I have been getting ready for Christmas, but I wanted to get at least a few things done hobby-wise before 2018 rings in. Last month, we had a rousing sci-fi game using Buck Surdu’s Combat Patrol™card-based rules (you can read about that game here).
We were able to use the new Japanese South Pacific decks for robot morale checks, and incorporated many of the rules from Greg Priebe’s superb Star Wars supplement. We also used some of my rule additions for Mark III Warbot casualties, special weapons, and a few other nuances.
One of the issues came in the way of finding an easier way of denoting casualties on the table and making play a little easier. As you can see below, we just tipped over the figures, and that became crowded! I do like to see the casualties on the table as it gives a nice account of what occurred in the game, but perhaps there is a better way? Also, given that the Warbots take many wounds, I also am making some play aids specifically for them and their weapons (and I will cover this work in a future blog entry).
Casualties litter the field/table last month
As for the casualties, Buck suggested that I could create some cards for the casualties that would take the place of the “dead” miniature on the table. This would allow for showing the results of the battle, and enable an easier playing experience.
For this project, I bought a Fiskars® paper cutter from Michael’s. I had a 40% off coupon so I got it pretty cheaply. I used white 65-lb. card stock from Staples for the cards.
Fiskars paper cutter
I started out last week with the Aphid platoon. My goal was to make the card sizes as close to the actual miniature sizes as possible. The Aphids are really small, so their cards were small. I experimented with Microsoft PowerPoint, using the grid lines tool, and comparing what I printed with the actual miniatures. I ended up making the Aphids cards about ¾” – 3/8″ high by ¾” wide. I had a lot of variability as I got used to using the paper cutter. The pictures that I inserted into PowerPoint had different aspect ratios, and I remedied this when I moved on to the Star Ducks.
I do recommend using the aspect ratio tool when cropping pictures for this type of work. Additionally, the grid line tool in PowerPoint allowed me to make exact front and back cards by making sure that the sizes were the same and aligned. The easiest way to do this is to import your photos first, and then copy that slide. Then, you replace the photos on the second slide with the written cards. By printing these on both sides of the paper (use regular paper first, not card stock to check), they will line up perfectly. The only caveat I need to add is that you need to pay attention to the cards as you will need to reverse the text in the blocks so as to match the pictures – see below.
My PowerPoint page of 39 Aphid photos – note the reversing of texts below on the text portion The text section – I numbered these text box blocks and put up to the light to see which text went where – each is an individual text box
I printed these on card stock with a “thick paper” setting on my printer, and used two-side printing. I then cut them out using the Fiskars tool. There is a learning curve to the tool, and it worked out fine. The Aphids on Grav-Cycles were not sized to the miniatures, but I wanted all of the Aphids cards in their deck to be the same size, so I can live with that discrepancy. I did however want to improve for the next group of cards – which was for the Star Ducks.
Here, I needed to make bigger cards, and went with 1½” by 1½”. I made a few important changes in my processes. First, I used the “aspect ratio” function when I cropped the photos – in this case using the “square” aspect. I also added a 2-point thick line on the pictures and the text boxes, which really made cutting easier. Lastly, I colored the cards text-printed side with light orange hue, to match their bills! I plan on having future unit casualty cards with different colors on the printed sides.
Page 1 of my cards (photo side). These when printed on a standard sheet of paper approximated the true sizes of the miniatures.The text block side of the PowerPoint, with adjustments so that the two-sided printing would line up properly. These were then colored orange as below.The photo sides of the cards after cutting – they are 1.5″ square
The printed sides of the cards with the orange backgroundsClose up of the cards
These were much better – and I feel confident that I can finish off cards for the Frinx and Mark III Warbots soon. My goal is that when I next run a game that these aids will make play even easier than Combat Patrol already is! These are not perfect, but are close enough and stiff enough to avoid becoming paper canoes!
Casualty cards, Death cards, whats the difference!
Please let me know what you think in the comments section – thanks for looking!
I have been accused of having a Boston accent, but this is not really true – I have a Worcester accent, or properly a Worcester County accent. Throughout my military and civilian career, my pronunciation of my name, Mark, sounds to others like Ma’k. My good buddy Buck Surdu has often shortened it to “Ma’k” on his blog posts. Last weekend (right before Thanksgiving) he and my other good buddy, Dave Wood, made the drive up from Maryland on a traffic-filled Friday afternoon for a Saturday full of gaming – and it was called “Ma’k Con”. My wife Lynn really helped out as well with her keeping us well fed. This blog post is about the gaming we crammed into that Saturday.
Buck and Dave got me into tabletop wargaming when we were back at West Point. Since then, Buck has published a myriad of rules for gaming, and Dave has contributed to many of those rule sets. The most recent rules that Buck published is a fantastically easy to play and streamlined card-based system for skirmish-level combat in WWII called Combat Patrol™. It is truly flexible, and has had optional rules and supplements written to cover different possible scenarios, to include the South Pacific theater, the Winter War, the Falklands War, the Napoleonic era, and even the Star Wars universe. These can be downloaded for free from his website, and the cards are available in the US from Drive Thru Cards and in the EU from Sally Forth. The rules are also available in book form from both On Military Matters and Sally Forth.
Buck recently added a new set of cards for the South Pacific, which have different morale results for Japanese troops. Readers of this blog know that I have been collecting and assembling units from the old Archive Miniatures Star Rovers line of figures, specifically Star Ducks, Power-Armored Frinx, Aphids, and Mark III Warbots. Additionally, I have been supplementing these forces with Khang Robots, weapons, Robo-Sentry Guns from War Games Supply Dump, and my own sculpt of a sphere tank. I also used some weapons from Bombshell Miniatures.
