Thursday 21 September 2017

Rogue Trader - Mercenaries


Hello, with the good wife still away in NYC I am making the most of the painting and blogging time, you will not see this much activity a week from now so lap it up my friends.

As you know I completed my first major project sometime ago, I have still got finish it off some proper photography on this project but it is done, it's sister project was the RT502 - Mercenaries and although I cherry picked and painted 'Old World Jack' and 'Inquisitor Augustus' some time ago, this small code has been nagging me for some paint for a long time, so I am currently 10 miniatures in to a 16 miniature code, easy eh? funnily enough I do have most of these painted already as Catachan jungle fighters for Warhammer 40K 2nd Edition but I couldn't bothered to strip them as they are half decent may need just a spruce up.

All the RT502 Mercenaries were sculpted by Bob Naismith except 'Shorty' and 'Iron Bonce the squat' (not sure when?) and released in White dwarf 95 in 1987 thanks to Axiom's blog post which confirms these are Bob's sculpts, I have used plenty of greys on these guy's to make them look like Imperial Army deserters and added some variations like Desert uniforms. 

Many of these characters appeared in illustrations in the Rogue Trader Warhammer 40,000 rulebook so where possible I have took a snippet shot of them.

The characters like 'Sarge' Rockhard remind me of the cool characters from films like The Dirty Dozen and Cross of Iron, along with the comics the designers would may have grown up with like Warlord, Battle with their Rat Pack story drawn by Carlos Ezquerra of 2000Ad Judge Dredd fame who appears to often base his main character on James Coburn. I think Colonel Schaeffer's last Chancers are direct descendants of these influences.  

Anyway onto the miniatures, enjoy!


First up we have a much loved miniature 'WorldBurner' illustrated in the Rogue Trader Warhammer 40,000 rulebook (and somewhere else I think), appears to have some sort of assault uniform and weapon.


Worldburner - front

Worldburner - back


Worldburner - RT Rulebook page 172

Worldburner - RT Rulebook page 126

Next up we have 'Plundering Pete', same uniform as Worldburner, maybe some sort of ranking on the shoulder of his bandolier, I painted him up as a renegade Tallarn guardsman.
Plundering Pete - front

Plundering Pete - back

Is this Pete - RT Rulebook page 109
More Pete from the RT Rulebook


'Abbadon' is a repurposed miniature and first appeared on 1st Flyer March 1987 as a 'Ground Combat Trooper' but it as this miniature is tagged IPC and dated 1985 so it fairly obvious from appearance that this miniature is a Rogue trooper Souther that never made into the '8' miniature JD10 & 11 code. It's not the best sculpt so I don't know if that was the problem or that the code could not be an odd number for packing purposes, JD10 & 11 are both 4 distinct characters.


Abbadon/Souther - front

Abbadon/Souther - back

Next we have 'Mad Morris' storming ahead with his Lasgun, I had to do this one in Imperial Army colours, dynamic pose, his outfit quite typical of the Imperial Army so definitely a deserter.

Mad Morris - front

Mad Morris - back

'Hacker Harris' really reminds me of Philthy Animal from the heavy metal band Motorhead, with his wild hair and cut off jacket, he appears to have the same head as the Space Marine Captain Huron Grimm the face of this miniature was tough to paint you really need a bendy brush and a dentist mirror to get into the eyes due to the positioning of the head.


Hacker Harris - front

Mad Morris - back

'Space-dout Sam' is a 1st Flyer March 1987 miniature 'Imperial Heavy Infantry' that like the others didn't fit with the direction the Imperial Army was going in so found it's way into the Mercenary code, he has heavy battle armour with side deflector shields and a really great sculpted on flight pack which was a joy to paint.

Space-Dout Sam/Imperial Heavy Infantry - front

Space-Dout Sam/Imperial Heavy Infantry - back


'Sarge Rockhard', who appears to have the same head as 'Plundering Pete', uniform reminds me of the Chainsaw Warrior so I went for a similar colour scheme, I really had to fight the temptation to paint him with a cheesey 'The Sweeney' Robbers mask.


'Sarge' Rockhard - front

'Sarge' Rockhard - back

'Sarge' Rockhard - RT Rulebook page 221


'Iron Bonce' the squat, another 1st Flyer March 1987 miniature first labelled as 'Space Dwarf' encased in a full battle armour together with flight or power pack (whichever you prefer), what's not to love about this miniature, although the first wave of squats are cute, I wish more of these were made, maybe it is proto exo-armour he is wearing?, it's much nicer than the horrid fantasy squat exo-armour of later years. Note he has the 'M' insignia that appears on several Rogue Trader miniatures and may have it roots in 2000AD's Rogue Trooper.

Iron Bonce the Squat - front

Iron Bonce the Squat - back
Iron Bonce - RT Rulebook page 59


Pirate is another 1st Flyer March 1987 miniature but this time the sculptor has removed the sword and scabbard of the C Series Fighter 'Cedric' and replaced it with one of the weapons used on the citadel Judge Dredd ranges, this miniature never got reproduced anywhere else. I went for the glam look of the 1980 Flash Gordon movie, reds and golds complement his camp outfit.

