"Never Give Up!"

 "Never Surrender!"

This 28mm scale metal model of Galactic Explorer 1A is manufactured by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought individually as MINI 1927 from their Space Travellers range, or as part of their four-figure DEAL 492 Galactic Explorers I. Sculpted by Ari Níelsson, the miniature is clearly based upon actor Tim Allen's character Jason Nesmith/Commander Peter Quincy Taggart from Dean Parisot's 1999 science fiction film "Galaxy Quest".

The figure was primed with a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Neutral Grey, before having his boots, trousers, hair and much of his torso layered in "Citadel" Abaddon Black. I then 'picked out' his insignia, epaulettes and Ion Nebulizer with a smidgeon of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and splosh of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I also applied quite a heavy dry-brush to Taggart's pants and top, so as to slightly break up the predominantly black colour scheme.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - Work has finally started on Squirrel Girl in earnest

Lastly, I tidied up all the "Vallejo" Neutral Grey areas, drowned the entire model with (more) "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and patiently dry-brushed the Commander's upper tunic with a little (more) "Vallejo" Neutral Grey. I did consider applying some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna to the miniature's hair, as per the 'official' display paintjob by "Mystic Spirals". But in the end decided that the movie version of the NSEA Protector's leader looked a lot darker - so stuck with the original "Citadel" Abaddon Black colour scheme.

Along with my Galactic Explorer, I have made some more progress on my (admittedly grand) design to paint a number of 40mm plastic Marvel United gaming pieces to use with the Marvel Multiverse RPG (MMRPG). As a change of pace though, I have momentarily swapped out the Kronan gladiator Korg I have been slowly working on for the much more dynamically-posed Squirrel Girl instead.

"Athena Miniatures" WIPs - This young apocalypse survivor is close to completion

This rejig of my painting priorities is only temporary, as I will need Thor's super-strong former foe when I play the MMRPG's Escape From Planet Hulk starter scenario. However, I have recently picked up the hardback copy of the ruleset, and discovered it has the statistics for Doreen Green's bushy-tailed alter-ego inside. This has encouraged me to put some (more) paint on the "CoolMiniOrNot" figure somewhat sooner than I was expecting, as I now may well swap Squirrel Girl into my team's roster instead of one of the super-heroes which come with the starter set.

Furthermore, I have quite quickly slapped a few coats on one of the models from Survivors Set 4 by "Athena Miniatures". I actually own two of this particular adolescent survivor of the apocalypse after owner John Caboche kindly snuck a couple of freebies into my most recent order - so I'm rather keen to at least get one of the duo tabletop ready as soon as possible...

"I Sense Great Fear In You, Skywalker."

"You have hate. You have anger. But you don't use them."

This 40mm scale model of Count Dooku is produced by "Atomic Mass Games", and comes as part of the company's "Star Wars: Shatterpoint Twice the Pride Squad Pack". Based upon the physical likeness of the late, great Sir Christopher Lee, the eight-piece miniature was assembled using the instructions found on the Minnesota-based manufacturer's website, and glued to one of the tabletop game's 40mm circular bases.

The "sinister Sith Lord" was first undercoated with a couple of layers of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before having his trousers pigmented using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Brown and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I then 'picked out' his belt and cloak with some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and doused the two areas with plenty of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - Korg's base layers have now all been applied

I applied a little smidgeon of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil to the once a respected Jedi Knight's lightsabre, and carefully (because it feels as fragile as anything) drew some "Vallejo" Heavy Red along its plasma blade. This particular part was later shaded in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson and delicately dry-brushed with a little (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

I also gave the hair and beard of Grand Master Yoda's former padawan a touch of "Two Thin Coats" White Star and a lick of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. As I wanted to try to capture Darth Tyranus' whiskers, I subsequently went back and dabbed at the sculpt's detail with (more) White Star by "Two Thin Coats". Finally, I gave Count Dooku's cape a thorough dry-brush of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna in order to add some shade in its folds.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - This Galactic Explorer is almost finished

With the first of eight planned "Star War: Shatterpoint" figures I have purchased finished, I have continued with my cunning plan to paint a number of Marvel United gaming pieces to use with the Marvel Multiverse RPG (MMRPG). My hobby desk is currently absolutely swamped with these Chibi-like 40mm plastic models by "CoolMiniOrNot". So to try and keep sane I am just focusing upon the Kronan gladiator Korg, who is encountered at the start of the MMRPG's Escape From Planet Hulk starter scenario.

In addition, I have found a few moments to potter away at one of the Galactic Explorers I quite recently purchased from "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". I admittedly picked this particular (not "Galaxy Quest") figure as something different from all the larger-scaled stuff I'm presently focused upon, so I'm not really sure when I'll finally get the fellow tabletop ready...

The Jägers Operated As Independent Battalions..."

