Third-Tier Security Mooks

Hi There!

For this submission I have a team of third-tier security mooks to help quell all sorts of volatile situations. Things like chaos incursions, vehicle parking arguments and particularly aggressive seniors at grocery checkouts.

These models are from Knucklebone Miniatures, one of my favourite 3d designers.

I wanted a quasi 'Mega-City One' look for them so went with a distressed yellow ochre for their shoulder and knee pads. Also to give them a little 'somethin' somethin' so I provided them with snazzy looking chromatic visors - besides, the bad guys need something to aim for...

I had a few of mishaps removing supports with a couple of their weapon magazines going missing. Bad words may have been uttered. Anyway, I rolled with it and came up with some sprue replacements, but I placed them at their feet, figuring that these hapless new guys had accidentally thumbed the magazine eject on their weapons and are now caught wanting.

I like 'Number 10' the bare chested officer with the cigar. He has a sort of Robert Crumb counter-culture look about him. 

I had some extra Adeptus Imperialis decals laying around and so gave the bunch their very own shoulder pad numbers. Easier for body identification...

These chalk outline aspirants will be valued additions to future games of Mothership, Kill Sample Process and Cy_Borg. 

Thanks for dropping in for a peek!

- Curt

Mar-a-Lago Militia - The Boggs

Hey Y'all,

I return to my ACWII project with these colourful denizens from the dark, dank swamps of south Florida. I give you the Bogg family. 

In my wondrous, fictitious, fantastical and terrifying 'Merica they they are part of the local Mara-a-Lago Militia, fiercely loyal to Father Dagon and 'The King in Orange' (Yellow being so very passe these days). 

The Boggs (distant cousins to their Yankee Innsmouth relations, the Marsh family) are a spiteful, vain, and oily clan. They revel in their own stupidity, are selfish, hate outsiders and rarely listen to reason.

Yes, they very much have 'the Mar-a-Lago look'.

Cyrus

Cletus

Ruffus

Festus

Jo Lean

These figures are Deep One Hybrids, 3d prints from KLT Studio. I had fun working with their flesh tones, giving them a fishy look about them, but in the end they sort of have a Simpson vibe going on, which makes me smile as I can easily envision an episode where he Boggs cause chaos amongst the good folk of Springfield. :)

Next Up: A Low-Rent Security Force

- Curt 

SAS / JTF2 Operators & Defender Series 1

A few more special forces operators to add to the collection, plus a venerable Land Rover Defender Series 1 for them to roll out in.

The figures are from the Empress Miniatures SAS range, though I think they'll stand in nicely for Canadian JTF2 as well. I've painted them in my (very rough) facsimile of the CADPAT AR (Arid Region) camo. 

I quite like these figures, especially the guys in the soft hats. The poses are perhaps not as dynamic as what Spectre offers, and their weapons are a bit beefy, but their overall look appeals to me. 

The Defender was a 3D print file that I found on Thingiverse (thanks UHStech3). I manipulated it slightly to get the scale closer to around 1/50. It still may be a touch big, but I'd rather that than having it too small.

After the print it was just a matter of a quick airbrush and some slapdash weathering to get it sorted for the tabletop.

Now it's ready for some hard-bitten mercs to pick up an arms shipment, or perhaps for a posh mom to get the dry cleaning and grab a quick cappuccino before collecting the kids from soccer.

Next up: Some more modern OPFOR

Some Modern Vehicles & 'What a Tanker!'

I've been fairly busy with work, outdoor stuff and some home renos, but I've not entirely neglected the hobby desk and have managed to get a few more things added to my ACWII project.

I figured that if I'm going to build a modern miniature collection, I really needed to beef-up my vehicle park to help set the stage for more urban scenarios. Nonetheless, doing this using wargaming-designed resin models is a fairly costly proposal, so I put on my thinking cap to see what alternatives were out there.

Card vehicles were definitely an option, as many of the available kits look quite good and are inexpensive, but I gave them a miss as I thought the whole cut, fold and assemble thing spread over 20-odd vehicles would make me snap my crayons, and they might be more susceptible to wear and tear over the long term. 

Hmm, okay, diecast vehicles was another possibility. They come painted, have a nice heft  to them and generally look petty nice. Nonetheless, sourcing civilian vehicles that are close to 1/56 scale can be a bit tricky, and often the final cost is not that much different than resin once you factor in shipping. 

In the end, I came up with the idea of using railway models after looking at some attractive  layouts at a local model shop. After scurrying home and doing a bit of research, I discovered that O Gauge is a fairly close fit for 28mm figures. So I scanned through eBay and found several Chinese suppliers who will happily provide bulk lots of painted plastic vehicles at very reasonable prices. I ended up getting 15 cars for $30 including shipping - that's about the same cost of a single resin model.  Score!!  To be honest, there's an inordinate number of BMWs in the lot I received, so I may have to acquire a few diecast domestics to better round out the collection, but overall its turned out to be a very economical way of filling up a street or two with traffic. 

