Alien Hovels, Interstellar Spaceships and Major Kusanagi

Yepp... candy!

Last month I ordered some 15mm stuff from GZG, some 15mm and spaceships from RavenstarStudios and last week I ordered Tomoko and Isseki from Hasslefree Miniatures.

You might recognize Tomoko and Isseki as their twins Motoko and Batou from the Ghost in the Shell franchise. There's a metal version of Motoko as well, but I really don't like the gun on that version so paid some extra to get the resin one. They are both spectacular sculpts and look just like their Japanese counterparts. Only Batou's cybernetic eyes are missing. I think I'll make my own somehow, either using greenstuff or perhaps simply insterting a couple of small rods in his eye sockets. You could argue that the Motoko's pose is a bit on the dainty side, and I'd be inclined to agree but it's not too bad.

I'm planning to use Motoko as a stand-in for Shinobu Kitsune or just as a regular Oniwaban now and then. Don't know where Batou would fit in but the minis are just too cool not to get. Oh, and this was actually the first time I have ordered from Hasslefree! Crazy, right? I don't know if it was because it was my first time, or if they always do it, but my package included some chewie candy. Thanks guys and gals, they were tasty! :)

Sorry everything is still bagged up but it was simply too much to be able to cram into one photo if opened up. :)

From GZG I got the colonial settlement set (aka crusty hovels) as well as some assorted scatter terrain. Jon was also kind enough to include an extra shipping container and some droids and drones. More and more good looking 15mm sci-fi terrain is turning up on the market these days but these shanty buildings are still among my favourites. Incredibly characterfull and with many different ways of assembly means you could build up a whole town of these! For me they'll be used as run down Mars settlements as well as prawn/crustie hovels.

Right now I'm pondering how I should base them. Leaning towards 10cm squares or so which would make it easy to build roads and plazas with them. The shipping container and scatter terrain will probably go on the same bases to add some character (although I need scatter terrain separately as well).

Love the design of the Deisho! Reminds me of the Sulaco but taken to the next level.

From Chris at Ravenstar I ordered a few of the smaller Deisho ships (up to cruiser size) and a Slasher dronebot. There was so much more I wanted to get (Thunderfoot!) but I had to be stingy this time. However Chris included a couple of bonus pieces as well, a hoverjeep and a Deisho battleship!

First off the ships are really great sculpts! If I didn't know better my initial reaction would be that they are 3D printed. Huge amount of detail that easily rivals the stuff Spartan Games put out. There was a little bit of flash, especially on the smaller pieces and I did spot a couple of tiny bubbles. But nothing major really. I'm really excited to get started with these ships, although I still haven't decided on a colour scheme. I think they will paint up beautifully!

Hoverjeep and menacing slasher drone in pieces. Lots of different weapon loudouts available!

The Slasher drone will be used as heavy support for my crusties. It's a large bugger though, definitely in the small to medium mech class. The totempole design combined with the insectile legs made it feel alien and like it should fit well with the crusties. It's certainly large enough to be used in 28mm scale as well where it could work as a largish (TAG sized) drone. Since I'm going full on District 9 with my crusties I'm thinking a dark blue paintjob with some orange detailing. The hoverjeep feels like a futuristic Humvee (and is surprisingly large!) and will most likely find use as a police vehicle. I can really see it in a blue/grey and white colour scheme.

So plenty of stuff to keep me busy! Of course at the moment I'm in an Infinity paintings phase so it might be a while before I get around to this. Hmm... my 28mm backlog is shrinking while my 15mm backlog just keeps growing! Haha!

Speaking of Infinity, what should I paint next? My two Hsien, my doctor and engineer (plus Yáozăo) or a Yáokòng remote? Tell me. TELL ME!!

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Pair of Gŭiláng Finished!

The Gŭiláng, or Ghost Wolf, is a model I use in nearly all of my games. It's Yu Jing's cheap camouflage infiltrator and while he's not as cheap or as well equipped as some other skirmishers he often gets the job done. The basic version for 25pts is a good deal I think, although his stats are fairly average he does comes with a Multispectral Visor 1 and Antipersonell Mines. Upgrading him to a Minelayer allows you to deploy one of the mines at the start of the game and is something I always try to squeeze in to save on time and orders later on. The Forward Observer variant is interesting as well and I will probably try it out once I have some guided missiles or grenade launchers ready to back him up.

