Terrain: Alien Plants

My Battlefront desert buildings might have sufficed for playtesting but I felt the time had come to start looking for more alien options. After two months, a very small shipment of aquarium plants wound its way to my door from Hong Kong.

As a proof of concept, I decided to make five bases of alien plant life. The base materials were quite simple. I pulled all the red leafy elements off the aquarium plant and made a small pile of bits. I dug out some Renedra 40mm round bases to use as a... base. (Not pictured: I prepped the bases with sand and washes before gluing on the "plants").

Using four leafy elements per base and a hot glue gun, I created the above. Emboldened by success, I went on to make another seven. All are now sitting awaiting use. Having little experience with hot glue, I don't know how they'll handle the rigours of play and storage but if they don't work out, I'll add a note to that effect here.

Minis: Commissar Kaine

As I try to impress on the young whelps in my charge these days, it isn't the scarlet sash and the fancy hat that makes you a commissar, it's the way you wear them. - Commissar Ciaphas Cain.

This chap was actually painted back in the beginning of the project but managed to duck out of his photoshoot until now. You can't really have an Imperial Guard force without a Commissar. Well, I suppose you can but they're less combat-effective (even if a lot happier). Traditionally to be found dressed in black or red, I went a different path with this chap. Having spent too much time with the Mordian Iron Guard, he's taken to wearing his dressiest dress uniform, all day, every day. It's a tasteful Celestra Grey with Evil Sunz Scarlet trim.

He's taken from the Ion Age Cold Climes platoon pack. I must say that I really really like the final product. The colour scheme, the pose, a battered copy of the Imperial Creed in one hand and oversized plasma pistol in the other. Just lovely.

Minis: The Void Children

In one of their infrequent spasms of activity, the Lords of Terra sent a vast taskforce, led by a Legion of their super soldiers, out into the void between galaxies. Decades later, they returned, utterly and horrifically warped in mind and soul. Now loyal only to the primordial forces of Chaos, that grand army has splintered a thousand times over and scattered itself across the galaxy, mindlessly killing all who fall in their path as they roam from world to world.

Or so we are told. The truth is that some elements of Chaos are a little more restrained than others. Some have carved out small empires, some appear to be enacting a grand plan of their own devising and some (whisper it) can be bought. The Void Children are a mix of all of the above.

The models are drawn from Ion Age's Nox Ordos platoon pack. About a third of the models have these nice crested helmets and I decided to combine them into a small squad, separate from their fang-masked comrades (for whom I have other plans).

As they are Chaos Space Marines, I went with a paint scheme inspired by the old Emperor's Children colours. As I have learnt to avoid black on 15mm troops, it was replaced by a dark grey. The core colours are Eshin Grey, Emperor's Children and Screaming Bell. The pinks were used for contrast rather than as the primary colour.

Frankly, I did find these sculpts a little harder to paint cleanly. I'm left thinking they're just okay sculpts. It's partly the dark grey swallowing detail in some areas and details being a little blurry in some areas. At least, the pink and brass came out fine. I do occasionally look at the weapons and ponder splashing a bit more colour around.

Minis: Local Dealer

Psstt... kid, wanna buy some crunk? Make you feel like the High Lord himself.

There was something about the sculpt that made me think that this chap was shady. It's either the shifty eyes or man-bun, methinks. This "herb" merchant is from the Ion Age Far Traders set. I kept things very simple as it was a ten minute job. The main colours on the clothes are Pink Horror and Jokaero Orange.

To be completely honest, I can't really identify what he's holding so it's painted as a green-brown organic blob of some sort. I'm pretty sure you smoke it. There was more of the ... stuff at his feet so it received the same tender, through paintjob. He'll grace some manner of futuristic neo-bazaar, I believe.

Minis: Commando Joe and Paws

Thought for the Day: Against the traitor, the rebel and the alien, there is no fair way to fight. Harry them, hunt them, hang them.

