Top Ten Miniatures Of 2021 - An "Undercoat" Personal Choice

It is with some trepidation that I pen my choice of 2021 top ten miniatures from the Fantorical blog. The excellent top ten already done by Roger had me smiling with the way it was written so the bar has been set very high. This year highlighted to me the incredible variety of miniatures painted and if there is one thing Simon is good at, it is finding the eclectic and quirky stuff out there. One of the reasons I read his blog is to be shown the stuff that doesn’t always hit the mainstream! This was an interesting year for a number of reasons, but in terms of this blog some of the old favourite model ranges were either absent or vastly reduced in numbers and replaced by some very interesting new stuff!

The choice I have made is a personal one and based on a number of factors including, but not exclusive to, the paint job, how cool or quirky the miniature is, and just that wow factor! So without further ado and no more jibber jabber here it is, in reverse order.

No. 10 - Shrieking Wolves by "North Star Military Figures" - April 9th

These minis were metal oriental dog-like creatures from the fantastic Frostgrave game. Firstly, the concept of them intrigued me and the paint scheme just brought them to life. Secondly, the beautiful weathered metal with the superb Verdigris effect deserves a chef’s kiss. I just adore these. Such a great paint job.

No. 9 - The Punisher by "Atomic Mass Games" - January 12th

A character from the Marvel comics brought to life in miniature form for the game Marvel Crisis Protocol. I just like this sculpt. It looks great. However, the paint job really brings him to life. I like the eyes, the stubble on his face and the skull symbol on his top. In a year that saw no hero clix superhero models that I recall, Atomic Mass Games filled that void very nicely.

No. 8 - Human Lineman by "Games Workshop" - May 15th

This old school Blood Bowl player was a blast from the past and proved to be a lovely reminder of the history behind this Games Workshop game. The current range of Blood Bowl teams are some of my favourite minis out there for their character and humour so this chap brought a smile to my face. Proving once again that he is a master of painting metallic, I love the simple colour scheme of this player and really want to see this expanded into a full team in 2022 to go along with the fabulously named Rusty Buckets dwarf team!

No. 7 - Twig Fiend by "Rocket Pig Games" - May 31st

This miniature just came out of left field for me. A quirky sculpt that was 3D printed and just oozed charm and character. Something different that highlighted the variety of miniatures out there if you just dig below the surface. A lovely paint job that I don’t think the main pictures do full justice to. Just revisit the posting and look at the other pictures where the woody menace is fighting the Tin Man to get a fuller picture of what this looks like. A quirky mini brought to life with a great paint job, what more can I say!

No. 6 -  Paladin Annihilator by “Privateer Press” - December 8th

Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika is a relatively new range of miniatures from an established company that is moving their IP away from a fantasy steampunk setting to a very high tech sci-fi universe with some nice sculpts, The Iron Star Alliance faction has been painted up throughout last year but these later additions were tweaked with some blue metallic spot colours that just make them stand out from what went before. I really like these a lot. High tech knights in the far future sound just awesome to me!

No. 5 - MG34 And K98 Rifle Team by "Battlefront Miniatures" - September 4th

Now we enter the historical sphere of wargaming with some 15mm World War 2 German soldiers. A different scale to what I have picked previously but this unit of soldiers looks like a mini diorama as the 4 men move across the battlefield on their base. To be honest it is difficult to pick one entry from the Flames of War postings, so this pick should really encompass the whole year’s work. It is the care that has gone into these that amazes me. Black lining them, camouflage on certain helmets etc. I bet these look stunning set up as a whole force. A great addition to the year’s output.

No. 4 - Tin Construct by "Rocket Pig Games" - May 7th

Another quirky miniature. A mechanical man that has clearly taken inspiration from one of the trio travelling the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy. Firstly, what a great sculpt! So full of character and with so many uses in fantasy games like Frostgrave or home brew rules that frequently get used in battle reports on this blog! Secondly, what great metallics. The rusted and weathered nature of this model is captured wonderfully with this paint scheme. Another one of those that really stuck in my memory.

No. 3 - Bruce Lee by "Mondo Games" - January 19th

Another set of miniatures I had never heard of that sounds bonkers, yet fun where you can match a famous martial artist off against dinosaurs! This is another one of those where the whole package of sculpt, paint scheme and the quirky nature of the game made me remember this one straight away. Great skin tones, well painted eyes (don’t you just hate having to do them!) and an overall paint scheme that just tells you who this is without reading the blog. I just couldn’t leave this one out of the top three.

No. 2 - Yeti by "Zealot Miniatures" - April 16th

Well, I’ve never seen a yeti that looks like this! (I know they probably aren’t real but I meant in film, miniatures etc! It would be awesome if they are real though!) I don’t think I’ve imagined a yeti ever looking like this – all mouth and white fur. What an incredible design. I think this model is amazing. Once again it comes to life because of the way the fur is painted. Two things I think Simon excels at: painting metals and painting fur. A simple paint scheme that is executed so well. Just superb.

No. 1 - American Civil War Infantry by "Warlord Games" - December 21st

These miniatures caused something of a stir when they hit the public in late 2020, early 2021. Designed for the Black Powder game in a new epic scale to really convey the massed battle nature that rule set was created to play. Different scale (15mm), different design (a strip of ten men all joined together) and a lot of talking points for the wargaming community which I won’t go into. Now, why did these diminutive Johnny Rebs take the top spot? Partly because I think the miniatures and the concept of how they portray a massed unit of infantry are brilliant. However, the main reason is the detail and care that has gone into them. Once again black lining between the different areas on such a small scale set of minis is madness but looks great; but it is the way the slightly rag tag nature of the Confederate forces has been captured by different coloured uniform elements that blows my mind! The soldiers have different coloured jackets, different coloured trousers, different coloured boots and different coloured hats! On a 15mm strip of soldiers!?! Boom! Mind blown again. Simon himself admits a bit of a dislike for these and to be honest I don’t think you can keep this standard of diversity up for a whole army in this scale as it would probably drive you a bit potty! I think these are incredible and a worthy winner of my top ten.

So that wraps up my top ten picks for 2021. Plenty of cool miniatures were left out but there was a lot to choose from! I hope these provide a small amount of inspiration for anybody reading to pick up a paint brush and do some painting.

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"

'The Curious Karakulak.'

"A non-sentient species of omnivorous and gregarious canids."

This 28mm scale metal model of a Karakulak is sold by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought as part of their Alien Pets deal. The animal is 26mm in length and is designed to be used with the company's other "Colony 87" sci-fi civilian miniatures "for any RPGs and tabletop wargames."

The extra-terrestrial fox was initially undercoated using "Vallejo" White, before being washed in some quite heavily watered-down "Citadel" Druchii Violet and dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" White. I then set about pigmenting the creature's toes and nose with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before finishing it off by dotting its eyes with a combination of "Vallejo" Turquoise and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade.

"Blue is potentially the second-most intelligent piece of life on this planet and she’s the last of her kind."

In addition to the latest of my "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" alien pets I have also finished working on the third of my 30mm tall plastic Velociraptor figures produced by “Mondo Games”. This Late Cretaceous "dromaeosaurid dinosaur" was seemingly sculpted to depict Blue from the 2015 American film "Jurassic World" and can be found inside the Jurassic Park: Ingen Vs. Raptors board game for "Unmatched".

Having initially chopped the miniature from its 25mm stand with a sharp modelling knife and subsequently glued it upon a 40mm circular base instead, the predator was primed using "Vallejo" Sombre Grey, drenched in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Sombre Grey. I then 'picked out' all the Raptor's claws and sharp tiny teeth with "Vallejo" White and later treated them to a wash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade too.

"Kitbash Games" WIPs - Big Bot has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

As a second to last step I 'dotted' both the Velociraptor's eyes with a spot or two of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and a dash of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. I then finished the predatory dinosaur off by coating its tongue with a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

Setting aside my finished figures I've also managed to get some basic layering, shading and dry-brushing completed on my resin model of Big Bot by "Kitbash Games". This rather formidably-sized resin sculpt was created as part of the Supers Unlimited Teamstarter 1: Aegis Kickstarter campaign, and whilst its 'official' palette is extremely colourful, I have decided to go with a somewhat rusty metallic scheme which better suits its resemblance to one of my "Mooretoons" cartoon strip characters - Tin Man.

