Judgement Day

In the spirit of finishing things off, I've finally come to the end of everything that I have for Terminator: Genisys, the short-lived but actually quite good game from River Horse Games.

Don't brace yourself for my finest painting, as I went for the 'just-get-them-done' approach consistent with the rest of the miniatures I've painted for this game.

I suspect that the major reason that this game went out of production was the fact that the Terminator: Genisys film was somewhat underwhelming received, as the gameplay is excellent (designed by Alessio Cavatore), the plastic miniatures were cheap and cheerful but effective, the metal miniatures were good likenesses (but a bit pricey) and all in all there's no real reason that as a game this should have failed.

Except the film's a bit crap.

Anyway, onto the figures.

First up is the T-800 Terminator in good guy mode on a motorbike. Yep, it's Arnie. As I said, this is a pretty good likeness and is a faithful representation of the character as he appears in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, although I'm curious as to why they didn't have him wearing sunglasses.

There was not a lot going on in terms of painting here as it's pretty much black and silver all the way and so my usual mix of contrast, washes and dry brushing did the trick. I didn't bother with doing the eyes as with most 'truescale' models, they're a bit of a bugger to pick out and highlighting over the wash does enough to work.

Although intended for Terminator: Genysis, there's every chance that Arnie might find his way into games of 7TV: Apocalypse, either as himself or a generic biker. Therefore, I've taken to opportunity to paint up a separate bike for when he dismounts (I have an on-foot Arnie-alike from Reaper Bones).

It's not the same model of motorbike, but it will do. It's actually quite a clever MDF piece I got with a shed for taking part in the Great Wargames Survey one year. The MDF means that the sharp corners would annoy me if I used it for scenery, but as a token of where Arnie has left his bike, it's more than adequate.

Next up are the SWAT team I got sent as part of the 7TV Secret Santa this year. I opted to put them in the Resistance as they're a bit short to work with my existing SWAT and Cops. Being notably different from the plastic miniatures will make them good as commanders, although the two assault rifles and a shotgun aren't the best weapons,

I put the DNA symbol (my freehand painting needs work) on the shield as I've done the same on some of my vehicles and it prevented it being a bit bland. There are no rules for anything like this in the game, but I'll talk to Matt (who is the only person I lay this with) about letting him and anybody behind him count as in cover when shot at from the front.

I also had part of a sprue of Resistance fighters left from when I converted a couple of infiltrators. As my force is growing, I've increased the number of better quality weapons (rocket launcher, grenade launcher, plasma rifle). I'm not sure if they'll all get in my list as there are limits on the number of rocket launchers and grenade launchers you can have.

As I said earlier, these aren't amazing figures, but given the number you got in the starter box, they're more than adequate.

No Terminator post would be complete without a couple of endoskeletons. The Crawlers have both lost arms to the Infiltrator conversions I did some while ago (but this doesn't really matter as they're meant to be damaged and I believe the T-800 in the first film was down to a single arm by the end.

The standing Endoskeleton was just spare. These remain the easiest models I've ever painted.

Given the slapdash nature of the way I paint models for this game, I opted to get them done first with the aim of making some quick progress, something that I think I have achieved. I can't imagine I'll add much else to this collection, although I might get round to doing a T-1000 by either making large silver bullet holes in a policeman or painting a puddle silver.

Acquired: -5
Painted: 22
Lead Mounted: 551

Deck The Haul

So this is Christmas, and what have we got? Another year older, and I got quite a lot (depending on your perspective).

Yes, it's one of those rather gauche posts in which social media 'influencers' show off what they've got for free in a celebration of consumerist consumption that would make Marx blush.

I should point out, however, that most of what follows has come from Mrs Cheaphammer, selected from a wider list (to ensure an element of surprise), so I've paid for half of it.

First up is the Carnevale intro box 'Escape From San Canciano'. Yes I already have the starter box, but this is probably the best (and probably cheapest) way to add to both my Rashaar and Guild forces as is contains four miniatures (roughly 50 Ducats) for each gang.

