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| "Robots are in the Grand Hall! They're all over" They're killing every judge they find!" |
This 48mm tall metal miniature of Nero Narcos is not commercially available, as its actually one of the last models to be produced by "Mongoose Publishing" as part of their laboriously long "Judge Dredd Miniatures Game: Block War" 2012 kickstarter. Indeed, it has taken the Swindon-based company so long to finally sculpt and dispatch the "2000 A.D." recurring villain, that Mongoose Matt has had to turn to "the forges of Magister Militum" to get the criminal syndicate leader cast rather than use the range's former 'owner' "Warlord Games".
Despite my difficulties in acquiring the armoured robot however, the Frendz Mob boss was rather straightforward to paint, with his "Vallejo" Heavy Violet double undercoat and subsequent "Citadel" Nuln Oil shade doing most of the work. The model was then dry-brushed with more "Vallejo" Heavy Violet, and then lightly highlighted with "Citadel" Ironbreaker in order to give Nero's body a metallic sheen. These areas were later washed with Druchii Violet to help blend them in with the rest of the figure's purple paint scheme.
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| Crusader Of The Order WIPs - The armoured cowboy now needs just his cloak to be shaded |
With Zomtober 2017 now in full swing, I've been persevering with a second Crusader of the Order by "North Star Military Figures" to use as a Weird Wild West 'zombie survivor'. This particular member of The Twilight Order in "Dracula's America" comes armed with a rifle, and wears some wonderfully archaic medieval body armour. The model just needs his dark brown duster to be washed and should then be ready for both posting and gaming.
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| Juddon Enforcer Conversion WIPs - The model has had his right arm replaced |
Turning to "Warlord Games" and their excellent "Doctor Who: Into The Time Vortex" range, I have started work on a not overly-ambitious Judoon conversion. One of the things I always like to do when fielding my forces for "this fast-paced tabletop miniatures game" is make the models generated by one type of recruitment card appear different to those produced by another of the faction's cards.
In the case of the Judoon, the Leader was always going to be the helmet-less sculpt which comes inside the extra-terrestrial mercenaries' boxed set. But what about the basic Judoon and the Judoon Enforcers (who have +1 range)..? Having 'chopped' up another helmet-less Judoon miniature to use as a Fisher King ghost (and plans to similarly create a second one), I've therefore decided to create two Enforcers by simply pinning the helmet-less sculpt's gun arm across one of the helmeted models' chests...
Armoured Cowboys sound right up my street. Looking forward to seeing it finished.
ReplyDeleteThanks Clint. The second Crusader is now finished and ready for this weekend's Zomtober posting :-)
DeleteVery nice work on Nero Narcos (not a character I am familiar with, after my 2000AD reading). :)
ReplyDeleteI have been stunned by quite how long Mongoose has taken to fulfill their Kickstarter's, and I feel for the backers who have been waiting yers to have pledges fulfilled.
Cheers Leon. I wasn't sighted on Nero until after he arrived either. I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that I won't be touching any KS with Mongoose Matt attached to it again, nor buying from "Mongoose Publishing". Not that they sell anything I want currently - they've really self-imploded over the past few years.
DeleteGreat work on Nero Simon, your second crusader is coming on nicely, the Judoon conversion really makes it stand out from the rest
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave. Simple stuff on Nero and the Judoon arm-swap, but the Crusader has a lot of fiddly detail to 'pick out'. Still he's done now and ready for posting.
DeleteNice progress dude!
ReplyDeleteCheers Simon :-)
DeleteAnother productive week. I had to look up what a Juddon was. I must have missed that series. You've done the original justice.
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil. I need to get some more Judoon and then I'll paint all my conversions together. Just waiting for "Warlord Games" to pack their minis with cards and I'll put the order in.
DeleteGood work on all of your figures, Simon. Both Nero and the Crusader have turned out well. I know if I had duplicate figures of the Judoon (I only have the one set) I'd be looking at ways to convert them as well. Good work on your conversions.
ReplyDeleteCheers Bryan. I think the basic three Judoon minis are great but thought a few simple arm-swaps would 'bulk' their pose range out a bit more.
DeleteI don't recollect Nero from my limited 2000AD years, but its a great figure and I like the purplish sheen you've managed to acheive.
ReplyDeleteYour 'crusader would make a great western figure, but for the very obvious armour and I guess that's how Draculas America keeps punters from using a swathe of other avao;able western figures.
I haven't a clue what 'Juddon' is all about, but then again I didn't like the Boromites when you first introduce them to me!
Like you, Joe, I wasn't aware of Nero nor his importance until I started to paint the piece. Glad you like the armoured cowboy, these Crusaders are great and I may well pick up another pair at some point, as a different palette and a simple arm-swap would make for a bit more variety. The Judoon are a fave "Doctor Who" monster of mine, and great to paint with all their black armour too!!
Delete*pops head in and gives a small wave*
ReplyDeletehi guys and wow, nice, nice things Simon. As always.
*gives large wave back*
DeleteMany thanks as always, Tarot :-)
love those Judoon. I did mine with lots of dry brushing to get that multi faceted `layered` black leather look. Amazing just how many different shades of black leather there are (as I spotted in `The Sealed Knot` a few years back).
ReplyDeleteCheers Steve. Hopefully you'll post up all your "Doctor Who" minis at some point - I think I've only seen the Daleks and Cybermen on "The Games Cupboard" to date? Bit of an "ECW" fan are you? :-)
Deletehell yeah. Ever since a kid wen I collected my first 6mm Heroics and Ross ECW Royalists and Parliamentarians and painted the lot in two weeks for a modelling and games convention held in Sheringham (East Anglia). I can remember working right through a cold and a chest infection to get them done in time.... but I made it woohoo!! Aaaah the good old days. Since the I`ve dabbled on and off with the era, and always loved period costume drama set in that era, and any documentaries I could lay my hands on. Recently (as in the last few years) I sold off a heap of my guitars and music equipment and with the proceeds I bought the entire Warlord Games range of ECW Royalist and Cavaliers, plus Covenanters, Montrose Scots, and Irish Catholics, and all the back up stuff (surgeons, women, old men, children, priests, nuns, servants, and street scenics) I could find.... and a load of cool suitable terrain too. Its a bit of a long project, but I`m slowly working my way through it all (about a third of the way done), as its my `retirement` game project (alongside my American War of Independence) for the new house (when we sell this one) and I eventually have my deluxe gaming room. Meanwhile, I just plod away assembling, painting,and basing it all up, then putting it away safely in storage boxes.
DeleteTerrific sounding stuff, Steve. I've been horribly tempted by the "Warlord Games" minis myself, but eventually went with a 10mm "Pendraken" "ECW" force for both sides. I started them five years ago, and have yet to finish much... You can see some of my Royalist Cuirassiers here: http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/pendraken-miniatures-english-civil-war.html
DeleteA series of "ECW" postings on "The Game Cupboard" would certainly encourage me to get back painting them. Though I am admittedly looking at 28mm Napoleonics for my next 'big' thing ;-)
Oo interesting, nice Cuirassier too, though a little early for 1642 I think, and look more James I/V1 and the European Popeish Catholic wars. Interesting too, I was forum moderator of Pendraken for years, and if you check their rules section in the forums you will still find my ECW rules as a PDF I believe. Leon asked me back only a few months ago, but sadly, I was simply too busy to be able to say yes.
ReplyDeleteNapoleonics, well I went for Perry Brothers 8mm, which suits me well, but I must say the Warlord La Haye Saint set really tempted me for a while too. I DID buy Napoleon`s carriage set as I couldn't resist. No idea what I will use it for, but its so nice.
I'm a big fan of "Pendraken", and own quite a large painted German & Soviet WW2 forces for Blitzkrieg Commander II. I was planning on returning/refreshing and adding to these forces this year with the release of Blitzkrieg Commander III, but that rule-set seems to have caused such a stir, for all the wrong reasons, that I've not even opened the book - its apparently riddled with errors and poor army lists. A real pity considering the length of time (and cost) its took before it came out.
DeleteYou're not the only one who buys minis "as I couldn't resist", and Napeoleon's Carriage is assuredly one such model :-)
hehe that carriage was simply too alluring wasn't it.
ReplyDeletePendraken WWII range (especially their Soviet range) is stunning isn't it. I never looked into Blitzkrieg Commander too closely as I was mostly into Operation Warboard by Gavin Lyall and his son (an old classic rule set from the mid 70`s). Oh, incidentally, you`d have know me on the forums there as sixsideddice.
Oh, and don`t forget to enter the TGC competition currently running, would hate to see you miss out.
You rotter Steve, you've brought yet another rule-set to my attention which I now feel I need to read and digest - are you in partnership with "Amazon" or something!?! TGC competition entry is in too :-)
Deletehehehee, hes terrible isn't he :)
ReplyDeleteWell I'll let you know when "Operation Warboard" arrives, and I've had a chance to read and digest the rules :-)
Delete"I Suppose You're Wondering Why I Did It."
ReplyDeleteNo. Not really. Oh, go on then. Why did you?
BKCIII hard copy: you'll be entitled to a replacement copy when the revised/edited/fixed books comes out, right?
I've only got a .pdf of BKCII, so Leon will need to twist my arm to get a III edition book.
"Why did you?" - As "Nero was gunned down in the street by a dozen Judges" and I've never read the comic book story, Roy, I can't actually answer that question ;-) I'm hoping that Steve's suggestion to use "Operation Warboard" might be a good alternative to "BKCIII"... it is a tad expensive though for a Seventies rule-set; albeit its a revised edition.
DeleteI`m crazy I know it. actually bought mine at a rare book shop, a hardback first edition.... don`t even ask the price, suffice to say you could get a game like Memoir 44 for less. But I WANTED it LOL. I have a number of early first edition rules books which I hunted down and bought from rare and second hand books shops.
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew the history behind my Operation Warboard (sadly, it didn`t come with a certificate of providence). But I found my copy in an American rare book shop.. which is soooo strangely rare, as only a little over one thousand copies were printed and all of those in Britain. Interesting huh? I`d love to know the history of the owner, how he came to bring his copy across the ocean: was he a big gamer? did he use the book much? What happend to him, etc.
Well "Operation Warboard" is certainly piquing my interest currently, Steve, and proving a very interesting read too. I'm keen to get some infantry vs infantry on the tabletop as soon as I can, and start getting my head around the game's mechanics. Then it'll be tanks etc - overall though, this book contains an interesting take on our hobby (e.g. not needing to roll to hit with pistols open conditions).
DeleteThat does indeed sound quite the adventure your copy has been on, whereas mine was a humble van drive from "Amazon". Yours must certainly have taken either a boat or plane, perhaps as someone's read whilst they took the journey home? Great stuff, and a terrific comment :-)
(e.g. not needing to roll to hit with pistols open conditions).
ReplyDeleteI always liked that simple but neat little mechanic. Uncluttered and easy to apply.. like all the rules in that easy access rule book. I find a of the early hobby books have similar attractive features to merit them. Books like Arthur Taylor "Discovering Wargaming" and Charlie Wisencraft`s ""Practical Wargaming."
Well I'm loving the rule-book so far Steve. Movement is nice and simple for Infantry (or rather "Men"), but with plenty of explanation. Really looking forward to giving the game a go in the near future, and maybe starting up some more 10mm "Pendraken" World War Two armies. Time will tell ;-)
Delete