So far I've only used the Combi Rifle Gŭiláng in my games so it's fun having a sniper available as well. It's a great looking model, however I'm not sure how effective it would be on the tabletop. With the Infiltration skill the Gŭiláng can usually get in optimal range with his Combi Rifle anyway, although... he won't outdistance his opponent with it. Hmm...

The colour scheme is similar to the rest of my Yu Jing of course. I considered doing some urban camo on the coat, but didn't like how it broke up the great billowing effect (yes, that's the entire point of camo but they need to look good as well. Hehe!). It was interesting seeing all the small differences between the old style sculpt (Combi Rifle) and the new (Sniper); basically it has become more refined with more realistic proportions. The old one still looks great though!

I came across these old photo backdrops that my buddy Micke printed out for me last year as well. Great stuff! Makes a huge change for my crappy little camera (or mobile phone in this case) both when it comes to showing the correct colour and focusing on the miniature itself.

I'm starting to get the hang of painting OSL. I've still only done simple stuff like the holo communicator on his arm and the eyes, but would like to try something a bit more adventurous.

It was fun painting the coats! They go from black to Cold Grey to Off-White. Might have to do some more detailing on the top/left side of the Combi Rifle. 

Next up I'm prepping all the unpainted Yu Jing I have (should be about a dozen) and start working through them. Not sure what it will be next. Perhaps the Zhanshi doc and engineer + Yáozăo... or a total reaction Remote... or the Hsien... or Sforza! I do feel like I have all the staple models painted now; the stuff I want to always have available. From now on it's more about specialists and niche troops.

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February (Leap) Wrap Up

First off... Merry Leap Day!!!

Mini and Board Games

• Had a laid back board game night over at Anders' house at the beginning of the month. Micke came as well and we played Gears of War and actually won, for the first time! I think we've started learning how to play well. Once we were done we had some more time so looked at what Anders had available. We talked for a while but finally ended up with Talisman! Which was pretty cool since I hadn't played that in more than a decade. I played as the assassin and had fun harrassing the other players but in the end came in last while Anders walked away with the Crown of Command. I enjoyed this surprisingly much and wouldn't mind playing it again when the mood strikes.
• We also played another game of Twilight Imperium with the full six players. While I love the game I didn't enjoy this game as much as I ususally do. I tried out the Arborec but was hemmed in very early on by my two neighbours and felt very limited in what I could do. The very different playstyle of the Arborec naturally compounded the problem as I wasn't really sure on how to use them best. I think TI is best when you let it rest for a while between games so you can recharge your batteries as it were. Also, last time we played with a premade (balanced) map without Distant Suns and everyone were within two victory points of each other. This time we played with a player build (random) map with Distant Suns and the VP spread was much larger (between two and seven points). Coincidence?
• Finally today, on Leap Day(!), I played a couple of games of Infinity. At a local game store/club Infinity has become really popular with every Wednesday being scheaduled for Infinity. I went there to have a look around and ended up playing another Yu Jing player twice. The first game was 150 points and I included my new Aragoto, a HMG Tiger and a Guilang (among other things). It proved very one-sided with the Aragoto, with some help from the Tiger, wiping out his entire force in the first turn! High speed, Mimetism and a Spitfire is a deadly combination. The next game we upped the points to 200 so I added  my Su-Jian and a bunch of Kuang Shi. It went similar to the first, with the Aragoto and Su-Jian racing ahead and killing stuff. I had some nice synergy going with my Kuang Shi flushing out his Daofei allowing my humble Guilang to take him out from combat camo. So, two solid victories where I've really come to appreciate speed!

Painting and Modelling

Yes! Back to painting again and I'm enjoying it immensely!

• I added some support weapons to my EarthSec army. I have some another squad half finished, but Infinity has gotten in the way. :)
• I also got an order from GZG containing colonial shacks and some more Crusties. I'm really looking forward to putting together my very own Martian shanty town! John was kind enough to include some additional robots and a shipping container. Thanks!
• So, you've seen my Aragoto and my Sù-Jián already. I'm almost done with my two Guiláng (WIP above) and have some other stuff lined up; Hsien, Yáokòng and Sforza to name a few. It's fun coming back to Infinity miniatures as they really are a joy to paint. My friend Anders has also started working on his Nomads, which is really awesome! He even ordered some Windsor & Newton Series 7 brushes and new paints from Vallejo. Good stuff!
• Got a couple of orders incoming from Ravenstar Studios and Hasslefree as well. Plus the space mat from Hotz Mats.