I decided that I would combine aspects from different Combat Patrol™ rules for a fun retro sci-fi game. Specifically, I would use the new South Pacific deck for morale results for robots, the new vehicle-mounted flame thrower template for my sphere tanks’ death rays, and the Sith rules from the Star Wars supplement. Also, I added in several rules from the optional rules. Lastly, I added my own special rules for the Mark III Warbots and their leader, Juggerbot, to account for possible effects that weapons fire could cause on their behaviors and capabilities.
Upon arrival in Massachusetts, Buck surprised Dave and I with uniform t-shirts from West Point that we would have worn to gym or when we played sports. It was called Gym-A (Gym-Alpha) and we wore it for Saturday’s game marathon. Admittedly, both Buck and Dave wore it better than I did. We were also joined by my daughter Ellen Morin and her fiancé Chris Smedile.
Buck Surdu, me, and Dave Wood (US version for you UK followers) in our Gym-A shirts
The scenario was one where the Star Ducks, Aphids, and Frinx were allied against the cybernetic horde of attacking robots. The non-metallic forces had captured a robot Mark 1 Sphere tank. The Frinx were attempting to repair it so it could be used against the robots, who were to have two Mark I Sphere tanks of their own in the assault. The tanks have two side mounted laser cannons, and a Death Ray (think 1953 War of the Worlds movie). Dave and Ellen had the robots, while Buck, Chris and I defended.
Dave and Ellen prepare to attack. The Aphids are in the ruined building to the front, and there are the Robo-Sentry Guns acting as speed bumps to their front.
The Robo-Sentry guns slowed the attacking robots slightly, but allowed Aphid and Star Duck mortar fire to hit the Warbots near Juggerbot, damaging the robot leader, and causing some of his robots to go rogue, or blow up. When they went rogue, they would attack the nearest figure. Juggerbot ended up dealing with such a problem.
The battle begins with the Warbots clearing the Robo-Sentry gun defenses.
Normally, in Combat Patrol™ games, figures can take a certain number of hits, usually three wounds, before they die or are incapacitated. In this game Frinx had 4 wounds (because of their power-armor), most line Star Ducks had 3, and Warbots had 6. However, I allowed for critical hits as outlined below. This had a nice balancing effect on the game.
Warbot Critical Hit Chart – lots of 4’s and 5’s happened!
The Warbots also had some devastating energy weapons. The opposing forces had two “Sith Lords” (Duck Wader from the Star Ducks and Lt. Ma’k from the Frinx) with special powers from the Star Wars supplement. Early in the game, Buck moved Duck Wader up to engage the Warbots, only to get vaporized along with some Aphids by an arc weapon blast.
Duck Wader (center) near the corner where he was shortly vaporized thereafterThe Frinx AT section moves up – only to never make an impact
The other Sith, Lt. Ma’k, used his Force powers to fly into the middle of a group of 8 immobilized Warbots (they had drawn a “Hold until Death” morale result due to Frinx fire, but the robots could still fire).
Lt. Ma’k (a Frinx) then tried a Sith power – Force Blast – which damaged some robots’ weapons and caused them to explode. Additionally, friendly mortar rounds landed there (Lt. Ma’k did not care) and eventually he succumbed, as did several Warbots. Simultaneously, Juggerbot finally was destroyed by Aphids on Grav-Cycles. As he was the platoon leader, his destruction led to his unit becoming pinned – and only activating on black cards. This really had the effect of reducing the entire robot platoon’s combat effectiveness.
Lt. Ma’k (by the purple die) makes his last stand. Note the black die for the Warbot Green Team 2 due to a “Hold until Death” morale role. Later the entire Warbot platoon would get black dice (“pinned”) when Juggerbot was destroyed.The death (destruction) of JuggerbotAphids an Grav-Cycles make a desperate charge before dying to the last bug – but they sealed Juggerbot’s fateFrinx on Glyptodon cavalry move up before being taking heavy fire and being routed
At this point, the carbon-based living got very lucky and fixed their captured Sphere tank earlier than would have been expected due to Chris pulling some great cards. However, the robots got reinforcements in the form of two of their own Sphere tanks, a squad of Warbots, plus 2 self-propelled robot guns. Chris and Buck were able to immobilize one tank with some very lucky shots. The other annihilated a squad of Buck’s Star Ducks with a Death Ray Blast.
Buck’s Star Ducks are hit by Death Ray fireSome of Buck’s Star Ducks jet pack onto the immobilized Mark I Sphere tank. Their satchel charges (6) attacks all failed to destroy the tank.
By now it was dinnertime and pizza called, plus we wanted to move to the next game. It looked like a slight victory for the living forces, but casualties were high! The game turned out well and I may redo this scenario at Barrage in Maryland in January. Buck’s account of the battle is the next entry in this blog.
Surveying the carnageGreat Game!
Then we moved onto a play test of Dave’s micro-armor game of “The Battle of Nikolayevka (Nikitowka)” using the Look Sarge No Charts rules. This was a breakout of Italian forces on the Eastern Front in 1943 as part of the Battle of Stalingrad. So we had Italians and some Germans attacking a small town held by the Russians. The link above describes the historical battle well.
Buck attacked with a combined German/Italian force on the right half of the battlefield and I attacked along the left half. Dave defended. It was a tough slog, with the Russian artillery (they had no armor) making progress difficult. Later in the game Dave had us command reinforcements in the form of the Italian stragglers from an earlier phase in the battle. It was a good scenario, and interesting to see a primarily Italian versus Russian scenario.
