$2.08 Bradley IFV are now $1.48...

The Target in Houston, TX on FM1960 and Eldridge now has their FOV smaller vehicles for $1.48 USD. I am curious about the size of the US M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer in the line, as I haven't seen that model in person yet. The AAVP7A1 looks like it would make a nice jawa-esque vehicle for some smaller 15mm minis.

$2.08 Bradley IFV

Target is dumping some of their smaller Forces of Valor vehicles and I picked up a US M3A2 Bradley IFV for $2.08 USD. The scales of the Forces of Valor vehicles can vary widely, but this looked like it would fit in with some of the Peter Pig and Rebelminis US Marines I have. I think it turned out pretty well, especially considering the price. I will probably pick a couple more up:


What I did...
- removed a couple really small mold scars
- GW Devlan Mud wash
- dry brush of Americana Khaki Tan (cheap acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby)
- highlight of some of the rivets with the Americana Khaki Tan
- painted headlights and some gear

QRF Aliens
Below are my two favs of the QRF aliens hunter guys. These are taller than most 15mm, but that is not a problem with me. The pack came with 8 figures with a lot of variety. I also picked up some modern Germans and some various armor that I also need to paint. I finished a Bedford Truck, but I need to try a better way of painting headlights, mine look too white.

Khurassan Miniatures

My sea scout craft, really a nice clean resin/plastic mini. I used a tine(sp) from a clear plastic fork to make the aerial stand. Works pretty good and adds some stability to the mini.

Critical Mass Games

I ordered some walkers and dog soldiers from CMG. Only Finished the walkers, but need to start working on the soldiers. I went for a dark brown as I pictured these guys working scorched earth battle zone.

What I am working on now...

- a squad of Karks (think shark commandos)

- Peter Pig Modern French

- QRF armor (Leopard Tank, Mastiff)

- GZG Sci fi dwellings

- remaining Frothers Zombies

Humvee, Alien Walker and Zombie

My painting subjects were all over the board as I finished a Humvee from the Irish Serb (see previous post for link), an Alien Walker from Rebel mins and a Frothers Zombie.

The Zombie

I decided that he looked like he'd been deceased longer than the other 2 Frothers zombies that I painted, so I tried to make his clothes look more tattered and grungy. Was very happy on how the victim's leg came out, the colors I used were:

• GW Elf Flesh
• GW Ogryn Flesh wash
• GW Bleached Bone and White for the leg bone

GW Blood Red and Baal Red Wash for the chewed on parts


The Hummer

Photos shown with 2 previous Peter Pig US Marines that I had painted last year. This was a really nice model and easy to assemble. I also picked up another Humvee with a 50 cal in a cupola mount that I have to finish too. Very impressed with his work and prices. The colors I used were:

• Krylon Ultra Flat Khaki for the base coat
• GW Devlan Mud wash
• GW Bleached Bone for highlights

The Walker

The smaller version from Rebelminis, really a nice model. I used a hand dremel to pin the legs on and it is pretty sturdy. I tried to make the top hatch look like an eye, inspired by an old Johnny Quest episode. ALien shown below is one of the Greys also from Rebel minis.

What I am Working On...

• Irish Serb Humvee w/ 50 cal
• GZG SciFi Dwellings
• Peter Pig Modern FFL
• QRF Bedford Truck

Coming Soon...

My kind inlaws sent me some money for my birthday and I sent it to Critical Mass Games for some of their dog warriors and walkers, really looking forward to finishing them.

IrishSerb's 15mm Modern Vehicles

I ordered 2 VBLs and 2 Hummers from http://bcoleary.home.att.net/salevehicles.html based on some pictures linked a while back on TMP. Very nice resin figures with almost all of the imperfections (ex: bubble holes/pits) on the bottom or covered by the wheels. I've only worked on the VBLs, but from the top picture you can see the only very tiny spot I needed a small bit of green stuff to cover a slight pit.

I wanted these to go with some Peter Pig FFL and I painted the vehicles based on some pictures I was able to find on the web. The colors I used were:

• Primed with Krylon Camo Flat Black
• Camo (GW Scorched Brown and Tamiya J.A. Green)
• Highlights GW Graveyard Earth

One of the pictures below shows a Rebelminis US Special Forces in front of the vehicle (camera angle makes the soldier look a bit larger)

What I Am Working On...

• IrishSerb VBL (1/2 CMP)
• IrishSerb Hummers (0/2)
• Rebelminis Small Alien Walker
• Frothers Zombies
• HO Civilians (from an EBay seller) - very cheap and pretty nice
  

Frother's Zombies and SciFi Centaur Ants (Scants)

I picked up the FU-UK/Frothers miniatures competition zombies and survivors and am really impressed with them. Some really cool zombies and the survivors will work for almost any modern genre (ex: survivors, near/post-apoc, city dwellers, etc). Above are the only two I've finished, I tried to make them look like they were recently departed so they have more life-like skin tones and their wounds are fresher...

Scants


One of my other projects is to try and create an ant-centaur 15mm sci-fi race (Scants == Scifi Centaur ANTS). The idea is a larger bulbous back-end with two segments making up the humanoid body part. I wanted them to have a daddy long legs look to them, but with the legs being closer to their body and not as long. I am by no means a sculptor though, so after looking for suitable plastic ants or spiders and finding none (this may have been an easier task during Halloween...) I decided to try and use small beads and went to a craft store and found a few possible candidates.

What I Learned...

• Static electricity with small plastic beads == aggravation!
• Super glue sticks to my fingers rather than plastic or metal beads
• Using small metal wire through the beads is promising (pinch one end off and feed the beads on top) and it helps the super glue set between the beads better.

I need to find the best reproducible method to create these and then settle on some body styles and weapons.

Static electricity

Note: I live in Houston, TX and we rarely get weather dry enough or cold enough for static electricity to build up, this weekend the conditions must have been just right. I was going bonkers until I realized what was happening (seriously, small plastic beads were flying 6"-10" away when I was dropping them into the container shown above.

First Mini Painted of 2010

2010

My first miniature painted was a GW Epic Eldar walker that I managed to pick up pretty cheaply on EBay. This will make a pretty nice Grey robot IMO.

2009


I finished the year at a -30 minis painted vs minis bought, still not too bad as I painted 95 minis total (I count a pack of 15mm minis as 1). I did not meet my goal of painting more than I bought, 2010 should go better right?

Pictures of the minis I painted (Khurasan Vampire and Peter Pig US Marines):

Another goal was to wargame with my minis which I did not do, but I did download Stargrunt II last weekend and have started to read it.

2010 Goals

- Play a wargame or two with my minis

- < -20 minis bought - minis painted (should be workable)

- Post at least 2x/month on the blog

- Obtain and paint some 15mm armor (maybe Peter Pig or QRF)

What I Am Working On...
- Khurasan Karks (0 of 8 CMP)

- Heresy Blight Zombie

- Heresy Zombie Halfling

- Rebelminis Zombie Dogs (0 of 6 CMP)

- GZG various from previous sale