(Army Painters) All Quiet on the Martian Front

[Ray Rivers]

Hi everybody!

I got in on the kickstarter and received by first box a few weeks ago. Gotta say I was really impressed.

I will be doing a British Army to battle the Martians. I personally think the American tanks look very British and that is how I plan to use them with a bit of a VSF slant as well.

Here are the forces I plan to paint (note the NA means Not Available and am hoping to get the minis in the 2 wave of deliveries):

Martian Army

- Overseer Tripod (NA)
- Scout Pod (3 x Scout Tripods) - Finished
- Assault Pod (3 x Assault Tripods)
- Fire Support Pod (1 Scout & 2 x Grenadier Tripods)
- Slaver Pod (1 x Slaver, 6 x Flying Drones, 6 x normal Drones) (NA)
- Red Martian Assault Tripod (NA)

British Army

- HQ Co. (Baldwin CMD, Munitions & MKII Tender Tanks) (NA)
- Tank Co. (3 x Mk II) - Finished
- Tank Co. (3 x MK IIb) - Finished
- Tank Co. (3 x MK III) - Finished
- Heavy Tank Platoon (1 x MK IV tank) (NA)
- Scout Co. (3 x Scout Cars) (NA)
- Mobile Artillery (3 x MK II Mobile Gun) (NA)
- Tank Support Co. (Clamp, Mine & Tesla Tanks) (NA)
- 1 x Landship
- 1 x Anti-Tripod Gun Walker (NA)
- 3 x Infantry Battalions
- 1 x Cavalry Regiment
- Artillery Co. (3 x Field Guns) (NA)

Misc.

- Paper Terrain Farmstead
- Trenches
- Escaping humans

So I am really enthusiastic about this project and let's see whether or not I can hang in there and finish it.

I have done three tripods so far, but hopefully by the first of August I will have some additions. Here is a photo:

[former user]

this is amazing and impressive! congratulations 

[matthais-mouse]

Wow well done on the tripods, they look great.

[Ray Rivers]

Thanks!

I'm really happy with the Martian paint scheme and am currently working on a couple Grenadier tripods which should debut soon on this thread.

For the British, I bought a bunch of Blue Moon Colonials with sun hats. It get's kinda hot in these battles, ya know! 

They will be painted khaki.

My problem is what color to paint my British tanks? I'm inclined towards brown though green looks very nice as well. Of course, since I want the project to lean more towards the VSF side, British artillery blue is also an option.

What do you all think?

[shredder]

Very nice

A mate of mine helped out at the demo at Attack at the weekend I'll send him the link. He did say that the rules seemed to be broken though. The points don't work properly (as is the case with so many systems) and it's very difficult for the humans to win, so if you work out how to them let us know ;-)

G

[matthais-mouse]

Since the british troops will be khaki, why not try a khaki scheme for the tanks too?
Following is a link that I found (very quickly as not clued up on the said game) and its the 9th texan that I think may be suited
Hope its helpful, http://aliendungeon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/all-quiet-on-martian-front-color-choices.html

[former user]

well, maybe You should develop Your VSF background a bit, then the tank colour will become obvious.

[Ray Rivers]

A mate of mine helped out at the demo at Attack at the weekend I'll send him the link. He did say that the rules seemed to be broken though. The points don't work properly (as is the case with so many systems) and it's very difficult for the humans to win, so if you work out how to them let us know ;-)

Well, I haven't gotten to heavily into the rules yet, however, one should note that some very powerful weapons are missing on the battlefield. These miniatures will be shipping in Wave 2. I think until we have these miniatures in our hands and on the battlefield it will be difficult to judge the rules unless you use proxies.

well, maybe You should develop Your VSF background a bit, then the tank colour will become obvious.

Well... that's difficult, you see. Queen Victoria died in 1901 and given the story concerning these miniatures (a second attack on Earth by the Martians in 1908), it really shouldn't be considered as VSF... more an alternative history. Basically the fluff says that the Martians landed unnoticed in uninhabited and arid areas of the world where they built their forces before attacking. Europe, Japan and India are pretty much untouched by the invasion while the central US is occupied by the Martians. My British, therefore, are an expeditionary force.

So the story is really very WWI'ish in that the humans have thrown there industrial weight against the superior technology of the Martians. That is why we have hordes of very basic tanks and also imaginary weapons such as the Tesla cannons and mines. So mass production would say... brown or green.

Yet, I would like to take the fluff and veer more towards the VSF qualities of the game. For example, I plan to build my own Landship and mount my anti-tripod gun on a 4 legged walker. The VSF in me says British artillery blue, but I'm afraid that that may be too radical given the general story.

[former user]

yes well, tanks in 1908 means accelerated development, they could be steam driven (the US had), because the combustion engine revolution had not happened by then. Also green and brown was for camo, but with the superior technology of the martians, it might be useless, so they could be painted bright red?...

[FramFramson]

Damn! Those tripods are dead sexy! 

[Ray Rivers]

So... here are a couple Grenadier Tripods:



I modified them by using a shortened version of the Scout Tripods legs and mounting the Grenadier body on top.

That finishes my Martian Fire Support Pod.

Also been slaving away building my tanks:



There are 3 MkIIs, 3 MkIIbs, and 3 MkIIIs (bottom to top).

A kickstarter update indicated that they may soon be sending out the second wave and that will probably mean the rest of my more specialist tanks will be inbound. So I may put these on hold until I have them all and then do them in one go.

So I'm thinking I will be doing my Martian Assualt Tripods next.

[DD-Chris]

I would suggest a thinned down black or grey wash over the tripods to help bring the detail out.
crisp painting otherwise.

[matthais-mouse]

More great pieces
 

I would suggest a thinned down black or grey wash over the tripods to help bring the detail out.
crisp painting otherwise.

I agree this could help, maybe worth a test to see if you like before committing fully though

Have you decided on the colours for the tanks yet? (sorry if I missed a reply with it on already)

[Ray Rivers]

Sorry, not going to wash the tripods... I really like them the way they are.

The vehicles will probably end up a tan'ish color. Still experimenting with them.

[matthais-mouse]

Sorry, not going to wash the tripods... I really like them the way they are.

Ahh I see, you wanted the clean look, very clinical for cleansing earths inhabitants  wasnt saying they didnt look good by the way (its just that Im one for oil and grime haha )