Stargrave – The Talons of Solubris

This was an interesting kitbash.

Stargrave Crew box body and human head. Perry Miniatures Kepi slouch hat.

Used Les Grognards arms again. The right arm is meant to be holding a carbine but I cut it short as he’s only meant to have a pistol. I whittled away the stock of the carbine as best I could. To finish the pistol off I gave it the barrel section of a Japanese LMG. It’s still a bit long, but I think it looks OK.

The bayonet and the left hand holding it are from a Japanese Warlord Games sprue again.

The paint scheme and colours have remained the same as previous models in this project. I chose to paint his waistcoat in Brown Violet. The bayonet has a super heated element that allows it to slice easier. Just achieved by running a thick layer of Nihilakh Oxide over a layer of Runefang Steel along the edge.

I used a 101st Airborne badge decal again and this time I used a reference code that appears in the corner of the transfer sheet. Just added at the hips of his waistcoat. No reason just because Sci-Fi.

The build is mentioned below but it was  built on a North Star Stargrave Crew box body, head, spanner, holstered pistol with Wargames Atlantic Les Grodnards sword arm and rifle support arm. The chain sword was cut off and replaced with an Oathmark Heavy Dwarf Sword.

Then I used the same sprue stretching technique that made the runner’s knife below to make a nice thin Lazer piece to fit in the jaws of the spanner.

I like the idea of him focusing the spanner on a lock and popping it and making off with the contents.

The spread of paint hadn’t changed from the Captain’s basic scheme. I wasn’t sure whether to make this model human behind the mask or not, but went with another Solubrian. The Recruit and hacker will definitely look human. Looking forward to getting the rest of this project done.

Probably put too much effort into this free to purchase runner.

Started with a Gates of Antares Freeborn body and arms with Stargrave Crew alien head. The arms are meant to combine with a two handed rifle of some description. The runner class is meant to have no armour and a pistol and knife. I reached for an old Warlord Games Japanese army plastic sprue and used a grenade right hand and a painting left hand. I found what should probably be a communication device from a Epirian Handlers from a Maelstrom Games sprue I got free at Salute years ago. To me, laid flat on the pointing fist hand, looked like a Sci-Fi pistol to me. The grenade hand was meant to look like the hilt of a knife, but as I looked through sprues I wasn’t finding anything I really liked. So I turned to: a Gerry Can…

Gerry Can Show You How To Reuse Miniature Sprues

I had a red clear sprue that held Warlord Games pin markers that seemed perfect to give me a Lazer Stiletto (baby light saber) that would fill the sci-fi knife brief nicely.

The paint job was about playing down the armour, going away from the main Les Grognards uniform of the Captain and throwing down my obligatory dose of tartan. The alien head was always going to tie the body back into the rest of the warband so I didn’t need to make her grey and yellow to match the Captain.

I used Snakebite Leather Contrast Paint for the majority of the model, but left the right leg as the bare Halfords grey primer to give me some OSL effects. I built up this space with some Averland Sunset, Citadel Yellow wash, some Reikland Fleshshade wash, then a touch of watery Mephiston Red and Blood for the Blood God mix. I think it came out OK. The rest of the “armour” got a Steal Legion Drab highlight.

I used Black Templar Contrast for the webbing. The tartan started out with a Brown Violet base and a Athonian Camoshade wash. Then had Deathguard Green lines with parallel Mephiston Red lines either side. Then Orcflesh Green Contrast horizontal lines were added but these finished very glossy, so I hit it all with an Agrax Earthshade wash that kinda washed out a lot of my fairly subtle work. I built some of the lines back up with the original Deathguard and Mephiston. I really like the end look, but sadly the photos haven’t really captured what you get to see with the mini in hand.

The basing was kinda necessary after realising that the pose pitched the mini too far forward. I wanted it to look like a head long runner, but I glued the head too straight forward and it looked odd. I cut some neatly cut coffee stirrer pieces and spray painted the silver to be the steps. I didn’t just want them to be a straight staircase, so to add a Sci-Fi element I added a clear red support column from the pin markers sprue again, that I imagine can raise and maybe produce more stairs or something.

The addition of a Warlord Games Bolt Action British Weapons Sprue PIAT ammunition case and a Skitarii Plasma backpack make this guy look very different. It does look a bit excessive, but I wanted to advertise the fact that he has an Energy Shield Stargrave Power that takes three hits of damage once activated.

