"This Time Nothing's Going To Stop Me!"

"You don't have what it takes to be the Hulk."

This 43mm tall plastic “Wizkids” model of the Red Hulk is miniature number 050 from the Marvel “Heroclix” Web Of Spider-Man range and depicts General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross following his transformation at the hands of Advance Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) and Intelligencia. Empowered “in order to be able to better fight the original Hulk”, the American soldier’s alter-ego first appeared in the January 2008 issue of “Hulk” and was created by Jean Loeb and Ed McGuiness.

Described by Marvel Editor Mark Paniccia as “absolutely uninhibited, [and] tactically intelligent”, the formidably-sized figure was super-glued upon a 40mm circular base before being undercoated in a double-layer of “Vallejo” Heavy Red. He was then shaded using some “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and heavily dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Red so as to bring out all the sculpt’s marvellous muscles.

"It's working! I can feel the ring's power returning!"

Also known as Rulk or The IncREDible Hulk, I applied pure “Citadel” Abaddon Black to the behemoth’s ripped shorts, hair, and nails. I also dabbed his eyes, which can emit heat at will during non-engaged periods, with a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade.

Sticking with my mountain of “Heroclix” models, I have also finished a fifth hard light construct from “Wizkids” War of Light DC "Heroclix" range to use as a Green Lantern themed objective marker. This Violet Lantern Spotlight is miniature number R106.12 and was super-glued onto one of the thin 40mm circular bases I use for the vast majority of my scenario markers.

"Star Trek" WIPs - These Borg drones have been base-layered prior to being washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil

Initially I had contemplated painting the scenic piece as a proxy for the Bat Signal, but as “Wizkids” have actually produced just such a model, I ultimately decided to use this model for my Green Lantern Corps, and resultantly simply gave it a handful of coats of "Vallejo" Dark Green so as to ensure its translucent pink plastic was completely masked. I then thoroughly washed it with some "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green Shade, and heavily dry-brushed it using some (more) "Vallejo" Dark Green.

I was a bit disappointed during "Zomtober" 2019 that I never quite finished all of the "Star Trek Adventures" Borg Drones I had prepared for the month-long challenge. But fortunately, my last two  “Modiphius Entertainment” cybernetic aliens are finally ready to be drenched in “Citadel” Nuln Oil, before having some additional highlights added to their areas of flesh…

"We Must Return To The Collective."

"The sick and injured are reabsorbed. Others take their place."

These three 32mm scale resin miniatures of Borg drones are manufactured by “Modiphius Entertainment” and form part of their ten-figure strong Borg Collective boxed set. “Designed for use with the Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game”, these models are based upon the American science fiction franchise’s cybernetic aliens which made their first television appearance in the May 1989 episode “Q Who”.

Created by executive producer Maurice Hurley as an alternative to the disappointingly unthreatening Ferengi, the Borg were simply based on 28mm lipped plastic bases instead of their supplied (sometimes slightly warped) 30mm resin scenic stands, and primed with two coats of “Citadel” Abaddon Black. They were then heavily dry-brushed using some “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal”, and much more lightly dry-brushed with “Citadel” Ironbreaker so as provide the myriad of cables that snaked around their bodies with a metallic-looking highlight.

"On a Borg ship we live with the thoughts of the others in our minds.

I later applied some additional “Citadel” Ironbreaker to the cyborgs’ multi-purpose prosthesis, some of their facial implants, and wiring. These areas, along with my original dry-brushing, were subsequently tidied up using a little more “Citadel” Abaddon Black and then shaded with Nuln Oil, before being lightly dry-brushed with (more) Ironbreaker.

Some parts of the Borg's bodysuits were also ‘picked out’ using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. As I wanted to give the Borg’s flesh a somewhat necrotic look, I base-coated their faces and the odd elbow with “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, washed them with “Citadel” Nuln Oil and later added some extra “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey to their noses, cheeks and brows.

"Warcry" WIPs - This Iron Golem has had all his chainmail and weapons primed, washed and dry-brushed

Having previously painted several of the television series' "recurring antagonists" previously, I stuck to ‘dotting’ the male drone’s eye with "Vallejo" Dead White, and straightforwardly spotted the female eye sockets with a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black. Lastly, I placed a tiny dollop of “Vallejo” Dark Vermillion at the end of each model’s “sophisticated ocular implant” and shaded it with “Citadel” Bloodletter.

Shifting focus to my much more time consuming collection of "Warcry" miniatures by "Games Workshop", I have made some strong progress on the second of my Iron Golem warband's Legionaries. Armed with two formidably-spiked fighting hammers, this hard plastic sculpt is definitely making me regret gluing some optional bolas onto his left hip, as the spare weapon has ended up almost completely blocking my brush-tip's access to the figure's frustratingly detailed 'under-carriage'...

