Saturday 5 September 2015

15mm Sci Fi - Task Force Andromeda

This is a good example of two things - why darker drab colours are seldom great for 15mm (I tried to brighten it but not enough, obviously); and my "solid drybrush" method I use on my 15mm vehicles.

Basically this consists of painting all the larger flat upper surfaces with a lighter tone and leaving the dark wash areas alone.  It looks crappy up close but nice from tabletop distance. 

I did this because I feel the usual "edge highlighting" looks unrealistic on vehicles, compared to on infantry.  And the other day at the gaming shop carpark I was struck by how vehicles are always really bright on the roof/bonnet/boot. 

I named it Task Force Andromeda to remind myself to playtest the Fireteam Andromeda rules next time I take out my 15mm toys for some exercise...

Antenociti makes the best APCs in 15mm

The mecha are Rebel Minis (who have the best postage rates in 15mm) chosen for their vaguely Soviet feel

The recon squad travels by scout car - again from Antenociti. You can see where I have avoided the places where ink has pooled (like roof hatches) to exaggerate detail

The infantry is by GZG. The whole platoon was hastily painted in ~2hrs between long stints of being forced to play in my toddler's sand table. (She's bossier than her mum!)

What I like about 15mm, besides the freedom to mix-and-match, is the price.  ~$60 for this fully-mechanised platoon.

If you want to see the opposing force (and how lighter paint schemes look better), see Task Force Weasel.

11 comments:

  1. I don't know. That darker scheme looks great against the desert backdrop. More contrast should make recognition of the units easier during game time.

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  2. I think they look good but as someone mentioned, they do work better on the light background and with bright bases.

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  3. This is actually the same color scheme I am using. Mine was chosen as a deliberate homage to the "Tan versus Green" plastic army soldiers of my youth.

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    1. I was channeling a French-Russian vibe, actually, with the tan backpack on the olive = WW2 Russian, and the red visors = red star.

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  4. Nice force and well painted. I know what you mean about the drab appearance. That is one of the reason I like to tray and add some sort of camp effect in a contrasting colour to brighten them up a little.

    I like the Rebel Minis mecha too - and just got some also :-D

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  5. Have you had the APCs hanging around for a while? I am furiously searching the internet for a place to order those, but can't find them anywhere.

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    1. 99% sure they came from here, but can't see them
      http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/

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  6. I can't find them there either. Annoying as they look stunning.

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    1. Sometimes they do "runs" of stock - they don't do their own casting as far as I know. Once I wanted a bunch of minis and couldn't get them as they were "out of stock" for a few months.

      Khurasan has some nice stuff. Maybe shop there for a consolation prize :-)

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  7. Wonderful force for a great game. It's a shame that Fireteam Androemda remained a ruleset for insiders. I recently played it and had a blast of a game!

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