"A Faint Humanoid Shape Shows..."

"...In a fire elemental's capricious devastation."

These six 15mm scale metal miniatures of some Lesser Fire Elementals are produced by “Alternative Armies” and can be bought either separately as blister HOT88 Lesser Elementals or as part of the company's pre-made twenty-four point strong HOTT1017 Elemental Army pack. The rather small sculpts count as Shooters for "Hordes Of The Things", with three figures sitting upon each 40mm x 20mm base.

Initially, each model was super-glued upon a wooden baton to help my brush-tip better reach all their details, and were primed using a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Sun Yellow. The models were then shaded using a little "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Sun Yellow, a little Heavy Red and finally a tiny amount of Dark Vermillion.

"Wherever it moves, it sets its surroundings ablaze, turning the world to ash, smoke, and cinders."

Unfortunately, I was even more unimpressed with the final result on these miniatures, than I was on the Giant Fire Elemental I've previously painted. The rounded detail on each figure didn't appear crisp enough for my brush technique to gently graze the very edge of their flames and as a result, each monster simply looked like a red blob which had escaped from Noel's House Party.

I therefore repeated the entire dry-brushing process once again, but tried to ensure I only sporadically applied my brush-tip to different areas of each elemental, rather than completely cover the entire model. In addition, I attempted to make each creature's ghastly face stand out all the more from the tabletop by purposely pigmenting the eyes with some "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, as well as lining the sockets and mouths in Sun Yellow.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three Federated Security Troopers

Having finished my Elemental Army's penultimate unit, I have momentarily turned my attention towards completing a number of Federated Security Troopers by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". I've recently been making good use of my current collection of painted figures from this range whilst testing out some collaborative "Blake's Seven" scenarios for my homemade rule-set "M.I.S.S.", and have now found I need a few more black-suited minions to make my games even larger.

For starters I want my proxy of Section Leader Klegg to be accompanied by two members of the Federation Death Squad he used to board the Liberator with, as an alternative to him simply having health tokens. I also thought it would be nice to have the option to field a second senior officer other than Space Commander Travis, in the shape of Space Major Provine from the March 1979 television episode "Countdown"...

"Fire Elementals Are Quick, Cruel Creatures Of Living Flame."

"They enjoy frightening beings weaker than themselves, and terrorizing any creature they can set on fire."

This 15mm scale miniature of a Giant Fire Elemental is produced by “Alternative Armies” and can be bought either separately as blister HOT84 or as part of the company's pre-made twenty-four point strong HOTT1017 Elemental Army pack. Despite its scale "one piece metal monster" is actually 43mm tall and counts as a Behemoth for "Hordes Of The Things", with the fiery figure sitting somewhat centrally upon a 40mm x 40mm base.

Having super-glued the model to its plastic stand, it was primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Sun Yellow and shaded using a little "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. The neutral creature was then dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Sun Yellow, some Heavy Orange, a little Heavy Red and finally a tiny amount of Dark Vermillion.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - Three more Federation Officers have been based, primed and dry-brushed

Disappointingly, I was not impressed with the final result, as the soft detail on the rounded edges of the elemental's flames didn't seem to take terribly well to this technique. As a result, the monster simply looked predominantly red in colour, so I hastily repeated the dry-brushing process; only this time I sporadically applied my brush-tip to different areas of the miniature rather than simply cover the entire thing with it.

With the latest addition to my Elemental Army completed I have continued to assemble some of the models found inside the Star Trek Adventures: The Next Generation Away Team boxed set by "Modiphius Entertainment". Initially, I had hoped to used most of the contents to make the characters found in The Roleplaying Game Starter Set box. Yet to my utter frustration, my Federation Officers didn't come with separate heads (as I had assumed from the packaging), only incredibly difficult to position wafer-thin limbs.

"Mongoose Publishing" WIPs - The three undead Judges have been dusted down ready for layering

I have however managed to make some suitable proxies for Lieutenant Commander Lian Zhang (Conn Officer) and Cuellas Zharath, the U.S.S. Magellan's Andorian Chief of Security. But fear the Galaxy-class starship's First Officer, Commander Lenaris Los, will have to become a Vulcan on the tabletop, as the only human male figure seems far more suited to represent Trill, Hanor Del, courtesy of all the equipment the sculpt is carrying.

Lastly, I hope to spend the rest of the year focusing on finishing off some of the past projects I've worked on. With Zomtober very much in view, I thought I'd start by painting some partially-pigmented zombie Judges I've had gathering dust for a couple of years. These "Judge Dredd" miniatures are made up of parts taken from both "Mongoose Publishing" and "Mantic Games" figures, which I then pinned/super-glued together to form a trio of the walking dead...

"An Earth Elemental Plods Forward Like A Walking Hill..."

