Citi-Def Squad for John Blanche Block

Just a quick post to show my recently finished Citi-Def squad for either Gangs of Mega City One or the newer Judge Dredd Miniatures game. I picked up two sets of GoMC1 as well as one of the Street Gang expansions for 5.00 a piece about three years ago at Gen Con. I figured that the minis would be useful for random sci-fi bad guys and they were a good price overall. I've been using them as examples on several blog posts but never sat down to finally paint some.

Here's what I learned from working with these minis:

They are not very well thought out at all.

Although I love the idea of modular miniatures based on the Judge Dredd comics these minis really don't capture the design style of 2000AD. Sure they have knee and shoulder pads and some of the guns look like they should but the biggest issue is that they don't want to go together in a way that looks good at all. Trying to get these Citi-Def troopers to look like they are actually holding their spug guns correctly was going to take a lot more time than I was willing to invest. And the poses are very static overall even if you use the various arms and leg combinations. 

One thing I do like about them is the inclusion of two helmeted heads in each set that can be used to make Citi-Def troopers so I set about making some for my first city-block The John Blanche Block. Even this proved to be a bit more work than I cared to put into them. The mold lines are brutal and the previously mentioned wonky parts fit made them a pain to assemble.

I painted them in red as that always seemed to be Blanche's favorite color when he was painting for Games Workshop. I was planning to do more text painting on them, which is one of my favorite stylistic ideas from the Dredd comics, but honestly I couldn't be bothered. So they get a quick CD on the helmet and then off to the Block War.

As a fan of Bob Naismith I'm not sure what caused these to end up so badly. Mongoose seemed to have some plastic production problems with their Starship Troopers line as well so I'm going to assume that Mr. Naismith turned in lovely sculpts that were changed drastically in the casting.

Maybe next time we'll get some Citi-Def troopers from Mongoose that really look the part. 

Messing Around with Instant Mold.

So Cool Mini or Not carries a product called Instant Mold that promises to help you create pretty much any bit the you'll ever need for miniature modeling. Having some experience with metal and resin casting I was at first skeptical that this would work well at all. Boy was I wrong.


I have been using green epoxy putty for a while to replicate small details on miniatures like amulets or purity seals. This can be a hit or miss process since the putty likes to stick to the mold and often details can be very soft. Instant Mold has several great properties including a tenacious un-stickiness. The only putty I tried it with that would even stick while uncured was Aves Apoxie Sculpt and even this released immediately once it was cured. I did tests with Kneadatite green stuff, Procreate, and Apoxie Sculpt and they all released perfectly once cured.


Instant Mold comes in a pack of separate bars. Each one is plenty to replicate a small part and you can combine them for larger bits. Basically you soak the Instant Mold in boiling water for two minutes. Take it out of the water and dry it off. This helps to keep water from making distortions in the mold. Then you can press the Instant Mold over a part for a flat piece or wrap it around for a complete casting. The basics of this are shown in the following video. But be warned: This dude's knife handling is flinch inducing.

So after ordering a pack of Instant Mold from Cool Minis Or Not, I set about seeing how much cool stuff I could make with it.


I started out with a Capital assault rifle from Warzone. I wrapped the gun in IM and then put it into the freezer to set up. A few minutes later the mold was ready to be split. Since the putty is translucent I was able to see my XActo knife blade as I cut the mold. Be careful with this step! I can see a lot of cut fingers and thumbs coming from this. And you want to be careful so you don't damage your original.

Once I had the mold I used Aves Apoxie Sculpt to cast the rifle. I filled the mold with a little more putty than I thought I would need and squeezed it to form the part. Try not to twist the mold and keep your pressure even. This squeezing will produce a huge amount of flash but it tends to be very thin. One of the reasons that I use Apoxie Sculpt is that it is very sand-able once cured. This is especially important for hard edged mechanical parts.

A gang member from Gangs of Mega City One

  
Once painted the gun looks pretty good. I can see this being very useful for special weapons and for older bits that are hard to come by.


The next part came from a little Tiki fellow from a magnetic skill game. The sculpting on these pieces is very sharp and clean and this helps when making a part with Instant Mold.

I cast some of these in Procreate and used them to make a pulp inspired base. Casting architectural parts is one of the most suitable uses for Instant Mold. Toys, keychains, jewelry, or knick knacks can all be used for creating small detail bits for larger buildings as well as for miniature bases.


