Grunt with Light Grenade Launcher

Over there!

Finished off the SWC box- and just as well as the paint brush I'm using is starting to lose its tip.

Grunt with Marksman Rifle

Almost sniper rifle.

I'm not a big fan of sniper rifles on link teams- I believe in throwing buckets of dice.  But since I'm running short on Grunts she will be part of the link until I paint up a few more.

Grunt with Heavy Flamer

Flame units only.  I want rifles slung.

Inferior infiltration with a heavy flamer.  And a shotgun... for close encounters....

For an essentially throw away unit it has the capability of being a real thorn in the enemy's side.

USAriadna: Grunt HMG

U mad, brah?

Some frantic painting got the Grunt SWC box sort of finished in time for last week's game.

Now I'm tidying them up for display.

The HMG is a great weapon though the only detracting thing about it is that it isn't an AP HMG.

AAR: Infinity: 300 Points: USAriadna vs. PanOceania- ITS2015 Supplies

Credit: Hakeem Rafai

It has been a little while since the last game of Infinity and I was keen on testing out the USAriadna miniatures that I have been painting.

My gaming group was also interested to see how they played as a faction and in my desperate rush to get 300 points onto the table I had do deploy some of my half finished models.  Boo!  The dice gods will punish me I'm sure!

We decided on playing Supplies as it is a reasonably straight forward mission and it proved to be a bloody match!

USAriadna: Antipode

Definitely Team Captain America in the Marvel Civil War

I finally finished this figure that has been sitting on my desk for weeks.

I was bothered by how difficult he would be to paint but with a bit of help from Angel Giraldez I got the job done with a good audio book kicking on in the background.

If any of you find it a chore to paint- try putting on an audiobook- and get it done!

USAriadna: Devil Dog

Finally had enough of being fed kibble.

Almost finished the USAriadna starter box.

Really happy with how this figure has turned out.  Great sculpt and the paint job is quite good too!  I have copied Angel Giraldez' step by step with a few minor tweaks and I'm quite happy with how it has all turned out.

Line Kazaks

I am very excite!

10 point cheerleaders are finally done.  

I can now field a viable Ariadnan force!

Old sculpts don't excite me but they turned out quite well with some paint.  I even had a left over Kazak from Total Reaction 2 2014 and I painted her to complete the set.  

So many goals acheived!

Foxtrot: Light Grenade Launcher

Old sculpt

I confess- I got fed up with this model and tried to finish it as hastily as possible.  

Compared to the new version it looks quite dated.

Tankhunter- AP HMG

Stop!  Snarks!

Another Tankhunter finished.  Armed with an armour piercing HMG he should (hopefully) put down any TAGs and Heavy Infantry that stray into range.

Being an older sculpt he is also a bit cartoony but at a distance he looks fine... that's good enough for me!

AAR: INFINITY: 300 points- Combined Army vs. PanOceania: N3- Highly Classified

Credit: Eduardo Gonzalez- "Battle for Yaletown".

It's time to cut the apron strings and try something new.

After spending some time painting some Shasvastii figures it was time to try out the Combined Army properly.

As I steadily painted more figures and rebased my Charontid (for N3) I did some further reading up on the Combined Army forums about its performance on the table top.  The chatter was not encouraging.  Low order pool.  Expensive elite units.  The consensus was that CA is a difficult faction to play.

Did someone just say difficult faction?  So I've moved from Morats to this?!

You're joking right?

Traktor Mul: Uragan and Katyusha

WALL-E gets an upgrade.

The club challenge was to paint models for the month of October.

I had been putting off painting these models for ages.  My excuse was that I was waiting for an airbrush to be able to highlight the domes of the remotes....

... Well the airbrush finally arrived and I could no longer make excuses.

I present the Traktor Muls!

Tankhunter- ADHL

Glueing down Snarks in The Zone.

An old sculpt- a bit cartoony- but still ok.

Getting away from USAriadna is a nice break.  A little bit of procrastination before hitting the big ticket models.

The Shrouded- Sniper.

I can Dere-lict my own balls!

Old sculpt.

Not a fan.

Not much more to say.

USAriadna: Maverick

Maverick... not Goose.

Well, I finished another model today.  

I'm going to count it as two- because it was so tricky to paint.

112 Doctor

That leg looks bad, let me help you with it.

Don't like the miniature, don't like the pose.

