"Wh-What Do You Think I Am? Crazy?"

"What are you really scared of Bats? Not being able to save Commissioner Gordon in time?"

This 28mm plastic “Wizkids” model of the Joker is miniature number 97 from the DC Comics “Heroclix” Hypertime range. Apparently created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, this archenemy of Batman made his first comic book appearance in the 1940 opening issue of “Batman” by “DC Comics”.

The model was initially given an undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Violet in order to cover-up its pre-paint, before I applied some Heavy Red to the super-villain’s shoes. Both the Clown Prince of Crime’s jacket, trousers and footwear were then washed with “Citadel” Druchi Violet. Once dry I then painted the maniacal mastermind’s waistcoat with “Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and “Citadel” Thrakka Green, his bow tie with “Vallejo” Heavy Blue and “Citadel” Asurmen Blue and his flower with “Vallejo” Heavy Red and the “Citadel” glaze Bloodletter. The colourful character’s Jokerfish were simply given a coat of “Vallejo” Heavy Orange and then washed with “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.

Rage WIP - The Medieval footballer's bloody waist-cloth, white shirt and flesh areas have been finished

 Finally the Joker’s face was initially using “Vallejo” White and treated to a layer of the transparent acrylic “Vallejo” Pale Grey. Unfortunately this technique simply confirmed my fear that the sculpting of the model’s head, whether as a result of an overly thick pre-paint or simply poor casting, was quite hard to discern detail on. For example I couldn’t determine where the figure’s ears actually were, so when I initially painted the psychopath’s famous green hair with “Vallejo” Heavy Grey and “Citadel” Thrakka Green, I had to then paint in a pair of white ears or else he’d have simply had a mop of hair running straight down the sides of his face. The insane killer’s smile was brushed on using a combination of “Vallejo” Dark Vermillion and “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson.

Re-basing The Undead - Having damaged two of these models' legs I've been busy repainting them as well

 In addition to finishing the “goofy prankster” I have also made some considerable headway with my model of Rage by “Steamforged Games Ltd”. This “Guild Ball” miniature has proved something of a challenge in order to paint his arms and hands as a result of my lazily supergluing his limbs to each side as opposed to spending the time and pinning them.

Finally I’ve rebased, and significantly repainted a few more of my old “Copplestone Castings” zombies; all of which come Code FW4 Plague Zombies, which is part of the company’s Future Wars Range.

"To Me, My Board!"

"A lifetime of endless adventure beckoning before me!"

This 28mm plastic “Wizkids” model of the Silver Surfer is miniature number 76 from the Marvel “Heroclix” Supernova range. This cosmic space-travelling herald of Galactus was created by Jack Kirby for “Marvel Comics” in 1966 and made his first appearance within the pages of Issue Forty-Four of “The Fantastic Four”. This particular uncommon figure of Norrin Radd actually proved impossibly hard to acquire for a reasonable price this side of the Pond, so I ended up purchasing it from “Troll And Toad” in America as part of a bulk order.

I initially painted straight over the miniatures’ silver pre-paint with “Vallejo” Gunmetal Grey, before applying a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil over the entire model. Once this had dried I then heavily dry-brushed the former astronomer from the planet Zenn-La with more “Vallejo” Gunmetal Grey. I next gave the figure a dry-brush of “Citadel” Ironbreaker before finishing with a light dry-brush of Mithril Silver.

Plant-Zombie WIPs - I plan for a number of these 'man-eaters' to stalk the corridors of Chase Manor

Lastly I attached the model to one of the transparent plastic flying stands which used to be sold by “Mongoose Publishing”. Rather frustratingly I found that in order to properly fit the surfboard to the flight base I had to drill right through it as otherwise it would not stay connected.

As Zomtober 2015 is fast-approaching I have started to prepare and base a number of models and some scenery to paint-up during the challenge. My inspiration for this year is “Doctor Who and the Seeds of Doom”; a wonderful 1976 six-parter from the British science fiction television series, which saw the Earth threatened by the alien Krynoids and had a couple of zombie-like plants running around trying to kill people. To this end I plan to attempt to host a game of “Zombicide” based upon this theme at the end of October using a plethora of miniatures by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and some scenery from the “Mars Attacks – The Miniatures Game” by “Mantic Games”.

