Been quite a while since I did one of these painting updates huh? Time to come back with an interesting one.

Earlier this year, Combat Octopus released his SSO sets (two packs and a support set), giving us a set of modern Russian/AK-equipped operators with a variety of weapons systems and a literal shit ton of pouches. The packs even include some Western gear, making them a great intro set for Ultramodern wargaming. However, sometimes people want weapons that aren’t on the list – such as modernised rail-equipped versions of prototype Russian rifles from the 1990s. Luckily, someone paid to commission a brand new figure for the range, and so we got another release out of CO.

The Team Leader set, as you can see, is a little unusual for a Combat Octopus figure in that it comes with one complete body, rather than being split at the waist or with exposed MOLLE loops so you can set up your own selection of pouches. It also comes with a new head design and NCO pointing hand, as well as four weapons – for the Western fan, there is a short AR-15 rifle but for those who do care about the weapon matching the mags then you can pick between an AK-12SK, an AK-74 and a modernised AN-94. Yep, the Akbakan, beloved of gamers and feared by those who need to deal with the mechanical system hiding beneath the handguard to give it the two round hyperburst feature. Additionally, this one is actually based off a unique variant which has been adjusted for modern use. The stock has been replaced with a buffer tube, a rail alongside the top of the receiver (complete with an Aimpoint-style red dot) and a suppressor. It’s definitely a unique looking rifle, but also incredible cool.

Of course, I couldn’t simply take him as he comes out of the pack. I found myself delving back through the literal massive pile of heads that Combat Octopus has released over the last few years. While scrolling through, I found one of the heads from the Anti-Material Sniper Loyalty Reward, a balaclava and headset combo. Putting the head and body together, I suddenly had the vibe of Obi-Nairboi – the balaclava head and pretty impressive tactical gear with a full-featured rifle with all its attachments.

So then it came down to painting up my version (Qui-Gon Bazi if you will), and I started off by almost immediately ignoring much of the clothing underneath. Technically, he is wearing a set of tactical clothing, with Crye-Esque shirt and trousers. However, it’s been a while since I’ve sat down and painted so I decided to go for non-camo clothing. I ended up taking the iconic purple top from Nairobi, mixed with a solid colour set of tan trousers. All the tactical gear was painted in my usual tan colour. For the weapon, I ended up sponging on some rough desert colour to help break up the pure black and make it look suitably “veteran operator-y”.

The end result is something I’m pretty happy with. It’s not my best painted figure, but as someone who hasn’t painted in quite a while I’m happy with how it came out. I may go back and add some additional touches later (some extra highlights) but I could quite happily put him on the table.

Speaking of putting him on the table, I quite like the idea of using him as a mentor for less well-equipped forces, someone directing the local milita around while able to make sure they receive the correct support from above. He is definitely not deniable – even in ChargeReal I doubt the AN-94 is rolling out of the arms factories at speed.

I’m a big fan of playing games where the OPFOR has a bit more gear than just a gun and a t-shirt, the type of opponent that causes a genuine threat through more than just force of numbers. That said, there are plenty of occasions where, sometimes, you just need a big block of militiamen to slap on the board and use the risk of being completely outnumbered rather than merely outgunned. The question is where to get the figures, especial when one day you suddenly decide to raise up the whole town against your force.

The good news is that last year, Combat Octopus ran a campaign based on Operation Gothic Serpent, focusing specifically on the Battle of Mogadishu. It didn’t go as well as many would have hoped (we only got the initial sets and a Christmas gift of some RPG gunners), but it did give us eight Somali militiamen among the starter set. The ideal figures for some civilian gunmen. However, as someone whose wargaming interests are (for the moment) more focused on the MENA theatre rather than Central or East Africa, I decided to swap the heads out for the MENA civilian heads we got all the way back in the first few Combat Octopus releases.

Each of the 8 poses can be used in several ways. If you want to get them on the printer, you can use the non-modular version, giving you a fully assembled figure that just needs a head attaching. However, if you’d like to expand your options, each body comes with 3 weapons (two variants of Chinese AK and a G3) and a complete body. But that’s not all – with something like Blender, you can use the digital kitbash pieces (separate torsos and legs) and merge them (thanks to digital models carrying little about pieces colliding through each other). For my first test, I simply went with the fully assembled figures – slap the pre-supported file on the build plate, add one of the MENA heads (and then set its scale to 110% due to it being an older release), tweak final scaling for my collection and we are off to the races.

And then some idiot left them undercoated and sprayed white for a couple of months. As he often does

However, having reached the end of March and seeing them hanging around on my desk, I decided to finally get them painted. And so, attempting to get them painted quickly, I decided to use some of Games Workshop’s Contrast paint. Despite the evangelism of my Regular Opponents (both of whom, coincidentally, also have a much greater painted figure output than I do), I’ve never really bought in on Contrast. It may be in part due to the fact I traditionally prefer to work from a black undercoat (like the old ways) as it means that when you miss something, it looks like it’s been shadowed. However, in more recent times, I’ve started adjusting my undercoat, first drybrushing on white and then spraying white. This has, of course, meant I’ve been able to try playing around with the few contrast paints I have and see how well they work.

To answer – boy, they were quick. It took me a couple of sessions to paint all 8 to completion (where in the past it would take me two sessions to get most of the way through half that much). Most of the figures are done in Contrast, except for the flesh (as I’m yet to find a flesh contrast that I prefer to Cadian Fleshtone + a wash). I did add a wash over the top at the end just to tweak the final look and bring them a little closer to the rest of my collection. The Contrast over a black/grey/white shaded comes out looking close to a base/shade/hightlight although it does look like absolute ass until it dries. It also felt like I had much less control when using it. I do feel that for the masses, where the details don’t have to be perfect, I can see myself using them, but for smaller groups, I’ll stick with my acrylics.

Overall, I really like these guys. I can already see myself preparing another plate for all the variants and seeing as later this year Combat Octopus is releasing some more MENA figures (with the upcoming Freedom Fighters), then I’ll have even more additional heads to vary up the look further. With a few additional tweaks, I could also see some more parts being mixed in to add more weapon systems, such as PKMs or RPKs. For now though, it’s time to get that next plate going so I can fill the streets with OPFOR.

These two have been on my painting desk for a while, but I thought it was time to get them finished off and talk about them. For those unaware, Breacher is a game from Black Site Studios which pits one player as a small team or single operative (unsurprisingly known as Breachers) against a horde of bad guys controlled either by another player or the AI included in the book. You build your breachers from scratch, picking equipment and bonuses from a big pile of customisation, thus letting you build the operator you want before the mission. There are a few example groups to help theme them and get their inspiration flowing, as well as providing some special abilities unique to the groups. As part of the initial release, each of these groups had a selection of figures available for them, including the pair I have painted up – Sarie and Wolf Pack.

Those of you with a careful eye might think that these guys look a little familiar, and yep – Stephen May sculpted the Breachers for the initial launch, giving us some Spectre-adjacent figures in both styles and gear. There are a few changes I’m less keen on – these guys are missing the small puddle bases that more modern Spectre figures have, leading to a few of them having some questionable ability to stand up straight without some additional support, thanks to the smallest contact points known to man. However, these two are more traditionally posed and were great fun to paint.

The Sarie organisation is based mostly within the MENA region and are pitched as one of the more careful of the Breacher groups, caring more about maintaining local infrastructure than smashing everything up. The operator comes in a mix of civilian clothes with low-profile tactical gear, not much more than a belt and chest rig combo under the jacket. She’s also carrying a M110 variant rifle (actually in the same setup as the Spectre Insurgent PMC Marksman) and sidearm. I think this is an excellent model for a SOF specialist assisting local forces, looking like one of them but with unique details or specialised equipment. Painting helped with this, the red of the head scarf providing a touch of colour to the model. I did apply some shading to the rifle for visual effect, making it look like it’s a prepared piece of kit rather than fresh from the box.

Wolf Pack are described in a way that makes them sound more like classic Western Operators – beards, operating in pairs, non-uniform but well-maintained equipment and being more than happy to smash anything needed. The figure shows that off, with a version of the SIG MCX SPEAR configured for a close quarters role (including an EoTech), combined with a plate carrier and belt combination packed full of magazines, grenades and more. The hair and beard are a nice piece of character for him, and help to make him stand out on the field. With the final paint job, next time I’d probably do more with the rifle to make the mag/rifle/vest stand out from each other, something I might go back and do later. For now, I’m happy to put him on the table.

Overall, these figures were great fun to paint up and didn’t take a huge amount of time. Painting solo figures (rather than batch painting) can be a nice change, especially when you’re painting camo elsewhere. I’d actually love to see more figures like these two, either from Black Site or the market in general – these figures are ideal for lots of different styles of games, from modern military to spy action to fighting zombies or the slow collapse style of post-apocalyptic. They will probably see plenty of action alongside the Spectre Agents range (as you can see above) or in small numbers to appear as advisors to irregular forces.

I’ll probably paint some more of the Breacher figures as well. I have a partially completed CORE figure (because legally I can’t NOT paint heavily armoured figures). The others I have printed, but I’ll be going back to try and add some wider connection points around the feet, just make sure they stick down properly. I guess time to load up Blender and add some shapes.

In a move that I hope isn’t a guide for how the rest of the year will go, I have managed to start off the second month with two figures! Ideally, I’ll be working to something more like a Fibonacci sequence rather than just “month = figures painted” – although 144 figures in one month might be interesting. For now, let’s talk about these guys.

These two figures join the figure I painted last month, adding two more low-profile agents to the mix. I like the contrast with the first guy, who looks very “Gunfighter-y”. In contrast, these two look a little more traditional undercover, with lightweight chest rigs and belts worn under outdoor clothing or jackets. The headsets, vital in close quarters or for communication, also show these guys have had a second to get geared up and ready for the operation.

With the M4-wielding figure, I love the cruiser-length shotgun slung across his back. Between that and the beard, he has the feel of some grizzled vet in the game, helped by the M4A1 being of the SOPMOD style (complete with the quad rail and SOCOM suppressor). I can see using this guy for both covert military and police action – he reminds me of some of the detectives from the breaching scene in the film Triple 9 or ready for the mean streets of an updated The Shield.

For the SCAR marksman, I like the pose of him keying this radio mic while still keeping overwatch. For the SCAR itself, I actually went for colours that match the build I’m currently running in Tarkov – the black lower and tan upper (pulled together from parts found across a series of raids) is a cool look and a nice change from the usual visuals. I also decided to go for some camo on him – it’s been a while since I painted up some patterns, so I went simple with it. Desert DPM is nice and simple too – only two colours (Vallejo Iraqi Sand base and Vallejo Beige Brown for the darker areas) and a wash, with most of the visual coming from capturing the swish

Unfortunately, I forgot to get the exact paints on each model but they are very similar to those used on the first model. I’m currently working through my GW selection, both to find which ones have dried out in their time since I last painted and which ones I actually use.

Next on the paint list is getting some figures together for test games of Project Elements. I’ve pulled out the Spectre Task Force Operators to make a high-end team but I’ve also still got a set of Combat Octopus NAWE guys on my desk… and they did add some Marksmen and Direct Fire Support figures.

aka “The One Who Looks Like A Guntuber”

Starting off the year with one figure painted during New Year’s Eve. I’ve really gone off actually going out on New Years in favour of a quieter and more relaxed intro to the new year. This year I reached for the closest model next to my desk and found myself clutching one of Spectre Miniatures’s Crisis Response Agents.

I really like this figure’s design, with the dynamic pose mixed with a very modern-looking AR15. The clothing works for a wide variety of “low profile but well trained” figures in both military and law enforcement scenarios, assuming you want a “Gunfighter” esque figure designed for close-quarters combat; The belt equipment (which includes stun grenades, plasticuffs) and rifle setup definitely tie into this specific role. This guy would also be great for BSS’s game Breacher, as he looks the role of the lone gunman up against the faceless goons.

The paint list for this figure was:

• Undercoat: Black spray with light dusting of white from above
• Base colours
  • GW Calgar Blue – Jeans
  • GW Cadian Fleshtone – Flesh
  • GW Zandri Dust – Shirt, Front Pouch
  • GW Baneblade Brown – Boot Upper, Gloves
  • GW Deathworld Forest – Chest Rig, Hat, Dump Pouch, Various Pouches
  • GW Black Templar Contrast – Headset, Base Colour for Weapon, Lower Boot, Base Colour for Glasses, Various belt pieces (pistol, holster, flexcuffs, etc)
  • GW Baal Red Contrast – Electrical tape on belt
  • GW Fire Dragon Bright – Lenses on Sunglasses
  • Vallejo US Field Drab (70.873) – Weapon details (stock, handguard, suppressor)
• Additional Base Details
  • Jeans
    • GW Nuln Oil – Shade over jeans
    • GW Caledaor Sky – Drybrush over jeans
  • GW Dawnstone – Drybrush over Rifle Mags
• Shade O’Clock
  • GW Agrax Earthshade – cover the entire model in the good stuff
• Touch-up
  • Go back over large areas with the base colours to lighten them back up again.

Next up on the painting tray are two other figures from the same set, with the agent equipped with the SCAR-H and the other with the classic M4 alongside a breaching shotgun. My aim here is to make sure these guys work alongside each other while still looking like individual agents/operators. I’ll probably use a few common colours for things such as pouches or headsets while keeping the larger areas of clothing to be more unique.