Zombicide Invader - Vindicator Bot and Maul Sentry Gun

 

Vindicator Bot and Maul Sentry Gun

I went with a quick edge highlight on these rather than trying to do any sort of glazing.  The zenithal prime helped give the parts a bit of a natural gradient which helped the models not look completely flat.  They'll definitely work just fine and still match up fairly nicely with the Green Squad.

Paints used on these models:

Green Squad with supporting machines:

Next up on the workbench...

Zombicide Invader - Radka

 

Radka is the 6th and final member of the Green Squad.  It is nice to have the whole squad complete and they look pretty nice all together.  

There are some subtle differences in the armor that I find interesting.  I'm not sure if the development team had someone else designing it or if it is thematic in that she is a junior member and got some previous generation armor.  Maybe it is just specialized to assist in searching (not sure what the doodad is on the top of the pack).  Whatever the case, I like the look of the lower legs.

The encased chain-sword is also a difference between this and the other 'caution strip' wielding characters.  I decided to chop up a decal and stick it in the exposed area to stick to the game art.  It was a bit fiddly, but turned out ok I think.

If I had them to do over again, I'd try different green colors that might work better to glaze.  It is likely, however, that my technique is to blame for the slow and non-stellar results.

Regarding gameplay with this character, I have mixed feelings about the starting skill.  It is basically "Starts with a flashlight" - which sounds pretty weak.  Early in the game, it may be very useful - especially if no other flashlights are found by other characters.  Mid to late game, however, searching is usually not usually the focus and the starting skill of picking up two cards per search basically goes to waste.  I guess not every character can be 'Lucky'...

Group Photo of the Zombicide: Dark Side Green Squad

Paints used on this model:

I guess the squad isn't complete quite yet.  Next up on the workbench...

Zombicide Invader - Umkos

Umkos is an interesting character of the Zombicide Dark Side Green Squad.  The 'Enhanced Senses' skill is very valuable in what are often very room-heavy maps.  Being able to see one zone further than both allies and Xenos applies quite often and is very powerful.

Only one member of the Green Squad left to paint!

The finished workbench photo shows a glint of the golden eyes, but here is a closeup.

The pale blue flesh color scheme was an interesting change from the previous 'human' flesh tones.  The Pale Blue Vajello Air paint yielded a decent result.

Paints used on this model:

Up next on the workbench...

Zombicide Invader - Miles

 

Miles is member number 4 out of 6 in the Green Squad.  Past the halfway mark on this green armored crew which is good because I'm getting a little tired out from trying to glaze the armor.  I'm not sure if I just don't have the right color mix for it to glaze nicely or if I just don't have the patience to properly mix & apply so many glazes.

What I am enjoying more and more are the faces.  I feel this one turned out better than those before it and is becoming easier to do.  I ditched the gloss medium tip as the glazes seemed to look a lot thicker when the gloss was added.  The AK Interactive paints along with a little thinner medium seem to be doing the trick.  The paints were mixed a bit better this time so perhaps that was the issue a few faces ago.

Paints used on this model:

Next up on the workbench (I did clean up the terrible mold line cutting horizontally across the gun/chest/arm a bit after noticing it in this photo)...

Zombicide Invader - Reese

 

Reese is another member of the Zombicide Dark Side "Green Squad".  The green armor went a little faster this time as I used a larger brush and slightly less thinned paint than I've previously used on the base layer.  I lost a little momentum on this one as the glazing still took a long time and didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped given the time put in.  It may have been worthwhile to experiment with spraying on the base layer with an airbrush, but I'll keep driving forward to finish up the squad.  They are halfway completed and keeping them consistent is more important than saving a little time.  

I found a tip online to reduce the chalkiness of the face.  Mixing in a little gloss medium did indeed help to provide a more smooth finish, however, I rushed the glazing a bit.  The head still looks pretty good from a naked eye view so I feel I'm still making forward progress in the skin department.

The chain sword decal worked a little better this time.  Having the yellow/black stripes thinner probably would still have looked a little better, but these will work.  The symbols mostly match the location they are in the game art - the kneepad, right shoulder, belt buckle, and side of the rifle.  They are easier to paint than I thought they would be.  

Paints used on this model:

Next up on the workbench...

Zombicide Invader - Drake

"Drake" is the 'heavy' member of the Dark Side Green Squad.  Many of the same techniques used on Miranda were used here as well including glazing parts of the armor.  I found the helmet sculpt/cast a bit 'messy' making it tough to paint and actually missed painting a face. 

Learning from the previous model, I started with the Angel Green less thinned down.  This led to establishing a 'base' coat much more quickly.  I was a bit confused on the back of the legs and didn't really do much with glazing there and since it is all curved, there wasn't anything to do with edge highlights either.  I probably could have spent more time with the armor, but it definitely has the 'good enough' look to it.  

Paints used on this model:

Next up on the workbench:

Zombicide Invader - Miranda

 

Miranda is the first (in mold sequence number) of the 'Green Squad' in the Zombicide Dark Side game.

The face turned out fairly well using the AK Interactive flesh-tone paints, although it is slightly chalky under very close inspection.  The chalkiness is really a nit to pick as I'm really happy with how the overall model came out.  I couldn't find the flesh-tone set at a local Game Kastle hobby shop, but they did have all of the paints contained in the set as separate bottles.  

The green was a bit concerning in the beginning as I started with the Angel Green thinned down a bit too much as it is already a very translucent paint.  It took way too many layers to form the 'first' coat upon which to build layers.  

This is the first model in which I used green without using a green wash or dry brushing.  It took a relatively long time, but it turned out fairly well.  Nothing wrong with either washes or dry brushing, but I wanted to challenge myself into using a glazing technique that has intimidated me in the past.

The tiny emblems were a bit tricky, but turned out ok for the most part.  Generally that type of thing I'd skip, but I was feeling adventurous and gave them a shot.

The chain sword did not turn out as well as I'd hoped.  In hindsight, I should have used thinner stripes, but I thought it might be difficult to discern them from a distance and went with the wider option. The stripes are actually decals that I designed and printed as I was having a lot of trouble with correct spacing and consistent width.  I did go over the decals with some touch-up paint so some inconsistencies are still present.  I was able to make and print the decals faster than I could have painted one side of the chain sword so it will pay dividends as most others in this crew have some sort of caution-strip-chain-sword as part of their person.

Paints used on this model (lots of bottles, but mostly tiny amounts used for face and a handful of washes and mediums):

Next up on the workbench: