"Salute" Loot 2019

"Dead Man's Hand" WIPs - John Bridges, the Scarred Man and Ned Kelly

This year's traditional trip to the ExCeL convention centre in Custom House, East London has once again added a few more baubles to my horde of metal, plastic and resin miniatures, as well as greatly widened my interest in yet another genre or two. In fact, one of the main reasons I enjoy attending this show is that some manufacturer somewhere will throw me a real ‘curve ball’ and before I know it, I’ll have bought heavily into a new game system I hadn’t previously even heard of.

Fortunately, financially-wise at least, that didn’t quite happen during “Salute” 2019, but I did still walk away with a few Wild West miniatures by “Great Escape Games” for their “Dead Man’s Hand” rule-set. Even though I don’t currently have any particular intention in purchasing and playing the 28mm skirmish game itself, I did find it impossibly hard to resist purchasing a box of models disconcertingly based upon an Undead Magnificent Seven.

"Time Robbers" WIPs - The Minotaur and two models from the Ultimate Evil set

Obviously I needed some opposition for the skull-headed Malevolent Seven, and spotted amongst the stall’s single figure blister packs an excellent proxy for “DC Comics” Jonah Hex in the guise of the Scarred Man and Rooster Cogburn with John Bridges (albeit I would have much preferred one resembling John Wayne’s original incarnation). In addition, whilst searching this excellent range I also spotted a boxed set featuring Ned Kelly’s formidably armoured lawbreakers. The bucket-wearing Australian bushranger has always been a favourite Wild West villain of mine, even if he did his shooting on the other side of the world, so there was no way I could resist picking his gang up as well…

A couple of years ago at “Salute” 2016 “Northumbrian Tin Soldier” caught me completely off-guard with half a dozen 28mm white metal "Time Robbers” based upon the band of dwarves from the 1981 motion picture "Time Bandits". Rather embarrassingly, apart from basing and priming the figures I have never touched them again, however that may now all change, as at this show the Tyne & Wear-based manufacturer’s captured my imagination once again by serving up both an Ultimate Evil set of four miniatures, alongside a blister comprising of Agamemnon and a giant Minotaur.

"Dust Tactics" WIPs - Three members of the Cultist Fire Squad

Quite possibly one of my most unexpected buys of “Salute” 2019 however, came from a chance encounter with “Dust Studio”, who I had totally forgotten about following a rather painful “Kickstarter” experience way back in 2014. I’d always been a big fan of “Dust Tactics” up until this point, and at the time pledged very enthusiastically for all things “Operation Babylon”. Sadly, ‘behind-the-scene’ bust-ups over backer rewards seemed to stall the distribution of my goodies for an eternity, and ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth for the genre.

To my utter astonishment though, a quick look at the “Dust Studio” display cabinet was all that was needed to immediately reignite my enthusiasm back up as I saw the Hong Kong-headquartered company have recently introduced a Cthulhu Mythos faction into their 1947 A.D. universe, and crammed it with just the sort of baddies one would expect to see in an Indiana Jones or Ray Harryhausen motion picture. Resultantly, I couldn’t stop myself from picking up a box of unassembled Cultist Fire Squad figures, Mi-Go Raiders and (more) Nazi killer Gorilla Squad members, as well as later digging out my dusty old collection of miniatures in anticipation for a painting frenzy…

"It's Accelerating. How Long Before A Medical Team Arrives?"

"Good grief! It wasn't like that an hour ago."

This 28mm metal model of a Failed Experiment Minion is from code SKU: 26 and is made by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”. The figure is one of several similar miniatures I am currently progressing in order to represent some of the hapless staff of botanist Harrison Chase, from the 1976 British Science Fiction television serial "Doctor Who And The Seeds Of Doom". 

