Iron Mike

Mike Tyson

In the past, I have posted items that I have built using mostly parts from Dollar Tree toys.  Meet "Iron Mike".  I cobbled him together using parts from several Dollar Tree Final Faction sets.

The base of the tank was formed by combining the "tank" treads from one set and securing them together with plasticard.  The back was made from the rear portion of the torso armor.  The helmet was mounted on top.

I placed two twin miniguns on the sides of the helmet. A sound cannon was made from a  cut down weapon in the pack and attached to the top. I also added a laser guidance system (made from old bitz) to the front of the helm. An array window sits just above the laser.

Two turbine boosters (made from other weapons from the set) were added to the top of the base. I added some shielding to them from parts I removed the leg braces in one of the sets. An air intake vent was mounted to the front of the tank (made from old bitz). A debris bar was placed at the base of the front of the vehicle to keep rubble from the treads (made from old bitz). Lastly an exhaust vent was attached to the rear.

I then primered the model.  It was then painted olive green.  The treads, minigun barrels, and turbines were painted black.  Next everything was given a brown-black wash.  I dry brushed on some lighter green on the body to bring out the details.  The black areas were dry bushed with a medium gray. The laser was painted bright red.  Lastly I added some silver in some areas to illustrate paint wear on the figure.  The treads were placed on the model and I gave the entire figure a clear coat. Done!

I named him Iron Mike in honor of the Champ. This AI Mini Tank (inspired by this picture of a Russian AI tank I found online) is a tough little bugger.  It's able to take some good hits and deliver killer blows in return.  The sound cannon can rattle the enemy troops brains and the twin mini guns (with laser guidance) will deliver the body punches. The twin turbines give it the speed and power to take the battle to the enemy.  The AI system allows Iron Mike (Designation: MT - 03AI) to make crucial decisions on the spot.

Russian AI Mini Tank

"Iron Mike"

Waaagh(tever!!!)

I meant to post some picks of my recently painted Space Orks with the Waaagh Buggy I did back in November of 2023.  I also have the Raptor I recently purchased in the pics as well.  So here you go!  Perouse the pictures at your leisure.  Enjoy!!!

Bad to the Bone

 

My latest edition to the collection is a Kharn Brute.  I got this figure at the Dollar Tree.  It is from their Final Faction Line.  According to the fluff, the Kharn are an alien race determined to plunder the Earth of its resources.  I have modified several Kharn figures already and couldn't resist adding this one to the fold.

I made a multitude of modifications to the figure as well as giving it a repaint.  I first took the figure apart so I could remove the arms.  I then reassembled it and glued the head and legs into place.  Crayola Model Magic was added to where the arms were attached so that I could change the angle of the arms from the torso.  Once the arms were glued into their new positions, I was ready to add weapons.

The bone club on the right was made from a pack of 36 bones from the Dollar Tree's Halloween accessories. The bones are made from foam so I coated it with multiple layers of PVA glue and Modge Podge to harden it before a painted it.  I then sealed it.

The sword is a modified Chaos Sword from Warhammer.  I replaced the grip of the sword and the pummel (now a skull).  I had a bunch of spare parts left over from the set of Vargheists I've been working on. I added bone-pierced flesh to the upper arms of the beast, a set of tusks to the mouth, and 4 boney spikes along the spine on the back.  The top spike has an impaled upper human torso on it.

The entire creature was painted coal black.  I went back and highlighted the raised areas with a metallic purple.  When everything was dry, I clear-coated the entire figure.

The pic is not the best (sorry).  I like the way the figure turned out.  It looks like it is pissed and on a rampage.  Because of this, I have renamed the creature a Kharn Rampager.

Creepy Crawlers

Does anyone still remember those?  Does anyone still have burn scars from the heater thingy??  Good times!  These creepy crawlers aren't quite the same, but cool none-the-less.

