AQ - Martian Assault Tripod

Okay, before reading on, listen to this for some mood music.

The first miniature finished for 2016 is a Martian Assault Tripod from All Quiet on the Martian Front. I love War of the Worlds, so when this appeared I was all over it. It's a very tall model, it's about 6" or so, on an 80mm base. It was easy enough to assemble, but those reaper tentacles at the front are spindly and require care when snipping them off the sprue, and pretty much whenever you're doing anything with them. It'll be fun to transport.

I used a Gladius Game Arts base for this guy, and added a bicycle from a Sgts' Mess bits pack. The burned skeleton is from another All Quiet model. as for painting, a can of silver spray is a bit of a must. I used the Army Painter spray as a base over a black undercoat. Some folks use the army painter sprays as undercoats too, but I've heard the adhesion isn't what it should be.

After a wash of thinned Nuln Oil, I used mostly recess washes and glazes to work up the model. Painting larger models requires less contrast than smaller models, so again, I used acrylic medium to thin the glazes. Then basing. I had to do a little research for the burnt patch of ground under the skeleton. As the model is mostly neutral colours, I could get away with more vibrant base colours, hence the dirt road has a richer tone than I would normally use.

There are two more weapon variants on the assault tripod sprue, a black smoke projector and a green gas launcher. I'll be doing a tripod with each in time to finish a pod of three tripods. Then maybe some scout tripods or a harvester.

As Alien Dungeon, the maker's of All Quiet seem to have vanished without trace just before Christmas, all models for the game are currently OOP. A shame for the backers of the kickstarter, but hopefully someone will pick up the game in time.

AQ - Martian Drone Unit Finished

Slowly, but surely...

Two more drones finished off the first pod (unit) of Martians. These were quick and fun to do. I even found a bit of red weed to add to the bases of one drone. I used the paper technique to affix the legs of the second and third drones, and it worked a treat. They are as solid as they're going to get. I'm pretty happy with the colour scheme, I added less medium to the green glaze on the second and third drones, but it comes out much the same. I think I'm ready to tackle one of the larger assault drones next.

... he drew his brush against us.

All Quiet on the Martian Front - First Test Model

Having settled down on a few ongoing projects for the foreseeable future, I am now flitting between them. I'm finding this is keeping my painting mojo high. I decided to crack open the box for the 15mm game All Quiet on the Martian Front and have a go. This drone was the test model for the Martian side. I love the design for the Martian Front models, human and Martian side alike, though there's a lot of bits for some models.

He's still quite big, being on a 40mm base. A bit of a bugger to assemble, with the fitting for the legs being a couple of millimetres too wide for the legs. A touch of greenstuff sorted that though. Painting was very quick, as I decided to keep to a simple metallic scheme. I'll introduce a second darker metal tone on larger models. I did hit him with a green glaze around the joints and such, but it's pretty subtle, so I'll turn it up a little for the next drone. They come in pods of three, so I'll have the scheme down by the time they are done. After that I might tackle one of the huge assault tripods.

The base is from Gladius Game Arts with some added debris from Sgts' Mess, which is a goldmine of various goodies. The bases come in urban and rural, these being the rural ones. They larger bases come with train lines, broken walls etc. I plan on hunting down some HO scale early 1900s automobiles for burned out wreckage on the larger bases.

Last Few Hours of All Quiet on the Martian Front Kickstarter

With a few hours left and the pledge counter rocketing, here's your last chance to get in on the freebie overload in the All Quiet on the Martian Front Kickstarter. With plastic scout tripods already in the bag, $300,000 will mean plastic tank chassis for the human forces as well as the KS exclusive above.

Thunderchild 2 unveiled by Alien Dungeon

 Moving swiftly through the waters
Cannons blazing as she came
Brought a mighty metal War-Lord
Crashing down in sheets of flame
Sensing victory was nearing
Thinking fortune must have smiled
People started cheering
'Come on Thunder Child'

As the All Quiet on the Martian Front kickstarter belts toward $200k, Alien Dungeon have revealed the British Expeditionary Force's first heavy hitter, the Thunderchild 2. As you can see, even for a 15mm game, this is going to be a humongous kit. AD have also announced she (and presumably the American Dewey class land ironclad) will come with crew figures. She unlocks at $200k.

