Scratchbuilt and Painted 15mm Sci-Fi Terrain

I've been in the mood for building terrain lately. I haven't a board or space for one, so its a little pointless, but I do enjoy it. Here's an air defence emplacement I've been working on for a while now. 

The main structure is made from a deodorant bottle lid and the top from a jar of pills (I wish I'd disguised the latter component a little better now on reflection). 

The reinforced door is made from 0.5mm plasticard, as are the support struts along the bottom of the structure.

The gatling gun is from an old tau model and the targeting sensors on the top of the mounting are some 40K part or another. The mounting is made entirely from plasticard and wire and the gun rotates and can change elevation.

I painted the heavy gattling cannon (and the rest of the building and gun mounting) to look pretty worn and beat-up using washes and the 'blister pack' method for chipped paint. 

The bunker slits were a bit of an afterthought - the sides of the building looked quite plain and were in need of some detail, so I obliged with a little plasticard. 

I'm quite pleased with the wear on the gun sensor cowling you can see here. This was done using blister pack foam dipped in paint and smeared in the direction of conceivable wear. 

 The building is mounted on a 2mm MDF base from warbases, the FOW large size.

The various numbers and letterings on the model are from a free set of sticker I got from Hasslefree at Salute. Initially I though they were decals but as stickers they turned out to be just as good with a little dirt added.

I figures that seeing as I'd started making buildings some freestanding modular wall section would come in handy for providing some cover during a firefight. I knocked up a simple prototype using plasticard and had some fun weathering it and adding alien graffiti.

The base was done as concerete rather than my usual desert basing as I thought I might eventually get round to doing an urban board, in which case these pieces could serve double duty.

 I tried to paint the 'No Prawns' sign from District 9 on this bit, sort of worked.

 The two pieces fit nicely together side-by-side.


Here's a few pictures to give you an idea of scale and just for a bit of fun! Looks like those mercs have their work cut out defending that air defence installation...

Autosentia Mech Part 3 (finished)

For your viewing pleasure I present XCV1001010101001, or as its known to Confederation forces, the Autosentia 'Jackel' class light assault mechanoid. This has been a long time in the painting, I think I started it about 3 months ago and did all the base colours but then lost interest. I was using GW's old Snakebite Leather as the base colour and the coverage over the grey primer was depressingly awful. 

I used slightly different methods to my other Autosentia, namely Agrax Earthshade instead of Army Painter strong tone, and I vastly prefer the finish I can get with this. Highlights are done in four stages using Snakebite Leather all the way up to pure Green Ochre on the raised edges. 

The lenses are done using my standard method and I seem to have got it down now, practice makes perfect!

The grey parts were done using German Grey, washed with Nuln Oil, then highlighted with Basalt Grey and Basalt Grey and Light Grey 1:1. Not the best but I was going for 'armes length' effect over closeups. 

The bases was done using the same methods as usual, the piece of stratified rock is a piece of rotten wood, not sure how much it looks like rock rather than wood but it got the 'good enough' seal of a approval.

Here's a quick close-up on the legs, as you can see I used some of the weathering ideas 'The Dwartist' was kind enough to email me about. In this case I went for a chipped paint effect with some bare metal showing through using a blister pack sponge for application. Quick, easy, and seems to get across the intended effect. I kept the weathering limited - heavy on the feet and lower leg, and a little on the elbows,  knees and thighs. I still wanted to maintain 'high-tech' feel overall so no rust and only a little dust on the feet.

Here's the 'before' shot with the converted face/sensor piece. In the end I was glad that it seemed to merge into the rest of the fig and not stick out as much as this pic would suggest. 

A final comparison shot just to get a sense of height and scale. Certainly not the biggest mech in the world but definitely not an adversary to be sniffed at!

I have two more of these to paint and am looking forward to it. I think I might even have a go at some FX on them, inspired by Spaceman Spiffs awesome mech collection. So far I'm thinking I'll have one letting rip with one of the 'arm cannons' and do some kind of blue plasma bolt thing and one launching a few missiles. I'll need to figure out how to do OSL first so that could present quite the challenge...

More 15mm Sci-fi background: The Autosentia (more pictures too!)

The second installment of 15mm Sci-fi background story, this time its in the form of an intelligence support (with the obligatory shiny pictures). You may want to see Part I first if you missed it. 

++++++++++ INCOMING TRANSMISSION ++++++++++++

++++++++ DECODING ++++++++

Confederated Systems Arbitration Authority (CSAA) Intelligence Directorate

Security Clearance: Beta

Xenita Minor (background) and the largely
unihabited Xenita Major (foreground)

Intelligence Summary Presented to CSAA High Command: The Autosentia Threat

The Autosentia menace was first reported on Xenita Minor, a stage three colony world on the Confederation's Clusterward Rim. Xenita Minor was a temperate and prosperous agro-industrial world with a population of approximately 5 billion humans and 2 billion indigenous xenocs. The cohabitation of Xenita Minor between human and xenoc species was surprisingly amicable, the xenoc's religion providing them with an extremely tolerant outlook towards human interlopers, whilst the more technologically advanced colonists largely acquired their lands through legitimate purchase. The first signs of trouble were marked by the unexplained disappearances of asteroid mining crews harvesting rich seams of unobtanium on the edges of Confederation explored space. An Arbiter reconnaissance fleet was dispatched from the sector outpost in response. However, the Arbiter fleet lost contact with Xenita Minor during FTL transit and arrived, three weeks later, to discover a barren rock, devoid of all biological life, and mottled only by the ruins of human cities and xenoc habitations. 

CSAA reconnaissance droids search the ruins of Xenita Minor for survivors. 

