"Gondor! Gondor, Between The Mountains And The Sea!"

"West wind blew there; the light upon the Silver Tree fell like bright rain in gardens of the Kings of old."

These eight "cartoon scale" white metal figures of King Victor's Men-at-Arms are produced by “Lucid Eye Publications” and can be bought from the company's "Toon Realms" range as a pack of four identical miniatures. Sculpted by Steve Saleh, I have painted them all in the colours of Gondor so as to be able to finally field a twelve-model strong unit of (Heavy Foot) Minas Tirith Knights for “Dragon Rampant” by "Osprey Games".

Initially undercoated with two layers of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, the Third Age warriors were dry-brushed using some "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal in order to bring out some of their large cloaks' detail, and subsequently washed in "Citadel" Nuln Oil. The soldiers' boots were then treated to a touch of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, whilst their sword hilts and belt buckles were given a lick of Gold.

"O proud walls! White towers! O winged crown and throne of gold!"

Both of these areas were later washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Finally I 'picked out' the Men-at-Arms' helmets, neck armour, chain-mail and shield emblems using a combination of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil, and eventually dry-brushed these parts with (more) Ironbreaker.

Setting aside my 'Lord of the Toons' project, I have managed to 'endure' my first taste of "skirmish combat in the Mortal Realms" using my Iron Golems against the Untamed Beasts. Perhaps unsurprisingly things did not go terribly well for my "Warcry" warband, as there are clearly some formidable synergies to understand in order to utilise each factions' special abilities and Runemarks.

The Iron Golems appeared to be repeatedly outnumbered in their skirmishes, even when helped by a Chaotic Beast

There also seems to be a significant amount of luck to be found before the game has even started, as a result of the random terrain layout, victory conditions, twist deck and battleplans; most of which are drawn prior to any battle-hammer being swung in anger. In my first game, I disappointingly discovered just three of my hapless fighters along one table-edge would be facing the vast majority of my opponent's force, and to make matters worse, they immediately needed to push through this wall of bristling weapons so as to avoid being instantly removed from the game as casualties because they were within 4 inches of an edge...

Needless to say, the trio were quickly butchered before help could arrive; albeit my duardin armator making a stand rather than fleeing for his life, wasn't the smartest of strategies on my behalf. Unfortunately though, I felt the second scenario was similarly stacked against me, as my opponent had to just outnumber me at a single objective marker every turn so they could destroy some of the battle's way-points. Simple stuff when my warband was distributed right across the battlefield, whilst the Untamed Beasts' formation was significantly more concentrated...

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”.

"Not So Eager With A Shattered Leg, Are We?"

"...The Iron Golems wield weapons that can pierce and crumple even the toughest metal."

This 50mm tall model of a Signifer is one of the eight multi-part plastic miniatures which can be found inside the Iron Golem "Warcry" warband boxed set by “Games Workshop". “Hailing from the Realm of Metal”, the standard-bearer came in six separate pieces and can be alternatively assembled to represent a giant hammer-wielding Prefector, complete with Untamed Beasts trophy helmet, rather than simply just carry its huge icon.

Initially undercoated using two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, the figure had all of his numerous pieces of armour, as well as its standard and accompanying circular-plate adornments, pigmented using a combination of Brass and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. I then applied some diluted “Citadel” Flesh Tearer Red to the warrior’s highly detailed helmet, shoulder-pads, chest armour, shin-plates, gut-protector and emblem, so as to give the Iron Golem the distinctive metallic red hue his warband has become synonymous with.

"Dominate the Eightpoints with brute strength and unwavering discipline."

The Signifer’s chain-mail skirts, face-plate, chain-link belt, straps, and battle-hammer were painted in "Citadel" Ironbreaker, and shaded with Nuln Oil. The miniature’s flesh was treated to a mixture of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Lastly, I 'picked out' the shaft of the impressive round icon with a little "Vallejo" Heavy Blue, and later shaded it using some out of production "Citadel" Badab Black.

I have also paid another visit to the LVL Up Gaming Store in Bournemouth so as to spend a few hours testing out some freshly-penned new super-powers for my homemade rule-set "M.I.S.S." This particular wargaming session saw me setting up a small industrial furnace complex using the pre-painted terrain of “Tablescape”, over which a handful of Marvel Worldwide’s finest repeatedly spanked a motley assortment of DC Comics’ most murderous criminals.