"You Stare At Him, And He Just Stares Back."

"That's when the attack comes -- Not from the front, no, from the side, from the other two raptors..."

This 52mm tall plastic figure of a Velociraptor is produced by “Mondo Games” and can be found inside the Jurassic Park: Ingen Vs. Raptors board game for "Unmatched". Sculpted to depict the "genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur that originated from Late Cretaceous Asia" in one of their pulse-pounding pulses from the 1993 American film "Jurassic Park", the model was initially chopped from its 25mm stand with a sharp modelling knife and glued upon a 40mm circular base instead.

"A bipedal, feathered carnivore with a long tail", the predator was primed using "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, drenched in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Grey. I then pigmented all the Raptor's claws and sharp tiny teeth with "Vallejo" White and subsequently treated them all to a wash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade too.

"Kitbash Games" WIPs - Kayo the Bouncer is slowly having all her details 'picked out'

As a penultimate step I 'picked out' both the Velociraptor's eyes with "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and a splash of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. Before finishing the well-detailed dromaeosaurid by coating its tongue with a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

Following the completion of my third "Unmatched" model by "Mondo Games" I have managed to spend a lot more time focusing upon my entry for Fembruary, and as a result have almost got Kayo the Bouncer table-top ready. I don't actually plan on using the "Kitbash Games" resin miniature for their "Supers Unlimited" rule-set. so have instead painted her to be the Soviet colleague of Stalingrad known as Mother Russia for my own Weird War Two adventures.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - The Ectoplasmic Entity has been primed, layered and shaded

In addition, I have taken the opportunity of needing to clear some significant space within my "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" backlog prior to their latest successful Kickstarter, Lurkers From The Deep, reaching fruition, to test out my "Vallejo" Fluorescent Green on the company's Ectoplasmic Entity model. I'm not really sure whether this experiment will work, but due to the sculpt's overall smoothness felt that if the worst happened I could always just over-paint or even strip the "Ghostbusters" lookalike.

For now though I've simply been patiently building up the layers of the Model Color acrylic paint over a "Vallejo" White base, and washing "the Ghost of John Belushi" with some "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. Once completed the plan is to then lightly dry-brush the entire ensemble with (more) "Vallejo" White to provide a sort of Zenithal highlight, and then glaze over the miniature with (even more) Fluorescent Green; similar as to how I applied "Vallejo" Fluorescent Yellow to my "Heroclix" Zzzax by "Wizkids" last year.

"It Can't Be Long Now."

"I worked night and day for twelve years to prevent the war..."

These ten 15mm scale plastic Confederate soldiers are manufactured by “Warlord Games” and came free on a sprue accompanying Issue 393 of "Wargames Illustrated" . Soon to be released as part of the Nottingham-based company's "Epic Battles: American Civil War" game for its Black Powder rule-set, the line of infantrymen is one of two needed to form a single base of miniatures, and are based upon the uniforms of an Alabama unit.

The figures were primed using a double-coat of "Citadel" Abaddon Black and then slowly had all their details 'picked out' started from the ground up. Initially, I was awfully tempted simply to stick to basic black for all of their shoes, but then decided to select three models where I'd apply a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to their footwear.

"...But I could not."

I did something similar with the troops' trousers too, as I didn't just want all of them to be marching in the colour pants. As a result I applied some "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil to eight of the soldiers' trousers, and Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to the remaining two; making sure not to pick any Johnny Rebs who already had brown shoes.

For the Confederates' jackets I either went with a mixture of "Vallejo" Sombre Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil or "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade. This choice of colours might seem a little odd for a Southern unit but the Alabama recruits actually wore "a dark blue frock coat" and "black broad brimmed felt hats at the war's start," So I wanted to capture that uniqueness with my palette choices.

"Mondo Games" WIPs - The two dinosaurs are slowly having their teeth and claws 'picked out'

I later gave all the Kepi hats a dash of "Vallejo" Sombre Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil, their blanket rolls a smidgeon of either "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna or White with a wash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and their belt buckles a touch of "Vallejo" Gold and (more) Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter". Finally their hands and faces were layered with "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone, shaded in "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and lastly highlighted with extra dabs of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone.