Having first pinned and superglued a Human ‘Hard Hat’ Minion Head to the torso, as well as a Failed Experiment Arm to his sleeve, I gave the 'doomed' Chase Manor Security Guard an undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Blue. I then picked out the ‘infected’ plant-zombie’s zipper and name badge clipper with “Citadel” Iron Breaker before washing both these metallic areas and the chap’s headwear and jumpsuit with Nuln Oil. The goon’s tendril was painted using a combination of Vallejo “Heavy Grey”, Heavy Red, “Citadel” Thrakka Green and Carroburg Crimson, and “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade. This heavily-suckered vegetable growth was then dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Grey. The former human’s flesh was painted predominantly using Heavy Skintone and some watered down “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. Although for the 'infected' hand and part of his face I used Vallejo “Heavy Grey” and "Citadel" Thrakka Green.

A.S.P. Trooper WIPs - The Gold Centurion's armour will be be muted by a Strong Tone Quickshade wash

In addition I've been working my way through my growing collection of "Nexus Miniatures" and been concentrating on some of the company's A.S.P. Trooper models. These sculpts are wonderfully reminiscent of the Cylons from the 1978 American Science Fiction television series "Battlestar Galactica". I've a number of such figures already undercoated, ready for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. But as I had already started to paint a few of the robots up, in both silver and gold armour, I thought I would use them as test pieces. I have even started to try and finish another of the first of my 'faceless' Colonial Warriors using a converted NX15 (D-Ranger Codenamed Joey) torso and one of the D-Ranger Helmets from code NX16.

Dust Tactics WIPS - These three models have been gathering dust for many months

Finally, as my long-awaited and highly-anticipated Second Wave of miniatures from the "Dust: Operation Babylon" kickstarter has finally arrived, I have started to recommence work on a small number of my "Dust Tactics" models, starting with these Allied Grim Reapers.

28mm Battle Report: The Red Devils Verses Nazi Zombies and Axis Gorillas

THE ALLIED FORCES BATTLE NAZI ZOMBIES AND AXIS GORILLAS

Recently I’ve been reading a series of comic books entitled “Uber” by “Avatar Press”. To be honest they’re a bit too profanity laden and gory for my tastes. But the basic storyline, Germany fending off the Russian advance at the end of the Second World War by creating an army of super-powered soldiers, is a very good one. Certainly it enthused me enough to dig out my old “Dust Tactics” models and start wargaming the genre using a squad of super-powered British Red Devils against a gathering Axis Gorillas and the Undead.

This game using ‘Homemade Rules’ takes place upon my usual 2x2 gaming board which has been populated with some sporadic trees and a couple of ruined buildings. The Paratroopers’ goal was simple, drop into enemy territory and locate a wrecked robot placed in the centre of the battlefield. Once found, the Red Devils simply had to hold off any enemy units until a helicopter could arrive and safely extract them and their prize. The Axis units simply have to stop them.

“The story so far… Axis forces have been massing along the German border, so Allied Intelligence dispatched a self-sufficient flying drone to conduct reconnaissance over the area. Unfortunately the robot was shot down before it could complete its mission. So headquarters have deployed a team of Red Devils to air drop into the area, and retrieve the remains. Unfortunately the landing zone is currently occupied by trained killer Gorillas and the Walking Dead.”

THE TABLETOP - PARATROOPER LANDING SITES 1,2 & 3

The German forces were randomly deployed around the table’s edges. Whilst Corporal Wayne, Private Knight and Private Murdock identified their preferred landing spots. The robot objective was placed in the centre of the board [Point 4]. The game started with Private Knight landing perfectly in the middle of a ruined building in the north east corner of the battlefield [Point 1]. Corporal Wayne was equally as proficient with his air drop, and landed precisely where he wanted in the north east corner [Point 3]. Unfortunately Private Murdock slightly missed his landing spot but still managed to hit the first floor of a ruined building in the south east corner of the woodland [Point 2].

