Miniatures & Gaming – Mark A. Morin

“Mars Aliens” from Mega Miniatures, circa 2001, for Combat Patrol (TM)

I am always searching for cool old school figures that are out of production that I could use in my Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games. This is firstly because I like to find neat stuff that time has passed by – and expose the figures to a brand new audience. Secondly, it allows me to run really fun games – as the rules are so easy to play and learn even for true newbies – while older gamers are simultaneously having a good time.

Fortunately, I came across Michael Thomas’ site, classicminiatures.net. There I found many Archive Star Rovers figures that he could cast (as he has a spin caster and now owns many original molds). I acquired my Space Dwarves (Archive’s Long Gone Jones) from him, and he suggested two others that I might like.

One was also previously described in this blog – that being Mega Miniatures Robot Peacekeepers. These were my first figures from that now-defunct company. Michael piqued my interest with a second figure, which was Mega Miniatures “Mars Alien” (#71501 seen here in the Lost Minis wiki) from their Sci Fi Future range Aliens subset. It looks like the figure is the only one in that group, and was OOP in 2003. It was sculpted by Hermann Grassnick, and the rights were sold by Mega Miniatures in 2011 (I am assuming to Michael Thomas). I got 19 of the figures for a two-squad Martian platoon.

So when looking at these, one immediately sees their resemblance to the Martians in Tim Burton’s 1996 film, Mars Attacks. You remember, the Martians speak “ack-ack” (which was the sound of a duck quacking played backwards).

Interestingly, I wonder if there was a copyright issue that caused a cessation of production? I was also completely unaware that a UK company called Mantic Games put out a Mars Attacks game complete with figures and terrain. I looked through the Mantic website, but it looks like the game is not really available or at least not supported much, or that Mantic is just selling whatever inventory it has of its components. (Side note – I did also see the Kings of War game there which I have seen referred to often in the blogosphere. If I ever get back to fantasy armies, perhaps this will be a resource!).

Back to my Martians…

I did see that the figures from Mantic were colored like the movie, so I adopted that scheme for my Mega Miniature figures, which is a turquoise and lime green combination. Of course, I thought I could finish these in time for a painting challenge by Azazel called “Jewel of July” – after all turquoise is a jewel right? But it was not to be, so these Martians got completed in early August. There were no helmet bubbles or air tanks, but otherwise the figures were comparable.

I cleaned off any unwanted sprue residue, filed, and washed the figures. They cleaned up easily, and the casting quality was good. They are probably 25mm in scale (Star Duck size). I mounted the figures to ¾” steel washers with Gorilla Glue, and then used poster tack to affix them to my painting jars.

0 Mega Mini DEAL 71501 Mars Attacks — The Martians as received

I wanted there to be an easy way for the platoon to be used on the tabletop. I decided that I needed a painting plan. So I made one, using different colors for the weapons, armored vests, belts, and accouterments – it was 11 PowerPoint pages – and you can see one such example below. This helped me to keep it all straight. I list all the paints that I used at the end of this blog post for those interested – there were a number used!

Mars attacks ppt painting plan — I usually use some details to denote who is who. Usually red for officers, blue for higher NCO’s, and green for lower NCO’s. I used two different colors on the trim to denote each squad.

As for the figures’ details, I did have an issue with the teeth and the brain folds (who doesn’t), as they tended to fill up quickly even with light airbrushing. Eventually, I figured out how to present them in a game-worthy way.

1 Base coated — After priming and base coating with turquoise

1a Base coated — The B squad after priming

I ended up using multiple very thinned applications of Citadel “Ceramite White” on the Vallejo Mecha Color “Turquoise” so that I could get the other colors to be more vivid.

2 after white on heads — White heads – trim and belts next!

I tried to match the colors from the movie on the skulls and brains. It was tough, but I found that using multiple inks, dry brushing, and washing here was a winning approach. My initial tries were too dark or too light as shown below.

3 working on the brains — Need a middle ground!

4 brain solution and belts — Eventually, using patience, dry brushing, inks, and washes, I got my Martians’ brains to be close to the desired result.

5 close up mid point — I worked on the heads first, then inside to out on the torsos and legs.

After the painting was at a stage that I was happy with and what I wanted, I gave the torsos downward a good wash with Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss”. I like the results it gives with metallics. Still, the damn teeth were bedeviling me, Washes were not working, and dry brushing them was not either. They were fairly snaggle-toothed dudes.

6 after painting and wash — The platoon leader after an application of wash on his torso. But the teeth were unacceptable!

My dental solution was to use a very thin and slightly jagged line of Vallejo Game Air “Black” just under the upper teeth – and I settled on that.

7 wash and no wash comparisons — A member of A squad (fluorescent magenta highlights) on the left and a B squad member (fluorescent yellow highlights) on the right. The B Martian has not yet gotten a wash with the Nuln Oil Gloss. Here, the teeth are improved.

8 b team after wash — B squad after the Nuln Oil Gloss wash on their torsos and legs.

I then used Vallejo “Gloss Varnish” for my first varnishing application. I planned on adding a matte coat after I finished the bases.

9 B team after gloss varnish — Shiny happy people…err Martians…after the gloss varnish (apologies to REM)

I then worked on the bases. I decided to use Citadel “Martian Ironearth” on them. I really like to get the crackling effect from that paint when you use a hand-held hair dryer on it as it dries. So yes, I used a blow dryer on dudes that not only had no hair, but no scalps…in any case the bases came out fine. Instead of using a wash on them, I dry brushed the bases sequentially with Armory “Brick Red” (from 1996) and P3 “Ryn Flesh”. I liked the effect better than my previous uses.

10 after base prep — B squad figure after base completion but before the matte varnish

11 matte applied group shot — The platoon all done and waiting for the matte varnish to dry

12 closeup of PL complete on jar — Closeup of the platoon leader

13 closeup of trooper complete on jar — An A squad trooper from Team 1 (denoted by the copper colored weapon)

Overall, I am happy to have some more “bad guys” to add to my retro sci-fi forces. I do not think that they are my best work, but they are good enough, and should be fine for gaming. And now, some action shots!

14 group shot in formation — The Martian platoon

15 leadership — Martian Platoon leadership – platoon leader is in the center, with the A squad leader and his two team leaders on the left of the photo, and the B squad leader and his two team leaders on the right.

15a belts and leadership — An example of how I painted the belts differentially. From left to right, the platoon leader (red), the A squad leader (blue), a B squad team leader (green), an A squad trooper (magenta), and a B squad trooper (yellow)

16 A Squad moves out — The A squad moves out around some Armorcast terrain.

17 B Squad moves out — The B squad checks out the cooling units and power generator

18 A1 team with ball tank — The A squad’s Team 1 moves up alongside a Mark 1 Sphere tank

19 A2 team surrounds Texicans — The A squad’s Team 2 surrounds some Texican Space Rangers

20 PL and B1 take on Hurraku — Size does not matter as the platoon leader and the B squad’s Team 1 move in to kill the Hurraku Space Phraints…or at least try to do so!

