Seeds of War Kraytonian Army Diary

[marklogue]

I have embarked on a new project. Much to my excitement a large box of miniatures arrived at my house recently. Here is what it contained.



This is my Kraytonian army for Dark Realm Miniatures' Seeds of War game. Dark Realm Miniatures is a small company producing high quality Sci-Fi 6mm miniatures. The rules for Seeds of War can be downloaded from DRM's webpage here.

I chose the Kraytonians because they are a very alien looking race, quite different from other miniatures available in the 6mm scale.

Starting From the Base Up

Good looking bases are really important to the look of a 6mm army. With the size of the base in relation to the models being much larger than in 28mm miniatures a little extra effort here can have a big impact on the overall look of the army. With this in mind I decided to focus my initial efforts on the project from the base up.

The rules for basing in Seeds of War are rather flexible.

"Infantry can be mounted on any base whose total area is between 4cm and 9cm square. The base itself could be round, square, oblong or almost any shape. Vehicles need not be based though players may certainly select to do so." - Seeds of War Rules

Some of the basing options I am considering are:



Cereal Box Card - Cut to size this makes for really strong bases when you stick the miniatures on with a two-part putty, such as Selleys Knead It or Milliput. It cures rock solid after a minute or so and makes for a really durable base. I have used this previously on my Epic Khorne Army. Stick the miniatures on the rough side and the shiny side makes for a durable bottom surface.



GW Plastic Bases - The rectangular and square bases that GW produced for Epic both fit DRM miniatures nicely. While rectangular bases are still available separately from GW I felt they were a tad expensive for my taste. The square bases are only available second hand these days and I was never really a fan of them.

Washers - To fit within the rules round bases need to be between roughly 2.5cm and 3.4cm in diameter. The picture above shows a range of washers that would make suitable bases. I like the look of 6mm Sci-Fi armies on round bases so I am definitely leaning towards this option. I have used round bases in the past and used Selleys Knead It to attach the miniatures and shape the base.

The Verdict - I have decided to use round bases for the army. I will also base my vehicles on round bases. The Kraytonian army fields some very futuristic and alien looking hover tanks and I think round bases really suit them. I will also be using similar basing for my aircraft so that I have consistent basing accross the entire army.

The plan is to create several master bases for infantry, vehicles and flyers and then create a silicone mould and cast up enough bases for my army. While this is probably just as much effort as creating all my bases using washers and Selleys Knead It I have another 6mm army in the pipeline once I finish this project so the effort will pay off for me in the end.

I will also be following the progress of the project on my webpage. Larger images and a few extra pictures will be available there once the painting begins.

[cal001]

You are going to be a busy boy Mark, looking forward to seeing what marvels you turn out this time.

Cheers
Aaron

[Cthulhu_gump]

I was actually looking at these last night, Im wanting a couple of the Kraytonian flyers:

Arkiten Fighters #165
Arkator Bombers #164

What do the three different army deals cost over here?

[marklogue]

I have or am getting at least a few blisters of each of those units.

The army deals on the DRM website are only available direct from DRM. I can definitely do a deal if anyone wants to by a large army like that in one hit, either matching the sort of contents of the pre-generated armies or a completely different list.

[marklogue]

I have based up a couple of units to paint over the weekend and created masters for the rest of my bases.

They are currently swimming in silicon:



I should be able to start pumping them out on Sunday!

[marklogue]

May I present, my first painted unit, the Ketzali.



This is one of my resin bases.



Its probably actually the worst one I done as the texture doesn't go right up to the edge. I just used it to test out my basing scheme.

I am going to make another series of bases when I get some more silicon with holes drilled out the right size for the infantry and a few other problems ironed out.

[cal001]

Looking great Mark, the bases turned out a treat as well. Do they have holes in them for figures, or did you add them over the top?

Cheers
Aaron

[marklogue]

The bases that the infantry are pictured with are just washers.

I am going to drill holes in a bunch of my resin ones then recast them to make proper infantry bases once I get some more silicon.

I'll add a range of bases to my online store after I have done that.

I have found you need to keep the bases really flat to make them good for creating infantry bases after you have cast them otherwise the infantry models don't fit on as nicely.

I will post up some infantry on the resin bases by the end of the week.

[Cthulhu_gump]

Wow man they look great. Its gonna be a very nice army if you continue to follow that style. The Bases look amazing and the contrast in the skin and clothing really works well

[marklogue]

Cheers Man,

I finished up my Basileus and Honour Guard. This is the command unit for the army. The Kraytonian Force organisation follows a sort of tree structure. Taking a Basileus lets you take a certain number of primary broods, each of which allows you to take support formations. The availability of support formations is dependent on the choice of primary broods.

[Cthulhu_gump]

Looking good, I actually printed out the rules last night and Im looking at seeing how the game works.

Is it the same sort of size as say an Epic game (formationwise), or does it have formations? What would be a good size to look at for a starting army?

[marklogue]

The rules system pretty much allows for a similar looking sized force to what you would play a game of Epic with. The points system is different so the points values are fairly small for the same number of miniatures.

The Kraytonian army list consists of components similar to formations in E:A. The army list is different with a sort of tree structure branching down from the HQ then the broods you pick influencing what units are available.

This is my little battle force so far.



more photos can be found on my website.

[marklogue]

[marklogue]

My Arkator Bombers are now done.

I have just cracked open one of the Kraytonian Heavy Fliers to start assembling it. Its bigger than a Manta .

I have come up with a plan to create rules to use these for EA as well.

[marklogue]