"Brain Moles Hunger For Psionic Energy."

'They will attack victims by psionically burrowing into their brains.'

These three 15mm long pewter models of some Brain Moles are produced by "Otherworld Miniatures", and can be bought from their Dungeon Monsters range under Code DM30. Sculpted by Paul Muller, the single-piece castings depict the burrowing animals watching for the approach of their psionic prey.

"Small, furry, and nearly blind", the tiny creatures were attached to 25mm plastic slotta-bases and primed with two layers of "Citadel" Abaddon Black. Their furry hide was then dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal before being shaded in "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Brain moles eat small insects when they can't get psionic energy."

I picked out out their tiny webbed feet, tails and star-shaped noses with a little "Vallejo" Heavy Warmgrey, and later washed these areas with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. As a final touch I dotted their diminutive eyes with a dab of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and (more) "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

"Zealot Miniatures" WIPs - This Yeti has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

Having finished this trio of power leeching dungeon denizens, I have turned my attention to another of my alternative sculpts for "Frostgrave" by "Zealot Miniatures". This Dorset-based manufacturer has really fired my imagination with its incredible range of snow-based monsters, and this particular 40mm Yeti was the first of Boris Woloszyn's figures to catch my eye.

I've only currently purchased a few resin models from the Litchmyre Dungeon Collection, as I wanted to see just how well the company's "quality PU Resin" worked as a modelling medium. But having now assembled and pigmented a couple of figures, my long term-plan is to acquire a fair few more of their wandering monsters, as well as enough heroes with which to form an adventuring warband.

"Privateer Press" WIPs - This Wayfarer is slowly having all of his detail picked out

Fortunately, despite this distraction, I have still found the time to make some healthy progress on the Iron Star Alliance Paladin Weaver I plan to field for my games of Warcaster: Neo-Machinika. This "solo" unit by "Privateer Press" is absolutely covered in intricate detail, but should soon be finished now all its brass-coloured areas have been base-coated with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna.

Top Ten Manufacturers Of 2020 - A "Fantorical" Viewpoint

Despite being a rather disappointing year, productivity wise, 2020 certainly seemed to demonstrate that I was finally starting to move away from such mainstays of my past hobby-time as "Games Workshop" and "Warlord Games", and instead turning towards some of the new companies like "Atomic Mass Games", "Precinct Omega" and "Kitbash Games". Indeed, neither of those aforementioned 'big' Nottingham-based manufacturers even feature in this Top Ten for the first time in half a decade.

In addition, my obsession for all things science-fiction was definitely diluted by a growing fascination with a number of fantasy ranges, most notably those of "Lucid Eye Publications", "Alternative Armies", and rather surprisingly "Wizkids". This disconnect was especially felt in my lack of finishing much to do with my favourite time-travelling television programme "Doctor Who", as well as any "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" miniatures either; all three of which had had very strong showings during the previous year...

No. 10 - "West Wind Productions" - "Secrets Of The Third Reich

I've painted a significant number of models from this range over the past decade, but never with any real intention of actually playing the official "Secrets Of The Third Reich" rule-set. Instead, I've adopted them as my 'go to' miniatures for "Konflikt '47" by "Warlord Games", and as a result ended up painting a handful more during the last twelve months so as to allow me to field both a British and German force of 500 points apiece. Disappointingly, after just a few visits to Weird World Two, I ended up once again boxing away these great figures, quickly ending an aspiration to pigment a 250 point American faction to add to my Allies.

No. 10 - "Kitbash Games" - "Supers Unlimited"

With super-heroes always being one of my most popular genres to paint, it was perhaps no surprise to anyone that I backed "Kitbash Games" highly successful Kickstarter so as to get my greedy paws on some of their excellent resin "Supers Unlimited" miniatures. Indeed, I was so enthused with the likes of Tox, Granite and the Blue Scarab that I even purchased some more of the characterful crime-fighters from the company afterwards. Sadly however, I never did manage to complete as many of the colourful vigilantes as I had originally intended, and rather embarrassingly have a drawer full of them only partially-painted.

No. 9 - "Black Tree Design" - "Doctor Who"

One of the biggest disappointments of the year was just how few "Doctor Who" models I painted from my extensive "Black Tree Design" backlog based upon the BBC science fiction television series. Plans to complete a sizeable force of armoured Sea Devils ("Warriors Of The Deep"), original Autons ("Spearhead From Space") and Swampies from Delta Magna ("The Power Of Kroll") were all sadly side-lined just as soon as I had primed the miniatures in question, and eventually lead to me frustratingly only finishing less than half a dozen Zygons overall.