"...Club-like arms of jagged stone swinging at its sides."

This 15mm scale metal miniature of a Giant Earth Elemental is produced by “Alternative Armies” and can be bought either separately as blister HOT85 or as part of the company's pre-made twenty-four point strong HOTT1017 Elemental Army pack. Despite its scale the sculpt is actually 60mm tall and counts as a Behemoth for "Hordes Of The Things", with the solitary figure sitting squarely upon a 40mm x 40mm base.

Having super-glued the model its plastic base, it was primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and washed using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Quite bizarrely, this regular combination seems to have re-acted rather badly on this occasion and actually caused the "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna to evaporate before my very eyes.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - The Andorian has been based, primed and dry-brushed

As a result, it took several more layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, plus some shading using "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade" before the large figure was ready to be dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna. I was then going to further highlight the towering creature with some "Vallejo" Heavy Brown. But was frankly worried that the Elemental wouldn't weather a second abrasive dry-brushing too well, so ultimately decided to simply leave the somewhat uninspiring miniature alone.

Alongside my latest addition to my Elemental Army I have also assembled one of the models found inside the Star Trek Adventures: The Next Generation Away Team boxed set by "Modiphius Entertainment". This somewhat impulse mini-project has been spurred on by my participation in some RPG sessions using the Andorian Lieutenant Thor Th'shrahrir; the experienced Flight Controller aboard the U.S.S. Franz Boas.

"Black Tree Design" WIPs - The Zygons have been primed and washed

My character is currently the pilot of a prototype shuttle-craft which has been dispatched under the watchful eye of Commander Onovren to investigate a faint subspace distress beacon from a nearby system. The RPG is already three sessions into the adventure, and things are definitely heating up now the long-forgotten Earth colony our shuttle-craft's crew have discovered believes we're responsible for sabotaging their town's only source of food and water...

Lastly, I recently uncovered a party of Zygons by "Black Tree Design", which I thought might make for a straightforwardly swift "Doctor Who" force for my homemade rule-set M.I.S.S. The sculpts are based upon the extra-terrestrial shape-shifters from the 1975 televised adventure "Terror of the Zygons", so rather than predominantly paint them "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone as I've repeatedly done with my "Warlord Games" Nu-Who re-imaginings, I went for the more colourful Heavy Orange instead.

"Air Elementals Are Fast, Flying Creatures Made Of Living Air."

"Primitive and territorial, they resent being summoned or doing the bidding of mortals..."

These four 15mm scale metal miniatures of some Lesser Air Elementals are produced by “Alternative Armies” and can be bought either separately as blister HOT88 Lesser Elementals or as part of the company's pre-made twenty-four point strong HOTT1017 Elemental Army pack. The diminutive sculpts count as Lurkers for "Hordes Of The Things", with two figures sitting upon a rather barren-looking 40mm x 30mm base.

Each model was initially super-glued upon a wooden baton to help my brush-tip better reach all their details, and subsequently primed with two coats of "Vallejo" White. The animated vortexes were then shaded using the "Vallejo" Game Color Wash Pale Grey, before being dry-brushed with (more) White.

"...And much prefer to spend their time on the Plane of Air, swooping and racing through the endless skies."

I did consider applying a little "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade to folds of the billowing figures, as I have done before when painting 28mm sculpts of Air Elementals. But ultimately, I decided to leave well enough alone. I did however, spot the creatures' mouths with a tiny dollop of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before covering them with some additional "Vallejo" Pale Grey" so as to tone down its darkness.

In addition to my latest "Alternative Armies" miniatures I have completed a 28mm metal model are from "Westwind Productions" "Secrets Of The Third Reich" blister B-SOTR05 British Commando Carbines. This figure has actually had his Gas Mask Head replaced with one taken from the manufacturer’s excellent ‘Separate Head System’ ‘blister’ SHS-SOTR09 “British Para Heads In Berets With Gas Masks”, as I want him to be part of an Airborne Infantry section on my “Konflikt ‘47” battleground.

"Commandos and paratroopers played a vital role in ensuring the landings at Normandy went to plan."

The model was undercoated using "Citadel" Doombull Brown and washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. I used some "Vallejo" Charred Brown, "Citadel" Ironbreaker, "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and "Citadel" Nuln Oil on his rifle, and an old OOP pot of “Citadel” Knarlock Green, Biel-Tan Green and later Devlan Mud on the veteran soldier's body armour.

The Paratrooper's gas mask filter was painted using a combination of "Citadel" Knarloc Green and Devlan Mud, whilst the eye filters were simply ‘picked out’ with Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. The figure's famous red headwear was pigmented with "Citadel" Mechrite Red, before receiving a couple of generous coats of Bloodletter. This glazing technique was applied as an alternative to my former concoction of "Citadel" Blood Red and Baal Red, as rather disappointingly, both products have long since been withdrawn by “Games Workshop”.