While I was in the eBay vortex, I also purchased a couple transport trucks which seem an ubiquitous feature on any North American road. 

These are Tonkin 1/53 diecast models. While they are quite nice, they can be a bit pricey. Nonetheless, if you're patient you can find some for reasonable money (around $25), especially if you're willing to take on ones that have open packaging, or have minor bits missing. 

Okay, that's the civilian stuff pretty much sorted, how about the military gear? Well, let's start with some paramilitary kit in the form of a couple of armed trucks, or 'technicals'. 

This light duty truck is a resin kit available through Empress Miniatures.

Its designed to fit a wide number of weapon loadouts, from rocket launchers to heavy machine guns. Here I have it armed with a nasty ZU-23 automatic cannon. 

To provide a more North American idea of a technical, I also did a light conversion on one of the larger police trucks from the excellent 'Walking Dead' scenery set. 

To mask the roof police lights I used a bit of putty to mock-up some tarped stowage I then made a few base inserts for the truck bed so I could drop in whatever heavy weapon I wanted them to roll out with. The first few pictures are of it with a 50 cal HMG and... 

... another(!) ZU-23 automatic cannon.

Finally, I finished painting a 1/48 scale BMP-2 that I picked up from Empress Miniatures a few years ago (originally an HLBS kit). I did it up in a relatively generic three-tone camo pattern. Fairly quick work with an airbrush - it looks okay, but I think I'll dirty it up some more to make it more of a battered old veteran. Still, a pretty scary vehicle for an infantry skirmish game. 

To close off, I just wanted to mention that this past weekend we played our first game of 'What a Tanker!' . 

I mashed together a simple game using my old 15mm FoW North African collection. Well, what a hoot! The rules are very easy to pick up and quick to dive into. The activation mechanic is reminiscent to Chain of Command, with a nice crew advancement system for follow-on games. I'd like to see it expand to include armoured cars, anti-tank guns and perhaps something that abstracts infantry support. It's a bit 'popcorn' perhaps, but I think it gives a great game. Highly recommended.

Hellllo Ladies! Modern Female Operators

In the interest of equal opportunity, here are five female operators working towards gender-balancing my ACWII collection.

Similar to the Russians from my previous post, all of these figures are from Spectre Miniatures. 

I quite like the mix of both civilian and paramilitary gear on these figures as it allows them to fit in with a wide variation of settings. 

I also appreciate the sculptor's effort to model these women on realistic forms and poses, as opposed to some of the fantastical spotty-faced-boy-in-the-basement stuff you often see in the market.

They are armed with a variety of weapons including a Glock holdout pistol, PP-2000 SMG,  HK416 assault carbine, a Kriss Vector SMG and a Kel-Tec assault shotgun.  Yup, definitely NOT damsels in distress.

There is at least one more pack of female operatives I'd like to add to these, but they'll have to wait as future reinforcements.

Next up: Some vehicles!

Modern Russian Urban Assault Team

I needed some Russians for my ACWII storyline and found that this great range from Spectre Miniatures fit the bill nicely.

These are Spetsnaz (Russian Special Forces) in urban assault gear, ready to holiday in the Crimea, Syria or any other vulnerable locale. All of them are wearing heavy body armour with visored helmets. Three of the figures are equipped with ballistic shields for close quarter breaching. 

They are armed in a variety of weapons, ranging from machine pistols,  suppressed AKs to more exotic kit, such as the AS Val assault rifle. Yup, a nasty group of hard cases.

In order to easily pick them out on the tabletop, I've painted them up in the distinctive blue 'Smog' pattern urban camo.

This bunch will be making their debut in an upcoming scenario - so stay tuned for that.

The Tribe of The Tsar in Yellow - OpFor for Metro 2033

Here is a small nod to my Metro 2033 project. I desperately needed some opponents to pit against my Survivors and found the perfect solution in these figures from Pig Iron Productions.

They are listed as 'Kolony Ferals' and are wonderfully chunky and characterful. The heads are separate allowing for a nice variability.

I wanted them to be from a post-apoc cult so I kept to a yellow motif. I had a bit of fun with the leader by 'gifting' him a few miliput tentacles and a plasticard sigil plate for his staff to emblazon with the sign of 'The King (er, Tsar) in Yellow'.

I have some heavy weapon and close combat specialists to back these up, but before that I feel a desire to return to the puff & slash of the Renaissance.

Thanks for dropping by and have a great week!