Gruntz 15mm SCI-FI

New Author working on Gruntz

2012-05-21T20:34:00.003+01:00

Some exciting Gruntz project news. Gruntz has started working with Jennifer Brozek who has won both the ENnie and the Cleo (Origins award) for writing.

Jennifer is a freelance author for numerous RPG companies. Winner of both the Origins and the ENnie award, her contributions to RPG sourcebooks include Dragonlance, Colonial Gothic, Shadowrun, Serenity, Savage Worlds, and White Wolf SAS.

Jennifer will be adding some interesting new introductions for the various key factions and houses in the Gruntz setting “Heliopause”, building some credible key characters and historical dates. These updates will be going into the new 1.1 rulebook and will make for some great reading.

You can see Jennifer's full bibliography here http://www.jenniferbrozek.com/bibfiction.html

If you want to get your pre-order in for the Gruntz 1.1 rules which will contain writing by Jennifer you can pledge support on the Barracks project here http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/96476?c=home&a=557079

The Gruntz Barracks project is a funding project for the "Barracks" Mac and PC army builder for Gruntz. Please help us get the full army builder into production by choosing one of the perks and supporting the project. If you have a blog, I would really appreciate it if you could share the news.

Barracks - Profile card builder.

2012-05-08T10:22:00.002+01:00

The Gruntz army profile card application "Barracks" has just kicked off as a project. I have teamed up with Ian from Wargaming Trader who is both a miniature fan and developer. The project will help pay the development cost of making the application for Windows and MAC and you can see all the details on the project page here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/96476?a=557079

Welcome to the Gruntz 15mm SCI FI Rules

2012-05-01T12:00:00.000+01:00

Thanks for visiting the Gruntz website. Gruntz 15mm is a ruleset for SCI-FI skirmish wargamming. It was designed from the ground up to be specific to scales and ranges in 15mm and is focused on integrating a fun combined arms game where you can combine tanks, mecha, squads and specialist ground and air support units.

Gruntz won the Tabletop Gaming News readers vote for best new rules in 2011 and there are some excellent reviews on the Wargames Vault where you can buy the product.

The rules are now out in PDF format. You can purchase the rules here for just $9: Wargames Vault - Gruntz

In addition to the 88 page core rules the download includes:

A set of blank profile cards in PDF. These are template cards with each size of vehicle, tanks, mecha and air support pre-listed with damage points. You still need to build the units by using pts to buy weapons, mobility type etc but the cards should help with ease of creation.
A zip of the previous Critical Mass Cards which are good samples of existing units.
An Excel builder spreadsheet which is work in progress. The spreadsheet still requires some finishing touches and adjustments and is "open to development", so if you spot anything you can improve or help please let me know.

Sample pages from the 88 page rules:

New Assault Rules 1.1.

2012-05-01T11:25:00.004+01:00

This week has been a busy one for Gruntz activity. I completed some filming and editing of a couple of Gruntz play guides for Youtube over the weekend and put them through the editing process on Sunday and last night. The new advanced assault rules are up and running and will be followed by two more later this week, on rapid fire, card based activation and some interesting news on the Army Builder application.

The new Advanced Optional Assault rules have been in play test since the release of v1 of the rules in July 2011 and got their first public outing at the Salute wargames show this April. They were intended to stay true to the simple to learn and play approach of Gruntz but add some more detail for the close assault activity.

Defenders have an opportunity to react to incoming attacks which is dependent on what condition they are in when a unit assaults them. Running a squad at a well prepared defending unit, who are ready to fire automatic laser or projectile weapons at you is very dangerous but if you manage to suppress the target unit by shooting at them from other units in your force you can make it much easier to overrun them with an Assault. I am calling them advanced rules but they are actually relatively simple and not that far from the original assault.

Don't be afraid of this chart, it might look complicated but you won't need to reference it after a couple of Assaults play throughs.

Assault Detailed Flow Chart

The most important item for me is speed of play and keeping tables out of the game. I believe after a couple of plays you won't need to reference the process chart but it will certainly help for the first couple of engagements that you use these advanced Assault rules. They will be finding their way into the 1.1 release.

Gruntz Advanced Assault Overview

At some point over the next 10 days there will be some news on the Army Builder application which will be shared in another Youtube episode.

I am ready to take comments and feedback on them and would suggest that before diving in with comments that you take time to listen and absorb the Youtube video, read through the chart and perhaps try it a couple of times in a test game. I am always happy to keep refining down and adding clarification from player input. Armchair Generals are also welcome! For all feedback on this release, please use the Forum thread here.

New Video on Gruntz Shoot rules.

2012-04-30T09:44:00.001+01:00

I am ramping up output in the lead up to the print release of Gruntz 1.1. There will be a few videos and play guides completed in the next few weeks and this is the first one on Youtube detailing how the basic shooting works.

I am hoping that there is enough detail in the overview to provide an idea of how the basics work. The next Assault video is for the advanced 1.1 Assault rules and will have a lot more detail on the free reaction that a defending unit can make when charged.