"Mudmen Are Formed In Pools Of Mud..."

"...Where enchanted rivers collect and evaporate and concentrate the dweomer."

These ten 15mm scale metal miniatures of some Lesser Earth Elementals are produced by “Alternative Armies” and can be bought either separately as blister HOT88 Lesser Elementals or as part of the company's pre-made twenty-four point strong HOTT1017 Elemental Army pack. The diminutive sculpts count as a Horde for "Hordes Of The Things", with five figures sitting quite snuggly upon a 40mm x 30mm base.

To begin with, each model was super-glued upon a wooden baton to help my brush-tip better reach all their details, and were primed in two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna. The Mudmen were then washed in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, before being dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna.

"Because they are creatures of magic, mudmen are sometimes called dweomerlings."

I did consider subsequently applying a lighter tone to the diminutive figures so as to highlight each sculpt's smooth details a little bit more, perhaps by giving them all a fleeting touch of "Vallejo" Heavy Brown. But I soon realised that I had a bigger problem to solve first because the Strong Tone Quickshade seemed to have acted like paint stripper on all the Lesser Elementals and disconcertingly disintegrated their base layers down to the bare metal.

As a result I had to reapply two more coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna to all of the miniatures and reapply the "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade once again. This time whatever chemical reaction had occurred before failed to materialise, so I swiftly gave them a (second) dry-brush of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and thought it best to leave the brutes well enough alone...

"The Power Of Kroll" WIPs - A Swampie Warrior, Rohm-Dutt and Ranquin

I therefore simply 'snapped' all of the Mudmen off of their painting sticks, and super-glued them onto some pre-cut plastic bases I bought off "eBay". Admittedly, "Alternative Armies" do supply the necessary bases for the figures as part of their HOTT Army packs. However, the resin stands are a bit chunky for my liking, and I was keen to maintain the aesthetic established by my previously painted "De Bellis Antiquitatis" forces.

Finally, having recently watched several viewings of the 1978 "Doctor Who" adventure "The Power Of Kroll", I have assembled and based my collection of Swampie Warriors by "Black Tree Design". This is by far my favourite of the "Key To Time" stories, so I was rather pleased to discover I also own figures of the Swampie Leader, Ranquin, and the traitorous gun-runner Rohm-Dutt too.

"Water Elementals Are Elemental Creatures..."

"...Made of water and various other liquids."

These six 15mm scale metal miniatures of some Lesser Water Elementals are produced by “Alternative Armies” and can be bought either separately as blister HOT88 Lesser Elementals or as part of the company's pre-made twenty-four point strong HOTT1017 Elemental Army pack. The diminutive sculpts count as a Warband for "Hordes Of The Things", with three figures sitting quite tightly upon a 40mm x 20mm base.

Initially, each model was super-glued upon a wooden baton to help my brush-tip better reach all their details, and were primed in "Vallejo" Heavy Blue. The Water Elementals were then drenched in "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, before being dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Blue. 

"Its torso trails off into a vestigial whirlpool."

Next I took an old brush and lightly highlighted all the creatures' waves with some "Vallejo" White, making sure to apply the paint far heavier towards the crest of the waves. As a final touch, I went back to each figure's eyes and mouth, and applied some additional "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade to these areas.

All of the miniatures were then 'snapped' off of their sticks, and super-glued onto some pre-cut plastic bases I bought off "eBay" many many moons ago. To their credit, "Alternative Armies" do supply the necessary bases for the figures as part of their HOTT Army packs. However, the resin stands are a bit chunky, and I was keen to maintain the aesthetic established by my previously painted "De Bellis Antiquitatis" forces.

"The area around the aiming point is plastered with heavy shells."

Having finished the first of my entries for my HOTT'ember Challenge with Roger "Dick Garrison" of "Rantings From Under The Wargaming Table" fame, I have also completed painting one of the resin craters sold by "Warlord Games" to use as an Artillery Barrage marker for "Konflikt '47". The kit actually comes with a number of "craters of different shapes and sizes depicting pits in the ground where a bomb, shell, or a military mine has exploded", but even its smallest offering was somewhat larger than I would have liked.

I had hoped to contain my marker to a 25mm circular base. However, in the end I had to use a "Citadel" 50mm base instead. The crater itself is excellent though, and was painted using my 'tried and tested' basing palette of "Citadel" Doombull Brown, Rakarth Flesh highlights and Agrax Earthshade wash...

"They're All Tame Until They Take A Chunk Out Of You."

"Well, you know what they say. Human see, human do."

