Welcome to the 15mm Alien Bug Sculpting Page

After creating a range of 6mm Alien vehicles for Brigade Models
they got in touch and mentioned doing a 15mm sci-fi game using their current 15mm sci-fi vehicles at shows around the country.
They suggested they were going to use scaled up versions of my 6mm alien vehicles and so I voulnteered to have a go at making them.
This was a big move for me because it came with a number of issues I had not previously dealt with. Firstly I'd never sculpted anything that big, secondly I had to work to a (albiet loose) deadline and lastly I was reproducing a design I had made. Would I be able to? Would there be some variation at a larger scale.


Pic 1

The answer to the last question was 'yes'. I needed to create much more detail for the larger models and so some needed a re-think.
Judging the right dimensions was also difficult and so I used a GZG 15mm trooper figure as a guide.
Pic 1 above shows the beginning of the medium tank. FIrst I made the slug like foot and added tentacles to give more detail.
The shell like hull also needed to have more detail and so I made it look like insects segmented armour with overlapping plates.


Pic 2

Pic 2 shows the medium tank main shell and turrent on top. It also shows the texture I added to the shell. A model this big needed some form of texture otherwise it would be harder to paint and just look too bland.
I had never put a texture on a miniature like this before and it took me a while to come up with a workable idea. In the end I used a piece of sponge from a packet of miniatures and press it onto the green stuff before it set.
As you can se this worked quite well to add texture to the surface of the shell.


Pic 3

Next up I decided to have a go at making a 15mm version of my Apis bug walker from the 6mm range. The legs of the walker needed to appear like they could bend and move. For this I decided to make the legs in the same segmented style as the shell hulls of the tanks. This made it look like a telescopic tube which I felt looked like it had enough movement in it.
Next up was the main body and the same texture and sponge method for creating it.
Pic 3 doesn't include the arms but does have the GZG trooper to give an idea of scale.


Pic 4

Pic 4 shows the completed walker production version.
Because at this point I was using so much green stuff (I hadn't discovered Magic Sculpt at this point) that I decided to double up on some pieces.
You can see the same walker body on the flying model (Pic 5). I made the bat like wings for the flying unit by rolling out some green stuff and using pastry cutters to cut the rounded parts out. This was a lot easier than trying to create a uniform wing piece.


Pic 5

One of the conversions from 6mm to 15mm that needed to most upgrading in design was the brain bug. I needed the model to look as much like a brain as possible.


Pic 6

Of course it looks like a human brain but that was the recognisable point. Although the brain
could have been left smooth I decided to add texture to it as well using my trusty sponge.
After that I added the slug like foot and a front head piece in the same shell like style as the
rest of the models. You can see the completed model in picture 7.


Pic 7

The last model I made for this range was the VTOL unit. This ended up being a fair ol chunk of green stuff.


Pic 8

Because the VTOL unit would not need a slug like foot I went with a soft under belly complete with multiple eyes and organic looking jet engines. And added a segmented shell on top with two rocket pods on either side.
After completing th VTOL model I realise it would also work really well for a mother ship type bug in 6mm Starship Trooper style games.


Pic 9

The 15mm vehicles were to be produced in resin because of their size. Pic 9 shows the APC I made for the range.
Time permiting I will add to this article with some more pictures of the finished models (including painted examples) but in the meantime you can see the range on the Brigade Models site.

Jeremey
(AKA Germ)