"One Ship Against An Entire Fleet?"

"That's a helluva plan B!"

This multi-part 32mm scale resin model of a Female Human was bought as part of the Star Trek Adventures: Next Generation Away Team Set by "Modiphius Entertainment" and is sadly no longer available as a physical figure. However, the sculpt can still be purchased from the company as either an individual STL (Standard Triangle Language) file, or as part of their Star Trek Adventures - Print At Home - TNG Away Team Set.

The 'commonplace little creature' was initially undercoated in "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and roughly dry-brushed with "Vallejo"Heavy Charcoal, before I 'picked out' her phaser and tricorder using a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I then applied a little "Vallejo" Turquoise to the miniature's uppermost uniform to mark her out as belonging to Starfleet's science/medical division. This area was later shaded with a little "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, before being dry-brushed with a smidgeon more "Vallejo" Turquoise.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - Three more members of the Away Team readying themselves for teleportation

The Ensign's Federation insignia was carefully traced out using a dollop of "Vallejo" Gold and later washed with a little "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Finally, I eventually went with some "Citadel" Doombull Brown for the figure's hair, darkened it down with plenty of Agrax Earthshade, and tried to highlight it back up with a delicate dry-brush of (more) Doombull Brown.

I did strongly consider giving the rest of the model's uniform a thorough drowning in "Citadel" Nuln Oil - which is something I do for a lot of my predominantly black-costumed miniatures. However, these days I find that the "Vallejo" Matt Varnish I regularly use to protect my paint-jobs dries a little sticky, and this inevitably attracts oils from my fingers as a result. This handling tends to therefore act as a 'natural way' to highlight the figure - so I simply left it alone with its original "Citadel" Abaddon Black prime and "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal dry-brush.

"Beast In The Broch" WIPs - A trio of FedSec Commanders

In addition to this first member of my "Star Trek: The Next Generation" landing party, I have also been dutifully progressing three more 'crewmen' for that era. Once completed this consignment should bring last month's randomly-selected drawer challenge to a conclusion and allow me to focus on the four remaining 28mm metal models I have to get tabletop ready from blister JD 15 Don Uggie Apelino & The Ape Gang by "Citadel Miniatures".  

Lastly, I've managed to make a little more headway on the three officers from the FedSec Command 2 set I recently bought from "Beast In The Broch". I do like the extra chunky feel to these particular sculpts, as it makes 'picking out' all the detail on them a lot easier than the arguably less-well cast "Star Trek" figures - which despite being 32mm in scale, appear far more realistically proportioned, and are resultantly far more difficult to work on...

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Beast In The Broch" August 2026

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" once again dominated my (meagre) output for July 2026

After last month's rather dismissal effort to paint up another quartet of my 32mm scale resin cast figures by "Modiphius Entertainment" for their Star Trek Adventures Tabletop RPG, as well as zero contributions to Dave Stone's Season of Scenery over on his "Wargames Terrain Workshop" blog, I thought I'd take a break from challenges for the next four weeks and simply pigment whatever takes my fancy. As a result, I have ordered (and duly received) a number of "Blake's Seven" inspired sculpts from "Beast In The Broch" and plan to slap as much paint on them as I can muster.

First up will be the three officers from the company's FedSec Command 2 set. "Digitally sculpted by Carl Stoelzel and cast in lead free pewter", I actually feel that these particular figures are probably a little too 'chunky' for some of the range's other models. But that hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for getting the likes of Terran Federation officers Major Thania, Colonel Quute and Major Provine onto my tabletop.

"Beast In The Broch" WIPs - The three figures found inside FedSec Command 2 set.

Likewise it would be great if I could manage to get some of the miniatures finished from the manufacturer's Systemic Units set too. Clearly based upon "The System" which was responsible for building the Liberator, these figures arguably appear a little more slender to the eye than their Federation counter-parts - despite also being "digitally sculpted by Carl Stoelzel".

Furthermore, I'd really like to play 'catch-up' with the aforementioned "Star Trek" models I failed to get finished in July. I only managed to get one crew-woman from the science fiction franchise's Original Series done, so would like to make some headway with my plan to get a landing party based on the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D too. Most of these miniatures' uniforms are predominantly black, so fingers crossed I can a few of them ready for varnishing over the coming weeks.

July 2026 - Crooked Dice Game Design Studio finally takes the lead in my Top Five Manufacturers

With this 'backlog' in mind, I haven't forgotten about the remaining figures I've yet to complete from blister JD 15 Don Uggie Apelino & The Ape Gang by "Citadel Miniatures". To be fair, I have been trying to 'pick away' at these classic sculpts for some time. However, I always seem to get distracted by my latest new arrivals (or interest), and subsequently end up pushing them back down the queue.

