Supers!

So, I've been rather busy. Military training is ramping up which also means I've been running and exercising more. I've been to the woods several times, mostly for training reasons. The kids are all in sports, and as none are on the same team, lots of different game/practice times/venues. Plus my wife is still a night shifter but has also been bitten by that horrible spring cleaning bug! The dogs and I are running for cover! The poor dears have been getting weekly baths, and since Nova likes to dig and roll around in mud(like I do) he has been getting up to three a week! He does like to get bathed and dried, but hates the temporary ban on going out after he is clean!

So here is Bow, a super submitted to the 5th AAHWPC! He is a Vigilante trope, he will also be used in Zombie and Sci fi skirmish as part of a SPECOPs team.

I did keep his colors muted and simple as it seems to suit my perceived demeanor of his charcter.

As a tinboy, he has helped my kids on numerous occasions as a GM NPC. I let him disappear when the kids no longer need his help.

The Blue Falcon is also another Crossover miniature that finally got painted. My kids really love his stats, but the really don't like him!

Blue Falcon is American military jargon for a Buddy F****r. Meaning someone who is more out to help themselves than help the team. He is also someone who will not only "throw you under the bus" but will also back it up and hit you with it again. 

He is a dandy and likes his shiny clean duds!

My local police are lead by a veteran Ranger who was given two cyber dogs to aid in crime fighting

My daughter had the nifty idea of police lights for tail tips

Alpha and Omega flanking the chief who comes from Reaper Minis

These fellows are some of the new Robotic Minions from Crossover Minis. like the other Crossover minis, they have separate heads for posa-bility and changing looks. The other head is very reminiscent of the Starwars Imperial Biker troops.

I really began practicing NMM on them, I have some more of this type without the police blue, and another platoon element of ones with the 'Biker troop' heads to serve as the military package of robots.

They will be used in our super games, and have a very long plot line coming.

Dr Dread is behind the contract with the PD for these bots. He will reveal that down the road, as I introduce the other bots and the improved military ones into the campaign.

For now, my kids are enjoying them as helpers in attempts to bring Dr Dread and his followers to justice. They are questioning why the blood splattered one hasn't helped them out yet!

With all the minions unleashed on Megapolis, my kids have been needing more support. They were really hip to SHEILD from the movies and TV show. Now they can call on these not-SHEILD for support!

A not Nick Fury and a brunet female agent to act as fire team leaders. Sam Jackson is perfect for Nick Fury, but I'm old school and remember the eternal warrior leading the howling commandos!

I couldn't paint their gear, gloves, boots white as I never really liked that in the comics. Brown leather and green webgear seems a better choice to me! The minions come with the Strike Team heads which I used as they all have microphones and ear pieces. The other heads you can pick are ball cap ones or the not-HYDRA ones. I have a bunch yet to be painted or fielded that are the not-HYDRA!

I just have to come up with a color scheme I like for them.

These Crossover sculpts are my favorites! Very clean minis and nicely detailed. They were a lot of fun to paint which is a good thing as I have a lot more of them to do!

A Web/Net gun, a Rocket Launcher, Flame thrower, and a Minigun. Just the weapons to help an elite paramilitary unit take out super powered villains!

The back packs are pretty nice too.

A size comparison of them all. During the contest I based the Police on Reaper Bases and they match up really well to the Chief. I'm very happy with the line that Crossover has and they are a wonderful little company worth a view. A lot of stuff can be used in other genres besides Supers, The separate heads match up well with other manufactures too.

I have a game of 40k scheduled tomorrow then I'll be back to making terrain for my 15mm troops. I hope to have the 15mm terrain up soon. If I don't, I still have plenty of backlog from the challenge to post up!

