"The Weapon Is Ours..."

"...And safe because it guards itself."

This 28mm scale metal Supreme Commander was bought from "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" way back at "Salute" 2016. But is now available as SKU: FED01 from "Beast In The Broch". Sculpted by Ernst Veingart, the miniature is clearly inspired by actress Jacqueline Pearce's unforgettable portrayal of Servalan during the BBC science fiction television series “Blake’s Seven” - even going so far as to wear the character's costume from the 1979 episode "Weapon".

Having already painted a figure of the "principal villain" before wearing an all-white dress, I was somewhat loathe to do so again. So instead decided to opt for a "Vallejo" Heavy Red undercoat, before sploshing her with plenty of "Citadel" Carroburg. The "powerful figure in the Terran Federation" was then dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red, and had her skin 'picked out' using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade.

"Black Tree Design" WIPs - This Gell Guard has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

I also applied a little "Vallejo" Gunmetal" over a "Citadel" Abaddon Black layer on to the Supreme Commander's carbine pistol, as well as her elaborate neck collar. This part of the costume actually consisted of thin wire. However, as with the cloth's gossamer waist and sleeves, I thought a much more solid colour would suffice for my sanity's sake. The metallic areas were later shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

Finally I tackled the miniature's face, and decided to go with some "Vallejo" Heavy Blue eye make-up and Heavy Red lipstick. Unfortunately, the raised detail on one side of the sculpt's head wasn't quite as pronounced as I would've liked, so ultimately I ended up painting in Servalan's instantly recognisable close-cropped haircut, as opposed to being able to simply allow my brush-tip to follow any contours on the figure.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - Three Italian Infantrymen have been assembled and undercoated

Sticking with metal miniatures I've owned for a few years, I have dug out five Gell Guards by "Black Tree Design" which I had initially planned to pigment during last year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC). These "Doctor Who" monster from the anti-matter universe were bought way back in September 2020, and have rather embarrassingly been suffering at the bottom of my grit-tin for the past thirteen or so months. Resultantly, I figured it was high time I slapped some colours on them and tried to hint at the 'bubble-wrap' costumes which they wore during the televised story "The Three Doctors".

Furthermore, I simply couldn't resist assembling some more 28mm plastic World War Two Italians using some of the Italian Army & Blackshirts sprues "Warlord Games" have kindly been sending me, along with my recent orders. For now, I've simply settled upon a basic five-figure squad. But hope to expand upon this meagre "Bolt Action" force throughout the year whenever the opportunity arises...