"We're The United States Of America."

"We only team with winners."

This 40mm scale model of Nicholas Fury (Earth-1610) was produced by "CoolMiniOrNot", and unlocked during the company's highly successful February 2020 Kickstarter for "Marvel United" when it achieved an incredible $2,866,168 in funding. Co-created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Allred, as well as based upon both the physical likeness and demeanour of actor Samuel L. Jackson, the figure (and his twelve cards) can be found in the boardgame's Season One Promo Box.

Produced in a bright, light blue hard plastic, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was undercoated with a mixture of "Vallejo" Surface Primer Black and "Warlord Games" Pitch Black, before being completely layered in "Citadel" Abaddon Black. I then applied some Sword Hilt Burgundy by "Two Thin Coats" to his trousers, sploshed them with "Citadel" Nuln Oil and finally dry-brushed them with (more) "Two Thin Coats" Sword Hilt Burgundy.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - The Black Panther, Storm and the Red Hulk

Admittedly, this colour combination made the tech-savvy, super-spy's pants a little more red than I had intended, having decided to use Adam Kubert's cover artwork for the August 2023 issue of "Fury" by "Marvel Worldwide" as the basis for my palette. But it also really helped break-up the predominantly dark look of the ensemble, so I decided to stick with it. In addition, I pigmented Nick's leg-holster and flesh with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and shaded both areas with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

Fury's base was treated to a brush-load or two of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and later dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey. I also picked out the crate the sculpt is standing on with some "Scale 75" Cobalt Alchemy, and a smidgeon (more) "Citadel" Nuln Oil. To be honest I was thinking of leaving the stand at that, as I don't like them to clash too much with the 'main' paint-job. However, as it had a partially-buried S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem on it, I felt it would be a shame if I didn't give it a touch of "Vallejo" Gold and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - X-23, Spider-Man (Miles Morales) and the Black Panther

With the first of this month's planned "Marvel United" boardgame pieces completed, and having received my copy of the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game (MMRPG) Escape From Planet Hulk Starter Set, I've found myself rather enthused to get cracking on several more of the "CoolMiniOrNot" figures - selecting those super-heroes and villains whose statistics can be found inside the MMRPG game box. To that end I've been priming and applying a few base layers to the likes of Black Panther, Spider-Man, Storm, and Wolverine (Laura Kinney).

As ever though, I have found myself a little distracted by some of the other great "Marvel United" models I own, such as Sauron, Red Hulk, Doop and a spare Tyrannosaurus Rex (a.k.a. Devil Dinosaur). Resultantly, these too have been added to my factory-like painting queue, in the hope that I can also get them completed before my current enthusiasm for the project inevitably wanes...