With the first of my ten "Epic Battles: American Civil War" infantry lines "successfully completed, I have made a little more progress on the two remaining plastic Raptor models I own for "Unmatched". These "Mondo Games" dinosaurs have now had the majority of their large claws and numerous teeth 'picked out' with "Vallejo" White, and now just need one last 'big push' to be table-top ready...

"Now Try To Imagine Yourself In The Cretaceous Period."

"You get your first look at this six foot turkey as you enter a clearing."

This 40mm tall plastic figure of a Velociraptor is manufactured by “Mondo Games” and can be found inside the Jurassic Park: Ingen Vs. Raptors board game for "Unmatched". Sculpted to depict the "genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur" in one of their memorable moments from the 1993 American film "Jurassic Park", the model was actually cut from its 25mm stand and glued upon a 40mm circular base instead.

"Significantly smaller" in real life than that depicted on the big screen, the creature was undercoated using "Vallejo" Earth, drenched in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Earth. I then 'picked out all the Raptor's claws with "Vallejo" White and later treated them to a wash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade too.

"Unmatched" WIPs - The two raptors are slowly having their teeth and claws picked out

As a last step the dinosaur's eyes were 'dotted in' using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. However, I wasn't quite finished with the entire ensemble yet, as I wanted to pigment the figure's somewhat iconic sculpted base with something a bit more noticeable than my usual all-over 'muddy brown' colour scheme.

Clearly cast to replicate the Raptor's scene with the ladle in Jurassic Park's kitchen, I applied a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey to the tiled area around the dinosaur's clawed feet, shaded them "Citadel" Nuln Oil", and lastly dry-brushed them with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey. I also gave the long-handled spoon a coat of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and subsequently gave it a generous splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil as well.

"Marvel Crisis Protocol" WIPs - Crossbones has been based, primed, and dry-brushed

With the first of my three "Unmatched" Velociraptors completed, I have been slowly working on the remaining figures from this "asymmetrical miniature fighting game" by picking out their claws and numerous teeth. Fortunately, neither of the creatures has such an elaborate base as the other one, so hopefully they should prove a bit more straightforward to paint.

In addition, I have managed to make a little progress on my Crossbones miniature by "Critical Mass Games" for "Marvel Crisis Protocol". The super-villain's palette is a little dark for my liking, so I've decided to break it up somewhat by applying some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna to some of Brock Rumlow's leg straps, his pistol holster and ammunition pouch...

"How Doubly Glorious Will Be My Triumph..."

"...Now, when the unsuspecting world thinks me dead and gone!!"

This 40mm scale plastic figure of Johann Schmidt is made by “Atomic Mass Games” and can be found inside the Marvel Crisis Protocol Core Box set. Assembled using ten different pieces, not including its circular stand, the model depicts the "protégé of Adolf Hitler" wearing his (Marvel Cinematic Universe) HYDRA uniform and holding aloft the infinitely powerful Cosmic Cube.

Rising "to power during World War Two", the Red Skull was initially primed with two layers of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and thoroughly dry-brushed using "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal in order to bring out the sculpt's detail. I then applied a coat of "Vallejo" German Grey over the super-villain's trench-coat, washed the leather garment with some "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed it using some (more) "Vallejo" German Grey.

"Atomic Mass Games" WIPs - Ultron has had his base painted, and the model layered in "Vallejo" Silver

I picked out a number of the expert tactician's buttons with "Vallejo" Gunmetal and his two HYDRA shoulder badges with Heavy Red. All of these areas were subsequently shaded using "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I also pigmented Schmidt's large belt buckle with a combination of "Vallejo" Gold and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. I did attempt to additionally 'catch' the edges of a buckle sat high up on the despot's coat with some "Vallejo" Gunmetal, but couldn't seem to 'hit' the clasp as well as I would like, so gave up after a couple of unsuccessful passes.

I painted Der Rote Schädel's head with a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and washed it with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. I later added a few highlights to the face with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red. Finally, the fiend's Tesseract was completed courtesy of applying a little "Vallejo" Blue Fluorescent over a White basecoat, and subsequently dry-brushing the cube delicately with more White.