Initial set up – Italians and Germans (on left) fight into the town to the right of the railway crossing (in light orange)Another view showing the town in the upper right. The attackers needed to get into the town so as not to freeze to death.Assaulting the rail line defensesBuck tries to get into the town
I think Dave will have a very good scenario for an upcoming convention!
The day flew by, and I am so appreciative that we West Point Old Grads had the chance to game together. Thanks to Buck and Dave, and Chris and Ellen! And of course, Lynn for her logistical support!!
Followers of this blog may have wondered where I have been, why have I not been posting? Well, I have been working on building a platoon of Archive Miniatures “Mark III Robots” (#2323). The platoon will be led by Archive Miniatures “Juggerbot” (#2331). Both of these sculpts are from the vibrant imagination of Nevile Stocken, who was way ahead of his time with his work. Given that these figures were from the late 70’s and early 80’s, I have to think that they were inspired (especially the visors) by the original Cylons from the 1978 TV series Battlestar Galactica. I loved that show when I was a kid! So, I had to make them shiny!
Mark III Warbot inspiration?
These will be used in upcoming games using the Combat Patrol™ set of card-based rules. The figures are effectively 25-28mm, being large robots (larger than humans).
This long project started with making a mold and casting 38 out of the 40 Mark III Robots as described previously here. I wish that I could have just bought them, but my time machine is broken…and that made purchasing them an impossibility. The platoon will have 4 squads of 10 (5 per team), plus 4 squad leaders, and Juggerbot – so the platoon is composed of a total of 45 figures.
The original Mark III’s (there were no Mark I’s or II’s!) were from the Star Rovers line of figures made by Archive in the 1979-1981 timeframe. They are very tough to find on eBay or anywhere else. I managed to acquire two originals, but only one was fully intact, and it became the master for my recasting efforts. The other original I converted with another weapon.
I found the Juggerbot kit on eBay, and decided that it would make an excellent platoon leader. For squad leaders, I have four War Games Supply Dump Khang Robots that were previously described in this blog here. Each Khang is color-coded (red, green, blue, and purple), and each squad in my platoon follows that scheme. Each Mark III Warbot Squad consists of the Khang Squad Leader, and two teams of five Warbots.
I converted one Warbot per team with a special weapon. Each squads’ Team 1 had a conversion with Bombshell Miniature’s “particle beam weapon” (BOM36016). I gave the Team 2’s two different weapons each. Two teams got Bombshell Miniatures large “arc weapon” as their conversion, while the other two got a large War Games Supply Dump retro sci-fi weapon from the WP01 “Weapons Pack 1”. All of the conversions I did were with these weapons, which are no longer available from either Bombshell or the now-shuttered War Games Supply Dump.
Conversion of these figures, as well as cleanup in terms of cutting and filing were major efforts in this project. I use mostly tin (about 67%) in my casting, and this made sawing away and filing pieces from them tedious as they are not as soft as a higher-lead alloy would be. Still, I was able to convert 7 of my castings plus the extra original for a total of 8 conversions. In most cases, I needed to bend the arms to accommodate the new weapons. My concept was for Team 1 to have one Warbot with a higher rate of fire weapon, while the Team 2’s would have specialized breaching or anti-armor capabilities.
My original Mark III Warbot with weapon intact. I had one other with a broken weapon, which I converted to another weapon.
Juggerbot as received from eBay – obviously cast from a mold in the post-Archive eraJuggerbot contents – needed some TLC…glue, and pressure while the glue setAssembled and straightened Juggerbot
Bombshell Miniatures arc weapon sprue -I used two of the ones on the far leftI used the far left particle beam weapon for each Team 1 conversionFrom the 1981 catalogJuggerbot drawing from the 1981 Star Rovers game rule bookMark III Warbot drawing from the 1981 Star Rovers game rule book
After cleaning up the figures, I made a plan to complete the conversions. I also wanted to try a few new things in making this platoon. I wanted to use my new airbrushes and spray booth, and I wanted to use poster tack on specimen bottles and grocery store coins to have greater ease of painting with both the airbrushes and traditional brushes.
After cleanup but before conversion – I ended up using 2 arc weapons (far left), 2 of the WSD weapons (2nd from left), and 4 of the particle beam weapons (far right) in my conversionsAfter conversion – arc weapon on left, particle beam on rightWar Games Supply Dump weapon conversionMounted on steel washers and ready for the poster tack and the specimen jars
After all of my conversions were complete, I mounted the figures on steel washers for eventual magnetized storage. I had to use a bigger washer for Juggerbot. The platoon was then affixed to outdated grocery store bonus coins and specimen bottles or just to the bottles themselves with poster tack. In the future, I will not use the coins, as it was just easier to use the bottles minus the coins. I used an Aztec airbrush to prime the figures with gray Vallejo “Surface Primer”, giving the figures 24 hours to dry. I had read that doing that is desirable so that this primer paint can harden.
Primed on the specimen jars
I then used Createx “Wicked Aluminum” airbrush paint (very sparkly) to base coat the Warbots using an Iwata Eclipse air brush – and I found this brush to be a much easier tool than the Aztec. I used Vallejo Model Air “Gold” to base coat Juggerbot with the airbrush.
Juggerbot base coatedClose up of Warbots base coated
I saw that the Createx paint had given the Warbots the appropriate shiny starting point for further development of the paint scheme I wanted, which was to be very retro sci-fi metallic, and reminiscent of the Cylons. Then I went back to the regular brush!