21 B2 charging into Space Dwarves — The Space Dwarves throw grenades at the advancing Martians – the Team 2 from B squad

I hope you enjoyed this post – please let me know your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section. And no, I will not have a Slim Whitman weapon that will kill these guys!

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, WASHES, AND FLOCKING USED:

Vallejo “Surface Primer – White”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Turquoise”
Vallejo Game Air “Dead White”
Tamiya “Gold Leaf X-12”
Vallejo Model Air “Gold”
Citadel “Retributor Armour”
Citadel “Ceramite White”
Tamiya “Gun Metal X-10”
Tamiya “Chrome Silver X-11”
Tamiya “Copper XF-6”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Purple”
Vallejo “Metal Medium”
Vallejo “Gloss White”
Tamiya “X-20A Thinner”
Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
DecoArt “Dazzling Metallic – Berry”
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Secret Weapons Washes “Parchment” (ink)
Citadel “Biel-Tan Green” (wash/shade)
Craftsmart “Ultra Bright Metallic – Amethyst”
DecoArt “Dazzling Metallic – White Pearl”
Vallejo “Light Orange”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Light Green”
Vallejo “Vermilion”
Citadel “Lamenters Yellow” (glaze)
Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (wash/shade)
Vallejo Game Color “Livery Green”
Vallejo Game Air “Sick Green”
Polly S “Venetian Dull Red”
Secret Weapons Washes “Just Red” (ink)
Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Green”
Secret Weapons Washes “Blue” (ink)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Green Fluorescent”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Magenta Fluorescent”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Yellow Fluorescent”
Citadel “Martian Ironearth”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “”Airbrush Thinner”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
Armory “Brick Red”
P3 “Ryn Flesh”
Citadel “Carroburg Crimson” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”

Thanks again – hope this was fun to see!!

Retro Sci-Fi Combat Patrol – Texican Space Rangers & Space Phraints defeat Space Dwarves & Robot Peacekeepers

The July 2018 session of the Mass Pikemen Gaming Club was fun time for all. We had an epic battle using the Combat Patrol™ gaming system. The battle (called “Get The Data!”) was between the attackers (an alliance of the Texican Space Rangers and the Hurraku Space Phraints) and the combined forces of the Robot Peacekeepers and the Space Dwarves. The objective for the attackers was to seize weapons design data from a computer in an abandoned and ruined factory/research facility. The defenders mission was to exact a high price in casualties from the assault force.

So why did I align the Texicans and the Hurraku? One picture in the Star Rovers game shows them having a drink at Moondog Maude’s Cantina – so I went with that.

21 bar image of rangers — Hey, after this drink, let’s go to battle!

I assigned points differentially for the attackers and the defenders based on the mission. The Hurraku attacked on the defenders’ left, and the Texican Space Rangers attacked from the defenders’ right. The defenders also had Robo-Sentry guns deployed run by RT22. I also gave them Roberker, a flame-throwing giant robot to help with their defense.

1 0718 Startwith Will Valentine (2) — Will prepares to defend

2 0718 the cowboys get cover — The Texicans destroy a Robo-Sentry gun, then take cover. You can see the defenders in position in the building. If only the defenders had mortars!

3 0718 the cowboys get hit — Two Texicans are dispatched by automatic weapons fire. I use casualty cards to designate fallen figures and to help score the battle at the end. Plus I think it shows the battle’s progression without having a bunch of minis tipped over.

4 0718 the cowboys assault the bunker — Chris Comeau (Texican commander) made a bold move and had his gray squad jet pack directly into a bunker filled with one of Will’s Robot Peacekeeper team. The bots passed a reaction test and the Rangers took massive fire and three dead before they could fire. The red beads mark morale checks for them, the blue for the bots. This sacrifice was to prove worthy, as follow on teams of Space Rangers were able to clear the stunned robots from the bunker.

5 0718 the cowboys take out a rsg — Another of the 5 Robo-Sentry guns is cleared by the Space Rangers.

6 on the other flank Jared Burns and Michael Morgan — On the other flank, Jared Burns and Mike Morgan were able to use the long ranges of the Hurraku blasted to keep the defenders’ heads down. They maneuvered to flank the defenders.

7 bugs hiding — One of the Agribot automatic weapons did hit a team of Hurraku for one wound. Unluckily, the team promptly failed morale and became pinned behind a boulder. They were eventually able to rally.

8 Roberker moves out — Back on the right flank, Will and Dave decided that it was time for Roberker to counterattack with his dual flame throwing arms. Roberker successfully roasted a number of the purple-sombreroed Space Ranger team. However, he put himself in the open…

9 Chris Comeau happy as Roberker dies — …and he took automatic weapons fire from multiple Rangers. The plume from his smoking hulk is next to the bunker…Chris Comeau smiles…he also killed Roberker in his last game BTW!

10 Carnage by the bunker — The Robot Peacekeepers in the bunker then drew an unfortunate morale result that caused them to perform a banzai charge (I have robots use the WWII Japanese in the Pacific cards for morale). Thus, they left the nice safe bunker and got mauled. Note the large number of blue morale checks to be performed after the banzai charge.

11 sdas last stand — By this point, Will and his dad Dave had to leave, so I took over. The defense was collapsing, so I withdrew the front line defenders as best as I could.

12 sith smash — The sacrifices of the Texican Space Rangers allowed the Hurraku to penetrate the defensive position. The first in was their Sith warrior, who used the powers of the Force to smash two robots (RT22 and a Robot Peacekeeper) with a Telekinesis attack by sending them into the factory walls. This destroyed them. As you can see, the morale checks were piling up…

13 satchel charge — …so why not add more to the carnage with a satchel charge thrown by a Hurraku Space Phraint into the Space Dwarves (the smoke plume here)! Meanwhile, the Hurraku Space Phraints swarmed in.

14 the end — The attackers swarm the compound. Game over.

The game was fun, and when the tide turned, the attackers did a good job of exploiting the openings presented. I love it when maneuver is executed well. The Texican Space Rangers aggressiveness resulted in nearly 50% casualties, but helped the Hurraku press their assault on the other flank. The defenders did get some very unlucky morale results, but so did the attackers so it was a wash there. Next time I run this scenario, I probably will include some defensive indirect fire support as well as some time constraints on the attackers.

Still, it was a fun session, and I am appreciative to the players! It was nice to meet everyone, and I’m glad that they got to learn the system so quickly. Our next session is tentatively scheduled for August 18th.

Power-Armored Frinx on Glyptodons – Archive #2042, circa 1978 – Completed!

