Helsreach mercenaries - Adelei Niska

"Good work, you brought her back without a scratch and sorted my little headache out proper for me; here's your pay.... but we ain't done yet. This is a big one. I reckon y'all up for this one, but to be sure I'm coming wit ya. We're gettin' ourselves a ship, a proper ship. We're gonna be all sneaky like and I've got the plans down, meticulous like, but there's gonna be some shootin' and I want to make sure we're shootin' straight, so I'm leading this one. Gather ya stuff up, load up on what ya need  - this could be our last mission on this shithole cos if we get this ship we're outta here and you're my crew. In?

So this little post-apocalyptic mercenary gang is done for now, finishing with another great model from Hasslefree. I've converted him slightly, removing his original weapon, which was some sort of power axe and gone for an understated bolter type of weapon. I've obviously added a pet lizard on chained leash, which is very much inspired from an illustration in the Rogue Trader rulebook and Asslessman's great version. I decided to add some additional colour to his face, some faded/washed away eye shadow and slightly red lips. I think I should have added a tattoo which matched the logo on the car from my last post, I'll come back to that.

And here's the crew in their entireity. For my first bash at Rogue Trader/ Post-Apocalyptic I'm really happy with how they've turned out. Next time I'll be including more conversions as I enjoyed the car building the most and have always preferred that aspect of the hobby more than the painting, but heavy conversions do slow me down somewhat. Also the models I chose here are all new to me and I was quite happy with how they looked out of the box. I'd like to futurise some fantasy models next, I've an idea for some Nurgle/Steampunk based on the original classic champions and I've also got a little collection of Bob Olley space adventurers (plus Dinosaur) that I'd like to paint up... More to come..

Helsreach Mercenaries - Arrabella; Peugeot 203

"Don't fuck this up", threatened Adelei Niska, his large presence adding considerable weight to the threat. "If she comes back with any damage on her, I'll do the same to y'all, one at a time, slow and steady like, and I'll enjoy it, clear?"

Adelei Niska took the crew to his garage and unveiled his pride and joy, "Arrabella", an old Peugeot 203 with raised suspension and over-powered v12 engine. She'd done a lot of missions and helped create a lot of stories with Adelei Niska as he built his reputation and eventual leadership of this province of Logan's World. But she was being brought out of retirement for this new mission; a crew of Ork Slavers had taken some human captives at the far side of Niska's patch, caused some damage and disrespected his sovereignty. He wasn't going to let it go, so he turned to his mercenaries, offered them plenty of incentive and the opportunity to take the car with them. His Maria would accompany them though, just for insurance and because he trusted her to bring Arrabella back in good condition..

You can see the construction of the car here if you missed it, so I'll start this post with the painting processes. I tried out a few new techniques on this badboy. I started with a grey primer which acted as a dull metallic undercoat. I then used some red/brown aerosol applied over this, leaving some of the grey exposed. This created a perfect base layer for my rusting techniques. For this I used a range of browns/reds/oranges mixtures all applied by dabbing a brush, I actually let the brush fall out of my grip onto the car to create a slightly random application of paint and I kept on jumping from one colour to another so there was a range of light and dark colours in any one area. It took a while and quite a few successive layers, but I found that this technique also allowed me to build up a slight texture to the finish too (none of the paints were watered down):

The above two WIP pictures are taken in daylight and show the true colours of the car, the first photo and subsequent ones are with my daylight bulb and actually increase the orange value slightly. Just goes to show that you can't beat real daylight for colour accuracy in photography..

Here you can see one of the images I researched, which helped me explore the rust colours/palette that I eventually went for. However some further research showed me that a lot of rusted out old cars still retained their shiny, chrome fixings, which provided a nice contrast to the rust colour but also a focal point. My model at this point was looking rather bland and needed some additional detail. You can see what I mean below;

So I introduced some Bare-Metal foil, which I had read about being used by serious car modellers on the net. It is incredibly easy to use and really jazzes up the finish of the car, perhaps better than paint can (unless I was to have gone down the nmm route perhaps..). Quite simply you cut a piece of foil slightly bigger than the area to which it is to be applied, use a cocktail stick to apply and push into any crevices and the material sticks to the model and retains all the detail/texture that was originally there. I used a cotton bud to burnish it into place and then a sharp scalpel to trim it back to the correct size:

