Insurgency rising - part 15

Hello guys,


I have raced forward with painting my last three insurgents as I wanted to show those to you before I would show you that WW1 post I was talking about. I have decided to do that to finish my insurgents "sub project" and show you what I got so far. I have more things planned for moderns, but most of them are still on my way, so I will take a break from them for now. I will either paint some zombies or survivors (they really deserve to get some attention again!) or I could even FINALLY paint some of the Strange Aeons figures  I bought so zealously at last year's Salute. I have realised I am losing control over all the stuff I have started this year alone and I would like to close as much WIP as possible.


Well, this post isn't about the future, it's about the insurgents. I have attached tonnes of bad photos (for which I apologize) down below. I have always been saying just about one in every two youngsters are photographers these days, alas I am not one of them.

So, what I have left to show you from 27 insurgents I've been working on in those past weeks, are two riflemen and a guy with an RPG.

 Not much to say that hasn't been said before. First rifleman is a complete civilian for a change, second one is "leader" posed, but I had enough of those already and RPG gunner has a mask :P. I also gave him some sort of rocket backpack, but I think it's too short to be realistic. I have sculpted it in three compartments, two for the mines and one for the explosive charges, as it should be :P.

Moving on from repetitive wording, below you can see all 27 insurgents grouped in  four groups as per Force on Force quick start rules, that I used as a guidance for my conversions. They could use some foliage on their bases and a spray coat of an ACTUAL mat varnish (the one I am using is "mat" though), but other than that they are done. I'm quite proud, this is the largest "army" in 28mm I have painted so far.

I have also included photos of same body types grouped together, so you can see just  how different they all came out. I even had some problems grouping them, so I consider conversion well done!

"Police officer" and "suit" types of guys:

 "Coat" and "Standing" types of guys:

 "Hoodie" and "Fat" types:

 "Crowbar" and...err...original "Cargo pants" guys:

and lastly "Bat" guys:

 So, only three young boys are missing, which will be used for different project - either as civilians (that candy won't beg for itself!) or as survivors and thus not really related to this project.

Overall I have quite enjoyed working on those and I plan on getting another box if this project will stick and I'd need more. I also need more firepower, mainly some GPMGs, a heavier machinegun, like a .50 cal, a sniper and faaar down the list there are some stronger anti tank rocket systems. Maybe an AA rocket launcher or two, but that's so unnecessary they would only be used because they look cool.

I should start searching for some pickups, however - them liberators need a ride.

Well, let that be it for today.

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Insurgency rising - part 14

Hello guys,
 
part 14 of the insurgents today and I still have three more to show! Today I've decided to use Zhengdefu 1/48 T-90. This tank will be used for anything from T-50 to T-90 that it actually represents. It's not too bad considering what I got it for, but as I put miniatures next to it, it does come out somewhat tall. It's a main battle tank and so the imposing size isn't all bad, I suppose.

I took some great comments from the past into account when painting today's three miniatures and went for somewhat wacky camouflage. It's a red urban camouflage on two guys and I got no idea if itis even actually used by any army as it's so ridiculous. Then again,  is PLA's "cloud camo" any better? :D

When I started working on the insurgents I planned to paint each batch in different camouflage pattern (or at least every second), but I quickly narrowed it down to two, third being wrong colours picked and fourth being this red one. It's simply easier that way and...well, I suppose the insurgents would have one predominant camouflage clothing at hand from official local army.

So, today I have two riflemen and a RPK support gunner to show you. I am really happy with how those turned out and I can tell you straight away the next three won't be that characterful.

 First guy from the left is obviously a veteran of many insurgency campaigns. He has (un)wisely taped two magazines together for a quick reload. He looks downright menacingwith his covered face. There is one thing about him, though. He has a backpack on his belt (check photo below) and wears no straps - he must be in a lot of back pain!
Fatty in the middle not so much, wearing his weekend tracksuit. Not much to say about him, apart from extra effort I took painting the stripes, he's nothing special.
Lastly, the RPK (or, well M72) gunner is the only one of his kind that has (drum roll) - a drum magazine! I figured it would look cool on one at least, besides - I had to figure something new after I have cut his magazine and gave it to the first guy!

Not much else can be said about them, so below is a group photo. You can see just how large the "low silhouette" tank is. Apart from mr. Yellow still drawing attention, this group photo is nothing special, really. I hope I can manage to play a test game with them early in June.

In other news, a couple of day ago I was visiting the location of WW1 "Isonzo front", so you can expect some photos (I actually wanted to post them today, but have decided you deserve some miniatures :P) soon.

