Radiant Prospekts

[Westfalia Chris]

Hi all,

my first piccies of the new year (although the majority was painted around Christmas). I recently got my first batch of Lead Adventure/Ratnik minis, and what nice little komrades they are...

At first (i.e. before seeing them in the metal), I had considered using them as Volgan Partisans. Later on, though, I decided that they are nice on their own, and with the range being as comprehensive as it is already (and there's more to come, as you will have read in the LAM section), I went for another "miniproject".

The general idea is to make them compatible with the nice stuff Lt. Hazel has done so far (and of which he should do much, much more, hint hint nudge nudge), and also use them as a testbed for some new stylistic approaches. Specifically, I used a black undercoat on some of the figures for the first time in almost a decade, although I don't really see any difference in the finished pieces, so I will probably stick to my "white&autoshade" technique.

Also, and probably here to stay, I opted for the "inobtrusive base size" approach with these, and used pennies instead of my usual preference of round 25mm slottas or steel washers. I think they work rather nicely with those, although I am still having doubts about the stability issue; handling seems to be good, though, and I will use pennies for the rest of the mini-project, and larger flat washers of similar thickness where necessary. Any comments on this will be appreciated.

Anyway, enough waffling, here are the piccies.





So far, I've only got "Igor's Red Gang" and the "Red Vultures", but a follow-up order for more has been placed and will hopefully arrive soon (here's looking at you, Royal Mail).

My current concept is to use these as Ministry of the Interior/KGB/Nuclear Energy Commissariat, and pit them against a scavenging horde of "Ruin Raiders" and "Tunnel Cutthroats". Obviously, they need to get around somehow, and until I make a decision on their final ride, I managed to paint up a DLD "OPFOR MICV" which I bought at a ridiculously low price in Rheindahlen some years ago, and which had been gathering dust ever since. Nice little kit, all in all. A bit tricky to assemble, but more filigrane than the otherwise nice Old Crow vehicles I had been considering and thus a bit more to my liking.











Nonetheless, as much as Chris loves little tanks, I think the Government troops should eventually ride in a helicopter. As the current crop of 1/48 Russian chopper kits is sadly quite limited, I plan to scratch one in a more handy scale (although a Mi-8 would come in at a whopping ~40cm, even at 1/56 or 1/60).

Currently, I'm undecided between a Mi-4 "Hound", a Mi-24A "Hind" (with the "glasshouse canopy"), a Ka-29 "Helix-B", or doing a "fantasy" design that looks "Soviet retro chic" enough while being handy and a bit futuristic, but not overly so. I hope to come to a decision over the weekend and start construction, but at the moment, I'm pretty much stuck.

[Grimmnar]

Currently, I'm undecided between a Mi-4 "Hound", a Mi-24A "Hind" (with the "glasshouse canopy"), a Ka-29 "Helix-B", or doing a "fantasy" design that looks "Soviet retro chic" enough while being handy and a bit futuristic, but not overly so. I hope to come to a decision over the weekend and start construction, but at the moment, I'm pretty much stuck.

Well whatever you choose is going to look good so choose already and get on with it.  :-)
But what ya got here is looking good for sure.
I know there is a 1/60 scale Hind out there. But i would also like to see what your mind comes up with on a "fantasy" setting of a scratchbuild. Keep it up.

Grimm

[Westfalia Chris]

I know there is a 1/60 scale Hind out there. But i would also like to see what your mind comes up with on a "fantasy" setting of a scratchbuild. Keep it up.

Yes, I had been looking for that one but couldn't find it. On the other hand, everybody and their cat have the well-known variety of Hind (with the bubble cockpits), so I thought I'd go for something a bit different.

[dwartist]

I really like this range of minis - very imaginative if not unique. You've made an excellent job of painting them!

[janner]

Beautiful work

[clanmac]

Very nice stuff indeed Chris. I really didn't yet more pressure to sail my wallet towards Ratnik and grow the European lead mountain, but yours are lovely.

Mac

[mattblackgod]

Very nice stuff.

[Grimmnar]

Yes, I had been looking for that one but couldn't find it.

This is the link that Col. Stone sent me a while back for one.
http://www.onlytoys.co.uk/acatalog/motormax_helicopters.html

On the other hand, everybody and their cat have the well-known variety of Hind (with the bubble cockpits), so I thought I'd go for something a bit different.

Well then, how about something along the lines of the one in the movie Red Dawn?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38072726@N00/2069287453   :-)

Grimm

[Westfalia Chris]

This is the link that Col. Stone sent me a while back for one.
http://www.onlytoys.co.uk/acatalog/motormax_helicopters.html

Thanks a lot for that link.

