X-Wing - AT-AT and AT-ST Models

An AT-AT from the '8th Iron Legion' strides through the low-lands of Dandoran...

... And a rendevous with an Imperial Shuttle ready to disembark a squad of feared Dark Troopers...

Hey! Long time no blog ;)

I decided it was about time I got the armoured might of the Emperor's '8th Iron Legion' painted and based up ready for the table-top (I have plans for these fellas in a forthcoming themed game)

So, let's crack on and head to the Walker Factory...

The bases were cut from 3mm MDF. Size wise, they match the dimensions of two large X-Wing ship bases positioned end to end. For flexibility, I wanted to create modular scenic bases (more on this in a minute), so the walkers needed a way to slot on and off their bases. Fortunately, the Action Fleet toys already had suitable holes positioned in their feet, so it was a case of creating 'pegs' with a width that provided a firm enough fit to allow the model to stay securely on it's base, whilst being able to be removed with a slight tug...

The AT-STs bases match the size of standard X-Wing ship bases...

The AT-AT is lowers into position

With the main bases constructed, it was time to move on to the scenic 'over-lays'...

The modular over-lays were cut from plasti-card. For the first batch, I went for a woodland / jungle finish. These were created by gluing on modelling sand, a couple of coats of mud effect paint and a suitable dry-brush highlight. Once dry, I patch covered the bases with two different types of flock, one light and one dark, to add a bit of contrast. The final touch was to glue on some foliage clusters from Woodland Scenics.

As a test run, I also created an alternate Hoth / snow world base for one of the AT-ATs. This was built in much the same way, but this time finished off with Army Painter snow effect...

The finished bases...

Right, now onto the minis.

Like many galactic nuts, I've been playing a lot of Star Wars: Commander on the ol' dog n' bone recently and I've been inspired by the lush forest setting of Dandoran...

The planet Dandoran. Home to Simon Le Bon.

I've also been inspired by the Imperial Veteran units and in particular, the bad-ass looking black AT-ATs...

The Veteran AT-AT received a blast of black car primer, followed by a gradual highlight of GWs Dawnstone grey. The glowing red command view-port was painted before the undercoat and masked off with tape. A whole lot easier to paint that way :)

Rancor. Even AT-STs need to fear what awaits in the woods...

The paint job for both the standard AT-ATs and the AT-STs pretty much followed the same approach, apart from this time, they all got a blast of grey car car primer ;). The models then all received a wash of GW's Nuln Oil, followed by a highlight of Administratum Grey mixed with a little White Scar...

The '8th Iron Legion' ready to crush the Rebellion...

All that's left now is to build a board for the Legion to wage war on...

Until next time ;)


X-Wing - AT-AT and AT-ST Models

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X-Wing - Krassis Trelix Fire Spray Re-Paint

Krassis Trelix. The man is a bit of an enigma.

I searched the webz high and low for an image of the fella but to no avail. What we do know is that he was a nasty mo fo, with a chip on his shoulder the size of a sand crawler...

The former military supply officer had spent years grafting for his Empire masters, mithering as his skills and efforts went unrecognised and unrewarded. Finally, he snapped. Trelix stole a ship and headed straight for the Outer Rim. He would be the master of his own destiny from now on. He eventually joined up with the Karazak Slavers, using his skills as a former supply officer to assist with the logistics of running a major slaving operation. More on these scum in a minute.

Like a number of bounty hunters and slavers before him, Trelix chose a Firespray-31 patrol and attack craft as his ride of choice. Suitably armed and armoured, Trelix's ship, the 'Indenture', was the nemesis of many a space fairer and the plague of whole solar systems of once free peoples...

The 'Indenture' carried a number of additional ship ID signals,
one of which included the name 'Salvation'...

Like the man himself, images of Trelix's ship are pretty scarce. The one above, as seen on his pilot card, shows the ship has a fairly straightforward yellow and white paint scheme. Painting this fella should therefore prove a slightly easier challenge than the more complex patterning of Kath Scarlet. Let's pick up those paint brushes...

Starting with a solid undercoat of white car primer straight over the model's original paint job, you'll next need to block out the yellow sections with GW's Iyanden Darksun and then paint the stabiliser fin housing with Charadon Granite. Both these paints provide really strong coverage and one evenly laid coat should do the trick. The grey panels on the side of the ship's 'tail' are painted with Codex Grey and all of the blue areas are given a base coat of Fenris Grey...

Once all the base colours have been applied, the model is given a generous coating of GW's Badab Black ink wash. Take your time to line edge the joints between the panels. This helps to break up those large flat surfaces and bring out the model's detail. At this stage, you want to give the model plenty of time to dry...

Next up is the highlighting. The look this achieves isn't everyone's cup o' tea and it could be argued that finishing the model in this way starts to separate the model from the 'stop at the ink wash' look of the factory painted x-wing minis. Personally, I really like the way it makes the model 'pop' on the tabletop and it really does provide a final compliment to the model's detailing. Mind you, it does take a steady hand and a bit of time... Your approach here is to simply apply the original colour shade prior to the ink wash. So in the case of the white areas, just apply a thin line of pure Skull White around the panel edges. The blue panels had a bit more attention given to them, with a degree of blended highlight being applied along with the odd panel 'chipping'...

The final job was to give the cockpit canopy a nice smooth coat of Chaos Black followed by several layers of Ard' Coat. Very satisfying :)

So, there you have it. Job's a good 'un. 

Kath and Krassis compare notes...

Krassis prepares to end the Rebel operative's miserable little existence...

You'll recall at the top of the post how Krassis found his fame amongst the scum and villainy of the feared Karazak Slavers Cooperative. Let's close proceedings by taking a look at these upstarts and the frank rationale for their criminal empire...

"We believe that at the heart of every intelligent person lies a secret desire to have dominion over another sentient being. Some pander to this desire by building empires. Other sit in judgment of their fellow creatures. The Karazak acknowledge this very fundamental need. We accept it and we provide for it."

- Karazak promotional literature.

Until next time ;) X-Wing - Krassis Trelix Fire Spray Re-Paint

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X-Wing - The Laminator Strikes Back!

Lamination.

That sense of anticipation as the soft plastic slowly aligns itself with the alluring and inviting opening. That inevitable 'pull' as the roller gently tugs your sheathed paper into it's hot embrace. And of course, the climactic stiffening as your once limp A4 emerges from the other end, shiny, erect and proud, like some sort of wood pulp peasant re-born a king!

Er....

Like all red blooded men, I like to laminate things. And when you can combine this simple pleasure with one of your favourite hobbies, you know you're onto a winner.

Using the power of the force to obtain the key to the office stationary cupboard, I decided to create some handy additions to my X-Wing arsenal...

Here we have a laminated Rebel Blockade Runner. This bad boy folds in half and neatly slides into your carry case, providing quick and effective 'scenery' to spice up your star-field table tops...

'Yeah, I can go with that. Nay bad'

And for scale, here it is next to the Kenner Blockade Runner model we looked at in our last post

Once you've laminated your print out (and smuggled it out of the office) you'll need to grab a sharp scalpel blade and a metal ruler... Take your time and carefully score round the outline of the ship. Eventually, you'll have a clean cut out that should blend in pretty seamlessly with your gaming surface. You'll also want to flip the ship over and run some sellotape across the join to create a hinge for when folding it away.

The artwork file for this ship, along with a whole host of other helpful X-Wing resources, can be found over at Board Game Geek.

...Neatly packed into a plastic document holder.
Whilst your at it, order yourself one of these from the office stationary catalogue.
In fact, order one for each of your colleagues in a
false act of considered kindness to mask your true hobby intent...

But of course, once you start laminating something, you're struck with the inevitable urge to continue laminating things until either A.) someone in the office walks over and questions how a laminated picture of a Blockade Runner is going to support the company's e.o.y. financial targets or B.) The machine overheats in a state of lamination overdrive. In which case both scenarios result in you making a swift exit to go and speak with Mandy at the coffee machine...

Anyways, other X-Wing stuff that lends itself well for the lamination treatment are your humble squad lists...

Using your favourite squadron builder - I use this one - start knocking up your X-Wing lists. Then screen capture the final image and drop it into PowerPoint. You can then apply a list title, points value and maybe a handy Rebel/Empire symbol for easy force recognition. Naturally, you can place different lists on both sides of the print out to maximise your content...

What a (well organised) geek.

There you have it. A post about laminating and X-Wing.

We'll pretend this hasn't happened.

Until next time ;) X-Wing - The Laminator Strikes Back!

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X-Wing - CR90 Corvette Blockade Runner - Part 1

Pass the tissues mother!

Hi there! With fan boyz everywhere freaking at the thought of FFG's impending X-Wing 2014 releases, many are intrigued as to how the introduction of capitol ships will add to the game's rules. And of course, what a frickin' immense site it will be to see these beasts on the table-top alongside swarms of Rebel and Imperial fighters. Ti's truly what this game was made for!

Last summer, the urge to explore this opportunity proved too strong and I started to trawl eBay for some suitably appropriate models to represent early examples of these behemoths in my games. From an Imperial perspective, some of you may recall this tasty little acquisition...

For Rebels, there was only ever one option; the Kenner Collectors Fleet Blockade Runner:

Upon opening the box, I was suitably impressed by the scale. It would look right at home alongside the X-Wing model range. Granted, whilst the model was nicely detailed, it did have a few minor 'toy' related elements on it that would need to be modeled out. The first of which were the rubber 'noise effect' buttons running down the neck of the ship. Fortunately/unfortunately, the buttons on my ship no longer worked, so I never did get to hear the 'pew pew' of the turbo lasers... Anyways, I ripped the buttons out and begun plasti-carding the area up to disguise the original detail.

The main modelling job would be to sort out the guns themselves. The model arrived with one snapped off completely and those that remained lacked any real detail or definition...

The original (shoddy looking) gun barrels...

...carefully removed, top and bottom...

...holes drilled ready to receive the new gun barrels.

Plasti-card rod would be used to form the main length of the barrels but I'd also need to utilise something to form up the muzzles. Inspiration strikes in the strangest of places...

GW Chaos Marine vehicle ram...

...remove the spikes...

...and the gun muzzles reveal themselves ;)  Drill em' out...

...using a fine saw, carefully remove them from the remainder of the model...

...mmm, tastes of hobby idiot...

...drill out the other end of the muzzle...

...the new barrels glued in place, with four new breaches to one side. 

Final job was to glue the new guns onto the main turrets. Having previously measured the plasti-card rod, I used an appropriately scaled drill bit to ensure they would fit nice and snugly in their new housing...

The new gun barrels glued into place...

...looking good :)

 With the conversion work complete, the model received a blast of grey car-primer undercoat:

OK, join me next time in Part 2, where we'll be looking to paint this sucker and find a suitable stand to make this baby really fly!

Cheers.

X-Wing - CR90 Corvette Blockade Runner - Part 1

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