I must confess that Death World Forest is my new favourite colour. It's got a wonderfully militaristic tone about it. Commando Joe (from the Year Two Collection) is largely inspired by what I vaguely remember of Wesley Snipes in Demolition Man. I left the hair basecoated white and used Dark Flesh on the skin. Having used a bright purple on a few models, I went with Daemonette Hide as it's that bit darker and duller. There's an arrogance to his pose that I really liked.

Paws (from the Year Three Collection) is intended as his robotic companion, some manner of jungle fighting bot. Some light silver drybrushing was needed to counteract the dull scheme. I'm not convinced it worked but he's going into action regardless.

Again, they're a nice scenario element. I've got a few more bits to paint for pleasure before I have the time to start focusing on squads.

Minis: The Green Saint

The assassin known only as the Green Saint has long since passed into the realm of myth and legend. The story goes that on one day each year, the Green Saint appears to assassinate a particularly cruel or brutal noble. They claim that no guard can stop him, no threat can sway him and no bribe can turn his blade. Of course, all right-thinking people know that this is just a fairytale and that the killings attributed to the Saint are actually just the result of inter-familial squabbles and political maneuvering amongst the aristocracy. Similar beliefs are held on other planets where the population have not fully acclimatised themselves to the Imperial order. - Heretical and deluded beliefs of the common folk, sector XGAL, vol. 17.

Another single model finished. It's from the Ion Age Year Three Collection, Padraig Malig. Really easy to paint, details are clean and free of mold lines. Obviously, the colour scheme chooses itself. In my head, it's a cross between a leprechaun and the Boondock Saints. The main challenge was getting the head of the pint just so but, thankfully, years of first-hand research saw me right.

The original pose was a bit self-defeating in that the model is hunched forward hiding the details of the face and chest so I added a rocky base, using fragments of cork tile to tilt it sharply backwards and really let it be seen.

On a side note, I was initially a bit surprised and put off by the face which brought up echos of the ape-like representations of the Irish in the 19th century British and American press. Now before anyone presumes anti-Irish sentiments on the part of the sculptor, a quick look on the website reveals that they chose to base the model on their goblinesque race, the Malig and it's the addition of the beard that inadvertently echos "the Irish ape".

The clothes are Warpstone Glow and Ceramite White, the hat, belt and boots are Abbadon Black with Retributor Armour for the buckles, the skin is Kislev Flesh with Jokaero Orange hair. The weapons are Runefang Steel. Finally, Rakarth Flesh for the creamy head of the pint. I haven't quite managed to blend the model's base into the rock but it's servicable.

He'll go into storage awaiting a suitable debut.

Minis: The Last Pumpkinite and Friend

The Pumpkinite is actually indigenous to the sector around Ursis Prime and were quite common in the pre-Imperial era. Colonisation led to a rapid drop in their numbers as human settlements, xenophobia and the effects of rapid industrialisation took their usual toll on the native ecosystems. Their death knell sounded ten years ago when it was discovered that their pustules contain a powdery substance which has unique psychotropic effects. The jaded tastes of the planetary nobility quickly created a huge demand for this Pumpkin Spice and Pumpkinite hunters scoured the region bare of any remnant populations. It is suspected that no more than a handful remain and this individual might in fact be the last of his kind. - Expedition log fragment, recovered in Upsela Heights sector.

The Pumpkinite is from Ion Age's Year Three Collection and the scientist is from their Xenobiologist set. Despite their comical appearance, the Pumpkinite was an apex predator in its time. They move quickly across rough terrain and can spray a pungent solution that stuns their target. Many an incautious hunter met a grisly end, paralysed by their musk and torn to shreds. The colour scheme is straightforward, a mix of Jokaero Orange, Warboss Green and Evil Suns Scarlet.

The Imperium does actually have a few "scientists" and I felt this was a apt time to paint one. We've got a Xenobiologist, dressed in Warboss Green and Teclis Blue. The equipment is daubed in Averland Sunset and Ironbreaker. Now, I suspect his approach to xenobiology is Imperial Standard which generally involves strong nets, sticking them in a cage and shocking them before the inevitable dissection. On a side note, I suspect that this guy was responsible for the infamous "blunt, clumsy claws" genestealer entry in the Imperial primer.

Minis: Wild Bill

I fight with my pistol to get to my rifle - which I shouldn't have put down in the first place! - Wild Bill, random drinking bout.

Time is at a premium currently so I'm focusing on quick little jobs to keep the project ticking over. This chap is from Ion Age's Precinct Adventurers set. Looking at him, I was reminded of the Firefly series so the decision was made to go with a duller, even drab, colour scheme. Clearly, he's a rogue gun slinger operating on the fringes of society or some such thing.

So many browns used here: Skrag Brown, XV-88, Dryad Bark and Tuskgor Fur on the coat. To break things up a little bit, I threw Averland Sunset on the vest and gloves which... didn't do much to break things up. So I went with Mephiston Red on the trim in a bit to jazz it up slightly. To my surprise (and delight), it all came out nicely. The model itself is lovely, the pose is quite dynamic and has the added benefit of allowing access to all its nooks and crannies.

Now, without a squad, he's less useful for large games but there are plenty of narrative rulesets out there to try.

Minis: Harlan-Branz Freight

Re: Uniform Redesign
To: Local Operating Officer, Ursis Prime

We regret to report that a redesign is not authorized at this time. Our trading position in the wider sector has weakened over the past three business cycles and Ursis Prime remains critical to our profitability. While we are saddened by the reports of worker discontent flaring into violent actions against administrative staff, we must remind you that the new uniforms were designed by Governor Windzor's beloved daughter. He appears to share his daughter's inexplicably positive view of her "creations" and any alterations will result in political difficulties. I regret to say that the styling of the Mk. 2 Harlan-Branz liftbot can be attributed to the same source. Our focus groups indicate that rather than presenting a friendly appearance, it is, rather, "creepy", "likely to cause night terrors in children and livestock" and "downright hideous". Again, our hands are tied.

While avoiding mass painting squads and vehicles, I've gathered a mix of miniatures to provide a bit of colour in my scenarios. Harlan-Branz are a very minor trading power in the wider sector but, due to their close links with the Winzors, they dominate the mass freight sector on Ursis. Think of them as the Generic-Corp of my particular setting.

The human minis are all from Ion Age's Starport Staff. The bot is from their Year Two Collection. The sculpts are tidy and easy to work with. The only difficulty was working out if the headsets were inside or outside the hood. I've gone with inside, a better set of eyes may disagree. Tiny irrational quibble mentioned, I loved the robot. In fact, the entire idea was sparked by the robot, from the name of the company to the paint scheme.

I went with base coats of Genestealer Purple and Ceramite White as I figured they wanted their staff and robots to look as non threatening as possible. I think it provides a suitable strong contrast for 15mm minis and adds a certain corporate branding feel to the paintjob. I used Skrag Brown on their boots as I wanted them to look lighter and less functional than those of my combat troops. Following on from my pledge to avoid a mono-chrome future, I went with a mix of skin tones, using Kislev Flesh, Cadian Fleshtone and Terracotta to mix things up.

Minis: Derrick and Rod-NEE

"Mark my words, Rod-NEE, this time next year, we'll have a fleet of our own ships. The Governor himself will consult us, we'll swim in credits, the easy life. Now pass me that crate of Skwerm fruit, we need to off-load them to someone before they start exploding."

I've come to realisation that my collection of 15mm minis is severely lacking in diversity, being oh-so-white skinned. To rectify this failing on my part, I decided to ensure I paint up a wider variety of skin tones in future. These chap is one of the early efforts.

The human model is from Ion Age's Year Two Collection. The coat determined his background as, at first glance, it reminded me of Del Boy's iconic jacket from Only Fools and Horses. Once that came to mind, I needed a robot helper to represent the gormless Rodney. Digging through the pile, I found a suitably lanky droid carrying bags from the same company's Starport Staff set.

Derrick is sporting XV-88 on his coat with Screaming Skull trim. I feel it gives off the dodgy street trader look which I intended. The skin is the discontinued GW Terracotta which makes for a nice dark tone without losing detail. I painted and dropped a weapons case on the base to add a little more character. Overall, he's been very satisfying and the 1980s jacket is just icing on the cake.

The robot lackey, Rod-NEE was lathered in Iyanden Darksun, details touched up but I'm just not happy with the finish. My own painting is passable at best but something was off. I can't pin down what it is but it doesn't feel right. The sculpt is clean, the wheels for feet are a nice touch but regardless, the whole package just doesn't appeal to me.

Minis: The Liberation Front

Raised in the decrepit hab-blocks of a rusting industrial city, Marie, Louis and Antoinette were born into poverty and grew up in squalor. Their parents and their parents before them had known no other life as generations toiled producing pastries and cakes for their betters. It is likely that their lives would have followed the same path had they not unearthed some ancient vidslates detailing an episode in the history of Ancient Terra. They focused the discontent of the workers and founded the Liberty Front. Before long, the barricades rose up in Cake-Fabrication-Complex II-E. By the time the PDF brought them crashing down after a three month battle through the district, the three ringleaders had escaped off-planet with a cadre of hardened fighters.

Presenting Marie, Louis and Antoinette, the heart of the Liberation Front. They're all Ion Age minis. The women come from the Year Three Collection and the male figure is from the Precinct Adventurer set.

As soon as I saw the little rosette on Marie's beret, it screamed French Revolution.  Inspired, I dug through the stash and found two more candidates. Louis had the beret and the raised fist so he was drafted. Antoinette is sporting a stolen suit of power armour but was chosen for her san-culotte style headgear. With that theme in mind, I had no choice but to go with a blue, white and red scheme.

The primary colours are Mephiston Red, Ceramite White and Teclis Blue which were used across all three models. The boots, equipment, assorted clothing and straps were painted with a selection of Tuskgor Fur and XV-88. The skin was Kislev Flesh with Abaddon Black, Averland Sunset and Dryad Bark for the hair. Finally the weapons and backpacks were Runefang Steel with Warpstone Glow to represent glowing "laser tube" bits. They came out far better than I had hoped.

Looking at the Ion Age site, I can see a few other models with berets. My next order should throw up a few more recruits for the Front.

Playtest: No Stars in Sight

The barracks are beginning to fill with trained troops so it's time to kick off the war. My first playtest used No Stars in Sight, a hard scifi platoon-based ruleset. The distinguishing feature, in my eyes, is that combat involves a lot more suppression than outright killing. Your activations are limited by your command rolls and number of leaders. I marked out a 2ft x 2ft area, dropped in some buildings and set up some lighting. 

The engagement is a staple of the setting. A hapless squad of Imperial troopers run into a trio of battle-hardened Chaos Marines in some godforsaken town.

The forces of Chaos are represented by three Void Children, all armed with their standard infantry weapons. Just out of shot, their support weapons sulk, skulk and refuse to get involved. To reflect their status as elite soldiers, I gave them a buff to their command points and allowed them to move freely while out of command.

Representing the plucky defenders of Ursis Prime, our Armeddon Steel Legion platoon. It's a eight-strong platoon consisting of five troopers with autoguns, two heavy weapons and led by a commissar. As they are not genetically modified super-soldiers, they need to stay within 8" of their leader.

My first run through had both forces deploy opposite each other. The Imperials managed to set up a wide battle line, in good cover and the Chaos Marines found themselves hemmed in the centre from the very beginning. Any attempt to move to flank the Imperials was with a hail of fire and they were soon completely contained. By the end, their additional command points merely translated into more chances to expose themselves and get shot. The Imperial heavy weapons proved utterly vital to amassing enough firepower to bring the Marines down. 

