writes:Today, I'm celebrating the completion of what was originally conceived as a 100-point 15mm Hive Minds army for Alien Squad Leader.
Above, you see the army arrayed before the entrance to its underground nest.
The final army is actually 174 points, since some of the toys came in larger groups, plus I added the Gigabeetles when they popped up at Halloween!
If I decide to enlarge the army in the future, I'll definitely need more Insect Warriors (in my case, ants), as once it crosses 200 points, 16 stands are compulsory and I only have 10 currently.
Another possible future upgrade is to make some Tunnel Beetles. This is an optional upgrade for Armored Fighting Beetles that allows them to tunnel onto the battlefield, and it probably makes sense to model them differently from the standard beetles (or in my case, cockroaches).
All of these units were inexpensive and quick to prep. The hardest were the Acid-Spitting Bugs (i.e., scorpions), as I chose to paint them, and the paint does not adhere well to the rubbery toys.
One nice things about the rules is that, although you've given required bases sizes, it doesn't matter how many models you put per base. With the ants, I could fill the base with five models. With the larger bugs, they mostly fit on the bases, with some antennae or tails extending. Unfortunately for the Gigabeetles, my models are slightly small for the required base size.
Compared with the Mechanoid army, the Hive Mind army is quite large – and also considering 100-point armies typically fight on a 4' x 4' tabletop. I am excited to see how the armies compete.
But first… some terrain!