"The Tiger Was A German Heavy Tank Of World War Two..."

"...That operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions."

This 10mm metal German Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H tank is one of two models bought together as a pair within a single clamshell from “Pendraken Miniatures” at Salute 50, and was simply labelled as a Tiger I. Intended for my current Battle of the Bulge campaign, the hefty model consisted of a separate hull, turret, gun and pair of tracks, as well as a curiously unlabelled piece which eventually turned out to be the "over-engineered" vehicle's air filters.

Due to wanting the tank to fit in with the rest of my Third Reich forces, all of which had been pigmented a good decade ago, I managed to locate an old pot of "Citadel" Adeptus Battlegrey from my dust-covered collection of Out of Production (OOP) paints, and applied a double layer over the entire Tiger. I then gave it a healthy splash of Nuln Oil, before dry-brushing it with more "Citadel" Adeptus Battlegrey.

"Pendraken Miniatures" WIPs - Three Vickers VI C tanks awaiting some final 'touch-ups' and decals

The armoured vehicle's tracks were later 'picked out' with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, base-coated using "Vallejo" Gunmetal, and finally shaded in "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I'm still impatiently waiting for some WWII German Insignia and Swastika transfers by "Decal Details" to arrive through the post so I can add a couple of Balkenkreuz to the sides of the tank. But I have managed to apply some red turret digits to it from an old sheet of RU-108 Russian 10/12mm armour numbers.

Alongside my Tiger I have also managed to make some progress on three metal 10mm Vickers VI C models I also picked up from "Pendraken Miniatures" whilst at "Europe’s largest independent wargaming event." These rather tiny British light tanks, withdrawn from service by mid-1942, are now destined for my Early Second World War tabletop, having originally been erroneously bought by myself as Allied reinforcements for the much later Ardennes Offensive in wintry Belgium/Luxemburg.

"Big Mr Tong" WIPs - These Aquaphibians just need to have their fins and weapons 'picked out'

Lastly, I've been working on some more 28mm scale Aquaphibians sculpted by "Big Mr Tong" as something of a palate cleanser, having almost lost all my enthusiasm for 10mm tank combat due to my latest order with the Middlesbrough-based manufacturer being delayed. Now this 'hold up' has been entirely due to UK Customs taking an eternity to process a decal restock as opposed to anything the company has created, with Leon providing me with some first-rate updates as to the situation.

But perhaps due to my own impatience or restlessness, my inability to properly 'finish' a number of German tanks and armour-hunters as planned has definitely caused a noticeable drop in productivity. Thus, I figured a sudden sojourn back to 1964 and the science-fiction television show "Stingray" might help galvanise me whilst I testily await the arrival of my transfers, extra tanks and their crew...

"The Aquaphibians Are An Aquatic Humanoid Species..."

"...From the Supermarionation series Stingray."

This 28mm scale Aquaphibian was sculpted by "Big Mr Tong" and can be downloaded for free as part of a ten-figure set of STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from his "Patreon" subscription service. Based upon Titan's monstrous minions from the 1964 science-fiction television show "Stingray", the miniature was produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer.

The figure was initially undercoated in "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, before being consecutively drowned in "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green and Agrax Earthshade. It was then heavily dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Grey and having all its fins 'picked out' with a base layer of "Citadel" Abaddon Black. These areas were later treated to a combination of "Vallejo" German Camouflage Dark Green and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

"Pendraken Miniatures" WIPs - This Tiger tank has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

Finally, I gave the Aquaphibian's "poisonous gas gun" a lick of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Feeling that the 'puppet' possibly lacked some of the silver Videcolor shine seen on the small screen I did consider giving the entire miniature a light dry-brush of "Vallejo" Gunmetal. However, in the end I decided to leave well enough alone, fearing that the slightest misjudgement in tip pressure could result in me having to repaint the entire model again thanks to a misplaced metallic splodge.

Alongside my most recent 3D printed figure I have also been working on (even) more 10mm armoured vehicles by "Pendraken Miniatures". To be honest this particular project has suffered a bit of a slump in recent days on account of my running out of the Middlesbrough-based manufacturer's WWII German Insignia and Swastika [Insignia outlined in white] decals. Whilst this little predicament doesn't obviously directly affect my painting, it does mean I can't quite call the particular trio of Panzer IIs I've been working on completely finished and that's always annoying when I'm truly in the groove for any given genre.

