"That's my secret. I'm always angry." |
These two bulky
38mm tall plastic “Wizkids” models of the Hulk are both miniature number 58
from the Marvel “Heroclix” Infinity Challenge range. The figures have been given
different paint-jobs in order to represent Bruce Banner’s grey alter-ego when
the scientist first transformed into an “unidentified creature”, and then the
gamma-powered monster’s more recognisable colour scheme; green skin with purple
pants.
First
published in May 1962 the creature’s co-creator Stan Lee chose grey for the
Hulk because he “wanted a colour that did not suggest any particular ethnic
group.” Unfortunately colorist Stan Goldberg had problems with the grey and
this resulted in the behemoth appearing throughout the publication in different
shades of grey, as well as green. After seeing Issue One of “The Incredible
Hulk” Lee chose to change the skin colour to green and for the next two decades
whenever the monster’s origin was retold he was depicted as being green. Indeed
even the reprints of the original comic were recoloured…
In December
1984 however Issue 302 of “The Incredible Hulk” reintroduced the grey Hulk in
flashbacks and confirmed that when the scientist was first struck by the
detonation of a gamma bomb, his transformation was grey-skinned. Since then the
reprints of the first issue have reverted back to displaying the original grey
colouring, and the official “Marvel Worldwide” fictional canon states that the
Hulk was initially grey.
In order to cover
up the grey Hulk’s pre-paint I initially painted the model with “Vallejo” Heavy
Bluegrey and then pained his split trousers using a combination of Heavy Blue
and “Citadel” Asurmen Blue. As Banner’s shirt during his first transformation is
usually depicted as being a yellowy-orange in colour so I painted it using “Vallejo”
Heavy Ochre. To dirty it up I gave it a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Finally I
applied more of the Shade to the anti-hero’s skin.
Stormtrooper WIP - The buckethead's armour just needs to be properly picked out before a final grey wash |
For now I've just been concentrating on a test figure to try and work out how best to paint the bucketheads' distinctive white armour. To begin with I've heavily washed the white undercoat with a grey to help see all the figure's wonderful detail and then picked out all the black areas. Currently I'm tidying all these 'joints' up and 'whitening' some of the darker armoured areas before I apply a 'softer' grey wash over the miniature.
Star Wars WIPs - Darth Vader, Artoo-Deetoo and the Corellian Bounty Hunter known as Dengar |
Finally I thought I'd try and paint a small number of "Star Wars" Bounty Hunters for the Gambler/Risk Taker Themed Round, and perhaps one or two of their prey..? To begin with I've undercoated and washed my favourite of George Lucas' 'Scum & Villainy' creations, the Corellian mercenary Dengar...
Nicely done, Simon. The differing paint schemes on your Hulks do make them look like two different figures. And whilst I'm tempted by the Imperial Assault game, it does seem a little pricey for what you get.
ReplyDeleteOn a slightly unrelated note, Ironclad Miniatures have 20% off until 10th January, so if you wanted to pick up a Dr How, now might be the time to do so.
Thanks Jez. I'm a bit disappointed with how the "Citadel" Nuln Oil wash turned out on the grey Hulk as its a bit darker/gloopier than I intended - probably as I was using a half-full pot. But he's still tabletop ready imho.
Delete"Imperial Assault" is rather expensive. But having shopped around on the web/shows I've found some tempting discounts.
Many thanks for the heads up on the "Ironclad Miniatures" sale. There's quite a few of their minis I have my eye on tbh. But I own a number of their sculpts to paint up first :-)
I think you're being a bit hard on yourself, Simon, as I think both Hulks have turned out superb. The figure of Hulk you chose is my favourite depiction of Bruce Banner's alter ego.
ReplyDeleteIt is always a pleasure to see Star Wars figures on your blog. I don't have any of the Imperial Assault game sets or figures but I do own a huge amount of the old WOTC Star Wars collectible miniatures back from the days when I was heavily into those type of games.
Cheers Bryan. That "Heroclix" Hulk sculpt is also my fave one which "Wizkids" have produced. I too have a horde of "Wizards Of The Coast" Star Wars minis. But these ones are a little larger in scale and, like you, I don't like to use unpainted minis even for boardgames - hence I'm painting these up. I do though like to use the "WOTC" ones for larger mass battles ;-)
DeleteIt was great to see the Hulks finally done, a great entry Simon. I do like the look of this Imperial Assault stuff, I may yet be tempted!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Michael, though I felt your Nostalgia Themed Entry was just breathtaking :-) The larger scale of the "Imperial Assault" minis do make them a bit more attractive than the old "WOTC" ones imho. But of course, they're distracting me from my "Pulp Figures" and our side-challenge ;-)
DeleteNice Hulks. I definitely favour the (comics) green colouring though, the grey just doesn't look right ... more like a zombie.
ReplyDeleteCheers Roy, and I do see what you mean. Spookily I did breifly consider converting my third "Heroclix" Hulk into a "Marvel Zombies" variant... As the official version is unbelievably expensive. But I'm a bit 'hulked out' at present after painting all their torn pieces of clothing, and want to keep the last of my "Wizkids" sculpts intact. I might though buy a fourth at some point...
DeleteOf the two hulk figures I have that one is my favourite, your painting of them is spot on Simon don't worry.
ReplyDeleteThanks Andy, much appreciated. My fave "Heroclix" Hulk too by far :-)
DeleteI like how you've painted the Hulks. What you call "Gloopy" wash, is more to me as them being more in line with the original old-print style comics images. (A zombie version would, indeed be pretty darn cool - I have the action figure and it'd be sweet to see your version.)
ReplyDeleteNice to see someone else likes Dengar! He's always been my fav of the Bounty Hunters. I think he even has a mention in one of the latest novels. Those Imperial Assault sculpts look a lot better than I was anticipating.
More good stuff. :)
DeleteAlso a fan of Dengar! I had two of the Palitoy figures, I am sure it was a mail in reward originally. :)
Cheers Dai. I'll certainly consider doing a zombie Hulk if I can get hold of another "Wizkids" model. For now though I have some robot Hulks on the painting table :-) The "Imperial Assault" sculpts are great, and having finished the first of my stormtroopers I'm even more delighted with them.
DeleteCheers PulpCitizen. Spookily I like Dengar so much because he was the "Star Wars" mini I had to save all my toy tokens for, and then ordered through the post as a reward. When "Payback" arrived I was absolutely in awe of him; especially his huge gun (based upon a German WW2 LMG apparently). I'm certainly looking forward to getting him painted and on the tabletop.
DeleteNice job on both versions of the Hulk and nice progress on the SW mini's Whites very tricky to do!
ReplyDeleteThanks Simon. Glad to be finished with all the Hulks' torn clothing :-) And hopefully I'm finally getting the hang of all this white stormtrooper armour...
DeleteThose two Hulks are stunning in my opinion, and I'm saying that as a person who doesn't like the hulk! Really superb paint jobs on both of them, I think the grey one just edges it for me, but both are brill, same can be said for the Stormtrooper I would have been happy with the middle shot but the final one is again top notch, some of your best work in my opinion, very impressed (god stuff for this years Topten already!!!)
ReplyDeleteCheers Roger.
Cheers Roger. Quite a few "Heroclix" planned over the coming months and more than a few "Imperial Assault" and "Reaper Miniatures" too. Obviously though I have also ahve a few long-promised BatReps coming soon, including one which'll pit the gamma-giant against his 'grimmest' opponent ;-)
DeleteHulk v's Thing, I'm almost optimistic about Ben's chances, but I have been disappointed before (so many times).
DeleteCheers Roger.
We'll see Roger ;-) Thought it'd be a nice simple slugfest to become reacquainted with the "7TV" rules.
DeleteTerrific job, Simon. It's interesting to see two examples of the same mini with totally different paintjobs.
ReplyDeleteThanks Finch. it is amazing just how different the two Hulks look simply because of their colour schemes.
DeleteI love both of those Hulks. Great work!
ReplyDeleteCheers Natholeon. They took a lot of time and effort, so I'm glad they're finished :-)
Delete