"Reload With Poison Tips."

"Harvest what we need for the organ stores. And we're out."

These ten 28mm pre-painted plastic "Wizkids" models of the U-Men are all miniature number 001 from their “Heroclix” Marvel Mutant Mayhem range. Created by Grant Morrison for the 2001 "New X-Men" Annual by “Marvel Comics”, this "so-called Third Species"  religiously believe that their bodies "must not be exposed to the air or touch the earth of the 'fallen world' until it has been perfected, hence their special suits. They carry weapons used for harvesting mutants, such as propulsion guns that fire razors or bullets."

However having painted and submitted five identical models to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge last year (as "the perfect henchmen to accompany Black Manta") I thought this time round their scuba-diving gear would simply make them excellent Pulp deepsea saboteurs or dastardly Nazi Invaders for Hellbaby and the B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence) to thwart.

"Uhh... Somebody Want To Finish Him Off Now?"

Whilst painting one of the models though, I did decide to see just how easily these miniatures could be converted, and as a result I created a slightly recognisable squad leader by replacing the relatively straightforward barrel of his rifle with the more complicated weapon of an old plastic "Citadel" Cyberman.

As with the underwater villains I've previously painted, I initially gave all the figures an undercoat of “Citadel” Abaddon Black and then started to 'pick out' all their breathing pipes, air-tanks, weapons and face plates with Ironbreaker. These metallic areas were then heavily washed with the Shade Nuln Oil.

Alien Stalker WIPs - These dry-brushed extra-terrestrials now need to be washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil

Having finished my U-Men I have started painting the first of a number of 32mm scaled resin miniatures from the "Alien Verses Predator" board-game by "Prodos Games". Despite being "the fastest of the brood" these Alien Stalkers will form part of my Walkers horde for a H.R. Giger-inspired "Zombicide" game I have in mind.

The models are actually proving somewhat difficult to paint in that they are, unlike their plastic "Horrorclix" counterparts, surprisingly rather bendy and are so full of detail that even after a couple of undercoats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black I am still finding small pockets of bare resin.