"Wargames Atlantic" WIPs - Four freshly assembled World War One Germans

To try and offset my disappointment as I impatiently wait for Leon to pick and post my transfers (along with a few new shines I bought to ease my pain), I have made some good progress on the two Tiger tanks I bought from him at Salute 50. These are super-chunky, heavy beasts, and I'm grateful to those on the Pendraken Forum who kindly helped me master assembling the beauties after I failed to ascertain where certain parts of the metal kit were supposed to be placed.

In addition, I have finished assembling another four 28mm German Infantry (1916-1918) by "Wargames Atlantic". These multi-part plastic soldiers will be added to the other six I recently glued together so as to form the basic core of my Early Great War Conscripts detachment for "Xenos Rampant". I'm actually planning on pigmenting these 'Weird War' soldiers 'en-mass' as part of a twelve-hour painting experiment early next month in an effort to see whether I can batch them in a week...

"Changeling, Become Something Small... And Try Again."

"The transformation... hurts."

This 35mm scale miniature of One Man Zoo in his bird form was created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and is available as an STL (Standard Triangle Language) file by "C27 Studio". The sculpt is clearly inspired by Arnold Drake and Bob Brown's co-creation for "DC Comics" - Garfield Mark Logan (a.k.a Beast Boy or Changeling), and seemingly designed to be used as an 'alternative' figure for the Batman Miniatures Game rule-set.

The actual sculpt also comes with a billow of smoke upon which the model's feet attach to - presumably depicting the Teen Titan's miraculous transformation. However, this made for a precarious looking perch in my mind, and I didn't want to risk damaging the ensemble either during painting or gaming. As a result, I simply plonked the bird upon a car wheel which "C27 Studio" supply as an STL file to help populate your bases with extra pieces of debris.

"Big Mr Tong" WIPs - Four Aquaphibians awaiting all of their details to be 'picked out'

In addition, I didn't pick up upon this model's diminutive size until after I had super-glued it to an 'official' "Atomic Mass Games" Marvel Crisis Protocol base, as all the company's other comic book characters that I've produced have been 40mm scale. This doesn't really impact upon this particular miniature. But does mean some of Changeling's other animal-based manifestations, as well as his human form, are disappointingly a little small when compared to the larger "Marvel Worldwide" characters I was hoping to intermingle them with.

The figure itself was pretty straightforward to paint and provided an excellent opportunity to test out more bottles from "Duncan Rhodes' Two Thin Coats" range. The bird was therefore primed in Ethereal Green, shaded in Necrosis Green Wash and dry-brushed with (more) Ethereal Green. The rubber tyre was simply pigmented with Doom Death Black, whilst the wheel rim was treated to a combination of Sir Coates' Silver and Oblivion Black Wash.

"Papsikels Miniatures" WIPs - Big Boss Bigsie Dollar

Sticking with 3D prints, I have applied a thorough "Vallejo" Heavy Grey dry-brush over the five Aquaphibians I have been working on as palette test pieces. Produced by "Big Mr Tong" these "Stingray" antagonists are absolutely packed full of detail, so I now need to work out which fins, scales and spiny protrusions I'm going to 'pick out' with a darker green colour choice before finishing the small Supermarionation series squad off.

Lastly, I've been testing out some of the brown paints from "Duncan Rhodes' Two Thin Coats" range on Big Boss Bigsie Dollar by "Papsikels Miniatures". I've actually enlarged this figure so it better matches its 32mm scale brethren using "Chitubox" Basic, as the first version I printed was significantly smaller than the rest of the models I was planning to use my not-Bixby Snyder with on the tabletop...

"As An All-round, General Purpose Tank...

"...The Sherman was one of the best tanks of the Second World War."

