Monday 9 February 2015

"Come To Mondas And You Will Have No Need Of Emotions."

"Feelings? I do not understand that word" - Cloth faces and flesh hands 
These four 28mm metal models are based upon the Cybermen from the British Science Fiction television series “Doctor Who” story "The Tenth Planet". This four-part serial opened Season Four back in October 1966 when William Hartnell was the (original) Doctor. They're made by “Black Tree Design” under code DW117 Mk 1 Cyberman.

All of the Cybermen were first undercoated with “Citadel” Abaddon Black and then given a layer of “Vallejo” Gunmetal Grey. Once dry each was washed with the "Citadel" Shade Nuln Oil. The models were then dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Gunmetal Grey, before receiving a light dry-brush of "Citadel" Mithril Silver. Finally I picked out their cloth faces with "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey and their flesh with Heavy Skintone. Their faces were then washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. In order to make their hands 'stand out' they were first washed with the last of my Ogryn Flesh and then the fingers were highlighted with more "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone.
The MK I Cybermen are rather undersized compared to their other "Black Tree Design" brethren
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. However these are rather disappointing models, both in their pose and size. Their television counterparts were enormous bulky behemoths, which towered over the other actors. These rather softly sculpted figures are dissatisfying smaller and sleeker in build than the other "Black Tree Design" Cyberman models I've previously painted.
"The Invasion" Cybermen WIP - Re-undercoated with the "Citadel" layer Ironbreaker
Having continued to sort through my “Doctor Who” lead mountain I have managed to locate all seven of the cyborg figures which make up the Cornwall-based manufacturer’s Cyberman boxed set. I’m pretty sure these models are meant to represent them during their appearance in 1968 eight-parter “The Invasion”. Unfortunately I had clearly attempted to previously paint these miniatures by heavily dry-brushing silver over a black undercoat. As a result and in order to retain as much of their sculpts detail as possible I have simply applied two watered-down layers of “Citadel” Ironbreaker over them in order to create a nice base for a Nuln Oil wash.
"The Abominable Snowmen" WIP - Light brown undercoatt
In addition I couldn’t help myself but base and undercoat these five ‘hefty’ “Black Tree Design” Yeti models. These are another of my favourite models from the company’s range and should be relatively simple to both paint and submit as an entry into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. 

18 comments:

  1. I'm sorry, Simon, but those Mk1 Cybermen are truly awful figures. I can't fault your painting but everything else about them is truly horrendous. On the other hand, however, the Yeti look superb. They have a nice chunky feel to them and should paint up well. I like the Yeti and can still remember watching the programme when they first appeared. I know, I'm showing my age here!

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    1. No worries Bryan. Sadly I heartily agree with you. Such a disappointment as the design is my fave. Worse... I've found another one to paint.!! Even worse is that "The Invasion" Cyberman are shorter still!! Inconsistency was always the complaint about this range unfortunately. The Yeti are great figures though, and I have a similar number with a different pose too, so should have a nice number to field for the tabletop once they're finished.

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  2. You should have called this post The Return of the Cock Rockets. Lol. Sorry. You've done a great job with some subpar figures there Bk. I'm liking the look of the "Invasion" Cybermen much more. The yeti look even better though.
    Where did Hellbaby and pals go?

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    1. Thanks Bob... I think ;-) The BPRD are being painted up behind the scenes and should be ready for an update later this week all going well. I've a couple of older mini-projects I'm just finishing off too, so plenty of postings coming :-)

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  3. The Cybermen are really well painted, but a bit cute and ciddly rather than really menacing as they should be and if they're shorter too....
    The yeti on the other hand look really promising - looking forward to seeing these finished.

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    1. Cheers Zabadak. Should have the first of the Yeti done by the weekend so I can submit them to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.

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  4. love the snowmen. Can't wait to see them painted!!

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    1. Thanks CW. Hope they'll look as good as everyone seems to hope they will.

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  5. I didn't realise there were so many vastly different variants in Cybermen design over the years. It's fun following your posts to see the differences between them all.

    And to see some seriously bad sculpts. :)

    Those Yetis are fantastic - still available somewhere to purchase?

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    1. Cheers Dai. I'm afraid I've probably spoilt it for everyone, myself included, by painting the best Cybermen first and now just having some of the weaker sculpts to show. The yeti can still be bought from "Black Tree Design" though... so too can the Mk I Cybermen :-)

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  6. Looking good, BK. Those are some seriously chunky yetis.

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    1. Thanks Finch. They are hefty wee beasties I can tell you.

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  7. I always wondered about getting some yetis myself, but never did (so far). The early cybermen don't appeal to me at all, though.

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    1. The "Tomb" Cybermen are definitely the best of the bunch I've so far encountered C6. The Yeti are excellent as well and come in two poses.

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  8. The Mk-1 models aren't that bad are they? They seem to fit well in with the rest of the pulp-looking miniatures that are being produced. Black Tree have some hits and misses, though...

    The painting is fine, nevertheless!

    Side-question: How do you find the 12th incarnation? Personally, I like the doctor but I greatly dislike the writers in this season. Mr Moffat has done some great episodes, but sadly, IMO, the downfall began in the 11th incarnation - but that is mainly due to some foolish political standpoints that are being crowbared into the series.

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    1. Hi Llama. Thanks for painting comments. Awful models sadly. Not a fan of the 12th incarnation at all. Stopped watching it after just a few shows. terrible writing and don;t like the companion either. Moffat was far better just writing the odd story. Not as producer.

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    2. Ah, we are on the same page then. I have met only the opposite view [from mine], so this was quite refreshing to read!

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    3. No worries. Lots of potential with this incarnation but in many ways I thought with a fresh set of regenerations they'd reboot with him having no memory of all his old foes etc and not being able to properly control the TARDIS - like in the good old days when every story was new to him. The Calpaldi version is too much of a know-it-all!!!

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