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

Despite owning an astonishing amount of "Heroclix" figures by "Wizkids", many of which are already fully painted, there was probably little doubt that I would start down the rabbit hole of "Marvel Crisis Protocol". Luckily however, after something of a slow start, my enthusiasm for this 40mm scale range gained some noticeable traction towards the end of the year, and as a result I not only made some in-roads into the models found within the Core Starter Set. But also managed to finish pigmenting a few of the figures from some of the super-hero skirmish game's already numerous expansion boxes too.

No. 7 - "North Star Military Figures" - "Frostgrave"

The highly-anticipated release of "Frostgrave" Second Edition by Joseph A. McCullough undeniably helped fuel my fire to finally finish off some of my long-languishing inhabitants of Felstad. However, rather than nudge me to complete a second much-needed warband for my Witch and his Apprentice using the hard plastic sculpts from the Nottingham-based manufacturer's Tribals boxed set, I instead ended up predominantly focusing my efforts upon the over-sized vermin scurrying through the underground sewers of the frozen city.

No. 6 - "Alternative Armies" - "Hordes Of The Things"

Painted entirely for the HOTT'ember Challenge with Dick Garrison of "Rantings From Under The Wargames Table" fame, these 15mm scaled models were a real test of both my eye-sight and patience due to many of the miniatures being 'rather old and uninspiring sculpts'. Indeed, I've rarely been as tempted to consign an army to a soon-to-be-forgotten drawer as I was with this mixture of water, earth, wind and fire elementals. Luckily though, I did eventually managed to find the strength to finish all but the force's wizard, and resultantly pigmented a sizeable number of figures.

No. 5 - "Precinct Omega" - "Ballmonsters!"

Purchased on the spur of the moment during the Bournemouth-based wargaming show "Beachhead", these bizarre-looking creatures surprisingly fascinated me from the moment I first laid eyes on them, and somehow repeatedly found their way at the forefront of my painting queue throughout the year. In fact, I actually ended up successfully putting my brush-tip upon every single Ballmonster I bought, even though I still have absolutely no idea what I shall do with them on the tabletop.

No. 4 - "Otherworld Miniatures" - "Dungeon Monsters"

Initially starting as a simple trip to Greg Gillespie's "Barrowmaze" role-playing game setting and its animated stone Barrow Guardians, my collection of high-quality miniatures from this Hertfordshire company took on a life all of its own once I encountered its range of slimes, oozes and jellies. Spurred on by the discovery that I already owned a fair few of their finest moulds, I ended up painting all manner of dungeon denizens, including both a Black and White Pudding. 

No. 3 - "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" - "7TV

Buoyed along throughout the second half of the year by three semi-successful painting projects, and a smattering of skeleton warriors, my obsession with "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" saw a number of Simians, ARC astronauts, alien pets, security guards and FedSec Troopers getting a lick of paint. Disconcertingly though, this was actually only the 'tip of the tentacle' as far as my planned out-put was concerned following Karl Perrotton running some more triumphant Kickstarters during the period which only added to my mountain of unfinished miniatures.

No. 2 - "Lucid Eye Publications" - "Toon Realms"

In many ways the completion of a small-sized Gondor/Fangorn army for "Dragon Rampant" was my most successful project of the year, and certainly saw me churn out a number of cute-looking armoured figures from the "Toon Realms" range. However, I never did manage to actually play a game using the "Osprey Publishing" rule-set, and quite bizarrely totally stopped painting any more knights, Ents or unfriendly ghosts by the end of January.

No. 1 - "Wizkids" - "Heroclix"

Whenever I am in a painting funk I usually find myself turning to my collection of plastic "Heroclix" figures for inspiration, and this pre-painted range's ability to put me back in the mood for hobbying was probably never as important to my productivity as it was during 2020. In fact, not only did the American manufacturer cause me to pigment an impressive number of super-heroes, space-knights and villains. But it also seemingly lead me down the Swords & Sorcery path as well, persuading me to complete golems, Rolling Oil, and the largest miniature I have ever attempted - the 300mm tall Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honourable Knight.

"Brown Mould Grows In Damp Subterranean Areas..."

"...And it grows by absorbing heat."