For my color schemes of red, blue, green, and purple on the Warbots, I went with DecoArt “Festive Red”, “Peacock Pearl”, “Crystal Green”, and Craftsmart “Amethyst” respectively. These metallic paints are great, but thick, and not easily thinned. Still, they worked well and I put these colors on the ankle, knee, and wrist joints for ease of tabletop play. I chose to use them as well for the visor interior colors, with Vallejo Model Air metallic “Black” for the outer parts of the visors. I then used “Gold” for the Warbot voice boxes and weapons tips on the unconverted troopers. “Black” was my choice for the rest of the weapons, offset with Vallejo Model Air “Steel” and Martha Stewart Crafts “Duckling” (this was a nod to my friend Buck Surdu, whose love of all things ducky and his take on the Mark III Warbots helped me plan out my approaches here).
For the common weapon barrels, I employed Vallejo Model Air “Copper”, and complemented them with Vallejo Model Air “Medium Gunship Gray”. Juggerbot had several lights on him, so Vallejo Model Air “Arctic Blue” and “Signal Red”, and “Aluminum” helped me with these details. I used these as well on the conversion weapons.
I then used several applications of Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss” and “Black” on Juggerbot to shade the recesses of the figure. Moving back to the Warbots, I used “Aluminum” on the bodies, then similar to what I did with Juggerbot, I shaded with “Black” and “Nuln Oil Gloss”. Interestingly, I found that the inks really rolled off the figures, and the “Black” paint really helped with the shading.
I then added a healthy coat of Citadel “Ardcoat” to all visor and lighted surfaces. As a final highlight for Juggerbot and the Warbot weapon tips, I used Citadel “Retributor Armour”.
Juggerbot mid-stageEarly stage painting of Red Squad WarbotEarly stage painting of Purple Squad WarbotEarly stage painting of Green Squad Warbot
I decided that I wanted to be able to differentiate between the two teams within each squad. To do this, I experimented with kneadatite (green stuff) and Apoxie Sculpt and some numbered stamps. I found that the Apoxie Sculpt was easier to form, stamp, and once dry, cut. I applied these numbers to the figures’ bases with Gorilla Glue.
Figures with the numbers applied
I used Citadel “Imperium Primer” on the Apoxie Sculpt numbers, then added Citadel “Martian Ironearth” to them. Then, I built up the bases with Citadel “Martian Ironcrust” with a light sprinkle of Army Painter “Black Battleground” for more texture. After using both “Ironearth” and “Ironcrust”, I dried them to a crackly surface with a hand-held hair blow dryer. I highly recommend this technique.
After a day of drying, I dry brushed the bases with Armory’s “Red Brown” and “Brick Red”. I filled the numbers in with “Imperium Primer” for all troopers, with the team leaders getting “Retributor Armour” on theirs. Then it was back to the paint booth for two coats of varnish, this time with an Iwata Neo airbrush, allowing for adequate drying between applications.
Juggerbot ready for varnishThe platoon all varnished
I now needed to remove the figures from the bottles and coins. The poster tack was easier to remove when I did not use the coins. I lightly painted the underside of the bases with Craftsmart “White” so I could use a black fine-tipped Sharpie to write information on the figures’ bottoms.
Red Team 1 conversion with particle beam weapon – this is the other original Warbot that had a broken weaponGreen Warbot Squad with Khang Robot Squad LeaderLeft to right, regular trooper, particle beam weapon conversion, and arc weapon conversion of Green SquadPurple Warbot Squad with Khang Robot Squad LeaderLeft to right, regular trooper, particle beam weapon conversion, and War Games Supply Dump weapon conversion of Purple Squad Blue Warbot Squad with Khang Robot Squad LeaderLeft to right, regular trooper, particle beam weapon conversion, and War Games Supply Dump weapon conversion of Blue SquadFear the Juggerbot!Coming at youMr. Universe poseThe back viewAssembled Mark III Warbot Platoon, front viewAssembled Mark III Warbot Platoon, side view
I cannot express enough how much I like this platoon! The figures started off pretty rough, but in the end, I was able to make a nice unit for tabletop gaming. It did take me a couple of months, but it was worth it. They will be in action this upcoming weekend, as they make their tabletop debut – stay tuned, and let me know your thoughts below!
This post is about another group of miniatures that I acquired in March from the recently closed Wargames Supply Dump (thanks so much Roger!).
These are DG-08 and DG-09, Khang Robots. One model is tracked, the other has legs. I purchased 2 kits of each type of robot.
I’m currently planning on building out a series of different squads and platoons for use in retro-sci-fi skirmish games using the Combat Patrol™ system of rules. I have described previously here in this blog my casting work on making a platoon of Archive Miniatures Mark III Warbots. I thought these Khang Robots would be great as leaders for that platoon. They look so very retro! The tracked version really evokes the old “B9” from the 1960’s TV series Lost in Space.
Additionally, I eventually will be painting up a unit of WSD Khang troopers, and I can use these four robots to augment those forces as well.
The kits arrived, and I washed them with a light scrub with soap and water, and let them dry. Once dry, I assembled them with super glue. I tried to glue each robots’ arms so that they would each have a different position for better aesthetics. After they were together, I affixed them to 1¼” steel washers using Loctite glue for ease of eventual magnetic box storage. Then, I used poster tack to affix the models to popsicle sticks for ease of painting. This is now my new favorite tactic as it is very easy to remove after painting.
I then primed them (top and bottom) with Krylon “Ultra Flat” white matte spray paint. This allows me the option to write (with a fine-tipped Sharpie) on the washer bottoms with info that I’d like to have on them, such as the model’s name, the date of completion, my name, and any unit identification.
After the primer dried, I gave the models an aggressive wash with Citadel “Nuln Oil”.
The kits as they arrived
The Khang Robots unassembled and drying after cleaning
Assembled and based awaiting priming
After priming
I used Vallejo Model Air Metallics “Steel” as the primary base coat for the models’ helmets, shoulders, belt, and claws. I painted the waist/ribbed chest area with Citadel “Mechanicus Standard Gray”. Then, for a shiny rubber-like look on the ribs, boots, and legs, I applied a coat of Armory “Gloss Black”. For the front of the tracked bases and the chest-mounted cannons, I used Vallejo Model Air Metallics “Gun Metal”. Then I highlighted the shiny parts on the shoulders and helmets with Vallejo Model Air Metallics “Aluminum”. For the voice box (cannot really call it a mouth!) I added a light coat of Citadel “Spiritstone Red”.
Moving on to some of the details on the helmet, arm sockets, “ears”, and back components, I found a great solution with Vallejo Model Air Metallics “Copper”. There were several lights on the front and back of the robots, and for these I used a spotter brush with Citadel “Yriel Yellow”, Vallejo Model Air Metallics “Signal Red”, Craftsmart “Sapphire”, and DecoArt “Crystal Green” – varying the lights a bit in the front.
For the vents in the front of the tracked figures, I used “Gloss Black”, with “Steel” on the vents. I then extensively used Vallejo Model Air Metallics “Gold” and Craftsmart “Onyx” on bolt straps and bolts respectively throughout all the models. I also used “Onyx” to highlight the “Gloss Black” painted parts.
I then chose some bright-colored metallics to theme the robots and make them easier to identify on the gaming table. My four choices were: DecoArt “Crystal Green”, “Festive Red”, “Peacock Blue”, and Craftsmart “Amethyst”. I painted with these as you see below – as highlights on the robots’ helmet crests, “ears”, belts, boots, and backs of the lower chassis (all depending on the models). I did a lot of highlighting!
This completed my initial base coating and highlighting. For the bases, I thought I’d use Citadel “Martian Ironcrust”. This texture paint has a nice crackling effect if you use a blow dryer between applications (as I did) to dry the paint. I also added some Army Painter “Black Battlefield” into it when it was still moist – and this worked well to give a realistic texture. For the tracked models, I tried to make a track and chassis impression with the “Martian Ironcrust”. I also tried to show the accumulation of dust on the tracks and boots with this texture paint. I think it worked well enough.
Early base coating, front view
Early base coating, back view
I then moved on to serial washes with Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” on some lighter parts and “Nuln Oil” on others such as the ribs. For the robots’ claws, I found that Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” gave a unique metallic tone to the claws. On the bases, “Agrax Earthshade” really enhanced the cracks and gave a lot of depth to them. I used a lot of washes to give depth to the figures.
Ready for varnish
Close up of my attempt to create track and chassis marks, and accumulation of dirt
I then waited a day or so for the humidity to go down and for the temperature to be adequate for varnishing. I sprayed the models with one coat of Krylon “Clear Matte”, followed by two coats of Testors “Dullcoat”, allowing for adequate drying time between applications.
The Red Khang Robot
The Blue Khang Robot
The Green Khang Robot
The Purple Khang Robot
Nice view of the tops of the Khang Robots
Group shot!
These are pretty cool figures – and the downside is that pretty cool figures have a lot of details! The upside is they give the painter a tremendous opportunity to create a nice visual product. These are really fun retro sci-fi figures – and I hope that I did achieve success with these four. I really like them, and am motivated to get going on the Mark III Warbots to complete the platoon – and to use my new airbrush to prime, base coat, and varnish this my next project. Stay tuned, and let me know your thoughts in the comments section! Thanks!
Back in March of 2017, I read that WSD (Wargames Supply Dump) in the U.K. was shutting down its website and its figures from the Dirk Garrison line would no longer be available. Very bad news! I had not yet had the chance to buy any of these, and their retro sci-fi look lured me in to try to get a few before it was too late.
I was able to get a few different sets, which I will be painting up and using in my retro sci-fi games using the card-based Combat Patrol™ system.
The first ones I started were MIS06 “Robo Sentry Guns“. These came in a two-pieces per kit. As you can see below, the models were not greatly detailed, but very nice for what I wanted – unmanned and immovable guns for attacking infantry (or vehicles) to deal with during a skirmish. They were sculpted by Jason Miller. I wanted to buy 10, but only 5 were left by the time I tried to buy them. I grabbed them as they were heavily discounted!
The Robo Sentry Guns as shipped
The Robo Sentry Guns primed
I affixed the bases to a 1¼” steel washer using Loctite glue. This tactic allows me to use magnetic sheets to easily store them in plastic boxes. I then primed them with Krylon “Ultra Flat” matte spray paint. I also made sure that I painted the bottoms white as well, as I find that leaves me the option to place information on the bottom that I’d like to have once the models are done, such as the model’s name, the date it was finished, and any unit identification, etc. I just use a fine-tipped Sharpie.
I decided to paint the two parts separately, base coat both, and then assemble the kit after that. I also made a change in my process in that I used 3M white poster tack from Michael’s to affix the bases to popsicle sticks for painting instead of white glue. This worked MUCH better – and the tack is reusable – so I was happy to discover this would work and so well. The models stayed affixed very well.
I started brushwork with a wash of Citadel “Nuln Oil” over both pieces. I followed this with a heavy dry brushing with Citadel “Mechanicus Standard Gray”. Then, I switched to Vallejo Model Air “Medium Gunship Gray” for the tripod legs (with a brush – no airbrushing was done on these models). For the tripod feet, and the center mount, I used Vallejo Model Air “Steel”. The gun itself was mounted on a rock-like structure on a washer disk. I thought the rock made little sense for a robo sentry gun, so I decided to obscure it with Armory “Gloss Black” (still good from 1996!). I then shaded the tripod base with “Nuln Oil”. I subsequently used Secret Weapons Washes “Heavy Body Black” on the base, followed by lightly dry brushing and stippling it with “Mechanicus Standard Gray”.