To make matters worse, my enthusiasm for "Star Wars" appears to have attained fresh heights as a result of my playing the card game "Star Wars: Unlimited" by Fantasy Flight Games. This addiction has rather curiously caused me to purchase a couple of "Star Wars: Shatterpoint" boxes - to add as non-canon adversaries of my previously painted Count Dooku. So I'd very much like to get them assembled, primed and pigmented before the coming month is concluded too...

"The Vulcan Science Directorate..."

"...Was the head scientific authority of the Vulcan High Command."

This 32mm scale resin model of a Vulcan Female was bought as part of the Star Trek Adventures: The Original Series Landing Party Miniatures Set by "Modiphius Entertainment" and is sadly no longer available as a physical figure. However, the sculpt can still be purchased from the company as either an individual STL (Standard Triangle Language) file, or as part of their Star Trek Adventures - Print At Home - TOS Landing Party Set.

The "warp-capable humanoid species from the planet Vulcan" was initially undercoated in "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone, and had her boots 'picked out' with a little pure "Citadel" Abaddon Black. I then attempted to give the impression of the Ensign wearing dark-coloured tights by applying a wash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil to her legs.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - This "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" Ensign is almost finished

Unfortunately, this technique didn't seem to work as well on the Vulcan's much paler limbs as it had done on Lieutenant Uhura's far darker legs, so I soon decided to give the areas a second layer of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. In addition, I gave the figure's hands and face a lick of Reikland Fleshshade, before carefully tracing out the model's fingers and face with some extra "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone.

To show the miniature came from Starfleet's science division I gave her uniform a good coat or two of "Vallejo" Deep Sky Blue, shaded it with "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade and later dry-brushed the dress with (more) "Vallejo" Deep Sky Blue. To be honest I wasn't all that impressed with the final result of this colour combination. But didn't really want to repaint the Vulcan with a red miniskirt as I felt the highly logical alien race probably wouldn't be part of the U.S.S. Enterprise's security division.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Two Beastmen and a Deep Sea Diver Ghost

Sticking with "Star Trek" and "Modiphius Entertainment" I have also been working on a female scientist from the company's Away Team boxed set. This resin cast model will be the first of my Twenty-Fourth Century Federation figures, and will hopefully lead to me fielding enough miniatures for Captain Jean-Luc Picard to lead against both the already painted Borg and Romulans.

Lastly, I've not forgotten the number of "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" sculpts I have populating my hobby desk. As a result I have managed to 'pick away' at both the two remaining Beastmen I need to get finished, alongside their (not) "Scooby-Doo" Deep Sea Diver Ghost...

"Zoinks!" A Ghost!"

 "Hold your breath, and don't move a muscle!"

This 28mm scale white metal model is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought either separately as MINI 1336 Undead Astronaut, or as part of their DEAL 375 Spooks four-figure set. The miniature is sculpted by Andrew May and is clearly influenced by the villain from the 1969 "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" animated episode "Spooky Space Kook".

Able to leave "glowing footprints and fingerprints that dissipate after an undetermined time", the model was primed using "Vallejo" Steel Grey and heavily shaded with plenty of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. It was then enthusiastically dry-brushed using some (more) "Vallejo" Steel Grey, before having its elbow/knee joints, as well as its belt carefully 'picked out' with a little "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - This Vulcan scientist is almost tabletop ready

The miniature was actually a bit more complicated than its cartoon counterpart, so I decided to apply a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil to its belt buckle and the tubing on its back-mounted breathing apparatus. I next tackled the ghostly apparition's infamous glowing skeletal face by dabbing a load of White Star by "Two Thin Coats" into its open space helmet and later giving the area a good dousing in some watered-down "Citadel" Flesh Tearers Red.

This approach certainly gave Henry Bascomb's disguise a nice, gory head, especially when I subsequently highlighted it with a little additional "Two Thin Coats" White Star rather than use the colour of the foiled criminal's space-suit as seen in the television show. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I thought this 'change' made the head look a bit too stark in comparison to the rest of the body, so I blended it in a bit with a touch of "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - A trio of "The Next Generation" ensigns partially painted

Alongside my latest (not) Scooby-Doo villain I have been progressing a number of Federation crewmen by "Modiphius Entertainment". In particular a Vulcan scientist for my "Star Trek: The Original Series" Landing Team. I'm not sure whether the "Citadel" Nuln Oil over the female ensign's legs has particularly worked as black tights, as the technique did for Lieutenant Uhura's much browner legs, so I've actually applied a second shade on them to see if that sits better.

