28mm Scale Weapons For MERCS, Part 1

A while back, I was delightfully swamped with work when a sculptor for MERCS Minis, Tom Mason, contacted me to do a line of weapons for a line of minis they were putting out. I saw the source art for the Kem Var faction they were planning, and wanted to do it so bad, but my scheduling got the better of me. Darn you, scheduling.

I had to pass, unfortunately, and Mr. Mondragon (long may he wave) got the work. Mark's stuff turned out beautifully, of course. Was there any doubt? The figures went on to sell well, and I regarded the whole ordeal as one of the good ones that got away.

Well, recently, the tables were turned when Mark was too busy with his excellent giant mecha kit he's putting out, and I got to have a chance at some MERCS work. I received some excellent source art from concept artist Keith Lowe, and got cracking.


The Sefadu are a new faction coming out for MERCS, and some of their weapons are a shotgun, a precision rifle, and an assault rifle. The source art was great, with the subdued Kem Var weapons already done, but included for reference.

So, I got to work.

Tonight, we'll do the shotgun WIP. Starting with my initial rough-out. This one came out pretty quickly, due to the very specific source art, which is always a great help.

These were quickly followed up the detail pass. Fasteners, scribing of panel lines, and an ambidextrous safety were added.
The foward handguard was reworked, squared up a bit, and a buttplate added, and the final version was approved.



Tomorrow night, the Sefadu precision rifle.

Best,
JBR