The Power-Armored Frinx are back, and this time as cavalry riding glyptodons into battle! The Frinx were a creation of Archive Miniatures back around 1977 or 1978. They are a smallish lizard-like race, often wearing power armor.

Glyptodons on the other hand were very real and existed from the Ice Age until about 11,650 years ago (give or take). They were prehistoric cousins of the modern armadillo, only they were mega fauna – and were as big as a Volkswagen bug. Plus, there is that massive spiked tail to consider. Why Archive put these two together is anyone’s guess, but the combination is indeed quirky and fun.

7 Glyptodon — Artist conception of a glyptodon – as big as a car

6 Armadillo — For you non-US folks, this is an armadillo. It’s about the size of a cat or small dog. None are around me in New England, but I saw plenty as road kill when I lived down South.

0 Star Rover rules pic — Sketch of Power-Armored Frinx on Glyptodon from page 3.10 of the *Star Rovers Module 1* rules

As a Frinx backgrounder for those interested, I have previously written several posts on the venerable Frinx, going back to my casting of their infantry in February 2016 (here), my painting and figure conversions of my Power-Armored Frinx infantry platoon in February 2017 (here), my May 2017 discovery and acquisition of an original Star Rovers RPG (here), and my casting of the Power-Armored Frinx on Glyptodon (Archive #2042) in July of 2017 (here). So this journey has already been 2½ years in the making. Phew!

Interestingly, the 1981 Archive catalog that came with my Star Rovers game does not have the #2042 listed, despite the drawing shown above being in the rule book. My guess would be that the kit was uneconomical to produce and/or difficult to produce well. I document several these issues in my casting post – but originally the kit contained no less than 11 pieces as shown below. As reference, the scale of the set is 25mm to 28mm.

3 close up contents — Original Power-Armored Frinx on Glyptodon kit

I made my own modifications to this particular set and made molds to recreate the kit. It is indeed rare and given that it was already OOP by 1981, there cannot be many of these around. I thought they would serve well in a traditional cavalry role for my Frinx platoon. I cast several and shared with Buck Surdu (who graciously provided me the original you see above so that we both could have some). Buck did a great job painting seven of my recasts of these back in 2017 which you can see here.

This month to add to my Frinx forces I managed to finish 5 Power-Armored Frinx on Glyptodons (let’s call them PAFOG for short!) models. As shown above, each set has two Frinx riders on a glyptodon. I chose 5 because I felt that 10 Frinx riders would be a good number for a cavalry squad in either the recon or screening role in my Combat Patrol™ games. It also would give the unit enough punch if deployed as a mobile counterattack force. I sorted out what figures that I had, and chose the ones I would use for the cavalry squad. Some of the riders’ weapons were not very well cast, so I converted these weapons. I used Bombshell Miniatures sprues of Arc Weapons (#36013) to replace six of the blasters. My initial plan is currently to give these weapons better capabilities versus robot foes, which should prove interesting given that I have a lot of robots now.

1 Frinx on Glyptodon - collection — My initial assortment of PAFOG before I cleaned the chosen 5 – you can see that I still had modeling clay on the original on the bottom right.

2 Frinx on Glyptodon - collection ready for cleaning — Boot camp time – must select the best for the cavalry!

3 Frinx on Glyptodon - final 5 and weapons — The final five plus the Bombshell Miniatures Arc Weapons. I decided to use the largest arc weapons that you see here as their sizes worked well.

4 example casting front — Washed and ready for priming. As you can see, the details are much less crisp than I would like. His weapon was replaced with an arc weapon. This is the front rider (recast).

5 example casting back — This is the back rider (recast).

In order to make these Frinx “pop”, I needed a plan. Clearly, my painting was going to do a lot to overcome the plainness of the riders. I also needed to figure out how I was going to base them for painting and handling – unlike other Archive Miniatures these had no bases. These are also very heavy (solid lead/tin). The feet of the glyptodons were not level, so choosing the right basing was a big quandary for me for several reasons. I tried several approaches in my mind, but eventually chose to emulate Buck’s choice and use washers. I did choose smaller ones than Buck did – using #8 steel washers and E6000 epoxy under each foot, allowing for hardening overnight.

8 basing on #8 washers — On their washers for an overnight set.

Once they had set, I began by priming the bottoms, letting that cure, and then doing the tops. My goal was to make the bottoms reddish brown, leading to a more brownish top as the drawing of the glyptodon above shows. It was not easy! I had to do a lot of handling of the paint jobs and eventually I moved them to popsicle stick frames with poster tack, which was good for a temporary, if imperfect, solution.

10 glyp base coating — Early stages of priming and base coating of the glyptodons.

12 glyps on frames — Eventually I mounted the glyptodons on these temporary frames for painting – still not ideal.

After carving away 6 defective metal weapons, I mounted the riders on poster tack mounds on specimen jars. The saddles really did not present me with many other options for mounting them for painting.

As for a color scheme, I decided to go with the branch color of the US Army Cavalry (now Armor), that being yellow. Besides, yellow is a difficult color to pull off, so I thought it would pose a nice additional challenge. I primed them, and subsequently airbrushed the riders with Vallejo Game Air “Moon Yellow” as a base coat. I then used Reaper MSP “Grey Liner” over the riders to help show me what parts I could paint to bring out the best details. This step really was useful.

11 riders airbrushed — Frinx riders after airbrush the primer and base coat.

13 mid stage on riders — Early stages of painting the riders

14 mid stage on riders — Adding some metallics to the riders and inks to the arc weapons

15 riders painted need wash — Painting completed for riders – awaiting a wash application

16 washed awaiting affixing of weapons — The 10 riders washed and waiting for their weapon conversions. I converted 6, and yes, I painted an extra arc weapon just in case! I primarily used inks on the arc weapons over a chrome base coat for a retro sci-fi look. After this, I applied a gloss varnish to them.

It was time now to return to the sturdy mounts – and I had gotten to the point that I was happy with my painting on them. However, what was missing was a set of reins for each glyptodon. When I cast them, I did use the original bits in their mouths, but the original reins were totally inadequate in my view.

I decided to make reins from the smallest jewelry chain I could find. Figuring out how to affix the chains was a lot of trial and error on one of the extra unpainted glyptodons that I had. I tried using wire, thread, as well as just hooking the chain to the mounts – all for naught. Then, a light bulb went off – toothpicks!

I determined that I needed 27 links for the main chain loop for the reins. I threaded the last chain link through a wooden toothpick. I then inserted the toothpick into the bits by the mouths. I used a push pin to slide the link into position on the toothpick, and applied a very small amount of Gorilla Glue on the wood/chain/bit connection. After the glue dried (often with the assistance of a hand held hair dryer), I snipped the toothpick with a sprue cutter as close as I could to the bit. The net effect was like a tent peg and a rope, securing the chain to the glyptodons’ bridle bits. I repeated the process on both sides, then tack glued the chain at the top and above the ears to make a loop. Then I dry brushed the chain with Tamiya “Gun Metal X-10” and let it dry. Lastly, I applied Citadel “Nuln Oil” to the chain.