1st Flyer Pirate - side

1st Flyer Pirate - other side

1st Flyer Pirate - front




Thanks for looking I hope you enjoyed, all comments mean a lot to me
J

Saturday 16 September 2017

JD11 - The Traitor General

Good evening, this draft has been hanging around for ages so I thought I better complete it for your enjoyment. Today we have the Traitor General from the 1985 Citadel Miniatures 2000AD Judge Dredd Range, code JD10, this guy is one of my favourite miniatures not only because of his burnt grotesque appearance and being Rogue Trooper's arch nemesis in the comics but because of the lovely Rogue Trader miniatures he helped spawn, in typical fashion of the Rogue Trader range using the original sculpts from the Judge Dredd range and many others as a base. (have you spotted the Gothic Horror ones yet? I will show you another time) The infamous Imperial Inquisitor Augustus would be just another miniature without a face if the Traitor General hadn't give him that hideous head or the imperial Official would be weapon less if the Traitor General hadn't let him have an arm, I could go on, you don't realise these things until you are painting a miniature and you think 'hey! where have I painted these legs before...' 
He still about if you are interested read 'Hunted' in fairly recent 2000Ad progs,  anyway enough rambling here he is.

The Traitor General - front
The Traitor General - back

The Traitor General - front

The Traitor General - side


The Traitor General - back

The Traitor General - other side

I also started testing colour schemes for my Imperial Army miniatures, I was trying to achieve the colours from the original adverts but on closer inspection I think the miniature painters just used one grey, I used about 5 vallejo model colour grey's :D 



Imperial Army 'Trpr Davey' - Test miniature - front

Imperial Army 'Trpr Davey' - Test miniature - back



Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed
J



Friday 15 September 2017

Judge Dredd - The Dark Judges

Greetingsss!, as you can see my side project of painting all of the 1980's Citadel Miniatures Judge Dredd Perps got derailed for a week while I was reading the massive pile of 2000AD progs mounting up on my bedside table, I absolutely love the story of 'Cursed The Fall of Deadworld', especially the colouring and it got me going through my collection of Judge Dredd Complete Case Files (as the comics are in the loft) and reading any story featuring the Dark Judges, this lead to me rummaging through my Dredd miniatures box and fishing out the Dark Judges for a paint job, now I have painted these characters many times over the years and I have never been pleased with the outcome, I remember my enamel versions and they were dreadful, anyway the Fall of the Deadworld's dull art inspired me to have another go so here you go.

The Crime isss life, the sssentenssse is paint!

Judge Death
Judge Fear

Judge Mortis

Judge Fire

Hard work for me, hopefully enjoyable for you, now back some Perps
thanks for popping by
J


Thursday 17 August 2017

Space Marine - Mark 1 Thunder Armour


Hello, something a bit strange for me today, if you are a twitter follower you may have noticed that one night I got a little bored and wanted to do something a bit different so I dug out a resin (Finecast) Space Marine in Mark 1 "Thunder Armour" from the Armour Through the Ages set that Games Workshop released about 3 years ago, why a Finecast and not the metal equivalent? well I wanted a quick start minimal prep, as you are well aware resurrecting your Oldhammer miniatures takes time, stripping, cleaning up oxidation, etc, etc I wanted an immediate start and prepping this one took about 5 minutes.

I believe this was designed by John Blanche, sculpted by Jes Goodwin and released in 1990. There were two versions of this miniature, this one is armed with a primitive bolt gun and sword, the other a Power Axe/Pole Arm type weapon.

I really wanted to achieve a Techno-barbarian feel and went with Imperial Roman palette, plenty of browns and tans while leaving the shoulder pads black to tie him in with the small Flesh Tearers project I have on the backburner.  I was going to stick on a proper old school metal back pack but it looked to small and didn't sit right so I went with the one supplied and as it was also resin it took 2 minutes to magnetise with tiny rare earth magnets, this modification made it a lot easier to paint. 

Space Marine in Mark 1 "Thunder Armour" - front

Space Marine in Mark 1 "Thunder Armour" - back


Space Marine in Mark 1 "Thunder Armour" - magnetised power pack

Background from White Dwarf 129
More Thunder Armout fluff from the Lexicanum:

Mark I plate was developed by the techno-barbarian factions that dominated Terra prior to the Emperor's ascendancy. When the Emperor began his conquest of Earth, the "Thunder Warriors", the proto-Space Marines which formed part of his retinue, were armoured in the same way as the soldiers of the other warlords. A thunderbolt and lightning symbol was displayed on the breastplate of warriors loyal to the Emperor - this was the personal badge of the Emperor in those days, predating the Imperial Aquila which only became the symbol of the Imperium much later. The emblem gives the suit its common name – "Thunder Armour."
Thunder Armour was not an enclosing suit and offered no life support functions, being unnecessary while the fighting was confined to Terra and the similar environments of Luna and Mars. This early armour was produced on a completely local basis and as such individual suits varied heavily and their exact designs were often a matter of personal taste.
The main part of the armour is the massive powered torso which encloses the chest and arms. Coiled energy cables beneath the armour plating transmit power from the power pack on the back to the arms, greatly increasing physical strength by a factor of between 3 and 4 times. Since fighting on Terra during this period was primarily close-quarters, the strength of a warrior's chest and arms was of paramount importance. The legs of this armour Mark are typically not power-armoured at all, but are enclosed in tough padded breeches. The best-equipped warriors sometimes wore armoured greaves and armoured boots, and such additional protection was common amongst the Thunder Warriors.
As with all powered armour, the power supply is contained with a notably bulky back-mounted unit, most of which is taken up by cooling systems designed to prevent the entire armour design from overheating.
Although it is very rarely used in the 41st Millennium, some suits of Thunder Armour are maintained for ceremonial purposes.

