Resin: Battle Cat by Ramshackle Games

 

So, it's early October, and I'm thinking I need to ease off on the armymen for a bit. Not only did I need to start on an Orktober project, there had been a new Astra Militarum codex announcement. A vague and undetailed one, but still an announcement. Hopefully we'll know more on Tuesday. Its set for early 2025, but its never a good idea to invest heavily in a 40k army immediately before a rules refresh. Hell, given how the recent Ork codex went from hype-to-nerf-to-obscurity, you could argue against buying for the quarter thereafter. It might end up with us all playing a slightly updated Index detachment. Or we might end up with a situation where everyone needs three units of Tempestus Aquilons and three of Ratling Snipers because they are the only units that work. Who knows? That said, I also had this tank. I like tanks, most Guard players do, its hard to be one if you don't like tanks. This had been ordered from Ramshackle Games prior to the announcement, and truthfully had arrived a few weeks later than I might have liked. But with my first 1500 point battle planned, I pushed on to get it vaguely presentable.

As I've built two of these previously, I don’t have a huge amount to say here. Its a cheap resin model, requiring a non-trivial amount of prep-work, which was then painted by the spraycan method. Two new observations I’d make are that A) Ramshackle seems to have changed its resin mix, and B) pinning the lascannon on was a bit of a nuisance which required fixing twice. (And then again, after a few games.) I primed it to reveal imperfections, fixed them, sprayed it green, and then blocked out the exposed metal bits in black, a bit sloppily if I'm honest, before drybrushing. The cupola gunner was painted separately. I kinda rushed to get this (largely) done for the game, I probably should not have given some of the mistakes I made, but hopefully you can’t tell. Weathering covers many a sin. On the plus side, new model syndrome did not really occur in the game in question, I won actually, and it generally turned out OK. The theme here is an unwanted vehicle and neglected vehicle handed over to convicts for use in the GRIMDARK future of 40K. Certainly looks like it.

 

With respects to rules, I'm fielding this as the basic Leman Russ Battle Tank, my third. I may swap the turret, but I like its rerolls for now. Its not considered the optimal choice in competitive play, though, the current fave is the Vanquisher variant. That's cheaper and better at killing other tanks, so I see the appeal of it, but I think the stock russ will last better. Whenever the tournament crowd fixates on something too much, it gets more expensive, look at Bullgrins, but we'll see. At present, the vanilla Russ is a consistently reliable damage dealer that punishes an enemy for trying to take objectives.

Not bad, but I need something else to do.

Transformers: Legacy United Energon Universe Megatron is Something that Exists

OK, in the 40th Anniversary line, we have a tribute to a toy made during the 20th Anniversary. I am suddenly acutely aware of my own mortality. Sorry, this is gonna be both fairly brief and fairly negative.

 

The 2004 Transformers Energon Megatron toy (leader class)

Lets try to unpack this. This version of Megatron appeared, obviously, in Transformers Energon. I wrote a retrospective on that yonks ago, but it was notable for being the 20th anniversary series. It didn't do many direct tributes, more remakes and name reuses, but the influence was felt in more than a few toys, which is why this Megs looks a lot like the original Galvatron. As Energon was also a direct sequel to Armada, this makes the toy a representation of the same guy we saw as a leader class recently, which also explains his famous tank/sword accessory. That's a weapon either referencing his previous form, or made from his own corpse following his resurrection. Was it a good toy? Well, for its time it was pretty memorable, but not one that aged well. It wasn't a toy that especially prioritised articulation, it was more about gimmicks than leg joints, more so than most of its time, but it had a lot of style. I liked how it looked, but never how it moved or felt. Definitely a design that would benefit from a do-over. So, with this new Core Class toy we have a toy that's a homage to a homage. And one that you'd suspect would be at best a tenth the size of the original, but with hopefully more useful articulation by a country mile. Then again, its in the consistent disappointment that is the Core class. Is it any good? Well, not hugely.

