Master Chief in 15mm

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We are ODST: Making of Live Action Trailer

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Thought you might like to see this short vid about the making of the HALO: ODST trailer. Watch out for 30 seconds additional CQB footage at 4:00.

Cheers

Mark

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Another Day Another Head Swop

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Ever since Jon sent me the first samples of the remastered New Israelis, I felt compelled to turn the the superb squad leader miniature in pack SG15-Z7 into a character along the lines of Sergeant Major Avery Johnson from HALO or Sgt. A. Apone from Aliens.

Another Glorious Day in the Corps

This mini took about half an hour. I used clippers to take the helmeted head off then carefully paired down the remaining metal - think of Paulie preparing the garlic in Goodfellas.

The character head I chose was from the original sprue of character heads Jon sent me. Too late, I found that the spigot attached to this head under the chin and not the neck. I'd already removed it from the sprue by this time and because the head is too small to hold and safely cut the remaining spigot away, I had to use a rat-tail file to trim it back sufficiently.

The head still sat too proud of the neckline - a common error in this type of conversion, so I used a semi-round rat-tail file to create a dip that would allow the head to sit more realistically. The finished figure will have a suitable collar round his neck created from Greenstuff, to tidy up the join and provide additional strength to the head.

Hope you like it. I'm seriously chuffed with how 'Sgt Major Johnson' has turned out and think it makes a very powerful miniature that will add character to the whole unit. Next New Israeli figure I fancy converting in this manner is the advancing Sniper from pack SG15-Z10. I think he'd look really mean with the separate head wearing vision enhancing goggles.

Cheers
Mark
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HALO: First Strike

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I blame that Jon fella at GZG. Those all new New Israelis, got me thinking about painting some up as all new HALO Spartans. Like I need more Spartans! Between the GZG New Israelis and Critical Mass Augmented Drop Troops I have enough, surely I have enough.

Picked up two HALO inspired novels by Eric Nyland, HALO: First Strike and HALO: Fall of Reach. I expected little more than "good train reads", but have really enjoyed First Strike, which has also provided several scenario ideas. It's actually made me look forward to the morning train journey!

I do still have issues with Spartans - Earth's ultimate warriors - called Fred and Linda, but First Strike has been a cracking read so far. Cortana the AI of the XBox game gets a very meaty role in this book. I'm very impressed with how Nyland has developed her AI character through exploring the technology that makes her possible. Overall this would make a brilliant Sci Fi movie.


Cheers
Mark
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O.D.S.T. All the Way!

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If you are a manufacturer or sculptor
Don't think Stormtrooper
Don't think Space Marine
Don't even think SPARTAN.

Think O.D.S.T.

This is 2009, not 1979, so
Give me 15mm figures I can believe in!

Mark
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It's All Going A Bit Critical!

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Imagine. It's been a frakkin tough week with demands flying in from every part of the organisation like shrapnel. On the way home on Wednesday, I wound down by watching a superb HALO fan flick downloaded from YOUTUBE. This is an excerpt:

The full 8 minute movie can be seen here -
HALO MOVIE: First 8 Minutes

I thought that this would be awesome recreated in 15mm. In my head I can see it being played out on the table with the yet to be released FORCE ON FORCE: Sci Fi rules. Only, no figures on the market currently match the power and dynamism of the combatants on the screen, with the possible exception of GZG's all new NAC Marines.

CRITICAL MASS GAMES:
15mm Sci Fi ARC Fleet Trooper

You can guess how my jaw hit the floor when I opened up my mailbox once home to find the photo above from Craig of CRITICAL MASS GAMES. Stunning, simply bloody stunning. I was bouyed up through the last two exhausting days by the 'promise' of games yet to be played represented by this miniature. In fact, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on them just to paint and have been scouring the galleries and painting/modelling threads in the DakkaDakka forum for ideas.

And if that photo wasn't enough, Craig has sent me this concept artwork of CMG's first batch of releases. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce, the grunts of Humanity's Arc Fleet.....

"Aaarrrrr, absolutely badassess!"

Apone: Aliens (1986)

Cheers
Mark

HALO SPARTAN: Blue Team - Test

My Cimmerian Mercenary Mech company is languishing in a big sulk. Well, I'm the one in a sulk as I'm having a complete arse of a time painting this 15mm armour to bring about my vision of a camo scheme inspired by the patterns on a granite rock.

Sometimes you just have to walk away with dignity and sneak up on the problem when it's not l00king!

So, to keep my spirits up rather than downing some spirits, I decided to see if I could replicate the success of my Green HALO SPARTAN with a test figure for Blue Team.

HALO SPARTAN Blue Team

GZG 15mm New Israeli

You Looking at Me?

Once again two coats of Citadel Washes, onto the bare metal casting, in this case Asurmen Blue. No primer or undercoat. To speed things up, I carefully drybrushed Bolt Gun Metal over the rifle, leaving the dark blue wash in the detail of the weapon. A quick brush of Citadel Shining Gold on the visor completes the effect. I'd say no more than 45 seconds paintbrush time all told, not allowing for drying time between the two blue washes. The visor taking 10-15 seconds of that.

