"The Soviet Union..."

 "...Developed a proud and complex relationship with space travel."

These two 32mm resin Russian Astronauts are produced by "Black Site Studios", and form part of the Lunar Core Game pre-order I made with the American-based manufacturer way back in July 2021. These days the figures are available as either part of the five-figure set SKU: LNR6805BSS - Soviet Cosmonauts, or the manufacturer's current Two-Player Starter Box, and were painstakingly put together from an almost overwhelming number of tiny pieces which came inside the starter box.

Both spacemen were super-glued to "Citadel" 30mm circular stands, as opposed to one of the bases which came with the kit, and then armed with an assortment of equipment to best illustrate their role. I'm actually planning on using the miniatures for "The Silver Bayonet" by "Osprey Games" with some homemade rules to represent fighting on a lunar surface, so opted to make one model an officer and the other a Champion of Faith.

"With the U.S.S.R. starting at a severe disadvantage due to their losses sustained during World War Two."

For the Commander I opted for an S8-Laser Pistol and piece of Ceramic Plating (to use as a makeshift shield of some kind). For the communist zealot I decided to give him a Markam S11 handgun and a (incredibly bendy) flag. These ensembles were then undercoated with plenty of "Two Thin Coats" Sanguine Scarlet, drenched in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, and dry-brushed with (more) "Two Thin Coats" Sanguine Scarlet.

Due to wanting the U.S.S.R. flag to appear slightly different in hue to the Soviet suits, I applied a couple of licks of "Vallejo" Heavy Red to the actual banner, and after a "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson shade, had been planning to adorn it with a Russian star or two from a "Decal Details" transfer sheet. However, despite the decal being tremendously tiny, the folds sculpted into the actual flag made it absolutely impossible for anything, no matter how small, to stick to it. So after a few attempts I decided to leave it bare.

"Wargames Foundry" WIPs - One of four Austrian Jaegers getting some early attention

Luckily, the pole and pistols were much easier to complete, having first been carefully base-layered with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and later "Vallejo" Gunmetal. The Commander's shield, which I imagined had been pillaged from his Space Shuttle's thermal protection system, was painted in "Scale 75" Cobalt Alchemy. All these areas were subsequently treated to a wash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, with the high-temperature reusable surface insulation (HRSI) tiles receiving a dry-brush of (more) "Scale 75" Cobalt Alchemy to help bring out all the shield's details.

In addition to these two Soviet Cosmonauts, I have also been busy cleaning up, prepping and priming a handful of figures from the "Wargames Foundry" blister AN038 Jaegers 1805-15 Running. I actually picked ten of these identical miniatures up from "eBay" following the company's recent price rise, and plan to incorporate them into a quite significantly-sized Napoleonic Austrian project I'm quietly putting together in the background for next year...