Also, Warlord games offer a 50% off their sprues at http://store.warlordgames.com/collections/sprues. This is just too good too pass and I've made a tiny order. I got myself a variety of sprues for different projects, but more on that when they come or when I'll start working on them.

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

More WIP - Modern and some others

 Hello guys,

I got some more WIPs to share before I continue with the remaining of my insurgents. I'll start with the "others" category. My mojo is with the moderns these days, so those haven't been touched in either weeks or even months. Some have been waiting for some love for well over half a year already. 

This is the case with Weird WW2 Uber soldaten / mutants. They were meant for my WWWII project that never really took off, but I have done bits and bobs in that direction. I got this great idea for a genetically enhanced soldier I had to build him right away (he is the one far right) and others were just something I made up as I went. I am not proud of whatever is that thing on the middle (it's worse in a back shot!) and well - the shark head wasn't one of the brightest ideas, either.

 I think I could call the one on the right finished, but there is "something" missing. Something I can not put my finger to. The other two need some work on their heads and arms, which are two reasons why they never moved anywhere.

Next is a Kurent, a traditional carneval mask from eastern Slovenia (but some similar ones could be found elsewhere in Slavonic countries). I actually like him but work on him has stalled as he needs feathers added to his head and, again, his face and arm done. I will try to resume work on him as he's traditionally armed with a hedgehog stick and using some imagination, he could be used as a maniac in anything from 1930 until today.
On a photo below, he lies in a pile of weaponry, two of them being discarded F2000s and one is a disposable AT launcher. The "better" rifle and a minimi have been away for some time now, but I expect them back soonish (wink wink).

Talking of modern weapons, here are some modern "sub projects" I am working on.

First, the civilian horde. I am using Studio miniatures plastic zombies, if you were looking for a reason for their shambling. To put the credit where it is due this time, they were gifted by Vampifan of World of the undead fame! I have painted some others as zombies, but seeing I got a massive horde of around 50-60 zombies already (I know, I know...), I have decided  to make some rioting civilians instead. The work is slow and the two without torsos (torsos were donated for humvee gunners) actually got beefed up a bit. I have concluded I still can't sculpt a human torso.
I plan on making around 12-16 civilians only and I will beef the mob with zombies if stars ever do get right and I will play a game.

 Down below are four soldiers I've been working on for a while now and have shown before. In the mean time, they didn't get much love as I am not all that satisfied with them. I think metal dollies (I was using eBob's armatures) don't help me all that much for some reason. I have stretched out their torsos at the stage below:

..then I got struck by a wish to have them completed and I have started working on them little by little every day in the last week. I don't have pictures but I have sculpted lower brims of their shirts and then started working on a flak vest over it...until yesterday, that is. I have compared them to the two Empress miniatures I have and found out that if they have been too small at the beginning, they were too large now. Without a thought, I cut their shoulders right of. This made their vests too small, so I had to cut off the shirt and make them longer. Adding some putty to the vest was actually a harder operation than expected and it made me regret my choice.

You can see the little extra work I've done below. I think I will just forget about it and about those horrible feet and just finish them. I had some ideas of trying to get them cast and just add heads and sculpt new pair of arms on everyone (while keeping the same torso and legs), but I don't think I will do that. Instead, I will give another 4 a shot eventually, perhaps trying to make my own wire armatures again. I must also be doing something wrong with my pants as it took me way too long to get them to a stage they are in now. I dread the thought to sculpt so many different vests and pouches, so I think it would be a great idea to invest in some instamould very soon, too :D.

Lastly, here is a comparison photo. Green are mine, metal are by Empress, plastic by SM, painted by WGF. Mine will somehow end up much bulkier than I expected (I was worried they would be very thin), especially when I will add countless pouches to them. I actually prefer it that way - the flow of tiny eye candy doesn't suit me.

Ah, I forgot. Here is also a quick photo of a sniper I am working on. Between the constant dilemma of too big - too small, this one came out too small and will be scraped. On the other hand, it was made from scratch and looks like a rifle so I have concluded the idea was all right. I will start over and keep you posted!

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Insurgency rising - part 12

Hello guys,

I got yet another three insurgents painted to show today. To be completely honest, I've finished those around the same time as I've finished the previous three. I've painted 5 at one time, but I've found out that this is too many, so I have painted 4 next time for a total of 9 for three posts :P.
This means they are much like previous bunch, but I can assure you that three I am working on will be a tad more special. Only by paint job, of course.

