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.

Top Ten Miniatures Of 2021 - A "Rantings From Under The Wargames Table" Viewpoint

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”, or so the song says, however regular readers of Simon’s illustrious blog may feel differently, as it is in fact the time of the year where that idiot from another blog is let loose to bring you his personal (and sometimes controversial) opinions as to what were the ten best miniatures featured here at “Fantorical”. This year really does seem to have flown by, so it’s nice to make a cup of tea, sit back and spend a few hours in the company of one of my favourite blogs, perusing the plethora of perfectly painted figures and quickly running out of superlatives with which to describe them. So here in reverse order is my “Top Ten” (feel free to have Alan “”Fluff” Freeman’s voice in your head as you read them).

No. 10 - Bruce Lee by "Mondo Games" - January 19th

Now who doesn’t love “Enter the Dragon”, I know I do so I was more than a little pleased to see this excellent rendition of the master of “Jeet Kune Do”. The figure is a cracker posed as he is in the classic movie pose, and Simon’s usual high standard of painting and shading has brought out all the details on his musculature and trousers stupendously well. I have a friend who is both a gamer and Bruce Lee fanatic, so a link into this page emailed to him resulted in a sale for Mondo Games, perhaps Simon should be on commission!

No. 9 - Abraham Lincoln by "CoolMiniOrNot" - May 24th

To say that we jump from one genre to another here is a bit of an understatement! Very like “Forest Gump’s” infamous “Box of Chocolates” you really do never know what you’re gonna’ get. It did however still surprise me when “Honest Abe” first appeared, especially as he was armed with an axe and sawn-off shotgun, but I guess if you’re fighting “Zombies”… I suppose I should mention that this figure is for the very cool game “Zombicide”, and that should explain everything, as you’ve come to expect the colours and shading is spot on here, but I think it’s the brooding and slightly crazed look in his eye’s that elevated this chaps painting in my opinion and secured his place here amongst this vaulted company!

No. 8 - Yeti by "Zealot Miniatures" - April 16th

It’s like no Yeti I’ve ever seen, but that doesn’t distract from just how excellent this miniature is! The simplicity of the sculpt just makes the great work Simon has done on the contrasts with the fur and the gaping black maw stand out all the more. This is in fact the second Yeti painted this year (well technically the other one was his also brilliant, White Gorilla, but between Simon and his followers we decided it was better suited as a Yeti anyway!!). Looking like it just walked off of the set of “Scooby Doo” had it not been for the professed £10.00 price tag I would have been ordering one of these 40mm tall beasties for myself.

No. 7 - K98 Rifle Team by "Battlefront Miniature" - September 25th

Simon has painted lots of lovely 15mm WWII Germans this year (If lovely is a word you can use to describe Nazi’s!). Anyway, all of the diminutive plastic chaps have been extremely well pigmented and each group applied to a nicely textured base to boot. A real trip down memory lane for me as one of the first “theatres” I dabbled in was WWII, albeit in 20mm, and using the old “Rapid Fire” rules as opposed to the “Flames of War” battles these chaps will be fighting with. So why this group over any other others? Well it was a hard decision but I just liked the camouflaged helmet cover on the chap in the front row if I’m honest.  

No. 6 - Immolator by "Kitbash Games" - June 12th

It wouldn’t be a roundup of Simon’s output for the year without at least one “Super Hero” and he’s knocked out another “doozy” here with his take on a Kitbash figure, that in what seemed to be a bit of a trend this year he re-named as “Mistress Mississippi” so as to include her in some “Weird War II” gaming. However, whatever name you choose I loved the vaporous emissions around her hands and feet, that so nearly covered her whole body till it was decided (wisely in my humble opinion) to paint her in the glorious green and dark flesh colours you see above, and to top her off a smashing pair of inhuman green eyes, a great alternative interpretation of a smashing figure.  

