Hobby Update: Attack of the Giant Update!

     I've got another big update this week, thankfully it was a very productive week for hobby work and I was able to get a lot done. At long last the end of the Mars Attacks! project is in sight. That isn't to say that I'm finished, but the number of figures left to paint is manageable.

     First up is Sidney Rose on his flea, Henry. This was a fun figure to paint, particularly after reading the Attack from Space comic. I used the Vallejo Air Leather Brown primer as the basecoat for the flea and I was impressed with the result. I also experimented with Secret Weapon's washes for the first time, using their Sewer Water wash for the flea. I really like the colour and consistency of the wash, but it leaves a glossy finish once dry.

I didn't like this sculpt at first glance, but once painted, I think it looks really good. 

 I used Khorne Red as the basecoat for Sidney's suit. I wanted his outfit to look suitable tacky and ridiculous (as he works at a carnival, it seemed like a fitting choice). 

     I also cracked open the Intact Scenery from the Mars Attacks! Kickstarter. It can be a pain to put together, and the gaps left for the connectors look goofy when assembled. It's still some very functional,  easily accessible terrain and a great way to start off with urban terrain. I would recommend combining the ruined scenery with intact pieces for the best possible effect. 

Each two-story building I made has a door on the front and back of the building. I plan to play it with a houserule stating that models can move through the doors as part of their movement, and then end their movement on the second floor (this action would count as the model moving twice that round, so it couldn't shoot in the same round). 

As you can see, this building is a combination of ruined and intact building components. 

This building was made entirely from the intact scenery components. It looks good, but I like the partially ruined buildings more. I think I will paint this building up as either an ice-cream parlour or a florist's shop. I'm going to use some of the Army Painter Ivy in the hanging plant pot. 

     I also got some more work done on the Martian vehicles, and their pilots this week. I need to find a way to add some more colour to the robots, but I'm satisfied with the saucers as they are. 

I finished off Attack Saucer Numero Two this week, leaving only the resin Crashed Saucer terrain piece to be painted. 

The Big Stompy Robots are a little too paint for my liking as they currently are. I'm thinking about painting the tanks on their backs either red like the Martian infantry or black like their weapons. 

A giddy Martian, ready to smash the pathetic human resistance. 

     I painted up another resin car from the Mars Attacks! Kickstarter campaign. I used a tip from a reader, and used Citadel's Averland Sunset to clean up any unwanted black paint on the yellow surfaces. This proved to be very useful advice and I would recommend it to anyone working with a lot of yellow. 

The taxi is the most intact of the resin cars that I bought, and it leaves me wishing it was a little more smashed up. 

     I also wanted to paint up some more character models this week, so I finished up the Alternate Pose General Tor as well as General Zar from the Attack From Space expansion box. I was impressed with both figures, particularily General Zar. He will likely be my go-to model for using as a Martian general. 

I'm still working on Tor's cape to get the same transition effect on the front side. Red ink will be your friend if you decide to wet-blend something similar to this. 

Zar is a very plain yet characterful figure. He stands out from the rest of the Martian range without having too much added onto his sculpt. He's definitely one of my favourite Martian figures. 

     I finished the first five of my Martian Science Division figures this weekend. I'm looking forward to painting some of the more characterful poses, and I really like the design of their armour. These are great figures and add some colour variety to the Martian collection.

     Lastly, I've continued to paint the Warzone Resurrection Imperials and I've started on painting the Greyhound LAFV. In all honesty, this is one of the few models in this line of miniatures that I don't like. I just want to get it done so I can put in an order for the next batch of Imperials (of including a Hurrican Walker because those things are beautiful models). I painted the dirt onto the tracks using progressively lighter layers of brown applied with a sponge.