So, today we got a heroic leader and yet another couple of riflemen. I really hate myself for not making the effort to make sure every rifle is an AK. This didn't seem as important back then (and I felt I shouldn't be ruining all the cool weapons :P), but it bothers me now somehow :D.

Either way, on to photos:

First from the left is a leader. He covered his head with balaclava (I've put balaclavas on some of the insurgents if I would ever have to differentiate between veteran and green insurgents) and apparently ran out of ammo on his M16 as he is blazing away with a pistol. For a sake of diversity, his balaclava was painted in camouflage pattern.
Guy in the middle is an ordinary rifleman and as such there is nothing spectacular about him. I have made way too large splashes on his camouflage, so it didn't came out as well as it could. As he is made from a body that should be swinging a bat IIRC, he seems to be charging.
Last guy had a bit more work involved and he carries a backpack with (:O :O) a water bottle! Given the position of his rifle, he is clearly either patrolling or marching.

Below is a close up of the back pack. Never mind the unrealistic V shape of the backpack, lol.

And, as usual, the group all together. If you  care, this photo is exactly the same as the one in the previous post, but it had those three guys added to the left :P.

I have to say I am quite satisfied with how they are turning out overall and working on them has actually motivated me to work on my Slovene soldiers. I am now not only slowly slugging forward with sculpting first four bodies, but I am also working on another weapon! (Woooow :D)

I'd gladly promise you more insurgents in my next post, but I think I'll post yet more WIPs that I haven't covered in my last WIP post.

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Insurgency rising - part 11

Hello guys,

I got yet another three insurgents to show, which means there are only 9 left (yay!).
I am trying to push my soldiers forward with sculpting, but I'm very busy lately and I rarely find time for hobby. Still, every little done is a step forward so that's something, too.

There is not much to say about today's trio. We got three riflemen, one with a bit more modern webbing and other two with a "bad guys" chest ring. Fat man is painted horribly and I have to admit I've started wondering if khaki/sand colour is a right choice for ALL my webbing. Still - at least they provide contrast. The problem with painting people in camouflage is how it all ends up looking the same.

Lastly, a photo of them all below:

As I've said, there really isn't much to add. If I could paint them faster I'd post more than just three at a time as I can't ditch the feeling that I keep posting one same post :D

Still, thanks for looking,

Mathyoo

WIP table and projects

 Hello guys,

while I have insurgents painted that I could show, I've decided to share my WIPs with you. While not everyone likes to share their work in progress, I think it's a great way to get motivated to continue working on project that haven't moved anywhere in weeks (or months :3), plus comments are usually very helpful with ideas. 

Today I'll show you miniatures for Slavic mythology game I've been talking about. For good guys, I will buy a pack of plastic Vikings or Dark Age warriors. I'm still clutching to my money, so I haven't bought a box yet as I figured I'd work on monsters and creatures with what I have at hand. This seemed like a great idea at start, but I think some plastic models would make my life much easier!

To start with - a dragon. There is no mythology worth something that hasn't got dragons in it. I am basing mine to represent something between an olm and carp. So far, only rough framework has been done and I'm not too satisfied. He was done low on ground intentionally, but I think he ended up too low. I think I'll bulky his body further more. Legs are tight at body to make the model more sturdy (which is also a reason he lies on the ground).

 Next, I am working on two centaurs. In Slovene mythology, centaur is called a "Polkonj" (Pou-kon), literally meaning half-horse. Nothing much to say here, they are your ordinary centuars, I plan to arm one with a lance and the other one with a bow. If I can pull it off, I'd make one a female :D.
In tales they are either just as horrible as Cynocephali ("dog heads") in their quest to kill everything human. In western parts of the "Slovene inhabitated area" - today's Italy - Centaurs fight valiantly against Cynocephali to protect humans. To  sum it up - they could be used on both sides.

Moving on, I am converting HorrorClix Fiend ("Frankenstein's monster) to Kresnik. Kresnik is a bit of a complicated figure in Slovene mythology. It is believed to be the main god of ancient Slavs in this area and thus could be representing Perun, Slavic god of thunder under a different name. There are also theories that Kresnik's brother Trot is actually a Peron. To make matters worse, Kresnik is also a demigod protecting humans, fighting spirits and demons that want to hurt humanity. He is kind of a "Slovene Heracles". I've figured I'd use him as a "last resort" in my games - when good guys would get into a losing battle in their campaing, prayer to gods would give them chance to "spawn" Kresnik so that saga can continue.