No. 5 - Fungal Giant by "Rocket Pig Games" - July 28th

So we come to the first of two “Giants” in my list this year, I have to say I was immediately struck with this wonderful miniature, upon reading the text I was surprised to discover that it was in fact originally sold as an STL file that Simon then had printed out via “Etsy”, as I usually don’t have any great love for CGI figures. Though small for a “giant” at only 37mm tall (Still a fair size for a mushroom in 28mm scale!), I think it is Simon miraculous painting that has really brought this figure to life, the colours though muted are perfect and the slight “pop” of colour on the “actual” fungus growing from his torso, works so well! He looks a proper treat, and I’m sure he’s a “fun guy” to game with (sorry, but I had too!).

No. 4 - The Enemy Commander by "Tangent Miniatures" - September 10th

Simon as I’m sure regular readers will atone is a bit of a fan of the silver screen, be it large or small, characters from programs and films of our youth (well mine anyway) often make guest appearances on the pages of this inimitable blog, so I guess it was inevitable that if someone produced figures representing characters from the eighties sci/fi classic “The Last Starfighter” they would end up on here at some point. Once again Simon has taken what would have been a simple red one piece costume, and elevated it brilliantly with shading and dry-brushing, then picked out his details superbly well, so that what we ended up with was a version of “Lord Kril” that could have just walked out of the set, of the movie, from the moment I saw this I thought “That’s going to be in the “Top Ten” this year”.   

No. 3 - Stone Golem by "Zealot Miniatures" - July 12th

Last year I got moaned at by Simon for not including his “Walking Statue of Waterdeep“ in my top ten, well though not one to be swayed by popular opinion I have included this granite gargantuan this year. Though called a “Golem” I would venture that this second entry onto my list by Zealot Miniatures at 90mm tall is more of a giant myself. This is a corking resin sculpt replete as it is with its Dwarf like appearance, But I have to say that it’s the truly wonderful painting that is the biggest draw for me, Simon has shown on numerous occasions that he’s a master of convincing stonework, and this is a perfect example of his craft, but when you add in the sublime work on the oxidized brass of his bracelets, and the wonderful “glowing” eyes (something I’ve always shied away from myself), not to mention the snowy base work, this is a really great miniature. 

 No. 2 - Adder by "Catalyst Game Labs" - July 5th

I have long had a soft spot for Battletech, as it was a game we ran as a campaign back in my games club days, So I was thrilled when Simon started showing some of the new 1/285th scale models on his blog, and also intrigued to read that he planned to use them is another of his “Weird War Two” settings (honestly he seems to have so many different ones of these, I can’t keep up with them all!). Each miniature has been a joy to behold, and the way he has blended the marking from actual WW2 vehicles and units around the vastly different shapes of the “giant robots” has been ingenious to say the least. Of the ones he’s painted up so far I think my favorite has to be the “Adder” pictured above, all the various colours just work so well in the locations he’s applied them, I love this and it nearly topped the tree, but just missed out to my final choice (however if he’d finished the “Marauder” he is currently working on it might have been a different story!!).   

No. 1 - Benny the Bat by "Mongoose Publishing" - October 6th

And so we come to the end of my list, and the top banana this year came in the month the rest of us were busy painting the undead, Simon however (even though he was running Zom’tober this year) was instead putting out truly wonderful miniatures like this (and some Zombies). Benny the Bat is a lesser known character from the Judge Dredd comic strips, and I have to say wasn’t one I was familiar with, but that didn’t stop me from being mightily impressed with the final result of some tip top brushwork, as usual the shading is sublime, the colours perfect, the moustache bushy, and the subject matter typically Simon! One of the great things about visiting here is finding stuff you never knew you wanted, and even though it often appears to be “Out of Production”, you still find yourself looking for it across the net. This chap is a perfect example of this, so rolling all these factors together makes “Benny” my number one choice for 2021.

So that’s it another year over and another collection of top quality painting and interesting miniatures all arrayed on one of my favorite blogs. As usual there were many “nearly” figures that didn’t quite make the cut, but did make my “not so” short list, so I have a few honourable mentions before I go - “The Twig Fiend”, Oola Blint, The Slayers, Grave Gnasher, Paladins (I can see I’m going to get it, for not including these!), Apes, Blood Bowl, Red Skull, Mother Russia, Slimer and so many more…..