This 28mm scale pewter model of a Brown Mould was produced by "Otherworld Miniatures" as part of their DM7b Slimes, Oozes and Jellies II collection. Hand-sculpted by Paul Muller, I actually purchased this model many years ago and had previously painted it a garishly bright orange before storing it away in a plastic container for safekeeping.

Having 'relocated' the "dungeon hazard" onto a much more suitable "Citadel" 50mm circular base and (re)primed the monster with "Vallejo" Heavy Brown, I enthusiastically shaded it with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. I then patiently dry-brushed the fungus with some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Brown.

The vast majority of the Wehrmacht are wiped out by a massive British artillery bombardment

In addition to polishing off the last of my Dungeon Clean-Up Crew by "Otherworld Miniatures", I've also managed to get in a couple more games of "Konflikt '47" by "Warlord Games". Admittedly, the forces concerned only comprised of 200 points each, but they at least provided me with an opportunity to reacquaint myself with the rule-set and once again get to grips with gaming mechanics such as pinning, rallying and animated corpses...

The opening game certainly did not go as planned for the Wehrmacht and their experimental Totenkorps Squad. At one point it did look like the zombies were finally going to literally get their teeth stuck into some Tommy flesh, but the small seven-cadaver sized unit was simply too small to withstand the withering fire assailing their undead flesh from the Commonwealth Lines.

The British infantry hunker down as a German zombie horde fast approaches

In addition, some top work by the British Artillery Forward Observer, who incredibly comes as a free unit courtesy of Great Britain's "Artillery Support" Army Special Rule, rained merry hell down upon the rest of the German soldiers. Indeed, having only just recovered from a massive bombardment which badly pinned the majority of the Wehrmacht infantry down, almost the entire German force was then wiped off the battlefield with a ferociously precise follow-up barrage.

Fortunately, the next conflict was a much more even battle, with both sides walking away with a hard-fought draw. This time round though the Totenkorps at least managed to engage their enemy in close combat. However, the British Second Lieutenant soon put the last of the unholy squad back beneath the ground with a desperately brave shot of his pistol. In addition, the British Artillery was far less effective, even badly pinning a few of the Commonwealth's own infantry towards the end of the conflict...

"Because The Only Good Human Is A Dead Human."

"The only thing that counts in the end is power! Naked merciless force!"

This 28mm scale white metal model of a Simian Leader is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought either separately or as part of their Simian Minions II four-figure collection. However, I actually obtained mine through the company's successful 7TV:Apocalypse "Kickstarter" as I thought the 'aggressive gorilla' would make an excellent proxy for General Ursus from Ted Post's 1970 science fiction film "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes".

"A leading official of Ape City", the figure was initially primed with two coats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before being heavily dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal. Every one of the metallic plates and studs on the military commander's armour was then 'picked out' with "Citadel" Ironbreaker and thoroughly washed with a mixture of Nuln Oil and Badab Black.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Cornelius, Kira, Ape armed with baton and Zaius

Ursus' uniform was painted using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Purple and "Citadel" Druchii Violet, whilst his face was layered in "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. I had actually contemplated using "Valejo" Heavy Charcoal for the General's skin, but in the end thought it would make both the miniature and any subsequent gorilla soldiers I pigmented appear a little too dark.

In addition to finishing "the primary antagonist of Beneath the Planet of the Apes" I have somewhat painfully completed another two of my twelve dedicated painting sessions for my twenty-four hour 'Paint An Entire Project" Challenge using "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" models. I'm now quite a way behind schedule though mainly thanks to my having to re-paint two more Simian Minions after their original final washes of "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade either disconcertingly dried white (presumably due to some chemical reaction with the heat) or simply cracked open the paint underneath.

"Ochre Jellies were known to exist in the dungeon of Xul-Jarak in Thar."

A recent rummage through a few boxes of old painted models I probably won't ever use again has also revealed my missing Small Ochre Jelly by "Otherworld Miniatures". For some reason I'd glued the ooze onto a 25mm circular base and applied a bright green colour scheme to it, so that the slime rather resembled a Rutan from the BBC Television Series "Doctor Who" or a particularly soggy iceberg lettuce.

Fortunately, I was able to both re-base and re-paint the "thick, golden sludge" so that it matched that of its twin, predominately using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. The 'giant amoeba' was then heavily dry-brushed using (more) Heavy Goldbrown in order to help highlight the wonderful detail Paul Muller had sculpted onto the ooze.

