Top Ten Manufacturers Of 2015 - A "Fantorical" Viewpoint

The fourth article covering my favourite miniature manufacturers over the years, this period was clearly dominated by my love of British science fiction television programmes such as “Doctor Who” and “Blake’s Seven”, as well as an affection for the Doug McClure fantasy movies of my childhood. Interestingly, I also found my participation in the “Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge” something of a catalyst to start ploughing through my sizeable collection of Bob Murch’s painter-friendly “Pulp Figures” and a dalliance with the free rule-set “Pillow A-go-go” by “Fiendish Fabrications” a surprising motivator to pigment numerous “Heroclix” super-heroes and villains…

No.10 (Joint) - "Reaper Miniatures” - "Chronoscope"

Bought as an experiment to ascertain the difference between their “Bones” sculpts and metal castings, this particular sojourn into the world of “Reaper Miniatures” pigmenting a pair of Black Mist models certainly helped me make up my mind that I wouldn’t purchase any of the company’s unpainted polymer 28mm-sized humanoid figures in the future, as I found their loss of detail disconcerting. However, it did lead me to eventually purchase a fair few of the range’s larger monsters as the financial savings were quite significant. Sadly, both of my Black Mists actually ended up in Canada as payment for entering the Fifth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, and I have yet to purchase a (second) metal version of the crime-fighting vigilante to use on my own tabletop.

No.10 (Joint) – “Antediluvian Miniatures” – “Lost World”

Basing their sculpts upon some of my favourite fantasy childhood films, such as the 1976 cult classic “At The Earth’s Core”, this Ross-shire based company completely caught me off-guard with its characterful castings in the Summer and seemed destined to be one of my most popular manufacturers of the year. Disappointingly however, having quite quickly pigmented Professor Peter Cushion, I then found my attention wandering elsewhere, and not even their subsequent release concerning a squad of Guardians of Lemuria (heavily influenced by “The Warlord Of Atlantis”) managed to restore my motivation.”

No.10 (Joint) – “Steamforged Games Limited” – “Guildball”

Intrigued by this alternative to the legendary sports tabletop game “Blood Bowl” by “Games Workshop”, I actually spent quite some considerable time plugging away at the contents of a Union Starter Set for “Guildball”. Yet was ultimately beaten by the incredibly fiddly detail found on each sculpt, an utter aversion to the complexity of the actual rule-set, and a serious dislike for the ‘difficult to reach’ pose of my team’s captain, Blackheart. In fact, my problems progressing the central midfielder with a brush-tip alone were enough to put me off “Guildball” for life, especially after his head fell off part way through the painting process, and I discovered that a far more paintable pose of the player was available; albeit at a significant cost.

No.7 – “Wizards Of The Coast” – “Star Wars”/“Dreamblade”

Fuelled by the speculation concerning the imminent release of J.J. Abrahams’ “American epic space-opera film”, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", this dalliance with “Wizards Of The Coast” was initially confined to just a pair of their models from the long defunct “Star Wars Miniatures Game”. However, as part of my “Zomtober” challenge I later decided to re-paint three plastic “Dreamblade” Gutsoup Golems in order to turn them into proxy Krynoids for a “Doctor Who” flavoured game of “Zombicide” based upon the February 1976 six-part television story “The Seeds Of Doom”. Lamentably, this rather over-ambitious project was never fully finished, and despite some temptation to simply pigment a few more of the collectable miniatures game’s innovative-looking models just for the ‘fun of it’, no more of the “spawning dream creatures” saw a paint-brush.

No.6 – “Nexus Miniatures” – “Super-hero Dinosaur Zombie Apocalypse”

Encouraged by Simon Quinton’s enthusiastic postings over on “Brummie’s Wargaming Blog”, I rather badly fell in love with this company’s D-Rangers and Caprican Legion Troopers courtesy of their sculpts bearing more than a passing resemblance to the main characters from Glen A. Larson’s 1978 “Battlestar Galactica”. Admittedly, the figures themselves were a little crude and mis-proportioned, with the ‘Cylons’ significantly smaller in stature than their human counterparts. But their attention to the detail of a ‘Colonial Warrior’ uniform more than made up for this, and resultantly I eagerly painted up proxies for Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer, alongside a trio of the Imperious Leader’s finest centurions.

No.5 – “SLAP Miniatures” – “Moon Howlers”

Heartily recommended to me by Bryan Scott of “Vampifan’s World Of The Undead” blog fame, I ended up painting eight He-Wolves as an entourage for my repainted “Heroclix” model of the Hyena. Slightly painful to assemble, with plenty of super-glue, green-stuff and pinning definitively required, these furry fiends were still a joy to paint in a multitude of appropriate browns and greys, and were completed within the space of a fortnight before having them subsequently devour Batman in a Caped Crusader-inspired game of “Zombicide” by “Guillotine Games”. Sadly, my plans to pigment Skipper Fred, Bosun Ace and Steward Gladys for the Sixth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge as a (not) “Popeye” entry never materialised into anything more than a trio of colourfully-primed miniatures…

No.4 – “Pulp Figures” – “Lost Tribes”

Originally planned to be part of a much larger “Pulp Figures” contribution to the Sixth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, these Bob Murch sculpts seemed destined to be the start of a significant expedition into the savage worlds of pulp. However, despite both Jai and Cheetah joining Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor for a mid-year “Doctor Who”/“Tarzan” tabletop team-up, my enthusiasm for the somewhat cartoony range of miniatures never materialised into a full-blown painting spree, and resultantly I simply ‘scatter-gunned’ a few hominids here and gun-toting gangsters there.

