Saturday 28 February 2015

From TamsinP - NSL Reinforcements (142 Points)


This entry is rather picture heavy, but there is a lot to show, so no apologies from me on that score!

I had decided that my NSL forces were in need of some reinforcements. After all, Panzer grenadiers do need some Panzers and APCs otherwise they'd just be, well, grenadiers.

All figures and models in this entry are 15mm from Ground Zero Games.

The Vehicles

I'd decided a while back that my NSL would utilise hover technology for their armoured vehicles. This was on the basis that it would give them mobility over a wide range of possible dirtside terrain whilst being easier (and cheaper) to repair and maintain than grav vehicles - Teutonic practicality is alive and well in the future!

The radio antennae are plastic bristles from a washing up brush.

Wombat Armoured Personnel Carriers


Four APCs






Flatbed, command APC and missile APC







If you look closely, you will spot that a couple of these APCs have been in prangs and lost headlights.


Rommel Tanks


Three gun tanks










SLAM artillery tank, air defense tank, missile (AT/AA) tank










These were mostly done with an airbrush - the first time I've used it in "combat". They were primed Dunkelgelb then the camo scheme was added. First layer was Hull Red sprayed straight up. The second layer was Dark Grey Blue sprayed though diamond pattern wire mesh - this didn't work as well as I'd hoped; I need some more practice to get the distance from brush to mesh and mesh to model right. The top layer was Camo Light Green sprayed through a mesh with round holes. This worked better - obviously I was getting more practiced. The detailing was then done by hand.


Power Armour Reinforcements



I'd come to the conclusion that my Power Armour company needed some reinforcements, so this is the core of the heavy weapons platoon and some specialists to add to the "rifle" platoons. I'll probably be adding another "rifle" platoon and finishing the rest of the heavy weapons platoon at some point after the Challenge.

These were primed with the airbrush, then painted by hand.

Plasma Gun Squad







Plasma Gun Specialists



SAW Gun Squad







SAW Gun Specialists




Support Weapons

I've also painted up some support weapons which can be used to provide extra firepower for the Panzer grenadiers or power armour troops.

These were primed black and basecoated in camo dark green with the airbrush, then finished by hand.

Hover Drones






Missile armed drones


Tri-barrel cannon drones




Mobile Autonomous Weapon Platforms (MAWPs)

These MAWPs are hover tech, for the same reason as with the armoured vehicles.




Plasma cannons


I quite like how the blue glow of the plasma coils has turned out


AA/AT missiles






Tri-barrel cannons

Phew! That's a lot of pics!



From Curt:

Wow! What a wonderful looking force Tamsin. I have to say that my eye was first drawn to the burnt and mottled groundwork - I think it provides a terrific 'alien battleground' setting for these models and really sets the tone for them.

Like you, I really like the effect of the vibrant blue glow of the energy weapons and the various lens colours add a nice contrast to the olive green armour. 

My only suggestion would be to drybrush a slightly lighter tone on the groundwork to the rear and sides of the hover vehicles to reinforce the impression of them blowing a dusty wake. 

Again, a great looking army Tamsin.

21 comments:

  1. Fantastic entry, Love the hover tanks :)

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  2. Great work Tamsin! Another nice and large entry!

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  3. Grand job Tamsin..been looking forward to seeing these finished

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  4. Very nice Tamsin, the drones are really nice!

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  5. @ Curt - thanks! Looking at the basing, I thought it looked a bit bright. I've worked out what it was - I'd forgotten a drybrushing step. That's a good idea about doing a lighter shade to look like blown dust behind the vehicles.
    Glad you like the different sight colours - one of them (the grey blue) doesn't show up too well, but that might be the angles of the photos.

    @ Martin - cheers! Hover tanks FTW! :)

    @ Samuli - thanks! It's a decent sized entry :)

    @ Dave - cheers! And now you've seen them completed :)

    @ Sander - thanks! The drones are pretty cool :)

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  6. I'm digging those drones. Great job and a nice point haul to boot!

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  7. I do like the hovers, the Wombats and the Rommels, in all their variations. They really do look superb.

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  8. Another entry out of this world (sorry could not resist), your work with the airbrush is already paying dividends, would not think it's your first combat test

    Ian

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  9. Excellent work Tamsin, another Mega entry!!! I like the alien style basing too.

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  10. Great work Tamsin, really like the effect that you've achieved with the airbrush.

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  11. @ Anne - thanks! The drones seem to be very popular :)

    @ Clint - thanks! :)

    @ Ian - cheers! I clearly have the knack for it :)

    @ Ray - thanks old chap! I do need to tone down the basing a little to match the original power armour troops, but it will still look out of this world :)

    @ Peter - cheers! It came out very well, but it's a shame the mesh mask didn't work quite as intended - I need more practice, which means further enriching The Evil Mr Tuffley ;)

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  12. That's some great painting here Tamsin! The base work really stands out and enhances the feeling of beeing on a planet far away.

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  13. Very nice work, Tamsin! One of my 15mm forces will have to be hovercraft after seeing these!

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  14. Great additions to your force. I like the little touch with the broken headlights

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  15. Very nice, including work on the plasma coils. Airbrush is still too scary and daunting for me, but great to see someone else giving it a go.

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  16. @ Moiterei - thanks! It definitely works as non-Terran :)

    @ David B - cheers! Glad to have inspired your very sensible choice of hover-tech for your sci-fi force. :)

    @ Paul - thanks! The broken headlights were entirely my own concept, nothing to do with casting/prep errors ;)

    @ Chasseur - thank you. The plasma coils were a bit of a pain to do, but worth it for the look :)
    Airbrushing isn't that bad - if you've got the hand-eye coordination to paint figures by hand (which you clearly do), you'll have no trouble using an airbrush.

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  17. The camo turned out really well. You're right that the diamond mesh is lost, just more practice I suspect, but the circles came out great. I also liked the plasma glow. I won't bore you with admiration for another large entry.

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  18. Great looking unit. I keep thinking about getting into some 15 mm Sci-Fi. Too much lead, so little time.

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  19. Amazing stuff Tamsin - and congrats on using an airbrush. I can barely pick one up before I start swearing.

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  20. @ Sean - thanks! There are a few patches where the diamond pattern comes out clearly, but mostly they became blurred. :)

    @ Robert - cheers! You can always make the excuse that it's quite cheap to buy a platoon of infantry and a couple of vehicles. They also paint up nice and quick :)

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  21. Great post! These all look fantastic, but I especially like the hover vehicles. (There's something sort of "retro-80s-future" about them...) And those Rommel tanks are a particular favorite--they look like they're ready to take care of business.

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