang, they're tricky to get in focus.

The plan is to magnetise minis and terrain so that every thing can be gently chucked into a biscuit tin when not in use / in transit. I've a fair bit of scrap which can be cobbled together into some rustic space colony line-of-sight-blocking buildings, but less sure on scatter terrain for shooting over. Any ideas? Got some cylindrical beads which are about the right size for barrels, but need a simple lid-producing method (unfortunately hole punch circles are a bit too big). Any quick 'n' easy techniques for crates which don't involve painstakingly wrapping mini cable ties around matchsticks?

[zrunelord]

Nice work.
Use a punch pliers with different diameters for the lids.
Use sprue for boxes etc. Press it with a flat nose pliers to add texture.  Shave thin slices for lids etc.
Lego bricks for buildings etc.
Cat5 network cables have solid copper wire which is great for 6mm pipes etc.

Z

[LouieN]

great work.  Nice camo on such a small scale.

[Scarper]

Wonderful! You've achieved some awesome detail for such a tiny scale. How many are you planning on knocking out?

[zrunelord]

I forgot to say .. flat ide cables make great corrugated iron
roofs in 6/10mm.

 Z

[Idle Doodler]

Cheers all.

flat ide cables make great corrugated iron
roofs in 6/10mm.

Use a punch pliers with different diameters for the lids.
Use sprue for boxes etc. Press it with a flat nose pliers to add texture.  Shave thin slices for lids etc.
Lego bricks for buildings etc.
Cat5 network cables have solid copper wire which is great for 6mm pipes etc.

Ooh, some great ideas there. The sprue suggestion in particular is fantastic for some futuristically non-cube crates. This might even have me paradoxically clipping up some minis for the sprues and leaving the main event stored away somewhere.

How many are you planning on knocking out?

I'm aiming to get enough of a collection together to comfortably represent most of the 5 Parsecs from Home combatants. I've still got 15 of these particular minis to play around with, though I suspect I'll go with a different colour scheme. Also got a bundle of CP Models' sci fi offerings, and an Ebayed job lot enough for several different factions.

[Pattus Magnus]

Single based 6mm is madness, but you certainly made yours look good! Using them for 5 Parsecs is actually a very cool idea - very economical and efficient for table size and if you use the rules as written the weapon ranges look a lot more in-proportion to the figures. I’m looking forward to seeing your project updates!

[Idle Doodler]

Thanks, PM. I'm changing any mention of inches in the rules to centimetres, which just about works for 15mm but, yeah, suits 6mm much better. Don't know if I'd want to play skirmish at this scale without magnets, though - without them, it'd too easy to knock them flying with the slightest exaggerated hand movement.

I'm also quite happy taking a punt on this scale when minis are just over 10p a head. It means that I can really splash out on the adventurers / crew members at some 25p each!



I'm realising why everyone says going smaller means going brighter. These don't stand out terrifically from each other or, indeed, their own bases. I may try a lighter base colour to see if that helps with the next lot.

[Idle Doodler]

Trying this lighter base tone and thinks it works better, at least at arm's length! Easier to distinguish what's meant to be person and what isn't. I'll need to rethink my typical dark grey and silver approach to interior scenery as this sandy colour will stand out quite a lot. Some have suggested painting the rim a block colour, so that may be the next step.

[zrunelord]

Nice work Doodler,
To add to what I suggested, get your hands on an old
Pc motherboard & use the capacitors, resistors etc.for terrain.
1t will yield a ton of round & square bits.

Z

Ps. just found out that I could zoom in on the pics on my Pc ( as I mostly visit on my mob ), how in heaven's name did you manage to paint the orks teeth.. ? Brilliant  .

Keep it up.
 

[Pattus Magnus]

Those look quite excellent! I think the shift to brighter colours on the bases helps see the figures.

[Idle Doodler]

One more shift to come, I think. Want to try carving away the overtextured edges to paint the rims black so that the jump from base to terrain at least feels intentional.

Nice work Doodler,
To add to what I suggested, get your hands on an old
Pc motherboard & use the capacitors, resistors etc.for terrain.
1t will yield a ton of round & square bits.

Took that to heart and demolished a naff DVD player. Some nice bits of circuitry in there, and nicely sized to hopelly just need a crude paint job to work as standalone terrain pieces.

Ps. just found out that I could zoom in on the pics on my Pc ( as I mostly visit on my mob ), how in heaven's name did you manage to paint the orks teeth.. ? Brilliant  .

Keep it up.

I usually paint like I dance: with a prayer, momentum and a constant panicked expression.

[zrunelord]

Then may you keep on dancing ... sorry painting    
Do share pics when you have more.

Z

[LouieN]

The orks look good. 

[6mmfan]

Great work on the figures. Its always worth going with lighter shades for 6mm, or they can be dark blobs!