Chase Manor - The ruins of Chase Manor all undercoated and ready for Zomtober 2015...

 As a result I have started undercoating the first of my Krynoid-influenced plant-zombies and an unfortunate member of "crazed Botanist" Harrison Chase’s security staff, who has already been infected. The two Spawn creatures are wonderfully-detailed single castings. Whereas all my infected will be constructed using the various heads and mutation sprues “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” currently have available.

In addition I have assembled a number of ruined walls, doorways and debris from the “Mars Attacks” Scenery Upgrade Pack. These will be free-standing terrain which will indicate which areas of my "Zombicide" tabletop are actually part of the semi-ruined Chase Manor.  

"The Avengers Don't Get To Negotiate On Behalf Of Mutantkind."

"To me, my X-Men."

This 28mm metal miniature of the F.O.N. Operative (Psychic Hero) is made by “Nexus Miniatures” and is model NX01 from their “Superhero Dinosaur Zombie Apocalypse” range. The figure, sculpted by Ian Mountain, comes in two pieces and with the Visor head from NX03 Extra F.O.N. Heads Set, makes a wonderful proxy for the “Marvel Worldwide” mutant super-hero Cyclops.

The leader of the X-Men was initially undercoated with “Vallejo” Heavy Blue and then washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I then picked out his boots, knee-pads, belt and shoulder-pads with “Vallejo” Heavy Goldbrown, before applying the “Citadel” Shade Reikland Flesh to these areas. Finally his belt buckle and visor were painted using a combination of “Citadel” Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil.

A.S.P. Trooper WIPs - The officer may well now jump to the head of my painting queue

Carrying on with my “Nexus Miniatures” obsession, I’ve continued to progress some of the company’s A.S.P. Trooper models from their By Your Command deal. Having looked at a few ‘stills’ of the Cylons from the 1978 science fiction television series “Battlestar Galactica” I’ve realized that I’ve painted the robots with far more metallic silver armour than their small screen counterparts, so have re-painted my first batch of humanity’s greatest foes. In addition I’ve discovered that one of the models I own is actually an A.S.P. Officer with a pistol, so I have duly started applying a brown undercoat on his armour so as to later paint him gold.

D-Ranger WIPs - What with the By Your Command deal, I thought my Colonial Warriors needed some reinforcements.

 Finally, I thought I’d prepare and convert three more Colonial Warriors from my collection, using the D-Ranger Helmets from NX16. In addition I’ve take the extended right arm of NX15 (D-Ranger Codenamed Joey) and cut off his gun hand before reattaching it at a different angle. I have also bent the arm down in order to bring it a bit closer to the Viper pilot’s side.

28mm Battle Report: New York City High-Rise - Moon Knight & Howard The Duck Verses Stilt-Man & The Silver Samurai

HOWARD THE DUCK & MOON KNIGHT BATTLE STILT-MAN AND THE SILVER SAMURAI ATOP NEW YORK CITY

This test game was played essentially using the “Pillow A-Go-Go” ruleset, originally made available as a free PDF by Australian-based company “Fiendish Fabrications”. However as we’re planning on using it as the basis of a superhero verses villain campaign, a few modifications were made in order to start to give the “brutal pillow combat” more of a “Marvel Comics” feel. The battle took place on a rectangular 7” x 9.5” rooftop with a central chimney stack, created using some of the resin scenery from the Streetwise: Flatroof range by “Ainsty Castings”. 