The big guy is a repaint and slightly modified Final Faction Kharn Huntra figure from the Dollar Tree.  I closed the holes in the launchers with some putty.  I gave it a coat of carbon paint.  I then drybrushed metallic green over the raised areas.  The teeth were painted tan and the eyes metallic red.  When the teeth dried, I gave them a red wash.  When it dried, I came back in with a light beige to highlight them.  

The areas that I puttied were painted carbon.  I next gave them a light coat of the metallic green.  A watered down dab of lime green was gently applied to where I closed the holes and lastly some watered down black was added there as well.  The whole thing was clear-coated and placed on an oval base.  

The small spider is my prototype for my upcoming spider army.  The body was painted brown and the legs were painted with alternating sections of gray and tan.  When everything dried, I gave it a black wash.  Once it dried, I went back and drybrushed the legs and mandibles with a light beige.  I added a lighter brown to the body segments.  I then went back in with some black on the rear of the figure, were the segments meet, and were the legs attach to the body.  Lastly, some gold touches were added to the eyes.

Like the Huntra figure, this spider was clear-coated and given a base.  Not bad for a day's work.

Rise of the Machines

I indicated in a previous post that I was going to unveil my newest additions to my ever expanding miniatures collection.  Low and behold, the ABCs (Automated Bot Cannons).  These four beauties are modified and repainted X-4 Defense Turrets from the Final Faction Line available at Dollar Tree Stores.

I added two plastic spacers (from the local hardware store) to the front of each to achieve the cannon effect.  The figures were then spray painted silver.  When they dried, they were given a wash (to "dirty them up").  I went back in and highlighted areas with platinum.  They were each given a red laser "eye" and then some water transfer numbers were added to the front and back.  Finally the figures were clear coated and then attached to their bases.

Not bad - four figures for under $8.00.  I think they look cool.  I hope you like them too.  Check out the pic.  Until next time, keep it real.

What The Heck???

Spiders???  Dinosaurs???  Robot Cannons???  What the heck is going on on my hobby table???  The answer is that all of these things are part(s) of upcoming projects.

I'm going to make a large Drow/Drider spider army.  The Saurs will get some attention and basing (I got them for a great price at Wally World.).

The Bot-Cannons should be finished up by the end of the week.  They are modified X-4 Turret Guns from Final Faction.  I grabbed 4 of them at the Dollar Tree.  Pics to follow soon.

I'm going to need to clean up some before anything gets done.  No room to work! Yikes!!!

...and on the Ground.

 Here's the rest of the pics. I had mentioned.

Kriegshund (War Dog or Hound of War)

The gang's all here,  Run while you can.

*Of note, the Ukrainians use of drones against Russian tanks inspired me to create the Swamp Bug.  The "Mosquitos" and the "Kreigshund" models I created a while back.  I finally had the chance to finish the rest of the crew and went for it.  I like 'em.  I hope you do too.  Stay safe out there. 

"Swamp Bug" DT-350 AD

Nasty Pests in the Air

I just completed a bunch of war machines largely made from items from the Dollar Tree.  The 3 tanks were a buck a piece.  A bunch of odds and ends from Final Fraction accessory packs were added. *(See next entry.)  Additionally, other accessories became the nucleus of the drone models.  A pack of women's plastic curlers (landing gear) and a 2 tubes of superglue later (along with some acrylic paints) a full on mechanized unit emerged.  *Flying object stands and decals are from Games Workshop.  Enjoy the pics.

2 daytime "Skeeter Drones" DT-250 ADs

2 night "Skeeter Drones" with a "Swamp Bug" Drone  DT-350 AD

An entire "Nests" of the pests

Repaints

 A little while back I posted about picking up a bunch of a stuff from the Dollar Tree.  I included some pictures of a few of the items.  Over the last couple of days, I did a repaint on three of them.  Here's a picture of the finished models.