I'm not sure what it is about this guy that bothers me.  He would make a great 'survivor' miniature but as a member of an army... not so much.

Dozer- Combat Engineer

With Traktor Mul control device

Another figure completed.

This dainty figure is pretty good for an old sculpt.  I painted him in 'multicam' style to go with the USAriadna sectorial that is slowly building in size.

As a cheap specialist he will also allow me to bring some Urugan remotes and blast some armoured beasties to bits!

Roger Van Zant- Limited Edition

It won't hurt... much.

This guy is rather infamous to anyone who has played against Ariadna and had a nasty surprise walk on from an unprotected board edge.

One of my fellow club members was nice enough to put in a big order of Van Zant's for the lot of us during GENCON 2015 and I put in my order too.  I'm glad I did (despite the price tag) as he has turned out to be quite a nice model!

Tournament: MOAB 2015: Return of the Morats

I didn't choose the Soglife, the Soglife chose me.

I'm not a big fan of tournaments because I've found myself pretty crappy at tournament style tight games.  I'm much more suited to casual dice rolling and spending lots of time looking up rules without a time limit.

That being said, there was a call for players and with the TO being a fellow club mate I felt obliged to dive in with my alien ultra-facists.

I had two goals at this tournament- win a painting prize AND not come last.

Yes, this same time last year my Morats came dead last!

USAriadna: Marauder with Flamer

AVP- Colonial Marine flamer unit.

Just kidding- it's a Marauder from USAriadna with some strong Aliens overtones.  He even looks slightly Imperial Guard Kasrkin.  Either way those flamers are good for burning those pesky aliens away!

I was not very keen on this miniature at first but now the coats of paint are on he looks much better than how I envisaged him and can't wait to use him on the table top.

USAriadna: "Newport" Foxtrot

I like my tactical sunglasses.

And another USAriadna miniature finished!

It would seem my Ariadna is becoming heavily biased towards USARF- but I am a stickler for finishing things in lots- so despite not being particularly game ready it is very satisfying!

USAriadna: Minuteman

Frankly, My Dear, I don't give a damn!

So I finished this figure in a matter of two days- probably because he is primarily composed of armour plating.  Oh, to be painting Space Marines once again... *sigh*.

I wasn't too keen on this model's moustache.  It made him look like something out of Gone With The Wind.  I like helmets, goggles and balaclavas.  So despite shaping up to be a 70s Pornstar dressed in a kettle, I pressed on with getting him prepped.

I didn't approve of the colour scheme being sand rather than green- (being a bit of an aspergoid OCD nut)- but when your Minutemen are virtually indistinguishable from Mararuders or Grunts... that simply will not do.

I bit the bullet and painted him the Studio Giraldez way....

USAriadna: Grunt 3

Two days past eighteen, he was waiting for the bus in his Army greens...

Finally!

After a big interruption from work I got some time to sit myself down and finish off my last Grunt from the USAriadna starter set.

USAriadna: Grunt 2

Say you'll remember me...

Finished another Grunt.

Unfortunately I painted a 'resting bitch face' on the figure- I'm sure this Grunt is actually a pretty chill figure to shoot aliens with.

USAriadna: Grunt

Digging in on the Cadian Gate.

USAriadna!  I apologise for the rubbish photo as the camera on the iPhone is finding it hard to focus in on the model.

As I was painting this guy up- trying out different techniques- I was struck by how similar he looked to the Cadians of the Imperial Guard.  Which is just as well.  Because I've always had a soft spot for Imperial Guard....

But enough reminiscing- would you like a delivery of Freedom?

INFINITY AAR: 200pts- Ariadna vs. Panoceania: Frontline ITS2015

Spetsnaz... (credit: CoD4).

It has been too long since there's been a game of Infinity on this blog.  On this occasion I was lucky enough to host a game for two of my gaming buddies- one of whom has been steadily building an Ariadnan force.  With many weeks of ceaseless painting- it was time to see the force in action!

Ariadna seems to be the faction to beat (in some scenarios anyway) and I was very interested to see the match up.

I pulled up a chair, charged the camera and broke out the popcorn- it was time to be entertained...

Malignos with Combi-Rifle

Combi-rifle could be a sniper rifle

This guy came with the original Combined Army starter set from when I started Infinity a few years ago.  He has sat in his packaging forlornly watching a procession of figures get painted but now his time has come.

