Robotech RPG Tactics Zentradi Regult Battle Pod

Back as a young teen with a paper route, I would make sure to get going extra early on Saturday mornings so that I would be finished and home in time to watch Robotech on TV.

As a later teen, I had the Palladium Robotech RPG books and would watch reruns on VHS.

So when Palladium ran their KickStarter for a miniatures game that would have all the mecha from the original Macross saga, it was a no-brainer that I would back it. And like everyone else that invested in the development of this game and miniatures, I wait for all the production to be finished so that I can get all my awesome models! Should be any month now.

However, about a year ago at one trade show or another - maybe the GAMA Trade Show, maybe Adepticon - they had some pewter versions of the Regult Battle Pod available and I was able to get my hands on one.

Hopefully the final design is a more rounded, "pod" design - this one does have a funny angle in the middle of the fuselage (the blue part ought to be more spherical). Still, as they get closer and closer to finishing production, I get more and more excited, so wanted to get some paint down on this guy right away.

The white was base-coated VMC Pale BlueGrey, shaded with VMC French Mirage Blue, and highlighted with white. I had all three colors "open" on my wet palette and mixed intermediate colors as needed from them.

The blue is VMC Deep Sky Blue, shaded with GW Ice Blue (or is that a VGC color? Or did I just make up a name when labeling that bottle with a sharpie?) and Ultramarines Blue and highlighted by adding white to the Deep Sky.

The grey was VMC Neutral Grey, shaded with VMC Black Grey and Black, Highlighted adding white to the Neutral Grey.

Watching the discs again as an adult (alleged) makes me think the whole thing is a lot better off without Minmei...

New Citadel Hobby Tools - Don't Throw Money Away

Games Workshop has recently advertised their new line of Hobby Tools, and the entire set can be had for the price of $150 - or $180 if you're in Canada, because they are still using a 1999 world economic model.

That price is not a "special deal" - it is actually $4 more than buying the tools individually. But it's less clicks, and comes with a canvas wallet to keep your tools in for traveling.

Many newcomers to the hobby may not know where to acquire some of the specialized tools needed to prepare and build models, so may think that the tools offered by GW are the best option, or the only option.

Tools can be had much cheaper, allowing you to spend your hobby dollars on more models, not throwing your cash away on overpriced tools.

Here are some side-by-side comparisons:


GW "Citadel Fine Detail Cutters" - $30

Xuron 170-II Micro-Shear Flush Cutter - $7.68 on Amazon

Both of these tools do the exact same job. Flush cutting in tight spaces with little effort. Total savings so far? $22.32

GW "Citadel Drill" - $26

Professional Quality Brass Pin Vice - $4.56 on Amazon

The GW one DOES come with 6 drill bits, though, in "Lasgun, Bolter, and Heavy Bolter" sizes. Useful when trying to match them up with a gauge of pinning wire or paper clip... So we will also have to buy drill bits for the Amazon one.

Drill Bit Set (15 pcs) - $4.50 on Amazon (Drill total $9.06)

So now you have a Pn Vice and FIFTEEN drill bits (not just 6), in actual real-world sizes for under ten bucks. Total saved so far? $39.26

Citadel Sculpting Tool Set - $25

Grizzly H7709 Pick Set - $7.50 on Amazon

Here you get 12 double-sided tools instead of just three, for much less money. But for sculpting, I also find these silicone clay shapers (or color shapers) to be super-useful. 

Firm Color Shapers, Size 0 - $17.81 on Amazon

At $25.31, our sculpting tools come in 31 cents over GW's set. But they give you 3 tools, and this option gives you much more versatility at 17 tools. Fourteen extra tools for 31 cents! Total saved so far? $38.95.

Citadel Knife - $25

Excel Grip-On Knife - $8.02 on Amazon

Both knives comes with 5 blades. If you have ever used one of GW's plastic hobby knives, you will know that it feels cheap and un-safe. What I like about the second style of knife is that the blade release is at the back of the blade rather than up front at the chuck - so you don't keep loosening your blades as you work. Total saved so far? $55.93.

Citadel File Set - $18

Tekton 6655 Needle File Set (10 pcs) - $5.82 on Amazon

Ten files, not just two. And for a third of the price. Total amount saved so far? $68.11

Citadel Mouldline Remover - $17

#28 Concave Hobby Blades (5 pcs) - $8.18 on Amazon

The GW does not have a replaceable blade - when it dulls, you buy a whole new tool. I generally use my regular XActo knife fore scraping mold lines, but we'll go ahead and throw this shape of blade in that you can throw into that Excel knife handle to replicate the "Mouldline Remover." And when it dulls, replace it - this pack comes with 5 blades.

