by Thomas Clark

In June 2884, Mercenary forces overran the Strahl Demokratische Republik base at New Canberra. Part of the haul included an assembly facility for "Heinrich" Panzer Kampf Anzugs (PKAs or Armored Fighting Suits) and several dozen incomplete units.

The Mercenary forces had been seriously depleted in the assault, and needed to make up their numbers as soon as possible. In the fall of 2884, the Mercenary Armored Development Corps combined the chassis of the the Heinrich with the weapons systems of the Mercenary's Armored Fighting Suit Mk. I and a new "indirect sighting system" developed for the Super Armored Fighting Suits. The glass canopy of the Heinrich was replaced with a new armored cover, and a small sensor turret mounted on the chest. The new unit was designated AFS(S) (Armored Fighting Suit, Strahl), nicknamed "Skinhead" because of its "bald-headed" look.

Several platoons of Skinheads were fielded in the winter of 2284-2285, and enjoyed some limited success, partly because the Skinheads were initially mistaken as friendly Heinrichs by the SDR units they were attacking! But the new SAFS units were being fielded, and the AFS(S) were quickly relegated to obsolete status. Part of the reason was that Mercenary forces occasionally mistook the Skinheads for Heinrichs as well! The Skinhead found itself a footnote in the history of the Fourth World War.

The Skinheads continued to serve in secondary roles in the Mercenary forces, making up shortages in their forces as needed. The unit shown is a Skinhead of the 4359th Armored Company (Provisional), a unit assigned as security at the Mercenary field depot at Woomera. The 4359th was a scratch unit put together to help defend the depot against an anticipated SDR raid. After 6 months duty at Woomera the company was disbanded and the Skinheads turned in.

The Model

The Skinhead is actually one of the original suits in Kow Yokoyama's SF3D line of kits, but I first saw it when I got a copy of Machinen Krieger Vol. 1 Chronicle & Encyclopedia. "Man, that thing is ugly...I got to build one!"

It's kind of interesting that the "real" unit is supposed to be a sort of a "real life" kitbash. The Skinhead was never kitted by Nitto as part of their line, and was kind of minor bit of the SF3D universe, so it seemed to be a natural candidate for the "Other Guys" contest!

This is a kitbash of:

• Nitto SF3D PKA H0 "Heinrich" (Body, Legs)
• Nitto SF3D Armored Fighting Suit Mk 1 (Left and Right Arms, Shoulder Armor)
• AMT 1/72 AH-64A Apache Helicopter (Sensor Turret)
• Wave "G-Tank Medium"
• Assorted Bits and Bobs from the Spares Box

Building the kit was straight-forward. The PKA body and legs and AFS arms were built out of the box. I blended the side windows into the suit with putty and glued the "glass" PKA canopy onto the body. I puttied its lip smooth and scribed a new line on it to represent the "shorter" Skinhead canopy. I also added a wire handle to the canopy.

Kow's Skinhead featured prominent weld seams on the side windows, so I duplicated those with photoetched brass "welds", and added some more to represent the new armor plate closing off the lower canopy opening.

I surgically removed a sensor turret from an AMT Apache kit for the "indirect sight" and shaped it to fit the front chest using polyester putty. I installed it upside down, just like Kow's. I stuck a small greeblie onto the turret to cover up a hole in the AMT kit and add a little interest.

The side camera housings were shaped from Apoxysculpt. I glued a small hatch to the front of the housing to represent an armored shutter, and cast up a bunch of copies. I used the best two and applied more putty to blend them in.

The fuel tank was a Wave "G-Tank Medium" cut to length with two hemispherical end-caps added. The mounts on the engine housing were made by stacking some 1/72 tank roadwheels to create the look of shock mounts. The tank saddle was made from sheet styrene. The hose was guitar string, annealed with a torch and then bent to shape.

I painted the Skinhead with Tamiya "NATO Brown" as a base coat and Testors Model Master Acryl "US Gulf War Sand" as contrasting color. I used Tamiya "NATO Green", thinned down and sprayed in a random pattern to create a mottling effect on the upper surfaces.

I didn't weather the model too much, just gave it an black oil-paint and mineral spirits wash and then dry-brushed the Brown and Sand. I rubbed a little graphite on the feet to represent wear. The exhaust was painted Black, then heavily dry-brushed with Steel. While the Steel was still damp, I brushed it with some rust pastels.

The base is a wood plaque, with BalsaFoam and kitty-litter rubble. The concrete was created by spreading concrete patch mix on the balsa foam. I added some rusted rebar to the concrete slabs by bending, painting and "rusting" some pieces of copper telephone wire. The smaller rubble is kitty litter. I spray-painted the whole thing black, then concrete grey, and the drybrushed a lighter grey, with a little sand and rust to stain it. I applied washed of black and burnt umber to the concrete for depths. I added a small rusted greeblie (part of a lighter) to the base for interest.

Image: Front view

Image: Left/rear