The Vanguard - Code Zero Anazi Dynasty Scouts (including review)

I had a lot of fun painting this unit from Garage Gaming's new Code Zero line. It's always pretty cool working with new lines others haven't already explored, and you can't get much newer than currently crowdfunding.

With a fairly rugged, utilitarian sensibility, I went with almost exclusively browns. All of the neutral material colors have at least some brown in them except the gun's grey. Seeing a lot of wear and tear in badlands, I felt it was appropriate that nothing except the cool colors would have any pure tones to them.

The exception, of course, is in the light teal accent, which I thought was a nice counterpoint to all of the warm colors, while not being something too rich like a primary blue. The varied placement was to emphasize a little individuality, while the consistent color was to unify the group. Also, I admit that I just like painting teal.

Being desert guys with masks and horns, I definitely didn't want anything that moved towards space racism. So, despite it probably making more sense that everyone would have darker hair and skin after living in the environment, I went with Garage Gaming's suggestion of something more on a tan side than a specific ethnicity.

For materials, I went with a much lighter armor color than I'd normally do for this sort of sensibility. Either a dirty white paint job, some sort of future ceramic or plastic, or just a light metal, I wanted to avoid a grungier look that might come across as scavenged rather than worn.

It was pretty neat working with GG on this, because every time I had a question, I got not only a more straightforward answer, but the reasoning and background behind it to allow me to make an informed decision. For instance, the pupil-less eyes on these Anazi are due to a specific type of eye protection they wear, important for both travel and anonymity. Each time, it was pretty neat, to get a glimpse at the depth of the world they're building.

Also, a short review on their miniatures, for prospective backers. Comparing them with the closest analog people will be likely to be familiar with, they're a little larger than Infinity minis. Their detail is a similar style and proportion, though slightly deeper detail than current Infinity stuff. I've learned to prefer this higher-relief style because, unless you're going for a display (i.e. at anywhere from tabletop to nice characters), the heavier lines are more natural to paint and won't be prone to wear.

The minis went together quite easily, most fitting with no effort; a couple fitting with a minor waist gap; one of the aiming poses would have been nice to have one fewer pieces, but it still fit cleanly.

They're cast in resin, with just a little give, that felt right for gaming pieces. Cleaning was almost negligible, a couple barely-off mold lines, and then the various points where the vents/sprues were. These were well-placed, mostly where you'd be gluing parts together anyway, or on non-detailed surfaces. Either way, a sharp knife was plenty.

Note: I was paid to paint the above models, but the review was my decision since I liked the quality, and I never accept payment for reviews.