Rebel Minis 15mm Martian Tripods

Greetings.  It has been awhile since I have picked up a paint brush; several months at any rate.  I seem to go through painting spasms: I paint a huge amount of material then take a long break for up to 10 months.  Probably not the best thing for my painting skill level.  At any rate, there is some new material for me to post: 15mm Rebel Minis Martian Tripods. 

These guys have been sitting on my WIP shelf for almost one year.  Frankly, I didn't know what to do with them.  They were a pain in the ass to assemble.  There are not a lot of pieces mind you, but simply fiddly, especially with 3 legs.  The tentacles are extremely fragile.  Several were attacked by my cat and lost a couple of hit points.  I painted these guys up last week simply because I was sick of looking at them on my WIP shelf.


Rebel Minis Martian Tripods

This force was to constitute a 100 point army for Alien Squad Leader, for the Tripod faction.  The Tripods are a vehicle only army in that game.  So, assembling this force was a rather expensive undertaking.  A 200 point force would be double this size and easily cost over $300.  However, they could also be used in other various games with an assortment of alien infantry to round them out.  I decided to stop at the 100 point level and see if it was worth going to the next level. 

The paint scheme I settled on these guys was a simple metallic grey.  That seemed appropriate for a Martian.  

Small Martian Tripod

Everything was airbrushed, starting with a basecoat of NATO black.   The metallic base was Vallejo Black Metal, followed by Vallejo Gun Metal and Vallejo Steel for highlights.  I then washed the various areas in Vallejo Grey and Light Grey Wash, mixed with a  little Vallejo Dark Grey. 

 Various other areas were picked out with other colors: Reaper Steely Blue for the weapons, Reaper Fire Red, Phoenix Red, Fire Orange and White for the sensor eyes located in various areas. 

 

The tentacles were painted in a basecoat of Vallejo Steel since I wanted them to stand out.

Large Martian Tripod

 Once sealed with Testors Dullcote I used Tamiya Weathering Pigments to highlight the edges and bring out a metallic shine where so desired.

Alien Squad Leader Tripod

Large Martian Tripod

 These were a rather expensive purchase.  However the  models are nice and the bigger ones are quite large.   They tower over regular 15mm figures and vehicles.

For now I don't think I will be pursing a 200 point force.  Assembling another 7 models is not on my to do list and spending such a huge sum for a single large army for a single game seems pointless to me a the moment.