Warzone Resurrection: Bauhaus Venusian Rangers

Well last weekends game showed me, that I really need some troops to match my Warlord. Now there would have been two options… paint up another Warlord or paint up the troops to match Max Steiner. I went for the later. So here are two squads of Venusian Rangers. Good thing the minis were already prepared and only needed to be painted.

Always loved these guys. They are about the toughest special forces Bauhaus has to offer. They are used to operate long periods on their own. So much so that they operate for weeks on end in the long night of the Venusian Jungles and are forces to take vitamins for lack of sun exposure (I think this was in the fluff for the 2nd Edition). And to top off their bad-ass background, they all wear skulls masks. For me they have always been a must have so this edition was no different.

Venusian Ranger (group shot)

The minis themselves are a bit of a wild mix. One squad is all standard legs, torsos and with the exception of the trooper carrying the rocket launcher and spare ammo also standard arms. The other squad has the torsos from the Hussars. Why? Well when I assembled them a few weeks ago, I had to find that one of my packs from the Kickstarter was missing its arms. No big deal, I altered the guys at Prodos to this and they send me a replacement. But in the meantime I had managed to lose the torsos already cleaned up. I guess if I had contacted Prodos about this, they would have sent me new ones, but it was my mistake and it would have become really embarrassing at this point, so I just improvised. But I guess this is not enough of a wild mix, is it! So the heads are from the Kickstarer exclusive weapons pack. Those heads are a little wider and more accentuated than the ones that normally come with the minis and I really like them better. The camo capes are from the weapons set as well, but I sculpted the hoods that are pulled over the heads myself from Greenstuff. These hoods have always been a trademark in their artwork, so I simply could not do with them in a pulled down position!

Venusian Ranger Red Squad

Venusian Ranger Red Squad Leader

Venusian Ranger Rocket Launcher

Venusian Ranger Rocket Launcher (rear)

When it comes to painting, I had first planned to paint their body armour white (as per the fluff). I wanted to do their capes in a winter splinter pattern (as they are right now) and their uniforms in the same winter camo I did Max Steiner in. But I was a bit afraid, that they would look too bleak that way and would lack contrasts. Since my better half had the same opinion I did a test mini first. The result was great if you wanted something to really hide in the snow. The test mini did not stand out before a light background, the camo did brake up its outline, but it looked bleak and lacked contrast big time. So back to the drawing board and I replaced the camo uniforms with dark blue ones. Which did the trick. The squads leaders got a red and blue backdrop to their Bauhaus markings (the cog on the shoulder armour) to set them apart from the rest of the troops.

Venusian Ranger Blue Squad

Venusian Ranger Blue Squad Leader

Venusian Ranger Marksman

Venusian Ranger

Weapons wise, while two in every five men can take a racket launcher I only give three of the minis one. I think four rocket launchers for 10 men is too much, especially if you end up running into an opponent with hardly any vehicles or none at all! Plus, I really hope Prodos will give them back the option to take HMGs they had in previous incarnation of the game. If that happens, the higher ration of rifles in the squads will make the switch to HMGs easier.

Hope you like them! Now it is back to historical minis for me… my WWII Brits, the Napoleonic Poles and the price minis for the birthday giveaway (everyone remember the draw is tomorrow). See you!