Milki Tours Expedition Vehicle.

Hello and Welcome Back, 

"Hello Traveller, I am Milki! Want to get further out in the Rust lands looking for the good loot but don't want to spend days yomping across the wastes, camping, fighting off angry tribals and the various monstrosities trying to eat you? Then you need Milki Tours! For a reasonable price, I can run to were you want to go. Saving you time and inconvenience in Big Milki there. Ain't she a beaut?"

"For extra cost you can camp in Big Milki overnight, yup she is that big or ride up top for that safari experience. You can even haul cargo up top. Now dont get ideas about bumping old Milki off and stealing his ride. The cockpit is sealed and there is a hidden anti theft system. No one messes with old Milki"

"What's that? Where did I get this fine Expedition vehicle? Well no one makes these things, ya know. Big Milki started life as a wreck I found out in the Rustlands. In a previous life it was an ancient Neta Corp Mu light transport ship. Little wonder the old empire dumped it here, it was an antique when they ditched it. Probably couldn't find the parts to keep it spaceworthy. The engines were totally shot. At some point some clowns had ripped off the rear hatch and looted what ever the empire stuffed in it. Judging by the damage I am guessing they used a very bog bot. Anyways, I got the under deck plasma reactor with a little work and a few cusswords."

"For some reason the old empire hated old Arla class cargo transport cars. There are loads of them dumped on this rock. Well, I salvaged the wheels and electric motors from a couple. They needed a fair bit of cleaning up but they work well. Plus spares are easy to come by. The old Mu plasma plant runs them happily. Lots of plates where added to the hull to armor it up cos the rust wastes are a dangerous place. I even managed to add a twin laser cannon from the wreck of a Hornet class drop ship, although the fire contol system is a converted holo game contoller. The military one had been wiped before it was ditched here. The game comp does the job nicely instead he he. A huge plow was added to move obstructions out of the way. You know the kinda thing, rocks, plants, tribal huts, big monsters, that kinda thing."

Big Milki was the product of a Billmakingstuff pateron challenge. For some time I fancied building a Crawler for an expedition team. I decided that I would go for trashbashing as much as I could for the model. Mainly to see what can be done with what's laying about.

The hull was made from a Ferro Rochia box and the bridge section was built from a quarter of a Pot Noodle pot. The rest of it has been squirreled away for a future build. The wheels are made from milk bottle tops, 16 of them. I like these bottle tops as they are so useful for sci fi trashbashing and collect them from time to time. The hull was armored up with EVA foam sheets. The plow was made from plastic tube frame and cut up gift cards. 

The roof had platic mesh added as decking. The rear door is made from corrugated card, the ladder is a cheap razor handle and the rear steps are made from razor covers. The rest of Milki was built from a deep bits box dive. I am lucky that decades of model making and wargaming has given me quite the bits box. The mantic laser cannons were fitted to a couple of bases from various sources. The lamps and cannon lens are made from beads and stick on pearls used for card making. 

I have always fancied a Crawler land train. In future I hope to make a trailer car and flat bed trailers for Big Milki. They should be easy to make and the bits are plentiful to salvage. 

The Big Milki name grew out the nick name the other Discord group users gave it when I shared wip pictures. Now I plan a 28mm figure for the character of Milki. No doubt he will be joining my planned crew of colonists for the world of Corrosion (and showing up in my Skirm games).

Thanks for looking and stay safe out there.

Rusters!!

Hello and Welcome back, 

Rusters, meet the Rusters...Great, now I have the theme tune to the Flintstones going around my head just with the word Rusters in it. 

The Rusters are a faction of the Skrim game by @billmakingstuff. The best way to describe them is as a tribal faction with cultist overtones (they worship a giant robot wreck in the Rusty Peaks). According to Bill's lore they arrived on a cruise ship that crashed on Tapu aka "the Gutterlands" centuries ago. The tribals claim the rust covered lands are sacred. They cover themselves in home made rusty junk armour and bear home made or salvaged weapons. The Rusters and Colonials are often in conflict over territory. 

Like Bill's Rusters the bulk of my Rusters were made from Warlord black powder Woodland Indians. The armour is made from scraps of plastic card, bits of cut up plastic toy bullets, bits of vinyl beads, beads and other assorted bits. This force of Rusters took over a month to put together and paint. Cutting up scraps and adding them took quite some time. Pouches and skulls came from the bits box just to some extra detail. 