In addition, I've turned my eyes to working on an Away Team for the U.S.S. Enterprise-D's timeline, even discovering a Tellarite crewman amongst my previously assembled backlog. Hopefully, due to the lack of colour on their Starfleet uniforms, these miniatures will prove a lot faster to get tabletop ready, and help me successfully achieve my random drawer challenge for this month with a few days to spare...

"Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub!"

"Nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, everybody's gonna die."

This 28mm scale white metal model of Rick Sanchez is sort of produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” as it's actually composed of bitz from a couple of their miniatures and an alternate weapon sprue. The torso and legs are from the company's MINI 341 Investigative Academic, with its head sawn off and replaced with that of their Crackpot Inventor. I did actually consider just using the entire Crackpot Inventor for a while, but felt that all the scientific gubbins detailed on the sculpt wasn't really in line with Rick C-137's look in the cartoon series "Rick And Morty".

In addition, I snipped off the Investigative Academic's left hand and swapped it for one of the manufacturer's Robo-Minion weapon accessories. This particular piece did have a mechanical hand, rather than one made of flesh and blood. However, I figured I could simply paint it using my usual combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and everything would be fine to the naked eye. I did momentarily plan on adding a little portal fluid 'cup' to top of the device. However, the area upon which I'd need to super-glue/pin such a tiny detail was a little to small for my liking, so I simply settled on pigmenting part of the hand-weapon using "Two Thin Coats" White Star and the "Citadel" Contrast Colour Warp Lightning.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - These three Beastmen are having all their details 'picked out'

Once assembled the entire kit-bash was primed with "Vallejo" Dead White, shaded using some heavily-watered down "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, and dry-brushed with a little White Star by "Two Thin Coats". Sadly, I wasn't at all impressed with how this turned out - probably due to the heat drying my paints the moment they touched the figure, so I ended up washing the model with (more) incredibly-watered down "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, and the giving Rick a very patient dry-brush of (more) "Two Thin Coats" White Star.

The mega-genius' shirt was simply 'picked out with a little "Vallejo" Deep Sky Blue and a splash of "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade. This turned out far darker than I had envisaged. But meant that the Investigative Academic's neck scarf was somewhat obscured by the shadows. Lastly, I carefully gave the alcoholic scientist's eyebrows a line of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey and daubed his hair with the same colour. Both of these areas were subsequently darkened down with some "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - Two 'TNG' Starship crewmen and a 'TOS' member of the Landing Party

With my entry for Jez's "Forgotten Heroes" event over on his "Carrion Crow's Buffet" blog finally finished, I have been busy continuing to work on the three remaining Beastmen I started progressing in earnest a few months ago. I plan to use these "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" figures as Cultists or Ghouls for my games of "The Silver Bayonet" by "Osprey Publishing", so want to get them tabletop ready 'toot sweet' now the weather has warmed up to the point where I can set up some scenarios in the garage.

Furthermore, it looks like next month's random drawer challenge will comprise of more "Star Trek" miniatures by "Modiphius Entertainment", so I have dutifully dusted down and (already) got going on three crewmen. The eagle-eyed Trekkies will quickly spot that two of my current batch are wearing 24th Century uniforms rather than those of The Original Series (TOS), and that's so I can hopefully field a "Next Generation" or "Deep Space Nine" flavoured landing party at some point in the future...

"And You Saw A Shadowy, Chain-Rattling Phantom?"

"If he's a phantom shadow, how come he leaves footprints?"

This 28mm scale white metal model is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought either separately as MINI 1338 Sheet Ghost, or as part of their DEAL 376 Ghosts two-figure set. The miniature is sculpted by Andrew May and clearly inspired by the Phantom Shadow as seen in the January 1970 animated "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" episode, "A Night of Fright is No Delight".

Used as a disguise the "two no-good greedy lawyers named Cosgood Creeps and Cuthbert Crawls", I actually attempted to pigment my spectre using the colours seen in the cartoon series rather than the 'official' paint-job, so ended up applying a double dose of "Vallejo" Turquoise to the entire model. It was then dowsed in "Citadel" Nuln Oil before being dry-brushed with more "Vallejo" Turquoise so as to highlight all the folds in its sheets.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - This Vulcan scientist is having her base layers applied

The miniature's chain was simply 'picked out' using a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil over an Abaddon Black basecoat. Whilst its eyes and maw were carefully traced using some Rust Orange by "Two Thin Coats". I actually felt that this colour lacked the life I wanted for such a terrifying face, so ended up shading these areas with a smidgeon of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. I also took this opportunity to slightly deviate away from the broadcast version of the Phantom Shadow by giving its hands a lick op "Citadel" Abaddon Black - rather than leave them to 'merge in' with the rest of its body.

