"ls This A Civic Reception..?"

"More like a police state."

This 28mm scale white metal model of a 'gas-masked goon' is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought either separately as Alien Legionary 1A, or as part of their four-figure Alien Legionnaries set. Sculpted by Ernst Veingart, the miniature has clearly been strongly influenced by Danilo Donati's costume design for the Emperor Ming's minions seen in Mike Hodges' cult 1980 movie "Flash Gordon", and was started in earnest way back in March of this year.

Originally primed using a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, the trooper was given a positive drenching in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, before being dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red. The guard then had all of his leather straps and belt carefully 'traced out'  with a little bit of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and his belt buckle/shoulder epaulettes were tackled using a combination of "Vallejo" Gold and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"Vogons are slug-like but vaguely humanoid."

I also decided to slightly change the colour of the legionary's gloves - to suggest they were made of a different material - by 'picking them out' with a smidgeon of "Vallejo" Dark Vermillion. These garments were subsequently shaded with a quick dash of "Vallejo" Carroburg Crimson. I did consider applying some "Vallejo" Gunmetal to both the model's face-mask lenses and blaster rifle. However, I simply couldn't dot in the semi-circular eyes as I wanted with the space permitted, and thought the guns better matched the film props in plain black, so soon decided to leave well enough alone.

Alongside the first of what I hope to be a small army of the Emperor's Ming's minions (as I certainly own enough), I have completed a sixth 28mm scale Vulgorn Guard by "Lost Heresy Miniatures". The miniature was created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer, and contains a fair few flaws as a result of the resin tank's FEP (Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene) being a little too loose - thus causing some considerable suction which played merry havoc with the STL (Standard Triangle Language) file's pre-supports.

"Wargames Foundry" WIPs - This Prussian officer is having all of his intricate details 'picked out'

Luckily, the 'slippage ridges' found on one of the figure's left arm isn't all that noticeable, especially with its current palette, and the shallow hole located on its back has been pigmented as if its simply a tear in the alien's rubber one-suit with the greenish flesh showing beneath. This (not) "Hitchhiker's Of The Galaxy" model was predominantly painted using "Citadel" Abaddon Black, "Vallejo" German Grey and Gunmetal, with a significant splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, as well as a little "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, Bronze and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade on his rectangular-shaped gun.

I've also started to try to play catch-up with my monthly Napoleonic painting goal using "Wargames Foundry" models. Resultantly, I've dug out a Prussian Officer from their PN031 Infantry Command I began working on many months ago, with the intention of getting the colourfully-costumed combatant completed before the year has finished...

"Oi! You With Bowler!"

 "Get under cover or you'll get your flippin' 'ead blown off!"

This 28mm metal model is produced by "Athena Miniatures" as part of their Apocalypse Survivors range, and is one of eight similarly attired figures found inside the Swindon-based company's AS11 British NBC set. I actually picked it up as part of a much larger impulse buy whilst at "Warfare" 2024, as they're based on the notion of the Russians invading the United Kingdom following some great calamity - whether that be a nuclear strike, zombie incursion or some deadly extra-terrestrial attack.

This lore caused me to recall the classic "Invasion!" comic book strip created by Pat Mills for "2000 A.D." during the late Seventies, and I have subsequently painted up a squad of four Russian invaders dressed for Radiological, Chemical and Biological warfare to get me going. This time round though I thought I'd put my brush-tip to some of the country's heavily outnumbered defenders, and picked a single test piece with which to trial my chosen palette.

"Here is what to do if you want to get a lift from a Vogon: forget it." 

Resultantly, the figure was undercoated using a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Grey and drowned in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. I then carefully applied a base layer of "Citadel" Abaddon Black to the trooper's boots, gloves, gas mask and firearm, before giving the squaddie's hand-weapon and lenses a little "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I did consider using a spot of "Vallejo" Heavy Grey for the L98 A2 rifle, as per some photographs I had seen. But as the model was already predominantly that colour I decided to just keep it a dark silver so the "advanced rifle" would stand out a little more on the tabletop.