"The Demon's Fist Belongs To The Shadows"

"No, Trigon -- They might not fight you, but I will."

This 28mm scale figure of Raven is one of the eleven multi-part resin miniatures which can be found inside the Teen Titans Bat-Box for the "Batman Miniatures Game" by "Knight Models", and depicts the Cambion wearing a costume which is similar to that worn when she reformed "the Teen Titans as the New Teen Titans [so as] to fight her father." A "powerful empath who can sense emotions and control her soul-self" Rachel Roth's alter-ego was created by Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, and made her first appearance in the October 1980 issue of "DC Comics Presents".

Despite the "daughter of a demon father" coming in just two pieces, the model still proved something of a problem to prepare for priming, courtesy of the delicate cloaked head and separate main torso resisting all efforts to remain super-glued together. However, after a lengthy wait I was finally able to prime the figure with two coats of the old 'out-of-production' "Citadel" Foundation colour Necron Abyss.

"Star Trek" WIPs - These Borg drones have been base-layered prior to being washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil

Perhaps understandably, this paint took a fair bit of stirring in the pot before it provided an even pigmentation, but it eventually gave Raven a nice disconcertingly blue undercoat, which I could then later shade with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. The miniature was subsequently dry-brushed using (more) "Citadel" Necron Abyss, and this process took a fair amount of time as I was very aware of just how fragile the connection was between the magic user's petite feet and her circular slotta base. 

With the vast majority of Trigon's daughter now complete, I 'picked out' her flesh using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. These areas, especially her face were later highlighted with a touch more "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone. I also used this opportunity to angle the dark shadows masking the woman's eyes, and dabbed a spot of "Vallejo" Heavy Violet and "Citadel" Druchii Violet over her lips.

"Black Cast Bases" WIPs - These tiny squirrels just need a bit of a tidy up before being finished

Finally, I applied a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna across the empath's belt, covered this with some Gold, and later washed it in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. To be honest, there are a number of extra details on the official "Knight Models" paint-job which I would dearly loved to have followed with this figure, but for sanity's sake simply could not tackle, or, in some cases, even see on the physical model. These were most notably some of Raven's fingers poking out through her fingerless gloves, her hood's throat clasp and her all-white eyes.

Every now and then I stumble upon a range of miniatures which makes me scratch my head in wonder, and then purchase a few to test my painting skills. One such genre are these 28mm scale Squirrels by "Black Cat Bases", which can be found as part of the Hampshire-based company's Small Animals collection. I've bought a few as I hope to use them as potential 'wound' makers for my "Heroclix" Squirrel Girl once I've finished her re-paint...

"Willpower Isn't A Problem For Something Like This."

"John's constructs are built from the inside out."

This 37mm tall plastic “Wizkids” model of a Violet Lantern Stop Sign is miniature number R106.13 from the War of Light DC "Heroclix" range, and could be found inside the New Jersey-based company's Lantern Corps Power Batteries Red & Violet boxed set. Depicting one of the Star Sapphires' telekinetically controlled solid light constructs, this 3D Special Object was released as part of a "six-month story-line Organized Play program" in 2014 which actually included the release of a Violet Lantern Corps' Power Battery, along with several differently-shaped constructs, such as a decoy, catapult, crossbow and scissors.

The construct was first removed from its dinky "Wizkids" base and subsequently super-glued onto one of the thin 40mm circular bases I use for the vast majority of my objective markers. As I wanted to use this model for my Green Lantern Corps, it was then treated to three coats of "Vallejo" Dark Green so as to ensure its translucent pink plastic was completely masked in paint.

"Heroclix" WIPs - A Gotham City Police Officer, Squirrel Girl and a Skrull Commando

The miniature was later thoroughly washed with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green Shade and heavily dry-brushed using some (more) "Vallejo" Dark Green. It's stand was initially primed with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and dry-brushed using both Doombull Brown and the base colour Rakarth Flesh. Finally, it was somewhat drowned in Agrax Earthshade, sealed using some PVA glue and flocked with static grass.

I'm currently nitpicking my way through quite a few partially-painted "Heroclix" miniatures, following the recent discovery of a sizeable tub full of the debased and/or broken plastic figures. This find has proved additionally distracting on account of its contents featuring some of my favourite comic book characters, such as the shape-shifting Skrulls, Gotham City's always outgunned Police Department, and the bushy-tailed Great Lakes Avenger known as Squirrel Girl.

