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Since Sci-Fi in general doesn't mesh with Hordes in any way, I am launching separate P&M blogs for anything non-Orboros. Having followed some neat Infinity projects here on Dakka, I've dug out my old stash of Ariadna with intention to have some sort of flexible force at the end of 2017. Later it may be expanded to other systems, but the plan at hand is this - to get from about 10 to about 20 painted miniatures, primarily... "politely themed"

Lets start the year with an ADHL tankhunter, supposedly from the 282 dedicated anti-tank detachment.

Instant glue - the most polite way to say "You shan't pass!"

Good luck on your journey towards a fully painted Ariadna force. The tankhunter is looking good. I really love gluing stuff with adhl. Managed to glue an O-Yoroi tag in ARO at a tournement last weekend. I hope you enjoy similar success with this guy.

 Davetron wrote:
Good luck on your journey towards a fully painted Ariadna force. The tankhunter is looking good. I really love gluing stuff with adhl. Managed to glue an O-Yoroi tag in ARO at a tournement last weekend. I hope you enjoy similar success with this guy.

Thanks, although my health will likely prevent me from having both wins and losses for some time.

But I've managed to finish my next miniature - Isobel Mc Gregor from the Dire Foes pack. Pretty sculpture, good casting but... abysmal cut-up. Pin-head-sized contact areas with shallow keying. Anyway, I did what I could but I should have done better. I've went for a paramilitary look to get better contrast both on the table-top and among the rest of my force. I think it will look OK, but will try to get her into action to snap some shots. Where should she serve? Perhaps, communication unit? Hmm...



Next is the hour of the wolf. I'll have Rackham wolfen trackers for antipodes - they match old dog-warrior style and stature perfectly, much better than either old or new antipode pack. Then there is that cameronian with a big axe...

Antipodes still require some work that better be left for the open air environment, therefore it is cameronians turn to hold the line for this week. Weird pose, good casting (although some minimal pinning was needed) and some fun to paint. I think his name is Leslie (despite all the fun about filming of Lassie he is not...) and he is from 249 inf, keeping at least some semblance to regular troop. Although dog warrior on a trench duty seem quite a stretch!



I'll probably take a break from Ariadna as well as from Orboros. Maybe I will be trying something like batch-painting something from fantasy...

After a long hiatus I've decided to come back to the Sci-Fi side of things. Not for long, surely, just the May, trying to finish my specialist/sniper part of the company. Let's start with "Ojotnik". Nice dynamic pose, usual Infinity detail. There are only two (well, make it three) complaints from me. Arms-hands really need to be carefully pinned into place, this miniature comes together well and without gaps, but only if all the angles are right, and it is much easier to do it with pins holding everything together. Second, that sharpshooter wears a balaclava. I prefer more open faces in my company, since trying to make these small recessed eyes is a pain... but still better than what Corvus Belli has now for Ariadna Cossacks, with all the lenses and horrible iron masks. Lastly, the running pose leaves too little contact surface to mount this miniature on a solid transparent disc. had to make to with the usual Infinity plastic base...




In reality his colours are much more muted, washed out, closer to this one extra view on a different background.



What next? I have Spec-Ops (great thanks to Shae-Konnit, Foxtrot sniper (belly-naked one) and a... Loup-Garous sniper, I think... the one with the walkie-talkie. Hopefully by the end of May I'll have at least two of them ready.

The main problem I have with Ariadna troopers - they look so good just in basecoat, wash and dirt that I am lost trying to add variety to them. Case at hand - intel spec-ops. Lots of details, but in
"reality" they all should be motley green and brown to blend in with surroundings. Well, since there is a plethora of images on the subject of polite green men (tm, probably sm too) I've found a photo depicting somewhat similar equipment and "borrowed" multicolour spots somewhat resembling gravel. Autofocus failure...




