Sudsy builds: Mad Robot Miniatures Custom Fireteam

[Sudsy]

Greetings Zealots!

I'm took a break from building card stock based armor to wash up some resin 28mm miniatures I ordered from a great American miniature maker, Mad Robot Miniatures. Mad Robot specializes in giving you fully configurable modular fireteams (5 troopers), squads (10 troopers), command squads (about 5 troopers, with specialists like the guidon bearer, commander, radioman, etc), and heavy weapons teams. Anyone familiar with one of the most popular science fiction table top games (in a gothic grim dark universe...) will instantly recognize the source of organization...

I picked a team that has a more near future look about them. Mad Robot is obviously a garage kit manufacturer. All the parts are resin cast by a small shop (one guy, in a garage...), and will require some extensive clean up. Well, that shouldn't shock anyone who deals with resin kits now will it?



On my invoice, you can see my selections from their catalog. MOLLE vest torsos (MOLLE [MOdular Lightweight Load bearing Equipment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOLLE ] being the current NATO load bearing equipment that allows for pouches to be mounted to a vest in a modular manner).



Mad Robot provides 25mm bases, they are solid cast black resin, and very much identical to the current industry standard bases. Not sure how I like the solid cast though... Perhaps I've been conditioned?




I like the MOLLE vest torsos. They fit my tactical aesthetics very well (after having worn MOLLE myself in bad places and coming out the other end of the deployment in tact...). Lots of room for using epoxy to sculpt up some pouches! Nope, not buying any.



I went with good ol' fashioned fatique arms and legs and topped off the fellas by having them wear boonie covers. To me, that matches the Flak Armor protection better than the 'standard' soldiers of the guard in the official game anyway (who are wearing something more armored, and should be considered in carapace). Clearly, I've got some light fighters on my hands. A team of recon soldiers, scouts.



Which brings me to the primary weapon of choice, Luminous CQ Rifles! Clearly, they are the SF equivelent to the trusty M-4 carbine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M4_carbine) I used to carry. Again, there will likely be some scratch building for at least one under barrel grenade launcher, and maybe some CQB red dot holographic sights (Aimpoint anyone?), and the usual recon/scout toys like IR pointers (and since it is SF, in the right game system, designation equipment for terminal guidance of aerial/space munitions).

So far, I don't think I'd hesitate to order from Mad Robot again! American miniature makers are few and far between compared to their European counterparts, and it is always refreshing to find them here and not wonder about International shipping! That said, I've got zero problems with dealing with that issue if I can get the miniature I want a good price... Mad Robot got me the best of both worlds with this build, domestic shipping, and decent price.

 

[Sudsy]

So, when I say Mad Robot Miniatures matches my tactical aesthetics, I mean it. Little details make it. Like where the index finger is placed in a model that is not firing a weapon at something it is intending to destroy. That, and how many commanders are modeled actually using this, the most simple of, tactical hand signals?!



So, I figured I'd show off the resin Mad Robot next to a Guardsman. Scale is about the same. The modular pieces can be interchanged rather well!

 

[Sudsy]

Currently, I've paused this project for the moment. I've ordered some more bits from Mad Robot (canteens, another whole squad, that kinda of stuff). My plan is to sculpt whatever I didn't order (magazine pouches, drop-leg holstered side arms, etc). Still going to fit in the Resin thread here? If not, let me know.

 

[Gandolf50]

You Bet! ...you could add glitter and ostrich plumes and it would still be a greeble! A bizarre one ...but a GREEBLE! Something my daughter would do!

 

[zathros]

Those are really neat!! I had a guy that came with a Tamaya model I had. I had a loop on (10X) and in painting the face, all of a sudden, it looked like a guy I knew name Ernshaw. He was tolerated, but really kind of a jerk. Everyone who came over my apartment would be treated to WWII Ernshaw, till finally word got back to him. I never did let him see himself, just a way of bothering him, but 30 or so people saw that model, and all agreed. I'm sure other people have done this. Quite the squad you have there.