"Star Trek" WIPs - These Borg drones need to be tidied up before being washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil

Hopefully, many of these models will see some tabletop action as a result of my desire to return to the zed-covered streets of both "Zombicide" by "Guillotine Games" and "Resident Evil 2: The Board Game" by "Steamforged Games Limited"; albeit with a super-heroic twist. But having downloaded the rules to "Marvel: Crisis Protocol" by "Atomic Mass Games", I might just see whether I can give that skirmish game a try-out before my pre-ordered starter set arrives...

Despite the final "Zomtober" 2019 weekend already being 'in the books', I am also still hoping to finish painting the last five “Modiphius Entertainment” Borg drones I have remaining from their "Star Trek Adventures" role-playing game before the end of the month. These nicely-detailed figures have now all been dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal and "Citadel" Ironbreaker, so just need to be tidied up with a little Abaddon Black before being doused in Nuln Oil...

Iron Legionaries Are The Core Of Any Iron Golem Warband."

"Those fighting in the Eightpoints hope to prove themselves to Archaon..."

This 28mm scale model of an Iron Legionary is one of the eight multi-part plastic miniatures which can be found inside the Iron Golem "Warcry" warband boxed set by “Games Workshop". "Boasting an excellent toughness... when armed with shields", this figure came in five separate pieces and included the option to either be armed with a spiked mace or battle hammer.

Having glued the close-range fighter upon its 28mm circular base, the brutal warrior was primed with two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and had all of his numerous pieces of armour, as well as some tiny symbolic hammers dangling from his chest, pigmented using a combination of Brass and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. The vast majority of these areas were then given to a coat of the "Citadel" Flesh Tearer Red, which had been previously 'watered down' using some Contrast Medium.

"Heroclix" WIPs - These Skrulls are all having their black boots, pants and gloves 'picked out'

This Contrast colour provided the superb smith's shoulder-pads, helmet, spiked knee-guard, shin-plate, back-plate and gut-protector a metallic red hue, which also allowed some of the "Vallejo" Brass underneath to shine through. The Legionary's chain-mail loincloth, face-plate, chain-link belt, straps, vicious-looking hammer and bolas were painted in "Citadel" Ironbreaker, and subsequently shaded with Nuln Oil.

Due to some poor results in the past, I stepped away from the warband's 'official' "Games Workshop" pale grey skin and instead applied a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to all the chaos warrior's flesh. Lastly, I 'picked out' the shaft of the Iron Golems' hand-weapon with a little "Vallejo" Heavy Blue, and later shaded it using some out of production "Citadel" Badab Black. 

"You are an imperfect being, created by an imperfect being."

With the complexity of another "Games Workshop" highly-detailed plastic miniature behind me, I have attempted to regain some of my hobbying sanity by quietly persevering with a quartet of Skrulls by "Wizkids". These old "Heroclix" Skrull Commando sculpts are proving significantly easier to progress, and should hopefully soon be ready to face the likes of Reed Richards and the rest of the Fantastic Four on my tabletop.

This being the fourth week of "Zomtober", I have also been busy progressing three more female Borg drones by “Modiphius Entertainment”. These identical resin figures were predominantly painted in the same way as the rest of my Borg Collective, with the exception of their "Vallejo" Dark Green and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green eye lenses, and a couple of entirely "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil cybernetic limbs...

"One Of Warcry’s Most Powerful Fighter Types..."

"...This massive wall of meat and metal is a match for pretty much anyone in the game."

This 28mm scale model of a Breacher is one of the eight multi-part plastic miniatures which can be found inside the Iron Golems "Warcry" warband boxed set by “Games Workshop". "Hardy and ruthless", this figure actually took quite a while to assemble as it came in ten separate pieces, including a staggering four parts simply to build its formidable-looking spiked hammer-hand.

Once glued upon its 40mm circular base, the Ogor was undercoated with two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and had all of its numerous pieces of armour, as well as some tiny symbolic hammers dangling from his chest, painted using a combination of Brass and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. The vast majority of these areas were then later treated to a coat of the "Citadel" Contrast colour Flesh Tearer Red, which I had previously 'watered down' using some Contrast Medium.

Four Reavers tackle an Ogor Breacher and a Duardin Armator

This application provided the indomitable fighter's shoulder-pads, helmet, spiked knee-guards, shin-plates and gut-protector a distinctly reddish hue, but also allowed some of the "Vallejo" Brass underneath to peek through. This particular effect was further exaggerated after the model had been gloss varnished, as for some reason the "Coat d'arms" hard protective transparent film seemingly reacted with the "Citadel" Contrast colour in places, completely eradicating the Flesh Tearer Red so as to leave just the "Vallejo" Brass shining through...

