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| Strikedog on the left and a Blood Sucker on the right. |
After Dragonmeet I can now relax a bit and paint something other than OGRE/GEV miniatures for a while. So here are my work in progress pictures of two VOTOMS I've been working on. These are painted up using the British Army on the Rhine Berlin Brigade pattern, but with a different colour pallette.
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Still a little bit more work to do around tidying up the guns that got a bit of over paint on them.
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| The Blood Sucker fins on the shoulders are supposed to be communication aerials. |
As you can all probably imagine these were quite fiddly to do, and all done free hand with no masking tape. The models are so small that using masking tape for the camo pattern would have been a nightmare.
Does this I'm getting into Heavy Gear? Yes it does. While BattleTech remains my first love, and the mechs from Fang of the Sun Dougram are my favourites, I also like VOTOMS too, and as Freddie would say I want it all. Of course this means I will have to paint a lot more gears, as mechs are called in Heavy Gear, but that is a burden I think I can bear?
So I have a bunch more of the Takara VOTOMS on a tray waiting to be painted. However, I'm still going to need an OPFOR, so I just ordered from Dream Pod 9 a pack of NuCoal Jerboa gears and some spare weapons for conversions from them. After getting a copy of Life on Terra Nova at the weekend I've been catching up with the background universe that Heavy Gear is set in. While I'm drawn towards the Southern factions, because they look most like VOTOMS, because I have a load of real VOTOMS I thought I would go with using NuCoal gears for my OPFOR.
I like the look of the Jerboa gears, which was why I chose NuCoal as a force. My VOTOMS will represent a Southern Milicia unit. More updates in due course, and some pictures of the two VOTOMS that Jon from GZG gave me that I have now assembled.
Very cool Ashley, I really like these.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I was wondering if anyone would comment, so thank you again. Not that I get anxious when I don't get feedback, but being British I think no comment means no good. :-)
DeleteAlso, I notices a couple of panels I missed after posting these, and went back and did them. Have tidied up the paintwork on the guns, and now they need varnishing. Then some decals, and a coat of Dullcote to finish. Almost done, for definitions of almost that mean a lot of fiddling around.
I like the color palette - it's similar to what you used on your Ogres - and the pattern you picked. Puts me in mind of new toy robots that are assembled from a hundred tiny, candy-colored pieces.
ReplyDeleteSo they are cute and yummy looking? ;-)
DeleteHaha, yes! Exactly.
DeleteOh! I forgot to say, I've heard nothing but good things about Heavy Gear. It seems to be about the same level of complexity as QuickStrike or MechWarrior Clix. So I'll be curious to hear if it addresses any of the issues with those that you've been looking at.
ReplyDeleteI understand Heavy Gear had a TV show, but I don't how much relation it bears to the game or the splatbooks.
We got the Heavy Gear DVD dirt cheap off eBay. Its redeeming feature was that it was dirt cheap. Seriously, my Godson, and Oliver would both love it, but the lack of a story that is more than we will fight you now is a bit wearisome.
DeleteGood animation for the time it was made, and it does have a real VOTOMS feel about it, but the characters are less than satisfyingly round and developed. Shame really, as it could have been a real winner. Insert moan here about how good money and talent is poured into something that has no real story.
AS for the game, I have yet to play it. Must find time and someone willing to play with me.
If you've seen the BattleTech cartoon or Starship Troopers: Roughneck Chronicles, would you say it's on par with, or worse than those?
DeleteBetter than the BT cartoon by a country mile. Animation as good as the Roughnecks, but story is thinner than a very thin thing indeed.
DeleteAshley, I think you are less a gamer that likes to paint than a painter who happens to game. You have almost as much stuff to do over in the corner as I do.
ReplyDeleteHave you noticed how our standards rise over the years? And how much it delays actually playing with the stuff? I have stuff so lovingly assembled and painstakingly painted that it has never actually seen play.
Come to think of it, that's kind of sad.
I'm of the notion that I paint, because when I have a bit of spare time it is easy to sit down and do so. Whereas, if I want to play a game I either need to organise people to come around and play, or go somewhere to play. Either way on that involves time and money.
DeleteSo the cheapest games night out would be going to a games club in town. About 45 minutes each way on public transport, and don't even think about driving in London, which would cost me about $10. So I would get a couple of hours playing games versus just stay at home and paint for three to four hours instead, and saving myself $10.
I enjoy both parts of the hobby, but painting is cheaper. I still think I'm someone who likes to play games, its just that I'm old enough that the time and effort seems to cost too much.
Just spotted these little gems you have posted up- all done freehand? In that case, top effort Ashley, very nicely executed. I expect people were slow to comment because they were gobsmacked (for your British followers!)
ReplyDeleteOh well, I'm really flattered. Thank you.
DeleteI've Liebstered you for your services to Battletech http://oldschoolminiaturesbulletin.blogspot.com/2012/12/liebster-awards.html
ReplyDeleteThank you. Fred over at Lead Reckoning did it to me too, so I've done my bit to pass the love along.
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