(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Supers Unlimited" July 2020

"Kitbash Games" WIPs - Blackthorn, Blue Scarab and The Shark

This month's endeavour to whittle away at my mountain of metal, plastic and resin models will primarily focus upon a selection of miniatures taken from the Supers Unlimited range by "Kitbash Games". "Designed to be size-compatible with many supers miniatures ranges" I managed to acquire a fair few of the resin figures from the company's recently successful "Kickstarter" campaign, and whilst I don't plan on using them for either "Pulp City" and or the "Super Mission Force" gaming system, I do hope to get them on my Weird War Two tabletop soon.

Indeed, I've already previously 'repurposed' two of the models into the Cologne Clown (Punchline) and Vancouver Canuck (Roughneck) so I can incorporate them them into my quite considerably-sized Axis and Allies forces by "Westwind Productions". With that in mind I've therefore selected eight of my recently received pledge reward from Leon Mallet and divvied them up amongst the armies of Great Britain, the United States, German and the Soviet Union, penning some brief backgrounds to my heroes/villains on the way...

"Supers Unlimited" WIPs - Mayhem, Granite and Alpha Male

For the American forces I've gone with the classically named Liberty Lady (Blue Scarab) and Everglade (Blackthorn). I think the sculpting on the female crime-fighter is great, and unlike many of the other miniatures I plan to apply a similar palette to her as seen on her 'official' predominantly blue paint-job. Everglade on the other hand is clearly going to test my eyesight with the myriad of fantastic branches/vines which seemingly criss-cross over the ex-soldier's entire mutated torso.

Providing the British with a decidedly nautical air is the wonderfully posed Operative Porpoise (The Shark). As with Leon's sculpt for the Blue Scarab, I've wanted to get my hands on the model ever since I first laid eyes on it, and felt my naming the hero after a class of submarine used by the Royal Navy during the Second World War was pretty appropriate. Completing the Allied quartet is Stalingrad (Granite), a Russian powerhouse created from debris taken from the destroyed city on the western bank of the Volga River.

"Kitbash" WIPs - Tox, Big Brain and Doc Cosmos

Having painted a fair few Boromites in the past, from "Warlord Games" science fiction rule-set "Beyond The Gates Of Antares", I'm a little nervous about 'picking out' all the Soviet soldier's pebbles, but delightfully the figure's all-encompassing leotard should be fair simpler to pigment than the extra-terrestrial miners' technologically advanced battle armour. As for the Germans, I'm hoping to quickly rattle through the predominantly flesh-bearing Áchtung (Alpha Male) and the Berlin Brawler (Mayhem) , as well as the three-piece casting of the larger-sized Die Unordnung (Tox).

This'll then just leave me with the diminutive Doktor Propaganda (Big Brain), which will probably prove a bit fiddly to 'pick out' on account of the sculpt's dynamically crouched position and white laboratory coat. Finally, I've dug out my partially-painted miniature of Kid Kansas (Doc Cosmos) and am currently contemplating some changes to its colour scheme, perhaps following something along the lines of the Missouri city's American Football Team uniform...

“Time For Rough Justice!”

"Roughneck is a self-appointed protector of the streets."

This 28mm scale resin miniature of Roughneck is produced by “Kitbash Games” and will be one of the company's stretch goals for its upcoming "Supers Unlimited" "Kickstarter" in late 2019. Originally "a mechanic working the family auto-shop he inherited", Mike Ruiz "refused to pay protection money to the local mob when they came calling" and was subsequently pulverised by a "low-rent super-crook named Smash." Triggered by "a strong sense of right and wrong" Mike eventually recovered from his injuries to "become a heroic protector of the streets against villains..."

The vigilante was initially primed using two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, before having his boots painted with "Citadel" Abaddon Black and his clothing treated to a layer of "Vallejo" Dark Grey. The anti-hero's trousers and short-sleeved shirt were then shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and later dry-brushed with some (more) "Vallejo" Dark Grey.

"Taking to the streets Roughneck was born."

At one point I actually tried my hand at pigmenting a city camo pattern over the crime-fighter's long pants, but in the end went with the far more straightforward palette after my time-consuming attempt simply didn't look right. Roughneck's pouch-laden combat belt was 'picked out' using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Grey and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green, whilst its buckle was given a dab of Ironbreaker and a splash of Nuln Oil.