First tutorial video on shooting here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FzmelGViRY&list=UU7hdmRjMmkVxrCn-biR-Egg&index=1&feature=plcp

15mm SCFI photo shoot

2012-04-23T23:44:00.000+01:00

Tonight I had a major post-Salute clear out of my hobby room and made some proper space to continue detailed playtesting. I have now got enough space to keep a board permanently up and ready to throw down some dice.

After all the tidying I ran out of time for any proper staged photography but I did manage a few snaps to share.

Some recon scouts, exploring a valley riverbed. Models by Art Crime.

I also got a quick snap of some of the new Antenocitis Workshop 15mm miniature vehicles. These look great and if I had more time I would add the wheels to the larger vehicle. Various 15mm scifi models for scale.

A lone sniper lines up on party of heavy Guln warriors.

Some surprise local fauna, unhappy to share their feeding ground.

Salute 2012 15mm Video Overview

2012-04-23T09:42:00.001+01:00

Please accept an apology before you view this show video for the 15mm wargaming at Salute and Gruntz. I was very short on time and running demos with the team, which resulted in me having very little time for video and as a result I rushed around and did not take enough time to slow my filming down. If you want to avoid feeling like you are watching Blair Witch, you might find pausing the youtube video helps!

Thanks to Matthew (Wikkid-Devil), Matthew (Comstar), Russell, Simon and the Panda for the help on Saturday. It really was very busy and hard work keeping up with the games.

Once you get through my shaky video there are two new items at the end, I have images of the new Mecha from Ground Zero Games (GZG) and a new Alien race and Mecha on the Critical Mass Games site. Salute was a great day for 15mm this year, it really does feel like it is coming into its own and I am sure there will be more 15mm sci-fi at the show next year.

As usual it was a pain getting in and out of Salute. Long queues and staged parking, where you have to stop, park get a form stamped in one box outside, before you can join another queue in the car. I certainly started to think that setting up on the day before would be beneficial and take some of the rush out of the day.

I don't have much to say about the show because I had a total of about 20mins in two separate runs around to explore. I only bought a couple of items from GZG and picked up some Colonial miniatures from Peter Pig. I also found some nice steampunk 20/15mm tanks (sculpted by Old Crow). I will share some photos of these with a Rottenlead wrap up of all the latest 15mm news soon.

Fjodin's 15mm World: Colonial cards for GRUNTZ

2012-04-16T10:31:00.001+01:00

Fjodin's 15mm World: Colonial cards for GRUNTZ: I am currently working on 15mm Colonial and Victorian Science Fiction cards for "Gruntz 15mm SCI-Fi" rules.

Pop over to Fjodin's website for more cards and information on his project.

Gruntz at Salute 2012

2012-04-15T10:58:00.000+01:00

Gruntz is at the Salute wargames show this coming Saturday 21st April 2012. I am down by the Bring and Buy, so you can't miss us. Doors open at 10am at the Excel centre in London's Docklands. There are loads of parking options and easy access from the DLR.

I might also find myself having to dive into the Bring and Buy if I spot a bargain!

This photo is of one of the 3 terrain layouts I am taking. They are all very small 3x3ft and designed to give poeple a chance to play the game and get straight into the action. I was lucky to have some spare drop-on terrain sections created by SpaceJacker from Tiny Solitary Soldiers. They have had their bases re-painted for the desert terrain and will feature with the launch pad from Games Workshop as shown.

My stand number for the game is GJ18. If you don't have time to play, please still pop by and say hello.

Battletech Gallery photos

2012-04-12T23:37:00.001+01:00

Just found myself in the garage trying to fine tune the gears on my mountain bike and decided to take some snaps of the boards with some old Battletech figures in place.

Post Cards at Salute 2012

2012-04-12T14:34:00.000+01:00

I will have a limited number of postcards at Salute featuring some Mecha artwork. I have had them properly printed in full colour, so they make a nice collector card if you like the art. They will be handed out to anyone interested in the game, however if you are an existing player and like the art I am happy to share a postcard! Details below.

Weathering with New Citadel Paints

2012-04-11T17:26:00.000+01:00

I am putting the finishing touches to this Games Workshop launch pad which I am using for 15mm gaming (using smaller legs and not adding the side panels). It is the plastic kit they sell and I am using it on the terrain board for the Salute Wargames convention and it will be part of the scenario for 15mm sci-fi rules Gruntz. I used one of the Citadel shades on the red metal work section and the Necron Compound which is a dry paint they provide for easier dry brushing.

I was painting it very quickly, because I am short on time. So rather than airbrushing and masking different areas off I just used a P3 Paint called Greatcoat Grey for the main areas and Bloodstone as the brown base in the centre metal plated area. It is going to be placed on an frontier world Mesa desert style board so I wanted it to look burnt up, scratched, dirty with scorch marks from use. So I went to town with lots of pigments from MIG and washes from lifecolor to give it a weathered and worn terrain look.

Necron Compound Dry Paint

In the centre red area I used a dark flesh wash from the new Citadel 2012 range called Reikland Fleshshade which is in the shade range of washes. It had a bit of a surprise problem! I wanted something with a dark red tone to complement the reddish brown base colour and it went on smoothly but dried gloss in the corners and over the main bulk of the platform it also added a slight shine.