You know what don’t just take my word for it, make yourself a cup of tea sit back and work your way back through the “Finished Figures” category under the header above and see what I get all excited about. It is always a good read. Plus you’ll learn stuff you didn’t know and see some wonderful figures you probably never knew existed (I know, I have used wonderful a lot in this post, but it is the “Most wonderful time of the year”, as I said at the start!).

As usual I’ll finish, by thanking Simon for allowing the lunatic’s to take over his asylum for this brief time, as well as taking time to raise the writing standards over on my own humble blog, along with you lot for taking the time to read this (bearing in mind that you got this far of course!), I can’t wait to see what he comes up with in 2022!

Cheers Roger.

N.B. You can visit Roger's excellent wargaming blog and see both his excellent output, as well as my own Top Ten of his 'best in show' here:

"Rantings From Under The Wargames Table"

“A Powerful Medium Scout And Recon 'Mech…”

“…The Ice Ferret was regarded as something of a foreign concept when it was first encountered.”

This 1:285 scale pre-built plastic model of an Ice Ferret is produced by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be found together with a Gargoyle, Hellbringer, Mad Dog, and Viper in the company’s “Battletech: Clan Heavy Striker Star” boxed set. 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 Levasseur 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.

“Well armoured and fast” the 31mm 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 tiny cockpit windows ‘picked out’ with the odd a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

Die Unordnung accompanies the German Forces as they push towards the British line

In order to add a bit of interest to the rather lightly-coloured model I decided to add a few ‘points of interest’ on both its arms and torso by ‘picking out’ the war walker’s shoulder-pads, top hatch and a rear-placed panel using a combination of “Vallejo” German Grey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I later gave these diminutive areas a delicate dry-brush of (more) “Vallejo” German Grey to help highlight their details.

I also applied some “Citadel” Abaddon Black to both the Ice Ferret’s Extended Range Particle Projector Cannon and Streak SRM-2 (missile) Launcher, before pigmenting them with some “Vallejo” Gunmetal and later on, a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Finally, I applied some French roundels by “Decal Details” to the mech’s front legs, and unsuccessfully attempted to add the Tricolore to the machine’s upper torso. Unfortunately, the French National flag simply couldn’t fit in the limited space provided and after a couple of failed efforts where the transfer eventually started to disintegrate, I gave up.

Liberty Lady defeats both some Nazi Zombies and Die Unordnung

With my latest “Battletech” model by “Catalyst Game Labs” completed, I managed to pay a visit to the LVL Up Gaming Store in Bournemouth so as to play-test some homemade 28mm Weird War Two rules called "M.I.S.S." On this occasion I brought along some figures taken from my old “Secrets Of The Third Reich” collection by "Westwind Productions", and some of the resin “Supers Unlimited” sculpts by “Kitbash Games”.

The two battles were played over a somewhat congested Middle Eastern settlement, and both the Allies and Axis forces came away with a victory apiece. There were a good many highlights to the games, such as a Zombie horde devouring an entire unit of brave British Paras in a single turn, and Liberty Lady successfully duking it out against a group of Zeds before literally pulling Die Unordnung [The Mess] down from the top of a tactically-crucial building…

“Bow Down Before My Majesty…”

“…And feel my flame!”

This 28mm scale resin model of Immolator is manufactured by "Kitbash Games", and was produced as part of the company's highly successful "Supers Unlimited" Miniatures "Kickstarter" in August 2019. “Banished from the Krellan Empire by order of her mother, the Grand Majestrix Immah’lashan XXII”, I actually plan on using the alien princess’ sculpt as an American super-hero known as Mistress Mississippi for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules.

Having securely attached Immah’latar onto a 28mm lipped base, I initially primed the figure with two layers of "Vallejo" White, shaded the miniature with “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green and dry-brushed her with (more) “Vallejo” White. This technique gave the model the appearance of being some sort of spectral ghost, and for quite a while I was actually contemplating leaving her at that.

"Stay where you are."