"Found In The Colder Regions Of The World..."

"...White Puddings are thought to be offshoots of black puddings by many scholars."

This 28mm scale pewter model of a White Pudding is produced by "Otherworld Miniatures", and can be bought as Code DM7f from their range of Dungeon Monsters. Hand-sculpted by Paul Muller, this miniature was actually bought as part of the Hertfordshire-based manufacturer's now long OOP blister entitled Slimes, Oozes and Jellies II, and had at some point in the past been primed in a brilliantly bright light blue...

In addition, the denizen of the deep had been afixed to a "Citadel" 40mm circular base which meant the vile slime-creature's edges almost overlapped its stand. So before undercoating the "very dangerous opponent to a party of novice adventurers" with a couple of layers of "Vallejo" White, I sliced it off its underwhelming based and swiftly super-glued it to a 50mm round plastic slotta-base instead.

"If touched roughly, it may emit a cloud of spores in a ten-foot radius."

The White Pudding was then drenched in "Vallejo" Pale Grey, before being thoroughly dry-brushed with (more) White. As a final touch I flocked the large unaligned ooze's base with a mixture of different snow powders rather than my usual static grass. I did momentarily think that the whiteness of the solitary stalker would contrast very nicely with the green grass. But as the monster's camouflage is entirely based upon it looking like "normal ice and snow when at rest", it didn't ultimately make much sense to me...

Alongside this particular inhabitant of "cold, frigid lands" I have also completed a 28mm scale pewter model of another Yellow Mould. This creature, which is "most commonly encountered in dark, damp locations" was also sculpted by Paul Muller and is available via "Otherworld Miniatures" as DM7g from their range of Dungeon Monsters.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - George Taylor, General Ursus, Cornelius, Taylor and Kira

Described as a "deadly threat to adventurers", the "nasty fungus-like infestation" was undercoated using a double-helping of "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown, before being enthusiastically shaded with plenty of "Citadel" Gryphonne Sepia. It was then patiently dry-brushed using a little (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown.

Lastly, I have  managed to complete the third of twelve dedicated painting sessions for my twenty-four hour 'Paint An Entire Project" Challenge using "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" models. After a bit of 'toing and froing' over the eyes of the Albion Rocket Corporation (ARC) astronaut I plan to use as a "Planet Of The Apes" proxy for George Taylor, I am finally within reach of finishing the first of my main character figures...

"Ochre Jellies Were A Dangerous Variety Of Subterranean Ooze."

"The ochre jelly extended itself and latched onto a victim, proceeding to constrict and engulf them."

This 28mm scale pewter model of a Large Ochre Jelly is manufactured by "Otherworld Miniatures" and is available under code DM7d from their range of Dungeon Monsters. Hand-sculpted by Paul Muller, the ooze lurks "in dungeons, slowly creeping along floors, walls, and ceilings... looking for victims", and featured in the 1977 edition of "The Monster Manual" by Tactical Studies Rules".

"Capable of dissolving any organic material" with its yellow-orange coloured acid, I initially super-glued this unaligned ooze to a plastic "Citadel" 40mm circular base, but quickly discovered that this gave me absolutely no room to manoeuvre when it came to gritting its base with modelling sand. As a result, the jelly was re-based onto a "Citadel" 50mm circular stand and primed using a few coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown.

"The jelly can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings..."

The "clean-up crew" creature was then enthusiastically washed using a copious amount of "Citadel" Gryphonne Sepia, and later doused in its deeper folds with some Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter". Lastly, the giant amoeba was dry-brushed using some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Golden Brown.

This particular model was actually found in a long forgotten box of goodies produced by "Otherworld Miniatures" which also contained a single casting from their twin-pack DM7e, Small Ochre Jellies. The monster ordinarily turns into two of these smaller versions of itself when sliced apart by a sword or similar bladed weapon. However, the fact I have lost one of them didn't stop me from painting the other figure alongside its much larger version.

"Warzone" WIPs - The pair of Cybertronic Machinators have been primed, layered and shaded

In addition to discovering some more oozes, slimes and jellies for my "Dungeons & Dragons" adventures, I also found a collection of old Warzone Mutant Chronicles by the sadly defunct "Swedish publisher of roleplaying games", Target Games. Two of these miniatures, a couple of Cybertronic Machinators particularly caught my attention, and were immediately based/undercoated.