I'm actually now tempted to purchase a second one of these sculpts as there were actually two of the ghouls running around Colonel Beauregard Sanders' mansion, so I've added one to my Wish List for the next time I see "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" at a wargaming show. However, I am a bit loathe to buy a second identical pose. I did consider getting the figure as an STL (Standard Triangle Language) file from the company's collection on "My Mini Factory" and mirroring it - so it'd appear a little different. But sadly the Sheet Ghost doesn't seem to have been uploaded to the 3D printable object-sharing platform yet.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Various models at various stages of completion

In addition to my latest Scooby Doo villain, I have been busy assembling another member of the Away Team I put together a couple of months ago. I was planning to use the models for some games of "Lost Patrol" by "Games Workshop" and realised that I'd need five Federation crewmen to "locate a crashed dropship in a hostile, sentient jungle" rather than the four I currently own. To shake things up a bit though I thought I'd assemble one of the 32mm scale resin Vulcan females I bought as part of the Star Trek Adventures: The Original Series Landing Party Miniatures Set by "Modiphius Entertainment", and may well make her a 'Red Shirt' rather than the usual Science Officer.

Finally, I've been busy trying to sate my current appetite for more models produced by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". This includes the remaining Beastmen I have yet to complete, as well as the rest of their "Scooby-Doo" inspired ghosts, ghouls and villains. Furthermore, with just a few days left until the end of Jez's "Forgotten Heroes" event over on his "Carrion Crow's Buffet" blog, I am going full-pelt on my kit-bashed Rick Sanchez figure...

"Andorians, Yes."

"I've been reading about them in the Vulcan database."

This 32mm scale resin model of an Andorian Male was bought as part of the Star Trek Adventures: The Original Series Landing Party Miniatures Set by "Modiphius Entertainment" and is sadly no longer available as a physical figure. However, the sculpt can still be purchased from the company as either an individual STL (Standard Triangle Language) file, or as part of their Star Trek Adventures - Print At Home - TOS Landing Party Set.

The lower half of the "militaristic, blue-skinned" Ensign was originally primed using some "Citadel" Abaddon Black. However, the Base Colour simply wouldn't stick to the miniature for some bizarre reason - even after a few coats, so in the end the model was treated to a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, which proved much more 'adhesive'. Only then did I pick out the alien's boots and trousers in (more) "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"Citadel Miniatures" WIPs - Joe Bananas, Don Uggie Apelino and Fast Eeek

The Federation's famous chest insignia was carefully pigmented using some "Vallejo" Gold and a smidgeon of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Whilst the Andorian's Type-2 hand phaser was given a lick of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and subsequently shaded with a splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. As a final touch I gave the model's flesh a coat of "Vallejo" Deep Sky Blue and shaded it down with "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade.

To be honest this turned out a little darker than I had envisaged so I highlighted the facial details and fingers with (more) "Vallejo" Deep Sky Blue. I also applied some "Two Thin Coats" White Star to the figure's hair, and subsequently darkened it down with some "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I did consider dry-brushing this area with a tad more White Star by "Two Thin Coats". But in the end thought it looked good as it was.

"Wizkids" WIPs - This Banderhobb has essentially been repainted from scratch after six years

Having completed an extra model from last month's randomly rolled challenge, I thought I'd better get cracking on the motley crew I've based for May. I've actually got five of these classic "Citadel Miniatures" from 1985 on my painting table, and decided to undercoat Don Uggie & The Ape Gang all at the same time. I did look at some of their colour schemes from within the pages of the science fiction anthology comic book "2000 A.D." too. However, as the apes' suits seemed to change depending on the colourist, I decided to simply go with some schemes which I thought would help make them stand out on my "Judge Dredd" tabletop.

Furthermore, as I'm taking part in the "Monster May(hem)" monthly challenge over on "Dead Dick's Tavern and Temporary Lodging" blog, I thought I'd better get cracking on an old Banderhobb I've had sat partially-painted in my hobby area for the past six years. As memory serves I gave up on this particular "large, Neutral Evil monstrosity" by "Wizkids" because I was struggling with doing his belly right, so this time round I have simplified what I what to do with the miniature and plan to focus on giving him lots of boils...

"Captain, I See Something."

"Kelowitz, Lang, flank out. Lay down fire on co-ordinates Mister Spock gave you."

This 32mm scale resin model of a Human Male was bought as part of the Star Trek Adventures: The Original Series Landing Party Miniatures Set by "Modiphius Entertainment" and is sadly no longer available as a physical figure. However, the sculpt can still be purchased from the company as either an individual STL (Standard Triangle Language) file, or as part of their Star Trek Adventures - Print At Home - TOS Landing Party Set.

