Star Wars Imperial Assault- Imperial forces

Here's the baddest dude of them all, Darth Vader. I used some slightly too subtle blues and greys to highlight his cloak and armour, and gloss varnished the eyepieces. I worked on his lightsaber and the glow effect using what I had learnt from his 15mm version. I'm quite happy with the outcome.

Darth Vader

Showing a bit more of the lightsaber glow effect

"I shall call him... Mega-Me!"

"There can be only one!"

The Stormtroopers were a real slog, but worth it for these iconic minions. I was influenced by Sorastro's Stormtrooper painting guide video. I used a black wash over a white undercoat, then went back and picked out all the white bits again. I got this stage down to about 30-40 minutes per figure.

Stormtroopers

The E-Web Engineers (dreadful name) were painted the same as the Stormtroopers.

E-Web Engineers

The probe droids are cool. It is hard to tell if the 'real thing' are black, metal, dark grey or dark olive. I went for a dark olive, and used gloss varnish on the lenses.

Probe Droids

I like the officers' leather gloves and jackboots, and the rank badges are nice as well. I don't know Imperial badges of rank; any pointers here gratefully received!

Imperial Officers

The Royal Guard look awesome and implacable, but somehow seem a little improbable given that they're the Emperor's personal guard and I don't think they should be turning up all over the place. I used Army Painter Soft Tone wash over the AP Pure Red spray undercoat, then highlighted the cloak with Pure Red and the very edges of the helmet with a tanned skin colour. Gloss varnish to the visor.

Royal Guard

I don't like painting vehicles, but the AT-ST was easier than I had anticipated. Over a grey basecoat I washed it black then drybrushed it with lighter grey. I used a sponge for a chipping effect. I gave a dusty wash to the feet which came out OK. The head pivots and the chin guns can be elevated and depressed.

AT-ST

Next time: the Mercenary faction.

'The Great War' crowdfunder; Peter Jackson's 54mm Perry WW1 project

I was very pleasantly surprised earlier this week to hear of The Great War crowdfunder, which has already reached its funding goal. This is a joint effort between Richard Borg (Commands and Colors series designer) and Will Townshend (Plastic Soldier Company). This is, in essence, a WW1 C&C game with plastic 15mm miniatures. That alone was good enough to get me on board.

(Prototype only- board will be laminated and not have a white border.)

Here's some of what I have gleaned about official plans and the future for the game:

• Double sided laminated board, with grass on one side and mud/ shellscape on the other.
• Future expansions to include sandy board for Palestine/ Gallipoli
• Future 'factions': US, Turks, ANZAC, French, Russian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian
• Early War at some point
• Airplanes
• Artillery
• AFV expansions featuring tanks and armoured cars
• 'Epic' double-board games

I'm behind this game. I'm a fan of the C&C games (see here for proof) and I have a few PSC products which have been great. 15mm is my favourite scale. The Kickstarter closes 09 Mar 2015- click here to have a look!

Whilst I'm doing a post about other people's stuff and WW1, I must mention 'Mustering the Troops'. Here's the breakdown:

• 4000 54mm NZ and Turkish troops in an epic WW1 diorama
• Supported by Peter Jackson
• Sculpted by the Perry twins
• All figures painted by Kiwi gamers
• To be released on an unsuspecting public for Anzac Day, the 100th anniversary of the Anzac landings 25 April 2015

Painted by David Houston of Canterbury, NZ

I am completely on the wrong side of the ditch here, and wish my Kiwi colleagues the best of luck with their choice project, bro!