No.3 – “Black Tree Design” – “Doctor Who”

It’s incredible to think that a New Year clear-out uncovered the vast majority of this “Doctor Who” treasure trove, and lead to the creation of a sizeable Cyberman force for the tabletop. In fact, with hindsight it is hard to imagine my eventual immersion into “Age Of Sigmar” by “Games Workshop” the following year, if I hadn’t been inspired to pigment quite so many Mondasian and Mark II Cybermen during this period and subsequently used them play-test the fantasy rule-set. At the time though, I was simply determined to provide my “Eaglemoss Collections” Cyber-King with a suitably large retinue, and these silver giants were reasonably straightforward to paint.

No.2 – “Wizkids” – “Heroclix”

Arguably initiated by a desire to field the numerous members of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, this range of collectable plastic figures proved consistently popular throughout the year, and helped me add a significant number of models, both large and small, to my ever-growing collection of finished re-painted “Marvel Worldwide” and “DC Comics” characters. In addition, this range of super-heroes and despicable villains caused me to re-imagine the “Pillow A-go-go” ruleset by “Fiendish Fabrications” into a short series of rooftop battles which occurred across both the Gotham City and New York City skylines.

No.1 – “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” – “7TV”

Indisputably down to my love of the BBC science fiction television series “Blake’s Seven” and “Doctor Who”, I not only managed to paint a formidable force of black-clad Federated Troopers, including a heavily-moustached Commander and cybernetically-enhanced Stefan Travers. But also progressed a significant number of Spawn, Robo Rodents and grotesquely-mutated Failed Experiments with which to vex the time-travelling Tweedy Mattinson and his Plucky Assistant. In addition, my enthusiasm for “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” saw me involve their miniatures in a number of popular Battle Reports which either saw their Freedom Fighters teaming-up with the likes of Rocket Raccoon and Judge Dredd, or the company’s Robo Rodents proving pivotal as proxy Runners for “Zombicide” by “Guillotine Games”.

"Resident Evil 2" Board Game Report: Spider-Man & Black Widow Verses Zombies - Part Two

SPIDER-MAN AND THE BLACK WIDOW BATTLE BRAIN-CHOMPING ZOMBIES

"The story so far... Whilst visiting Raccoon City on a photography assignment, the Daily Bugle's Peter Parker has uncovered some alarming report's concerning the Umbrella Corporation. Having contacted the Avenger, Natalia Romanova, for some much needed support, the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man has donned his crime-fighting costume and started to make his way to Raccoon City's Police Department. However, both Web-head and the Black Widow soon find their way to their rendezvous point blocked by the brain-chomping Undead..."

THE TABLETOP -  THE ALLEYWAYS AND ROOMS SURROUNDING THE R.C.P.D. BUILDING

"Resident Evil 2" Board Game Report: Spider-Man & Black Widow Verses Zombies

Trapped at the beginning of an alleyway, Spider-Man utilised his web-shooters to their maximum potential by rapidly firing three volleys of webbing at the fast-approaching zombie in front of him. The Daily Bugle photographer's aim was off though, and only succeeded in allowing the Undead cadaver blocking off his escape root to make an "Out-Of-Sequence" Reaction, and stumble directly into the costumed crime-fighter.

Ordinarily, any subsequent attack risked the chance that the flesh-eating ghoul would be able to gouge a chunk out of its prey, however, because Web-head had the "Cool Under Fire" special ability, it was agreed that he would be able to use his web-shooters (an item) on this one occasion "while one or more enemies are in his square without making an evade roll." This decision potentially somewhat jarred with the rule "Attacking An Enemy In The Same Square", within where it states "If the attack is unsuccessful, the targeted enemy makes a basic attack which cannot be evaded", but it was felt under the circumstances that our 'house rule' better represented the smart-mouthed vigilante characteristically keeping his head when under intense pressure.

SPIDER-MAN DEMONSTRATES HIS "COOL UNDER FIRE" SPECIAL ABILITY

Shockingly, the triple attack once again missed, and it was only during Spider-Man's third action that he finally managed to buy a little breathing room by pushing the moaning minion backwards. A fourth attempt to overcome his foe resulted in the super-hero completely running out of web-fluid and the walking dead being right at his throat. The Black Widow would seemingly need to come to the rescue of Peter Parker's alter-ego. However, having sensed movement inside the Upper Room, Natalia ended her activation outside the location's open eastern door. Confirming her worst fears, Romanova spotted a zombie shuffling towards her...

