"According To The Map Reference Now..."

"...That should be the entrance to the city of Telos."

This 100mm x 100mm x 60mm square MDF box was bought from the seller Tepic2000 on Ebay, and converted into a square futuristic building for my Cyber-City by using several of the excellent 3D decals sold by “N-FX Game Design Studio”. Undoubtedly a fairly simplistic ‘kit-bash’, the medium-sized installation is the second of several such science-fiction based structures I intend to use in order to help recreate the Cybermen’s catacombs on the planet “Telos”; the homeworld of the Cryons, which was later also inhabited by the Cybermen.

Having assembled the box and its lid without any major difficulties using some PVA glue, I affixed a number of 3D decals over its numerous surfaces in order to try and replicate grills, grates and electronic panels. These ‘details’ are self-adhesive and despite sticking to the wood very well indeed, could still be peeled away from the surface and re-aligned whenever I made a slight mistake in their orientation or decided upon a different sticker.

"Doctor Who: Exterminate!" WIPs - A Sontaran, a Quark and a Sea Devil

Once I was happy with the look of the facility I gave the entire piece an undercoat of “Vallejo” Black before applying two coats of “Citadel” Ironbreaker over the structure. I then heavily washed it with Nuln Oil, shading the building as haphazardly as I could so as to make the ‘box and its lid’ appear rather grungy.

In addition, I decided at this stage that I wasn’t going to worry too much about it’s interior and base, as these were in all likelihood never going to see the light of day. Lastly, I gave the building a rough dry-brush of (more) “Citadel” Ironbreaker in order to help bring all the “N-FX Game Design Studio” decals to the fore...

"Doctor Who: Exterminate!" WIPs - The Thirteenth Doctor and her TARDIS

Despite the underlying theme to next month's Ninth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge being firmly set within the Third Age of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, I have started to prepare/prime a number of "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" miniatures to help contribute towards my 500 point target. Some of these, such as a formidable number of Sontarans and Quarks, will simply be submitted as regular enties, but I do have my eye on a few figures from "Warlord Games" "Into The Time Vortex" range to use for the fortnightly themed Bonus Rounds.

One such thematic contribution will probably be a green-costumed Sea Devil for the "Water Feature" round, as I've been planning on painting an individually-garbed reptile-like humanoid to use as a Sea Devil Overlord for some time. Whilst the Thirteenth Doctor, complete with her time travelling TARDIS (and a handful of assistants) would arguably make a suitable entrant for the Challenge's final "Fellowship" bonus round...

"Look, That Rabbit's Got A Vicious Streak A Mile Wide, It's A Killer!"

"He's got huge, sharp -- he can leap about -- look at the bones!"

This 27mm tall plastic “Wizkids” model of a Demon Bunny is miniature number 040 from the "Horrorclix" Nightmares range and has been re-painted slightly differently from its original palette in order to closer resemble the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. Guarding "the home of the Legendary Black Beast of Arrrghhh (named for the last utterance of anyone who ever saw it)", the terrible monster with "nasty, big, pointy teeth" appeared in the 1975 British slapstick comedy film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

"Portrayed in the movie by both a real rabbit and a prop", the miniature was carefully cut from its 'clicky-base' and super-glued on to a 40mm circular stand before being primed "Vallejo" Dead White. The long-eared, formidable-looking fluffy animal was then washed with Pale Grey, before being dry-brushed using (more) Dead White and having its nose 'picked out' with "Vallejo" Black.

Doombot & She-Hulk WIPs - The robot and super-heroine are slowly being blocked and shaded

In the "wicked fun" collectable miniatures game, this "harmless little bunny" transforms into a paranormal demon upon slaying its first victim, and resultantly its sculpt appeared to have been strongly influenced by the grotesquely mutated rabbit which is pulled from out of a hat during "Twilight Zone: The Movie". As this wasn't necessarily the look I wanted I therefore simply left the inside of its mouth "Vallejo" Black (as opposed to red) and washed it's sharp Dead White incisors with a serious splash of "Citadel" Bloodletter.