At this point, I glued the two pieces together with wood glue, and let the assembly dry overnight. To further obscure the rock, I used Vallejo Model Air “Gold” on the washer – with an eye towards mimicking the coloration of the lunar modules from the Apollo missions. I thought it worked well, though it took three coats to get it properly covered.
On the gun, I used Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”, with Vallejo “Aluminum” on the optics. On the optics I then painted the ends with “Gold” and Citadel “Spiritstone Red”. I finished the gun with Secret Weapons Washes “Armor Wash”, with some light highlighting with “Gun Metal”. Once dry, I applied two coats of Testors “Dullcoat”, allowing for adequate drying between coats.
Robo Sentry Guns facing forward
Robo Sentry Guns in different poses
Close up of Robo Sentry GunShowdown with SFC Mallard
I think these will be a nice addition to my Combat Patrol™ games, as I can use these in multiple situations as a GM. I like the retro sci-fi look, and as I move into building a Robot army, these will fit in nicely (more to come on those in future blog posts). I also added a photo to the Lost Minis Wiki on the model, as there was none there. Still, sad to see that WSD will no longer produce these cool minis.
I have long been searching for the Archive Miniatures Frinx on Glyptodon (#2042) from the Star Rovers line. This three-figure kit was made in 1978, and was composed of two power-armored Frinx riding a glyptodon. So what is a glyptodon? A glyptodon is basically a prehistoric armadillo – and the size of a small car. Its a quirky kit, reminiscent of a Tusken Raider riding a Bantha in Star Wars.
At long last, my good friend Buck Surdu acquired one kit at exorbitant price on eBay. The plan was to create some Frinx recon sections for use in retro-sci-fi games using the Combat Patrol™ gaming system by recasting.
The original kit in unopened bag
Archive card in bag
Contents of the kit
The kit itself held two glyptodon halves, two rear feet, two bridle bits, one metal reins set, one forward facing Frinx, and one Frinx facing right. Clearly, I needed to consolidate in order to effectively cast this set via gravity casting. My first decision was to abandon any idea of casting the metal reins. I wanted to use the bridle bits, and use some string or similar material for reins when I paint the kit.
The bridle bits were very small as you see below. I used a small pin vise and drilled out a place for the bits on the glyptodon. I secured the bits with super glue, then filled in around them with green stuff. I also opened the bridle bits up, for if I left them closed they would not been locked in by the Quick-Sil and would not have cast well.
The small bridle bits
The other challenge was that the original glyptodon figure was not well formed or cast. There were large seam lines and gaps on each side. My concern was that this gap would wreak havoc with molding as the Quick-Sil RTV that I use would easily expand into every crevice. It also would look lousy.
Good view of the gap between the glyptodon halves on the right side
Similar gap issue on the left. Note the rear feet are unattached.
Interior view of the bottom glyptodon half – note the Archive 78
Top half of the glyptodon
As you can see, because the glyptodon was in two pieces with a hollowed out middle, I needed to address this and the seam issue. Therefore, I decided to fill the middle and the gaps with green stuff. I then affixed the rear feet with super glue, followed by adding green stuff around the gaps there as well.
Green stuff to the rescue
Nice view of the modified bridle bits
While I smoothed out the seam lines, I still had unsightly lines that would show up on every cast. I decided to use more green stuff to add a band of tiny armor plates around the base to smooth out the seams – and it worked. I thought that I should keep the figure as original as possible, so the additional plates were left as a lower band, and not over the whole figure.
The glyptodon with its new armor plates added, left side view – no unwanted lines!
Rear view after adding armor plates
Right side view after adding armor plates
I then moved on to the riders, and was surprised to see the beginnings of lead rot under their saddles. This discovery made me very happy that I was going to preserve this kit through cleaning and ultimately recasting. I did my best to clean off the oxidation with soap, water, a toothbrush, and an aqueous pewter cleaner.
Lead rot begins…before cleaning
Ready for molding
I made two new mold designs – one for the glyptodon and one basic type for the two riders as shown below. The major concerns that I had with the glyptodon mold were easy flow of alloy, adequate venting, and adequate cooling with so much molten metal. With the smaller molds, I had the same, but I really just wanted great details.
First half of the glyptodon mold
First half of the front Frinx rider
First half of the rear Frinx rider
All three molds completed
All three molds worked well, with small modifications to ensure good casting. I was able to successfully cast 14 sets (42 total figures).
14 sets!
You can see below a comparison of the recasts and the master figure.
Frontal view of recast and modified master figure
View of right side
Rear view
Left side view
They are officially now in my painting queue (which has grown a bit long so I will wait to cast more figures until I have painted some). Overall, I am pleased with how they came out – please let me know your thoughts in the comments section!
It’s been a bit busier on the gaming front. Jared Burns (USAFA ’04) and I (USMA ’84) got together last Sunday afternoon in preparation for the launch of the Mass Pikemen Gaming Club . We play-tested Combat Patrol™ with Star Rovers figures that I have previously posted about in this blog, as well as an X-Wing game.
The scenario was one where the Frinx and some Aphids were protecting RT22 in a bunker behind an old factory. The Star Ducks, led by Duck Vader, were attacking to seize RT22, using their jet packs to quickly assault through the open ground which the Frinx had covered with anti-tank weapons. I gave the Star Ducks 3 chances in the game to use their jet packs at 3 movement cards per try – and that worked well rules-wise.
