The war of tomorrow in 28mm..... Part 2

Some of of you may recall my first article on aliens/villains for Ambush Alley Games' Tomorrow's War (if not, find it here). I promised then that this would be the first in a series, and here's the continuation. This time I'm looking at minis mostly from the excellent Hasslefree Miniatures, the Druusch and some other odds 'n' sods.

HFSA004 Druuschan Drones (pack of 2) 

The Druusch: Zombie soldiers and cyber zombies. Not very alien, but plenty Sci Fi, right? Here's where I mix it up a bit. The Darghaur (again, one of the big movers and shakers of the 'Tomorrowverse' select susceptible individuals from each race they conquer to 'uplift' as liaisons. I've got a bunch of human psychics already painted (of whom pics below) who can act as leaders for my units. The Druusch will effectively be irregulars under the TW rules, low quality, high morale troops (not unlike Synthetic Humans) who rely on their leaders being alive to act properly. My thinking is that the Zombies are the products of an unscrupulous scientist cadre on an outlying (and isolated) human world, who were made a simple offer through a Darghaur liaison – turn your weapons over to Darghaur service, and be freed from all ethical constraints by your new masters!

Naturally, this provides all sorts of scenario opportunities – kill the scientists, destroy the 'conversion' chambers, free the prisoners awaiting conversion etc.

The Druusch are also a much more flexible race than the Sharclons, with 3 different troop types:

The large 'Jotuns', the smaller 'Strykers', and the regular 'Drones'. 

The Drones are clearly light infantry, no better than D6 quality with TL2 weapons and maybe TL1 armour (hey, they're wearing helmets. Safety first, kids!).
The Strykers are also light infantry (no pics as yet, they're still on the bench) but I'd give them slightly higher quality and each one comes with a SAW or other light support weapon. Probably best used as specialists, 1 per drone squad.

HFSA001 Druuschan Jotun #1

The Jotuns are the big boys (These guys are on 40mm bases!). Heavy weapons, some armour, pokey little brain cases though – high firepower weapons with similar troop quality to the Strykers.

Of course, these are another unit who will be hard going to break down. Very high morale, but easy to kill, unlike the Sharclons. They could certainly have Intimidating as a quality due to their size and their heavy firepower (I'd make that cannon a 4D weapon myself.

I mentioned Psychic leadership earlier. Essentially they'd function as bot controllers in Tomorrow's War, with a limited range and disruptable only by other psychics or the controller being hit by a weapon capable of targeting them specifically (such as a sniper team) or a weapon designed to disorientate like a flashbang. I've got a few minis earmarked for this but I'm always on the lookout for more suggestions. Here they are:

Wyrd Games' Bishop

 When I was painting this guy I decided he was a convict, possibly one of the scientist's original subjects (maybe sold off by the privatised prison he was held in once his government stopped paying the holding bill - a la Mass Effect 2), hence his prison orange jumpsuit trousers, chains, and olive drab gear looted from dead jailers. As such the guy was probably revelling in his new-found power, despite the horrific experiments he had to endure to get there. Sadly, his mind did not survive the process of gifting him mental control of his new undead minions. Room in there for a sub-plot scenario pitting him and some zombies against some lightly-equipped security and the Prison Warden who sold him off?
Painting wise he's quite a simple job, but some of the fiddly details made him take longer than he should have done; a common finding with Wyrd minis. Still a solid mini, one piece and full of character and storytelling potential.

Mongoose Publishing Zombie Mistress

With a name like 'Zombie Mistress' how could I resist this one? From Mongoose Publishing, I think this is a very solid mini. She is clearly posessed of great psychic (and probably telekinetic) power but is likely to be unhinged. She'll probably have Frenzy as a special rule. I envision her as a victim of the scientist cabal, taken prisoner during the initial Darghaur invasion. Possibly not as old as she looks, prematurely aged by the psychic 'enhancement' process. I forsee a scenario with a bounty-hunting team or US Marines headhunter unit out to capture/kill her and her warparty as they try to seize more captives to add to their ranks.
Another mini with loads of scenario building potential. Paint wise, quite simple, the body suit is a more generic pale brown than the Mongoose version (which I suspect is supposed to be made of patches of human skin) using a Vallejo Model Colour English Uniform base, lightened up to GW Foundation Khemri Brown. The cloak is VMC Black Grey highlighted up through GW Mechanicus Standard Grey to Codex Grey. The hair started black and was harshly highlighted up to white, and then a coat of Devlan Mud made it look lank and grimy. The claws (and the greaves) are a Reaper gold I got as a sample pot some years ago, and the blood effect is a mix of Vallejo Game Colour Charred Brown 1:1 Tamiya Clear Red, highlighted with pure TCR.

The last mini is this, formerly from Masq-mini (I think):

Edited for those at work!

This girl is clearly not a willing victim. Brainwashed, probably drugged, maybe a natural psychic, she is held in place by chains and is clearly wrestling with the forces coursing through her mind, trying to break free. I will likely use her as a prisoner/control node of some sort in a base defence scenario, with the guardians being under her control - neutralise her and cut resistance significantly. Free her, and she could be a powerful ally in a later scenario!
I painted her as an exercise in flesh tones. She was clearly designed as a more Fantasy setting mini, looking at her clothing, so I gave her blue hair to make her a bit more punk/SF. I have deliberately left her eyes pure white to emphasise the unnatural forces she is channelling. The chains were a bit fiddly to do, being actual loose chain link, but she was a fun little mini to paint. Pick one up if you can find her!

So how do they look as forces?

Family photo - Say Cheese! :)

 Well I've got to say I'm pretty happy with them so far. I've got a trio of Strykers and a pair of additional Jotuns to add. I'd also like to add some crazed scientists as VIPs. I'm thinking Moonfleet Miniatures' and Crooked Dice's offerings here may suffice. I want looks-good-but-easy-to-paint, basically.

Forward!

 So that's some thoughts on the Druusch.

I have some thoughts on Hasslefree's Grymn to come next. These are very flexible, as we shall see....

Posted by The Doc.