In addition, there is a 2x2 mat for quick games, a couple of small scenarios, a mini rulebook, three more cardboard buildings, extra dice and a bunch more bits and pieces, including some cardboard scenery for floating detritus, which allows me to add a bit more variation on to my existing terrain set up until I actually get round to making some.

I will admit that I've ended up with more Lord of the Rings miniatures than I was expecting, however, they will be pleasing additions. I'm not sure if any of these miniatures will show up in the Quest of the Ringbearer, and only a few will make an appearance in War in Rohan, meaning that I might need to start pestering Pete about cracking on with Gondor at War, as he has all the Minas Tirith stuff.

I haven't played that much Bolt Action recently, but I'm still pleased to finally get my hands on this book. Not only does it have several more Theatre Selectors and new units for my Fallschirmjaeger, it also has has a load of specific scenarios for them that I might be able to convince Wes to break out his Americans for.

This year, I was a late entrant to the 7TV Secret Santa that I've participated in for the last few years. Fortunately, Shaun, who organises it kindly took me into the fold and exchanged gifts with me. I sent him some Doctor Who miniatures (4 Daleks and 3 Ogrons) that keep slipping down my to do list and he's sent me a small SWAT team.

As these miniatures are on the smaller side, I'm probably going to add them to my Terminator: Genisys Resistance force as commanders. Admittedly, a shotgun and two SMGs are not going to stop the Machines by themselves, but more obvious command models will be helpful, and I might have to look if there are rules for the massive shield.

Finally, there's this. I suppose it might work as terrain in WW2 Germany or on a winter themed city board, were it not for the fact that the scale is somewhat off - even more so than the half-track, before certain people bring that up. This is the sort of thing that happens when Mrs Cheaphammer goes off-piste. The headlamps light up...so there's that.

So there we are. Christmas Day comes and goes with 18 in and 7 out. It looks like I'm going to end the year in the black (especially as Santa brought me no money or vouchers this year). I've still got at least one more post in me before the big fat review of the year at the weekend.

I hope you and yours had a lovely day.

Acquired: 132

Painted: 213

Rolling Off The Production Line

One of my favourite things about the Terminator: Genisys game from River Horse is that even when I'm in a bit of a slow period for painting, I can still churn out a few T-800s to get back in the groove.

Here are six more...

Painted: 211

Acquired: 206

Rage Against The Machines

Matt and I have decided to start playing games with the purpose of providing motivation to get more things painted. Therefore thoughts turned to Terminator: Genisys for the first time in a while and I took the opportunity to bring out the big guns. Quite literally.

This is a really cheap and nasty Abrams tank that I picked up with the intent of adding some weight to my Resistance force. I'd got to the point of assembling, undercoating and dry brushing it before my interest waned, and it's been sat on my windowsill for several months until this latest game was arranged.

The model was £3, and it shows. The turret doesn't turn, the aerials are like broom handles, the tracks have no tread, and the guns were little more than plastic tubes. Perhaps most bizarrely, the stowage cage, which is attached to the turret, was actually pegged into the hull on the original model.

This needed trimming and filling, and attaching to the turret. The worst of the pintle guns was replaced with a 40k bolter as it looks more realistic (think about that for a moment) and I spruced up the drab colour scheme with some transfers lifted from my WW2 kits.

I also freehanded a DNA symbol as an identifier for aerial support (I'm not sure how relevant this would be in the grim near future, but the model needed something to live it up. My shaky painting neatly reflects the idea of it being scrawled by Resistance fighters not really focused on neatness.

All in all, I'm really happy with how its turned out, given it's cheap and nasty nature. All that was left was to roll it out against a shocked and unsuspecting Matt.

Unfortunately, Matt had a trick or two up his own mechanical sleeve...

I knew about the Hunter Killer VTOL, and I'd faced it before with only a smattering of rocket launchers to protect me.

However, this was a complete shock...

A Hunter Killer tank he'd bought of Amazon at short notice with exactly the same intentions as I'd had for the Abrams.

As it happened, in the game neither the Hunter Killers or the Abrams were the star of the show. My humble Resistance fighters, some armed only with assault rifles (which can't even kill terminators) were able to suppress and destroy enough machines to allow weight of numbers to win out.

