I managed to assemble another 20 troopers. Four of these will actually be pilots/mechanics, which I customised to be the helmetless counterparts of the four I already did.

The positive side of plastic miniatures is that they are really easy to convert. I just grabbed random leftover heads from other kits. Some of the spare heads are not quite correct scale (standard 28mm scale -- yeah, right), but I think they are acceptable. Ironically, there is quite a bit of variance even within one kit, two heads came from Mongoose's Street Gang kit and one of them is clearly larger than the other one. Since the space suit is not skin tight and there are no other bits of exposed skin, it gives some leeway.

I also built up a couple of sniper rifles. They don't come in the standard kit (all the other weapon options are present, which is a bit weird) and the blister packs are no longer available.

Obviously the easy solution would have been to supply them with sniper rifles from another kit, but I didn't have any handy so I had to make do with what I had. I made the barrels from nails. Ironically, I picked up some brass rods and tubes from Model Expo last weekend, just too late...

I'll need to fire up the airbrush and finish these. Incidentally, I found a supplier for Vallejo ModelAir that is slightly cheaper than local shops, and I don't have to go downtown to pick the stuff up which I really hate. I wasn't quite sure how much green paint I had left so I ordered some more... but I didn't actually go there to save 50 cents on a paint bottle. I ordered some new weathering products I saw in Beasts of War video. I'll review them when the package arrives.

Then I have to do what I really have to do for the game, that is build the bug holes. It's just that my hobby room is such a mess I find it hard to find the space to work. It's really time for a spring cleaning, but the weather is so nice I'd rather be outdoors... Yes, that is really my gaming table under there somewhere...