I then took a piece of blusher pad, and dabbed around the "innocuous" rabbit's already glaze-stained teeth with some "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. This Shade really helped darken parts of the model's mouth and jaws, as if the furry fiend had just dispatched the hapless knight, Bors. As a final touch I also applied some (more) Bloodletter to the animal's "Vallejo" Heavy Red eyes.

100mm x 100mm x 60mm MDF WIP - The MDF box/building has been assembled and covered in 3D decals

Sticking with "Wizkids" pre-painted models, and enthused by some recent battles involving the Fantastic Four fighting Doctor Doom using homemade rules, I have also started progressing a couple more "Heroclix" miniatures which I plan to utilise for a third tabletop instalment to the super-group's campaign. Hoping to add a bit more muscle to Reed Richards' quartet I have returned to an old figure of She-Hulk that I started painting some months ago, and similarly turned my attention to an especially robotic-looking member of Victor Doom's legion of Doombot minions.

Lastly, I've assembled yet another of the MDF boxes I recently bought from Tepic2000 on "Ebay" to create a Cyber-City tabletop for "Doctor Who: Exterminate!". An accommodating 100mm x 100mm x 60mm in size, I've applied many more of the 3D decals "N-FX Game Design Studio" very kindly gifted me recently to its surfaces and lid, and hope to have the science fiction building finished over the next few days...

"The Ways Of The Earthmen Are Devious."

"Obviously they are preparing the next stage of their plan."

This 39mm-tall "pewter" model of a Draconian Bodyguard is sold by “Warlord Games” and can be bought as part of their "Draconians" boxed set. Based upon the "tall, reptilian species" whose Empire in the Twenty Fifth Century rivalled that of Earth, the scaly-skinned extra-terrestrials made their first appearance in Malcolm Hulke's February 1973 BBC television story "Frontier In Space" and would later be "among the races who... helped imprison the Eleventh Doctor in the Pandorica in order to save the universe."

Initially primed using two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Green, the highly honourable alien's limbs and head were pigmented using Heavy Brown and a wash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. The warrior's robes were then shaded with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green and carefully dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Green".

Draconian Bodyguard WIPs - The alien needs his golden sashes to be highlighted and tidied up

"Led by the Emperor and his court of nobles", I decided upon a rather tabletop standard solution to my problem of the Draconian's lavishly embroidered oriental-looking shoulder pads and golden flowing sashes, by simply applying both some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and Brass to these areas, before later washing them with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

Later I delicately drew some additional "Vallejo" Brass over the costume's ridges in order to highlight all the intricate patterns woven onto the material, and tidied up some of the adjoining Heavy Green areas with a thin line of watered-down Black. As a final touch I 'picked out' the soldier's hand-weapon with "Citadel" Ironbreaker and a dash of Nuln Oil.

100mm x 100mm x 60mm MDF WIPs - The MDF box/building has been painted "Citadel" Ironbreaker

With the first of my three Draconian Bodyguards finished, I have already been slowly working my way through the aforementioned stages on two other identical miniatures. Admittedly, I only actually need two to use for their Recruitment card in "Doctor Who: Exterminate!", but as I have three, I thought I might as well continue to paint them all at the same time.

In addition, I've spent some more time working on the MDF boxes I recently bought from Tepic2000 on "Ebay" to create a Cyber-City tabletop. I have begun sloppily shading a "Citadel" Ironbreaker undercoated 100mm x 100mm x 60mm building with Nuln Oil, and, using some more of the 3D decals "N-FX Game Design Studio" very kindly gifted me, applied a number vents, electronic interfaces and metallic panels to a second smaller facility.

"When The Cybermen Entered The Telos System, They Took Over The Planet..."

"...Using the cities as cryogenic facilities."

