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 - 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.

“Though Vaguely Canine In Form…”

“…Flesh Hounds are more a horrific cross between dog and reptile.”

These six plastic 6mm scale Flesh Hounds [twelve shown with accompanying Bloodletters] were produced by "Games Workshop" for their tabletop wargame "Epic", and regrettably are now long Out Of Production (OOP). However I was jammy enough to stumble across a tub of these daemonic canines from the second-hand stall, “Lesley’s Bitz Box”, whilst visiting "Colours" at Newbury a few years ago, and as part of one of my recent self-imposed Weekly Challenges, thought I should paint up some of them.

“Found by the hundreds and thousands on the bone-littered plains surrounding Khorne's demesne in the Realm of Chaos”, the tiny figures were super-glued onto two thin strips of wood, and primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Red. They were then washed using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and very delicately dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - Both this 6mm Lander Raider and Rhino were uncoated by their previous owner

Later, each “bloody-minded daemonic beast” had their back spines and head crests ‘picked out' with a little “Citadel” Abaddon Black. As a final touch I also decided to dot their super-tiny teeth/fangs with a well-placed spot of “Vallejo” White, and then dirtied these areas up, along with the insides of their open maws, with some “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.

Momentarily sticking with “Epic”, I have set aside some opposition to my 6mm Forces of Chaos in the shape of some second-hand Adeptus Astartes I was gifted a good couple of decades ago. There’s no actual rhyhme or reason as to the motley collection, and many of them have already undergone a somewhat thick initial coat of black paint – probably “Citadel” Chaos Black.

"The Iron Star Alliance is able to afford the most advanced technology and weapons for its military."

However, I thought a sizeable batch of space marines, assault marines, rhinos, land raiders, speeders and robots would make an enjoyable small(ish) project for the forthcoming Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. Although, despite wanting this force to encompass as many chapters as I can cram in, I fear the black ‘prime’ is predominantly going to limit some of the units to being Black Templar, Iron Hand or perhaps Raven Guard…

Lastly, having recently finished painting three Paladin Annihilators by “Privateer Press” for “Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika”, I have revisited the rest of my Iron Star Alliance forces and re-painted all of their Arc receiver’s with a combination of “Vallejo” Brass and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. I had actually used this palette on most of their backpacks before anyway, but I then spotted a couple of areas I have consistently missed on the older models which I decided to ‘pick out’ so that they would match-up better with the new Annihilators.

“The Harbinger Cannons’ Hunter-Killer Rounds…”

“…Enable the squad to spike to target enemy models that are not even in their line of sight.”

This 35mm scale metal Paladin Annihilator is made by “Privateer Press” and is the last of three figures which can be found inside the SKU: 83008 Paladin Annihilators – Iron Star Alliance Squad for Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika. The multi-part figure carries a rapid-fire weapon “that can hit up to three models with every attack” and “ignore cover.”

Once the warrior’s weapon arms and Arc receiver were super-glued in place, the miniature was primed in "Citadel" Abaddon Black and given two coats of "Vallejo" Gunmetal. It was then shaded using "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Gunmetal using a large make-up blusher brush.

“These smart rounds will curve around walls to hit their mark.”

Sticking with the slightly 'clean' metallic look of the Paladin’s previously painted battle brothers’ mechanically enhanced compound armour, I patiently 'picked out' the Annihilator’s knee-pads, central chest plate, elbow-pads, and the majority of his Harbinger Cannon’s housing in “Citadel” Abaddon Black. In addition, I applied a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna over the soldier’s spats, shoulder-pads, face-plate, and thigh-joints.

These areas were later given a coat of "Vallejo" Brass, a splash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and some delicate dry-brushing with a smidge more "Vallejo" Brass so as to bring back some of their shine after being shaded. I also painted part of each Paladin's Arc receiver with "Vallejo" Brass and washed them with "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - The 6mm Bloodletter is slowly having its details picked out

Finally, as I wanted this heavy support Paladin to stand out from the run-of-the-mill Enforcers, I decided to apply a combination of “Scalecolor” Cobalt Alchemy and “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade to the model’s helmet and shoulder-plates. To be honest, I would have liked to have employed this palette on some additional areas too, but chose to stick to just those pieces of armour which I could easily reach with a brush-tip on all three of the miniatures.

Having finished another of my Weekly Challenges, I am already making excellent progress on the next. Somewhat embarrassingly, I’ve actually been ‘picking away’ at a tub of “Epic” Khorne daemons by “Games Workshop” since I first bought it from the second-hand stall, “Lesley’s Bitz Box”, whilst visiting "Colours" a few years ago. Next year I may well try to dedicate an entire month to the now long out of production (OOP) “tabletop wargame set in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe” and actually paint some Adeptus Astartes or Squats. However, the plan for the next couple of days is to simply add a few more Flesh Hounds and Bloodletters to my burgeoning Chaos force, and maybe assemble some of the cardboard buildings I recently discovered inside a long-forgotten box of second edition “Space Marines”.

“Shoulda Stayed In Your Graves, Wormfodder!”

“Pick your targets and shoot for their heads!”

This 28mm multi-part walking cadaver is predominantly made up of plastic pieces taken from the "Kings Of War" Undead Zombie Horde sprue by "Mantic Games". However, it has been slightly converted using the head of a metal “Mongoose Publishing” Zombie Judge, so as to better represent the shambling corpse of Judge Miller – who was killed by a ravenously hungry zed whilst defending Mega City One’s Gate One during the Judge Dredd epic storyline “Judgement Day”.

Like all the living dead figures I painted five years ago during Zomtober 2016, the doomed Judge was undercoated using a double layer of “Vallejo” Iraqi Sand and later washed with “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green. I then dry-brushed the living cadaver with (more) “Vallejo” Iraqi Sand, before picking out any exposed internal organs a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson.

"The weapons’ advanced smart lock-targeting system robs its targets of the defensive benefits of cover."

The dead lawman’s visible left knee-cap was treated to a layer of “Vallejo” White followed by a splash of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. In addition, I applied some “Vallejo” Heavy Red and (more) “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade to the Judge’s damaged helmet edging. This made the headwear actually appear a shade darker than the colour I usually use for this part of the Justice Department uniform, but I wanted to illustrate that the griminess of death had already started to take effect. I also used some “Citadel” Abaddon Black for poor Miller’s shredded lower uniform.

Finally, I decided to dirty my zombie up by applying some “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade” sporadically over the model, in order to give the impression of shadows and rotting flesh. As a last touch, I did the same thing with a little “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson, predominantly concentrating on the parts surrounding the walking corpse’s deeper wounds.

Other bloggers taking part in Zomtober 2021 are:

Rantings From Under The Wargames Table

PMPainting

Wargames Terrain Workshop

Dead Lead Project

Colgar6 And The Infinite Legion Of Toy Soldiers

Guru PIGS Blog

Apocalypse: Earth

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - These Sorcerous Sentinels just need shading and dry-brushing 

Alongside the last of my entries for this year’s Zomtober, I have finished the second of three 35mm scale metal Paladin Annihilators produced by “Privateer Press” for Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika. The multi-part miniature was painted in precisely the same palette as its recently completed predecessor, and takes me one step closer to being able to field different five units for my Iron Star Alliance army.

In addition, I have almost finished four of nine Sorcerous Sentinels by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” I intend to have tabletop ready over the next few days. The quartet of Slayers have now had all their base layers finished, and just need some washes and dry-brushing before being ready for a coat of varnish and some static grass…

“Armed With Rapid-Fire Harbinger Cannons…”

“…The Paladin Annihilators provide heavy support to Alliance forces on the battlefield.”

This 35mm scale metal Paladin Annihilator is produced by “Privateer Press” and is one of three figures which can be found inside the SKU: 83008 Paladin Annihilators – Iron Star Alliance Squad for Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika. The multi-part figure carries a rapid-fire weapon “that can hit up to three models with every attack”, even those who aren’t “even in their line of sight.”

Having super-glued the futuristic warrior’s weapon arms and Arc receiver in place, the miniature was primed in "Citadel" Abaddon Black before being treated to a double-helping of "Vallejo" Gunmetal. It was then shaded using "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Gunmetal using a large make-up blusher brush.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three Sorcerous Sentinels 

Sticking with the somewhat 'clean' metallic look of the Paladin’s previously painted comrades-in-arms’ mechanically enhanced compound armour, I patiently 'picked out' the Annihilator’s knee-pads, central chest plate, elbow-pads, and the majority of his Harbinger Cannon’s housing in "Citadel" Abaddon Black. In addition, I applied a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna over the soldier’s spats, shoulder-pads, face-plate, and thigh-joints.

