Mammoth Strider

Another model from the workshop. I actually did most of the painting on this one a few years ago, and I only recently got around to completing it. The base is also a new addition.

Model: Mammoth Strider (Heavy Gear)
Technique: Flat Colors, Edging

For the Mammoth, I tried a different approach than the other Heavy Gear models I did recently. The model was kept very clean, with solid colors. I put in a little bit of camouflage on the lower surfaces, but I left the top half clean.

I then painted in the various panel lines and recesses with a darker version of the base color. The edges are individually highlighted with ivory; it works well in this case, since the Mammoth is very angular. I was a little more messy with the dust covers and the metallic parts, but the idea is the same.

The base is a plastic disk with more plastic sheet glued on top to support the groundworks. I originally wanted to use a Games Workshop 60mm round base, but I don’t have a spare one. Ground cover is wall plaster with sand embedded in it.

Back view after the fold, as usual.

Black Mamba

That’s the problem with having more than one hobby — they need to share whatever free time is available. In this case, although blogging has been light, the model shop has been busy.

Model: Black Mamba (Heavy Gear)
Technique: Drybrushing

Nothing fancy here — I just painted the base colors, then I drybrushed with lighter tones to make the surface details stand out. The warning stripes were painted on before the backpack was glued to the model.

Be careful when drybrushing a model with a lot of curved surfaces. It’s easy to overdo it since there isn’t a lot of edges to catch paint, and the pigment will scatter across the whole surface instead of staying just on the raised details.

Back view after the break.

Hive Fleet Valken -- Biovore

I finally finished my Biovore model tonight — well, to the extent that a model is never really finished, only abandonned.

It’s based on a plastic Warrior model, with modified scythe arms for forelegs, a scratchbuilt head, and a gun built around a plastic tube, guitar strings, and lots of Greenstuff and patience.

Back view of the model after the fold.

Pictures and notes, as usual, can be found on the fleet’s homepage. I’ll try to clean it up this weekend because it’s getting unwieldy…

Racing Jager

I’ve been using leftover Heavy Gear miniatures to test out some painting techniques and get back in the saddle. (Before you ask, I don’t have Gear armies of my own because I used to game with the office’s models.) I’m going to post a few pictures in following messages, I hope you enjoy them.

Model: Jager (racing custom)
Technique: solid colors

This model was originally a Command Jager that I liberally modified to make into a racing custom Gear. The large foot wheels come from the bit box (I think they were originally plane landing gear — ‘scuse the pun); I used a motor tool to remove the original wheel. The spoiler is made out of thin styrene sheet, and the various air scoops are thruster parts from the CEF hovertank miniatures (the original models, not the new ones). The arms are from a Jovian Chronicles Wyvern exo-armor

Back view after the break.

Hive Fleet Warriors

I’ve added pictures of the two main Warrior genotypes on Hive Fleet Valken’s page. Scroll down to find them.

(I need to spend an hour or two this weekend to clean up the code. That page is starting to get unwieldy.)

Today's GunPla Haul

This is why I normally avoid visiting the very cool SciFi Anime shop here in Montreal. Every time I go there, I get out with one or more plastic model kits.

I already have a second Tyranid Battleforce on the way to complete my Hive Fleet, so it’s not like I’m lacking in stuff to build.

On the bright side of things, plastic keeps extremely well, so I’m in no real rush. Right?

Heavy Gear Sighting

Someone is using an old HO scale RAFM Grizzly miniature as a Tau Broadside suit for Warhammer 40K. Best of all, it works!

Hive Fleet Biovore

Here’s the first picture of the full bluetack-assembled Biovore. Obviously, it’s still missing the upper half of its spore launcher, and the middle arms aren’t integrated with the launcher yet.

Once I put it together, I realized that the Genestealer-derived head is much too small for the rest of the model. I’m going to have to reproduce it about 50% larger, hence the ball of greenstuff. The front arm also needs some additional work to trim the armor plates and adjust the posture.

Not a bad start, however. I’m pretty pleased with it.

More Info on "The Dip" Method

I found this huge forum thread on the dipping technique, which greatly reassured me before I took the plunge with my Tyranids (well, technically it’s an hormagaunt that took the plunge, but…).