Now, fox or a wolf? Loup-garou or a foxtrot ranger,,,

Foxtrot... There are miniatures I simply can't take seriously, and this is definitely one of them, leading even the notorious cat-doctor by a good margin.

OK, so the sculpting and the casting are typical old Infinity, which means good to excellent. Minor mold lines on weapons, slightly bent legs, this three part miniature assembles with minimum pinning. I've tried to go a bit more overboard than usual, since she is definitely an irregular nogoodnick rather than a soldier in appearance.



Obvious reference is obvious, isn't it? Well, this brings this sniper match of the May 2017 to the conclusion, what remains is Loup-garou, already assembled but still waiting for his base. Hopefully that will be done in time!

I don't mind that mini actually. But then again I don't mind a little bit of cheese in the the setting. Battle heels and exposed midriffs and all that is all part of infinity's charm to me.

Good start to an Ariadna force though. Looking good so far. The tartan on the wolf looks great!

May I suggest a bit of lining on the miniatures to help define the different areas? Or maybe another slight wash in the recesses for that bit of extra definition.I think some edge highlighting on the gun would help too.

Keep it up. Look forward to seeing more.

 ckig wrote:
I don't mind that mini actually. But then again I don't mind a little bit of cheese in the the setting. Battle heels and exposed midriffs and all that is all part of infinity's charm to me.

Good start to an Ariadna force though. Looking good so far. The tartan on the wolf looks great!

May I suggest a bit of lining on the miniatures to help define the different areas? Or maybe another slight wash in the recesses for that bit of extra definition.I think some edge highlighting on the gun would help too.

Keep it up. Look forward to seeing more.

Thank You. ckig! I don't mind it either, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten it. It is just not really fitting into the dead-serious Ariadna as a full-time soldier, IMHO, thus that relaxed outfit. Edge highlight is my sure sore spot, I admit. I just can't get it at my current skill. It is either too thick and distracting, or I just can't see it myself, with no in-betweens. But I will keep trying.

Anyway, more is coming although not that many more and a bit late - I've had some problems connecting to Dakka over the weekend.

The final sniper of the batch - Loup-Garou. Loving this one Frenchman here. Good cast, all gates and sprue connectors in easy to remove spaces. Key and hole for the head could have been deeper, though... Two part torso, joined at the belt, definitely needs pinning, the arm with a gun - not so much, but I've pinned it anyway. Restrained myself from going Vader-like all black outfit, giving instead blotched green over blotched grey camo.



Since not much camo is on the front side, here is his rear... a bit overdone contrast.



And that... was the last Infinity model I had unpainted in my house. Should I add some dedicated anti-tank capability? Scotch Guard with panzerfaust, perhaps? More possibility to paint tartans... Or go with old Rackham wolfen as antipodes? I hear they have lost some usefulness this edition, becoming more sniffing dogs rather than damage dealers.

So, the first half of 2017 is over - and my progress with Sci-Fi miniatures is, actually, pretty decent! Current plan is to finish at least these few before 2018. Prepainted Rackham wolfen as antipodes (pretty decent models, if a little "dated") and Mantic rebels as antipode controller and TV crew.

Nice. Wolfen deserve some love. What are "Mantic rebels" exactly?

 kestral wrote:
Nice. Wolfen deserve some love. What are "Mantic rebels" exactly?

Models from Rebs faction in Deadzone (and Dreadball, but that's a different business) by Mantic Games. Mostly PVC, very different quality batch from batch. But they scale with older Infinity models quite well, share some cartoony over-the-topness and can be put to multiple uses. This "antipode controller taking a selfie" will one day an alternate Malcolm in a Firefly/Serenity RPG. And the "rocket-launcher rebel" work much better as a TV crew, IMHO!

Very little progress, but still a progress. Should have that antipodal wolfen assault team before the autumn weather sets in.

After a very long time - first finished miniature, reporter. Mantic games has produced some interesting miniatures for their Deadzone that I'd like to incorporate into other projects. Infinity needs VIP targets... and that "rocket launcher" looked too much like a camera to me. Plus, the RPGamer in me longs for some civilians in modern-to-Sci-Fi settings.