Now, a one-sided bloodbath is not ideal for the purposes of a good game but thinking on it, I felt it was a fair outcome considering the flaws in my positioning of the Void Children. Their mobility was their main advantage and without it, they were lost.

The second run through had the Imperials pre-deploy in defensive positions on their half of the board and the Chaos Marines moved on at a point of their choosing along their table edge. This was more satisfying as I felt it reflected their superior battle-sense. The poor commissar was soon bogged down monitoring the defense of the lower sector, directing fire and keeping his troopers on the line. He simply couldn't spare the command points to redeploy his troops in the upper sector. The Chaos forces managed to dislodge the defenders from their position, inflicting losses and the Imperials cut and ran. I adapted the rules on the fly to increase the lethality of the Chaos firepower as killing on 6s didn't feel right but that proved a little too powerful, a better compromise might been giving them additional kill dice. 

Now, having reflected on the game, I think a larger table is called for and certainly, a single leader per side does not let the rules show themselves to best effect. That being said, the feel of the game seemed quite good and it would not be difficult to make minor adaptions to suit my own preferences. As the old Irish saying goes: Tús maith, leath na h-oibre. It's definitely sparked a desire to push on with the project.

Minis: Blark, the "Genestealer"

Blark is a member of a minor xenos species from a small blue planet way out on the Western Spiral Arm. A warp accident deposited him far across the galaxy on Ursis Prime where he scratched out a living as a gun for hire. Unfortunately for Blark, his species' colouration and skull shape strongly echo that of a purestrain genestealer. When he awoke after a night of heavy drinking to find a Patriarch welcoming him into the family, one look at the horde of four-armed monsters slavering around him suggested that he better go with the flow.

As I had a few minutes to spare, I grabbed a model that appealed to me and painted quickly. He's a Malig Tank Ace from Ion Age's Year One Collection. Looking him over, it was to the usual high standard of their sculpts and I was particularly enamored of the aviator goggles. As my first alien figure, I wanted something suitably exotic and went with Genestealer Purple for the skin. Little did I know that I'd be dipping into that pot quite frequently as I dug through the leadpile. Technically the Malig are space goblins so a green would have been called for but I'm sure that can be done with the next batch.

I kept the scarf off white to save time and the uniform is Alaitoc Blue simply because it goes nicely with the pre-existing white and purple. The rest of the model saw a combination of Dwarf Bronze, Dryad Bark, XV-88, Ironbreaker and Hawk Turquoise used on the details. As a stand alone figure, I suspect he might pop up more in Starport Scum scenarios than set-piece battles.

Minis: The 369th "Last Resort"

The world of Armageddon has produced a steady stream of Steel Legion regiments for service across the stars. Three companies intended to reinforce the 369th were deployed to Ursis Prime fifteen years ago in what many are beginning to suspect was a clerical error. Not ones to waste trained manpower, the rulers of Ursis have been assigning them to urban pacification missions since then. Clearly, the governor wants to get as much use as possible from them before the error is noted and they are reassigned. As a result, casualties have been high and morale is poor.

I couldn't think of a better place to begin than the humble Imperial Guard. The models were all chosen from Ion Age's Cold Climes platoon. It had a fair mix of troops so any model with a fully masked face was conscripted. These are painted as Steel Legion analogues, clearly drafted in from a nearby Hive world. The uniforms are a mix of Desert Yellow, Abbadon Black and Death World Forest.

I went with a bright orange on the respirator tubing to brighten them up, perhaps they find the local air a little too clean and need some industrial solvent blended into their air mix to give that little taste of home.

The colours are perhaps a touch too drab for 15mm and I have some concerns about how well they'll stand out on the table but they do look quite nice in the flesh. As miniatures, the sculpts were very clean. They were also straightforward to paint with clearly defined, sharp features.

There's eight models in total, including our fallen hero, so that will make about a squad's worth of grunts.