Ben's Bits n Bobs

[Ben_S]

I figured that I might as well do a new necro and vamp to go along with the dregs...

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The vamp is an Oathmark light elf, with only very minor conversion (swapping his left hand). I thought about using a different head, but I figured it would be interesting to see whether I could 'convert' it with the paint job.

 

[Ardavion]

If you end up needing a dedicated vampire head, I've had puppetswar vampire heads that work really well.

Noble Vampire Heads

Unique miniatures, bits, terrain and hobby accessories for wargamers and collectors

puppetswar.eu

Frenzy Vampire Heads

Unique miniatures, bits, terrain and hobby accessories for wargamers and collectors

puppetswar.eu

 

[Ben_S]

I got the vampire mostly done this afternoon:

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He was easy, because I had a fair idea of the colour scheme. I'm still not sure how to do the dregs. (And I'm still not sure whether I like them as dregs.)

 

[Ben_S]

Now I've made a start on the dregs too:

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[Ben_S]

Magic wash applied:

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This is close to finished for me, though I will do a few touch ups and highlights before I declare them done.

 

[Brendan Flynn]

You gotta love a wash huh. Its like you detailed everything. Highlights and touch ups will bring these into the category of good table top ready. Nice work.

 

[Ben_S]

Those with long memories may recall that my collection of Stargrave Necromunda proxies includes some Van Saars that I made and painted a while back. They're not really useful as a gang though, as they all have basic weapons. So, after recently buying some more SG Mercenaries, I made some more:

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In truth, the Van Saars aren't really my favourite gang, but (a) I figure it handy to have a second regular 'house' gang and (b) these guys should be quicker and easier to paint than more Ratskins.

You might also notice (despite the pretty poor photo) that I've recently started decorating my bases a bit more. I'm not really a fan of very elaborate bases, partly because they hardly ever match the table, so I generally keep things very plain. However, I think there is a balance to be struck and thought I'd try adding a bit of something.

The issue with this is that my Necromunda collection includes one complete gang (Cawdor) and three more partial gangs (Van Saar, Ratskins, Scavvies), so now I'm contemplating whether I should re-base most of these or not.

 

[Brendan Flynn]

Hm Van Saars were always the really shooty option back in the day and very hard to get to grips with. I have had a great deal of success with these tech crazy bastards. Half the gang are armed with special weapons which makes them very deadly in the shooting phase.

 

[Ben_S]

They are typically pretty shooty, though they can also take combat skills, which are useful if you roll WS/A increases. And even the shooting skills might include gunfighter, which is another reason for guys with pistols.

 

[Ben_S]

Here's another photo, which I hope is a bit clearer:

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I think my Mordheim heroes/YakComp entry is finished, but am waiting to take photos in daylight.

 

[Ben_S]

I managed to get a half-decent photo of my undead guys:

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I don't think I'd shown it before, but I made a quick little grave with this kind of scene in mind.

These figures were inspired largely by the current YakComp but, as it happens, an old Blood Bowl buddy texted me today and mention the possibility of Mordheim, so there's actually some chance I may get a game at some point...

 

[Brendan Flynn]

Well done, the grave totally sells the whole scene.

 

[Ben_S]

I often see examples of toys, particularly toy vehicles, being used in wargames but rarely have any luck finding suitable pieces myself. I may have found one here though:

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It turned out to be quite a drama getting hold of it.

I first saw these some time ago in my usual (city centre) branch of Poundland. They had quite a few on the shelf, but when I took a couple up to the till the barcode wasn't recognised and they said they couldn't sell it to me. I went back a few more times over the coming weeks, hoping that the issue would be resolved, but didn't see them again.

More recently, I went to a different Poundland (out of town retail park) and saw them there. I was able to buy two, although they came up as £2.50 at the till, when I'm pretty sure they were marked as £2 on the shelf. I went back to this branch to try to get some more, but they only had one left in a damaged box, so I didn't bother. But then I tried the city centre branch again and they suddenly had quite a lot of them on the shelf - but when I took them to the till, again the barcode wasn't recognised. This time though, after a bit of faffing around, they did let me have them (putting them through manually at £2).

They seem quite promising. They're designed to have parts unscrew, which is helpful to dis-assembly. Also, you can put two payloads back-to-back on the chassis instead of a cab. That could be handy if building trailers.

My first thought was to make ork trukks for Gorkamorka, but I might leave them more as-is and make something Ridgehauler-like, which I could use with my Necromunda gangs for Ash Wastes/Gorkamorka.

A couple of things I need to figure out are (i) how best to glue the wheels in place and (ii) how to fill in the windows on the cab.

 

[Punktaku]

A dab or two of superglue on the axles should keep those wheels from moving. Can you get inside the cab? Are all the windows curved like the windshield?

 

[Ben_S]

A dab or two of superglue on the axles should keep those wheels from moving.

Each wheel comes off separately, so there's no axle as such. And they're a bit loose/wobbly. I'm not sure there's enough of a connection point for superglue. I think I need something that will fill a bit of a gap. My usual option would be No More Nails construction glue, but that says at least one surface should be porous. I could try hot glue, but it might dry in the time it takes to screw the wheel back on. I have some off-brand gorilla glue stuff that I may try, but not used it before so don't know how it works yet.

Can you get inside the cab? Are all the windows curved like the windshield?

Getting inside is easy. That grey roof bit comes off. Also the whole green cab comes off the chassis, allowing you to get in from the underside too. I think the side windows are pretty flat.

 

[dwbullock]

I like that each identifies as 'Truck' ... in case you get confused as to what it is.

 

[Punktaku]

A bit of plasticard will take care of the side windows, then. You could then paint them black or blue or whatever. Although adding a potential gun port and then painting them like metal would probably be better for this type of vehicle.

The curve of the front window makes it more of a pain. How about a metal mesh you could bend slightly to fit the curve then glue it into place? I think bondo mesh (for cars) might do the trick.

 

[Biggle_Bear]

Why block up the windows? Why not open the sides and install a console so that fighters can access and drive it?

 

[Ben_S]

Van Saar done:

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Bar a couple of very small touch ups, which I only noticed when getting ready to photograph them, I've actually had these done for a few days - it just took until the weekend to get pictures. They're relatively quick and easy to paint, which is part of the attraction.

These six, with the eight I already had, probably give me a 'complete' gang now, but I've started making another batch anyway and ordered a sprue of the female Mercs to add a bit more variety.

 

[Ben_S]

I started playing around with one of those toy trucks:

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Actually, this uses parts of two trucks, because I used two payloads back to back instead of a cab. This has the advantage that I don't need to figure out what to do with the windows etc just yet.

I added a bit of mesh for some extra detail, though this was rather tricky, given that it needed to be one grid wide.

I spent a while trying to fill the join in the wheels, in the hope that won't stand out too much. If it does still show, then I suppose I can add mud/dirt over the wheels to cover it.

I tried UHU all purpose adhesive for the wheels, but that didn't work. I think I may try Milliput next (perhaps with superglue). That should help to fill the gaps.

That said, these aren't high on my priorities. I have several other terrain pieces that I've started but not got very far with, so I should probably work on those first...