I applied it to the rims of the headlights, the front grille, rear bumper and the side trim (very thin strips). I feel this really broke the model up and provided some much needed contrast. Some of the chrome then received a very fine wash of dry pigment in matt varnish, just so it wasn't so super shiny. The final stage was too add the last elements of weathering, more red oxide dry pigment, creating additional texture as to where the worst rust would occur (I assumed this would be mainly over the wheel arches from experience of my previous rust bucket cars - I 'm thinking of you Toyota Celica!) and then some oil stains around the moving parts and exhaust with Nuln Oil and finally my dusty dry pigment, applied heavily to the wheels and undercarriage to tie the vehicle into the desert landscape setting I've created for my Rogue Trader mercenary warband:

Oh and of course I added a Copplestone figure in the back, wearing fatigues and looking mean as she keeps watch with her rifle. I then actually went back to the model and added the logo on the doors, I felt the model needed something else to look at and to break up the shape. I was initially going to go for a scorpion (I wanted a desert creature) but after practising found it very hard to get an accurate shape of such a detailed critter, so instead plumped for a coiled snake. I definitely painted it too small on the whitewashed background, so had to improvise by adding the squared sign on a whim to fill a bit more space and add something extra. Snake squared I guess?

I think the only downside of using 1:43 scale cars is that they are quite narrow. I think the length is pretty much in scale, but they could do with being a touch wider for 28mm. I can't imagine two 28mm sitting side-by-side in the front...

The car kinda gets lost in my usual photo set up, with all the rusty structure in the background, so I've also taken some using a plain background, or at least my white kitchen table:

And to finish, a couple of shots of the whole gang, now with vehicle but just awaiting the last member and arch-leader of this mercenary group:

Helsreach Mercenaries - Abdul Goldberg

"I was just minding my own shit, taking my sweet time over my warm milkshake, just feeling the vibe of the tunes playing from the kitchen of Greasy Kim's Bar and Diner. I'd been on the drugs for a while so I was feelin' pretty spaced out and fluffy, not really sure how long I'd been there, or even why I was there. And then "boom!", I nearly shit meself. Not expecting that. Out of the smoke arrives this crew of tough guys, guns out, shouting all loud like. They rough me up asking where some guy called Abdul Goldberg's at. It's a name I'm only just familiar with, maybe a few weeks ago, he's been winning gambles with the best of 'em here and fleecing some of the town's tough guys. They've been looking for him. It's a name you can't forget once you've heard it. He's got a rep now. Anyway I tell these guys that I've never met the fella, no idea what he looks like; not sure why they're bugging me about it, all I'm doing is just tryin' to chill. Apparently he was here earlier, relaxing with his crew. I tell 'em that I kinda remember a group relaxin' and chattin' in the corner,, looking all smug like, but I don't know when they left or where they went. I get a smack in the face for that honest information. Fuckers. I'm pleading with this big thug, sayin I know nuthin and then out of knowhere this crew comes in and shoots the place up, all these thugs around me now slumped over, blood everywhere. No idea how I got missed by all that shootin. And then through the carnage steps this fella, he was the fella I saw earlier in the Diner. I'm focused now. He's all calm and serene like in his movements, real elegant with his long coat swishing behind him. I look into his eyes as he approaches me and somehow his eyes flicker between  hard arse, piercing like and then like the whole things a joke, I didn't know how to read him. Shit meself properly this time. Anyway he comes up to me, pats me on the back, slurps my milkshake and yells out to the kitchen that I need a new, cold one. One of the thugs groans and he sticks him in his gut with his sword, not even looking at the guy, but looking at me. I swear he made it look like the whole thing was one big joke. He clicks his fingers and he and his crew walk out all silent like. I promise this is the truth, exactly what happened, no bullshit. This happened. Who is he then, this Goldburg, really, I wanna know?"

My version of Abdul Goldberg, using a very cool Hasslefree miniature. I'm not sure that he entirely fits my imagination of what Goldberg looks like (based upon the cant information in the Rogue Trader rulebook), I imagined a slightly portly, fun loving gangster with a hard edge. I've caught the hard edge with this mini, but didn't have time to sculpt a belly onto him that would have made him perhaps slightly more jovial.. I was tempted to add some blood and gore onto the sword, but decided he was already tough enough looking and was worried it might go over the top.