The imposing figure's "own crude body armour" and face mask were initially coated in "Vallejo" Dead White before being washed in Pale Grey and delicately dry-brushed with (more) Dead White. The 'official' paint-scheme shows the bruiser's ice hockey mask to carry some red markings (as per "Friday The Thirteenth"), and have eye openings wide enough for you to actually see part of his cheeks underneath. This is something I've done before in the past on a Zorro model by "Boot Hill Miniatures" 

"Mantic Games" WIPs - Three of the Prisoners from "The Walking Dead: Call To Arms" Booster Pack

However, as Roughneck's background describes him as being "compromised by now-often violent and erratic behaviour" I wanted to give the ferocious fighter a seriously scary visage, so went with the all-white, disturbingly dark eye sockets of Jason Voorhees, but without the slightly distracting red triangles. That way all your attention is hopefully drawn straight to the brute's maniacal stare...

Finally, I applied a coat of "Vallejo" White to both the street warrior's bandaged arms, and Heavy Sienna to all his leather straps. All of these areas were then shaded using a generous amount of “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade, before I completed the vigilante's reinforced baseball bat off with a mixture of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil.

"The Warriors Have Survived."

"No hostile movements registered."

This 28mm metal miniature of "a Silurian companion of Icthar” is manufactured by “Black Tree Design", and can be purchased as Code DW514 Scibus from the company’s "Doctor Who" miniatures range. Defeated by the Fifth Doctor after he “tried to take over Sea Base 4” in 2084 and “start a nuclear war to wipe out humanity”, the Earth Reptile appeared in Johnny Byrne’s January 1984 BBC Television story "Warriors Of The Deep".

Having had a few casting defects around his hands filed down, Scibus was undercoated using a double layer of “Vallejo” Heavy Brown and washed in The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. The figure was then dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Brown before having his armoured carapace ‘picked out’ using a combination of “Vallejo” Iraqi Sand and “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade.

"Black Tree Design" WIPs - Two Monoid sculpts, plus a Monoid II sculpt with brown hair  

This area was later highlighted with a delicate dry-brush of (more) “Vallejo” Iraqi Sand, whilst the Silurian’s eyes were spotted with a few dabs of Heavy Ochre. Finally, the Homo Reptilia’s third eye, which would “glow along with their speech” rather than be used as an energy emitting weapon as in the monster’s first appearance way back in 1970, was treated to a dollop of “Vallejo” Heavy Red and a splash of “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson.

Staying with “Black Tree Design” I have dusted down five Monoid figures to start towards another faction for my ongoing “Doctor Who” campaign. These one-eyed humanoids travelled on a generation starship with the last of Mankind during the 57th Segment of Time, and twice encountered the First Doctor during the 1966 serial “The Ark”. Unfortunately however, neither of the two poses available actually do the aliens justice, as there’s no sign of the voice boxes or heat prods the flipper-footed extra-terrestrials used in order to gain dominance over their one-time Human masters.

"Kitbash Games" WIPs - Doc Cosmos and Roughneck

I did momentarily contemplate converting some of the models, and may well do so in the future if I order any more, but ultimately just stuck to simply painting two of the miniatures with black and yellow hair instead of the scaly-skinned creature’s predominantly brown “mop-top”. This will at least allow me to more readily identify the leader of Monoids’ revolution, One, and his equally as evil subordinate the blonde-haired Three.

Lastly, I’ve made some more progress on some of the “Supers Unlimited” resin figures I've recently kindly received from "Kitbash Games". Roughneck is nearly finished and simply needs some work on his disconcerting hockey-mask, whilst I've gone with a far more patriotic palette for “Covenant of Justice” member, Doc Cosmos, than that seen on his official gaming card, as I plan for him to accompany my Allied forces in some future games of "Weird War Two" and wanted him to appear more American...

“Fight On And Fly On To The Last Drop Of Blood..."

"...And the last drop of fuel, to the last beat of the heart."

This 28mm scale metal model of the Red Baron was produced by “Pulp Monsters", and could be purchased as Code PC-0093 from their “Pulp City” miniatures range before their store was temporarily 'closed for maintenance'. Fortunately however, I was able to purchase my figure as part of a small-sized second-hand consignment from Leon Mallet of “Pulp Citizen” blog fame.

