Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone

 About a week and a half ago, I got in my kickstarter pledge for Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone.  I'm not really up on the Cyberpunk Red universe; I think it started as a tabletop rpg, and this is a spin off.  At any rate, I thought the game had some clever mechanics and cool models that could be used for other science fiction settings, so I was eager to paint things up.

The starter set comes with two different six model gangs.  The "Tiger Claws" are basically yakuza, and the "Maelstrom" are people that want to use cybernetics to improve upon humanity.

I won't talk much about the gameplay, since as I write this, I haven't actually played.  Instead, let's just get to the photos, which is why anyone would come to this page.

I guess I should throw out a warning that since I painted 12 models in a week and a half, it should be noted that these aren't display quality.  There will be a lot of flaws that are evident when looking at them as close as the camera does.  I'm okay with it, since when seen at a normal distance they look cool.

Tiger Claws

Ronin Assassin

This was one of the last models I painted from the Tiger Claw.  You can barely see the face, but it is a gas-mask.  I like how his coat turned out (which is why I wanted a shot from the back), but I'm not so fond of the white shirt.  I've never really learned how to paint white.

Ronin Sniper

This was painted at the same time as the ronin assassin, primarily because it shares the same body.  (These are the only two models in the set that share a part.)  I like the purple-glazed metallic facemask, but I struggled to get the effect.  The first glaze I did, I ended with a horrible tide ring, and I had to just keep glazing over and over until that wasn't as noticable.  You can still see it if you look carefully, and it ended up darker on the bottom half that I was intending, but I think it works well enough in the end.

Wakagashira

The proportions of this guy look off when you photograph the model, but look fine in real life.  Just a typical example of how minis often have to have exaggerated proportions to look right on the table.  There aren't many bright colors in my paint scheme, so it doesn't pop on the table as much as it should, but I still like it.

Kyodai

This was one of the first models I painted from the set, and I feel I would do a better job of it now.  I found out just how much black-lining can make a difference, and I feel this model would benefit from some more of it.  I still lke the model, and it feels very iconic for the faction.

Onee-san

Great model; stupid name.  There are a couple of interesting things about this one.  First, I really like how her face turned out, even though I did very little to it.  Female faces are hard, but this one I think looks fine.  I also realized after that I never highlighted up her pants, but the thin layer of black paint gives it enough of a contrast-paint-like effect that I think it is fine.

Oyabun

You know how I just said female faces are hard? 😢

This is the leader of the Tiger Claws, and yet the one I like the least.  I think her kimono looks better than I thought it would, but both the power sword and especially the face look terrible.  I spent a lot of time, and tried a number of things, and this was the best I could do.  You might say I would be better off not trying to paint the eyes, and my response would be that it looked even worse without them.

Maelstrom

Crusher

It isn't a big deal, but you can barely see the shoulder cannon from this angle, which is a bit of a shame.

With this model and the next, I was experimenting.  The models are big compared to the others, and there was just so much metal that I wanted to do something to make it less monotonous.  I had the idea to red-line the metals instead of black-lining them, and hopefully give a bit of suggestion of muscle fibers.  For this one, I did the red lines before I gave it a dark wash.  It makes the effect much more subtle.

Warlord

This is the Maelstrom leader, and while I wasn't excited by him when I assembled it, I think he has grown to be one of my favorite models.  The face is possibly the best I've ever done on a mini, and everything just kind of works in my opinion.

For the red lines here, I washed first and then put in the red, making it more prominent.  I'm honestly not sure which method I prefer.

Berserker

Kind of a throwaway model.  Not much to say here.

Ranged Specialist

Ugh.  I hate how this one turned out.  There are things I like, but the face looks terrible.  I can console myself that it doesn't look that great in the concept art, either, so perhaps it is meant to look unnatural.

Ripper

The face here looks a little off, but I sort of feel that it works anyway.  It kind of looks like an artificial skin that doesn't quite fit right, which doesn't seem off for a cyborg.  Besides, I really like the shirt and jacket.

Flenser

I really like this model, and I wanted my paint job to do it justice.  While it isn't perfect, I think I did a good enough job.  The face is really good for a female, and I like how the bright hair contrasts with the otherwise dark outfit.  My only regret is not working in the green that I did with all the other Maelstrom models.

Conclusion

The models are definitely tabletop, but I'm happy with the quality for painting 12 models in about a week and a half.  I have lots more minis for the game, but I'll take a break and paint some other stuff first before I jump into them.

Until later!