Antares: So That's What They Are!

After some more internet digging I was able to figure out which line my Traahiri mercenaries came from; Reptoloid marines from the Galactic Wars line made by Ahketon.

Traahiri mercenary front

These miniatures are pretty basic but I think that they will work nicely for my purpose.  I haven't had time to get a lot done with them, but the first squad is about half done.

Traahiri mercenary back

In addition to the three squads of regular troops I found, there were also five Reptoloids in power armor which I'm going to use for a command squad.  This means I'll be able to field at least a 500 point scouting force (using the Freeborn Adventurers list) and I might even be able to stretch them out to 750 depending on the support options that I throw in there.

Painting Notebook: Algoryn AI Trooper and Spotter Drone

Algoryn AI Trooper from Yadrolla

My AI troops were all primed with Vallejo black surface primer (#73.602).  Once this dried they were dry brushed with P3 Gnarls Green (PIP 93034), followed by a mix of Gnarls Green and P3 Iosan Green (PIP 93035), and finally a layer of just Iosan Green.

AI Trooper front view

For the markings, I painted a base of P3 Morrow White (PIP 93073) onto the helmet and shoulders.  Once this had dried, I painted over this with P3 Khador Red Base (PIP 93021) and Citadel Yriel Yellow, and then cleaned up the lines with some Iosan Green.

AI Trooper back view

Their weapons and the tubing on their chest plates were painted with P3 Bastion Grey (PIP 93068) and then washed with a coat of Citadel Nuln Oil.  The visor slits were painted with a very thinned down Citadel Scorpion Green, using Iosan Green for any touch-ups needed.

 Algoryn Spotter Drone from Yadrolla

My AI spotter drones were done using the same paints and methods as the troopers.

AI Spotter Drone front

The three lenses on the front of the drone were painted with Citadel Scorpion Green and then I tried to put a dot of P3 Morrow White but its pretty fiddly so I don't know how well it worked.

AI Spotter Drone back

The end caps of the six suspensor/propulsion units on the back were painted with P3 Bastion Grey.

Basing

For my AI force, I decided to use my regular basing technique; a coat of either P3 Bloodtracker Brown (PIP 93030) or P3 Bootstrap Leather (PIP 93031), followed by a layer of Gale Force 9 fine basing grit (GFS019) glued down with Elmer's Glue-All.  Once this has dried, I add some spots of Glue-All to the layer of grit, spread it in patches with a toothpick, and then cover this with Gale Force 9 Green Static Grass (GFS001).  As a final touch, I paint the rim of the base with black paint to give it a clean look.

Workbench: My Digital Painting Notebook

One of the things that I've seen several people do but never done myself is keep a painting notebook.  What paints and colors you used, techniques that were done, things like that so you can recreate it in the future if you want or even just use as a reference.

I love the idea of doing this but I've always held off on doing this because I know my luck; I'll get a notebook, write a few things, and then loose the notebook.  Always the way it works, right?  So instead I've decided to use the blog for the same purpose.  No idea why it took me so long to come up with it as it should be pretty obvious but sometimes it easy to miss the nose on your face.  Plus I figure it should be pretty hard to misplace the internet, right?

Seems like a good theory anyway so there should be some more quick posts coming soon.  Heck, I might even cobble together a light box so I can do it right!  Just a whole bunch of craziness!

As a real life side note, I am currently cross training at work so I don't have access to a computer during my workday.  I usually type during my lunch break so things might slow down for a little bit over the next few months but I'm going to do everything I can to keep up my rate of at least one post a week.