Knowing very little about the actual model range myself, as at the time of its popularity I was far more interested in the out-of-print collectible card game "Doomtrooper", I don't know a great deal about this universe, and therefore have little idea as to the lethal-looking robots' colour scheme. However, a predominantly silver and dark grey palette seems to be the most popular choice judging from the photographs I've seen, so that's the way I plan to go...

"Local Villagers Whisper Of A Mysterious Place Deep In The Marsh..."

"...A place shroud in mist and dotted with barrow mounds, ruined columns, and standing stones."

These two 28mm scale metal Barrow Guardians were manufactured by "Otherworld Miniatures" as part of their "Official Barrowmaze Miniatures" range. However, these days they seem to be 'Out of Production' on their website, unless you purchase The Monsters of Barrowmaze Boxed Set (Code BMB1), which contains the custodian stood upon a plinth.

Luckily for me, "Otherworld Miniatures" very generously sent me a free copy of the Barrow Guardians with my most recent purchase, so I am now able to populate my dungeon with up to four of the enchanted stone constructs if the need arises. Both figures are sculpted by Andrew May, and were produced back in January 2014, as part of the successful Barrowmaze Complete campaign on "Indiegogo".

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Astronauts Taylor, Dodge and Landon

The figures are multi-part pieces and needed to have their shields pinned/super-glued in place before I could prime them with a double helping of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey. As the statues have supposedly stood buried deep within the confines of a water-laden barrow I decided to simply replicate the slimy grey/green colour scheme I have previously used on my other two Greater Barrow Guardians.

I've also managed to complete the first of twelve dedicated painting sessions for my twenty-four hour 'Paint An Entire Project" Challenge using "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" models. I initially planned to purely focus upon the three Albion Rocket Corporation (ARC) astronauts I aim to use as proxies for Taylor, Landon and Dodge from the "Planet Of The Apes" 1968 movie. But soon ended up doing some straightforward groundwork on the bases of four characterful Simian Minions whilst I was waiting for my "Vallejo" White to dry.

Simian Minions WIPS - The four apes have been primed and had their footwear 'boxed off'

In addition, I badly underestimated just how long it takes to paint a predominantly all white cosmonaut. I've actually painted several of these sculpts before in the exact same colour scheme, but back then kept the hands gloved. This time round just the simple addition of having to 'box off' the wrists with "Citadel" Abaddon Black before laying down a coat of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone really took its toll, especially around where I'd swapped out the original hand for a new one holding a firearm.

To compensate and save some significant time I did consider leaving the human's chest panels pure white. However, having dug out my previously-painted figures where I pigmented in some of the device's buttons, I soon realised I was missing an opportunity to provide them with a splash of colour, so carefully went in with a "One Happy Choice" 00 brush and roughly 'drew around' the relevant areas with a little thinned "Citadel" Abaddon Black... 

"A Black Pudding Attacks By Grabbing And Squeezing Their Prey."

"The pudding can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings..."

This 28mm scale pewter model of a Black Pudding is produced by "Otherworld Miniatures", and can be bought as Code DM7b from their range of Dungeon Monsters. Hand-sculpted by Paul Muller, the creature made its first appearance in the 1974 "Dungeons & Dragons" set and "resembles a bubbling, heaped pile of thick, black, pudding-like goo, roughly fifteen feet across and two feet thick."

As with the Hertfordshire-based manufacturer's Green Slime, I found the "nasty, oozing creature that haunts caverns and dungeons, seeking unwary denizens to prey upon" to actually overlap the edges of its accompanying "50mm round plastic slotta-base", so ended up super-gluing it to a 60mm circular base instead. I then applied a double basecoat of "Citadel" Abaddon Black over the "mindless, underground-dwelling scavenger" and heavily dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal.

"That's what we're up against... An alien beast that calls itself a Dire Wraith!"

Finally, I drowned the Black Pudding in "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I actually found this particular 'figure' rather underwhelming, as although it has some nice detail, it is incredibly flat for an underground creature which "secretes a digestive acid that dissolves organic material and metal quickly." "Wizkids" produced a far more dynamic-looking, almost swirling version as part of their Monster Menagerie Set 2, but I have been unable to source a reasonably priced one yet...

