GZG Colours

Hi All,

Just started to base my 15mm Kra’Vak and Phalon troops. Are there any
standards for the flesh / hard shell colours?

At the moment I was thinking of using a pale green blotchy colour for the
Kra'Vak flesh (with a hint of purple) and for the Phalon I had pink in mind
with cream hard shells?

Any views?

Regards

I was going to go the same way as you with the Phalons (standard Tyranid

colours, yes?) but I've had a rethink. I have over 100 to paint up for a demo'
game (and they're only part of what I need to do) so I've been toying with a
scheme that uses the black undercoat as a base and
requires just a grey drybrush and the picking out of some details - so
I'm going to go with what I think of as a Tau colour scheme (black base,

tan helmet / weapons / other bits). Hopefully they should be fairly
quick to do and should look striking enough.

> Robin Fitton wrote:

> Hi All,

Sounds a bit like Brian's FT ships paint scheme in reverse:
 http://warbard.port5.com/ftgallery.html

As an aside, does anyone know of a mirror of the Painting FAQ? Seems
AWOL...

The_Beast

Tony Francis waxed lyric on 07/13/2004 07:33:41 AM:

> I was going to go the same way as you with the Phalons (standard

Well, there you go - great minds think alike, etc  ;-)

> Doug Evans wrote:

> Sounds a bit like Brian's FT ships paint scheme in reverse:

> Robin wrote:

> Just started to base my 15mm Kra’Vak and Phalon troops. Are there any

I guess I should comment as I was the one to create the Phalon beta test
rules. :-)

As per the beta test rules, Phalon shells can alter colour to blend in with
the surroundings. So, unless they are fighting on a planet with
pink soil/sand and cream coloured boulders, it's unlikely that they
would be pink and cream. :-)

However, they _could_ change their shells to those colours if they
wanted to.

Jon posted this to the playtest list:

"The ones on our tradestand display are painted a darkish orange-red,
and look quite nice in that - but don't take that as "official".... ;-)"

Phalons don't wear uniforms. For this reason, and because of other
rationale (such as the way their three-lobed eyes work) I came up with
the idea that their skins could change colours, much like a terrestrial
octopus or chameleon. If they only had one colour, and they couldn't vary it,
they would eventually have developed some sort of camouflage clothing to hide
them in foreign environments. Since "they be nekid", I figured they had a
natural way of changing colour.

My 25mm Phalons were primed in black, and "painted" with a cosmetic sponge
technique in dark green and then brown. These are almost traditional
camouflage colours, which I thought would work well in a murky bayou. However,
I do have some interesting lichen colours, including some deep red and beige,
which if I used them consistently would mean that a brighter coloured Phalon
would be a good idea (such as how Jon's were painted).

I suggest painting them the colour that is predominant on your table top, or
paint them in a wild contrasting colour for easier play. If anyone says
anything, just tell them that they can be any colour they want. I'm currently
trimming and priming my 15mm Phalons. I'm also planning on replacing my
lichen. If I do both at once, I can paint the Phalons to match the new lichen.

David Stuckey suggested that you could do a wonderful job painting them like
tree frogs, or other amphibians.

As an aside, I have one more change to make to the Phalon rules. The D10
armour for the mutant breeders is going away. I should have the change up on
my web site in the next day or so. At the same time I'll add a painting guide,
as this is the second or third time it has come up.

Thanks Allan,

Now I know more about them I will go for a more natural look. I finished
adding sand (and sealing it) to the 15mm figure bases last night and spray
primed them black (I normally hand paint black primer after a major disaster
when I ruined 100 expensive 25mm Foundry Celts).

I started painting a test Phalon figure with a very dark brown dry brush and
then two progressive highlights. With the octopus link now in my mind I

think I will stick to this brown look but add some other brighter spot colour
– aiming for the mottled Octopus look.

To keep them distinctive on the table I might give them highlighted red or
blue weaponry, just to make the small figures easy to identify from table
height.

Robin
http://www.rottenlead.com

> From: agoodall@att.net

> pink and cream. :-)

> coloured Phalon would be a good idea (such as how Jon's were painted).

> like tree frogs, or other amphibians.

***
As per the beta test rules, Phalon shells can alter colour to blend in with
the surroundings. So, unless they are fighting on a planet with pink
soil/sand and cream coloured boulders, it's unlikely that they would be
pink and cream. :-)
***

However, they quite likely have a 'natural' coloration; I'd think it'd tend to
be fairly neutral set of shades. Greys and tans made sense to me...

The_Beast

Or, they can "fly the colors" and change them for "parade" occasions.
So they would be blue with pink polka-dots for parade days and then a
camoflauged color for battle.