The backstory is based on the information given in on pages 243-244 of the Rogue Trader rulebook, where the sub-plot generator is located. This is the excerpt I used to give me some context:


"Abdul Goldberg has crossed you for the last time - it was pure luck that your paths should cross on this isolated planet outside of imperial control. He and his crew are relaxing down at Greasy Kim's Bar and Diner, unaware that you and your crew are ready to pounce. The diner is mostly deserted, with only a few lonely vac-heads and spacers to witness the fight."


Obviously I chose one of the vac-heads/spacers to give his account and changed the outcome slightly, imagining Goldburg to be way too savvy to be caught in a diner by a group of thugs..

Here you can see Goldburg with his crew, post diner chillax, a proper bunch of rogues.

Helsreach Mercenaries - Doc Shivers and Stoksie

Stoksie is a hard bastard. He's got those eyes that penetrate you and search out your weaknesses as well as a physical presence and bulging bulk that intimidates the shit out of you. You only get to see those eyes close-up though and not many have lived to tell that tale, because Stoksie likes nothing more than to get you from a distance. By nature a loner, Stoksie teamed up with Doc Shivers because of his one fear, the fear of being hurt. He's hurt others many, many times, often in quite barbaric circumstances; the red haze descends and the innermost fears pour out in a full beserker's frenzy, so he has seen pain, caused pain, but it scares him shitless, having it done to him. He's trained his body, honed his reactions so that he will always make the first move, fire the first shot, down his man before any response is forthcoming. There's been some close-shaves on his health, but he's survived, relatively unscathed.

He took a bullet to his right bicep in the last gunfight. It hurt like fuck. He wasn't careful enough, didn't see the fourth man until it was a split second too late and took the bullet. The initial response was one of pure fury, bullets spraying with unerring accuracy and ferocity; one of his battle lusts that make him seemingly transcend his own body and operate on a different time scale to his adversaries. They didn't survive; the man who shot his arm, died looking into those eyes.

Then, the shock of mortality, the pain, the blood. He could just about deal with those, although he hated the sight of his own blood, but what scared him, really scared him, was that this wound could be the one that debilitated him, made him microscopically slower or fractionally less flexible. Worsten his performance, make him a less effective killer.

So he teamed up with Doc Shivers, a fugitive found hiding in a warehouse, on the run. He offered the Doc unshakeable protection from the Slavers who he had escaped from (and all the others that wanted their revenge upon him) in return for medical support and reassurance. Doc Shivers was more than happy to team up, especially with someone who asked for so little in return, rarely spoke and had already been brutally efficient in keeping the Doc alive.

That's all Doc Shiver's wanted, to survive. He'd swindled so, so many, charging astronomical sums for surgical work that needn't have been so complex. Performing operations that deliberately enfeebled the patient - paid for by rich clients and bounty hunters - conducted deliberately unsuccessful identity face swaps and even adding bizarre mutations on unsuspecting patients. Doc Shivers was not a man of morals, but he was a bloody good surgeon who's skills were renowned and much sought. But he had made too many enemies and needed to re-group, survive and eventually flee to a safer, location, away from his assailants. Stoksie may well be that ticket, but was certainly that protection...

These two are both from the Copplestone range of miniatures and are really nice, clean and crisp sculpts, as you'd expect from such a talented sculptor. The clean lines and crisp details make the painting experience nice and easy and there's a good amount of character and dynamism in the faces and poses.

I like the ripped clothing and the little bits of flesh poking through, break up the larger areas of fabric whilst there's always some detail to keep you interested as a painter; whether it's the sunglasses, the knee pads or the bandana. With Doc Shivers, I went for a slightly medical looking pale blue/white suit that I hoped would help make him stand out from the rest of the crew as less of a hard warrior and more of a supporting/civilian type who still knows how to look after himself with a gun.

You can see how they line up with their new mercenary chums, all dirty and dusty:

I've started work on the Mad Max style car for them (although I'm now thinking of also making some sort of camping van for the group to help transport them all around) and I'll post up some Wip photos in due course. Thanks for reading!

