More Space Pirates: Ghost Legion Dogs and Bulldog AFV

 I'm working on some more pirates for the Solar Empires setting.  These are Ghost Legion "Dogs" (veteran pirates troopers).  The Ghost Legion are a newer pirate band who were part of the Star Guards mercenary company but turned to piracy after the "4 Vesta Incident" of 3028.  As such they still use a lot of former Star Guard equipment and weapons.  I've converted these guys from Reaper IMEF troopers with some Games Workshop heads from various Warhammer Fantasy sets.

This is a Bulldog Rover Armored Fighting Vehicle.  These antique transports were designed hundreds of years ago by the Terran Federation when they controlled the moons and planets in most of the outer solar system.  The Bulldogs were designed for long term missions over any terrain in hostile environments.  They are completely environmentally sealed and use a fusion engine that can operate for years without refueling.
Ironically designed to defend early settlements against space pirates they are now commonly used by pirate bands.

This vehicle is a Matchbox "On A Mission" toy called the "Battle Blaster".  Even though it is very large I thought it worked fairly well as a heavy rover.    

A new Solar Empires Project.

 I'm working on a new Solar Empires blog that will serve as a source book for the setting.  In addition to setting background information I will also be including No Limits army list and Savage Worlds stats for the forces and vehicles for the setting.

 I've got the blog up but I'm not yet ready to promote it.  I want to get a lot more content up on the page before I start promoting the page.  The entire site will be organized by using the page feature of Blogger to create index pages that will like individual blog post under that topic.

 There will be a page for Forces of the Solar Empires which will list every individual force we are working on then link content relevant to those forces as I publish it.  In this way it will be a living source book.  I am doing this not only to keep things straight for myself my players but also because there has been enough interest in the setting that anyone who might be interested can use that information for their own games.  

 I've started by photographing the various vehicles we have assembled for the various armies and I have begun posting background information and stats for them.  We are also working on some original artwork to illustrate the setting background information.

 Unlike a lot of current 28mm science fiction settings many of the vehicles and mecha in Solar Empires are used by multiple factions.  In this way the setting is much more like the Classic Battletech setting and different from the Warhammer 40,000 setting where even different Imperial forces use different vehicles and equipment.  Some types of equipment may be used only by one faction but quite a bit of it is used by several operators.  Each equipment, mecha, and vehicle entry will have an allowed operators list so that any force on that list may use the equipment in question.

 One thing I want to point out is that nearly all of the hobby related Solar Empires content will remain on this blog.  Any time we scratch build something or make terrain for the setting or paint something I want to publish that content will still go up on this blog.  The new blog will just be for setting specific information.  

Also we will be keeping up the System News Network blog for In character news related game reports and other news related content.
It seems a little odd to have so many blogs dealing with Solar Empires content but I think this is the best way to handle all the content we are generating for the setting.
We have been working now for several years to make Solar Empires a fully realized hard science fiction setting and we have generated a lot of content but we also realize not everyone who comes to this blog wants to read post after post about the various details of the setting.  They just want to see game reports and hobby related content.  That is why we are organizing things this way.

The Start of a Jovian Empire Household Army

I've started putting together a Jovian Household Army for my Solar Empires Setting.  The bulk of the Jovian military forces are made up of the various Household Armies each of which are commanded by powerful Jovian Nobles to protect the Empire and their own holdings.

I've constructed this squad of troopers to represent typical Household Footmen.  I used Wargames Factory Shock Troopers for the base figures then augmented them with Neo Brit Trencher Heads from Maxmini.  I also used Trencher backpacks and Comm Backpacks from Secret Weapon Miniatures.  They are based on 1/8x1 inch steel washers.  I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out.

The small mechs are a pair of Jovian Battlesuits usually piloted by lesser Jovian Knights.  They are M.A.R.S. HEROES toy robots I picked up at Dollar General.  The same brand I have made all my other battlesuits out of.  These however are sold individually.  

I'm not sure when I am going to get around to painting this force.  Right now I'm working on Pirates but I hope to get them on the table soon.

Scrap Dog Raiders Finished!

I finished up the first squad of Scrap Dog raiders today.  I'm really happy with the way they turned out.  The bases are similar to my Bloodborn pirates which is good because I play to combine my pirate crews together to make a bigger army for larger games.
I've got another 14 of these guys to paint and a light mech for the force as well so I better get on it.  I also created a No Limits army list this week for my pirate forces so hopefully we will see a pirate army in the field soon.    

