O.G.R.E. Warzone

Hi!

I'm not going to be talking about mythological humanoids or cybertanks from the far future this morning but my new project, O.G.R.E or Old Game Retried Experiments (a handy acronym if I do say so!).

I've settled on Warzone 1st edition as my first experiment as I have the physical rulebooks purchased back in the mid 90's from both Mac's Models and Ral Partha. It was also the first game I moved onto after leaving the GW hobby so I have a real soft spot for the game and its setting.

Having settled on what ruleset I wanted to have a try at, I had a bit of a rummage through my leadpile to see what I had lying around that could be drafted into use.

Handily I had picked up a couple of packs of Ground Zero Games Neu Swabian League Jaegers during a recent sale and I thought they would make decent Bauhaus troops with some suitable conversion.

GZG NSL Jaegers

Half an hour of puttying later, saw some armour added on as nothing says Warzone like mighty shoulder pads! I then spent the next couple of days painting them up in suitably Bauhaus colours:

 Hussars on maneuver 

I think they look rather good and make ideal proxies for Bauhaus Hussars for Warzone! I must admit that I really hate batch painting but wanted to get the full squad finished and am rather pleased with getting them all done.

I still need to paint up a second squad and a character and I'll have a playable force for Warzone 1st edition. My next step will be to build a Dark Legion force to fight against!

1st Squad complete!

I suspect it's going to be an entertaining few weeks as I rummage out some suitable miniatures to flesh out the two forces and I'm also making some more jungle themed terrain to represent the steaming jungles of Venus (or Farpoint for further gaming!). Hopefully I will get some more updates in the next week or two but will also add the odd figure or two that I've been painting to keep myself from getting bored!

In the meantime, All the best!

Warzone 15: Nepharite and Razide Progress Report

Hi!

Well its my second day off in a row and alas there's not been much time for sculpting or painting my assorted gubbins as I have a commission to finish but I have had time to sort out some pictures of my sculpting progress for my Warzone 15 project:

 Razide and Nepharite

The two sculpts are pretty much finished but still need a head adding. I am thinking of sculpting them separately so folks can decide what beastie they want them to look like themselves by supplying a sprue of three heads. Once I've finished them, these sculpts as well as my gun toting zombie sculpts will be going up for sale to anyone who would like to pick them up (proceeds will be going towards our wedding!) 

 Rear View!

Next up, here's a quick pic of the newest addition to my Helios Elf force, a Spearman!

House Helios Spearman

I've had this chap for about ten years now, ever since the range was first released and he was stripped and given a fresh coat of paint recently and I must say, I am quite pleased with how he turned out! I doubt I will do much with the 28mm scale stuff that I am painting but its quite satisfying to be painting my way through my lead pile and who knows, maybe at some point in the distant future, I will actually have a home big enough to get a gaming table!

I have an action packed few weeks ahead with commissions, training days at work and even a trip to Glasgow and London to look forward to so I don't know how many updates I will manage over the course of the month but I shall see what I can do!

All the best!

Warzone 15: Capitol Light Infantry Squad and the Temptation of Old Games!

Hi!

I actually have a day off after 6 days in a row of work which has come as something of a relief and allowed me to finally finish off the first of my 15mm scale Warzone squads!

 Capitol Megacorporate Light Infantry

Its been really satisfying to finally finish them all and I must admit I'm really pleased with how they've turned out, despite me starting to flag a little when it came to finishing off the last two and reinforces the fact that I doubt I will ever have the patience to paint up a full army for the likes of Warhammer!

I gave the squad a LMG but also have some spares to allow me to swap him out for a HMG, Sniper Rifle or Missile Launcher if needed. With a little patience, I think I could complete a second squad, this time of heavy infantry or special forces which would round out the force quite nicely. I still need to sculpt up a suitable hero figure to lead the force but that can wait for a bit while I recover from the effort of getting this lot finished!

I have also managed to base up some figures I painted a while back who will make handy civilians, characters or random events in both fantasy and sci-fi gaming:

Femme Fatales!

Unfortunately, they are closer to true 15mm scale so are a bit on the short side but in game the difference shouldn't be too noticeable.

In other news, as alluded to in the title of the post, I have been pondering on the the siren call of old games. Why, I wonder, do so many folks hanker after games which have been out of production, in some case for decades, their miniatures hard to find and often quite pricy?

I suspect some of it has to do with reconnecting with one's youth but more often than not, I find these older games far more intriguing than the slick stuff that seems to get released these days (with a few noticeable exceptions!) A perfect example is Kryomek, a game I found in my local gaming store in the early 90s:

I can't remember how many times I've read the book and seriously pondered having a bash at collecting an army of Nexus Marines and inhuman Kryomek to battle it out on some alien world. The problem always seems to come when it comes to the cost of collecting a decent force, the time it takes to paint said force and the amount of space required to play it. As someone with precious little of any of these three commodities, this has been a bit of a put off. 

Similarly, Chronopia, Crucible and Leviathan, all cracking games, have been on my to do list for ages but once again the Big 3 problems have stalled my efforts.