“The story so far… Having tracked Wilbur Day across New York City following a series of bank robberies the masked vigilante Moon Knight has finally cornered his foe on top of a high-rise rooftop. Unfortunately however Stilt-Man was simply rendezvousing with his partner-in-crime, the Silver Samurai, and the rest of their gang. Offering a pray to his Egyptian deity Khonshu, Moon Knight is astonished to discover that the Master of Quack-Fu, Howard the Duck has also been tracking down the criminals. Determined to bring the villains to justice, the masked man and cigar-smoking bird decide to team-up…"

THE TABLETOP - A 7" x 9.5" ROOFTOP MADE FROM "AINSTY CASTINGS" RESIN SCENERY PIECES

Unlike the “Pillow A-go-go rules” where each of the combatants’ three attributes are allotted points in order to improve their statistics neither of the Silver Samurai’s two thugs were given any at all; although the Goon with a Crowbar was awarded the special ability of being able to knock his opponents back 2” when he hit them on account of his weapon. Howard the Duck was awarded one point for Defence and two points for Agility. Whilst Stilt-Man was given one point for Attack and twos points for Agility. As something of a more deadly villain, the Silver Samurai was not only allocated two points for Attack and one point for Defence. But also had the special ‘Sword-Master’ ability of +1 to hit. Finally Moon Knight, nominated a Super-Hero, was given two points for Attack and Defence, and one point for Agility. He was also awarded ‘Throwing Darts & Nunchaku’, which gives him two attacks per Turn.

STILT-MAN ARRIVES TO CONFUSE AND CONFOUND MOON KNIGHT AND HOWARD THE DUCK

The fight started with Howard the Duck throwing himself straight at the unarmed Thug in the southeast corner. Spluttering on his stogie the funny animal missed. To one-side the feathered foul spotted the Goon with a crowbar swinging his weapon at his beak and managed to dodge the formidable blow. Stilt-Man meanwhile lumbered into Moon Knight and knocked the hero back onto the northern ledge. Desperate to press home an early advantage, the Silver Samurai rushed to his unlikely partner’s side (or at least his telescopic legs). But it was too late, as the Fist of Khonshu leapt back down onto the roof’s surface and rushed southeast to aid his diminutive friend. Unfortunately however Marc Spector arrived just in time to see the Thug pick the water-bird up and throw him up over the eastern ledge. With a “Waughhh….” and some feathers, Howard the Duck was gone…

MOON KNIGHT BATTLES STILT-MAN AS HOWARD THE DUCK IS SENT FLAPPING TO HIS DOOM?

Angered by the apparent demise of his companion, Moon Knight gave the Thug a ‘Double Whammy’. Stunned, the criminal tottered back onto the southern ledge. The Goon with the crowbar swung at his all-white foe but missed and then froze as Stilt-Man lurched behind the cowled super-hero and knocked him deeper into the south-east corner of the roof.

Realising how dangerous a position he was in, the Fist of Khonshu attempted to knock the Goon over the southern ledge but unfortunately missed his blow. However his opponents were equally as unlucky with their attacks and panting all three combatants sized one another up for another series of furious blows. Now came though as seizing the moment Stiltman collided with Moon Knight from behind and automatically sent the Moon-God’s servant crashing into the Thug on the roof ledge. With a startled cry of betrayal the man plunged to his death, whilst Moon Knight replaced him as an enticing figure tottering on the southern edge of the roof top…

EAGER FOR REVENGE, MOON KNIGHT STARTS DISHING OUT A SERIOUS BEATING

With a ferocious yell the Silver Samurai was on the roof’s ledge swinging his enormous sword at the hero’s head. The two mercenaries exchanged a series of blows, but all were to no avail. Suddenly Stilt-Man grappled with Moon Knight once again and needed only the smallest of advantages to send Marc Spector to his doom. Sadly for the villains both players rolled a six which meant the contest was a draw.

Wilbur Day again attacked Moon Knight but was emphatically dodged this second time, and then watched in horror as his partner, the Silver Samurai, first missed an attempt to slice the vigilante’s head off and then fell to his doom courtesy of a ‘Round House’ from Marc Spector. The villain’s forces were steadily being whittled away.