Spider-Man attempted to somersault over the Undead corpse before him, and evading the ghoulish monster's attack bounded north past his ungodly opponent and further up the alleyway. Behind him, the youth could hear his pursuer groan and turn in his direction. Meanwhile, the Black Widow managed to push the zombie bothering her up against the Upper Room's locked south-western door with a triple blast from her Stingers, and race up to the door which adjoined the Final Room. The walking ghoul at the Avenger's location slowly stumbled north towards the black-clad S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

THE BLACK WIDOW BLASTS AWAY AT THE WALKING DEAD

Activating her "Reckless" special ability, the Black Widow took "an out-of sequence activation" and opened the door to the Final Room. A double-zap from her Stingers pushed its Undead occupant from the centre of the location back to the R.C.P.D. entranceway. With a groan, the zombie lurched towards his assailant, whilst behind Natalia she could hear the brain-hungry ghoul in the Upper Room shuffling after her. Meanwhile, Spider-Man, deciding against entering the Tiny Room, simply rushed up to the Upper Room's locked south-western door and caught his breath. The walking cadaver he'd previously somersaulted over could be heard slowly stumbling along the alleyway some way behind him.

Peter Parker's alter-ego opened the door to the Upper Room and due to not having any remaining web-fluid acrobatically made his way towards the building's north-east corner. His dramatic entry caused the location's zombie to turn its full attention upon him rather than Romanova, and it closed to within biting range. Unfortunately the sound also allowed the Undead in the Final Room to react too, and the zed frighteningly closed upon the Black Widow as a result.

SPIDER-MAN RACES TOWARDS THE BLACK WIDOW'S FINAL BATTLE

Despite "attacking at point-blank range... only [being] advisable as a last resort" Natalia manged to push her attacker back and took the opportunity to run to the R.C.P.D. entranceway. With an inhuman snarl, the zombie lurched towards her, hoping to get in a tasty bite before his prey escaped. Behind them, the ravenous brain-eater circling Spider-Man attacked, but was unable to take a chunk out of the costumed crime-fighter due to the super-hero's spider-sense.

The Daily Bugle photographer finally kicked free of the hungry monster and sped into the Final Room, slamming shut the Upper Room's door as he went. Unfortunately, the noise caused the zombie which had been previously bothering the Black Widow to leap upon Spider-Man instead, and only the youth's speedy reflexes saved him from a nasty bite.

THE BLACK WIDOW OPENS THE ROUTE TO THE RACCOON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

Realising that her would-be-assailant in the Final Room was now otherwise occupied, Romanova decided to put her mission first and foremost, and escaped through the entranceway into the Racoon City Police Department. As she sought sanctuary she heard her costumed companion somehow manage to dodge yet another attack from the walking dead.

However, Spider-Man was unable to steer clear of a savage claw down his arm as he hurled his opponent backwards one final time and raced to the safety of the R.C.P.D. himself. Fortunately, he felt he would have time to tend to his solitary wound before returning to his investigation of the Umbrella Corporation, and perhaps by then other super-heroes would have joined his cause...

"Resident Evil 2" Board Game Report: Spider-Man & Black Widow Verses Zombies

SPIDER-MAN AND THE BLACK WIDOW FACE OFF AGAINST "RESIDENT EVIL 2"

This game was played using Scenario 1A - Getting To The Police Department from "Resident Evil 2: The Board Game" by "Steamforged Games". However, in order to allow us to set-up a quick(ish) play through, the in-game plastic figures were replaced with a handful of my painted "Copplestone Castings" zombies and a pair of re-painted "Heroclix" miniatures. The table was set-up exactly as instructed by the "Capcom" licensed game's rulebook, including the contents of its Item Decks, Tension Deck, Character Start points and zombie locations 

Spider-Man was armed with his famous web-shooters and enough web-fluid for fifteen shots. He also had the "Cool Under Fire" special skill, which meant that once per activation he "may use an item while one or more enemies are in his square without making an evade roll." The costumed crime-fighter would start the game in the top north-western corner. The Black Widow was armed with her Stingers and enough electricity for fifteen shots. She also had the special skill "Reckless", which meant "at the end of any character's activation including her own" Natalia "may take an out-of-sequence activation" and "after doing so, she must forfeit her following activation", and the "Intrigue" ability, which allows her "once per scenario" to "discard a card drawn from the tension deck without resolving the effects." The Avenger would start the game in an alleyway south of the Tiny Room.

The super-heroes would successfully complete this scenario if they all leave the playing area via the western door in the Final Room. Once a character has left the playing area though, they cannot activate."