Starting with the robot form I find myself feeling oddly nostalgic, while also debating how much I can file under "acceptable for the price". Visually, it looks like a scaled down version of the original, with a few things understandably omitted, and the materials changed, but no shortage of paint. Good, that's what basically we're here for. Its nicely presented, swapping out translucent for opaque plastic, and retaining some elements of the old gimmicks. The tank/sword is present, as are the shoulder cannons which now work on 3mm peg. Articulation is also dramatically improved; this toy features ball joints rather than a spring-loaded conversion. Where the weaknesses start to occur is in the shoulders. There's a tab there for the purposes of the altmode, which is fair enough, but this ends up limiting the range of motion. The cannons can get in the way too, bumping into the wings. Now, this isn't a problem if you position them forwards, but why wasn't this just pinned in the first place? I mean... yes. You can have megs gunfighter things up now, but this feels like a life and lemons situation. Also, while this toy really isn't lacking in plastic, this is one where they've had to make compromises and hollow things out. Like the back of the head, the tank/sword, nosecone, forearms and legs. Classy. Given the sheer mass of the altmode, I'm not surprised, but I am disappointed. All that being said, its not actually a bad robot mode, sitting on the good side of average for a core overall.

 

The same general vibe continues into gunship mode, although it is perhaps a touch worse as the robot form was given priority. On the one hand, the look is definitely there, and its doing a better job hiding the head than the much larger original. Its also pleasently chunky and big for a toy in the Core slot. On the other, the hands don't collapse and so stick out under the wings, while the hollowness and such are more obnoxious. Case in point: the tank/sword, which just ends up pointing the blade backwards. Now, given that the tank itself is hollow, could we not have it fold up? Or possibly evoke the original gimmick, and stow the blade in the big empty front end? As small altmodes go, its not bad. Its certainly not bad. But it so easily could have been better.

 

Now, I have some very mixed feelings about this toy, and I have been back and forth with my editing. Part of that's the whole "jeebus, twenty years" thing, I admit, and I’m glad it it exists. But a lot of it is the toy being frustratingly close to being good, but not. It feels like an earnest attempt to modernise an older design, but its also feels like every cost-saving trick they could have used, they did. Some designs just don't work out when scaled down, and while its not without its merits, this was too much to ask of a core class. I got this for £3, so I really shouldn't complain, but this would have felt bad value at RRP. Otherwise, there isn't a huge amount to say. It does what it needs to, it is something that exists, but it exists in a sub-average size class. In the meantime? I’m just gonna have a brief midlife crisis, see you soon.

Kitbash: Stargrave Mercenaries

Now, a sprue I've used an awful lot in my Chem-Dog army is the Stargrave Mercenaries kit. My original Chem-Dog prototype was one of those models, and various stowage and gubbins have been sprinkled through my builds since. Had I not found that Cannon Fodder box, it could very well have been that I built my army around them. I recently acquired another box cheaply, a benefit as I was refitting my infantry, and it followed that an article about them was overdue.

 

So, a brief review. The Stargrave Mercenaries kit is made by Northstar Military Figures, a company which seems to be a kind of low key awesome. While Stargrave is thier sci-fi system, they also do historical, and they do a lot of rules/miniature agnostic stuff, offering support of Gaslands and Xenos Rampant. Their sprues tend to be a kitbasher's joy, if possibly lacking in flair. The Mercenaries were talking about today, for example, have a very varied selection of weapons and armour styles, something of real benefit to theft/looting style of the Chem-Dogs. The overall style tends towards Cyberpunk, maybe? The downside is that they lack a compelling melee option for the sarge, and tend towards a realistic 28mm scale rather than a heroic one, so some kitbashing is unavoidable to make them fit 40K conventrions. If you're making human sci-fi infantry though, getting a box of these is highly recommended as a bits resource. And if the style of this one doesn’t appeal, Northstar do a bunch, and a lot of female coded models too.

With these, I decided to continue the recent trend, and do them up as a battleline unit I hadn't previously fielded: Cadian Shock Troops. Yes, I know this is dumb when I've used actual Cadians for Catachans, but I was always a contrarian. The justification for this is while these models seem better equipped than the Cannon Fodder I mainly field, they don't strike me as elite. More like a slightly more professional unit that got first dibs on some better kit. Following on from that, I decided to use leftover Cannon Fodder arms and backpacks to help them fit my theme, but I kept these as male coded. At least so far as the term applies to gaskmask wearing soldiers at 28mm scale, but you know what I mean. I've done a lot of girls lately, lets have a few boys in the interest of balance. Mechanically, Shock Troops function like a less cool middle ground between stock infantry and Death Korps, having less options than either, but have what is known as a "sticky objectives" ability. I see these chaps as having convictions for armed robbery, call 'em The Payday Squad.

 

These were modelled and painted in my usual manner, although I did make one Innovation. I sculpted gasmasks onto the heads while still on the sprue. I was going for a less bulky, more practical style than my usual, and this was a nice convenience. Actual painting was however delayed due to a head cold, and when I returned I was surprised at the rate they moved forward. I don't think I’m a good painter, I know I’m not a good painter, but I am an efficient one, and having done a hundred or so of these soldiers in various forms? Well, perfectionism gets worn away, and optimizations are found. So, here's my technique for speed painting some penal legion plebs.


1) Basecoat with Color Forge Trench Brown spraypaint.
2) Drybrush your guns and obvious metal bits with a gunmetal. I mixed my own here, aiming for darkish tones, but your preferred metallic grey is probably fine.
3) Pick out the boots, backpacks, and gasmasks in Vallejo German Grey. This is a near black which suits military garments. Pick out the occasional additional element like the odd helmet too.
4) Pick out the rags, and the occasional fabric detail, in Vallejo English Uniform.
5) Now apply a drybrush of Vallejo Hot Orange to what remains, I.e the main body. How hard you go at this stage will dictate how bright it will be. Avoid flesh areas.
6) With the main colours done, now go in add a few little details. I.e. a silver to pick out cutting edges, a gold for contrasting on the guns, a brown or yellow for haircuts, and your preferred method for lenses.
7) Tidy it all up.
8) Now start on the flesh areas; apply some watered-down Armypainter Tanned flesh.
9) Once dry, apply some watered-down GW Kislev Flesh, trying to keep to raised areas, and let that dry.
10) Wash the entire model with GW Agrax Earthshade.

 

Done, right? Well, there's the bases. I tend to come at that at the start of and the end of the process.
A) Before spray-painting, but after the model was attached, texture the base. I normally use a very thin coating of poundshop gap/filler paste, but better options exist. You don’t need a lot, just enough to remove the smooth finish of the base and add imperfections.
B) With the model largely painted, now use a paint like GW Stirland Mud on the base. You can mix your own, I do, or use another brand, we're basically looking for a brown texture paint with sand in it.
C) Once that dries, drybrush it with GW Zandri Dust. Maybe pick out areas like the knees at the same time to suggest dirt and wear.
D) Apply some flock to the base if you have it. I used some 6mm tufts here.
E) Finally, paint the rim of the base with Vallejo Black.

OK, perhaps not my best or most interesting work, but hopefully tableworthy, and of use to you. Cheers.

 

Transformers: Kingdom Wheeljack is Something That Exists

Yes, yes. I know. Kingdom Wheeljack is just Earthrise Wheeljack in a new box. But it is how I got it, and this how it shall be titled.

The 1984 Transformers Wheeljack toy

Unlike a lot of the 80's originals, Wheeljack is a character I have some nostalgia for. I didn't have the original toy, but I did have the Actionmaster, and his evil counterpart Slicer. I did see a few cartoon episodes where he did stuff, and read a few of the later Marvel comics. Wheeljack benefited from fairly distinctive character model, and a role/personality that was simply "science/inventor guy", which meant a writer could easily find a role for him. Thus he created the Dinobots, any number of doohickeys, and most memorably to me, a comic appearence where he tended to the horrifically wounded Optimus Prime, in the minutes before his death. That last one doesn't get any nicer in context, so let's move on. While Wheeljack has definitely had his quota of new toys and tributes over the decades, he's a touch more malleable than most. The version we got in Transformers Prime was a swordfighter, not an inventor, while other versions take inspiration from Albert Einstein, Jamie Hyneman, and Steve Urkle. Part of that is undoubtedly the weak writing in 80's toy media, but the thing is, Wheeljack was very obviously replaced by Perceptor. Whom was a microscope, and thus more immediately convincing as a capital S Scientist. This left Wheeljack no unique selling point, and simply being a fast car amongst the Autobots wasn't enough. This is a bit of a shame, because if you look a bit harder, Wheeljack is not so much a nerd as a rally driver whom built his own car. While being it.

 

Wheeljack's original altmode was the Lancia Stratos Turbo, in a paintjob so specific you can find model kits of it. That's a rally car, and while I'm not knowledgeable on the topic, I do understand that its a somewhat more rugged affair that takes place outside of a purpose made race track. Rather than the bleeding edge of Formula One, Rallying suggests a more rough & tumble event, often using road legal cars. This modern toy attempts to capture the look of the original, while filing off the legally actionable parts of the design. The resulting car passes the squint test most admirably, with lots of paint and in-jokey sponsorship decals. Its nearly ideal as these things go, it avoids the common flaws like unpainted hubcaps, while working in a few 5mm ports in unobtrusive places. However, this general high quality does place what flaws there are into stark relief. There's a case of Visible Head Syndrome on the underside, something begging for a concealing panel, and an odd gap beneath the spoiler. Also, it feels maybe a touch bland with respects to play value. Its not bad by any means; it rolls okay, and it has weapon storage, but Earthrise tended to downplay the 5mm port thing and that's evident here. Maybe get some blast effects so he looks like he's rocket powered? What people, well, collectors/weirdos like myself, are likely to fixate on though are the translucent windows. These are a smokey sunglasses black, an element common to more modern takes on the character but not the 1980’s. Or they were aiming for original toy, and darkened the windows as there was little to see inside, I dunno. I personally think this is just fine, and there’s no reports of breakages as such, but chunks of the windscreen end up storing in the knees, and I wonder about the long term. Despite my nitpicking, its a solid car mode favouring the original toy visually.

 

 
The robot mode does better on the play value front, and similarly scores well on the squint test. He obviously favours the old Sunbow model here, but between the vehicle bits and the greebling its a not 1 to 1 update. I'll come back to that in the conclusion, but I will say for now that the only real visual weakness is the gappy lower legs. This is noteworthy as this is the first time Hasbro really tried to strongly match the G1 look, with the previous three(!?) attempts being remolds and thus having some compromises. I like his proportions and how his chest is formed, the vibe very much being there. Functionally its a step up too, with nothing to apologise for on the articulation front, the shoulders are good due to the conversion, and a full selection 5mm ports coming into play. The spoiler is also on a 5mm peg too, so you have some options, which is nice. His actual accessory is his missile pod, which can be handheld, but has dedicated tabs for the shoulder mount. This is absolutely fine, and I honestly don't think Wheeljack was ever really associated with a sidearm, but there is an absence of something to round things out. A wrench maybe? A sword? They could have gone the Cliffjumper route, and added in a one scene accessory. The Masterpiece version had a pistol. Otherwise, its a nice robot form, that does the vast majority of things well, and only one ignorable thing badly.

 

While working on this article, I slowly came to a realisation: this was probably the best, mass market Wheeljack ever made, it wasn’t quite the G1/Sunbow love letter I expected, but it also felt somehow off by a small degree. Its a solid performer in almost all ways, with most of its flaws falling into the category of personal preference or cut for the budget. Maybe this was meant to a more generic Wheeljack than a specific one, and it ended up in the very Sunbow Earthrise. Maybe something got left out; when they did Slicer with the mould, it did come with extra guns. Or maybe this was built along the same lines as Cliffjumper etc, and it just didn’t work out as well on those terms. And there is that Generations Selects version that is full Sunbow, removing the translucent plastic, but otherwise looking like a sidegrade. Given Hasbro’s habit of releases and iterative remakes, you’d almost think this was deliberate, but I digress. Regardless of which variant you go for though, and there’s a few, you're getting a good all-rounder here. And the package variant that is Kingdom Wheeljack is definitely something that exists.

Orktober: Orky Dice Tower

For this Orktober, I will admit to struggling for ideas. As previously noted, I've done basically all I want to do with orks, and thus my forces are on hiatus. However, I still wanted to do something for Orktober, and I eventually settled on a dice tower. I will also admit that I got the idea from one earthmanbrick, whom made one last year. I looked into the concept, easily finding plans, you can make one out of a Pringles tube for example, and decided that I could trashbash one, doing the mechanisms first, and then dressing it with bits. As to what a dice tower precisely is? Well, its an apparatus for rolling dice. You put the in the top, they bounce off ramps and bollards, before coming to rest at the bottom. Such things are a supposed space saver, as while these can be bulky, at least they keep the dice on the table.