Some Rusters wear helmets that resemble the robot head they worship. According to Bill these are made from hollowed out artillery shells. Mine utilises the toy bullet tips as they are the ideal size and shape. 

The Ruster on the right had a helmet made from a plastic tubing cap with holes drilled in it. 

The weapons were cobbled together from the muskets and various bits from the bits box. Some scopes were made from bits. Axes were made from plastic card attached to the Woodland Indian clubs. 

This Ruster on the right has a old missle attached to a lance for those precision explosions, assuming the warhead isn't a dud. I hope he doesn't mind getting caught in the blast.

An old Grenadier Barbarian leader (from Forlone Hope) was selected to make a leader (right). I wanted a figure a bit bulkier to stand out from the rest of the Rusters. The hand left hand was in right position to add a firearm, in this case a GW Necromunda Orlock autogun. Like the others, he had a lot of armor added from scraps of plastic. Although I am not sure about the logic of using a large land mine as a peice of armor. I hope its a dud. A cloak made from some weird animal skin, was made from Greenstuff putty and added to make the figure stand out futher. 

I wanted a female figure, so I picked up a Amazon from Forlone Hope (left). Once the hair and head had been removed the conversion work was easy. The hardest part was building armor around the breast area. I didnt want to go down the Maddona cones route. 

The paint was mainly rust tones with some dry brushing and the odd detail picked out. I plumbed for light blue skintones to make the Ruster flesh pop against the rust. In Skrim they are aliens but in Post Apocalyptic games they could be mutants. 

The Rusters will be a useful Post Apocalyptic faction. I can see them being a third faction in the war between the Skrap Knights and Rustlords. Or maybe to use them as foot soldiers in either faction's Warbands. 

Thanks for looking, 

Take care out there.

July's Hobby Progress

Hello and Welcome back, 

Time for my hobby Progress update for July. 

July turned out to be another a busy month in the real world. Family birthdays, builders and DIY has eaten the month up. Like last month, it has left little time to get some Blog posts up. There is another pile of figures waiting for pictures and writing up. Unfortunately the DIY list is long so I suspect it might also keep busy for most of August. 

The Forlone Hope figures arrived and I leapt into converting them into Rusters. Speaking of Rusters I managed to get them painted up. I also painted three Ramshackle figures. As usual better pictures to follow once I catch up with the blog. 

Rusters in primer

Ramshackle Games figures

I started to build a Expedition Crawler for @billmakingstuff's transport challenge. The aim for this build is to use as much stuff from the recycling for it as possible. There is quite a way to go with it, but it is going forward. 

Figures finished* = 0 (total 7) *Figures that needed bases finishing from 2024

Figures painted = 13 (total so far 83)

Figures reworked = 0 (total so far 6)

Vehicles finished = 0

Vehicles reworked = 0

Figures bought/arrived = 13 (total so far 59)

Vehicles bought = 0

I am still waiting on the Heresy order. In addtion to the Barbarians and Amazon from Forlone Hope I also ordered 10 metal figures inspired by the drawings in the old 40K book by BMT3D. These are usually limited runs so are worth collecting. 

That's all for now.

Thanks for reading and take care out there.

Skrapbeasts...

Hello and Welcome back, 

Time for a trip to the world of Tapu, also known as the Gutterlands. 

A scrap prospector stumbles upon a Skraprunt while checking out a potential pile of junk. In case you are wondering dear Reader, a Skraprunt is the young of the fearsome Skrapbeast, native to the world of Tapu aka the Gutterlands. 

"Gah, eat lead ya pesky varmit*" 

"MEEP! MEEP! MEEP!"

* the prospector could possibly be a descendant of Yosemite Sam. He is about the same height and has two six shooters! I think I will name this figure "Gutterlands Sam". I might have to ginger up his beard. lol. 

"RRAAH!"

"MEEP!"

An enraged Skrapbeast smashes out of a pile of scrap. Mummy to the rescue. 

The Skraprunt began life as a lump of spare Milliput. It was shaped and a mouth added before the putty set. The eyes are stick on decorative beads. The legs were made from wire with Greenstuff putty added. The teeth was made from Greenstuff putty. 

