Top Ten Manufacturers Of 2022 - A "Fantorical" Viewpoint

Without a doubt the biggest change to my hobby during these twelve months has undoubtedly been the arrival of an "Elegoo" Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and my subsequent subscription to various “Patreon” service memberships. Indeed, my desire to print/paint the increasingly numerous STL (Standard Triangle Language) files which I own has completely changed my attitude towards both online buying from non-digital manufacturers and those selling their wares (whether it be plastic, resin or metal) at wargaming shows.

However, whilst this somewhat alarming transformation to my hobby habits has undoubtedly caused a few ripples to the companies I ordinarily turn to for my tabletop goodness, the relative lateness of my introduction to the likes of “Big Mr Tong” and “C27 Studio” haven’t been anywhere near as impactive as I feel they are going to be in 2023. Furthermore, I still have a number of painting projects ‘on the go’ which very much rely upon the sculpts of “Games Workshop”, “Battlefront Miniatures” and “North Star Military Figures” to keep them going. So, I’m pretty confident that the future will not become entirely obsessed with "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin produced models…

No. 10 - "Catalyst Game Labs" - "Battletech"

Whilst I disappointingly pigmented many more infantrymen than mechs from this vast range than I had intended, as well as failed to start the Weird War Two campaign I had planned using some homemade card-based rules, I was still somewhat pleased to at least make a small dent in my embarrassingly large collection of these 1:285 scale plastic models. Furthermore, alongside my French, German and Polish walkers, I also managed to rebase, if not prime and shade, some of the other giant armoured vehicles I own, which should hopefully encourage me to maintain an interest in this project for many moons to come.

No. 9 – “North Star Military Figures” – “Gaslands”

Despite me having no actual interest in playing Mike Hutchinson’s popular ruleset “Gaslands” or even his subsequent “ultimate Director’s Cut”, I did quite suddenly develop an unhealthy interest in “car-on-car destruction in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.” Admittedly, much of this enthusiasm was actually based upon a highly disquieting and somewhat short-lived obsession with the “Hot Wheels” toy vehicle range by “Mattel”. But it did cause me to build (and even convert) four 20mm plastic Motorcyclist kits from the Implements of Carnage One sprue by “North Star Military Figures”.

No. 8 – “Alternative Armies” – “The Ion Age”

Fuelled by playing more battles within a two-day period than I can fully recollect, this range of 15mm science-fiction figures was arguably always going to receive some attention during the year. However, it actually wasn’t until I got hold of some "Citadel" Sons Of Horus Green paint that I finally started working on some ‘reinforcements’, and then I didn’t just stop at pigmenting Retained Knights. But also, a hefty resin Battle Taxi, even heavier metal Havelock Type 57 Battlesuit and a special edition Witch Knight.

No. 7 – “Twisted Pinnacle 3D” – “Sentry Robots”

With Walt Disney’s 1979 science fiction film “The Black Hole” being one of my favourite movies of all-time, there probably was little doubt I was going to pick up a bag of these awesome resin robots when I first saw them on “Etsy”. However, having received them a little worse for wear from their postal journey, and identified that their sculptor, Mike Tongue, ran his own Patreon subscription service, I used these terrific figures as motivation to help spur me on to purchasing my own 3D printer.

No. 6 – “Big Mr Tong” – “Cybermen”

By far my most popular supplier of STL files on Patreon for this particular period by tapping into my love of all things “Doctor Who”, this range of 28mm scale resin miniatures kept my 3D printer incredibly busy during its first few months, and also helped me to better understand the usefulness of supporting models using “Chitubox” Basic. Disappointingly, my plans for a large campaign featuring many of the different factions Mike Tongue has sculpted never disappointingly materialised, despite my completing a sizeable squad of Cybermen.

No. 5 – “Battlefront Miniatures” – “Flames Of War”

Despite not actually finishing my planned 50-point strong German D-Day I did end up pigmenting an impressive number of “Battlefront Miniatures” 15mm infantrymen – whether they be part of several MG34 and K98 Rifle Teams or a quartet of sMG34 Machine-Gun Teams. To be honest though I badly underestimated just how many figures I needed to finish in order to field two full-strength Panzergrenadier Platoons, and over time this fatigue caused my enthusiasm for the project to trail off quite dramatically.

No. 4 – “Encounter Terrain/Splunjohnny” – “Doctor Who”

Initially, these cartoon-like sculpts by Splunjohnny looked set to snap me out of a “Doctor Who” funk which had somewhat plagued me since “Warlord Games” seemingly stopped caring about releasing any new miniatures for their officially licenced tabletop game “Exterminate!” Sure, I had to reply upon “Encounter Terrain” to 3D print my models in 40mm scale and at a tenner a piece this was making my quite sizeable forces of Zygons and Cybermen a tad expensive. But I thought they looked incredible and were definitely enjoyable to put a brush-tip to – At least until I bought my own printer and discovered how devilishly difficult it was going to be to produce the marvellous figures at precisely the same size as Jo Levin’s company did.

