Stargrave – Minster Salvage and Absolution Inc.

Really like this metal model from the Nickstarter. The multiple layers really threw me to begin with. Not sure which combo of colours to go for.

I started with a Halfords Grey Plastic Primer and because of the array of layers hit it all with Nulin Oil to make it easier to identify the garment parts. Decided to start with the bottom layer shirt and want with the same citadel smurf blue I used on Qui-Gon. I had said I would go for a less bold scheme for the models not representing the Daktari, but it hasn’t really gone that way when I get sat down with the models. I lent into that a little with the Deathguard Green of the main coat and sleeves and the buff waist coat being a Zandri Dust and Morghast Bone colour certainly isn’t as poppy as the red and the blue.

The face looked nice after the Nulin Oil and I wanted to do some tribal scars or markings. I think the white nose and freehand markings look good. The trousers are a Vallejo German Grey. The staff is a Vallejo Military Green. The metals are a mix of Vallejo Gunmetal Grey and the Runelord Brass, with a highlight of Silver. The pouches are Dead White again as with the Captain. The Mornfang Brown of the greaves / putties and the Vallejo Flat Brown of the knee pads was working with the WYSIWYG that this guy doesn’t have light or heavy armour.

I am thinking I might find a symbol to put on the pouches of the specialists and the Captain and First Mate, but not sure what to pick yet.

Pathfinder for my second crew. It was a really fun kitbash. Genestealer torso and arms, Maelstrom’s Edge legs, Stargrave Crew sprue head, Gripping Beast axe and a Warlord WW2 Japanese ammo pouch to cover a backpack hole in his back.

It is a deviation from my original list, but the discovery of a dynamite throwing arm on the Genestealer sprue, and the absence of a multi-shot big gun to make the gunner I originally planned lead to the change. I found the Maelstrom’s Edge sprue given free at Salute a few years ago, with legs I could use to support a Genestealer torso and after a bit of knife work the model came together nicely.

I went with a desert yellow primer, because I was already using it to paint a tank and fancied a change from the grey and black I had been using.

The whole model got an Agrax Earthshade wash to help me see all the details. Then once all the base colours were down I hit the whole model with Nulin Oil wash and kept it quite grungy and grimdark when going in with a more measured and weathering focused highlight.

Smurf citadel blue used on the shirt again like the Captain and First Mate. The overalls / chaps around legs were kept the primer yellow and highlighted with some Army Painter yellow. That’s the beauty of the Army Painter primer and matched dropper bottle range they have. The trousers are Mornfang Brown and the flesh is Bugman’s Glow and the hair is Army Painter Dead White and Vallejo Light Grey. I think the look of the whole model ties in with the salvage type specialists, with dynamite supplementing his grenade and the protection suit looking more rig and sci-fi construction style than military.

The metals are a mix of Vallejo Gunmetal Grey and the Runelord Brass, with a highlight of Silver.

This metal medic is from the Nickstarter. NorthStar really do support the Frostgrave / Stargrave games well I think.

I have seen him painted with blue skin and various clothing schemes online, but after priming him Army Painter Skeleton Bone I felt I wanted the skin to be fairly pale but still human.

The smurf blue shirt unifier continue on this crew and the white hair it seems. I went with a Deathguard Green stab vest and the white holster, like on the Captain etc.

The metal sprue piece on the base was glued there to look like a bulkhead / doorway lip. The writing on the tint text door is the website address from a decals sheet at the very bottom.

I was struggling to find an extra specialist soldier and was going to kitbash something before I found this great metal Hasslefree mini in my pile of potential. Hasslefree have semi-regular sales and I see fun Viking and fantasy models, some post apocalyptic modern minis and not-Lara Croft and Not-Nathan Drake models that caught my eye over the years. This dog and his nude dopelganger have found their way into my collection and now he’s painted he will make a great Gunner option for this crew. Now I have seen the studio paint job I might make some changes.

I started with a black primer then a Halfords red primer zenith, but really only the head and shoulders got hit with the red. I built the colour back up from black with Flesh Tearers Red Contrast and Mephiston Red. Then when I got that high enough I did some chipping and a Jokaero Orange and Mephiston mixed highlight to bring up some high areas. The changes I might make would be to colour some of the spine plates and  alternating front armour plates in a contrasting colour like a blue.

