Painting By Numbers #11 - Rebel Minis Titan Marines Infantry

This is a test batch of some Titan Marines Infantry by Rebel Minis. I felt the need for more sci-fi 15mm infantry to use as OPFOR and these guys won out over the alternatives. The stosstruppen look really sold me. Sometimes there is a need for OPFOR that dress the part.

I was very pleased with these guys when they showed up in the mail. Order fulfillment was fast. The details are good and there are a variety of poses. The mold lines were easy to deal with. The integral bases were small, but I was planning to glue them on washers anyway.

Picking out a color scheme was tough. There was the neo-samurai scheme with blood red armor plates over blue cloth. (I might revisit the idea for a command or elite unit.) A desert camouflage scheme which would have been khaki with a brown wash. (Dull.) A jungle camouflage scheme which would have been olive drab with a brown wash. (Dull.) I even considered a "Space Imperium" sturmtruppen scheme with white armor plates over black cloth. (Funny for awhile, but the joke would get real old, real quick.)

In the end, a quick, efficient scheme for batch painting made the cut. A dark grey primer was followed by a coat of Reaper Stormy Grey (09088). Over that went a coat of Citadel Badab Black Wash. The wash shaded the figures and brought out the details, but that was secondary to darkening the grey base coat. The lenses were picked out with Reaper LED Blue (09288). The basing was my usual sand/paint/water mix drybrushed with a sandy color. The figures got a layer of Testors Dullcote after everything had a day to dry.

This scheme will end up being the standard for my Titan Marine infantry collection. It looks good and is practical for production-style painting. Now I just need to get the rest ready to paint.

Reaper Miniatures Bones II: The Decision

So, I ended up backing Reaper Miniatures' latest Kickstarter. I actually made the decision a little over a week ago, but I kept up with the updates to see if Reaper came up with something to change my mind. In the end, I stuck it out - a $1.00 pledge, a few add-ons, and a little bit of sales tax (since Reaper and I are in the same state).

In the end, I just didn't want to be stuck with miniatures I didn't have a need for. While there were individual pieces in the Core Set and each Expansion Set that caught my eye, there were many that would end up as clutter. And I have enough gaming-related clutter to deal with as it is. Besides, it's not like this Kickstarter will be the only way to get the pieces I liked. They'll hit the shelves in a year or so. In the meantime, I've got a backlog to work through.

Reaper Miniatures Bones II: Still Thinking It Over

I'm conflicted on how much money I'm going to be throwing at this one. The "WOW!" feeling I got from the first Reaper Bones Kickstarter just isn't there. And there is the big painting backlog that I've got to get under control.

Looking over the Core Set was a little bit of a disappointment for me. It has about a dozen "I gotta have it" models in it. Plus a dozen more "be nice to have" models. Buying all of those at retail price once they are out would cost less than the $100 of the Core Set. Even better, I could spread the cost out over time.

Some of the Options are really tempting though. The Water Elementals would nicely balance out the transparent Bones I already own. Dungeon Decor II looks handy. And I could always use a Gelatinous Cube and a couple of slimes.

And there is all the unpainted metal, resin, and plastic around my workbench to consider. Do I really need another pile of Reaper Bones to dump on top of all that?

I got nobody but me to blame for the backlog. I spent just shy of $250 on the first Reaper Bones Kickstarter. It's going to take me months to get to the majority of them. Taking advantage of various sales to get "new shiny" figures in 15mm and 28mm on top of that wasn't the smartest move. I just have to shop less and paint more.

Maybe I should just pledge $1 and get a few, carefully selected add-ons? And then I could buckle down on painting until they show up late next year?

Nice theory. Fortunately, I've got time to think it over.

Painting By Numbers #10a - Reaper Bones Great Worm UPDATE

Chief Lackey Rich over at The Miniatures Page suggested that I post a "down the throat" image of Jimmy. As he pointed out, the mouth is one of the best features of the model. I snapped a quick picture today in Jimmy's natural environment - the inside of my display case.

RAWR!

Thanks for the suggestion, Chief Lackey Rich!

Painting By Numbers #10 - Reaper Bones Great Worm

This is the Great Worm (77006) from the Reaper Bones line. Like Rolf, I bought the Great Worm to experiment on while learning how to work with Reaper Bones plastic. Also like Rolf, I came up with a name to avoid typing "the Great Worm" more often than I have to. "Jimmy" sounded pretty good.

By the way, Rolf is taking a long bath in Simple Green on the recommendation of the folks on the Reaper forum. There might be something strange in the plastic mix used to make Rolf. That "something" did not react well with the Krylon spray paint I used as a base coat. I'll be exploring alternate techniques with him later, but Rolf has been pushed back in the queue in favor of other projects.

In this experiment, I decided to simply approach it like I would a metal miniature. Nothing new and nothing fancy. Just a coat of spray primer, followed by a base color, washes, and details.

The first challenge was to make Jimmy sit flat on a surface. The miniature was deformed in a way that made falling over a concern. I glued Jimmy on a 50mm plastic base from Privateer Press. The wider base made the miniature very stable, particularly after basing material was added.

The spray primer was by Design Master. It has provided a good coat on every material I have ever tried it on - metal, various plastics, and resin. Unfortunately, the smooth surface it provides is not the best for acrylic paint. The paint tends to flow rather than "hold" long enough to dry. This was not a major issue in this case, since I planned to use washes to provide most of the color on Jimmy.

I've seen the underbelly painted a different color from the main body, but decided on a single color for simplicity. The base coat was Reaper Amethyst Purple (09024). Over that went a wash of Reaper Burgundy Wine (09025), Amethyst Purple (09024), and water. Once that was dry, I applied a second layer of wash - Citadel Leviathan Purple.

The fleshy parts of the mouth were painted with Reaper Bright Skin (09233) and given a wash of Citadel Baal Red. Reaper Graveyard Bone (09272) was used for the teeth and the rocks around the body. The rocks embedded in the body were also painted with Reaper Graveyard Bone, but with a touch of Citadel Ball Red after it dried to simulate irritated flesh.

The basing material is sand held in place by a mix of brown craft paint, tacky glue, and water. I overbrushed some linen craft paint over the sand. This gives the base a more natural appearance than a single layer of color could. The outer edge of the base was painted black.

The final step was to seal the miniature and base with Testors Dullcote.

Overall, I like how it turned out. The whole process was free of problems. One surprise was the level of detail. The white of the unpainted Bone material seems to obscure the figure even on close inspection. The washes brought out the more subtle features. Even the coat of gray primer allowed me to pick out more details than before.

Half Price Books Finds #3 - Four More AD&D Modules

The most recent gaming finds from Half-Price. All were in fine shape - no handwritten notes, no stains, and the corners were still sharp. Which made it rather annoying when it came time to remove the price tags. Taking them off also tore off bits of the covers. Even worse, removing the adhesive that the tags left behind also damaged the covers.

Three of these modules are from the Slave Lords series. The entire series of four modules were recently republished by Wizards of the Coast in a single hardcover volume - Against the Slave Lords. I prefer the originals both for nostalgia and for ease of use. Speaking from personal experience, running a dungeon crawl is easier if the map and encounter book are separate and if both can be laid flat.

The Slave Lords series is considered a classic, but does have flaws. I found the first two modules - A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity and A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade - to be the strongest of the series. Both are straightforward dungeon crawls with challenging encounters and memorable NPCs. A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords suffers from being two very different adventures leading to a foregone conclusion. In the first part of the adventure, the party has to infiltrate the Slave Lords' stronghold. This is a interesting change from plowing through monsters and traps. In the second, the stronghold funnels the party through a deadly set of encounters only for the party to end up captured through the use of a deus ex machina. This renders the party's previous efforts moot. If the party is going to end up captured no matter what they do, why bother spending all that time running through the stronghold? On a meta level, the capture is necessary to set up the next module in the series, but that isn't a satisfying reason for many players. A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords starts up with the party thrown into a dungeon with none of their equipment or usual selection of spells. Taking away their hard-won cool stuff in a game that is based on killing things and getting their stuff is guaranteed to annoy players. The challenge is for the party of use their limited resources to escape the dungeon. Confronting the Slave Lords and getting their stuff back is possible, but not automatic.