This 10mm metal American medium tank was sold by “Pendraken Miniatures” as Code A10 - Sherman M4A4, no skirts, 75mm gun. However, it now appears to have been superseded by a much more detailed product under Code AMV30 - M4 Sherman, 75mm. Originally, I had thought about selling it, along with five more of the same model, on "eBay". But having recently found my love of World War Two reignited by a game of "Flames Of War", thought I'd instead bring the 'dirty half-dozen' to life with a straightforward paint-job, and just maybe start the beginnings of a 'Battle Of The Bulge" Allied force.

Resultantly, the M4 Sherman's turret was super-glued in place and then the two-piece ensemble stuck to a plastic 30mm x 40mm rectangle. It was then undercoated with two layers of "Vallejo" USA Olive Drab, washed with "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" USA Olive Drab. Disappointingly this process didn't work anywhere near as well as I had hoped, as some bizarre chemical reaction (perhaps due to something on the tanks themselves) caused the "Citadel" Shade to disintegrate areas of the "Vallejo" prime.

"Battlefront Miniatures" WIPs - A partially-finished 7.5cm Tank Hunter gun and crew

However, having first applied a mixture of "Vallejo" Surface Primer Black and "Citadel" Abaddon Black over the entire tank, the pigmentation process proved successful when tried a second time. The tracks and wheels were next treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and a double-helping of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, whilst the medium tank's prominent track/wheel mechanisms were repainted using a little (more) "Vallejo" USA Olive Drab and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. Finally, I decided to apply a trio of Allied Stars to the M4 Sherman using some supplied by "Decal Details", as well as the title "Ol' Reliable" from their 10mm US Armour Names and Slogans sheet.

With the last of the Middlesborough-based manufacturer's 10mm M4 Shermans finished I have spent some time on the final two 15mm 7.5cm Anti-Tank Gun teams I need to complete to field a full-strength platoon for "Flames Of War". I've now finished all the camouflage on both Panzerabwehrkanone 40s and am slowly working my way through all their crew - some of which are being progressed separately on MDF painting sticks.

"Big Mr Tong" WIPs - Four primed Aquaphibians awaiting a dry-brush

I'm really enjoying both this range and rule-set currently, so need to get these finished before my Berlin: German army book by "Battlefront Miniatures" arrives. The Third Reich's Last Stand is a particularly interesting period of World War Two for me, so I have already pre-ordered both a Volksturm Platoon and Hitlerjugend Platoon to accompany the Panzergrenadiers and 12cm mortar teams I've already painted as part of my 50-point D-Day German Beach Defence Company.

Lastly, I have applied a "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade wash on a handful of my 3D printed Aquaphibians produced by "Big Mr Tong". As my main target for this month is to field fifteen of these Supermarionation series minions, along with a slew of Mike Tongue's recently released Silurians from "Doctor Who", I really need to get a move on. But feel the others won't take too long to complete once this initial 'pilot force' from "Stingray" is finished and I've settled on the aquatic humanoid species' palette... 

"The Panzer IV Saw Service In All Combat Theatres Involving Germany..."

"...And was the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war."

This plastic 15mm Panzerkampfwagen IV is manufactured by “Battlefront Miniatures” and is one of three found inside the company’s “Hit The Beach” starter set for “Flames Of War”. The model consists of a medium tank equipped with "Bazooka Skirts", and is the fifth fully-tracked armoured vehicle needed to complete my full-strength 28-point strong German Panzer IV Tank Platoon.

Originally primed with two layers of "Vallejo" German Grey, the model was subsequently shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil, heavily dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" German Grey, and then more lightly dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Sombre Grey. I next 'picked out' the Panzer IVs' spade, stowage, machine-gun, muffler and tow-cable using appropriate combinations of "Vallejo" Gunmetal, "Citadel" Nuln Oil", "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Whilst its tracks were tied in to my usual basing with some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, "Citadel" Rakarth Flesh and Agrax Earthshade.

"The US Army Ordnance Department designed the M4 medium tank as a replacement for the M3 tank."

In addition, I rather fancied having this particular tank carry a passenger, so glued a spare crew member from one of my 7.5cm Anti-Tank Gun teams onto the front - as if he was either directing the vehicle or telling someone to get out of the way during manoeuvres. The plastic figure was undercoated in “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, shaded using “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII. Their details were later pigmented predominantly using “Vallejo” Gunmetal, German Camouflage Dark Green, Heavy Brown and a series of “Citadel” Shades.

