Meet the Watchers

Hello and welcome back, 

Meet the watchers. 

The first few figures from the Horizon Zero Dawn set have been painted. I thought I would start with the first machines you encounter in the computer game, the watchers.

These are light recon machines that now act sentries for the herds. When encountering humans they will alert the other machines in the herd before launching an attack.

The HZD watchers painted up quickly. My only grumble is that the detail around the lens is a little weak. It needs building up. If I had the time I would be tempted to cut a slice of plastic tube to make a lens. Or maybe put some green stuff and try to sculpt a lens. I hope the head detail on the other machines aren’t as bad,

Watchers & other machines built by different factories (known as cauldrons) have different coloured patches unique to that cauldron. 

My plans for these figures are to use them in a Sci Fi setting as the machines of a terraforming system to be encountered on a lost world. Back on Mattblackgod’s world I am thinking of a large island where tribals and machines live. Either adventures take place on the island or maybe a expedition of Guardians or Black City people investigating the island. 

I guess I now need to crack on with the other Horizon Zero Dawn machines. 

Thanks for looking. Stay safe out there.

Fort Hardknox part 1

Hello and welcome back. 

A while back I pitched in for the all in Fort Hardknox Kickstarter by Fogou models. Every post apocalyptic wasteland Warlord needs a fortress to help them dominate the wastelands. 

The Fogou pieces are very nicely detailed set of resin bits for making a post apocalyptic fortress. I managed to get most of the pile primed last year. Last week I finally got up the inspiration to start painting some of the pieces. 

I began painting by hitting the brown portions such as the logs and dirt filling. This was followed by painting all the panels different colours to give a scrounged pile of metal plates. I suppose I could have speeded the process up by spraying the models with a metal colour and then just picked out the brown parts. The tops of the logs & ropes got a coat of sand. While the log’s bark got a light grey dry brush to make the details pop. These pieces then got a dark wash to tie them together. The metal plates were then dry brushed with chain mail to highlight the details. The corrugated plates on backs of the walls got some red-brown and orange washes to give them that rusty feel. The pieces then got a brown wash. 

After that had dried I added some rust patches to the plates and then some graffiti with Posca paint markers.

It’s a start, I still have a massive pile of stuff to paint in the Fort Hardknox pile to paint. 

Thanks for looking. 

Stay safe out there. 

Horizon Zero Dawn the board game.

For those of you who aren’t into computer games Horizon Zero Dawn is a role playing computer game set in a far future post apocalyptic world. It is a world of tribal humans, hostile machines and overgrown ancient ruins. 

I must admit that I got really into the computer game trying to uncover mysteries of the characters back history, what happened to the ancients, where did the machines come from while discovering the world and trying to survive. 

++ Spoiler Alert. Do not read the next section if you intend to play the computer game++

In the future a total extinction event is on the cards, everything organic dead. Some bright spark designed a self replicating robotic combat machine that runs by converting biological matter into resources and fuel. These military robots ran amok and started destroying everything organic. Humanity launched an all out war against the robots. Total global extinction was months away.  Horizon Zero Dawn was branded as a weapon to destroy the machine. In reality it was a way to continue life after the robots ran to a stop. It was a terraforming plan which the machines are a part of. The machines cleaned up the pollution and dead robots recycling them. Trees, plants and small animals where introduced. Once the world was ready humans were introduced. The plan was for them to be educated to their pre apocalyptic levels so they could continue fixing the world. But the education system was destroyed. So humanity remained at a uneducated primate level.

 ++end of spoiler++ 

I liked the premise of a post apocalyptic world populated by tribals and robots. But finding suitable machines would always be difficult in any scale. Then I discovered a advert for a upcoming model of one of the machines. 

Apparently there is a Horizon Zero Dawn board game by Steamforged games. How did I miss that one? I must be losing my grip on the wastelands. After checking online the figures are 32mm base to head. Lots of games workshop fans were complaining that the figures are too small compared with modern GW figures. As my collection has figures from 25mm through to 32mm heroic the size doesn’t bother me too much. So I found a copy and hit the buy button. 

The boxed game features hunters from the four main tribes and involves hunting machines for parts, supplies, scrap and shards (bits of machine casing used as currency). 

There are a few game boards, lot of card decks for each hunter and level and lots of tokens many of which relate to symbols in the computer game. Your hunters can level up during their machine hunts. However I am not really interested in the board game rules (which I still need to go through at a deeper level) but the figures. So let’s take a look. 

The hunters from the (L to R) Oseram, Carja, Nora and Banuk tribes. They are slightly smaller than classic GW and Grenadier figures but not too noticeably. The bases are a sliver lower so a shim might make them look larger.

The Watchers. These are recon machines, they usually look for resources for the machines. Now they roam around the herds looking for trouble (humans). They signal warnings to other machines and will attack. They use a leap attacks and tail attacks. There is a red eye version which carries a energy weapon in the head. These have extra head armour. I may modify one into a red eye.

Grazer these machines form herds. They will choose to flee but will attack when forced to. The rotors on the horns perform a dangerous attack. Grazers also perform kick attacks.