Famous for strafing the ground where the British super-hero Sovereign stood in the ruins of Berlin during 1945, the villain was primed with a double-helping of “Vallejo” Dark Grey and had a layer of “Citadel” Abaddon Black applied to his leather boots, belt, holster and pistol. The Ghostly Tri-plane’s pilot then had his tunic and visor cap ‘picked out’ with “Vallejo” Heavy Red, before both it and his flying trousers were treated to a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Led by a Myrka, the Silurians successfully assault the Nimon firing line 

The Red Baron’s heavy jacket was pigmented with “Vallejo” Charred Brown, whilst his fur collar was given a lick of Heavy Brown and his gloves some Heavy Sienna. All of these areas were subsequently shaded in “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade. The fearless flier’s scarf was given a coat of “Vallejo” Dead White, washed with Pale Grey and then delicately dry-brushed with a little (more) Dead White.

Finally, I picked out the “leering skull-faced” German’s medal and cap badges with a combination of “Vallejo” Gold and Strong Tone Quickshade by “The Army Painter”, and highlighted his firearm with a dab of “Citadel” Ironbreaker and splash of Nuln Oil. The undead ghoul’s ghastly face was created courtesy of a “Vallejo” Dead White base layer, some “Citadel” Nihilakh Oxide, and a few deft scrapes of a fast-failing brush-tip containing some (more) “Vallejo” Dead White.

A brave Nimon charge is quickly wiped out by superior Silurian numbers

Moving across from painting to wargaming, I have managed to play another battle in my ongoing “Doctor Who” campaign exclusively using just my collection of “Black Tree Design” miniatures. This particular confrontation involved the somewhat beleaguered Nimon desperately trying to hold on to a second of their Empire’s ruined planets from a Silurian incursion. Fought across a 2’ x 3’ dilapidated cityscape, the game initially saw the defending alien Minotaurs’ taking a firm grip of the action by seizing a couple of crucial strategic objectives and seemingly pinning their opponents back with a notable flurry of Psionic mind beams.

However, once the Myrka managed its way to the tabletop’s centre things took a dramatic turn for the worse for the “parasitic species that operated on a galactic scale”, as their shooting attacks ineffectively bounced off of the reptilian creature’s “thick, rubbery skin”, and a somewhat impulsive charge straight into the Silurian’s numerically superior left flank failed due to its over-reliance upon the minotaurs’ bulk protecting them in close combat. Admittedly, by the end of the conflict the Nimon hadn’t been as badly mauled by the race of Earth Reptiles and their four-legged “heavy backup” as they had previously by Sharaz Jek’s Androids, but they still had disappointingly lost a second territory within the space of just a couple of campaign turns…

"Nothing Could Withstand Him, And No Weapon Seemed To Bite Upon Him."

"He tossed wolves and goblins from his path like straws and feathers."

This 33mm tall white metal figure of Grüf The Bear is produced by “Lucid Eye Publications” and can be bought from the company's "Toon Realms" range as part of the company’s “Where’s Runcorn?” Adventure Module 2 series. Sculpted by Trish Carden, I intend to use the hefty miniature to represent J.R.R. Tolkien’s skin-changer, Beorn, “who could assume the form of a great black bear and fought in the Battle Of The Five Armies.

Originally primed using two coats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, the slayer of the Goblin leader Bolg was heavily dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal and later enthusiastically washed in “Citadel” Nuln Oil. In order to somewhat break up this dark visage I then ‘picked out’ all of the bear’s claws and sharp teeth with a combination of “Vallejo” Dead White and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

"Reaper Miniatures" WIPs - The "Bones" Medium Air Elemental has been repeatedly dry-brushed

I also considered whether to give the furry beast a very light dry-brush of dark blue, just to add a little colour to its shaggy hide. However, in the end I decided to stick with the intimidatingly deep black palette I’ve often seen in “The Hobbit” illustrations. I did however, decide to break from tradition and provide Beorn with some rage-filled eyes, courtesy of shading a “Vallejo” Heavy Red base layer with “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson, and then highlighting them with a tiny spot of “Vallejo” Dark Vermillion.