THE TABLETOP -  THE ALLEYWAYS AND ROOMS SURROUNDING THE R.C.P.D. BUILDING

"The story so far... Whilst visiting Raccoon City on a photography assignment, the Daily Bugle's Peter Parker has uncovered some alarming report's concerning the Umbrella Corporation. Having contacted the Avenger, Natalia Romanova, for some much needed support, the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man has donned his crime-fighting costume and started to make his way to Raccoon City's Police Department. However, both Web-head and the Black Widow soon find their way to their rendezvous point blocked by the brain-chomping Undead..."

Spotting the ghoulish zombie shuffling towards him down the alleyway, Spider-Man immediately activated and spent the first of his four actions shooting at the walking cadaver. The masked vigilante's web-shooters were a "rapid fire" weapon, which meant he could "spend one additional ammunition point to roll an extra attack dice". One of his shots pushed the zombie back, allowing the super-hero to move south and then fire both his web-shooters at his target again. The groaning corpse was nicely wrapped up in sticky webbing, and out of the game for good. As no other Undead were around nothing occurred in either the subsequent reaction or tension phases.

SPIDER-MAN HEADS SOUTH AS THE BLACK WIDOW BEGINS BATTLING NORTH

The Black Widow ran east along the alleyway she found herself in and turning to head north saw a zombie stood between her and a potentially useful item. As her "Widow's Bite" was also a "rapid fire" weapon the former Russian spy fired a double burst at the fiend, and pushed it further north up the alleyway. Disconcertingly, the creature staggered back towards her, making a loud painful groan.

Spider-Man headed south-east, opening the door to the First Room and stepped inside. Everything was eerily quiet, and the place seemed deserted. Meanwhile the Black Widow fired a second double-powered blast at her would-be assailant and brought the creature down permanently. Natalia then made her way up north to search amongst some debris, and considered whether to perhaps enter the Lower Room next time..?

THE BLACK WIDOW FINDS AN ITEM AS SHE NAVIGATES HER WAY TOWARDS THE R.C.P.D.

Peter Parker's alter-ego swung himself south across the First Room towards a potentially useful item located in its south-west corner. There was clearly no-one else in the place to worry about as far as the reaction phase was concerned, but during the tension phase it seemed the claustrophobic location was ideal for an "Undead Ambush" as two dark silhouettes outside were the wall-crawler's "only warning before glass shatters to jagged shards and death resumes its tireless pursuit!"

Suddenly, instead of simply facing something useful on the floor in front of him, Spider-Man was looking into the hungry faces of two freshly spawned zombies. Completely oblivious to her colleague's plight, the Black Widow searched the end of the alleyway she was in and discovered a green herb. This would allow Romanova to heal herself or a friend "in the same or adjacent square one level." The Avenger then kicked open the door to the Lower Room and immediately fired a double-blast at the zombie she saw inside. Unfortunately the shots went wild, and only succeeded in attracting the green-hued creature's attention. It unpleasantly stumbled towards the former Russian super-spy, it's arms outstretched...

SPIDER-MAN GETS MORE THAN HE BARGAINED FOR AS ZOMBIES BREAK IN TO HIS LOCATION

Spider-Man acrobatically somersaulted back away from his assailants, threw open the First Room's south-east door and hurled himself through it, slamming it shut behind him as he went. He was momentarily safe, but was now facing another zombie which stood between him and his passage north. Hearing the super-hero's dramatic entrance into the dark alleyway, the Undead monster shuffled south towards him.

Determined to bring down her foe fast, the Black Widow actually used her "rapid fire" "Widow's Bite" to its maximum potential and used one action to fire a triple-burst at the cadaver stomping towards her inside the Lower Room. The zombie was destroyed, allowing Natalia to race west and open the location's door. There were still a few hurdles between Romanova and the Raccoon City Police Department, but she had plenty of juice left in her Stingers, as well as a little time on her side.

To Be Continued...

"Oh, My Fingers, My Arms, My legs!"

"Ah! My everything! Argh!"

These four 28mm "humanoid creatures native to the planet Eden" are produced by “Black Tree Design" and can be purchased from their "Doctor Who" range as code DW427 - Mandrel, and DW432 - Mandrel Attacking. "Dangerous predators" who were "able to easily kill a human", the "absurdly tough" monsters "decomposed down into a pile of lumpy white powder, the dangerous, addictive drug vraxoin, after being electrocuted" and made their BBC Television debut in the November 1979 story "Nightmare Of Eden".

The figures were originally primed using a double layer of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and very heavily dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Red. However, despite this simple technique bringing out some of their sculpts' scaly detail I didn't feel it resulted in the deep blackish red shown in photographs of the programme's costumes, so I soon returned to the quartet and just painted them "Vallejo" Heavy Red".

"You must help them get the Mandrels back into the projection."