No. 3 – “Warlord Games” – “Black Powder Epic Battles: American Civil War”

Having previously only dabbled with the American Civil War thanks to an ill-advised impulse purchase of some 15mm metal Union figures by “Peter Pig”, I genuinely saw this plastic product by “Warlord Games” as an easily accessible entry into some seriously large-scale battles featuring rifles, horse and cannon. Disappointingly though, I soon realised that my painting technique/style simply did not work well on the ten-man strips of miniatures. Indeed, I repeatedly found myself yearning for the ‘tiny terrors’ to be individual infantrymen, as I felt that would help alleviate some of the inaccessibility issues I was having with the soldiers’ fine detail, and resultantly speed up my entire process.

No. 2 – “Games Workshop” – “The Horus Heresy” and “Epic”

Quite possibly one of my most consistent manufacturing mainstays, I initially thought that the majority of my “Games Workshop” models for this period were going to come from the Nottingham-based company’s long Out of Production (OOP) Epic range, as opposed to any of their newer lines. But that mentality eventually changed when I acquired their Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Age of Darkness boxed set and began ‘grinding out’ a plethora of Sons of Horus tactical space marines. Sprinkle in some old school Blood Bowl dwarves, as well as a couple of characters from their Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, and I was clearly greatly enamoured with the former “bedroom mail-order company” all year round.

No. 1 – “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” – “7TV Second Edition”

Featuring a veritable mishmash of post-apocalyptic creatures, space age androids and future assassins, I repeatedly dipped into my backlog of Karl Perrotton’s marvellous metal figures throughout the past twelve months. Initially, I seemed set to finally polish off a number of Simian Minions I’ve had lurking around my hobby table for more years than I care to remember. Yet, having then been distracted by some the company’s large resin miniatures for a couple of months, I eventually started slowly working my way through the numerous late Jim Bowen sculpts “Crooked Dice” re-released (via a highly successful Kickstarter) as part of their classic Near Future and Cyberpunk Corporate Wars range.

Top Ten Miniatures Of 2022 - A "Rantings From Under The Wargames Table" Viewpoint

Once again I’ve been let loose on "Fantorical" for the day, as it’s that time of the year that seems to roll around with ever increasing speed (I think it’s an age thing!) where I root around in the wonderful blog posts you can find here for my ten favourite models that Simon has applied his “magic” brush to in 2022. Now I could ramble on about how it gets harder and harder each year to pick just ten of “Mister Moore’s” marvellous miniatures, but quite frankly you’re here, so you should be well aware of just how high the standard is, so without further ado let’s get on to the “eye candy”…

No. 10 - Gort by "Big Mr Tong" -  September 25th

The big news over on “Fantorical” this year was Simon purchasing a 3D printer, so now, along with all the wonderful figures he buys that I’ve never heard of or seen before, he’s also now printing stuff that has the same effect on me! One of the first of these new-fangled “prints” was this marvellous rendition of “Gort” - the iconic robot from the 1951 classic “The Day The Earth Stood Still”. Now, even though Simon wasn’t happy with the diminutive size of the piece (he wants him bigger next time he prints it), and the trials and tribulations he had getting good coverage with his silver-coloured casing, I have to say I thought the end result was a pure triumph and was so evocative of the original. A smashing figure all round.

No. 9 - Killbots by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" - September 19th

Okay, so not actual licensed “Arnie” style T101 Terminators. But rather Crooked Dice’s “let’s not pay a license” versions. But don’t let that detract you from the inspired work that has been done on these robots. Rather than just paint them black and dry-brush them silver (like I would have done), there are actually several layers on these chaps worked up from a grey base though different shades and a “Mig Productions Extreme Rust Wash”. The cherry on the cake for me though has to be the faded “skull” effects on the faces that just lifts these killing machines to a whole new level of “creepy”.

No. 8 - Sentry Robots by "Twisted Pinnacle 3D" - July 26th

Back when I was young there were several things that meant it was Christmas - presents (of course), my Grandparents coming to stay and “The Black Hole” on Christmas day television! Now though I never really did understand what was happening when the “Cygnus” went through the “hole” itself, I still always loved this movie, and especially all the various robots in it. So I was thrilled when these renditions of the sentry robots (sculpted by "Big Mr Tong") started appearing on Simon’s blog. Now these are a perfect example of figures that don’t need to be overly complicated to be good. The palette on these is relatively simple, but get the colours right and then execute the painting itself to this sort of level and you end up with something truly remarkable. They have  just right amount of menace. Lovely work.

No. 7 - General Blackblood by "Mongoose Publishing" - February 7th

I’m a big fan of the “ABC Warriors” comic strip from "2000AD" and this rendition of the “Not very trustworthy Volgon General” looks like he’s stepped from straight off its printed pages, In fact, Simon put paint to several “Warriors” this year and it was a real toss-up as to which team member would make the cut. But by a narrow margin I just felt the colours and details were picked out so nicely that this one topped the tree and I have to say I think he made the “Straw Dogs” proud.

No. 6 - Havelock Type 57 Battlesuit - "Alternative Armies" - July 13th

Do you ever write something that you know is going to get you into trouble? Well I have a feeling this choice might just do that, Now for much of the year Simon has been working his way through the vast quantity of Games Workshop Space Marines he has bought for his “Horus Heresy” project - and very nice they are too I hasten to add. But rather than pick one of them I’ve gone for this wonderful 15mm Havelock type 57 Battlesuit which Simon is using as a dreadnought for a smaller scale Space Marine force he’s progressing in parallel to his 28mm official version. Why? I hear you ask. Well the painting starts with the lovely “Citadel" Sons of Horus Green and after that there's lots of subsequent fettling and attention to detail. This all results in the rich colour scheme shown and is just as outstanding to my eye as it is on the model's larger brethren. Indeed, if I’m totally honest here I just prefer the sculpt over its bigger brothers. Sorry Simon.

No. 5 - Ebon Jaguar Battlemech by "Catalyst Games Labs" - March 7th

So in a repeat of last year I’ve picked a “Battletech” miniature in my “Top Ten”. I love these things, and they take me back to my club days when we used to role play this with the original miniatures. But it’s not just nostalgia, Simon’s re-imagining of them as alternative heavy armour for his homebrew “Weird War 2” battles is both inspired and beautifully done. Quite frankly he hasn’t done one yet I didn’t like, however, the contrasting greys used on this “mech” lifted from a “Fokker” fighter plane's livery, with its “pops” of bright yellow on the canopy suits this mech’s shape so well, and makes it my absolute favourite he’s done so far in this project.

No. 4 - Blood Bowl Dwarf Blitzer by "Games Workshop" - January 17th

Simon is a big fan of “Blood Bowl” and started the year painting up several classic Dwarven players to use in some “Blood bowl Sevens” games. His “Rusty Buckets” team were all excellent and brought back some great memories of playing the original game back in the day - though despite having several of the original teams, I strangely have never owned the Dwarf team myself. The brown and “rust” palette he used was perfect to convey the “out of retirement” nature of the team, and though all the players were lovely there was just something about this Blitzer that put him above the others - maybe it’s his eyes with their “steely glare” to them? I love this little guy.

No. 3 - Talos by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" - May 28th

Now I’m always banging on about how well Simon does black (and I will be again before the end of this post), but one of the other things he excels at is weathered brass - as seen on many of the truly wonderful statues he presents through the pages of his blog. It would therefore be remiss of me to not include what was, in my opinion, his most impressive one this year. So I give you - Talos the Titan. Albeit in this case not for use menacing “Jason and his Argonauts” but instead as a fearsome automaton created by “Dr Argo” for the 7TV rule-set. The colours are sublime and perfect to represent the brassy casing of the Titan but it’s the subtle use of "Citadel" Nihilakh Oxide that really brings this 60mm tall figure to life.

No. 2 - Black Widow by "CoolMiniOrNot" - April 30th

I love superheroes. In fact, one of the first things that attracted me into following Simon’s blog was that he paints quite a lot of them, and of course he never disappoints when he’s applying paint to one of my favourites. Furthermore, as I have said so many times over the years (so much so I should have it permanently on “cut and paste”) he does do black phenomenally well, so when he combines the two there is a very good chance that figure is going to be near the top of my “Top ten” list for the year in question. So after that long introduction I give you this wonderful “Chibi” version of the “Black Widow” - everybody’s favourite Russian (Not that she has an awful lot of competition at the moment!).

This lovely figure has only been enhanced by the immaculate work Simon has put into it, the colours are perfect, his trademark gloss varnish gives a lovely sheen to her leather costume and the vibrancy of her red locks and blue tinged shock-sticks provide subtle but needed counterpoints to the black of her jumpsuit. This is not the only Black Widow Simon has painted this year, he’s also painted a very nice “not” version by "Reaper Miniatures" too, and a tough choice had to be made between the two I’ll tell you. But this version just tipped the scales in my view. I've also just realized that I haven’t personally painted any “Supers” for well over a year now. But this young lady has definitely got me wanting to put that right ASAP, and I can’t give higher praise than that!

