Ikwen in Action

Designing the Ikwen, I have always had an image of their conflict in my mind, even if I have never quite assigned an enemy to them (this has become part of their appeal). In their back story they are an exploited indigenous people, rising up to fight for their home world. Part of exploring this back story has been trying to visualize what this world and their conflict might look like. To this end, I have been working with my concept artist, Todd Ulrich, to do some art that depicts their fight.

In the above picture we see several Ikwen moving through the rocky terrain of their home world. In the foreground three militia fighters move cautiously passed a long-downed flyer of alien origin. The foremost fighter packs with him a case containing extra ammunition. His companions can be see carrying Huli blades and assault rifles purchased from arms dealers, likely with valuable natural resources.

In the background, the other Ikwen are engaging an overhead enemy. The rocket launcher, hunkered down behind a half buried industrial rig is firing off his first rocket. After that, he can eject the spent canister from the disposable frame, dropping the second canister into place. ready to fire. 

I hope that you enjoy this art from Todd Ulrich. As the Ikwen miniatures progress, I hope to have some more art done. 

-Eli

Finished Battlesuit Concept

The concept art for the Chuhuac battlesuit is in. As you can see, it's every bit as pretty and sexy as the attack bike was. I think Jared captured the essence of this design really nicely and while I do have a few tweaks I'd like to make to it, this picture is a pretty much spot-on image of what I had in mind.

The final model will have two hard points on the back and I am hoping to make them available with a selection of weapons, allowing folks to outfit them for different roles. As the primary infantry support platform for the Chuhuac, I imagine these battlesuits will be feature prominently in Chuhuac armies.

-Eli

New Images of Chuhuac APC 3D Modelling

Hey all,

Sooooo, my 3D guy, the talented Andreas, got me some new images along with the print file for the Chuhuac APC (I need to name this thing). I am posting them here not only to show their relative scale, but also to show what they look like outside of the classic scifi white with red stripe color scheme.

Double Vision - Alien Design Discussion Results

While we're acing toward getting everything going for the Chuhuac we here at LNG continue to discuss the future and what sorts of weird and wild beasties we'd like to see. Sometimes this results in unplanned fun and when Mik threw out the following description...

"Slight, furry, with multiple eyes and bat ears. Long digits. Robes with tac gear"

...we both scribbled out our own interpretations of this alien and sent the image to one another via text message (we're in different states). The images below are what came of that.

Mik's Version

My Version

As you can see both designs have an uncanny resemblance. Two interpretations off the same vague text, doodled hundreds of miles apart with very striking similarities. Not that both have a similar, clunky weapon as well as the same segmented add-ons over the robes. There are differences as well, but it's pretty cool just the same.

Thanks for checking it out,

-Eli

Bike Design Update

There had been some feedback indicating that a smaller windscreen on the attack bike would be better for making it obvious that the bike was being piloted by an alien instead of a human. I took this to heart and present this new sketch showing how this might look.

A Question Grav Bikes

The above scribble demonstrates the current route I'm considering for the Chuhuac bikes. The design is an open-topped, but streamlined affair with the pilot protected behind an aerodynamic fairing. This produces a sleek design but doesn't leave much of the rider exposed.

Now, the issue is that a raptor is a long beasty and any bike design has to account of that neck and tail. I figure the raptors already use their tails for steering, so might have the tail part of the part of the bike work as the steering mechanism. This would leave the raptor's hands free to target and work with that part of his brain that is already keyed in to maneuvering.

It may not make for a wild rider waving guns around and looking about, but it will produce a unique sort of bike that looks different than most out there.

-Eli

Space Bunnies?

So, there was a joke made in my bio bit about space bunnies. While not on the top of my "to do" list I cannot let an idea pass without considering it. The quick doodle to the right was done minutes after reading the comments and then snapped by camera phone (I'm at the office). It's by not means what a final space bunny design would look like, but it does demonstrate a way to take the key features of "bunny" and working them into something alien.

I was thinking that an alien like this might not even be a true mammal. It would be some alien life form. The "ears" might not be part of its anatomy at all and could be simply sensory extension on the battle armor or even modified into some sort of thruster for a jump pack. Of course, it could also be armored housings for some sort of sensory organ attached to the back.

Enjoy!

-Eli

New Logos

Thanks to a fellow 15mm scifi gamer and blogger, Colin,  Loud Ninja Games now has a whole host of new logos for just about every occasion. Colin runs the Eclipsing Binaries blog that has featured some top notch 15mm scifi stuff.

I've decided to show a few of them below.

Thanks for the snappy work Colin,

-Eli

Thinking Chuhuac Power Armor

As the machine grinds away on bringing you the debut packs for the Chuhuac, my imagination continues to spin out of control on what things may join them on the battlefield in the future.

One of the constant requests in 15mm science fiction is power armored troops for new armies. I imagine that the Chuhuac will be no different. Making power armor for something shaped like a semi-bipedal dinosaur presents a fair challenge and in considering how to go about it, I find myself with two particular things I'd like to accomplish -

1. Accommodate the dinosaur anatomy in a way that reinforces it and protects it, while allowing it to function in a manner that is consistent with its overall geometry.
2. Design a look that does not look like a robo raptor or a Zoid.

Below are some images of some of the ideas I have come up with. The idea if an enclosed clam shell arrangement that keeps the head and neck protected. The trooper inside would use micro-cameras and HUDs to operate without fear of a vulnerable neck to torso connection in a servo-assisted armor suit. The other notable feature is the simplified tail that remains flexible at the base so that it can operate as a rudder, allowing the raptor a very natural movement. I also thought that the new rigid tail could be a good place for the suit's heat exchange system.

As for the weapons configuration, I figured the use of hands might not be all that necessary for battlefield purposes, so I relegated the arms to small, anti-personnel weapon mounts. In fact, I've even considered these being just weapons mounts without the trooper's arms in them at all. Still, this might change because hands can still be useful.

Main armament currently takes the form of weapon pods on the back of the power armor. The primary weapons tech for the Chuhuac is energy/plasma based so ammo feeds need be nothing more than power lines in the housing. Missiles, plasma cannons, rapid-fire lasers, all manner of fun could be put back there, though I think any final designs will have smaller, sleeker weapon pods than these sketches show.

All of the pictures here are just really quick conceptual sketches and brainstorming on paper. Heck these are right off my camera phone because I did them at work. I hope you like this little insight into my creative process and would love to hear your thoughts on this direction with the Chuhuac power armor design.

Take care and have fun!

-Eli