01/06/2023

A jump into the infinity

 The day has arrived! After many years I've dared to dive into Infinity [you may insert a scared emoji at will]. I played Aristeia earlier this year, and I totally got the itch for the Infinity universe.

A pal of mine got the Code One: Operation Kaldstrom box, and he commissioned me to paint it. The challenge was highly motivating, as I had been toying myself with the idea of getting into the game for long. I guess there's no point in highlighting the obvious, as everybody knows by now, but... Oh, the minis! The minis!

They really are like nothing I had painted before. The whole design itself, the proportions (oh, why are those heads so small? Why are those hands so tiny? How come the guns fit into those hands??), the level of detail... It's everything about them.

The core box comes with two forces, Panoceania (galactic superpower) and Yu Jing (upcoming fierce rival). I decided to paint Panoceania first, just to get acquainted with the models.

Just seven of them. This can't be that complicated, right?

Oh my. I truly had to reinvent myself as a painter. I'm sooo used to Games Workshop, and specially to old models, that these were a totally unknown challenge to me!

First thing was to find out the correct proportions for colours on my mix. I came to this basic combo:

Crude colours, just to get my mind oriented to the final result

The minis asked for proper highlights, and it took some time for me to get them right, but in the end I was happy with the general direction of this thing:

Seriously, this guy is pure GI JOE. Change my mind

After endless trial-and-error days, I finally declared myself satisfied. This is how they were going to look like:

I finally found an use for that 00 brush!

I gave little concession to metals on the weapons. I knew I didn't want them to look like WH40K bolters, with a lot of bare metal everywhere (in fact my first instinct was to leave them totally black), but in the end I painted the magazines, barrels and so in metallics.

There are more hours involved here than those the pic suggests

Operation Kaldstrom is supposed to take place in a winter environment, so the bases should be covered in snow. However, my pal told me he didn't planned that, but urban bases, just to match his boards. Then I had to face a particular issue. This mini came with a metal piece for the base, which clearly represents open, irregular field.

Don't know what it is, but it doesn't look specially urban

So I had to improvise a solution:

No, I don't have a clue of how that beam ended there, or why. It simply exists

BTW, a pic of the cloak, to show the Templar cross (I'm currently not sure if that's accurate, please any background expert can tell? I've just read it's the Order of the Hospital?)

Still need to read everything about their fluff

But well, I think this covers pretty much all I did here. Let me show pics of the finished models:

Fusiliers

Orc troop (not a Greenskin at all) and Nokken (SpecOps guys)

Knight of Justice and Infirmarer

Here you have them all:



I may still add some detail to the bases. Rubble or stuff. But for now this is it. Quite an experience! I'll breathe some air before I start the Yu Jing guys, but I don't want them to stay on the bench for long...

24 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks! I've been experimenting new things with these, so I've learnt some stuff :)

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  2. They look excellent. I particularly like the fusiliers. I've got a couple of Infinity models knocking around and they're quite daunting and very different to GW. You've made a great job of these.

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    1. Thank you! Right, they're totally nothing like GW, it takes quite a different mindset to approach them!

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  3. Awesome work Suber, you've truly adapted to these models very quickly. It's been interesting to watch Infinity develop over the years, their early range, was full of okay models with each faction having a stellar piece, but now it is very much the opposite way round, with them all being awesome sculpts, and not a lame one insight !

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    1. Thank you! I think you're right there, I recall some models of old and, without being bad at all, they look now quite outdated. Painting these has been quite challenging, but rewarding at the same time :)

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  4. Great colors! The Fusiliers do remind me of some advanced GIJoe figures. Awesome work, and I can see why you were drawn to the game. Looking forward to the next squad!

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    1. Haha, I had that very thought, they are soo GI JOE!! Nothing bad about that, for sure, but they were fun to do!

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  5. Great job Suber, I particularly like the Fusiliers. They have nice realistic future vibe.

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    1. Thanks! They have right that, a near future quality that makes them so appealing. I don't think I could paint a whole Imperial Guard-like army with dozens and dozens of these, but this bunch has been such a pleasure!

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  6. Splendid looking squad, never played the game but these look great!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you! Neither have I, everybody insists that it's a relatively complex system with tons of special rules and exceptions, and I think I need fairly simpler games. I've heard this 'Code One' set brings easier core rules, so I may give it a try!

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  7. I am aware of the Infinity line, and I applaud you for taking a shot at painting them up. What you did looks great to me, for sure. Certainly looking forward to what you do with the Yu Jing faction :)

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    1. Thank you! Everything is new to me, so I'm happy with anything! Now that I feel a little bit more confident, I'm really eager to put my hands on the Yu Jing!!

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  8. I'm sure your pal loves your paintjob. :)

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    1. Haha, I hope so, pal! :D
      Still haven't started the Yu Jing, but I don't think I'll wait too much before I throw some paint at them...

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  9. muy chulos , y mis usariadnos en la caja de la verguenza desde que salieron :( mmm en stargrave igual ven mesa :O

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    1. Ahi va, pensé que te había respondido, disculpa. Esto está abriendo nuevos horizontes para mí, y creo que las minis son elativamente versátiles, ¡dales caña a los tuyos!

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  10. Very fricken cool! I've been sorely tempted since Infinity first came out to dip my toe and add some of their simply breathtaking sculpts to my collection. The buy-in cost and sheer amount of tiny fine detail though, has held me back thus far.

    Those Aleph and Haqqislam factions would be my personal favs of their factions - just super interesting sculpts.

    Hope the Yu-Jin are as interesting for you to paint up mate and perhaps you'll even get to game with them too in the near future!

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    1. Thank you! Your story is more or less mine too, but I was also persuaded by everyone saying that rules were absurdly complex. I've been told that this Code One (whatever it is!) provides a more easy-going experience for the casual gamer, so I'm looking forward to seeing if it is so!

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  11. Oh I do like what you've done here - this colour scheme has a bit of a "Rebel Alliance" feel to it for me as well. I think it's the beige pants along with the grey-white uniform and blue trim/bits. Really effective and a great looking aesthetic!

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    1. Thank you! Oh, I hadn't thought of that, but now that you say it, the association looks quite clear! I'm currently painting the Yu Jing fellas, and they have their own charm too!

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  12. Lovely stuff! Infinity has some amazingly good models and although I'm not planning on getting into the game, I do like the aesthetic and you've done a great job on these minis. Like Azazel says, they have a definite touch of the Rebel Alliance about them.

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    1. Thank you! They are truly awesome sculpts. I'm currently with the Yu Jing faction and they are also wonderful. I don't think I'm starting an army for the moment, but the minis are really glorious

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