We were both reminded that we really enjoy this game. It's simple to play and very cinematic (Kyke Reese bursting out of a warehouse to ambush some endoskeketons was a high point). Well definitely be getting some more games in soon.

Also, despite its size, the Abrams still only counts as one. However, it puts me back into the black again:

Painted: 205

Acquired: 204

“The future has not been written.”

Given the many and varied futures and pasts presented in the Terminator franchise, it seems I can still somehow manage to stage a scene which didn’t happen at some point.

Future Kyle Reese facing off against the 80’s Terminator.

After a couple of weeks without painting, I’ve returned to Terminator: Genysis because the colour schemes I’ve chosen are really simple and it’s probably my most slapdash project, and so it makes for a quick easy win as I settle into painting again.

Kyle Reese is an official metal miniature from River Horse (via Warlord) which is actually a really nice sculpt. I was surprised to find that it had an integral base as I’ve not bought any of the metal miniatures before. However, a little bit of scenic detail will help me to spot him on the board.

As with he rest of my Resistance, I’ve gone for a simple grey base with a black wash, and then picked out a few details. Metal miniatures suit this method better than plastic as the details are more defined.

My only gripe with this miniature is that hear significantly bigger than the plastic models I already have. For a character, it’s fine, but it’s made me glad I didn’t invest in any of the extremely expensive metal weapons teams.

The ‘Terminator’ is a Reaper Bones miniature I picked whilst in Australia. I think it’s technically meant to be a Mad Max-alike, but it’s suitably Arnie like for my purposes.

I keep nd up being disappointed with Reaper Bones, and this model is no exception. The face lacks definition, there’s a chunky mould line on the far side of the head, and the shotgun is poorl cast. If I’d paid more than a couple of quid for it I’d be annoyed, but I need to learn my lesson and stop buying Reaper Bones as they’re not really a saving.

I may replace the arm holding the shotgun with an endoskeleton arm, however, this would probably stop me from using it as ‘Pops’ or using it as a Road Warrior in games of 7TV...mind you, I have a better miniature for that purpose and so amputation may be imminent.

This is the first positive movement on my tallies for a while, but it’s only fractional as Kyle Reese was actually given to me by Matt in exchange for a billboard I gave him. Even so, this hopefully marks the start of a period of clawing back my totals:

Acquired: 98

Painted: 40

Pimp My Ride

This week I finally started on some of the miniatures that came with the 7TV: Apocalypse Kickstarter.

Starting with the vehicles...

When it came to choosing starter sets to go with my pledge, I opted for the Interceptor kit for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the main difference between 7TV: Apocalypse and the core set is the vehicle rules, and I wanted to take advantage of this. Secondly, the Interceptor came with a bunch of conversion bits that would allow me to tailor it, and possibly other vehicles. Thirdly, and arguably most importantly, it would only add one model to my lead/plastic/resin pile.

In terms of choosing how to set up my Interceptor, my hand was really forced by the first bonus miniature of the Kickstarter looking not unlike the film poster image, along with having seen a replica whilst in Melbourne.

Therefore, I set about using the conversion bits to create something not a million miles away from the last of the V8 Interceptors. This had the added advantage of meaning that there wasn’t that much to do in terms of painting.

The option I went with at rear of the car places my version firmly in Mad Max 2 territory. In terms of painting, I settled with dry brushing as it gave the car a bit of a battered look.

I also picked up a Humvee during the pledge manager stage, with the aim of giving my Resistance a bit of armour. I didn’t worry too much about adding weapons, as conceivably the roof hatch allows for anything to pop out of there.

I did however add a row of lights from the Interceptor kit as the future battles in Terminator (apart from in Salvation) all seem to take place in the dark. Painting wise, this was also extremely simple stuff. 

Although intended for games of Terminator: Genysis, there’s nothing stopping this vehicle turning up in 7TV. In fact the ‘Killbot’ profiles allow for battles between Skynet and humanity in 7TV.

Finally, I also added some guns from the Interceptor set to my alien fuel transport, as I can’t see myself giving the Visitors a Skyfighter any time soon. They are fixed guns which will actually count as hood-mounted in the rules.

