"Nothing Will Grow Here."

"There's just a trace of hydrocarbons, and most of the nitrogen is locked into nitrates."

This 28mm scale white metal model of an Albion Rocket Corporation Astronaut is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought either separately or as part of their ARC Astronauts three-figure deal. The sculpt comes with a helmet-wearing head, but as I wanted to use him as a proxy for Thomas Dodge from the 1968 movie "Planet Of The Apes" I swapped this part out for a bearded Human Minion Head instead.

"A man of science with a thirst for knowledge of the unknown", the Lieutenant was primed using two coats of "Vallejo" White, shaded in Pale Grey and dry-brushed with (more) White. I then 'boxed off' several of his cosmonaut suit's numerous buttons with a little watered-down "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before applying the combinations of "Vallejo" Heavy Red with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson", "Vallejo" Heavy Blue" with "Citadel" Asurman Blue, and "Vallejo" Heavy Grey with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green onto them.

"Man the guns. Join the Apes."

To slightly contrast with the member of the Icarus' plain white uniform I gave Dodge's data pad a coat of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and washed it in Nuln Oil, rather than leave the electronic device "Vallejo" White as I had originally planned. Finally, Thomas' hands and face were treated to a coat of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and a dash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

Momentarily stepping away from painting figures, I have managed to re-base the second of two 50 Cal HMG 'Comanche' U.S. Battle Suits by "West Wind Productions" I aim to re-purpose for "Konflikt '47" by "Warlord Games". This hefty metal miniature comes from Andy Cooper's "Secrets Of The Third Reich" range, and is part of a ‘US Armoured Infantry’ starter set I first started working on over a decade ago. However, despite being noticeably smaller, I thought the model would make a good temporary substitute for an Allied Coyote Light Walker, and give me a chance to try out the single-crew vehicle's formidable firepower on the battlefield before investing in one of "Warlord Games" resin/metal kits.

"Manufactorum Imperialis" WIPs - The large crane is being painted in sub-assemblies

In addition, I've also been working on some more of my "Games Workshop" Manufactorum Imperialis scenery for "Adeptus Titanicus" in the (ambitious) hope of owning both a fully-painted Legio Mortis force and accompanying terrain by the end of next month. I don't usually paint in sub-assemblies, but the pair of huge industrial cranes which come in the boxed set simply screamed to be pigmented in at least two parts.

Frustratingly, despite having done this the actual crane arms themselves are proving to be something of a nightmare due to all the inaccessible areas created by its metal struts. As a result I've somewhat scaled down my plans for these pieces, and instead now plan to simply have the monstrous machines predominantly painted "Vallejo" Heavy Red, with its various metallic areas only being 'picked out' where I'm easily able to reach them with my brush-tip...

"The Galaxy Is In Flames."

"The Emperor's glorious vision for Humanity is in ruins..."

These two 8mm scale fuel tanks are produced by "Games Workshop" and can be found inside the Nottingham-based company's Manufactorum Imperialis scenery set for "Adeptus Titanicus". Assembled from parts taken from the four "frames of detailed components" found within the box, both of these containers were built using two separate components and accompanied by a small cluster of individual oil drums.

It's clear that all of the Manufactorum Imperialis models are designed to be free-standing. But as I've always liked to base my terrain, especially when some of it is so small, I decided to assemble a simple vignette upon a pair of "Citadel" 50mm circular bases, and permanently attached all the parts in place with a few dollops of plastic glue. Hopefully, this would allow me to use these particular miniatures as scenic storage or some such for my 15mm sci-fi gaming tabletop...

"...His armies locked in brutal civil war."

All of the models were primed using two coats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black and subsequently layered with a double-helping of Ironbreaker. I then drenched them in "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed the ensemble with (more) Ironbreaker. Finally, in order to help 'weather them' I sporadically applied some "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and "Mig Productions" Extreme Rust Wash in many of the numerous nooks and crannies.

