03 March 2010

On the table: Rebel Minis Earthforce Marines

One of the things I've really been enjoying about 15mm sci-fi is the variety of games you can play with a handful of miniatures. My last project, the Scourge, can serve as anything from Warhammer 40,000 Necrons to Terminator T-800s. Keeping that theme alive, I begin the next project - Earthforce Marines.

When I purchased my Scourge, I also picked up a variety of these troops. The standard infantry are great, but I really think my favorites are the hardtops. With the right paint scheme, these are incredibly versatile miniatures - and that's exactly what I'm doing with them.

I'm trying a different technique and paint pallette this time. I've been using Armory primers and Citadel paints - and now I'm switching to Testors' Model Master series. I used these years ago for my Epic Dark Angels, and I'm not really sure why I stopped. I grabbed a matching medium gray spray and brush paint, and undercoated a full platoon with these. The detail work will be a lighter gray drybrush, flesh tones, weapons in steel, and boots/details in black.

My ultimate goal for these is to strongly resemble the Starship Troopers movie infantry. With that look, they can be used in Starship Troopers games, as Alliance troops in Firefly/Serenity games (a war that really appeals to me in gaming terms), John Connor's resistance in Terminator gaming, Imperial Guard in 40k universe games, and even some urban-themed troops in near-future scenarios (the Shadow books by Orson Scott Card, for example). Since the troops are very gray, I will use my desert-basing method to finish them without making them too bland (urban-basing fits my other tabletop).

So far the undercoat stuck extremely well, even in the cold weather. I hope to get the model details painted tonight, and the bases done tomorrow. I will update when finished!