Video Games

• During the first half of the month I played the demo for Starbreeze's Syndicate reboot a lot. At first it just looks like another sci-fi shooter. Sure it looks nice and cyberpunk always works for me, but how is it different? Well, there is a large co-op part of the game where you work as a team of four agents against the AI in different missions and once you get it it's spectacular! There are all the cool guns and upgrades you can get of course, and teamwork is essential, but what really sets it apart is "Breaching". This is what Starbreeze calls hacking in the game and it allows you to do all kinds of stuff, from healing your team mates to hacking through doors to disabling grenades as they fly in the air towards you! Some of the game's tougher enemies requires you to breack/hack their armour as well or you won't be able to damage them. Once you start understanding how it all goes together you realise there's almost a kind of MMO metagame going on where one can act as the "tank" while another heal and a third exert "crowd control". It's a really neat game with great visuals and audio and the closest we have to an Infinity video game. Check out the demo at least!

Other Geekstuff

• As I mentioned last month I didn't want to jump straight into The Naked God when reading The Night's Dawn trilogy, but instead relaxed with Goliath, the final part in the Leviathan trilogy. It was pretty ok, just as the other two books, very light but fun with steampunk and Darwinist creations. I wouldn't mind recommending them to young teenagers. I also read The Sharp End which is a Hammer's Slammers novel. It doesn't feature huge amounts of hover tank combat but is instead a bit more intimate, reminding me of a mix between Yojimbo and Shichinin no Samurai if that makes sense. I like the Slammers books... gritty though they are. Now I've just started reading The Naked God and things are certainly ramping up. Anders has started reading The Reality Dysfunction so I look forward to being able to discuss it with him.
• I watched Fincher's version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I thought it was quite good (click the link for the trailer, it's spectacular)! With all the hoopla around the Millenium trilogy of books/films here in Sweden I've been a bit... tired of them and not really felt motivated to watch or read them. However, Fincher is Fincher and I wanted to see what he made of it and sure enough, he turns out spectacular work. I liked Daniel Craig in the role and Rooney Mara was great... very alien. Although it's been debated in Sweden whether she's being portrayed weaker than in the Swedish version. She really reminded me of Molly from William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy; interesting to examine the parallels.  The Swedish accent(s) are all over the place though! Not as bad as Skyrim, but sometimes a bit jarring.
• Also started re-watching Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (which is awesome) and tried to get going again on the second season of The Walking Dead. We'll see about that last one as I think I've had my fill of zombies for a while. Oh, and been watching an unhealthy amount of Invader Zim as well. Muahahahaaa!

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Sù-Jián Immediate Action Unit Finished!

<Transformers noise>

You might (or probably not) remember my first monthly wrap up back in September last year where I showed a WIP shot of my Sù-Jián. Well... I finally finished it. Only took five months! When I first saw the model I wasn't sure what to think of it, it's weirdly spindly almost avian looking in its combat form. The mobility form is more traditional, having a lot in common with the Yáokòng series of remotes. However, as I saw more pictures of it I started to like the weird little bird robot. Sure it seems kind of awkward, but also deadly and fast. And when I finally bought it I was very happy with how it looks in the flesh! A bit tricky to put together though.

Combat form.

I have this idea for a general colour scheme for my Yu Jing, or the Chinese parts anyway. The light grey-blue is the first common denominator with camo green being the second. This is more a guide than a rule so there are some deviatons here and there if it feels appropriate (Daofei and the Japanese for example). I also have in mind to make remotes and TAGs in a darker blue grey  and off-white colour scheme which made me think good and hard about how to paint the Sù-Jián since it's more like heavy infantry than a traditional remote. In the end I decided for a monochrome look with dark grey/black steel structure with light blue/grey armour plating and I think it worked out fairly well. It's certainly not colourful but it feels right in a way. Not entirely happy with the "eyes". As they're sculpted they're not more than slits so no lenses or anything to paint, but it simply looked to dull when they were just black holes. Oh well. I would like to add some details in the form of some small text and symbols though. I might have a look at some Gundam decal sheets or something (although preferably they'd be in Chinese, not Japanese).