I think as a wash it is clearly very much like an ink and less like the very matt washes when compared to the older paint wash range like Badab Black and Devlan mud. The situation is very easy to resolve, because when I dull coate the terrain piece with matt spray it will remove the gloss shine but it is annoying to discover that as more of an ink you are going to have to adjust painting a bit to handle the gloss shine.

However I did also use the same Reikland Fleshshade on a practice 28mm model as a wash over the flesh and it did not become shiny when used in small amounts. I think it is a shame that it does not have that very matt look of the older ranges but looks like it will be OK to use on normal small scale washes on a model. If, like me, you like to use them on larger terrain items, buildings and vehicles you may find that the shine from the ink starts to come through again.

One amazing revelation was the Necron Compound Dry Paint. It really does offer the best dry-brushing experience of any metallic paint I have tried. You can use a small amount on the brush and get the finest of edges agains the panels, rather than the older method where you might have to spend a while making sure the paint was dry on the brush by repeated brushing against a tissue. It certainly added the finishing touch to the panel edges which I wanted to give a worn and scratched look to and was subtle.

LifeColor Oil Wash

In a previous article on LifeColour Italian paints Lifecolor paint review I discussed the interesting washes they have in the range. The launch pad was perfect for them because the various oils, smoke, kerosense and fuel in the Tensocrom set 2 are the sort of liquids you might expect to have leaked out onto the Games Workshop launch pad. I was most impressed by the Oil which drops on with a high surface tension (much like oil) which gives you a really greasy puddle look to the result. I also used the smoke to add burnt areas on the red platforms panels.

After Testors Dull Coat

This final photo is after I applied a matt varnish spray. It really dulled down the shine coming from the new Citadel wash. I also used a small selection of pigments on the platform. You can see them in the corners and edges, adding a darker shade and in some areas where there are dusty patches. Pigments, unlike paint, don't fix themselves to a surface and come in a pot like a dust. When you mix them with a few drops of water you can spread them on the surface with a normal brush and let them dry. They are more subtle than some of the ink washes and allow you to blend just by adding more water or by using the MIG thinners. Using thinners will seal them better but if you are going to use a varnish coat they will also be sealed by the spray. I have found that I can go back over an area with a pigment by applying more thinner to make a shade more subtle if I have gone on to heavy with the pigment. Having this large platform to practice on helps, you can't go wrong because you can explain away any mistakes as oil spills, exhaust burns or scuffs.

This launch pad will be integrated into the main terrain board by the weekend and ready for action at Salute 2012 at the Excel exhibition centre in just over a weeks time.

Here is the landing pad before the paint job

Painting Weekend for 15mm scifi

2012-04-03T11:13:00.000+01:00

This weekend I was back in the garage again with Richard and Russell. The main objective now is finishing the details and buildings on the terrain boards. By this coming Sunday I will be running a demo game on them to prepare stats and cards for Salute. Please note that these boards are deliberately small at 3x3ft square in size. This small size was selected so I can tour games shows with them and offer two different but simultaneous Gruntz 15mm sci-fi games on a 6x4 total area. They also offer immediate gaming where the forces on the board engage directly, rather than the slower build up you can achieve on a larger board. Last year I found that show games tended to build up more slowly and when my objective is to simply let people get stuck in and learn the rules it would be easier on the smaller layout.

The smaller board size also lets me setup playtest, photography and video guides more easily. I can drop a board straight out and start a game with my son or friends very quickly. I will also use these boards for 6mm games, so the small size is also great for the smaller scales like Battletech or Future War Commander. I think you could actually also run 28mm games on these small boards, especially some of the modern skirmish games which don't need a lot of space, especially if you have walls and buildings blocking line of sight.

The main work on the boards this week included final touch up drybrushing on the Mesa desert layout and heavy final lighter drybrushing on the ash waste / crater terrain. The water pump windmills were also finished for the desert layout and the 15mm Critical Mass Games buildings for the Ash Waste were constructed on plastic bases with added details like air filters, satellite dishes and crates etc.

The following photos are an overview of the various stages of work during this weekend and I have added commentary to each one.

Working on Sunday with an aerial view of Richard working on the water pump windmills, which are N-scale railroad models in plastic. You can see the basic terrain layout below with the Games Workshop Launch Pad / Platform resting in the bottom right corner.

Richard used some of the plastic terrain to build up a ramp that would allow vehicle access to the launch pad. It would have been ideal to integrate this further with the ramp coming up onto one of the rocky messa but running short on time we deiced to mount it direct to the launch pad. In the photo above I am using strips of styrene rod to make the launch pad look more integrated with the ramp. Styrene rod has a million uses and is a very quick way to help finish terrain with edges and panel rods.

I was testing the ramp in this photo before it was glued down. Just to make sure it was capable of taking models. The Tau Barracuda behind is work in progress and has now had another airbrush base coat on the top sections. The Tau Barracuda has an great cockpit (not currently on the model) which looks perfect for 15mm scale.

