Star Wars Legion - A Wargame Far, Far Away...

I've been working on a long commission of Star Wars Legion figures and vehicles over the last year. They're an interesting range of 28mm figures and vehicles. Let's start with a look at some of the vehicles I've completed. 

This line of miniatures is moulded in hard PVC rather than the more common HIPS styrene or polyurethane resin most wargamers are used to. 

PVC does have considerable advantages as a material for miniatures, particularly in regard to its resiliency and flexibility. However, it does have a pesky habit of warping as it cools and hardens out of the mould, leaving thin parts such as gun barrels and polearms distinctly bendy. It also dictates the use of steel moulds, which won't tolerate undercuts, so there has to be compromises in detail along the seams of the mould halves. 

This used to be a major stumbling block to the popularity of PVC for 'proper' wargaming figures. Of course, having said that, anyone who's a member of the 'Airfix Generation' might beg to differ, for many of us began our descent into the hobby with boxes of PVC 20mm WW2 or Napoleonic soldiers. Mind you, that was primarily because those were all we could get our hands on from the local toy store! 

As fond as my memories of those cream or grey soldiers who refought Waterloo for me might be, I'm rather glad that modern technology has greatly improved the ability of sculptors to cut up complex figures into easier to mould parts. I'm impressed by how well most of the Star Wars Legion minis fit together, and the quality of the poses are excellent. The detail and accuracy is certainly enough to please this original 'Wars fan. I'm sure six year old Martin would approve! 

PVC does, however, have a reputation for taking some paints with a certain reluctance. A good undercoat is essential with these miniatures. I like to use Gunze Sangyo's Mr Surfacer (the 1000 grade is perfectly good for this scale), but I'd warn you to be careful to ensure complete coverage; Raw PVC is a lousy surface for acrylics. 

On to the models!

The secret to Star Wars vehicles, in my opinion, is weathering. Neat, clean machines have no place on the battlefields of Hoth or Endor! 

Much of the work you see here is done with airbrush, either though adding layers on top of hair spray as a chipping medium, or by fading the colours towards the centres of panels successively to suggest fading under the glare of the sun (or suns). 

An Imperial AT-ST stomps through the forest floor on Endor

As the AT-ST above illustrates, a lot of original trilogy vehicles can be a bit lacking in colour. Many are simply white or grey, which no doubt helped enormously with controlling the tone and exposure of the film models on set back in the '70s and '80s. This also made it easier for a fighter or AT-AT to beat the 'squint test' — a simple means to measure the distinctiveness of a sci-fi machine. If you can still distinguish it from another machine by its shape viewed through half-closed eyes, it passes. 

So, the trick to making an interesting model of a monotone finish is to modulate the tonal range. Subtle warming or cooling of the base grey helps to break up the monotony. 

I'm not sure the brick-like Occupier tank beats the squint test...

Tamiya panel lining fluid and Weathering Master Sets (eyeblush for modellers!) add the finishing touches. I used black and brown lining fluids on the Occupier tank to suggest dust and grime settling into hatch seams and filter grilles. 

"Over there! I think I see the guy who designed the stupid gun mounts on this thing!"

If you're unfamiliar with these materials, let me recommend you at least pick up the Black Panel Lining Fluid, and one or two of the Master Sets, and experiment with an old kit. 

All you need to remember is to gloss coat the model before applying the lining fluid, and matt varnish before having a go with a Weathering Master Set. Never the other way around!

Rebel vehicles offer a little more liberty than their Imperial counterparts, but I aimed to be as authentic to the screen models as possible. So, plain white Snowspeeder it is!

Would you feel you could take on the whole Empire yourself in this?

Mind you, I didn't say plain white means clean white... Lots of chipping for this speeder. Flying in a frozen, arctic-like environment I didn't want to use mud or dust to indicate wear and tear. 

The cockpit does not have transparent parts or interior detail. (Boo!) I just airbrushed the graduations onto the masked windows, and added tiny feathered highlights in the opposite corners. 

I did enjoy painting this Landspeeder you see below; it's a very characterful model, and nicely sums up the innovativeness and desperation of the Rebels. Anything that moves can be drafted into the fight for freedom, even if it doesn't come with seatbelts, apparently...

Risking broken necks and increased insurance premiums to liberate the galaxy

The figures are particularly nice; the poses of the two rebels perched on the back are convincing, though I doubt their aim will impress Stormtroopers. (Then again, Stormtroopers must be impressed by anyone who can aim...)

The exposed starboard engine is a nice touch

I added a bullet (blast?) hole to the windshield, and dirtied it up with Reaper Sepia Wash, sponged on and then off, being careful to not let it pool or run. Careful scraping with a wooden skewer marks the deflection of pebbles / bugs / womp rats caught in the slipstream. 

The figures are very nice, but the PVC's softness betrays the definition of their weapons

All told, I am enjoying painting these. I don't collect much in 28mm nowadays, so it's a welcome diversion from 6mm or smaller scales. (My eyes particularly appreciate the larger size!)

There's some Imperial speeder bikes next in the queue, plus the first character figure. So, I will have more to show soon. Stay tuned!