Despite this 'set-back', which to be honest left the Breacher looking like it had covered itself in oily blood as opposed to donning a suit of metallic red armour, I subsequently painted the tyrant's chain-mail loincloth, face-plate, chain-link belt, straps, spiked hammer-hand, and spiked ball-fist with some "Citadel" Ironbreaker, and shaded them with Nuln Oil. Both the ogor's weapons and loincloth were additionally treated to a smear of "The Army painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, before being dry-brushed with (more) Ironbreaker.

"Resistance is futile."

Lastly, I started working on the Breacher's flesh, and as with my previously-painted Duardin Armator, I initially tried to replicate the warband's 'official' "Games Workshop" pale grey pallor with a couple of layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey. Unfortunately, despite washing the skin with some watered-down "Citadel" Nuln Oil it simply didn't turn out as I had hoped, so I soon swapped palettes and applied an infinitely more successful combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army painter" Strong Tone Quickshade instead.

This being the second week of "Zomtober", I have also been busy pigmenting another male Borg drone by “Modiphius Entertainment”. “Designed for use with the Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game”, this resin figure was painted in precisely the same way as the rest of my Borg Collective, with the exception of his eye lens, which was 'picked out' using a spot of "Vallejo" Dark Green and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

"Half Beast. Half Boy. All Ape!"

"Garfield Logan, A.K.A. Beast Boy. Can transform into any animal."

This 28mm scale figure of a Gorilla is one of the eleven multi-part resin miniatures which can be found inside the Teen Titans Bat-Box for the "Batman Miniatures Game" by "Knight Models", and represents the superhero Garfield Logan in his gorilla form. Inadvertently given his transformational powers by his parents, when they subjected him to "an untested serum" based upon the West African green monkey in order to save his life, Beast Boy was created by Arnold Drake and Bob Brown, and made his first appearance in the November 1965 issue of "The Doom Patrol" by "DC Comics".

The large primate came in two pieces, and as a result was straightforward to assemble. However, I did experience some consternation when it came to attaching the model to its 40mm lipped base. In the past I've always replaced "Knight Models" heavily sculpted cobbled-street stands for my own bare ones, and subsequently then gritted them as per the rest of my hobby collection. But as the bases supplied with this 350 reputation points starter set seemed of a far better quality than the previous ones I've seen, I decided to go with it.

"Don't hesitate to fire... believe me, you'll be doing them a favour."

Quite bizarrely though, this meant that the gorilla's feet tag started the figure off in the centre of the base, resulting in the formidably-sized brute having its forearms dangle over the edge by a significant margin. With hindsight I probably should have just ignored the stand's slot, snipped off the miniature's tag and super-glued Beast Boy down flat onto the base. As it was I simply used a bit of green-stuff to help support the animal in a more upright pose, so it hopefully looks like he's mid-way through smashing his paws down upon the ground...

Painting-wise, the figure was a joy, and was simply primed with a double-layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Green and shaded using a generous amount of "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. I then heavily dry-brushed the entire ensemble with some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Green, before finishing the gorilla off with a couple of spots of "Citadel" Abaddon Black for his eyes.

"Warcry" WIPs - All the Iron Golems have now been assembled, based and primed

This week is also the first round of "Zomtober", so alongside my member of the Teen Titans, I have been busy pigmenting my first entry; a male Borg drone by “Modiphius Entertainment”. “Designed for use with the Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game”, this resin miniature was painted in precisely the same way as the rest of my Borg Collective, with the exception of his eye lens, which was 'picked out' using a dab of "Vallejo" Dark Green and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

In addition to everything else, my brush-tip has not been shy in re-working the colour scheme upon my latest member of my Iron Golems for "Warcry". All of the chains on my "Games Workshop" Ogor Breacher have been base-coated and shaded, so I've currently just got to finish off the hulking warrior's dark flesh before returning to his brass armour...

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Star Trek Adventures" Zomtober 2019

"We are the Borg. Existence, as you know it, is over."

This month's themed attempt to try and reduce my overwhelming collection of metal, plastic and resin miniatures has been rather waylaid by Simon Quinton’s recent announcement, over on his brilliant "Brummie’s Wargaming Blog”, that the next few weeks will once again host the annual "Zomtober" Challenge where fellow wargamers "just need to paint one Zombie or Survivor (or more!) each week, in any scale you like, posting it to your blog by that week's Sunday.”