The Ensign was actually primed using a combination of "Citadel" Abaddon Black and "Vallejo" Heavy Red. This was because I thought it would be easier to just base-layer the two distinct halves of the figure in its predominant colours. However, the "Citadel" Abaddon Black simply wouldn't stick to the miniature for some bizarre reason - even after a few coats, so in the end the model was given a complete lick of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, and then had his boots/trousers pigmented in (more) "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - This Andorian Ensign is almost finished

The human's famous chest insignia was carefully 'picked out' using some "Vallejo" Gold and a smidgeon of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Whilst his Type-2 hand phaser was given a lick of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and subsequently shaded with a splosh or two of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Finally, as I wanted the model to represent O'Herlihy from the January 1967 televised episode "Arena", I applied some (additional) "Citadel" Abaddon Black to the miniature's hair.

Despite having completed my randomly rolled four-figure challenge for this month, I thought I might as well finish working on another of the "Star Trek" resin sprues found inside the drawer, so have been patiently working my way up an Andorian ensign too. Admittedly, there weren't any of the "warp-capable humanoid species from the moon Andoria" shown as being part of the U.S.S. Enterprise's crew in the Original Television Series. But I like to think that there some work aboard her in the background.

"Diehard Miniatures" WIPs - These three Krupps Corp troopers have been primed in "Vallejo" German Grey

Lastly, I have managed to base and prime three of the models found inside the Krupps Corp unit blister I was lucky enough to buy at Salute 2026. This "explorer faction that have a long standing rivalry with the E-Corp agents" immediately captured my imagination as they are clearly inspired by the Norts from the "Rogue Trooper" comic book series in "2000 A.D.", and resultantly caused me to start planning a future battlefield based upon Nu Earth.

For now though I just want to get a small squad of these "Diehard Miniatures" sculpts painted, and then take it from there. I do believe I have some Genetic Infantrymen by "Mongoose Publishing" somewhere, and possibly some of the E-Corp agents mentioned in the Krupps Corp troopers' blurb. But with my long-term Napoleonic and American Civil War projects still on the go, I don't really want to leap into another genre with both feet...

"The Trial Never Ends."

"I'm extraordinarily selfish. But it has served me so well in the past."

This 32mm scale resin model of Q was bought as part of the Star Trek Adventures Iconic Villains Miniatures Set by "Modiphius Entertainment" and is sadly no longer available as a physical figure. However, the sculpt, featuring an excellent likeness of actor John de Lancie, can still be purchased from the company as an STL (Standard Triangle Language) file from their Print At Home range.

The "extra-dimensional being of unknown origin" was originally undercoated in "Vallejo" Heavy Red, drenched with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson and then heavily dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red. His shirt and robe's sleeves were then carefully 'picked out' with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before I used a combination of "Vallejo" Gold and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade on his ornate neck-chain.

"Modiphius Entertainment" - These two Red Shirts have been assembled, primed and base-layered

I next pigmented the so-called judge's gloves with some additional "Vallejo" Heavy Red too. But later felt this made them blend in with the rest of Q's attire. As a result I went in and applied some "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson to just the inside of the super-being's sleeves, and subsequently used a little trusty "Vallejo" Dark Vermillion on his gloves. This area was shaded with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, before I carefully lined the upper fingers with a tad more "Vallejo" Dark Vermillion.

With the enigmatic Q completed I was planning on finishing off the range's Sulu figure. However, I quickly realised that I had either misplaced or run out of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre - which I had previously used on the figure's shirt. As a result I simply grabbed a couple of sprues from the Star Trek Adventures Iconic Landing Party Set by "Modiphius Entertainment" I own, and assembled a pair of ultimately doomed Red Shirts.

"Wargames Foundry" WIPs - It's early days yet on these four Napoleonic French Carabiniers

This actually proved a little bit more difficult than I planned as the resin cast miniatures were multi-part and didn't seem to take to super-glue very well at all. In the end I had to use a little ball of green-stuff to hold the limbs in place whilst the adhesive dried, and so by the time my Human and Andorian were ready to be painted, my order of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre off of "eBay" had also arrived.

In addition to feeding my current "Star Trek" fix, I have based, primed and begun putting a rough base layer on a quartet of Napoleonic Frenchmen from blister FN062 - Light Infantry Carabiniers In Campaign Dress And Colpacks Marching by "Wargames Foundry". Like a fool I actually thought from just looking at them from the front that these would be quite simple (and therefore quick) to get tabletop ready. However, the sheer amount of detail sculpted onto their rears is flabberghasting, and will doubtless cause me a few headache-filled hobby sessions trying to work out what colour each piece of kit is...

"Enterprise Is Cleared For Launch."