Well then, how about something along the lines of the one in the movie Red Dawn?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38072726@N00/2069287453   :-)

Grimm

Ha, funny coincidence - actually, I had thought about doing a "mock soviet" thing like that one or the one they "dressed up" for Rambo II and III, but unfortunately, I seem to have read too many books on helicopters to still be able to suspend my disbelief that far... It always looks like a Puma in drag to me. Cleverly done and quite an effort which I appreciate, much better than many war movies, but, well, it still is too obvious for my taste.

[Funghy-Fipps]

Great brush work on both the infantry and armour, Chris!  As soon as I saw these guys on TGN I thought Neo-RCW and of some of the excellent stuff a couple of guys have already done here (Lt. Hazel's work esp.  That Mech!). 

I thought that these fellas would work pretty well in a near-future Russian conflagration, too (to be released by Four A Minis shortly, apparently).  I've also thought about the possibility of involving 'radiation mutants' - though nothing too OTT - for a bit of 'SciFi spice', but haven't really started looking for suitable minis to represent them yet.  Doubtless, though, this will remain another - one of many! - hypothetical projects I kick around, but never actually get around to starting!  In view of that I'll salivate over your own work in the meantime!

Needless to say, please keep us posted with your work on this project as it progresses! 

[Westfalia Chris]

Hey guys, sometimes luck strikes out of the blue - my local model shop got a batch of Revell USA kits today, and I managed to snatch one of the 1/48th scale Hinds (old Monogram kit). Huge, imposing kit, just the right level of outside detail to make a great gaming piece, and quite solid parts, too.

I will modify it slightly with steel pins to hold the (removable) rotors, and maybe replace the undercarriage struts with steel as well to make it more sturdy; also, I will probably leave out the interior (as it is basic, anyway) and paint the windows with some reflection effects.

I plan to do a step-by-step build report over the next few days, so watch this space (or possibly the workbench).

[atom12]

The tank is one of the old DLD models that can not get any more. Was looking for a light tank type for my neo soviets and that would be perfect. Of course seeing this does give me an idea for something that would look close and use up some models I have sitting around.

Adam

[Michi]

That non-airbrushed airbrush look of the tank´s camo is absolutely gorgeous! I need to learn the secret way of doing this...

[Westfalia Chris]

That non-airbrushed airbrush look of the tank´s camo is absolutely gorgeous! I need to learn the secret way of doing this...

Well, if you visit again tomorrow, I'll give some explanations as I paint the Hind (I'll use the same technique, but with more ochre areas and a lighter base green, to make it look lighter overall).

I've cut the interior detail, which is good in itself, for a 1986 kit, since I wanted to speed up the assembly and prefer painted windows and canopies for "gaming pieces", anyway. I'll try a "sky-earth reflection" effect on this one - had done it once before on my Pardulon gunship, but that was a bit too dark.



Flight base mounting socket:



And with one of the Ratnik/LAM figures for size. Maybe a bit on the large-ish side, but then again, a Hind is a huge heli, and the hull cabin looks like it could *just* hold eight troopers now.





The model is primed. I'll add the basic colour coats tomorrow morning and start the camouflage work in the afternoon after I return from Uni.

[Westfalia Chris]

For those interested, here's a quick rundown of how I painted the camouflage (same method as on the APC). All colour references are Vallejo Model Colour.

Base: two thin layers of "Reflective Green".



Next, some splotches/stripes of "Russian Uniform WW2". The point is choosing a tone which is similar to the other one, while providing suitable contrast to look "multitone".



Next, I stippled the hard edges with Russian Uniform, to soften the border.



Following that, the inside of the splotches is stippled using German Camouflage Yellow "broken" with some of the Russian Uniform. The stippling focuses on the centre of hull panels, and horizontal surfaces.



Next, the same stippling, this time with pure German Camouflage Yellow mixed with some Basic Skintone. This time, more focus on the "silhouette" edges and horizontal surfaces exposed to sunlight.



Following that, the green areas are treated accordingly, using some Sunny Skintone to lighten the Reflective Green:



And another, light step:



Finally, a thin wash of Black Green and German Grey to define panel lines and edges; also, I painted in the windows with a mix of pale blue (same as used for the bottom surfaces) and white, which will be subsequently highlighted and shaded to produce a "glassy" effect.





That's it pretty much. The key point in this method (which isn't actually that new or innovative, I think I first read about it in a White Dwarf some 10 years ago) is getting camouflage tones which are relatively close to each other, but still provide "area contrast". Also, hard edges between different tones are softened to provide a gradually darkening "border area" instead. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.