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| The Raston Warrior Robot from "The Five Doctors" |
This 28mm metal model of a Raston Warrior Robot is from
the British Science Fiction television series “Doctor Who” and made by “Black
Tree Design” under code DW512. Whovian officionardos will recognise it as the the
silver android which appeared in the 1983 twentieth anniversary special “The
Five Doctors”.
This model is actually another of my long-forgotten “Black Tree
Design” repaints. As a result I re-undercoated the miniature with “Citadel”
Abaddon Black and then gave it a layer of “Vallejo” Gunmetal Grey. Once dry I
then washed him with “Citadel” Nuln Oil.
Despite being an extremely
simplistic-looking ‘monster’ it unfortunately isn’t really all that well
sculpted. Not only does it have rather large hands but it is far too short and
squat for the lightning-fast acrobatic killing machine seen on the television
programme. However what detail there was on the figure was drawn out with an
initial dry-brush of “Vallejo” Gunmetal Grey and then a lighter dry-brush of “Citadel”
Mithril Silver.
Because ‘on-screen’ the robot’s featureless face is just a bright
silver dome which is far shinier than its greyish (leotard-wearing) torso, I
applied several heavier dry-brushes of Mithril Silver across the front of the face
and blended it in with the rest of the model around the back.
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| "Tenth Planet" Cyberman - Washed, dry-brushed and face 'picked out' with black |
To be honest I’ve used the
Raston Warrior Robot as something of a test piece for the “Vallejo” Gunmetal
Grey, as I wanted to use a different metallic paint to that of my dwindling pot
of “Citadel” Boltgun Metal” for the four “Tenth Planet” Mark I Cybermen miniatures
I’ve recently found.
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| The Mark I Cyberman will have a grey-cloth face and human hands |
As these original silver giants pre-date my bright silver “Tomb
Of The Cybermen” models I thought the darker paint would give them a less sophisticated
appearance. Having washed and dry-brushed them, including a highlight of “Citadel”
Mithril Silver, I have now started picking out their grey-cloth faces and flesh
hands. Both of which should really help make these “Black Tree Design” figures
stand out from the rest of my growing Cyber Force.
I've always thought that the Raston warrior robot would be one of the easiest possible models to paint :-) . With that and all the cybermen, you're getting plenty of practice with metallic paints!
ReplyDeleteThanks C6. My original paint-job on the Raston had him with a silver dry-brush over a black undercoat and a pure silver head. But the model is a bit rubbish. It did though, as I say, make a nice test piece for this "Vallejo" Gunmetal Grey.
DeleteAs you rightly say, Raston is not the best of sculpts. However, for such a simple figure you have painted him very well.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to say but I'm not a fan of the Mark 1 Cybermen. Nothing wrong with your brush work - it's just the figure I don't like.
Cheers Bryan. I like the "Tenth Planet" Cybermen enormously but as you say this model is a bit rubbish. As you can probably tell the sculpting is rather soft all over so detail is hard to dry-brush. Hopefully once the faces and hands are washed and high-lighted they'll look a little better... and the gloss varnish should help make them a bit shinier too.
DeleteI'm wondering what the Mk 1 is doing with his hands... is that where the groin adtactment goes? :O
ReplyDeleteAhem... that's their Cyber-weapon, Chico ;-)
DeleteNicely done despite the sculptng issues.
ReplyDeleteCheers Simon. Just a few pieces to see what I can do with this "Vallejo" Gunmetal Grey. Still haven't decided if I like it yet. Certainly "Citadel" Nuln Oil becomes quite dusty when washed over it.
DeleteNice job, considering there is no real detail to paint. Must admit I'm not a fan of the Mk 1 cyberman, especially his cock-rocket launcher.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob. The "Tenth Planet" Cybermen are rather disappointing sculpts, especially as on the TV programme they were huge bulky creations. One of "Black Tree Designs" poorer sculpts and only two-thirds the size of my "Tomb" Cybermen... which makes them look worse still :-(
DeleteSomething this simple is often really difficult to pull off and you have done it perfectly - well done Sir.
ReplyDeleteCheers Michael. It looks better than what it did before and that was the main purpose of the re-paint.
Delete:) cock-rocket launcher has just become my favorite weapon of all time!! Thank you Bob!
ReplyDeleteGood painting on the figures though, Blax. Sometimes you love the idea of the figure more than the sculptor did....
Thanks CW. I must confess both these sculpts are disappointing, but once I've finished the "Tenth Planet" Cybermen, they'll hopefully be okay(ish). As I say they are a lot smaller than the "Tomb" ones so they'll look a little odd when mixed with them.
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