Helsreach Mercenaries: Saffron and Mal (lovers and fighters)

Saffron and Mal. Sometime lovers, always fighters, these two have history and reputation. Mal was a one time famous smuggler and captain of his own ship, now desperately trying to raise funds, through mercenary activities, to buy a new ship and hire a new crew, ultimately trying to recapture his halcyon days. Those days were in decline as soon as he met Saffron, the swindler, the con-artist. When she entered his life, he (understandably) let his guard down as she used all of her cunning, training and charms to disarm the rogue and take from him as he took from others. Slowly but steadily his steadfast power as leader of the crew diminished as her hold over him increased. He became obsessed by the challenge she presented.

As his attentions became more and more focused on her and the challenges she bought to his authority and self-restraint, his motley crew grew uneasy without Mal's strong leadership. His distraction caused several missions to go wrong, endangering the crew and limiting what was being pocketed. It was not long before they mutinied and stole his ship and cargo in embarrassingly easy circumstances, discarding the two squabbling lovers and fighters in a far flung corner of the system that became known to them as Helsreach.

Stranded with just their clothes and some basic weapons, both soon realising that they could actually work together quite effectively, rather than in opposition. Exploring the area and surviving by whatever means possible (always at the expense of others) they eventually overstepped into the domain and dealings of the notorious local crime lord, Adelei Niska. Realising their skills and potential to serve him, he hired them to complete a series of dirty missions, which they completed with great success. The loot they've taken from these jobs and the payments they've received means they are getting closer to be able to buy that new ship, maybe just one more big job would do it..... or maybe they can double-cross their employer....

Both of these figures are from the Foundry "Gangers" range which I picked up from last years BOYL. I think they've got some real character in the sculpts; mean and grizzled, proper versatile veterans of a post-apocalyptic world. You can see the use of MIG pigment dust a bit more clearly on this picture, it's really helped me create this barren and dry landscape that will be the setting for my 40k gangs.

I took a punt on their outfits, Mal had this mesh design sculpted over his torso, which I decided should become a string vest underneath his long leather jacket. With Saffron, I wanted a splash of colour in this drab world, so she got some pink dyed hair, a pale blue cowboy hat and a Batman t-shirt (this was inspired by an illustration in the Logan's World section of the Rogue Trader rulebook, where a Squat is wearing the same logo).

And here are Saffron and Mal hooking up (slightly reluctantly) with Psycho Sam preparing for a new, paid mission. But they need some more crew and are currently looking out for a few more comrades and a car....

Helsreach Mercenaries: Psycho Sam

Wandering the barren desert wastes with a mission and a reputation; Psycho Sam. The crazed punk who had a hunger for violence, who shot and then judged, yet who sought a redemption and a metamorphosis into someone better. But not just yet, he had to fulfil a self-imposed quest. 

He had committed many vile deeds, cared little for anyone and knew that he saw life on Helsreach as cheap fodder for his own gains and for his own survival. But he knew could be a better person, could fulfil a transformation into a more splendid person and undo all of his dirty, ugly, yet necessary past. He remembered his mum, or at least an older woman, reading to him as a child, books with faded colour pictures from a different world and time. The older hand brushing the dust away from the pictures of that hungry caterpillar and all that juicy, intoxicating food, foodstuffs that he had never even seen the like of in the bleak sepia of his childhood. Never so colourful and so appetising. But if he could just eat that chocolate cake, that ice cream, that pickle, that Swiss cheese, that salami, that lollipop, that cherry pie, that sausage, that cupcake and that watermelon then maybe he could transform into that beautiful, new different species and his current past would become someone else's.

Some of these foods Sam had already come across of course. Meat products were only available now wrapped in skin and all reputable drinking establishments had an assortment of pickled products on their shelves. A few years ago he had inadvertently stumbled upon an old chupa chupa vending machine in a derelict mall and smashed it open to recover it's colourful and flavoursome riches. Eight lollipops in all, only two left to suck. He'd had cheese of a sort, but it looked nothing like that holey, yellow image. But it would do for now. The baked goods and the ice cream, that's what drove him on, spurred him to an even more elevated psychosis and ever more despairing acts of violence. He had acquired an old recipe book and some of the ingredients, but was a long way from any kitchen or baker who could help the transformation from bare parts into a new whole. But it would happen, he knew, it was his destiny.

so Psycho Sam continued to wander the wastelands alone, accompanied by his reputation, his quest and a couple of tatty old books. And his shotgun. 