The Thing and Captain America lead the charge against a host of "DC Comics" villains and goons

To be fair, this series of defeats could partially be blamed upon the total lack of water features which ordinarily would have allowed the likes of Black Manta and his harpoon-gun-carrying scuba-minions to have realised their full potential. But little could probably have prepared me for the overwhelming dominance of Ben Grimm, who repeatedly managed to smack the likes of Clayface and the gigantic Chemo into tomorrow without working up too much of a sweat.

Even the welcome addition of the Joker and Riddler to my forces in our later games was quickly negated by the stunning speed of Spider-Man and the Black Panther. Whilst the star-spangled super-hero known as Captain America seemed to quite merrily work his way through an increasingly large horde of well-muscled goons and crowbar-bludgeoning hoodlums…

"Let The Dark Gods Bear Witness To Our Glory..."

"...And let our foes tremble at our passing!"

This 43mm tall model of a Dominar is one of the eight multi-part plastic miniatures which can be found inside the Iron Golem "Warcry" warband boxed set by “Games Workshop". A skilled blacksmith, this formidable-looking figure came in five separate pieces and proved a somewhat straightforward, if not still time-consuming, gaming piece to pigment.

Having permanently attached the warband's leader upon his 32mm circular base, the figure was primed with two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and had all of his numerous pieces of armour, as well as numerous tiny symbolic hammers dangling from his chest-plate and hand-weapon, painted using a combination of Brass and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. With the exception of the warrior’s ornate semi-circular plated loincloth and right gauntlet, all these areas were then given a coat of diluted "Citadel" Flesh Tearer Red.

"Send in the clowns."

This colour, mixed with some Contrast Medium, gave the model's shoulder-pads, helmet, shin-plates, back-plate, and gut-protector the distinctive metallic red hue of the Iron Golem faction, and additionally allowed some of the "Vallejo" Brass underneath to shine through; especially once the model had been gloss varnished. The Dominar's chain-mail skirt, face-plate, chain-link belt, straps, and monstrous battle-hammer were painted in "Citadel" Ironbreaker, and subsequently shaded with Nuln Oil.

In utter difference to the “Warcry” warband's 'official' "Games Workshop" pale grey skin palette, I applied a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to all the miniature's flesh. Lastly, I 'picked out' the shaft of the great hammer with a little "Vallejo" Heavy Blue, and later shaded it using some out of production "Citadel" Badab Black.

"Lucid Eye Publications" WIPs - This "Toon Realms" freebie is fast becoming an old statue/objective marker

This Christmas Day I received several notable additions to my miniature collection, but none brought a larger smile to my face than a model which had been both sculpted and painted by Roger Webb of "Rantings From Under The Wargames Table" fame. I actually picked this particular figure as one of my favourite pieces Roger produced in 2015, as following all of the green stuff work on it, it is hard to believe that this Undead Clown for "Zomtober" began life as an old Blob "Heroclix" model by "Wizkids".

In addition to simply staring at the phenomenal painting of Roger's brain-chomping comic performer, I've managed to spend a little time applying some layers and washes to a fun little freebie figure "Lucid Eye Productions" have sent me with a recent order. I've managed to 'snag' a couple of castings of this wily wizard, and resultantly hope to use them as different statue/objective markers for my 'Lord Of The Toons' campaign using the "Dragon Rampant" rule-set.

"The Drillmaster Is A Very Versatile Fighter..."

"We Make War."

This 28mm scale model of a Drillmaster is one of the eight multi-part plastic miniatures which can be found inside the Iron Golem "Warcry" warband boxed set by “Games Workshop". “Clad in metal armour and marching in line behind big shields”, this female figure came in five separate pieces and arguably proved a somewhat frail-looking ensemble until I took the decision to glue the end of its spiked bola to its left hand.