I really liked the Stargrave Crew NorthStar carbine arms. I wondered whether to make shoulder pads to make him more in keeping with his brother, but as these guys are meant to be in light armour I guess what he has on display should be enough.

On his left hip Mihaan has a “deck” from the Northstar Crew sprue. It kinda looked like an 80’s tape deck to me so I put a red button on it, just incase he wants to hit play and record to make himself a mixtape or something. The screen came out OK with a Templar Black Contrast first layer, with some spots of yellow paint to try and imitate fine text, followed by and Orc flesh Green Contrast over that.

Mihaan also has a spanner on his canteen to indicate his Repair Robots Stargrave Power.

I added a Warlord Games 101st US airborne transfer to the shoulder pad and shoulder of the brothers. I think it ties in with the “Talons” background and I don’t see it as an immersion issue.

The paint job started with a Halfords grey plastic primer spray. I hit the whole mini with a Nulin Oil wash to help pop out the details for me. Then the skin was a Morghast Bone base with a Wraithbone and an Apothecary White highlight.

The beak is Trollslayer Orange.

The red slouch hat top is Mephiston Red.

The air filter at his hip is Brown Violet with Deathguard Green highlight and more Mephiston Red for the central piece.

The webbing is Abaddon Black.

The yellow piping and cuffs on the uniform is Averland Sunset.

The blue trousers, canteen and cuff pieces are Macragge Blue.

The metal is all Leadbelcher and silver edging.

The sprue piece on the base is meant to be a bulkhead or door way of some description painted in Brown Violet.

The Captain has trodden in the gore of someone he has winged with an earlier shot and is following the bloody trail.

Trying to work out basing when the game could be played on almost any planet anywhere was proving awkward. I decided to go with an industrial flooring look that could hopefully be space station / shuttle flooring.

The texture is provided by polypropylene box strapping that you get on large boxes e.g. office printer paper, 5 ream boxes. I glued this down in cut strips and then cut them round the base once dried.

I have primed them black and will dry brush them silver and weather them heavily.

I was struggling with the fact that I really like the Solubrian droopy mouthed alien heads but knew that I didn’t want to buy an extra box just to get more of those heads. The warband needs to be coherent without the head binding them. The kepi slouch hats are from an extra purchase of a Perry Miniatures sprue, but I feel those 5 slouch hats will help bind the unit without needing to use the alien heads every time. The use of Skitarii robots will definitely make life easier, because I can use a paint scheme that ties their robes with the Captain’s great coat etc. I can use Skitarii Rangers for any lighter armoured soldier types and have plenty of options from my unbuilt Skitarii Kill Team sprues. There are also the Vanguard Skitarii heads that I can use for some of the heavier armoured soldier types as a distinction.

390 universal credits
Robot Sniper – Skitarii ranger sniper from GW Kill Team. – 100 uc

Robot Codebreaker – Skitarii ranger with rifle with a Stargrave Crew sprue “deck” at the hip. – 75 uc

Pathfinder – Les Grodnards body, grenade throwing arm and Stargrave Crew carbine arm and alien head. Perry Miniatures Kepi slouch hat. – 100 uc

Commando – Warlord Games Gates of Antares C3 Body and arms, Stargrave Crew alien head with alternative helmet. – 75 uc

Chiseller – North Star Stargrave Crew box body head, spanner, holster, pistol with Wargames Atlantic Les Grodnards sword arm and rifle support arm. The chain sword cut off and replaced with an Oathmark Heavy Dwarf Sword. – 20 uc

Hacker – North Star Stargrave Nickstarter metal hacker. – 20 uc

Runner – Gates of Antares Freeborn body and arms (pistol knife?) with Stargrave Crew alien head. – Free

Recruit – Stargrave Crew box body and human head. Perry Miniatures Kepi slouch hat. (pistol knife?) – free

I will probably use a predominantly grey uniform, with yellow and red accent colours and pale blue trousers as a nod to confederate rebel style uniforms. Obviously my lovely, unfortunate, and homeless Solubrians never condoned or engaged in slavery even when they had a home world, so the uniform and rebellious nature are the only connection.

Chiseler.
I am thinking of adding a piece of thin red sprue out of the end of the spanner to make it a bit more futuristic once part painted.
Les Grognards arms on a NorthStar Stargrave crew box body. The chain sword was removed and an Oathmark Heavy Dwarf sword added to make it more like a big knife. The head, spanner, pistol and holster are all from the crew sprue as well.