There's currently a modest host of bloggers already 'setting out their stall' for the event (see below), with both “Mantic Games” “The Walking Dead” and “Kings Of War” zombies being much mentioned. For my own part I’ll be focusing upon the last of my Borg drones by “Modiphius Entertainment”; surely the best science-fiction based zeds this side of Joe Schreiber’s 2009 “Star Wars” novel “Death Troopers”? In addition, I hope to build and paint half a dozen small cybernetic cubicles to use as scenery for a Borg-themed tabletop, using some seemingly OOP hard-plastic “Deadzone” terrain sprues.

Rob Bresnen's “Four Colour Super Minis”

Pulp Citizen's “Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer”

Kieron's “Cheaphammer!!”

Ivor Evan's “Saturday Mornings”

Doctor Merkury's “Doctor Merkury's Lab”
Dai's "The Lost and the Damned"
Colgar6's "Colgar6 and the Infinite Legion of Toy Soldiers"
Terry Silverthorn's "Miniature Mayhem"
 Azazel's "Azazel's Bits Box"
 Phil Curran's "Dizbusters Gaming Ephemera"
The Wargame Addict's "The Wargame Addict"

"Knight Models" WIPs - Raven, Dove and Beast Boy (Eagle Form)

In addition to my Borg, I also hope to make some significant progress on the contents of the Batman Miniatures: Teen Titans boxed set by “Knight Models”. Designed to allow a player to field a 350 reputation point force straight to the tabletop, this Bat-box contains eleven “detailed ready to paint & assemble resin” models including Robin, Raven, Starfire, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy (human, hawk, gorilla & tiger form), Hawk, Dove and a Trigon Portal.

Disappointingly, my first impressions of this collection are far from favourable due to the sculpts’ bizarre dark grey resin. In many ways the figures remind me of the low-grade additive manufactured models currently flooding the amateur super-hero gaming market by any one owning a 3D printer. They are incredibly light, bendy and breakable. Plus, “Knight Models” seem to have some insane belief that a limb or full torso will remain firmly attached to the rest of the ensemble with just a modicum of super-glue, even when its contact point is the most flimsy of surfaces…

September 2019 - The month "Modiphius Entertainment" made its mark upon my hobby time

Statistics wise, the past four weeks have proved to be one of my most productive Septembers since 2014, with more than twice as many models being painted during the period than were finished last year. This productivity was (once again) largely due to my infatuation with the various “Star Trek Adventures” models currently being released by “Modiphius Entertainment”.

A slew of Borg-related characters such as Lore, Locutus of Borg and the Borg Queen herself, along with another bunch of Romulan Uhlans has helped see the London-based company rocket into my Top Three favourite manufacturers of the year, quickly casting aside my usual mainstays of “Games Workshop”, “Warlord Games” and “Heroclix”.  Whether my love of “Star Trek” will continue to the point where it’ll eclipse my long-term commitment to “Black Tree Design” and their “Doctor Who” range remains to be seen, but considering my ongoing battle to receive my most recent massively overdue order from John Olsen, I wouldn’t be at all surprised…

“I Am Locutus Of Borg.”

"Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you will service us."

This 32mm scale resin miniature of Locutus of Borg is produced by “Modiphius Entertainment” and can be found inside the company's eight-figure strong Iconic Villains boxed set for “Star Trek Adventures”. “The Borg designation forced upon Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard after his assimilation in late 2366”, this intended “spokesperson for the Human race” made his first appearance in the June 1990 “Star Trek: The Next Generation” televised story “The Best Of Both Worlds”.

Having re-based the Borg Queen’s “equal counterpart” onto a 28mm lipped circular plastic base, the figure was primed with two coats of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, heavily dry-brushed using some “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal” and later much more lightly dry-brushed with “Citadel” Ironbreaker. This technique allowed me to provide the assimilated Picard with an all-encompassing metallic-looking highlight, plus gave me an opportunity to properly see all the cables, ribbed tubing and metal implants which snaked about his body and populated his bald head.

Captain James T. Kirk stands alone against Locutus of Borg

I then applied some extra “Citadel” Ironbreaker to Locutus’ mechanical Borg arm, much of his facial circuitry, and on several of the wires coiling around his legs. These areas, along with my original dry-brushing, were subsequently tidied up using a little more “Citadel” Abaddon Black and shaded with Nuln Oil. In addition, his armoured stomach coverings were ‘picked out’ using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

According to “Star Trek: The Next Generation” make-up artist Michael Westmore, the Borg’s paler skin demonstrated that “as humanity was drained away so was the colour of life”, so I was keen to give Picard the selfsame necrotic look I have used for all my Borg. As a result I layered his face with “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, washed it with “Citadel” Nuln Oil and finally added some extra dabs of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey to the man’s nose, cheek and brow.