Scrap Dog Raiders almost finished.

Just wanted to post these guys again.  I'm almost finished with this squad.  Just basing and a few details to go.

Scrap Dogs on the paint table.

I've got the Scrap Dogs on the paint table today and they are coming along fairly well.  I decided to use quite a bit a drybrushing on their clothing and equipment along with a dark wash which I think is giving them a dark and gritty feel.  The wash is a little shiny at the moment but I plan to coat these guys with Testors Dulcote so I'm sure that won't be a problem on the finished minis.  I've still got to highlight the skin tones as well as add metallics, final details, and bases but these guys are going quickly so I might have all 20 done pretty quickly.

More Scrap Dogs with bases.

I'm working on some more pirates for my Solar Empires setting.  These are more of the Scrap Dogs pirate band which I have shown before.  They are of course made from Warhammer 40k Chaos Cultist.  I've tried to convert them quite a bit because there are only five poses to work withe.
I thought I would show the way I am doing the bases.  Just some random scraps of granny grating and zip ties and other odds and ends to give the impression of a scrap pile.  This was a simple and cheap solution to doing bases for these guys that I thought would look good for them.  The bases are similar to what I have done for my other pirate band "The Blood Born" but I plan to make these even more heavily rusted when I paint them up.
I now have 20 Scrap Dog raiders which I plan to use as the core of this small force.  I plan to add some scouts and some heavier miss matched veterans as well and light vehicles and a few mechs.  

The Scrap Dogs! A space pirate band for Solar Empires

I've got about 20 of these Games Workshop Chaos Cultuist for Warhammer 40,000 which I picked up to used as a pirate band.  The only problem is that they only come in five poses so I'm doing some conversion to add some variety.
These guys will be called "The Scrap Dogs" and will be from the Asteroid Belt.  I've got a mech I'm working on for them as well.  I'm trying to make them look like scavengers which I think the cultist are pretty suited for.  The only problem is that I got the first group together and base coated before I figured out what I am doing with them and I intend to add some scrap piles to their bases.  I think I can just work around the painted ones and either hand paint the junk piles on their bases or hit them with another coat of spray paint.

Closeup of Ghost Troopers and Wraith Battlesuit WIP: Solar Empires

I'm working on more stuff for my Earth Security Force.  This is a Wraith battlesuit.  It is made from a M.A.R.S. robot toy and is almost five inches tall.  The base is actually some kind of stop plate to keep doorknobs from breaking holes in drywall.  I picked it up at Lowels for two and a half dollars and it is takes paint just fine.  It's solid plastic and looks just like a large model base from GW when painted black.  They also had a larger diameter one that would be good for a larger mecha model.  

Here is a close up shot of one of the Ghost squads.  I'm only adding it here because I got a few request for a larger shot.

Earth Security Force Ghost Troopers

Probably the most feared unit in the entire Solar System the "Ghost Troopers" of the Earth Security Force are highly skilled special operations jump troopers and the only living members of the ESF.  Like everything else associated with the Earth the origins of the Ghost Troopers is a highly guarded secret.  Some speculate that they are all clones or highly advanced androids and it is almost certain that they are cybernetically and or genetically enhanced.  Each trooper wears a holographic suit and a helmet armed with a pair of mandible blasters for close combat.  Regular troopers carry a light rail gun and each squad is supported by a trooper armed with an advanced scatter laser.  Each trooper is also equipped with a jet pack and are trained to be experts in their use.

Earth Security Force: Ghost Troopers

I've been working on a small Earth Security Force army this week for my Solar Empires setting.  The Earth Security Force consist of mostly drones and robotic troops but there are a few "human" troopers called Ghost.  Ghost are elite jump troopers who wear holographic armor that helps them blend into their background.

I made these troops from old Dark Eldar models from Warhammer 40,000.  I cut down their "spikey bits" and added some heads from Pig Iron Productions as well as jump packs I scratch built from small zip ties.

Matchbox Toy Drone for Solar Empires "Earth Security Forces"

I picked up this Matchbox toy drone today at Walmart for under $3.00.  It's a very high tech looking drone I plan to use for my Earth Security Force in my Solar Empires setting.  All I need to do it paint it up and add a flying base of some kind.  I love finding toys I can simply un-box and add to my forces with a simple paint job.  I'm working on a small but highly effective Earth Security Force and these drones will certainly be a good addition.

