HMS Saint George

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Developed, designed and commissioned in the immediate aftermath of the Second Battle of London, the HMS Saint George was the first bio-mechanical hybrid, or ‘biomech’, to be constructed by the United Kingdom in Fortress Britannia's struggle against the Kaiju.

Designed around the tentatively understood scientific principles discovered during the examination of the Second Beast’s remains, the Saint George, like all biomechs, is the result of the melding of a gargantuan, genetically engineered homo-sapien with cutting edge military hardware.

However, as capable a machine was the Saint Geroge is, it was the identity of the Saint Geroge’s pilot that venerated her into the global popular consciousness.

This pilot was, of course, none other than King William V.  

This was, of course, a decision made by chance rather than by choice. Following a nation wide genetic examination, King William V was found to be amongst only a handful of individuals in all of the United Kingdom able to make a psychosynchronous connection. Of all of those that could, King William alone was the only one with combat experience, having flown with the RAF against both the Russian Federation and the Kaiju menace.

In the end, after much argument over the wisdom of placing a head of state directly into harm's way, Parliament gave their approval, and construction began.

The contract was awarded to BAE Systems, who in turn called upon the assistance of the finest scientific and technological institutions in the country to construct Saint George.

The primary stage cloning process was carried out at the University of Cambridge. At the end of the first trimester, the embryo was transferred to an undisclosed subterranean facility thought to be somewhere in the area of Chatham, London. After nine months of incubation and a further two of outfitting, the HMS Saint George became the primary combat unit of the British armed forces.

***

This figure is the character 'High Arbiter Arkeid' from the Anima Tactics miniatures game.

Whilst all the Anima Tactics figures that I have had have been superbly sculpted and cast, their unique anime style tends to leave them rather spindly and prone to breaking. This figure originally had a long spear, however, despite storing it in a foam carry-case the spear repeatedly bent under its own weight - so in the end I cut it down into its current 'flaming sceptre' form, which is a shame.

I originally painted it up to be a 'War Strider' in a 10mm Exaulted Fantasy game that never came to fruition. All I have done is re-base the figure and add a few highlights here and there to bring it in line with figures that I have painted more recently.

Hope you like him!

MM.

The Lead Tally - 2014

Acquired: +0       Painted: +1          Total: +1

Land-Sharks

Hey Internet,

This week I've got my Sandalphon's little friends - four 'Land-Sharks'.

I had these models ready and waiting on my painting table for a few weeks before mustering up the enthusiasm to put brush to undercoat. I've no idea why - they are really nice models, and now that I've finally got round to getting them done I'm really rather happy with the end result.

As with my last 'Hordes' model, I plan on using these little fellas in both my Savage Worlds campaign and for games of WarmaHordes.

Land-Shark: Orange

The Models
The models are more from Privateer Press' 'Hordes' range - 'Shredders' from their 'Legion of Everblight' faction.

They are really nice little things. The sculpts really are tip-top quality and the design is really fun - they're just teeth with legs!

They are based on ~30mm washers for the purposes of working out how big they are. Each one is about 20mm tall and, depending on how you pose the legs, 20mm - 35mm long.

Like their Bigger Brother, they are cast in Privateer Press' weird plastic/resin stuff. It captures the details fine, but is a bit of a pain in the arse to clean up.

I'm starting to get the hang of working with the stuff now. After much trial and error I have come to the realisation that files will make the plastic crumble and splinter. Using a scalpel with a cutting motion works far better, only resorting to using files on areas that a blade will not work on.

I've found that a stiff toothbrush is really handy too. A good hard scrub appears to be the best way to clean off the scraggly bits of plastic that filing leaves behind.

Land-Shark: Blue

Painting

When I finally got round to painting them it, was really rather easy. I just used the same black and bone colours that I used on the big shark.

I painted each Shark's bony carapace bits a different colour so that I could differentiate them on the battlefield.  

It was all drybrushing, ink washes and filling in the details with a small brush, so in all it took me two short evening painting sessions to get them done - perhaps 3 or 4 hours in total. 