Striders are another herd machine. They will attack if you get too close. Striders perform powerful kick attacks in a similar manner to a horse. If you sneak up on them and have the right bit of salvaged tech they can be overridden and used as a riding machine. 

Scrappers are designed to recycle damaged machines. They operate and hunt in packs. In addition they actively hunt and attack humans in their territories. 

Sawtooth are a new class of machine to appear, the combat class. They patrol around the herds to protect them from human hunters. A single sawtooth can easily decimate and entire hunting party. 

Shell Walkers are strange cargo hauling machines. They transport the produced materials to the hidden automated machine factories (Cauldrons). They are equipped with a energy weapon, power claw and a energy shield. 

For these machines the painting should be fairly easy. Black under sides with dark grey highlights. Upper areas light grey or white. Then it will be the details like lens, cutters and chemical vessels. 

For building up the tribes I think a mix of the various Frostgrave barbarians and tribals would work. Some of the older Grenadier Future wars tribals should work too.  I suppose I need to figure out what ruleset to use with this models too.

Thanks for looking.

After the world ends

Hello and welcome back.

I am looking at a book I picked up called “After the World Ends”.

I picked up this book from Kickstarter. It is a detailed list of post apocalyptic films from he mid 70s through to the mid 90s. It lists all the main films and even the awful Roadwarrior rip offs too. For me as a gamer, movies have always been a good source of inspiration so this book was a must for my book shelf.

The book gives a plot outline, facts and availability of each film. Many of which have now vanished. There are pictures of promo posters art and some movie stills too. Zombie movie fans will be disappointed as the book doesn’t cover them. 

In addition there is short essays covering each the components of a post apocalyptic movie from the era and films in a similar vein such as post apoc in space and the adult movie industry efforts. There are also producer, director and actor interviews.

I found the book to be an interesting read. It has given me a few game scenario and campaign ideas. I now have a list of films to track down to complete my collection. 

Thanks for looking.

Fuel Storage Tank.

Hello and welcome back,

This fuel tank idea came from the Mad Max video game. I thought it would make a great line of sight blocker, objective or a tabletop hazard. I found a cheap mdf kit on eBay to make the tank frame. The tank itself is made from a old drinks can.

Once assembled the whole thing was primed grey. The paint on the tank was done with several red ink glazes using artists ink. I was trying something new and it turned out quite well. Some markings, graffiti and signs was added. I tried to copy the 7 sisters logo from the tanker in the Mad Max 2 film. 

Some weathering was added to finish it off. It was a quick and simple build which took me over two years to complete. I kept getting distracted and going off track. The curse of being a hobby butterfly.

Thanks for looking. 

Sci Fi building

Hello and welcome back. 

I knocked together this little Sci Fi building last year for use on my frontier worlds. I thought it was time to get it finished. The model is based on a old card gift box, some bits from the Maelstroms edge building sprue, a resin air conditioning box (not sure of the supplier) and a few mantic bits.

The model was given a coat of textured paint. I primed it grey and then wet brushed it white. It was then given a brown wash and then a white dry brush. The techy bits got a coat of paint followed by a dark wash. I gave it a few orange and brown specs to make things look a little aged. 

The bottom of the walls got a heavy brown dry brush and then a sand dry brush to give it a dirty feel. Some graffiti was then added some of them done in the font Futurama uses. 

A couple of posters was added from the pile on the printer. That guy on the wanted poster looks well dodgy.

I am happy with how the paint turned out and I hope to apply it to future frontier world models.

Thanks for looking. 

The Judges

Hello and welcome back, 

A little while back picked up Warlord’s 2000AD Judge Dredd boxed set. I got the judges finished a couple of months back but the pictures didn’t turn out well. So it was back to the photo set up.

These are resin figures and are 32mm in scale. 

As promised I have included some size comparison pictures with the older Mongoose Mega City One figures.

There is a fair height difference between them. The Warlord figures are thinner too. Looking at my old mongoose figures, I think they will need a few black washes/glazes to tone them down to the colour of the Warlord figures. 

The whole justice department. I now have to get all the gangs and other Mega City One miscreants painted too.

Thanks for looking.

Undercity steam vents

One of the Stargrave scenarios require some undercity steam vents which will act as a hazard. So I set about building some. They will be useful for a few other settings. 

These are made from some 25mm lipped plastic bases from EM4 game. I like these bases as they can easily be converted into doors (for 15mm buildings), windows and hatches. The grate is made from plastic embroidery mesh. Cut to size and then super glued in place.

A quick paint job of brown and orange followed by a silver dry brush. Brown and orange washes help tone them all together. 

I am nearly ready for the Undercity scenario, all I need is a suitable sewer dragon now. 

Thanks for looking.

Starport Scum

Hello and welcome back, 

I am trying to keep the blog posts rolling while I can’t get anything painted up. I am way behind and need to catch up. 

This year my focus has been more towards Sci Fi skirmish games, 5 parsecs from home and Stargrave especially. I have decided while my painting has slowed down I will focus on going through my collection looking for suitable figures to play either game. This will be a regular feature as I come across figures. 