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

With Locutus now mostly finished, I applied some “Vallejo” Dark Vermillion to his electronic eye-piece and shaded it with a spot of “Citadel” Bloodletter. I also managed to ‘squeeze’ in a few dabs of “Vallejo” Dead White into the Borg’s eyes, and tidied the surrounding sockets up with either a smidgen of “Citadel” Abaddon Black or a little line of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey.

With such a detailed miniature now 'in the books' I have begun work on a much more straightforward pilot piece by "Black Tree Design". This Auton is from the infamous company's "Doctor Who" range, and is hopefully the first of a somewhat large faction I'm planning to progress featuring both the Nestene Consciousness' life-sized factory-floor plastic dummies and their more 'friendly-faced' variants manufactured at Farrel Autoplastics...

"I Am The Borg.”

"I am the beginning. The end. The one who is many."

This 32mm scale resin miniature of the Borg Queen is produced by “Modiphius Entertainment” and can be found inside the company's eight-figure strong Iconic Villains boxed set for “Star Trek Adventures”. Named by the Federation scientists who discovered her existence, this “central nexus for the Borg Collective” made her first appearance in the November 1996 motion picture “Star Trek: First Contact” and was played by actress Alice Krige.

Designated Species 125, the figure was initially primed using a double-coat of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, heavily dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal and ‘highlighted’ with a much lighter dry-brush of “Citadel” Ironbreaker. However, having compared the ‘look’ of this colour scheme with that of the film character’s actual costume, I realised that my normal Borg recipe contained far too much silver, and that the Queen’s (latex) bio-mechanical body suit designed by Deborah Everton was actually predominantly black with a little gold showing in places.

The Borg Queen leads an attack against a Romulan raiding party

Resultantly, I applied some watered down “Citadel” Abaddon Black over the entire model and (once again) heavily dry-brushed the female drone co-ordinator using some “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal. I then ‘picked out’ a few of the cybernetic entity’s synthetic implants with “Vallejo” Brass and shaded them using a little Strong Tone Quickshade by “The Army Painter”. 

Despite the Borg Queen’s mottled skin-tone in the movie being quite pink in comparison to the dead-like grey of her drones, I decided to still paint her bare head in the same “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey I’ve used for the rest of my assimilating extra-terrestrials. This, along with the female humanoid’s black body suit, limbs and (gloved) hands were all later washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

"Warcry" WIPs - These two Iron Golems are all having their metalwork 'picked out' and shaded

Finally, I ‘picked out’ the metallic tubing encircling the model’s head with “Citadel” Ironbreaker, and drenched them in Nuln Oil. This just left me with the conundrum as to ‘spotting’ the miniature’s eyes, and having unsuccessfully tried to dot the figure’s incredibly tiny pupils a few times without making her look cross-eyed, I settled upon them being pure “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

With the perfect “blending of the organic with synthetic” completed, I have momentarily turned my attention back to my Iron Golems for “Warcry”. Now I’ve finally settled upon an agreeable palette for the plastic warriors’ red and brass-coloured armour, I’m starting to quite quickly plough through my “Game Workshop” warband’s ranks, with both its Ogre Breacher and Dwarf Armator heading towards completion…

"It's Turning The Eggs."

"What species is this?"

These three 1:160 scale metal miniatures of "egg laden nests of different sizes" are manufactured by “Magister Militum” and can be bought from their "Menacing Monsters" range as Code DIN112 Dinosaur Nests. Sculpted so "you choose what hatches", these models represent any pre-Tertiary period nest and have been super-glued onto the standard 40mm circular bases I use for the vast majority of my objective markers.

Originally primed with two coats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, the actual nests themselves were treated to a double layer of "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand, before being generously shaded in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. I then heavily dry-brushed the mud so as to 'highlight' its ridges, and applied a combination of "Vallejo" White and Pale Grey to the eggs. Finally, each shell was carefully dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" White.

Iconic Villains WIPs - Locutus of Borg, the extra-dimensional being known as Q, and the Queen Borg

The rest of each ensemble was given a rough dry-brush of "Citadel" Doombull Brown, followed by a slightly lighter application of Rakarth Flesh. These areas were later drenched in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, before being protected with a coat of PVA glue and flocked using some static grass. The nests are supposedly for use with 10mm models, but due to their large size appear entirely appropriate for many other wargaming scales.

With the first of my "Colours" 2019 loot finished, I have managed to make some additional progress on a few of the “Modiphius Entertainment” figures from their "Star Trek Adventures" Iconic Villains boxed set. For now I'm focusing upon those characters who have some association with the Borg, so unsurprisingly have begun work on Locutus, the Borg Queen and the entity responsible for the Federation's first encounter with the cybernetic organisms, the immeasurably powerful Q.

