A Long Time Ago....

I've been a Star Wars fan ever since my 11 year old imagination got carried away by that Star Destroyer looming onto the screen firing at Princess Leia's corvette. Star Wars IV: A New Hope literally changed my world and set me on the path of Geekdom that I still walk with pride today. So, when Fantasy Flight Games started advertising Star Wars: Legion, I was hooked instantly. The iconic figures seen in miniature grabbed my attention and I knew in an instant I'd be buying this game. My copy arrived last week and Star Wars: Legion is my new obsession.

Beautiful box art...FFG's usual high quality.

Outstanding components...again, as usual.

The 4 Year Old is as geeked as his old man!

Minis are excellent!

Even dry-fitted straight from the box they look suburb!

Simple assemblies with exquisite detail.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."
Someone's just begging to get Force choked!

The only down side here is that the figure scale is BIG. I measured a Stormtrooper and he is 35mm from the bottom of his feet to eye level. Definitely much larger than the 28-32mm "heroic" size minis produced these days. It is disappointing that I won't be able to match these figures in games with the rest of my 28mm collection. Still, I have to say I'm very pleased overall with these figures and this game.

The rules look interesting. I haven't played the game yet, but the mechanics look to be simple with enough variety and "crunch" to make for a good tactical tabletop wargame. I'll write up some battle reports when I've played.

Obviously I will need to build new terrain to fit this larger scale, but, hey, who am I kidding? I'm feeling geeked about that too!

FFG is releasing an entire line of Star Wars: Legion figures and models. I anticipate blowing the gaming budget on this stuff for quite a while.

Until next time, carry on!

Kickstarter Loot

I pledged the Ganesha Games Kickstarter, Psi-Paladins, for Mutants and Deathray Guns. Got my loot last week. It was a good haul and some cool figures. Good sculpts. Lord knows when I'll get around to painting them, but I like the look of this stuff. Reminds me of the good old days of 1st edition Gamma World.

The loot displayed on the loot - game mat was part of the KS.

Wide shot of the mat.
Very nicely done, much like the grasslands mat I showed a while back.

These are the Combots. I really like them.

And the Psi-Paladins, of course. Not to be confused with Jedi.

These are the Techno Barbarians. I especially like the Lion dude on the left.

This is Lord Phalag and his minions.
These were a stretch goal. I will have some fun with these.

Everything came with a clear acrylic base, which, if you've read my blog, you know I'm into. I'd like to get these painted up and do some kind of Gamma World-esque RPG-lite campaign. The Mutants and Death Ray Guns ruleset looks like it'd be fun to play.

Anyway, that's it for this week. Until next time, carry on!

Earth Force Dropship

I finished my Khurasan Lander this weekend.  I'm pleased with how it turned out.  It is a very good model, in my opinion. I hope my paint job has done it justice.

Paint finished and awaiting matte spray.

Close up of Lander only.

The cargo/troop bay. 

Bay door open, turrets in the background.

I used some old 40K Imperial Guard decals I had around.  They add a little extra detail and give the piece some character.  This will be a nice centerpiece model for my Earth Force Marines army.

 Some on the table shots:

Earth Force Marines deploy onto the LZ...

...while the Lander provides excellent covering fire with it's two tri-barrel turrets.

I painted the windows in gloss coat for some shine. I like the effect.

The Lander prepares to lift as soon as the Marines are clear.

The troop bay is left to establish a hard point on the LZ.

I now have two viable forces for Gruntz 15mm or for THW's 5150: Star Army.  I should be able to develop some scenarios using my Khurasan Space Demons and my Rebel Minis Earth Force Marines.  I also have a good supply of desert world terrain.  I will get a game in soon and will post as soon as I do.

Until next time, carry on!

"Is this gonna be another bug hunt.....sir?"

I finally finished my Khurasan Space Demons.  Whew!  They took forever.  Not because they are difficult to paint, but rather because I've had a busy summer and there are 48(!) of them.  I think they painted up pretty well.  Very simple scheme - black undercoat, dark blue dry brush, red highlights on tongues, black ink wash.  My plan was for them to look decent from a meter away on the tabletop.  The goal was to make a cohesive looking mob, so I didn't focus closely on any individuals.  Once the bases were finished I coated them with matte finish.  Then I went back over the models and brushed on a clear high gloss finish, only on the aliens themselves.  It is supposed to make them look slimy.  I think it turned out ok.

In process on the paint table.  I think I was doing black ink washes at this point.
Left is washed, right is not washed.

Close up of finished models without gloss coat.
Bases are unfinished here.

Close up of finished models with gloss coat.
Note bases are flocked/textured here.