As a final touch, and something which I thought might help the British troopers stand out from their Soviet opponents, I decided to 'pick out' the chap's ammunition pouch with some round(ish) splodges of “Vallejo” Heavy Brown, Luftwaffe Camouflage Green and Heavy Sienna. This basic camouflage pattern was later sploshed with “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade, before each area was highlighted back up with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Brown, Luftwaffe Camouflage Green and Heavy Sienna.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - Two Sons of Horus Space Marines having their details 'picked out'

In addition to my British NBC Squaddie, I have also completed a fifth 28mm scale Vulgorn Guard by "Lost Heresy Miniatures", which I created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer. This (not) "Hitchhiker's Of The Galaxy" model was predominantly painted using "Citadel" Abaddon Black, "Vallejo" German Grey and Gunmetal, with a significant splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, as well as a little "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, Bronze and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade on his rectangular-shaped gun.

Lastly, I've not forgotten my remaining 28mm multi-part plastic Sons of Horus Space Marines for "The Horus Heresy" by "Games Workshop", and have been patiently progressing the traitors whenever my hobby time allows. Indeed, I'm hoping to get the ten-man unit's Sergeant finished sooner rather than later, which besides a couple of Special Characters, should then just leave me with less than a handful of bog-standard MK IV Adeptus Astartes...

"Bring Me... The Bore Worms!"

"No one, but no one, dies in the palace without a command from the Emperor."

This 28mm scale metal model of a Heartless Warmonger is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought either separately under code: SKU: MINI 796, or as part of their four-figure SKU: DEAL 238 Galactic Villains set. The single-cast sculpt is clearly strongly influenced by actor Peter Wyngarde's portrayal of General Klytus in Mike Hodges' cult 1980 movie "Flash Gordon", and is a leftover from last year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC).

"The commander of Ming the Merciless' secret police force", the miniature was undercoated with a mixture of "Vallejo" Surface Primer Black and "Warlord Games" Pitch Black, before being dry-brushed in “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal and shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I then carefully 'picked out' all his gold armour with a soldi base layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, including his entire right hand - which according to the movie was completely encased in the malleable metal.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Early days for these three Alien Legionnaries

I next gave all these areas a couple of licks of "Vallejo" Gold, and a splash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, before applying some additional "Vallejo" Gold to the odd edge. I did start attempt to dab in some pupils too, using a spot of "Two Thin Coats" White Star. However, I found the actual eye slits to be much too small for my ability, and so ended up applying some "Citadel" Abaddon Black into them to both cover up my botched attempt, as well as darken them down even more.

Alongside "the grand vizier and right-hand man of Ming the Merciless", I have been somewhat busy priming up a few Alien Legionnaries to accompany him on the tabletop. I'm pretty sure I've previously slapped pigment on a few of these "gas-masked goons" before. But can't currently locate where they've been stored. So as I had some spare "Vallejo" Heavy Red sat drying on my palette, I thought I'd make a start on these models.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - This Sons Of Horus Sergeant is having all his detail 'picked out'

In addition, I have once again 'hooked out' the final handful (or two) of my remaining Sons of Horus Space Marines for "The Horus Heresy" by "Games Workshop". These 28mm multi-part plastic traitors should hopefully prove a somewhat straightforward project, despite them being covered in gold armour plating, and numerous 'difficult to reach with a brush-tip' details. Indeed, whilst in the past I have managed to 'soldier' my way through a fair few MK III and MK V armoured figures, I have found these MK IV Adeptus Astartes to be a tough nut to completely crack.

To begin with I therefore thought I'd tackle a Sergeant, which whilst absolutely covered in bits and bobs, including a plasma pistol, appears to be well on his way to being finished. I've started from the unit leader's feet and begun slowly making my way up the model, focusing on highlighting any areas of "Vallejo" Gold and tidying up the leather straps/pouches strapped around his waist...

"Wollipeds Are Large, Docile Herd Animals..."

"...Found in the snowy foothills of large mountains."

This 28mm scale plastic model of a Wolliped is produced by "Wizkids" and can be found as Product Code DDMTROW31 from their Pathfinder Miniatures Reign of Winter range. The eight legged animal was bought as part of an order from "Tritex Games" way back in February 2020, and has sat on my painting area untouched since I initially gave it a cursory lick of paint in May last year.

Known for growing "thick, warm fleece as protection against the elements", the figure was cut from its thin-lipped stand and super-glued onto a "Citadel" 50mm circular base instead. It's pre-paint job was then covered over with a few lashings of "Vallejo" White, before I shaded the entire creature using some heavily watered-down Carcharodon Grey by “Two Thin Coats”. As a final touch, the brute was heavily dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" White.