Alongside the latest addition to my German D-Day Beach Defence Grenadier Company, I have also finished another 10mm metal American medium tank which used to be sold by “Pendraken Miniatures” as Code A10 - Sherman M4A4, no skirts, 75mm gun. This particular sculpt appears to have now been superseded by a much more detailed product under Code AMV30 - M4 Sherman, 75mm and was bought as part of a much larger 'Battle Of The Bulge' project purchase to use alongside my already fully-painted German and Soviet World War Two Winter armies.

"Big Mr Tong" WIPs - Four primed Aquaphibians awaiting the second of their shades & a dry-brush

The model was initially treated to a mixture of "Vallejo" Surface Primer Black and "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before receiving two layers of "Vallejo" USA Olive Drab, a wash of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and a dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" USA Olive Drab. I then applied a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil to its tracks, before repainting some of its prominent wheel mechanisms with (even more) "Vallejo" USA Olive Drab and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade.

Lastly, I have made a bit more progress on a handful of 3D printed Aquaphibians produced by "Big Mr Tong", courtesy of a "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green shade. My plan is to paint a fifteen-figure strong force of this "aquatic humanoid species from the Supermarionation series Stingray", along with a Terror Fish or two, so I'm using this first batch as a test for a reasonably straightforward colour scheme which I can then apply across the rest of Mike Tongue's miniatures...

"What We Hoped To Achieve Was To Meet Our Makers."

"To get answers. Why they even made us in the first place."

This 32mm scale Omega Zelucerean Tamer is produced by "Papsikels Miniatures" and was downloaded as part of a free set of STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from their PAPSIPACK Welcome Models subscription set on "Patreon”. Produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer, the sculpt is clearly inspired by Ridley Scott’s 2012 science fiction film “Prometheus” and was predominantly painted using “Duncan Rhodes' Two Thin Coats paint” range. 

Standing at an impressive 60mm, the figure is actually part of a two-piece set which has her right hand nonchalantly resting upon the head of a seemingly docile Xenomorph. However, as I just wanted the 'Engineer' on their own, I decided not to print  out the weirdly squatting, domesticated alien, and instead simply glued the miniature to a "Citadel" 40mm circular plastic base, before priming them with a double layer of Gravestone Blue.

"Big Mr Tong" WIPs - Four primed Aquaphibians awaiting the first of their shades

The Zelucerean Tamer was subsequently shaded using Oblivion Black Wash and dry-brushed with (more) Gravestone Blue. This really helped bring out all the partly organic looking details of her survival suit, including the hands - which appeared to have the fingers poking out of something akin to a pair of space mittens. However, I did think that the “Space Jockey” looked a tad boring as she was, so decided to pick out her stomach, throat and a pair of vents running along her shoulder-blades, using a combination of Sir Coates Silver and Oblivion Black Wash.

This palette somewhat tied into the motion picture stills I have seen of the technologically-advanced race's costumes, which generally appear to have a semi-translucent silvery/bone sheen to them. Lastly, I applied a couple of coats of Ivory Tusk to the Omega's bald head and fingers, washed these areas with watered-down “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson, and later spotted her eyes with Doom Death Black.

"C27 Studio" WIPs - One Man Zoo's undercoated Bird, Bear and Tiger

Sticking with 3D printed models, I have started work on a fifteen-figure strong contingent of Aquaphibians produced by "Big Mr Tong". Strongly influenced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's 1964 television series "Stingray", these marvellous 28mm miniatures are admittedly somewhat larger in size to Mike Tongue's usual fare. But once finished I'm hoping I can still use them on the tabletop against some of the other factions the sculptor has released - or wait until he releases his own version of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol (WASP).

Finally, I have managed to produce and prime a trio of 35mm scale miniatures by "C27 Studio" from their One Man Zoo kit. Having previously painted an all-green Gorilla, Tiger and Bird from the "Batman Miniatures Game" Teen Titans Bat-Box by "Knight Models" almost four years ago, I thought I'd see whether I could use some of “Duncan Rhodes' Two Thin Coats paint” range to better capture the cartoon green of (not) Beast Boy's bear, tiger and bird...