I've been sorting out and planning for the next challenge as I've been finishing purchasing of my pulpy WW2 and blackpowder Eastern tribes! more to come! ;)

 

paper warehouses, kit comparrison

   Things are progressing reasonably well, I haven't lost my temper once this week!...thus far!
Lots of honey-do's have been accomplished, I've made it to almost all Church and school functions-except the times I was at work-, and I've also made respectful progress on my painting.
I even have found the time to set up the tree, string the lights, and set up my nutcracker collection; although, I suppose those are requirements for the season! It seems that my paint table has a foot race between the 44th Regt of foot and the  Prison Outbreak zombies. One will be featured next week, If I survive the next five, twelve-hour work days and the non-winter drivers seeking home or shopping as I go to and from work!
I have slowly been taking advantage of technology with this hobby. First using the internet for research instead of the library, then forums with like minded hobby enthusiasts, paper models to replace the expensive kits and time consuming scratch builds, and of course blogger!

There is nothing wrong with scratch builds nor kits. They do take time from the minions and can take money from recruiting more minions. I have several really nice kits and scratch built terrain pieces, I consider it mandatory to have objective markers or army specific terrain bits to anchor a force in what is mostly a modular, generic battlefield. Papermodels are really great as they are cheap and often nice free ones can be found. Some can be reskined or include optional components which can lead a hobbyist to fill a table with structures from just one PDF file. Dave Graffam is one such designer who includes several skins and options in his builds including instructions to scale the structure into any size you need. His builds have been the easiest ones to build. Chris Roe makes splendid Scifi vehicles and structures which fit well into BladeRunner/5th Element/Battlestar Galactica/ Serenty type settings his builds are a bit more intermediate to expert but are exquisite in the function( removable roofs/walls, working ramps, etc). I have several different kits from many makers. I had thought to make my own to sell, but I'm still a ground pounder and free time is for my minions!

I have two warehouse models to show. One is the multistory warehouse from Finger and Toe models, the other is a derelict warehouse from Stoezels Structures. Both are really easy to build and could fit well in most any era from WW1 to future war.

I made the Finger and Toe model a four story structure. It could have several more levels or even one. Several optional doors and windows are included to further personalize it. I am very unhappy with the roof and have made several previous structures as static pieces because of the warping roofs. The Stoezel structure is laminated paper over foam core and it has a solid build that is rapidly endearing me to his kits. I may try laminating the finger and toe models which should remove the dreaded warp issue.

there is some warping here, but I found this a novel way of building a layer cake construction and keep the levels from shifting during use. Glen included the interior parts to help stabilize the floors

Glen also used the concrete decorations to hide the seams of each level making this a very functional model...except for that roof!

The Stoezel structure has two floors, because it is so solid I store my paper crates and barrels in it.

It is truly a warehouse for my minions! It came with a staircase and the support posts which hold each upper level in place. each post is precolored even on the end pieces. ..in case you should want to lay a few down for tripping hazards or further adding to the disrepair of the derelict.

Finger and toe has spots in the corner for the support posts, but they are only colored on a few sides and the top.

The blue line is marking the area for a floor in the stoezel structure. you can cut a rabbit in the foamcore and build this as a threesided, layer cake, or a removable floor as I have done. make sure you test fit first as Carl gives you enough print acreage on all the pieces to accommodate your building preference.

My Free French Scifi Marines have graciously wandered into the top floor of the Finger and Toe warehouse. They are trapped! Although Glen included stairs, they are taller than the floors and you will have to cut out openings for each level. While this makes a nice sandbox approach, I have discovered that some windows and sections would be covered by the stairs, so I left them out.

They are more ramps than stairs as well. They do have a good slope for mini bases and did go together quickly. Another big deterrent is only the side and rear of the stair are skinned, it has to be against a wall. I am going to save them for a future build.

Both kits are really nice. The finger and toe model cost me less than $5 and the Stoezel structure was free. With cost, ease of build, skin quality, game potential...the better kit is the stoezel structure, but I truly like the sand box Finger and toe. I'm going to rebuild it with foamcore and go for a couple of large up to 10 storey towers for snipers! You could even run a skirmish for ascending or descending the tower. But the derelict is free and really easy to build.

