I needed some low level grunts – really low quality “Drones” in game terms – to field in Swatters games at the start of the year. Recently I found a few boxes of these creepy-crawlies for sale and figured that rather than spend a few days researching, buying, cleaning, painting and basing these lowest-of-the-low grade troops that I would use these toys instead. As a couple of Swatters scenarios use a surprisingly large number of Drones as sentries, this route was also more cost effective.
Ants vs Orks.
The translucent pink ants are a bit of a laugh, like a cheap Doctor Who effect or something. Given the choice, the pink guys will hit the table more frequently than the brown or black ones.
Giant Maggots vs NBC suited humans. The bugs seem to be gaining the upper mandible.
The maggots are also quite fun and sum up the general crappiness of the drone troop type in Swatters quite well. The determined looking maggots on the left glow in the dark, which is of limited use when wargaming. They are made from a sticky, stretchy, jelly kind of substance which makes them less than ideal to game with really.
The synchronised wigglers on the right are made from a rigid brown plastic which is handier for gaming with.
Cheap and quick.
Filed under: Miniatures | Tagged: 2013, Bug, Sci-fi, Swatters |
sho3box 
I can see these fellows getting quite a bit of action in the Pulp genre Indiana Jones style games, deathworld safaris and so forth. If you are arsed you could probably quickly throw together a “hive” for them to spawn from out some polystyrene off cuts and textured paint.
This post made me think of this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070531/
LikeLike
Never saw that film. The ant film that I always think of is “Them” but thats about giant – as in bigger than a tank – ants.
I am planning to (hopefully) finish off my remaining post-apoc/wasteland/Deathworld terrain over September/October. That includes some deathworld flora along with other bits. I was thinking that a painted dried seed pod – the sort of thing that you can pick up at home decor places alongside pot pourri might be a quick and easy way to add a hive-like thing http://www.123rf.com/photo_15396266_dried-lotus-seed-pod.html
The ants and other bugs are fun things to have in the scenario arsenal for whenever. Those flora and fauna parts of the RT rulebook always fired my imagination.
LikeLike
Ahaha these look awesome! What a fun idea!
Not only that but now that I’m looking at them, I wonder how little toys like that would feel about being primed and painted for some bases. Hmmm!
Also, +1 for pink.
LikeLike
Cheap toys are a great way to supplement miniature collections, particularly for terrain and sci-fi vehicles and things like that. Not all of the plastics used for cheap toy manufacture take paint very well though. Some experimentation required.
As for pink, I enjoy painting that colour for some reason. I have old eldar in pink and white and recent DreadBall stuff has featured quite a bit of pink. So yeah, +1 for pink ants and pink in general 🙂
LikeLike
If you are after bugs try these http://wargamesfoundry.com/our-ranges/gob/tlekkan/
Mat
LikeLike
I have had my eye on the tlekkan for a while. As much as anything its because the rule set written to use them is by Jake Thornton, who seems to be writing EXACTLY the sorts of games that I like these days.
I am trying to stick to sci-fi 28mm though, although the tlekkan could be shoehorned into pulp sci-fi very easily. Some day perhaps.
Thanks for the feedback.
LikeLike