STILT-MAN DEMONSTRATES WHY HE'S SUCH A FORMIDABLE TOWERING VILLAIN

 Knowing just how hazardous it was to remain upon the roof ledge any longer Moon Knight jumped down and started to pound away at the Goon with the crowbar. Stilt-Man made a third attempt to hurl his hated foe off of the rooftop. But once again when the dastardly inventor needed just the slimmest of edges over the caped crime-fighter, both players rolled another six apiece.

The final turn saw Moon Knight, who was enjoying a sensational run of initiative wins, thwack the goon with the crowbar with a ‘Round House’ off of the edge of the southern ledge. It was just him now and Stilt-Man. But before another punch could be thrown, the engineer was off on his telescopic legs and the contest a draw.

HAVING FINALLY DEFEATED THE SILVER SAMURAI, MOON KNIGHT BESTS A GOON

This battle clearly didn’t go according to the heroes’ plan and with hindsight Howard the Duck should never have charged straight into the enemy, even if his swift removal was due to an incredible dice roll. However it’s really clear just how powerful a character can be if they’re awarded five attribute points plus a special ability (i.e. Moon Knight).

As a side issue this frantic fast-paced game also let us settle upon a rule called ‘Ganging Up’ where any model attacking gains +1 Attack per other friendly model in contact with target, and also rewrite ‘Stunned’ from the “Pillow A-go-go" rules so that just such a model now has no movement during their Turn and any Defence bonus’ which they have are ignored. In addition should the model be a minion (i.e. it starts with Defence of 0) then the model’s Defence is -1 for the Turn. Stunned models also don’t count towards ‘Ganging Up’.

"You Dirty, Rotten Crasoneys! Come Back Here And Fight!"

"The computers get more complicated every yahren."

This 28mm metal miniature of the D-Ranger codenamed Joey is made by “Nexus Miniatures” and is model NX15 from their “Superhero Dinosaur Zombie Apocalypse” range. The figure, sculpted by Martin Buck, comes in two pieces and makes a wonderful proxy for Lieutenant Boomer, as played by Herbert Jefferson Junior in both the 1978 Science fiction television series “Battlestar Galactica” and its ‘spin-off’ “Galactica 1980”.

The Colonial Warrior was initially undercoated with “Vallejo” Heavy Brown before his jacket was painted using Heavy Sienna. The model’s shoulder-pads and boots were then given a coat of Charred Brown. Finally his jacket’s buttons and belt buckle were picked out with Gold. Both of these areas were then washed with “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade. In addition I also painted one of the future Battlestar Executive Officer’s belt straps with a combination of “Vallejo” Gold and Strong Tone Quickshade as my TV show reference material depicted the character stowing a handful of large ammunition rounds by his holster. As the metallic colour would break up the somewhat monotonously black mid-drift of the miniature I thought just painting one such area in this way should make the ‘bullets’ stand out.

X-Men WIPs - With Cyclops almost finished I'll be starting work on two more heroic mutants

Sticking with my “Nexus Miniatures” lead mountain I am close to finishing my cyclopean Psychic Hero F.O.N. Operative having tidied up his blue jumpsuit and picked out his flesh areas. The leader of my ‘X-Men’ now just needs a black wash over his suit to significantly darken it, and his visor painted. In order to keep ‘Scott Summers’ company I have pinned together two team-mates for him using the company’s Beastly Hero body as a base for both. As I wanted one of my ‘Marvel Zombies Universe’ survivors to represent the blue furry Hank McCoy I used my Wolfman spare head and bent the model’s arms up a little in order to create a more hunched beast-like appearance. As the figure himself will be blue-skinned I plan to reverse the colour scheme of ‘Cyclops’, so his jumpsuit will be predominantly yellow. For my third F.O.N. Operative I’ve simply pinned the normal head to the torso and undercoated the model brown, as I plan to have this ‘Wolverine’ wearing a tan and black uniform.

Re-basing The Undead - "Copplestone Castings" Future Wars Code FW4 Plague Zombies

In addition I’ve managed to rebase, and in some cases re-paint, three more of my old “Copplestone Castings” zombies. I have a fair few more of these to get ready as I plan on using them as opposition for my Mutant Surivivors in “Zombicide” by “Guillotine Games”.