Keep in mind, though, that I paint the stain on, I don’t dip the whole mini. I have more control this way.

Hive Fleet Valken Update

I made a rather large update to the Hive Fleet Valken page. You can now see pictures in progress of the upcoming biovore and zoanthrope, in addition to new images for the Carnifex and a few other things.

Sorry for the small average size, but I promise that the finished models will have larger pictures.

The Hive Fleet Meets The Dip

So here’s my first test. The colors (tan body, reddish chitin) match the previous edition’s Tyranids, and a lot of people are tired of red bugs, but I like them. Green is too “orkish,” blue reminds me too much of space marines, white doesn’t respond well to the dip, purple is too “old school” (first edition)…

The colors came out beautifully but I’d like to add some sort of “markings” to the carapace to make the creatures stand out more on the tabletop. Something similar to what exotic insects have. I’m not 100% happy with the following — if anyone has something better to suggest, drop me a line in the comments.

Greenstuff

That’s the name Games Workshop and most miniature modelers give to two-part epoxy sculpting putty. Mix yellow and blue strips in equal proportions to yield a blob of soft, sticky green material. It stays pliable for ten minutes or so, and gradually hardens over the course of an hour. It’s used to create the masters for most of the resin or metal game miniatures on the market today, and it’s also great to add details and patch large structural gaps in models.

It’s also a pain to work with if you’re not used to it.

Things that I’ve learned (well, relearned, actually) over the past two weeks or so:

1) Greenstuff is sticky. In general, it will try to adhere to fingers, tools and models, in that specific order. The trick is to keep fingers and tools moist at all times. I’ve also heard that coating tools with Vaseline works well, but I’ve never tried (I don’t want to contaminate the putty).

2) Greenstuff is soft. You’re better off building out details and shapes in thin but steady layers, letting each harden before going back and adding more. If you go too fast, you’ll deform the new shape even as you try to add details to it.

3) A little Greenstuff goes a long way. I have an unfortunate tendancy to prepare more putty than I can use within the next ten minutes. As a result I have a nice collection of green rocks for basing.

I plan to take some pictures this week of the work in progress (mostly on the Tyranid figures), so check back soon for more.

The Hive Fleet Awakens

Has it been two years already?

(Yes, it hasszz… Buuuild us, yesss, make the Devourer reeeeaal, yessss! [shut up, insidious psychic whispers!])

In between two GunPla models, I decided to pull ye old Hive Fleet out of storage and give it another go, now that I can shield my precious little beasties behind a door and out of reach of the dog. After reading many articles on The Dip, I figured that I would only need to invest time on assembly and customizing, and let the polyurethane stain take care of the rest.

It turns out that the work, although very pleasant, is longer than I expected. Assembling a single Hormagaunt (an average trooper bug with scythe arms) took me nearly ten minutes! The Games Workshop plastic kits have never been very clean or well fitting, but there’s a lot of ugly mold lines to remove here (especially since The Dip reveals every detail, good or bad).

Anyone has hints or tips to speed up the process? I discovered that removing some of the worst mold lines while the parts are still on the sprue allows me to go faster, since it’s easier to hold onto. It doesn’t let me take care of everything, though.

Another Mecha Model Pic

It’s the upper body of an old 1/144 Gallus-J kit that I got from a friend around 1992. He never got around to finishing it, so I used the model to see if I could coax a more interesting posture out of the stiff original arrangement. Keep in mind this is a late-80s kit — a lot of work went into it.

For those who wonder, the round thing on the upper torso is something we added. It’s a hardpoint for a shoulder gun. Also, I never installed flexible hoses to replace the kit’s.

DO WANT!

Though I’m not sure the neighbors (who we share the twin garage with) would be happy to see me build my own custom model room. We’d have some problem getting the car in as well…

[sigh]

Everything Comes to Those Who Wait

If you’re wondering why the blog wasn’t updated often, it’s because I was playing around with my new photo setup. Here’s one of the first decent pictures:

It’s the upper body of my old 1/144 ReGZ kit. As you can see, it’s not exactly the anime colors — I also did a few modifications here and there. I built this kit around 1991-92, if memory serves. It losts its antennas somewhere along the way.