"Warcry" WIPs - These two Iron Golems are slowly having their metalwork 'picked out'

I've also finally gained some momentum pigmenting the first of my Iron Golems for "Warcry" by "Games Workshop", in particular my Ogre Breacher. This particular miniature has had his brass leg armour repeatedly re-painted over the past couple of weeks as I've struggled to get to grips with the Nottingham-based company's "Citadel" Colour Contrast paints.

Initially, I had hoped to 'get away' with creating the warband's infamous metallic red armour with a couple of applications of "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson over a "Vallejo" Brass undercoat. But this didn't quite give me the bold colour I was looking for. I then tried some "Citadel" Flesh Tearers Red with a similar result. So in the end I've bought some "Citadel" Contrast Medium and watered down my Flesh Tearers Red to the point where at least some of the "Vallejo" Brass underneath is visible... and left it at that.

"They're Called The Borg."

"Protect yourself, Captain, or they'll destroy you."

These five 32mm scale resin miniatures of male Borg drones are manufactured by “Modiphius Entertainment” and forms part of their ten-figure strong Borg Collective boxed set. “Designed for use with the Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game”, these models are based upon the American science fiction franchise’s "cybernetically enhanced assimilating race" which made their first television appearance in Maurice Hurley's May 1989 episode “Q Who”.

Having re-based the "recurring antagonists" onto 28mm lipped circular plastic bases instead of their sculpted 30mm scenic stands, each figure was undercoated with two coats of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, heavily dry-brushed using some “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal” and later much more lightly dry-brushed with “Citadel” Ironbreaker. This technique provided each 'part of the collective' with both a metallic-looking highlight, as well as allowed me to see all the cables, tubes and metal implants which curled around their limbs, torsos and heads.

"Interesting, isn't it? Not a he, not a she. Not like anything you've ever seen. An enhanced humanoid."

I then applied some extra “Citadel” Ironbreaker to each cyborgs’ multi-purpose prosthesis, some of their facial circuitry, and numerous wiring assemblies. These areas, along with my original dry-brushing, were subsequently tidied up using a little more “Citadel” Abaddon Black and then shaded with Nuln Oil, before being lightly dry-brushed with (more) Ironbreaker. Some other parts of the Borg’s bodysuit, such as their armoured stomach coverings, were also ‘picked out’ using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

As I wanted to give the Borg’s flesh a somewhat necrotic look, I layered their faces and the odd elbow with “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, shaded these with “Citadel” Nuln Oil and subsequently added some extra “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey to their noses, cheeks and brows. Having previously just spotted the female drones' eyes with a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, I decided to add a little more 'menacing life' to these significantly larger male figures by dotting the outside of their eyes with a single spot of "Vallejo" Dead White.

"Star Trek Adventures" WIPs - Three Romulan Uhlans

Lastly, I placed a small glob of “Vallejo” Dark Vermillion at the end of each model’s “sophisticated ocular implant” and shaded it with “Citadel” Bloodletter. I did actually consider painting some of these areas in green, but ultimately decided to stick with red for the entirety of the box. I do however now own a second set of Borg Collective miniatures, so plan to distinguish a few of them with "Vallejo" Heavy Khaki lenses (perhaps to use as proxy Runners if I decide to utilise the models in a "Star Trek" themed game of "Zombicide" by "Guillotine Games"..?).

Despite so many Borg threatening to assimilate my painting table, I have still managed to make some additional progress on the three remaining Uhlans from the Romulan Strike Team. Having previously finished pigmenting my Romulan Commander, these extra "Star Trek Adventures" figures will provide enough "lowly" members of the Romulan Guard to form a well-led squad, and I can then add some Romulan Centurions to the mix at my leisure...

"You Did This! You Sabotaged My Ship.”

"I cannot deactivate the auto-destruct..."

This 32mm scale resin miniatures of a Romulan Commander is manufactured by “Modiphius Entertainment” and forms part of their ten-figure strong Romulan Strike Team set. “Designed for use with the Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game”, this model depicts the franchise’s redesigned fictional extraterrestrial species as first seen in the May 1988 “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “The Neutral Zone”.

Having re-based the female officer onto a 28mm lipped circular plastic base instead of its sculpted 30mm scenic stand, the figure was undercoated with two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, and had her quilted tunic shaded using some "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I then delicately dry-brushed the model with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, in order to bring out some of the Romulan uniform’s detail, before applying a coat of “Citadel" Abaddon Black to her boots.

