"In Country" HBR Security Team

Do you feel more secure with these guys?

Well, probably not...

Another round of painting has me finishing up the Hanna Barbara Rus Security Team [Local] that has been partially done for a while now.  They came out much better than I originally anticipated, and are a great reminder how awesome the figs from the InXCountry line are. 

** Now sold by Echo Dark Studios CLICK. Formerly, they were sold by Enemy Spotted Studios, with which they still maintain a close relationship. **

They are not only a joy to paint, but the little details like wrist watches, positioning, belt loops, web gear straps, etc, are just insane. Whatever one thinks of the various rule systems / games they are working on, and they seem solid, the figs are an obvious must-have for any gamer. 

Now, "that's a bold claim, Mr. Up-the-Blue! gamer!  Why is that?" you might say.

"Glad you asked, Mr. Gamer Customer."  It's because 

"These guys are easy to paint, and make you look 150% better as an artiste"

I mean, seriously, I'm a solid painter with 45 years of painting mishaps behind me.  These guys are just plain easy, and make my efforts look good.  Enough said - go get yourself some here [CLICK]!

Here are some shots of the finished [Local] Security Team:

These kids look like they should be stealing tires off a car, not runnin' and gunnin for some contractors - what would their mother say??

Below, a local Thug who has worked his way up to being a full Goon, this guy sports a knock-off Rolex Oyster Perpetual - you can just make out the lettering on the dial...

...OK, just kidding... but you believed me for a sec, right??

Finally, I finished the Hostage special model from the InxCountry box set.  Overall, He came out well, altho I may fuss with him some more.

Every [great] figure tells a story, don't it?  

This guy was roused out of his bed in the middle of the night, and has a pillowcase over his head, along with a pair of his wife's underwear.  They forced him to dress quickly, so he grabbed a pair of his trusty Gym King sweats and some **** sneakers.

The tied hands were tough to guess how to do and how they'd turn out.  In the end, I just had to make some judgement calls and see what happened. Overall, I think he came out well.

These were finished because I'm doing a few more playtests tomorrow at a local Game Day. We'll see how it goes, as I've aggressively trimmed the rule mechanics in addition to finishing up a team and an independent model. 

As always, I'm hopeful it will be fantabulous to play "Big Boy Rules"!

Rezolution: CSO Teams head to finish

Last time, I did all the blue highlighting, by brush stroke [CLICK]. It's time consuming but the effect is worth it for small skirmish units where every model has some individual character. Then the holidays got very busy, and I always find it difficult to get the model's past the halfway point - they don't look that great, and what to hit next requires some thoughts, so they stalled for a few months as I felt the scheme was a bit bland. Finally, I just decided to go ahead and paint the guns and faces and see if there was enough to catch the eye for a satisfying model - glad I did!

With a bit of building up, all the faces popped really well, full of character as well as expressions that said a lot about who they are and what they're doing...

...rushing, concentrating, and 'talking on the phone'...

...leading - "Let's go, people!", running and shooting, inching forward into danger...

...another leader, "Get Some!" and "Oh s--t!!" clearly seeing a monster...

Next up, what to do about those huge assault rifles?  The ARs are over-sized and definitely take up eye space, so I wanted to give them some sort of contrast. Below, basic black, light grey, and off-white.

 

I had trouble deciding and posted a bit on Fb. I did get a few comments, and in the end I went with a contrast color for the weapon but based on the 'fluff'.  

I figure beat cops don't usually carry ARs since it it too aggressive.  So these weapons are taken from the holding locker shared with the Peacekeepers.  That force uses a grey color scheme, so these weapons went with grey. 

The hand protectors I made orange which is a color-wheel opposite from the blue [and also a sorta 70s vibe]. Was having problems with the Vallejo orange...took it apart and a large dried plug was found.

The orange was a bit thin, but the layering of it onto the grey looked good!

...gave the weapons a quick covering of Nuln Oil, also.

Along the way, was inspired to work on the optics. They look terrible up close, but the red one is dark red, Polish Crimson, then a white spot. The yellow has a touch of brown and a white spot.

Quite pleased with the results!

Had some trouble with the eyes, which I had to do a couple of times to get the white dots adequate.

some more detail work on optics...

and computer gadgets, the medic's cross, Technicians hand computer...

Got motivated to do most of the work on Marshal Renton, who really came up nicely over halfway through. He looks older and more weathered painted than in bare metal! This is block painted, dry brushed, and a few details picked out and brought up. I went with a white shirt to brighten him a bit, plus he seems like a guy who takes off his tie and throws on a field jacket and gets away from his desk at the drop of a [Stetson] hat!