Another close up of the plastic ramp detail (before the styrene rod is added). Richard did a great job of trimming and selecting the right plastic parts for this kit.

This was work on Monday where I base painted some of the terrain details like this power/air filter/shield array unit. There are two of these on the board and I will be painting them red so they stand out as eye-catching details. The Mig Neutral wash is an enamel wash and takes around 15 minutes to start drying, at which point you moisten a brush with MIG thinners and wipe off the excess wash, leaving the higher panel areas without shade. It was the first time I used it and once dry it looks very effective. I still have a couple of layers of paint to add to these details and might wash them again before finishing. This resin detail is actually a 28mm can recycle unit from Antenocitis Workshop and it works perfectly as some sort of mechanical/industrial item for 15mm or 6mm gaming.

Monday work again here with the crashed ship/drone with its base yellow paint. The model is from Dark Realm Miniatures (6mm scale drop ship). This ship was also washed with the MIG neutral wash and wiped lightly (after 15 minutes) with a moistened brush to remove the wash from the raised surfaces. Toward the back of this photo you can see the legs of the launch platform which are mostly out of view when the platform is lowered into place.

You can see the water pumps Richard was working on at the back of bench. All these items were getting a base prime coat of Tamiya primer. The ramp is also now solidly glued onto the launch pad.

This is close to the final launch pad layout. The primary access ramp will be glued along with the platform to the board. I will also add weathering around the ramp bottom with some built up sand/gravel to make it look like a regular access point. The service ramp on the side is another method for troop access.

On Monday morning I took delivery of this Tamiya liquid primer. It was amazing stuff and left the base of the power module with a very fine, smooth and rock hard primer coat. For smaller detailed terrain and models I will certainly be using it, especially when an spray primer can't be used. However you do need White Spirit on hand to clean the brush because this liquid primer is not typical acrylic. In retrospect I would recommend that items like these resin Fenris power modules are pre-primed and painted before being integrated in the board, it makes it easier to paint without messing up the base board layout. The little resin ramp on the left is from Ainsty and the plastic legs of the launch pad can be seen in the centre of the photo. The legs were super-glued to the board but then also had PVA and sand/gravel mix placed around their bases. The PVA and sand mix dries rock hard which will help keep them in place and makes them look more integrated when weathering is applied.

Standing out here are the two Critical Mass Games resin buildings we are using in the crater on the ash waste board. A couple of small details were added to the plastic bases and they will be airbrushed. The bases will look more integrated when they are painted to match the board. I was in half a mind to glue these down permanently and make them look 100% integrated but decided I might occasionally want to place something different in the crater, so making them into removable bases was more flexible.

This was some basic greens and details being added to the stream bed. A liquid resin will be poured into the trench which will show some of the details below. I am also going to add some dry looking static grass around the edge of the steam.

This is just before Russell added a final drybrush of a lighter grey to the base. I had to use a spray of dull coat at this stage because despite our painting the plastic shine of the Games Workshop Craters still showed through the paint. This is a bizarre thing, because they were primed and had three or four layers of drybrushing completed on them. I am amazed that a plastic shine can still show through several layers of dry matt paint. However the purity seal from Games Workshop did a great job of making them very matt looking again and also protected the board a bit.

Early work in progress on Monday with the air vent / purification systems being airbrushed a bright blue. This will be toned down with washes and shading to look dirty and dusty. I also airbrushed a light sand colour into the interiors. The interior detail is not going to be viewed that often, so I won't spend much time on detailing it. The satellite dish is an extra model from Critical Mass Games and fitted perfectly on the top of the resin roof.

Sunday Garage Terrain update

2012-03-26T10:12:00.002+01:00

This week the base of the boards got very close to being complete. Another 5 or so hours and we moved on a step with some of the base details. I continued to use the MIG pigments and some GW washes like Badab black on the sand desert board. Russ worked on the base layer on the ash waste and crater board and managed to add a decent base layer for the main ash areas. Everything still needs some additional drybrushing to bring it on.

I then moved on to laying out the landing platform for the 15mm space launch area. It had a base chaos black spray to prime it and will be airbrushed up to a grey industrial colour when complete. Some of the Fenris cooling / power towers have been placed alongside as part of the structure. Nothing is permanent yet and a ramp is also needed at the front of the platform to allow for access.

The landing platform in plastic from Games Workshop is being used here with some alternative legs which allow

An overview view of the landing platform terrain with the Mesa. The Mesa are made from resin and are in the Critical Mass Games 15mm Terrain range.

This battlefield board uses the GW moon craters and is the second layout for Salute. The mid grey acrylic used for bulk of the grey will be drybrushed to bring out the grain and texture.

Another aerial view of the proposed landing platform. I am still not 100% sure of the layout but this will be the location it is added to the board. The two flat Mesa from Critical Mass Games are providing the main base for the platform to rest on. I have a feeling I will glue it on to bolt it down and properly integrate it into the layout. The power / cooling / shielding columns from Fenris will be add on components to avoid them being snapped off in transit. They all need painting!