DOWN AND SAFE - THE RED DEVILS LAND READY FOR ACTION

Sensing living human flesh a nearby zombie rushed towards the landing site of Corporal Wayne. He was immediately spotted by the experienced paratrooper and laid low. In the north western ruin Private Knight shuddered as he heard the howls of two shambling corpses fast approaching him… from different directions. Raising his phaser weapon, the Red Devil immediately felled one of the cadavers. But horrified he then saw an enormous ape appear from behind a nearby tree and start rushing towards him. In the south east Private Murdock also heard the wail of the Undead from beyond some woodland to the south. But he was more concerned with the sight of the gigantic gorilla which was snuffling around at the base of the building he was hiding in. His weapon blazed away at the brute, but despite being wounded the hairy beast did not die. Instead, with a roar, it raced towards the soldier. Who terrified, realised that he could hear the sound of a second great ape moving around the ruin behind his position.

THE WALKING DEAD - GERMAN CORPSES START TO RUSH PRIVATE KNIGHT

From the vulnerable north western ruin Private Knight began Turn Two by opening fire on the snarling gorilla charging towards him. But in his panic missed. In the south east Private Murdock had better luck, and with another roar from his weapon, the giant ape at the bottom of his building was still and dead. The corporal, believing his compatriots had matters well in hand started to move towards the last sighted position of the robot’s remains. However things were not going as well as Wayne thought. For starters the ape Private Knight had completely missed, smashed into the paratrooper and almost tore the man limb from limb there and then. Dazed, the soldier was then charged by a hungry zombie. But somehow managed to stay alive despite the attack. Unfortunately he then saw that another zombie had appeared just outside the ruined building, hungry for his brains. Just which intelligence bigwig thought this place would be an ideal landing spot!?! Private Murdock was also in some danger, as a zombie had appeared besides the body of the ape he’d killed, and he could hear another gorilla effortlessly climbing up the outside of the building he was perched in.

PLANET OF THE APES - KNIGHT AND MURDOCK FACE KILLER GORILLAS

Turn Three saw Murdock spin round and fire at the huge black shape pulling itself up over the wall behind him. But in his fright he totally missed as the ape launched its huge bulk upon him. With a cry, the Red Devil felt his ribs give way beneath the animal’s colossal weight, and at the same time saw that zombie below had reached the edge of the building. Meanwhile Private Knight put his armoured fist through the head of the zombie trying to gnaw through his shoulder. Unfortunately this still left the paratrooper embroiled in a fist-fight with a massive gorilla… But before that battle could be resolved another zombie was upon him and the soldier was eaten alive. Realising the success of his mission was in jeopardy, Corporal Wayne raced on towards the robot’s remains, hoping he could soon call in a helicopter and get what remained of his squad out of this death-trap. But already he could hear the heavy approach of a gorilla from the direction of the north-west corner.

DEATH DEALING - MURDOCK DISPATCHES AN APE. BUT KNIGHT IS OVERWHELMED

The Fourth Turn began with a zombie clambering up onto the first floor where Private Murdock was holed up. But the soldier was too busy thinking about the gorilla’s jaws closing in around his head, and with a “chomp” he was dead. Alone, Corporal Wayne, shivering at the sound of at least one zombie coming at him from the north-west, suddenly saw a gorilla racing towards him from behind a tree. He turned his weapon on the brute and fired… ‘snake-eyes’… a weapon jam!! 

HEROIC ATTEMPT - CORPORAL WAYNE MAKES FOR THE OBJECTIVE AS MURDOCK DIES

All around the Red Devil the cries of the Undead could be heard as the fiends quickly made their way towards the sounds of fresh meat. Throwing his useless weapon to one side, the hero gave a cry “For God, The King and Churchill” and charged into the oncoming silverback gorilla. Breathless he staggered back. He hadn’t injured the beast at all despite his heavy armoured form.

MAN VERSES BEAST - WAYNE BATTLES A GORILLA AS ZOMBIES RUSH TOWARDS HIM

Turn Six saw the Corporal throw another punch into the face of the ape, and this time he finally drew blood. But hungry corpses were fast approaching his location from the west and south, and although he could now hear the beeping of the damaged robot, he knew the Undead were between him and his prize. In the distance he noted the gorilla which had killed Murdock had clambered down from the ruined building and was thundering towards him as well. A huge roar from the killer ape in front of him jerked him back to his senses but it was not enough to save him from the ferocious attack. At the same time he felt clawing hands tearing at his armour, pulling him to the ground…

LAST REPORTED POSITION OF CORPORAL WAYNE - THE RED DEVIL FINALLY FALLS

For those interested in finding out a bit more as to what "Uber" is about. Then I have reviewed the first three issues of the comic book series here:

Uber #0 Uber #1 Uber #2

Blutkreuz Korps Untertoten Squad

I've managed to complete my Blutkreuz Korps Untertoten Squad, and enjoyed painting these "Dust Tactics" models so much that I've ordered a second boxed set off Ebay.

 The models are predominantly painted in “Vallejo” Heavy Orange and then liberally washed with Umber Shade in order to give them the 'penal inmate look' I wanted. I then gave their flesh a coat of Heavy Bluegrey and a wash of Green Shade. I 'picked out' some of their facial details with more Heavy Bluegrey, and then slightly smudged them so as to lessen their stark contrast with the areas washed with the Green Shade. Each "Axis Zombie" was then given a mouthful of bloody guck that dripped down their front, using a combination of Fleshtone Shade and Red Shade. Each model’s panzer glove was painted with Gunmetal Grey before being washed with Black Shade. The rivets and fittings of the close combat weapons were then treated to a wash of watered down Copper. Once dry, these areas were dry brushed with more Gunmetal Grey.

 My enthusiasm for the “Dust Tactics” range continues to go from strength to strength although I have experienced some initial doubts as to the colour I've selected for the “Grim Reapers” armour. The box artwork for the Allied unit clearly depicts light grey attire, but having applied a similarly coloured undercoat to the models, the Heavy Ranger Attack Squad appeared too close to the Early Panzer Grey scheme ordinarily attributed to German forces. This was despite the Rocket punching troopers wearing armour almost identical to that of the “Red Devils”. I have attempted to use Heavy Brown as an alternative, but shelved this idea after it made the Victory MG dual wielding soldiers appear too like the German ‘Afrika Korps’. Instead, I've now undercoated all three models in Heavy Grey in order to replicate the colour of the “Red Devils”, and establish a consistent green-brown look to all of my “Dust Tactics” Allied Forces.   

Axis Zombie

Despite me only starting to work on my Blutkreuz Korps Untertoten Squad a little over a week ago, I've already finished the first of the five “Axis Zombies”, and frankly there is little left to be done on the boxed set’s remaining four plastic models. Indeed this Undead painting project has gone so well I'm almost certain to buy a second box of Blutkreuz Zombies during the next couple of weeks.

I'm once again really enjoying painting the “Dust Tactics” 30mm model range by “Fantasy Flight”. so much so that I've already re-based the three models from the boxed set “Grim Reapers” in preparation to start painting them over the next few days.

Red Devils

Some six months after I first started painting them I've finally finished the three “Red Devils” by “Fantasy Flight”. I've struggled with my enthusiasm for this £8.99 30mm plastic boxed set (ordered from "Maelstorm Games") as I've found both the sculpting on the "Dust Tactics" models to be ‘soft’ and some of their details impossibly hard to reach with a paintbrush. As a result the majority of each soldier has simply been painted with “Vallejo” Heavy Grey and an equal mix of Umber Shade and Black Shade wash.

Fortunately the models have somewhat been improved by applying some allied decals I recently purchased from the Ebay store “1/144 Direct”. Costing £6.30 (including postage and packaging) the “1/144 - 1/160 Decals British Armour Divisions Europe 44-45 Tank 001” sheet has enabled me to give each model a 20” allied star on its armour, along with its arms of service serial number (in this case the Armed Recon Regiment), its bridge classification plate (2 tons) and its squadron marking (Senior Regiment 'A'). I've tried to place these decals on the 'armoured' models in the spirit of British military tank markings.