17 glypts on frame mid stage — Painted glyptodons before final wash application and addition of reins.

18 glypts after gloss wash — I applied Citadel “Agrax Earthshade Gloss” on the back, expecting the later matte varnish to dull it down. Still need reins!

18a old reins — These are the original reins – not acceptable!

19 chain — Time for some jewelry making, I mean rein making (sounds weird huh!).

20 27 links — 27 links, no more no less!

21 toothpick design — He looks a bit like he needs an orthodontist. This is how I mounted the chains into the bits.

22 after snipping toothpick and gluing chains — Main chain loop mounted, before painting it and the bits.

After this, I removed the glyptodons from the frames in order to give the mounts a matte varnish airbrush treatment. Then I mounted the riders to the mounts with E6000 epoxy, and let it harden. I wanted to connect the chains to the front riders hands. For this I needed a massive 4 links of jewelry chain per model, push pins, and patience. I used Gorilla Glue, push pins, and the blow dryer to get the additional chain segments in place. I then applied the same painting and wash techniques to the 4 links.

23 4 links — 4 links, no more, no less! I used push pins to help as I cut the links.

24 with extra chain and waiting final matte — The glossy riders on the matte glyptodon with the new chain attachment which has not yet been painted. Subsequently, the whole PAFOG got a couple of matte varnish coats.

25 dinner anyone — After final varnish of an airbrush matte coat.

26 metric — For you metric system users, an idea of the weight and size of the model as completed.

27 english pounds 4.64 ounces — For us in the USA, its a mere 4.64 ounces of heavy metal goodness…not a quarter pounder I’d eat by the way…

The PAFOG squad project was now complete – except that I needed to make corrals for them as they are so heavy as to slide in my other Frinx box. No worries, as I want them to survive for many future games, and I’ve done that for other outsized figures

This project also counts for me in a community painting challenge that my Australian friend Azazel has sent out for July 2018. It is for a “Jewel” project – and given all the work that went into these from acquisition to casting to conversion to final painting – I’m confident that these will meet the requirement!

The eye candy follows, and hopefully you will find these as cool as I did. I always appreciate your feedback dear readers – let me know your thoughts and suggestions. Thanks for looking!

32 square trooper for casualty cards — This is the section leader’s mount. The section leader has blue markings. These figures are the originals and have the original weapons. In a Combat Patrol game, they will draw two cards for movement. Between the power armor and the glyptodon’s armor, they should have some ability to take damage.

33 rear shot — A good view of the back ends where the bony spiked tails are found. Here, on the right is the section leaders mount, and on the left is a mount with one Frinx armed with an arc weapon and the other with a blaster.

34 group front — Nice group shot – note the conversions with the arc weapons.

35 trooper side — Close up of the right side.

37 conferring with Texicans — A conference with Lt. Ma’k (the Frinx platoon leader in red), some Frinx Amethyst Squad infantry, and the Texican Space Rangers.

38 surrounding space dwarves — Surrounding the Space Dwarves in a final charge!

For those interested, here is the list of the paints, etc. that I used in this project.

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, WASHES, AND FLOCKING USED:

Citadel “Imperium Primer”
Vallejo “Surface Primer – White”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “”Airbrush Thinner”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Vallejo Game Air “Beastly Brown”
Vallejo Game Air “Dead White”
Vallejo “Red”
Vallejo Game Air “Moon Yellow”
Vallejo “Black Grey”
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (wash)
Reaper MSP “Grey Liner” (wash)
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Vallejo Model Air “Black (metallic)”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Yellow Ochre”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “Rust 080”
Citadel “Ceramite White”
Tamiya “Chrome Silver X-11”
Tamiya “X-20A Thinner”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Turquoise”
Vallejo Model Air “Medium Gunship Gray”
Tamiya “Copper XF-6”
Tamiya “Gun Metal X-10”
Vallejo Game Air “Wolf Grey”
Citadel “Hexwraith Flame”
P3 “Green” (ink)
Citadel “‘Ardcoat”
Secret Weapons Washes “Just Red” (ink)
Citadel “Soulstone Blue”
Vallejo Game Air “Fluorescent Red”
Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss” (wash)
Secret Weapons Washes “Purple” (ink)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Yellow Fluorescent”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Sand Yellow”
Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (wash)
Polly Scale “WWII British Aircraft Gull Gray Light”
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade Gloss” (wash)
Citadel “Carroburg Crimson” (wash)
Citadel “Castellan Green”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”

Thanks again!

Space Dwarf Assault Squad

Archive Miniatures Star Rovers game and miniature range had a lot of very fun figures, many of which I have painted and discussed in past entries in this blog. A couple of the line that caught my eye were “Long Gone Jones” (Archive #2211), a space dwarf, and “Agribot S1L1” (Archive #2204). Both were sculpted and put into production around 1977. I’m not exactly sure of the name derivations, but methinks there was some degree of Archive humor there based on the late 70’s – and I leave it to you readers to make your own guess!

I had previously acquired one Long Gone Jones (let’s call him LGJ) miniature on eBay, but had not found any others. However, Michael Thomas at classicminiatures.net (who produced the Robot Peacekeepers I previously described here) also had the molds for these figures. So I placed the order from him, and got ten LGJ’s to add to my original one in addition to three Agribots. I thought I would now have enough to build a squad for sci-fi games using Combat Patrol™ .

Each LGJ is in power armor, has a jet pack, and is armed with an automatic weapon coming out of his right arm. The Agribots look like they have a hovering mechanism, and are armed with what looks like a machine gun.

For the unit’s organization, I decided to have a LGJ squad leader with a dedicated Agribot as the squad headquarters. He would lead the squad’s two Space Dwarf Assault teams (A and B). Each team would have its own LGJ team leader, 4 LGJ troopers, and an Agribot. I’ll probably treat the LGJ weapons as analogues to sub-machine guns, and the Agribots as mobile medium machine guns. This made a total of 14 figures for the squad. I was thinking about the organization of Soviet Machine Pistol squads in WWII as inspiration. My numbers aren’t exactly the same, but we are talking about Space Dwarves here! To round out the end of June, I finished off the Space Dwarf Assault Squad.

0 Long Gone Jones Archive — The Space Dwarves I got from Michael Thomas

0 Archive Agribots — The three Agribots I got from Michael Thomas

1 Long Gone Jones Archive 2204 as received — Frontal view of my original Long Gone Jones (darker one on the left) and the one I got from Michael Thomas (right). The mold he uses has held up well.