Speaking of "Wizkids" and their pre-painted plastics, I have also pigmented eight of their 31mm tall plastic Dire Wraiths. Still potentially available as number 010a from the "Marvel" Guardians Of The Galaxy "Heroclix" range, these shape-shifting aliens "are an evolutionary offshoot of the Skrulls from the Andromeda Galaxy" and were created by Bill Mantlo and Al Milgrom for the December 1979 issue of "Rom".

"Not only Earth, but the entire Cosmos will be cleansed of you -- "

Once the models were removed from their clicky-bases and super-glued onto 40mm circular bases, they were all primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and heavily washed with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. The extra-terrestrial opponents of Rom the Spaceknight were then dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

Each Wraith's pair of eyes were 'picked out' first with some "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and then a tiny spot of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre. As I wanted the "Skrullian Deviants" pupils to particularly stand out, I didn't bother shading them, and instead simply tidied their edges up with some additional "Citadel" Abaddon Black and "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

"Green Slime... The Deadliest Denizen Of All!"

"Don't touch it! It is certain death!"

This 28mm scale pewter model of some Green Slime is produced by "Otherworld Miniatures", and can be bought as Code DM7a from their range of Dungeon Monsters. Hand-sculpted by Paul Muller, the creature made its first appearance in the original 1974 Dungeons & Dragons set and represents "a large colony of green slime; a very unpleasant plant-based life-form that lurks on the floors, walls and ceilings of dark dungeons, ready to drop on careless low-level adventurers."

Despite being advertised as only being 45mm wide, I soon found the "bright green, sticky, wet moss" to actually overlap the edges of the "50mm round plastic slotta-base" it came supplied with. So in the end I decided to super-glue it to a 60mm circular base instead. I then applied a basecoat of "Vallejo" Russian Uniform over the deadly ooze and washed it with copious amounts of "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

A trio of adventurers battle a pool of Green Slime, a mound of Yellow Mould, and two Barrow Guardians 

As I wanted to use the mindless monster as a test piece for my recently acquired "Vallejo" Green Fluorescent Model Color, I first dry-brushed the miniature with some (more) "Vallejo" Russian Uniform, before individually 'picking out' each and every lethal blob with some "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. These pustules were later repeatedly dry-brushed using an increasingly lighter combination of "Vallejo" Russian Uniform and White.

Once I felt the "horrible, fetid growth" was highlighted enough, I dabbed the entire thing with "Vallejo" Green Fluorescent and allowed it to dry. As a final touch, I went back in and reapplied more "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade to the highly corrosive creature's numerous bumps and bulbous stalks.

"Wizkids" WIP - The Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight has had all its shading finished

Due to being firmly in the "Dungeons & Dragons" zone currently, I have also made some quite appreciable progress on my 300mm tall Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight by "Wizkids". Considering that this plastic stone construct actually came pre-painted and cost in excess of forty quid, I have definitely had to push through a phase in its pigmentation where I strongly questioned why I had stupidly decided to re-do the huge figure in the first place.

However, having now finished both the model's initial dry-brush of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, and its subsequent weathering using copious amounts of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and Biel-Tan Green, I'm rather pleased I've invested all the energy and time on it. In addition, having managed to get the walking statue's enormous sword and shield shaded too, I now just need to spend a few hours patiently dry-brushing Waterdeep's guardian before the entire project is almost finished...

"Guardians Entombed As Part Of The Barbarian's Funeral."

"Some of the guardians may have been destroyed over the centuries."

These two 28mm scale metal models of a pair of Barrow Guardians are produced by "Otherworld Miniatures", and can be bought either separately from their "Official Barrowmaze Miniatures" range, or the custodian stood upon a plinth can be obtained from The Monsters of Barrowmaze Boxed Set (Code BMB1). Sculpted by Andrew May, the figures were produced back in January 2014, as part of the successful Barrowmaze Complete campaign on "Indiegogo".

Multi-part pieces, I decided to attach a shield to both of my models to indicate that they were Greater Barrow Guardians. This was rather a straightforward process for the stone construct stood upon a circular slab, as there were plenty of 'contact points' for the super-glue to bond to. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for his companion, and in the end I had to patiently pin his shield literally into his hand with some wire after it initially broke free whilst I was gritting the miniature's base.

"A stone statue of a warrior, which can animate to protect the tomb which is has been assigned to guard." 

Both magically animated custodians, along with the plinth, were initially primed using two coats of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey. I then applied some washes of "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green and Agrax Earthshade to each sculpture so as to suggest extreme weathering, and finally tidied each ensemble up with a second (lighter) dry-brush of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey.