These areas were later given a coat of "Vallejo" Brass, a dash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and some delicate dry-brushing with a smidge more "Vallejo" Brass so as to bring back some of their shine after being shaded. I also painted part of each Paladin's Arc receiver with "Vallejo" Brass and washed them with "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade.

"Pendraken Miniatures" WIPs - Six based and primed Facehuggers

Finally, as I wanted this heavy support Paladin to stand out from the run-of-the-mill Enforcers, I decided to apply a combination of “Scalecolor” Cobalt Alchemy and “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade to the model’s helmet and shoulder-plates. To be honest, I would have liked to have employed this palette on some additional areas too, but chose to stick to just those pieces of armour which I could easily reach with a brush-tip on all three of the miniatures.

Alongside my first “Privateer Press” figure for over five months, I have been working my way through some of the other Weekly Painting Challenges I’ve set myself over the past month. As a result I have almost finished working on four 28mm Sorcerous Sentinels by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”, and my latest goal, randomly chosen via a deck of playing cards, of ten 10mm Face Huggers by “Pendraken Miniatures”…

“The Big Regimental 12cm Mortars…”

“…Fire a heavier bombardment at a longer range than the light 8cm mortars.”

This quartet of plastic 15mm miniatures are sold by “Battlefront Miniatures” and can be found inside the company’s 12cm Mortar Platoon blister for “Flames Of War”. The team consists of a two-piece mortar and four mortar loaders. You actually get four teams in the blister so as to build a full-strength platoon, however I picked these particular figures up off “eBay” as a single sprue.

As with all my other “FoW” German soldiers, the figures were initially super-glued onto wooden strips, before being primed in “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, shaded using “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII. Their details were then ‘picked out’ predominantly using “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, Gunmetal, Buff, German Camouflage Dark Green, Heavy Brown and a series of “Citadel” Shades.

"Privateer Press" WIPs - This Paladin Annihilator has slowly had its detail 'picked out'

The beauty of these little kits is that each large base is almost like a tiny vignette in its own right, so despite the fact that each sprue contains exactly the same collection of sculpts, each team can still be attached to their stand in a myriad of different combinations depending upon where the holes for the soldiers are located. Ensuring that the weapon faced “the short edge”, I therefore repositioned the mortar loaders this time round to predominantly stand/kneel to the left of the formidable firing piece.

Moving on to the most recent of my Weekly Challenges, I have been making some steady progress on the first of three Paladin Annihilators I want to field for "Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika". These metal "Privateer Press" castings are a lot of fun to work on, but having used some previously-painted Paladin Enforcers as a guide, I’ve spotted a couple of common areas between the two different infantry teams which I’ve now decided to pigment “Vallejo” Brass and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, rather than just plain old Abaddon Black.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - These three Sorcerous Sentinels have been based and primed

This has invariably meant that I have dug out all my old Iron Star Alliance models and started ‘touching up’ these additional areas on them, as well as working through my trio of Annihilators. I have however, finally settled upon Cobalt Alchemy by “Scalecolor” for the heavy support troopers’ helmets. Combined with a shade of Drakenhof Nightshade, this should help better distinguish the rapid-fire harbinger cannon-carriers from their similar-looking brethren on the tabletop.

Finally, I have started basing and priming nine Sorcerous Sentinels by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” for this week’s monstrous challenge, which as usual was randomly chosen via a deck of playing cards. These “Otherworldly watchers” will be painted up in three batches, and will all follow the ‘official’ colour scheme of the Slayers from Peter Yates’ 1983 science fantasy film “Krull”.

“The Mortars Give Greater Firepower In The Artillery Role…”

“…At the cost of direct-fire infantry support.”

These four plastic 15mm miniatures are sold by “Battlefront Miniatures” and can be found inside the company’s 12cm Mortar Platoon blister for “Flames Of War”. The models consist of a two-piece mortar and four mortar loaders. You actually get four teams in the blister so as to build a full-strength platoon, however I picked these particular figures up off “eBay” as a single sprue.

As with all my other “FoW” German soldiers, the figures were initially super-glued onto wooden strips, before being primed in “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, shaded using “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII. Their details were then ‘picked out’ predominantly using “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, Gunmetal, Buff, German Camouflage Dark Green, Heavy Brown and a series of “Citadel” Shades.

"Privateer Press" WIPs - These three Paladin Annihilators have been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

Disappointingly I was hoping to have also completed a second 12cm Mortar sprue I own, so as to field a minimum-sized platoon. But I still need one more dedicated hobby session with some of them to get the quartet finished and ready for action. However, there’s still enough 15mm figures on this single large base to satisfy my recent two weekly painting challenge targets.

