"Spaceknights!"

 "We have only won a battle, not the war!"

This 40mm scale model of Rum was created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin both on a Mars 5 3D Printer, and is available as an STL (Standard Triangle Language) file from the "Big Head Chibis" store on "Cults 3D". Clearly inspired by the toy-turned-superhero Rom - which was co-conceived by Scott Dankman for "Parker Brothers" in 1979 - I found the sculpt to be a little under-sized for my purposes, so increased the figure's height to 42.18mm in Chitubox before I printed him out.

In addition, as I wanted the Galadorian spaceknight to 'fall in' with my Marvel United models by "CoolMiniOrNot", I swapped out his 30mm base for one with slightly less height which was sculpted by "Crippled God Foundry". Once assembled, both were subsequently primed using plenty of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and later treated the stone-brick stand to a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - The Abomination's shorts have been finished, so just his face is left to go

For Rom himself, I wanted to try and capture some of the shine of his famous "electronically supported malleable statis field armour skin", so patiently applied three separate coats of Heavy Metal by "Scale 75" over him. I then mixed up some "Citadel" Nuln Oil, Drakenhof Nightshade and plain tap water together, sploshed it all over the miniature, and finally gave it a dry-brush of (more) "Scale 75" Heavy Metal.

With the majority of the model now completed, I carefully gave the area around the cyborg's "eyesight synthesis device" a lick of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and blobbed a little "Vallejo" Heavy Red over his actual eyes. These two orbs were then shaded with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, and re-spotted with a smidgeon of "Vallejo" Dark Vermillion. I also used a thick line of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson on Rom's Neutralizer too.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studios" - Two more Tunnel Spiders close to completion

Despite being somewhat distracted by "Big Head Chibis" wonderful range of STLs - I've bought and printed a good two dozen of them so far in recent days - I have still somewhat 'stuck to my guns' by making a little more progress on my "Marvel United" Abomination miniature too. Unlike Rom, I actually own the official Marvel Multiverse RPG (MMRPG) statistics for this comic book character, and fully intend to have the "CoolMiniOrNot" sculpt tabletop ready for a game by early next week.

Furthermore, I'm also working on two more Tunnel Spiders by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" which I had initially hoped to submit as entries into Angry Piper's annual "Monster May(hem)" monthly challenge over on the "Dead Dick's Tavern and Temporary Lodging" blog. All the 'basics' have already been done on these oversized arachnids. But I still need to apply some washes and do a bit of a tidy up on the pair before they can be varnished/flocked...

"His Divine Majesty King Groot The Twenty-Third."

"Monarch of Planet X, custodian of the branch worlds, ruler of all the shades."

This 40mm scale model of Groot is made by "CoolMiniOrNot", and was unlocked during the company's hugely successful February 2020 Kickstarter for "Marvel United" when it achieved a whopping $2,866,168 in funding. Originally created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby as an invading monster for the November 1960 issue of "Tales to Astonish" for "Marvel Comics", the figure can be found inside the boardgame's Season One expansion box entitled "Guardians Of The Galaxy Remix".

Produced in a light blue hard plastic, I was initially going to prime the miniature with either "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna or Charred Brown, as both of these colours have excellent coverage. However, having used these paints on my "Wizkids" and "Atomic Mass Games" sculpts of Groot, I always felt they were much too dark for the "sentient tree-like creature", so in the end went with a couple of layers of "Two Thin Coats" Ancient Forest instead.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - The Abomination has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

The figure was subsequently washed with plenty of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, dry-brushed with (more) Ancient Forest by "Two Thin Coats", and had the odd splosh of "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green pushed into its joints, cracks and crevices. Then, so as to blend all these colours together, I added a smidgeon of "Two Thin Coats" White Star to my Ancient Forest, and delicately gave the entire ensemble one final dry-brush.

Lastly, I decided to 'drop' a couple of spots of "Two Thin Coats" Skulker Yellow into the extra-terrestrial's eye-sockets, darkened them down with "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and dot them with (a little more) Skulker Yellow by "Two Thin Coats". This brought the model much more in line with Groot's comic book incarnation than the black-eyed, CGI (Computer-generated imagery) version seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - This Praetor's cloak has been base-layered in preparation of a shade

In addition to the first of my "Marvel United" Guardians Of The Galaxy miniatures, I've also been busy making progress on another of the co-operative board-game's pieces for an upcoming Marvel Multiverse RPG (MMRPG) scenario. As with my finished "Flora colossus from Planet X", I have previously pigmented a couple of Abominations before - so hope to have Emil Blonsky's super-strong alter-ego ready for the tabletop in quick order.