I'd ended up starting this later in the month than I wanted, but it progressed quite smoothly. The actual worky bits were made on a Monday afternoon, using a detergent box, the chipboard I use for scratchbuilds, and hot glue. It went together like one of my old scenery projects or one of my bigger scratchbuilds. This required some trial and error, but it was functional on the day. The remainder of the week saw the visual additions, gap filling, and riveting. This process made it look even more like earthmanbrick's attempt, a face arising almost immediately, although in my defence I always put teef on things. A lot of this process was done in and around work shifts, staggered for the benefit of drying times. Spray painting started on the Saturday morning, afterwhich it was a rummage for the craft paints and such. Drybrushing, sponging, and washes followed.

While this is by no means my most complex or interesting project, it did remind me of why I love making Ork stuff. I knew the sort of thing I wanted, and it just happened. Like going nuts with the pizza toppings, or being some-kind of obnoxious freestyling jazz poet. Mistakes get made, sure. Nothing about this is clever. But it all adds up to something very orky. And very me.

I dunno when I’m going back to Orks, but there’s something there to go back to.

 

Transformers: Legacy United Animated Universe Optimus Prime is Something That Exists

 

Animated Optimus Prime’s wiki picture

When you get right down it, Transformers: Animated was an anomaly. Effectively serving as a Plan B should the 2007 film fail, it didn't, Animated was by radical departure from the bayverse and Transformers in general. Animated stepped back from technical realism in favour of bright, dynamic, cartoony and above all else, characterful designs. The thing Animated did so well was creating Transformers whose mere appearance spoke volumes, only for the vocal performances and writing to utterly endear them to fans. Of course, that wasn't the only thing it did well, and I'd easily put it in the Top 3 Transformers media of all time. What Animated arguably did less well was the toys, the art style not being the easiest to replicate in plastic, and once the line concluded, Hasbro never tried something like that again. At least until Legacy got going and started drip-feeding those characters into the mix. Today I talk about the first voyager attempt.

The 2008 Transformers: Animated Optimus Prime toy, voyager class

 

So, Animated Prime, what's his deal then? Well, he's a fairly nuanced take on the archetype to be honest, with a debt to Optimus Primal. He's not the leader of the Autobots, Prime is a common rank in this continuity, and he's in charge of a Space Bridge repair crew. He's got the same idealistic, big good vibes as Optimi tend to have, but he's much lower in the hierarchy, and is depicted as young and inexperienced. Not the kinda guy you'd expect to be doing infrastructure. The precise reasons why he's in that command are actually very tragic, he's in disgrace, and his arc through the show is him overcoming that. This isn't an Optimus Prime that starts out at the top, in a rivalry with Megatron. Animated, though cut short, ends when he's god-damn earned that.

 

The actual toy then, and its vehicle mode first. Optimus' alt mode was honestly a bit ill-defined on screen and in plastic. He's more or less the front end of a scifi fire truck, although if you took the light-bar off, and you can here, you wouldn't know that. The show was a bit woolly about this, he had at least two trailers, but the actual toys didn't implement that. The original voyager had a functioning water cannon instead, for example. This new Legacy toy then focuses on the truck cab then, and its doing an OK job with it, but its not doing anything spectacular. On the plus side, it compares favourably with both the animation model and previous toys. There's a Generations greeblie filter being applied, but it passes the squint test. It not a Bulkhead or Skyquake situation, the likeness was prioritised here. There’s also some easily missed interior details, like a steering wheel, which is nice. The downside is however the feet, which ended up in the trailer hitch area and look a bit obnoxious, while the axe can stow but not integrate. The feet in particular are the subject of much speculation; there's a pair of slots there of no obvious use, prompting hopes of some Wingblade version down the line and the creation of at least one third party add-on set. This sort of visual flaw seems to occur a lot with modern primes, and I'd tolerate it more if something could obscure it, but this is at worst average as Legacy alt modes go. Shame about the production scars though.