Richard on the left is building two windmills for the Desert layout. These are deep water pump style windmills. The type you see rusting in post apocalyptic desert towns. They are small additions to add some super detail to the layout.

Work Continues on 1.1.

2012-03-24T22:33:00.002Z

Just finished a draft of the new "Gruntz Specialist". The Specialist unit type has now been split into two separate unit types: Vehicle Specialist and Gruntz Specialist. The Vehicle Specialist is the hard mechanical kit, like spider droids, small robot mecha and various other drones and hardware. This enabled a clear separation between the potentially fast moving vehicles and the softer troop type specialists like Medics, Snipers, Engineers and Sub-Commanders. It does mean another two page spread in the builder section to cover the vehicles and a lot of clarification on the standard Specialist page.

Somehow the edits are taking longer than writing the original rules, however I do have a clear strategy to get these updates complete and ready for the print on demand release coming in the next 2 Months. Here is a double page spread with the draft Gruntz specialist update.

Games Workshop New Paints

2012-03-24T19:14:00.000Z

The new Citadel paint range from Games Workshop is out in a couple of weeks and I was able to give them a try and review them today in the GW store in my local town. The paint range is much larger than before and here are my first impressions as I used a limited set of them in the shop today.

I know there are people rushing out to buy the old stock and items like Badab Black, Gryphon Sepia and Devlan mud however after trying the new paints I think I can safely say that the new range has these washes and inks completely covered.

With the older names in parenthesise these are the new categories of paints: Base (Foundation) , Layer (normal paints), Shade (washes), Dry, Glaze (inks), Texture and Technical.

The foundation paints were certainly less chalky than the last set and were instead smooth and blended very well. The shop manager was keen to keep stressing that even the new white could paint directly over black. I am not so sure of this bold claim and personally "instant" coverage is not always something I want to achieve and I am happy to build up layers to get a perfect cover. However the Base paints I had in the limited set were very good at covering, especially the Caliban green on the orks skin, which I was painting over black.

I had no lighter green, so had to add white to to it for the highlights. This was not a great method but I did find the blending was excellent and forgiving. A bit like the Privateer Press P3 paints where you can go back and re-blend a colour easily.

The best moment for me was using the LeadBelcher base metallic which was a nice dull tone and covered incredibly well, then washing it with with the Nuln oil shade, followed by Necron compound a metallic which is one of the creamy Dry paints (for drybrushing). When I say creamy I really mean it, the "Dry" range for drybrushing look almost like a gel in the pot or a thick set yogurt. The Necron went one very well as a sharp bright edge to the metal - I was painting very slapdash though! The Nuln oil was a bit like Badab black but there was something about the flow and coverage which had the edge on Badab for me. Going back over the higher edges of the axe with Leadbelcher gave it a really nice edge. I did not have the time to give anything a fine detailed finish because the store manager wanted someone else to try the paints, so the result below is not finished but I think you should get a feel for the way the washes have worked.

I also used one of the green "shades" Biel-Tan I think (it was like an ink wash), which was brushed liberally over my ork skin. I was impressed by the fact that it did not over darken the base colours and I think if used correctly the entire range of new inks (Shades and Glaze's) are going to be great for fast quality painting.

The Textures are supposed to offer a quick way of doing bases. I am not sure they have a big enough grain in them to show up well on a base. I had Armageddon dust which was a light buff colour texture. I think I would like to try the textures properly when I have more time with the paints but on first impression they don't look like a replacement for using a sand with fine gravel mix for textured bases.

I did a speed paint in the store on this ork. A terrible model and whoever put it together did not care for seam lines or getting the parts glued together in sync, so his neck had a massive ridge. They only had a limited set of the new range in the store so I had to get creative with the brown and mix one of the "dry" colours into it to darken the colour for the Orcs legs. This was not a good move, because the "dry" range of paints are really for dry brushing and not base covering. The difference is stark, with the dry range being like a creamy gel which you would not be able to use to get a good base colour even when thinning them - they really are only good for edges using drybrushing.

This is one of the dry paints. Used for drybrushing the paint is like a gel. It did work well to provide a great instant dry brush, but I do wonder how long the paint will last in the pot. They might have a magic ingredient in it to allow it to keep and not dry out (I hope so I bought some).

The full range. I went a bit wild and bought a few from the set on a pre order from the shop.

This small guide shows the six stage method they are suggesting painters take with the new colours. They have a full painting book "How to Paint" which comes with a set of handy cards and a lot of detailed photos of the paints used in stages on a lot of the GW models. This Space Marine guide is a sample which takes you through the various colours. I must say that the photography on it is terrible, in almost all the images the Space Marine is very dark and it is difficult to see the difference! I did get to see the cards from the painting guide which had much better photography with clear illustrations of the stages needed on different faction models.

15mm Collection Growing

2012-03-23T16:52:00.000Z

In order to support the playtesting of Gruntz I have been growing the collection to include some painted Khurasan models. I have a large group of models here which need some base work done to complete them. Once finished they will feature in a couple of demo games which I will video to highlight some of the changes in the V1.1 rules. There are limited changes in the updates to the rules but those items that are tweaked will be featured in series of videos to make understanding the details nice and clear.