More to come (much more) as I refine the process. Stay tuned.

The Dragon Roars

Phil Leclerc is at it again. It took almost ten years, but the Heavy Gear line now includes a game model for the Fire/Water Dragon striders.

I imagine this will be a resin kit — pewter would be murder on the shipping rate…

Good Omens for 2008

Check out what I just added in the corner of the second bedroom:

Now, this is just the first version. I need to get a proper tripod, replace the top lamp with a more powerful one, and I’m going to try to build a light tent. But my first test shots are not too bad.

I also treated myself last week with some gunpla! I just need to get away from the computer a bit and bash some plastic instead.

Again, I got the kits at Sci-Fi Anime, one of the best places in Montreal for anything anime-related.

At Long Last

The clean-up sessions of the past few weeks have paid off. I finally cleared enough space in the second bedroom to sit down and, for the first time in almost two years, bash some plastic:

Granted, I have no merits at all. It’s just cutting the parts and dry-fitting them together. But I hope it’s a new start.

(I got the kit at Sci-Fi Anime’s new location on St-Catherine, near Atwater. One of the best places in Montreal for anything anime-related.)

RAFM Heavy Gears

I was doing an in-depth cleaning of the storage closet today. I gotta make some space in the second bedroom if I ever want to make models again.

I came across a set of the first edition RAFM Heavy Gear models (the HO scale ones, 1/87). I also found two 1/144 scale Gear boxes, one North and one South (both GP squads) one North Strike squad and one North Fire Support squad. Now I’m not looking to get rid of them right away, but the likelihood of me ever assembling any of them is getting more remote by the day.

So if you know a true fan that would be interested in giving one or more of them a new home, let’s talk turkey. I’m known to be pliable.

UPDATE: Sorry guys, no Mamba or engineering Gears. I believe I sold those off years ago (if not, they’re buried inside a storage box). I have a couple of extra Grizzlies, Cobra and Iguanas; I think I saw a Strike Cheetah, too. Make me your best offer on private mail (vertumne99 -at - hotmail.com).

Apocalypse Manhattan

I’m sure that the upcoming “big battles” version of Warhammer 40K will be fun, but isn’t this going a bit overboard?

Thunder Grizzly

Greg “Mason” Perkins is at it again, this time with a fully converted Thunder Grizzly Gear skidding through a tight turn. I wouldn’t want to be that infantryman, no matter how good the pilot is.

Here’s the mini in a more “action” setting. Notice how closely it matches DP9’s color artwork. If it didn’t take so long to convert and paint minis to this caliber…

Heavy Gear Hovertank

Phil Leclerc continues to stomp through the Heavy Gear miniature line, this time redoing the HT-68 CEF Hovertank (picture shows the PAK version, though).

Also, here’s a nice battle report. I’m glad to see the game continue!

Engineering Grizzly

Now this is an impressive conversion. I love how the little details mesh together to create a coherent whole — notice, for example, that the pilot’s head is slightly turned to the left.

“Mason” is an excellent painter. His use of shaded greys for the metallic areas is particularly well suited for the Heavy Gear illustration style. I hear it’s extremely time-consuming to do, alas, so forget it for most people.

G-System

Good thing I lack the time, space and disposable cash: G-System Models.

Old Miniatures of Mine

I recently came across some pre-digital era miniature pictures that I did back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Now that I have a scanner, I figured I would make them available here, if only to offset the fact that I haven’t built or painted a model or miniature in nearly two years.

(Strangely enough, that’s about how long we’ve had the dog. Do the math.)

The page is very much “thrown together” and will need some work to turn it into a more presentable gallery. But isn’t this true of the entire site?

UPDATE: I added some Mekton miniatures to the mix. Enjoy!

Cataphract

I see that Phil has been set loose on a new model for Heavy Gear. I guess DP9 has decided that it was time for the line between Gear and Strider to blurr: check out the new Paxton Cataphract!

UPDATE: More pictures here.

