Red Faction

I decided to increase the size of my xenomorph hoards. I ordered more from Khurasan Miniatures. This time I got two packs of their Space Demon Infiltrator Warriors. They have smooth heads, rather than ribbed heads, otherwise they have the same bodies as the ribbed ones. I am not sure what makes them "infiltrators" but who cares. Along with different heads, I decided to paint them a different color.  I was going to paint them the same way as the other guys, but rather than nail polish, I decided to use a shiny enamel.  Testors Red Flake looked like a winner:

I should have stuck to nail polish. It was not very flaky. It did have tiny flecks of gold, and I did my best to shake up the flecks, but I really couldn't see them once brushed them on. As an experiment, I diluted some gold paint and dry brushed it on some of the larger highlights, particularly the top of their heads. Here are the results of my work.

I am not quite as happy with these guys as I was with their gun-metal colored brethern, but they will do. Are they a different species of xenomorphs? Are they a sub-species? Do they work together or do they fight amongst themselves? The plucky citizens of Yogurt Town will have more to worry about.

Stop the Xeno-on-Xeno violence!

First Purchases of GameCraft Miniatures

I just got back from a week of doing research and and eating tasty food in Mexico (heartburn to kick in, in 5...4...3...2..1...). Waiting for me at home was an order from GameCraft Miniatures. They specialize in scenery. They have a wide assortment of buildings and roads. I've been eying them for some time, but never ordered anything. This is because I like making my own buildings, no matter how crap-tastic they turn out to be. I have a few other buildings and such from other companies, like GHQ and C-in-C, but other than that C-in-C watchtower I used for the border crossing I made a few years ago, few have been painted.

My reason for ordering from GameCraft was that they have a nice looking radio tower. I've been wanting to build a radio station for part of my Gambusian campaign. A few years ago, I made an attempt at a tower with cardboard, but it looked way out of scale in terms of the thicknesses of the supports, and not that great looking. Recently, I thought about giving it a go again using styrene strips from Evergreen or Plastruct. Then I thought, why torture myself considering how I have almost no time for hobby activities these days. So, I place an order with GameCraft about a week before I left for Mexico.

Radio Tower

The communications tower comes in four parts and is made of clear acrylic plastic. Each part of the tower measures about 10.5 cm in height and 2 cm at the base. There are two little squares of plastic about 5 mm on each side. I have no idea if these are for the construction of the tower, or just scrap plastic. There is photo on the website that shows a tab on the top of the tower that I assume folds and connects the other three parts, but this may be for the cardboard version. The tower is very thin; the support beams measure just over 1mm thick.  I am not clear how I'm going to put it together as no instructions are included. I will probably make a thin base for it and then glue the four sides to the edges of the base. I think superglue will work on this, or at least I hope it does.  I also need to decide what I want to put on top of my tower to represent the radio antenna.

Italian/Mediterranean Villa

I couldn't just order the tower, besides, its sort of a waste of postage. If postage is a fixed rate and you only order one thing, sometimes the postage will be higher than the item you order. I couldn't decide what else to get, but I finally settled on the Italian villa (285ITM004). Its not as detailed as some of the buildings that GHQ makes, but its rather elegant. The roof has really nice Mediterranean tile shingles and the walls are textured to give a stucco feel. I am not clear on which is the front and back of the building. There are two large double doors on one of the shorter sides that might be the front doors, but I would think the front of the building ought to be on one of the longer sides. I am seriously thinking of incorporating it into the hacienda I want to make for my Gambusian campaign. I would use it as the main house and add on to it. I have a bunch of little, sketchy plans for my hacienda and will see how this building can fit in. The hacienda is my next project, followed by an airport, and then the radio station. Knowing me, I'll probably get sidetracked. 

Last of all...candy!

 I got a little bag of hard candies included in my order!
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