Gruntz Video Battlereport by Monkey Babble.

2012-03-19T10:36:00.001Z

Monkey Babble has put together a nice Gruntz overview and battlereport. View the details here.

15mm Terrain Work Continues for Salute.

2012-03-19T10:10:00.000Z

Here are some photos from this weeks Sunday garage-workshop session. It was a long session and a lot of painting was completed. @inrepose, @internalclock , @neilcford and Russ all turned up to help paint and work thought the detailing stages of the terrain.

There are still another 3 weeks work here, with super detailing, some static grass to apply to the desert layout and additional drop on buildings and models to create. The Mesa resin terrain from Critical Mass Games was used on the first layout below and is a great way to rapidly put a rock restricted fire table together for Battletech or any other 15mm / 28mm gaming. I have integrated them into the board for a diorama type feel, however the resin mesa could be painted on their own and used as drop on terrain that can be moved around for different layouts.

Desert Terrain. Base sand colour and initial drybrush applied. Some use of Mig pigments "dark brown" applied to the sides of the Mesa. The two flat Messa toward the back of the board are going to hold an integrated landing platform.

Using lighter brown MIG pigment to blend some of the edges of the initial dark brown. If you use water to apply the pigment it will allow you to re-blend again when you apply the lighter pigment. Once these pigments are applied additional dry-brushing will bring out the texture again, whilst leaving the shading and tones on the board.

A small crashed space vessel. This is a model from Dark Realm miniatures. It will be painted and detailed with some dark burn marks behind the engine in the sand. It is a 6mm scale sci-fi model (epic scale) but it will look like some sort crashed drone in 15mm. I will probably also use the board for 6mm gaming. Small details adds some interest to the layout and when painted it will draw the eye into the detail.

Starting to paint the ash waste terrain with craters on the separate board. Just the first edges in darker grey have been added and full grey layer will be applied and will also blend in the darker areas.

Sunday Workshop

2012-03-13T14:46:00.001Z

I was back in the garage again this weekend. Two days of various texturing and carpentry were completed along with Russell and Richard. I had to push myself on sunday to get the wooden edges completed before the Sunday session with the team.

Edging board2 the Critical Mass Games resin Mesa layout. Putting an edge on can help prevent warping of the MDF because the harder wood on the side can reduce warpage.

Board1 - The Crater layout. Edging tacked for protection and longevity of the board. It also looks nice when completed and painted black.

It was a sunny day, so Russ suggested putting the crater table outside to properly dry the edging in the sun.

Playing with the Mesa terrain board2 layout.

Testing what a couple of terrain items look like on the layout. The base station / landing pad is plastic from Games Workshop and I won't be using the legs which came with it. The backend is resting on the two flat resin mesa terrain items from Critical Mass Games.

I have this resin Tau Barracuda from Forgeworld which is under construction. The resin model will be the centre piece of this 15mm SCI-FI layout. The cockpit and detailing on it are perfect scale for 15mm.

Finally got a base light colour onto the Mesa terrain outcrops. The battlefield layout base is currently still the natural sand colour which will be painted in a desert colour, darker than the mesa themselves but generally similar in a desert colour. Russ is behind the scenes building a crashed VTOL for a drop on terrain piece. He has a VTOL from Old Crow that he is setting into some crater parts from GW which will be a nice drop on terrain detail.

Weathering with Artist Pencil

2012-03-10T09:07:00.001Z

On the last few models I have airbrushed and then weathered I have used some artist silver pencil. I did try normal HB but it is a little dull and not as bright for the very fine edges.

I know that many in the military scale modelling hobby use them on tank tracks as a final road scuffed edge. They are great on rusty areas where you might want to show the smallest amount of naked metal along the edge. On this GZG 15mm sci-fi mobile artillery vehicle I have used it along the edge of the barrel and on the tracks.

You do have to be careful with your spray matt final coat because it can dissolve the pencil lines. You could either add it after the protective matt varnish or simply go easy with the dull layer. I found if I rub hard on the fine edges it does stick on enough to last through the varnish spray but it does dull it a little.

Lifecolor Paints

2012-03-09T20:40:00.000Z

Not many people know this but... The Italians are well known for plastic manufacturing and paints. In fact that famous Australian pop band of the early nineties "Crowded House" had a song about Italian plastic. These days almost all of our European designer branded high street glassess frames are made in one or two large factories in Italy.

Amongst the military modelling community the Life Color range of Italian paints are a popular choice. These are very fine paints, super matt and come in a nice screw top pot. Rather than the Vallejo paints which are either acrylic brush or model air type, the Life Color ranges can be used by brush or thinned for airbrushing. So you if you are thinking of taking the leap into airbrushing, these paints are ideal because you can use them through airbrushes or start with them by hand brushing.

They don't have a classic fantasy range with the usual "Gore Red" or "Skull Socket White", so you have to pick and choose from the basic colour ranges or from the sets which are focused on military periods with Axis / Allies tanks, aircraft and uniforms. These are very easy to select if you are a Flames of War (FOW) player because you get exactly the paints needed for the vehicles you are painting or airbrushing. For the SCI-FI or Fantasy painter you need to decide on an appropriate set to get started with and they do have a matt starter set in the range with 12 pots.