The models were then thoroughly washed using "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I tidied up the aliens' furry feet, hands and heads with a touch of "Vallejo" Black, before 'picking out' their enormous claws using a combination of "Vallejo" Dead White and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

As a final step I painted in the Mandrels' large oval "glowing" eyes with "Vallejo" Heavy Khaki and later soaked them with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. I also dry-brushed their face's fan-like mouth with "Vallejo" Heavy Green and subsequently treated these dangling fronds to some (more) "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. Lastly, these areas were once again dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Green and then washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Resident Evil 2: The Board Game" - Leon and Claire race back to Raccoon City's Police Department

With this furry foursome finished I have found some time to start playing my recently arrived "Resident Evil 2: The Board Game" by "Steamforged Games Limited". This "Kickstarter" proved tremendously popular in 2017, generating a whopping £800,561 in pledges during its 28 day funding period. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to nab an Early Bird Survivor Pledge and resultantly have been learning the rules playing its Scenario 1A Brief - Getting To The Police Department.

First impressions are good, albeit the quality of the tiny sculpts and very dark tiles are not what I was expecting from the manufacturer behind "Guild Ball". I don't therefore plan on painting the figures anytime soon, if at all, but having successfully made it off the unsafe streets of Raccoon City, I can definitely see myself traversing deeper into the Scenario Book; especially as I couldn't resist buying the "co-operative survival horror" game's Giant Alligator Expansion...

"Known As The Chameleon By Her Fans..."

"...Snakeskin is a master of disguise."

This 23mm tall metal model of the Union Winger, Snakeskin, is made by “Steamforged Games Ltd” and can be purchased as part of the “Guild Ball” Halloween-themed boxed set, "The Dark Harvest". Chillingly depicting the young woman's grave, complete with burning candle, broken face-mask and rising undead hand, this figure can be used as either an in-game harvest marker or "may be alternately used" as a player in your team.

Disappointingly, despite the "sinewy and powerfully built" player coming as a single cast piece, I did find the edge of the burial mound to be slightly warped. This caused the miniature to sit a little too proud above its plastic lipped circular base, and discouragingly, no amount of filing or sanding seemed to rectify the situation. In the end I therefore had to shelve my obsessive–compulsive disorder, and simply prime the piece with "Citadel" Abaddon Black. 

The Union - "A mismatched bunch o' mercenaries, scum and criminals for the most part."

As the majority of the figure was actually mud, I simply dry-brushed all the earth in precisely the same manner as I do almost all of my gritted bases, using first Doomsbull Brown, then Rakarth Flesh, and finally a heavy wash of Agrax Earthshade. Once the shade had dried, I 'picked out' the dead Sultarish's shattered mask with "Vallejo" Gold and “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade, and used a combination of "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green for her decaying claw-like limb.

Snakeskin's tombstone was painted using a base-coat of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, a wash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and then some more "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey; which was lightly drawn over the grave marker in order to highlight all of its detail. In addition, I used some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna to pigment the plant's branches, and a spot of Heavy Green to colour its leaves. These areas were subsequently washed with "The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green where appropriate.

"Vixtrix Limited" Frenchman - The soldier has yet to have his eyes, face and hat finished

Finally, I spent a little time busying myself on the miniature's solitary half-burnt out candle, sputtering away on top of the head-stone. I have seen its wax painted red previously, and was sorely tempted to replicate just such a colour scheme. But in the end I decided to stick to the usual off-white palette by using some "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand and a dab of Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter”.

Obviously such a 'simple' subject has given me a little extra time to focus upon some of my other partially-painted models. Not wanting to waste this valuable opportunity, and in dire need to catch up with my Napoleonic tally marker, I have spent a considerable period 'picking out' all the straps, baggage and rifle parts on another "Victrix Limited" bicorne-wearing French Fusilier from Bonaparte's 1804 - 1807 army...

"Those Who March With Us Will Certainly Face Abuse..."

"...Misunderstanding, bitter animosity, and possibly the ferocity of struggle and of danger."

These two 28mm metal miniatures of Sir Oswald Moseley's bodyguards can be bought, along with their British Union of Facists leader, as Code 403012203 from the "Warlord Games" German Army range, and are "modelled upon Mussolini's fascist party." Costing an additional 13 points per man, the Blackshirts' rules can be found within the "Bolt Action" book "Campaign: Sea Lion", and accompany the former "Conservative MP for Harrow" everywhere on the battlefield.

Initially undercoated with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, the para-militarists were highlighted with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal and later washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. The bruisers' belt buckles were painted using a combination of Ironbreaker and (more) Nuln Oil, whilst their hair was 'picked out' using either "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade or "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

Judoon Ghost WIPs - The Fisher King's minion has been washed and dry-brushed

Finally, one thug's club was pigmented with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and his companion's knuckleduster was given a lick of "Vallejo" Brass. Both of these areas were then treated to a wash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

To be honest, despite the straightforward palette, I found both of these miniatures quite a struggle to finish on account of their faces, and particularly their small eyes. I know that some hobbyists prefer to avoid painting pupils by simply applying a dark wash into a sculpt's facial recesses, and I've never been so tempted to follow such a technique as I was with these two chaps. In the end though, having found it impossible to pinpoint two spots of white for each eye, I settled for just the one and hope they don't appear too cross-eyed as a result.