In addition to finishing my "Adeptus Titanicus" terrain, I have completed two more of my twelve dedicated painting sessions for my twenty-four hour 'Paint An Entire Project" Challenge using "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" models. I've set aside any unfinished "Planet Of The Apes" character models and spent the vast majority of my time ploughing through the eight Apes armed with batons I aim to use as General Ursus' main force of Simian Minions.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Two Apes armed with baton and one with a man-catcher

I'm not a great fan of batch painting so initially started working on just one of the gorilla soldiers, slowly working out a basic colour scheme I was happy with, and establishing what wash/dry-brush combinations would speed up the overall pigmentation process. Ordinarily, I like to paint my miniatures from the ground up and ensure each lower area is layered, shaded and highlighted before moving further up the figure.

However, with these particular sculpts that process has proved a bit more painful than usual because all the ape's straps and pouches have occasionally caused me to inadvertently 'catch' a previously painted part of the miniature with my brush-tip. As a result, for the rest of the bunch I'm simply going to try to get all of the base colours on the models as carefully as possible, and then tidy them all up at the end, rather than as I go along...

"Beware The Beast Man, For He Is The Devil's Pawn."

 "Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport, or lust, or greed."

This 28mm scale white metal model of a Simian is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought either separately or as part of their Simian Minions II four-figure collection. However, I was fortunate enough to obtain mine through the company's successful 7TV:Apocalypse "Kickstarter" as I thought the 'passive chimp' would make an excellent proxy for Doctor Cornelius from Franklin J. Schaffner's 1968 science fiction film "Planet Of The Apes".

"A chimpanzee archaeologist and historian", the figure was initially primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Green, washed with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green and subsequently dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo Heavy Green. His sleeves were then painted in "Vallejo" USA Olive Drab, and both his fur and leather chest covering with Heavy Sienna. All three of these areas were later shaded using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

"West Wind Productions" WIPs - Three Commandos, two armed with Carbines and the other with an SMG

Finally I applied a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Brown and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade to Cornelius' flesh, and simply pigmented his furry head in "Citadel" Abaddon Black. Initially I did try 'picking out' the simian's fingers and facial details using a touch more "Vallejo" Heavy Brown, but quickly abandoned this idea as I thought the contrast was a bit too much.

Having recently found myself playing some "Konflikt '47" by "Warlord Games" I have perhaps unsurprisingly started work on a few more models to help expand my British and Commonwealth Army up to 500 points. Although at some point I plan to incorporate some of the Nottingham-based manufacturer's official miniatures into my force, I'm currently only using my old "Secrets Of The Third Reich" collection by "West Wind Productions", and so resultantly have simply assembled three more of their excellent British Commandos.

"Adeptus Titanicus" WIPs - The Warhound Titan legs have been layered, shaded and weathered

Two of these figures, both armed with a Carbine rifle, will simply help me better pad out a squad of regular infantry and, in the case of the red beret-wearing soldier, an Airborne Infantry Section. However, the third model will enable me to better identify my NCOs on the tabletop as he's replaced his rifle with an SMG (for an additional 3 points).

I've also not been slacking on making some visible progress on the first of two Warhound Titans I want to field for "Adeptus Titanicus" by "Games Workshop". Indeed, I've now finished the legs to the mechanical brute, and simply now need to complete its gun-laden hull before the heavily-armed monster is ready for some action during the Emperor's "brutal civil war".

"I'm A Ghost Now..."

"A spectre of the moon... The moon's knight of vengeance, and I got work to do."

This 28mm scale plastic model of Moon Knight is produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 062 from their Marvel "Heroclix" Avengers/Defenders War Booster Set. Ranked by "Wizard" magazine as the 149th greatest comic book character of all time, Marc Spector's alter-ego was created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin for the August 1975 issue of "Werewolf By Night" by "Marvel Comics".

Resurrected by the Egyptian moon god Khonshu following his murder at the hands of the mercenary Bushman, this sculpt actually depicts the costumed crime-fighter whilst using his Mister Knight persona, and initially had me reaching for a sharp modelling knife in order to remove him from the stone gargoyle he was perched upon. In the end though, I decided to leave the model attached to the rooftop cornerstone, as otherwise I thought the figure might look a little small lurching low across a bare 40mm circular base.