So why on earth should we bother changing paints? I think we all have favourite paints with various quirky personal reasons why we stick to them. I personally have my set of nail varnishes from 1973 which I mix with spit, boot polish and dirt from the garden. If I use them by gargling and drooling the results onto the figures they work great (don't look to closely at the result). However being overtly OCD means I have to try new things and I have heard a lot about how good Lifecolor is, so I thought I would give them a spin.

Rather than dive in with the full paint sets I first tried the rust kit. It is called the Dust and Rust diorama set and has 6 colours for about £16. Four of the colours in the set are matt rust colours and two are dusty pigment washes called Tensocrom. The Tensocrom sets are all about washes and changing the chromatic nature of flat colours which are great for panels on vehicles. I was not that worried about using the Tensocrom washes but I did want to try the rusts and the kit made it slightly cheaper when buying the full set.

I tried the technique with the paints on some models from Critical Mass Games. The models were first airbrushed with a digital camo style which was detailed in this video tutorial I put together earlier this year.

After airbrushing I used the rust colours from Lifecolor, starting with the light shade in a large area and building up to a darker rust colour in the centre of the rust spots. These were mostly added to the edges or corners of panels, where you might expect some dents or wear and tear.

OK so we could just go and select a reddish brown, orange and yellow from our normal paint sets, why bother with Lifecolor? Well I was amazed at how good they work. Having a guide that tells you to use the different colours in a specific sequence helps for quick reference, however they are also very matt and dull which works very well for rust and being a fine very-thin-liquid mix they go on smoothly and cover well. For a quick interesting result to break up an otherwise simple airbrushing base coat they do a great job. It was a bit like painting liquid rust onto the models.

Lifecolor rust set used on the Critical Mass Games Models

So if you wanted to try a rust effect or were simply looking for some new paints, I would recommend grabbing a starter and giving them a go. See how you get on with them and then step up to some of the other sets.

If you look very closely at the picture above you may also notice a metal-blue tinge on the weapons. This blue tinge is another Lifecolor paint from the Tensocrom range called Kerosene. It is a very thin wash and very sublte which you can build up in layers (letting it dry first) to add a blue tinge to metal work and was combined with Tensocrom smoke to add the dark shade to the metal work which was a base of Pig Iron from P3 paints. Using the smoke gave the metal some depth and was very quick to apply, with a little patience needed to let a light wash dry before applying more water like wash into the corners.

You don't have to worry about the Tesocrom washes flooding the base colour, they are so thin and fine which avoids that overload you might find if you simply washed a GW ink over metal work and suddenly realised that all your paint work has been ruined by an over-heavy ink.

MIG Pigments for weathering.

2012-03-08T14:03:00.000Z

MIG produce some nice washes, oils and pigments which you can use to add detail to models in 15mm and other scales. I think this is an Antenocitis Workshop trash / garbage bin in 28mm scale. I airbrushed it a basic yellow and then simply washed it with various GW inks.

I then used some Turps in a small mixing pot (a drop or two) and then added the weathering power. Weathering powder is very fine power which unlike paint does not dissolve totally, so you can build up a texture. Once applied with turps or thinner you can then add a tiny drop or two of pigment fixer. It is an enamel based fixer which locks the pigment in place.

In this example I am using the new Industrial pigment from MIG which dries to a much lighter colour than the dark area on the left of the garbage bins front.

Trash bin with added MIG pigment on the front left.

I have used pigments for a few years and you can see some in action on the top of these buildings. The circular buildings from Old Crow and the mech hanger beside the King Crab Battltech mech both have pigment washes blended on the tops. Pigments can be used like washes with a bit of thinners or turps and the result is a smooth well blended shade which is super matte and dusty looking and less harsh than an ink or GW type wash.

I think the technique will work well in 15mm scale, especially on tanks and anything that needs weathering or mud adding. MIG also provide a thicker resin based pigment fixer which can be mixed in to create chunky mud finishes. I have never used it but will certainly try it on a tank track soon to create a fresh mud look.

Terrain layout with MIG Pigments used on the tops of buildings.

15mm Terrain Build up

2012-03-05T15:00:00.003Z

This week the terrain build up for the Salute wargames show has seen us make some key progress during our Sunday garage workshop. The crater terrain using Games Workshop craters has seen the first two coats of paint added to the grey plastic craters.

In addition to the craters some small pieces of flat slate and Hyrdocol (plaster of paris) rocks were added to the board for detail. The board is made out of MDF (medium density fibreboard) with an added layer of dense foam. The craters are inset into the board by using a small headed hammer to hammer down a section of foam. This way you get a more realistic integrated look to the Games Workshop plastic craters.

You can see the drybrushing starting to pull the detail out on the craters. They need more work and the main base colour will follow on the sand areas and the dirt trails which you can currently see as white polyfilla lines through the board. I used a thin layer of pollyfilla and ran a chunky lego wheel through these road areas which when painted brown will give it the look of a churned up dusty trail.

