Unexpected Reinforcements miniatures swap

We've all been there, those moments when picking up the brush seems like too much of a chore to bother and even priming some new minis feels like a daunting task. To help you get over that and keep your painting output up Dropzonetoe over at Unexpected Reinforcements has started up a monthly miniature swap. This particular swap works very similarly to the annual X-mas swap over at The Miniatures Page though with a twist (the good kind, prizes!). The rules are simple, the blog master over at Unexpected Reinforcements chooses a theme (e.g. this month's was "mechanized squad") and a shipping date. As the date draws near he'll send you the address of your swappee at which point you send in the pics of your swap and then send off your swap. My entry this month was from two lines that I don't see get a lot of love, a Type 567 IFV from Combat Wombat and the previously mentioned (scroll down to #3) New NSL from Ground Zero Games. 

 Combat Wombat Type 567 IFV painted in an urban scheme, I probably spent over an hour applying those camo dots with a toothpick. Scheme is a rough adaptation of WWII German Armor scheme.

 Rear view

 The NSL squad I decided to pair it with, 3 riflemen, a SAW gunner, an AT launcher (I love the box launcher), and a designated marksman.

Everything together.

Oh, I suppose I should probably talk a bit about the prize portion of this contest ;). At the conclusion of each month a vote takes place to determine everyone's favorite swap. After a winner is chosen they receive a prize, this month's lucky winner will get a prize from Clear Horizon. Didn't win? No big deal, because if you manage to make swaps for 3 months in a row you'll get a prize just for participating. 

While it's too late to participate in this month's contest, February's contest is just around the corner. An incentive to paint, some unexpected new minis, and the potential for prizes, what are you waiting for? Pick up your brushes and paint pots and get in the fight!

An introductory Gruntz review and a Gruntz AAR: Operation Blind Emu

Played a friendly game of Gruntz down at my amazing FLGS, Great Escape Games, last night. It was a small game of 150 points as it was my opponent's first time playing. I decided to write up a little background for the engagement after the fact and I think I'm going to use a lot of it for my game setting.

As it was my friend's first time playing we decided to keep it simple. We played the first scenario out of the Gruntz rulebook, deploy on the long edges and kill as much of the opponent's assets while preserving your own.

After the jump, the AAR and my first impressions review of Rottenlead's Gruntz.

A new force, new sweet rides, and a new inspiration

I've been away for a bit but don't let you think that I've been slacking off on my painting. Since my last update I've finished off my Khurasan federal army infantry (to be posted later, once they get some vehicles!), as well as an entire opposing force for them. One of my departures from the norm this last painting session was to try my hand at painting some vehicles for Reddit's monthly motivational painting challenge. My particular challenge was to get 4 Khurasan Iguanas and 4 Khurasan Polecats up and painted before the month was out. Here's how they turned out, as well as some other stuff I've been working on:

Khurasan Iguanas

Khurasan Polecats

More pics, and more stuff, after the jump...

Backup, vehicle shopping, and an Opfor

Besides working on some terrain and a few other side projects, my current main project is almost complete. First up, some back up for my ash waste infantry.

This guy is sold by Khurasan Miniatures as "Red Faction" power armor, but as promised, is easily serviceable as a decent sized mech in 15mm. I've decided to call it a "heavy combat drone" and the fluff I'm writing for it is going to point out that it's a re-purposed mining drone.

Back from the trip and into the swing of things

I survived my cross country journey and was able to put some work in on making some terrain for the models I've been painting lately. For the first bit of terrain I made, I started with a staple of the 15mm sci-fi wargamer, the electrical box building. Most of the ones I've seen on the internet have looked great, but a bit too new for ash waste/urban infantry, I opted to go with more of a rusted out industrial sector look.

If you want to see the results, the in-process, and some action shots of my ash waste guys on patrol, read on:

Before we get started, as always, safety equipment is important. Pictured: Safety glasses and a t-shirt that I plan to soak and use as a dust mask.

Me vs. 13 Electrical Boxes, yes my pretties, you'll be buildings by the end of the day...

Back in a bit...

I'm taking a wee bit of a break this upcoming week to take a small little road trip. Here's the route, which I'll be driving from East (New York, NY) to West (Woodland, CA):

2800 odd miles, still better than driving through Texas...

Ash waste/urban infantry

Finally got the basic infantry and crew served weapons done for my ash waste infantry. I'm pretty happy with the scheme and how they turned out, though I'm massively disappointed that my USB cable for my camera has not shown up yet.

Finished combat drones

Finished painting my GZG mini hover drones for four of my different combat groups last night. Sorry about the terrible quality of the photos, I need to pick up a new USB cable for my DSLR and I couldn't take a decent picture with my phone for the life of me.

The above being said, I'm partial to the black and grey ones :).

On the block: Drones

Next up on the painting block are some of my GZG drones. These little guys look great and the hover drones were snap to install on their bases. I like the wheeled drones as well, though I wish their was a more definitive sense of it being a drone instead of just a gun on wheels... Either way, these should be a blast to paint, though I'm still trying to decide what scheme I'm going to use.