Friday 5 November 2010

REVIEW: Khurasan's Federal Army "Hog" Mk1

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The "Hog" comes in 10 parts:
  • chassis
  • pilot /operator
  • glacis panel
  • 2x autocannon
  • 1x auto-rocket launcher
  • 2 sets of leg options
    If you can imagine the military's first attempt to build a manned walker, then the "Hog" is it. Design wise it falls between a Star Wars universe AT-RT and the Aliens (1986) Power Loader.

    The chassis looks soldier proof, with very little in the way of extraneous detail. The pilot/operator is a standard Federal Army grunt and once you have glued him in place you can attach the front glacis panel. You could undertake a simple headswop on the pilot/operator and the "Hog" will slip into any humanoid rebel or military force of your choosing, in a multitude of settings.

    The sides of the 'cockpit' are open and the front panel has an open vision port. Use your imagination here. It could have bullet/laser proof glass or as this is Sci Fi, an electronic force screen/shield. Don;t grumble about lack of protection for the crewman, think of the "Hog" as a weapons platform rather than a mini armoured vehicle. Jon is also working on a more heavily armoured version (TTC-2009), which will have a fully enclosed cockpit.

    The legs and weapons fit to the chassis using shallow ball and socket joints which allow a large amount of flexibility in posing the model. You can mix and match the different leg options to further personalise the "Hog" and ensure that a squad of them look different. Jon has also provided an option of arming your "Hog" with:
    1. autocannon on either side 
    2. autocannon on right and and auto-missile launcher on left (see photo above). 
     The missile launcher is a basic tube with a big cone at the back that reminds me of an L6 Wombat Recoilless Rifle and is going to be discarded. I'd prefer a multiple MILAN/HOT/AT-4 SPANDREL configuration. If I wanted a more retro look I'd go for twin SS11/Sagger or Huey style weapons wings (missiles and rotary cannon).

    There will be two conversion kits following the release of the "Hog". The Mark 3, a 'Berserker Robot Walker' (TTC-2010) and a civilian/military 'Liftersuit' (TTC-2011). These are NOT complete kits and require either a TTC-2008 or TTC-2009 to make into a complete model. I'm looking forward to seeing these as they will increase the possibilities of an already versatile model. I'm sure the 'Liftersuit' will fit right into any colony, starport or starship loading bay scenario.



    No details of price or release dates are available at time of writing.


    Cheers
    Mark
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    10 comments:

    1. Hi I have been looking at the khurasan stuff for a while now but can you easily get this stuff posted the uk ok, anyone know?

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    2. Yes Dave. I'm in Scotland and have been buying from Khurasan without a problem since Jon started 15mm Sci Fi back in January 2009.

      Cheers
      Mark

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    3. I've read this site for quite a while now and really enjoy it. I'm about to start painting a bunch of 15mm science fiction figures and I was wondering if you had thoughts on the best size for basing individual figures. I don't have a particular ruleset in mind at the moment, but I was wondering if there is a generally good size to pick.

      - Cheers John A

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    4. If you're discarding the rocket launcher I could perhaps take it off your hands. My TFL are in need of a nice sized recoilless rifle. :D

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    5. Astranagant, no problem.

      John, my current preference is 20mm round bases for individual 15mm minis. Mine are all bought from Warbases.co.uk. It's a sturdy and non intrusive size.

      http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fF0J7PhtEyk/S2jABJCLmsI/AAAAAAAACgQ/K-JgPphoQ1A/s1600-h/Harkonnen+Squad.jpg

      Cheers
      Mark

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    6. John: I've just started painting some 15mm troops too and I've been basing them all on pennies. Not sure what country you're in but US, Canadian & English penny are all comparable in size. I paint on some acrylic modeling paste (bit watered down) around the edges of the coin after basing material is on, just to prevent easy contact scratching of paint.

      The pennies work great, are a good size and not too thick (many plastic & wood bases look too thick for 15mm scale IMO. And best of all, you just can't beat the price ;)

      just a start but you can see some of them here:
      http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb16/LaughingFerretStudio/15mm%20Sci-Fi/

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    7. Nice paintjobs there!

      Cheers
      Mark

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    8. With ref to the above: if ordering from Kyhurasan or any other US supplier, try and do small orders that are bellow $32 to avoid tax - you can get a full skirmish force quire easy.

      Basing on pennies - I just use PVA & sand or acrylic hobby paint mixed with sand on British pennies which have the advantage of then using magnetic paper to secure on vehicle or carrying container. I paint the underside and sides first with a good coat of hobby paint brown and find little need for touching up.

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    9. Thanks for the tips. In New Zealand all our coins are too small for basing I think. But thanks for the recommendations and ideas. PS Mark - Keep up the great work with the blog. I've been enjoying it for months now. :)
      - John

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    10. I use 16mm washers by Ramset - a box of 100 is about $NZ13 from Mitre 10 (local hardware megastore) - for basing 15mm. The only figures I've had to clip the bases of to fit the washers were 15mm.co.uk Drakki as they're quite large. I use 30mm Fender washers for Heavy Weapons teams/MG teams or Cyclops Walkers. Washers will stick to magnetic sheat nicely.

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