This 28mm scale white metal model of a 'savage Simian Minion straight from the lab' is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought either separately or as part of their Simian Minions four-figure collection. The figure is designed to be used with the company's "7TV" United Radionics Programme Guide, but I intend to field it as one of several gorilla guards for my ongoing project based upon Franklin J. Schaffner's 1968 science fiction film "Planet Of The Apes".

The miniature was initially primed with two coats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before being enthusiastically dry-brushed in Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal. It was then drenched in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, before having its trousers and sleeves pigmented using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Violet and "Citadel" Druchii Violet.

"Mounted Simian" WIPs - The two cavalry models have been assembled, primed and dry-brushed

The Ape with Baton's face, ammunition belt, rifle and strap were treated to a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna", whilst the soldier's wooden stick was painted using some Charred Brown. All of these areas were later shaded using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Finally, I 'picked out' the metallic parts of the gorilla's firearm with a little "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil.

With my 'test piece' for my Simian Minion horde completed, I've spent a little time assembling, basing and priming four Mounted Simians. I'm not really sure whether I'll manage to get these cavalry models completed within the time-frame of my twenty-four hour 'Paint An Entire Project" Challenge. But they certainly have proved a welcome diversion after painting so many infantry figures over the past few weeks.

"Alternative Armies" WIPs - A giant Earth Elemental, a giant Fire Elemental and a Human Wizard

In addition, I have spent some time slowly progressing the largest (base-size wise at least) of the units for my "Hordes Of The Things" Elemental Army. The giant Earth Elemental by "Alternative Armies" has actually taken quite a toll upon my enthusiasm for the HOTT'ember Challenge, as its wash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade has repeatedly stripped away its double undercoat of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna back down to the bare metal underneath. Indeed, this particular amalgamation has resulted in a distressingly similar result on my ten lesser Earth Elementals as well...

Fortunately, I've had far more success 'testing out' my use of "Vallejo" Sun Yellow for the first time on my giant Fire Elemental. This particular Game Color gives a much brighter finish than my ever-trusty "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre, and should therefore hopefully prove a very visible contrast to the murky brown 'mud-men' on the tabletop.

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Elemental Army" HOTT'ember 2020

"Alternative Armies" WIPs - A giant Earth Elemental, a giant Fire Elemental and a Human Wizard

This month's randomly themed attempt to try and reduce my overwhelming collection of metal, plastic and resin miniatures has been rather waylaid by Roger 'Dick Garrison' Webb's agreement for us to both paint up a twenty four point "Hordes Of The Things" (HOTT) army over the next few weeks. Roger will be documenting his progress on a Conan the Barbarian force using 15mm "Copplestone Castings" over on his excellent blog, "Rantings From Under The Wargaming Table", whilst I'll be working on an Elemental Army by "Alternative Armies".

My particular HOTT Army is readily available from the Scottish-based wargaming company as a single pack containing an entire Magical army, and comprises of a multitude of figures taken from their HOTT and Tabletop TTF miniatures 15mm metal ranges. It consists of:

Magician General (Human Elementalist) @4AP - Human Wizard

Behemoth (Giant Elemental) @4AP - Fire Elemental

Behemoth (Giant Elemental) @4AP - Earth Elemental

2 x Warband (Lesser Elementals) @2AP - totaling six Water Elementals

2 x Shooters (Lesser Elementals) @2AP - totaling six Fire Elementals

2 x Hordes (Lesser Elementals) @1AP - totaling ten Earth Elementals

2 x Lurkers (Lesser Elementals) @1AP - totaling four Air Elementals

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - These Simian Minions are slowly having their base layers applied

I have always wanted to play HOTT and as a result own a couple of armies for the fantasy miniature wargame published by the Wargames Research Group. However, up until my whimsical challenge to Roger, I've never managed to find the inspiration to actually knuckle down and paint one of them. Unsurprisingly, this isn't the case any longer, so I've already started work on many of the Elementals, as well as the force's leader, a little known human wizard called Gandalf the Grey...

August 2020 - Strong month for the likes of "Otherworld Miniatures" and "Precinct Omega"

Painting wise, the past four weeks saw me enjoy my second most productive August since this blog started, with my "Planet Of The Apes" project using "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" miniatures really helping me keep my enthusiasm high for the entire period. I've actually still got a few more of these twenty-four hour 'Paint An Entire Project" Challenge hobby sessions left to complete, so realistically expect to finish even more Simian Minions over the next few weeks.

In addition, I managed to clear through all of my Oozes, Slimes and Puddings by "Otherworld Miniatures", and diminutive resin "Ballmonsters!" by "Precinct Omega". The vast majority of these characterful sculpts were admittedly rather straightforward, but they all helped me maintain a steady stream of tabletop ready models every couple of days...