Having permanently attached the Chaos cultist upon its 32mm circular base, the dynamically-posed fighter was primed with two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and had all of her numerous pieces of armour, as well as some tiny symbolic hammers dangling from her chest-plate, painted using a combination of Brass and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. With the exception of the warrior’s circular-plated loincloth and left gauntlet, these areas were then given a coat of "Citadel" Flesh Tearer Red, which had been previously 'watered down' using some Contrast Medium.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - The final two Iron Golem figures needed to complete my "Warcry" warband

This colour gave the model's shoulder-pads, helmet, shin-plates, back-plate, and gut-protector the Iron Golem’s distinctive metallic red hue, which additionally allowed some of the "Vallejo" Brass underneath to shine through; especially once the model had been gloss varnished. The Drillmaster's knee-spur, face-plate, chain-link belt, straps, terrifying spiked club and “Whirlwind of Death” bola were painted in "Citadel" Ironbreaker, and subsequently shaded with Nuln Oil.

In complete contrast to the “Warcry” warband's 'official' "Games Workshop" pale grey skin palette, I applied a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to all the miniature's flesh. Lastly, I 'picked out' the shaft of the model’s hand-weapon with a little "Vallejo" Heavy Blue, and later shaded it using some out of production "Citadel" Badab Black.

"Crooked Dice Game Design" WIPs - These three Protoplasmic Terrors just need a final few washes

As long-time sufferers following this blog will be aware, I always like to ‘partner up’ painting a complicated miniature with a far simpler project, and the resin Protoplasmic Terrors produced by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" fit this bill perfectly. Indeed, the biggest difficultly the three “bubbling, amorphous masses of viscous matter” have so far caused me is in my trying to decide just where upon their writhing, multi-eyed bodies to pin the variety of tentacles which come with the kit.

Admittedly, I did also spend a little time pondering over the monsters' colour scheme, before going with the decidedly dark 'official in-store' palette. As I was somewhat tempted to give the trio of ghastly grotesques a 'human' skin tone similar to that seen on the parasitic extraterrestrial life-form in John Carpenter's 1982 American science fiction horror film "The Thing"...

“The Dead? Summoned? I Knew That.”

"Fight, and I will release you from this living death!"

These four "cartoon scale white metal" figures of Lord Rascal's Skeleton Warriors (many more shown) are produced by “Lucid Eye Publications” and can be bought from the company's "Toon Realms" range. Sculpted by Steve Saleh, the quartet are the final models needed for a full-strength Undead Spearman (Heavy Foot) unit I plan to field as part of my Necromancer's ever-expanding “Dragon Rampant” army.

Initially primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Dark Sand, the miniatures were thoroughly washed in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and heavily dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" Dark Sand. I then applied a much lighter dry-brush of “Vallejo” White over each decaying soldier so as to suggest how the passage of time had bleached their fleshless bones.

"We fight!"

I pigmented the skeletons’ boots and spear-shafts using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade, before ‘picking out’ their spear-tips and shield emblems using a little "Citadel" Ironbreaker and splash of Nuln Oil. These metallic areas were later given an additional ‘lick’ of Ironbreaker simply to provide the weapons with a noticeably sharp edge and ‘highlight’ a little of the bosses’ raised detail.

I also painted each of the warriors’ shields in either "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, Heavy Blue, Heavy Violet or Black, and later tried to dirty these all up with a few drops of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Finally I used a small amount of "Vallejo" Heavy Brown to differentiate their spear-straps from the rest of the hand-weapon, and shaded them with a layer of Strong Tone Quickshade by “The Army Painter”.

"Warcry" WIPs - The Dominar is slowly getting all his chainmail and armour 'picked out' with metallics

With my twenty six point evil “Dragon Rampant” army completed, I am now spending an increasing amount of hobby-time focusing upon the final few figures required to ‘fill out’ my Iron Golem warband for “Warcry”. In particular I have been working on my group’s Dominar, whose progress has significantly benefited from my somewhat recent decision to paint the Chaos warrior’s brass armour first, rather than leave the numerous metallic areas until much later on.

As a result, I have been able to quite rapidly work my way up the formidably-detailed model, starting with his heavily armoured legs, groin and gut. Of course, much of this ornately-detailed plating and chain-mail still needs to be tidied up prior to the “well-rounded fighter” receiving a wash of “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade (and perhaps a lick of Flesh Tearers Red Contrast paint). But this process, in my mind at least, appears a far faster way of getting the figure finished than having my brush carefully navigating its tip around his previously-painted areas of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and “Citadel” Ironbreaker…

“You Bred Raptors?”