Highlights of the battle! There was a grenade-throwing fest in the center (one of my grenades scattered back into me adding to my losses) between one Star Duck team and a green Aphid team. This resulted in multiple casualties, especially when one of my Aphid’s grenade attacks rebounded from a rock, but the Star Ducks had the better of that fight.
I gave Duck Vader the ability to deflect incoming direct fire, but I got lucky. Duck Vader was in the open at short range and got lit up by two Frinx bazookas and the Frinx platoon sergeant with an automatic grenade launcher. End even though I gave him a 5 endurance, his goose (or rather duck) was cooked with about 7 wounds. His demise then caused the entire Star Duck force to lose heart, effectively ending the game.
The Star Ducks effectively advance on the escarpment. The purple bands indicate jet pack uses.
The Frinx guard the factory ruins with anti-tank weapons and an automatic grenade launcher.
A green (in terms of morale and literally!) Aphid Squad awaits its doom from a storm of grenades.
Star Ducks deploy.
The Star Ducks take multiple incoming rockets, wounding a team leader.
The Star Ducks put the hurt on the Aphids with a storm of grenades.
In the foreground, the Star Duck AT team prepares to rain doom on the Frinx. In the upper left, the Aphids attempt to return grenade for grenade, only to bounce them back at themselves.
In the upper center, the Star Ducks jet pack and prepare to flank the Frinx. However, in the foreground, Duck Vader is mortally wounded.
The viewpoint of the Frinx who killed Duck Vader.
We then played X-Wing, and it was time for the USAF guy to beat (really thrash) the Army guy…ironic…he was the Empire so the day evened out. It was a good playtest for our first game night on July 27th. Jared did a nice job in teaching me the game – and then avenging the previous game. He was the Empire, and I was the Rebels with two ships each.
I successfully pilot my X-Wing into an asteroid…and fail to hit the Empire’s ships.
With my X-Wing dispatched, the Empire finishes off my hapless B-Wing.
I really liked the game and the ease at which I learned the basics. Thanks to Jared for a great day!
I found a small robot miniature on eBay, listed as “Hardy Toot Toot” from the Archive Miniatures Star Rovers line of miniatures and game. Using The Lost Mini’s Wiki , I was able to see it listed as “Hardy Toot Toot/RV86”. This did not make sense to me as When I looked at the Archive Miniatures catalog from 1981, there was no such listing. I reached out to my fellow miniature collectors on Facebook, notably David Wood (the British version) and Nevile Stocken (who was Archive and probably sculpted this figure) but still I had no luck at identifying it. All I knew was it was between 36 and 40 years old.
Frontal view of figure as I got it from eBay
Side/rear view of the figure as received
Bottom of the figure with “77” (year sculpted) and “Archive”
While I continued to research which figure this actually was, I filed down any unneeded edges, cleaned it in soap and water and let it dry. I then glued it to a 1″ steel washer with wood glue. Then I lightly glued the washer base to a popsicle sick for ease of painting. Next, I brush primed it twice with Citadel “Imperium Primer” thinned with Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”. I then gave it a heavy dry-brush application of Tamiya “Chrome Silver”. The figure then waited for a few weeks…
After priming and initial dry brushing with Chrome Silver
Luckily and surprisingly, I heard back from Nevile Stocken that he thought the figure was on the box cover of the Star Rovers game – which I have! By the way, RV86 is the Robot Cook (2203).
Star Rovers box cover – the robot in question is in the lower right hand corner
I took a picture of it with my iPhone, cut and pasted it into a PowerPoint file, and printed it. When blown up to 8½” x 11″, I could clearly see on the robot “RT22”! Mystery solved! I verified this by cross-referencing with the catalog as shown below. It was listed as 2205, “Servodroid, RT22, Short Robot”, and retailed for $1.25 back in the day. Many of the old Archive Star Rovers figures were named with a clever nod to Star Wars characters, and this RT22 certainly can claim to be one as a somewhat satirical R2D2.
It has a name – RT22!
The catalog page with 2205 listedZooming into the listing
I decided that it would be a neat idea to honor the colors on the robot’s depiction on game box and try to replicate them on the RT22. To achieve the metallic light blue shown on the box, I used a 50/50 blend of Tamiya “Chrome Silver” and Craftsmart Ultra-Bright Metallic “Sapphire”. That seemed to do the trick, and I gave the entire figure a heavy dry brushing with the combination.
After the second dry brushing
I then looked at the drawing of RT22, and there were some subtle differences between it and the figure. To give depth to the figure, I used a couple washes with Citadel “Nuln Oil”. Then, I wanted to replicate the drawing as much as possible, so I used Americana “Kelly Green” and Vallejo “Vermilion” on the body’s lower parts in squares thinly outlined with Vallejo Model Air “Black”. On what looks like an anchor (with Mickey Mouse ears) on the front, I used Vallejo Model Air “Gold” on the background, and Citadel “Yriel Yellow” on the raised portion. The robot had two traffic signals on it – yes really – forward and aft. I used “Kelly Green”, “Yriel Yellow”, and Vallejo Model Air “Signal Red” on the stoplight signals. I then used the Vallejo Model Air “Black” metallic to outline the gold and on the brackets under its arms. I outlined the arch-like structure in front and various wires on the top, back, and sides with Vallejo Model Air “Aluminum”. On the top, I painted the raised structure ridges and its springs with Vallejo “Arctic Blue” – with “Yriel Yellow” highlights as an eye and on the top of the robot. On the top “ring” part of the robot (which was more akin to a hex nut), I used first a light coat of Vallejo Model Air “Fluorescent Red” (which was more orange than red). I then outlined on the angled edges with a thin line of “Aluminum”. I then used two more layers of “Fluorescent Red” on the ring. The rear battery packs got an application of Vallejo Model Air “Copper” and “Arctic Blue”. I then selectively used “Nuln Oil” where I needed more depth on the figure.