The 5-pointed star was a bit of a PITA, and took several attempts using a tiny brush and yellow, then black. The hiking shoes were pretty easy, as was the "CSO" on his back.

At just a few more inches away, he is looking good.

Very pleased with how the CSO force is coming out, so will get them across the finish soon!

Rezolution: CSO Teams Halfway

Work on CSO for "Rezolution: A Dark Tomorrow" [CLICK] continues...

When last worked on, these 12 models has been primed, dry-brushed, then base coated [CLICK]. Today, my intention is to practice highlighting to make them really pop on the table, despite a pretty muted color scheme of black and blue.

Took my primed Marshals, aka "not Bladerunners" and the medibot, and put a base coat on them, using the two Citadel paints pictured: Ivanden Darksun & Base Corax White. These foundation / base paints have been very useful, as they have a lot more pigment in them so color onto a fig quickly, even if the primer wasn't perfect.

Results below - easy to see how well these paints work. There, I said something positive about GW, but don't hold your breath for the next time...!

Now, to continue working on the blue highlights for the other 8 models...

using the paints pictured, I built up some high highlights - I want them to pop a bit.

In this instance, I went for a wet and blended technique, using the paint's cap - in a lot of ways, I prefer the cap to the latest squeeze-bottle fad, e.g. Vallejo....

...put in a few drops, then mix with a paperclip...

...this created two samples, below. One is highlighted with the AP Royal Cloak the other with a sky blue by Polly-S, but the label has long since worn away.

You can see how much the one on the right "pops".  Is it too bold?  Maybe for historicals, but not for sci-fi figs, I think!  A little over the top is no problem in fiction...artistic license and all that.

Below, the nine assembled, primed, dry-brushed, base-coated blue, then highlighted CSO troopers. Two "leaders" likely sergeants, four "troopers" and three specialists, the Medic, Technician, and Engineer.

At a more "game table distance" they seem to have what is needed for them to stand out, even if up close they are a bit unrealistic.  But they're game pieces, ultimately, so game distance is good for them.

"Big Boy Rules" 2 Plays

With several playtests in a small setting, it was time to take BBR to the ultimate test - a large group of gamers with various levels of experience. No problem! This is what the game is designed for.

The first group playtest was on a weekday, and was well received. There were veteran gamers, including a designer who has published several games, and some who had never played a tabletop miniatures game, only board games - a great playtest group.  It went well and I got some great feedback, resulting in one change to the Overwatch mechanic.  However, I was caught a bit off-guard by 8 players showing up, and just barely managed to accommodate them all by using every Fig I'd brought, including some that weren't completely painted.

More figures needed to get some more paint, so the below team is an additional HBR contractor Fire Team.  Their camo is an urban variation on UCP [Useless Camo Pattern, a heavily used U.S. pattern during the last wars - I have a complete set of field uniforms and TA-50 in it].  The web gear is a modern Russian pattern.

Below, one part of the table. HBR moves through some scatter terrain, ready for action, but one Fig gets pinned. Mission: retrieve scattered drops from a small complex - problem is they don't know exactly where they are.

Below, the firefight in full swing. HBR has a commanding position on the table, having successfully advanced into the center with plenty of Fire support.

Rangers advance to counter and contain them.

In the other half of the board, Blue Sky Contracting advances. 

Mission: rescue a local contact who has been kidnapped - unknown if there will be a ransom involved, or he will be killed in retaliation for aiding the Western forces.

Above, BSC contractor goes down, ambushed.

HBR is looking pretty strong on this part of the table. Their TL is clearly confident of victory, giving the "V for Victory" sign to international press photographing the fight.

Below, BSC is stalked by an HBR Alpha Team amidst the connexes. They pop some smoke and CS gas to suppress the A-Team. To right, a Fire Team continues to work around the corner of a building.

A-Team have gas masks, so advance to the building roof edge and hose a BSC contractor.

Below, the culminating firefight, up close and personal!

BSC brings on their QRF straight into the fight.  The HBR TL drops a frag grenade in their midst, however, as they are bunched up [never send the Air to do a ground job?]. Three go down, two Critically Wounded!

Another frag is dropped, but this one is fumbled and HBR loses a man critical!  Thanks for nothing, buddy!  Still, Alpha is coming around the other corner, and there's no hope for BSC today. They can't even retrieve their casualties!

This playtest saw the choices and dice of the Western Contractors resulting in an embarrassing fiasco. As a playtest, however, it went very well!  The results were caused by player choices and some luck. The game played well both up close at Point Blank Range and as a firefight.

No changes needed - just more figures painted, at this point.