15mm Sci Fi - GZG UNSC Light Infantry

 Happy Halloween!

GZG's UNSC is a range I painted years ago.  However they have never made a full appearance on this blog, other than in a few clips here and there.  They are neat models that have obvious sci-fi elements.  They would fit great in a Traveller RPG game.

GZG UNSC Light Infantry

The paint scheme was very simple and requires no special talent really.

• Tamiya JN Grey
• Vallejo Sea Grey on all weapons
• Matte Black on the visors.
• Washed in Minwax Polyshades Tudor, thinned to 30%
• Highlighted with Reaper Khaki Highlight and Vallejo White Grey
• Visors were done in a larger of Reaper Red Fire, Phoenix Red, Fire Orange with a white dot for a final highlight.

Command Group

I have yet to base the prone troopers.  I will do it eventually one day.

These guys make great aliens or synthetic troopers.

15mm Sci Fi - GZG ESU Naval Infantry with Taiga Camo pattern

Well another week almost done and another project  complete.  Lately I have been trying to shake things up a little, breaking out of my comfort zone.  So, rather than paint the same old same old I am doing something different: camouflage patterns on an army-level scale.

I have done camouflage on 15mm before.  It is not hard, just time-consuming.  Typically when I start a project my goal is to get it complete in a timely fashion (aka quick) with a high degree of quality, sticking to what I know works (technique wise..no fancy stuff, just clean painting and a high level of highlighting).  That mentality has kept me trapped in a boring routine.  No more.  His Excellency shall be charting courses into hitherto unknown areas of miniature painting.

The ESU has been on my to do list for years.  I even have some of the old models (used as test pieces for different color schemes...they are painted and stripped all the time...poor bastards).  The whole force was actually painted last week (in a tan and green pattern).  However, upon completion I discovered I was a) way too boring with my scheme and b) the army painter dip was too heavy.  So after some reflection I stripped them and instead focused on their power armor.  I chose a pattern that I had seen almost a decade ago: Russian Siberian Taiga.  To my surprise the pattern came out great.  This pattern was then duplicated on a smaller scale across the whole ESU army, creating what you see below.  There are several heavy weapons teams which are fully painted but not based (I ran out of MDF bases for the moment).

GZG ESU Naval Infantry & Black Bear Power Armor

In prior posts I have indicated that keeping a painting log is important, especially for me.  Without one I would never be able to recall what I used for paints.  In any case the color pallet was super simple:

• Vallejo Grey Primer, airbrushed
• Vallejo 71.126 IDF/IAF Green Basecoat, airbrushed
• Vallejo 71.018 Black Green Camo spots, hand painted at various areas on clothing only.
• Vallejo 71.249 Sea Grey weapons
• Reaper Khaki Highlight on the sleeping bag
• Vallejo Pale Blue Grey on the visor (to prep it for the next step)
• GW Contrast Tallesar Blue, thinned 1:1, on the visor (to create the blue highlight).
• Reaper Tanned Highlight for all flesh areas.
• Washed in Minwax Polyshades Tudor, thinned 30% with Mineral Spirits. This is important.  Decant some in a small plastic jar and thin it.  
• Vallejo 71.103 Grey for camo spots, post shade.  In groups of 3.  
• Reaper Pale Lichen on armor areas for a final highlight.
• Reaper Khaki Highlight again on the sleeping bag
• Matte Sealer.
• Tamiya Flat Earth on the base, drybrushed with Reaper Khaki Highlight
• Woodland Scenics Earth, Mixed Blend and Weed flock.

Thinning the paint is very important on 15mm models.  The details are far too small to use paint straight from the bottle/pot.  Vallejo Model Air paints are an exception though; these can usually be used straight from the bottle without thinning (except for metallics which I always thin).

I am quite happy on how these turned out.  The scheme was simple and quick to complete.  The key to the camo was patience and more importantly a good brush with a fine tip.  

Next up on the list is my GZG FSE infantry.  I worked out their camo pattern years ago but never had the nerve to do it on a full army.  Now I am ready to execute it.