If the truck form was more adequate than great, the robot form nails it. Lets talk about characterisation again. Optimus is a big guy, but big in a specifically heroic and cartoony way. He's very wide in the chest and arms, but thin in the legs and hips. He's a triangle of upper body strength, which is possibly more exaggerated here than in the 2d art, but its perfect for him. There's nowt brutish about it either, he's in bright, friendly colours, and most importantly, NO MOUTHPLATE. This adds so much, revealing his youthful face. Its a bit, umm, mainline Generations, but its him. He's Captain Carrot Ironfounderson, if he were a giant robot. And then there's the rocket axe. The vintage toys often didn't capture this right, but its perfectly replicated here with a blast effect port on the back, and an extending haft. This combines with the articulation to make a superlative robot mode. Its just about possible to do a two handed pose, and it presents posing options just not found in other toys. And its not just good articulation, its good articulation in service of character, and this robot mode has a lot of character. Maybe the forearms needed some details painted, but otherwise this is doing what it should with unexpected vigour. Oh, and its got the 5mm port thing covered.

 

In truth, Animated Optimus Prime was probably not the obvious choice for an update. Nowt wrong with him, and certainly someone you'd need eventually, but he's not one of the breakout characters from his show. And truthfully, even at the time, there were a lot of Optimus toys, and even more now. But this honestly impressed me. The altmode is at worst acceptable, and suffers from high expectations, but its doing OK. And the robot mode shines. While this toy seems to have gone under the radar and straight into discount, lost amongst so many other Primes, its well worth your time.

Kitbash: Wargames Atlantic Cannon Fodder Part 2

 

Today, I'm gonna talk about the Wargames Atlantic Cannon Fodder 2 kit (Females), how I used them for my Astra Militarum army, and how you can use this kit for general kitbashing. This is part two in a two part series, please take a look at part one, as I don’t want to repeat myself.

 

Why Kreig? I gave a brief overview back in part 2 of Project Chem-Dogs, but some context here won't hurt the word count. With one of the least subtle names in the 40k setting, the Death Korps of Krieg are more or less scifi WWI. We're talking folk memories of gasmasks, trenches, mud, bayonets, and absurdly wasteful expenditure of human life. They are a gasmask wearing death cult with no concern for thier own losses or individuality. This makes for a good addition to 40k in general and the Astra Militarum in particular, but their prominence is relatively new. Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the Death Korps were something Forgeworld was very interested in, that has since made the jump to plastic, and are due a range expansion shortly. Mechanically, they are one of those odd units whose options are (currently) dictated by a Killteam boxset. These feature more specialist weapons than the other battleline units, and a resurrecting model mechanic. The reason I wanted them is to act either as frontline troops or APC passengers, thanks to their weaponry and odd ability to become better fighters as they loose models.

 

Using Cannon Fodder as Death Korps of Krieg: The use of Cannon Fodder for these is somewhat head dependant. The bodies don't have anything about them that screams Verdun, but you do get full space helmets on the sprue. I'd made most of mine with green stuff gas masks, thus making them passable as Kreigers, incorporating wire and tiny beads for the hoses. That's fiddly work even if you've sculpted before, so don't be afraid to source heads from elsewhere. Otherwise, turning the girls into the Death Korps is a similar challenge to regular Infantry Squads; you don't need heavy weapons, but you are looking at a greater density of specialist weapons, and the need for a medic.

What I did: As before I made these as plugins for an Infantry Squad to simplify matters, while taking the opportunity to make a few weapon specialists to round things out. The heads here were often leftovers from the Bulldogs, as well as assorted bits from the Stargrave Mercenaries sprue. I probably need to talk in more detail about that last one actually, I use that kit a lot. Expect an article, um, Novemberish. Meanwhile some crude recasting was used to create the medpacks, and melta nozzles for use with the energy weapon on the Cannon Fodder sprue. I did the same thing for flamers and such in part one, you can do a lot with a new barrel and some new furniture. Menawhile, Sniper rifles were created by using the CF scope with a regular gun, a fiddly little bastard of a thing, with a bead as a barrel extension, and sculpted rags to hide the join. The grenade launchers are from the aforementioned Stargrave sprue, lengthened wih a bit of tube. Painting then followed, and turned out OK.

I hope this brief series was of use to you. Next week, back to Transformers.