If you haven't built one yet, I recommend a wrinkle free scrapbook glue, 170# cardstock, and spray photo adheseive for sticking the card to the foamcore. I'd use black foamcore as it looks better than white when thin slivers show thru slightly off cuts. Follow the instructions and allow time for the glue to set. I have a slew of cheap markers to edge the cardstock with the similar color to the skins, this also removes the white slices peeking thru. Last of all, it is paper and it is easy if you take your time; however, both of these models took a weekend to build together. I spent perhaps 6 hours for each build not including dry time. I played with my kids, painted models and performed honey-do's.

It was a rainy Michigan summer weekend which may have influenced the warp factor of the finger and toe model too!

Thus concludes another week, It'll be redcoats or berserker zombies next week!

 

Imperial Guard 40k

Good morning! I think I am adjusting well to being a day-walker. I have completed the East Essex Regiment and the first batch of zombies... well completed save basing! I have to paint the bits added to the infantry bases and flock them. I should get that done in a few weeks or next week if lucky. Military Ball this weekend, Christmas decorating only 2% done, holiday shopping, plus my mandatory exercise regime does take a lot of slices from "free" time. My oldest daughter and youngest daughter both have birthdays this month and all four kids still have holiday programs in music and celebration as well as the errant sporting venue! It is a shame I am not wealthy, an assistant would be a huge help to organize my daily schedule. It's supposed to be my wife, but she has that peculiar glazed look she only gets during the holidays. It's that 50 yard stare promising dismemberment/ death if I forget to be somewhere that I should already know about! Thus I shall have to be wary this Yuletide. Now onward with hobby goodness!

The following is the newest addition to my Cadian 7th Cavalry. They are my oldest army with minis going all the way back to the mid 80's; they are also the litmus test that gives solid evidence that even a completed host is never truly done. I do dart about like a madman, flitting from project to project( Germans and Tau are 1/2 painted and dusty from before I deployed...2yrs in wait!) I took the Sash and Saber spare ACW heads and test fitted them to check feasibility in adding some more rough riders to my army. Not only did they fit really well, but I also discovered that I have scores of plastic guard bits. Scores, as in, enough to build another 2-3 platoons. I scrounged up some parts for a new veteran squad and then I snatched a few more bits to make a Sgt Major model. With 5 platoons all with chimeras and the squadrons of tanks and batteries of artillery, it was past time for a Sgt Major to terrorize junior officers and enlisted alike.

my new vet squad

My painting style has changed a lot, but I still use the same spot colors.

Each platoon has a colored shoulder pad to indicate platoon allocation.

my veteran squads are just plain olive drab as they are beyond platoon structure.

I am really liking the effect of the sash and saber heads.

the sgt major, a RTO, and plasma gunner

I gave the Sgt the Stetson as I only had 10 spare heads and one was obviously not a kepi.

a view of the rest of the squad from the rear, each color is the three tone method over a black primer coat. each area also received it's own color wash for blending...didn't use or know of washes in the 80's!

I obviously still need work in photographing my work, but although all is flash wiped, you can see the bling and command presence of the Sgt Major!

Not to be left out, My renegade forces ! My renegade forces use gray as a primary color then purple, blue, red, and green in accordance to power alliance. These fellows are Slanneshi, so they use purple for a second color.

I used Catchan, chaos marine, chaos warrior, chaos knight, beastman, kroot, and a whole lot of "?" to build this squad.

I used a smattering of skins and furs to instill a marading, pillaging look to them. They are not showing up to help anyone but themselves!

I gave them one bull headed troop, I tried to keep the whole skull and chaos star bit minimal

The brass was hit with a turquoise then tin bitz followed by a burnished brass drybrush

I built them way back at the start of this century and blocked in the color. They were used in the Armageddon/Cadian gate campaign. I can't remember which one was going then! It wasn't until this summer that I finished with midtones and highlights followed by washes and basing.

