6mm SciFi

6mm is awesome.

Back when I was way into Infinity, I set out to create a Neo Hong Kong board. I attempted to do this on a budget, and as fast as possible. I wasn’t mad about what I had come up with so that project was subsequently sold.

I still can’t shake the Neo Hong Kong idea, but recently I discovered a subreddit called r/UrbanHell. “A photography subreddit of all the hideous places human beings built or inhabit. Come here for aesthetic appreciation of the darker side of the cities, towns, and villages in our shared world. We welcome any photos which show either ugliness, or a problem in urban development.”

I find these photos haunting yet beautiful. From my preliminary searching there are no good fits to recreate this look available on the miniature market. Scratch building is not my thing, so I’ve been poking the creative force behind Steel Warrior Studios to conjure up some 3D designs for printing.

For now I’ll work with what’s available. Enter the Medina set from GC Mini.

This paint job was inspired by the work of Joshua Smith.

I also picked up some billboards.

I’m planning on using Horizion Wars written by Precinct Omega to get everything to the gaming table. Ever since watching this let’s play video back in 2016 I’ve been interested. I picked up a digital copy of Over the Horizon, an expansion which introduces Super-Mega-Mechs and Kaiju to the mix.

Which IP features this Urban Hell aesthetic, and has room for every mech and monster on the market? Battle Tech has no aliens. Gundam Wing is too rigid. I can’t find anything with the flexibility I’m looking for.

During my search I stumbled upon this fantastic article titled A Mech by Any Other Name.

‘So they gave me this spear and I said, 'What the hell am I supposed to do with that if we get attacked by giant robots?' and they said, 'First of all, they're called Guymelefs because that sounds more fantasy like...'

This got the gears in my brain churning slightly faster than their usual, ponderous pace. “Could I come up with my own term for Mechs? Nah… probably not. Whatever I come up with will surely be derivative drivel…”

Then I read through the exhaustive list found there of popular culture’s names for mechs. To my surprise they mostly suck! Honestly, I think Gundam Wing and 40k top the list with “Mobile Suit”, and “Titan” respectively. “Perhaps I can come up with something”, I thought.

B.A.V.

Sounds like a real military acronym to me. Bipedal Assault Vehicle. Good enough for me!

This was 3D printed by the aforementioned Steel Warrior Studios. She’s available on their website as the “KUZNETS KZN-1000”, designed by  Baphominiatures.

baby’s first B.A.V.

2184, a future where the new trillionaire class produce, and deploy B.A.V.s to garner influence. Also there are aliens and stuff.

I dub this model the Swiss “Benefactor”. After I finished painting her in a random colour scheme, I noticed the red cross on the hammer.

These two infantry units were initially mounted 3 to a 25mm base. Browsing #epic40k on Instagram led me to @Kitchentablekonflikts. They have a fascinating way of turning each unit into a diorama.

Continuing on with the Urban Hell theme, I tried adding details to this otherwise plain apartment building. The windows will be filled in with cellophane once painting is complete.

Here is a Lizard TAG from Infinity bashed with legs from a Warmachine figure.

My take on the Warlord Titan from Epic, complete with howdah.

Khurasan and Steel Warriors Minis collection. Here you can see how the infantry were originally based.

Finally here are some Kaiju/Demons sourced from Khursan and my lead pile.