Flak Tower for Gruntz 15mm

 

I wanted a strong point for my Gruntz 15mm games and Dark Castle Terrain has an excellent MDF Flack Tower just right for 15mm. They also produce a larger version suitable for 28mm as well. But you can find the 15mm version here. Just look at their 28mm list of MDF for their larger version.

The 15mm version also works as a smaller outpost for 28mm to 32mm scale. Here you can see a Fallout Wasteland Warfare miniature along with a Khurasan miniatures 15mm scale model. The 15mm model can just look over the crenelation and the 32mm model is covered to its waist.

I added some sandbags to the flack gun positions in order to provide more of a defensive feel to the model and to permit a 15mm model to stand there (this 15mm model is mounted on a 20mm round base)

I also wanted a weatherworn look to the tower and so used Citadel Agrax Earthshade on the MDF.

This model also ended up having one of the inner support strut pieces missing. But the model came together well despite the missing inner strut. I used this to my advantage by adding some thick cardboard to make a door to the model, which otherwise doesn't have an entrance portal. You can just see the door on the left of the model in the photo above.

The stencilled numbers were badly painted on by hand brushing over the stencil. I should have broken out my air brush instead but didn't have the patience for it. However, I didn't think it would matter to much once the model was washed. It turned out well enough for my liking.

I still need to think about how I want to base the model. As such, I haven't washed the full base yet. I may just leave it as is without basing and then finish off the base with the wash. But I want to see what type of walls I can find to complement to tower first.

Anyway, there is plenty of room for 15mm models to hide at the top of the tower and this could probably hold around 12x 28mm models mounted on 25mm round bases as well.

It was a nice MDF kit and easy to put together. There aren't any instructions that come with it. But if you pull all the pieces out and dry fit them first, you can quickly work out how it is constructed.

So given that a certain company's version of strongholds costs a small mortgage and only comes in one size. This option I cannot highly recommend enough. Many of my MDF models you see in this blog have come from Dark Castle Terrain. So highly recommend them.

Spoils of MOAB 2024

 

Gale Force 9 Gothic Sector Orbital Relay.

Some of the spoils I purchased at MOAB last weekend were for my Gruntz 15mm games. I purchased them with only the box size and art to go by. But I took the conservative punt that they would be usable at the 15mm scale despite the fact that one item was aimed at the 28mm scale and the other at the Battletech (epic) scale.

The Orbital Relay is a 28mm scale piece of terrain. However, it does work with the 15mm scale as well. As can be seen below. For comparison, the Stalker with the AK is a 28mm miniature I use for Zona Alfa. The smaller figure of the two is a Khurasan 15mm Felid Alien Warrior.

I didn't unwrap the additional parts that go onto the building. But these come with magnets for easy connection and disassembly for storage. Without the additions fitted, the Orbital Relay does look like a futuristic Conning Tower on a submarine.

Gale Force 9 Hextech Power Station Battlefield in a Box.

Hextech is designed with Battletech in mind and makes some very nice scenery. The good news is that you don't have to apply the hex base to the terrain piece if you don't want to. So, this scale can fit nicely with some other scales. Above is the power station from Hextech that I purchased with a view to use it as a power generator at 15mm scale. These generator's tunnels representing power conduits at 15mm rather than elevated walkways at Battletech scale.

I believe that my bet has paid off. These nice terrain pieces would be able to be used as terrain at 15mm scale and I will likely get some more similar terrain in future.

15mm Alien Tyranid Zoanthrope

 

Not my best conversion ever, but it will do the job. This is my hack for a 15mm Zoanthrope miniature. I took a 10mm Pendraken Alien style miniature and cut off the arms and legs, bent the tail and did some filing to create a floating alien brain cell for use as a Zoanthrope for my growing 15mm Tyranid army for Gruntz.

This is mounted on a flat plastic 25mm base for reference to its size. Also, each square on the mat is 1cm.

You can see the original Pendraken model in these images. Being metal, just be careful bending the tail. You don't want it to snap off.

Works well enough. Think I'll make some more to curse the 15mm battlefields of the Gruntz future.

15mm Tyranids

 

Inspired by the newly released (and excellent) Space Marine 2, I thought I might try an idea for a Tyranid 15mm army for Gruntz. Whilst still beavering away at my main painting project, I thought a quick trip back into 15mm sci-fi would be a nice mental break.

The wee little beasties here are Pendraken and the larger one is from Khurasan.

I intend to use these for Gruntz and so this was a test for both colour scheme and mounting.

My thought here is that the smaller Pendraken miniatures, which are at 10mm scale, could be grouped into swarms of critters on single bases. Ploughing through hordes of hormagaunt tyranids in Space Marine 2 made me wonder how this would best be represented on the table in 15mm, my go-to for large scale sci-fi battles.

The bases here a 40mm Renedra bases and there is a mixture of about five smallest Pendraken alien critters with two larger ones thrown in. Seeing these running at you, even in 15mm, would make you think twice before either grabbing the fly spray or your boltgun.

This is the Khurasan Space Demon Queen, which looks like a good proxy for a Tyranid Hive Tyrant so she got the typical tyranid paint job to see how it would turn out. She is also mounted on a 40mm base.

I like how these have turned out. So, I'm going to do more. Always good to have a quick side project whilst you are waiting for the paint to dry on the main project.

Warhammer 40k in 15mm - prepping for battle

 

Whilst I'm still finishing off three squads of 15mm Imperial Guard proxies and a couple of Ork war bikes, I thought I might show off the table scenery in preparation for the battle that's going to be between the Orks and Imperial Guard. Hope you have a Happy New Year.

Ork Landa Shuttle for Warhammer 40k in 15mm

 

I wanted a decent proxy shuttle or landa for my 15mm Ork 40k troops and came across the old Eaglemoss Battlestar Galactica (Original Series) Shuttle on Amazon at a decent price. This was the larger version of the shuttle and seemed to fit the size I wanted. It was also bulky enough to fit in with an orkish aesthetic, so I purchased one and it arrived the other day. I'm pretty happy with the result as it fits nicely with what I was after. I would still like to kitbash a decent ork landa but don't have the time right now, so this will be my ork commando shuttle.

Space Gobbo's in 15mm for Warhammer 40K

 

Here's the latest in my growing Warhammer 40K in 15mm project, Gobbo's. In the Dawn of War video game, the little blighters are responsible for doing all the builds for the Ork faction. So, I'm king of thinking along similar lines here. Also, they can be upgraded to become invisible, making them excellent saboteurs. 

These are by Vanguard Miniatures, from their 15mm line of Skinners.