Find me a Centurion!

Hey Internet,

I've been playing the rather fantastic Mental Omega mod for Red Alert 2 rather a lot for the last two days. If your a fan of Red Alert, give it a try. Its fantastic. Honestly.

If you've not played Red Alert 2, go download it now. Like. Seriously. Stop reading. Go play it.

Wait, no, keep reading. I need a hand with something.

As with just about every computer game to ever cross my screen, one unit has jumped out in particular as something that must be owned in miniature.

This time, its the Chinese Centurion Walker.

Its the biggest, meanest thing in the game, and as such deserves its place on my gaming table. Like, its a giant Chinese siege robot that topples tanks and crushes entire bases single handedly.

The plan is to integrate it into my 6mm "Monster Kaiju Battle Hour" project. Should fit in seamlessly as part of the Soviet force.

So - I put it to you 'the internet' - I know there has to be a model out there that would fit the bill for this one.

I'm not looking for an exact facsimile- just a model that encompass all of the 'spirit' of the thing - a big cannon walking on three or four mechanical legs - perhaps even with the bunker complex on its back.

Doesn't want to be too big though. Size wise, I'm thinking that it should be no much larger than about 40mm in height. It's 6mm after all. Will go larger if the model is nice though.

So - give me your suggestions!

Mr. Marx.

PS. This is only a small 'one model' detraction. I'm still plunging away at the All Quiet stuff at the moment.

TOG 1 or 2 ?

Hey Internet,

Today a package finally arrived in the post - yay!

Within it was a Flames of War TOG 2 tank model that I ordered about two weeks ago, and have been looking forward to receiving with childlike excitement.

For you that don't know, this magnificent beast is a TOG.

Irritatingly, I ordered two, the other one has been placed on 'back order', whatever that means.

More to the point, as soon as the postman was gone, I of course got out my new toy for a bit of a play.

As fate would have it, I recently took delivery of some Blue Moon Mark I tanks. The Blue Moon kits come with both 'Male' and 'Female' sponsons....and I'm building them as gun tanks....and the 'spare' machine gun sponsons just so happen to perfectly fit my pretty little TOG....

....so.....why shouldn't I build the model as The Old Gang of the Royal Navy Landships Commitee originally intended?

These drawings gives a fairly good impression of the original design. 

I mean, the sponsons are not *100%* historically accurate as they are from a Mk.I, rather than a Mk.V tank, but on the other hand, the machine guns contained within would be being used to mow down Martians in revenge for the 1899 'Rape of London', so, I'm not all too fussed on that front.

I'd need to get some Matilda II turrets to complete the transformation, but that is no problem really.

Feeling really jazzed about doing this.

Let me know what you think!

MM.

Figure Finder - Tsar Wars: "The 'Ranker" (#1)

Goodevening fellows of the Internet,

With Emir Jahbah and the Dark Invader planned out, its time for the next figure to be found: A Human version of THIS.

This time it is Jahbah's personal champion "Ranker". This poor, fearsome creature imprisoned in the cave system under the Emir's palace,

Ranker's name is taken from the outcry of the first man doomed to face him, a young Australian adventurer, who upon seeing his opponent remarked; "Bloody 'ell mate, you can't really expect me to take that bloody great 'ranker all by mysel-Uhh-Ahhhh!".

For this guy I was thinking a really big savage or cannibal type, enslaved from the deepest depths of uncharted Africa would do the part.

I'm not all too hot on makers of Pulp figures - but I expect that there must be something out there that'll fit the bill. I'm not opposed to the idea that he be afflicted with gigantasism, so a ~40mm might be an idea?

Failing that, the Victorian age was one of discovery and wonder - and something akin to a 'desert Yeti' or some great African ape cannot be ruled out....

^ I know this is a picture from the Irish famine rather than Africa, but it illustrates what I'm going for.

So, anyone got any ideas?

MM.

Tsar Wars - Darth Vader - "The Dark Invader" (#2)

Hey all,

Following on from my last post, drawing from the ideas kindly put to me, I have a plan of how to go about making the Dark Invader*.

(* This pun is bad, even by newspaper standards. Please, someone come up with a better one!)

