“Eight Tons Of Armouring On The Phoenix Hawk…”

“…Gave it acceptable endurance for short combat actions, though not for any sustained brawling.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Phoenix Hawk is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Warhammer, Rifeman, and Wasp in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Battle Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Lockheed-class American War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly dark green palette.

As a result, the 42mm tall figure was initially primed using two layers of “Vallejo” US Olive Drab and shaded in “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. It was then carefully dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” US Olive Drab with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its windows ‘picked out’ with a little “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"Unsere Luftwaffe."

In order to add a bit of contrast to “one of the most well-known BattleMechs in the Inner Sphere” I applied a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil to the vehicle’s head antennas, gun-arm and the exhaust ports of its Pitban 9000 jet packs. I also stuck several American Star and Stripes transfers by “Decal Details” onto the machine’s shoulder-pads, forearms and lower legs.

With the latest addition to my ever-expanding Weird War Two American forces finished, I thought I had also better complete a second plastic Valkyrie model to use as a Focke-Wulf class German War Walker as well. This “Catalyst Game Labs” figure was painted using a mixture of “Vallejo” Luftwaffe Uniform WWII and “Citadel” Nuln Oil in exactly the same way as its predecessor, making it indistinguishable apart from a differently numbered decal on the machine’s hips.

"The Ion Age" WIPs - The bases need to be Green-Stuffed before they can be gritted, painted and flocked

Lastly, I have managed to make some reasonable progress on a handful more 15mm miniatures produced by “Alternative Armies” as part of their "The Ion Age" selection deal IAF008 Retained Knight Post Charlie. These figures have been pigmented to proxy Horus Heresy Blood Angels from the “Warhammer 40k” universe as part of “Forgotten Heroes” month, but have taken some extra time due to their chunky bases needing to be surrounded by sloping Green-Stuff sausages.

I actually plan to continue working on these units (and some accompanying vehicles) beyond the end of “Forgotten Heroes” month, as several are close to completion. However, my enthusiasm for the project has been dampened by “Alternative Armies” having only now sent me my replacement Black Adder Combat Lifters despite acknowledging a mix-up with my order over a week ago. This frustration has been furthered by the superb service I’ve just received from “Ground Zero Games”, who got my latest 15mm order out to me within the space of just a couple of days…

“For I am Saruman the Wise…”

“…Saruman the Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colours!"

This now long Out Of Production (OOP) 28mm scale metal model of the White Wizard was manufactured by "Games Workshop" as part of their "The Lord Of The Rings" Forces of Isengard range, and was available as Two Towers: Saruman. I believe I bought this figure second-hand at some Wargaming Show a good decade ago, but he’ll now finally take pride and place leading my 500-point strong Isengard army for the “Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game”.

The first of the order of Istar to come Middle-Earth was initially primed with “Vallejo” White and then washed using some water-down “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. Ordinarily, I always use “Vallejo” Pale Grey to shade anything white upon my miniatures. However, on this occasion I wanted to suggest the stain of Sauron’s influence upon the Emissary of the Valar, so went with a different approach from the normal.

"Once he was as great as his fame made him."

To be honest, the end result’s final look wasn’t really what I was after, especially once I subsequently dry-brushed the wizard’s flowing robes with (more) “Vallejo” White. None of the colours seemed to blend together particularly well, and I was also abundantly aware of some very visible streaking effects occurring. As a result I decided to repeat the entire process again using a much softer-bristled make-up blusher, yet still came away with only a marginally better outcome.

I painted Saruman’s hair and beard with a mixture of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil, before lightening these areas up using a dry-brush of (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and later on, White. Lastly, I applied some “Citadel” Abaddon Black to the magic-user’s staff, and dabbed the stick’s somewhat miscast orb with “Vallejo” White and Pale Grey.

"Leave Hitler to me sonny. You ought to be out of London."

Overall, I was rather unimpressed with this model’s painting, but unfortunately the worst was yet to come when my “Vallejo” Matt Varnish decided to transfer White paint over the entire figure, despite my waiting a day before applying it. If I owned a second Saruman I would have certainly rebased and repainted this particular ruined sculpt as a statue, and turned my attention to pigmenting the duplicate correctly. However, as I wasn’t in this position, I painstakingly ‘saved’ the miniature by re-painting his staff, hair, flesh and eyes; albeit the milky varnish can still be plainly seen in certain areas, particularly those surrounding his beard.

In between my frustrating sessions finishing off the White Wizard, I have also completed work on a second plastic model of a Shadow Cat to use as Hawker class British War Walker. This “Catalyst Game Labs” figure was painted quite similarly to my first mech, predominantly using “Vallejo” Earth and Heavy Green. In addition though, I separated the giant machine’s torso from its legs and later re-attached them at a different angle, so as to give the mechanical brute a bit of diversity in its pose.

“A Powerful Medium Scout And Recon 'Mech…”

“…The Ice Ferret was regarded as something of a foreign concept when it was first encountered.”

This 1:285 scale pre-built plastic model of an Ice Ferret is produced by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be found together with a Gargoyle, Hellbringer, Mad Dog, and Viper in the company’s “Battletech: Clan Heavy Striker Star” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Levasseur class French War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign using some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly pale blue palette.

“Well armoured and fast” the 31mm tall figure was initially given a double undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and shaded in “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade. It was then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its tiny cockpit windows ‘picked out’ with the odd a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

Die Unordnung accompanies the German Forces as they push towards the British line

In order to add a bit of interest to the rather lightly-coloured model I decided to add a few ‘points of interest’ on both its arms and torso by ‘picking out’ the war walker’s shoulder-pads, top hatch and a rear-placed panel using a combination of “Vallejo” German Grey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I later gave these diminutive areas a delicate dry-brush of (more) “Vallejo” German Grey to help highlight their details.

I also applied some “Citadel” Abaddon Black to both the Ice Ferret’s Extended Range Particle Projector Cannon and Streak SRM-2 (missile) Launcher, before pigmenting them with some “Vallejo” Gunmetal and later on, a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Finally, I applied some French roundels by “Decal Details” to the mech’s front legs, and unsuccessfully attempted to add the Tricolore to the machine’s upper torso. Unfortunately, the French National flag simply couldn’t fit in the limited space provided and after a couple of failed efforts where the transfer eventually started to disintegrate, I gave up.

Liberty Lady defeats both some Nazi Zombies and Die Unordnung

With my latest “Battletech” model by “Catalyst Game Labs” completed, I managed to pay a visit to the LVL Up Gaming Store in Bournemouth so as to play-test some homemade 28mm Weird War Two rules called "M.I.S.S." On this occasion I brought along some figures taken from my old “Secrets Of The Third Reich” collection by "Westwind Productions", and some of the resin “Supers Unlimited” sculpts by “Kitbash Games”.

The two battles were played over a somewhat congested Middle Eastern settlement, and both the Allies and Axis forces came away with a victory apiece. There were a good many highlights to the games, such as a Zombie horde devouring an entire unit of brave British Paras in a single turn, and Liberty Lady successfully duking it out against a group of Zeds before literally pulling Die Unordnung [The Mess] down from the top of a tactically-crucial building…

“The Blood Angels… Were A Crimson-Clad Legion Of The Adeptus Astartes.”

“While they thrive as a well-known and iconic Imperial force in the 41st Millennium..."

These six 15mm miniatures are nowadays sold by “Alternative Armies” as part of their "The Ion Age" selection deal IAF008 Retained Knight Post Charlie, and are all armed with Angis Rifles. Operating within the Prydian Army as Lances of twenty-two men, I've actually painted these figures to proxy some Horus Heresy Blood Angels from the "Warhammer 40K" universe as part of “Forgotten Heroes” month.

Resultantly, each trio of metal models was based upon a medium-sized plastic "Flames Of War" stand by “Battlefront Miniatures” and undercoated with "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I then heavily washed the ‘beaky’ space marines with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson before dry-brushing them with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

"...This survival was not always guaranteed.”

Each figure's formidable-looking firearm was subsequently layered with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and later treated to a combination of “Vallejo" Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I also took a size 000 “Winsor & Newton University Brush Series 233 and placed a small amount of “Citadel” Abaddon Black along the eye-ridge of each miniature’s helmet to provide their visors with the suggestion of shadow.

Lastly, I had to take some Green Stuff and make several long, thin sausages which I could wrap around the super-chunky stands of the models. This two-component modelling clay was then flattened at a somewhat sharp angle to help each Retained Knight attain a smoother surface with the medium base before it was gritted with fine sand, painted and eventually flocked with static grass.

"The Ion Age" WIPs - Three more Retained Knights have been primed, ready for detailing

I had actually hoped to have progressed a few more infantry stands for “Forgotten Heroes” by now, as well as completed a handful of resin support vehicles too. However, having discovered that I had apparently exhausted my supply of certain figure poses and Black Adder Combat Lifters, I realised that I would need to seek “Alternative Armies” help in providing some ‘reinforcements’ if I was to add a bit more variety to the look of my ‘beaky’ marines.

Unfortunately, despite the company sending me my additional infantry miniatures, some super-sized Grey Adder APC Battle Taxi Lifters, and some much-appreciated freebie Space Brains in quick order, I was mistakenly sent some Combat Cars rather than the Combat Lifters I was after. This error was quickly addressed, but has somewhat dampened my enthusiasm for the project, and I am still waiting for my three Fretan-type Railgun turreted vehicles to arrive…

“The Shadow Cat Is A Heavily-Armed And Manoeuvrable Medium OmniMech…”

“…Developed by Clan Nova Cat to replace the Ice Ferret in the early 31st century.”

This 1:285 scale pre-built plastic model of a Shadow Cat is produced by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be found together with a Dire Wolf, Summoner, Stormcrow, and Mist Lynx in the company’s “Battletech: Clan Command Star” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Hawker class British War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign using some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly light brown palette.

Employing the weight-saving technology of “an Endo Steel internal structure”, the 35mm tall figure was initially given a double undercoat of “Vallejo” Earth and shaded in “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. It was then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Earth with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its rather prominent cockpit’s windows ‘picked out’ with a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"Americans will always fight for liberty."

So as to add a bit of interest to the rather bleak-pigmented model I decided to tie its colour scheme in better with that of the Hawker Hurricane, and resultantly identified a few ‘points of interest’ on both its arms and legs which could be ‘picked out’ using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Green and “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green. I later gave these areas a careful dry-brush of (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Green to help highlight the sculpt’s impressive details.

I also applied some “Vallejo” Gunmetal, and later a splattering of “Citadel” Nuln Oil, to the Shadow Cat’s formidably sized Gauss Rifle, its two Extended Range (ER) Medium Lasers, some air vents and knee-joints. Lastly, I dug out one of the smallest Union Flag transfers I could find within my collection of “Decal Details” and placed it just above the medium-sized mech’s cock-pit. I had also hoped to apply a roundel or two to the war walker, but simply couldn’t find any suitable locations on its Ferro-Fibrous armour.

"Battletech" WIPs - This Adder and Shadow Cat are currently having some base layers applied

I have however, managed to finish working on second plastic model of a Stinger to use as a Curtiss-Class American War Walker. This “Catalyst Game Labs” figure can be found inside the company’s ““Battletech: Inner Sphere Command Lance” boxed set, and was painted using “Vallejo” US Olive Drab in exactly the same way as the first small Allied mech I completed earlier this month.

In addition, I’ve been progressing some British reinforcements in the shape of a second Shadow Cat, and significantly smaller Adder. Both will predominantly feature similar colour schemes to that of my Hawker-class mech. But I have actually repositioned my duplicate Shadow Cat by ‘unplugging’ its carapace from its legs, filing down the square peg used to join the two parts together, and super-gluing them back having turned the torso around somewhat to face in a different direction…

"Wood Woads Were Powerful Humanoid-Shaped Guardian Plants.”

"Each wood woad contained the soul of a creature."

This 32mm scale resin print of a WoodWard is produced by "Rocket Pig Games", but actually 3D printed by “FullyCycled” over on “Etsy”. The sculpt is clearly based upon a Wood Woad, which first appeared in the Monster Manual III for “Dungeons & Dragons” in 2004, and is one of many test prints I have bought over the past few months in order to see just how well such figures can currently be manufactured.

The figure is actually 40mm tall, and comes on a pre-printed stand. The Lawful neutral plant is encircled by a handful of pebbles and a pair of large(ish) rock formations which was clearly designed to help support both its shield-hand and club. I therefore decided against removing the model from its surroundings and simply super-glued it to a 40mm circular base by “Games Workshop”.

A Grave Gnasher, Twig Fiend and WoodWard

Created through the gruesome ritual of “removing the heart of a living person, planting a seed into it and placing it inside a cavity in a tree”, the miniature was primed using a couple of layers of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna. I then shaded it with a mixture of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, before dry-brushing the entire model with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna.

In order to lighten up the creature’s well-sculpted bark, I also applied a dry-brush of “Vallejo” Earth across the entire 3D print, and made sure to make this particularly heavy around the forest-based warrior’s shield. In addition, I took the opportunity to ‘pick out’ the WoodWard’s actual head, which was slightly visible when viewed down the top of its trunk, with a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Brown and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.

"Battletech" WIPs - This Ice Ferret has been primed, washed and dry-brushed

Considering that the walking plant’s hand-weapon was simply pigmented with “Citadel” Doombull Brown and The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, I was a little desperate to add another colour to the creature’s palette so as to break it up a liitle. I had considered trying to paint its shoulders red to suggest that they were actually toadstools of some kind, but ultimately I went with a super-subtle dry-brush of “Vallejo” Heavy Green over these areas instead.

Alongside my latest 3D printed monster I’ve managed to make some progress one of two Iron Ferret “Battletech” models I aim to paint up as a French Levasseur-class medium War Walker. This solid-looking 6mm scale (1:285) mech by “Catalyst Games Labs” will accompany the British forces in their bid to rescue Poland from the Axis clutches during the early days of Weird War Two…

“The Mist Lynx Is A Lightweight Workhorse OmniMech.”

“Before the Great Refusal, the Mist Lynx was most prominently fielded by Clan Smoke Jaguar.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Mist Lynx is produced by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be found together with a Dire Wolf, Summoner, Stormcrow, and Shadow Cat in the company’s “Battletech: Clan Command Star” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Henschel class German Wehrmacht War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly dark grey palette.

Weighing twenty five tons on the battlefield and “powered by a 175 XL engine that gives the Mech a top speed of 118.8 km/hour”, the 31mm tall figure was originally primed using two layers of “Vallejo” German Grey and shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil. It was then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” German Grey with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its cockpit’s tiny windows ‘picked out’ with a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"For the Motherland, for Stalin!"

In order to add a bit of interest to the rather dour-looking model I decided to apply a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil to both its right gun-hand and the shoulder-mountings for its arms. I also added a splash of “Vallejo” Sun Yellow and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade to the missile bay wrapped around the machine’s left wrist in an attempt to better tie the palette in with those used on German aircraft during the Second World War. Finally, I pulled out a couple of German crosses from my collection of “Decal Details” and squeezed them onto two flat pieces of armour plating on the miniature’s chest.

Alongside this latest addition to my Axis forces, I have finished pigmenting a second plastic model of a Wasp to use as a Dacha-Class Soviet War Walker. This “Catalyst Game Labs” figure can be found inside the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Battle Lance” boxed set, and was painted in exactly the same way as the first Russian mech I completed earlier this month.

"The Ion Age" WIPs - These three Retained Knights are slowly having their rifles 'picked out'

Lastly, I’m making a fair bit of progress with this month’s somewhat sizeable entry for the “Forgotten Heroes” challenge over on the “Carrion Crow’s Buffet” website. The main driving force behind this submission has admittedly changed direction somewhat, but still predominantly concerns producing a number of 15mm Retained Knights from “The Ion Age” range by “Alternative Armies”, who will be led by a (converted) 28mm Retained Knight.

However, I’m now fully committed to ‘pumping out’ a mechanised contingent of infantry and vehicles to use for my reimaging of the Blood Angels Adeptus Astartes during the Horus Heresy. Unfortunately though, this has meant that I’ve needed to order a few reinforcement figures to help mix-up the variety of my ‘Space Marine’ stands, and a few resin armoured vehicles to help support my troops on the tabletop…

Star Trek: The Motion Picture – “Citadel Miniatures”

"Citadel Miniatures" WIPs - A Security Guard, Captain Kirk and Mister Sulu

One of the best things about the wargaming hobby is undoubtedly the generosity of some of its members, and their beautiful benevolence in bestowing gifts upon their fellow gamers. One such fellow is my Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge comrade-in-arms, Iain White, who just this week sent me an extremely well-received box of miniatures from the early Eighties.

I plan to leave my review of its two well-cared for boxes of officially approved 15mm figures for “Traveller” for another day, and focus this posting’s attention upon the fantastic array of old “Citadel” Star Trek models my present contained. These truly are something of a holy grail for me, as they’re based upon the original U.S.S. Enterprise’s bridge crew during Robert Wise’s 1979 American science fiction film “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”, and were released over forty years ago in early 1980.

"Citadel Miniatures" WIPs - A repositioned Mister Sulu, a Security Guard and an Enterprise Crew member

The Paramount Pictures Corporation licenced 25mm figures were sold in twenty-four pairs, including both the central characters from the Constitution-class starship’s bridge, and a “multitude of background aliens seen in the feature [film].” Iain’s box did contain a few Vulcans and Klingons, but I thought I’d tackle Admiral Kirk and his crew first and foremost, as at least one of the Qo'noS-born warriors requires some conversion work before being pigmented.

To be honest, time has not been terribly kind to these “white-metal” models, as many of them have the remains of an all-blue uniform painted on them, which seems strangely reminiscent of the Federation attire worn in “Star Trek: Enterprise” than Robert Fletcher’s somewhat monochrome two-piece tunics. In addition, the actual detail on the sculpts is incredibly soft, almost as if they’ve been worn smooth by over-handling and Father Time himself. They’re certainly nowhere near the crispness of the castings which were advertised way back in Issue Eighteen of “White Dwarf” by “Games Workshop”.

"Citadel Miniatures" WIPs - Captain Kirk, Lieutenant Uhura and Lieutenant Ilia

I had initially considered simply throwing the miniatures into a bath of detergent or some such in an effort to remove the remnants of their former paint-jobs. However, I’m really a little unsure as to just what impact such a dunking would have upon such old metal figures, especially as those which have suffered the odd hard impact during their lives would appear to be a little crumbly in places.

As a result I’m planning to treat the models as simply being pre-primed, and use both some watered-down layers and shades to bring out what detail remains on them. In addition, I don’t actually have all the Bridge Crew characters, so intend to use some of the duplicates for Spock and McCoy, whilst utilising some of the alternative casts of Admiral Kirk for the likes of Captain Willard Decker…

“The Valkyrie Was Originally Planned For Use By The Star League Defence Force.”

“But production of the BattleMech did not begin until 2787, after the fall of the Star League."

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Valkyrie is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Marauder, Archer, and Stinger in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Command Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Focke-Wulf class German War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly blue-grey palette.

Resultantly, the 33mm tall figure was initially primed using two layers of “Vallejo” Luftwaffe Uniform WWII and shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil. It was then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Luftwaffe Uniform WWII with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its tiny windows ‘picked out’ with a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"Battletech" WIPs - A Shadow Cat and Adder Prime are being painted as British War Walkers

In order to add a bit of interest to “the standard light Mech of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns” I decided to apply a coat of “Vallejo” Gunmetal to its right gun-arm, chest-housed missile system, arm joints, rear rocker launcher and calf-mounted dual jets and later treat these areas to a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I also pulled out a German cross and some numerals from my collection of “Decal Details” and managed to squeeze them onto two flat pieces of armour plating on the sculpt's legs.

I did consider whether to add a swastika transfer to the model too, but ultimately decided against this as I intend to make the origins of my Third Reich war walkers’ manufacturing quite distinctive from one another for my games. In my Weird War Two campaign this particular Mech has been designed, developed, built and is being used by the German Air Force, whereas some of the other machines will belong to either the Wehrmacht or Waffen-SS, and it’ll be the latter military branch’s ‘Bots who’ll be adorned with the controversial emblem.

"Rocket Pig Games" WIPs - This Fungal Giant is slowly having its fungi picked out

In addition to my Axis forces, I have made some more progress on the Shadow Cat “Battletech” model I aim to paint up as a British Hawker-class War Walker. My intention is to get both this medium-sized mech and a similarly-sized French-flavoured one finished, and throw them into a battle against three smaller Axis machines to test out my homebrew rule-set. I have though, added a recently purchased Adder Prime model to my painting queue, in the hopes of providing the British with an additional attacking option during the early days of my Weird War Two campaign.

Lastly, I am desperately trying not to get overwhelmed with too many new projects, and persevere with a number of “Rocket Pig Games” resin figures 3D printed by "FullyCycled". This Fungal Giant should have been a fairly straightforward subject, but my enthusiasm for it was somewhat wilted upon its arrival when I saw that the 40mm scale model was disappointingly only 38mm in height…

“Bow Down Before My Majesty…”

“…And feel my flame!”

This 28mm scale resin model of Immolator is manufactured by "Kitbash Games", and was produced as part of the company's highly successful "Supers Unlimited" Miniatures "Kickstarter" in August 2019. “Banished from the Krellan Empire by order of her mother, the Grand Majestrix Immah’lashan XXII”, I actually plan on using the alien princess’ sculpt as an American super-hero known as Mistress Mississippi for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules.

Having securely attached Immah’latar onto a 28mm lipped base, I initially primed the figure with two layers of "Vallejo" White, shaded the miniature with “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green and dry-brushed her with (more) “Vallejo” White. This technique gave the model the appearance of being some sort of spectral ghost, and for quite a while I was actually contemplating leaving her at that.

"Stay where you are."

However, I eventually decided that such an effect would probably contrast better if the treacherous royal herself was properly pigmented, so applied a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Green” and “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green to her thigh-length boots, gloves and costume. In addition, I steered far away from the yellow-flesh of the Immolator’s ‘official’ palette, and instead went with “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.

I did consider going with some sort of green effect for the character’s long, flowing hair. But ultimately decided upon my fairly generic recipe of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, a dry-brush of “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal, and a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Finally, I dotted Immah’latar’s eyes with a couple of dabs of “Vallejo” White and then treated them to some dollops of Fluorescent Green.

"Battletech" WIPs - This Shadow Cat has been primed, washed and dry-brushed

Alongside my latest Super-hero, I have also finished the last of my 28mm Federated Security Mutaints originally produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”. This figure will form a six-woman formation which will accompany Space Commander Travis during my “Blake’s Seven” campaign, and nowadays is available from "Beast In The Broch" - along with many other 'dead-ringers' from the BBC science fiction television series.

Lastly, I’ve managed to get cracking on a Shadow Cat “Battletech” model I aim to paint up as a British Hawker-class medium War Walker. I’m really enjoying working on these pre-built 6mm scale (1:285) models by “Catalyst Games Labs”, and soon hope to have enough finished for an initial play-through of my home-brew Weird War Two rules…

“The Stinger Was A Light BattleMech…”

“…Built in 2479 as a direct competitor to the Wasp.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Stinger is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Marauder, Archer, and Valkyrie in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Command Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Curtiss-class American War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly dark yellowish-green palette.

Resultantly, the 32mm tall figure was initially primed using two layers of “Vallejo” US Olive Drab and shaded in “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. It was then carefully dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” US Olive Drab with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its windows ‘picked out’ with a little “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"We exist only to serve."

In order to add a bit of contrast to “the second-ever mass-produced recon 'Mech” I applied a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil to the vehicle’s head antenna and gun-arm. I also stuck an American Star and Stripes transfer by “Decal Details” onto both of the machine’s shoulder-pads.

Alongside my second (6mm) "Battletech" Mech, I have also finished working on the first of two 28mm Federated Security Mutaints originally produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”. This figure will form a six-woman formation which will accompany Space Commander Travis during my “Blake’s Seven” campaign, and nowadays is actually available from "Beast In The Broch" - along with many other 'dead-ringers' from the BBC science fiction television series.

"The Ion Age" WIPs - These three 15mm Retained Knights have been primed "Vallejo" Heavy Red

Lastly, I’m making some progress with this month’s somewhat sizeable entry for the “Forgotten Heroes” challenge over on the “Carrion Crow’s Buffet” website. The main thrust of this submission admittedly revolves around a (converted) Retained Knight and Noble of Prydia taken from “Alternative Armies” 28mm “The Ion Age” range.

However, I also plan to complete a few stands of the manufacturer’s 15mm Retained Knights range, which will be pigmented to (hopefully) represent the Blood Angels Adeptus Astartes from the Horus Heresy. Ideally, I’d like to get sixteen of the armoured followers of Sanguinius finished before the month is out, and then turn my attention to perhaps getting a brush-tip on a few of Horus Lupercal’s forces too…

Resin Miniatures Seconds Box - “We Print Miniatures”

Resin Miniatures Seconds Box - Filled with an assortment of figures and 'bitz'.

Recently I spotted an advertisement from “We Print Miniatures” stating they were now selling their Resin Miniatures Seconds Box at a 60% discount for just £20. This box was described as containing “a random selection of faulty or imperfect miniatures from our range” where each of the miniature’s 3D printing went a “little wrong” so were “maybe missing a foot or a head or something more drastic.”

As I’ve become increasingly interested in this new method of manufacturing models, and been very impressed with the figures “We Print Miniatures” have in their different ranges, I thought purchasing a box would probably be worth it. After all, at the very worst I expected to be sent a selection of damaged models which I could at least hopefully use as dilapidated statues for my “Frostgrave” or some generic fantasy-based tabletop.

Some Shark/Lizard Space Helmets, Twelve Cat Warriors and a one-footed Scholar

Upon its arrival I must confess my first impressions were a little tepid due to the lack of size of the actual box. Measuring approximately 17cm x 11cm, and only being 2.5cm deep, I was somewhat concerned as to just how much it could contain. Yet upon opening it up, I did feel that the company had tried to live up to their hype of it being “crammed with as many of our failures as possible.” In addition, it clearly contained a number of weapons, heads and other hand-held items which I wasn’t expecting.

I therefore started sorting out the figures in an effort to establish which ones could actually be used as gaming pieces with a little tender loving care, and which miniatures would be condemned to becoming either statues or just spare parts. One model I was especially delighted to spy was Billy the Bone; a skeletal pirate captain who was clearly missing his pistol arm. This excellent sculpt ordinarily retails for £10 from “We Print Miniatures”, and frankly, despite his limb loss, I’m planning to just paint him up as is.

What did both surprise and disappoint me though was the sheer number of failed prints I received of a female cat warrior. I was entirely prepared to receive two or three ‘castings’ of the self-same sculpt, as I did for both the aforementioned Billy the Bone and some sort of Dwarf Librarian/Mage. But I certainly wasn’t anticipating twelve of this particular feline figure; whose biggest fault seems to have been the printer’s inability to finish the final few strands of rope she is carrying in her right hand.

Billy the Bone, an assortment of sci-fi weapons/tools, and one of three Dwarf Librarian/Mages

Of course, I should be able to 'save' a fair few of these Bast-headed models by replacing the broken appendage with either a hand-weapon or, in some cases, a foot taken from one of the numerous plastic “Frostgrave” sprues produced by “North Star Military Figures”. However, I do get the distinct impression that someone simply ‘bunged in’ a dozen just to fill up my box without too much rhythm or reason, rather than believing a gamer could somehow turn them into a nice-looking Egyptian-themed unit with a bit of drilling/pinning, or use them for other conversion projects.

Perhaps this deal’s biggest asset though, was found amidst all the predominantly science-fiction based ‘bitz’ and consisted of eight Shark/Lizard helmet heads. These are just awesome, and will soon be put to use on either some extra-terrestrial “Stargrave” crew members, or perhaps even a semi-small squad of Carcharodon Space Marines for “Warhammer 40K”...

“A Fast And Manoeuvrable Recon BattleMech.”

“The Wasp was revolutionary for being the first Mech capable of jumping..”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Wasp is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Warhammer, Rifeman, and Phoenix Hawk in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Battle Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Dacha-class Soviet War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly green palette.

As a result, the 32mm tall figure was initially primed using two layers of “Vallejo” Russian Uniform WWII and shaded in “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green. It was then carefully dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Russian Uniform WWII with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its windows ‘picked out’ with a little “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"The Ion Age" WIPs - A (converted) Retained Knight and Noble of Prydia 

In order to add a bit of interest to “one of the most numerous 'Mechs in existence” I decided to apply a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Red and “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson to the vehicle’s left fist. I also gave the long-barrelled weapon on its gun-arm a coat of “Vallejo” Gunmetal, and washed this area with “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Finally, I decided to search through my collection of “Decal Details” and apply four Russian Stars to the machine’s shoulder-pads and outer thighs. These transfers are specifically designed for 1/285 air or 15mm armour, but I still struggled to find a sufficiently large flat surface on the Wasp to apply them without a lot patience and precision.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - These two Mutaints have been base layered

Following on from the first (6mm) “Battletech” figure I’ve ever painted, I have been cracking on with the first two 28mm models I plan to submit for this month’s “Forgotten Heroes” challenge over on the “Carrion Crow’s Buffet” website. This (converted) Retained Knight and Noble of Prydia will hopefully make some quite reasonable-looking proxies of Sanguinius and Horus Lupercal for a 15mm Horus Heresy project I’m slowly building using "The Ion Age" range by "Alternative Armies".

In addition, I’ve assembled the last pair of 28mm Federated Security Mutaints I own by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”. These figures will form a six-woman formation which will accompany Space Commander Travis during my “Blake’s Seven” campaign, and are actually available these days from "Beast In The Broch" - along with many other 'dead-ringers' from the BBC science fiction television series.

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Forgotten Heroes" June 2021

"The Horus Heresy is a dark, far future military space opera."

Due to this month's effort to chisel away at my ‘elevation of inspiration’ being strongly influenced by the annual “Forgotten Heroes” challenge over on the “Carrion Crow’s Buffet” website, I will be chiefly focusing my hobby time upon a selection of 15mm figures from “The Ion Age” miniatures range by "Alternative Armies". However, rather than simply paint the human soldiers up in the colours of the Prydian Army, I’ll actually be turning them into suitable proxies with which to refight the famous Horus Heresy of Warhammer 40,000 lore.

As I’ve previously started just such a project in the past, I thought I’d initially crack on with an already partially-pigmented 28mm Noble of Prydia and a converted Retained Knight with an Octa Powered Sword. Despite the fact that the ratio between these Primarchs’ great size in comparison to the range’s 15mm knights is somewhat off, I thought the duo would still rather nicely replicate the dastardly traitor Horus Lupercal and the Emperor of Mankind’s eternally loyal Sanguinius respectively.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - Saruman is slowly having his detail 'picked out'

In addition, I hope to get a lick of “Vallejo” Heavy Red paint upon a handful of other figures from “The Ion Age” range so as to create a small contingent of Blood Angels, whilst doing something similar, potentially using Heavy Bluegrey with a "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green shade, for the Sons of Horus. I might even manage to stretch to the odd vehicle, battle-tank or armoured suit, as I have done previously when building a small force of Crimson Fist Adeptus Astartes and Imperial Guard.

Lastly, I still have a handful of models from “The Lord Of The Rings” by “Games Workshop” to finish off so as to complete my 500 point Isengard army for the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. All the figures are already half-complete, albeit my figure of the White Wizard, Saruman, will need some rework on his robes after the watered-down wash of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade proved far less successful in projecting a slightly grubby cloth than I had hoped.

May 2021 - "Games Workshop" elbow their way into my Top Five Manufacturers for the first time in years

The next few weeks should prove particularly productive due to my first foray into the wonderful world of 3D printed models, utilising “FullyCycled” services to manufacture me several sculpts taken from “Rocket Pig Games” brilliantly visualised fantasy range. Despite having had a few problems snapping off the wrong bit here and there whilst cleaning the disconcertingly brittle figures up, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying applying a brush to them, and have several more planned for the very near future.

Likewise, it would seem my enthusiasm for easily the hobby’s most recognisable brand has finally returned with something of a vengeance, so along with my partially-pigmented Uruk-Hai from J.R.R. Tolkien’s world, it may well be that a few more “Blood Bowl” players might be readied for a lick of varnish and static grass…