With my latest “Toon Realms” model finished I have set to work on another figure from my “Reaper Miniatures” collection. This Medium Air Elemental was actually sent to me as a free gift by the “eBay” seller Hygienicporridge after I purchased a reasonable quantity of Dark Heaven Legends Aquatic Familiars from his webstore, and at one point was potentially going to be pigmented to represent a swirling Water Spirit for my imminent “Subnautica” project.

"Pulp Monsters" WIPs - The two "Pulp City" models are at various stages of completion

Ultimately though, I have decided to add the lovely sculpt to my increasing collection of bizarre foes for my “Gamma World” campaign, but disappointingly have found the transparent plastic a little problematic to paint due its “Vallejo” White undercoat consistently ‘flecking’ off and visibly cracking whilst I’ve been dry-brushing it. I think the majority of these issues is due to the sheer bendiness of the figure, which really does give way quite considerably under even the lightest of brush strokes, but hopefully my perseverance is paying off as the Elemental reaches its final stages…

Finally, I am also close to finishing the first of my “Pulp City” miniatures by “Pulp Monsters”. I plan on getting the ghostly World War One fighter ace, the Red Baron, completed over the next few days, before spending some considerable time working on the disconcertingly disturbing Comte Vendredi.

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Pulp City" July 2019

"Kitbash Games" WIPs - Doc Cosmos and Roughneck

After the disappointment of my previous two themed months, where instead of painting a unit of “Warhammer 40K” Chaos Space Marines and team of “Blood Bowl” Halflings I ultimately pigmented some more additions to my “Age Of Sigmar” Blades of Khorne warhost and a fistful of “Reaper Miniatures”, I thought I’d try to whittle away a little piece of my sizeable backlog by simply working on a handful of super-powered “Pulp City” figures. I’ve actually been collecting the odd model from this skirmish game “set in the 1980s” for some years, but haven’t really applied myself to the range due to my not wanting to learn yet another rule-set chock full of super-heroic abilities, villains and action points.

Very recently however, my interest in the tabletop line has been piqued by the news that “Pulp Monsters” and “Kitbash Games” have formed a partnership, and resultantly the resin “Supers Unlimited” models I own will “have rules profiles for Pulp City!” This announcement has kickstarted my enthusiasm to finish off the Roughneck miniature Leon Mallett of “Pulp Citizen” blog fame generously gifted me, as well as apply a brush to a few of my “Pulp City” purchases too.

"Pulp Monsters" WIPs - Comte Vendredi, the Red Baron and Tritonious have all been primed

Indeed, I’ve even gone so far as to ‘pick up’ a few of Leon’s spares for a very reasonable price, and, as part of that modest transaction, receive another of his excellent “Supers Unlimited” resin sculpts as a much appreciated freebie. Resultantly, I have based and primed “Covenant of Justice” member, Doc Cosmos, and begun re-working my previously partially-painted figure of Empire City’s masked vigilante, Roughneck.

Both of these figures should soon join my already finished Punchline on the tabletop, but in a slight twist of lore I aim to have the pair accompany my “Weird War Two” allies in their fight against the Nazi horde during the Mid-Sixties using a homemade rule-set, rather than for “Pulp City”. This ‘change of direction’ should allow me to both get the models straight onto the battlefield once they’re finished, and also somewhat ties-in with a few of the war-themed metal Supremes I own, such as the Red Baron.

"Reaper Miniatures" WIPs - Sherlock Holmes and a Deep Sea Diver

In fact, I’ve become so enthused with the idea of ‘folding’ these super-heroes in with my quite extensive fully-painted collection of “Secrets Of The Third Reich” models by “Westwind Productions”, that alongside the spectre-faced fly-boy I have assembled and undercoated the aquatic power-house Tritonious and Comte Vendredi (“riding on top of a Death Guard”). Hopefully this enthusiasm should lead me to quite quickly ‘polish off’ this initial handful of “Pulp City” goodness, as, having done some digging into my lead mountain, I’ve uncovered a fair few more colourful residents of the American West Coast metropolis.

Of course, my fascination over “Kitbash Games” partnership with “Pulp Monsters” doesn’t mean that I’ve slowed down painting some more “Reaper Miniatures”, as I’ve made plenty of progress on both my Deep Sea Diver and Sherlock Holmes figures. These welcome additions to my party of adventurers exploring “Gamma World” should be finished reasonably soon, and then I plan to test the foursome out against the machinations of Ape-X and his robotic Cyber-Reavers…