Nano Solo

Rare Artefacts from Spain

2011-09-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

Gifts from the warp

I returned from Scotland on Sunday (I saw Arcade Fire play at Edinburgh castle, which was amazing) to find a package in my hall. Javier from Javier at War very kindly mailed me some minis from his collection for my ItEN in 6mm project. How incredibly generous!

There's some chaos, squats, marines.. Even a metal chaplain(!) As you can see, some of the marines in mk7 armor are already undercoated yellow. I'm going to take this as an omen and paint the marines as Imperial Fists.

Also in the bubble wrap are some 15mm minis I don't recognize.. I'm guessing perhaps Laserburn figures? If they are, they are a lot nicer than the photos on the 15mm.co.uk website show and I may well order some more. Look out for those soon on my 15mm blog.

Many Thanks Javier, you are a gentleman and the finest kind of brother wargamer. I will be sending you some goodies from my recent Dark Realm minis order in appreciation!

Orks and Guard

2011-09-01T01:50:00.000-07:00

Here are the first photos of my finished 6mm GW plastic Space Orks and Dark Realm minis as Imperial guard.

Waaagh!

For the Emperor!

The Dark Realm minis are excellent. They also proxy very well for Cadian and Catachan troops. The 1mm flock is a little finer than I was expecting, but blends in well with my board so I'm happy. I need to figure out something to use as a tiny 'puffer' for it though, it tends to clump when trying to scatter it onto the base.

6mm Terrain Painted!

2011-08-31T12:13:00.000-07:00

I've painted up the terrain I've built and am quite pleased with the results. I have 3 more modules ready for paint, for a total of 9.They are all just flat so far, so I think I may build some hills topped with steel paper onto 2 of the remaining ones.

With rocks and trees

Painted 110mm steel modules

Self adhesive "felt" vinyl on the backs

...So the finish is protected when stacking (not to mention the table)

magnet+blob of putty+plastic toothpick+clump foliage= tree

A 4 module setup

Scratch built terrain for 6mm sci fi

2011-08-26T05:21:00.000-07:00

I had a very frustrating internet search for the old epic ruins sprues. They are impossible to get hold of now unfortunately. This is all the more galling because I threw some away last year when moving... The horror!

So after looking around for good looking 6mm skirmish terrain, it turned out there wasn't very much on offer. Most 6mm terrain is designed for army battles.
After much frowning, I decided to make my own stuff. It will be exactly what I want and the price will be right... In fact apart from some clump foliage (in the mail with the 1mm flock) it was all made of stuff I already had, which was pleasing.

First, some trees. When the clump foliage arrives I will glue it onto the trunks and then soak in PVA glue to make them durable.

Trunks made of plastic toothpick.

Next, some rocks and scatter terrain. These are just rocks stuck in some old putty I had lying around. In fact I think it's at least 6 years old... It was in the box with my Orks.

Bounty from the garden

Magnets embedded in the putty

Next, I used a technique I developed making 15mm ruins, which works even better in 6mm as the plastic card is the "right" thickness for walls. Basically, I use clippers to tear up the edges of the plastic card, then glue them together with overlapping pieces for depth. I still need to drill some bullet holes in before I paint them.

Some nice ruins

More trusty magnets

Rubble piles (Still needs some sand)

Sniper corner

another shot of the corner

I think that's enough for now. I saw some great ammo crates and barrels etc. when searching the net, so will pick these up eventually. Right now I have to get some black spray undercoat (curse the sudden rain!) and then get onto some figures.. No excuses now I have about 100 metal guys to choose from. I'm going to tackle the DRM scouts first as a Catachan Imperial Guard retinue to face my Orks.

Great Service!

2011-08-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

I received packages from Exodus wars and Angel Barracks ONE DAY after ordering. Both orders were well packed and the castings in both cases are very clean with little or no flash.

Fantastic service, couldn't be more satisfied!

Mekboy and Gretchin assistant

2011-08-25T02:33:00.000-07:00

Finished except for static grass (in the mail)

This is how I hold a magnetically based figure for painting

Finished off the touch-up paint on what will be a Mekboy with Kustom Mega Blasta and his Gretchin assistant (loader) for ItEN. It's so much fun painting at this scale... It's very precise, but as you are basically dealing with tiny specks of paint, it doesn't take very long at all. Some people say that a 2 stage highlight isn't necessary on 6mm figures. I say it's essential for skirmish scale games and really isn't difficult.
Makes me realize how many bad painting habits I picked up from "army painting" back in the day.

Believe it or not, I used some Devlan Mud Wash dabbed into details on the big gun. There really is nothing it can't make look better.

And no, I don't use my thumbnail as a palette, I just got it messy while painting my scenery squares.

Other sources for 6mm sci fi

2011-08-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

I've already discovered Angel Barracks for all kinds of 6mm goodies, but another noteworthy place to get some 6mm goodness is:

http://www.exoduswars.com/

These guys make some great 6mm sci fi ranges at great prices. There are all kinds of cool figures like gunslinging bounty hunters, sleek power armor, even zombies... I'll definitely be picking some of their packs up soon.

Magnets in the mail

2011-08-23T02:26:00.000-07:00

Early this morning the postman delivered these:

8mm diameter, 1mm thick magnets

What for? As bases for individual 6mm figures! I have textured a bunch of 110mm square steel plates with sand and railway ballast to use as a tiny game board. I thought I wasn't going to have a use for these, so I'm especially happy one has turned up.

My hilariously small, steel game board modules

The magnets will help keep the figures from moving around or tipping over as my clumsy hands try to move them about. As an added bonus they will make the figures easy to store on a flat piece of steel in a small box... No need for foam with these guys.

I was worried that the magnets would either not be strong enough to cling through the sand mix, or be TOO strong and make the figures hard to move. Luckily, they are just right.

Angel Barracks have posted my Dark Realm minis and I'm watching a few items on ebay, so some painting soon. In the meantime I'm trying to figure out the best and cheapest way to make magnetic hills or other raised terrain. Ferrous paint on foam? Steel paper? Snipped up tins? Not bother with hills for a while? Hmm.

What's all this about?

2011-08-22T04:35:00.000-07:00

SO TINY!!

I have been looking into "FUBAR" and more recently "In the Emperor's name", two streamlined, fast playing, brilliantly written, and FREE rule sets.
Amongst the lively posting on their yahoo group, Angel Barracks has been putting up photos of their efforts making a 6mm set of figures and terrain for FUBAR. The photos took me back to 1997, when I painted these figures for GW's EPic game (My favorite GW game after Blood bowl) which I have such affection for, I have kept with me through the years in a little plastic box.

I began painting (and converting) Epic figures when it was first released in 1988, but they were not worth keeping through my many clear-outs, so I have precious few of them left. The ones in these photos were from either kitbashes from my older models or from the plastic sprues that came with the ill-fated 3rd edition of the game, which I still believe was actually the best set of battle rules GW ever came out with.

Converted Bikeboyz command unit

One of my beloved Squiggoths on a 20mm square base

Converted Boarboyz Command

Kommandos with repositioned arms for variety

Converted Weirdboy Tower

Looking at these miniatures, I'm a little bit surprised at how crazy I was at the age of 25. Here I am complaining about painting eyes on 15mm figures when I used to paint the goggles and tusks of 6mm orks. It's going to be hard (with my old eyes) matching that level of crazy today.

So apart from a little trip down memory lane, I've been thinking about making a little "travel set" size skirmish board and miniatures for a long time, and Angel Barracks have convinced me to do so. This blog will be devoted to this project and where it takes me.

Stay tuned!

Spacejacker