Snakeskin Harvest Marker WIPs - The dead "Guild Ball" player can be used as an alternative sculpt on the pitch 

Sticking with "Warlord Games", I've been asked to pen an article for their "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" website as to how I went about converting my two Judoon ghosts to accompany their towering Fisher King miniature on the tabletop. As a result, I've spent a bit of time progressing the final figure's paint-job, and thus hope to have the undead extra-terrestrial mercenary finished and ready for posting by next week.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, I've also found myself momentarily drawn back to "Guild Ball" by "Steamforged Games Limited". The company recently released "The Dark Harvest" boxed set as a seasonal special edition to celebrate Halloween, and as soon as I saw it contained deceased versions of the players who have so far been killed whilst playing the medieval sports game, I knew I had to paint them up...

Guild Ball Report: The Union Verses The Engineers

THE UNION VERSES THE ENGINEERS GUILD

This game was played using the Quick Start rules of “Guild Ball” by “Steamforged Games Ltd”, and is the first in a series of 'friendlies' between the Union and the Engineers Guild, which should hopefully allow us to slowly build up our Season Three teams. For the opening match, both clubs will field the minimal number of players (the captain and two team members) on a 2' x 2' pitch, with the winner being the side to attain six victory points. In addition, apart from two small trees representing the teams' goals, there will be no extra scenery or terrain in place to affect either "how the ball reacts" or "how models traverse the pitch."

"Greetings sports fans, and welcome to today's so-called 'friendly' between the mismatched bunch o’ mercenaries, scum and criminals known as the Union, and the clockwork machines of the Engineers Guild. Both sides have everything to play for, with the losing side vowing to finance their opponents for an entire nights worth of ale at landlord Stone's Whisky & Beer Workshop. Leading out the home favourites is the ruthless pirate king of the sea, Union club captain, Blackheart, followed by the deadly Rage and formidably-sized Centre Back, Fangtooth. Whilst only now emerging to the boos of the crowd are their opposition, Ballista and the Mechanica, Velocity and Hoist..."

THE TABLETOP - THE UNION'S HOME FIELD

Having won the coin toss and elected to kick-off, Fangtooth ponderously jogged forwards towards the pitch's centre circle and attempted to punt the ball across the half-way line into the Engineer's side of the field. The excited crowd roared as the massive brute's bare foot successfully connected with the inflated pig-skin and heaved it into 'enemy territory'.

Utilising one of her two influence, Velocity sped northwest towards to take possession of the ball, and then used another influence to re-position herself (using "Dodge") further south, deeper inside her team's half of the field. Blackheart, spotting that his centre-back had clearly kicked the ball far too close to the Engineer's best goal-scorer activated his character trait "Shadow Like", and moved 2" towards the Mechanica striker for free. With a swirl of his cutlass he then sprinted a further 6" towards his target.

FANGTOOTH KICKS OFF FOR THE UNION

Sensing his team-mate was already in some danger, Ballista moved east towards Velocity and with a 'thunk' hit Blackheart square in the chest with a crossbow bolt. The Figeon's "Deadbolt" character play caused the sea pirate to suffer a 2" push backwards, knocked him down and caused him three damage. It was first blood to the Engineers, and the already hostile crowd started to murmur about invading the pitch and stringing the portly defensive midfielder up by his ankles. Realising he might be in imminent danger from attack, and not just from the players on the opposing team, Ballista spent his final two influence activating his "Minefield" ability, and surrounded himself with a 4" wide aura of mines...

Skirting Fangtooth's "Foul Odour" (a character trait which automatically forces any model within 3" of the Ethraynnian to treat open-ground as rough-ground), Rage spent his only influence to sprint 7" towards the centre of the pitch, and then watched as Hoist moved northeast to intercept him. However, before the Mechanica could reach the "Maverick", Fangtooth was upon him, charging into the clockwork player with a frightening bellow, and subsequently adding four dice to his attack pool. Nine dice rolls and four hits later, the battered Engineer automaton had just eight health points left, and would have had less if not for his "Tough Hide".

VELOCITY TAKES POSSESSION OF THE BALL, FLANKED BY BALLISTA

Snatching the initiative, the Union pressed home their attack on the Engineers' attacking midfielder, and quickly had the crowd roaring in pleasure as Fangtooth seemingly floored Hoist. Unfortunately though, the Mechanica used his "Sturdy" character trait to "ignore the first knocked-down condition placed upon it". But didn't manage to stay on its wooden feet for much longer as the foul-smelling behemoth battered it down into the mud, and gained the Union some valuable momentum in the process.

Meanwhile, somewhat east to the centre of the pitch, Ballista charged into the prone Blackheart, and rolled ten attack dice as a result. Despite suffering -1 to his Defence due to being "Knocked-down", the pirate king's armour deflected two of the Engineer's seven successes. But that was not enough to prevent him from suffering two damage and being pushed 2" back. In addition, the unsportsmanlike assault gained Ballista's side a valuable point of momentum, something which would prove invaluable in the near future...

