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FANTORICAL
The Fantasy-Historical Painting Website

“URBAN WAR” by URBAN MAMMOTH

13^th APRIL 2006

“Urban War” is a fast paced sci-fi skirmish game set in a brutal far-distant universe, where small teams of soldiers fight in the war-torn city planet of Iskandria. The scene of countless vicious conflicts between competing factions, the planet is now also threatened by aggressive alien incursions.

AN ARTEMIS CLASS BIOMECH RUSHES TO SUPPORT A PATROL OF ANDROSYNTHS ARMED WITH PULSE RIFLES, AND ACCOMPANIED BY A ‘POINTMAN’ HEAVY ANDROSYNTH. 



The Artemis Class Biomech and ‘Pointman’ Heavy Androsynth are from the URBAN WAR: MAN AGAINST MACHINE GAMEBOX by URBAN MAMMOTH [www.urbanmammoth.com]. The four Tactical Androsynths are actually from the now discontinued Androsynth pack 13301, as opposed to the four MKII Androsynths that come in the boxed set. The starter set also contains a Viridian Force of six infantry miniatures (Colonial Marines and a Sniper), Hexagon Construction Set, Urban War rulebook and two D10 dice. It costs £30.

Within the Urban War Universe, the Syntha are portrayed as a society that potentially is the next step in the evolution of mankind. They are dedicated to the advancement of science and technology, and believe that through their superiority in technology the inhabitants of Prime will ultimately dominate all other forms of life. As a result this (alongside Urban Mammoth’s decision to withdraw their original range of robotic Androsynth models in favour of a far more slender-looking MKII Tactical Androsynth miniature), the Syntha are increasingly being depicted as sleekly designed biomechanoids, cyborgs and robots, with startlingly clean white body armour, and gold-plated joints.

 

Unfortunately this sleek, crisp and sterile look to the Syntha jarred somewhat with the previously painted company of filthy, soiled and dishevelled Viridian Marines [See Below]. The war-torn city planet of Iskandria is a dirty place, as is the business of mass-producing robots and augmenting cyborgs with neural implants, weapons and armour. The Syntha on Iskandria would be as polluted as the planet’s atmosphere, with their bare metal showing and worn out components ‘patched up’ with inferior (and obvious) replacements. The older MKI Androsynths would still be present in large numbers, their joints (and armour) dirty and green-hued with seeping oil and fluid leaks.   

Because the ‘colour’ of the majority of models was going to be bare metal, a couple of the Androsynths were initially experimented upon using various applications of ‘watered-down’ Black Ink upon the model’s bare metal. Regrettably not one of these tests produced a ‘quick’n’easy’ method of painting the figures to an acceptable quality. So instead, having first super-glued all of the models to their bases, the miniatures were treated to two undercoats of “Chaos Black”. This would form the basic ‘under-colour’ for all of the Syntha, and is an easy (tried and tested) method for helping create the illusion of metal on a model once it has been ‘dry-brushed’ using a metallic paint.
























Each model was then individually ‘dry-brushed’ with “Mithril Silver”, using a Citadel Large Drybrush by GAMES WORKSHOP. ‘Dry-brushing’ is a technique where the paintbrush is gently ‘drawn’ over a model, having first wiped off most of the paint on the brush onto a tissue. The brush has just enough paint left on it to ‘catch’ the raised edges of the detail on a model, and ‘pick them out’. By using “Mithril Silver” over “Chaos Black”, the robots quickly sprang to life, with their joints, wiring, tubing, nuts and bolts, and armour plating all becoming readily visible, and seemingly made out of metal.
 


Once completed “Chaos Black” was used to paint all of the Androsynths’ Pulse Rifles, as well as any areas on the five robots and Biomech which were going to be eventually painted “Dwarf Bronze”, in order to represent their replacement limbs, armour plating, or joints. In addition to this, the ‘Pointman’ Heavy Androsynth’s Chain Gun was also painted “Chaos Black” in preparation for a coat of “Boltgun Metal”.

Two to three coats of “Dwarf Bronze” were then applied to all of the areas where the robots had received their inferior replacement parts. As each Androsynth was ‘unique’ and had suffered their own ‘wear and tear’, no two models were given exactly the same replacement parts, although the feet and knees were predominantly “Dwarf Bronze”. However, the level of difficulty in reaching a given area with a paintbrush determined the majority of areas where components had been substituted.



All of these “Dwarf Bronze” areas were then treated to a wash of Brown Ink. Certain robotic joints and adjoining armour plating were also washed with Brown Ink, combined with watered-down Dark Green Ink, in order to suggest an oil or fluid leak in that area. Finally all of the robots eyes, as well as the Artemis Class Biomech’s visor, were painted “Ice Blue” and then given a wash of Blue Ink.



