Heavy metal
August 5, 2010Here’s the second to last mini of my Aliens Space Hulk, the Prince August autoloader that will replace the lightning claw-armed terminator. I like how it looks, but am a bit miffed that the feet are not in contact with the loader. I think I will add some greenstuff straps to get a nicer fit and look.
The colour scheme was a conscious departure from the bright yellow of the powerloader in Aliens. I figured that the Colonial Marines have military versions as well, seeing a powerloader deployed in the front lines to combat a xenomorph infestation. The green colour of the loader and the CM BDU of the pilot also help tie the model in with my Marines. I wanted the model to have a weathered look, with chipped paint and some rust, as if it had seen a lot of action. The challenge was not to go overboard and have the loader look like something ready for a scrapyard, and I’m quite pleased with the way it turned out.
Click for a larger version
With this baby down, I only need to paint the combat synthetic and that’s it. Well ok, maybe a few em4 sentry guns to replace the Librarian’s Force Barrier counters, and a bigger one from Antenociti to replace the Psychic Storm template, and I’m all set.
Dawn of the Lead 
The green looks nice, just right for the USCMC I think.
If you are in the market for some unsolicited advice then it might be worth considering adding some warning signs and hazard markings etc on various parts of the loader. Possibly some military or rank stuff too. Maybe a stylised logo like the one that appears on the dropship cockpit, maybe on the lower side of the legs.
Those little details would to break up the large flat green areas and help with the USCMC-at-the-end-of-their-tour feel. Currently it looks just a little plain to me.
I am debating as to whether to paint my loaders in a military style, possibly to match the APC. I have two of them so it is tempting to go for the classic yellow on one and a more militarised version for the other. Hmm…
The floating feet do look odd. I didnt have that problem when assembling my loaders the last time that I test fit them (I am keeping the pilot separate for painting.
I like the idea of the Sentry guns as Force Barriers etc, that hadnt occurred to me at all 🙂
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That’s an excellent idea, and one I’ve been thinking of doing, so I haven’t varnished the model yet. I don’t really consider myself much of a freehand painter, so I’ve been thinking of snatching up some (Imperial Guard?) decals or something similar. What do you think?
I was very surprised with the floating feet as well, as the model went together nicely when dry fitting the parts. It’s a pretty snug fit, though, and once you start messing around with superglue and a painted model…anyway, I fashioned new, flip-flop style footholds from greenstuff, and I hope that once they’re painted the model looks much nicer.
I’ve been thinking of ordering either the Antenociti sentry guns, or one of the bigger gun turrets. I’ll let you know what I go with!
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My patience and ability for small freehand details is also limited. I would definitely go for a transfer of some sort. Imperial guard stuff would probably work. Surely there must be some authentic looking transfers supplied with historical kits too. They might even look better than Guard transfers if you could find the right ones.
Some numbers and/or warning labels and other bits of industrial type iconography would go a long way I think. You dont need to go overboard, but a couple of extra details would draw the eye and make it look more authentic I reckon.
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As it is, I just happened to make a post on the subject 😀
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P.S.
If you are ordering that pair of Antenocci Sentry guns and you want to get rid of the second one then drop me an email. We might be able to sort an exchange/trade/purchase out 🙂
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[…] of the Lead Zombies and Miniature Wargaming « Heavy metal Beggars can’t be choosers August 9, 2010 Having all but finished my auto loader, I […]
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[…] in the air with no contact with the machine whatsoever (you can see what I’m talking about here) and then started plastering the machine with decals. I tried not to go overboard, but there were a […]
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