THE TWO CAPTAINS BATTLE ONE ANOTHER IN THE CENTRE OF THE PITCH

Suspiciously smirking at Blackheart's fate, the butcher-like Castellyian clearly has his eye on the Union captain's armband for himself, Rage charged Hoist and, thanks to Fangtooth's 'Ganging-Up' bonus, attained an impressive eight hits. Sparks started to fly from the internal workings of the Mechanica, as he was reduced to five health points and suffered a "Concussion"; one of Rage's character plays which robs its target of one influence.

With a blood-thirsty roar, and entering an absolute "Frenzy", the meat carver-carrying psychopath attacked Hoist again, and then again. Pieces of wood flew from the attacking midfielder's limbs, as Rage literally began chopping him to bits, and by the time the maniacal Union player had finished, the automaton had but a couple of health points left.

FANGTOOTH AND RAGE BATTER HOIST INTO MATCHWOOD

Unwisely though, all eyes had strayed away from Velocity, and suddenly the Engineer's striker sprang into action with an 8" sprint straight up the centre of the pitch towards the Union's goal. With a series of clicks, and using its side's momentum, the Mechanica kicked the ball directly towards the tree in front of her. The Ethraynnian rolled four dice, needing just one to succeed, and watched as they landed on a one, two, three... and finally, a four. The automaton had scored, and the Engineer's Guild were 0-4 victory points up over their opponents...    

Despite a crescendo of boos and yells the ball somehow found its way back onto the pitch, in the northwest corner, behind Rage and Fangtooth. Blackheart, sensing his team needed his leadership now more than ever, used a momentum to "Take A Breather" (and remove his Knocked-Down" condition), and then charged into the goal-scorer velocity. The Union captain rolled ten dice, but as a result of requiring 5+ to hit (due to the Mechanica's high Defence), the pirate king only caused two damage and created a single point of momentum.

BLACKHEART CUTS UP VELOCITY, BUT ONLY AFTER THE STRIKER HAS SCORED A GOAL

Hoist, likewise, similarly used a momentum to "Take A Breather" and then flung himself at Rage. The wooden attacking midfielder managed to cause one damage, push the Union player back 1" and generate a momentum point. But was less successful in his assault upon Fangtooth, as the Human centre back simply relied upon his "Gluttonous Mass" to ignore "the first time each turn" that he is "hit by an enemy attack or character play".

With the match already entering its final phase, Fangtooth finally silenced the annoying clockwork machine desperately trying to pummel his huge frame with brass-knuckled fists, by knocking Hoist's head clean off. The Engineers' bench would need some time to properly re-assemble the mechanical construct and in the meantime the Union were awarded two victory points for the Take-Out; bringing the team of cut-throats back into the game with a score of 2-4. Incredibly however, the smelly behemoth was far from finished, and spending two influence subsequently lumbered into Velocity and started battering the Engineer's star striker for three points of damage. 

FANGTOOTH GOES ON A RAMPAGE, AS THE UNION SEEMS TO GAIN THE UPPER HAND

Realising that he must act quickly or lose his second Mechanica to the Union's attacks, Ballista fired his crossbow at Blackheart, but cursed as he saw the bullet ineffectively fly wide of its target. With a shout of fury, the portly captain charged into his cutlass-wielding foe, and sensationally caused five points of damage with a successful 'wraparound' attack.

Staggering, the pirate king lashed out at both Ballista and Velocity, and managed to inflict a single wound upon both with a swish of his formidable blade. In return, the clockwork striker caught Blackheart a solid blow to the side of the head, causing the Union Captain one point of damage. But the Sultarish wasn't too phased, as to his west Rage collected the ball, and looked towards an unprotected Engineers goal.

To the south, a large amount of booing indicated that somehow the Engineers' "Icy Sponge" had miraculously managed to get Hoist back upon his wooden feet, and despite sparks flying all over the place, the attacking midfielder was once again in the game. With smoke pouring out from inside the Mechanica's central workings, the automaton sprinted towards Rage, but was soon wallowing in the mud on account of his intended target anticipating his intention and charging into him first.

RAGE'S MOMENT OF GLORY IS RUINED BY AN ICY SPONGE AND HOIST

The Union player's meat cleaver viciously hacked into Hoist's wooden torso, and momentarily left the Mechanica bleeding black oil all over the place as a result of 'nicking' a "Crucial Artery". The sight incensed Rage, and going "Bezerk" the attacking midfielder tore into the automaton for a second time, causing two more damage and generating another momentum point for his club.

Sadly though, a gasp of despair from the blood-mad baying fans, alerted the homicidal Castellyian to the fact that Ballista had finally brought Blackheart down onto his knees, with a blow from the butt of his enormous crossbow. The pirate king had fallen, the rotund captain had been awarded two victory points and the Engineers Guild had won the match 2-6. The game was over...

"It's Probably Because He's Old School..."

