The Gang's All Here

Whilst I've been plugging away through Fallout 3, I've also slowly finished off my last three Raiders for Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.

Admittedly, getting distracted by looking for my dad, looking in every filing cabinet in Washington DC and being a goddamn hero (must be true, Three Dog said so) has impacted on my painting pace, however I was reluctant to approach these three due to the volume of straps combined with bare flesh (which is hard to fix if I mess up the straps) made them something I wasn't overly keen to dive into.

However, once I began I found these three to be more uniform than they initially appeared, clearly having been based on the same 3d model in the sculpting process, which has simply been posed differently and had head and weapon swaps.

This meant that once I'd been through the first, I could ignore the concern that I would miss straps given that I knew where they all were.

After realising this, they seems less daunting. Therefore, after painting the skin (Gulliman Flesh or Wyldwood - any better suggestions for a contrast paint suitable for darker skin tones?) and picking a coloured for the trousers, I simply picked out all the straps in Mournfang Brown and the metal in Leadbelcher and gave everything but the skin a wash in Agrax Earthshade.

I still might go back and pick out some of the tiny cords round their legs in a brighter colour, but I'm concerned that this will draw attention to how similar they actually are.

Of the three, I prefer the pose of this one, a 'Psycho'. Not only was it significantly easier to paint, but it's also quite imposing. It's also significantly less likely to loose its fragile weapons than the other two.

I once again went for Hexwraith Flame on the single eye-lens to add some contrast to and focus to a model without a face.

And here's the completed Raider Core Box, along with my ancient Grenadier model, who fits in pretty well. Close up he's a bit bulkier, but his face not being visible (and highlighting the different sculpting aesthetic) helps him to blend in.

I think I'll be using him as a Psycho Outlaw, which is a tougher version of the Psycho profile, to explain his much more muscular physique.

That means I've now painted all the Fallout minis I own, and I can field four factions to a decently playable size. I am interested in picking up more in due course, especially now I know who some of the named characters are. However, I'm going to try to get some games played before investing too heavily.

Having said that, I do have an idea to add a bit more life to my wasteland in the form of a couple more proxies creatures based on the contents of my Lead Mountain.

Acquired: 28
Painted: 255
Lead Mountain: 828

Sisterhood of Steal

One of the things I like about Fallout is that despite retaining lots of 1950s sensibilities and style, the game designers have wisely jettisoned most the discriminatory attitudes of the era regarding race and gender (although there are a number of female characters whose role appears to be 'servicing' men's needs).

Therefore, the bloodthirsty raiders you regularly encounter who want to dismember your corpse and string the remains up from a nearby bridge are just as likely to be women as men.

The same is true of the miniatures in the Raiders Core box from Fallout: Wasteland Warfare. Three of the five miniatures are female, including the leader, a Veteran Raider in salvaged power armour.

I should note that the racial mix is equally diverse, although I've opted to go for Caucasian skin on both of these miniatures as I wanted some contrast on these fairly dark models.

I'm starting to get the hang of painting Raiders now. Pick colours for trousers and top; pick out leather straps in Mournfang Brown; paint all metal in Leadbelcher; wash in Agrax Earth shade; do skin and other details.

I've taken to giving a very light drybrush with Ushabti Bone when I'm doing the bases, just to pick up a few more details and give them a dusty look.

I could arguably spend a lot more time on these miniatures, but the level of detail is good enough that I'm able to get away with a simple approach.

The Veteran Raider was a bit more involved that the Brotherhood of Steel models in Power Armour. The reason is that Raiders living in the wastes are much less likely to have the expertise or equipment to maintain their suits properly, something that's reflected in the reduced effect of Raider Power Armour.

The first step was giving it a coat of a darker metal Leadbelcher again) and a wash with Agrax Earth shade to give it a dirty, almost rusted look.

I then picked out a few panels with Brass Scorpion, washed them again and hit them with some Nihilakh Oxide to creat a corroded effect. I also popped a few patches of Typhus Corrosion which Was drybrushed with Ryza Rust. Finally I gave the whole thing a light drybrush with a brighter silver to hit the edges.

The hair was done pink to imitate the box art (which I presume was done for contrast) and then I added a bit of warpaint to make her a bit more feral.

I'm again pleased with how the Raiders are coming along. I have four of the seven done, but I'm going to take my time with the other three as there's a fair bit of exposed skin which means I'll have to be a bit more careful.

Acquired: 28 

Painted: 252 

Lead Mountain: 831

Wasteland Vermin

As mentioned in my last post, I picked up some Raiders along with my Brotherhood of Steel as part of my post Fallout TV show impulse purchases.

Having actually started playing Fallout 3 (I've not played any of the games before), I've come to realise just how often you run into them, and a few other forms of vermin, as you wander the Wasteland.

Progress has been slower on the Raiders for a couple of reasons. 

Firstly, not only do the models have more to them than the Brotherhood of Steel, but given that they are meant to be somewhat ragtag, thought needs to go into colours to stop them being too uniform.

Secondly, did I mention I've been playing Fallout 3, and I've been quite engrossed in looking inside every desk and locker in Washington, which has an impact on painting time.

As stated previously, Raiders are a ubiquitous threat, popping up all over the place. They also seem to draw their influences from Mad Max (which seems to be the default setting for post-apocalyptic wastelands).

For example, whilst most of the gun toying savages I've slaughtered in game look like they should be worshipping Lord Humungus, the Scavver here seems to be styling himself on Max, with an outfit straight out of Main Force Patrol.

However, the Psycho has the big hair of Beyond the Thunderdome. In fact, the multi-coloured and wackily-styled hair seems to be another trope of grim dark futures, which suggests that even in the worst circumstances, hairdressers will always have a secure future.

I went with a more vibrant hair colour (and the glowing eye lenses) to give a bit of pop to what was otherwise a drab colour palette, and I'm.pleased with the outcome. It suits the crazy vibe of someone who gets hopped up on drugs to go on a murderous rampage (mind you, I shouldn't judge, I'm currently addicted to Med-X, Buffout and Jet).

Bloatflies were the first denizens of the Wasteland I encountered upon leaving the vault (the Radroaches were encountered before leaving), and as I've had this metal fly knocking around in my bits box for a long time, it seemed fitting to add to my own corner of the Fallout universe, particularly as it seems to be pretty much the same model as one of the official resin ones.

I've gone off piste with the paint job, merging the green eyes and black body of different types of Bloatfly, but I like the contrast. It's pinned to the rock, which is actually cork coated in texture paint, from a hole in it's feet, suggesting the fly from larger model.

However, I'm pleased to add the Bloatfly as what I'm short of in my collection are the denizens of the Wasteland. I do have a suitable large substitute for a Radscorpion and some Giant Ants (although these don't have profiles in games), but given that I'm more likely to play Fallout: Wasteland Warfare solo, I'd like more gribblies for the sort of wandering/exploring encounters that make up a lot of the game - a Bloatfly fits this brief perfectly.

Acquired: 28
Painted: 250
Lead Mountain: 833