15mm Sci Fi - GZG ESU Black Bear Power Armor

 This past weekend I attempted to complete two projects simultaneously (GZG ESU and finishing off my GZG NI troops).  That did not work out so well.  I did manage to paint up my whole ESU Naval Infantry Platoon, however I was not happy with the paint scheme so they were dropped into my strip tank for a redux.  One thing at a time I guess.  

However, did manage to complete the power armor section of the platoon: the Black Bear Powered Assault Armor.   

GZG ESU Black Bear Power Armor

The scheme was simple: a Russian Taiga scheme that I saw years ago somewhere (two shades of green with grey and white dots, in groups of 3).  I did not use white, going with a single dot in an off white grey.  

• Vallejo Grey Primer (matte)
• Vallejo 71.126 IDF/IAF Green Basecoat, airbrushed
• Vallejo 71.018 Black Green Camo spots
• Vallejo 71.249 Sea Grey weapons
• Vallejo 71.032 Gun Metal for hands
• Tamiya Clear Red for the laser sight on the left shoulder.
• Vallejo 71.257 Black for the visor
• Washed in Minwax Polyshades Tudor
• Vallejo 71.103 Grey for camo spots, post shade.

The scheme was very easy to complete (just a lot of dots to do really).  I am planning on using this same scheme on the ESU fabric uniforms.  This will be interesting since I will be working on a much smaller surface area.  My micro painting skills will be put to the test for sure.

15mm Sci Fi - GZG NI Assault Infantry and GZG Grav Armor

 This past week was a busy one; two projects back to back: GZG NI Assault Infantry and GZG ESU Naval Infantry platoons.  

The NI are almost done.  I still have heavy weapons teams and power armor to finish off.  That will happen next week.  This is the forth time I have painted this range over the last 10 years.  The newer figures are far superior to the old.  No mold lines to speak of and almost no clean up.

GZG NI Assault Infantry

These guys were somewhat simple to paint:

• Vallejo Grey Primer (matte)
• GW Militarium Green Contrast Paint
• GW Basilicum Grey Contrast Paint for all weapons
• Army Painter Military Shader Wash in specific recessed areas.
• Reaper Pale Olive for armor highlights.
• Vallejo Gold for the visor.  Washed in Army Painter Strong Tone.
• Reaper Polished Gold for visor highlights.

The type of primer used will make a big difference in how the Contrast Paint works and looks.  Personally I found that a Satin or Gloss Coat undercoat does not give me the finish that I am looking for.  The paint is too translucent and goes on patchy and blotchy, especially on larger surface areas.  This has been my experience so far with the greens and reds at least.  The highlighting was not pleasing at all so I had to do it by hand.  

The grav armor was painted awhile ago.

• Vallejo Russian Green Primer
• Vallejo Camo Black Green in all recessed areas.
• Vallejo NATO Green on all exposed areas.
• Vallejo Camo Green and Camo Light Green in layered highlights on all panels.
• Vallejo Light Green from their color modulation kits for the final highlight.

This is the last time I will use Contrast Paints for "army level painting".  They work fine for small areas and accessories, but for 15mm figures, as a whole, they have not worked for me.  Perhaps I just dont know what I am doing.

Alternative Armies - 15mm Fantasy Dragon

Sadly I did not get much accomplished on the weekend.  I did play with some new Vallejo Space Dust Metallic paints on Sunday on some Khurasan Soriog models.  I was able to produce a reasonable replica of a Halo Covenant Elite.  However, I am not sold on the scheme yet.

In any case, here is something I painted a long time ago, using washes over a white base coat only.  I let my wife pick the color.  She named him Blue.  Go figure.

Blue likes to spend his days in a glass cabinet and occasionally flying over far off worlds which consider him either a myth or a drug-induced hallucination.  

Alternative Armies 15mm Fantasy Dragon

Up, up and away!

"Roar"

The model is nice.  However I did have trouble with fitting the wing on.  The slot is either too small or there was a miscast (or I am just incompetent).   No matter what I did I was not able to fit it so that it was flush with the body.  Oh well.  Maybe it is not supposed to?  Maybe I will give him some fire or poison gas breath cloud.  

Anyway, that is today's miniature porn.  Maybe I will actually get around to playing a game some day....