So let me crack on with the Starport scum hanging around the space ports & colonies around the edge of human space in my own Wild Galaxy setting. 

The Blue Genes Brothers:

The Bluegenes brothers are a pair of GELFs (Genetically Engineered Life Form) created in a lab on Earth’s moon. They formed an entire brigade and were deployed out in the old Earth Empire. On the still unexplained explosion of the Earth, Human space was thrown into chaos. The Bluegenes brigade were deployed to protect some Empire assets by the replacement government in the Nu Terra empire. They were betrayed and deployed into a trap. In the resulting battle the Bluegenes were massacred and only a handful of these combat GELFs survived. 

Unlike other GELFs the Bluegenes cannot reproduce and  they could only be reproduced in a lab or vat. The reason lay deep within the lab on the moon. To reproduce they needed to access the lab. The problem with this is that Earth’s moon had vanished. It was either destroyed when the Earth exploded or was sling shot out of the solar system. 

The Bluegenes went to the now anarchic Solar system searching for the moon. After centuries of searching (the GELFs were created for battle and it was expected they would be killed in battle, so no expiry date or lifespan limits) some of the Bluegenes moved to the Edge of Human space were they work in spaceports or as crew hoping to hear of rumours of rogue dwarf planets which may point to their holy grail. 

These two figures are a poorly painted experiment, I didn’t clean the old paint off and just painted over them. Tutt tutt, very sloppy work. The sharp eyed will spot a bit I missed. I like the colour of the skin and I have some metal 40K catachins I plan to paint properly in this scheme at some point. These two will see action as muscle for crews in both 5 Parsecs and Stargrave.

Major Lee. 

The Major sports the uniform of the Nu Terra Empire. After his special forces team was massacred in a suicide mission he decided he had enough of the military life and retired (read deserted) to the Edge. Out here his uniform isn’t recognised much as they are a long, long way from Nu Terra. Still he would like to change into something else. Lee is low in funds and hangs about the space port looking for work. Eventually he would like his own ship and crew but for now he will have to take orders from others. Lee knows how to take orders. 

Lee was painted by a friend (thanks Xander) and is a 40K figure. I am not sure what capacity he may serve in 5 Parsecs or Stargrave. 

Captain Groat Blackbreath. 

Blackbreath arrived in the space port alone in a uparmoured & boosted elderly space freighter (the dark raven) with a small but expensive cargo. This raised some eyebrows as to where was his crew. Rumours say he murdered them or spaced the crew to keep his profits to himself. Once he traded his cargo Blackbreath began looking for crew members. Strangely there doesn’t seem to be much interest. 

In truth Blackbreath was a pirate captain, his vessel was ambushed by the Brittannia’s (who are little more than legitimatised pirates). Sustaining heavy damage & casualties his ship fled into an asteroid belt. Blackbreath ruthlessly sacrificed his ship and crew making it perform a locked out, pre programmed suicide run towards the waiting Brittanian vessels just after he fled in the only escape pod. The Dark Raven was a captured vessel Blackbreath had stashed during his nefarious pirate activities, loaded with loot as an escape or retirement plan. His planning paid off. 

Blackbreath is a old 40K adventurer figure I have had since 87. He never fitted my post apoc collection but fits nicely into my space opera. He will probably see action as a Rival crew captain in my 5 Parsecs games. 

Joey Raff

Joey Raff is a typical space bum looking for adventure and work by joining a ships crew. He hangs about asking ship’s captains for work. He has had no luck finding work so far. 

Joey Raff is a resin figure from a Steampunk line whose names escapes me. He makes a great lower level crew member. I think he would make a good Stargrave runner or chiseler. 

I am off now to dig through my figure collection to get some more figures together. Keep your eyes open for more Starport Scum posts.

Thanks for looking,

Stay safe out there.

Cargo piles.

Hello and welcome back, 

Another blog post! Things are looking up. I have been busy putting some crate stacks together. 

I have had a hankering for a some piles of cargo for some time. Piles and stacks of crates creates plenty of cover, tight spaces and multiple levels making games more challenging.

Perhaps these stacks of crates lie deep in a post apocalyptic bunker or a forgotten warehouse in the ruins. Or maybe they lie on the landing pad or dockside warehouse of a frontier world space port.  Maybe they sit in the hold of a starship. 

These crates came from multiple sources. There are some mantic, Gale Force Nine Aliens crates (given away by the Wayland Yutani logos), a few 3D printed crates (the wooden ones) and some unidentified Sci Fi resin crates. Many of the crates came in a cheap eBay lot. 

The crates were super glued together into stacks in a variety of formations. I added some tarpaulins made from a dried out water based baby wipe. I gave the crates a quick and dirty paint jobs. I used several colours to make the crates look like they came from different sources (or they have been reused). Some signs and paperwork pouches were painted on the crates.

I had fun making these crate stacks. There are other crates in my terrain piles including cargo stacks made from bottle tops. I feel the need to revisit and update some of these older sets. 

Thanks for looking, pass a crow bar.

Take care out there.