"Star Trek Adventures" WIPs - Three male Borg from the "Modiphius Entertainment" Collective set

With the potentially ‘messy’ phase of my painting complete, I applied a coat of "Vallejo" Dark Grey to the Commander’s trousers, washed them with "Citadel" Nuln Oil and subsequently 'picked out' her flesh using my usual combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. Finally I pigmented the officer’s “harness-like belt structure” with “Citadel” Ironbreaker and shaded it with Nuln Oil.

Originally I had intended to ‘proxy’ this figure as Commander Sela, “the product of a union between Starfleet officer Tasha Yar’s counterpart from an alternate timeline and a Romulan general.” But having used some “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre on the figure’s hair, I simply didn’t like the contrasting colour’s overall effect, so resultantly decided to go for the “Citadel” Abaddon Black hair of Sub-Commander Taris; the commanding officer of the warbird Haakona.

"Star Trek Iconic Villains WIPs - Locutus of Borg, the Borg Queen and Lore

Sticking with “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, I have also been beavering away on the five male Borg drones found inside the Borg Collective box by “Modiphius Entertainment” and now only predominantly need apply some “Citadel” Nuln Oil to the figures to finish them. Currently, I’m actually in something of a hurry to complete this faction set too, as a second box of the cyborgs has recently arrived from the Delta Quadrant, and it’d be nice to get them all painted before the end of the month in order to use for a “Star Trek” themed “Zombicide” campaign I have in mind…

In addition I have assembled, primed and started dry-brushing three Borg-related baddies from the recently released "Star Trek Adventures" Iconic Villains collection. With the exception of the Borg Queen, who seems to be crouching low in a very odd pose, I'm really pleased with just how much easier these resin miniatures were to assemble when compared to some of the range's earlier releases, especially Lore who was a single-cast piece. 

“We’re Going To Hang Him.”

"The man barely spoke and he gave me the willies anyway."

This 28mm scale model of Thomas Richards is manufactured by “Mantic Games” and can be found inside "The Walking Dead: Call To Arms" Prisoner Booster Pack. Sculpted to represent the bloodthirsty "psychopath convict, who survived the outbreak" trapped in the cafeteria of the Meriwether County Correctional Facility, the quiet “nerdy” homicidal lunatic was killed by a Maggie Greene “when she unloaded her entire sidearm’s magazine” into him in Issue 18 of "The Walking Dead" comic book.

The balding bespectacled figure was initially primed using two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Orange, and had his prison overalls shaded with "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. I then ‘picked out’ the murderer’s tiny blade and glasses with a layer of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, before applying a little Ironbreaker to his hand-weapon and frames, as well as a smidgeon of “Vallejo” Dead White to his lenses. All of these areas were later treated to a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

"Star Trek Adventures" WIPs - Three male Borg from the "Modiphius Entertainment" Collective set

Thomas’ skin was painted using a base coat of “Vallejo” Heavy Skintone and shaded with a splash of “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. I then ‘highlighted’ his fingers, hands, and some facial features, such as his ears and nose, with a careful second application of “Vallejo” Heavy Skintone. Finally, the killer with a penchant for decapitation, had his receding hairline pigmented with some “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade.

With the second of my prisoners finished for “The Walking Dead: Call To Arms”, I have momentarily turned my attention towards some more Borg drones for “Star Trek Adventures” by “Modiphius Entertainment”. One of the most disappointing elements to the Fulham-based tabletop game publisher’s Borg Collective ten-figure boxed set is that despite its lack of variety concerning female poses, it frustratingly still contains an even split between the cybernetic organisms sexes.

"Star Trek Adventures" WIPs - Three Romulan Centurions

Fortunately, there’s a bit more diversity to the male drone sculpts, so I haven’t felt obliged to chop/convert any of their prosthesis on this occasion; albeit if I purchase a second set such extra preparation prior to priming will become a necessity. In addition, they are significantly larger than their more slender-sized counterparts, which has provided my brush-tip with more opportunities to pick out the extra-terrestrial’s surgical augmentations in “Citadel” Ironbreaker and “Vallejo” Dark Grey.

Lastly, I have been busy building and undercoating the remaining miniatures from my Romulan Strike Team. I’m not admittedly a fan of these figures’ joints, as the tiny ‘ball and socket’ mechanism doesn’t seemingly survive contact long despite my super-glue’s best efforts. So instead I’ve been busy pinning the militaristic aliens’ limbs to their torsos. This has disconcertingly lead to a couple of misaligned elbows, which I’ve subsequently had to carefully file smooth, at some cost to the detail of their ‘quilted’ uniforms.