15mm Sci Fi - GZG Tomorrows War Brazilians

The DRPG was my third force that I ever painted in 15mm, almost 10 years ago.  Initially there were only models for the regular DPRG army, with light body armor only.  The People's Republican Guard, the elite of the DRPG army (with hard armor) had no equivalent figures.  Folks of course used whatever they wanted, with GZG NI Infantry being a popular choice (I did the same at the time).

However that gap was filled once GZG released the Brazilians for the Tomorrows War line.  Using these figures for the PRG seemed a logical choice since Brazil was a major arms supplier for that power.  The figures themselves are a little different, with a cyclops helmet vs the more traditional visor.  To me it is quite interesting and sets them apart from their foes.

I went with a very light green; much lighter than I have ever used before, with a wash I had never used before.  I was truly in unfamiliar territory (I did not even do a prototype....I always do a prototype).  

GZG Brazilians for Tomorrows War

• Tamiya Flat White undercoat
• 71.009 Duck Egg Green basecoat
• Reaper Afterburn Grey for the weapons
• Backpacks were washed in GW Thrakia Green Wash
• Eye was given a dot of Tamiya Clear Red.
• Armor parts washed in Army Painter Military Shader
• Armor was then highlighted in Reaper Pale Olive
• Backpack were highlighted in Vallejo German Light Green Camo
• Weapons highlighted in a light grey.

Vallejo has a pattern of changing their paint names now and then.  It is pissing me off to no end.  The number is now far more important than the actual name of the color.

I only painted up enough models for a single platoon.  Normally I do a lot more but for whatever reason I had some restraint this time.  The official TOE requires the purchase of multiple packs of RPG gunners.  This I did not do.  

"Shoot that way fool!"

Prone gunners are used as GPGM weapons teams (combined with another rifleman).  It passable and works (normally I don't bother painting prone models).

I had an old rocket launcher lying around so they have a little extra punch.

Pew!  Pew!

My wife likes the color scheme.  I am on the fence.  They pop on the tabletop for sure and look very tropical.  Whether they stay in service or are replaced with a new scheme remains to be seen.  

15mm Sci fi - Saturday Alien Double Feature, GZG Ixx & GZG Phalons

 Winter is Coming.

It was cold this morning.  4C.  This means only one thing: soon I will have to move my painting studio from the garage into the house.  Cold does mix with compressors or paints.  I do not have a dedicating painting area in the house, so this may slow my progress towards my 2020 miniature painting target.

However, today we have a double feature: GZG Phalons and GZG Ixx.  I painted the Phalons earlier this year, while the Ixx were done last night.  Years ago I did paint both of these ranges but sold them off.  So, consider this GZG Aliens 2.0.

The Ixx were a bit of a pain to fit together.  The legs need a lot of filing to go in correctly.  Other than that, there were no mold lines to speak of.  This was the first time I used GW Contrast Paints to finish a whole model.  The scheme was:

• Tamiya Gloss White undercoat
• GW Contrast Paint Plaguebearer Flesh on all skin
• GW Contrast Paint Creed Camo on the packs
• GW Contrast Paint Black Templar on the weapons
• GW Contrast Paint Nazrog Yellow for the underbelly 
• GW Contrast Paint Basilicumm Grey on the cans
• Matt black for dots and spots (bugs need spots...lots of spots)
• Washed in Minwax Polyshades Pecan

GZG Ixx Aliens

In my games these aliens are Vallax (from the Rifts RPG), not Ixx.  The Vallax are malevolent aliens from the 9th Dimension.  They use their master of magic and PSI Powers to enslave the multiverse, using captured aliens as Thralls.  Yellow Bug Bad!

In nature yellow and black indicate danger, Stay away, I am a dangerous bug".  Plaguebearer flesh over white gives a nice yellowish, slightly green color.  Combined with matt black it makes for a perfect insect carapace.  The Pecan Minwax wash finished it off and made the whole model softer looking and more organic.

Shake That Ass!

When magic and PSI are not enough the Vallax use antimatter pulsar weapons, blasting foes to atoms.

"Eye see you."