The other module is D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth. It is part of the series that starts with G1-2-3 Against the Giants, continues with D3 Vault of the Drow, and ends with Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits. This series was critical in introducing the Drow and the Underdark to D&D lore. If I ever manage to get a copy of D3 Vault of the Drow, I will be able to do something I never got the chance to in the old days - running a party through the entire series.

Painting By Numbers #6a UPDATE - Second Shot at Sarah Blitzer, IMEF Sniper

"You want to know why I slugged that guy? I literally just stepped off the dropship after a week in the bad guys' backyard. What's the first thing I see? Some numbskull with a microphone and his pet camerabot in tow. He wanted to ask me some questions. They wanted me to take a few minutes to pretty myself up for the camera. Right. There wasn't an inch of me that wasn't covered in dust, dried mud, and old sweat. I stank. The nap I took on the trip up was the first good sleep I had since the mission started. I had been gulping down prepackaged field rations in between moving, avoiding detection, monitoring targets, calling down strikes on anything that looked expensive enough to be worth breaking, and taking the odd shot at anyone stupid enough to present a target. I wanted a shower, a nap, and a hot meal."

"Of course I punched him. No, the camerabot didn't get the shot. It was too busy laughing its tin head off."

- IMEF Staff Sergeant Sarah Blitzer, Deep Space Carrier Decatur (SCVN-2814)

I've painted this miniature before, but wasn't happy with the results. Fortunately, it's easy to remove paint from a miniature with Simple Green, a little time, and a brush.

This time I used a lighter grey for the body suit (Reaper MSP Alien Flesh 09293) while keeping a dark grey for the armor pieces and rifle (Reaper MSP Stormy Grey 09088). The greater contrast prevents the effect from being lost in slightly dimmer light conditions. I also used metallic paint more aggressively on the armor and rifle to suggest wear (Citadel Boltgun Metal).

Some details, including the lenses on the goggles and scope, were picked out in Reaper True Blue (09017) with Reaper LED Blue (09288) as a highlight. Again, the goal was greater contrast than on the original paint job.

I tried various things with the face, but settled on a mix of Reaper Tanned Skin (09044) and Reaper Fair Skin (09047) with a wash to bring out details. Painting eyes is just something I haven't mastered yet.

Overall, I like this attempt better than the first. The greater contrast between the different parts of the miniature brings out more the details. The contrast also has a neater appearance. It all adds up to a better expression of the concept.

Incidentally, I did take a few minutes to compare this miniature (Reaper Chronoscope 50274) with the Bones version (80021) released as part of the Reaper Bones Kickstarter Vampire Box. The Bones version comes with an integral base resembling metal plating. The detail on both miniatures are comparable, but I think the metal version looks a little crisper and better defined. That said, I'm not sure if the differences really matter once the miniatures are painted and on the tabletop.

My current plans for the Bones version of Sarah is to match her with the rest of the IMEF Marines included in the Vampire Box. This will allow them to be fielded as a squad. Right now, I'm thinking of a primary color like blue or red for the armor rather than grey.

Learning Experiences, Case #3a UPDATE - Reaper Bones Werewolf (77009) "Rolf"

Shortly after receiving my Reaper Bones Kickstarter rewards package, I figured out the following:

1. That's alot of miniatures.
2. I need to find out more about how to work with the material Reaper uses for the Bones line.
3. My Reaper Bones Werewolf needs a bath in Simple Green.
4. My Reaper Bones Werewolf also needs a name so that I don't keep typing "Reaper Bones Werewolf" when writing these posts. I gave "Worf" and "Shaggy" careful consideration, but decided on "Rolf" for now.

Regarding point #2, there is a vast amount of information available about working with the Reaper Bones line. Unfortunately, much of it is contradictory. Different people have different experiences with the same techniques. Many folks report good results from painting directly on the surface. My own experiences convinced me of the need to prime first. The trick is to figure out what to use as a primer.