2 back Long Gone Jones Archive as received — Rear view of LGJ’s before any work on my part

3 bottom Long Gone Jones Archive as received — The bottom of the original LGJ – “© 77 ARCHIVE”

4 Agribot S1L1 (2211)Archive as received facing left — One of the Agribots I got from Michael Thomas. It has the typical crispness one would expect from a 1970’s mold – clearly I needed to be creative to make this one look good. The other side cast better as you see below.

5 Agribot S1L1 (2211)Archive as received facing right — Agribots better side

First, I cleaned and washed the group. Then I filed off the mold lines and flash on the figures. After this, I mounted them on ¾” steel washers with Gorilla glue, and affixed the washers to poster tack on top of specimen bottles. I primed the squad white with Vallejo “White Surface Primer” with my Iwata Eclipse airbrush, and let that harden.

I wanted to give these figures a totally retro sci-fi look – so I again used the Createx paints to airbrush even more colors (added Pearl Blue, Pearl Lime Green, and Pearl Green) onto the squad than I had done with the Robot Peacekeepers. I figured the dwarves would want more individuality! For ease of play on the tabletop, I did plan to similarly color coordinate the lenses on the LGJ’s and the Agribots with Vallejo Mecha Color fluorescent paints. On the optics/lenses, the squad leader and his Agribot would get Vallejo Game Air “Fluorescent Red”, Team A got Vallejo Mecha Color “Green Fluorescent”, and Team B got Vallejo Mecha Color “Green Fluorescent”. These would take multiple light thin coats to get the desired effects. And of course with so much metallics, I needed to use a lot of Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss”. I list the paints and materials I used at the end of the blog for those interested.

6 squad on bases filter — The squad awaits mounting and priming

7 squad on bases primed — And here they are primed and mounted! I labeled the specimen jars to keep track of which one was in which squad, and what the color plan was for each figure.

8 squad on bases base coated — After airbrushing the base colors.

9 paints — Pearlized Createx colors used (bottle backs)

10 paints — Createx bottles fronts – I love that many of them are designated “Wicked Colors”. “Wicked” is a common term here in Massachusetts to designate much more than “very”.

11 close up after wash and optics — After a painting the small details and using multiple washes, I detailed the optics/lenses with white to help with the adhesion and look of the fluorescent paints.

12 close up after wash and optics painted — Awaiting the first coat of gloss varnish

My plan for varnishing the group and the bases was to initially apply an airbrush coat of Vallejo “Gloss Varnish” before working on the bases. The bases would then get a treatment of Citadel “Astrogranite Debris”. I like it better than “Astrogranite” – it sets up better for dry brushing later. Once that was dry, I washed it with “Nuln Oil”, let that dry, and then dry brushed the bases with Vallejo Game Air “Wolf Grey”. To give the bases a nice lunar look, I added Citadel “Gulliman Blue” glaze and let that dry. Lastly, I gave the entire squad a second coat of Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish” for protection and to dull the shines down to an acceptable level.

13 real close up after wash and optics painted — After application of gloss varnish – shiny new space dwarves…

14 shiny leader — Squad leader close up after gloss varnish

15 shiny Agribot — Squad leader’s Agribot after gloss varnish

I think you’ll see below on the finished figures the difference that the matte varnish adds, while preserving the metallic look of the power armor that I was attempting to capture.

16 Leadership of Space Dwarf Assault Squad — Finished Long Gone Jones squad leader and Agribot. Their base color was “Pearl Red”.

17 Team A of Space Dwarf Assault Squad — Team A

18 Team B of Space Dwarf Assault Squad — Team B

19 Space Dwarf Assault Squad Leadership — Space Dwarf Assault Squad leadership – the team leaders are in “Pearlized Copper”.

20 Space Dwarf Assault Squad Agribots — The three Agribots, arranged to see the side and back details.

21 Space Dwarf Assault Squad Team Leaders — Front and back details of the team leaders.

22 Space Dwarf Assault Squad Tangerine Troopers — Front and back details of the Space Dwarf troopers in “Pearl Tangerine”

23 Space Dwarf Assault Squad Plum Troopers — Front and back details of the LGJ troopers in “Pearl Plum”

24 Space Dwarf Assault Squad Green Troopers — Front and back details of the LGJ troopers in “Pearlized Green”

25 Space Dwarf Assault Squad Blue Troopers — Front and back details of the LGJ troopers in “Pearlized Blue”

26 Squad moves out — Space Dwarf Assault Squad moves out for action!

I am pleased with the final product – and I can see them being on one side or the other of many future tabletop conflicts. Whoever is paying them the most of course! That’s the nice part of not needing a Codex! I do think that they are colorful enough, but power armor covers them nicely.

I hope that you enjoyed looking at this – and this was my most productive month ever in terms of painting – 57 figures in total (3 units) for “Junit”, a community painting challenge run so very well by our Aussie friend Azazel. If you’re reading this and are not familiar with his blog, it’s well worth the look.

28 June 2018 production — June’s production – 32 Archive Texican Space Rangers, 11 Mega Miniatures Robot Peacekeepers, and 14 in the Space Dwarf Assault Squad.

I always read your comments and feedback – and as the goal of this blog to entertain and bemuse you – let me know if I did (or did not). So let me know your thoughts – and as always, thanks for looking!

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, WASHES, AND FLOCKING USED:

Vallejo “Surface Primer – White”
Createx “Pearl Red”
Createx “Pearl Copper”
Createx “Pearl Tangerine”
Createx “Pearl Plum”
Createx “Pearl Lime Green”
Createx “Pearl Green”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “”Airbrush Thinner”
Createx “4012 High Performance Reducer”
Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss” (wash)
Citadel “Ceramite White”
Vallejo “Black Grey”
Vallejo Model Air “Chrome”
Vallejo Model Air “Copper”
Vallejo Game Air “Wolf Grey”
Vallejo Model Air “Black (metallic)”
Vallejo Model Air “Steel”
Vallejo Game Air “Fluorescent Red”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Green Fluorescent”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Magenta Fluorescent”
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
Citadel “Astrogranite Debris” (texture)
Citadel “Gulliman Blue” (glaze)
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”

Thanks again!

Robot Peacekeepers

Back when I was acquiring the Texican Space Rangers from Michael Thomas’ site, classicminiatures.net, Michael let me know that he had some other cool figures that were not listed on his miniatures list. One of these was a cool robot that he called “Advancing Robot”. Supposedly, it was from the now-shuttered Mega Miniatures company as part of its Salvage Crew Robots & Vehicles line, with a product number of DEAL-0372. Michael sent me a picture, and I bought 11 for a squad for Combat Patrol™ games, along with some others that I will hopefully be able to share with you all when they are painted. The figures are 28mm in size. Certainly, Michael is great to work with if you have any interest in buying from him

This unit is also one I can use for the June Community Painting Challenge from Azazel as my second unit for the month.