"Hailing frequencies open, sir."

This 32mm scale resin model of Lieutenant Uhura was bought as part of the Star Trek Adventures Original Series Miniatures Set by "Modiphius Entertainment" and is sadly no longer available as a physical figure. However, the sculpt, featuring an excellent likeness of actress Nichelle Nichols, can still be purchased from the company as an STL (Standard Triangle Language) file from their Print At Home range.

The Bridge Officer was initially primed using a layer or two of "Vallejo" Heavy Red before having her uniform shaded in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. This clothing was then dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red, before it's iconic insignia and Nyota's rank wrist stripes were carefully 'picked out' using a little "Vallejo" Gold and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"This is not merely a fight for survival."

I next painted Uhura's boots and hair with pure "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and applied some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna to her legs, hands and face. As I wanted to suggest that the linguistics specialist was wearing tights, I gave her legs a wash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, whilst the rest of the woman's flesh was treated to some Agrax Earthshade. Finally, I dotted Nyota's earpiece and Type-2 hand phaser with "Vallejo" Gunmetal and darkened the devices down with a splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

In addition to Lieutenant Uhura I have also completed a second 32mm scale Bomb Coffin by "Trench Stench". As with the first Sarcophagus Mine I recently completed, this model was downloaded for free as part of their three-figure set of STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from the company's "Patreon" subscription service.

"Perry Miniatures" WIPs - These four confederate soldiers have had all their different areas 'boxed'

Forming part of their Ghosts of the Nomansland range for "Trench Crusade", and produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on my Mars 5 3D Printer, the miniature was predominantly pigmented using "Vallejo" Bronze and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade over a "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna undercoat. In addition I used White Star by "Two Thin Coats" and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green for the sculpt's spooky spectral flames.

Despite all these 'distractions', I haven't forgotten about the first four Confederate soldiers from my recently acquired the American Civil War - Battle in a Box starter set either, and have managed to spend a little time on the "Perry Miniatures" 'boxing off' all their different coloured areas. This process has certainly made me rethink my technique for future American Civil War combatants - as they're all going to be primed in "Citadel" Abaddon Black from now on...

"The Testudo Bird Is Imported From The Core Worlds..."

"...For its delicious meat and rock-hard shell."

This 28mm scale metal model of a Testudo Bird is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought as part of their Alien Pets deal. The "flightless creature", which "is renowned for its stupidity", is only 13mm tall and is designed to be used with the company's other "Colony 87" sci-fi civilian miniatures "for any RPGs and tabletop wargames."

The bird was originally undercoated using a double helping of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, before being shaded in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. It was then mercilessly dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red before having its tortoise-like shell (and frustratingly difficult to reach underbelly) layered with paint taken from an old pot of the "Citadel" Foundation colour Calthan Brown.

"Future Wars" WIPs - This Zombie Trooper has had its arms and legs repainted.

The shell was later washed with some Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter" and I 'picked out' the tiny extra-terrestrial's eyes with some "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre. Finally, having looked at the 'official' paint-job on the "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" website, I decided to dry-brush the tiny monster's beak with a little "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and blend it in with the Testudo Bird's red face.

Alongside my latest Alien Pet I have been patiently restoring a previously (somewhat poorly-painted) Zombie Trooper from Mark Copplestone's "Future Wars" range. The figure has proved an absolute joy to 'touch up' owing to all of its easy-to-reach detail, and I think my idea of actually pigmenting his automatic rifle, metal knee-pads and ammunition pouches will pay off well once the figure is finished, varnished and based.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - These three Federation Officers have had their flesh layered

Unfortunately, I have had to spend a bit more time on the miniature than I first anticipated, on account of my inability to match the dark blue of his re-worked overalls with the colour of his sleeves. As a result, I have subsequently re-painted all of his clothing, as opposed to just his legs, and simply left the tear in his right sleeve alone so it still shows the animated corpse's livid green flesh.

Lastly, I've managed to make a little more progress on three of the figures found inside the Star Trek Adventures: The Next Generation Away Team boxed set by "Modiphius Entertainment". Being predominantly black in colour, I'm hoping these Federation officers will prove reasonably straightforward to get on the tabletop, and have already 'bedded down' the initial "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone layers on Lieutenant Commander Lian Zhang (Conn Officer) and a Male Tellarite, as well as the light blue flesh of Cuellas Zharath, the U.S.S. Magellan's Andorian Chief of Security.

 

"Fire Elementals Are Quick, Cruel Creatures Of Living Flame."

"They enjoy frightening beings weaker than themselves, and terrorizing any creature they can set on fire."