This 70mm x 70mm x 42mm square MDF box was bought from Tepic2000 on Ebay, and converted into a simple futuristic building for my Cyber-City by using several of the excellent 3D decals sold by “N-FX Game Design Studio”. Undoubtedly a fairly straightforward ‘kit-bash’, the tiny installation will be the first of several science-fiction structures I plan to use in order to help recreate the Cybermen’s catacombs on the planet “Telos”; a “grey, barren, rocky world” which first appeared on the BBC Television show “Doctor Who” in the September 1967 story “The Tomb Of The Cybermen”.

Having assembled the box and its lid without any major difficulties using some PVA glue, I affixed a number of 3D decals over its numerous surfaces in order to try and replicate grills, grates and electronic panels. These ‘details’ are self-adhesive and despite sticking to the wood very well indeed, could still be peeled away from the surface and re-aligned whenever I made a slight mistake in their orientation.

"The Cybermen disappeared sometime in the 21st Century... following defeats around human-occupied space."

The sheer amount of different decals Nik Hull has created for this range is breath-taking, and one of my main priorities for this ‘test piece’ was to try and utilise a broad number of them. As a result I felt a hatchway on top of the building would be highly appropriate, along with a series of control boards and ventilation systems around its sides. Once I was happy with the look of the installation I gave the entire ensemble an undercoat of “Vallejo” Black.

I then applied two coats of “Citadel” Ironbreaker over the structure, and subsequently heavily washed it with Nuln Oil. I applied this shade incredibly haphazardly, as I wanted the ‘box and its lid’ to appear rather grungy. In addition, I decided at this stage that I wasn’t going to worry too much about it’s interior and base, as these were in all likelihood never going to be seen. Finally, I gave the building a rough dry-brush of (more) “Citadel” Ironbreaker in order to help bring all the “N-FX Game Design Studio” decals to the fore...

Draconian Bodyguard and Staal WIPs - The reptilian humanoid is almost finished

With the tiny MDF installation finished, and my second somewhat larger box being primed, I have somewhat shifted focus upon a handful of Draconian models I need to finish in order to field the “reptilian humanoids” for “Doctor Who: Exterminate!” I’ve already previously completed the faction’s "Unique" Draconian Noble, and now plan to paint three "Brave" Draconian Bodyguards up. I actually only need two of these interstellar imperialists for “Warlord Games” rule-set, but thought I might as well progress the trio of miniatures at the same time.

In addition, the Nottingham-based company has recently kindly gifted me a few Sontarans, so I thought it would only be polite for me to start work on the clone force’s leader General Staal. Commander of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet, the “stubborn” soldier is accompanied by two bodyguards, and a plethora of troops, so should give me plenty of opportunity to get reacquainted with one of my favourite “Vallejo” acrylic colour paints, Gunmetal Blue.

“They Have A New Type Of Robot.”

"Quarks. You will set up the drilling site in accordance with the instructions of..."

This 27mm-tall "pewter" model of a Quark is produced by “Warlord Games” and forms part of the Nottingham-based company’s five-miniature strong "The Dominators" boxed set. Designed as an “attempt at creating a merchandise property” similar to the Daleks, the rectangular robots were “portrayed by children” and made their debut on “Doctor Who” in the August 1968 BBC television story "The Dominators".

“Cuboid in shape with a sphere on top”, the servitor was primed using some "Vallejo" Black Surface Primer, treated to a double coat of “Citadel” Ironbreaker and washed with Nuln Oil. It was then dry-brushed with (more) Ironbreaker before having the internal areas around its folding arms, retractable claws and pole-like legs, darkened using a splash of additional Nuln Oil.