No. 1 - Giant Robot by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" - December 10th

And so we come to my number one favourite miniature of 2022, and it’s another robot. Indeed, I have just realized that eight out of my “Top ten” figures this year are robots! I don’t know if this says something about me, or if Simon just painted a lot of very wonderful mechanical machines this year - I'm going to go with the second option I think!. Now, as has already been shown with a couple of my other choices one of the things Simon is so very good at is seeing a figures potential in a project outside of the one it was originally designed for, and this is a perfect example of that skill. Anyway, Simon waited until the end of the year to paint this behemoth and push poor Natasha Romanoff off of the top spot. Another piece for a “Weird War 2” project, this time in 28mm scale, is this 90mm tall “Giant Robot” which was a chart topper from the moment I set eyes on it!

Where do I start? The colours, as always, are absolutely perfect, being a spot on match for US world war two mechanized equipment. The chipping, visible at the edges of the panels, looks so right. Whilst the rust effects are also superbly done, with even the faded decals adding to the overall effect. There is a lot of thought and work that has gone into this model. It is not only a wonderful thing but a perfect example of Simon’s outstanding craftsmanship, and that’s why it’s my number one of 2022!

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And that’s it for another year. Time to start the recriminations about the “ones that got away” or rather the ”nearly” figures that didn’t quite make my list. Several did make my short (I mean long) list and I’ll mention a few. However, you really should look back through Simon’s website pages to find the following honourable mentions…

The aforementioned version of Black Widow by "Reaper Miniatures", the 3D printed Cybermen, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Frankenstein’s Monster and "Marvel" comic book Abomination. Not to mention, the Strawman and Strawbears, his “Hotwheels” conversions, the Eidolon, numerous 15mm German Panzergrenadiers, SpyBots, and of course, the 28mm Horus Heresy Space Marines. Honestly, the list goes on…But what would have been number eleven on my list..?

No.11 - Witch Knight by "Alternative Armies" - July18th

As usual, I’ll finish by thanking Simon for allowing me to run roughshod across the pages of his most excellent of blogs, as well as giving his time and effort in trying to drag ten decent figures from my own motley collection. Please head over to "Rantings From Under The Wargames Table" if you want to read how this should be done properly and by someone who can actually string words together. That just leaves it for me to wish all of you out there the very best of New Years, and I sure like me, you look forward to seeing and reading everything Simon’s website provides us with in 2023.

Cheers Roger.

Top Ten Manufacturers Of 2021 - A "Fantorical" Viewpoint

My increasing interest in 3D printed miniatures and the companies selling them certainly had an impact upon my painting preferences across these twelve months. Admittedly, the likes of "Zealot Miniatures" and "Rocket Pig Games" don't even feature in this list, as I never got around to finishing quite enough of them to warrant it. But their impact, both in financial terms (as they were expensive acquisitions) and as a distraction from other fantasy-focused ranges (e.g. Frostgrave) was arguably quite profound.  

Similarly as transformative was an unexpected, and quite sudden change in attitude to my pre-painted "Heroclix" collection - which somewhat inexplicably died a total death during these twelve months. Instead, I became much more enamoured with historical and science-fiction based wargaming, even going so far as to once again try my hand at fielding enough 15mm plastics for a game of "Flames Of War" by "Battlefront Miniatures"...

No. 10 - "Warlord Games" - "Epic Battles: American Civil War"

There can be little doubt that my enthusiasm for this range of 15mm scale plastic soldiers was incredibly high when they were first announced by “Warlord Games”. Indeed, I even went so far as to scour my local newsagents looking for Issue 393 of "Wargames Illustrated" so as to obtain a free sprue of figures. Sadly however, my plans to field a vast swathe of ragged-looking Confederates for Black Powder soon departed once I realised just how unsuited to my 'black lining' painting technique the strips of ten models were, and just how long it would actually take me to 'pick out' all their straps, hats, beards, water bottles and rifles.

No. 10 - "Mongoose Publishing" - "Judge Dredd Miniatures Game: Block War"

Whilst I have pottered about with this somewhat 'infamous' range of "Kickstarter" funded figures for some years, I was rather surprised to find myself painting quite so many models from it during these twelve months. Much of this productivity was down to my aspiration to replicate the action depicted within the pages of the “2000 A.D." and “Judge Dredd Megazine” comic book crossover event from 1992 entitled “Judgement Day" during "Zomtober". However, it was actually all started by a trip to the LVL Up Gaming Store in Bournemouth a month earlier, where I spent an enjoyable afternoon play-testing some homemade 28mm Judge Dredd rules. 