This 15mm scale miniature of a Giant Fire Elemental is produced by “Alternative Armies” and can be bought either separately as blister HOT84 or as part of the company's pre-made twenty-four point strong HOTT1017 Elemental Army pack. Despite its scale "one piece metal monster" is actually 43mm tall and counts as a Behemoth for "Hordes Of The Things", with the fiery figure sitting somewhat centrally upon a 40mm x 40mm base.

Having super-glued the model to its plastic stand, it was primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Sun Yellow and shaded using a little "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. The neutral creature was then dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Sun Yellow, some Heavy Orange, a little Heavy Red and finally a tiny amount of Dark Vermillion.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - Three more Federation Officers have been based, primed and dry-brushed

Disappointingly, I was not impressed with the final result, as the soft detail on the rounded edges of the elemental's flames didn't seem to take terribly well to this technique. As a result, the monster simply looked predominantly red in colour, so I hastily repeated the dry-brushing process; only this time I sporadically applied my brush-tip to different areas of the miniature rather than simply cover the entire thing with it.

With the latest addition to my Elemental Army completed I have continued to assemble some of the models found inside the Star Trek Adventures: The Next Generation Away Team boxed set by "Modiphius Entertainment". Initially, I had hoped to used most of the contents to make the characters found in The Roleplaying Game Starter Set box. Yet to my utter frustration, my Federation Officers didn't come with separate heads (as I had assumed from the packaging), only incredibly difficult to position wafer-thin limbs.

"Mongoose Publishing" WIPs - The three undead Judges have been dusted down ready for layering

I have however managed to make some suitable proxies for Lieutenant Commander Lian Zhang (Conn Officer) and Cuellas Zharath, the U.S.S. Magellan's Andorian Chief of Security. But fear the Galaxy-class starship's First Officer, Commander Lenaris Los, will have to become a Vulcan on the tabletop, as the only human male figure seems far more suited to represent Trill, Hanor Del, courtesy of all the equipment the sculpt is carrying.

Lastly, I hope to spend the rest of the year focusing on finishing off some of the past projects I've worked on. With Zomtober very much in view, I thought I'd start by painting some partially-pigmented zombie Judges I've had gathering dust for a couple of years. These "Judge Dredd" miniatures are made up of parts taken from both "Mongoose Publishing" and "Mantic Games" figures, which I then pinned/super-glued together to form a trio of the walking dead...

"An Earth Elemental Plods Forward Like A Walking Hill..."

"...Club-like arms of jagged stone swinging at its sides."

This 15mm scale metal miniature of a Giant Earth Elemental is produced by “Alternative Armies” and can be bought either separately as blister HOT85 or as part of the company's pre-made twenty-four point strong HOTT1017 Elemental Army pack. Despite its scale the sculpt is actually 60mm tall and counts as a Behemoth for "Hordes Of The Things", with the solitary figure sitting squarely upon a 40mm x 40mm base.

Having super-glued the model its plastic base, it was primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and washed using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Quite bizarrely, this regular combination seems to have re-acted rather badly on this occasion and actually caused the "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna to evaporate before my very eyes.

"Modiphius Entertainment" WIPs - The Andorian has been based, primed and dry-brushed

As a result, it took several more layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, plus some shading using "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade" before the large figure was ready to be dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna. I was then going to further highlight the towering creature with some "Vallejo" Heavy Brown. But was frankly worried that the Elemental wouldn't weather a second abrasive dry-brushing too well, so ultimately decided to simply leave the somewhat uninspiring miniature alone.

Alongside my latest addition to my Elemental Army I have also assembled one of the models found inside the Star Trek Adventures: The Next Generation Away Team boxed set by "Modiphius Entertainment". This somewhat impulse mini-project has been spurred on by my participation in some RPG sessions using the Andorian Lieutenant Thor Th'shrahrir; the experienced Flight Controller aboard the U.S.S. Franz Boas.

"Black Tree Design" WIPs - The Zygons have been primed and washed

My character is currently the pilot of a prototype shuttle-craft which has been dispatched under the watchful eye of Commander Onovren to investigate a faint subspace distress beacon from a nearby system. The RPG is already three sessions into the adventure, and things are definitely heating up now the long-forgotten Earth colony our shuttle-craft's crew have discovered believes we're responsible for sabotaging their town's only source of food and water...

Lastly, I recently uncovered a party of Zygons by "Black Tree Design", which I thought might make for a straightforwardly swift "Doctor Who" force for my homemade rule-set M.I.S.S. The sculpts are based upon the extra-terrestrial shape-shifters from the 1975 televised adventure "Terror of the Zygons", so rather than predominantly paint them "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone as I've repeatedly done with my "Warlord Games" Nu-Who re-imaginings, I went for the more colourful Heavy Orange instead.