I have also not completely forgotten about completing the Praetor I need to lead my Sons Of Horus force for "The Horus Heresy". This mixture of pieces by "Games Workshop" and "Forge World" is actually rather close to having a coat of varnish slapped over him - especially now I've finally dry-brushed the trio of skulls riding atop his backpack. However, I still need to carefully trace his fiddly-flowing cape with some "Vallejo" Heavy Red, and sort out then traitor space marine's aforementioned backpack too...

"Korg Of Krona, Son Of O-Korg And Ahna."

"Brother-killer of Margus."

This 40mm scale model of Korg is made by "CoolMiniOrNot", and was unlocked during the company's highly successful February 2020 Kickstarter for "Marvel United" when it achieved a whopping $2,866,168 in funding. Based upon Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby's "member of the alien species Kronan" for "Marvel Comics", the figure can be found inside the boardgame's Season One expansion box entitled "Tales Of Asgard".

Produced in a light blue hard plastic, the "one- time prisoner of the Red King on Sakaar" was primed using a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Brown, and had all of his rocky-like skin shaded in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. These 'armour plates' were then dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Brown so as to bring out all of their wonderful sculpt's details.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - Groot has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

Now obviously, for those fans only familiar with the warrior via either "Bigchild Creatives" official paint-job, or Taika Waititi's 2017 film "Thor: Ragnarok", this particular palette is going to seem a far cry from the predominantly grey appearance of the 'silver screen' character. However, I'm not a fan of this incarnation at all, and much prefer the tan/orange look from his comic book appearance in Issue Ninety Three [Volume Two] of "Incredible Hulk".

With this colour scheme in mind, I applied some "Two Thin Coats" Cold Corpse Blue to Korg's gladiator armour, darkened it down with a splosh of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and later lightened it back up with a dry-brush of (more) Cold Corpse Blue by "Two Thin Coats". I also gave his belts a lick of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Eartshade, whilst the Stone Man's buckle was treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Big Head Chibis" WIPs - Lady is being painted from her boots upwards

Having completed the latest "Marvel United" piece I hope to use for the Marvel Multiverse RPG (MMRPG), I've rather impulsively set to work on the co-operative boardgame's model of Groot. This particular super-hero's statistics feature in the MMRPG's Core Rulebook - as opposed to just having a brief cameo in the game's starter set scenario like Korg, so can easily be used as part of the central roster in any future campaigns.

Furthermore, I've been busy producing the latest figures produced by "Big Head Chibis" as part of their "Patreon" monthly subscription, on my "Elegoo" Mars 5 3D printer. This has really helped galvanise me into cracking on with the company's Lady [Jaye] sculpt - which I now need to get tabletop ready in a hurry, before I'm completely swamped with several other models from their range...

"Tunnel Spiders Are Revolting, Simple Creatures..."

"...That feast on whatever prize their webs ensnare."

These two 28mm scale metal arachnids are manufactured by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought as part of their five model DEAL 290 Tunnel Spiders. Sculpted by Pedro Navarro, the miniatures were originally going to be one of my entries into Angry Piper's "Monster May(hem)" monthly challenge over on the "Dead Dick's Tavern and Temporary Lodging" blog. But as that particular event has now been finished for several weeks, I've simply finished painting them for "The Silver Bayonet" by "Osprey Games".

The models were undercoated using a couple of layers of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before being heavily dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal. The duo were then absolutely drenched in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and had their numerous eyes/spots 'picked out' with a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. As a final touch I dotted all of the spiders' pupils with a little dab of "Vallejo" Dark Vermillion.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - Korg just needs some dry-brushing and minor detail work

Alongside this pair of eight-legged horrors, I have managed to almost finish work on my 40mm plastic sculpt of Korg by "CoolMiniOrNot". This particular piece from the company's Marvel United boardgame is destined for a role in one of my upcoming games of the Marvel Multiverse RPG (MMRPG), so I've been steadily 'chipping away' at the Kronan gladiator to get him tabletop ready for some time.

Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for the super-strong 'Stone Man' has been somewhat rocked by the discovery that the character isn't actually playable in the "Escape From Planet Hulk" starter scenario as I thought, and instead can just be used as a source of "Inspiration" for the regular heroes as they tackle the adventure. I do believe there's a set of fan-made abilities available. However, as I'm still very much learning the game, I am currently just sticking to the official rules.

"Big Head Chibis" WIPs - All the areas on Lady have been 'boxed off' with "Citadel" Abaddon Black 

Happily though, my passion for MMRPG hasn't been too badly dented, due to the wonderful range of similarly-styled figures produced by "Big Head Chibis" as part of their "Patreon" monthly subscription. This will hopefully give me access to a ton of STL (Standard Triangle Language) files which I can print out on my "Elegoo" Mars 5 3D printer, and use for the numerous minions I will require for my battles.