The Skrapbeast's body was made from DAS air dry clay. The mouth and jaw was added later from DAS. The legs were made from cocktail sticks. The leg segments were sculpted over the sticks from Procreate putty. The same decorative beads also make the eyes. Greenstuff was used to make the teeth. The scrap nest was made from the contents of the bits box. 

These Skrapbeasts were made to be hazards for the Skirm game by @billmakingstuff. There is a possibility in Skirm when looting scrap piles for one of these beasties to wake up and rampage around the table. Link to the FREE rules.  I decided to make the beasts from putty rather than breaking up toys like Bill. Mainly because I didnt have any suitable toys to attack and I don't want to be the weirdo mugging kids for their toys. 

I decided not to base the Skrapbeasts as they can be perched on scrap piles to add an extra air of menace. 

The Skrapbeast attacks Gutterlands Sam.

These Skrapbeasts would also make nice monsters for a Post Apocalyptic setting. This was a interesting project. I have learned quite a bit and used numerous new materials, methods and tools. I do have other (larger) Scrap beasts planned. There is also plans to create my own critters. 

Gutterlands Sam figure is a Dwarf Engineer by Heresy Miniatures. It is a nice figure that comes with 2 pistol arms, a pick axe arm and shotgun arm should you wish to pose the figure in a variety of ways.

Thank for looking, take care out there.

Sandtreaders

Hello and Welcome back 

And now for something a little different. 

A Sandtreader train nearly flattens a Tengun officer. 

Sandtreaders are a docile large lizard like creature native to the world of Delijellbi. They were easily domesticated and found to make excellent beasts of burden. As the Sandtreader is at home in a desert environment, Delijellbi began exporting the beasts to other arid frontier worlds such as Wolfden or Maddans world.

A Sandtreader rider. 

Wild Sandtreaders spook a Corporation operative on Delijellbi. Wild Sandtreaders quite docile but will become aggressive around nesting time or with young Sandtreaders. Sandtreader herds can be hazardous when spooked and will stampede. 

The Sandtreaders are resin models in Crooked Dice Miniatures' Sci Fi line. They are nice models and make great scene dressing. The Sandtreaders could also be used as a objective or tabletop hazard. 

Thanks for looking and take care out there.

Starport Scum #11

Hello and Welcome back, 

We are returning back to the Wild Galaxy. 

Meet Ed Flangenut, available to hire as extra muscle for your crew. Ed started as a street ganger and matured to a Thug for hire. Ed is a old 40K Rouge Trader (Ed 1) pirate figure. For some reason they liked to sculpt them in that low crouch which makes getting decent pictures a pain. 

My Tengun Empire forces needed a officer. Although I suspect that will not make them any more effective on the tabletop (they have lost every game I have used them in). I use old Void Junkers, it seemed fitting to grab an Void Junker Enforcer (now carried by Seb games). This guy is for shouting at the down trodden Legionaries and executing anyone not following orders. Nice guy eh? 

Since putting together my Deep Space Engineering (DSE) corporation force I realised that they needed more bodies for those unpleasant encounters. As all the figures were male, I felt they needed some ladies for balance. This lady is the first female addtion for my DSE force. The figure is a old Grenadier future wars figure from Forsaken Games.

I have another that fits the force in the paint queue. With some luck I will get it painted soon. 

Thanks for looking and take care out there. 

New and old Wastelanders

Hello and Welcome Back,

I have managed to get a few more Post Apocalyptic figures finished. 

As mentioned in a previous post I feel my Wastelands needs more mutants. 

Here is Gribble, he scavengers the Wastelands looking for items to trade at the local townships. Gribble is a Ramshackle Games figure of the same name. 

" I am just here for the guzzoline....have you seen my teeth?"

Old Max...the now aging road warrior is still out there wandering. I couldn't resist buying the figure. I am afraid that I can't remember who makes the Old Max figure, even Google has proven fruitless in finding the manufacturer. .

Here comes Levi, playing the backing track to life in the Wastelands (as if life wasnt tough enough!). Levi is a another member of the Robot and Android Liberation Front (RALF) and tours the wastelands looking for robots and androids to "liberate". If the .bin or .exe file and pamphlets won't free the machines from a life of slavery, then there are many other RALF members happy to do it by force. Levi is painted in the same colours as his RALF brothers and sisters. Levi is a Ramshackle Games figure of the same name. 

Thanks for looking,

Take care out there. 