Top Ten Miniatures Of 2019 - An "Undercoat" Personal Choice

Well 2019 has come and gone and there were lots of highlights to remember. We had the end of the Star Wars trilogy trilogies, Avengers Endgame saw the stunning sacrifices of Black Widow, Iron Man and Cap and I think there was an election! In terms of the miniature painting hobby some highlights included the Clone Wars coming to "Star Wars Legion", the superb "Warcry" from "Games Workshop" and the great new "Marvel Crisis Protocol" game from "Atomic Mass Games".

It also means I get the chance to review the miniatures painted on the "Fantorical" blog for the year. And what a year it was too, with a huge output making my choices very hard indeed. My choices are a personal opinion based on a variety of factors, such as the painting, the imagination used and of course the rule of cool! So, without further ado onto the list, in reverse order of course!

No. 10 - Borg by "Modiphius Entertainment" - August 16th

These Borg are part of a much larger force painted over the course of the year and these ones just stood out to me. I think the paint scheme has done a great job of capturing the menace of these iconic "Star Trek" villains and the collective as a whole has been a great project for the year.

No. 9 - Punchline by “Kitbash Games” - January 10th

This miniature is from a "Kickstarter" project and uses several superhero/super villain tropes to come up with a great looking figure that has been painted very well in my opinion. I like the paint scheme of this one enormously making it an easy choice for the Top Ten.

No. 8 - Imperial Royal Guards by "Fantasy Flight Games" - February 7th

These stunning miniatures are from the original "Star Wars trilogy" and are the personal bodyguards of the Emperor himself. I chose these because, a) they are from Star Wars! And b) they are a great exercise in painting red. I find red quite a tricky colour at times and these miniatures are an example of how to paint the colour effectively!

No. 7 - Deinonychus by "Copplestone Castings" - December 15th.

These miniatures are great sculpts and I just adore the painting. The colours used are very natural (if we can say natural for a species that is extinct and we don’t know what the colour of their skin was!!). I just think these look really great overall and would look awesome on any dinosaur themed game!

No. 6 -  Skeleton Swordsmen by "Lucid Eye Publications" - December 8th

The whole "Toon Realms" range has featured quite heavily on this blog but I just adored the skeletons. A simple enough colour scheme but done so well they just stand out as the pick of the bunch for me. The bone colour has been painted superbly in my opinion and looks fantastic. Just a cracking group to look at!

No. 5 - Romulans by “Modiphius Entertainment” - September 27th.

Another "Star Trek" entry in my Top Ten. I just like everything about these: the sculpts look great, the paint scheme really captures the look of these enigmatic villains and overall they look great! The skin and faces have been painted really well on these miniatures and the colour scheme really reflects how they look in the television series.

No. 4 - Drathro by "Black Tree Design" - July 25th

I just really like this miniature. It is from the "Doctor Who" television show and has a look about it that I just adore. The paint scheme looks deceptively simple but the metallics have been painted superbly in my opinion and make the whole thing so memorable. I think Simon has really mastered painting metallic and I am jealous of the way he paints them as they look so realistic. A great looking mini!!

No. 3 - Iron Golem Armator by "Games Workshop" - October 4th

The whole "Warcry" series of miniatures has really caught my imagination this year as they are well sculpted and really capture the different facets of chaos in the Warhammer universe. There are eight Iron Golems in the warband who are heavily armoured in a really distinctive style and this duardin (dwarf in old money!) is my pick of the bunch. The metallics and the red armour are just great on this mini. I know that the painting process on these particular miniatures has been a bit of a trial but in the end they have turned out great.

No. 2 - Wookie Warriors by "Fantasy Flight Games" - January 18th

Another "Star Wars" entry in the Top Ten. The wookies are one of my favourite alien races in George Lucas' universe and these miniatures look awesome and capture the “walking carpets” brilliantly. The paint job on these minis is really good. The fur has been painted brilliantly and the accessories and weapons have been picked out so they don’t get lost in the vast amount of hair!! Great looking unit.

No. 1 - Hexgorger Skulls by "Games Workshop" - April 19th.

These models are from "Age of Sigmar" and are prayers summoned onto the battlefield by the followers of the Blood God, Khorne. They look awesome in my opinion. All of the elements have been painted brilliantly: the bone looks tremendous, I really like the shading and the way it gives the appearance of aged bone, the blood flowing from them looks really effective and overall they look stunning. They are a real centre piece model that will be a stand out in this army. A great bit of painting that has resulted in a fantastic model that has stuck in my memory since I first saw it.

Well that concludes my Top Ten and the reasons behind them. Happy New Year to all the readers of “Fantorical”.