"For Others, The Great Crusade Ended Long Ago."

"For us, it will not cease until all the worlds of Mankind are united once more.."

These 6mm scale metal models of five Adeptus Astartes Terminators used to be produced by “Games Workshop” as part of their now long out of production (OOP) “Epic” range, and were bought second-hand as part of a job lot from "eBay" at the start of this year. Disconcertingly, all of the figures had already been partially-painted, with all but two of them actually being dark blue in colour (presumably in preparation of becoming Ultramarines..?).

As a result my first task was to slap some "Vallejo" White over the quintet prior to properly pigmenting them with a couple of coats of Sun Yellow so as to mark them out as belonging to the Imperial Fists. Due to the sculpts being crisply cast I wasn't too worried about their details becoming overly soft with this approach, and was reasonably happy with the heavily-armoured space marines' definition once they'd been shaded in "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Sun Yellow.

"Outside the Legion, Horus' corruption spread to every organisation with which he had dealings."

Finally, all of the Terminators' storm bolters were treated to a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I did at this point consider also applying some “Vallejo” Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson to their power-fists. However, having perused numerous illustrations of the Chapter's over-sized, armoured gauntlets I got the impression that they were predominantly yellow in colour, so left them alone. Perhaps in future I might use such a palette on a sergeant, lieutenant or captain to help mark them out on the battlefield..?

In addition to my latest "Epic" additions, I have also completed three more 15mm miniatures by “Alternative Armies”, which are sold as part of their "The Ion Age" range. All of the figures can be found inside IAF008 Retained Knight Post Charlie, and despite carrying Angis Rifles, have actually been painted to proxy some Sons Of Horus space marines from the "Warhammer 30K" universe.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - These three Killbots have been weathered

The trio were initially undercoated with "Citadel" Sons Of Horus Green, and heavily shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I then dry-brushed them with (more) Sons Of Horus Green, before applying some "Citadel" Abaddon Black to their shoulder-pads, as well as the tops of their backpacks and firearms. All the miniatures' power units and rifles were later treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

Lastly, I've been steadily progressing three Killbots by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" to use alongside their soon-to-be-released Corporate Wars range. I'm aiming to make these veteran automatons of yesteryear really show their age (and service to the United States of America) by being rather rusty, and rather badly beaten. Any excuse really to get the ever-reliable "Mig Productions" Extreme Rust Wash out.

"No Laboratory Is Complete..."

"...Without the crackling energy of this device."

This 28mm metal miniature of an energy pylon is produced by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" and was a free stretch goal unlocked during their successful Pirates of Luna City Kickstarter. As I wanted to use Ari Nielsson's sculpt as an objective marker I super-glued it onto the thin-lipped 40mm plastic circular bases I ordinarily use for such scenic pieces.

The model was initially primed with a layer of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before being treated to a double-helping of “Vallejo" Gunmetal. It was then shaded in "Citadel" Nuln Oil and heavily dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Gunmetal. I did contemplate leaving the miniature at that, but thought it looked a little lack-lustre, so ended up applying a wash of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade over it to add some more colour to it.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three Killbots dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Gunmetal

Alongside finishing my third "MacGuffin", I have also been steadily working on three of the Lincolnshire-based company's Killbots I aim to use alongside their Corporate Wars range. Whilst I am a big fan of these automatons' 'official' dark metallic palette, I wanted mine to tie-in closer with them being manufactured in America, so intend for the predominantly green 'rust buckets' to wear the odd Allied Star or Old Glory on their shoulder-pads.

I've also been busy 'lurking' on the 3D Printing Doctor Who Facebook Page to see whether anyone has been producing anything which would help fill-out my dust-gathering collection of metal miniatures by "Warlord Games". The manufacturer's 'recent' admission that they will no longer be producing the "Into The Time Vortex" range didn't really come as much of a surprise, considering they haven't released a new boxed set for their "Exterminate!" "fast-paced tabletop miniatures game" for some years. However, I wouldn't have minded being able to 'field' some more of the bigger monsters from Classic Doctor Who, such as Yetis, War Machines and maybe even a Kroll.

"Encounter Terrain" WIPs - This 3D Printed Zygon has been primed and shaded

Sadly, I've yet to see anything which has caught my fancy with this regard, as a lot of the postings seem to concern making alterations to the different "Character Options" action figures. But one amateur sculptor's work, Nikola Stankovic, immediately caught my eye with his quirky-looking, almost cartoon-like 100mm scale figures, and after a few exchanges I was able to acquire a few STL files from him for some Zygon shape-shifting shenanigans.

Of course, not owning a 3D printer myself was something of a problem, until "Encounter Terrain" leapt to the rescue by offering to produce my Doctor Who miniatures for me in "high quality resin." Furthermore, they kindly agreed to 'shrink' the models down to a more manageable 40mm scale, and work out all the gobbledygook needed to successfully support the sculpts whilst they were being made.

"Adorning The Leafy Walkways Of Luna City..."

