Rebel Minis HAMR - converted and painted

My 15mm Mecha Battles project is starting to come together.  

After it sat on my shelf for months, I finally completed this Rebel Minis Earthforce HAMR Support Suit:  

  

This one had just the slightest bit of conversion work before I painted.  I ended up cutting the barrels off the included gatling guns... they worked well on the Earthforce aircraft, but I wanted something a little heavier on this mech.  I looked at a few Combat Wombat brass barrels, but ended up using the barrels from some spare Rebel Titan HAMR support guns.

I think this mech works really well alongside my Ravenstar Studios Thunderfoot (and Rebel Titan Marines and Kremlin MANITOU suits).  The HAMR is going to be the support option in a three-mecha platoon.  Work has begun on the other two - they are going to use the more conventional arms and rifles off the Earthforce Recon HAMR sprue.  That will give me two core combat units for my first mecha army: the platoon of HAMR suits, and the Thunderfoot - which is a mecha platoon in itself.

Cheers,
Chris

Finding a place for Kremlin's Red Banner MANITOU

A few months back, I picked up an assortment of Kremlin Miniatures' 15mm range. I was very impressed with this range. The photos on the website simply don't do them justice... their size, detail, and posing is as good as anything on the market today. I included them on my catalog of human power armor article, hoping they would get some more attention.

The minis that interested me the most were the MANITOU suits - their versions of Power Armor. The Red Banner MANITOU appared to be man-size suits of power armor with heavy guns and shoulder-mounted mini-missile launchers. I picked up two packs in my initial order. I liked the look of them on the website, but wasn't sure where they would fit in my 15mm forces.

The order arrived pretty quickly - I was very impressed with their service. And once I had these particular figures in my hands... well... their place was pretty obvious.

My favorite 15mm Sci Fi infantry range, even after building new armies on a monthly basis, is still the Titan Marines from Rebel Minis. These great figures immediately became my Conquest Development Center Storm Troopers - the fast-strike military and security force for my game setting's largest corporation. It's the first human army I created in 15mm. I originally added some GZG Cyclops Walkers to be the elite commandos for that army, but the aesthetics have never really worked.

I think I have now found the perfect match for my Storm Troopers.

These really are fantastic figures. Big and bulky compared to typical 15mm infantry, but not so big that you couldn't picture them stomping through a Space Hulk's corridors. But these minis have far more in common with Khurasan's Special Assault Brigade than with Space Marine Terminators... Their blasters seem very high-tech, the missile pods are very Anime-ish, and each has a very detailed jet pack molded onto the back (see picture).

I just need to finish the other five, decide on their base finish (desert sand like my existing CDC forces, or Red Planet blend?), and test them on the tabletop. I see these being useful both in games of FUBAR and in the upcoming second edition of In The Emperor's Name!

Cheers,

Chris