by Mark Luchini

This unfortunate Hunter Mk. II took a snub cannon hit to the back causing its fuel tank and engine to explode.

Rear hits are a common occurrence when Heavy Gears enter close combat. The pilots will skate circles or figure eights around each other trying to get a rear flanking shot. This maneuver takes advantage of the armor at its weakest and the pilot much less likely to see it coming - especially if the target is pre-occupied with one or more gears taking shots at him.

The Buildup

This was a pretty simple kit. It was two parts, the main body and an arm carrying a Vibroblade. I decided to keep the arm for another mini and filled the hole with paper clips to represent broken hydraulics.

The model was cleaned in Castrol Super Clean to get all the mold release out (and to strip a previously bad paint job), gone over again with soap and a toothbrush, and primed in White Gesso by Liquitex.

Painting, on the other hand, was where all the real fun is... All paints used were Games Workshop paints. I tried to be different and paint in Non Metallic Metal colors, using various shades of greys for the metal areas. I used Chaos Black, Codex Grey, Fortress Grey and Skull White to be specific. Vomit Brown, Vermin Brown, Bronzed Flesh, Snakebite Leather were used for the camouflage. Black and brown inks were used to represent leaking oils and hydraulic fluids. And finally, a thinned down brown wash was used to bring out some of the other details.

The hazard stripe on the missile pod is a decal made by Griffon Games. It was placed using Micro Sol and Set solutions.

Image: Squished like a bug

Image: Manky

Image: Roadkill

Image: Bought the farm

Image: Ground beneath the bootheel of History

Image: Gonna make an interesting fossil....

Image: Splat

Image: Bug on a windshield