Well, I am finally back to painting 15mm Sci Fi stuff. My WIP pile is rather large, with buildings and vehicles needing paint jobs. So, naturally I decided to pick the biggest model in the pile, the Tohlic Armored Crawler from Alternative Armies.
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| Tohlic Armored Crawler from Alternative Armies. |
This is a beast of a vehicle, an all resin model over 105mm x 80mm x 40mm. Assembly was simple two hull segments, 2 track segments, 2 turrets and two rear engine ports. Unfortunately however both vehicles had a hull segment which was very slightly miscast at an angle. That made lining up the hull and track segments difficult. The gap on one of the vehicles was quite large and I had to make shims from scrap model material to close the gap enough in order to fill it with putty. Annoying but not impossible and to be expected with resin. While both turrets are fine I wanted both a main gun and missile armament (picky I am). Luckily I have many spare barrels from Old Crow vehicles so it was just a matter of fixing a suitable one to the center of the missile turret.
These models reminded me of the original 40K Land Raider model from the 1990s. Therefore they were assigned to my Laserburn Imperial Troops which are Proto-40K Space Marines. Since my Imperials were red these vehicles would be given a similar scheme....because Space Marines!
Here is the post for those interested in how I painted my Laserburn Imperials.
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| Covered by heavy plasma fire, Imperial troops advance to the assault on Iconia IV. |
The paint scheme was simple. All were airbrushed.
- Primed Vallejo Black
- Tamiya Hull Red Basecoat.
- Games Workshop Contrast Flesh Tearers Red on all exposed areas, leaving the Hull Red in the recesses.
I then used a series of highlights in the center of all the panels, each being smaller in area than the last.
- Vallejo Model Air Red
- Vallejo Game Air Bloody Red
- Games Workshop Air Scarlet Red
- Vallejo Model Air Light Red
The tracks were painted with Vallejo Real Steel (this line is for airbrushes, but it goes on well with a brush too....very smooth) then washed with Mig Track Wash. I also used various Mig Filters such as Brown for Dark Yellow, Subtle Dirt and General Dust in various areas. Filters tint the base color very slightly, allowing for interesting effects and gradual color changes to key areas.
Alclad Gloss Varnish was then airbrushed on as a sealer. Being a lacquer this darkened up all the colors, creating a rich vibrant red. Decals were then applied, followed by weathering powders. Vallejo Pigment binder was airbrushed onto the areas in question, followed by various pigments applied by brush. I finished them off with Tamiya Weathering Pigments, specifically along the panel lines and edges.
The top of the vehicles seem to have storage areas. So, to cover up some of the more unsightly gaps (and my many mistakes) I used my tried and true technique: Vehicle Stowage.
The vehicles are big enough IMO to accommodate an entire Laserburn Imperial Assault Group: 60 troops in total. I still need to do something with the top side sensor pod lenses. Not sure what yet.
This is a big vehicle, not suited for everyone. However, I was looking for something huge and imposing for my Imperial troops and this model fit the bill perfectly. One of these could easily transport an entire platoon of infantry or a power armor platoon.