In addition to my Barrow Guardians I have completed a 28mm scale pewter model of a Yellow Mould. This is also produced by "Otherworld Miniatures", and is available as DM7g from their range of Dungeon Monsters. Hand-sculpted by Paul Muller, the creature represents "a colony of yellow mould, a nasty fungus-like infestation, often found growing on decaying matter in caverns and dungeons."

"If disturbed... This mould bursts forth with a cloud of poisonous spores."

"Very dangerous if disturbed by unwary explorers", I originally super-glued the furry textured monster to a plastic "Citadel" 40mm circular base, and primed it with "Vallejo" Heavy Brown. I then applied two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown over the entire creature, and shaded it using a copious amount of "Citadel" Gryphonne Sepia.

Lastly, the "deadly threat to adventurers" was dry-brushed using some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Golden Brown, and a lesser highlight of Heavy Ochre. At this stage however, I suddenly realised that there wasn't any room on the model's base for me to apply wither any sand, grit or static grass. As a result, I therefore carefully prised the Yellow Mould from off of its stand, and permanently attached it to a "Citadel" 50mm circular base instead.

"Egad, Snivelitch! These Madballs Even Gross Me Out!"

"He hasn't seen nothing yet!"

This 28mm scale resin model of a Ballmonster is produced by "Precinct Omega", and was bought as a pair of show specials whilst at "Beachhead" 2020. Designed to be played with the company's "wild and hilarious game of luck and judgement in which players pit teams of giant, carnivorous, helium-filled bad-tempered beachballs against one another", the miniature also came supplied with a clear plastic flying stand.

Having decided against having "my antidote to fantasy sports games" fly through the air in preference of him bouncing towards his opponents across the ground, I super-glued the 'head' onto a 25mm circular base, and primed him "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I then drowned the freakish figure in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, before dry-brushing him with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

"Otherworld Miniatures" WIPs - A second (weathered) Barrow Guardian and a Fighter in plate mail

With the basics done, I 'picked out' the gas-filled sphere's teeth using a combination of "Vallejo" White and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and his puss-filled 'blind' eye with "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. Finally, I dotted in his right 'good' eye with a little "Citadel" Abaddon Black over a layer of pure "Vallejo" White.

In addition to my Ballmonster test piece, I've been plugging away at my collection of "Dungeons & Dragons" figures produced by "Otherworld Miniatures". Disconcertingly, one of the elements missing for my "Fighting Fantasy" themed campaign is a distinct lack of any adventurers, so I have been slowly plugging away at all the metallic areas of a Fighter in plate mail, and dirtying him up a little "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade".

"Wizkids" WIP - The Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight has been shaded

Alongside this model, I've also managed to finish the 'weathering' on both of my (Greater) Barrow Guardians, and started tidying up their bases ready for my usual application of "Citdel" Doombull Brown, Rakarth Flesh and Agrax Earthshade. I'm actually hoping to get my hands on a third of these excellent Andrew May sculpted stone custodians from the Hertfordshire-based manufacturer's official "Barrowmaze" range soon...

Lastly, after a couple of sessions with a 24ml pot of "Citadel" Nuln Oil and a big paintbrush, I have completed shading my Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight by "Wizkids", including both the custodian's enormous shield and sword. Now I just need to start applying a dry-brush of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey over the entire miniature using my recently purchased makeup foundation brush from the "Abody" Professional Cosmetic Kit.

"Yochlols Were Most Numerous In... The Demonweb Pits."

"Within it they commonly served as Lolth's enforcers, scouts, and appropriately as handmaidens."

These three 28mm scale pre-painted plastic models of some Yochlols are produced by "Wizkids", and can be bought as miniature number 012 from their Storm King's Thunder range of "Dungeons & Dragons" models. A chaotic evil creature, this shape-changing demon were able to slam "away at their foes with their numerous tentacles", and introduced in the 1980 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" game adventure module, Queen of the Demonweb Pits by David C. Sutherland III (with Gary Gygax).

"A type of lesser tanar'ri demon", which were also known as Handmaidens of Lolth, each figure was super-glued to a 25mm circular base, and originally undercoated with some "Vallejo" Heavy Goldenbrown. However, due to the rubbery texture of the Yochlols' figure, this extra opaque Game colour simply didn't take to its surface, so in the end I applied a couple of helpings of "Vallejo" Heavy Brown.