No. 9 - "Catalyst Game Labs" - "Battletech"

Strangely, despite having never played a tabletop game of "Battletech" I pre-ordered several boxes of these 1:285 scale plastic models just as soon as I saw "Catalyst Game Labs" announce them, and then impatiently waited several months as their release date was repeatedly pushed back. Such situations usually dampen my enthusiasm for a project, but when I did finally get my hands on such sets as the Battletech: Inner Sphere Battle Lance box, I was so energised into crafting a Weird War Two setting where the Axis and Allies fought using giant walkers, that I finished pigmenting over twenty mechs in total.

No. 8 - "Kitbash Games" - "Supers Unlimited"

Having previously dabbled with this range of 28mm scale resin miniatures, courtesy of their creator kindly sending me a couple of characters as a free gift, I suddenly found myself somewhat shockingly preferring to paint these original villains/heroes over my usual mainstay of established "Heroclix" capes and meta-humans. This preference came about because the models matched up so well size-wise with my old “Secrets Of The Third Reich” collection by "Westwind Productions", and resultantly were used to play some skirmish games of Weird War Two at the LVL Up Gaming Store in Bournemouth.

No. 7 - "Atomic Mass Games" - "Marvel Crisis Protocol"

Perhaps one of the biggest disappointments of the year was managing to get a good number of these 40mm scale super-heroes tabletop ready. But not then actually getting a game in. Indeed, one of my main motivators for finishing the likes of Daredevil - who arrived broken and subsequently required some repairs before my project mojo returned - was to complete enough figures to fill out a full roster. Disconcertingly, the rules for this game have now undergone some significant revisions, so many of the cards/statistics which came with the starter set are now out of date and invalid.

No. 6 - "Alternative Armies" - "The Ion Age"

I've always liked the 'beakieness' of the Prydian Army's Retained Knights ever since I first laid eyes upon the 15mm figures, as they remind me of the old "Rogue Trader" era Space Marine from yesteryear. So when the annual “Forgotten Heroes” challenge arrived, I thought it would be a lot of fun to use the sculpts as proxies for Horus Heresy Warhammer 30,000 shenanigans, and started painting up a number of (not) Blood Angels. Admittedly, my deadline for the project slipped quite a bit, but it didn't stop until I had a sizeable number of 'tactical marines', including command and heavy weapons, as well as a couple of vehicles to boot.

No. 5 - "Privateer Press" - "Warcaster"

Due to never really getting on with assembling the multi-part metal miniatures by "Privateer Press" in the past, I wasn't initially completely convinced I wanted to buy any of their 'new' 35mm scale Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika range. However, I soon succumbed when I saw the Iron Star Alliance Squad Starter Set, and rather enjoyed working on all the metallics my colour choice for the 'torchbearers of civilization' contingent contained. Furthermore, the Paladin Annihilators gave me a great excuse to start using “Scalecolor” Cobalt Alchemy.

No. 4 - "North Star Military Figures" - "Frostgrave"

To be completely honest I am not the biggest fan of the sculpting for many of the Frostgrave figures I have ended up pigmenting. I found the look of the White Gorilla, Bear (Rearing To Attack) and Wolves to be both utterly uninspiring, and disconcertingly off-putting when it came to considering putting on an actual game. Yet despite these hurdles, I still managed to build quite the menagerie of creatures and animals for my adventurers to face should they ever once again set foot within the city limits of Felstad's ruins.

No. 3 - "Battlefront Miniatures" - "Flames Of War"

Perhaps I should have realised just how many infantry figures a "Flames Of War" fifty-point force required before buying the “Hit The Beach” Starter Set and getting to work on a German D-Day Defence force, having previously tried to paint up enough soldiers for a British Deserts Rats army. Nonetheless, my enthusiasm for this project not only successfully lead to almost half-a-dozen MG34 and K98 Rifle Teams being tabletop ready, along with accompanying Panzerfaust, Mortar and command bases. But also a couple of small-level games to try out the rules.

No. 2 - "Games Workshop" - "Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game" and "Epic"

There can be little doubt that a return to Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game halfway through the year completely rekindled my interest in all things "Games Workshop". The Nottingham-based manufacturer had essentially gone right off my radar for well over a year before I returned to J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord Of The Rings", and then later would cause me to enter a 6mm scale plastic painting frenzy with a load of classic "Epic" Space Marines.