00 unknown pic — The photo that I got from Michael Thomas

However, when I looked at the Lost Minis Wiki, I was perplexed – it was not there! I reached out to the Old School Miniatures group on FaceBook as I thought these might be old, but no luck was to be found there. Then I tried The Miniatures Page (TMP), and got a bit luckier with this information. So, my newly acquired robots were indeed from Mega Miniatures but circa 2008, which ironically makes them relatively young in my collection. Still, I had no luck with any catalog or descriptor info, until Neil at Lost Minis Wiki helped me out with a 2012 Mega Miniatures catalog and there on page 60 was my robot.

23 Mega Minis catalog (2) — There it is! Bottom row, second from the right.

I now knew the figure was DEAL-0372, Robot Peacekeeper from Mega Miniatures! It was armed with an automatic weapon left hand and a claw on its right hand. As I had 11 of these, I decided that it would be a squad of two teams of five robots (four each plus its own team leader) and led by a squad leader.

0 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 — As delivered

I cleaned the figures, and filed and cut away any flash (of which there was very little). I mounted them on ¾” steel washers with Gorilla Glue. Then I affixed them to poster tack on top of specimen jars for painting. I used my airbrush to prime them white with Vallejo “Surface Primer-White”.

2 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 — The squad assembled and primed for painting

As for a painting scheme, I decided that I wanted them to pop color-wise, so I again used paints that are more likely to be used models of muscle cars. Createx makes some really cool pearlized colors that I like for metallics – they really work well as long as you use the proper pressure in your airbrush and you thin them appropriately. What I really like is that they put the appropriate pressure setting on the bottle.

For the squad leader, I used “Pearlized Red”. Each of the two team leaders got “Pearl Copper”. Team A got “Pearl Tangerine”, and Team B got “Pearl Plum”. Each of these had different pressure requirements, but switching between paints was extremely easy and cleanup afterwards was a breeze.

4 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 after base coat — All base coated

5 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 paints — The base coat paints

At this point, my daughter Ellen, who was visiting with her daughter (our granddaughter) Tabitha, saw them and said, “cool, they look like Skittles”. As a result, I kept thinking about candy as I worked on them! Of course, a song crept into my mind, and so from 1982, here’s the theme for this blog post, from Bow Wow Wow for no other reason that it stuck in my head.

Try getting that out of your head now!

Back to the project! I then used a series of washes and paints on them to bring out details better and to make them easier to use on the tabletop. I decided that the optics (can’t really say that the robots have eyes) would be the key differentiating feature between Team A and Team B. I painted the optics white, then lined them with “Nuln Oil Gloss” (the gloss version works much better on metallics). Then, using fluorescent colors (yellow, magenta, and green) from Vallejo Mecha Colors, I painted each robots peepers (I needed another word for optics) multiple times until I got a nice radiant glow from them. I highlighted the group with brushing on more of the aforementioned pearlized paints. All the paints that I used are listed at the end of this post for those interested.

6 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 in progress whites and fluorescents — Mid stage, showing the optics in progress

7 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 in progress painted less bases — Completely painted and shiny (too shiny)

8 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 in progress painted less bases close up — Yes, too shiny…but it was all part of a plan…

I then used an airbrushed gloss varnish to protect the paint jobs. But wait you say, gloss? On already shiny minis? Yes – and after that dried it allowed me then to work on my bases.

For this group, I wanted to use a less Martian-like red on the bases – and go with a more lunar look. For this, I used Citadel’s “Astrogranite”, a texture paint on the bases. With all of Citadel’s texture paints, I find it useful to use a hand-held hair dryer to get better effects from them in terms of cracking or making crevices. I did not see that effect with the “Astrogranite”, but it did dry enough for easy dry brushing later. After it dried I was able to effectively apply a wash of Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss” to darken the low spots. For dry brushing, I applied Vallejo “Wolf Grey” to the bases. That turned out to be a bit too plain for my tastes, so I added a glaze of Citadel “Gulliman Blue” which made a nice tint on the bases. Now I had a good lunar look.

9 SL close up before matte — After bases painted before applying the matte varnish

Lastly, I finished the models with a second coat of varnish, this time Vallejo “Mecha Varnish Matt Varnish” with my airbrush. This did a nice job on the models and the bases.

10 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 in progress complete drying — Drying on the deck in the sun

11 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 in progress complete drying side — Catching some rays, not ray guns…

I am pretty satisfied with how the unit came out. The sculpts are retro-looking enough to work with my other Archive stuff – I think they look “Robocop-ish”, and I’m sure I can use them to augment any force, maybe even the Texican Space Rangers. The Lost Minis Wiki is now updated with the Salvage Crew Robots & Vehicles range.

12 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 in progress complete squad — The squad assembled. The red Robot Peacekeeper is the squad leader. The yellowish ones are the team leaders. Orange is the color for Team A (with green optics) and purple (or plum) is the color for Team B (with yellow optics)

14 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 leadership — The leadership

15 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 Team A — Team A

16 Advancing Robots Mega Minis DEAL 0372 Team B — Team B

17 SL Square for casualty card — Robot Peacekeeper Squad Leader close up, frontal view. Contrast this one with the shinier version I showed before.

18 SL Square for casualty card rear — Robot Peacekeeper Squad Leader, from the back

21 Tm A trooper Square — Team A Robot Peacekeeper

21 Tm B Trooper Square — Team B Robot Peacekeeper

22 Assembled Squad — The squad moves out!

I hope you enjoyed these Robot Peacekeepers! Please leave your feedback in the comments section – I enjoy your thoughts and suggestions. Thanks and hopefully I get another group done soon.

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, WASHES, AND FLOCKING USED:

Vallejo “Surface Primer – White”
Createx “Pearl Red”
Createx “Pearl Copper”
Createx “Pearl Tangerine”
Createx “Pearl Plum”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “”Airbrush Thinner”
Createx “4012 High Performance Reducer”
Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss” (wash)
Citadel “Ceramite White”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Metallic Blue”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Green Fluorescent”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Magenta Fluorescent”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Yellow Fluorescent”
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Vallejo Model Air “Black (metallic)”
Vallejo Model Air “Chrome”
Vallejo “Black Grey”
Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
Citadel “Astrogranite” (texture)
Vallejo Game Air “Wolf Grey”
Citadel “Gulliman Blue” (glaze)
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”

Thanks again for looking!

Space Cowboys – Bet You Weren’t Ready for That!

Space Cowboys! More properly Archive Miniatures Texican Space Rangers (circa 1978), are the subject of this blog, plus some Steve Miller Band stuff from the 1970’s. Most people are familiar with the Steve Miller Band song The Joker:

Some people call me the space cowboy yeah
Some call me the gangster of love
Some people call me Maurice
‘Cause I speak of the pompitous of love…

Lyrics from The Joker, Steve Miller Band, 1973

Some also know that the opening line of The Joker refers to the band’s 1969 hit Space Cowboy – a rousing song with psychedelic undertones.