I've heard a couple of folks discussing the possibility of using Instant Mold to copy entire miniatures. I decided to give it a shot using one of my own sculptures of a cult leader and his evil Cthulhu cult sword. 

This mold was more difficult to cut and had some problems with trapped air and parts that didn't fill in. Since this mini is such a simple design this wasn't a huge issue but it would be a real pain with a more complex miniature.

A Cthulhu Cult Leader surveys the ruins of Tiki Island.

Besides the ethical issues, using Instant Mold to create whole miniatures is frankly too much of a hassle to do much. I'm glad that I can use it with my own sculpts to give me an idea of what a painted version will look like or to replicate parts that I will need several of. I also imagine it will be useful for texture stamps. But it's really a pain and doesn't create a detailed enough piece. 

  
The final bits that I created were shoulder guards and a shield for an Imperial Champion. The splinter guard shoulders are from a Games Day limited edition mini and the shield is a Storm Shield from a vintage Thunder Hammer Terminator. I cast the shoulder guards as solid pieces and then ground out the inside with a Dremel tool. The shield was cast flat and then sanded to the thickness that I wanted.


Overall I was very impressed with Instant Mold and for 13.00 bucks it is a value, especially since it can be reused indefinitely. It is best used for small details that can be cast in one piece but even two part molds can be made to work with a bit more effort. For the scratchbuilder, convertor, or sculptor it provides a very quick way to replicate parts and should be added to your hobby toolbox.

Check out some of the other stuff I've made with Instant Mold:
Crackle Texture Bases
Imperial City Base

Trash Bash 2011 Final Results.

First off a big thanks to the participants, sponsors, and judges who helped to make Trash Bash 2011 possible. It has been inspirational to see how contestants have solved the challenge of using a discarded deodorant container to create a vehicle. And it's been a lot of fun to read the back stories and parts lists that accompany all of these models. Check the comments box below for links to each contestant's blog or website for more information on each entry.

Great work everyone!

First Place: William Burke- B86 DROF Motors Road Utility Surface Buggy

Judges really responded to the completeness of concept for this vehicle and its somewhat odd configuration. The final paintjob ties it all together and the backstory of a beleaguered Quar named G'wible really added to the concept of the vehicle. William used the clear, green plastic of the deodorant container to great effect and his use of decals looks realistic and well thought out.

Second Place: Ward Shrake- Russian Heavy Hovercraft Tank and German Scout Car

Ward created two models for his final entry and the level of finish on both vehicles is amazing. The back story for these models not only assassinates Joseph Stalin but also implies a future of man portable beam weapons. Ward is truly a mad scientist of modeling, using heat tools to fuse plastic and "Sharpie Juice" and model glue to color and texture his creations.

Third Place: Duke Dreal- Pirate Hovertank

This entry was created in the true sprit of trash bashing. Other than a few Hirst Arts castings the whole thing is cleverly constructed out of household refuse. The paint scheme and design concept are pure Star Wars and the tank fits right into a game of Star Wars Miniatures. Duke has used a stockpile of discards to create a really useful gaming piece.

Honorable Mentions:

It was exceedingly difficult to choose only three winners for this contest so I'd like to also recognize the other contestants and their entries. Everyone single one is inspirational in its use of trash bashing techniques and overall creativity. (The following are listed in no particular order.)

Clarke Payne- Yiksossi Reaver Raiding Skimmer:

Tom Perrin- The Shark Amphibious Assault Vehicle:

Larry Hammer- The Coarse Hare River Gunboat:

Jess Carver- Star Frontiers Explorer:

Retro Review 1: Chainsaw Warrior with Reaper

When I first got into the wargaming hobby I was young and constantly broke. My 1969 Chevelle Malibu took any extra cash I had and extended sorties into various gaming arcades took the rest. So when new miniatures came out I was often without funds to pick them up. And prior to the internet, ordering miniatures from Citadel, all the way in England for crying out loud, was a daunting task indeed. My local game store did a fine job of trying to get new product but often by the time I got there all the cool stuff was gone. All that was left were the many packs of Space Marine heavy weapons that all seemed to have conversion beamers. I still believe that there was a severe overcasting of conversion beamers in Nottingham and they made sure to secretly pack away as many of the as they could to The US. So many dopey conversion beamers.

bleah...feh...yech...