No. 1 - "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" - "Colony 87"

Despite never getting near an actual game of "7TV", "Crooked Dice" were almost twice as popular as their nearest rival, and throughout the year caused me to visit a fair few of my favourite science fiction franchises, such as "The Planet Of The Apes", "Blake's Seven", "Ghostbusters" and "Krull". In addition, the release of some more Alien Pets for their fantastic Colony 87 range had me painting all manner of weird and wonderful extra-terrestrials, alongside a carousel of X-Commandos, Great Apes and even a terrifically-tall resin Treant.

“British Use Of Contraptions And Land Ironclads…”

“…Varied considerably during the period.”

This pair of 1/1200th scale Warlord class ironclads are produced by “Brigade Models” and can be purchased from their Great Britain range of Land Ironclads as product code VLI-104. The small steam-propelled warmachines are 10mm x 20mm in size, and were each super-glued upon a 40mm x 40mm plastic rectangle as per the Victorian Science Fiction Ground Combat game’s rule-set.

Sculpted by Tony Francis, the miniatures were primed using two coats of “Vallejo” Earth, shaded with a cocktail of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Earth. The vehicles’ turrets and wheelhouses were treated to some “Vallejo” Heavy Green.

"Armée de Terre et Armée de Mer. Ordre de Mobilisation Générale."

These areas were later washed with “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green, and delicately dry-brushed using a little (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Green. Finally I applied some “Vallejo” Gunmetal to all their cannons and forward-facing buffers, and darkened these down with the odd splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

In addition to one of my final submissions to the now successfully completed Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC), I also entered six (more) 1:285 scale Elemental figures by “Catalyst Game Labs” which I have painted to represent French armoured super-soldiers for my homemade Weird War Two campaign. These pre-assembled plastic figures were painted in precisely the same manner as my previous battle-suited Armée de Terre.

"Battlefront Miniatures" WIPs - This sMG34 Machine-gun team has been dusted down ready for finishing

Lastly, I have settled down to finish the three remaining plastic 15mm sMG34 Machine-gun teams I aim to field as part of my German Beach Defence Company for “Flames Of War”. These “Battlefront Miniatures” somewhat ‘got away from me’ during the final weeks of the AHPC, as I focused more upon the event’s sci-fi themed Quadrant Challenges so as to achieve my target tally of 500 points.

However, now I no longer need to fruitfully orbit such planets as LV426, Arrakis, Corsucant, Cybertron and the Vogsphere within the Middle Ring, I can once again fully concentrate upon getting my battle-hardened forces of the Fatherland ready for some fights next month. Indeed, I’m planning on spending the rest of this month working on more Panzergrenadiers, a pair of 7.5cm Tank-Hunter teams and a handful of Panzer IVs…

"The Kit Fox Is A Light Clan OmniMech…”

“…With long-range combat as a primary focus.”

This 1:285 scale pre-built plastic model of a Kit Fox is produced by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be found in the “BattleTech: Clan Fire Star” along with a Warhawk, Cougar, Fire Moth, and Nova Cat. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Caudron-Renault class French War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign using some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly pale blue palette.

“Often fielded by Clan Jade Falcon”, the 32mm tall figure was initially primed with a double layer of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and washed using “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade. The thirty ton vehicle was then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, before having a small circular access hatch and grill section ‘picked out’ with a combination of German Grey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

"They mostly come at night...mostly."

I also applied a base layer of “Citadel” Abaddon Black to the Kit Fox’s Extended Range Large Laser and Small Pulse Laser (on its left arm), 5-X Autocannon, Streak Short Range Missile rack SRM-4 rack and accompanying vents. These areas were all later treated to a lick of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and a generous splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Lastly, I slapped a Tricolore by “Decal Details” just above Babylon-built machine’s cockpit, and two super-tiny Croix de Lorraine on its legs. I was also hoping to use a couple of French roundels, as I have previously done on the two other mechs I’ve allocated to France’s Weird War effort. However, despite owning the transfers in several diminutive sizes, I simply couldn’t find an area of armour plating large enough to accommodate them.

"Reaper Miniatures" WIPs - Natalia, Female Secret Agent is having her final details 'picked out'.

Alongside my latest Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge entry I have also submitted five 15mm scale metal Xenomorphs by “Ground Zero Games”. These models were super-glued onto a large-sized plastic “Flames Of War” stand by “Battlefront Miniatures”, and primed using two layers of “Citadel” Abaddon Black. The extra-terrestrials were later dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, before being given a double-helping of “Citadel” Nuln Oil in order to help tone down their highlights and better blend them in.

Finally, I’ve found a little time to continue working on the 28mm model Natalia, Female Secret Agent by “Reaper Miniatures” I recently purchased. This not-Black Widow has really reinvigorated my hobby enthusiasm and could well be finished within a week or two of my buying her – something I’m not particularly prone to do these days…

“The Gun Carrier Mark I…”

“…Was a British vehicle of the First World War.”