One such miniature is Lady [Jaye]. Due to her jungle-flavoured attire, I'm planning on producing a handful of these sculpts to form a gang of poachers who will unwisely target the wildlife of Wakanda, and resultantly face the wrath of T'Challa - the Black Panther. I've also found a source of appropriately-sized bases to use for my various goon squads, courtesy of "Crippled God Foundry", after I found out the ones supplied by "Big Head Chibis" are much too tall when compared to those supplied with Marvel United. This means I'll now be able to print out as many as I need, whenever I need them, rather than rely upon "eBay" to buy them...

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "CoolMiniOrNot" July 2025

"Besides our own universe, there’s countless others, each with their own versions of super heroes and villains."

Having seemingly found the better part of my hobby mojo during the past four weeks, largely thanks to a deep interest in the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game (MMRPG), it seems pretty obvious to keep the momentum going for at least another month by painting some more "CoolMiniOrNot" 40mm plastic models for their collaborative boardgame Marvel United. Admittedly, I only managed to get a quartet of super-heroes tabletop ready - and one of those was already partially-pigmented. But my enthusiasm for the MMRPG has never been higher, and I'm currently determined to play some games using the Chibi-style miniatures just as soon as I can.

Furthermore, my need for some hoodlums, goons and toughs to get beaten up by the likes of Nick Fury, Doop and the Black Panther, has also got me back using my Mars 5 3D resin printer by "Elegoo". Originally, I rather naively thought I could just buy some of the Marvel United gaming pieces separately, so as to field a handful of Ultron drones or Hydra terrorists. However, the second-hand market (e.g. eBay) has proved far too expensive for such a plan, with most single figures fetching a distinctly off-putting tenner a pop (including postage & packaging).

"Big Head Chibis" WIPs - Lady has been primed, and is currently having her base worked on

As a result I have turned to the likes of "Big Head Chibis" on "Patreon", and subscribed to their monthly service. This has already given me access to some STL (Standard Triangle Language) files which I can use to produce a number of generic minions, as well as some other sculpts that should make good hapless civilians to rescue/protect. Such models really will be crucial for some of the larger games of MMRPG I have planned, as simply having a few A-List characters repeatedly stood battering one another will inevitably get pretty boring quite fast.

To begin with, I've printed off a copy of Lady, who seems to be partially based upon Staff Sergeant Hart-Burnett from the animated television series "G.I. Joe". I figured she looked pretty jungle-themed in her green-hued attire, so would make a good goon for some nefarious expedition into the Kingdom of Wakanda or the Savage Lands. My plan is therefore to use this particular miniature as a test-piece for a colour scheme, and then produce a few more (possibly mirrored) to bulk out the squad.

June 2025 - Little change in my Top Five Manufacturers

June has historically always been an incredibly poor time for my painting, going back a good decade, so despite me failing to finish as many figures as I had initially intended, overall it was actually quite the success. Indeed, compared to the previous month, it was a positive triumph, and has even seen me start a completely new project in the form of "Star Wars: Shatterpoint" by "Atomic Mass Games" - albeit, the issues I've had assembling some of these miniatures has already badly dented my desire to glue any more together for the moment.

This month I have a good handful of (more) Marvel United figures close to completion, and alongside the 3D prints from "Big Head Chibis" this should see me playing a few games of MMRPG. If that does happen, I would imagine my output will increase even further, as I always find rolling some dice and actually using painted pieces on the tabletop really enthuses me to get even more models completed. Plus, I haven't completely taken my eye off the ball when it comes to my hefty Napoleonic backlog by "Wargames Foundry"...

"Never Give Up!"

 "Never Surrender!"

This 28mm scale metal model of Galactic Explorer 1A is manufactured by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought individually as MINI 1927 from their Space Travellers range, or as part of their four-figure DEAL 492 Galactic Explorers I. Sculpted by Ari Níelsson, the miniature is clearly based upon actor Tim Allen's character Jason Nesmith/Commander Peter Quincy Taggart from Dean Parisot's 1999 science fiction film "Galaxy Quest".

The figure was primed with a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Neutral Grey, before having his boots, trousers, hair and much of his torso layered in "Citadel" Abaddon Black. I then 'picked out' his insignia, epaulettes and Ion Nebulizer with a smidgeon of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and splosh of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I also applied quite a heavy dry-brush to Taggart's pants and top, so as to slightly break up the predominantly black colour scheme.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - Work has finally started on Squirrel Girl in earnest

Lastly, I tidied up all the "Vallejo" Neutral Grey areas, drowned the entire model with (more) "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and patiently dry-brushed the Commander's upper tunic with a little (more) "Vallejo" Neutral Grey. I did consider applying some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna to the miniature's hair, as per the 'official' display paintjob by "Mystic Spirals". But in the end decided that the movie version of the NSEA Protector's leader looked a lot darker - so stuck with the original "Citadel" Abaddon Black colour scheme.