Speaking of my Weekly Challenges, randomly chosen via a deck of playing cards, my seventh goal will be to pigment three 28mm miniatures. To be honest I have plenty of partially-painted models which I could have selected for such an objective, but ultimately went with a trio of Paladin Annihilators for "Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika". These metal "Privateer Press" castings were originally started way back in April of this year, and will help me ‘flesh’ out my starting Iron Star Alliance force rather nicely.

"Mongoose Publishing" WIPs - Three Cleaners from the "Judge Dredd Miniatures Games"

Sticking with ‘groups of three’ I have also been working on some Cleaner sculpts by “Mongoose Publishing” from their now OOP “Judge Dredd Miniatures Game”. These are essentially juve perps carrying a hand-club, and should be ready in time for my next Zomtober entry. All my submissions this year are based around the classic “2000 A.D.” comic strip “Judgement Day”, which contained a great action sequence inside the Romero Block Hopshop where Dredd, Hershey and Spencer saved a group of hapless citizens from some flesh-hungry walking cadavers.

In addition, I wanted to be able to field some minor threat-level criminals for my games of “Judge Dredd”, which could also become the targets of the living dead should the different random hazards crop up within the same game. This actually occurred in one of my most recent battles, where a mob blitzer was suddenly supported by some zombies. At the time we simply had the zeds ignore the gun-toting potential meal so the game could continue apace. But it would be nice in future if the criminals could suddenly find themselves fighting off the living dead, and even seeking the co-operation of the Justice Department against an overriding common enemy.

“The Paladin Weaver Can Channel Destructive Fury Cyphers.”

"Accompanying the Alliance’s forces on the battlefield..."

This 35mm scale metal miniature of a Paladin Weaver is produced by “Privateer Press” and can be found inside the Iron Star Alliance Command Group Starter Set for Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika. Able to “unleash all manner of psychokinetic ruin upon those who would face the Paladins in battle”, the three-piece figure also comes armed with a “null hammer, a battle staff capable of knocking Arc off any opponent it strikes.”

Having pinned the solo right arm and backpack in place, the entire assembly was primed in "Citadel" Abaddon Black before being treated to a double-helping of "Vallejo" Gunmetal. It was then shaded using "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Gunmetal, courtesy of a large make-up blusher brush.

"...The Paladin Weaver acts as a living focus for the Warcaster’s offensive arcane might."

Initially, I had planned to turn my Iron Star Alliance miniatures into a somewhat rusty and battered formation, arguably more in keeping with their supposed "aggressive expansion throughout the galaxy". But in the end, I actually chose to predominantly keep to the somewhat 'clean' look of their metallic compound armour, and instead just 'pick out' various areas of interest on each figure.

For the Weaver this meant applying some "Citadel" Abaddon Black to the Paladin's skirt, neck plate, elbow-pads, and the shaft of his null hammer. In addition, I layered the model's spats, shoulder-pads, face-plate, hand-weapon and central chest-plate with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and later gave them a 'lick' of Brass followed by a splash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. These areas were later delicately dry-brushed with a touch more "Vallejo" Brass to try and bring back some of their shine after being shaded.

"The Lord Of The Rings" WIPs - These three Uruk-hai Bezerkers are at various stages

Lastly, in an effort to somewhat further break-up all the metallics on show, I applied some "Vallejo" Turquoise to the central front and rear portions of his loincloth and washed them with "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade. I also decided to paint the miniature’s cyclopean ‘eye’ with a combination of “Vallejo” White and Fluorescent Blue so as to make it ‘pop’ that bit more from the rest of the figure.

With the latest of my Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika miniatures finished, I’ve managed to make some further progress on the remaining metal Uruk-hai Bezerkers I want to field for my 500 point Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game Isengard army. The plan is to have seven on these old “Games Workshop” sculpts following one of my Captains, alongside a contingent of already-painted Uruk-hai Scout bowmen, and then move on to pigmenting a quartet of crossbowman to follow another evil Hero of Fortitude…

"The Yeti Has Become An Icon Of Cryptozoology."

"Supposed evidence of the Yeti's existence include anecdotal visual sightings, video recordings, photographs..."

This 40mm tall "collector's miniature" of a Yeti is produced by “Zealot Miniatures” and can be bought from their Litchmyre Dungeon Collection range. Cast in "quality PU Resin" and sculpted by Boris Woloszyn, the figure comes in three separate pieces which can easily be super-glued into place without the need for pinning.