"Lost Heresy Miniatures" WIPs - These three Vulgorn Guards are almost finished

Having finished the majority of the model, I subsequently went in with a much finer brush to 'pick out' some of the Wolliped's details - such as using a combination of "Vallejo" German Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil on its incredibly hard to reach hooves, and face. I also applied some additional "Vallejo" White to the miniature's tusks and later 'weathered' these formidable pieces of ivory with a little "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

Lastly, the figure's multiple eyes were all dotted with "Vallejo" Heavy Red and dabbed with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. I was originally going to base the gentle, docile herd animal with snow as seems entirely fitting for something which requires "sure footing even in icy terrain." Indeed, I'm pretty sure I might have purchased the figure to be used in "Frostgrave" by "Osprey Games". However, I also felt that this might make the creature become lost to the eye, so promptly surrounded it with green flock so as to help my paintjob stand out all the more.

"Athena Miniatures" WIPs - Four of the eight British NBC troopers planned for my unit

Alongside my arctic beast I have been working on three more slightly upscaled 28mm Vulgorn Guards by "Lost Heresy Miniatures". This trio were created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin back when I had a problem with the FEP on my Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer, so there's a fair few printing flaws on them - one of which even required some sculpting with Green Stuff to fix. Happily though, I still think they're all good enough to sit on the tabletop once fully pigmented, with many of their faults obscured by their predominantly dark palette.

I've also got a little bit more work done on the British NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) models I recently acquired from "Athena Miniatures". All eight of the troopers' boots and bases are now completed, so I'll simply need to 'pick out' their L98 A2 rifles and gas masks, before tackling their camouflaged ammunition pouches.

"Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini Was An Italian Dictator..."

"...Who founded and led the National Fascist Party."

This 28mm multi-part plastic miniature was assembled using various parts taken from the Italian Army & Blackshirts sprue produced by "Warlord Games", and can be found inside a number of their boxed kits such as SKU: 402015801. However, my model was assembled from a free sprue the Nottingham-based manufacturer kindly sent me as part of a much larger "Bolt Action" order, and could well become the start of an Italian army for "the ultimate World War II tabletop miniatures game" next year.

With this potential project in mind, I thought I'd probably best start with my force's Officer, and having perused the various pieces available to me, felt that I could a fair representation of the "Duce of the Italian Social Republic" himself. Indeed, not only did the sprue appear to contain a 'spot on' head. But it also included the country's famous "Che vuoi?" hand gesture too.

"Athena Miniatures" WIPs - Four of the eight British NBC troopers currently being progressed

Once assembled, the figure was primed using a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Sombre Grey, and shaded in "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I then tried to take inspiration from the uniform plates which feature inside the "Armies Of Italy and the Axis" guidebook by "Osprey Publishing", by picking out Mussolini's water bottle, pistol holder, and odd leather strap with "Vallejo" Heavy Brown. These items were later washed with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

I also applied a little "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil" to Benito's pistol and shovel, as well as a smidgeon of "Vallejo" Gold and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade to the emblem on his felt fez. In reality I believe this symbol was a large gold-on-red eagle. However, the sculpt appeared to simply be a rectangle, so I just carefully followed the detail's edges with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, rather than try to do anything particularly fanciful.

"Diehard Miniatures" WIPs - After a few shades and dry-brushes, this undead astronaut's bones are finished 

Having completed this rather impulsive ensemble, I have settled down to progressing all eight British Squaddies dressed in Nuclear Biological Chemical (NBC) sold by "Athena Miniatures". This unit is still in its early stages. But I'm happy with the miniatures' palette, and even plan to do some camouflage upon their ammunition grab bags - as per some 'official' photographs I've seen.

In addition, I've stumbled upon a 30mm metal undead astronaut by "Diehard Miniatures", which I apparently first put a brush-tip to just over five years ago. These sorts of long abandoned projects are just what my current Partially-Painted/Printed Pledge is all about, so as I'm in a moon-themed mood anyway, I thought I'd finally get the ghoulish rocketeer completed. Plus, I understand you can only buy the mode as part of the manufacturer's Skeletal Spacemen Unit 1 set - so presumably his four comrades-in-death are lurking around my backlog pile somewhere too...

"Volgons Invade Western Europe!"

 "6.00AM., Friday January 1st, 1999. Black Friday!"

These three 28mm metal models are manufactured by "Athena Miniatures" as part of their Apocalypse Survivors releases, and can be purchased as part of the company's AS12 Russian NBC four-figure set. "Dressed in cold weather gear [and] armed with a variety of weapons", I succumbed to the temptation of picking up a fair few sculpts from this range whilst at "Warfare" 2024, due to the characterful collection being equipped "to do battle with Zombies or Aliens, or whatever has brought about" an end to life as we know it in the United Kingdom.

