Khurasan Miniatures PLA-11 Dethroids Repaint

Repainting these figures was a quick project after a weeks-long spell of getting very little done hobby-wise. The one thing I did accomplish during that time was a long delayed reorganization of my home office/hobby space. I came across these figures during that process. Unfortunately, the metallic paint job I originally used didn't age well. The shine seemed dull and there were some marks marring the surfaces. I considered retouching the paint, but decided that a fresh start would be a better approach.

I commented on the appearance of these models in my previous post from back in 2014. Briefly, they seem to be inspired by two sources. One is a certain group of aliens who dress in pepperpot shaped murder machines and enunciate every syllable of their lines. The other are the autonomous reconnaissance drones deployed by a particular galactic autocracy for searching out insurgent bases.

Paint Removal
An overnight soak in a 50/50 mix of water and Simple Green has been by go-to for stripping paint from miniatures for awhile now. It also removed the sand and glue mix I used for basing. There were a couple of stubborn spots, but a stiff brush and a little elbow grease took care of them.

Primer
A couple thin coats of Krylon ColorMaxx Paint + Primer in Matte Deep Gray provided good coverage.

Paints
I started with Formula P3 Menoth White Base on the upper bodies. The dangling appendages received a coat of Citadel Colour Codex Grey. Everything got dry brushed with Formula P3 Morrow White to increase the contrast between the raised areas and the rest of the figures. The bases were painted with Citadel Colour Chaos Black. This is a departure from my usual approach of applying a sand/glue/paint mix for basing. It looks good, but I'm not sure how it will hold up - the edges are already starting to show wear.

Washes
I brushed on two layers of Army Painter Warpaints wash over each model. Dark Tone to bring out the recessed details. Strong Tone to blend the colors together and weather the models.

I like the dirty, worn appearance better than the paint job I originally used. It makes them look like machines that have been in the field for awhile.

Asteroid Ship Corridor Encounter

Initial test set up of the asteroid ship interior. This configuration ended up as the first area. Note my helpful assistant being helpful.

This post describes a set of encounters that I ran for our Star Trek Adventures campaign a few months ago. My hope was to present the players with an exciting and visually interesting session. My other goal was to provide some motivation to make more progress on the pile of miniatures and terrain that I've purchased over the years.

Background

The player characters' vessel - USS Yamato, an Akira-class starship - was investigating a century-old Starfleet distress signal. The trail led to an enormous sublight ship constructed from an asteroid. The asteroid ship was similar in principle to, but clearly of different origins from, the world ship Yonada from "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" (TOS). The player characters had reason to believe that Starfleet personnel in cryogenic stasis were aboard the asteroid ship. Unfortunately, the dense rock of the asteroid and the materials used to turn it into a functioning spaceship were interfering with USS Yamato's sensors. An Away Team mission would need to board the asteroid ship to investigate further. Naturally, the Away Team deployed from USS Yamato was composed for the player characters - the Captain*, the Science Officer, and the Chief of Security.

*TNG establishes that starship captains do not lead Away Teams, but DS9 and Voyager tend to ignore the idea. Since this was very early in the campaign, I preferred to have the player running the Captain use his character rather than putting him into the shoes of the First Officer or other Supporting Character. My justification for the purposes of the campaign was that the relevant regulation existed, but was sporadically enforced.

Planning phase. Always need coffee for the planning phase.

Rules Overview

Once aboard the asteroid ship, the Away Team found that their tricorders were limited to short range due to the same factors that interfered with USS Yamato's sensors. Tricorder scans also lacked definition - the operator was able to detect that something unusual was in a given location, but could not identify it without further analysis. Communications between the Away Team and USS Yamato were also degraded. It was quickly determined that the amount of static would increase as the Away Team ventured deeper into the asteroid ship, but that contact would not be lost entirely.

The rules were fairly simple. After the corridor board was set up and the miniatures representing the Away Team were placed, the Science Officer would roll for their tricorder scan. The scan would reveal anything of interest within short range. Technological items such as data terminals and cryogenic stasis tanks detected by the scan would be placed on the board. Biological sensor contacts would be represented by "blip" tokens placed on the board. The Science Officer could select a blip token and use each success rolled to determine its exact nature. A given blip could be revealed to be anything from the corpse of an asteroid ship crewmember to a group of alien predators to a type not previously encountered. A new board was set up when the Away Team entered another area of the asteroid ship. There were two boards set up in total.

Data terminals could be accessed to gather information about the asteroid ship. However, extensive security protocols limited access to the asteroid ship's data networks.

Cryogenic stasis tanks could hold a member of the asteroid ship's crew or a long-lost Starfleet officer.

Corpses of the asteroid ship crew littered the corridors. The corpses showed signs of predation.

Running into a group of predators resulted in a combat encounter. Curiously, the predators showed signs of a communal intelligence that communicated through the use of natural radio transmitter/receivers. The predators were clearly of different biological origin than the asteroid ship crew.

Test set up of the second area of the asteroid ship. Note the closed doors blocking free movement of the critters (represented by "blips") and the cryogenic stasis tubes.

Inspiration

The encounter was mechanically inspired by Star Trek Adventures' rules for gathering information. Each successful result behind what is needed to succeed at such a Task allows the player to ask a question of the gamemaster. In this case, each additional success allowed the Science Officer's player to ask what each "blip" token represented. Within the context of the game setting, this reflects the Science Officer's efforts to use her tricorder to dial in on a specific sensor contact.

Visually, it was inspired by a certain board game about investigating a massive derelict in space. The board game is based in a certain grimdark space fantasy setting where there is only unending military conflicts and endless debates over what is considered canon. That board game was, in turn, clearly inspired by the second installment of the "Alien" movie franchise.

