(Lead) Mountain Musings - "General's Handbook" September 2017

Nurgle WIPs - The Great Unclean One and Herald of Nurgle have been primed, washed and dry-brushed

This month's randomly themed attempt to try and reduce my overwhelming collection of metal, plastic and resin miniatures has been superseded by the release of the "General's Handbook 2017" by "Games Workshop", and my subsequent desire to field 1,000 points of (pure) Nurgle for "Age Of Sigmar". Fortunately, the latest version of the "essential resource for all warlords of the Mortal Realms" doesn't appear to have greatly affected the previous Matched Play cost of my Host, and as a result my horde of twenty Plague Bearers of Nurgle (200 points), Herald of Nurgle (100 points), two Beasts of Nurgle (120 points), three stands of Nurglings (80 points), Rotbringers Sorcerer (100 points) and Lord of Plagues (100 points) still totals 700 points.

This means I only need to paint a humble 300 points of miniatures over the next few weeks, and when one of them, a large "Finecast" Great Unclean One, tallies a whopping 240 points on his own, it should be an easily achievable goal. Perhaps unsurprisingly therefore, I have somewhat raised the difficulty of this particular mini-project by adding a partially-pigmented Herald of Nurgle (100 points) to my painting queue, alongside an almost obligatory (third) Beast of Nurgle (60 points).

Beast Of Nurgle WIPs - The Chaos Daemon has been undercoated and heavily shaded

I have 'dusted off' my towering Greater Daemon of Nurgle before, but am so determined to finish the "Behemoth" this time round that I have already started work layering, washing and dry-brushing his large Plague Flail with "Vallejo" Gunmetal Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. The sculpt's "Corpulent Mass" is simply packed full of open sores, wriggling worms, and cherub-faced Nurglings, so I have no doubt I'll be spending a fair few hours elbow deep painting pustules, pimples and festering boils...

My (second) Herald of Nurgle is equally as distressed physically, and has actually been converted using a large scythe from the Blight Kings "Age Of Sigmar" plastic boxed set. Having previously painted one of these 'mortals who somehow resists the ravages of Nurgle’s Rot', I'm hoping to get this miniature finished in short order, and thus be able to buttress my unruly formation of Plaguebearers with a herald at either end.

Plague Guard WIPs - The Heretic Astartes has been primed and then layered

Finally, I have assembled a third "truly horrendous aberration". These "Finecast" pallid slugs are one of my all-time favourite "Games Workshop" sculpts, and I have had to wait quite a while to secure another model after the company's webstore 'ran out of stock' earlier in the year. In the past I have painted these 'writhing tentacled' horrors with a predominantly green and tan palette. This time round I thought I'd try a more poisonously pus-like colour scheme.

In addition to increasing my Host of Nurgle's size, I have been unable to resist 'dipping my toe' into the Eighth Edition of "Warhammer 40k" as well. This is largely due to the fact that my "Age Of Sigmar" warband is perfectly capable of being fielded on the "41st millennium" battlefield without any problems whatsoever. Indeed, simply using the eligible models I already own I can readily put 572 points of Chaos Daemons onto the tabletop.

Faramir battles Lurtz and a band of Uruk-Hai for the glory of Gondor

Sadly however, so 'unshooty' a force is not going to survive long up against any opposition armed with even the simplest of ranged weapons, so at some point I am going to need to add some much needed firepower to my army. A contingent of Heretic Astartes would fit that bill rather nicely, especially Plague Guard, so I have assembled a single plastic miniature from the "Dark Imperium" boxed set to use as a 'test piece'.

"Feral Spirits Of Winter And Hunger..."

"...The Wendigo are twisted souls of mortal men and women who committed cannibalism in life."

This 28mm metal Wendigo is made by "North Star Military Figures" and can be bought as code Drac111 from the company's "Dracula's America" range. Possessing "a craving for fresh meat that can never be sated" the disconcertingly bizarre-looking model is one of skirmish game's "unique Entities" which can be summoned during a battle.