He is your usual barbarian, long haired, long bearded, dressed in what might be a typical Ancient Slavic clothing and wielding a thunder axe. I am not sure about his other arm and I figured he could use some lightnings or a knife. Or another axe. The only thing better than an axe are two axes.

 

 Moving on, there is a "Malavar" lizard. A giant black lizard, so poisonous, his breath could kill. When you kill one of those, you have to put him on an ant hill and wait long enough that only bones and a diamond he carries under his skin are left there. Im effectively making a small dragon and I got a weird feeling he won't be finished any time soon.

 Lastly in this category, are "Pasjeglavci" (Pasyeglavtsee  - its plural). Cynocephali if you prefer, or the dog-heads. They are described as humans with dog head; beings with human torso, goat legs and dog heads; can't look up and so on and so on. They live on the other side of  the "rotten sea" and hate humans with all their soul. Every now and then a particular vicious dog soldier is born (as a child ofa princess locked in a tower that only has a puppy for a company - you get the picture) and he leads his army against humans. They are a representations for Huns, Mongols, Turks and all other "evil guys". I have used the remaining of my Ungor herd from WG for those and I am quite happy with them. I have cut the ears, turned horns into dog ears and added longer mouth. I like the looks of them and all the bones go along well with their savage nature. As they are from GW, they are much larger than ordinary humans, which is also a plus.  On the other hand, buying some dark age warriors would give me enough humans to turn into dog soldiers.

 Only thing I hated was ridiculously oversized axe, which I believe looks much better now.

 I actually wanted to show you my other WIPs as well (got moderns, Strange aeons and WW2 related miniatures I'm working on), but as this came out to be quite a long post on it's own, I'll show them at a later date. As I've said, I got some insurgents painted and I'd like to show them next time so I don't bury my blog in ideas and half done work.





In other news, I'm going on a representation of a book today. The book is about Rommel and his "visit" to Soča (Isonzo) river during WW1 (Caporetto anyone?). As the author wrote about Rommel's book I've read before and Stormtroopers (my bachelor thesis), I was quite interested at first. I've got the book in my library today to see what I should be expecting and I wasn't overly impressed - a nice read for people that know nothing about it, but apart from some nice maps it seems to be translation of Rommel's book and Wikipedia entries on Stormtroopers and "Infiltration" tactics.

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo

Insurgency rising - part 10

Hello guys,

moving on with painted stuff (yay!), I got a part 10 of the insurgents project to show you today.
Nothing surprisingly new here, just another three freedom fighters in variety of equipment and clothes.

I might mention at this point I feel sorry I didn't put more effort in making sure everyone is armed with an AK, but oh well...maybe with the next box :D.

Today I have a leader, an RPG gunner and a random rifleman.

I've decided to scrap the plastic hood and sculpt one covering his face. I've also added a head with sun shades and a bandana for an ultimate improvised identity protecting kit! I  wanted to go with skull motive on the bandana but I've got confused and painted it mostly black before remembering skulls are predominantly white and not black! I really like his position - he is holding a rifle in one hand and mending his radio with another. You can perhaps just notice how the strap covering radio pouch is slightly angled "because of the antennae".
This RPG gunner is the only one actually aiming the weapon and I'm quite proud of it. The scars of the complicated surgical operation can be noticed, but it's good enough for a tabletop bad boy. I've forgot to sculpt a pack of extra rockets on him, but I'm fixing that on the third gunner that is yet to be painted - so at least one will have them. Other than that, he has the hat turned backwards (an actual practice!) an the rest is nothing to really write home about.
Third guy is the coat guy. I gave him a bandana to make him at least a bit different. I think this pose is one of my least favorite because of the coat.

To keep it more interesting, I've added a couple of shots with the miniatures that share the same body. It shows how versatile this kit can be and while I could do better, I think there's quite a decent amount of variety in them so far.

Above there are two coat guys, two suit guys and three hoodie guys.
Below are two strangley standing guys, two whichever guys, two jumpsuit guys and a random fat + another guy. I might want to think about new ways to name the bodies :D.

And as usual, the all-painted-so-far shot. Putting them up three by three, I get quite impressed at how fast they grow. There is 15 painted insurgents on this photo, which means there are only 12 to go!

Lastly, I'd like to thank Clint from Anything but a One fame for the Salute 2014, random Salute and Postie's dice. Surely I can call myself half-a-reject now...or should I cover it up and hope nobody ever knows? :D

Thanks again mate!

Thanks for looking,
Mathyoo