There is a real rebel vs. federal feel to them which is intended. The federals far outnumber them too as the Cadian7th is my favorite army to use in 40k. I like having a ton of average men armed with flashlights( lasguns are probably the worst weapon to use in 40k but 40 shooting at one squad can be brutally effective!). The renegades are a great foil for them as I do not use all the chaos worshipping extras that are allowed. I do have deathguard nurgle marines to bolster them and they were painted to match my bloodaxe orks for human mercs. The renegades were really just a theme force to confront the Cadian7th and let me enjoy troop movement and all the fun of traditional combined arms without demonic and psyker powers disruptions.

well, that is all for this week. I'll have more next time. in the meanwhile, and if this works, below should be a YouTube video or link of the bohemian rhapsody done for star wars. If it works, this old dog has a new trick! I just wish I knew how to save the videos to my external drive. Perhaps I'll ask the younger soldiers this weekend....

 

 

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challenges and the holiday season begins!

Ever have one of those days that just doesn't go right? one of those weeks?...years?
I promise I haven't fallen into the pit of despair or even a fugue of apathy. In all I'm doing remarkably well for a 45 year old whose mid-life crisis involved putting back on a uniform and returning to the military. I couldn't do the cliché of chasing a twenty-something blonde and jetting around in a convertible. I had to put on camouflage to validate my manliness.
It was for several reasons I put the uniform back on. Yes, twenty years gives me a bit extra for retirement, medical gets better, and the ability to buy more for less at military commissaries. There is also the Patriotic portion. My family has served before The US decided not to be a colony of England. I grew up with accounts of ancestors present and those long gone( my son is named after a great-great grandfather who served in the ACW). 9-11 did provide a motivation as well, my children also( who doesn't want their kids to be safe and not have to serve- perhaps the not serve is a pipedream as /I am perpetuating a cycle long unbroken) The unit I joined to finish my 20 is the very same one my great-great grandfather was part of in the ACW. My own grandfather served from the same armory when they were tankers in the Korean War, My wife's father served with the same unit in Vietnam. I trained as a recon scout and deployed to Afghanistan. Being the old guy in the unit has it's own set of challenges being that I am not as fast or strong as the kids, I also do not have the rank as the few soldiers who are in my generation. I was kept in reserves till some of my buddies were hurt in an ambush, then I got brought over. I am the only soldier from my unit not to receive a CIB( combat infantry badge) not because I wasn't shot at, but it wasn't a firefight of the tempo that crippled some of the kids that brought me over to begin with. We all came home alive which if not the perfect ending it is a good one.
The economic downturn and budget cuts have impacted further as well. A soldier never quits, but the organization can quit on the soldier. I don't blame them as it must be hard to quantify a subordinate older than yourself, yet I am frustrated that I spent a considerable amount to repair torn hamstrings just to be benched at the start of deployment. I am a touch resentful that troops younger than I who gave guidance to have been promoted over myself, I am equally resentful that I am getting shoved out the door. I am resentful that each time I don the uniform, I take a pay cut from my civilian job, yet I still carry out every task put before me. Anger...
Anger, there is a lot of it seething beneath the surface. Not just the perceived anger in the above paragraphs, but also in the news and nation. When the British Soldier was stabbed to death in England not so long ago, I went tunnel vision, blurred angry. Seeing the time life images of the troops in Somalia being dragged through the streets naked put me in a red tinted rage. If you have never experienced it, It is a cold, numbing thing. your sight narrows around what you have an overpowering urge to destroy.   This urge is reached by the idiot in a Che t-shirt who told my daughter that I was going to kill Muslim women and children. The button has also been pressed by the loudmouth patron holding up a gas station queue as she complained about her too hot coffee or the motorist who cut me off on an icy highway sans turn signals.
A physical clue is my face turns white, my eyes darken to black, and my left hand shakes. I know this because my wonderful wife has noted it. I have yet to determine if age has prevented myself from snapping. It is a cold seething rage, and my thought process if somewhat narrow for solutions still exists. PTSD, dunno, I have joined the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Both have several vets who share the same fury. A Psychologist has called it irrational anger which seems very ironic as it feels very rational to me to be angry. I honestly have no intentions of climbing a water tower and venting with a rifle. That suggestion brings a tremor of the "irrational anger".
Family is a huge help, It's hard to hold on to hatred and vitrol when your kids are full of wonder and cheer at all they see and do. A beer with a few vets also vents a bit of steam. A wife rubbing your shoulders and saying "honey..." is a good verbal cue to let go.
Running helps, I'm not as fast as I was in my youth( my own 11yr old daughter runs a 18 min 3 mile, and she is faster than my 2 mile run for this year)still it does wonders for quieting your mind. Wargaming is another tool. You can't build and paint models when you are pissed off. If a dark spell is on me, often a few minuets with some plastic and lead will get me back to an even keel.
I did not make it through my list of Git-er-done. The Cygnar forces are completed except for basing, the Spacewolves and Crimson Fists are still where I left them as are the dwarven host. I still have to finish my chaos warships as well. Now I have the Napoleonic forces added to the queue!
I have a suspiscion that my wife is cognizant of this calming effect. Although I failed in completing the forces she tasked me to complete....gamer OCD or shinyitus had some limited involvement.
She has been looking at my scifi 15mm list for the Alien Legion project which was to be my reward for completing the armies( that I didn't). I really got to focus and get something completed before St Nick comes by!
So rant completed, here are some Crossover minis from a kickstarter this year. Modern, zombie, superhero, pulp, even scifi can use these minions. If you venture to the website for them, you will note they have minions for order( I'm not the only one who likes that word)
Once again the photos are rather bad! I will get some better ones as thses will be photographed again once I complete them.