But I'm off topic. My idea for Retro Reviews is so that I can revisit miniatures that I used to to have or that I could never get my hands on. I'm a better painter now than I was at nineteen so I'm looking forward to painting these figures without the stress that I used to feel. Time to have some fun and check out some classic miniatures!


I'll be starting out with a Chainsaw Warrior from Citadel Miniatures. This miniature was sculpted by Bob Naismith in 1987. It is one of four Chainsaw Warrior minis that Citadel produced. They were created to support the solo-play game Chainsaw Warrior but were sort of shoehorned into Warhammer 40,000 as Imperial Guard troops since there was actually no need for them to be used to play Chainsaw Warrior. First lesson of making miniature games: make miniatures necessary to play the game.

After picking up this little fellow pretty cheaply on Ebay, I took a long look over it to see what kind of shape it was in and how I might improve it. And other than sharpening up the edges on the shoulder armor and reaper cannon I didn't have to do much since Naismith had created such a really impressive miniature. The sculpting is on par with other things that Citadel was producing in the day. The details are a bit soft and there is some interesting anatomy with the gloved hands. But honestly this mini is still really groovy.

The proportions and stance of the Chainsaw Warrior are outstanding. The reaper cannon that he carries is instantly recognizable as what it is, basically a big autocannon for making bad things die. The mini is also equipped with a combination headset microphone and camera (a pretty obvious inspiration from Aliens), two pistols, a communications device, and a canteen. The overall look is very 2000 AD which makes sense as the lead comic artist on Chainsaw Warrior was Brett Ewins of Rogue Trooper fame. Naismith does an excellent job of capturing the 2000 AD vibe while creating a character that works within the Chainsaw Warrior storyline.

The mini was cast in a lead based alloy and this helped to remind my of why I hate lead miniatures. My needle file gummed up just like in the 80s, my X-Acto knife stuttered along seam lines instead of gliding smoothly. And I know that a lot of detail has been softened over the years by simple abuse. All that being said the mini was in pretty good shape. Overall cleaning was followed by a matte black undercoat.  I wanted to use all military colors but still break up the figure so that armor was clearly defined from cloth, boots from pants, etc. I settled on a mix of olive drab, black, and urban camo for the BDU pants since for some reason all super soldiers in the 80s had to wear camo pants. I went with an olive for the gun housing since I wanted it to look like it was made of various types of materials. Drybrushing the whole thing chainmail would just be boring anyway.

A face only a mother, or drill sergeant could love.

One of my favorite parts of this mini is the face. Overly craggy and almost Neanderthal this guy seems like someone who has been around a battlefield or two. His crew cut is easy to paint and the headset really makes him seem like he's on a mission.

I built a quick base using a piece of corrugated plastic, a plastic tube and some wires to make a broken electrical conduit, and some scattered shell casings made from aluminum tube. Since the Chainsaw Warrior game takes place inside of an abandoned skyscraper I didn't want to add foliage or grass. It adds to the post apocalyptic feel anyway.

Overall this miniature still holds up as a tough as nails super soldier type character. It is big and bulky and wouldn't look out of place with today's standard "super heroic scale" minis. I'm looking forward to tracking down his three other brothers, even the sort of goofy Timescape version, and giving them matching paintjobs. It's been great to finally find a miniature that I've wanted since 1987 and have the time and skill to enjoy painting it.


Go deep into your lead pile and look around. Find some of those orphaned minis of yesteryear that you might have forgotten about. I think you'll be surprised by how much fun they still are.


Next Time:
Winners of Trash Bash 2011 Announced!

Land Dominion Strider Build Notes

I've been wanting to do a walking robot for a while. Primarily inspired by the quirky independent film Automatons, I decided that I wanted to use a walking toy robot and build on top of it. This would create a model that I could paint and detail like a wargaming model but that would still be able to move on its own without all of the hassle of trying to rig the motors myself. 

I also got a lot of ideas from the mighty Rob Schrab's video on Drawless Animation, a technique that he uses incredibly well for cartoons and music videos.

So I finally find a decent walking robot for $10 and decide to start hacking and gluing. I've been collecting various bits for a while in preparation for this build so I pretty much had everything on hand.