His right hand and weapon looks 'frosted'- and that is from excessive Testors Dullcote.  That's what happens so use it sparingly!

Yaogat Panzerfausts: Crassus 2.0 and Octavian 2.0

Panzerfausts!

I hate batch painting but sometimes it just has to be done.

Today I finished off varnishing two Yaogats with MSV2 and panzerfausts.  My solution to everything camo and armoured.

They've been a real pain in the neck to finish (just a motivation thing- the figures are actually fine) but I'm glad I've only got another 5 new version Yaogats to go.  *sigh*

Shasvastii Noctifer Spitfire

XCOM: UFO Defence- Infinity Edition

I've finally decided to expand the Combined Army into something more than just EI and Morats.  Having been on the receiving end of ODD and TO for so long, I figured it was about time to bring some of these snake/ frog people along!

Morat Yaogat Spitfire: Caesar 2.0

Beefy spitfire in hand.

The Yaogats have been hitting their macros and sticking with their lifting program in N3 because the days of being a skinny DYEL aliens are over....

High burst weaponry and MSV2- what's there not to like?

Veteran Kazak: "Strelok"

Get out of here, STALKER.

This has to be one of my most favourite Infinity models of all time.

Reminds me a lot of STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl- a sand box FPS with RPG elements and bullet physics!  I must have lost weeks of my life to that game... in fact, I might boot it up right now!

Fractaa Drop Troop: Elissa

Attack of the psuedo Asari

Finally finished off the Combined Army starter set.

There are a few areas to clean up but the Fractaa is ready for the table top.

Unidrons

Now I'm Free.  There are no strings on me.

I finally completed my three Unidrons of the Combined Army starter pack.

The official scheme is uninspiring to say the least and I wasn't to sure how to translate my other Combined Army paint schemes over onto the Unidrons.  After a bit of experimenting I'm now happy with the end result.

Empress Miniatures: British LSW and the Pseudo-Multicam Recipe

Table top standard.

Finished the last of my Empress Miniatures from 3 years ago.

What a good feeling... until I looked at the rest of my lead pile.

Modern Combat: SAS

Fancy gear... not even once.

Another batch of Empress Miniatures finally completed.

I wasn't a big fan of these figures but now they're painted I think they look OK.

The 'studio' miniatures were painted in civilian clothes however I am in a rush to paint my Unidrons for the Combined Army so I gave up trying to be original and painted these SAS in cam.

Modern Combat: British Javelin ATGM Team

Better than a pipe bomb.

I finished off the support pack from Empress Miniatures a week ago but the weather hasn't been good enough for photo taking.

I quite like the finished product- the yellow High Explosive colour band on the launcher gives it quite a nice look!

AAR: INFINITY: 300 points- PanOceania vs. Ariadna: N3- Biotechnovore

Cultural learnings of PanOceania for make benefit for Glorious Country of Ariadna

I confess... I've been a bit Infinity'd out lately.

Lots of games- predominantly resulting in dreadful drubbings for the Morats- had left me steadily drained of any enthusiasm to play.  And with no new Morat releases arrived as yet, the painting table has been occupied with 28mm Moderns and Space Marines.

We had a gaming meet recently and despite my Morats getting their usual dose of crushing defeat- I have to say I had a very good time!  I was also lucky enough to be able to watch a game as well, so on with the reporting!    

Empress Miniatures: British Infantry

Force on Force or Chain of Command: Fighting Season

Despite being run into the ground with a heinous work schedule, I've endeavoured to clean up my painting desk of models that have sat for THREE YEARS waiting for a paint job.

I was quite happy with progress... until I read that CoC requires thirty infantry!  THIRTY!  And not just grunts, but medics, combat engineers and bomb detection dog to boot.

I guess batch painting is the way to go then....

Space Hulk: Sergeant Gideon and Brother Leon

Finally playable!

I finished the last of the two Space Marines- giving me two squads of 5 Terminators.

I finished them in time for my friends and I to give Space Hulk a go.  Unfortunately things didn't go well for the Blood Angels and they lost twice in a row!  Space Hulk reminds me very much of a tower defence game- using storm bolters to cover long corridors and keeping the heavy weapons to clean out the rooms.

The Blood Angels will never stop though.  Onwards!

Space Hulk: Brother Omnio, Brother Goriel and Brother Scipio

Tearing it up.

Another week done and another 3 Terminators completed.