However, I eventually decided that such an effect would probably contrast better if the treacherous royal herself was properly pigmented, so applied a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Green” and “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green to her thigh-length boots, gloves and costume. In addition, I steered far away from the yellow-flesh of the Immolator’s ‘official’ palette, and instead went with “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.

I did consider going with some sort of green effect for the character’s long, flowing hair. But ultimately decided upon my fairly generic recipe of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, a dry-brush of “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal, and a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Finally, I dotted Immah’latar’s eyes with a couple of dabs of “Vallejo” White and then treated them to some dollops of Fluorescent Green.

"Battletech" WIPs - This Shadow Cat has been primed, washed and dry-brushed

Alongside my latest Super-hero, I have also finished the last of my 28mm Federated Security Mutaints originally produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”. This figure will form a six-woman formation which will accompany Space Commander Travis during my “Blake’s Seven” campaign, and nowadays is available from "Beast In The Broch" - along with many other 'dead-ringers' from the BBC science fiction television series.

Lastly, I’ve managed to get cracking on a Shadow Cat “Battletech” model I aim to paint up as a British Hawker-class medium War Walker. I’m really enjoying working on these pre-built 6mm scale (1:285) models by “Catalyst Games Labs”, and soon hope to have enough finished for an initial play-through of my home-brew Weird War Two rules…

“...Resembling Humanoid, Leafless Shrubs, Complete With Limbs And A Head.”

“They could root themselves in soil, becoming indistinguishable from regular, dead shrubs.”

This 32mm scale resin print of a Twig Fiend is produced by "Rocket Pig Games", but actually 3D printed by “FullyCycled” over on “Etsy”. The model is one of several test prints I recently bought in order to see just how well such figures can currently be manufactured, and as part of an ever-growing homemade project pitting the forces of a Clockwork Mage against those of the Natural World.

The figure comes on an incredibly large pre-printed stand which contains a serious smattering of smooth rocks, and is the only place where the tell-tale striation signs of a 3D print are visible. Luckily, despite its width, the stand laid reasonably flat, so I was able to ‘squeeze’ the wood-based creature on a “Citadel” 60mm circular base.

A Grave Gnasher summons a Twig Fiend to battle a rampaging Tin Construct.

Unfortunately, I did have one mishap with the miniature whilst I was cleaning off some support struts from it. The monster’s resin is surprisingly brittle, so as I was desperately trying to smooth down one of its head-tendrils with my modelling knife, the entire tentacle-like branch snapped off and flew across my hobby room.

Despite some desperate searching I was unable to locate the missing piece, so was forced to think somewhat creatively as craft a replacement part. My ability with Green-Stuff is not great, so I started searching around my bitz looking for a suitably curly tentacle or some such. Happily, what I did spy was one of the resin staff ends belonging to a Mindflayer, which whilst not quite as curly as I’d hoped, did provide me with enough bend to somewhat fit in with the rest of the Twig Fiend’s tendrils.

Once this piece had been whittled down at one end in order to fit inside a small hole I drilled into the brute’s back, it was super-glued in place. I then gave the entire figure a double coat of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, and shaded it with a mixture of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

"Kitbash Games" WIPs - Immolator is slowly having all of her detail 'picked out'

The creature’s bark was later dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and some “Earth”. I ‘picked out’ the monster’s tendrils with “Vallejo” Heavy Green and “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green, before giving them a soft dry-brush of (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Green. I did consider dotting the Twig Fiend’s eyes with a fluorescent green. But ultimately liked the look of the dark, deeply recessed sockets.

Having completed another of my “Rocket Pig Games” 3D printed models, I have been busy pigmenting my resin figure of Immolator by “Kitbash Games”. This character is actually a yellow-coloured alien villainess in the “Supers Unlimited” pantheon. However, I wanted to use her as an American heroine for my Weird War Two games, so have greatly diverted from the model’s ‘official’ palette.

“Save The Day First."

"Autographs Later Guys!”

