144artist Populates the Damocles Sector or Creating a System Agnostic Science Fiction Miniatures Collection

Very strange, I entered the text and photos to this blog entry.  After I hit Publish it all looked fine and now all but two photos are gone.  I have a sneaking suspicion that the server at work had something to do with it.  Oh well, I will just have to try again.

I finished my Ash Waste Stunties and their truck over the weekend.  Here are the final pictures.

I realized when I posted the finished figures I never posted the Work in Progress of the Ash Waste Stunties.  I am doing iso now out of a sense of completion.  The cargo carrier goes on the back of the truck and still needs lots of detail work.

I have finished painting the Ash waste Stunties that were 3D printed for me.  I think they look suitably grungy.  Their truck is coming along nicely but still needs more detail work, more weathering, and the last pieces all glued together.  As much as I like being able to remove the cargo container, I think the whole thing would be stronger if I glued it on.

A couple of my friends are really into 3D printing.  I am not really looking for another hobby and the more technology required the less interested I become.  Having said that, I do enjoy what they create and one printed out a squad of Space Dwarves, or Stunties, and a truck for them so we could play some Ash Wastes games.  As we are meeting at a convention in mid-February I want to get them done quickly.

The beginning of January saw my 59th birthday celebrated.  As I live in a small apartment my friends and I opted to meet in my Friendly Local Game Store to play Space Weirdos.  It was just an excuse to fill a table with pretty terrain and minis while hanging out with fun folk.  Bonus that I got to use all the Fungus Forests I’ve been making.  We never even finished the game as we had dinner reservations and had to clean up but we had a ball.

Three of my friends teamed up for a three way birthday day of gaming recently.  We played a number of things but the highlight for me was introducing more folks to Space Weirdos… oh, and using a lot of my terrain.  I tried to get the Black Site Studios Massage Parlor finished in time for the game.  I got all but the balcony details done beforehand so it is on the center of the table just lacking any handrails on the roofs.

We played a modified game with each player running one 20 point character armed with only a pistol and no armor.  It was based on Fortnight in that each of us was trying to eliminate the others while grabbing loot and gear while working our way toward the center of the table.  Every other turn the borders shrank, forcing players to keep moving or take damage.  Early kills could be “resurrected” in Medical Vans during the first four turns.  After that the vans were no longer in the play area. Loot fell where characters died but none of us moved in to grab said loot.  We were too busy trying to stay in cover while dodging the poison clouds that were shrinking the battlefield.

In the end four of us had kills under our belts but I had one more than the next closest so was declared the winner.

Between a game convention and a group birthday party, my friends and I were able to get in a number of in person minis games!  I can remember when that didn’t feel like such a monumental achievement but that is where we are now so I am just happy to have spent time with such good friends.  Bonus that we used a lot of my terrain.

I finished some more Northstar and Old School GW minis recently.  The GW minis have been in my collection since they were new in blister packs.  I love the alien/animal heads Northstar includes.  It makes me want to pick up a box of their Gnolls to make more dog soldiers.

Just so flattered and pleased that folks enjoy my work.  I paint to make me happy but always enjoy a little praise.  Thanks so much.

Truth be told, the Inquisitor started life as an Old School Necromunda Bounty Hunter.  I thought he would make an excellent Inquisitor, scouring the frontier worlds for heretics and cultists.

The other two fellows are ancient 40K mercenaries that will join the other Banders in my imaginary twin star system of Damocles system.

Like many OTTers, I find it hard to resist buying new miniatures whether I need them or not.  The three boxed sets of plastic minis from Northstar are a good example.  I have plenty of unpainted science fiction miniature but just had to have these kits as they look fun to build and paint.  As much as I love all the cool looking helmets, it’s the alien heads that really stoke my imagination.  The primate mechanic is named Ben Obo because ChimChim just seems demeaning.

Much like @avernos, my miniatures collection goes way back in time.  Some of my science fiction minis are even pre-40K.  One of my friends has been painting up his old school Eldar which has inspired me to do the same.  The Space Ork had a broken Choppa’ that I replaced with a Dark Elf blade.

I love when Kev White pays homage.  In this case it’s his “not-Ghost-in-the-Shell” sculpts that I am going to go ahead and just call Major Kusanagi and Batu.

One of the benefits of a minis collection going back to ancient times is the treasures that appear from time to time.  This fellow has been waiting for paint for decades.  Not that he is done I can see I need a couple more…

I acquired two more Kev White sculpts that will fit in perfectly with my First Contact team.  While the bareheaded commander figure is technically finished, I really think she needs some tattoos and/or stubble on her head. I’m envisioning something like Belters have in The Expanse.

I was really liking the circular aesthetic of the two spools I had already assembled but I still hadn’t uncovered where I stored away the third one I own.  I decided to use some of these big, thick cylinders (from industrial toilet paper rolls), foam circles, and wood discs to make some more.  I started by wrapping the cardboard cylinder in thick paper using white glue.  This was to cover the spiral of the cardboard.  I used the foam circles to add a little height as well as break up the surface a little.  I like that they are the same height so may try and make a few more to match though I went too complex with the top of one of them.  Keep the tops far simpler in future.

The galleries show the pieces just before primer is sprayed on them.

As much as I love the bright colors of the varied pieces, a solid coat of primer really makes these things look like real buildings.  In addition I like to add a second dusting of something lighter as a base tone and it helps me see the details a lot easier.

Now that the plastic spools were almost terrain it was time to try something more rectangular and so went “digging through the cack”, to quote Magrathea.  I had four wonderful resin generators from Secret Weapon and some study plywood rectangles to start things off.  I knew I wanted to be multi-level with ample places to use the bridges I made (am making, to be honest) as well as offer a lot of movement and cover for minis.

Next I will be priming this creation as well as building a couple of “spools” from scratch.

The tall spool is painted and weathered.  The big spool is premiered and base coats have begun.  Of course I decide I need to build a few more things so the table isn’t getting cleared right away.  Here are a few close ups of the finished piece.  Now I have a generator to build.

The Tall Spool is pretty much just waiting for primer while the Big Spool has really come along.  When the offcuts pile gets too high I dig through it for parts to make catwalks out of.  Can’t have too many ramps/bridges.  I’ve been building most of the week and have to admit I miss painting minis right now.  This is especially acute as my Burrows and Badgers Kickstart rewards arrived the other day.

Back to the glue gun…