"...Are these ancient carvings."

This 28mm metal miniature of a Lion Statue is produced by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" and was a free stretch goal unlocked during their successful Pirates of Luna City Kickstarter. As I wanted to use Andrew May's sculpt as an objective marker I super-glued it to the usual thin-lipped 40mm plastic circular bases I use.

The model was initially primed with two layers of “Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, before being shaded in "Citadel" Nuln Oil. It was then heavily dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, sporadically shaded with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and finally dry-brushed with (even more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey. As a last touch I picked out its eyes using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Violet and "Citadel" Druchii Violet.

"Shortly after the Interex campaign the Luna Wolves became the Sons of Horus."

In addition to my second "MacGuffin", I have also completed work on another 28mm plastic Space Marine by "Games Workshop". This multi-part figure wearing MK III power armour was assembled from pieces taken from the now OOP (Out Of Production) Burning Of Prospero boxed game, and is one of ten figures I plan to field as my first Sons of Horus Tactical Squad for the Horus Heresy.

The figure was originally undercoated with "Citadel" Sons Of Horus Green, before being heavily washed with Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) Sons Of Horus Green. I then applied some "Citadel" Abaddon Black to both his shoulder-pads, as well parts of his backpack and Bolter. The model's power tubes and firearm were subsequently treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Whilst I 'picked out' all the ridges on his shoulder-pads and helmet's brow with a little "Vallejo" Gold.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three Killbots primed in "Vallejo" Heavy Grey

These areas were later given a splash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and highlighted with some additional touches of "Vallejo" Gold on the sharpest edges and rivets. To round off the miniature I later applied some "Scalecolor" Speed Metal to the Space Marines's eye slits, and then a single layer of the "Citadel" Contrast colour Flesh Tearers Red. I also applied one of the many decals found on the "Games Workshop" Sons of Horus Legion transfer sheet onto the space marine's right shoulder-pad.

Finally, having been (financially) inspired by the very recent "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" Corporate Wars Kickstarter, I have based and primed three of the company's Killbots to use as a futuristic automaton peacekeeping force by the American military. These should hopefully fit in very well with the Interpol Troopers and Slick Gang which I have pledged for, and give me a bit of 'leg-up' to get the old East Riding sculpts onto the tabletop once my miniatures arrive in October 2022...

"Lava Beasts... Inhabit Deep Volcanic Regions."

"Their bodies are comprised of amorphous glowing rock and mineral deposits."

This 28mm metal miniature of a Lava Beast Skull is produced by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" and was a free stretch goal unlocked during their successful Pirates of Luna City Kickstarter. As I wanted to use the model as an objective marker I simply super-glued it to the usual thin-lipped 40mm plastic circular bases I use, and once dry set about undercoating it with a double-helping of “Vallejo" White.

I rather liked the 'official' colour scheme for this 'MacGuffin' so applied a wash of "Citadel" Druchii Violet over the entire skull. I then dry-brushed the miniature with (more) "Vallejo" White to bring out all the sculpt's marvellous detail. I also decided that the purple shade hadn't quite made the eye and nose sockets as forebodingly dark as I wanted, so ended up dabbing some "Citadel" Abaddon Black into these recesses. Finally I tidied everything up with a few carefully placed edge highlights of (even more) "Vallejo" White.

"Take the young lady to the hospital."

Alongside the first model of my new "Flash Gordon" project, I have completed the last four 28mm scale 3D printed resin Sentry Robots I own which are sold under licence by “Twisted Pinnacle 3D”.  Sculpted by Mike Tongue (a.k.a. Big Mr Tong), the figures are highly evocative of Hans Reinhardt's security forces aboard the U.S.S. Cygnus in Gary Nelson’s 1979 American science fiction film “The Black Hole”, and were painted accordingly.

The miniatures arrived covered in several small ‘bobbles’ of resin, and these needed to be removed with a sharp modelling knife before I could paint them. I also found that a couple of the automaton's blasters had been broken during transport. I'm not really surprised though, as these pieces, particularly the weapons' long slender barrels, were thin to begin with.

"Battlefront Miniatures" WIPs - Four German Panzergrenadiers

Infamous for capturing the crew of the Cygnus and turning them into zombie-like humanoids, each figure was undercoated with a double-helping of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, before being drowned in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. They were then enthusiastically dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Red, and had both their eyes and blasters layered with "Citadel" Abaddon Black." Finally, these areas were ‘picked out’ using a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal” and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Lastly, I have started working on another four plastic 15mm miniatures by “Battlefront Miniatures”. These soldiers are from their excellent “Hit The Beach” starter set for “Flames Of War” and should enable me to field the fourth of six MG34 and K98 Rifle teams I require for my second (maximum-strength) German Panzergrenadier Platoon...

"The XVIth Legion Has Always Had A Reputation For Aggression..."

"...And employing swift overwhelming shock assaults against enemy forces."

These two 15mm miniatures are sold by “Alternative Armies” as part of their "The Ion Age" range and can be found inside IAF008 Retained Knight Post Charlie. One of the figures is carrying an Angis Rifle, whilst the other holds a mighty Anvil 888 Launcher. As a I intend to use these single-cast metal models as a proxy stand of Sons Of Horus Heavy Weapon space marines for some tabletop battles in the "Warhammer 30K" universe, they were both super-glued onto a small-sized plastic "Flames Of War" base by “Battlefront Miniatures”.

I then undercoated them both "Citadel" Sons Of Horus Green, before heavily shading the ‘beakies' with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. The duo were later dry-brushed them with (more) Sons Of Horus Green and had a couple of their shoulder-pads, as well as the tops of their backpacks and firearms layered with "Citadel" Abaddon Black. Both miniatures' power units and rifles were subsequently treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and had a thin line of watered-down "Citadel" Abaddon Black drawn along their visor slits. Finally, I decided to spend some additional time on them by 'picking out' the odd shoulder-pad ridge with a little "Vallejo" Gold and a dash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"Quarks, reload force units."

Alongside my latest 15mm Retained Knights, I have also completed a second Quark by "Black Tree Design". Like its predecessor this 28mm metal figure from the Penzance-based company’s "Doctor Who" miniatures range had already been previously partially-painted (probably) using some "Vallejo" Black Surface Primer, “Citadel” Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil.

Resultantly I just thought to tidy it up by darkening the internal areas around its folding arms with an extra splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and dry-brushing them with some "Vallejo" Gunmetal. I also stuck to ‘picking out’ the tiny rectangular areas beneath the bipedal machine’s sensory hemisphere with a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

"Twisted Pinnacle 3D" WIPs - These Sentry Robots just need some shading on their metallic areas

I also applied some "Scalecolor" Speed Metal to the robot's sensors, shaded them with “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and subsequently lightly dabbed these tiny nodules with (more) "Scalecolor" Speed Metal. As a last touch the Quark’s directional crystal beam transmitters were treated to some "Vallejo" White, washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" White, so they would look more crystalline than metallic.

Alongside these reasonably 'quick wins' I've managed to get some "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade onto four more of the Sentry Robots sold under licence by “Twisted Pinnacle 3D”. These marvellous 3D printed figures have also been dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red, so just need their metallic eyes and blasters to be properly pigmented before being completed...

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Twisted Pinnacle 3D" August 2022

A mixture of sculpts by “Rocket Pig Games” and "Big Mister Tong"

This month's endeavour to condense my ‘plastic preserve of promise’ will largely focus upon several figures I’ve previously had 3D printed by the likes of “FullyCycled” and “Encounter Terrain”. These companies will either simply produce any STL files which you send them, or actually sell resin models under licence from their sculptor on the American e-commerce website “Etsy”. In addition, I also hope to finish painting a few figures produced through the online character design application “Forge World”.

To begin with though, I thought I’d simply complete the remaining 28mm Sentry Robots I recently purchased from “Twisted Pinnacle 3D” and have already finished one. The figure was fashioned by Mike Tongue (a.k.a. Big Mr Tong) and is highly reminiscent of Doctor Reinhardt's security forces aboard the U.S.S. Cygnus in Gary Nelson’s 1979 American science fiction film “The Black Hole”.

"They were captured by the sentry robots and are still on board."

With its ‘head sharing a fair similarity to Darth Vader's helmet’, the model was undercoated with a double-layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, before being shaded in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. It was then fervently dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Red, and had its eyes and blaster pigmented with "Citadel" Abaddon Black." Finally, these areas were ‘picked out’ using a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal” and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Alongside my Sentry Robot I have also dusted down a handful of large(ish) models designed by “Rocket Pig Games”, which were ultimately ‘shelved’ last year following my disappointment at the underwhelming size of their 3D prints. Supposedly produced at 54mm scale, the likes of a Terror Tree, Clockwork Mastodon and Clockwork Tyrannosaurus Rex were disappointingly small when compared to some of the 40mm and 32mm figures I already owned from the same range.

July 2022 - Lots of 15mm Retained Knights have helped "Alternative Armies" make my Top Five table

Happily, my output over the past four weeks has been pretty steady and in line with the past few years overall. Much of this productivity has undeniably been due to the half-dozen 15mm Retained Knight sculpts I've completed, along with a handful of other models from The Ion Age by "Alternative Armies". These predominantly single-cast metal miniatures have definitely kept me sane whilst I've been busy 'off-camera' assembling lots of 28mm multi-part plastic Tactical Space Marines from The Horus Heresy boxed set by Games Workshop.

I don't plan on stopping with the smaller scale 'Beakies' for the foreseeable future either, as due to their size and reasonable ease of painting, they make some simple diversions from the 'solid slog' of the Thirty First Millennium. This month should though start seeing the first of my finished Sons Of Horus traitors, which will doubtless help keep my motivation going for what could be a truly massive project...