My Xenos Rampant forces (Some Sci-Fi scatter terrain 4/1/24)

[Mr. White]

These look great!
They make me think of the Ape Gang that was available from Mongoose’s Gangs of Mega City 1 game from about 15-20 yrs ago (!!!).

Having the models have 2 (or even 3) Strength points is one of the real joys of the * Rampant system of games. I appreciate it because it allows a hobbyist to create the scope and look of their warbands however they want, or just use what they have, without being forced by some minimum model count.

[Kourtchatovium104]

All these apes squads are great and I very like the very cool space chimp! 

[Pattus Magnus]

The new space monkeys look brilliant! I do have one quibble, though - gibbons are apes, so they don’t have tails. Your new recruits are ringers for black faced langur monkeys, though.

[mikedemana]

Thanks, everyone! I appreciate the kind words.

As for the mistaken ID of the simians....
Wellll, the Eureka Miniatures page identifies the miniatures as Gibbons and they clearly have tails.
https://eurekaminusa.com/collections/boiler-suit-apes

I did a Google Image search and came up with that coloring. I didn't notice in the images if they had tails or not. This is one of the images I was looking at, called a "White Handed Gibbon."


That said, now that I examine more photos closely, there does not appear to be a tail. So, I guess my primate knowledge is a bit off...! 

Mike Demana

[Pattus Magnus]

It seems like there probably aren’t a lot of gibbons in Australia, then, if Eureka labeled them that way.    Or they’re the little known Australian Tailed Gibbon!

I only know about gibbons not having tails because I had to take some primatology courses during my undergrad in anthropology. The easy to remember rule is that if it is an ape it has no tail, by definition. If it has a tail, it’s either a monkey, or a prosimian, such as a lemur (prosimians tend to have long snout faces and bushy tails, although there are some very weird ones). I’ll count that as my factoid contribution to LAF for today!

[mikedemana]

It seems like there probably aren’t a lot of gibbons in Australia, then, if Eureka labeled them that way.    Or they’re the little known Australian Tailed Gibbon!

  Yep. I mean, they are toting machine pistols, so a certain amount of fantasy is involved. I love how they are all in very monkey-like movement poses. Especially the guy on two legs firing over his head!

Now that I am considering scrapping my 1 figure = 2 strength points basis for Xenos Rampant, and just go one for one, I may be purchasing more of those long-lost Gibbon monkeys! And some more of their apes proper... 

Thanks for the feedback, though!

Mike Demana

[mikedemana]

Back to my Bronze Legion detachment! Lately, I am leaning away from original thought of 1 figure = 2 strength points and instead going with a 1-for-1 for infantry. So, here is a squad of Heavy Infantry to reinforce the already-painted Elite Infantry of the Bronze Legion. I used the Stargrave "Troopers" box. I was quite proud of myself in actually being successful at gluing on their arms and heads.  Seriously, this is a big step for me!! 



One of the things I like about the Troopers box is the guy with the rocket launcher. That justifies using one or more of the upgrades for the infantry to make them more effective attacking. I think it turned out rather nicely, too. I like the contrast of the black uniforms with the ancient bronze colored plates. I am not as happy with how it is more difficult to effectively dry brush highlights gray and then get a black wash to "soften" the edges of the dry brushing. When I put a wash on these figs, it essentially erased my highlights, forcing me to go back and redo them.



The watered down black vehicle wash I used did a nice job of highlighting what you can see of the faces. I like the shine on the visors. I used Iron Wind Metals Steel and then went over them with brush on clear gloss. You can even see reflections on the visors -- nice! The red highlighting on the belt and backpacks is to break up a little of the black and give it accent. I considered doing all the straps with red accent, but thought that would be too gaudy and make them look like they were running around in polka dots! 



And here are the four units of the Bronze Legion detachment, so far. Two units of the Elite Infantry (using Wiley Games Space Marines), 1 tracked robot gun, and the freshly-painted Heavy Infantry.

I'm really happy with my production lately. Not sure how long it will last now that school has been back in session for a few weeks. However, this is a lighter time on the grading, so I'm having more free time in the evening. Hope you enjoy how this project is coming along. Thanks in advance for any comments....

Mike Demana

[Pattus Magnus]

Good job on the troopers, they look sharp and fit in well with the guys in the fully enclosed armour! I like the palette, too, the black goes well with the bronze plates.

[Metternich]

I quite like your Bronze Legion.

[mikedemana]

Thanks, folks! I decided to do another squad of five of those to finish out the legion. So, it'll be like deja vu all over again...

Mike Demana

[Mr. White]

The XR detachment looks great!
Why have you shifted back to 1 model = 1 strength point? simply for the visual of a larger detachment?

I use to enjoy assembling and converting models, and not enjoying the painting process. Now... i despise model assembly and just want to paint. I've flipped. So, for me, I currently favor metal over all the great plastics.

[mikedemana]

The XR detachment looks great!
Why have you shifted back to 1 model = 1 strength point? simply for the visual of a larger detachment?

No, actually it is because I had not fully realized how few figures I would need at 1:1. I also am guessing now that not every single heavy or light infantry unit needs the "Increased Squad Size" upgrade. Those are the two main reasons. I guess it'll also be simpler for players to take off a figure for each SP lost...

And all of this before I ever play a game...   

Mike Demana

[Gibby]

Nice painting and figures! 

For 5 strong units, it just makes sense to use 1 figure = 1SP. It's awkward to split an odd number among figures and it annoys me that Xenos Rampant changed the 6/12 sizes to 5/10 (to accommodate GW figure box sets?).

[Metternich]

And an extra two points (12 vice 10) means throwing two more dice and increases the odds of throwing a 6 (either another hit, or two more hits if your squad has Heavy Weapons) (let alone increasing the odds of throwing another 5 or 6).  So it actually changes the game mechanics.

[Malamute]

Great stuff