Initially undercoated with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, the "wilful creature" was heavily washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and subsequently dry-brushed with more "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna. The figure's antlers were then painted using a combination of Heavy Brown and Strong Tone Quickshade, whilst its hands and mouth were treated to some "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

"Recently, another earthquake uncovered an upper air lock..."

Alongside the first of my "Dracula's America" miniatures, I have also managed to finish painting one of the two airlocks uncovered by an earthquake in the "Dungeons & Dragons" module "Expedition To Barrier Peaks". Created by drilling away a portion of an old resin rock formation manufactured by either “Terrain Warehouse UK” or “Total System Scenic”, and super-gluing one of "Second City Games" airlocks to it, the ensemble was first primed using some "Vallejo" Heavy Brown and later washed with plenty of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

The large rock was then dry-brushed with more "Vallejo" Heavy Brown, before I 'picked out' the actual airlock itself using Gunmetal Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. As I wanted the distressed doorway to appear suitably rusty, I liberally applied some "Mig Productions" Extreme Rust Wash over all the sculpt's detail and then dry-brushed the majority of it away with some "Vallejo" Gunmetal Grey.

Sergeant Slaughter WIPs - The drill instructor just needs his hat, moustache and hair painted

I've still got quite a way to go before I manage to clear my painting table, but the completion of the 42mm tall Wendigo miniature, and a significantly sized piece of scenery, has helped me obtain enough 'elbow room' with which to get some pigment upon my penultimate "G.I. Joe" model for this month, Sergeant Slaughter. I've decided to try and duplicate the drill instructor's colour scheme from his 1985 carded action figure, and resultantly have found myself working in olive, charcoal, red and flesh...

"Cybermen Do Not Promise."

"Now, that really is the end of the Cybermen, isn't it?"

This 36mm tall metal Cyberman miniature is sold by “Warlord Games” and can be bought as part of their "Nightmares In Silver" Cybermen Collector's Set 1966-2013. Sculpted to replicate one of the survivors of Mondas following the removal of their "bulky chest units and head lamps", this model is based upon how "the fictional race of cyborgs" appeared the 1967 television stories "The Moonbase" and "The Tomb Of The Cybermen".

Kit Pedler's co-creation was originally primed with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before receiving two layers of Ironbreaker and a wash of Nuln Oil. It was then dry-brushed with more Ironbreaker, and the Cyberman's eyes, mouth-slit and somewhat torturous body-tubing were 'picked out' with Abaddon Black. As a final touch the figure's chest-piece light was painted "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre, shaded with some "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and then lightened with a tiny spot of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre.

Major Bludd WIPs - The mercenary working for the Cobra Organisation is almost finished

The completion of the penultimate model from my "Nightmares In Silver" box really has come at a good time, as "Warlord Games" have just teased its "Into The Time Vortex" fans with pictures of both Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor and Companion set (which includes Rory in his nurse outfit, Amy in her Police costume and a second version of Clara Oswald), as well as some sculpts of Odin and the Mire from the October 2015 episode "The Girl Who Died".

As a result, in order to clear some much needed space on my painting table, I have managed to spend a little hobby-time working on a privately commissioned miniature of Major Bludd from the "G.I. Joe" action figure series. To be honest, I had been considering colouring the Australian mercenary using the dark scarlet/blue palette depicted in his printed "Marvel Comics" exploits, but eventually decided to stick to the brown/black palette used for his original 1983 action figure.

"Mage Knight" Door WIPs - The doorway should make for an interesting objective marker

Whilst these days I undoubtedly have more than enough objective markers with which to populate a modern day or futuristic tabletop, I do still feel that I'm lacking a few fantasy-based ones. With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to dig out another of my old "Wizkids" plastic scenic pieces and turn it into a 'prized' location of some kind.