I told you ’bout living in the U.S. of A.
Don’t you know that I’m a gangster of love
Let me tell you people that I found a new way
And I’m tired of all this talk about love
And the same old story with a new set of words
About the good and the bad and the poor
And the times keep on changin’
So I’m keepin’ on top
Of every fat cat who walks through my door

I’m a space cowboy
Bet you weren’t ready for that
I’m a space cowboy
I’m sure you know where it’s at
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…

Lyrics from Space Cowboy, Steve Miller Band, 1969

If you have not heard it before, and/or if you want a theme song for this blog post, here it is:

I’m sure that in some way, shape, or form, these songs influenced the sculpting of these figures.

Back to the miniatures!

In the early stages of my chasing down Archive Star Rovers a couple of years ago, I discovered two figures that were called Texican Space Rangers. One figure was Travis B. Crockett who was armed with a couple of laser pistols. The other was Armando Garcia, who had an assault rifle, a laser pistol, and a very imposing sombrero. Both had very cool jet packs as well. I did think that they would make an awesome unit for Combat Patrol™ games. Archive packaged them in two ways. One was as a set (along with a dog I have not found) as #2045 Texican Space Ranger Group. The other was individually as #2225 (Travis) and #2226 (Armando).

19 catalogue — From the Archive Miniatures Catalog

23 Archive-starrover-2045 — From the excellent Lost Minis Wiki website. The photo above includes the elusive dog, and was posted by David Wood whose excellent blog http://deartonyblair.blogspot.co.uk/ is worth a look if you like old school minis!

There are a few images in the Star Rovers game that showcase the Texican Space Rangers. I think the artwork is very cool and worth sharing as well.

20 image of rangers — Here the Texican Space Rangers are being attacked by Eyegars and Flygars. Note the dog disappearing here as well on the lower left (maybe why I cannot find it?).

22 bar image of rangers — Quite the bar fight mash-up here. I see Armando on the left, some Space Centaurs, Felynxi, Clint Eastwood (?) and a Chewbacca look alike under the table? Also a Nevile Stocken logo behind the bar near Armando.

I searched, and the only source that I initially found for the figures was on eBay which made the prospect of building a platoon-sized unit very expensive. Because of this, back in June 2016 I made a mold of Armando Garcia and cast several for personal use and for some friends which I wrote about here. I had a plan to cast Travis B. Crockett, but did not get around to it, which was lucky for me as I found a better option.

Michael Thomas is a hobbyist who bought a spin caster and has been collecting OOP miniature molds and making them available for a very reasonable price. I discovered that Michael has both Texican Space Rangers (among many other lost and OOP miniatures) available at http://classicminiatures.net/. The product codes are RKV-0122 for Travis and RKV-0021 for Armando, with their prices being $3.50 and $3.75 respectively, which is very reasonable. I had a sufficient number of Armando’s, so I ordered enough Travis figures to round out a small platoon sized unit of 32.

My concept for the Texican Space Rangers was to have them as a small constabulary-type unit (like the Texas Rangers). I made a command group (1 of each type), and 5 infantry teams. Each team would have one Travis and five Armando’s. Filing and cleaning the originals ones I got from eBay and from Michael was a breeze, while my castings needed much more work to make them presentable. They are moderate in terms of crispness, but not like today’s figures. But hey, this is what it was like in the 1970’s! Once that was done, I used my airbrush to prime them, and moved on to painting them.

I also had a pretty important secondary goal on this project, which was to use as many of my old Polly S, Polly Scale, Deka Lack, and Armory acrylic paints as possible. My Polly S paints were ones I bought in the early-to-mid 1980’s (really). My Deka Lack paints are ones that I purchased in West Germany (remember that?) around 1987. The Polly Scale paints were made after Testors bought them out, and my guess is that they date from the 1990’s (they were gifts Buck Surdu got for me slightly used from a gaming convention flea market). My Armory paints were all bought by me in 1996. All of these paints are viable, but they have lumps and clumps and do not always thin easily. I thought as a challenge, I would use as many as possible as theme colors, and add washes, inks, and glazes to enhance the models. Besides, they won’t be useful indefinitely. If you are interested in the history of Polly S , I did find this blog post that was interesting.

Additionally, I follow a couple of blogs that were inspirational for this project. One was imperial rebel ork’s post about his Western/sci-fi mashup. He has three chapters there. Also, our good inspirational friend Azazel from down under made a painting challenge for units for June, so this works and this is my entry (or at least one of them)! On to the theme colors…

The platoon leader’s main color was Polly S “Venetian Dull Red”, while the platoon sergeant’s was Deka Lack “Blaü” (blue). for the teams’ main colors, the A team got Polly S “Desert Pink”, the B team got Polly Scale “German Armor Light Tan”; the C team got Polly S “Interior Green”, the D team got Polly Scale “WWII British Aircraft Gull Gray Light”; and the E team got Polly Scale “German Mauve”. The Travis figures also have US red, white, and blue on their collars, and the Armando’s have the colors of the Mexican flag (red white, and green). I list all of the paints, glazes, inks, washes etc. that I used for this project at the end of this post (only 55 this time!).

0 Travis B. Crockitt Texican Space Rangers — The Travis B. Crockett’s I got from Michael Thomas, unpainted.

1 platoon primed — The Texican Space Rangers, primed for painting. I ended up with some reductions so I actually painted 32 for this unit.

2 platoon start — Here I started working on the heads and the theme colors. Some (not all) of the old paints I used are in front for fun.

3 mid platoon start — In the middle of the project. I did heads first, then legs, with torsos last.

4 Armando mid stage — The platoon sergeant before washes and inks. This is an original, not a recast.

5 Travis mid stage — The platoon leader early on – I cleaned him up **substantially** as the project continued.

6 Teams A and B await varnish — The command group, and Team’s A and B painted and awaiting varnish.

7 all painted — The whole platoon finally painted and awaiting varnish.

8 All varnished — All varnished and ready to leave their specimen bottles!

10 Command group front — Command Group frontal view

11 Command group back — Command Group, rear view

13 Team B german armor light tan — Team B

15 Team D gull grey light wwii british aircraft — Team D

17 leadership travises — All of the leaders (being the Travis figures). You can see the differentiating colors on the hats and uniforms, which I hope will aid on the tabletop for play.

18 Armandos — Examples of the different Armando figures

This was a fun project, though the older paints are much harder to use than modern ones. Still, I am glad that those oldies got a chance to be useful.

Thanks for reading, and I always appreciate comments and feedback in the comments section!