Rustlords and Skrapknights additions

Hello and welcome back, 

We are back on the Post Apocalyptic world that is known as Mattblackgod’s world. I have been slowly fleshing out the Skrapknights and Rustlords factions. 

Patrols of the Rustlords and Skrapknights clash while random scavengers look on. 

Rustlords Warriors. These resin figures are Vulcan and Staveley Ramshackle games. They have been left as Curtis intended. I decided on green flesh for the Staveley figure as I think the Wastelands needs more mutants. 

Skrapknights Warriors. These resin figures are Orbseer, Staveley and Vulcan by Ramshackle games. The Orbseer figure will be the Skrapknights version of Merlin. Staveley had the shield swapped out for a fantasy skeleton's one. The axe was replaced by a 40K space Marine powersword. A Space Marine Scout biker shotgun holster was added at the waste to give the figure a potential Boomstick. The Vulcan figure had the helmet replaced by a Void Plastic Junkers one. I have decided to paint the Skrapknights robes in a more colourful fashion in the style of medieval knights, which should help distinguish the two factions on the tabletop. 

There will be more additions to both factions in future. 

Thanks for looking and stay safe out there.

June Hobby Progress

Hello and Welcome back,

Time for my hobby Progress update for June.

June has been a busy month in the real world. Birthdays, chasing workmen, trips and a new car. It has left little time to get some Blog posts up. There is a pile of figures waiting for pictures and writing up.

Hobby wise, it has been a plate spinning appoach with several things on the go at the same time. I bet it isnt a surprise that there wasn't much finished. I did manage to paint some random figures.

There has been a lot of scratch building. A couple of scrap beasts and more junk piles for Skirm. Speaking of Skirm, I pushed on to make a Rusters force for Skirm. It is still work in progress as this is taking a lot longer than I anticipated. I have been working on them for nearly two weeks now and they still aren't finished. I am also looking for a suitable figure in the pile to make a leader for them.

I am waiting on Forlone Hope (some extra figures for the Rusters, I must be mad making more), Heresy and Ramshackle orders.

Some old figures have had a dettol bath, they are all earmarked to become either members for my planned Alien Zoology expedition team or colonials for Skirm or my Corrosion setting. Luckily the figures should be useable for all of these settings or games.

Figures finished* = 0 (total 7) *Figures that needed bases finishing from 2024

Figures painted = 10 (total so far 70)

Figures reworked = 0 (total so far 6)

Vehicles finished = 0

Vehicles reworked = 0


Figures bought/arrived = 2 (total so far 46)

Vehicles bought = 0

I got a Mantic Forge Fathers Iron Ancestor and Artifactor Juggernaut figures for my Birthday. These two additions will be to provide support for my various Squat/Dvarg forces.

That's all for now.


Thanks for reading and take care out there.

May Hobby Progress

 Hello and Welcome back, 

Time for my hobby Progress report for May. 

May has been an incredibly productive month hobby wise. I managed to get a pile of figures by BMT3D painted (and one from Bad Squiddo and Borderlands). 

Thanks to inspiration by Skim and Billmakingstuff I turned out a pile of junk piles and converted & painted up two factions for the game. Big Red Mining Company and DEAP. 

The Diehard Miniatures jetbike, another bead bot and some Borderlands Skags were also finished.

There was a fantasy chaos Knight too, which will be used in my Rustlords factions.

There has been no further work on the dusty space port town building. 

It hasnt been a good month for incoming figures (well it has, but the pile of shame is growling at me). The order from Ramshackle arrived and in true Curtis style had a couple of extra figures thrown in (thankyou Curtis). That lot are mostly painted and will be turing up in June's blog posts along with a recently finished old 40k pirate. 

EM4 order also arrived but I am waiting on Heresy. I also picked up some Black Powder Woodland Indians, which I will be using to make some Rusters for Skirm. I also got a handful of figures for making colonials. 

Figures finished* = 0 (total 7) *Figures that needed bases finishing from 2024

Figures painted = 42 (total so far 60)

Figures reworked = 0 (total so far 6)

Vehicles finished = 0

Vehicles reworked = 0

Figures bought = 43 (total so far 44)

Vehicles bought = 0

Drat. If I managed to paint just one more figure I would have had parity this month. The box on Woodland Indians bumped the figures up (24 figures). Still my painted tally still out weighs my bought figures. 

That's all for now.

Thanks for reading and take care out there.