Grenzers

Continuing on the theme of Icestorm models I've finally photographed, we have the Grenzers!

The one on the left wields the default sniper rifle, all lefty-style, while the one on the right brandishes a weapons combination I doubt CB will be quick to put out in box or blister: The Combi-Rifle.

The paintscheme for this pair was relatively close to their 'official' scheme, with my usual blue glow, really highlighted with a bunch of black clothing. The black itself is mostly an edge highlight method, and the red is the same as on the Alguaciles, to make it a bit muted. While they end up kind of looking uniform black, the blue and red elements help break up that feel, and why shouldn't they be black? They're snipers that sit on a rooftop!

I'm also trying out a theme overall across the Nomads: Anything Corregidor is themed with more red elements, anything Tunguska is given more black, and anything Bakunin gets more white. The drab tan will be used on any frontline mooks heavily, and placed where I feel it'll fit the scheme well.

In case you're wondering, the other set of arms is taken from the Spektr, and it's a testament to how well the poses are set that even with an arm swap from a Spektr, the pose still works! The flowing cape is cool looking, with enough detail lines on it that you can decide to paint it in a wide variety of ways.

Next time I'll have Spektrs, but in the meantime happy holidays and keep gaming!

Mobile Brigada

After a long hiatus, I finally have photos of my Mobile Brigada. Currently, they have a gloss coat on them, but I may overlay that with a matte varnish, at least on the armour. I like them shiny, but I'm not certain I like them quite so shiny.

First up is the converted Mobile Brigada with Combi-Rifle. For the sake of Ice Storm, he has this weapon for most of the time, so I figured I might as well convert him with one. It's also convenient that there's a profile of this with tinbot, who I'll have fun converting in a little while.

His look, since the red-paint blog post, now has select white shin guards, a unique number (which I intend to carry across the entire cluster of them), and white detailing on either shoulder pad, as well as on the mask. There's multiple layers of faceplate, and I wanted to make each one distinct. The gun's a basic matte black, and the glowy vents are my usual light turquoise over white. Much like the Geckos, my figuring is the Mobile Brigada are meant to take heat from enemies, letting lighter armed infantry get away with minimal shots, so they're bright red, rather than a typical combat-subtle drab.

Next up is the converted Multi-Rifle armed Brigada. I didn't want to just do same pose different weapon, so this guy's been converted to actually be holding his gun. It was an interesting conversion to make, and was done before the box was announced with an HMG pose almost identical. The shoulderpads' insignia is the usual Nomad symbol, combined with the one for Corregidor. The upper right arm is scratch-built in essence, attempting to mimic the armour plating already there, and the head reposition was remarkably easy, needing minimal puttying.

Those guys aside, let's talk for a second about the new Mobile Brigada box...

(Taken from the Corvus Belli store page)

First, I love the look of the HMG and Boarding Shotgun versions. Very aggressive, very combat-but-not-shooting.

Then there's the female models. I don't mind the Missile Launcher's pose, but why. Why are there boob-plates? They're so ineffective, and unlike light armour, where you could argue they need to not be massively clunky, heavy armour has no similar problems!

That, and why is the hacker variant directing traffic? Why is she armed with a pistol? I think this could have been a time for CB to make really interesting combat-pose models, distinctively female without boobplates, and a hacker who is first and foremost a heavy infantry with a big scary gun, and a hacker second. I would love for them to take more influence from Ghost in the Shell, and less from Minority Report!

Also, final issue, and this is a big one, for the Mobile Brigada hacker: she doesn't have a backpack. Somehow, unlike every single other MB soldier, she has no power plant, no heavier weapon I guess, and if you ask CB, they can't even send one as a backup. Heck, they couldn't even send a fourth in the box and let me decide whether I want it or not. We've seen such an increasing standard from Corvus Belli over the last while, and this seems a step back in an annoying way.

Anyway, next time I shall have Grenzers or Spektrs, (or both, I guess) almost rounding out the Icestorm adventure!

Converting Ice Storm Nomads

I return!

In the last month of not updating the blog, I have gotten married, gotten a new apartment, and attempted to move everything here without resulting in a broken pile of pewter and plastic!

As I settled in, I've done some work on the Morats, and decided to start prepping the Nomads for painting. A friend and I swapped models from two boxes of Operation: Icestorm, resulting in us each having two of everything. I have determined to not have utter duplicates in the force, meaning I need to convert seven models of the box. Luckily, the two male Alguaciles could get away with a simple arms swap, but the female Alguacile was a bit more of a challenge.

Corvus Belli loves giving its female models pinup poses, but luckily there was enough gap between the legs to pull them to a wider (if still a bit hippy) stance, and her arms were thin enough to carefully reposition into a firing stance.

...the one problem was the hair. I had to change it, and the only thing for it was a trip to the barber's shop!

I'm not exactly the gentlest barber...

 

(Sorry for the blurriness of the photos; I'm still using my cell for pics!)

I first carefully cut off all the hair and shaved her head down to just a scalp. This took some careful gouges/cuts with a boxcutter, and even closer trims with a craft blade.

Old Man Hair!

Then came careful puttying of the short hair around the sides and back of her head. I wanted to go with a more military-standard short cut, with a bit of a bizarre flare. I want to make the Alguaciles (and Nomads in general) look as though they struggle between professional military and individualist themes. You can also see in this one the modifications to the body pose.

(Whups, flipped the photo order)

Next up, after the first round had dried, I added a blob of putty to the top, gave it a part, and pulled it down on the far side, to give a bit of individual style.

As usual, I tend to work fast when I get closer to the final stages, so here's a 'finished' shot: I used a craft knife to turn the blob into individual hairs or clumps, gave her a single lock over the forehead, and then a hairstyle that's very short on the left, gradually getting longer around the back of the head until it hangs down to the jawline on the right side.

Next up I'll put on photos of the other two Alguaciles. I'm hoping when painted the hairstyle will work. I will likely give her a black wash to see if anything stands out.

See you hopefully sooner than another month from now!