Total saved? $76.93.

That is more than 50% off - AND you get 9 extra drill bits, 14 extra sculpting tools, 8 extra files, 4 extra "mouldline removers"... 

The price of their tools does not make sense. Do not buy them, and do not let anyone you care about buy them. It is absolute stupidity to throw $77 extra dollars away, and get LESS for it.

For that much cash, you can get yourself a Land Raider. Those Dark Angel fliers. A 3-pack of Eldar War-Walker. Or a 200-point (or so) Infinity army.

Spread the word, folks. Friends don't let friends buy stupid. 

Warsenal Dumpsters

I dunno. I kinda think they look like garbage.

Ha! They're supposed to, of course! These realistic terrain accessories by Warsenal add depth to any battlefield. And (if you build them right and your buddy doesn't break them...) the lids are fully operational!

I used three weathering techniques: Chipped paint using some blister pack foam dabbed into some dark brown-black and sponged on. General grime, dirt and rust using earthy colors through an airbrush. And finally dripping muck and rust using inks and a fine detail brush, hand-painted on.

A Warsenal shipping container, dumpster, and construction pallets providing cover to the first Infinity models I ever painted, about 7 years ago. Everything looks great together!

Warsenal Shipping Container

Shipping crates. Probably because of AT-43 (almost every model it seemed came with a realistic 28mm-scale cargo container), the shipping crate or cargo container has become an ubiquitous feature on Infinity gaming tables everywhere. And almost every after-market terrain manufacturer has their own version.

This particular one, by Warsenal, is unique in that each of the six panels that makes up the walls of the container are removable as doors, offering a variety of tactical options when laying out a table. Do you leave a panel open, offering an easy way in as well as a covered firing position? Do you leave out two, creating a fire lane through the crate? Do you leave all the doors in, forcing models to use short movement skills to open the doors if they want to move inside? You can even replace a door entirely with another ladder section.

Warsenal also has available a set of barricades that serve admirably as walls, fire lane disruptors, and cover for your infantry when arranged on the table top.

However, these barricades are also ingeniously designed to slot on to the tops of the shipping containers, offering cover to shooters atop the crates.

The shipping containers stack on top of each other and can overlap and bridge each other. There are also custom doors with numbers or multi-lingual signage, a cool bridge piece, and small cube containers as well that are all stackable and interchangeable.

I plan on bulking up my collection of these versatile containers soon!

Warsenal Pallets

You know those wooden pallets you see in warehouses and around loading docks? Well, Warsenal makes some miniature ones for your gaming table.

They come eight in a pack for just six bucks, and I went ahead and got three packs to litter my table with. Stacked up next to dumpsters or behind buildings, it's details like these that really start to bring your table to life and make it feel "lived-in."

Simple, but awesome!

I painted them really quickly, base-coating them with an airbrush using VMC London Grey, then hitting them in spots with airbrushed P3 Hammerfall Khaki and VMC German Camo Black-Brown before lightly drybrushing the whole thing with P3 'Jack Bone.

New Warsenal Pillbox

Warsenal has just come out with a new budget-friendly bunker for your table top battles.

The USAriadna "Comanche" Colonial Defensive Post is a great-looking terrain piece with a fully playable interior, and retails for only $12 - or two for $20! A very inexpensive way to fill up a table quickly, especially for a terrain-intensive game like Infinity. And if you're hosting a tournament and need LOTS of terrain - it's a great deal.

The Comanche bunker reminds me of the Atlantic Wall emplacements, and it matches the style of the Warsenal Command Bunker.

They are super easy to assemble - each one took only about 15 minutes to put together.  I painted these four quickly in an afternoon.

I base-coated with VMC Pale Bluegrey, then shaded this with VMC Blue Green, VGC Turquoise, then P3 Coal Black. I then highlighted by re-applying some Pale Bluegrey, and finally white. Orange areas are GW Blazing Orange highlighted with Golden Yellow and shaded with Skorne Red (I applied that over a base of GW Macharius Solar Orange, since it covers in a single coat). Weathering was added with P3 Bloodstone and VMC Orange Brown, and paint chips applied with some blister foam and P3 Umbral Umber.

You'll notice that there are two different shapes - mirror images of each other. I am super happy with how good these look, especially for the price, and how quick they were to assemble and paint.  I can't wait to see what's next in this particular line.