"Something Got On Board."

"Some kind of... animal... hostile."

These two 32mm scale Proto Keelers are produced by "Papsikels Miniatures" and were sent to me as a free STL (Standard Triangle Language) file as part of their PAPSIPACK Welcome Models subscription set on "Patreon". The miniatures were produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are clearly inspired by the fledgling xenomorphs seen in Ridley Scott's 2017 science fiction action horror film "Alien: Covenant".

Unfortunately, one of the sculpts' hind legs repeatedly misprinted due to the suction on my build plate causing the area's pre-built supports to fail. So I decided to strengthen the offending limb on each figure by placing a skull produced by "Encounter Terrain" directly behind them. Both models were then super-glued onto a pair of "Citadel" plastic 40mm circular bases, primed using a couple of layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Warm Grey, and shaded with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

 "Killed Ledward..."

I next gave the two miniatures a light dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Warm Grey followed by a lighter dusting of plain White. Disappointingly, disaster struck at this stage with one of the aliens' arms snapping completely off. Luckily, the Water Washable Resin really takes super-glue well, so I was able to reattach the offending limb and continue on my merry way with only a night's delay. In addition, the elbow joint is arguably stronger now than it was before breaking.

In order to try and blend the dry-brushing together a bit better I swamped each miniature with a watered-down wash of (more) "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson and subsequently picked out the softly-detailed mouths with a combination of "Vallejo" White and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. Lastly, I decided to bloody the xenomorphs up a bit, as seen in the motion picture, so repeatedly dipped a torn piece of sponge into some diluted "Citadel" Flesh Tearers Red, and sporadically dabbed each model with the Contrast Paint.

"Papsikels Miniatures" WIPs - An Omega Yurneyan Exofist, Gigerian Royal Brood Warrior & Exterminator E-800

This 'blotching' technique seemed to work rather well, and also allowed me to 'cover over' any mistakes, as well as the aforementioned broken joint. Once everything was dry. I gave the hapless human skull a coat of "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand, drenched it in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and then dry-brushed it with a little (more) "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand and White to bring out all is grim details.

Alongside my latest submission to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) I have been working on all manner of other 32mm scale models by "Papsikels Miniatures", ranging from more Xenomorphs and Exterminator E-800s, through to a trio of Omega Yurneyan Exofist battle golems. In addition, I've started 3D printing, basing and priming a number of the company's 28mm Cyberpunk figures with a view to potentially pigmenting a number of these sculpts next month...