All Quiet on the Martian Front - UK & EU Shipping

Shiny. Well, rusty, but you know what I mean.

You may have noticed that there's quite a Martian theme to the Mumblings of late. Well, seeing as I'm so busy I haven't had a sniff of a brush in near a month, the All Quiet on the Martian Front kickstarter kickstarter is standing in for actual hobbying.

There's 10 days left in the kickstarter and the UK and EU shipping has finally been nicely sorted:

We are very pleased to announce that Renedra, the renowned manufacturer and retailer of plastic miniatures and accessories, has agreed to act as our European Union distributor for the All Quiet on the Martian Front Kickstarter only.  We could not be happier with this outcome since Architects of War, our sister company, is the Exclusive North American distributor for Renedra.
What does this mean for you if you live in the UK or EU?  There will be no increase in the flat rate shipping charge!  You will receive the shipment of your pledge, freebies and any add-on goodies by paying the previously stated flat rate shipping, no additional charges.
So, we have 3 different categories that you can fall into…
**US – Free shipping
**UK and EU – Flat rate shipping stated in the pledge levels or shipping policy for Add-ons.  No Vat or other import duties will be charged to you.
**Everybody Else – Flat rate shipping stated in the pledge levels or shipping policy for Add-ons.  You will be responsible for any duty or taxes charged at the time of delivery, if applicable.

So anyone from the EU or the UK on the fence, now is your chance to dive in.

More Martian News

Ack-ack!

I heard today Mantic have teamed up with Topps to produce a Mars Attacks wargame. A little out of leftfield, but being a fan of  Mars Attacks (I liked the movie, so there) I am cautiously intrigued by this development. From Mantic-

 “MARS ATTACKS is a cult classic series that fans have been falling in love with generation after generation,” says Ronnie Renton, Mantic CEO. “Its oddball blend of retro sci-fi visuals, dark humor and over-the-top violence will make for a unique tabletop experience… our team can’t wait to bring the Martians to life in ways no one has ever seen before!”

I bought a big pile of Mantic undead, and I was involved in the Kings of War kickstarter, but I missed the boat on Dreadball. By many accounts a great game, but it was a little too clean and shiny for my taste. I'm more rusty rivets than gleaming chrome. The retro sci-fi pulp look of the Martians is pretty appealing, so I'll have to see how it pans out. Mantic seem to have a lot of balls in the air, I hope they have enough hands to catch them all.

However, if Mantic are clever enough to make clear dome helmets to pop on the Martian soldiers after you paint their heads I would be hard pressed to resist picking some up.

Uuuuuuu-lllaaaaaa!

In other Martian news, the Alien Dungeon's All Quiet on the Martian Front kickstarter is heading toward the $150,000 stretch goal. It's been a little sluggish the last couple of days, but with the freebies being handed out at the next stretch it's getting to be a very nice proposition for all you Martian tripod fans.

With news of new factions and special characters such as the red Martian and war machines like the Thunderchild 2 land ironclad, it's evident Alien Dungeon are in for the long haul. Being a HUGE Jeff Wayne's musical fan (I detest musicals, but this one, this one has me) I am all over this like a rash. The fact the Rick Priestley and Alessio Cavatore are involved doesn't hurt none either. Check it out.

All Quiet on the Martian Front - Kickstarter Update

The All Quiet on the Martina Front kickstarter go off to a huge start last week with it achieving the base funding level in a few hours. Currently over at around $116,000, pledge levels have tailed off over the last couple of days, but since then, Alien Dungeon (one of the most responsive kickstarters I've been involved with) have totally re-jigged the stretch goals and some of the pledges, and the amount of free stuff has gone up several notches.

The miniatures (especially the Martian tripods, and let's face it, if they sucked, this would be over) look great, and as recent scale shots posted up have shown, are way, way bigger than I first thought for a 15mm game. The assault tripods are 6" tall, for example.

Anyone who has even a passing interest in War of the Worlds or general steampunkery should give this a look see, even more so now that the stretch goals have had an update.