"Mondo Games" WIPs - The three raptors have been dry-brushed and need their details to be picked out

Despite having finished my tenth model for Marvel Crisis Protocol, I still have a handful of "Atomic Mass Games" miniatures on my painting table at various stages of completion. As a result I have decided to spend the rest of the month 'ticking these off the list' too, so have been both busily layering the skirmish game's impressively large model of Ultron and working on the robot's melted slag stand.

In addition, I have squeezed in a bit more progress on the three plastic Raptor models I own by "Mondo Games" for their board-game "Unmatched". Admittedly, some of the sculpting on a few of these Jurassic Park dinosaur's clawed feet is a little troubling, as the gaming pieces have been rather roughly cast to their pre-moulded bases. But I'm hoping some patches of grass flock will help cover up the unsightly joins.

"The Strange Plant-like Being Known Only As Groot...

"...Loves life and fights to protect it."

This 63mm tall plastic figure of the Monarch of Planet X is produced by “Atomic Mass Games” and can be bought as part of  the company's Rocket & Groot expansion set for "Marvel Crisis Protocol". Assembled using thirteen different pieces, not including its circular stand, the model depicts the Flora colossi smashing one of his wooden arms straight down through the concrete upon which he's standing upon.

"Endowed with exceptional strength and the ability to regenerate damage at a prodigious rate", Groot was originally undercoated with two layers of "Vallejo" Charred Brown, drenched in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and thoroughly dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" Charred Brown. I then mixed in a little "Vallejo" White to my palette so as to lighten my this colour, and applied a second dry-brush over the entire model.

"Mondo Games" WIPs - The three dinosaurs have been washed in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade

As a final 'highlight' I gave the Guardian Of The Galaxy a third dry-brush, this time using "Vallejo" Heavy Brown, and subsequently started sporadically dabbing the model with a torn-piece of blusher pad dipped in "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. These areas were later better blended in with (yet) another dry-brush of "Vallejo" Heavy Brown. Lastly, I 'picked out' Groot's eyes using a couple of dabs of "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown and some "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade.

One of the small issues I experienced pigmenting the "humanoid tree" was how to tackle the three or four slightly luminescent bulbs which have been sculpted onto the alien's chest - presumably to indicate Groot's ability to regenerative and extend his limbs. Personally, I've never liked the look of them, especially as I thought anything yellow was bound to clash with the "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown I'd already used for his eyes. Resultantly, I decided to simply apply a little "Vallejo" Heavy Grey and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green to the areas, and be done with them.

"Warlord Games" WIP - The Confederates are slowly getting their jackets pigmented

With my ninth model for Marvel Crisis Protocol successfully completed, I have found a little spare hobby-time with which to apply a "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade to three plastic Raptor models by "Mondo Games". This trio of gaming pieces are from the Jurassic Park - InGen Verses Raptors expansion for "Unmatched" and have such excellent detail on their sculpts that they should 'highlight' up a treat once dry-brushed in their base colour.

Lastly, I've had an opportunity to get cracking on a second line of 15mm infantry by Warlord Games. These Confederate soldiers will form the back rank of one of my units for "Epic Battles: American Civil War", hence they've been temporarily attacked to a wooden baton for ease of reaching their fiddly details with a brush-tip. I have already managed to finish their shoes and trousers, and am now slowly working my way down the line 'picking out' their jackets...

"The Successful Warrior Is The Average Man, With Laser-like Focus."

"The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering."

This 34mm tall plastic figure of Lee Jun-fan is produced by “Mondo Games” and can be found inside the Bruce Lee Hero Expansion pack for "Unmatched". Sculpted to depict the Hong Kong American martial artist in one of his iconic Fist of Fury poses, the miniature was actually cut from its ill-fitting 25mm stand and glued upon a 40mm circular base instead.