Not too difficult to clean and assemble - for restic, anyway, which, unfortunately, means it is impossible to fully clean it from moulding defects. Fortunately, there are not too many of them in this case.I've tried to make her more contrast, cartoony, maybe it wasn't the worst decision?



Wolfen-antipodes should be next, but I am really low on ideas for them. Original Rackham paint is... uninspiring" and bad as an undercoat, to say politely.

Repurposing some scale kits for tabletop, here is the Ariadna shuttle. They may be low tech faction in Infinity, but surely they should have some means of orbital insertion?



Suitably big obstructing terrain, fit for any industrial themed battlefield.



Sadly, the slow disaster that is Infinity RPG leaves my set target of 10 miniatures for this year unreachable... Some drastic measures are planned for next..

Sorry to hear that you are having health problems, I hope it's temporary. I really like the Isobel MC Gregor sculpt too, and what you are doing with your force. I don't know much about infinity, but I think it's really cool that you gave them a shuttle as a piece of terrain. Any other terrain you can share with us?

 Syro_ wrote:
Any other terrain you can share with us?

Thanks, and - not now. But later - certainly. All my personal terrain projects currently are stored for a winter, packed really tightly and in inconvenient place. As soon as weather again permits working and storing paper and cork stuff outside, I promise - terrain will get much more prominent in my blogs!

Nothing to show for now, but to compensate for an extra long silence, here are some plans for the upcoming half-year. First, I've got two incomplete 1:43 scale kits of classic Russian tracked transport, renowned as wilderness expeditionary vehicle in Siberia, Arctic and Antarctic. This should suit Ariadna forces just fine. Pics of half-assembled stuff incoming in a week or two. Second, I've got some Hasslefree miniatures, enough to make a small Merovingian (lets be honest, it is always Elzas und Lotharingia, even in space) force, so I will try the same as the last year - to paint 10 miniatures for Infinity use. And thirdly there are wolfen as antipodes for backup!

Cool looking forward to seeing the stuff you paint up and make.

OK, here are advertised tracked crawlers, the GT-S (the one below, smaller of the two) and his more advanced cousin GT-SM. Surprisingly, Wikipedia knows nothing about these machines, but I'll try to provide a brief on their real history later. Both kits came into my hands missing some details, in case of GT-SM almost entirety of the cabin, so it will be a very fictional build anyway. Should be fun using them for cover in Infinity and Deadzone.

Your Infinity and deadzone boards are going to look great with all these vehicles as terrain

I know it's a ways up the blog- but fantastic work on the Cameronian's kilt- really well done!

 Syro_ wrote:
Your Infinity and deadzone boards are going to look great with all these vehicles as terrain

We will see. I might get a few games, first of the 2018 season, in a week or two, but at best with books and boxes for terrain. Sad cat is sad.

 Meer_Cat wrote:
I know it's a ways up the blog- but fantastic work on the Cameronian's kilt- really well done!

Thanks! I really want to return to painting something tartan-style, but there is nothing like that on the horizon! maybe something more Celtic than Scottish... As the last resort I may try actually painting rather than coloring something!

I forgot how much I enjoy the Ariadna models. Look forward to seeing what else you paint.

Antipodes... These are really outcasts of CB. Old antipode assault pack was nothing like neither their statline nor dog-warrior model visually. Awful, simply awful. New antipode pack is much better, but once again - nothing like old dog-warrior, cameronian or Duroc. So, do I drop some of my favorite models and a significan chunk of cash or do I look for alternatives? Well, sometimes friends come from unexpected places. Rackham prepaints, my AAP! I should make a comparison shot with them, though...