So that’s another two added to the painted tally. Sadly, Wargames Illustrated arrived with four Zulus on the cover. However, I can see these getting used in 7TV: Pulp.

Acquired: 78

Painted: 38

I also went to Chillcon at the weekend, but I’ll leave the damage that did to the tallies for another post.

“I’ll be back...after Christmas”

Just before signing off for the festive period, I thought I’d show off a few bits and pieces I’ve put together for Terminator: Genysis from Warlord Games.

Warlord, fairly regularly, have sales of stuff that isn’t selling especially well and, quite frankly, nothing fits that description better than their Terminator line.

Therefore, in the summer, a sale popped up and I took the opportunity to buy a few bits and pieces to add to my collection - like those two regular Terminators above.

In the sale was a ‘spider-dog’ mobile gun platform, which came with a choice of three weapons. I went with the rocket launcher as it adds some anti-tank punch for when Matt inevitably builds and paints his Abrams tank.

The presence of a flamethrower opened up the opportunity of a quick conversion of a regular endoskeleton for some close range pest control.

I then used the weapon bits I’d carved off the flamethrower guy to fashion a command upgrade unit to fit to the back of the final endoskeleton. This allows me access to some of the tactical options available to the Resistance, using a commander to concentrate fire or coordinate movement.

My final upgrade to the Machines was an infiltrator, which was easily done by giving a Resistance model an arm replacement. I splattered blood over the arm suggesting that the infiltrator has only just been revealed.

Given that I’d bought a single sprue of Resistance models to make one infiltrator, it only seemed fair to paint the others up to add a couple more commanders (and several plasma rifles) to my force.

None of what I’ve painted is particularly special, this project is the very definition of quick and cheap. However, I am considering revisiting my Terminators with a silver drybrush to brighten them up.

Future plans for this game involve kitbashing some characters for Wargames Factory plastic survivors and terrible Tank I picked up cheaply.

Oh, and Arnie.

On that festive note, have a great Christmas and I’ll be back with our big Christmas game and review of 2018 just before New Year.

Ho ho ho!

Let slip the dogs of war...

Continuing with my ‘quick wins’ focus, these are two guard dogs for use with my Resistance force in Terminator: Genysis.

As they are really just markers of which models have dogs with them (the game actually uses cardboard tokens for this), I didn’t take too much time or effort over them.

However, they are better than cardboard.



This is the last of the Copplestone huskies I picked up cheaply several years ago, with the aim of them becoming Soviet mine dogs.

They’ve actually been used in a variety of projects, and noticeably not as mine dogs.

Personally, I think he looks good as a guard dog; alert, attentive, focused on the job at hand...

...unlike this chap.

This dog actually came in a pack of Native American villagers from Redoubt Enterprises, and is more suitable as part of a vignette than as a game piece. However, the addition of a crate, no doubt chock-full of essential supplies, for him to urinate on adds a touch of humour to a bleak future for humanity.

In game, guard dogs give the Resistance a better chance of spotting T-800 Infiltrators, which has become more important now Matt has started sneaking these into his Machine forces.

They add a massive 10 points to my force, but they could be crucial.

“What, do you guys come off an assembly line or something?”

Another batch of Resistance soldiers for Terminator; Genysis, and this time, in the full spirit of Cheaphammering, they’ve been co-opted from Mars Attacks by Mantic Games.

I picked up Mars Attacks cheaply a couple of years ago, with the intention of using the scenery and miniatures for zombie games and 7TV. Unfortunately, the single piece miniatures are a bit slender and small to fit in with most 28mm ranges. Fortunately, so are the Terminator; Genysis miniatures.

The miniatures are more individual than the Terminator Resistance models and so add some much needed variety to the force. The bases and uniforms are slightly different but not worryingly so. In fact, the only major downside is that most of them are armed with assault rifles, which are largely useless against Endoskeletons. Weight of fire is their only hope of slowing the machines down.

Fortunately, these troops also give me access to light machine guns, something that I’ve not had access to previously, partly due to the fact they’re not in the main rulebook. However, and errata has fixed that and so I’ll be able to add massed firepower at range to hold the terminators at bay.

The set also includes a missile launcher. Unfortunately, I can’t technically add a third until I bring my force up to 750 points.