The founder of Jeet Kune Do was primed using a combination of "Citadel" Abaddon Black and "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone, before having his sole visible sock 'picked out' with some White and Pale Grey. As I wanted to emulate his famous costume from Lo Wei's 1972 action film I layered his trousers in "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and darkened them down with plenty of "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Mondo Games" WIPs - The three dinosaurs have been re-based and primed

I was planning on subsequently dry-brushing Bruce Lee's bottoms with some more "Vallejo" Heavy Blue. But in the end decided I rather liked the un-highlighted look of the "Citadel" Shade instead. I did though apply quite a heavy wash of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade to the pop culture icon's bare chest, applied a touch more "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone to his fingers, and later treated his hair to a combination of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this latest addition to my collection of "Unmatched" miniatures was a rather 'spur of the moment' purchase, so sticking to my plan of only buying new figures after I have already painted two older ones, I have retrospectively slapped three of "Mondo Games" Velociraptors from their Jurassic Park – InGen vs Raptors boxed set to the front of my painting queue. Just like Bruce Lee's figure, these models were re-based onto 40mm stands and have been undercoated in "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, Earth and Sombre Grey.

"Marvel Crisis Protocol" WIPs - Groot and the Savage She-Hulk

In addition, I've been cracking on with my "Marvel Crisis Protocol" super-heroes by "Atomic Mass Games". Having previously finished both the Black Widow and Frank Castle, I 'treated' myself to picking up the table-top hobby miniatures game's latest expansion, She-Hulk. Over 70mm in height, Jennifer Walters has already been assembled, primed, and had some basic layering started on her base using "Vallejo" Bluegrey.

To keep Stan Lee's green-skinned co-creation company, I have also put together and started pigmenting the Guardian Of The Galaxy, Groot. As I actually painted a "Wizkids" sculpt of the Flora colossus from the New Jersey-based company's ever-growing "Heroclix" range just over six years ago I'm hoping to get this somewhat larger incarnation of the Monarch of Planet X completed in a reasonably short space of time...

"As A Boy, Matt Murdock Was Blinded..."

"...In an accident involving radioactive chemicals."

This 40mm scale plastic figure of Matthew Michael Murdock is manufactured by “Atomic Mass Games” and can be bought as part of  the company's Bullseye & Daredevil expansion set for "Marvel Crisis Protocol". Assembled using nine different pieces, not including its circular stand, the model actually took quite a while to put together owing to his billy club's cable being snapped in half prior to its arrival.

As a result I had to snip away part of the cable with a pair of cutters, and then carefully drill a hole deep into one of the batons. I then used some plastic glue to re-attach a delicately sanded down cable end into it, and, fearing that the miniature wouldn't survive much handling on the tabletop with such a delicate hand-weapon, permanently glued the billy club to both Daredevil's shoulder and his lower back area.

"Marvel Crisis Protocol" WIPs - Daredevil was dry-brushed before having his details 'picked out'

"Fuelled by a relentless pursuit of justice", the Man Without Fear was undercoated in two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, drowned in "Citadel " Carroburg Crimson, and enthusiastically dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red. So as to slightly 'break-up' all the dark red I then applied some brighter "Vallejo" Dark Vermillion to the billy clubs themselves, and later darkened the hand-held batons down with some additional "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

The aforementioned troublesome cable was given a lick of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before being pigmented using a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I did consider subsequently dry-brushing the length of metallic cord with more "Vallejo" Gunmetal, But in the end thought I'd leave well enough alone with such a seemingly fragile-looking element to the model.

"Mondo Games" WIPs - Bruce Lee is slowly having his trousers layered prior to shading

Having finished my eighth model for Marvel Crisis Protocol, I have been trying to make good on my self-made promise to immediately paint any new arrivals which I happen to purchase throughout the year. This excellently-posed figure of the Hong Kong American martial artist Bruce Lee by "Mondo Games" is just such a miniature, and comes from an expansion for the company's "duelling game" entitled "Unmatched".

I actually own a good half-dozen of the plastic models from this game, so thought I had better get started putting my brush to at least one or two of them following the recent announcement that the likes of Black Panther, Squirrel Girl, Winter Soldier, Luke Cage, Ghost Rider and Moon Knight are scheduled to be added to the game in future months. In addition, I've managed to acquire the Jurassic Park - InGen Verses Raptors expansion too, so am somewhat intrigued to see how "the founder of Jeet Kune Do" fares against a trio of always-hungry Velociraptors...