G.I. Joe Miniatures for WH40K

Yep, it’s a G.I. Joe-themed Kill Team. Amazingly enough, the builder didn’t have to do a whole lot of converting. In many cases, it was just a matter of applying the classic character color schemes.

Tiger I Turret

Miniature is kind of a weird category for a guy building a 1:1 scale Tiger I turret in his backyard. I suppose it’s going to be some time before he can field a full army, let alone a complete tank. And which ruleset would you use?

Strange Mechanisms

Here’s a cool page I stumbled on recently: The Strange Mechanism Museum. Great stuff for modelers and alternate history gamers — I sure wish I had access to that when I worked on Gear Krieg.

"The Making Of" a HG Mini

Phil “Xactoboy” Leclerc explains how he creates the Heavy Gear miniatures for DP9.

UPDATE: Here, Phil explains how he’s sculpting the Iguana Gear miniature.

Work in Progress

Not sure if I mentioned this before, so here it is. Work In Progress is a forum where modelers post images of their Warhammer 40K conversions and scratchbuilds. Lots of diamonds in the rough.

LEGO® Necrons

This kind of thing is what happens when you mix a bit of spare time, spare LEGO® parts and Warhammer 40K. And it’s almost exactly the right size for tabletop gaming, too.

Go on, take a look — plenty more where that one is coming from. Leave comments in this thread if you want to share your impressions (or lack thereof).

UPDATE: RPG.net discussion thread, The Miniatures Page thread.

Red Bull Strider

Phil is finally done with the new Red Bull MkII miniature (for Heavy Gear).

He’s been busy redoing the basic Gear squads, I guess — I gave him the schematics back in March! (Worth the wait, though.)

UPDATE: I added the sketches at the bottom of the Heavy Gear concept art page, in case anyone’s interested.

Battle for Skull Pass Review

WeeToySoldiers.com features a review of the Warhammer 7th Edition: Battle for Skull Pass boxed set, with tons of pictures.

The price is low enough that I might get tempted — I do already have a half-painted unit of Dwarves somewhere in my boxes. Gotta resist… too much stuff… unpainted yet…

UPDATE: Dropped by my local GW store at lunch time to see the models in person. Very nice, but definitely not suited for “front rank” use — the one-piece molding, used to keep the price down, definitely has an impact on the looks of the miniatures. I would need to put in a lot of work to better define them before painting. Still, an excellent value for US purchasers ($45 for 100+ models!), and a great set for beginners.

WWII Superscience

More alternate reality gaming. Their WWII mecha aren’t bad, but I prefer the designs we (the DP9 folks) came up with for Gear Krieg.

No offense, just personal taste.

Model Links

I just added links to pictures of some of my models. You can find them on the Resources page.

Stompa!

Back in the Old Days (1988-1991), the boyz and I used to build all sort of stuff for our Warhammer armies, GW being nowhere as well-supplied then as it is today. Orks were favorite, since you can put all sort of fun stuff together and it will still look “orky.”

This guy has us beat by a mile.

Rusty Necrons

This is several shades of awesome. Rather than buy the plastic Necron models, the guy approximated them with random junk. It fits!

(via RPGnet forums)

The Hive Fleet Lies Dormant

Which is really sad, because my beloved got me a metric ton of greenstuff and some sculpting tool for Xmas, not to mention a few more beasties. But with the dog around, there’s really no place I can put the minis down to work on them safely.

Also, since Layka’s still a puppy, we have to watch her all the time — trust me on that one. I really can’t be busy modeling a fine detail and yet still be ready to sprint up in a split-second and rescue one of our possessions from The Jaws of Cruel and Unusual Maiming Death®.

So those Zoanthropes remain in their packs, reduced to sending me seductive psychic whispers… “buuuild us, yesss, make the Devourer reeeeal, yessss…”

It might explain the headache, at least.

Making a Gunfex

Okay, so I want to make a Gunfex (a Carnifex with Enhanced Senses, Venom Cannon and Barbed Strangler) to serve as the anti-vehicle support for my hive fleet. However, both the VC and the BS are supplied as right arm mounts, and I want to put the BS on the left side to balance the beast.

Anyone has hints on how to do a neat, clean job of this?