That's a Bargain

I was at my local Dollar Tree checking out the toy section for anything I might be able to use/modify for my miniature wargaming hobby (sickness) and struck gold.  The new wave of Final Faction figures, vehicles, and accessories is out and they had a huge assortment of it.  I grabbed 4 of the Arrow ATV with 2 armor and weapons packs  (to be converted into Ork Waaaagh Trukks and Imperial Desert Vehicles), a pack of the Kharn Crawlers (2 in a pack). and the P-131 Mech with accessory pack.  Each items was $1.25.  For around 9 bucks that's a lot of stuff.  I'm looking forward to digging into these items and seeing what I can come up with.  Pics to follow at some point down the road.

Arrow ATV and Accessories

Kharn Crawler

P-131 Mech

The Lone Ranger

I watched a video on converting the Final Faction A.C.R.M. Figure into a combat droid/walker.  Here's the link to the video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd8OCjZQhYA

After watching it, I went to the Dollar Tree and picked one up.  For the most part, I stuck to what I saw in the video, modifying the paint scheme somewhat.  I did add a few items from the Final Faction accessory packs. I also glued the head, arms, and legs so that couldn't move. For a few hours of time and a little over $4, I'm stoked at how cool this figure turned out.

Take a look at the Ranger Class Combat Droid Series TX-281.  It's know by the Grunts it supports simply as "Walker".

I Have The Power

 

Well, I may not have the power but I do have these two pretty cool miniatures which I bought at the Dollar Tree.  They are from the Mattel Micro Masters of the Universe collection.  The store did have several more figures in the set (Man-At-Arms, Mer-Man, and Orko) but I decided to just get these two.   Each figure is roughly 2 inches tall.  He-Man and Skeletor can now battle for all Eternia (LOL) on my (still yet to be finished) wargaming table.

Death From Above

 With a ton of parts left over from the tank project, I decided to see what else I could come up with.  In one of the Final Faction accessory packs there is something that looks like a drone.  After 10 minutes of searching the internet, I found this picture.  It is a Chinese attack drone called a Blowfish.  With it in mind, I set out to see if I could mimic it.

I modified a machine gun from the Heavy Weapons accessory pack and removed the night vision goggles from the helmet in the Covert Ops. pack.  I cut down part of an old plastic hair curler for landing gear.  I found a plastic cap to cover the top.  I made some rocket launcher tubes.  I glued everything together and when I was done I had one very cool attack drone.

I painted it a light gray so that it would blend in better when in the sky and gave it a matte clear coat.  I ordered some clear plastic stands on eBay to mount it on.  For some reason, it reminds me of a mosquito.  I call it a DT-250 AD.  It stands for Dollar Tree, a little over 2 bucks, attack drone.  I plan to have four of them when all is said and done.  Check out the pictures below.

Today is the 20th Anniversary of 9/11.  Let us not forget all the lives lost that day.

Some New All Stars

 

Starlink Battle for Atlas by Ubisoft has put out some pretty cool miniatures for their game. The miniatures break down into two categories: Ships and Pilots. I saw some of the miniatures at Dollar Tree while in Florida.  For a buck, I said why not and bought the Razor Lemay pilot figure.  She is cool looking.  She has that post-apocalyptical feel and sort of a Storm from the X-Men punk look.  I like the guitar she has strapped to her back as well.

I liked the Razor figure so much that I turned around and bought the Eli Arborwood pilot.  Eli is a cross between a plant-man and a gunslinger.  He doesn't sound very cool, but in his case, seeing is believing.

I've attached pictures of each.

As far as progress on my Warhammer Chaos Army.  The Khorne figures are finished.  I'm more than halfway done with the Chaos Warriors. I hope to start the Nurgle Cavalry next week.  All in all, things are going fairly smoothly.  Can't wait to see the entire set completed.  

While working on the army, I've been enjoying Voo Doo Potato Chips from Zapp's.  I've been washing them down with some Kona Big Wave Golden Ale.  Great stuff!!!  Go get some!