70mm x 70mm x 42mm MDF WIPs - The MDF box/building has been painted "Citadel" Ironbreaker

In order to try and replicate the more popular palette choice found from the reference material I used, I ‘picked out’ the tiny rectangular areas beneath the bipedal machine’s sensory hemisphere with a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I had actually been strongly tempted to simply leave these parts alone and keep them ‘metallic silver’, but in the end liked the ‘official’ “Warlord Games” paint-job so much that I later returned to these areas and ‘highlighted’ them with an extra dab of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and (even more) “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

The actual sensors used for “detecting changes in heat, light and motion” were initially ‘outlined’ with some thinned-down Black and then layered with “Vallejo” Bluegrey and a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I subsequently lightly dry-brushed these tiny nodules with some “Vallejo” Bluegrey and Dead White.

100mm x 100mm x 60mm MDF WIPs - The second MDF box/building has been built and embellished

The Quark’s directional crystal beam transmitters gave me a moment’s pause, as I’ve previously read that “the spore spikes were red along with the rim attaching them all.” However, no-one seemed to have ever pigmented the robots in such a fashion, and all the photographs of the costumes I could find seemingly showed them to be white in colour. As a result I simply repeated the aforementioned process I used to paint the miniature’s sensory hemisphere.

Alongside completing the first of my three Quark figures, I've also spent some additional time working on the MDF boxes I recently bought from Tepic2000 on "Ebay", and plan to ‘transform’ into a Cyber-City to use with the "Warlord Games" rule-set "Doctor Who: Exterminate". "N-FX Game Design Studio" have very kindly sent me even more of their 3D decals to try out, and as a result I have not only begun washing the smallest of my planned buildings with some “Citadel” Nuln Oil, but assembled a slightly larger 100mm x 100mm x 60mm box and applied a number vents, electronic interfaces and metallic panels to it…

"So Timid Toad, His Eyes A-Popping..."

"...Into the woodland night went hopping."

This 23mm tall metal model of a Toad Mage is produced by “Oathsworn Miniatures", and can be purchased as Code BB66 from their "Burrows And Badgers" range. Originally part of the County Durham-based company's "Fur And Feathers" kickstarter, Grarrp Croaak comes equipped with a Mage's Focus and Mage's Pouch.

The short-legged frog was super-glued onto a 30mm plastic circular lipped base, and primed using a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Khaki. His "dry, leathery skin" and "large bumps covering the parotoid glands" were then washed using some Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter" and later dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Khaki.

70mm x 70mm x 42mm MDF WIPs - The "N-FX Game Design Studio" three-dimensional decals are self-adhesive

"Often viewed with suspicion or even outright hostility" due to it being a Magic User, the tailless amphibian had its bone staff painted with "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand, and both his leather bindings, as well as his satchel, 'picked out' with Heavy Sienna. All of these areas were subsequently shaded using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, before the skeletal stave was treated to a light dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand.

Initially, I had pigmented the Mage's feather charms using some "Vallejo" Turquoise, but felt the deep blue was a little too incongruous with the rest of the creature's muted palette. As a result I settled upon a combination of Heavy Red and Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter". In addition I also considered applying a green ink over the Toad's 'warty' skin in order to help differentiate it from the rest of his body. In the end though, having returned to some of the wildlife photographs I'd been using as a colour guide, I simply settled upon a second application of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade over the bumpy areas.   

70mm x 70mm x 42mm MDF WIPs - Primed "Vallejo" Black, the building fits nicely inside the next-sized box

With my "Burrows And Badgers" warband now almost complete, I've spent a short period of my hobby-time assembling some simple MDF boxes sold by Tepic2000 on "Ebay". This biggish project should see me create a few straightforward sci-fi buildings to use as a Cyber-City for the "Warlord Games" rule-set "Doctor Who: Exterminate". The smaller of these planned buildings will not only be able to be stored inside some of the larger ones (to help save on storage), but will also be used to store my cards, dice, rules etc...

The first box is just a humble 70mm x 70mm x 42mm square affair which I have glued together, and stuck some three-dimensional decals on in order to 'space it up'. The decals are by "N-FX Game Design Studio", and should provide plenty of sci-fi detail once I've painted the piece silver and weathered it a bit.