Saturday 30 November 2019

"Come On, Look Lively."

"Up the pace, go on. We haven't got all day now."
This 28mm scale metal miniature of a female X Commando is manufactured by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and are part of the company’s Heroes and Allies product line. "Lead by the flamboyant Doctor Hugo Strange," the pistol carrying member of Department X is one of many military specialists "tasked with protecting Britain from inter-dimensional, otherworldly and plain strange threats."

Having assembled the soldier by attaching her head to the torso courtesy of a little pinning and super-glue, she was primed "Citadel" Abaddon Black and enthusiastically dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal. I then 'picked out her hand-weapon using some "Citadel" Ironbreaker, her shoulder and beret badge with a couple of dollops of "Vallejo" Dead White, and her hip-holster in Heavy Charcoal. All of these areas were later shaded using "Citadel" Nuln Oil.
"It's not a person, damn it, it's a Borg!"
As I wanted my figure to proxy the U.N.I.T. troopers depicted during the April 2008 Doctor Who television story "The Sontaran Stratagem", I shied away from leaving the Commando's headware all-black and instead pigmented it using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. I also left her badges predominantly white, rather than 'draw in' the red cross upon blue background which the Department of Extraordinary Affairs use as their top secret organisation's emblem.

I painted the miniature's flesh using my standard technique of a "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone base layer, a splash of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and finally a highlight on the fingers and cheekbones of (more) "Vallejo Heavy Skintone. Lastly, I applied some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to the soldier's hair, as well as a little "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson to the lady's lips.
"Wizkids" WIPs - An Abominable Snowman, Black Canary and Proteus
Besides finishing the first of my Department X combatants, I have also completed the last two Borg drones I own by “Modiphius Entertainment”. These well-detailed resin figures had the same palette applied to them as the rest of my Borg Collective, and takes my cybernetic extra-terrestrial tally up to twenty two, including a Borg Queen and Locutus of Borg...

Long-time suffering readers of this blog will know that around about this time of year I usually apply to enter the Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, and having successfully done so, I am once again beginning to prime a plethora of models for the event. Unlike my previous attempts though, I thought I'd try to use the opportunity to focus upon a particular backlog of figures I'm struggling with, so resultantly have started undercoating a number of "Heroclix" miniatures by "Wizkids".

18 comments:

  1. Lovely work on your first commando.

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    1. Thanks Simon. The eyes are a bit hit'n'miss in the photo, but to the naked eye she looks great, imho. Lot more to do :-)

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  2. Great work on your agent Simon, must be a great feeling to have finished the Borg. Good luck with your target

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    1. Cheers Dave. Lot of Department X to come now the Borg are finished. Hopefully I can keep my 100% record with the AHPC and hit that 500pts once again :-)

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  3. Best of luck with you challenge and don't forget Deadcember over on my blog... just one little skelinton or zombee will do.. maybe a vampire or wraith hmmmm

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    1. Thanks Phil. I haven't forgotten "Deadcember" as I'm planning on finishing off a load of skellies over the next few weeks before the "AHPC" even begins :-)

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  4. Great looking figure Simon, good luck in the Challenge!

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    1. Cheers Ray. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the challenge too :-)

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  5. I do like the Crooked Dice range, such great characters and you have done a lovely job on this one Simon. Best of luck on the Challenge.

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    1. Thanks Michael. I'm hoping to get quite a few of my "Crooked Dice" backlog finished during the Challenge too.

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  6. A nice collection of figure you have here, Simon. All the best with the painting challenge.

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  7. Crooked Dice do some nice clean sculpts and you have painted that one nicely. Pleased for you that you have done all the Borg, any more Star Trek on the horizon? Shame they don't do some of the other races like Ferengi or Cardassians.

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    1. Thanks Undercoat. I've got a few more Romulans to finish so as to complete their box, and then its on to Captain Kirk and his crew.

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  8. I like the commando and did think she was a Dr. Who ally, but what do I know?
    Always good to see more Borg and of course looking forward to your wonderfully eclectic mass of Wiz-kids and Heroclix .

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    1. Cheers Joe. I have a lot of eclectic minis to come over the next few months I assure you :-)

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  9. Commando looks great, glad you went with the red.

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    1. Thanks Dai. I am too, though I do have some plans to perhaps paint a second squad up wearing the green camo and light blue berets UNIT wore during "Battlefield".

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