"The point is, you are alive when they start to eat you."

These two 28mm scale white metal dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous Period used to be produced by "Copplestone Castings" under Code K12 , but currently only seem to be available via the "Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company" as Code DI54 - Deinonychus x2. Coming in two different poses the Terrible Claws "measure approximately 63mm long" and form part of the Birmingham-based manufacturer's rather extensive range of dinosaurs, prehistoric animals and monsters.

Rather shockingly, I've actually owned this pair of models for a significant number of years, and initially super-glued each of them upon a couple of adjoining two pence pieces. Fortunately, my somewhat ad hoc basing methodology of yesteryear is well behind me, and as a result they were more recently re-based upon a couple of "Games Workshop" plastic 40mm circular bases.

"Clever girl..."

The two Deinonychuses were also re-undercoated using a double layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, which quickly masked the original (and horribly translucent) "Citadel" Dark Angels Green paint I had applied so many moons ago. The sharp-toothed meat-eaters were then drenched in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and dry-brushed using some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Grey.

It was at this point, approximately eighteen months ago, that a desperate attempt to finish these carnivores first failed, as I unsuccessfully attempted to paint some lines down one of the dinosaur's backs. This time round though, I simply decided to leave them well enough alone, and instead focused on 'picking out' the crest using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. These colours were also used on the monster's tongue.

"Warcry" WIPs - The Drillmaster now just needs to have his red armour pigmented

I pigmented both prehistoric animals' "unusually large, sickle-shaped" talons with "Vallejo" White, as well as all their tiny teeth and formidable-looking claws, and subsequently washed them with some "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Lastly, I spotted the duo's eyes with a dab of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre, and shaded them with a little "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade.

With two reasonably straightforward painting subjects completed, I have managed to subsequently make some very visible progress on my Drillmaster for "Warcry". This Iron Golem by "Games Workshop" has caused me some significant frustration on account of all his brass-coloured chain-mail and uber-dynamic fighting pose. However, I have finally reached the stage where I am ready to apply some "Citadel" Flesh Tearers Red Contrast paint to the figure's armour...

“The Dead Are Following, Said Legolas."

"Yes, the Dead ride behind. They have been summoned, said Elladan."

These four "cartoon scale white metal" figures of Lord Rascal's Skeleton Warriors are produced by “Lucid Eye Publications” and can be bought from the company's "Toon Realms" range. Sculpted by Steve Saleh, these Undead spearmen will form part of a much larger (second) Light Foot unit I have planned for my Necromancer's ever-expanding “Dragon Rampant” army.

Originally primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Dark Sand, the quartet were heavily washed in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and enthusiastically dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" Dark Sand. I then dry-brushed them somewhat more lightly with Dead White in order to try and replicate the colour scheme I’d established for the figures’ bleached bones some ten months ago.

"Lucid Eye Publications" WIPs - These four Skeleton Swordsmen need their metallic areas shaded

This step actually took a couple of attempts to get reasonably right, as I soon found my sole pot of “Vallejo” Dead White to have completely run dry and my imaginatively named alternative, “Vallejo” White, to be a significantly brighter tone. In addition, due to my heavy-handiness whilst dry-brushing the models, I had to provide a couple of figures with a second shading of “The Army Painter” Strong Tone Quickshade so as to correct their overly-light appearance.

With the bulk of work completed on my Skeletons, I 'picked out' their spear-tips and shield emblems using a combination of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil, and subsequently 'highlighted' their details with a delicate dry-brush of "Citadel" Ironbreaker. I also painted each of their shields in either "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, Heavy Blue, Heavy Violet or Black, and later dirtied these all up with a splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Warcry" WIPs - These two Iron Golem warriors are gradually having all their chainmail 'picked out'

Finally I used "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna to pigment both the Undead warriors’ leather boots and their spear-shafts, and applied a little Heavy Brown to their spear-straps. All of these areas were then shaded in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and left to dry whilst I began work on four of the "Toon Realms" ranges Skeleton Swordsmen.