This 31mm tall resin model of Doc Cosmos is manufactured by "Kitbash Games", and was produced as part of the company's highly successful "Supers Unlimited" Miniatures "Kickstarter" in August 2019. Described “as one of his country’s most prominent heroes in the media and the public consciousness”, I actually plan to use the sculpt as a Soviet super-hero known as Captain Cosmonaut for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules.

Having super-glued David Cross onto a 28mm lipped base, I originally primed the figure with two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and set about pigmenting half his costume with Heavy Blue, and then much later, Dark Grey. However, as I wanted to give the “Blaster” something of an astronaut theme so as to better tie-in with my character’s galactic-garnered background, I eventually just painted right over all this earlier work with a couple of coats of “Vallejo” Silver.

"Kitbash Games" WIPs - The original colour scheme planned for Doc Cosmos

I next applied a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil over the model, gave it a thorough dry-brush using (more) “Vallejo” Silver, and applied a couple of layers of “Citadel” Abaddon Black to the underside of Doc Cosmos’ uniform. I was at one point actually tempted to subsequently make this area equally as metallic-looking as the rest of the Russian’s attire with a combination of “Vallejo” Gold and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. But having seen how well the black and silver contrasted with one another, I decided to leave well enough alone.

Instead, I ‘picked out’ the ”celebrity” super-hero’s belt and goggles strap with “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, before using a little “Vallejo” Gold and Heavy Red on David’s suit regulator. These respective parts of this circular chest device were later shaded with “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and Carroburg Crimson.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three more Federated Security Mutaints

Finally, I painted Cross’ flesh with a little “Vallejo” Heavy Blue and “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade, and fiery hair using “Vallejo” Heavy Red and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. The space-dweller’s “Vallejo” Silver suit was also given a glaze of watered-down “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade, to both tie-in better with the character’s skin colour, and subtly suggest his raiment was perhaps cosmically-charged.

With my latest “Supers Unlimited” model from “Kitbash Games” completed, I have been busy pinning, assembling, priming and dry-brushing three more of the OOP Federated Security Mutaints I own by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”. These figures all use the self-same torso, so I have tried to create a little variety in their pose by cementing their separate heads in different positions.

"In Some Of The Far Eastern Kingdoms..."

"...Houses, temples, and government buildings are often guarded by large, slow constructs called shrieking wolves."

These two 28mm scale Shrieking Wolves are produced by “North Star Military Figures” and can be bought as code FGV337 from their “Frostgrave" range. "Designed as alarms to scare away intruders", the statues can be encountered by adventurers exploring the Collegium of Artistry - "a vast, labyrinthine complex of halls, classrooms, and laboratories built into the mountainside."

Initially primed in "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, the pair of "tough and tenacious" creatures were subsequently treated to a layer or two of Brass and shaded using "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Ordinarily, I then usually brighten my miniatures back up with a dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Brass, yet on this occasion I wanted the statues to remain somewhat darker than normal, so skipped this step in favour of applying a sporadic wash of the "Citadel" Nihilakh Oxide.

"Fleeing is generally the best course of action."

Once this "Citadel" Technical paint had been applied to all of the metal figures' nooks and crannies, I slowly started to blend it in using a dry-brush of "Vallejo" Brass. Finally, I went back to areas such as the beasts' maws and paws with some additional "Citadel" Nihilakh Oxide simply to ensure that they were suitably weathered.

Momentarily stepping across from Joseph A. McCullough's fantasy world of "Frostgrave" to that of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord Of The Rings", I have made some steady progress on an old Uruk-hai Captain figure I plan to add to my 500-point strong Isengard army for the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. The now seemingly OOP metal command miniature by "Games Workshop" won't actually represent a leader for my force, but rather one of Saruman's shield-less brutal warriors who will only cost 9 points...

"Games Workshop" WIPs - The Uruk-hai Captain's flesh has now been completed

In addition to this, I have been assembling, priming and layering a handful more "Supers Unlimited" models by "Kitbash Games". I still have quite a backlog of these resin sculpts, including one of Doc Cosmos which quite embarrassingly dates back to before the company ran their first successful "Kickstarter" back in August 2019.

