Concepting The Mighty Machines of the G.U.A.R.D.


In this weekly series, we’ll share the concept art process for upcoming releases for all of our miniatures and, on occasion, even illustration work. And in this week’s post, I’ll talk about the new G.U.A.R.D. units for the Monsterpocalypse Strike Fighter, Rocket Chopper, and G-Tank!

First up is the evolution of the Strike Fighter. In the initial round of updates, concept artist Nate Feyma revised several of the shapes utilizing visual schemes from various military aircraft. Each iteration includes several subtle variations with the canopy, intakes, afterburner cans, and vertical stabilizers.

After several rounds of adjustments, we narrowed our preference down to F as the base line. Nate then produced an orthographic illustration of the aircraft, adding in maverick missiles. But then, for production purposes, the missiles were eliminated with the alternate idea that the craft has an internal weapon bay similar to an F-35 or F-22. From there, the color scheme is very similar to the G.U.A.R.D. Fighters, and a gold-tinged anti-radiation canopy was added to create more visual interest.

One down! Next up is the G-Tank.

Version A is the original G-Tank. Versions B through E modified the detail density, length of the cupola, treads, utility boxes, gun barrel, fender flaps/skirting, and tread thickness. Ultimately, E was the final version as presented in the side version of the orthographic.

Have a look at the full orthographic illustration. The color concept is a faithful re-creation of the original concept art with the minor modification of the elites’ front-facing cupola now painted.

Next up: the repair truck. Nate had a very specific idea in mind, and he absolutely knocked it out of the park with his first draft. Pictured below is the old concept compared to the new.

Finally, we come to the rocket chopper, which was approved on the first pass and proceeded straight to the orthographic. The first sketches show the increased detail density and the modifications to the fuselage to make it more production-friendly.

The real trick with all of these updated designs was to add a layer of realism and detail so that they match up to our detail standards for hobby-grade miniatures. Now that you’ve gotten a look at the concept art, all that’s left is to show off are the final models sculpted by Dave Kidd and painted by studio painter Jordan Lamb.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into updating the G.U.A.R.D. units—now go preorder them up at your FLGS!

Monsterpocalypse and a whole host of its models are available on September 21st, so be sure to check out www.monsterpocalypse.com for all the latest news and additions!

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