Friday 11 May 2018

We’re doomed!

Having safely received the blueprints for the Empire’s new super weapon, the Death Star, R2-D2 and C3-PO need to make their escape from the stricken Tantive IV. An escape pod proves the obvious method of egress and with no life signs scanned, the Empire takes little notice of the discharging pods. Did our beloved astromech know that just below the unfolding space drama was the very planet that the intended recipient of the plans inhabited?  Good luck or careful planning aside, the two droids find themselves lost in the inhospitable desert wastes of Tatooine.
This, then, represents the pair’s crashed escape pod and is from ‘Combatzone Scenery'.  I had already bought some of the Skirmish terrain, perfect for use with Imperial Assault*, but when I saw this I found it very hard to resist.  Although not required for the game, it does add something to the feel of the table and I have justified the purchase, by suggesting that it could also be used for all manner of post-apocalyptic scenarios!
*More of that in another post.
Made from a resin impregnated plaster, the main piece is quite a lump and, with the addition of a few additional resin retro-rocket nozzles, is simplicity itself to put together.  One of the company’s boasts is that the material requires no priming, but I was a little concerned when my initial layer of colour seemed to struggle to adhere to the surface in a couple of places.  
There was nothing to do but press on regardless and what followed was a delightful period of drybrushing, with only the smallest details picked out with a brush.  I had made the conscious decision not to use metallic paints and so what you see is purely built up with greys before adding some dust and damage, again with a drybrush technique. 
Great fun to do and with my initial fears regarding the material allayed, I am absolutely thrilled with the results, but wait!  What was that stirring in the dunes?
"Don't call me a mindless philosopher, you overweight glob of grease!"

45 comments:

  1. That really is excellent. Maybe a little signage on it?

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    1. Now that's an idea, might need to consult my Star Wars encyclopaedia first.

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  2. Very cool, Michael. As it's a Rebel escape pod, can be used for ANY scenario that has Rebels bailing...or could be the objective for competing forces - who gets to the pod first. A very nic kit.

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    1. Thank you Jez, I do like the idea of it being used as an objective either to jump off from or to retrieve.

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  3. A lovely piece and the dry brushing has come up a treat.

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    1. Thank you, I was surprised at how effective it was in the end.

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  4. What a fabulous piece of kit, and a top notch paint job to portray a re-entered pod. Brilliant!

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  5. Great work all round Michael really love the last picture :)

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    1. Thank you Frank, I id get a bit carried away in post production.

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  6. What a great scenery piece Michael, your painting of it looks fantastic, very weathered and beat up from entering the atmosphere

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    1. Thank you, it really is a lovely piece and the painting came together really well.

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  7. Great work Michael :)

    For a minute when I saw the title I thought you might have switched from Star Wars to doing Dad's Army ;)

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    1. Thank you Tamsin, as for Dad's Army that's certainly on the 'to do' list. ;)

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  8. Oh if only I had a use for it

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  9. Well it turned out just wonderful!!

    Christopher

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  10. Star Wars Legion is calling you… this would make a great piece of table terrain. Just sayin'.

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    1. Well I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it. ;)

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  11. A brilliant addition to the pair, and the final photograph of them is so atmospheric.

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  12. Inspired...and sooooooooooooo nicely done!

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  13. Excellent addition to your collection Michael...ok off to Combatzone Scenery!

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    1. Thank you Terry, be careful, they are quite additive.

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  14. What a great little (well not that little) piece of scenery, beautifully painted and so versatile outside of Star Wars too.

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Thank you Roger, I was thinking an Escape from New York scenario whilst painting it, trying to locate the President's escape pod.

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  15. And there I was thinking the lego version was impressive. Lovely addition to the set.

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    1. Thank you Dai. I love the Lego stuff, but very expensive isn't it.

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  16. I do so like one and few piece terrain pieces. The terrain in WG`s Battle for Berlin has several like this, and has appealed to me for some time now.. for similar reasons.

    Nice addition to your IA games Michael.

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    1. Thank you Hills, I need to go and have a look a the Battle for Berlin stuff. A couple of nice pieces can really 'sell' the table.

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  17. Brings it all back very nice....just don’t get trapped into recreating the whole film !

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    1. Thank you Matt and funny you should mention that... :)

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  18. That escape pod turned out really good, old and weathered look is just lovely!

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  19. Are those the droids you were looking for?

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  20. Great looking piece and a very effective bit of scatter terrain.

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  21. Perfection! As always an inspiration mate

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  22. I'm not a big Star Wars fan, but the escape pod looks mighty interesting for a whole number of projects.
    Beautiful paintjob as always!

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  23. That's a lovely piece, very useful and evocative.

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