Mobility Form.

On the table the Sù-Jián is unique in Infinity as it is the only model (so far) with the Mechanical Transmutation ability meaning it can shift between its two different forms. The smaller mobility form is very fast and can climb any surface quickly while the humanoid combat form is slower but gives it higher accuracy. The armaments consists of a Spitfire, a light flamethrower and a Panzerfaust. So... it's a formidable weapon platform that should be able to reach its intended destination quickly and have the means to keep it once there. I'm looking forward to trying it out... perhaps together with the (even faster!) Aragoto Senkenbutai!

When taking the pics for this I thought it would be fun to take a groupshot of what I have finished so far:

Pretty decent group of soldiers! And since I have the light infantry pretty much taken care of (for now, Keisotsu Butai awaits!) I can concentrate on the fun stuff like heavy infantry, remotes... and TAGs. :)

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February Releases for Infinity!

Two posts in one day? What is the world coming to?! I usually don't post simply about new releases but I just might start to with Infinity since the models are so damn good looking! So lets have a look at what February brings us!

First out we have a Myrmidion armed with a Spitfire for ALEPH. My knowledge about ALEPH units is minimal at best but I know the Myrmidions are close quarter shock troops and looking at their stats they seem pretty darn formidable. Not linkable but I'm sure that will change once ALEPH get their sectorials. I quite like the Myrmidons in general and this model in particular. The pose might look static at first glance but to me it seems like he's just spotted his next target and is bringing the Spitfire up to hose it!

We had already seen the Jotum as a preview on Beasts of War and I must say it's simply lovely looking! Contrary to popular opinion I'm not all that impressed by the other PanO TAGs. Both the Cutter and the Dragoes are excellent models, but the design haven't appealed to me. However, the Jotum really does! Big and brutish is just up my alley! I also like that you can see that it's based on the same chassis as the Dragoes, just a lot heavier.
It just might have become my favourite TAG and if/when the Svalarheima sectorial is released I'm getting one... if not sooner.

Nomads get some reinforcements in the form of a Reverend Custodier with boarding shotgun. The Reverend Custodier with combi rifle was released a few months back and while I liked the design I thought the pose was a bit plain. Cool in a way, but not particularly action-packed. Now we get this boarding shotgun toting babe and the pose is great! While the boarding shotgun might not be my first choice of weapon on this figure it certainly looks great. Love the flaring coat! Also, I think this is only the second shotgun carrying model released for Nomads. Neat!

 Well, well, well... what have we here?! At first glance they look kind of like the arachnids from Verhoeven's Starship Troopers, but they are in fact Yu Jing Yáopú Pangguling remotes. These are the Baggage remotes that all factions have and can be used to up the retreat limit of your force. They are also the only way to get an EVO repeater in a Yu Jing army so they're certainly a welcome sight! I like how the models are similar to the Yáokòng while still being completely different! To me they look more fragile although the stats say otherwise. These will be sitting on my workbench in the near future...

To round out the bunch we have a Zouaves armed with a rifle, D.E.P and assault pistol for Ariadna. We've only seen the sapper variants before, armed with HMG and sniper rifle. Here we have a model that can represent any of the other options reasonably well. With all the flashy releases for the other factions it can sometimes be easy for the Ariadna releases to get overlooked - there's no power armour or TAGs or REMs. They look just as good though and with their more contemporary look is often more easy to relate to. This guy with his heavy backpack and DEP over his shoulder simply looks real to me. It's the pose as well of course which manage to transmit both weight and movement. And the assault pistol in his right hand is just icing on the cake. Good stuff!

An excellent month for Infinty players I must say! The models I'm most happy to see gaming wise is the Yu Jing remotes, I've always wanted an EVO repeater. They also plug the second to last hole in the Yu Jing miniature line. Woo! As for favourite model from a miniature perspective it has to go to the Jotum. It simply manage to push all the right buttons for me. Awesome in every way!

Oh, and you might have noticed that in some of new pictures you can see the new marker and measuring tool from MAS. Which is kind of cool. :)

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