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, WASHES, AND FLOCKING USED:

Vallejo “Surface Primer – White”
Vallejo “Dark Flesh”
Vallejo “Medium Flesh Tone”
Citadel “Reikland Fleshshade”
Vallejo “White”
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Vallejo “Brown Rose”
Polly S “Venetian Dull Red”
Vallejo “Dark Blue”
Polly S “Desert Pink”
Polly S “Venetian Dull Red”
Polly Scale “WWII German Armor Light Tan”
Polly S “Interior Green”
Polly Scale “WWII British Aircraft Gull Gray Light”
Polly Scale “German Mauve”
Vallejo Game Air “Moon Yellow”
Deka Lack “Blaü”
Polly S “Slime Green”
Vallejo Model Air “Signal Red”
Vallejo “Red”
Citadel “Auric Armour Gold”
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Vallejo “Dark Blue”
Vallejo “Glossy White”
Polly Scale “WWII German Armor Dark Brown”
Armory “Leather Brown”
Armory “Prussian Blue”
Vallejo Model Air “Aluminum”
Vallejo Game Air “Dead White”
Vallejo Game Air “Beastly Brown”
Secret Weapons Washes “Just Red” (ink)
Citadel “Gulliman Blue” (glaze)
Citadel “Waywatcher Green” (glaze)
Secret Weapons Washes “Blue” (ink)
Secret Weapons Washes “Armor Wash” (wash)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (wash)
Secret Weapons Washes “Parchment” (wash)
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss” (wash)
Citadel “Soulstone Blue”
Citadel “Waystone Green”
Citadel “‘Ardcoat”
Citadel “Agrellan Earth”
Citadel “Agrellan Badlands”
P3 “Bootstrap Leather”
Secret Weapons Washes “Sunshine” (wash)
Vallejo “Glaze Medium”
Vallejo Game Air “Wolf Grey”
Secret Weapons Washes “Stone” (wash)
Secret Weapons Washes “Purple” (ink)
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Purple”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “”Airbrush Thinner”
Vallejo “Matt Varnish”

Thanks again and feel free to let me know your thoughts!

Mass Pikemen Gaming Club: An Action-Packed Combat Patrol session for May 2018

Last Saturday, May 19th, the Mass Pikemen held a gaming session in East Brookfield, MA. We were fortunate to have a fun game using the Combat Patrol™ card-based rules system – which I have adapted for use in retro sci-fi games using fun Old School miniatures. The ones here were from Archive Miniatures and Team Frog. The scenario involved an attack by the Mark III Warbots (two squads) on the peace-loving amphibian F.R.O.G. Commandos, who were once again defending their sacred pond from enemy desecration. This time, the Warbots brought along two new troop additions. One was another Archive Miniatures Juggerbot to act as the Warbot’s Platoon Sergeant. This improved command and control in support of the previously existing Juggerbot platoon leader. Secondly, this marked the first deployment for the death-dealing, flame-throwing giant robot known as Roberker.

The F.R.O.G. Commandos defended their pond’s enclosure with a couple of squads and the heavy weapons section, including the Dread FROGBOT.

In addition to our experienced players, we had a couple of new players, Mike Morgan and Chris Comeau, who quickly picked up on the Combat Patrol™ system.

1 05192018 Mass Pikemen — The F.R.O.G. Commandos deploy.

2 05192018 Mass Pikemen — Roberker, the two Juggerbots, a Red Khang Robot, and the Red Warbot Squad move over the bridge. Roberker, in the rear, being a giant robot, just walked through the river

The Frogs quickly moved to counter the Warbot’s movements. The Dread FROGBOT with its short cannon and two chain guns arrived at the defensive outer wall, and was able to get off a couple of bursts, damaging several Warbots. However, the Warbots effectively closed and used a devastating plasma breaching weapon against the FROGBOT. Even though the fire was off center slightly, the FROGBOT’s left side was basically vaporized. Undaunted, the Frogs kept up their spirited defense with their assault rifles, holding the line.

3 05192018 Mass Pikemen — The Warbots use a Plasma Beam Breacher, knocking out the FROGBOT.

A little to the Frog’s left, Roberker advanced and took fire, but not before spraying flaming death from its two nozzle arms. Several Frogs were fricasseed, but Roberker took several hits as he advanced.

4 05192018 Mass Pikemen — The F.R.O.G. heavy weapon section gets a bit roasted by Roberker

Then the Frogs made a bold jet pack assault focusing on the golden Juggerbot platoon leader. They managed to damage the leader, however they actually killed two of their own in the crossfire as shown below. However, this proved to be a critical move on the Frog’s part.

5 05192018 Mass Pikemen — The F.R.O.G. Commandos make a bold assault, damaging the Warbot platoon leader (golden Juggerbot), and unfortunately killing two of their own with friendly fire.

One of the modifications that I make to the Combat Patrol™ rules in retro sci-fi games is to have robots use the South Pacific Japanese decks, which have different morale results. The golden Juggerbot platoon leader, having been wounded, now had to make a morale check. Amazingly (and against all odds) he pulled the card that said the leader was shamed – and commits hari kiri – is destroyed, and is removed from the game. This pinned all of the attackers, reducing their advance significantly. Some of the Warbots, like the purple squad on the other side of the tabletop (played by Ellen Morin) did manage to rally, but it was a big turning point in the game.

Another interesting action at the end was the brave individual attack on Roberker by the F.R.O.G. leader, Captain Frog, armed with only a Frog Blade and a pistol. Captain Frog jet packed into hand-to-hand combat with Roberker, and despite the stiff odds, beat the giant robot. As Roberker was already severely damaged from the previous assault rifle fire of the Frogs, Captain Frog’s actions took out Roberker.

(This proved again the Buck Surdu theory that the first time a figure gets on the tabletop that it gets whacked!)

6 05192018 Mass Pikemen — The purple Warbot squad advances through a narrow defile.

On the other end of the table, the purple Warbot squad made significant advances away from the other carnage, and were able to use their plasma ball breacher (in this case a ball of high energy plasma) to fire at the defenders. Even though the fire was slightly errant, as shown below, one Frog was vaporized, and the fence breached.

7 05192018 Mass Pikemen — The Warbots fire a Plasma Ball Breacher (think flying ball of plasma fired like a rifle grenade, not like a putt!), opening the way to the pond. We use the card’s bayonet at the top left in Combat Patrol to show the direction of scatter if the target is missed, as was the case here.

At this point, the game was called. Clearly, I believe the Warbots were going to make it to the pond, but the F.R.O.G. Commandos defense was truly spirited and exemplary!

We are looking forward to the next Mass Pikemen Gaming Club session on June 23rd!

Thanks for looking – please share your feedback below in the comments section.

	Mark A. Morin on “Mars Aliens” from…
	patmcf on “Mars Aliens” from…
	Mark A. Morin on “Mars Aliens” from…
	justneedsvarnish on “Mars Aliens” from…
	Mark A. Morin on “Mars Aliens” from…