so here are my boys in blue. regular patrol officers and a swat team

The police leader of the minions. he'll be my police sgt, Tyrell from Reaper minis is my police chief and is shown for a size comparison. I just need some reaper bases or similar so that they all look like they belong.

The Crossover minis come with separate heads. Here is the same police officer body but with different heads. My swat leader has a thug leader head( I liked the bald head with sunglasses), the swat officer next to him uses the helmet head. I painted on the balaclava. the last officer got the standard patrol cap.

here are the armed thugs. I used a variety of camouflage on them. They can be armed robbers, terrorists, paramilitary, current to near future.

I gave them a variety of footwear as well from boots to basket ball shoes

a clown mask, balaclava,and bald head 

with the masks, I had to make a joker crew! the middle three have green hair green pants and purple jackets to show whose goons they are.

I am really fond of the armed thugs. They are not elite like hydraesque troops, but are great for a quasi military flair and could easily blend into scifi blade runner type adventures.

the last two are Crash and Burn. I've only painted the brass and red on them and they still have a way to go!

I have entirely completed the red portions of the uniforms, I just have to finish with the other bits.

All these models were primed in a semi gloss black as my kids used up all of my flat black on some cardboard for art projects. A prelude I am certain for the status of the gas tanks once they are old enough to drive! 

They are going to be a husband and wife team of dubious morality. They will be neutral between the rivalry of my super villain and my kid's heroes.
There are several super and minion sets available from Crossover Miniatures. I will be shopping for more as with the separate heads, I can get some not-Shield and not-Hydra minions as well as ninjas!
What kinda villain would Dr Dread be without a team of Ninjas!?
The price isn't too bad as a group of 15 minions go for about$50 and the single heroes go for around$6. I just need some bases to even them up with reaper. Since their bases are molded on, it may be a bit problematic to use the third party scenic bases. But for generic heroes and villains they have some really nice generic sculpts.
Yes, I'm a little late in my posting as today is Saturday and not my imposed deadline of Friday.
I am sufficiently stuffed on turkey and other holiday culinary delights...we also have a plethora of leftovers which is another benefit of the holidays! Leftovers! meals will be easy the next few days, if you like turkey of course!