“When The World Is Threatened…”

“…Superheroes must join together to fight against it.”

This 40mm scale model of the Black Widow is produced by "CoolMiniOrNot", and can be found inside the Marvel United Core Box. Designed by Edouard Guiton, the figure is one of five costumed crime-fighters found inside the “fast-paced cooperative” board game, along with three super-villains.

Manufactured in a bright, light blue hard plastic, the miniature was initially primed with a double-helping of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, before receiving an enthusiastic dry-brush of “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal. The former Soviet super-spy was then washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and had her multi-pouched belt 'picked out' using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade (with a touch of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade too).

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - The Red Skull and the Incredible Hulk

The Avenger's 'Black Widow' emblem on her chest and belt buckle, as well as her lips, were treated to "Vallejo" Heavy Red and later shaded with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. I next applied some "Scalecolor" Blue Alchemy to Natasha Romanova's shock-sticks, washed the hand-weapons with "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, and dry-brushed them with (more) "Scalecolor" Blue Alchemy.

As a penultimate step, I gave the ex-assassin's wrist-bracelets a base coat of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, then a couple of coats of Gold, and finally a splash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Finally, I painted her hair and eyebrows with some "Vallejo" Heavy Red, washed them using "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and subsequently gave them a dry-brush with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - A Simian Minion armed with baton

Alongside my Black Widow, I have also been working on the game's Hulk miniature. Having established some groundwork with the super-strong behemoth's flesh, I have managed to finish all the rubble on the green goliath's pre-sculpted stand, as well as 'picked out' a girder and some metallic cabled wiring.

In addition, I’ve succeeded in getting most of the base layers on another of the eight Simian Minions by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” I have previously partially-pigmented. I still have an intimidating number of ape soldiers to finish for my “The Planet Of The Apes” project, as well as a few human astronauts. But they are slowly starting to take shape as a formidable-fighting force for my forthcoming table-top adventures.

“Concentrations Of Ironclads Were Often Used…”

“…In conjunction with artillery to break the enemy front line.”

These eight 1/1200th scale Volker Gun Contraptions are produced by “Brigade Models” and can be purchased from their German range of Land Ironclads as product code VLI-320. The small, armed tanks are approximately 9mm x 4mm in size, and, having previously been super-glued in fours upon a 30mm x 40mm plastic rectangle, were primed with a couple of layers of “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, and later shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

I then carefully dry-brushed them with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, before patiently picking out all their forward-mounted guns and rear-placed dual funnels with a combination of Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. The grit surrounding the vehicles was initially treated to a coat of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, before being dry-brushed with Doombull Brown and Rakarth Flesh. Lastly, they were washed using plenty of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - The Incredible Hulk has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

Alongside my latest German Land Ironclads I have been somewhat busy beavering away at some of the plastic 40mm models taken from the Marvel United core box set by "CoolMiniOrNot". In particular, I have found myself focusing upon the board-game’s chibi-style sculpt of the Incredible Hulk, who should hopefully provide my solo-gaming super-team’s preliminary roster with some much-needed “Smash”.

I’m actually using the figure as a bit of a test-piece for my Marvel Crisis Protocol Hulk by “Atomic Mass Games” too, so have been trialling whether I can get away with a simple prime, shade and dry-brush for the brute’s vast expansions of flesh. I think the technique has turned out rather well, but once I’ve finished the model’s base, tattered trousers and dark green hair, I do now intend to apply a further watered-down wash of “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green to all his bare skin so as to help better blend its different tones together.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - These Simian Minions have been base layered

I’ve also been working on two of eight Simian Minions by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” I have previously partially-pigmented in order to complete the first of this year’s weekly painting challenges. I last touched these figures way back in November 2021 as part of my ongoing “The Planet Of The Apes” project, and actually have a rather embarrassing number of ape soldiers to finish before I’ve exhausted my backlog’s supply.