Body and arms from a Spartan Games 'Teutonic Knight Specialist', which I will re-pose to make more 'hulking';

Helmet from a Dreamforge Games Eisenkern Stormtrooper;





Then for the 'Arc - Sabre', either an Armourcast Cinematic *thingy* or a large Games Workshop Power Sword, converted to replace the barrel/blade on the Teutonic Knight.

What do you think? - I'd be most interested to know.

MM.

Figure Finder – Tsar Wars: [PUN NEEDED] (#1)

Fellow Geeks of the Internet,

After much success infinding a figure to represent 'Jabba the Hutt' on the Lead AdventureForum (thanks Dewbakuk!), I thought I'd try it again.

I request access to our collective miniature knowledge to find a figure to represent the Dark Lord of the Russian Empire.

(Ps. As a side note, I need a pun that relates Darth Vader to a robotic Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Suggestions warmly accepted.)

I know exactly what I'm looking for but have no idea where to find it, or even if it exists.

Anything from 28mm to a light walker/mech would fit the bill, and he'd need to be armed with an 'arc-sabre' of some kind. Despite the innate hypocrisy, I am really not into the Steampunk aesthetic and would much rather a figure that channels the minds of Wells and Verne and Poe - that is to say: no pointless cogs if at all possible!

Here are a few pictures I've gathered off the internet. There are many images of a Steampunk Darth Vader out there, but these are those that I am most fond of. If any of these were a figure, I'd buy them in a heartbeat.

^ I'm not-so-hot on the whole 'leaf blower' thing, but the rest is top notch!

Please post any suggestions as a reply on here, or if you are a LAFfer, post them over there and I will copy them over. 

Thanks!

MM.

Oathswarn Miniatures 'Project Pantheon' Kickstarter

Hey Internet,

I have just backed my first ever 'Kickstarter' project!

I don't think that I've muttered about it on here much before, but I've never been a fan of kickstarter (and other crowd-funding systems) in our little hobby.

I love the idea of it - a way for people to share their enthusiasm and get new projects off the ground - but I couldn't help but feel that some companies have turned crowd-funding into a sort of glorified pre-order system.

I mean, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that; I just feel it gives out a vibe of dodgyness. I can't escape the feeling that placing all that money in the hands of small companies will go awry at some point...

But, yes, anyway. I've made the leap and backed 'Project Pantheon 1: Odin, Lord of Asgard' by Oathswarn Miniatures.

Its a simple very simple project with a nice low buy-in of £22.

For that small investment I'll be getting a very pretty looking 40mm scale model of the Norse God Odin, mounted on his eight-legged horse Sleipnir, which I will of course be putting into my 'Of Gods and Mortals' Project.

At first glance, £22 felt like a terrible lot for a single figure, but I've since had no problem justifying it to myself - its huge and its bloody lovely.

I have no idea how well this new addition will fit in with the converted OOP Spartan Games 40mm Greeks that I have been using as Gods so far, but really I don't care. Even if there is a noticeable disparity, I'm only ever going to have one or two Gods on the table at any one time, and even then, they are flipping Gods after all, so it hardly matters.

Much to irritation of my bank manager, the sculptor has already got his teeth into their next Norse God sculpt, Freyja, brother of Freyr,riding her dire boar Hildisvini. If she ends up looking as good as the fellow I've put my money down for already, I fear she will too find herself in my possession before too long.


Mr. R. C. Marx

Ideas: Pyongyang Unicorn

Hey Internet,

With Nova Streltzy sitting pretty, its time for me to plan my next Jager: The Pyongyang Unicorn !

I have a nice clean concept - I just need a model to hang it off.

It needs to look a bit crappy, but still look okay next to Infinity models. I think it should be big too. Real big. 

Whereas the other Jagers in my setting have one pilot, I feel the Payongyang Unicorn needs a crew of at least three: most benevolent and powerful leader and two guys to actually fly the thing. 

The 'Weird Science' rules in Savage Words also give interesting opportunities for things like the super-computer eating the tape...

Lead contender at the moment is the OOP Battletech 'Colossus';

Its big, fugly, and looks to have a superb sound-system for playing invigorating patriotic songs during the heat of battle.

I am far from settled on this model though - and I want to get this one right. Anyone else got a contender they think would fit the bill?

MM.