Security bots!

Here's a pic of some robots I've been working on for a while now. Originally the plan was to have lots of body and head variants. I got as far as sculpting a fair few bodies but the project ended up completely stalling for a long while. Recently I took my two favorite bits and decided to make some castings from those and these are the results.

This bot could either be presented as moving on a ball wheel or floating with the ball providing the gravity repulsion. Shown next to old rocket launcher dude for scale.

A few more rebased minis!

I posted these on LAF a while back but forgot to pop them on here. On the left is Gronk from the old citadel Strontium Dog pack. Next to him is marine Dmitri "Double D" Dorokov. This is the mini with the Phobos helmet from an earlier post. Finally a bot conversion based on a reaper robot with a gzg comms bubble for a head!

Re-basing and new photography!

So last week I decided to re-base my figures on 3mm mdf bases. Gone are the low profile 1mm bases I had been using. I really liked them a lot but honestly they may have been too plain and they just didn't have the right look and feel for a project based around vintage minis.  Basing is a real pain and I'm always looking for a method which is quick and looks good. And yet honestly prepping these mdf bases isn't all that quick. Each base gets a couple of neodynium magnets embedded in them and then a coat of matt black enamel. All this even before the minis are attached. Then a mix of cat litter and sand is glued on. The actual painting of the base is quick enough though using the same grey mix as the previous bases.

Also today I've tried a new lighting set-up for photographing minis. It consists of a daylight lamp above the figures with two desk lamps on the left and right. Photographing figures has been a major source of frustration for me over the years so this may a big step forward! 

Squat heavy...

Some pics of a Squat heavy weapon I've been tinkering around with. The Squats were some of my favorite figures back in the Rogue Trader days. They just had so much damn character a with that "irregulars" vibe. They looked like mercenaries or adventurers and that really fired the imagination.

The original face on this particular figure had a great big smile! I hadn't intended to change the face so much originally just adding some putty to his beard but after playing around he ended up getting a total face lift resulting in a much sterner face.

I worked a bit to get the hands to fit neatly to the handle of the conversion beamer. Also worked the area of the weapon that met the shoulder for a neat fit. Cutting a small section from of a cocktail stick gave me a small disc so I could make a sight that lined up with his right eye. It all comes together nicely now and will be painted separately.

Some more Orks...

Some more Orks this time troopers from the first box set. Got a lot of these figures so naturally a wee bit of conversion work is in order, if only to add a bit of individuality to my duplicates. Left to Right we have Punky, Cool Shades and Brillcream all lined up and ready for a planetary skirmish!!

Ork conversions!

I haven't had an awful lot of spare time to play around with minis these past few months hence the lack of posts but I'm still tinkering away when I get the chance. After concentrating on some old fantasy minis for a while my interest has swung back to sci-fi minis. I've dug out some more of my Rogue Trader collection and been getting some more minis up to the primed stage.

As things stand I'm gonna be needing a lot more Orks. Regardless of what rules I'd be using they're always going to be low quality troops and as such would need to out number most other races. Here's a pic of a couple I've messed around with.

A lot of gamers will recognise the fellow on the right as Hhruk from the 1980's space Ork Raiders boxed set. That's his right arm attached to the cork! It's been converted so he will be holding the gun low instead of up in the air. It'll make things easier to paint them separately. He'll end up being one of the leaders of the Orks when they make it to the table.

Don't know a lot about the fellow on the left but he can be seen in a White Dwarf advert from the time. Can't make out he was given a name. I've tweaked him in a few places and placed a spike on his helmet.

Phobos marine...

Here's a pic of the finished Phobos helmet marine.

Medic conversion...

Took a pic of this fellow today. The body was originally a medic which I didn't like all that much. Now for a while I'd wanted to put a different style of helmet on a power armour body thought I'd give it a go on this figure. Once I'd made the new helmet I decided not to glue it until I'd made a mould so I could cast it in resin. Will give me extras to play with and some for anyone else who may be interested!

Brother and Sister Reeves...

Probably my favorite trooper figure from the old marines is this Brother Reeves mini. Lucky I got 3 in a joblot! I've converted one into a female marine by doing a head swap with a female mini from ERM.  Will paint the parts separately and glue when finished.

Missiles incoming... 2!!

Remember this guy from the blogs very first post? Well I found the propeller bit off the rocket launcher on my desk and had a change of heart. Yes it looks totally daft but it is iconic in a way. I resolved to re-attach it after filing down the fins somewhat. Changed the face a bit too! Have to stop tinkering with greenstuff and get more painting done!

Close combat marine...

Here's a WIP pics of a RT era close combat marine I've been working on. Reckon he's pretty much finished just a little more weathering perhaps. Painting the yellow parts was tricky. Not a colour I'd look forward to painting again! I've painted the blue/black and white stripe pattern on the lower leg to link him to the two other marines I've currently painted up.

Orks and a bot...

Just a pic for the fun of it!

Space fox 2...

I finished the gun on Foxy and also did a bit of prep on a vintage Ral Partha robot from 1977! Lovely vintage true 25mm figure. The arm was pretty weak so I replaced the cast powerline to the gun with one made from copper wire. Added strenght to the arm as well as being thinner. The gun was pretty basic looking, like a retro hairdryer, so I added a few doodads to tech it up a bit. He's gonna be a great little robot when he's painted up.

Space fox!

Received this mini from KillerB today. She originally had a cigarette in her right hand but I wanted a little more firepower for the lady so in the process of making a laser pistol for her to wield. I reckon her funky clothes won't look out of place in a sci-fi setting. The only other thing I'm thinking is to add a holster on her right leg. Could be worth the extra trouble.

New recruits!

Received some new figs throught the post this week and managed to get them prep'd. All off ebay I managed to get the laserburn fishmen figures that were cast up by foundry recently. Lovely old sculpts with great detail and the integral type bases I much prefer to slotta tabs. Along with them I got this minifig Earth conscript sci-fi fellow. These old figures have a real charm about them.

Backpack prep...

Photo says it all really! I had been prepping marine backpacks indiviually as I needed them but decided to get a batch ready all in one go. The speed I paint this is probably a years worth of backpacks!

Sci-fi floors...4

I made a room tile with a hole in it to act as a spawn point in games. Could have all kind of creatures popping out of it or just be a hazard when travelling through the space. Have some cast up now so deciding whether to paint the edge in a metallic "aliens" style or more of a hardened putrid goo! Will have to see once the floor parts are painted.

Sci-fi floors... 3

Here are whole load of pics of the resin floors I've cast and painted so far. Gonna see some action pretty soon. Thinking of running a sci-fi game using the X-plorers rules with some additional rules for different races like elves, dwarfs and hobbits so I can use my RT figures. Will also be a change to the rules to allowing killer robots!

Three's company...

Got a couple of new arrivals in the post today. Some additional versions of the Brother A Skull mini I won on ebay recently . Makes my total of this particular figure up to three. Probably all I'll ever need but you can't be too sure of these thing!. The two new figs are now enjoying a dettol bath. Will probably paint these in different contrasting colours. I may paint one up in the colour scheme with which he originally appeared in the White Dwarf advert.

Sci-fi floors... 2

Just a pic of more sci-fi floors primed and ready for painting. Primed  black and mounted on some paintpots.