I'll hopefully have the last squad of 5 completed soon- and then it'll be time to play Space Hulk!

Space Hulk: Sergeant Lorenzo & Brother Zael

Don't make me use my Pimp Hand!

I finished another two Terminators- bringing my monthly tally to 5!

That's one more than my monthly quota- which is very good progress.  Ahead of schedule is a good schedule for me as the Yaogats are due to be released in two months by Corvus Belli.

Space Hulk: Brother Noctis, Brother Deino, Brother Valencio

In the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millennium...

They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give themselves to me. 
Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war forge them. 
They will be of iron will and steely muscle. 
In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. 
They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. 
They will have tactics, strategies and machines such that no foe can best them in battle. 
They are my bulwark against the Terror. 
They are the Defenders of Humanity. 
They are my Space Marines and they shall know no fear.
--The Emperor of Mankind.

I've always loved Space Hulk- one of my favourite board games of all time.

However, with Infinity taking up a lot of my time I just haven't been able to get the Space Hulk figures painted (a personal requirement I have before playing with them).

I don't normally paint board game figures but these were so nice I just had to do it.  Thus it had sat in its shrink wrap for over 5 months!!!

There will never be a good time to do this.  The Combined Army will have to wait- for a few weeks anyway.

AAR: INFINITY: 200 points- Combined Army vs. ALEPH Steel Phalanx: N3- Supremacy

"As we reach for the farthest of stars, total annihilation is upon us."

It has been some time since my small gaming group had played a game of Infinity.

As part of the motivation to get our painting completed we had penned in this occasion as a welcome party for the newly painted models.

I have been dabbling a bit with the vanilla Combined Army lately and my friend had just finished some Myrmidons- so it was decided... to battle!

Maakrep Tracker: Dido

MSV2

I'm not too fond of the Sygmaa.  They have too many buckles and they wear high heels.

Ridiculous.

Now there is some confusion as to whether this Maakrep is carrying a HMG or a Multi-sniper rifle.  Considering they cost exactly the same- 33 points and 1.5 SWC- it makes that ambiguity quite convenient!

Sphinx: "Fulminata"

Armoured Recon

Did I ever tell you that I *hate* TO camo?

Now I have my own!!!!

I present- the Sphinx!  A hidden deployment, TO camouflage, spitfire wielding, climbing plus monster.  And for over 100 points, it had better be good!

Sogarat HMG: Tacitus

They make a desert and they call it peace.

Finally... finally... it has arrived!

I was hoping this model would come in early January for a 400point tournament but life likes to throw in little hurdles.

The good thing is- with no time pressure- I didn't have to rush the paint job!

Umbra Legate: Hannibal

You have failed me for the last time, Admiral.

With the new Combined Army starter set released so recently, I was very excited to expand on my little Combined Army (Morats not withstanding).

Looking rather suspiciously like a Sith Lord, I had to paint him like the Star Wars villains.

AAR: INFINITY: 400pts- MAF vs. Yu-Jing: N3- Armoury

Yu-Jing

With the daunting prospect of my first tournament at 400 points looming, I went looking for some practice games.

Luckily, one of the guys at the local gaming club indulged me with a match.  He brought along his Yu-Jing- an army I had never faced before.  Another plus!  With the advent of N3, Yu-Jing is the Heavy Infantry faction.

And just remind me, what was it with which I had such big problems?

Camo?  And- oh yes- multi-wound Heavy Infantry!

This was going to be interesting....

Terrain: CNC Workshop- Desert Buggies

No turret mounted HMGs or MLs... yet.

Some more scatter terrain for the coming tournament.

These are Desert Buggies from CNC Workshop.  I don't like them nearly as much as the Police Tactical Vehicle nor the Heavy Forklift for two main reasons.

1.  Irritating to assemble- Front suspension needing a lot of glue to weld to the rear suspension piece.
2. Overall blocky aesthetic- with obvious panels.

That being said, they are two vehicles to one pack and they'll do the job of being scatter terrain on the road.

Terrain: Industrial Fork Lift

Ferrari fork lift

Another bit of terrain I finished off.

My gaming group is in the process of fixing up a table for the next tournament so I've found myself putting stuff together that has sat around collecting dust for months!

This is another MDF terrain kit from CNC Workshop.  Originally, I wasn't too enthused at attempting another vehicle but I'm glad I did this one as it's a great kit!