This ancient style of armour is noticeably noisier than later Marks. 


Space Marine in Mark 1 "Thunder Armour"

First advert featuring the Mark 1 "Thunder Armour" from White Dwarf 133


Games Workshops re-release as Finecast 'Armour Through The Ages'

Space Marine in Mark 1 "Thunder Armour" - Variant 2

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this miniature.
J

Wednesday 9 August 2017

Citadel Judge Dredd Perps Part 7

Borag Thungg Earthlets,
Today we have more scrotnig miniatures from the 1985 citadel Judge Dredd miniatures range, as usual these miniatures are mostly from the JD3 Perps and Muties code with the occasional ugly and Slaughter Margin campaign miniature, I was really trying to discipline myself to get the Perps and Muties painted before moving on but have already become distracted by the Dark Judges.  I hope you enjoy my latest work as there are some really cool miniatures here, any photos with a blue background were taken in my office by my mate Andy who is a wildlife photography nut, we have been trying to apply his skills to miniature photography, let us know what you think.


First up we have 'Rhode Island Redfrom the JD3 Muties code, this miniature is the holy grail to many a JD miniature collector, I am lucky enough to own two, I have seen these go for £25 each on eBay such is the demand, this hideous mutie appeared in the story 'The Fear That Made Milwaukee Famous' which featured in the Judge Dredd Annual 1981 so hunt that one down if you want to know more about him. I painted him in the colours of the comic strip,  lots of good paint jobs of this miniature about, like this one here on Sho3box.



Rhode Island Red - front
Rhode Island Red - back
Rhode Island Red

Second up we have 'Two-Heads' another miniature from the JD3 Muties code a 1985 sculpt and also appeared in the story 'The Fear That Made Milwaukee Famous' which featured in the Judge Dredd Annual 1981.


Mutie Two-Heads - front
Mutie Two-Heads - back


Two-Heads


Next we have 'Citizen 1' from the Slaughter Margin range sometimes referred to as 'Citizen Hetfield' probably as he bears some resemblance to Mettalica's James Hetfield with his late 1980's haircut, another great addition to my non-combatant miniatures, I ended up going full goth on this one and think it works.
Citizen 1/Citizen Hetfield - front

Citizen 1/Citizen Hetfield - back

Citizen Hetfield

Next we have the last of the three Wreckers in the range, 'Wrecker' from the story 'The Wreckers' in Progs 374-375. Here are his mates.



Wrecker - front

Wrecker - back

Wrecker

Here we have 'Kneepad Jones'  a JD3 Perp, the name is really familar I am sure he was in a story but can't find anything on it so i guess I am mistaken although he could of been in a daily star strip, this miniatures in made up of a lot of bits and pieces of others, which came first who knows? I love his outfit totally Mega-City One.


Kneepad Jones - front

Kneepad Jones - back

Kneepad Jones


Next is 'Jason Basin' sometimes mistaken for 'Perpolito' due to the grainy images of the original adverts, I am quite familar with his name has this was one of the names my mate would scream at me in the playground as children :D
I took a lot of photos of this miniature to show off his amazing outfit and appears to have a problem remembering is left, right, up and down as both kneepads and boots are labelled with 'L' and 'R', his helmet has 'UP' on it and arms have up and down arrows, bizarre there must be story in there.


Jason Basin - front


Jason Basin - back

Jason Basin - front

Jason Basin - side

Jason Basin - side

Jason Basin - back

Jason Basin - front

Jason Basin

Here we have a Ugly 10 one of the many Uglies variants (I nearly have them all) which I painted up in the early 1990's, rebased him to my current favourite scheme and jazzed him up a little.  Sculpting/Moulding around his outreached hand was a bit rough so I filed it and painted it up as a Mega-city Cred.

Ugly 10 - side


Ugly 10 - front
Ugly 10 - back


And lastly we have another miniature from the Slaughter Margin range and another miniature which I painted up in the early 1990's, rebased and tidied up, it's quite tough work painting over gloss varnish, this one is 'Vid Crew Camera', a later sculpt/variant he has the body of an Ugly with the head of Kneepad Jones, I am still looking for 'Vid Crew Sound' to complete my collection if anyone out there has him.


Vid Crew Camera - front
Vid Crew Camera - back


Thanks for stopping, Florix Grabundae

Oh and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @fuljason for some live action from the paint station.
J