This was a long experiment. Grey one was merely touched up. Brighter face and maw, hair and tail, leather belts and metals. White one has got a new fur colour in addition to the "bells and whistles" while black one was almost completely repainted. Not all mould lines were easy to remove. One thing I really wanted to add to them was more tattoos or fur paints, but in the end decided against that. Too uneven surface for my skill...

Lastly, their controller is Mantic rebel sniper from Deadzone. Also a PVC model, but easier to work with. She's, making a selfie with her wolves, how cute...

OK, so this opens up my alternative Ariadna for the year 2018. Stay tuned!

Wolves look great, I was especially admiring how cool the black one looks, then I read that it's the one you did the most work on nice.

 Syro_ wrote:
Wolves look great, I was especially admiring how cool the black one looks, then I read that it's the one you did the most work on nice.

Thanks, Syro, he's my favorite one too! I have some more wolfen and not-so-wolfen (Wrath of Kings, old metal Confrontation, even my own feeble attempts on copying the style) so this madness will continue.

Now, plans for the rest of Ariadna 2018... Everybody (and their antipode too) knows how Merovingian Rapid Response Force looks like - Infinity (CB) catalog item

Force de Réponse Rapide Merovingienne
──────────────────────────────────────────────────

6
MOBLOT Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21)
ZOUAVE Rifle, D.E.P. / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 20)
MÉTRO Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 8)
MÉTRO Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 8)
MÉTRO Rifle, Light Grenade Launcher / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 12)
PARA-COMMANDO HMG / Pistol, Knife. (1 | 31)

2 SWC | 100 Points

Old sculpts, three rifles, not much to inspire. Let's see... Shotgun is good, an option to lay down some templates is always good. But so is HMG, a great thing for suppressive fire. D.E.P. is so much better than a LGL that it is not even worth mentioning, so - just antitank D.E.P. Two rifles are OK, third is an overkill, lets swap it for a marksman rifle or a sniper rifle. Better range, better skill. This gives us

6
MOBLOT Rifle, Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 21)
ZOUAVE Rifle, D.E.P. / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 20)
BRISCARD Marksman Rifle / Assault Pistol, Knife. (0 | 24)
MÉTRO Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 8)
MÉTRO Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 8)
MÉTRO HMG / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 19)

1 SWC | 100 Points

Same points, less SWC. Models will come from Hasslefree, obviously, if CB doesn't want to update MRRF... The only problem I see is that Briscard is obviously medium infantry while Hasslefree provides a rag-tag band that is better described as Metros. Well, I am OK with that.

Nice, I'm most interested in seeing the ones you made copying the style. Good luck accomplishing your goals

 Syro_ wrote:
Nice, I'm most interested in seeing the ones you made copying the style. Good luck accomplishing your goals

As soon as I go back to the fantasy side of things, I'll dig them up, I promise! But please, don't get hopes high - these are definitely not the "brilliant miniatures" of any kind.

Meanwhile, here is the test model for metropolitan troopers -



Hasslefree miniatures make excellent troopers and adventurers for modern or light sci-fi setting. Ideal to complement Corvus Belli. Single-piece casts, good quality (it takes more than the usual effort to spot mould lines) and attention to details. When comparing the the early Ariadna models, they are on a smallish side of things, but nothing out of place anatomically. When compared to the newest Infinity range... the scale creep is very obvious. I'll stay with the older ones, Thank-You-Very-Much-CB!



This paintwork was left intentionally bland. What else to expect from the cheapest garrison troops of a backward world? But... It is funny how shiny it looks on a flash photo. All my usual lightning - table-top lamp, ceiling light and a little extra from a handheld flashlight were not enough to counter two layers of matt varnish, but a camera has no problem with that, apparently.

With this test done, there are 5 more to follow now.

Great look for your metropolitan troopers! 'Bland' is what most armies strive for in their field/working uniforms. Deliberate ostentation is what gets you killed (snipers are particularly trained to shoo the guy with the radio, the heavy weapon, the odd weapon [pistol/carbine, when all others are carrying full size rifles] and mostly the guy with the fanciest hat)!