The full set up of the first area during actual play. The Away Team just cleared this section of the asteroid ship and are preparing to press on.

Miniatures and Terrain Sources

The asteroid ship interiors area single set of Creative Gamescapes Spaceship X modular spaceship corridor tiles. As shown, the tiles are not in a complete state. They are assembled with a silver basecoat and a layer of wash, but still need some work. I intend to write a separate post on them when I finish that project.

The Away Team was represented by Effigy Miniatures' Havoc Girls. They were featured in a post earlier this year.

Litko Scanner Blip Tokens, Fluorescent Blue were used for the tricorder contacts. In retrospect, green might have been more thematic.

The alien predators prowling the corridors of the asteroid ship were represented by the Parasachnid Warriors from Khurasan Miniatures. They are featured in their own post.

The data terminals were Warsenal's Access Terminals. They were featured in a post from April.

The cryogenic stasis pods were a "trash bash" built from bits I had in storage. See this post for details.

The crates and other small terrain pieces scattered along the corridors were Spartan Scenics Warehouse Accessories. They were featured in a post from way back in 2015.


Wrapping Up

The encounters worked as designed and were well received by the players. I was also happy to get a few more painting and assembly projects completed. Having an immediate use for specific miniatures and terrain helped to maintain my focus.

Khurasan Miniatures Parasachnid Warriors

Carnivorous space critters out for a snack.

These are the Parasachnid Warriors of the 15mm Feral Parasachnid "Bug" line from Khurasan Miniatures. Sculpted by Aaron Brown. These little guys get through life by swarming with their buddies and skittering around for a bite to eat.

This batch of freshly painted space critters are long time residents of my lead pile. I honestly have no idea when I bought them. These got pulled out of storage when I realized that I needed some kind of alien carnivore for an upcoming game.

The Parasachnid Warriors come in two pieces - one for upper body and one for the lower body/legs. The two piece construction offer the option of mounting the lower body/legs lengthwise or widthwise. Lengthwise offers the narrow appearance of a creature built for speed. Widthwise gives a wider look resembling that of a spider or crab. I choose the widthwise option.

I went for a simple paint scheme dictated by what paints I happened to have on hand. My paint collection survived my years-long illness induced gaming interregnum mostly intact. However, I am trying to use up certain lines and products before they degrade. The base coat is Formula P3 Menoth White Base, which is actually a light tan color. Highlights are Formula P3 Morrow White. As the names imply, Formula P3 is produced by Privateer Press for their Warmachine/Hordes line. I bought the two paints some time ago simply because I heard good things about the line and wanted to it a try. The quality is impressive, especially since they have been in storage for years. Two thin coats were all that was needed to provide good coverage with no separation or uneven patches.

Next, I applied Citadel Ogryn Flesh Wash to the bodies. Well out of production, Ogryn Flesh provides a middle ground between Devlan Mud and Gryphonne Sepia. The result is a reddish brown glaze that pools in the details.

Half of the Parasachnid Warriors were modeled with open mouths. I applied Citadel Baal Red to imply the softer flesh of the little guys' gaping jaws. The teeth were highlighted with Formula P3 Morrow White. The red flesh and white teeth contrast nicely with each other. I'm sure my players will appreciate that level of detail. Speaking of detail - the eyes were picked out in Citadel Chaos Black.

Ain't it the cutest little critter? Just begging for a treat!

None of the bases I had on hand would fit well with the figures. I ended up using some circular plastic pieces I salvaged from elsewhere. The basing material is the sand/brown craft paint/glue/water mix I use when I can't think of anything better to do. I drybrushed some light tan on the basing material after it had dried to bring out the texture.

The Parasachnid Warriors are scaled for 15mm - one Warrior is about the right size to consume a 15mm human figure without too much trouble. However, they are suitable for use in 28mm games as creatures about the size of a large dog. The eight figures that come in a pack are enough to menace a party of space adventurers, but more would be needed to threaten a formation of infantry.

Painting By Numbers #12 - Khurasan Miniatures' Dethroids

On the move, looking for trouble.

These are the Dethroids from Khurasan Miniatures' Planet 15 line. They come in a pack of four bodies with five separate heads - four Blasroid heads and one Overroid head. The Blasroids are armed with a prominent "heavy antimatter cannon" and no sense of humor. The Overroid is equipped with what I assume is a sensor array.

The backstory on the Khurasan Miniatures site depict them as pitiless, warlike creatures inside armored shells that double as life support systems. It fits well into the cinematic feel of the Planet 15 line. I'm not going to speculate on the inspiration for this background.

The miniatures resemble reconnaissance robots from a popular sci-fi franchise. The detailing is very good for 15mm figures. In-setting, the danging arms would give them an ability to manipulate objects that, for example, a single arm fitted with a plunger would not.

Trouble located.

The paint job was straightforward:

• Spray primer.
• Reaper Russet Brown (09199) basecoat.
• Citadel Badab Black Wash to bring out the details.
• First metallic layer - Citadel Tin Bitz, applied with heavy drybrushing.
• Second metallic layer - Citadel Shining Gold, applied with light drybrushing as a highlight.
• Reaper LED Blue (09288) to pick out the sensor details on the Overroid head.
• Testors Dullcote seal.

I plan on using these figures as advanced robotic units for 15mm scale games. The cannon-armed ones can be the rank-and-file combat robots. The sensor-equipped one can be a command-and-control or reconnaissance robot. All four could be a scouting unit or a heavy weapons team.