 

[Sudsy]

So, once again, I needed a break from paper after this last push, and started something different. To go with my troops that I've posted, I got three bikes from Mad Robot and started putting them together.

I'm quite happy! Here I show my work flow from bike assembly and fit-up of the rider, through basing with my model railroad supplies, to priming it all and getting it ready to paint. A days worth of work (and was snowed in good this weekend, had a 1 meter drift in my back yard and about as much blocking my driveway this morning).

Maybe all that snow has me wishing for sun, which is why these bikes are going to be painted in desert camo!

 

[Sudsy]

So, when I was editing these posts re-inserting pictures, I found where I posted about the bikes! I've since gotten them finished back in May when I was working on that armored car and came across how I wanted to paint the tires with sand and dust effects:



I used a thin burnt umber acrylice to get into the crevices of the vehicle, and then painted the rest of the details. The tires were painted with the same paint mixture as my Panhard tires.

 

[zathros]

Nice job. The detailing really makes the models stand out.

 

[Sudsy]

Heavy weapons team. So, I now have about a platoon (reinforced) taskforce in the works...

 

[Sudsy]

Talk about a bit of scale creep here... Started out as a five man fireteam sized element, now I have nearly a platoon of these guys! My 2020 Resolution has been to reduce my 'lead pile' by painting what I have (and attempting NOT to purchase anything until I do).

Here is my test of the desert uniform these guys will wear. Based on tri-color desert combat uniform (DCU) used by the US military from the mid-90's through the mid-00's.

I first attempted to use kahki paint. EPIC FAIL!



Almost would have been better with strait yellow, I thought a curious simian would pop out looking for his keeper...



Trail tan, heavily used in my vehicle construction projects, once again proved to be what I needed as a base for the miniatures. Maybe I should have gone darker with it as a base coat, but in the end, I think they look sharp anyway. 28mm scale is small enough I do not 'need' too many shades and highlight variations of a single color! I will save such detailing for 54mm figures, or vehcile models!



Once again, it's Ivory to lighten up the Trail Tan. Territorial Beige provided the base for the boots (matching the suede of the current boots as well for ACU/Multi-Cam projects), and provided splotch pattern paint along with Raw Sienna. Upper Left of this pallette is my burnt umber mixed with model railroad ballast for texturing bases with a dark finish to the earth tones. I end up dry brushing the camo colors I listed above to simulate the desert terrain on the burnt umber base layer. So far so good.

Here are the first couple of miniatures in DCU!



Today's progress:

 

[Sudsy]

So, the results of painting... My observer (personal favorite, I must relate well to the fella with the radio on his back....) and the heavy weapons team armed with a laser cannon (Lascannon in 40k parlance).

 

[Sudsy]

My first two bikers, and my other bike at the moment...

 

[Sudsy]

Tonight, I got some building done. You will recognize our fireteam leader, and the final biker with a KG-9 SMG (counts as auto-pistol).

 

[Revell-Fan]

These look great! At this scale it is easy to overdo the weathering. You know how to paint things. thumbsup

 

[zathros]

Looks like you're tooling up for a battle!!

 

[Sudsy]

Looks like you're tooling up for a battle!!

Indeed, I'm 'getting there' with the first phase being a fan created faction for Gorkamorka called the 'Dustrats' where they will only be about a squad level unit in various vehicles. Heavy weapons guy is there for expanding this core force into something more viable for 'vanilla' 40K game or other SF wargames (Stargrunt II, FUBAR, etc...).

 

[Sudsy]

As seen in the background of my Tauros build, some more members of this fire team that is growing into a platoon...

Tonight I finished up the Squad Leader, a three man...er.... Ogryn (Ogres in space in the Warhammer 40K universe), and last biker. All that remains for these is to give these a nice clear coat.

 

[Sudsy]

Oops, forgot to add this guy to that picture stack!

Bone 'ead Ogryn Squad Leader!