Zmey.

<< The Mech >>

“Zmey 100”, a mech size 12 + 2 unit for the P.F.S.U.D.
Tiger (24590) by Reaper Miniatures.
Height: 46mm.

  
<< Prep >> 

• Parts washed.
• Flash removed/mold lines filed down.
• Joints were drilled and pinned for final assembly after the majority of painting was completed.
• Mounted the legs on a 29mm hex cut from 1/8” MDF.
• The top of the base was then spackled with light-weight, dry joint compound, and filed smooth after drying.

<< Painting >> 

• Masked the joint areas with tape or poster tac.
•  Everything primed white.
• Russian green – primary structures.
• Russian uniform WWII – secondary structures.
• Neutral grey - exposed articulation.
• German grey - weapon muzzles.
• Red - mech trim and front hex edge of base.
• Black - sensor blisters and back hex edge of base.
• Earth – rest of base.
• White – ID number on back hex edge of base.

Once most of the painting was finished, the tape and poster tac masking the joints were removed, the mech was assembled, and touch-up paint applied as needed.

Decided the decals (red stars and vehicle numbers from I-94 Enterprises) were going to be placed on the front and back of the legs, so some clear enamel was painted on those spots. This gave a good base for the decals to set against. Think of it as a surface being primed before painting. After the enamel dried, the water-slide decals were carefully cut, soaked in water, and then applied. Another layer of clear enamel was painted over the decals once they were dry to lock them in.

After everything was dry, dipped the entire miniature in 1:12 minwax ebony to clear polyurethane mix. Once dry, clumps of green and olive foliage were glued with PVA (white glue) directly to the base, then a mix of fine flock to cover the rest of it – made sure to have kept the edges of the base clear. A couple light sprays of clear matt sealer took the edge off the dip’s gloss and sealed in the flocking. 

<< De-blistering >>

 

Tiger (24590), part of the CAV: Strike Operations range available from Reaper Miniatures.

  
What you get: four pieces - torso, L/R arms, and legs. The waist and arms are pegged, allowing for some pose variation. All the joints were drilled and pegged to strengthen the model for tabletop use. A nice, easy build.

A Reaper Miniatures product, and currently available as part of their 3^rd edition CAV: Strike Operations. The miniatures are scaled for 10mm, not the more common 6mm/1:300/1:285, but works very well as a size class large mech. I’m particularly fond of the weapon arms. Yet another good, solid mecha from Reaper. 

<< Meka Tac – GSRE >>

Stat sheet for play on an open table with terrain.
The weapon ranges are in inches.
Designed to print on a 4” x 6”or a 3” x 5” index card. 

The “Zmey” was a large siege/fire mecha. One of a few mechs with a 2^nd crewmember to reduce the chance of a pilot critical hit neutralizing it. Pilots are squishy; bring an spare. The 20 hits worth of supplemental armor helped keep those annoying early critical hits away, and the armored skin gave it a total of 150 mech hits.

Its long-range weapons packed sufficient punch to inflict critical hits over 60% of the time. The mech was loaded with 6 rounds of AP in each siege gun, and another 6 rounds of HE in the shared ammo carrier. Lacking any other armaments, there wasn’t much reason for this mech to hang around once its 18 rounds traveled downrange. The armor piercing (AP) ammo gave a +1 to damage rolls (+1 DAM) - a favorite of the P.F.S.U.D. (a.k.a. "Red Star" forces) – while the high explosive (HE) rounds with a 3” area effect blast radius (3” AE) was useful against tightly grouped targets.

<< Links >> 

Reaper Miniatures Robot Supply Depot – Mecha figures.

I-94 Enterprises – Decals.

The current version of Meka Tac – Giant Stompy Robots Edition game is available IN THE DOWNLOADS SECTION, of the GIANT STOMPY ROBOTS portion of rivetsandsteam.com as well as PDFs of all the cards and counters, quick reference sheets (QRS) and other resources. And, yes, it’s FREE!

A portion of the Giant Stompy Robots Forum has been set aside for discussing Meka Tac! Please stop by and post your questions, after action reports, and photos of your games! 

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