I had originally started painting the protector of Empire City in a blue and red colour scheme somewhat similar to his 'official' palette. However, I've since completely repainted the figure "Vallejo" Silver and "Citadel" Abaddon Black so as to better represent Captain Cosmonaut; a Soviet super-hero from Weird War Two. I do though own a second copy of this miniature, and have been contemplating whether to either pigment him in a less 'sparkly' costume denoting a time before he become so cosmically-powerful, or simply turn him into a statue/objective marker which was erected in honour of his noble, war-time deeds...

"Roger! Roger! Protective Protocols Engaged."

"Weapon systems online! Stand down masked citizen!"

This 57mm tall resin multi-part model of Big Bot is manufactured by "Kitbash Games", and was produced as part of the company's highly successful Supers Unlimited Teamstarter 1: Aegis "Kickstarter" campaign in October 2020. Originally built by Robokid's parents and later transformed into a "self-aware robotic protector" by the boy-genius engineer, I actually plan to use the sculpt as a British super-hero known as Tin-Man for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules.

The mechanical construct was first assembled using several pins and plenty of super-glue, before being undercoated with "Citadel" Abaddon Black. The entire ensemble was then given a double-layer of "Vallejo" Gunmetal, thoroughly shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and heavily dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Gunmetal.

Tin-Man helps the Soviets in their battle against the Axis forces on the Eastern Front

I had initially planned on making the super-strong robot extremely rusty, and a far cry from the colourful blue and red palette used in it's 'official' illustrations. However, having already applied a somewhat 'distressed' colour scheme to my Battle Engine, I thought I'd instead take the opportunity to paint the figure up as one of my self-created comic strip characters known as Tin-Man; who in the July 2014 adventure "The Guernsey Guerilla" actually travels back in time to the Second World War so as to defeat the Teutonic terror, Zitadelle.

This meant I needed to somewhat haphazardly 'pick out' various armour plates, limbs, gears and even the mechanoid's chin with a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and Brass. These numerous areas were subsequently washed with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and 'highlighted' with a carefully-placed application of (more) "Vallejo" Brass.

"Yes, Sir. Theta Section, quickly."

As the final steps I 'tidied up' the robot's joints with pure "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and dotted its eyes with a mixture of "Vallejo" Turquoise and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade. I had actually contemplated using a red paint for this job, but felt the light(ish) piercing blue made the super-hero appear much more friendly...

Having completed Big Bot, I also found the time to also complete a FedSec Trooper by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". I actually swapped out the goon's gas-mask wearing head for a balaclava one instead, and pigmented him to represent one of Supreme Commander Servalan's minions from the BBC television series "Blake's Seven".

“I Am A Hacker Housed In A Fully-Armed Mobile Weapon-System."

"Your move, little man!”

This 41mm tall resin model of Battle Engine is produced by "Kitbash Games", and was bought following their highly successful "Supers Unlimited" Miniatures "Kickstarter" in August 2019. Described as a villainous "ghost who surfed in the shadows of the dark web. with many incredible feats attributed to him by his hacker callsign". I actually plan to use the casting as a robotic Allied super-hero known as Mark One for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules.

Having super-glued Enrique Messi onto a 28mm lipped base, I first primed him with a double layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Grey before shading the "hacktivist" in "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. I then applied a dry-brush of "Vallejo" Gunmetal to parts of the figure, such as its armour plating, limbs and head, in order to suggest some significant weathering had taken place on those areas.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Two FedSec Troopers 'converted' with Balaclava heads

I continued to 'distress' the entire model by drenching it in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and sporadically dabbed its joints in "Mig Productions" Extreme Rust Wash. Once applied, these techniques really had made quite a mess of the miniature, so I blended them all together with a dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Grey. This was somewhat delicately done as I wanted to ensure that some of the previously-used "Vallejo" Gunmetal still shone through so as to give Battle Engine a slight metallic sheen.

As a final step I 'picked out' all of the armoured suit's shoulder missiles (both front and back) with a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil, as well as dotted the sculpt's two eyes with some "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. I had also wanted to apply a decal depicting either an Allied Star or American flag to the model, so as to better tie-in with my own background for the automaton. But despite owning several such transfers which were small enough, ultimately failed to locate a sizeable enough flat surface.

"North Star Military Figures" WIPs - This "Frostgrave" bear has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

Alongside pigmenting Battle Engine, I have also found the time to assemble the last two of my FedSec Troopers by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". These jumpsuit-fitted minions actually come complete with a gas-mask wearing head. However, as I wanted them to represent the Federation Death Squad lead by Section Leader Klegg (from the late Seventies BBC television series "Blake's Seven), I have fitted them with some balaclava heads instead.

Lastly, I've managed to base a somewhat large Bear rearing to attack by "North Star Military Figures". This particular sculpt has been added to the company's Frostgrave Extras rage, and has already had its basic stages completed in preparation for next month's big painting push into Joseph A. McCullough's frozen ruins of Felsted...

"Henry Made Himself A Sleek Costume..."

"...And based on the bioluminescent ability he had acquired, called himself Lightning Bug!"

This 32mm tall resin model of Lightning Bug is manufactured by "Kitbash Games", and was produced as part of the company's highly successful "Supers Unlimited" Miniatures "Kickstarter" in August 2019. Described as "a maverick scientist, specializing in entomology, genetics and biochemistry", I actually plan to use the sculpt as a Soviet super-hero known as the Bolshevik Bug for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules.

Having attached Henry Harold Harlan onto a 28mm lipped base, I undercoated the figure with two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and then, in a departure from my usual painting process, set about 'picking out' his armoured boots, gloves, chest emblem and eye goggles with a combination of Heavy Sienna and Brass. These areas were subsequently shaded using "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna.

Kitbash Games" WIPs - Big Bot, Battle Engine and N-Rage

I made this change to my usual methodology because in the past I have disconcertingly found the "Vallejo" metallic paints tend to deposit a few noticeable flecks of colour over the rest of my models whenever they are used for dry-brushing. As a result, I have always had to go back and 'touch up' the contaminated areas, somewhat duplicating my effort to get the miniature finished.

On this occasion however, I simply needed to tidy up the "Vallejo" Heavy Red prime and apply a wash of "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson to the figure in order for the descendant of Insectman to be completed. Those familiar with the "Supers Unlimited" range will also have noted my divergence from the Lightning Bug's 'official' black and electric blue palette for one much more in keeping with my incarnation's Eastern Bloc background.

"Attention, please. This is base control, red alert!"

Alongside the third of my Soviet super-soldiers I have also been making some significant progress on three more "Kitbash Games" models, namely Big Bot, Battle Engine and N-Rage. All three of these excellent sculpts will be repurposed for my Weird War Two campaign, providing the British, American and German forces with the notable battlefield legends Tin-Man, Mark One and Nuklearmann. 

In addition, I've provided some tender loving care to a few of my previously pigmented "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" miniatures following their recent exploits on my tabletop. To be fair, the FedSec Troopers simply had their headgear repainted with Vallejo” Heavy Khaki and some long-lost “Citadel” Thrakka Green, after I found the new alternative shade, Biel-Tan Green, to simply be too dark. Whilst, the Spawn's numerous chips were probably caused during its transportation to different gaming venues as opposed to being damaged through mishandling during an actual scenario...

"This Horned Urz Cub..."

"...Has to be restrained with a zencollar and muzzle for safety."

This 28mm scale metal model of a Horned Urz Cub is sold by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought as part of their Alien Pets 2 deal. Sculpted by Andrew May, and originally produced as a freebie to all backers of the company's Colony 87 - The Third Wave - 28mm Sci-Fi Civilians Kickstarter, the creature is designed to be used with the company's other "Colony 87" sci-fi civilian miniatures "for any RPGs and tabletop wargames."

Over twenty foot tall when fully grown, the prized extra-terrestrial bear was initially undercoated using "Vallejo" Heavy Brown, before dabbing the creature's fur in "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna using a piece of torn foam. The entire animal was then washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Brown.

"North Star Military Figures" WIPs - The two Shrieking Wolves have been primed, shaded and 'distressed' 

The ferocious predator's zencollar and muzzle were 'picked out' using a combination of "Citadel" Abaddon Black and "Vallejo" Gunmetal. This restraining device was later shaded in "Citadel" Abaddon Black and carefully highlighted with a touch more "Vallejo" Gunmetal. Finally, the Horned Urz's eyes were spotted with a couple of dabs of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and later washed using a little "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

Stepping away from the dizzying heights of "Colony 87" and making a frosty return to the snow-laden ruins of Felsted, I have spent some considerable time recently rummaging through my collection of unpainted models looking for a number of old "Frostgrave" miniatures I own by "North Star Military Figures". It's true that I intend to allocate this fantasy skirmish rule-set's second edition a considerable consignment of my valuable hobby-time over the next few months, in the hopes of pigmenting both a sizeable bestiary and some adventurous warbands.

"Kitbash Games" WIPs - Big Bot and The Shark are slowly having their details 'picked out'

However, I have also been spurred on by the announcement of it's science-fiction sequel "Stargrave" and the somewhat imminent release of a whole raft of new sculpts to specifically support it. This year I am absolutely determined to see through my New Year pledge of painting at least two models for every new one bought, so with this in mind, I thought I'd best get cracking on churning my way through my "North Star Military Figures" backlog; especially as I'm aware that the Nottingham-based company has already announced they'll be producing three twenty-figure strong boxes of plastic multi-part miniatures to go alongside their official metal range.

In addition, I've been plugging away at some more of my "Supers Unlimited" resin heroes by "Kitbash Games". such as Big Bot and the long-neglected Shark. I've still got quite a few of these super-heroes and villains to finish before I dare visit the manufacturer's store again, but hope to 'break the back' of this particular pile of shame by the end of next month...

“Can You Alphamaniacs Smell What The Alpha Male Is Cooking?

"Woo! Oh yeah!"

This 36mm tall resin model of Alpha Male is produced by "Kitbash Games", and was bought as part of my pledge from their highly successful "Supers Unlimited" Miniatures "Kickstarter" in August 2019. Transformed overnight with a physical prowess to match his larger-than-life wrestling character, I actually plan to use the casting as a Third Reich super-villain known as Áchtung for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules.

Having super-glued Albert Mannheim onto a 28mm lipped base, I first primed him with a double layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone before shading "the bad-boy" in "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. I then applied some "Citadel" Abaddon Black to the big star's boots, lengthy hair, moustache, prominent eyebrows and leather belt, as well as delicately dry-brushed his laces with some "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal.

"Privateer Press" WIPs - The Paladin Enforcer is slowly having all his detail 'picked out'

The wrestling heel's toe-caps, belt emblem and spikes were given a 'lick' of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Whilst his trousers were treated to a combination of "Vallejo" German Fieldgrey WWII and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green so as to help tie-in the figure with my Weird War Two setting.

I also picked out the heavily-muscled maniac's gold bracelet using some "Vallejo" Gold and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. One particularly noticeable mistake I did make was to 'pick out' both of Mannheim's eyes, whereas the actual sculpt shows him winking with one eye closed. Fortunately, I didn't actually like the look of that facial expression, so having painstakingly 'dotted' both eyes I wasn't going to go back and paint over one socket with "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone.

"Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago" WIPs - The Shark's watery base has been sculpted and painted

With another of my "Kitbash Games" super-villains completed I've continued to make some excellent progress on my Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika. Iron Star Alliance Starter Set, to the point where I've almost finished all three of its Paladin Enforcers. Despite some 'build-issues' with the multi-part metal miniatures, I've been rather enjoying these "Privateer Press" sculpts, and resultantly even ordered a second unit to add to my force from "Firestorm Games".

Slightly left-field has been my decision to pigment a few old Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago animals and monsters I recently found. I'm not necessarily planning on playing the fantasy wargame in the lost isles, but, having never fully-painted a water-based miniature before - at least not one where I'd need to sculpt the waves on its stand - I thought I'd give the resin Shark maw by "North Star Military Figures" a go...