The Vallax are typically the commanders of either the Phalons or the Xar.  There are not many of them, but that is the nature of their life cycle.

"Submit Thrall!"

Moving on to the Phalons.  This force contains 48 of these weirdos.  That was quite by accident.  I ordered some, forgot, and ordered more.  Oh well.  The models needed little clean up.  There is a mold line on the top of each head which needs filing off and the rocket launcher is a mess, needing filing and drilling.

The range is small, like all of the older GZG lines.  Jon has no plans for the near future to expand the range.  That may change of course.  They come with a support weapon, sniper rifle and rocket launcher.  Phalons use organic technology and frankly I was stumped on how to paint the weapons.  So I used a dark grey.  Not original I know.

The scheme was very simple:

• Tamiya Green Grey (I used Tamiya JA Grey for some of them, creating slightly different skin tones)
• GW Contrast Paint Plaguebearer Flesh
• GW Green Wash on the blackpacks.
• Red Eyes with a white center dot (pain in the ass this was)
• Washed in Minwax Polyshades Pecan.
• Highlighted with Reaper Light Olive (I think)

GZG Phalons

For vehicles I pair Phalons with either Old Crow Alien Tanks/APCs or Rebel Minis Martian Walkers.

GZG Phalons

more GZG Phalons

The Minwax Pecan tone is perfect for creating shading on earthy tones, without going overboard on the dark hue.  A darker brownish tone would not work near as well as Pecan (which is basically identical to Army Painter Soft Tone BTW).  Pecan goes on kind of redish.  Dont be alarmed.  It changes color as it dries.

even more GZG Phalons

In hindsight, I am not 100% happy with the scheme.  It is a little muted and I would prefer something brighter. (plus they are very close in color to my Xar).  In the future I will likely do another batch in the same scheme (or close to it) as the Ixx, going for a yellow, or perhaps orange.  That is far off though.

That concludes alien Saturday.  My painting queue is still full (and I just hit 1600 models painted this year so far) as are all my foam trays.  Looks like I need to order more.  

15mm Sci Fi - Tomorrows War US Army Armored Vehicles

 Previously I featured my US Army Light Infantry Platoon for Tomorrows War.  That formation typically has little armor support, being air transportable and not designed for high intensive conflicts.  When those missions come calling more firepower is needed.

The vehicles below were airbrushed in a basic NATO green scheme.  Nothing fancy.  Having large flat areas allowed me to do some of my usual color modulation tricks to make them pop a little more.  The Antonitis APCs have less flat areas so the modulation is not as great as on other vehicles.

I did the vehicles at different times, using different paints for the APCs vs the tanks.  This is not my typical approach.  The fact was that I did not have all the vehicles in my inventory at the same time.  Oh well.

1. Tamiya NATO Black as a primer (Khurasan tanks received a Vallejo Russian Green Primer instead).
2. Tamiya Black Green in recessed areas.
3. Vallejo/Tamiya NATO Green on all upper areas.
4. Vallejo Camo Green, Light Camo Green applied on panel centers (the 3 Khurasan tanks only).  On all other vehicles I only used Tamiya Cockpit Green as a final highlight.
5. Vallejo Light Green applied as a final highlight on the 3 Khurasan tanks.

Tomorrows War US Armor

US forces are equipped with all types of vehicles, from expensive grav tanks to more traditional track and wheeled vehicles.  Personally I find the latter slightly more believable in most settings (although I have both in my vehicle pool).

Perkins Superheavy and Patton MBTs lead the charge.  Models by Khurasan

Karbardin V IFVs and an older M5 Cobra MBT (early plasma gun armament).  Models by Antonitis Workshop and Darkest Star

Karbardin Command IFV with M4 Python MBT (Railgun main arament).  Models by Antonitis Workshop and Darkest Star

Recon Elements and Scorpion Mobile Gun System for fire support.  Models by Antonitis Workshop and Darkest Star

The vehicles turned out rather well.  I did experience problems with the Khurasan models however.  They required some rather extensive clean up and they have mold lines in areas which I would consider a major flaw in overall design.  Sadly the Antonitis Workshop vehicles are long out of production.  They are now collectors items for sure.