These twenty-four 1/1200th scale Mk.I Armoured Gun Carriers are produced by “Brigade Models” and can be purchased from their Great Britain range of Land Ironclads as product code VLI-120. The tiny casemate-armed tanks are approximately 4mm x 9mm in size, and were previously super-glued in fours upon a 30mm x 40mm plastic rectangle when I first bought them approximately a decade ago.

The tiny war machines were all primed with a couple of layers of “Vallejo” Earth and shaded using a combination of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. I then carefully dry-brushed them all with (more) “Vallejo” Earth, before patiently picking out all their side-mounted guns with a combination of Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

“The gun carrier was designed to transport a 6-inch howitzer or a 60-pounder gun forward.”

To be honest, the hardest part in painting these little guys was subsequently tidying up the grit surrounding the vehicles so I could later dry-brush their bases with “Citadel” Doombull Brown, Rakarth Flesh and Agrax Earthshade. I also considered whether to apply any decals to them, so as to make them more visible upon the tabletop. But as the miniatures are so small, I simply settled upon their typically dirty brown colour palette marking them out as being British.

Alongside my latest submission to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC), I also entered six (more) 1:285 scale Elemental figures by “Catalyst Game Labs” which I have painted to represent French armoured super-soldiers for my homemade Weird War Two campaign. These pre-assembled plastic figures can be found inside the company’s “Battletech: Clan Elemental Star” boxed set, and are actually supplied in groups of five miniatures on five hexagonal-shaped stands.

"Canadiens-Francais, Enrolez Vous!"

However, as I don’t plan on using them for “Battletech”, I decided to rebase them in threes on some “Citadel” 25mm round bases, and undercoated them with two coats of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey. The infantrymen were subsequently shaded in “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade, and carefully dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush.

I also decided to apply some “Citadel” Abaddon Black to their twin-tube short-range missile launchers, pigment them with “Vallejo” Gunmetal, and later give them a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Lastly, I layered some “Vallejo” Sombre Grey to the super-soldiers’ smoke trails, washed them with “Citadel” Nuln Oil and dry-brushed their jet-streams using some (more) “Vallejo” Sombre Grey and a touch of White too.

“The Warhawk Was Powered By A Massive 340 XL Engine…”

“…That gave it a top speed of 64.8 km/h and mounted thirteen and a half tons of Ferro-Fibrous armour.”

This 1:285 scale pre-built plastic model of a Warhawk is produced by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be found in the “BattleTech: Clan Fire Star” along with a Kit Fox, Cougar, Fire Moth, and Nova Cat. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Bloch class French War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign using some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly pale blue palette.

“Introduced by Clan Smoke Jaguar in 2999”, the 43mm tall figure was initially given a double undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and shaded in “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade. It was then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its cockpit windows ‘picked out’ with the odd dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"Ground Zero Games" WIPs - These Xenomorphs have been primed, based-coated and dry-brushed

I also applied a base layer of “Citadel” Abaddon Black to the Warhawk’s four Extended Range Particle Projector Cannons and LRM-10 Launcher, as well as numerous vents and the odd piece of armour plating. These areas were all later treated to a lick of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and a generous splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Finally, I stuck some French roundels by “Decal Details” to the mech’s front legs, the Tricolore to the machine’s upper carapace and the name “Boiurgueil” to its hull. These transfers actually took quite a few attempts as I found that they started to disintegrate very quickly in the water if I waited too long for them to detach themselves from their paper.

"Reaper Miniatures" WIPs - Natalia, Female Secret Agent is just having her details 'picked out'.

In addition to my latest Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge entry I have been progressing twenty 15mm scale metal Xenomorphs by “Ground Zero Games”. These are the last of the alien figures I purchased from the company’s Stargrunt Infantry range last year, and have been based on the small, medium and large Flames of War bases produced by “Battlefront Miniatures” to represent different sized packs of Xenomorph XX121.

Lastly, I've managed to get my hands on the 28mm model Natalia, Female Secret Agent by “Reaper Miniatures”. I spotted this striking not-Black Widow figure on Planetmut’s excellent blog “PM Painting”, and thought it would make an excellent proxy for the actress Scarlett Johansson, so the Academy Award nominee could join my other adventurers in their exploits on Gamma World…

“The Name Iron Brigade Came From A Remark…"

“…Made by General George B. McClellan when he saw the brigade advancing under a murderous fire.”