The Meh-Teh was initially undercoated with two layers of "Vallejo" White, and then somewhat drowned in Pale Grey. The "large, bipedal ape-like creature" was then thoroughly dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" White, before having both its teeth and claws pigmented in "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"Privateer Press" WIPs - These three Paladin Annihilators have been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

I was actually tempted to leave the Abominable Snowman alone at this stage, but in the end thought that its teeth should probably be ivory(ish) in colour. As a result I picked all its sharp fangs out with "Vallejo" White and subsequently washed them using a little "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. I did also contemplate doing something with the monster's sunken eyes. But decided not to do anything special in these areas in order to draw the on-looker's attention straight to the Yeti's formidably-sized mouth.

Having finished the third of my models taken from the "Zealot Miniatures" catalogue, I have also managed to make some progress on the first three of six Paladin Annihilators which I own. These two-piece "Privateer Press" castings for "Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika" were actually reasonably simple to assemble, and didn't require any extra pinning. Indeed, at least one arm-peg fitted into its hollowed shoulder so tightly it arguably didn't even require super-gluing.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - This Treant is slowly have all its mushrooms and leaves 'picked out'

Although these welcome reinforcements for my Iron Star Alliance will predominantly follow the "Vallejo" Gunmetal and Brass palette of my other Paladins, I've yet to decide whether the three-soldier unit's heavy support status should be marked out in some way other than them just carrying their rapid-fire harbinger cannons. I've recently acquired a few more metallic paints from the "Metal N' Alchemy" paint range by "Scale 75", so may well decide to 'pick out' either their helmets or a shoulder-pad in a noticeable blue or red.

Lastly, I've almost completed working on a Treant "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" recently released as part of their ever-increasing Fantasy range. Having patiently dry-brushed my way around the 72mm tall miniatures with different shades of Brown, I have now almost finished painstakingly pigmenting the peaceful creature's eyes, mushrooms and numerous leaves...

"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.

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Frostgrave" April 2021

"From far and wide, wizards flock to the frozen ruins of Frostgrave..."

Thanks largely to "Osprey Publishing" announcing the release of their new science fiction skirmish rule-set "Stargrave" in four weeks time, this month's attempt to reduce my slightly decreasing stash of metal, plastic and resin models will primarily focus upon my backlog of "North Star Military Figures" for "Frostgrave". Admittedly, I've been trying to paint a (second) warband for my excursions into the frozen city since last December, but I'm hoping my New Year resolution of pigmenting two models for every one newly bought will help better motivate me in this endeavour.

In addition, I'm rather keen to work my way through a rather intimidating array of animals and monsters I have previously bought for my Felstad bestiary. The vast majority of these creatures were purchased to thwart my somewhat snowbound adventurers as random encounters on their travels. However, I have also found a number of tropical-based critters from the wargame's sibling publication, "Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago" too.

"The Paladins are the federation's military elite."

Alongside this 'cunning plan' I hope to completely finish all of my Iron Star Alliance units for "Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika". My collection of these all-metal "Privateer Press" paladins has momentarily got a little out of hand after I lost patience with a long-running pre-order which seemingly was never going to be delivered, and resultantly purchased some Enforcer and Annihilator reinforcements from a different webstore. Incredibly, no sooner had I received these gun-totting extra personnel than I was informed that my long-awaited pre-order had miraculously been posted.

I have though wasted absolutely no time in trying to get these extra soldiers assembled, based, primed and painted. Indeed, I have already completed all three of the recently arrived Paladin Enforcers which make up my second infantry squad, and am currently working on the first of six 'rapid-fire harbinger cannon-carrying' heavy support figures.

March 2021 - "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" sculpts have dominated the month

Progress wise, the past thirty-one days have resulted in an incredible amount of fully-finished miniatures, many of which are still sat waiting in the wings to actually be posted. Indeed, despite only hitting a fairly 'middle of the road' tally for March as far as this website's articles are concerned, on paper I actually managed to equal my highest pigmentation output since my records began a little over seven years ago.

A lot of this success has been due to my high interest in the "Supers Unlimited" range of heroes and villains by "Kitbash Games". But I am equally indebted to "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" for their latest successful Kickstarter, Lurkers From The Deep, which has galvanised me into working my way through some of their model range in anticipation of receiving my pledge's modestly-numbered rewards in two months' time...