AVP: Colonial Marines Squad 1

US Colonial Marines Squad 1 (Woodbine Miniatures)

From left to right: Pfc. Hudson, Cpl. Dietrich, Pvt. Drake, Pvt. Frost

Pvt. Drake wielding a M56 "Smartgun", Pvt. Frost with M41 "Pulse Rifle".

Drake's Smartgun has been modified with scratchbuilt parts, bases are from Fenris Games.

Pfc. Hudson with Motion Tracker and M41 "Pulse Rifle", Cpl. Dietrich with M240 Flamethrower.

Pfc. Hudson is one of the platoon's Electronic Techs, Cpl. Dietrich applies her skills as a Medic.

I know the question will come up: comparison shot with my Power Loader.

So here goes: my first Colonial Marines for AVP. Using bases from Fenris Games excellent "Sulaco" series (25mm) and the beautiful collection of Woodbine's military Sci-Fi miniatures in 28mm for a pleasing result.

The Colonial Marines' platoons are broken down into two sections of two squads each, lead by a Lieutenant. The sections are lead by Sergeants, while the squads are under command of a Corporal.

The squad displayed might not stay like that, but its already consisting out of all the necessary miniatures - a leader (Dietrich), a Smartgunner (Drake) and two grunts (Frost and Hudson). Squads can be split once again into fire teams of two Marines each.

My complete first section (under GySgt. Apone) will be based upon the characters of "Aliens". Section two will consist out of all characters from the AVP trading card game from the 90's. This will give me enough Marines, to have two players controlling the USCMC for my forthcoming game.

Woodbine doesn't do "official" US Colonial Marines. The Pulse Rifles and Smartgun clearly are inspired by the movie but have been altered, probably due to copyright concerns. Their entire range (I will soon have all available ones) has all miniatures to display the whole movie's characters - to include the supporting individuals, like the Dropship's flight crew, Ripley, Burke etc. They are a little cartoony, but to me are probably the best "true" 28mm USCMC on the market.

Lesson learned so far: I just can't paint faces. Lots of practise should go into that topic :-/
Let me know what you think - especially about the camo!

 

AVP: Colonial Marines P-3500 Power Loader finished

The finished Power Loader with its "not Ripley" pilot in place.

 

The name of the model on the base for my forth-coming AVP rules. All items and models will have names attached based upon the Alien & Predator background universe.

I have added some of my Battletech decals for warning labels. Paint chipping was done using the sponge technique and boltgun metal.

Some hazard stripes have been painted to the loaders' "fork" claws. Heavily chipped go give them a worn and used look.

Although not as cool as the movies' P-5000, I am rather pleased how my conversion has turned out. Now my "not Ripley" is ready to tackle some Xenomorph mommy. "Leave her alone, bitch!"

 

Ok, this evenings' painting session was interupted by watching "Expendables 2", so you had to wait a little longer. I finished the P-3500 Work Loader to include the pilot figure and put it all together. Paint chipping, drybrushing, adding decals etc. all has been done now.
I know its not a perfect match of the movies famous Power Loader, but for an US $8 model with minor cosmetical conversions it turned out really well I'd say.

I drybrushed and highlighted the miniature with adding some white to my base colour and made one more pin-wash with Devlin Mud. I then picked up a piece of an old sponge (from a blister pack made by GW) and used it to dab on spots of chipped paint using boltgun metal.

Last step was adding some decals (from my Battletech stuff) to give the Power Loader an industrial look. Hazard stripes on the "fork" claws add further detail.

Let me know what you think!

PS: the forward leaning pose is intentional - it has something to do with the Power Loader being in base-to-base contact with another particularly huge model and a famous scene from Aliens, taking place in a docking bay ;-)

AVP: Colonial Marines P-3500 Power Loader WIP (2)

The white area with hazard stripes on the base is part of a docking bay door.

The brown on the harness will get another brownish layer of paint and is in the end supposed to be looking like leather seats of a car.

I'll be adding oil stains on the hydraulics for a more realistic look.

The dome-shaped thingy on top of the roll cage is the blinking light of the Power Loader, I just don't know yet if its going to be red or orange.

Some WIP shots from last night. Base colours are done, next step will be dirt, weathering, markings, decals and the pilot obviously. Please note that the roll bar is NOT attached in its final position. Its only loosly placed for the pics. The Fenris base also isn't complete yet.

AVP: Colonial Marines P-3500 Power Loader WIP (1)

Reviresco's 25mm Sci-Fi Power Loader with Pilot. This is my heavily modified version to suit 28mm "heroic" miniatures sizewise. I used parts from a Mechwarrior Dark Age Construction Mech to add larger legs and hydraulics.

The back of the power loader. I pinned the MW:DA Construction Mech's feet into the pewter legs of the Reviresco miniature. The greenish base is one of Fenris Games' excellent 65mm diameter "Sulaco" series.

 

Front shot, without roll cage installed (see in front of the loader). The pilot "Not-Ripley" is stuck down on a base for easier handling during painting.

The side shot reveals how I added hydraulic hoses made from bristles of a broom (no kidding). See the background pic of Reviresco's power loader and how it normally would look like. Too small for my needs, hence the mods.

 

 

 

 

So here it is: I do have to admit it took way too long until it began to take shape. I finally gave up trying to resist and started my 28mm Aliens VS Predator project. A dream of mine that started many moons ago while playing AVP on an Atari Jaguar 64bit console (who remembers this one?).

Its been on my mind for a long time now and I started collecting various stuff for this cause over the last couple of years. Although this blog entry is labelled "Tomorrow's War" I will probably create a completely new game, based upon my own ideas and lots of ideas "borrowed" from other games that I have played in the last two decades. The game I want to create is supposed to be played with a minimum of two, but preferable with three or even more players. One will command all Aliens and play the game-master, while the others will either control Colonial Marine squads or Predator Hunting Packs. The goals to be achieved are depending on what faction you choose and can be done with support from the other players or alone, trying even to stop the co-gamers to reach their mission objectives. But more of those ideas at a later time...

Let's have a look at the stuff I posted pics of above. What you see here is a 25mm Sci-Fi "Power Loader" pewter miniature from Reviresco, made in the US. Its true to 25mm size as its way too small for 28mm miniatures. Its a nice kit and was only US $8.00 (!!!) excluding shipping. I was a bit sad when it arrived, seeing it won't fit my other stuff for my game size-wise.
When on ebay a Leading Edge Power Loader was sold for insane 78€ I was grabbed by my burning ambition: I won't burn cash that high for a Power Loader! Oh no - I can make a working power loader fitting my 28mm stuff on my own, all it needs is some thinking, kit-bashing and imagination! See my results above.

I re-named it P-3500 Power Loader as its not as big as the P-5000 was in Aliens. Imagine the P-3500 as a smaller cousin of the larger model.

The base is from Fenris Games. They sell a series of round bases called "Sulaco" (*hint*) that obviously is inspired by the floors to be seen in Aliens. The one above has a diameter of 65mm.

Alright, I'll be back with more later. Keep commenting, guys.