"That Thing Is Thirty Minutes Old!"

"In a few hours it'll grow up.  If it reaches a place with people..."

This 32mm scale Xeno Brood Sentry is sculpted by Micha Gerhardt and can be downloaded for free as an STL (Standard Triangle Language) file from "Papsikels Miniatures" PAPSIPACK Welcome Models subscription set on "Patreon". Clearly inspired by H.R.Giger's infamous deadly xenomorphs, the figure was produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer.

Inspired by a statue of a xenomorph crouched on all fours which H.R. Giger had exhibited at the opening of the Austrian Ars Electronica institute in 2013, the brutal-looking extra-terrestrial was super-glued to a "Citadel" 60mm circular base and primed in Doom Death Black by "Duncan Rhodes Two Thin Coats". I then gave the model an enthusiastic dry-brush of Scorched Earth and shaded it with Oblivion Black Wash to help make the creature's base layer look very dark indeed.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - The Afrika Korps have been dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Desert Yellow

I next (re)dry-brushed the miniature with (more) Scorched Earth, before applying a light highlight of Dust Bowl across all the prominent raised areas. Finally, to help blend all the different browns together, I heartily splashed Battle Mud Wash all over it. This left me just needing to 'pick out' all the alien's metal teeth with a combination of Sir Coates Silver and Oblivion Black Wash, as well as apply a coat of Doom Death Black (and later "Coat D'arms" Gloss Varnish) across its forehead and scorpion-like stinger tail.

Alongside my latest submission to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) I have continued to make some progress upon the first batch of six 28mm plastic German soldiers by "Warlord Games" I have planned for "Bolt Action". I'm actually trying a 'patient factory process' with these figures by simply pigmenting a certain part of each miniature each day (e.g. applying a shade or picking out all their boots).

"Wizkids" WIPs - Groot Thor has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

This way I hope to not get too overwhelmed by all their fiddly little details, like water bottles, pouches, combat knives and goggles, as I ordinarily would when facing such 'complicated' hobby pieces. So far this process is working really well, albeit having primed, shaded and dry-brushed my 'dirty half dozen' I'm only now getting to work on their footwear. However, it is allowing me to methodically paint a bit of each infantryman per hobby session, without them distracting me for too long from the call of my current science-fiction craving...

Lastly, and perhaps not unsurprisingly considering my present enthusiasm for all things super-hero based, I have started working on another 28mm pre-painted plastic "Heroclix" model by "Wizkids" predominantly using colours chosen from "Duncan Rhodes Two Thin Coats" range. This time round I've gone for the rather large Groot Thor from the New Jersey-based company's The Mighty Thor Marvel Heroclix collection, as I rather fancied something a bit different from the norm - and a member of the Thor Corps from Battleworld fits that bill rather nicely.