Had to WYSIWYG up my Daktari Trooper because he didn’t have heavy armour. If he’s under fire he drops his head and makes his way to cover then looks up again to get off his reply. The Daktari don’t like heavy armour. This is one of the reasons the Solubrians were able to hold out as long as they did in their wars and why the teaming up with heavy hitting Pirate allies was essential to their eventual victory.

Clearly it’s just a shoulder pauldron from my bits box attached to his combat smock on his back.

I like the name of this Hacker on many layers. The Hacker is meant to have light armour, a knife and a pistol.

He’s a kitbash of NorthStar body, head and hacker deck with Genestealer pistol and knife arms.

The metal hacker from the Nickstarter had some augmentation on her head. I didn’t feel that creative so just painted some dots of paint behind his ear and hoped that this and the cool visor would be enough to suggest what he is. He has the hacker deck at his hip, but this might not be visible from all angles.

The paint job was a black primer then a drybrush zenith of white. I hadn’t started out with white hair being the combining factor in the crew but it kinda turned out that way. The salt and pepper look on this hacker looks great in my opinion. The Macragge Blue shirt has also become a theme that I had intended more. The Rhinox Hide brown is a lovely leather colour and the Averland Sunset helps tie him to the battle overalls of the Pathfinder in the crew. The trousers are Deathguard Green and the whole mini got a Nulin Oil before highlighting all the high areas back up towards the original colours they were based with. The webbing continues to be mostly Game Colour Dead White with a touch of Apothecary White Contrast to knock some of the intensity back.

The crew of The Mission is complete.

Thanks for all the likes.

I used a fancy font of 11 as a transfer to gel the faithful as a crew. The Daktari obviously haven’t been accepted into the faith and should not wear the symbol.

The crew is really interesting and should be a challenge for the Solubrian crew from my other project to fight. I might take both crews through the solo campaign in the expansion Quarantine 37. See my progress in preparing for the game below.

Quarantine 37 – Stargrave

I imagine that Menelaus my Hacker was one of the men struggling with the authorities, the harsh new world and had tired of the life of a criminal hacker and left his hacking days at the commune door. When the Pirates attacked he was the one to get the message to Qui-Gon Jim on the Pirate flag ship. It was he who supported Kobi Juan in his search for the survivors and he is happy to do his part now their haven has been destroyed. He is quick in the defense of his new found faith and is keen on seeing post-apocalyptic style justice brought to those responsible for the culling of his brethren.

The gun dog, Archer, was brought up as the youngest of 12 pupmen in a shady slum on a low tech world far far away. As the family struggled to feed themselves he was sold to a Pirate Captain as a slave so that the others might live on the proceeds. As he matured and spiked in growth he began to join the boarding parties and earn his place on the ship. The Captain felt threatened by his strength, ability in battle and ferocity and tried to cast Archer adrift. But he forgot that dogs (and even dogmen) are man’s best friend and the crew turned on their captain in a bloody mutiny and cast the captain adrift instead. He had progressed to be First Mate, but there was bigotry towards dogmen and animosity and jealous of his position was becoming a problem. Archer was crushed against a shuttle in a botched boarding action. Partially paralyzed he was suddenly a burden rather than a fierce and valued fighter. Sadly the crew didn’t have the kind of loyalty and honour Archer had hoped for and needed. They set him ashore at a dead end space port, gave him a handful of credits and wished him well. By luck or by fate (depending on your politics) Qui-Gon Jim saw the uncharitable treatment and abandonment and convinced Archer to travel with him back to his commune where he could recover from his wounds. Qui-Gon managed to find a battle suit that had augmentation to improve reaction times, but as a benefit actually supported the central nervous system and gave Archer back the ability to walk. Being relatively intelligent he was able to understand the 11 Tenents of Truth being delivered at the commune and initially out of gratitude but eventually by devotion he studied and was eventually accepted into the faith.

Thanks again.

Happy hobbying.