For highlights, I used Craftsmart “Bright Yellow” on all the “Yriel Yellow” surfaces. On the arms and chassis, I employed a lighter mix (more “Chrome Silver”, less “Sapphire”) of the original combination with which I started the light blue dry brushing. I also used a little of both yellows on the tips of the robot’s feet to match the box.
Perhaps the most difficult part of the project was writing the “RT22” on the miniature as shown on the drawing. That was indeed a delicate task that took a steady hand!
I then moved on to the base – and used Citadel “Lustrian Undergrowth” to conceal the washer and make the ground on which figure stood to be more realistic. I really like this paint as it has a rough consistency and takes both dry brushing and application of washes really well.
Once that had dried, I applied Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” to the base, and let it dry. I then dry brushed the base sequentially with Armory “Musket Brown” and Citadel “Niblet Green”.
After the application of Lustrian Undergrowth on the base (still wet)After the Lustrian Undergrowth on the base has dried and been dry brushed, frontal viewLeft side view – note the “RT22”Right side view
I then moved on to the varnishing of the figure. As it was a robot, with a very metallic surface, I thought best to use a coat of Krylon clear “Glossy”, followed by two coats of Testors “Dullcoat”, allowing for adequate drying between applications. This worked well, but the base was still too shiny. To fix that, I used a combination of Citadel “Athonian Camoshade” and Army Painter “Anti-shine” brush varnish. It seemed to do the trick.
Drying in the sun – but my base is still too shiny!RT22, completed, in front of the enlarged box photo I used as a guide Close up of figure with ruler for scale – about 1.25″ or 25mm or so
Frontal view of RT22 – note duller baseRear view of completed RT22Side view of completed RT22
The research for this project took a lot longer than the actual painting did. I have submitted corrections to The Lost Minis Wiki, so future collectors may be helped. As for this figure, I plan to use it as part of an objective in a sci-fi version of Combat Patrol™.
Just like R2D2 perhaps?
In any case, I am pretty happy with the miniature, and I am especially glad I used the color scheme from the box. I think it is quirky, and still fun! Feel free to let me know your thoughts!
This month, in between other projects and recovery, I worked on several terrain pieces for use with my Star Rovers figures and the Combat Patrol™ gaming system. Some I got earlier in the year from WorldWorks Games on Amazon, others I got on eBay that were from Armorcast Battlefield Scenery, others I made – and some I just don’t know who made them. I’m hoping to use these at The Battle Standard in Auburn soon after coordinating with the owner, Jared Brodeur.
Normally I have more detail (how-to), but I lost most of the details of these terrain projects, as I had a few that I had to rework. I think the pictures below are hopefully sufficient. I was really happy to try new techniques with rust applications using a “pointillism” technique with a combination of Polly-S (“Rust”) and Vallejo (“Rust” 71.069 and 71.080) paints. I mounted all of the terrain pieces on flat steel basing pieces.
The mostly Armorcast “set” I got on eBay were various refinery or industrial pieces that were airbrushed silver and gold, and that did not work for me. I wanted the industrial ones to be more dirty and rusty. I ended up painting some of them with various colors, and then using Army Painter Quickshade “Soft Tone” to shade. I was not happy with most of these results, especially the Quickshade effects. I repainted them, some with bright colors for the newer pieces of terrain, and with rust for the grittier ones, and then used spray varnish to seal. Luckily, the Testors “Dullcoat” actually had a “crackling” chemical effect on one of the industrial tanks which worked well – (note – this was not an Armorcast piece and was likely homemade with some type of Styrofoam). I was surprised as there was already a lot of paint and varnish on it at that point – but it was minimal and I liked it anyways.
The initial set of mostly Armorcast terrain I got on eBay, plus the slag mounds I made. This is how I got them. The triple tank is the homemade one that the varnish affected. The pipeline/industrial terrain after repainting (and repainting). Duck Vader and his Star Ducks confront Power-Armored Frinx led by their platoon leader. Frontal view of the skirmish – light saber versus light cutlass! Aphids on Grav-Cycles swing around a ruined overhead pipeline to swarm attack a Frinx Mark 1 Sphere tank Star Duck Bazookaducks ambush a Mark 1 in front of a large moisture condenser, a cryo unit, and a small power unitThe WorldWorks Games set consisted of a bunker, and three barricades. They are for 28mm for sure. The bunker was used, and difficult to assemble well with super glue. I ended up using steel base material, popsicle sticks, wood glue, and cardboard to assist in the construction. Here, I really liked my use of the rust pattern that I discussed earlier.
Assembled barrier before priming Assembled bunker, front view, before priming Assembled bunker, back view, with cardboard mounted on popsicle sticks mounted on steel bases Bottom of the bunker – I needed to trim the steel bases and file off sharp edges After priming with gray A Star Duck Mortarduck crew operates from the finished bunker Three Mark 1 Sphere tanks set up in defensive positions behind the barriersLastly, I had three slag mounds that I mounted on two old CD’s. The slag was a byproduct of my casting projects. For these, I had a “Red Planet” plan, and used Citadel “Martian Ironcrust” and “Martian Ironearth” to good effect, as well as different washes.
An Aphid squad and their robot assault gun patrol the slag moundsIt’s a good start and I’m sure I could use some buildings and other things, but that I will get to in due time!
Mark A. Morin 