The Oldhammer miniature from BOYL 2015, sculpted by Mark Copplestone. I went for some earthy camo trousers with a deliberately brown overall palette, as will feature on most of my gang. I imagine a bleak world not just because of prospects but also due to a lack of colour, everything faded and simplified. His plastic blue shades being the only speck of bright colour (plastic being a very expensive commodity).

For this post-apocalyptic setting, I'll be using plenty of dry pigment to get the barren and dry look that I wanted to create. I've generally mixed the dry pigment with some matte varnish and dabbed that on and whilst still wet I've sprinkled some of the dry stuff straight on top. I've even drybrushed it onto the shrubs to make them look dusty too. For all of this I've used mig pigments after reading that they were probably the best out these. So far pretty happy with the results! 

Helsreach - a futuristic scenic backdrop

Before I can start a project there's always another, related project that has to come first; a disorderly queue of ideas fighting to be the first to be completed. If I had painted my new 40k gang first, I realised I  wouldn't have a nice scenic, futuristic and narrative backdrop with which to photograph them in front of. I really enjoyed doing my fantasy one, so I set about doing the same sort of thing for my new adventures into sci-fi.

I wanted a sandy terrain scattered with lots of rusted junk from the past - some sort of oil refinery, some barrels and an old cargo container were the images I started researching. I then gathered some junk from the recycling bin, picked up some plumbing pipes from B&Q and rummaged through my desk drawers and started putting it all together with the liberal help of a glue gun:




Pringles cannisters, plumbing pipes, plastic washers, tip-ex lid, and paint tube lids were scavenged



Some corrugated card was glued over a foamboard rectangular box, some plasticard edges added, some dowels and metal rods for the doors and a bit of sand for texture. The barrels are simply card temporarily wrapped around a battery, superglued in place with a card lid and then a bead stuck on top. Two thin pieces of wire are wrapped around the circumference and the whole thing covered in pva and a layer of tissue.



Here you can see all the wip and the backdrop printed out onto thick cartridge paper.

Next up are the painting stages, I kept this pretty simple.

Everything was primed grey and then some orangey brown aerosol was applied over the top in patches

A selection of yellows, reds and brown acrylic paints were used for the weathering. These were all generously watered down. Some of these paints had dried out, so you can see I made use of their lids on the modelling of the refinery.

After lots of rusty colours had been washed on, I used some old chrome paint and a coarse sponge to apply some metallic areas, literally dragging the chrome across the surface to create a scratched appearance. Once dry I then washed over this again with the rust colours to dull the metallic shine down.

 



Lots more rusty washes were applied and then I added some green washes for a mossy effect and some black/brown washes for oil spillages and leaks



The final, more textured layers of rust were created using some pigment bound in some matte varnish. This was stippled on with an old brush

The final stage saw me add some crackle paint to the container in the hope it would crack and separate and leave an appearance of peeling paint. It didn't quite go to plan (in fact this is the second time this experiment has fallen short of expectations), but I needed a different colour to break up all of the orange rust colours.



At the very end of the project, I decided to add some small posters and warning signs. Quite simply some relevant images (including Fallout, Walking Dead, Mad Max images) were gathered from the internet, resized in word to tiny, cut out, crumpled up and pva'd on with a bit of final weathering.


The base is a sheet of mdf with a sand, pva and paint mixture painted on for the texture. I used a couple of testers that I had laying around for the sand colour. Egyptian Hessian or some such. I drybrushed a white over when dry for highlights.
You can see I've also added some clump foliage and bits of lichen for flora and I finally added some sand coloured weathering pigments from MIG to add a dusty feel to the whole thing.  I'll match this effect on the bases of my gang when I get there...

I'm tempted to come back and add a wire mesh fence and maybe even a railway track to add more detail to the scene, but for now this is done. I've almost finished my two first gang members and having this completed will give me extra incentive to try and finish them tonight just so I can take some photos using my new scenic backdrop.