Wolfhound "Ritter" Battlesuits WIP

I'm working on another addition to my Wolfhound Freikorps mercenary army for my Solar Empires setting.  These are "Ritter" class battlesuits.  The original models are M.A.R.S. toys just like all the other battlesuits I have done.  I'm pretty happy with the way these guys are turning out with the Wolfhound vehicle camo and markings.  Hopefully I will have them finish by the weekend and they will be featured in the battle we have planned.

The Star Guards: Army WIP

I've been working on the Star Guards mercenary company for the last couple of weeks and they are coming along nicely.  I only have one more of the heavy infantry squads to finish and another tank plus some apcs and support vehicles.

The paint jobs are pretty basic but I was going for a very simple look with these guys.

Heavy Tank for M.S.S.R. WIP

I've had this Batman toy tank for a while now are recently picked up another copy of it at a Big Lots.  It converts from a tank to a flying machine but oddly enough in tank form it has no weapons.  I've been looking for something to do to it for a while now when I spotted some toy military trucks at Dollar General with missile racks for only $3.00.  A little kit bashing later with some other bits from my bits box and this is what I came up with.  Fortunately I have enough bits to make the other tank as well.
We are going to use this tank for our Martian Soviet Socialist Republic force as a heavy fire support vehicle.  I just have a few more details and a paint job to add.
 

Star Guard Medium Infantry Squad 1

I finished up this squad of Reaper NOVA corp troopers Saturday for the Star Guard mercenary army I am working on.  I think these guys turned out a bit better than the IMEF troopers.  I was more careful with my drybrushing.  The army is really going together pretty quickly.  I have another squad of these almost done and the tree tanks so if I keep up this pace I will probably have a pretty nice force in a week or two.

Star Guard Heavy Infantry Squad 1

I finished up the first Star Guard squad yesterday.  They are IMEF troopers from Reaper.  They are pretty rough paint jobs but I'm satisfied with how they turned out.  I was going for something quick and simple and they painted up very quickly.  I think they will look fine on the table.

New mercenary force for Solar Empires: The Star Guard work in progress.

I've started a new mercenary force for our Solar Empire setting called "The Star Guard".  The troopers are all from Reaper.  The medium troopers are Nova Corp figures and the heavy troopers are IMEF figures.  The sniper is also an IMEF fig.  All of these figures are from the "Bones" plastic line of figures so this is a pretty cheap force.  For tanks I have one Secret Weapons 6x6 light tank that was actually kind of expensive but the heavy tanks are $3.00 toy tanks I picked up at Dollar General.  

Pleasant Valley almost finished!

 Well way back in July 2012 we started on this project for our Solar Empire setting.  Pleasant Valley is a small village near Station 42 on Titania.  It has taken us quite a while to finish up for some reason.  Partly because there were many more buildings involved but also because we haven't felt a pressing need to finish it.  We have always planned to have a battle or two centered around the town but never got around to it.  Because we are trying to finish up this campaign we decided we really needed to finish this set as soon as we could.  Hopefully we will have it done by the end of the month.

 As you can see most of the building are basically done and painted.  Of course that tall silo still needs a paint job and some of the walls we are using also need to be finished up.

Of course we also plan to do some more detail pieces and add some more junk pile scatter terrain and signage but it is almost at the playable. stage.

2014 Projects part 2: Civilians

 In addition to our two major terrain projects we really want to get a collection of sci-fi civilians together for our setting.  Normally I think of miniatures in terms of combat for both RPGs and war games however there are times when unarmed civilians come in useful for both those things.  Sometimes you have characters who are not armed or not apparently armed.  Sometimes you need civilians for hostage scenarios or escort missions or just as background for unexpected fire fights.  The "bad guys" might grab one for a human shield and the "good guys" are much less likely to go tossing about frag grenades in a crowded marketplace.  At least we hope they would....

 After doing quite a bit of searching I've collected several images that I think I would like to emulate in 28mm.  Some of these I may convert from existing models and some of them I may sculpt over dollies.  Others I will probably kitbash.  I"m also going to be looking for some similar concepts in existing miniatures although there aren't a lot of civilian figures out there for sci-fi like there are for fantasy, modern, and historic settings.

 I really don't have much more to say about the project.  I'm actually hoping to get started on it as soon as possible although there are a few other projects I will likely do first.  Anyway here are the rest of the images: