Friday 6 September 2019

"They're Called The Borg."

"Protect yourself, Captain, or they'll destroy you."
These five 32mm scale resin miniatures of male Borg drones are manufactured by “Modiphius Entertainment” and forms part of their ten-figure strong Borg Collective boxed set. “Designed for use with the Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game”, these models are based upon the American science fiction franchise’s "cybernetically enhanced assimilating race" which made their first television appearance in Maurice Hurley's May 1989 episode “Q Who”.

Having re-based the "recurring antagonists" onto 28mm lipped circular plastic bases instead of their sculpted 30mm scenic stands, each figure was undercoated with two coats of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, heavily dry-brushed using some “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal” and later much more lightly dry-brushed with “Citadel” Ironbreaker. This technique provided each 'part of the collective' with both a metallic-looking highlight, as well as allowed me to see all the cables, tubes and metal implants which curled around their limbs, torsos and heads.
"Interesting, isn't it? Not a he, not a she. Not like anything you've ever seen. An enhanced humanoid."

I then applied some extra “Citadel” Ironbreaker to each cyborgs’ multi-purpose prosthesis, some of their facial circuitry, and numerous wiring assemblies. These areas, along with my original dry-brushing, were subsequently tidied up using a little more “Citadel” Abaddon Black and then shaded with Nuln Oil, before being lightly dry-brushed with (more) Ironbreaker. Some other parts of the Borg’s bodysuit, such as their armoured stomach coverings, were also ‘picked out’ using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

As I wanted to give the Borg’s flesh a somewhat necrotic look, I layered their faces and the odd elbow with “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, shaded these with “Citadel” Nuln Oil and subsequently added some extra “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey to their noses, cheeks and brows. Having previously just spotted the female drones' eyes with a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, I decided to add a little more 'menacing life' to these significantly larger male figures by dotting the outside of their eyes with a single spot of "Vallejo" Dead White.
"Star Trek Adventures" WIPs - Three Romulan Uhlans
Lastly, I placed a small glob of “Vallejo” Dark Vermillion at the end of each model’s “sophisticated ocular implant” and shaded it with “Citadel” Bloodletter. I did actually consider painting some of these areas in green, but ultimately decided to stick with red for the entirety of the box. I do however now own a second set of Borg Collective miniatures, so plan to distinguish a few of them with "Vallejo" Heavy Khaki lenses (perhaps to use as proxy Runners if I decide to utilise the models in a "Star Trek" themed game of "Zombicide" by "Guillotine Games"..?).

Despite so many Borg threatening to assimilate my painting table, I have still managed to make some additional progress on the three remaining Uhlans from the Romulan Strike Team. Having previously finished pigmenting my Romulan Commander, these extra "Star Trek Adventures" figures will provide enough "lowly" members of the Romulan Guard to form a well-led squad, and I can then add some Romulan Centurions to the mix at my leisure...

16 comments:

  1. A very impressive collective of Borg Simon, and great progress on the Romulans

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    1. Thanks very much Dave. Now I'm happy with how I paint the Borg I'm thinking about doing a painting a box of Borg in twelve hours posting (or two) where I show how quick and simple they can be to paint. Hope to have the Romulans done soon too :-)

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    2. sounds good, might stop me looking on their site at the models ! lol

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    3. LOL, Dave. I certainly wouldn't buy direct from “Modiphius Entertainment" though. Try "Zatu Games" or "Element Games" for a significant discount, and very quick post & packaging.

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  2. The `collective' looks suitably imposing.

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    1. Thanks Phil. Hopefully I have one double the size by the end of the month :-)

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  3. So cool! Almost tempted to grab some of these myself just cos.

    Good stuff Simon.

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    1. Cheers Dai. "Just cos" sounds a good enough reason to me!! LOL!!

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  4. Great to see your collection of the Borg growing so rapidly, Simon. It is always nice to work on a project you feel passionate about.

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    1. Cheers Bryan. My "Star Trek Adventures" enthusiasm continues to grow - not sure why, but it currently means I'm churning out the range's minis :-)

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  5. Hard to believe the Borg are 30 years old !
    I love ht way you've painted all your Borg, these included and the group shot is a welcome bonus too !
    The rimulans look good too , bt aybenot as dynamic a pose as the previous ones ?

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    1. Thanks Joe. They'll be at least a couple more Borg related posts soon, as I've another ten figures to paint over the next week or so. Plus a few character minis. The Romulans are basic Uhlans, so are replica poses of the first two I posted, and not as dynamic as their commander's sculpt.

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  6. Well star trek has caught your imagination! What are you going to do with that gaggle of Borg you have amassed? Is there a skirmish game they can be used in? I did have a look on their website and the minis do look nice I have to say.

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    1. Cheers Undercoat. I'm planning to use either "Zombicide", "Resident Evil 2" or some homemade "M.I.S.S." rules for the Borg, as I reckon the Borg will be good for the zeds.

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