Or they can change color like squids and octopi and use this ability like
signal flags of yore.

--Binhan

> -----Original Message-----

***
Or, they can "fly the colors" and change them for "parade" occasions. So
they would be blue with pink polka-dots for parade days and then a
camoflauged color for battle.

Or they can change color like squids and octopi and use this ability like
signal flags of yore.
***

Come to think of it, while the color changes CAN be camoflage, occasionally
they can indicate emotional states. I seem to recall some cephalopods flashing
colors when stimulated. This could be warning behaviour (emotional
semiphores), or might be autonomic.

Paint 'em as you like, I'll PSB 'em into existance. ;->=

The_Beast

I would think that they would be less likely to "show their emotions on their
sleeve (shell)" as that would defeat the purpose of the
camoflauge, but more as a visual communication system - for instance,
instead of hand signals to communicate silently between soldiers, they simply
flash a pattern of colored dots or a visual representation (i.e. an arrow left
for the unit to go left). IIRC, some even have the capability to be
phosphorescent, so these patterns may be visible in low or no light
conditions. (For a good joke, you can paint your figures with glow in the dark
paint in various patterns, then play a "dusk game" where after a certain
number of turns you turn out the lights...)

In addition, rank or prestige might be reflected in certain patterns of colors
that a figure is allowed to display (i.e. red triangles are reserved for the
elite guards or Officers have pink and yellow bands signifying years in
service).

> -----Original Message-----

> I would think that they would be less likely to "show their emotions on

Natch, though an argument could be made for such a display to temporarily
show during, say, jump-off jitters.

> then play a "dusk game" where after a certain number of turns you turn

Or turn off some of the lights each turn until dark room.

The_Beast

On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 09:41:28 -0500 Doug Evans <devans@nebraska.edu>
writes: <snip>
> ***
Unless, like Starguard Terellians, they like loud Hawaiian shirts/colors
then the natural 'social' colors could be very... extreme....

Gracias,

Thanks. So I can consider them for 15 mm SG 2 but not DS 2.

Gracias, Glenn

On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 22:40:57 +0100 Ground Zero Games <jon@gzg.com>
writes:
> My brain is mush (Dealt with CIS - Citizenship and Immigration

> --- Doug Evans <devans@nebraska.edu> wrote:

I saw a show about the mimic octopus on Discovery Ch. in which the film
crew came upon a large (2'+) cuttlefish.  They got a mirror and got the
cuttlefish to interact as it would with another of its species: Threat
displays were met with equal threats from the reflection (rather than
submission) in an increasing confrontation until the cuttlefish attacked the
mirror:)

A sapient species with this in its primitive past could have color and texture
as partially involuntary, like human blushing, sweating, and facial
expressions. Additionally, they could have voluntary displays that come to
have cultural significance different from their instinctual meaning. e.g. one
collective uses satisfaction display for group identity while another uses
anger display.

This could be quite a sight as two groups of medieval phalons meet and have
massive, simultaineous, escalating threat displays culminating in a charge
into close combat. It could also help with group identity, where the red with
undulating white lines is one group, while the red with jagged white lines is
another.

Another voluntary use could be locators analogous to the "cat's eyes" on US
helmets or the horizontal and vertical reflectors used in WW2 to denote
officers and NCOs. Even humans are trained to look for these signals. e.g. in
the book "The Longest Day", Cornelius Ryan recounted a story of a combat
correspondent being followed by the entire platoon from a crashed glider
because he had mistakenly put on the Lt.'s helmet after the crash and all of
the troops followed the reflective bar thinking the wearer was the PL.

In the end, you should probably paint your minis to match your other forces
and just uses the same PSB:

A) if all your other minis are camo, then camo your phalons. PSB: game table
is realtime overhead imagery with computer assistance (hidden unit counters,
so minis look like what the soldiers actually would appear.

B) if your other minis are in parade colors, then paint your phalons in group
or threat displays. PSB: game table is entirely computer generated holotank
with troops and vehicles colored for easy identification by the Co. CO rather
than disguised as a patch of elephant grass.

J

> On 14 Jul 2004 at 20:19, The GZG Digest wrote:

> Or they can change color like squids and octopi and use this ability

That's what the blurb says in the SG2 Phalon rules document. *S*

They can also be more subtle than that. Since the Phalons can use their eyes
to filter out polarized light, they make use of this ability to communicate
with each other. This would be used in combat in a similar way as humans use
hand signals. The rules document also suggests that the Phalons may have used
this to communicate with each
other during face-to-face negotiations with humans. Even if a human
could see the colour changes (which would require special lenses), they aren't
likely to know what the colour variation meant.

The rules document has a painting guide, now, which is essentially what I
posted yesterday: paint them any way you want.

---