Moving across to the much more detailed models of "Games Workshop", I have slowly made some more progress on my Iron Golem warband for "Warcry". These extraordinarily dynamic figures have proved disconcertingly time-consuming as painting subjects, but I hope to have the warriors' Drillmaster completed soon, and then it'll be on to the group's Dominar...

"So Let’s Get Nuts!”

"A squirrel with the proportional speed and strength of a squirrel!"

These two 28mm scale metal squirrels are produced by “Black Cat Bases” and are available to purchase from their Small Animals range. Sold as a pack of four medium-sized rodents, I potentially plan to use the diminutive sculpts as status markers for my partially-painted “Wizkids” figure of the “Marvel Comics” super heroine, Squirrel Girl.

Having carefully snipped the duo from their rather formidably thick metal sprue, the two bushy-tailed animals were super-glued upon a circular 25mm base and undercoated with two layers of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna. I then shaded them using some “The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, before roughly dry-brushing the two miniatures with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna.

"Is that all your pitiful will can accomplish?"

I was actually tempted to call the tiny models done at this stage, but upon reflection decided to ‘pick out’ their eyes and noses with some “Citadel” Abaddon Black, as well as add some “Vallejo” Dead White to their underbellies. As I didn’t want to simply paint their stomachs with a finely pointed tip, I instead found an old, badly-battered brush and dabbed at the animals instead. This seemed to produce a far less precisely defined, somewhat mottled area of paler fur.

Alongside the completion of my Squirrels, I have also completed a fourth hard light construct from “Wizkids” War of Light DC "Heroclix" range to use as a Green Lantern themed objective marker. This Violet Lantern Wall is miniature number R106.04 and was super-glued onto one of the thin 40mm circular bases I use for the vast majority of my scenario markers.

"Warcry" WIPs - The final three Iron Golems have had all their brass-work base layered

As I wanted to use this model for my Green Lantern Corps, it was treated to a triple-thick layer of "Vallejo" Dark Green so as to ensure its translucent pink plastic was completely masked in paint. I then thoroughly washed it with some "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green Shade, before heavily dry-brushing it using some (more) "Vallejo" Dark Green.

Stepping over to three infinitely more highly-detailed (and significantly more time-consuming to paint) models, I have been slogging my way through the last of my hard plastic Iron Golem warriors for "Warcry" by "Games Workshop". These incredibly characterful miniatures have now had all of their brass-work brusquely bass-layered with "Vallejo" Brass, and I'm now slowly working my way up each Chaos fighter picking out their flesh, chain-link bindings and over-the-top hand-weapons...

"Welcome To The Bloodwind Spoil..."

"...A Chaos-twisted wasteland that stretches out before the Varanspire's fortified walls like an open wound."

This 28mm scale model of an Iron Legionary is one of the eight multi-part plastic miniatures which can be found inside the Iron Golem "Warcry" warband boxed set by “Games Workshop". Known for piling the corpses of their defeated enemies upon burning pyres, this figure came in five separate pieces and included a couple of hand-weapon options.

Having permanently attached the Chaos warrior upon its 28mm circular base, the close-range fighter was undercoated with two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and had all of his numerous pieces of armour, as well as some tiny symbolic hammers dangling from his chest-plate, painted using a combination of Brass and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. The vast majority of these areas were then given to a coat of the "Citadel" Flesh Tearer Red, which had been previously 'watered down' using some Contrast Medium.

"Glory or death."

This colour provided the model's shoulder-pad, helmet, shin-plate, back-plate, gut-protector and circular shield with a striking metallic red hue, which also allowed some of the "Vallejo" Brass underneath to shine through; especially once the model had been gloss varnished. The Legionary's chain-mail skirt, face-plate, chain-link belt, straps, formidable-looking spiked club and bolas were painted in "Citadel" Ironbreaker, and subsequently shaded with Nuln Oil.

Stepping away from the warband's 'official' "Games Workshop" pale grey skin palette, I applied a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to all the miniature's flesh. Lastly, I 'picked out' the shaft of the Iron Golems' hand-weapon with a little "Vallejo" Heavy Blue, and later shaded it using some out of production "Citadel" Badab Black.

"Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps."