"Adeptus Titanicus" WIPs - The small crane tower has been dry-brushed and weathered

The entire ensemble was actually partially primed with "Citadel" Abaddon Black and "Vallejo" White. I also originally started layering the gargoyle-shaped base with a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, but then swapped this acrylic colour out for the much deeper Dark Grey so the masked vigilante's bright suit appeared all the more contrasting. The stone work was later drowned in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, before being thoroughly dry-brushed in (more) "Vallejo" Dark Grey.

I had hoped to get away with a similarly straightforward approach to Moon Knight himself. However, the miniature's squat stance meant I had to be particularly precise with my brushwork if I didn't catch his already finished basework. As a result I carefully applied two more coats of "Vallejo" White over Marc Spector and then strategically dropped in some Pale Grey around all the folds in his clothing, footwear and gloves.

"Adeptus Titanicus" WIPs - The crane tower has been dry-brushed and had its walkways and ladders 'picked out'

This approach seemed to work far better than my usual technique of simply drenching the figure in "Vallejo" Pale Grey and subsequently fuming that the wash had bubbled up in some of the detail's deeper recesses. Disappointingly, the softness in the super-hero's sculpt didn't lend itself to being dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" White. So in the end I actually had to 'pick out' a lot of the millionaire's costume, such as his collar, shoes, tie and buttons with a delicate application of pure "Vallejo" White, as well as the odd bit of edge highlighting.

As I'm determined to get my "Games Workshop" Manufactorum Imperialis scenery set completed before the end of next month, I have additionally managed to make some more progress on my two crane towers. The vast majority of paintwork on these two formidably-sized pieces of machinery is almost complete; albeit I have perhaps somewhat foolishly decided to 'pick out' one of the constructions' metal walkways and ladders with metallic paint, rather than simply leave the entire ensemble in the same colour.

"Knowledge Is A Treasure That Must Be Guarded..."

"...With bitter jealousy in this age."

These three 8mm scale plastic shipment containers are produced by "Games Workshop", and can be found inside the Nottingham-based company's Manufactorum Imperialis scenery set for "Adeptus Titanicus". Assembled from parts taken from the four "frames of detailed components" found within the box, each piece of storage was actually built using four separate components so as to allow the odd door to even be open if wanted/needed.

It would appear that all of the Manufactorum Imperialis models are intended to be free-standing. But as I've always liked to base my terrain, especially when some of it is so small, I decided to compile a seemingly suitable collection of containers upon a "Citadel" 50mm circular base, and permanently attached them in place with a few dollops of plastic glue. Hopefully, this would also mean for these particular miniatures that I could use them as elaborate ammunition crates or some such for my 28mm sci-fi gaming tabletop...

"Adeptus Titanicus" WIPs - The shipping containers were primed, shaded and dry-brushed

All of the models were primed using two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Grey and then absolutely drowned in a torrent of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. They were then dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, as well as given a haphazard highlight of "Citadel" Ironbreaker in places so as to give the impression of their paint being rubbed away through heavy use. As a final touch I strategically dabbed them with some "Mig Productions" Extreme Rust Wash in the hope that it would suggest weathering and poor care.

I actually own a rather embarrassing amount of untouched "Games Workshop" terrain for "Warhammer 40K", "Necromunda" and "Kill Team", so very much viewed this 'test piece' as an opportunity to trial a straightforward colour scheme for some of that scenery too. I have a few palettes I want to apply to the various 234 plastic components found inside the Manufactorum Imperialis box, but as a starter I'm rather pleased with how the combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, "Citadel" Ironbreaker and "Mig Productions" Extreme Rust Wash turned out.

"Adeptus Titanicus" WIPs - The crane tower has been primed and washed

In addition to these three shipment containers I actually built a fourth model to use as cargo for the largest of two cranes which comes with the set. The body of this beast, which comprises of twenty separate pieces, including two tiny ladders and four fiddly-fitting walkways, has already been attached to a 60mm circular base and is 40mm tall without the actual crane being fitted.