On point #3, Simple Green worked fine on Rolf. An overnight immersion followed by some scrubbing with a brush took the paint right off. The Simple Green smell took a few days to fade away. I followed up by cleaning the miniature with dish soap and water.

A trip out to the garage revealed that I had a fair selection of spray primers and paints on hand. I decided against my usual grey auto body primer. This was an experiment and I wanted to push the envelope a little.

I settled on a can of Brown Krylon Camouflage Paint. It was left over from another project and I had no other plans for the rest of the can. The stuff is supposed to work on "most plastics, PVC, hard vinyl, ceramic glass, wood, metal and wicker". Given that Bones is a soft vinyl, I wasn't sure about what the results would be.

After waiting for a lower humidity day (sometimes tough to find during a Texas summer), I hit Rolf with the Krylon Camouflage Paint. The spray flowed evenly with no clogs. Two thin layers provided a good basecoat with no gaps in coverage.

Then came the wait. I could see that the paint had dried after 15 minutes, but Rolf was sticky to the touch. Rolf was still sticky an hour and a day later. Rather than abort the attempt, I decided to leave Rolf in an out of the way spot until the paint cured completely.

It took about 3 - 4 weeks until Rolf was no longer sticky to the touch. I not sure about the exact time since I got out of the habit of checking daily.

(I purchased another Reaper Bones miniature while waiting on Rolf as another test piece. Also, I really wanted a purple worm for my next D&D or D&D-flavored fantasy game. I'm experimenting with some alternate techniques with that miniature. More on that project once it's complete.)

Rolf still lacks the smooth feel of a completely dried coat of paint or primer. There is a faint tacky sensation when handling the miniature. Still, this is a vast improvement over a few weeks ago.

Rolf's coat is also shiny, which would be fine for a real canine, but is odd for a layer of flat, non-reflective paint. The shine and the long curing time suggests some kind of reaction between the Bones material and the Krylon paint.

It doesn't come out well in this photo, but look closely and you can see the shine.

At this point, I'm not recommending using this technique. Although the brown does produce a rich basecoat, the long drying time is not really practical. I might put some paint over the Krylon basecoat sometime in the future, but Rolf was pushed back in the project line during the wait.

Ashen Stars - Three Unofficial Reasons Behind the Boogey Conundrum

The Boogey Conundrum is part of the background of Ashen Stars. The Combine - something like Star Trek's United Federation of Planets - fought a devastating war against the Mohilar The war started seventeen years ago and ended seven years ago. Since then, nobody in the Combine can remember details about the Mohilar Their culture, weapons, language, tactics, and even their appearance is unknown. Trying to recall these facts leads to a state of confusion. Records exist, but accessing those records causes black outs and periods of missing time. Even trying to research the effect itself is problematic. In the end, the Combine just slapped the label "Boogey Conundrum" on the effect and called it a day.

Ashen Stars author Robin D Laws states in the rulebook that the Boogey Conundrum is not part of a metaplot. It is entirely up to GMs and players to work out what it is within their own campaigns. He does offer some suggestions, but no definative answers.

Below are three ideas I fleshed out a little. None of these ideas are official, but certain elements requite a knowledge of the game's background.

Civil War Cover Up

There was never a race named the Mohilar They never showed up with fleets and living weapons, never laid waste to the Combine, and never disappeared. It was all a cover story cooked up to hide a devastating secret - the Combine went to war with itself.

There were always tensions within the Combine. The Seven Peoples had all fought each other at one time or another. Their interests did not always align perfectly. Cooperation had brought great prosperity, but for how long?

How did it start? Perhaps the careful control of the Balla slipped. Maybe the newly developed Cybes were a step too far. Durugh trickery is an easy answer. The ambition and extremism of the Humans, fueled by their boundless energy, may have become an intolerable threat to the other races. The Tavak could have struck at the other races to preserve the Combine before it tore itself apart. Or the Kch-Thk might have just gotten really hungry. In any event, the Combine shattered under the stresses placed on it.

All of the races found themselves fighting for survival. The early war's surgical strikes failed to be the decisive. The middle of the war saw a steady escalation as fleets maneuvered and alliances were forged and broken. By the end of the war, there was only horror as population centers were bombarded out of existence.

At the end of a decade of war, somebody made a deal with the Vas Kra. The cosmic consciousness had watched the conflict with sadness as the once-proud Combine committed suicide. The Vas Kra could not reverse the damage or restore the lives lost - they were powerful, but not gods. What they could do was alter the memories of the survivors. Blame for the devastation would be cast on a race of mysterious invaders. It was hoped that this - and the implied threat of their return - would unite the Combine as it rebuilt.

The Vas Kra knew that it would take almost all of their power to accomplish the task. They did it anyway, becoming the Vas Mal. Their work was imperfect, but good enough to conceal the real reason of the near-destruction of the Combine. Unfortunately, the restored Combine is not as unified as the Vas Kra hoped it would become.


The Mad Gods

D’jellar was not the only Vas Kra to go mad, only the first. More branches of the Vas Kra turned away from the cosmic consciousness to satisfy sadistic urges. The malignancy spread quickly. Soon, the majority of the Vas Kra began to delight in using their powers to torment and destroy.

There seemed to be no defense and no hope as the decade of madness stretched on. Fleets and worlds were wiped away. Countless lives were lost as the Vas Kra amused themselves. The Combine and Durugh formed a desperate alliance, but their depleted forces were helpless against the rampage.

In the end, a way was found to reconfigure the anomaly the Vas Kra used to manipulate reality. It was widened into a gate and a weapon designed to disrupt the energy forms of the Vas Kra was sent through it. The Vas Kra were devolved into the misshapen forms of the Vas Mal.

But the crude weapon had side effects. There was a huge psychic backlash as the Vas Kra fell. The malignancy the drove the Vas Kra mad was itself a cosmic power and found itself devolving with them. Its decade of madness and joy was over, but it would go down fighting. It rode the psychic backlash, ravaging every mind in reach to create a myth. The false story of the Mohilar would serve as a distraction until it could find a way to wield real power again.

The Mohilar Went Home

The Mohilar were rolling over the Combine. The Combine's fleets were pressed up to the wall. Combine worlds burned in the night. Only a little more time and the Mohilar emerge victorious.

Then... they packed up and left.

The Mohilar's armies regrouped, withdrew from the front lines, and boarded their assault craft and transports. The Mohilar reorganized their logistics - dismantling their bases and loading everything up for the trip home. The warships of the fleet guarded the evacuation effort. Slow moving cargo ships joined convoys and turned for the home systems. Nothing was left behind.

The Boogey Conundrum was one of a number of carefully calculated acts designed to slow the Combine's recovery until the Mohilar returned. The bombardment of Earth and the fall of the Vas Kra were other parts of this plan. Leaving some of their living weapons behind was not part of the plan - the Mohilar just couldn't be bothered to gather them all up. A disrupted Combine without the aid of the Vas Kra or even any memories of the Mohilar would be ill-equipped to deal with another invasion.

Why did they go? A military campaign could be called off for any number of reasons.

Politics:

• Loss of popular support back home.
• A restless population or civil war.
• A new set of legitimate leaders who see no point in continuing the conflict.
• A political process that the leaders of the campaign need to go and participate in.

Weird:

• A religious rite that must be observed personally every 10 - 15 years.
• Some biological cycle that has already been delayed for as long as it can.

Practical:

• Ran out of slave troops and their living weapons weren't considered reliable enough.
• Ran out of the unobtainium that their technology runs on.
• Ran out of royal jelly for their queens.
• Ran out of money.

Whatever the reason, the Mohilar left. But they'll be back once they deal with whatever caused them to leave. And the Combine won't be ready.

Reaper Bones Kickstarter Update - A Package from Reaper Appears!

I've got some updates on recent projects to post. Later. Expect them over the course of the next week or two. Right now, a major new project showed up at my door yesterday.

I'm gonna need more paint.

Sorting everything included in my Reaper Bones Kickstarter rewards package took about three hours. Checking what I received against what I ordered revealed one missing miniature out of about three hundred. That's not something I can really get worked up about, all things considered. More importantly, all the multi-part figures were complete. Everything went into labeled bags for easy retrieval later.

Now I've got to make some plans...