Work In Progress: Red Devils

I'm finally close to completing the three British Paratrooper models I've been 'working on' from the "Dust Tactics" “Red Devils” boxed set by "Fantasy Flight Games". Some five months after this mini-project originally started, I've actually varnished and based the second of my Third Para Brigade miniatures and, despite some repainting being required, am close to having the Heavy Grey "Vallejo" armour of the third model finished.

Unfortunately, this third Red Devil is proving even more frustrating to paint than the first, thanks to the model having some especially difficult areas to reach with a paintbrush. Worse, the equal mix of Umber Shade and Black Shade wash I used for their armour, has come out far darker on this soldier than it did on its two colleagues; so instead of pooling naturally, it has simply dried as it was applied and left plenty of splodgey brush stokes visible as a result. I've now applied a second coat of Heavy Grey to these problem areas in the hope that a further “Vallejo” wash will better settle.  

This poor-looking armour has lead to me ordering a set of allied decals “1/144 - 1/160 Decals British Armour Divisions Europe 44-45 Tank 001” from the Ebay store “1/144 Direct”. Hopefully once I've applied an allied star and a couple of insignia to each model I'll have masked some of their painting deficiencies.

Once I've finished working on these “Red Devils” I plan to turn my attention to the five Blutkreuz Korps Untertoten Squad models that make up the “Axis Zombies” boxed set. I'd like to get these finished before any of my "Dreadball" or "Judge Dredd" Kickstarter models arrive.

Red Devil

This British Paratrooper is one of three Third Para Brigade models from "Dust Tactics" by "Fantasy Flight Games". As with the Axis Gorillas I dislike the 'metal effect' bases, so repositioned it on a 40mm lipped base from the Ebay store Arcane Scenery.

The model was initially given a coat of Heavy Grey "Vallejo" paint and then heavily washed with an equal mix of Umber Shade and Black Shade. The 60W Phaser Gun was painted with Gunmetal Grey and Black Shade, before being drybrushed with more Gunmetal Grey to bring out the detail. The phaser weapon's tubing and the Paratrooper's Red Beret were picked out with Heavy Red and Red Shade. The face was painted with Heavy Skintone and Fleshtone Shade.

I must confess to be rather unhappy as to how this soldier has turned out, especially as the painted examples on the box look so good. Especially disappointing is how obviously plastic the model is. Indeed in some of the harder to reach areas (e.g. under the arms) detail had clearly been lost in the casting process, and some edges appeared jagged and almost torn. As a result I've found my enthusiasm for this project quickly disappearing, to the point where I'm struggling mightily to complete the remaining two miniatures from the box.

In the meantime I'm painting up some more 10mm Russian and German Early Winter War infantry and some scenery by "Pendraken Miniatures". This building is from their resin scenery "PS41 WWII Russian tiled hut, rendered walls" and the broken 50mm x 50mm "Dragon's Teeth" are part of "GR209 Tank Traps".

Axis Gorillas

This Blutkreuz Korps Kampfaffen Squad is from "Dust Tactics" by "Fantasy Flight Games", and are the first models I've ever painted using "Vallejo" paints. All three models come 'undercoated' and glued to Dust Tactics plastic pre-modelled bases. As I disliked the bases, and the positioning of some of the models I rebased them on 40mm lipped bases from the Ebay store Arcane Scenery.

All the models were then given a coat of Heavy Charcoal and a wash of Black Shade. They were then drybrushed with more Heavy Charcoal. The Panzer Gloves were painted with Gunmetal Grey and Black Shade, before being given a wash of watered down Copper. I then drybrushed more Gunmetal Grey over them to give them a rusty look. The tongues were picked out with Heavy Red and Red Shade.

The sand-covered bases were initially undercoated black before being brushed with Heavy Sienna and Heavy Warmgrey. These were then washed with a mixture of three parts Umber Shade one part Black Shade. Static grass was then added once the bases have been given a coat of PVA glue. Each model was then given a coat of "Games Workshop" 'Ardcoat.