Fortunately, I was wise enough to assemble the box's second, slightly smaller, crane base simultaneously, and hope to get the pair of these formidably-sized constructions painted over the next few days. There's also an incredible amount of piping to assemble for another scenic piece I have in mind, which consists of an eye-watering twenty-one sections - and that's not including the minuscule fuel barrels and detritus I hope to add to the micro vignette...

"I Am Ikon, Of The Spaceknights."

"There is nothing inappropriate about combat."

This 28mm scale plastic model of Ikon is produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 009b from their Marvel “Heroclix” Guardians of the Galaxy range. An Alpha Class Galadorian Spaceknight, she was chosen by her people to join Star-Lord's team of "the most powerful and formidable warriors in the galaxy" and was created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Miguel Sepulveda for the March 2011 issue of "Thanos Imperative: Devastation" by "Marvel Comics".

"Presenting herself as Greatest living spaceknight", the figure was cut from her 'clicky' base and super-glued to a 25mm circular base. I then applied two coats of "Vallejo" Silver over the model's pre-paint job, including the Galadorian's bright pink Poleaxe, shaded her with "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed the entire miniature with (more) "Vallejo" Silver.

"Heroclix" WIPs - Darin has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

Later I 'picked out' the Spaceknight's eyes with a couple of dots of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, and carefully washed them with a drop or two of "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, before tidying them up with a dab (more) "Vallejo" Silver. I did consider both trying to straighten the expert combatant's somewhat bendy hand-weapon, and also painting it's energy-laden 'spear-head' with some "Vallejo" Squid Pink and perhaps a smidgen of "Citadel" Flesh Tearers Red.

However, cutting, straightening or even potentially replacing the somewhat thin-looking weapon's shaft looked like a lot of work, plus I also didn't want to show the weapon actually 'firing', but simply at the 'ready' to discharge its fearsome force. As a result, I left Ikon's Poleaxe with the selfsame colour scheme as her Plandanium Armor (Third Generation), and even managed to ignore an urge to pick out some of her side-plating with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, as is occasionally depicted in some of the comic books.

"Adeptus Titanicus" WIPs - The Warhound Titan has had all its metallic areas layered and shaded

Sticking with Spaceknights I have also been working on a "Heroclix" miniature of Darin too. I was hoping, not unlike Ikon, that this would be a rather straightforward paint-job, and provide me with some additional time to focus on other hobby-related projects. No such luck though, as having removed the figure's annoying blast effect from the end of his plandanium javelin, I thought the model looked silly simply holding onto the very end of his hand-weapon. Needless to say that lead to me sourcing an extension, some drilling, pinning and much frustration...

Fortunately, despite these minor irritations, I have made some progress on my two Warhound Titans for "Adeptus Titanicus" by "Games Workshop". I'm currently focusing my efforts on getting all the metalwork layered, shaded and dry-brushed on the warmachines' upper bodies, so I can then start working on all their intricate details as a whole over two or three painting sessions.

"Nothin' In There, It's Clean..."

"What'd you expect? We're just covering the bases here..."

This pair of 28mm scale pre-painted plastic models of Gotham Policemen were produced by “Wizkids” and are both miniature number 001 from their DC  “Heroclix” Hypertime range. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger for "DC Comics", the G.C.P.D is led by Commissioner Gordon, and "has had a long love-hate relationship with the city's vigilante known as Batman." Indeed, Gordon's replacement, Commissioner Michael Akins actually "ordered the arrest of Batman and had the Bat-signal removed from the roof of Gotham Central." Both James Gordon and detective Harvey Bullock were reinstated in "DC Comics" 2006 comic book story-line "One Year Later".

Chopped from their 'clicky' stands and super-glued to a couple of 25mm circular bases, I carefully removed the sergeant stripes from off their left sleeves with a sharp modelling knife so as to simply mark them out as low-ranking law officers. The cops were then primed using a few coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and shaded in "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade.

 "Maybe I'm not being clear."

Each policeman's boots, holster, baton and pistol were 'picked out' with some "Citadel" Abaddon Black, whilst their firearms were later treated to a combination of Ironbreaker and Badab Black. I used some "Vallejo" Gold for the flatfoots' belt buckles, shoulder badges and cap badges, and subsequently washed these areas with a little Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter".