At the moment, I’m currently only at 500 points, however events have taken place that mean that reaching that next benchmark might be easier than I first thought.

This also means that I get to start adding fun stuff to the machines, and I have plans for that too.

This is beginning to get out of hand...

Rage Against The Machines

Matt and I found time recently to play a couple of slightly larger game of Terminator: Genysis and, I have to say, it’s a much better game than I have it credit for.

Both of our previous games were tutorials which feature just a couple of Endoskeletons and ultimately the machines were stopped by a couple of lucky shots. However our most recent games were using the last tutorial mission and had 16 Resistance against 10 Termunators, and those machines were relentless and frightening and both times humanity was in a panicked struggle for survival.

This has prompted me to paint the Resistance models that came in the starter I picked up cheaply at last year’s Salute.

I’ve gone quick and dirty with painting these as their not the greatest miniatures in the world (serviceable, but not brilliant), and I’m not a fan painting in bulk.

There are four poses in the set and there is a degree of interchangeability with optional weapons. However this is limited, for example, the female fighter can only have a plasma rifle or a shotgun (something that non of the other models can have), and so I’ve tried to bring in some variation with different skin tones, hair colours and other features like bandannas.

I was a bit confused that with single pose models in uniform there was only one of the sculpts with a helmet on. Uniforms bring uniform isn’t really an issue, but hairstyles being the same becomes noticeable. I think these would be more desireable for other games if they were all in helmets.

I’ve gone with a simple dark grey with a wash, I didn’t even bother highlighting (don’t tell the paint police), and most of the weapons are black. I’ve allowed myself the luxury of doing the plasma rifles silver both to easily differentiate them from the assault rifles, but also they are supposed to be machine-tech and so silver makes some kind of narrative sense.

The basing, like on my Endoskeletons is just bare sand with some tufts added. As well as being quick, it means my models will be easily told apart from Matt’s (who’s done great bases) should we decide to merge our forces for a bigger game.

My initial aim is to get both of my forces up to 500 points. For the machines this just means making one of them a command unit and purchasing a reroll, however for the Resistance I will need to get creative with some cheap vehicles and my much-unloved Wargames Factory Apocalypse Survivors, as well as a few other surprising sources.

Watch this space. I’ll be back.

Rise of the Machines

When I was at Salute in April, Warlord Games decided to make the starter box for their Terminator: Genysis game available for the princely sum of £10. Given that this contained rules, dice, counters, mat, and no fewer than 31 miniatures, one look at the title of this blog will inform you as to how I reacted.

Seeing as I had some unexpected time on my hands on Tuesday, I broke out the spray paint to get me some Terminators painted.

The pictures are a little dark (it's too sunny), but I'm really quite pleased with how they've come out, especially given that these are officially the easiest models I've ever painted. Spray. Wash. Eyes. Base. Done.

They are even easier that other models that I've done a spray/wash on before, and they are made of silver plastic, and so it really didn't matter if I'd slightly missed a bit. If I have any sort of gripe, it's the fact that they are fairly small compared to many ranges, however, they do look like they might actually fit inside a body unlike many skeletal figures on the market (GW, I'm looking at you). They do scale well with the Wargames Factory plastic that I have, so there is potential there for expanding at least my Resistance models, or adding a T-1000 (I just wish I hadn't given away the Police torsos from the set.

The Endoskeletons are nicely detailed models which have torsos that come separate from the legs and can be pivoted around the spine (a nice change from separate heads for a more robotic look), as well as separate arms which can be positioned at different heights to give a modicum of variety - certainly enough for mass-produced death machines.

The Crawlers are single piece castings, but as they are only brought in when an Endoskeleton is destroyed, they'll never be fielded as units, so it's no worry.

The game itself is fun (I've only played two small scenarios so far) and Matt (and Mike, or is it Wes?) had already bought in so there are games to be had. I can also see them being recruited for games of 7TV, especially as Kraang Droids to fight the Turtles.

Not sure when I'll get round to the Resistance, as by default I can see them being more fiddly to do. I do have a few ideas to make them a bit more varied and interesting, so maybe I'll get to them soon.