|
AN ONGOING NEWSLETTER |
March 2013 |
Aliens Gallery
by Gisby
I like Aliens. What can I say?
Many moons ago (and several planets - Ha!) eM-4 released their set of prepainted aliens.
They were nice figures and very soon there were suggested rules for their use in Combat Zone.
I was always frustrated by the fact that they were only available in sets, because I wanted bunches of some of them, while others were more suitable for use as singles. (To my eye: You may disagree)
So I bugged Doug, and bugged Doug, and dugged Boug, and eventually he agreed to release them as singles, unpainted, when the painted sets ran low. (See, one guy can make a difference!)
|
And eventually, it came to pass: The Aliens became available as unpainted singles!
And I got me some more Aliens! As it turns out, they have a lot of detail that the pre-painted figures somehow managed to emphasize and hide at the same time.
But I painted my Aliens without looking at the originals, or Arjen's repainted examples. This is the result.
In the examples below, I show the pre-painted figures, Arjen Pilon's, and mine.
|
The Hunter - eM4 Ref: 0464
This is the Hunter as he appeared in the painted set. A trifle garish for my taste, but from a couple of feet away, he looks fine. |
As it turns out, mine was not that different in concept. (The flash has lightened the tone quite a bit)
He has a rill and horns, which give him a reptilian appearance. I tried for a leather armour look, as befits a hunter.
|
Arjen Pilon's Hunter from 'Raid on the Crate Factory.'
More sinister by far, and looking quite the deadly hunter. The painting shows the detail a lot better than the pre-paint, and there is a lot of detail there.
|
Details were brought out by drybrushing, then an overall black magic wash which darkened everything and tied it together.
This figure really repays any time spent on drybrushing and washes.
|
The Grey - eM4 Ref: 0465

This is probably the best of the prepainteds: He is grey, after all. | 
Arjen chose to give the Grey a maroon jumpsuit and a more lively skin tone. | My second appempt gave them a gunmetal-coloured jumpsuit and charcoal grey boots. (Which look the same colour in the picture)
I added coloured lights to the power pack, and painted the 'gill' area on their heads a glossy red. |

My first attempt was actually more drab than the pre-painteds. But at least they were grey. |

The Greys look good fielded in units.
|
The Ghost - eM4 Ref: 0466

Straight from the box: Bright colours, but no overall scheme.
|

Arjen's paint is far more dramatic: Very striking, and it ties the figure together. |
My scheme is rather more drab, in keeping with the idea of a 'Ghost' appearing out of nowhere, striking, and disappearing again.
I added a pair of light sabres made from wire as close-combat weapons, and glowing eyes, and I think it makes the figure rather more dramatic.
There are a number of chainsaw swords, power swords, and blaster pistols out there that would also fit well in his hands. |
The Feeder - eM4 Ref: 0467
There's a lot of detail here, and it's highlited straight from the box.
But it's definitely intended for an alien landscape. It's just too blue to hide on Earth. |

I chose a dark green overall, heavily drybrushed with several shades of gold to bring out details. I picked out the mouth parts in gold and copper.. Finally, I gave them an overall black wash to darken them and tie it all together. |
Arjen chose a much darker glossy black H.R. Giger-style scheme.
The Feeder looks like it has a chitinous exoskeleton, and like it would pounce from the shadows.
Most of the details are seen in the reflective surfaces. |
The Cockroach - eM4 Ref: 0468

From the box: A bit cartoony, but overall not so bad.
| 
Definitely more icky: A good bug-like set of colours, and glossed up appropriately to make it look slimy. He wins! |

I also went for a bug-like brown, but went for a metallic blue carapace based on some beetle photos online. I chose gold eyes so you could see them, but black might have been more effective.
|
These aren't the only Aliens that eM4 has on offer, they also have The Phagons: Battle Clones and Beastmen. These share weapon and equipment styles and are highly detailed. We don't have rules for them, but they are easily slotted in as troopers or gangers.
The Phagons - Battle Clones and Beastmen

|
Although the helmets are wrong, I painted these to use as 'Chiggs' from 'Space: Above and Beyond.' I have plenty of troopers to use as Marines.
They actually look the part quite well, and are rather sinister. Their armour is dark steel, with copper details. Gold weapons and equipment. |
My intention was to paint these as sinister, dark, blued-steel cyborgs, as an alternative to the 'seen-em-everywhere' Terminators. I was not particularly successful. They are certainly blue, but I think they need darkening. |
These were painted in shades of gold & brown, and given a brown wash to bring out details. I wanted a warm, organic feel, as I wanted the armour to seem like a carapace rather than a manufactured item. I do think they look sort of 'buggy'.
|

|
Phagon Beastmen: The basic infantry of my Alien forces. I REALLY love these figures. The weapons and equipment are the same as the Battle-Clones, but they are humanoid goat-men in light body armour. The detail on these is amazing, especially the facial expressions, and they really repay drybrushing and washes.
To see them all, have a look at the Phagon Gallery.
Well, that's the Aliens, and a few examples of how they have been painted. I hope yopu've found something to inspire or interest you! |
|