"Ten Thousand Light Years From Nowhere, Our Planet Shot To Pieces, People Starving, And I'm Gonna Get Us In Trouble?

"Lord, I'll do anything you ask tomorrow... just don't call an alert tonight!"

This 28mm metal miniature of the D-Ranger codenamed Galicia is made by “Nexus Miniatures” and is model NX14 from their “Superhero Dinosaur Zombie Apocalypse” range. The figure comes in two pieces and makes a cracking proxy for Lieutenant Starbuck, as played by Dirk Benedict in the 1978 Science fiction television series “Battlestar Galactica”.

The Colonial Serviceman was initially undercoated with “Vallejo” Heavy Brown before his jacket was painted using Heavy Sienna. The model’s shoulder-pads and boots were then given a coat of Charred Brown. Finally his jacket’s buttons and shirt collar were picked out with Gold. All of these areas were then washed with “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade. As with my Captain Apollo model I also painted one of the starfighter pilot's belt straps, as well as his belt buckle, with a combination of “Vallejo” Gold and Strong Tone Quickshade as my TV show reference material depicted the character stowing a handful of large ammunition rounds by his holster. As the metallic colour would break up the somewhat monotonously black mid-drift of the miniature I thought just painting one such area in this way should make the ‘bullets’ stand out. Finally I used an old OOP pot of the "Citadel" Foundation paint Calthan Brown with more Strong Tone Quickshade for Starbuck's hair.

Lieutenant Boomer WIP - The Colonial Warrior simply needs a final wash of Brown Ink before being varnished

Sticking with my increasingly growing collection of “Nexus Miniatures” I have also almost finished putting the final touches on the last of my D-Ranger models, Codenamed Joey. I really have thoroughly enjoyed painting these wonderfully characterful sculpts up, and as a result have acquired a second set, along with a couple of D-Ranger Helmet sprues, in order to provide me with additional ‘nameless’ Colonial Warriors.

I've even found the time to make a little more progress on the first of several F.O.N. Operative miniatures I plan to paint up as alternative super-heroes. This cyclopean leader, complete with 'classic' yellow and blue attire, will head a party of super-powered "zombicide" survivors as they battle to stay alive within the "Marvel Zombies Universe".

Cylons WIP - Early days yet for these robots but once I've decided which bits will be armour they should get moving

In addition I thought it was about time to purchase some opposition for my "smoker of fumerellos", so have picked up these rather nice-looking A.S.P. Troopers as part of the company's By Your Command deal. It's actually taken me a little while to get these 'not-Cylons' prepared for painting, as not only do the miniatures come with two sets of heads but also a variety of weapons; all of which I decided should be pinned together as opposed to just being super-glued.

"Of Course You Know My Voice, Creature."

"Surrender unto me, and you shall live to see the new dawn of this world."

This 28mm plastic “Wizkids” model of Grigori Efimovich Rasputin is miniature number 82 from the Indy “Heroclix” range. Based upon the real life Russian mystic with the same name, this comic book supervillain was created by Mike Mignola and John Bryne for the “Dark Horse Comics” title “Hellboy”, and made his first appearance in the 1994 mini-series “Seed Of Destruction.”

This model was a very generous gift from Roger over on “Rantings From Under The WargamesTable” and has genuinely made me appreciate how difficult it must be to quickly batch-paint a load of miniatures for distribution. For initially I felt this figure’s pre-paint could not be worse. But having then tried to paint the Summoner’s armbands and bangles myself I quickly came to realize just how tough the sculpt made them to access with a paintbrush.