Comparison of finished model with gloss (left) and finished model with matte coat only (right).
I like the gloss.

Bugs overrunning a small desert colony.

The Hive Queen goads her minions into the assault.

That's it for now.  Until next time, carry on!

Vacation Assembly Line

I've been on vacation this week with the family.  I'm an early riser and since the rest of my family is decidedly not, I figured I would have some morning down-time for working on minis.  I didn't want to pack my whole hobby table, so I chose one project and brought what I needed just for it.  I decided to work on cleaning and assembling the rest of my Space Demons and Colonial Marines, all from Khurasan.  A simple project and easily doable on vacation.

Colonial Marines, ready to rock.

Space Demons, nearly finished - just need a few heads on the last batch.

My simple workspace, atop a TV dinner tray, supplied with our rental house.

It was early this morning and the house was dark and quiet.

A simple set up in the living room of our rented vacation HQ.

I finished assembling everything this morning.  We pack up to head home tomorrow, so a good hobby week despite being a 6 hour drive from home.  Once home I will undercoat these and get them painted.  Hopefully I can get a bug hunt game in soon!  Might even play with unpainted figures....(shudder....).

On a final note, our youngest was inducted into the Starfleet Academy this week:

Liam in his Command uniform.

We are all very proud!

Until next time, carry on!

15mm SciFi Progress

Another quick update of what's on my desk...

Critical Mass Games Vanguard Mecha assembled. I magnetized the waist so it can torso twist.

Khursasan "bug holes" and "abandoned mineshaft" finished.

Another view.  The lighting on these is from my basement fluorescents so the color looks different than last week.

First highlight (heavy!) on the dropship. I'm really liking this model!

Stripped and undercoated the space demons. I am considering new paint schemes.

That's it for now. Until next time, carry on!

15mm SciFi Current Sitrep

I've been working on a lot of stuff in a random way.  Here are some pics of the current situation on my desk.

Dropship with base coat of Khaki Tan and wash of medium brown.

Bug holes from Khurasan, Desert Yellow base paint, brown wash, Iraqi Sand highlights.  "Holes" shaded to give depth. A few more little details and these will be finished.

Critical Mass Games Vanguard Mech being assembled. Will magnetize waist connection so torso can swivel.

CMG Mech parts cleaned and ready for assembly.

Khurasan Space Demons test paint - Black base with dark blue highlights and then washed with black Polyshades "shader" to give them dark, slimy look.  I don't think it is working.  Too dark.  I will probably be stripping these and starting over. 

So, that's my desk these days. Working here and there on things as the mood suits me.  I'm also looking for a gaming group in the Toledo, OH area if any of my readers are nearby and interested.  Would love to get some regular games going.

Until next time, carry on!

Dropship - 15mm SciFi WIP

I bought this from Khursasan a few weeks back.  This is my first time working with a resin model in over 20 years. I think this is a great addition to my Earth Force Marines and I'm looking forward to getting it painted and on the table.

This is a very good model - cast well with few blemishes or bubbles - with excellent detail.  It was easy to clean and the parts all fit together very nicely. There was a slight miscast on the one foot pad but it was fixable with a bit of filing.  Overall, this is another fine Khurasan product!

I wanted my model to be adaptable, so I decided I would use neodymium magnets to assemble the cargo bay and turrets/hatches. This is the first time I have ever tried this on a model. I did ok with the drilling and glueing, but I learned one must make the connections magnet-to-magnet. I tried to attach the cargo bay by using metal wire on one side and magnets on the other. It did not have enough strength to hold so I had to add two more magnets. Live and learn.

Bottom of lander.  You can see the magnets in the bottoms of the holes for the turret/hatch and where the cargo bay fits into the lander. You can also see the "extra" magnet I had to install in the middle.

Top of cargo bay. You can see the "extra" magnet I had to install just forward of the top hatch. You can also see the ends of the wire pieces I recessed into the tabs that fit into the lander.

Hatches and turrets.

Bottoms of hatches and turrets showing recessed magnets. 

The assembled dropship in military mode with turrets.

The assembled dropship in civilian mode with hatches.
I also am thinking this could be a "stealth" mode and imagine the turrets popping up to surprise an attacker.

I attached the rear bay door with magnets and in this case using wire on one side on the connection and magnets on the other worked fine.  The door can be opened and closed during a game to show embarkation/disembarkation or just for coolness factor. : )

The cargo bay and rear bay door.

Door attached and open.

Door closed up for flight.

I am considering painting it in the same color scheme as my Scifi buildings.  Either that or I will go with the basic gray as on Khurasan's website.  I just have to clean up a few spots where I added some fill and then I can wash it all with soapy water (again) and prime.

Until next time, carry on!