"Otherworld Miniatures" WIPs - These two Barrow Guardians are slowly being weathered

Once this had dried, I then re-applied the "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown once again, and subsequently shaded each 'handmaiden' with an old pot of "Citadel" Gryphonne Sepia. This seemed to pool really well amongst all the sculpts' soft details, and create precisely the yellow, oozy, effect I was after to suggest how their "bodies seemed to be constantly melting and piling back up like a sickening living candle." Later, I gave each miniature a rough dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown and 'picked out' their eyes using a combination of Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

Sticking with "Dungeons & Dragons" denizens, I have made some more progress on two Barrow Guardians by "Otherworld Miniatures". These animated stone statues from their official "Barrowmaze" range, are slowly being weathered using a combination of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, Biel-Tan Green and Agrax Earthshades washes. Plus some patient dry-brushing with "Vallejo" Heavy Blue-Grey.

"Wizkids" WIPs - This 115mm x 160mm shield has been primed and partially shaded

I'm particularly pleased I've got these two figures to practice on as I'm also making some significant headway on my Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight by "Wizkids", and plan to use precisely the same palette on that as my Barrow Guardians. Indeed, having finished priming the 300mm tall plastic model, I've put some time in undercoating his separately attached sword and shield, with the intention of actually finishing these 'smaller pieces' first before tackling the 'Big Yin' himself.

Weighing in at a whopping 115mm x 160mm in size, the shield in particular is proving rather difficult to handle and pigment simultaneously, at least without "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey" getting everywhere, as I'm having to hold some part of the piece's surface whenever I apply a brush to it. Resultantly, I'm doing both it and the sword in piecemeal stages, in the hope that I can then apply any tricks I pick up on the Knight's significantly larger plastic main torso.

"This Viscous Heap Slides Like An Inky Spill."

"It's the colour of a starless night sky, and a thick odour permeates the air around it."

This 45mm tall pre-painted plastic model of some Rolling Oil is produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 029 from their Ruins of Lastwall range of "Pathfinder Battles" figures. "A magical compound of pitch and alchemist’s fire", the "volatile and dangerous ooze... hunts in subterranean tunnels and even city sewer systems and waterways for animal and vegetable material to consume."

"Thick, viscous, and resembling a glistening spread of black wax" the mutable creature was re-based upon a "Games Workshop" 50mm circular base and primed using a double layer of "Citadel" Abaddon Black. The Rolling Oil was then enthusiastically dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal, before being drenched with "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Otherworld Miniatures" WIPs - This Barrow Guardian has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

With my latest ooze completed, I have been rummaging around for more models by "Otherworld Miniatures" to use with a possible "Warlock Of Firetop Mountain" flavoured tabletop campaign I have in mind. Russ Nicholson's excellent illustrations for this particular "Fighting Fantasy" gaming novel by "Puffin Books" made a lasting impact upon me when I was a young hobbyist, so ideally I have been scouring through my "Dungeons & Dragons" backlog to see what figures captured the look of the Glasgow-born artist's pencilling.

One such model is a Barrow Guardian from Greg Gillespie’s ‘Barrowmaze’ RPG setting. This particular sculpt would appear to be 'out of production' these days, and I only managed to 'bag one' myself because "Otherworld Miniatures" very kindly sent me for free when I ordered their heavily discounted Barrow Guardian II (Code DM30b). The metal figure was actually a bit of a pain to assemble, as its shield is (understandably) separate, so had to be pinned in place due its minimal surface contact with the monster's wrist.

"Sally 4th" Elite Paint Storage Shelving Unit

I have also spent some time assembling one of three Elite Paint Storage shelves produced by "Sally 4th" to try and help 'tidy up' my painting area. I'm very much aware that I've not played anywhere near as many games as I had hoped to by this stage of the year, and a large part of this is because my considerable painting queue, along with my numerous paints, brushes, glues and varnishes have significantly encroached upon my table space.

Assembled using copious amounts of Titebond Original Wood Glue by "Franklin International", this multi-piece MDF painting accessory can accommodate fifteen "Vallejo"-sized dropper bottles of paint and comes with two clear fronted drawers as well. The wooden kit also comes supplied with some "ultra strong rare earth magnets" with which to securely hold any adjoining shelves in place. I won't be attaching mine yet until I've built the other two storage units, to ensure their polarity matches the next rack...