Leadership
Since I completed the first compulsory choice last week (1 Troop selection) I decided I should get another compulsory choice out of the way as well. Although 1 HQ isn't required in games of Combat Patrol, it is in all other games, and I plan to use one in my Combat Patrol force, so the commander was next.

Poser
I wanted the commander (as well as some of the other battlesuits) to have a dynamic pose. They are supposed to be equipped with Jet packs, so I felt that at least some of them should be flying. In addition, since I'm using modified XV25 Stealth Armor for my Crisis suits, I wanted them to look like the more dynamic Crisis suits, rather than the fairly static Stealth poses. My first step then was to come up with a suitable (no pun intended, really!) set of poses. I scanned around online and found a few, then started thinking about flying characters and superheroes and came up with a few more. Here's the list I came up with: Superman (flying more or less horizontally, 1 or both arms extended,) One Leg Takeoff (leaping into the air,) Hover (just suspended straight up,) touchdown (feet barely touching the ground, but in a "flare out" landing pose, rather than poised for takeoff,) the Heisman trophy pose (seen below, but I don't know who owns that picture or I'd credit them,) and a Three-point landing (crouching with both feet and one hand on the ground, like it was a hard landing.)

Trophy Time
I rather liked the look of the Heisman pose, and I decided on that for my commander. First off, I had to bend one of his knees. I tried a number of techniques here, but the thick plastic made it very difficult to do with my standard technique of heating it with a hairdryer/blowdryer and then bending it slowly into position. Eventually, I cut the leg at the hip and the knee and the ankle to repose it. It still didn't get quite to where I wanted it, but it did give me a decent looking position, so I left it at that and moved onto the problem of suspending him above his base.

Hang Time
While flying stands are alright, sometimes they look kind of funny. I decided to go with a more flexible but thin solution: Wire. I clipped off a section of wire from a paperclip to about the height that I wanted. I knew that it wouldn't glue very well straight, since it didn't have much in the way of surface area. Much like pinning a model, I knew that I'd have to dig into the model a little bit (as well as the base) to provide a larger contact area for the glue to hold the wire. first I used an engraving tool, but that only scratched the surface (okay, I did mean that pun!) Next I tried to make a hot knife out of some wire with a battery, but that didn't work. (Probably just as well, I probably would have ended up burning myself. Kids, don't try this at home!) Eventually I got a push-pin (thumbtack) and pushed it in until I made a deep enough hole. Then I put glue in the hole and inserted the wire. After this had set pretty well, I put some more glue around the outside where the wire and plastic made contact, just for some added grip. I did the same thing with the base. When I do it again, however, I'm going to use one of the little "cups" on the bottom of the base for added stability on the wire.

Watching Paint Dry
Well, it was a bit more interesting that that, but painting is what I did next. I Primed them White, then hit the crevices and plate-separation areas with Lightning Blue. I then went back and touched up the White. I detailed the models (while I was doing the commander, I decided to do my previously assembled Crisis Suit as well) using Chaos Black for all the areas that would be hard-wearing stuff but not armor (such as the soles of the boots, the stock and furniture of the guns, etc.) Next up, Shining Gold for the iconography and some details, and Blood Red for the optics and some controls. Again, I went for the lens effect, and I think I pulled it off fairly well this time.

The List and what has been accomplished now
100pts Commander Shas 'El Crisis Suit: Cyclic Ion Blaster, Plasma Rifle, Hardwired Multitracker, Targeting Array.--Done (except highlighting)

73pts Shas 'Ui Team Leader Crisis Suit: Burst Cannon, Plasma Rifle, Hardwired Multi-tracker, Targeting Array.--Done (except highlighting)
73pts Shas 'Ui Team Leader Crisis Suit: Burst Cannon, Plasma Rifle, Hardwired Multi-tracker, Targeting Array.--Partially Assembled

80pts Shas 'la FireWarriors x5, with Shas 'Ui Team Leader with Markerlight and Pulse Rifle.--Done (except shoulder pads) 70pts Pirahna: Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array--Assembled

396pts.

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