The figure is darker in actuality, a deep Oxford blue, but the camera flash bleaches the colours. The blue doesn't have the same 'shimmer' of the green miniature, but looks great nevertheless.

I was tempted to add some extra detailing, such as a stylised Greek Spartan helmet onto his right shoulder pad and some dots of colour as LED's on his backpack - but I wisely thought "don't push your luck tonight, quit whilst you're ahead and feel enthused".


Cheers
Mark

The 300 Second Spartan: Lessons Learnt

Listen up Marines! Master Chef here. Take a knee.

The sign of a crack outfit is that they learn from every action and are prepared to turn every defeat, every mistake, every Charlie-Foxtrot into an opportunity for improvement. Chief of the Boat Hannam will now brief you on the lessons learnt from the '300 Second Spartan' challnge. C.O.B. over to you....

No.1 SHAKE

Shake that bottle of Citadel 'Wash' as if you are ringing the neck of an Algolgian Snakemaster.

No. 2 DIP

When Mogi stew is the chow of the day, you know that when the you have to dip your spoon right into the bottom to get the good stuff. Same with the Citadel Washes. Use a Starbucks wooden coffee paddle if you only want a small amout.

No. 3 POOLING

Citadel Washes can pool on flat surfaces and leave 'tide marks'. You can't hide them with another coat of wash, so keep an eye out for this and prevent it with your brush. The only place to worry about on the GZG New Israeli figure is the very top of the helmet.

No. 4 BOLT GUN METAL

I painted the weapon Bolt Gun METAL and carefully applied a black ink to enhance the detail. Next time I will either leave the weapon with a green patina and give it a careful black wash OR paint it black and drybrush with Bolt Bun Metal.

No.5 GAUNTLETS

I was going to leave them green, but I saw some pictures of SPARTAN Action Figures with black/dark grey gauntlets so went for that. Too late, I saw some promo pictures from HALO 3, where the Spartans have gauntlets with green armoured plates covering the hand and fingers. Next time I'll leave the hands green but give them a light black inking to bring out the fingers.

No.6 DON'T LET THE PERFECT.....

My wife made a very valid point about this miniature. She thought it was one of the best figures I've painted in years. Not simply because it really does look great on the tabletop, but because I painted it to what she feels is the appropriate level of detail, not letting "the perfect get in the way of the good". I've been known to spend hours on a single 15mm miniature, but, in this instance I didn't even try to paint the gold into every nook and cranny of the visor, yet the end result is stunning.

Of course the subject matter, figure design and colour scheme helped, so this may not be possible with ordinary grunts - but we'll see.

That's all. DIS_MISS!

The 300 second SPARTAN

Following the Master Chef's excellent stats for HALO SPARTANS in FWC, I couldn't help but set myself a mini challenge of painting a 15mm SPARTAN in 300 seconds or less using the Master Chef's painting guide.

I pulled a GZG New Israeli figure from a pile waiting for a desert paint job. There was no flash or mould lines to remove, so a quick wash and he was ready.

Two coats of Citadel's Thakka Green Wash. quick wipe of Gold across the visor, Bolt Gun Metal for the rifle and Emporer Dandruff Grey or similar for the gauntlets, followed by a quick black inking of the rifle anf gloves. Quick, easy and bloody effective - this figure looks superb!

I'm off to work right now, so no time to blether....just enjoy the eye candy!

GZG 15mm New Israel, now a HALO SPARTAN-III

Green wash on bare metal

pre-black inking for the rifle and gloves

Cheers
Mark

The Master Chef on HALO Spartans in FWC

“OK Marines, take a knee, the Master Chef here. Now, it has come to my attention that there has been some scuttlebutt as to how you represent SPARTANS in 15mm.

The answer is: Green Armour and Gold Visors. Any other answer, you have a problem and that problem is ME. Are you hearing me loud and clear recruit?

Now, I know that Chief of the Boat Hannam is deploying GZG New Israelis and I personally have some UNSC hardsuit troopers but neither of these really meet the 7’ tall MJIOLNIR clad troopers we need. The new GZG heavy vac suits are the right size but they need more armour, a remodelled helmet and more dangerous looking guns. Don’t try to hide Mr Tuffley, Sir – this means YOU. Give me those figures or give me 30 on the deck and I mean now.”

The real question is how to represent the fearsome qualities of the SPARTAN in terms of FWC. You can simply paint your power armour / hardsuit troops in green and gold, call them “Spartans” and use the stats for whatever figure they originally were. This will work to a degree but will not give you the heroic, HALO type performance humanity expects from their last best hope in a hostile universe!

So, it’s time, gentlemen, to build your own SPARTAN. These are very tentative stats for FWC and represent say either 1 heroic Master Chief type or 2-3 Spartan troopers in a fire team.

Move '10'

No flight ability or jump pack. The Master Chief is a bit faster than the marines in HALO so you could give a Move of 15 if you want to sprint things along a bit.

Attacks '4/40' or '5/40'

The Master Chief seems to use the most effective weapon for the target, whatever it is.

Assault '5'
Even just armed with a pistol a SPARTAN is highly dangerous in melee

Hits '5' or '4'*
Nuff Said

Save '3'
"SPI armour...could only take a few glancing shots before failing" - Ghosts of Onyx.