The second board is a Mesa type terrain layout with a small narrow stream running through the centre. At this stage it looks a mess because the filler and base coats on the Critical Mass Games Mesa resin terrain make the whole thing look like a failed chocolate cake. Once the sand and base coats are down it will start to pull together.

Drybrushing the rocky crater sections with a small cheap (loss free) nylon brush. The paints used are artist colour from Hobbycraft in the UK. In this area the Games Workshop crater has been cut up into sections to form the edge of a much larger crater.

The Mesa terrain. early days with the resin set into the board and a primer coat starting on the Mesa which will actually be painted up much lighter. The two flat top hills on the top right are going to be used for the base of a dropship landing platform. This will be the focal point for games on the mesa terrain.

A longer view of the 3x3ft Crater terrain board. Ready now for a primary paint on the main board.

New 15mm Khurasan

2012-03-05T09:17:00.002Z

These are a range of models from Khurasan recently added to the collection. I have plans for a Prime infected game (From the Heliopause Gruntz setting) on the space station board where the initial engagement will be between some infected and converted colonists and the Hasmat suits before harder battle is played out between Federal Army marines and the aliens themselves.

All of these are based with my standard of a 5pence piece. I find 1p a little on the large size and I don't like the big raised lip you would have if you used the mini-slotta type bases. The weight of the 5pence piece is great for reducing topple in 15mm models and it looks in-scale with the small models. Larger figures are put on 1pence pieces and Gruntz Specialists and Commanders are based on 2pence.

Federal Hasmat suit types with weapons.

Infected by Prime alien spawn.

Primes for the Gruntz Heliopause settings (models Space Demons by Khurasan)

This is the terrain planned for the Prime infected battle at Salute. Resin terrain from Ainsty casting and construction and airbrushing by me in 2004.

Powered Armour walkers.

Two ARM squads for the Heliopause Gruntz setting (models evil troopers from Khurasan).

These models were painted by Tom on commission at onfirepainting.blogspot.com

For those interested, here is some background story from a section of the Gruntz rules about the Prime.

Makken’s face dripped with sweat and his ears rung with the screeching whine of the whirring Gatling Rail Cannon’s rotating barrel. The ground around him was strewn with red hot casing that the gun spat out disgustedly in a brassy waterfall. The GRC was supposed to be used to take out fast moving skimmers or lightly armoured APC’s but right now Jerrit Makken swept it in wide arcs mowing down Prime warriors with brutal ease; the high velocity rounds passing through multiple aliens as they coursed through the air. It was grim work as the unrelenting horde refused to give ground; their basalt coloured corpses stopped 15 feet from where Makken was holed up underneath one of the Mule skimmers and were 4 feet high if it was an inch.
Then they stopped. No Prime came clambering over the bodies of its fallen brethren; Makken let the gun barrel spin down and looked around the makeshift perimeter.
“One hundred yards – volley fire – FIRE!” bellowed Sergeant Lippham his lips cracked from the burning sun and the screaming of orders.
A sharp crack of laser fire rang out around the valley as the platoon poured it’s small arms fire into the onrushing Primes; shadowy figures fell to the ground the white hot pock marks of the laser strikes glowing against their dark flesh.
“Independent fire boys – pour it on now”
The sound of laser fire broke up like the pattering of rain broke out as individual troopers picked their shots; howling gushes of Nitromethane added their voice to the concert of killing and the occasional dull crump of a Personal Ordnance Missile weighed in with their heavy percussion. And still the Prime came on.
Lippham caught a glimpse of Forbes firing a pistol in each hand, his face contorted with hatred and smeared with the dust from the heavy roll he took down the valley wall to warn the relief column of its impending danger. The Major so calm, so polite normally was screaming blasphemies upon the enemy. A man not 10 feet from the officer was spun around as a Prime dashed away his face with one mighty blow; gore sprayed up into the air like a grotesque rainbow showering those unfortunate enough to be near the poor man before a quick witted trooper gutted the beast with his Iridium combat blade. Still the Prime jerked towards the nearest man even with its innards spilling across the dry earth before even it’s mighty frame twitched still.
Then they stopped. Corpses littered the valley floor but no more Primes appeared. Lippham turned on his heel.
“Cease fire! No point wasting ammo. Well done boys well done”
And went to find the Major.
Major Forbes shot another Prime in the face; the dark ichor misted up in front of his goggled eyes as the creature sank to its knees. He shot another in the spine it arched double exposing it’s rib cage to the trooper it was tangling with; the man needed no further invitation and coldly ran the creature through. The tip of his blade glinted out of the other side of the Prime and Wripley grimly smiled the mouth bending upwards to crack the desiccated corners.
Then they stopped. Sergeant Lippham approached across the charnel scene.
“They’ve stopped saar.”
Yes Sergeant it appears so. Please can you get together a party to tend the wounded and pass my thanks to the men.”
“Yes saar. What about the bodies saar – there’s ‘undreds of them”
“Burn them Sergeant. Burn them all”