Stargrave – The Last Prospector
Recommendations: 307
About the Project
Started kitbashing some prospectors for the new Stargrave expansion. Had the idea of using Bolt Action russian winter soldiers as a kitbash base for Stargrave. The prospectors, armed with tools in the game, gave me the excuse to have some fun.
Related Game: Stargrave
Related Company: North Star Military Figures
Related Genre: Science Fiction
This Project is Active
Cut and shut terrain.
Warhammer 40k Haemotrope Reactor had two parts that looked unnecessary. So I used the spare parts to pimp up some Pringles pots.
I know that there's potentially loads of details I could pick out, but right now these is ready for my table.
The mark of the local pirate fleet alarms the crew. They didn't know that their influence had reached this sector and here the mark is emblazoned on these containers. They continue with caution, head on a swivel. Anxiety reigns.
Someone didn't want the lights on in this section of the base. Needs a bit more than a fresh bulb. Just made from sprue from the same piece of GW terrain.Terrain. Ventilation shaft
Saw some coffee cup lids get squashed and saw that they kept a shape and didn't fall over. Picked some up and PVA glued them and painted them. Some sprue on top to hint at a radiator type idea. Where hot gases are sent to the surface to condensate and then the liquid used to support their mining efforts under pressure. Or just a ventilation shaft type effort.
Not fussed about the finish on this one. Can come back to it with some transfers and better metal work later on.Solo prep
Started to look at the bounty hunting solo rules that Osprey released for free when Stargrave came out. I already have a project for Quarantine 37 on OnTableTop where I am working through some solo play games, but the bounty hunting solo play rules sound fun.
This version of solo does require some bad guys to fight against and I always loved the look of the Chaos Cultist cheap set. Seemed like as good of a time as any to paint some up. The exact loadout and classes of troops required each game seems odd and quite expansive so I will just make a few and enjoy. If the crew models I put together don’t fit the rules I will just have to proxy around and make some tweaks in as balanced a way as I can.
Another bad guy for a solo bounty mission. Warlord Games Winter Russian body with Wargames Atlantic Dark Age Irish head and Les Grognards arms.
In the Pink
The Emperor's Children pink is stark and alien and seems to suit the human-like features without any ambiguity that he is an alien.The brown on the clothes is Snakebite Leather Contrast over a zenith of Halfords Grey primer and black primer.
The jacket tied over his shoulder and tied at his hip is a nice mix of off whites. Zandri Dust base, with Morghast Bone highlight and Wraithbone top highlight. Then weathered with Sepia wash and and Nulin Oil and a tidy up with Zandri Dust in areas too dark with wash.
The project will have a small break while I consider how many more I need to make and see if the book lore changes the approach towards any future kitbashing.Cyclopes
The Bolt Action British spade handles looked very thin compared to the Stargrave hands etc. I made the conversion with a light mortar and felt it came out well.
The simple adding of a Bot Action pick into what would normally be gun toting hands didn't fit perfectly, but I am generally happy with how he turned out.The face was given a base of Contrast Green Camo. And heavy highlight of Deathguard Green. The Jokaero Orange boots and gloves helps unite the whole group of minis. Even with jackets and no jacket minis together I think they feel like they’re in a works gear uniform rather than a military force uniform. I think they look individual enough to suggest they are subcontractor prospectors hoping to make it rich but getting their tools and supplies from a central source together.
Blue man
The axe is from a Gripping Beast vikings sprue. Needed to make him look more miner than military so he has an air quality detector on his hip and a yellow hard hat.I imagine the environment they are prospecting in to be cold and arid. The Russian head just looked like someone strapped up against the cold, but I didn’t want him to be green or white like some of the others. Macragge Blue seemed like a good choice.
Musk and Elon
Musk and Elon. Clone slaves who broke free and started a prospectors life for themselves. And now some crew thinks they can pitch up and mess with their new life? Hand me my sonic spike and my gravaxe 8000 and let's settle this.
The bolt from the rifle handle acts as a convenient red light to suggest an electronic element to his axe. The bayonet also has a convenient point to add a dodd of red paint to.
The drill in Elon's hand is cut down from a Bren Gun, but painted up and given some blood and it looks like an odd Sci-Fi tool.The long necks on these two just came to me as I looked through my sprues for something other than human. The Wargames Factory Warlord Games dark age Saxon sprue has these interesting looking heads. The hair cut sparked a potential clone idea, but as I was about to cut down the neck to make it look more natural on the Russian body, I figured that the long neck would make them look even more alien and fitted them at the original length from the sprue.
The basing
Turfts painted with Emperor's Children pink and Macragge Blue The grass was from a really disappointing tuft set that I got. (Jarvis scenics. See image below and you be the judge) The tuft online looked like a multi green gorgeous summer tuft in the pics. And when it arrived I get a single tone green tuft. On a colour chart it would be “plastic soldier green”. So now I chop the tufts into small pieces and paint them different colours. Safe in the knowledge that if it all goes wrong… It was what it was and the experiment went well… or it went in the bin.
I used an Army Painter urban grey flock and added a big flint stone on each base.