In order to make the Biomech stand out (as the figure was predominantly dressed in black), her hair was initially painted with “Red Gore”, and then given a wash of Brown Ink. Her face, bare foot and stomach were painted with “Elf Flesh”, and then given a few washes of watered-down Brown Ink in order to bring out the muscle tone (particularly in her exposed abdomen). Each of the six models’ bases was then painted “Chaos Black”, and each entire model was treated to a coating of PVA glue. Once hardened, each Syntha’s base was flocked with a mixture of sand and static grass from GAMES WORKSHOP.
 

WHILST A VIRIDIAN SNIPER KEEPS WATCH FROM AN UPPER LEVEL, VIRIDIAN ECO-WARRIORS ‘HOLE UP’ IN THE RUINS OF THE BUILDING, READY TO ATTACK ANY PASSING ANDROSYNTH PATROL.

 

These Viridian Eco-Warriors are also from the URBAN WAR: MAN AGAINST MACHINE GAMEBOX by URBAN MAMMOTH [www.urbanmammoth.com]. The boxed set contains a Viridian Force of six infantry miniatures, which consists of three Colonial Marines, a Veteran Colonial Marine, a Colonial Marine Sergeant and a Sniper.

Before the models were super-glued on to their bases, what little flash (excess metal from the moulding process) there was present upon them was removed using a sharp modelling knife, and the odd moulding line was removed using an old nail file. Each soldier was then treated to two watered-down undercoats of “Dark Flesh”. This would form the basic colour of the soldier’s uniforms and would make painting the models significantly quicker and less fiddly than if the models had initially been given an undercoat of “Skull White” or “Chaos Black”, and then had the brown areas ‘picked out’ with the “Dark Flesh”.



A thin line of “Chaos Black” mixed with Black Ink was then used to ‘box off’ each model’s helmet, soldier pads, gloves, weapon and boots. This ‘painting technique’ effectively separates different colours and ensures that there is no unsightly ‘overspill’ between them. In addition to this, once the model has been treated to a coating of PVA glue, these black lines should provide an impression of shadow.



















Having decided upon a green and blue colour scheme for the Eco Warriors, the helmets were painted “Camo Green” and the shoulder-pads and gloves “Shadow Grey”. In order to give each individual model some uniqueness, different (chest, backpack and waist) pouches on different models were also painted “Shadow Grey”, as well as the odd kneepad. The “Camo Green” helmets were then treated to a mixed watered-down wash of Dark Green Ink and Brown Ink. All the “Shadow Grey” areas received a mixed watered-down wash of Brown Ink and Blue Ink. These washes really helped bring out the detail of the models, created the illusion of shadow and also gave the marines a dirty, dishevelled washed-out look.    



















All areas of “Dark Flesh” were then given a very heavy wash of Brown Ink. This brought out all of the detail of the soldier’s breathing tubes, creases in their uniforms and pouches on their trousers and chest. In addition to this, Brown ink was also applied to the “Dark Flesh” blankets, on top of each soldier’s “Chaos Black” backpack (which had been super-glued to the model just prior to their being under-coated).

Each model was simply packed with tiny details, and a number of these were then ‘picked out’ using “Boltgun Metal” over a “Chaos Black” undercoat. Such areas consisted of each soldier’s breathing mask, their goggles, any grenades or rifle sight scopes which were located on their shoulder-pads or gloves, the buttons on their chest pouches, belt buckles, and the antenna to their backpacks. In addition to this, the occasional model carried either an axe or shovel on their backpack, and these two were painted “Boltgun Metal” (with their handles either being painted “Bubonic Brown” or alternatively “Red Gore”).



All of the areas painted “Boltgun Metal” were then treated to either one or two washes of watered-down Black Ink. All of the Viridian Marine’s name labels were picked out with “Skull White”, and “Blood Red” or “Goblin Green” were used for the soldier’s infra-red goggles and target-locking optics. A watered-down Brown Ink wash was used to dirty up the name labels, whilst pure Red Ink was carefully washed over the “Blood Red” and pure Dark Green Ink was used for the “Goblin Green” areas. Each model’s rifle and backpack was simply left “Chaos Black”, as were the majority of their boots (as the odd one had been painted using “Shadow Grey” with a watered-down mixture of Brown Ink and Blue Ink).



Certain models were also painted slightly differently in order to help identify them on the battlefield. The Veteran Colonial Marine was given a “Shadow Grey” peaked cap, whilst the Sniper received a simple “Chaos Black” cloak. A problem with the Sniper model’s rifle scope also resulted in the miniature having a new sight drilled into it, which was painted “Blood Red” with a Red Ink wash. Each model’s base was then painted “Chaos Black”, and the entire model was treated to a coating of PVA glue. Once hardened, each Colonial Marine’s base was flocked with a mixture of sand and static grass from Games Workshop.