With yet another time-consuming "Games Workshop" figure finished, I also managed to complete a third light construct from “Wizkids” War of Light DC "Heroclix" range to use as a Green Lantern themed objective marker. This Blue Lantern Mallet is miniature number R207.03 and was super-glued onto one of the thin 40mm circular bases I use for the vast majority of my scenario markers.

As I wanted to use this model for my Green Lantern Corps, it was treated to three coats of "Vallejo" Dark Green so as to ensure its translucent blue plastic was completely masked in paint. I then thoroughly washed it with some "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green Shade, before heavily dry-brushing it using some (more) "Vallejo" Dark Green.

"I Am Awake!"

"And I thirst for vengeance!"

This 28mm scale resin miniature of a Trigon Portal is one of the eleven resin miniatures which can be found inside the Teen Titans Bat-Box for the "Batman Miniatures Game" by "Knight Models", and is used as an objective marker during the Teen Titans scenario: Portal of Evil. Able to bestow two Victory Points to "its owner when they control it", this marker's owner can also score "an additional Victory Point for each friendly model controlling it after the first, up to an additional two Victory points", and can cause "all models within 8 inches" to suffer a "Push effect of four inches (no roll is required) directly away from the portal."

The single-piece casting was primed using a double coat of "Vallejo" Heavy Red, shaded in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, and thoroughly dry-brushed with some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I then started building up the magical doorway's highlights using "Vallejo" Heavy Orange, Heavy Ochre, Iraqi Sand and a smidgen of Dead White. The entire ensemble was subsequently glazed using "Citadel" Bloodletter.

"Crooked Dice" WIPs - This Fishfolk Devil has been primed, washed and dry-brushed

Having ensured that I had one less miniature in my painting queue, I recently made the annual trip up to the Rivermead Leisure Centre in Reading for the Wargames Association of Reading's event "Warfare". Ordinarily, as "one of the largest [shows] in the country", this convention causes my wallet considerable pain, as I usually come away with a number of purchases I could never have anticipated buying prior to walking through its doors.

Disconcertingly however, I didn't find this year's array of traders to be especially enticing, with the notable exception of "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio", who not only ensured that I walked away with a handful of their characterful Fishfolk Devils. But also a reassuringly heavy copy of their 7TV: Pulp Boxed Set, a "tabletop skirmish game inspired by the American cinema serials and pulp magazines of the 1930's and 1940's", which was on sale at a modest discount for the weekend of the show.

"Warcry" WIPs - An almost completed Iron Legionary and Drillmaster

Indeed, even the much publicised "ever popular (and huge) bring and buy" sale didn't get close to making me put my hand in my pocket, and in the end the only 'out of production' figures I found of interest were three blisters of metal "Confrontation" models by "Rackham", which were simply sat on the table of a dealer in the main hall. It was though certainly nice to once again briefly meet up with fellow blogger Ray Rousell of "Don't Throw A One" fame.

Setting aside my disappointment with "Warfare", I have almost finished the fifth member of my Iron Golem warband for "Warcry". Chock full of excruciatingly annoying fine detail, these hard plastic "Games Workshop" figures have proved frustratingly time-consuming to progress, but having changed tactics so as to pigment their brass-work first, I'm hopeful that I've now discovered a method of painting the heavily-armoured warriors that little bit quicker than before...

"His -- His Skin! It's Turned Green!"

"We've made it! He'll remain in that form for twenty-four hours -- Until he's defeated the disease!"

This 28mm scale figure of Beast Boy is one of the eleven multi-part resin miniatures which can be found inside the Teen Titans Bat-Box for the "Batman Miniatures Game" by "Knight Models", and represents Garfield Logan during his tenure on the teenage super-group. "A shapeshifter who possesses the ability to metamorph into any animal he chooses, "Gar" first appearing in the November 1965 issue of "The Doom Patrol" by "DC Comics", but was then later re-invented by Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez into the Changeling for the October 1980 issue of "DC Comics Presents".

One of only two single-piece castings within the expansion set, this figure was infinitely more straightforward to prepare for basing than some of its multi-part compatriots, and was primed using a double coat of "Vallejo" Heavy Red. Beast Boy was then thoroughly drenched in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson before being dry-brushed with some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

"This is the most fantastic thing in the world!"