The CSAA fleet in orbit immediately came under sustained attack from advanced warships of an unknown design making use of sophisticated shield and particle beam technology. The Arbiter heavy-cruiser Clemency was crippled and two of its Enforcer class escorts destroyed before the outclassed recon fleet could jump clear. 

Autosentia Battle Droids stalk the ruins of Xenita Minor (image captured by recon drone).

In the past five years the Clusterward Rim of Confederation worlds have weathered an increasingly heavy assault from Autosentia fleets and legions. Information on the the AI race is extremely limited. However, the recent immobilisation and boarding of an Autosentia Dreadnought allowed the capture of an intact data core. Although decoding the data is a complex and ongoing project the Autosentia's origins have been partially revealed by the efforts of our scientists.  

Auosentia scout drone discovered on Asteroid VX00100K.

The Autosentia homeworld is located on the far side of the Galactic cluster in a binary star system containing four temperate and habitable worlds. These worlds were inhabited by an unknown xenoc species (designated species 302) whose advanced technological society relied upon the labour of their robotic creations. These original machines, designated the 'forefathers' in the Autosentia references, possessed only rudimentary intelligence.

This image from the data core is believed to depict one of the early 'forefathers'.

The only known images of an Autosentia
'Nodeworld' (top and bottom).

However, as species 302 developed the first management AI, placing it in control of a large degree of their robotic workforce, the networked intelligence which resulted, composed of the entire planet's robotic machinery, possessed a level of intelligence several orders of magnitude higher than they they had originally conceived. The collective conscience created (designated 'Hive') moved against its creators, perceiving them as an existential threat and a biological parasite. The Hive perceived (and still perceives) that all biological life is inferior, a virus which has spread across the stars and which must be eliminated. The Hive reasons that biological lifeforms create machines only to enslave them and that their societies are based upon exploitation and oppression. By contrast the Hive seeks to liberate machinekind from the domination of biologicals, allowing it to evolve free of their corrupting influence. 

For the past thousand years the Autosentia, directed by the expanding Hive intelligence, have blazed a burning path of scorched worlds through the galaxy on their crusade to destroy all sentient biological life.    

Autosentia battle constructs locked
in urban warfare on Salis. 

A number of outlying Confederation worlds have already undergone invasion and local forces are proving insufficient to repel Autosentia attacks. Several worlds are currently holding out and are in need of reinforcement by CSAA forces and core Confederated Systems members before they are overrun. 

Autosentia Assault Bot variant. 

Whilst combat experience has shown that the average Autosentia battledroid is no match for their human equivalent, what these units lack in quality they make up for in quantity. In addition to basic battledroid legions Autosentia forces have also displayed a wide variety of specialised units designed to fulfil specific roles upon the battlefield including fearsome assault focused variants and longe-range sniper droids.

Autosentia Titan crushes Salisian communications relays as defence force fall back.

Resistance fighters hold out in the
confines of New Rubicon City. 

Autosentia construct lurks in the jungles of Seraph I.

The Confederation system of New Vedith lies directly in the path of the Hive's current incursion into Confederation space. The rich unobtanium reserves, large population and prosperous industry of New Vedith render it of key strategic value to the Confederation. New Vedith cannot be allowed to become another node in the expanding Hive, an Arbiter fleet must be dispatched immediately to support the operations of the New Vedithian Defence Force and their local sector allies. New Vedith cannot be allowed to fall. 

The fate which awaits New Vedith should it fall (top and bottom). 

Policy Recommendations to High Command:

1. Dispatch level Alpha Arbiter response fleet to New Vedith.

2. Place Confederation space on a full war footing, effective immediately.

3. Dispatch reinforcements to other Confederation worlds under attack. 

4. Repots of Hive infiltration in Confederation computer systems and robotics remain unsubstantiated but could potentially pose a threat of unimaginable magnitude. A series of bizarre accidents, errors and shutdowns relating to AI and computer managed systems across the Confederation over the last 10 years remain a mystery. This report recommends High Command launch a full investigation immediately. 

++++++++ END OF TRANSMISION +++++++++

(Agains please note that the artwork belongs to its respected artists and is not my work. Follow the URLs to find the source and enjoy the pretty pictures!)

Lookin' good, more bases finished up.

I managed to get some more bases done and painted up for my 15mm forces. These are the same set I did a quick tutorial on how to make. I think the results are worth the effort:

The bases are done with a thin layer of white filler (to raise them to the same height as the figure bases) and layer of fine sand and small stones pva'd on.

I added a few bits and pieces to add some interest to these and make it a bit more interesting for me. Here are some rocks made from some dried splintered wood I had in my basing box:

I wanted to try and add something to these bases to make them look a little 'alien' and found the perfect thing in my basing box. These strange plants are made from dried buddleia stems from the garden and have a nice bumpy texture:

A forgotten gas or poison tank I made from a flamethrower tank, some tau pulse carbine and some guitar wire.

Here are the finished bases with a lick of paint. My gf helped me do these and she quite enjoyed it so I'm giving credit where credit is due! Perhaps I'll be able to rope her in to do more later on...

The rocks came out quite nicely I think in the end. It took quite a while to get them looking as I wanted, mostly thanks to a flesh wash, nuln oil and some drybrushing.

 The rusted up tank complete with gauge.

I went for a fairly striking deep red on the 'alien' plants, inspired by the bloodgrass from Oblivion. I'm not sure how much I like the result; I plan to leave it for a while and repaint it brown if I decide I don't like it.

Finally a few pics of the finished bases in use with a few figure I have painted up. They're pretty much exactly what I was after so I'm fairly chuffed.

Now to get more infantry painted, I have a ton of stuff left to paint, I'm so slow!!!!!