This premise immediately too me back to the classic "Invasion!" comic book strip created by Pat Mills for "2000 A.D." during the late Seventies, and with a few simple homemade rules I thought I could quite easily adapt "The Silver Bayonet" ruleset by "Osprey Games" for a series of skirmish games set within that war-torn country. Resultantly, all three of these Soviet Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence troopers were undercoated using a couple of layers of “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII.

"The papers screamed a terrifying headline!"

The models were then shaded in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII so as to bring out all the folds/creases in their rubber suits. This straightforward palette helped get the majority of the trio completed in record time. However, I thought the miniatures would look rather plain, so decided to break their overall look up a bit by using a smidgeon of "Vallejo" Neutral Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil on their gloves and overboots.

I also thought the Russians would look more menacing if I gave their respirators, along with their rifle butts and coat buttons, a lick of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and a splash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. As a final touch I painstakingly 'picked out' all the firearms and eye lenses with some "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil - hopefully helping to break-up the figures' rather monotone colour scheme even more so.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - This Heartless Warmonger is having his details 'picked out'

In addition to these new acquisitions, I have pulled out a fair few much older buys from my unhealthy backlog as well. I had planned to pigment many an Alien Legionnaire and Defender Of The Earth from the Rick Rhodes retro science fiction range by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" during last year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC). However, having departed that event much earlier than planned, most of the pre-prepped 28mm metal figures have simply sat gathering dust on my painting table.

That apathy towards these models has now ended, as I thought the likes of their Heartless Warmonger - which wonderfully captures all the hallmarks of General Klytus from Mike Hodges' cult 1980 movie "Flash Gordon" - might make some 'quick-wins' for my own Partially Painted/Printed Pledge instead. This self-motivated drive to finally finish as many side-lined projects is currently going great guns, so I'm confident I'll soon own a fairly sizeable force of dastardly minions for the Emperor Ming to order into battle...

"There's No Point In Acting All Surprised About It."

"The plans and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning office..."

These two 28mm scale Vulgorn Guards were created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are available as an STL (Standard Triangle Language) file from "Lost Heresy Miniatures" on "MyMiniFactory". The corpulent extra-terrestrials are part of an eight-figure collection, whose sculpts have clearly been heavily-inspired by the Vogons as seen in Garth Jennings' 2005 movie "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

I've also enlarged them both using "Chitubox" Basic, as I wanted to make Bill Thornhill's corpulent creations match up size-wise with the science fiction miniatures I've previously produced by "Papsikels Miniatures". This basically meant I upscaled the figures by 108.41% (something I repeatedly refer to as 'Arnie size') using the eye-level and dimensions of their Colonist Marine Cyborg Hero E-900 Exterminator STL as a guide.

"...in Alpha Centauri for fifty of your Earth years."

The pair were undercoated using a mixture of "Vallejo" Surface Primer Black and "Warlord Games" Pitch Black, before having their large bodysuits layered with "Vallejo" German Grey. They were then drowned in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, enthusiastically dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo Grey." and had all their leather straps and gloves carefully 'picked out' with a lick or two of "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

I next applied some "Vallejo" Gunmetal to their zippers, eye holes, ear protectors and mouth guards, before darkening the areas down with plenty of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Their flesh was tackled using a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone and dash of "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. I did attempt to give one of the models some suitably red lips. However, I simply didn't like how this looked on my figure, so ended up simply painting over them.

"The peaceful dreams of mankind bridging the stars were short-lived."

Furthermore, I gave the Vulgorn Guard's rather rectangular hand-weapon a coat of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, before giving it some "Vallejo" Bronze. The firearm was subsequently shaded in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Bronze and then a smidgeon of Gunmetal. Finally, I treated it to a second wash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, which hopefully makes it look like the well-weathered gun was once silver in colour. But had since got covered in grime with age.

In addition to my two 3D prints, I have also completed another of the 32mm resin NASA Astronauts produced by "Black Site Studios" I received as part of my Lunar Core Game pre-order way back in July 2021. Essentially, the miniature was undercoated with "Two Thin Coats" Celestial Blue, drenched in "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, and dry-brushed with (more) "Two Thin Coats" Celestial Blue, before I 'picked out' his firearm with "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln...