"Not Quite" Killer AI Robots

And then there is the Russian way ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/crre8g5e45jo

Nasty if they fall on you!

BattleTech: Missed It First Time Round .. so .. Got It On Re-launch

Sad fact, I never grew up, so when the opportunity come along to get something that I missed when I was a kid - I find it hard to refuse (see below, Sci-Fi "mech war" that is looking increasingly viable in the not too distant future): 

I really got it for the miniatures that remind me of the RoboCop bad police robot!

Semi-Autonomous and Autonomous Robots in the US Military

From the document: "This Directive: a. Establishes DoD policy and assigns responsibilities for the development and use of autonomous and semi-autonomous functions in weapon systems, including manned and unmanned platforms. b. Establishes guidelines designed to minimize the probability and consequences of failures in autonomous and semi-autonomous weapon systems that could lead to unintended engagements."

https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=726163

The above does not quite make me sleep any more easy ...

Sci-Fi Birthday (Sale) Present to Myself

I am now the age Julius Caesar made his end run on the Roman Empire. Instead I took the opportunity to acquire some random Sci-Fi stuff from the Warlord Games in their "flash sale". What stood out was the The Terminator Game. RRP of £70 was reduced to £10 which was good even just for the generic models inside (10 terminators + 5 half destroyed Terminator "crawlers" + sixteen resistance fighters and a metal O'Connor Leader figure; I actually bought another Terminator sprue to get another 2 terminators and another crawler because you cannot have enough of them). Dice (two D&D standard dice sets), counters, playing mat and 128 page game system were essentially free. Absurdly good value at £10 but back at £70 seems a push IMHO - something for the 'Arnie' fan club. The chunky chap to the bottom right is called a Ghar Bomber - different Sci-Fi genre but for £1 a sprue I thought I would take a lucky dip - I wish I had taken a few more as they retail at £20 for three and as a standard Sci-Fi "robot baddie" they fit the bill nicely (although I am tempted to head swap for something more robotic, aka from the GW Tau spares I have). [Note to self and tip to others: The Google search term "How to make a Ghar Bomber" for make-me instructional assembly videos brings back scary unexpected search results!] Whats not to like for £12? (see below):

In addition I have a spur of four "modern" fighters that look they can fit into the above Science Fiction range or be good for Osprey's "Black Ops" (Modern Special Ops) or "Rogue Trader" (Sci-Fi) rules. There was also a random Pike and Shot ECW Command Sprue (£1) and ECW Parliamentarian/Royalist Flags (£2); then three normal soldiers and one command sprue of Roman Praetorian Guard (£4). I think I came off the big winner here as if you tally up the RRP! Crazy prices. Plenty of winter painting ahead.

PS: Waiting for the Pirates of Nasseau Board-game which was another lucky dip (£5) instead of RRP of £30! Still waiting for that to arrive.

Heavy Metal Robots

Technically 1/144 scale but they look OK for 28mm Science Fiction in my eyes, the "Fab 5" hunter-killer robot squad (see below):

Going  left to right along the back row Kodiak, King Cobra, two Grizzlys to the right and "little" Jaeger in the front row. Again something to scare unwary Space Marines ;)

Sci-Fi Robots (Part 1: Assembly)

Dramatic drum roll ... 30 Day Project announced ... Sci-Fi Robots

[Note: As some of my blog readers are also players in my "Space Crusade" campaign I pondered on keeping progress on this project a secret in a vain attempt to retain the surprise "Oooh shiny" factor come the next game but decided to publish instead.]

Not so 'Secret' Confession: I cannot resist popping into Games Workshop outlets (gasp, shock, horror ... historical wargaming community can ostracize me) just to see the painted figures on display (honest guv, no dice rolling, don't understand the rules anyway), so it takes something "good" [aka sexy] before I make a purchase, despite all the protestations and pleadings of the oppressed Sale Staff. I generally buy "one offs"  rather than commit (sorry should that be addicted?) to a particular honour bound "range" [Xmas present list as per the Codex or you are an unbeliever], but I have to report  ...  I succumbed (again) ... to these strange Martian Robot figures, top marks to Games Workshop design department (see below):

Shiny, shiny, shiny alert! Called" Sicarian Infiltators" (looking very post-apocalyptic circa 1980's apocalypse moveis) and/or "Sicarian Ruststalkers" (aka Star Wars Commando Droids) from the Adeptus Mechanicus Scitarii range (and I have absolutely" no idea what that means). Games Workshop have cunningly slipped two model types into one box just to induce you to buy it twice and it might just work to the weak-willed [unlike me?]. However to foil their cunning marketing plan I decided to do two of each basic type and then make a judgement call as to whether I make the Commander figure or go back to another grunt (50:50 call at the moment).

Note: Not cheap either at £28 a box and £5.60 a figure! I was also expecting the figures to be larger than they actually were, yet intriguingly the purchase still retains its silky allure and they grew in height as I assembled them, very fragile looking though. Lots of fiddly interchangeable parts and spares to play with on five set "body poses". Definitely a "modelling" project than a 'slap-and-snip together' affair! Seemingly as many parts left of the sprues after they had been assembled. If only I was any good with "Green Stuff" I reckon I could make another five figures easily. 

Standard rules of engagement for the Thirty Day Project, one small thing per day (no matter how small) to ensure forward progress is maintained throughout the period.

Day 1:

Open the box. Washed parts in hot water and washing-up liquid and dutifully read the assembly instructions (which were more complicated than I expected, again "fiddly parts").

The unboxed set of 'many parts' (see below): 

The intimidating 'Byzantine' instruction sheet that even if I carefully follow "I get wrong" (see below):

Day 2:

Managed to assemble three out of the four "base figures" [torsos, legs and back pack on base] (see below):

Day 3:
And now there is four, two destined to be Infiltrators with "Dome Heads" and two destined to be Ruststalkers with the "Clone Wars" Commando Droid heads (see below).:

Day 4:
The "Infiltrator pair" definitely post-apocalyptic 1970's/80's Sci-Fi IMHO which I like (see below, both "gunned up" but one with hand-to-hand pointy sword, the other with a long pointy "tazer" thing):

Day 5:
Ooops, I got one wrong! A head swap is required (see below, can you spot the difference? Pipes were supposed to go into the chest not hanging loose like I had them originally [see Day 4]):

Day 6:
The "Ruststalker pair" they seem to hand-to-hand specialists, one wielding double "long sword/katana, the other a ripping claw and short power sword - though I could see these carrying simple guns too. I seem to be coming down on the Ruststalker preference as they have more of an "army trooper" feel to them - even contemplating ripping out their left arms and gunning them up from the Inflitrator kit (see below):

[Note: Despite trying to meticulously follow the instructions I had to try multiple heads before I got it right "in my eyes". The "fiddle-factor" is high with this construction but it produces a 'finely-lined' end figure.]

Day 7:
The Commander figure. I went for the "Infiltrator" option in the end as I was not taken with the hooded head, does a robot need a hood? The "Commander Figure" is typical of Games Workshop nonsense in making distinct model types instead of just painting them slightly different (see below):

Basic built complete, painting next.

To be continued ...

Big Blue and Robotic

Not a GW miniature (ha, ha I have broke the spell), I think it's supposed to be an ultra large (the scale on the pack said 1/144 which I thought was amusing) BattleField robot thingy.

I got it as it (was in a 'sale' and) suited me as a bit of mobile heavy weapon support for my 25/28mm Space Marines/Men and the like. A little friend perhaps to Hammerstein.

I think his name was "Grizzly Bear". It was also an experimentation with the Anita Acrylic Metallic Paint range. I think I need more shading, grime and dramatic highlighting.

2000AD Character: Hammerstein

With the painting table still out of reach (sigh) I was amusing/bemusing myself looking through various boxes and piles of books I have had to shift around while "redecorating" (top to bottom of the house, groan). Naturally I get happily distracted when I sift through some of the contents :)

Case in point, this figure was for my pure indulgence rather than any scenario need, it's my favorite 2000AD comic character: Hammerstein.

The mighty Hammerstein.

It was my intention to get the rest of the ABC Warriors someday too, but so far I have not seen at the wargame shows I've attended (that is when I had time to go to them).

Manufacturer: Wargames Foundry (looks like a mail order job for the rest of the ABC's)

The Necron Warrior Hoard

Necrons don't come in ones and two they seem to spring up in large bunches of Alien robotic killing machines and swarms of tiny friends.

Here they are rotated ninety degrees:

One hundred and eighty degrees from behind, is their armour any weaker I ask?

And finally two hundred and seventy degrees

What next?

Well I have looked over the other offerings in the Games Workshop Necron range and I have to say the cash stayed firmly in the pocket. The only exception perhaps being the quirky Tomb Spyder, but no rush to get one of those just yet (the GW shop is thankfully too far away for frequent visits)

So back to those WWII 20mm Russians from Revell methinks. That will help clear the painting desk so I can get a crack at the Fairey Battle.

Return of the metallic Terminating machines: Necrons

Spurred on by their relative ease of painting and the avid interest shown by my eldest (though still very young) son I attacked a batch of Necron Warriors.

A metallic killing machine advances:

Assembly Tip:

For the Green Plasma Tube, I avoided the plastic cement trap of smearing the clear plastic, but was again unimpressed with the GW PVA recommendation (that won't last methinks). I used the thick and gloopy Humbrol Clearfix I use for aircraft canopies, applied not with a brush but a cocktail stick, I kid you not.

Painting

The paint job thankfully ebbed away at my thinning stock of Games Workshop paints. I will keep their "three shade" painting guide but but transfer my alligiance to the Vallejo like-for-like alternatives over time (a cheaper price and half again of the amount of paint).

Painting Note to Self:

The undercoat was GW Chaos Black, then mixing in varying amounts of GW Mithril Silver, wet brushed on with a final dry brush of pure GW Mithril Silver. Not that hard to remember after all ;)

A close up:

I was relatively unimpressed with the GW painting guide, over complicating (using more paints than are really necessary) something that looks good essentially in "rotting silver" (from the depths of "Dead Space") with grime and gunk clinging to it. Necron forces are to be viewed from a distance before they get up close and kill you.

Painting alternatives do exist though:

An Indie Way
The GamesWorkshop Way

The bases were PVA and rough sand, then a very watery mix of Anita Acrylic's Dark Earth mixed with Anita's Acrylic's Metallic Black (a bit of a hidden experiment here) to let shiny bits reflect of the red planet dust.

Another Painting Note to Self:

Then followed the GW Terracotta wet-brush, with a GW Bubonic Brown 50:50 mix, followed by a GW Bubonic Brown wet-brush and a final GW Bubonic Brown dry-brush. Not quite satisfied with that so I gave it a GW Skull White wet-brush highlight. All the above GW paints were in their "gelling stage" and needing to be used up. Attrition continued with a a bottle of GW Kommando Khaki being thrown into the bin, solid and useless (a third of it unused).

The little 'bots', for scurrying around, disassembling and repairing 'things' I found quirky and cute. I decided not to use the GW big bases and have them rather as individuals (I'll get better generic use out of them that way in SF RPG games, I may or may not ever play). Painted identically to the Necron Warriors.

Future work: Maybe red/green eyes and perhaps a selective darkening wash with Anita's Acrylic Metallic Black.

Necron Destroyer

Sticking to the late New Year's Resolution I took in hand this wandering Sci-Fi addition and started work on "him" the day of purchase. Not a complicated build and I did not opt for any real form of sophistication with the paint work.

I did wash the sprue in warm soapy water beforehand which is a step forward in my preparation technique ;)

Nasty brute:

Shades of the "Terminator" though the vivid green see through plastic in the weapon is a nice touch.

Every gamer need a futuristic killing machine or two in their back pocket, especially one which looks a "tad" (Yorkshire vernacular for 'a little') like a trillobite.

The worrying thing was that my eldest boy, rather took to him and asked if I had any more! Curses GW already have him and I had so much high hopes for my Airfix 1/32 collection.

Painting:
GW Chaos Black Paint (undercoat)
My GW Boltgun Metal had all dried up (another one bites the dust, hmm), so I used a mixture of GW Chaos Black and GW Mithril Silver (successively increasing the latter to lighten the effect)

That was pretty much it.

I toyed with the idea of detailing it, or black washing but in the end liked it as it was. I do have an admission of also having a packet standard Necrons (bought from a previous visit to the same HobbyCraft, well they didn't have my Airfix Fairey Battle in stock) to populate my future Science Fiction one-off scenarios (I cannot be considered as a 40K gamer [yet? They'll get me through the kiddies!]

Next: Back from an "alternative future" to the "historical modelled past" ;)

Reply to Comments:
Seeing as I still cannot post (have I been black-listed? I think not) I'll pen my replies here.

Al, it's a whim thing.
I see a pack I like and I'll but and paint them.
I don't intend to follow the GW Necron army list.
The odd " alien thing" will come in handy, as per my pride and joy Sci-Fi Robot of AD2000 fame "Hammerstein",  from Wargames Foundry

Greek Geek: Not sure, all the cartoons these days are Space/SuperHero oriented.
The young chap is only six but into Sci-Fi and Fantasy, although I managed to put the odd tank in there ;)