Unfortunately, this is where my frustration with this slender sculpt began to mount, as despite some careful brushwork, I found I simply couldn't see where all the white markings were which covered the metahuman's costume. I did attempt to try and 'pick out' the Changeling's chest chevron using some "Vallejo" Dead White, but soon gave up in exasperation when I found myself unable to find even the slightest indentation in the miniature's clothing for that particular piece of detail.

As a result I decided to stick to simply pigmenting Logan's gloves and legging bottoms with "Vallejo" Dead White, and kept the rest of his attire predominantly red. Slightly disconcertingly though, even this compromise proved a bit of a time-consuming challenge, as the edges weren't as smoothly-sculpted as I would have expected, and ultimately left little opportunity for me to subsequently shade them with a little "Vallejo" Pale Grey wash...

"Warcry" WIPs - This Iron Legionary is slowly having all his metalwork painted

Garfield's head, arms and legs were given a double-layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Green, drowned with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green, and lightly dry-brushed with some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Green. Lastly, I applied a couple of dots of "Citadel" Abaddon Black to Beast Boy's eyes, and tidied his face up a little with a touch more "Vallejo" Heavy Green.

Despite my issues with my latest "Knight Models" model, I am still ploughing my way through my Iron Golem warband, and have almost finished the third of my Iron Legionaries. I've actually tried a different approach with this highly-detailed hard plastic "Games Workshop" figure by painting all of his extensive brass armour first, and then slowly working my way through all his flesh and plain metalwork afterwards...

"More Than Just Warriors, The Iron Golem Are Superb Smiths..."

"...Believing flesh to be impermanent where metal is eternal."

This 28mm scale model of an Iron Legionary is one of the eight multi-part plastic miniatures which can be found inside the Iron Golem "Warcry" warband boxed set by “Games Workshop". Harnessing "the raging magma-flows" the Ferrium Mountains "spits forth" so as to forge his weapons and armour, this figure came in five separate pieces and included the option to either be armed with some spinning bolas or a pair of battle hammers.

Having glued the "living battering ram" upon its 28mm circular base, the entire ensemble was primed with two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and had all of his numerous pieces of armour, as well as some tiny symbolic hammers dangling from his crescent moon-shaped chest-plate, painted using a combination of Brass and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. The vast majority of these areas were then given to a coat of the "Citadel" Flesh Tearer Red, which had been previously 'watered down' using some Contrast Medium.

Iron Golem WIPs - The Legionaries "Vallejo" Brass armour was slowly 'picked out' before being shaded

This Contrast colour emboldened the warrior's shoulder-pads, helmet, shin-plate, back-plate, chest-plate and gut-protector with a metallic red hue, which partially allowed some of the "Vallejo" Brass underneath to shine through. I did however, decide to leave the Legionary's spiked knee-guard and right wrist bracelet 'pure' Brass in order to help break-up the fighter's somewhat overpowering ruby palette. The Iron Golem's chain-mail loincloth, face-plate, chain-link belt, straps, and brain-bludgeoning hammers were painted in "Citadel" Ironbreaker, and subsequently shaded with Nuln Oil.

To be honest, it was at this stage that I was really starting to regret adding the spare bolas to the grisly combatant's left hip, as not only did the extra weapon make it frustratingly difficult to reach the sculpt's now partially covered details underneath it. But it also repeatedly 'caught' my brush, disconcertingly deflecting its tip to strike either the Chaos soldier's left-handed weapon or his left leg's armour. Many a time this annoying 'bump' caused me to have to repaint either the aforementioned battle hammer or his limb. 

"Knight Models" WIPs - The Trigon Portal has been slowly dry-brushed in increasingly lighter colours

In addition I also stepped away from the warband's 'official' "Games Workshop" pale grey skin and instead applied a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to all the chaos warrior's flesh. Lastly, I 'picked out' the shafts of the Iron Golems' hand-weapons with a little "Vallejo" Heavy Blue, and later shaded them using some out of production "Citadel" Badab Black.

Alongside my "Warcry" figures, I have been slowly making some more progress on the contents of the Batman Miniatures: Teen Titans boxed set by “Knight Models”. I still have a fair few of the models to assemble and base, but spotted the Bat-box's Trigon Portal as a reasonably straightforward painting project which is also central to the expansion's Teen Titan free scenario entitled Portal of Evil...