The Thin Beige Line

Now the bulk of the colouring was done I needed to add some squad markings to identify the different units on the battlefield.

My initial idea was to use a different colour for each unit. I didn’t want to spend too long painting freehand markings so decided to just use the shoulder sections of each droid.

I tried a few of the unit colours I had chosen on some of the droids but pretty quickly decided I wasn’t happy with the results. The round circles of primary colours made them look like a packet of smarties!

After looking back over some references I decided that each unit would retain its colour but would have its own unique markings. This would add some much needed variety and a bit more interest to the units. I had been grouping my B1’s into rough squads as I worked through them and was beginning to get an idea of each units role.

The first squad to be completed is what I consider to be the standard B1 unit build. They have no upgrades besides the E-5C Heavy Trooper. A very cost effective unit at 54 points, sporting seven wounds and putting out an impressive nine dice at a range of three.

I’ve used Tiamat Orange by Scale 75 for this units markings. I’ve also decided to keep the movie convention of yellow markings on the unit leaders head, making him easily identifiable from his squad mates. For the yellow I have used GW Averland Sunset.

The E-5C is the default heavy weapon for Droids in my opinion. Not only is it the cheapest weapon upgrade available, it’s range of three also synchronises well with the units standard weaponry. This means that if the droids AI programming kicks in, the unit will be firing all of its weapons. The three black dice the E-5C adds to the dice pool is respectable and will generally account for most of the hits the unit lands.

I used a medium sized brush for the most part as the armoured plates of the droids made for easy painting. I also kept a detail brush close to hand for some of the smaller sections.