Along with my Galactic Explorer, I have made some more progress on my (admittedly grand) design to paint a number of 40mm plastic Marvel United gaming pieces to use with the Marvel Multiverse RPG (MMRPG). As a change of pace though, I have momentarily swapped out the Kronan gladiator Korg I have been slowly working on for the much more dynamically-posed Squirrel Girl instead.

"Athena Miniatures" WIPs - This young apocalypse survivor is close to completion

This rejig of my painting priorities is only temporary, as I will need Thor's super-strong former foe when I play the MMRPG's Escape From Planet Hulk starter scenario. However, I have recently picked up the hardback copy of the ruleset, and discovered it has the statistics for Doreen Green's bushy-tailed alter-ego inside. This has encouraged me to put some (more) paint on the "CoolMiniOrNot" figure somewhat sooner than I was expecting, as I now may well swap Squirrel Girl into my team's roster instead of one of the super-heroes which come with the starter set.

Furthermore, I have quite quickly slapped a few coats on one of the models from Survivors Set 4 by "Athena Miniatures". I actually own two of this particular adolescent survivor of the apocalypse after owner John Caboche kindly snuck a couple of freebies into my most recent order - so I'm rather keen to at least get one of the duo tabletop ready as soon as possible...

"King T'Challa Is The Black Panther."

"A sacred title that must be both inherited & earned by the current Wakandan ruler."

This 40mm scale model of the Black Panther is made by "CoolMiniOrNot", and was unlocked during the company's highly successful February 2020 Kickstarter for "Marvel United" when it achieved a whopping $2,866,168 in funding. Based upon Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's "protector of the fictional African nation of Wakanda" for "Marvel Comics", the figure can be found inside the boardgame's Season One expansion box entitled "Rise Of The Black Panther".

Produced in a light blue hard plastic, this particular incarnation of King T'Challa appears to be have sculpted by the "Bigchild Creatives" team to be similar in appearance to the character's cinematic outings rather than his comic book adventures, and this caused me a few headaches when deciding what colour to paint the incredibly frustrating vibranium bands encircling most of the super-hero's body. I really wasn't a fan of the almost luminescent purple hoop paint-jobs I saw, nor the dull grey ones.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - Some of the final stages painting the Black Panther

In the end I therefore decided to go with a metallic silver look which also seemed to be quite popular with my fellow painters, and also tied in quite nicely with Black Panther's appearance in the Russo brother's 2016 movie "Captain America: Civil War". Resultantly, I primed the miniature with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and then dry-brushed it with "Vallejo" Gunmetal - so as to help me see all the cords, circles and swirls. Sadly, this didn't really work out as I'd hoped, as some of the vibranium simply seemed to blend back into the legs as if the sculptor didn't know where it actually ended, and also there were a few nasty-looking casting flaws on the figure which would need careful navigating/hiding.

These issues caused me to carefully apply a couple of layers of "Citadel" Abaddon Black in between all the vibranium, and highlight the "rare metal" with a line of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. However, as I wanted T'Challa's necklace to especially standout, I ensured this area was much more strongly coated in "Vallejo" Gunmetal, before applying some "Citadel" Nuln Oil to it. Finally, I carefully 'picked out' the claws with a combination of "Two Thin Coats" White Star and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"Atomic Mass Games" WIPs - Jango Fett's base has been base-layered, shaded and dry-brushed 

With the Black Panther finished, I have found the time to make some more progress on my plan to paint several 40mm "Star Wars: Shatterpoint" plastic models. As with my previously completed Count Dooku miniature by "Atomic Mass Games", this Jango Fett figure comes from the skirmish game's Twice the Pride Squad Pack. However, along with a Magnaguard, its assembly using the unhelpful instructions on the manufacturer's website, actually put me off the entire hobby for a few days.

Indeed, those with sharp-eyes may well spot that the Mandalorian bounty hunter isn't standing as he should be upon the piece of scrap metal glued to his base. This is because I was actually going to use the base for a Magnaguard I put together, as the incredibly frustrating multi-part combat droid appeared to be so fragile that I was going to use the terrain piece to bolster its connectivity to its stand. In the end though, I changed my mind. But by then the debris was firmly fixed in place, so I couldn't match up Fett's foot with the hollow designed for him to stand in...