Elite
Of course!

Independent
Which reflects nicely the role of AI in the CCC of SPARTANS; their HQ / CO could be in orbit or on the other side of the rock.

Stubborn
Have you ever run away playing HALO? Have you? Really? GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!

Tough
We are trained to expect the worst; surrounded, armed with a pistol, fight your way out Marine.

Shields '5' or '4'*
Those shields in HALO keep you fighting so bring along.

Adaptive Camo
"The armour's camouflaging textures sputtered and stabilised, however, and once again blended into the rocky terrain" - Ghosts of Onyx.

*field tests show that a 4 is hard enough for non SPARTAN troops to take on. 5 may be overkill.

I’ve not added it all up as you’ll want to chop and change. One version got to 280 points, another 250. This all adds up to not much change out of 300 points. My test versions were about 276 each.
Bottom line, you get say 3-4 SPARTANS for 1000 points. They are tough as nails but with such a small force, their break point is insanely low; even lose one trooper and all bets are off. Your best bet is perhaps 1 or 2 SPARTANS and a larger force of Marines, armour, gunships etc to go with them. Which is exactly what you get in HALO.

FIELD TESTING:

Game 1 pitched 3 SPARTANS vs 9 FSE Legionaire bases in mixed light cover / open ground. The SPARTANS got to grips quickly, suppressing and destroying 3 FSE in assault. They pressed on until one SPARTAN was isolated and almost KO’d – but the FSE couldn’t convert it to a KO and the SPARTANS replied with another suppression then assault combination that broke the FSE. In this game the SPARTANS had shields

Game 2 had 2 SPARTANS in hard cover defending a rubble complex against 9 FSE. They held out well, again edging towards the FSE break point but one was suppressed and then swamped by a wave of FSE – which was of course a break for the SPARTANS. In this game the shields were powered down and it showed. Verdict 1-1 but with FSE losses at an unacceptable level even when they won and it would have been 2-0 if the shields had been used in game 2. I gave the SPARTANS a CV of 10 and the FSE 9 – which kept things moving along.

CONCLUSION:

“OK, Marine’s I kid you not. You can field SPARTANS in FWC but we’re expensive. You get lots of firepower and we don’t run but you won’t have many of us and we can’t be everywhere. You’ll need the Green Machine (and personally that means UNSC or New Anglian Royal Marine Commandos) along to help carry the ammo and hold the real estate while we do what we do best. That’s all. DIS-MISS!”

Sci Fi Reading 1

Last week I took some time out to re-read Future History by Jerry Pournelle, a combined volume of two stories The Mercenary and West of Honor, linked through the same protagonist, John Christian Falkenberg. Both stories revolve around mercenaries in a future where colonised worlds are policed by the Co-Dominion, in many ways similar to the Alliance and "Earth that was" from the Firefly 'Verse.

It's always easy to slip into Future History's pages, as it reads like sipping brandy and swapping late night tales with an old friend. Every time I read it, my minds eye projects the ex-Citadel Traveller Miniatures Mid-Tech troopers (now RAFM's Infantry Pack No.2) into the role of Falkenberg's Legionnaires.

I'm determined at some stage this year to replay the action at Fort Beersheba as a solo mini-campaign. In fact as a campaign setting, one of the great things about the book is that it includes two maps! There's a world map that's pure Traveller! All it needs are the polygons overlaid. Then we are given a more detailed sketch map of the Arrarat region where the majority of the action takes place. This makes the whole thing intensely 'do-able' as a small but fun wargame side-project.

This weekend I've started Ghosts of Onyx, a HALO universe novel by Eric Nylund. Well, I couldn't resist the cover! This is apparently the fourth novel in the series, but I've just dropped in here and don't think I've missed anything by not reading the previous volumes.

The the story begins in the year 2545 with a company of SPARTAN-IIIs being dropped from orbit in an assault on a Covenant fleet refueling depot. Like it so far...

I must admit that I cringed inwardly but then actually thought it was a cool homage that the Spartan 'Company' is 300 strong - '300 Spartans' geddit! Though given the prowess of a single Spartan on the XBOX, I think a company of even just 6 might be a tad excessive!

The Master Chef created a small HALO inspired Spartan force for FWC and they wiped the opposition from the table in double-quick time. More on this in a later blog entry.

If you want SPARTANS in 15mm, look no further than GZG's New Israeli Armoured Infantry in Hardsuits, SG15-Z1. The New Israelis pictured below are an excellent example taken from Chez Ebbles' blog which includes some great painting tips, if you want to recreate this look yourself. Incidentally, I must take a serious look at Chez's 'Guncrawl' space corridor rampage game.

Chez Ebbles SPARTANS.
Great paint job!

I'm currently repainting my own HALO dedicated force of '30 SPARTANS' (there's a credit crunch after all!) to look closer to what Chez has achieved with his figures. I wouldn't mind at all if Jon at GZG expanded this line with more combat, support and command types. Certainly one of the best and most versatile sets of miniatures in his 15mm Stargrunt range.

Cheers
Mark