As I fancied slightly mixing up the two models' skin colours a little, I initially painted one of the figure's flesh with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and the other with Charred Brown. However, I didn't like the way the rather watery "Vallejo" Charred Brown came out of its pot, so ended up mixing it with some "Citadel" Doombull Brown. All of these areas were later shaded using a dash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

 "Adeptus Mechanicus" WIPs - The two Warhound Titans have been shaded and dry-brushed

With my last two additions to Gotham City Police's uniform department completed, I have turned my attention to painting all the metallic areas on my Warhound Titans for "Adeptus Titanicus" by "Games Workshop". I've kept the two 'massive' warmachines in sub-assemblies to help me reach some of each model's underside, and resultantly managed to get my paint-brush everywhere it has needed to go so far...

Because I knew I'd be heavily dry-brushing the metallic beasts, I've been able to be rather brutal with my application of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. In addition, I plan to apply some “Mig Productions" Extreme Rust Wash to parts of the "god-machines", not only to suggest the wear and tear of time (and the blessing of the Chaos God, Nurgle), but also to help cover up a couple of flaws caused in their assembly, where the plastic glue badly ate into some of the miniature's detail.

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Adeptus Titanicus" April 2020

"Adeptus Titanicus" WIP - The Warhound Titan has been assembled, primed and layered

This month's themed attempt to reduce my bloated backlog of metal, plastic and resin models will primarily focus upon "two nimble Warhound Titans" from the Adeptus Titanicus: The Horus Heresy starter set by "Games Workshop". Despite having a healthy love for the second edition of "Epic" (or rather "Space Marine") and owning a copy of "Epic: Armageddon", I had managed to resist purchasing the Nottingham-based manufacturer's Adeptus Titanicus: Grand Master Edition when it was first released on account of its disconcerting price point.

However, the company's arguably more affordable "starting point for playing Adeptus Titanicus" containing "six incredible Citadel miniatures" was a little harder to ignore, especially as the somewhat significantly smaller war machines didn't look half as intimidating to build or pigment as the formidably large Warlord Battle titans. As a result I have assembled the pair of Warhound Scout plastic kits found in the box as two Traitor titans from the Legio Mortis, which will give me a fairly straightforward palette of black, red, silver and gold (Pre-Heresy), and then Green, Black and Silver (Post-Heresy) once they have fully given themselves over to Nurgle...

"Wizkids" WIPs - The Minotaur has been primed, washed and dry-brushed

In addition to my dalliance with "Games Workshop", I will be ploughing on with some "Wizkids" figures in an effort to help bolster the amount of civilians I can field on the tabletop. Not only do I have a few non-combatants in mind, perhaps to use as simple innocent bystanders or movable objectives, but I've become increasingly aware of owning few non-super-powered civilian forces, such as actual S.H.I.E.L.D. troopers, A.I.M. operatives or Agents of Hydra.

Having recently added to my collection of G.C.P.D. officers, I also want to be able to get some S.W.A.T. forces and U.S. Army soldiers onto my tabletop too. But first, having been badly bitten by the murderous machinations of the Roxxon Energy Corporation's CEO, Dario Agger, in "The Immortal Hulk", I thought I'd paint up the insane industrialist's "Heroclix" alter-ego, the Minotaur...

March 2020 - "Wizkids" once again dominated the month with a plethora of "Heroclix" and "D&D" models

Statistics wise, the past four weeks have proved to be a highly productive March, with my interest in "Dungeons & Dragons" ruling my painting queue and instinctive need to successfully achieve my target tally in the Tenth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge channelling my hobby mojo. Interestingly however, my love of underground tunnel dwellers didn't limit me to just a single manufacturer either, with both "Wizkids" and "Otherworld Miniatures" benefiting from my need to populate a stone-tiled gaming table with some denizens of the deep.

Alongside "Otherworld Miniatures", this period also saw another company rise in my estimation with "Precinct Omega" and their utterly bizarre "Ballmonsters!" range. Surprisingly, I actually managed to finish off an entire team of these weird-looking sporting creatures, and fully expect to have a second squad completed before the year is out.