Will I have to resculpt the hands altogether (to reverse them), or is there an easier way?

The Hive Fleet Gets its Wings

I put together some pictures of the gargoyle pattern, held with bluetack. I just hope I can fit twelve of those suckers on the table. Those wings are really large…

By the way, this is meant to be a master pattern, so the posture is stiff. Each of the final casts will be suitably bent for a more life-like pose.

Tyranid Wing Work

As I mentioned before, I decided to rework the bat-like wings I’m making for my Gargoyles. I wasn’t happy with how the first try turned out. Too flat and lifeless, and something was wrong. I looked at more “bats in flight” pictures, and finally realized that I put in way too much structure and not enough wing surface. Boldly, I started over with the wing’s skin, rather than with the arm.

It works well so far, but before I spend time and greenstuff building up the digits and surface texture, I decided to check whether the shape was right. Out came the graphic program, with which I drew the missing parts (see at left).

I’m afraid I’ve got a bit too much surface area. The version on the right shows the same part, minus some skin at the trailing edge starting from the shoulder and out to the middle.

Which one looks better? You tell me.

Progress on the Hive Fleet

There are new pics on the Hive Fleet Valken page (for the Lictor and Spore Mines). Slow but steady… Right now I’m only building the models. I’ve got a group of friends that are all doing the same with different armies, and when we get about 500 points done we’ll start playing once in a while (career and family don’t allow for much more).

Obviously, I’m starting from a standard battleforce box and building from there. I’m making my own Gargoyles, Biovore, Lictor and Spore Mines, so these will be in. I briefly considered making some Guards as well, but I haven’t heard much good about them… might as well save the Greenstuff (putty) for other creatures.

I may take my Gargoyle wings and tweak them further for an assault squad of Warriors. I’m thinking of starting the wing patterns over, anyway. I want them larger and with a different structure. I got more bat pictures, especially in flight, and they’re not quite right yet.

I have a Carnifex, of course. At first I wanted to build it as a melee monster, but once I read up on the stats I realized that a “Gunfex” (two ranged weapons) would be a much better choice. Not quite sure yet how I’m going to reverse the Barbed Strangler so that it hangs on the left side, though… (both guns are righties). More putty, I guess.

Hive Fleet News

There are some new pictures of the Hive Fleet online. Check them out and tell me what you think.

Hive Fleet Update

I took a few more pictures of the items in progress and used the opportunity to spruce up the page a bit.

Please check out the new page for Hive Fleet Valken to see how things are, errr… evolving.

The Hive Fleet Grows

I’ve put up some pictures of the Hive Fleet miniatures online tonight. Not much, but things are moving forward.

Hive Fleet Progress

I worked a bit on the Hive Fleet’s creatures today. In addition to the gargoyle pattern, I’m making myself a Lictor (based on a Tyranid Warrior) and some spore mines. Another of the Tyranid Warrior models may find itself mutated into a Biovore. (Pictures are coming as soon as the putty takes.)

(Here are pictures of the official models, for comparison: gargoyle , Lictor, spore mines, and Biovore.)

It’s a lot of fun, but I’m having a devil of a time with the epoxy putty I’m using to sculpt the new bits. I think I’m trying to do too much at once. Maybe I would have more control of the shapes if I built them up slowly instead of trying to get it all done in one go.

The Hive Fleet is Coming!

At the request of friends, I’ve added a miniatures section to the Resources page of this site. I’ve also posted a few images of works in progress, namely some Tyranid figures for my Hive Fleet.

[And speaking of miniatures, Phil Leclerc of Minimaniak has been busy. He’s almost done sculpting all the miniatures from my old Heavy Gear series. (I used to be the editor up to three years ago). Considering there were several hundreds of designs published over the life of the series — ten years and going! — that’s mighty impressive.]

Thunderhammer

One of the issues with the old HO scale used for the early Heavy Gear miniatures was that big vehicles, such as tanks and striders, couldn’t be made (at least, not within a wargamer’s budget).

Well, in 1/144 scale it’s not a problem anymore. See Phil Leclerc’s brand new Thunderhammer artillery strider miniature. That’s one cool looking model!