The main carapace is made from a football helmet from a giant Pez dispenser. I built an armored skirt around the back of it with strip styrene. I cut this crudely to make it look more like a battlefield add on. The mulitcolored studs are actually meant for scrapbooking. I found these and other very useful craft stuff in a Canadian dollar store called Dollarama. And honestly, Canadian dollar stores are so much better than the ones down here.  I'm glad that I get to go back up in June for a bit.

I wanted the helmet to be studded like the shoulder pads on Mark VI Space Marine Armor or like the helmets from Rollerball.

The Corinthian helmet came from a chunky action figure of a soldier from the Trojan War. I'm not saying the helmet was historically accurate, just that it was cheap. The samurai helmet is one of the many odd little bits that I collected when I lived in Japan. The horns are from the horned skull icons from Games Workshop's Arcane Ruins set.

The cockpit is from a toy from the late 1990s called War Planets. These were actually pretty neat little toys that included several types of infantry, aircraft, and vehicles all contained in one little planet. They would have been great fun when I was a kid but I bought them primarily to chop up.

Most of the other bits are from a large scale AT Votoms Scopedog kit. A couple of las cannons from an old style Predator kit and styrene tubing complete the belly guns. A few ball turrets were made with parts from an Acguy kit and an RX-78 Ball. A shield was added to the back made from a Tallgeese shield and a small oni mask made with a push mold.

I added rivets by using various sizes of paper punches to make disks out of thin styrene sheet. I have several sizes of these from a tiny 1.5mm punch to a big 38mm cutter. The standard office punch is usually 6mm or so. My favorite is a Marvy punch that has interchangeable heads.

I needed to be able to get to the battery compartment of the robot toy so I made sure to keep the carapace separate. Luckily it rests perfectly on the torso so I don't even need velcro or blue-tak to hold it on. I've been thinking about adding springs to connect them so that there is some movement in the carapace as it walks but this will depend on how it looks in slow motion.

I used a soldering iron to distress and damage as well as to add "welded" plates over the carapace. Once I used the soldering iron I then sanded over the damage areas to keep it from looking as much like simple melted plastic. Then on to painting.

The model was first sprayed with Krylon Texture spraypaint, much like I did with my Camel model, but in more of a misting action as I didn't want a super heavy texture. After this was dried I lightly sanded the whole thing to knock the texture back even more. Flat black undercoat followed by dampbrushing, drybrushing, and then washes with Citadel washes. A few hand painted markings and a couple of small scale decals to break it up a bit.

Thanks for checking this project out and please let me know what you think.

Preview of Land Dominion Strider

Just a quick picture of my latest project. This was created to be used in a music video for one of my favorite bands. I'm currently awaiting approval from the band and then he'll be shipped out to Los Angeles to be filmed. I'll post updates as things come together.

I wanted to create a model that actually walked on its own so I used a cheap plastic robot toy and built everything on top of it. The walking action is actually pretty cool when slowed down. The main carapace is a plastic football helmet from a giant Pez dispenser. The other various bits have been kicking around in my junk boxes for years just waiting for this project.

My main inspiration is the artwork of Michel "Away" Langevin from the band Voivod. Voivod's imagery and storylines have always struck me as very gamer friendly. This artwork from the album Rrröööaaarrr could certainly have helped inspire some of the Ork Titans in Adeptus Titanicus. There is an unskilled but extremely cool style that I love about Away's drawings. He's like the metal kid at school who always drew during algebra class and made his own t-shirts. And since I was pretty much one of those kids I've always dug his work.


Next blog I'll show this little beauty unpainted in all its hacked together glory and explain some of the construction techniques.


Remember Trash Bash 2011 ends on April 30 so good luck with your entries! 

Rick Priestley Added as Judge for Trash Bash 2011!

Due to the beneficial machinations of my cohort Des Hanley we can now welcome gaming-overlord Rick Priestley as a judge for Trash Bash 2011. Besides being the primary inspiration for this contest Mr. Priestley's contributions to gaming are pretty much responsible for getting me into the hobby in the first place. And he hasn't slowed down since his departure from Games Workshop. Hail Caesar looks great and has made me consider a nice sized Celt army (since I can't have one in real life).

I'll be accepting entries until April 30th and there's still time for some garbage gluing goodness. So get those bits boxes out and get to Trash Bashing!

Rick Priestley's original deodorant container conversion
is still a fine example of original, fun gaming creation.