"...Assigned to the various brigades, as required, and soon proved their worth in the field."

This 28mm scale metal model is produced by “Wargames Foundry", and can be purchased as part of their blister AN038 Jaegers 1805-15 Running. The figure is one of eight identical Napoleonic marksmen sculpted by Michael and Alan Perry found in the set, and somewhat surprisingly come in two separate pieces - the actual Austrian Light Infantryman with an open right hand, and his firearm.

As I own ten of the exact same-looking miniature, following a successful bid on "eBay" late last year, I thought I'd use this particular sharpshooter as a test piece for a (reasonably) straightforward paint scheme, before possibly pigmenting the rest of my 'win' in batches of two or three. Resultantly, I undercoated him with a couple of layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey in an attempt to get the majority of his semi-famous uniform completed almost before I'd really started. 

"Wargames Foundry" WIPs - Two more Austrian Jaegers set to soon appear on the tabletop

In hindsight, this was probably a minor mistake though, as I soon discovered that much more of the soldier required a lick of "Citadel" Abaddon Black than the Opaque "Vallejo" Game Colour I primed him with. However, discovering such things is precisely why I was only working on a single model, and at least the lighter colour allowed me to see all the different areas on the incredibly-detailed miniature - especially once I had shaded his limbs with "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and roughly highlighted them with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey.

With the basics now finished, I began tackling the Austrian's rifle, backpack, moustache and hair with a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna. These areas were later darkened down with a wash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. I also patiently worked my way through the marksman's cuffs, collar, straps, fancy shoulder ribbon and hat plume with a combination of Wyvern Green by "Two Thin Coats" and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. This somewhat tied the sharpshooter in with my British 95th Riflemen, as I used these exact paints on their uniforms too.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three of the four figures from the Galactic Explorers pack

Furthermore, I thought I'd try some "Two Thin Coats" Cold Corpse Blue on the chap's sleeping bag, before 'picking out' his gun barrel and drinking canteen with a brush-tip of "Vallejo" Gunmetal. All of these parts were later washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Lastly, I applied a dollop of "Vallejo" Gold to the soldier's coat buttons, sabre handle and hat crest, and then darkened its vibrancy down with a splosh of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

Alongside my first Jaeger I have also managed to make a little bit of progress on three of the four Galactic Explorers I recently purchased from "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". These models still have a long way to go to become tabletop ready. But proved a reasonably straightforward distraction from all the fine detail found upon my Perry Brothers' Napoleonic miniature...

"Why Do We Have To Kill It?"

 "It'll kill them all."

These three 10mm metal endoparasitoid extra-terrestrials are by "Pendraken Miniatures" and can be purchased from their old Science Fiction range as SFC1 Medium creature, type 1. I actually bought these many years ago as part of their SFC-AP Alien Creatures Army Pack, and, due to their quite alarming size, thought they'd mix in very well with my large swarm of 15mm "Ground Zero Games" Xenomorphs which I assembled way back in 2014.

However, rather than just pigment them predominantly in black, I thought I'd tap into the sculpts' dog-like pose, and replicate the brown palette used for the canine-formed killer in David Fincher's 1992 movie "Aliens 3". I also figured I'd plonk all three of the models onto a single Medium "Flames Of War" base by "Battlefront Miniatures", so as to hopefully imbue them with the feel of a hunting pack.

"You try and stop us Volgans taking your food, eh..?"

The figures were undercoated using a mixture of "Vallejo" Charred Brown and Leather Brown Surface Primer, and subsequently base-layered in (pure) Charred Brown. I then heavily washed the trio using plenty of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Unfortunately, as seems to happen a lot with my metal models these days, I found that the "Games Workshop" Shade somehow disintegrated certain areas of my prime/base coat, so resultantly I had to rather annoyingly go back and redo the aforementioned processes once (or even twice) more, simply to ensure that the Aliens had a lick of paint all over them.

In the end, I also decided to give the Xenomorphs a dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Charred Brown, simply to completely ensure that no metal was still peeking through my paint-job. In addition, I applied a couple of brush-tips of "Citadel" Abaddon Black across each extra-terrestrial's dome-shaped head, to help make them stand out all the more on the battlefield.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three figures from the Galactic Explorers 1 pack

Alongside these pieces, I have also finished work on another of my Soviet invaders by "Athena Miniatures". Taken from my third AS12 Russian NBC four-figure set, this 28mm metal model was largely painted using  “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Though I did pick out any wooden areas/buttons using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

Lastly, I've purchased, assembled and primed the entire quartet from "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" recent released Galactic Explorers 1. This was most definitely an impulse buy, as I wanted some extra figures to help 'bulk out' an order, and felt they would be rather straightforward to get tabletop ready. Plus, as a big fan of Dean Parisot's satirical science fiction comedy film "Galaxy Quest", they were impossible to resist...