'Road Guards' from Lead Adventure Miniatures. |
Dmitry Glukhovsky's 'Metro 2033' (2005) is a post-apocalyptic novel set within the Moscow subway system about 20 years after a worldwide nuclear/biological war. The story focuses on the adventures of a young man, Artyom, as he struggles to both find his own path and save the people from his home station at VDNKh (a metro station, from what I understand, in the Ostankinsky District of north-east Moscow). His odyssey through the metro system sees him meeting neo-nazis, hard-line communists, cannibalistic cults, religious fanatics and terrifying mutants with psionic powers. Yes, the lad is kept very busy!
Since its release the book has enjoyed substantial success in Russia and Europe, has had many fan-based stories based upon its setting, and has had two XBox videogames released over the past few years (which, as an unrepentant geek, I have played both). Probably the most telling barometer of its success is that in 2012 the movie rights to 'Metro 2033' were purchased by MGM - with a producer already having stepped forward to lead the project.
Hobby-wise, the novel has also inspired several sculptors, probably the most notable being the talented 'Ratnik' from Lead Adventure Miniatures. As soon as I saw this range of figures I knew I had to give them a go. These five lads are from the 'Road Guards' pack.
I had a great time working on these figures as there are really no rules to how they can be painted. I knew it would be relatively easy to keep these guys dark and muted to match the theme, but I decided to buck the trend and go a little punchy with the colours. I chose a relatively high-contrast palette with discordant colours and some crazy camo schemes. In particular, I quite enjoyed painting the blue camo which was apparently worn by Russian infantry during the nasty fighting in Chechnya in the late 90s.
Russian blue tone camouflage from the 2nd Chechen War. |
For the bases I was inspired by the wonderful work of Sidney Roundwood who utilizes a high-contrast, colour-saturated approach to his Great War figures. In this vein, I wanted to reinforce the idea of a nuked urban environment by using shattered red bricks, destroyed masonry and broken piping, all of which is contrasted against a background of light grey ash. It's a little over the top but I think I like the overall effect.
I have several more packs from Lead Adventure to do (along with some Copplestone Neo-Soviets) so I'll post them as they come off the hobby desk.