However, by sticking with just those miniatures armed with a baton I’m hoping I’ll be able to ‘polish them off’ in quick order as I become increasingly familiar with the nuances of their details. In addition, most of the models already have their purple-coloured trousers and shirts base-layered, so much of my time should be spent focusing solely upon their relatively straightforward weapons and faces…

"Biddi-Biddi-Biddi."

“I'm freezing my ball-bearings off!”

This 28mm scale white metal model of a ‘family friendly servo-bot’ is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought as part of their two-figure blister SKU: DEAL 342 Robots 2. The sculpt is clearly strongly influenced by the automaton Twiki played by Felix Silla in Universal Studios’ 1979 science fiction television series “Buck Rogers In The 25th Century”, but somewhat surprisingly isn’t depicted carrying Doctor Theopolis over his chest.

The "ambuquad" was initially undercoated with two coats of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil. He was then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Gunmetal before having his elbows ‘picked out’ with a little “Citadel” Abaddon Black. Finally, the robot’s eyes were given a spot or two of “Citadel” Seraphim Sepia to give them a hint of yellow.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - The Black Widow, Iron Man and Incredible Hulk

In addition to Twiki I have also been soldiering on with a handful of plastic 40mm models taken from the Marvel United core box set by "CoolMiniOrNot". My classic-coloured Black Widow has now had her eyebrows, lips and famous red hair base layered, so besides having her S.H.I.E.L.D. shoulder insignia being ‘picked out’ with “Vallejo” White and Pale Grey, she simply needs some shading and dry-brushing before being finished.

As a result, I’ve spent more time on the likes of Iron Man and managed to prime the third of my super-team’s members - the Incredible Hulk. I’m still in two minds whether or not to use some metallic red paint on Tony Stark’s alter-ego or not, so have made some progress on his armoured suit’s golden elements first. In the past I’ve always found “Vallejo” Gold to be a bit ‘flaky’ when applying it as a dry-brush, so such a move also means I don’t have to worry about having tiny spots of gold ruining the surrounding paint-job.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - This Weirdstone has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

Perhaps this month’s biggest change of plans though has come with the arrival of my “Sláine: Kiss My Axe!” starter set by “Warlord Games”. I don’t have any experience with applying a brush to the Nottingham-based company’s new resin, so thought I’d start on the skirmish battle game’s large Weirdstone first. I have absolutely no idea what the scenic piece does in the rule-set, but it certainly seemed to take a nail file well whilst I was cleaning it up.

The model should also prove a reasonably quick project, as despite the sculpt containing a number of animal bones and skulls, as well as an impressive-looking rib-cage, it is predominantly a large rock with various runes engraved upon it. I’m also rather curious as to how the two MDF Celtic huts and Fences will ‘paint up’, so plan to give them a ‘go’ next once the magical totem (and perhaps its accompanying Drune Priest) is completed…

“Currently The Largest Ironclad In British Service.”

“The term ironclad was coined in the mid-19th century for steam-propelled warships.”

This 1/1200th scale Sovereign class ironclad is produced by “Brigade Models” and can be purchased from their Great Britain range of Land Ironclads as product code VLI-101. The steel armour plated vehicle is 23mm x 40mm in size, and was super-glued onto a 40mm x 60mm plastic rectangle as per the Victorian Science Fiction Ground Combat game’s rule-set.

Sculpted by Tony Francis, the miniature was primed using “Vallejo” Earth, shaded with a blend of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Earth. The vehicle’s two turrets and huge wheelhouse were treated to some “Vallejo” Heavy Green.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - This robot has been blocked in and shaded

These areas were later washed with “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green, and delicately dry-brushed using a spot (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Green. Finally, having decided to ‘pick out’ the machine’s funnel with “Citadel” Abaddon Black, I applied some “Vallejo” Gunmetal to all its cannons, the funnel's pipes and half dozen machine guns, before later darkening them all down with a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Following the completion of one of my last submissions for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) I have managed to focus on one of the Robots recently purchased from “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”. This sculpt carries an uncanny resemblance to the mechanical Muffit which featured in Glen A. Larson’s 1978 science fiction television series “Battlestar Galactica”, and due to a strong sense of nostalgia, has leapt to the very front of my painting queue.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - The Black Widow and Iron Man

In addition, I have made some more progress on a couple of plastic 40mm models taken from the Marvel United core box set by "CoolMiniOrNot". I’m actually hoping to have my Black Widow finished reasonably soon, as the figure has really caught my imagination - especially once I decided against painting her uniform with all the neon blue striping seen on the official box artwork in favour of a more classic colour scheme.

Likewise, I'm slowly plodding along with Iron Man, having settled on a “Vallejo” Sombre Grey thruster effect for his jet-boots' blasts. Just like Natasha Romanova's miniature, I have seen a few different palette choices applied to this area, and was originally going to go with flame. However, I thought that might clash with the gold and red colour scheme of Tony Stark's armoured suit, so eventually went with the self-same paints I've recently used on all the smoke plumes for my 1:285 scale plastic Elemental figures by “Catalyst Game Labs”.

“They Dig In And Dominate The Ground In Front Of Them…”

“…Pinning the enemy down so that the infantry can counterattack and wipe them out.”

These three plastic 15mm miniatures are produced by “Battlefront Miniatures” and can be found inside the company’s Code GE784 sMG34 Machine-gun Platoon blister for “Flames Of War”. The models consist of a choice of two different Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO), a Machine-gunner, Reloader and the Einheitsmaschinengewehr (Universal machine gun) itself.

Unlike my other “FoW” German soldiers however, the NCO was the only model I initially super-glued onto a wooden strip, as the other two infantrymen clearly needed to be in position upon their actual medium-sized base before I primed them all in “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII. In addition, I actually needed to cut away some of the ammunition feed so as to allow the Reloader to lie upon the ground at an angle so as to stop his feet jutting off the end – something which would really trigger my obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

"CoolNiniOrNot" WIPs - The Black Widow and Iron Man are slowly having their details picked out

All three of the models were shaded using “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII. Their details were then ‘picked out’ predominantly using “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, Gunmetal, Buff, German Camouflage Dark Green, Heavy Brown and a series of “Citadel” Shades. Lastly, I pigmented the sMG34 Machine-Gun using a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

This week’s painting challenge, randomly chosen upon the turn of a playing card, is to pigment a single 40mm model, so I have been busy making some additional progress on my plastic Black Widow figure by "CoolMiniOrNot". I’ve actually found the chibi-like sculpt itself to be pretty straightforward, but can’t say the same about the Soviet spy’s pre-sculpted base.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - These two robots have been primed and shaded

The detail on the Marvel United miniature’s stand itself is excellent, but my difficulty has come in trying to apply a steady band of slightly watered-down “Citadel” Abaddon Black around its rim – as in places this area almost completely merges into the smashed rubble. I simply can’t get the line of the base as straight as I would like, at least not without repeatedly having to tidy up the grey of the rubble, so may well end up having all the stands “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey instead.

Lastly, I’ve been working on a couple of the ten 28mm figures I found myself needing to finish for last week’s self-imposed task. My plan is actually to use this as an opportunity to finish off a load of partially-painted figures by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” which have been lingering in my queue for many a month. However, first-up will be a pair of recently arrived robots from their Heroes And Allies range…

“German Use Of Dampfkrieglastwagen During The Last Half Of The Nineteenth Century…”

“…Was marked by its innovative and successful battlefield use.”

These eight 1/1200th scale Gretchen Scout Contraptions are produced by “Brigade Models” and can be purchased from their German range of Land Ironclads as product code VLI-323. The small, nimble scout vehicles are approximately 8mm x 3mm in size, and, having previously been super-glued in fours upon a 30mm x 40mm plastic rectangle, were primed with a couple of layers of “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, and later shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

I then carefully dry-brushed them all with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, before patiently picking out all their guns with a combination of Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. As with my previously painted British Mk.I Armoured Gun Carriers, the hardest (and most time-consuming) part in painting these little guys was tidying up the grit surrounding the vehicles so I could later dry-brush their bases and get them tabletop ready.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - The Black Widow is slowly having her details picked out

With one of my final entries for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge completed, I have decided to tackle some of the 40mm plastic models found inside the Marvel United core box by "CoolMiniOrNot". Rather embarrassingly, I’ve actually owned this starter set since March 2021 following its highly successful Kickstarter twelve months earlier, but have never before truly found the motivation to apply my brush-tip to any of Edouard Guiton’s chibi-styled sculpts.

In fact, due to my decision to make the “Ultimate Pledge”, I’ve actually found being surrounded by the game’s various expansion boxes and exclusive miniatures increasingly off-putting, especially as I already own the vast majority of the super-heroes and villains concerned as both “Heroclix” and “Marvel Crisis Protocol” figures. However, the final galvanising ‘kick up the pants’ has come with the shameful arrival of the recently released Marvel United: X-Men set and all its additional miniatures; including a trio of super-sized giant Sentinels.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - Both Iron Man and the Red Skull have been primed

As a result I thought I’d try to simply paint a three-figure team in line with rules’ single player S.H.I.E.L.D. Solo Mode, and a solitary foe for them to face. This will hopefully allow me to get a handful of models finished in a reasonably short space of time, and subsequently get a few quick games in too – something which I find is always the greatest hobby mojo motivator.

Once achieved, I then intend to expand the roster of heroes and villains in a piecemeal basis, starting with a fourth costumed crime-fighter in order to try out the two-player alternative gameplay where each person owns a pair of protagonists (as opposed to just the one suggested in the rulebook). With any luck, such a cunning plan will ultimately mean I’ll paint up the entire core set, and eventually move on to some of the expansion sets I own…

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Land Ironclads” April 2022

"The kings of the battlefield are huge fighting machines."

Having had the vast majority of my painting mojo exhausted by the three-month long painting frenzy known as the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC), I felt that this month's themed attempt to diminish my ‘stack of shame’ should be nice and simple – something which would allow me to slowly plod through a few straightforward miniatures whilst my pastime batteries recharge. As a result I’ll be focusing upon several of the 1/1200th scale miniatures produced by “Brigade Models” for their quite extensive British and German Land Ironclads range.

As one might expect from a 2mm model, many of these vehicles should be pretty much finished following an undercoat, shade and dry-brush. But I have also taken the leap, having (re)brought the rule-set’s digital version, to purchase some strips of infantry and see just what these look like once I’ve applied my brush to them.

"Flames Of War" WIPs - A German Machine-gunner and two Riflemen

In addition to my dalliance with some “huge fighting machines” from “an alternative late Nineteenth Century”, I will be resurrecting the weekly challenge I successfully employed late last year, where every seven days I randomly choose (upon the turn of a playing card) a small number of miniatures to paint from a certain scale. Unexpectedly, the first of these tasks will be a number of 15mm figures, which rather neatly ties-in with my ongoing project to field a 1944 German Beach Defence Company.

I’m really hoping this frequent flirtation with different scales will help re-energise my enthusiasm for the hobby, and subsequently help me finish off several partially-abandoned projects which I started during the AHPC, but then ultimately side-lined so as to ensure I was achieving the painting points necessary to successfully attain my overall target tally. Alongside these short-lived tasks I am also determined to get some more games under my belt, and start posting up After Action Reports (AARs) and Battle Reports once again…

March 2022 - 15mm ACW has caused Warlord Games to leap to the top of the chart

Undoubtedly due to my final painting push during the last weeks of the AHPC, the past month saw me match exactly the same productivity as I did this time last year. Albeit, much of this output was rather surprisingly due to my completing numerous 15mm ACW figures by “Warlord Games”, as opposed to the various 15mm “Battlefront Miniatures” I had been planning on finishing for my “Flames Of War” German Beach Defence Company.

This month will doubtless see plenty more 2mm “Brigade Models” vehicles completed, alongside a few stands of the aforementioned World War Two Germans by “Battlefront Miniatures”. However, as I am also hoping to clear some space on my painting table, I expect to ‘throw in’ a few odd figures from time to time, simply so I can see some of the wood from the trees…