Hellboy WIP - Lots of tidying up yet to do but at least now his trademark trenchcoat is finished 

I have seen this model re-painted with some quite lovely flowing red robes. But as I wanted to simply mirror the “Wizkids” colour scheme, and that of the comic books, I went with an initial undercoat of “Citadel” Abaddon Black. I then simply ‘picked out’ the mad monk’s chest pentagram with “Vallejo” Heavy Blue and his phoenix emblem with Gold. These areas were then washed with “Citadel” Asurmen Blue and “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade respectively. Rasputin’s (curved) sword and armbands were painted with a combination of “Citadel” Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. I also considered painting the black magician’s eyes red, as per the “Heroclix” pre-paint. But again decided upon following the character’s look in the comics.

Having been in a “Hellboy” mood, I have also started to re-work my “Horroclix” Amung Un Rama. This plastic figure still has a long way to go. But I’ve actually re-done the demon’s coat so it’s a lighter brown than before and thus better represents the colour used in his publications. In addition it means I’m free to use a darker brown for his heavily-pouched belt without these areas all merging into one on the miniature.

Red Hulk WIP - This large sculpt is seriously muscular and may need dry-brushing to bring out the detail

In addition I have finished dry-brushing my Silver Surfer with “Citadel” Ironbreaker, and now just need to give Galactus’ former herald a final layer of shiny silver. Frustratingly I’ve also fitted the miniature to his “Mongoose Publishing” flight stand and found that I had to drill right through the galactic traveller’s surfboard in order for it to fit. As the base is transparent plastic I may simply leave it as is or touch the model up once finished.

Finally I’ve undercoated one of my favourite “Heroclix” miniatures, having based him ages ago. This Red Hulk sculpt is huge and full of dynamic energy. It was also another model I had to search out for across the Pond as it seems to be rather rare in the United Kingdom. 

"Commence Coordinated Threat Neutralization. Alpha Threat Class."

"Reconfiguring for new command. Priority override."

This 28mm plastic “Wizkids” model of an OMAC operative is miniature number 83 from the DC Comics “Heroclix” Collateral Damage range. This cyborg was one of many humans transformed by a virus into living machines in order to destroy all beings with superpowers. The OMACs were created by Greg Rucka, having been based upon a Jack Kirby character with the same name, and first appeared in “The OMAC Project” in June 2005.

To cover the model’s pre-painted colour scheme the figure was initially given an undercoat of “Vallejo” Gunmetal Blue before being washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil. The ‘cape-killer’ was then slowly dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Gunmetal Blue before his cyclopean eye was painted with Heavy Red and washed with “Citadel” Bloodletter. His chest eye was simply ‘picked out’ with “Vallejo” White before also being washed with the “Citadel” glaze Bloodletter.

Brother Eye OMACs WIPS - These eight cyborgs require both washing and dry-brushing. 

Having finished this ‘test’ model and being rather happy with both the miniature’s sculpt and its final look, I’ve bought enough additional figures from the American E-Store “Troll And Toad” so as to create myself a sizeable gang of Brother Eye’s minions. Having already re-based these metallic assassins, as some of the more 'experienced' figures came on flight stands rather than 'clicky bases', I have subsequently undercoated them all in preparation for the cybernetically armoured mechanoids to be washed with some "Citadel" Nuln Oil…

Bat Sentry WIP - It is early days yet for this robotic variant of the Batmobile.

In addition I also managed pick up a large Bat Sentry “Heroclix” model. This wonderful-looking robot, which can also transform itself into the Batmobile, is almost 80mm in height and required a 60mm stand. The original “Wizkids” pre-painted plastic figure’s arms are actually poseable, but somewhat lethal with their sharp pointed ends. As a result I’ve glued one limb down into the base and allowed the “Citadel” Abaddon Black paint to ‘stick’ the other arm in a far less dangerous (to the unsuspecting wargamer) position.

"Do You Take Milk And Sugar?

"The song is ending. But the story never ends."

This 28mm metal miniature of Ood Sigma was essentially built using one of the models from the now OOP Unarmed Minions ‘blister’ by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and one of the company’s Squid Man heads from Code SKU: Head 02 Alien Minions Heads. The translator orb was created by threading a piece of thin metal wire through a small jewelry bead and into the extraterrestrial’s facial tentacles. This personal assistant to Klineman Halpen, the Manager of Ood Operations, first appeared in the April 2008 television episode of “Doctor Who” entitled “Planet Of The Ood”.

At the time I started painting this patient Ood, I was also painting several other blue overalled minions, so despite Sigma’s small screen counterpart wearing dark blue attire, I decided to undercoat him with an old pot of “Citadel” Astronomican Grey” and wash it with the Badab Black. The alien’s translator orb was simply painted with “Vallejo” White and Pale Grey. Whilst I used my usual flesh combination of Heavy Fleshtone and watered-down “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade for his head.

Yeti WIPs - Plenty of dry-brushing yet to be done

Interestingly “Ainsty Castings” now sell this unconverted miniature, complete with three alien heads as Code AM1008 Technician Crew, Alien Heads. So I’ve ordered some more to create a simple (and worryingly armed) pack of angry red-eyed Ood…

Sticking with the “Doctor Who” theme I have finally finished undercoating and washing six Yeti produced by “Black Tree Design” which I originally started some time ago. I’ve actually decided to paint two of the Great Intelligence’s robots a somewhat darker brown, simply to help break up the somewhat monotonous colour scheme of the group once they’re finished and added to my other hairy horde.

Sci-Fi WIPs - A bit of gold paint on 'Starbuck' and 'Boomer' should see them almost finished

 Finally I’ve pretty much finished both of my remaining D-Rangers by “Nexus Miniatures” and started to see how well “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre works by experimenting with it on one of the manufacturer’s retro sci-fi miniatures, a Psychic Hero F.O.N. Operative.

"Reaper Miniatures" - The Black Mist

The Black Mist - A wonderful sculpt doubtless inspired by The Shadow

These 28mm models of The Black Mist were sculpted by Bob Ridolfi for “Reaper Miniatures” and are available as part of the company's Chronoscope range in either pewter (code 50217) or "Bones" plastic (code 80007).

Both figures were undercoated with "Citadel" Abaddon Black before being dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal and then washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. The pulp anti-heroes' sleeves were painted using "Vallejo" White and then also washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil in order to darken their brightness. The miniatures' scarves were initially given a couple of layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Red before being glazed with "Citadel" Bloodletter. Finally the vigilantes' pistols were simply picked out using a combination of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. The "Bones" figure was additionally given a pair of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna gloves, simply as an experiment to break up the rather overpowering blackness of one of the models.

The Black Mist ("Bones") - Some tearing of the plastic around the hat's rim is clearly visible

Both these miniatures are now heading across the Pond to Canada as 'payment' to Curt for running the "Fifth Annual Hobbies Painting Challenge" at the start of this year, and for him winning the Pulp Trio Side Challenge as well. I'm also grateful to Michael over on the marvellous "28mm Victorian Warfare" blog for reminding me that I still hadn't posted them...

Having finished both of these models I am sorely tempted to buy myself a metal version of The Black Mist the next time I order some more "Reaper Miniatures" as it really is a great-looking dynamic sculpt of the Thirties pulp hero The Shadow. Admittedly the polymer figure is significantly cheaper but I found it lacked a lot of the detail of the pewter model and also suffered from some snagged or torn edges here and there.

"Heroclix" WIPs - The Silver Surfer and the Joker should soon be finished

As I plan to utilise the next few weeks in order to help clear my painting table of old(ish) projects, I have made some more progress on a few of the "Heroclix" miniatures currently littering my painting area. The Silver Surfer model is unsurprisingly almost finished already, as having applied a black shade to its metallic undercoat I now need only dry-brush Galactus' herald for Jack Kirby's creation to be completed. My "Wizkids" Joker figure is also nearly ready for a coat of gloss varnish, as I really now just need to ink his purple suit and paint his ghoulish face and hair. Lastly I have actually been painting this model of Superman since before this blog was born, and have probably got more done on him recently than I have achieved over the past few years. The sculpt suffers with a rather overly thick paint-job. But should still be salvageable now I've started to work on the plastic miniature in earnest.