Top Ten Miniatures Of 2021 - A "Rantings From Under The Wargames Table" Viewpoint

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”, or so the song says, however regular readers of Simon’s illustrious blog may feel differently, as it is in fact the time of the year where that idiot from another blog is let loose to bring you his personal (and sometimes controversial) opinions as to what were the ten best miniatures featured here at “Fantorical”. This year really does seem to have flown by, so it’s nice to make a cup of tea, sit back and spend a few hours in the company of one of my favourite blogs, perusing the plethora of perfectly painted figures and quickly running out of superlatives with which to describe them. So here in reverse order is my “Top Ten” (feel free to have Alan “”Fluff” Freeman’s voice in your head as you read them).

No. 10 - Bruce Lee by "Mondo Games" - January 19th

Now who doesn’t love “Enter the Dragon”, I know I do so I was more than a little pleased to see this excellent rendition of the master of “Jeet Kune Do”. The figure is a cracker posed as he is in the classic movie pose, and Simon’s usual high standard of painting and shading has brought out all the details on his musculature and trousers stupendously well. I have a friend who is both a gamer and Bruce Lee fanatic, so a link into this page emailed to him resulted in a sale for Mondo Games, perhaps Simon should be on commission!

No. 9 - Abraham Lincoln by "CoolMiniOrNot" - May 24th

To say that we jump from one genre to another here is a bit of an understatement! Very like “Forest Gump’s” infamous “Box of Chocolates” you really do never know what you’re gonna’ get. It did however still surprise me when “Honest Abe” first appeared, especially as he was armed with an axe and sawn-off shotgun, but I guess if you’re fighting “Zombies”… I suppose I should mention that this figure is for the very cool game “Zombicide”, and that should explain everything, as you’ve come to expect the colours and shading is spot on here, but I think it’s the brooding and slightly crazed look in his eye’s that elevated this chaps painting in my opinion and secured his place here amongst this vaulted company!

No. 8 - Yeti by "Zealot Miniatures" - April 16th

It’s like no Yeti I’ve ever seen, but that doesn’t distract from just how excellent this miniature is! The simplicity of the sculpt just makes the great work Simon has done on the contrasts with the fur and the gaping black maw stand out all the more. This is in fact the second Yeti painted this year (well technically the other one was his also brilliant, White Gorilla, but between Simon and his followers we decided it was better suited as a Yeti anyway!!). Looking like it just walked off of the set of “Scooby Doo” had it not been for the professed £10.00 price tag I would have been ordering one of these 40mm tall beasties for myself.

No. 7 - K98 Rifle Team by "Battlefront Miniature" - September 25th

Simon has painted lots of lovely 15mm WWII Germans this year (If lovely is a word you can use to describe Nazi’s!). Anyway, all of the diminutive plastic chaps have been extremely well pigmented and each group applied to a nicely textured base to boot. A real trip down memory lane for me as one of the first “theatres” I dabbled in was WWII, albeit in 20mm, and using the old “Rapid Fire” rules as opposed to the “Flames of War” battles these chaps will be fighting with. So why this group over any other others? Well it was a hard decision but I just liked the camouflaged helmet cover on the chap in the front row if I’m honest.  

No. 6 - Immolator by "Kitbash Games" - June 12th

It wouldn’t be a roundup of Simon’s output for the year without at least one “Super Hero” and he’s knocked out another “doozy” here with his take on a Kitbash figure, that in what seemed to be a bit of a trend this year he re-named as “Mistress Mississippi” so as to include her in some “Weird War II” gaming. However, whatever name you choose I loved the vaporous emissions around her hands and feet, that so nearly covered her whole body till it was decided (wisely in my humble opinion) to paint her in the glorious green and dark flesh colours you see above, and to top her off a smashing pair of inhuman green eyes, a great alternative interpretation of a smashing figure.  

No. 5 - Fungal Giant by "Rocket Pig Games" - July 28th

So we come to the first of two “Giants” in my list this year, I have to say I was immediately struck with this wonderful miniature, upon reading the text I was surprised to discover that it was in fact originally sold as an STL file that Simon then had printed out via “Etsy”, as I usually don’t have any great love for CGI figures. Though small for a “giant” at only 37mm tall (Still a fair size for a mushroom in 28mm scale!), I think it is Simon miraculous painting that has really brought this figure to life, the colours though muted are perfect and the slight “pop” of colour on the “actual” fungus growing from his torso, works so well! He looks a proper treat, and I’m sure he’s a “fun guy” to game with (sorry, but I had too!).

No. 4 - The Enemy Commander by "Tangent Miniatures" - September 10th

Simon as I’m sure regular readers will atone is a bit of a fan of the silver screen, be it large or small, characters from programs and films of our youth (well mine anyway) often make guest appearances on the pages of this inimitable blog, so I guess it was inevitable that if someone produced figures representing characters from the eighties sci/fi classic “The Last Starfighter” they would end up on here at some point. Once again Simon has taken what would have been a simple red one piece costume, and elevated it brilliantly with shading and dry-brushing, then picked out his details superbly well, so that what we ended up with was a version of “Lord Kril” that could have just walked out of the set, of the movie, from the moment I saw this I thought “That’s going to be in the “Top Ten” this year”.   

No. 3 - Stone Golem by "Zealot Miniatures" - July 12th

Last year I got moaned at by Simon for not including his “Walking Statue of Waterdeep“ in my top ten, well though not one to be swayed by popular opinion I have included this granite gargantuan this year. Though called a “Golem” I would venture that this second entry onto my list by Zealot Miniatures at 90mm tall is more of a giant myself. This is a corking resin sculpt replete as it is with its Dwarf like appearance, But I have to say that it’s the truly wonderful painting that is the biggest draw for me, Simon has shown on numerous occasions that he’s a master of convincing stonework, and this is a perfect example of his craft, but when you add in the sublime work on the oxidized brass of his bracelets, and the wonderful “glowing” eyes (something I’ve always shied away from myself), not to mention the snowy base work, this is a really great miniature. 

 No. 2 - Adder by "Catalyst Game Labs" - July 5th

I have long had a soft spot for Battletech, as it was a game we ran as a campaign back in my games club days, So I was thrilled when Simon started showing some of the new 1/285th scale models on his blog, and also intrigued to read that he planned to use them is another of his “Weird War Two” settings (honestly he seems to have so many different ones of these, I can’t keep up with them all!). Each miniature has been a joy to behold, and the way he has blended the marking from actual WW2 vehicles and units around the vastly different shapes of the “giant robots” has been ingenious to say the least. Of the ones he’s painted up so far I think my favorite has to be the “Adder” pictured above, all the various colours just work so well in the locations he’s applied them, I love this and it nearly topped the tree, but just missed out to my final choice (however if he’d finished the “Marauder” he is currently working on it might have been a different story!!).   

No. 1 - Benny the Bat by "Mongoose Publishing" - October 6th

And so we come to the end of my list, and the top banana this year came in the month the rest of us were busy painting the undead, Simon however (even though he was running Zom’tober this year) was instead putting out truly wonderful miniatures like this (and some Zombies). Benny the Bat is a lesser known character from the Judge Dredd comic strips, and I have to say wasn’t one I was familiar with, but that didn’t stop me from being mightily impressed with the final result of some tip top brushwork, as usual the shading is sublime, the colours perfect, the moustache bushy, and the subject matter typically Simon! One of the great things about visiting here is finding stuff you never knew you wanted, and even though it often appears to be “Out of Production”, you still find yourself looking for it across the net. This chap is a perfect example of this, so rolling all these factors together makes “Benny” my number one choice for 2021.

So that’s it another year over and another collection of top quality painting and interesting miniatures all arrayed on one of my favorite blogs. As usual there were many “nearly” figures that didn’t quite make the cut, but did make my “not so” short list, so I have a few honourable mentions before I go - “The Twig Fiend”, Oola Blint, The Slayers, Grave Gnasher, Paladins (I can see I’m going to get it, for not including these!), Apes, Blood Bowl, Red Skull, Mother Russia, Slimer and so many more…..

You know what don’t just take my word for it, make yourself a cup of tea sit back and work your way back through the “Finished Figures” category under the header above and see what I get all excited about. It is always a good read. Plus you’ll learn stuff you didn’t know and see some wonderful figures you probably never knew existed (I know, I have used wonderful a lot in this post, but it is the “Most wonderful time of the year”, as I said at the start!).

As usual I’ll finish, by thanking Simon for allowing the lunatic’s to take over his asylum for this brief time, as well as taking time to raise the writing standards over on my own humble blog, along with you lot for taking the time to read this (bearing in mind that you got this far of course!), I can’t wait to see what he comes up with in 2022!

Cheers Roger.

N.B. You can visit Roger's excellent wargaming blog and see both his excellent output, as well as my own Top Ten of his 'best in show' here:

"Rantings From Under The Wargames Table"

“The Black Templars Are A Loyalist Second Founding Space Marine Chapter…”

“…Derived from the Imperial Fists' gene-seed and their primarch, Rogal Dorn.”

These 6mm scale plastic models of ten space marines used to be produced by “Games Workshop” as part of their now long out of production (OOP) “Epic” range, and were predominantly found whilst I was busy mooching through my original box of “Space Marines” from 1991. However, I’m pretty sure the ‘beaky’ marine sculpts were actually acquired second-hand, as they were already primed on the sprue with a thick, black paint and were part of the game’s first edition, which was released a couple of years earlier than the version I bought.

These figures’ perplexing undercoat also meant that I would struggle to re-paint the diminutive Adeptus Astartes in any other Chapter colours if I didn’t want their already somewhat soft detail to worsen. So as a result I decided to make them all Black Templars and just ‘pick out’ their shoulder-pads and bolters, rather than risk anything else which would add an extra layer or two to the models.

 "Their origin can be traced back to the Imperial Fists' defence of Terra during the Horus Heresy."

I was though unhappy at the thought of my ten-man unit simply comprising of Corvus armoured warriors, so rummaged around until I had found a few (updated) sculpts wearing Mark VII armour. I’d actually previously painted these figures as Ultramarines, but felt the unimpressive thirty year plus paint-jobs could easily be expunged by the self-same heavily watered-down prime of “Citadel” Abaddon Black which I gave their ‘beaky’ brethren.

Once dry, all the space marines’ shoulder-pads were treated to a double-coat of watered-down “Vallejo” White and Pale Grey, whilst their bolters were given a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I did actually attempt to apply some “Citadel” Abaddon Black to the shoulder-pad ridges of the Aquila armoured Adeptus Astartes. Sadly though, my skill with a paint-brush to successfully achieve such straight lines was distinctly lacking, so I soon settled upon the entire shoulder-pad simply being a single colour, and just dry-brushed them all with (more) “Vallejo” White after applying the Pale Grey.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - Four Royalist Pikemen primed in "Vallejo" Heavy Red

Stepping well away from my latest science-fiction based entry into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, I have assembled and primed four 28mm plastic Pikemen by “Warlord Games” for a project I plan to patiently pursue throughout the entirety of next year – if not, beyond. I have always wanted to be able to play a large, mass-scaled historical battle, yet despite dabbling in Napoleonic armies at various scales over the decades, have never managed to get anywhere close to the breath-taking numbers required for such a feat.

Having recently reread the “Pike & Shotte” English Civil War expansion “To Kill A King” though, I’m hoping a change of war theatre and century might just make such a project a possibility. Working on the principle of having two opposing forces solely consisting of a Pike unit, two Musketeer units and a troop of cavalry by this time next year, I aim to finish just a handful of figures a month, and have duly started on a quartet of Pikemen for the King’s Lifeguard…

“The Land Raider Is A Heavy Tank…”

“…And transport, used primarily by the Space Marines and Chaos Space Marines.”

These 6mm scale plastic models of two Land Raiders used to be produced by “Games Workshop” as part of their now long out of production (OOP) “Epic” range, and were found whilst I was delving through a second-hand box of “Adeptus Titanicus” from 1988. Unfortunately, due to the miniatures being previously owned, they had both already been undercoated in a somewhat overly thick, black paint.

However, rather than strip them/re-prime the “single most destructive weapon[s] in the Adeptus Astartes' arsenal”, I simply decided to pigment them as part of the Black Templars chapter, and therefore just treated them to a watered-down layer of “Citadel” Abaddon Black once they’d been glued to a couple of small “Flames Of War” stands by “Battlefront Miniatures”. As with the trio of slightly smaller Rhino vehicles I recently finished, I then ‘picked out’ the Land Raiders’ doors, hatches, heavy bolter, twin-linked lascannons, tracks and support struts with a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - A Robot [Ultramarines], Land Speeder [Space Wolves] and Robot [Imperial Fists]

With the latest of my entries for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge completed, I have made some more progress on the rest of my “Epic” backlog, by slowly working my way through a number of Assault Marines, Devastator Marines, Terminators, Bikes, Robots and even an (intact) Land Speeder. Whilst some of these tiny figures have arguably had to form part of my burgeoning Black Templars force, due to being already ‘gooped’ in black paint, a fair few others have been bare plastic – and thus enabled me to start populating my all-encompassing Adeptus Astartes army with space marines from some of the other chapters.

I’m hoping this will lead to a really colourful mix of units on the tabletop, and wherever possible I am trying to match-up the various “autonomous military unit[s]” with the specialist teams they are specifically associated with as part of “Warhammer 40K” lore, such as the White Scars forming the backbone of my Bikes. In addition, I have also been successfully trawling “eBay” to procure some more of the slightly larger Mark VII power armoured space marines to intermingle with the vast legions of ‘beaky’ marines I already own.

"Catalyst Game Labs" WIPs - A Panther, Marauder and a Wolfhound

Alongside my “Epic” collection, I’ve also been working on some more “Battletech” mechs by “Catalyst Game Labs” for my Weird War Two campaign. I was initially planning on methodically completing the large and super-large models I already own. But the American company’s sudden release of its range’s second wave of miniatures has somewhat scuppered this, as it’s provided me with an opportunity to add a few more small-sized war walkers to my ‘Early War’ forces first.

Resultantly, I am still planning on continuing with my excursion into the Pacific theatre, courtesy of some Japanese-flavoured Marauders. However, alongside these “iconic early BattleMechs” I am also working on some expansions for both my German Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht forces. Most notably, a Wolfhound and a Panther…

“The Rhino Is A Common Armoured Troop Transport Produced By The Imperium.”

“Its use is entrusted to only the most loyal of soldiers.”

These three 6mm scale plastic models of a Rhino used to be produced by “Games Workshop” as part of their now long out of production (OOP) “Epic” range. I actually seem to have acquired them second-hand, as I discovered them whilst rummaging through an old box of “Adeptus Titanicus” from 1988, and their previous owner predominantly primed them in a disconcertingly thick black paint.

As a result, I decided to pigment them as part of the Black Templars chapter, so having permanently attached them onto some small “Flames Of War” stands by “Battlefront Miniatures”, I simply gave them a coat of watered down “Citadel” Abaddon Black. I then had to decide which areas, such as the vehicles’ doors and hatches, were going to be ‘picked out’ with any “Vallejo” White, but ultimately decided just to apply a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil to their weapons, tracks, and handles.

Black Templars encounter a horde of daemonic Bloodletters

I did look for any suitably-sized decals which would mark the armoured vehicles out as specifically belonging to the “Loyalist Second Founding Space Marine Chapter derived from the Imperial Fists' gene-seed”. However, I couldn’t find any within my own collection, so eventually just settled upon them being black and silver. This did though cause me to pick out some extra details on the Rhinos with “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil, before treating them all to a coat of “Vallejo” Matt Varnish.

"Robots are artificial constructs capable of completing complex tasks automatically."

Having ‘bagged’ a handful of points for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge [AHPC] with my transports, I also decided to complete a second 6mm plastic “Epic” Conqueror Robot. This particular sculpt was undercoated with “Vallejo” White Surface Primer as part of my AHPC preparation, so was simply treated to a couple of layers of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, before having its large power-fist ‘picked out’ with some “Vallejo” White and Pale Grey.

The automaton’s heavy bolter and auto-cannon were originally given a layer of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, and then later treated to a little “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. In addition, I dabbed the killing machine’s prominent eyes with “Vallejo” Heavy Red and a dash of “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson. Finally, I spotted them with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Red.

"Epic" WIPs - An Assault Marine (Dark Angels), land Speeder (Space Wolves) and Terminator (Black Templars)

I really am on a big “Epic” push currently, with several more Space Marine-related units in my painting queue, including some Assault Marines, Terminators and a Land Speeder. As with my recently finished Rhinos, some of these 6mm models have already been partially-painted by their previous owner/s, but where-ever possible I have tried to ensure that my combined Adeptus Astartes force represents more chapters than just the Black Templars…

“Troll Slayers Aren’t Likely To Be Dodging Around…”

“…So you can concentrate on building them to hurt the other team.”

"Salutations fellow salivating Blood Bowl fans, and welcome to an action packed broadcast of Thursday Night Football. I'm Jim Maddenberg and along with Thom Grassyglade, I’ll be bringing you the very latest news concerning the smaller-sized, much faster version of Blood Bowl called Sevens.”

"Straight off the bat there’s news that amateur club, the Rusty Buckets, have somehow scooped up retired Blitzer Naghag Nightbane. The second edition Dwarf has been lured back out from his latest quest to meet a glorious death for a jaw-dropping 95,000 copper pieces, and has already made the local newspaper’s front page donned in the team’s well-worn kit.”

"Blood Bowl" WIPs - The Dwarf was primed, dry-brushed and shaded before having his details picked out

“That’s correct Jim, this 28mm scale second-hand metal miniature was initially (re)primed with a layer or two of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, so as to completely cover the sculpt’s previous yellow and blue colour scheme. The player was then dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Gunmetal, before being treated to a combination of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.”

“Following that, the grizzled veteran had his steel toe-capped boots, and belt ‘picked out’ with “Citadel” Abaddon Black, before his trousers and tunic received a coat of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and (more) “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. The Dwarf’s gloves were initially coated with “Vallejo” Heavy Brown, before being shaded in (even more) “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.”

"Blood Bowl" WIPs - A Dwarf Blitzer and a pair of portly Blockers

“I believe some additional touches of "Mig Productions" Extreme Rust Wash were also used on the model’s spiked knee-caps, elbow-pads, shoulder-pads and knuckle-dusters, Thom..? Plus his beard and hair were treated to a mixture of “Vallejo” Heavy Orange and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade..?”

“Spot on, Jim. Interestingly, the Rusty Buckets are now not the only Dwarf team currently trying to recruit former professional Blood Bowl players either, following gold mine owner Bruldrin Bluebeard’s announcement to establish a new Sevens side known as the Bombardiers.

"Thanks Thom. I, for one, am looking forward to these two new clubs battling it out in some sort of future Dwarf Bowl. Sadly, that brings this particular Blood Bowl Sevens special to an end. But please do join us again next time when we'll once again be taking a closer look at some of this sport's other players..."

“The 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment…”

“...Was a Confederate volunteer infantry unit from the state of Alabama during the American Civil War.”

These ten 15mm scale plastic Confederate soldiers are produced by “Warlord Games” and came free on a sprue accompanying Issue 393 of "Wargames Illustrated". Later released as part of the Nottingham-based company's "Epic Battles: American Civil War" game for its Black Powder rule-set, the line of infantrymen are the second of two I needed to form a single stand of miniatures, and are based upon the uniforms of an Alabama unit.

The figures were all primed using a double-coat of "Citadel" Abaddon Black and then slowly had their somewhat intricate details 'picked out' from the ground up. Originally, I was awfully tempted simply to stick to basic black for all of their shoes, but as with the first line of troops I painted, I decided to apply a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to the footwear of three models.

"For a year it staffed the batteries at Pensacola, then with 1,000 soldiers moved to Missouri."

I then did something similar with the miniatures’ trousers too, as I didn't just want all of them to be marching in the colour pants. As a result I pigmented six with "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil, a couple with Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and the remaining two with “Vallejo” Steel Grey and “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade.

For the Confederates' jackets I either went with a mixture of "Vallejo" Sombre Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil, "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, or Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Such colours might seem a little odd for a Southern unit but the Alabama recruits actually wore "a dark blue frock coat" and "black broad brimmed felt hats at the war's start," so I wanted to capture that uniqueness with my palette choices.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - A tiny Space Marine, a Rhino, and a larger (Second Edition) Space Marine

I gave all the Kepi hats a dash of "Vallejo" Sombre Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil, their blanket rolls a smidgeon of either "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna or White with a wash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and their belt buckles a touch of "Vallejo" Gold and (more) Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter". Finally their hands and faces were layered with "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone, shaded in "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and later highlighted with extra dabs of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone.

With the last of my Weekly Challenges now completed, and the first of my "Epic Battles: American Civil War" infantry stands finished after a ten-month delay, I have been able to fully focus upon the first batch of “Epic” figures by “Games Workshop” I want to submit to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. All of these plastic 6mm models had already been previously painted in some way, shape or form, so I am turning them all into the Space Marine Chapter Black Templars, so as to be able to eradicate their previous paint-jobs with a layer of “Citadel” Abaddon Black…

“Robots Are Hulking Automations…”

“…With limited scope for tactical manoeuvres.”

This 6mm scale plastic model of a Conqueror Robot was produced by “Games Workshop” and could be found as part of their now long out of production (OOP) “Epic” range for the second edition of “Space Marine”. Incorporating “good armour and formidable combat ability,” the single-cast sculpt seems to have ‘officially’ been painted predominantly red - presumably to tie in with the Legio Cybernetica who built it.

But as I wanted it to form part of a force of Space Wolves, I decided to use it as a pilot piece for their colour scheme instead. As a result the tiny figure was temporarily glued to a wooden painting stick, before being primed with a double helping of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey. It was then shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, so as to better ‘highlight’ its impressive details.

"Catalyst Game Labs" WIPs - This Marauder has been primed “Vallejo” Japanese Uniform WWII

This 6mm scale plastic model of a Conqueror Robot was produced by “Games Workshop” and could be found as part of their now long out of production (OOP) “Epic” range for the second edition of “Space Marine”. Incorporating “good armour and formidable combat ability,” the single-cast sculpt seems to have ‘officially’ been painted predominantly red - presumably to tie in with the Legio Cybernetica who built it.

But as I wanted it to form part of a force of Space Wolves, I decided to use it as a pilot piece for their colour scheme instead. As a result the tiny figure was temporarily glued to a wooden painting stick, before being primed with a double helping of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey. It was then shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, so as to better ‘highlight’ its impressive details.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - Some of these Confederate soldiers just need some shading and highlights

Sticking with diminutive-sized science fiction figures, albeit the 1:285 scale plastic models by “Catalyst Game Labs”, I’ve finally started to re-base and undercoat the first of my large “Battletech” mechs for my Weird War Two campaign. First up will be a pair of impressively-sized Marauders to bolster the Japanese Empire’s forces in the Pacific theatre. As with my previously-painted Mitsubishi class War Walker these killing-machines have been primed in “Vallejo” Japanese Uniform WWII.

Finally, the end is very much in sight for the last of this year’s Weekly Challenges, randomly chosen by the turning of a playing card. I’ve just got some inks to apply to my latest 15mm scale plastic Confederate soldiers by “Warlord Games”, and will then add them to a twenty-man strong stand of Alabama soldiers for "Epic Battles: American Civil War" table-top game.

“The Mongrel Received Its Baptism Of Fire…”

“…During the Battle of Tukayyid.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Mongrel (Grendel) is manufactured by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be found together with an Executioner, Timber Wolf, Nova, and Adder in the company’s “Battletech: Clan Invasion” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures in this “supplement to the BattleTech: A Game of Armoured Combat box” come with an assortment of Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Centauro class Italian War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign using some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly green palette.

“Commonly seen leading light Star [formations], especially on deep reconnaissance and raiding missions”, the 38mm tall figure was initially undercoated with “Vallejo” Heavy Green, shaded in “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green, and dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Green. I then ‘picked out’ the armoured combat vehicle’s numerous exhaust ports, its Extended Range [ER] large laser, medium lasers and Streak short range missiles using a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. These areas were later carefully dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Gunmetal.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - This "Epic" Robot is slowly having its details picked out

Ordinarily, I would then have left the miniature alone, apart from apply a few well-placed transfers onto any suitably-sized plates of Ferro-Fibrous armour. However, I actually found the 1/600 WWII Italian Insignia by “Decal Details” to be decidedly lacking in Italian national flags, so ended using the Mongrel’s left shoulder instead. As a result the top part was pigmented using a combination of “Vallejo” Dark Green and “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green, the middle segment layered with “Vallejo” White and a little Pale Grey, and finally it’s bottom section daubed in “Vallejo” Heavy Red and “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson.

In addition to my latest Weird War Two walker, I have also been working on a 6mm scale “Epic” plastic robot by “Games Workshop”. I have actually found myself owning quite a few of these, following a rummage through an old box of “Space Marine” and the original “Adeptus Titanicus”, so plan of painting a few up during the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) to represent the various main chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - Just three more Confederate soldiers to finish on this strip

For starters though, I thought I’d apply my brush-tip to a solitary test piece, and pilot the straightforward colour scheme I intend using for all my Space Wolves. Despite the (second-hand) space marine infantry I currently own being predominantly primed in black, I’m also still hoping to get a couple of stands of Leman Russ’ ferocious warriors ready for the table-top, courtesy of a little flutter on “eBay” and the imminent arrival of some Mk VII armoured defenders of Humanity.

Lastly, I’m now about three-quarters of the way to completing the last of this year’s Weekly Challenges, randomly chosen by the turning of a playing card. Rather embarrassingly it’s actually been ten months since I last touched these 15mm scale plastic Confederate soldiers by “Warlord Games”. Nonetheless, fingers crossed it shouldn’t be too long now before I can finally field an entire twenty-man stand of Alabama soldiers for "Epic Battles: American Civil War" table-top game.

“Bloodletters Are Horrific Lesser Daemons Of Khorne…”

“…That specialise in close combat fighting.”

These ten plastic 6mm scale Bloodletters used to be manufactured by "Games Workshop" for their tabletop wargame "Epic", and disappointingly are now long Out Of Production (OOP). However I was fortunate enough to stumble across a small tub of these diminutive Slaughter-kin from a second-hand stall whilst visiting "Colours" at Newbury a few years ago, and thought a couple of bases would make a nice subject for my penultimate, self-imposed Weekly Challenge.

The tiny figures were initially all super-glued onto two thin strips of wood, and primed using a double-helping of "Vallejo" Heavy Red. They were then shaded with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I subsequently 'picked out' their loincloths and horns with some “Citadel” Abaddon Black, and applied a layer of Heavy Sienna to their Hellblades.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - A Space Marine Land Speeder, Robot and bike

Lastly, I pigmented their hand-weapons using a combination of "Vallejo" Brass and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, finished the blades off with a delicate dry-brush of more "Vallejo" Brass, and assembled them in groups of five figures upon two separate small "Flames Of War" rectangular stands by "Battlefront Miniatures". During this process, I spotted that the sculpts are wearing brass bracelets on their wrists, something I had never noticed before, and was momentarily tempted to pick these out.

However, as I already have twenty Bloodletters already painted, based, varnished and flocked, such a move would necessitate my returning to these other figures and ‘touching them up’ too. Considering that some of these models were now rather inaccessible due to their position on their stands, I felt that that was asking a bit much of my skill with a steady paint-brush tip, so ultimately decided to simply leave well enough alone…

"Warlord Games" WIPs - Ten Confederate Soldiers are slowly having their details 'picked out'

In addition to my ever expanding “crimson death”, I have also primed some other “Epic” miniatures in preparation for the imminent Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC). Unlike many of the 6mm scale models I aim to pigment for that event, my collection of second-hand Space Marine Land Speeders, bikes and robots were never primed by their previous owners, allowing me to consider having them represent some of the more colourful chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.

Moving away to the last of this year’s Weekly Challenges, randomly chosen by the turning of a playing card, I have been steadily progressing ten more 15mm scale plastic Confederate soldiers by “Warlord Games”. These figures actually came free on a sprue accompanying Issue 393 of "Wargames Illustrated", and once finished will actually allow me to field a complete twenty-man stand of soldiers for the Nottingham-based company’s "Epic Battles: American Civil War" tabletop game.

“Though Vaguely Canine In Form…”

“…Flesh Hounds are more a horrific cross between dog and reptile.”

These six plastic 6mm scale Flesh Hounds [twelve shown with accompanying Bloodletters] were produced by "Games Workshop" for their tabletop wargame "Epic", and regrettably are now long Out Of Production (OOP). However I was jammy enough to stumble across a tub of these daemonic canines from the second-hand stall, “Lesley’s Bitz Box”, whilst visiting "Colours" at Newbury a few years ago, and as part of one of my recent self-imposed Weekly Challenges, thought I should paint up some of them.

“Found by the hundreds and thousands on the bone-littered plains surrounding Khorne's demesne in the Realm of Chaos”, the tiny figures were super-glued onto two thin strips of wood, and primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Red. They were then washed using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and very delicately dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - Both this 6mm Lander Raider and Rhino were uncoated by their previous owner

Later, each “bloody-minded daemonic beast” had their back spines and head crests ‘picked out' with a little “Citadel” Abaddon Black. As a final touch I also decided to dot their super-tiny teeth/fangs with a well-placed spot of “Vallejo” White, and then dirtied these areas up, along with the insides of their open maws, with some “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.

Momentarily sticking with “Epic”, I have set aside some opposition to my 6mm Forces of Chaos in the shape of some second-hand Adeptus Astartes I was gifted a good couple of decades ago. There’s no actual rhyhme or reason as to the motley collection, and many of them have already undergone a somewhat thick initial coat of black paint – probably “Citadel” Chaos Black.

"The Iron Star Alliance is able to afford the most advanced technology and weapons for its military."

However, I thought a sizeable batch of space marines, assault marines, rhinos, land raiders, speeders and robots would make an enjoyable small(ish) project for the forthcoming Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. Although, despite wanting this force to encompass as many chapters as I can cram in, I fear the black ‘prime’ is predominantly going to limit some of the units to being Black Templar, Iron Hand or perhaps Raven Guard…

Lastly, having recently finished painting three Paladin Annihilators by “Privateer Press” for “Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika”, I have revisited the rest of my Iron Star Alliance forces and re-painted all of their Arc receiver’s with a combination of “Vallejo” Brass and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. I had actually used this palette on most of their backpacks before anyway, but I then spotted a couple of areas I have consistently missed on the older models which I decided to ‘pick out’ so that they would match-up better with the new Annihilators.

“The Harbinger Cannons’ Hunter-Killer Rounds…”

“…Enable the squad to spike to target enemy models that are not even in their line of sight.”

This 35mm scale metal Paladin Annihilator is made by “Privateer Press” and is the last of three figures which can be found inside the SKU: 83008 Paladin Annihilators – Iron Star Alliance Squad for Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika. The multi-part figure carries a rapid-fire weapon “that can hit up to three models with every attack” and “ignore cover.”

Once the warrior’s weapon arms and Arc receiver were super-glued in place, the miniature was primed in "Citadel" Abaddon Black and given two coats of "Vallejo" Gunmetal. It was then shaded using "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Gunmetal using a large make-up blusher brush.

“These smart rounds will curve around walls to hit their mark.”

Sticking with the slightly 'clean' metallic look of the Paladin’s previously painted battle brothers’ mechanically enhanced compound armour, I patiently 'picked out' the Annihilator’s knee-pads, central chest plate, elbow-pads, and the majority of his Harbinger Cannon’s housing in “Citadel” Abaddon Black. In addition, I applied a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna over the soldier’s spats, shoulder-pads, face-plate, and thigh-joints.

These areas were later given a coat of "Vallejo" Brass, a splash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and some delicate dry-brushing with a smidge more "Vallejo" Brass so as to bring back some of their shine after being shaded. I also painted part of each Paladin's Arc receiver with "Vallejo" Brass and washed them with "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - The 6mm Bloodletter is slowly having its details picked out

Finally, as I wanted this heavy support Paladin to stand out from the run-of-the-mill Enforcers, I decided to apply a combination of “Scalecolor” Cobalt Alchemy and “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade to the model’s helmet and shoulder-plates. To be honest, I would have liked to have employed this palette on some additional areas too, but chose to stick to just those pieces of armour which I could easily reach with a brush-tip on all three of the miniatures.

Having finished another of my Weekly Challenges, I am already making excellent progress on the next. Somewhat embarrassingly, I’ve actually been ‘picking away’ at a tub of “Epic” Khorne daemons by “Games Workshop” since I first bought it from the second-hand stall, “Lesley’s Bitz Box”, whilst visiting "Colours" a few years ago. Next year I may well try to dedicate an entire month to the now long out of production (OOP) “tabletop wargame set in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe” and actually paint some Adeptus Astartes or Squats. However, the plan for the next couple of days is to simply add a few more Flesh Hounds and Bloodletters to my burgeoning Chaos force, and maybe assemble some of the cardboard buildings I recently discovered inside a long-forgotten box of second edition “Space Marines”.

"Removed Surgically Before Embryo Implantation.”

“They killed him getting it off.”

This horde of ten 10mm scale metal Manumala noxhydria are produced by “Pendraken Miniatures” as part of their Science Fiction range, and are available either as code SFC8 Face Huggers, or as part of code SFC-AP Alien Creatures Army Pack. The parasitoid models are clearly strongly influenced by Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror flick “Alien” but are arguably much too large in size compared to the rest of the extra-terrestrial creatures manufactured by the Middlesbrough-based company. Indeed, despite me personally using the xenomorphs alongside a number of 15mm scale aliens made by “Ground Zero Games”, I’d argue they’d work very well alongside 28mm models as well.

The single-pose models were attached in pairs to a small sized “Flames Of War” base by “Battlefront Miniatures” and primed using “Citadel” Abaddon Black. Each figure was then treated to a double application of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre, followed by an initial wash of "The Army Painter" Quickshade Ink Strong Tone and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"Terrain Tiles" WIPs - The Quarter Cliff Outside Corner has been assembled

I had actually hoped that these Face Huggers would prove super-quick to complete. However, the rather flat sculpts required a lot of patience to be properly ‘picked out’, especially as the “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre was a little too runny when taken straight from the pot, so tended to simply spill down the model’s sides if not allowed to congeal a little on my mixing plate first.

With another of my Weekly Challenges finished, I took the opportunity to assemble a 6” x 6” MDF Quarter Cliff Outside Corner by “Anomalia Games” which was freely handed to me to try out during my recent trip to “Warfare” 2021. The multi-part kit was reasonably straightforward to build, although due to its very precise engineering I’d strongly recommend assembling it all at once as opposed to waiting for parts of it to dry separately, that way it is much easier to juggle some of the parts together so they properly fit inside a few of its holes.

"Lucid Eye Publications" WIPs - Two primed 'Hype Nifty Gifty Fifty Give Away' figures

Overall I was very impressed with the wooden board piece (valued at £4), and, should my plans to grit, flock and appropriately decorate the corner satisfactorily prove successful, intend to purchase at least a few more of the “Terrain Tiles” kits so as to build a small 2’ x 2’ skirmish board in the New Year. Of particular note is the fact that the company’s website has an excellent 3D builder on it which not only allows you to assemble a board from scratch, but then both orders and costs all the pieces required to build it.

In addition, I have based and undercoated the last two ‘Hyper Nifty Gifty Fifty Give Away’ figures I have previously been given by “Lucid Eye Publications” for the upcoming “Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.” The 28mm metal models were freebies to anyone who made a large enough order, and is now sadly out of production (OOP) having been replaced by an updated sculpt of a wizard sat upon a dice. However, I was lucky enough to get five in total before they were withdrawn, and resultantly have been painting them as objective markers.

“Boy With Spitfire.”

“You can almost hear him crying out, budda-budda-budda as he plays being a Spitfire ace."

This 28mm scale metal commemorative figure of the Battle of Britain was given away as a freebie by the “South London Warlords” at this year’s “Salute”, and was sculpted by Paul Hicks. I’ve seen the miniature beautifully pigmented by the incredibly talented Kevin Dallimore as an actual school boy playing with his toy aeroplane, and whilst I was momentarily tempted to try to replicate such a paint-scheme, I eventually opted for something far more straightforward which would hopefully enable the model to see much more tabletop time as an objective marker.

To begin with though, I felt the ‘statue’ should at least be placed up on a pedestal some kind, and having scoured through my collection of resin pieces, found just such a plinth cast by “Telfer Model Design”. Unfortunately, the block’s top was just too small to ‘house’ the model’s detailed base, so rather than build a wide enough ledge myself I simply resorted to flipping the stand upside down instead and hoping that my subsequent paint-job would fill/cover the quite visible casting bubbles on show.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three Kobolds primed with "Vallejo" Heavy Red

In addition, I had a slight issue with my “Loctite” super-glue whilst placing the figure on its stand, as my previous brand of cyanoacrylate always allowed me a few moments to slide a miniature into position. This new “precision max” variant provided no such leeway, so just as soon as I touched the model down on its column it became stuck fast, and the only thing my frantic tugging and pulling was ever going to achieve was for the sculpt to snap at the ankles – something I quickly decided I didn’t want to risk. As a result, the ‘statue’ is slightly off-centre on its plinth, albeit I think you’d have to look quite closely to spot the mistake.

Luckily, I had no such issues gluing the resin foundation to one of the thin-lipped 40mm plastic circular bases I use for all of my objective markers these days, and once dry set about priming the ensemble with “Citadel” Abaddon Black. The figure was then layered with “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, before being given a coat of Brass and a generous drowning of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three Sorcerous Sentinels primed with "Vallejo" German Grey

Due to wanting this statue to look reasonably well-maintained, I decided against adding any patina or weathering to the figure, and simply highlighted it back up with a dry-brush of (more) “Vallejo” Brass. Admittedly, this did make the miniature look a little too shiny for my liking, so I dulled it down a bit more with a second application of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. The model’s plinth was pigmented using some “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, which was later shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil (as well as the odd drop of Agrax Earthshade), before being dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey.

Alongside this objective marker, I have also been steadily prepping and priming a number of miniatures for the upcoming Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. This includes some more of the “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” Kobolds I purchased at “Warfare” 2021, as well as the three (final) Sorcerous Sentinels I own, which I intend to pigment “Vallejo” White to represent some elite Fortress Guards…

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge” December 2021

"Slayers! To arms!"

This month's effort to diminish my ‘peak of potential’ will be significantly shaped by Curt Campbell’s Twelfth Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC), or at least the obligatory painting desk clearance push I need to complete prior to the event’s start on December 21st. This means both an end to my own personal weekly painting challenges which have kept me so motivated over the past few months, and a concerted effort to polish off some of the figures still remaining unfinished from them.

Perhaps the biggest of these mini projects, randomly chosen by the turning of a playing card, was the nine 28mm Sorcerous Sentinels by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” I initially elected to pigment last month. Despite being predominantly “Vallejo” German Grey in colour and being split into three digestible-sized batches, these ‘Slayers’ have taken a lot longer to complete than I first thought. But I have now finally got some “Vallejo” Matt Varnish on the last two and flocked the bases.

"Battlefront Miniatures" WIPs - Two partially-painted 7.5cm Tank-Hunter teams

However, I am actually far from finished with the Otherworldly watchers as I plan to expand my collection with three more sculpts during the AHPC. This trio though, will be painted using “Vallejo” White so as to better represent a party of Fortress Guards from Peter Yates’ 1983 “science fantasy swashbuckler” film “Krull”.

In addition, I’m planning on making much more progress on a number of partially painted 15mm plastic models taken from on the “Hit The Beach” starter set for “Flames Of War” by “Battlefront Miniatures”. I have a number of Late War German blisters ready to start prepping for the AHPC, so want to quite quickly progress a number of half-finished bases first. This includes a 7.5cm Tank-Hunter Platoon which has patiently been sat on my hobby table half-done since I originally opened the “ultimate starter set for the Flames of War Series.”

November 2021 - No change to my favourite manufacturers

Productivity wise, the past four weeks have been fairly typical for this time of the year overall. I didn’t get anywhere near as much done as I have during the previous years, but I certainly accomplished more than I achieved back in 2018. Most of this success was due to my finishing an impressive nine 28mm figures from “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”, including a couple more Simian Minions for my burgeoning “Planet Of The Apes” project.

I’ve also been busy clearing some more wooden painting sticks prior to the AHPC by finishing three old(ish) 10mm dinosaurs by “Magister Militum”, and persevering with my ongoing “Judge Dredd” project by completing my “Mongoose Publishing” sculpt of Oola Blint. To be honest I think December’s output will prove just as eclectic a mix, as I continue to work my way through a load of somewhat forgotten ventures in an effort to be fully focussed upon the AHPC towards the month’s end…