15/12/2012

Jingle Bells and all that swaddling........

With just a few working days to go before the Christmas break, I just wanted to post a few more pictures, especially as I have just finished a few of Armies Army militia. Over the holidays I hope to have a few games, and crack on with my air brush- plenty of projects lined up.






Firstly, a front and back view of the figures from the Armies Army Militia range. They are basically the same colour scheme as my other RUSK troops, to give some continuity, but this time with blue fatigues. I have tried to give a two-tone effect like modern sun glasses by adding a little gold/brass to the lenses, but it  doesn't really show up. I have another 5 of these to paint.





A couple of views of Khurasan's Exterminators in Extreme Environment Suits. I have to declare that I have shamelessly stolen this colour scheme from a guy called Sebastian Stuart who has a site called eastern-empire.com. I'm not proud, but it was such a fantastic scheme that I couldn't help myself. If you have a minute, check his versions out- they are much better than these, with some clever designs on the helmet.






Here's the others from the set. These are probably my favourite miniatures from Khurasan.


Last up, Khurasan's Seal/DEVGRU minis. I think I had 'Black Hawk Down' in my mind when I painted these.



That's the lot for this post. I had a bit of an epiphany whilst painting the RUSK Militia- I realised that I have probably been using paint that is too thick all these years, I guess because I didn't think it would cover so well thinned down, and was too lazy to give it a second coat. Now I realise that this will come as no surprise to you out there, but I'm a bit slow on the uptake. I can see now how it can produce a tidier result, with a little more control, and I can even try a bit of blending! Maybe I'm trying to run before I can walk........

So, thanks for looking in, if anyone is looking in. I want to get some pictures of Armies Army Spetsnaz on the blog before Christmas, but being the holiday season, I can see distractions ahead!

That being the case, I should like to wish all of you who visit a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Happy New Year, with plenty of hobby related fun!

08/12/2012

Latest offerings from Armies Army...and a bit more!

It's been a little while since my last post, for one reason or another, but I'm quite a bit lazier than most of you out there. Before I continue, I would just like to congratulate Keith of Armies Army for more than achieving his goal with the Kickstarter- I'm so pleased personally, because it will give me, and you, another range to explore. Well done all those that supported him.

So, my latest offerings are from the aforementioned stable, and are the last few in what I thought was the latest release, but now I have Militia and Spetsnaz to catch up with!

Here's a group shot of the last few RUSK HQ troops that I have finally finished. I managed a head swap for the commander, and used one from the GZG sprues.



I tried really hard to get the end of his cigar to glow, but I'm pretty sure the camera hasn't picked it up! A simple head swap, and a little coil of green stuff for the neck scarf.










Here are the others- I think the painting is a bit tidier than the last batch I posted. I was a little impatient to finish them and make a new post, which doesn't make for a good job usually.





I'm afraid I couldn't come up with anything too inspiring for the Mule colour scheme, so just did a basic green, and then used some of the fantastic product from Modelmates that I saw on a couple of blogs called, not surprisingly, Rust Effect. I haven't really used it properly, but it really is a top effect. There are a couple of good videos on the Modelmates website to show this stuff to its real potential. Well worth a look if you haven't done so already.




This guy is from CP Models. Because of scale creep, he is a fair bit bigger than 15mm, but as he is now the top man in my Rebel force, I can tolerate the size- a big man for a big job!




When I saw this walker on The Scene's website, I thought it would fit well with my lo-tech rebel force, so I  distressed it a bit with the Rust Effect, and then added some dried mud from MIG Pigments. Not particularly well executed, but I'm still finding my way with both these effects. Also, this is the first time I used my airbrush. I didn't get too ambitious, and just went for a two-tone camo, but there isn't sufficient contrast to show on the pictures. However, I was pleased with my first experiments, and it has given me some confidence to try for a better effect next time round.




Just the other side, featuring a nice rusty oil drum, again from The Scene. Incidentally, when I got the walker, amongst the order I bought some of the 15mm skips for scatter terrain- they are fantastic!





Some time ago, I painted these two APCs from Peter Pig in an awful desert colour scheme, having first undercoated them black! I don't know what possessed me, because they looked awful and went in a drawer to be forgotten about. However, since I set up my airbrush and spray booth, I stripped the paint off and started again. They have the same two-tone camo scheme as the walker, again not too easy to see here, but as part of the Rebel force they needed to be made a lot tattier and 'reclaimed', so I went with the rust and mud as mentioned above. I'm starting to get the hang of it, although still plenty of room for improvement!





Here's the other one, similarly treated. I rather like these APCs and have a hankering to order a couple of Vulcans from the AK47 Range from PP.

I've just realised that I have more figures painted that have yet to be photographed- Khurasan's Seal/ DEVGRU team, and their Exterminator squad in extreme environment suits, the latter with a stolen colour scheme- yep, I'm up to my old tricks again.

Yesterday I took delivery of Armies Army's Militia and Spetsnaz minis, and based them last night, so I'm off to prime them now, with a view to painting some up as soon as possible. A slightly different colour scheme for both, I think, but with something in common to tie the whole force together.


That's it then, thanks for taking the time to look in. Any hints/tips/advice always gratefully received!