"He made his fortune for himself and the guild back during the Century Wars, creating weaponry..."

This 30mm metal model of the “Guild Ball” Engineer Team Captain, Ballista, is made by “Steamforged Games Ltd” and can be purchased, along with Salvo and Velocity, in the Stockport-based company's Engineer Starter Set. Incredibly well-sculpted, the Century Wars veteran is absolutely covered in all sorts of tools, pouches, leather strappings and armour; all of which required careful, time-consuming brushwork with a variety of paints.

Luckily, unlike a number of his team-mates, the club skipper's three-piece figure did not prove too tiresome to assemble, and, once the super-glue had dried, was quickly treated to a double-layer of "Citadel" Abaddon Black. All of the Defensive Midfielder's armour, tools, quarrel shafts and chains were then painted using a combination of Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil, whilst his leather trousers and gloves were treated to some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade.

"We are strange bedfellows. Untrusting of each other, dismissive and always looking to gain political capital..."

The Guild ball player's crossbow was predominantly 'picked out' using the "Citadel" Layer, Doombull Brown, his large apron was painted with "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand, and his bolt shafts 'picked out' with "Vallejo" Heavy Red. These areas were then appropriately washed in more Strong Tone Quickshade and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. Finally, the Figeon's brass screws and bands were highlighted in Gold, and somewhat sparingly shaded with “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade.

Having not fielded the Engineer's Guild, I can't really say how well the Lord Artificer plays on the pitch. But his "Deadbolts" alone would suggest he is a "Guild Ball" player to be feared, with the attack both pushing its target 2 inches "directly away" and triggering the "knocked-down condition", as well as causing 3 damage. In addition, the Captain has, amongst others, the Character Trait "Tough Hide", which means that any "enemy plays that cause [him] damage" are reduced by one point.   

Cybermen WIPS - The Cyber-Leader and three of his Cyber Legion have been undercoated

The very first of my "Salute" purchases this year was the "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" boxed rule-set by "Warlord Games". Described as a "fast-paced tabletop miniatures game" which features "two of the Doctor’s most ancient and relentless foes – the hateful Daleks and emotionless Cybermen" clashing together "as they seek to to fulfil their own nefarious ends", this was my must-buy of the wargaming show, and just as soon as the Excel Exhibition Hall opened, I had one of these firmly in my hands.

Admittedly, my motivation for wanting this 'starter set' was to get hold of the twelve "easy-fit plastic Cyber Legion Cybermen" and "Time War Daleks", rather than its numerous (Recruitment, Adventure & Battle) cards and sixteen-page rules booklet. But having scoured through the contents, and read its "Guide To The Time Vortex", I have started building, basing and painting the first of the nine Cybermen and two Cybermat Swarms I need to use for the game's introductory scenario: A Meeting Of Metal...

A unit of Bloodletters attempts to invade Nurgle's kingdom for the glory of the Blood God

"They Live Throughout The Wilderness Of Antarean Space..."

"...In regions inhospitable and void of habitation."

This 28mm metal model of a Ganger is produced by "Warlord Games" and is the second of three miniatures which can be found inside the Boromites' Overseer Squad blister pack. Protected by his reflex armour, and carrying a plasma carbine, the model was predominantly painted similarly to the first of my Overseer's bodyguards.

However, this particular figure did have a couple of additional details which made him stand out from my Scouting Force Commander's other 'close protection' Ganger, such as some delicately sculpted wires leading from the soldier's right shoulder-pad onto a small disc-shaped 'heart-monitor'. All of these 'leads' were 'picked out' using "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and washed with "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade.

Freeborn WIPs - The Feral Fighters have been based and undercoated

Sticking with "Beyond The Gates Of Antares" I have slowly been prepping and priming some miniatures from an alternative faction, the Freeborn, in order to break up the monotony of my Boromites and their "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and Heavy Bluegrey palette. The first of these 'distractions' are from the Mhagris Feral Squad boxed set, and features a Feral Leader, holding a mag gun, and two similarly armed Feral Fighters.

For now, I'm simply busying assembling a 500 point force of the "great merchants", so I can see just how formidable a painting project they will be. The Feral Squad are apparently "typical of these war-like savages" by being "armed with relatively simple and cheaply made mag weapons that spray splinters of metal at their target", and appear predominantly blue in colour, with some tan brown accessories...

Ballista WIPs - The Engineer's captain is slowly having all his gears, pouches, tools and equipment painted

Finally, I have once again been slowly 'chipping away' at the last of my 30mm "Guild Ball" Engineer miniatures by “Steamforged Games Ltd”. Team captain Ballista has proven to be an incredibly cumbersome sculpt to progress due to his unbelievably complicated detail, and resultantly has taken an eternity to progress.

However, knowing that once he is completed I'll have the makings of a 'match-fit' amateur side to face-off against my Union squad, is buoying me along. I've even gone so far as to purchase a couple of extra players for both sides in order to help bolster their future rosters and allow me to play the rule-set's larger "mob football" matches.