 

With the insidious efforts of these Big 3, I haven't had much success with the projects in 28mm scale so am going to try again in 15mm scale instead. As my Warzone 15 seems to be bearing fruit of sorts, I figure it's got to be worth another shot. I have a bit of an idea of trying to sort out a couple of forces for each selected game and trying out a bit of a campaign using them before moving onto the next. With this in mind, I had best get on with some painting and will post some updates as and when I can!

All the best!

Warzone 15: Capitol Trooper

Hi!

Just a quick update before I head out to work this morning!

I picked up a couple of packs of Ground Zero Games' Colonial Defence Troops the other day with the intention of converting them into Capitol Megacorporate troopers. A little bit of putty and patience saw a full squad converted and the sergeant based and painted (using my last 20mm round base!)

Capitol Light Infantry Sergeant

The addition of the iconic shoulderpads really has made him look like he fits in with the classic look of warzone and I must admit I can't wait to get the rest of the squad painted up too. I ordered enough stuff to give me a squad each of the following:

Light Infantry
Heavy Infantry
Free Marines
Sea Lions
Sunset Strikers

I have an idea for the Martian Banshees too but they need to come from another manufacturer so will have to wait for now as I think I have enough to be getting on with.

In other news, I also finished off a Law Officer that I've had kicking around in the bits box primed since 2010:

I Am the Law!

I originally planned on giving him a green and white scheme to fit in with my old Stainless Steel Rat projects law enforcement officers but settled on the classic Dredd colours instead. Alas I think he has been a bit battered in the years in the bits box but will do the trick!

Finally, here's a quick update on the Orcish Carnosaur I showed the other day:

Grr!

I am going for the classic colour scheme that I used back in the day for my Leviathan project as I really like the yellow and black. I must admit that this is far closer to what I always imagined that the Orcs warbeasts looked like in Leviathan than the chubby smiling things that were produced. I have enough bits to convert another two of these fellows and will be giving one a gaping maw and the last will possibly be one of the subspecies I created for the game. 

If I am to ever finish the project I need to find some more large beasts to convert into Gorathosaurs, Necrosaurs and Titanosaurs but that will require a bit of research to find something suitable to convert!

All the best! 

Warzone 15: Supreme Necromagus

Hi!

I've sadly run out of 20mm round bases so have had to put a pause on my painting until more arrive! In the meantime I've been working through a small backlog of figures I've had in the leadpile that have been based and primed, in some cases for several years!

Inspired by Chico, I rummaged out one of the Space Vikings I sculpted a few years back and finished painting him:

Necromagus!

I've painted him up as a Supreme Necromagus for Warzone as I don't really fancy going for a Chaos Space Marine vibe. Armed with a plasma carbine, this chap will be leading one of Algeroths secret cults on Mars.

Next up, here's another two of the modern fantasy miniatures that Stuart sent me the other week in the form of a Dwarf mercenary with a SMG and axe and a Ork Mechanic with pistol and big wrench:

Squat and Ork!

I do like the two of them and have provisionally named the Squat 'Three Fingered' Hoek and the Ork mech as Gertrude as I painted him as a her as she has a rather nice do and now sports a rather handy pink backpack and adds a much needed bit of diversity for the Orks!

Lastly, there's a Wallahbot for Prince Rupert's retinue:

Beep Beep!

He's from the old Laserburn range and is a little bit of a ropey sculpt but adds a handy, retro bit of gear for the exiled Prince to supply snifters of brandy, even in the thick of combat!

In other news, I am thinking about finishing off my Orc warbeast that I sculpted last year:

Raaargh!

He will be forming the core of an Orcish horde for fantasy gaming and who knows, I may even be inspired to reboot my Aeroth setting! 

All the best!

Warzone 15: Nepharite!

Hi!

I'm back from work and have finished my Nepharite proxy for Warzone 15!

Slice and Dice!

Standing over 30mm tall, the beast is armed with an Azogar chain-axe. As with the rest of the stuff I am sculpting I want it to be different enough from the source material to allow for them to be cast without the problem of IP infringement. Once the beast is cast, I will then convert him to look like a proper Nepharite with its third horn, grinning visage and plethora of spikes erupting from its shoulders!

All the best!

Space Zombies!

Hi!

Following on from my Warzone post, I felt the urge to pick up the sculpting tools and have created some space zombies!

Urgh!

They are rather on the upper end of the scale at 18mm tall or there abouts and I have a few more bits and bobs needing finishing which I will post up here once they are finished. I have experimented with trying to get a bit of movement into the sculpts rather than the more static poses I usually produce and am really rather proud of the little chaps. I still need to add some fine detailing such as gun barrels and so on but rather like them!

In other news, I am still conflicted over whether I should go for some classic Warzone, new Warzone or just use the 15mm stuff I've been sculpting. Each option has its pros and cons but I shall continue to mull it over and hope to have come to some sort of solution by the end of the weekend but must admit to have been sorely tempted by the oldschool charms of the classic (and often a bit special) 1st edition Warzone stuff!

All the best!