This 15mm scale plastic Union Commander from the Iron Brigade is produced by “Warlord Games” and came on a sprue I recently acquired off of “eBay”. The mounted figure is from the Nottingham-based company's "Epic Battles: American Civil War" range and is actually supplied with a square stand. However, as I wanted my officers to stand out a bit more on the tabletop, I decided to glue the single-piece model to a thin-lipped 30mm circular base instead.

The general was originally primed with a couple of coats of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, and, as with my recently finished Confederate mounted officer, painted from the hooves up. This meant applying some “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna to the horse, before subsequently shading the animal with a combination of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. I also dry-brushed some (additional) “Citadel” Abaddon Black to the horse’s legs, and then used the base paint to tidy up its mane, tail and leather straps.

"Brigade Models" WIPs - This Sovereign Land Ironclad has had all its details 'picked out'.

The animal’s saddle-rug was ‘picked out’ using a little “Vallejo” Heavy Blue and “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade, whilst the saddle itself with pigmented with “Vallejo” Heavy Brown and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I applied a tiny amount of “Vallejo” Gunmetal to the stirrups (as well as the rider’s sword), and later darkened these up with a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. 

With the horse’s super-simplistic palette finished, I gave the officer’s trousers a dab of “Vallejo” Steel Grey and his long coat a healthy dose of “Vallejo” Storm Blue. Both of these garments were shaded with “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade. The sculpt actually has the general’s cuffs and collar on him, but as this chap was going to command my Iron Brigade, I kept them “Vallejo” Storm Blue to suggest he was wearing the brigade’s famous “long, dark blue coat”.

"Catalyst Game Labs" WIPs - A Wasp, three Elemental battlesuits and a Wolverine

Alongside my latest Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge entry I have continued to make some good progress on the 1/1200th British Land Ironclads by “Brigade Models” I recently dusted off. I’ve actually now only got the impressively-sized Sovereign class vehicle to finish. But have succumbed to already ordering some reinforcements in the shape of eight Mk.III Armoured Infantry Carrier and plenty of the range’s 2mm-sized infantrymen.

In addition, I have turned my attention towards progressing some Russian reinforcements for my Weird War Two homebrew rule-set, using models taken from “Catalyst Game Labs” range of 1:285 scale plastic “Battletech” figures. I was actually lucky enough to pick up these mechs as individual models on “eBay”, which whilst a bit more expensive than I would have liked to have paid, was significantly cheaper than buying the boxed sets they are ordinarily found inside.

"Introduced In 3049 To Address Flaws In The Venerable Hellbringer."

"The primary configuration of the Ebon Jaguar was made to attack from long range."

This 1:285 scale plastic model of an Ebon Jaguar is manufactured by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with the Turkina, Kingfisher, Huntsman, and Crossbow in the company’s BattleTech: Clan Heavy Battle Star boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures in this “supplement to the BattleTech: A Game of Armoured Combat box” come with an assortment of Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. However, as I plan to employ this particular sculpt as a (second) German Focke-Achgelis War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign using some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly grey palette.

The 41mm tall figure was initially undercoated with “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII. I then ‘picked out’ the heavy Clan OmniMech’s three-toed feet using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. These areas were later carefully dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey.

Warlord Games" WIPs - These Confederates are having their flesh areas layered

I also brushed a couple of coats of “Vallejo” White onto the war walker’s cockpit and nose cone as a base colour. These parts were later layered in “Vallejo” Sun Yellow, shaded in “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade, and very carefully dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Sun Yellow. Finally, the miniature’s joints, exhaust vents and weaponry were treated to some “Vallejo” Gunmetal and a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Alongside my latest submission for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC), I’ve spent some more hobby time progressing (yet) another 15mm plastic strip of American Civil War soldiers by “Warlord Games”. These particular Confederates will represent the state of Florida, so will be depicted wearing straw hats, and I only need pigment two twenty-man stands to finally have enough painted models so as to try out a game of "Black Powder".

"Brigade Models" WIPs - All the details have been 'picked out' on a Britannic and Warlord Land Ironclad 

In addition, I have been beavering away at the fleet of 1/1200th British Land Ironclads by “Brigade Models” I recently found buried deep within my embarrassingly large backlog. For some reason I'm really enthused by the prospect of gaming in such a grand scale, and this fervour has helped galvanise me into getting almost the entire collection finished in a short amount of time.

Admittedly, I do have an entire German force to also apply my brush too, as well as some reinforcements en route from the Kent-based manufacturer. But I'm applying a tabletop standard to these diminutive war machines, so I won't be picking out their many windows, and hope that when it comes to their lines of infantrymen, I'll be able to get away with just one or two colours and a shade/dry-brush to achieve the mass ranks of soldiers look...