Monthly Archives: June 2013

Basing With Citadel Texture – Rebel Minis 15mm Government Types

I painted Rebel Mini’s 15mm Government Types and I wanted to base them like they were standing in the street or a parking lot.  I decided to try CItadel’s texture paints.  I use Citadel because they are easily available at several hobby stores near my home and work.

I’m pretty happy with how they came out.

painted_front painted_back

Painting done and sprayed with Dullcote – front and back view.  There’s a pic of these in bare metal and with just primer on in my post What’s On My Table – June 2013 Edition.

 

start_of_basing

Spackling, mixed with a bit of water to thin it, applied to the base to build it up even with the figure’s built in base.

 

base_sanded

Then I sanded the spackling flat.  I’ll probably skip this step in the future.  It messed up some of the figure’s feet, which I had to go back and fix, and I don’t see that it really made a difference to the bases.

 

base_with_texture

I then applied the Citadel texture “Astrogranite”.  It’s pretty thick, so I thinned it with some water.  It was still more like a basing material than paint.  You don’t brush it on so much as push it around.

 

rebel_minis_15mm_government_types_RMGT3_complete_1

Then I painted on some road lines and parking space lines.  Then a light gray dry brush. Then a black border.  If you’ve read my blog before, you know the bases are from Litko.net – 20mm around, 0.8mm thick wood base with a heavy duty magnet bottom stuck underneath it.

 

rebel_minis_15mm_government_types_RMGT3_complete_3

Is the guy in the front, 2nd from left, talking on the phone or smoking a cigarette?  I can’t really tell, so I’m going with talking on the phone.  That way he’ll get brain cancer instead of lung cancer.

 

rebel_minis_15mm_government_types_RMGT3_complete_2

 

I like how these turned out – the figures and the bases.  I plan to use them with the Monster Hunter International RPG.

 

Dreadball Battle Foam Review

I love Dreadball.  I’m almost done painting both teams, just the 4 human strikers left unpainted.  The box insert that come with the game has places for everything, including the minis, but it lets them move around and bump into each other.  To remedy this, Battle Foam sells a kit that is specifically for Dreadball, and fits in the game box.

The imaginatively titled Dreadball Foam Kit For Game Box is $37.99 and comes with 2 foam trays. Only one of the trays will fit in the box at a time.  I’m not quite sure why it comes with two.  Just one tray will fit 4 teams, cards, dice, tokens, balls, and the ref.  What do I do with the other tray?

That said, the foam is very nice.  The bottom is a dense, stiff foam, and the top part is a softer foam.  It fits in the box well, and has a space for the game cards.  There are many different sized spaces, so you can fit everything into an appropriate space, including the dice, tokens, etc.

The foam is just slightly too tall, however.  Once the board is placed on top, there’s not quite enough room for the rulebook, or the roster pad.

dreadball_battle_foam_in_box

Here’s the foam tray in the game box.

 

dreadball_battle_foam_rulebook_no_fit

This is how much the rulebook sticks out when the game board is placed on top of the foam tray.  It’s not too bad.  Once the lid is on, it’s hard to tell.  However, there is no room at all for the roster pad.

 

One last, minor complaint: it takes a while for your order to show up.  I ordered directly from Battle Foam on June 5th, and my order arrived June 19th.  To be fair, they do warn you about that on their website.

Pros:

  • Fits in the box
  • Has a spot for the cards, and other spaces will hold dice, etc.
  • Can fit 4 full teams
  • Sturdy construction
  • I feel my minis are safe

Cons:

  • Why 2 trays?  I’d prefer just the one tray and a cheaper price
  • A bit too tall, the rulebook sticks out a little.
  • No space for the roster pad

Overall, I’m happy with it.  I suppose I can use the 2nd tray later this year when my Deadzone gear arrives.  More importantly, the minis I spent hours painting are protected, and everything (except the roster pad) still fits in the box, more or less, with a lot less rattling around.

 

Critical Mass Games ZAS Kickstarter Delivers

I’ve become a bit of a Kickstarter addict.  I’ve pledged hundreds of dollars over the last 6 months on various miniature and other gaming related projects.  The one that started me down this path of addiction was the Critical Mass Games ZAS 15mm Mercs.

Well, today it arrived.  It’s the first Kickstarter I’ve backed that has delivered (it was the first one I pledged, so I guess that makes sense).  I pledged Mechanised Infantry Commander for £85.00.  Two full platoons of troops, four Infantry Fighting Vehicles, three tanks, and more.  The many stretch goals that were met added heavy weapons, tripod mounted guns, and more.  I did the math, and for £85 I got £120 worth of minis, based on the CMG website prices.

Below are pics of the “new” stuff.  Some of the minis that are part of the Kickstarter, like the tanks and IFVs, are existing CMG products.  The pics below are for the new minis made for the Kickstarter.

The quality of the minis is very good.  There’s some flash, and some minor mold lines, but that’s to be expected, and it’s better than most minis I’ve bought.  The detail is good, and I like the sculpts a lot.  The pics below are right out of the box – no cleanup at all.

CMG_Kickstarter_box

My wife texted me when I was at work that I had a package from the UK.

 

CMG_Kickstarter_all

Here’s everything.

 

CMG_Kickstarter_squad

This is a single squad.  Six troops, six different sculpts.  Gotta love that.  I got eight squads like this one.

 

CMG_Kickstarter_heavy_weapons

The heavy weapons squad.  I got one of these.

 

CMG_Kickstarter_command

Two command groups (medic, radio man, commander), two drones, and one company commander.  The drones have 2 different guns, so you can choose which to use.

 

CMG_Kickstarter_mortar

Rocket assisted mortar.  Three teams like this one.

 

CMG_Kickstarter_energy_cannon

Energy cannon.  Three teams like this one.

 

CMG_Kickstarter_gatling_gun

Gatling gun.  Three teams like this one.

 

Besides the tanks and IFVs, there are 2 shipping containers, 2 objective markers and a command turret that will fit an IFV or a tank.  As I mentioned earlier, they are previously existing CMG products, so I’ve not pictured them here.

I’m totally stoked about these minis.  This doubles my force.  When I finally get these painted, I’ll have two full companies of troops.  I can finally play Quadrant 13!

Mall Cops

I finished my Rebel Minis 15mm Mall Cops tonight.  Rebel also has “US Policemen”, but the Mall Cops have these awesome mustaches, and I just couldn’t resist.  I intend to use them for the Monster Hunter International RPG, but cop figures have a wide range of uses.

rebel_minis_mall_cops_unwashed

The base coat is done, and they are ready for a wash.

 

rebel_minis_mall_cops_after_wash

After the wash and some minor highlights.

 

rebel_minis_mall_cops_based

After basing.

 

rebel_minis_mall_cops_detail

A select few.  The guy on the left is the only figure of the 8 that has no mustache.  I imagine the rest of the squad give him crap about it all the time.  “Nice job, Frank, for a guy with no mustache”. “You would do better with the ladies if you had a sweet ‘stache like mine.” etc…  🙂