They are not the best paint-jobs in the world, and these these super close-ups make them look a bit 'rough', but I am quite happy with them.

Land-Shark: Khaki

Basing

I've based the figures on washers that exactly match the dimensions of the 'official' Warmachine/Hordes bases. In Warmachine/Hordes bases sizes are a big 'thing', so I made sure to get them right. 

If anyone's interested, 25mm Lipped Basses are exactly the same size as 'M6 Mudguard Repair' washers. 

Land-Shark: Green

The Lead Tally

Hey Internet, 

Just a quick one. As part of my ongoing effort to encourage myself to paint more regularly and to stop hoarding Lead I introduce "The Lead Tally". 

I've seen plenty of other people doing the same thing on Forums and Blogs all over the internet. Seems like a good sort of thing to do. I'll just add it as a footnote on all my posts from now on. 

Because I used to work Freelance and have yet to break the mentality, I will start the clock running from April First.

MM.

The Lead Tally - 2014

Acquired: +0       Painted: +0          Total: +0

6mm Bases

Hey Internet,

Just some quick photos today. I decided to base my 6mm figures in an effort to make them a little more sturdy and less prone to barrel-bending.

I've gone for a part-dirt, part-urban rubble base so that models can blend in whether the model is on in the open or in a built up area. I've let the grey dry-brushing spread around the piles of rubble to simulate dust.

I'm pretty happy with how the bases look, but I'm after a few second opinions before I set about basing a hundred or so miniatures in this style.

MM.

Kaiju One: Sandalphon, The Angel of Music

Hey Internet,

Been looking forward to this one - my first Kaiju. Its been a very long time since I last tackled a model of this size, but I've had a really good time getting it done. Do tell me what you think.

"Hey....you dont play Warmachines/Hordes...and your not supposed to start any new projects this year!?!" I hear you say...

Ha! I've not! (On a technicality)

I have stumbled into Warmachine and Hordes by accident more than anything. After much shopping around, I decided that I wanted some of elves for my 'Of Gods and Mortals' project, and that I would rather fancy some land-shark Kaiju for my 6mm 'Kill the Kaiju' games.

When I went to buy them I did not actually know both were made by Privateer Press. In fact, it turned out that they were both in the same faction, 'The Legion of Everblight'!

A fair few of my friends from my local gaming club play Warmachine/Hordes, so I thought I may as well join in as I had the models...

The Model...
The model itself is a 'Legion of Everblight ' made by Privateer Press for there 'Hordes' game.

I've never had a model from Priveteer Press before, but I must admit that I am most impressed. I got the model as part of the two player starter set that I split with a friend, meaning that I ended up paying only £30 for this big beasty, four smaller land-sharks, an eleven lady with a bow and five really nice trolls. By whatever metric you use, that has to go down as great value for money.

The models are made of plastic, and as anyone who has read my blog before will know, I'm not all too fond of plastic. However, I have to admit that I'd have rather have had everything in metal, but given the price and quality I'm not going to grumble on any further on the matter.

The castings are really crisp, sharp and have plenty of detail, but also have plenty in the way of flash that you have to clean up (like all plastic kits....).

However, the model went together without any bother whatsoever. In fact, PP deserve a commendation for the put-together-ability of their kit. Each component has an individually matched male and female joint that made construction a breeze. I had to do a little filling to plug some small gaps, but pinning together a metal model of this size would have taken hours, whereas in all I must have got this one ready for priming in less than an three hours, including gap-filling and cleaning up the flash and mould lines, without breaking a sweat (or swearing loudly, gluing my figures together, drawing blood....ect)

Painting...
I've decided to paint up each of my Kaiju in different colours rather than do them all with a single palate.

I went with a blue and black with pink bits for this one, and am rather happy with how it turned out. I approached this model with far more hesitation than usual on account of its size, but once I got round to it I painted the thing in just one evening.

I've done the base in the same way that I do my 6mm bases as it will primarily be used for 'Kill the Kaiju games.