Just why a partially open door would be a situated in the middle of a battlefield is admittedly anyone's guess, but I like the idea of it possibly being all that remains of a long-destroyed structure, or perhaps some doorway akin to that Lucy stumbled upon in C.S. Lewis' novel "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe"...

Mutants & Death Ray Guns Report: Judge Dredd & Mad Max Verses T-800 Terminators

JUDGE DREDD AND MAD MAX BATTLE KILLER T-800 ROBOTS

This game was played using the basic rules of “Mutants And Death Ray Guns” by “Ganesha Games”, and is the second in a series of adventures involving Mega-City One's toughest lawman as he attempts to thwart the break-out of a virus strain left over from the Great Germ War. The scenario comprised of a small party of four Pure Human characters facing a larger (and slightly more expensive) group of Pure Robots across a 3’ x 3’ tabletop populated with some "Battlefield In A Box" Badlands terrain by “Gale Force Nine” and some additional resin pieces by "Wargames Terrain Workshop".

“The story so far… Finding his city once again threatened by the deadly 2T(FRU)T virus, Judge Dredd has travelled into the Cursed Earth so as to search for vaccine crates. Accompanied by Judge Giant (Senior), Old Stoney Face encounters the road warrior Mad Max and Immortan Joe's favoured soldier, Imperator Furiosa. Together, the band of heroes follow a rumour that some T-800 Terminators might have data on a long-lost supply of medicine."

THE TABLETOP - THE CURSED EARTH

Positioned in the northeast, Judge Dredd assembled his small force just behind Mad Max's black Interceptor, with a somewhat clear view of some promising-looking robot remains. The lawman's mission was to extract eight points worth of data from various locations dotted about the barren landscape before his party were either eliminated by the murderous killer robots which were known to inhabit the local plateau, or the 'intelligence deposits' were wantonly destroyed.

Because the Judges were wearing standard street-uniform, they were all treated as having a Flak Jacket (for armour) as well as carrying a pistol (to represent a lawgiver). "Old Stoney Face" had the additional special rules for being a Hero [always automatically rolls one success, regardless of their Quality], as well as being the group's Champion [+1 to Combat Score] and Leader [Quality increases by +1]. Judge Giant was made Steadfast [+1 Morale Rolls]. Max Rockatansky was also given the Hero trait, as well as Opportunistic [+1 to Activation rolls if there is a Knocked Down or Transfixed opponent a Short move of hi,]. He was given a Shotgun [+2 Combat Score]. Imperator Furiosa was awarded the special rule Coup-de-Grace [May immediately perform another attack against an opponent they've just Knocked Down in hand-to-hand combat] and Sharpshooter [+1 to Hit with ranged weapons but suffers -1 in melee combat]. She was given a Sniper Rifle [Long range and +2 Combat Score].

T-800 TERMINATORS PREPARE TO DESTROY SOME HUMAN INTRUDERS

The T-800 robots were grouped together as if emerging from the southwest. They were all treated as if they had Heavy Armour [If the model is beaten in Combat by only one point, the armour turns the blow and the round is a draw], and armed with Assault Rifles [Long range and +2 Combat Score]. In addition they were given the special rule Energy Cell [useful to manage "Ammunition Expenditure"].

The Terminators won the Initiative and immediately started to move northeast, with three of Skynet's first cybernetic organisms stomping towards a nearby Wrecked Car, and the remaining two moving west towards a Toxic Pool.

Judge Dredd moved west towards a large outcrop of rocks, whilst Max (with three successes) closed to within almost touching distance of some robot remains [Objective Two]. Furiosa, clutching her firearm, took up a sniping position behind the interceptor and Judge Giant started his 'long walk' towards a tall ruin [Objective Four] in the south.

MAD MAX REACHES SOME ROBOT REMAINS AS THE TERMINATORS FAN OUT

Detecting non-robotic lifeforms approaching their positions, the sentient hyperalloy endoskeletons momentarily paused in order to calculate the best strategy to nullify their oncoming opponents (or rather immediately failed their first Activation roll).

Using his experience of 'Hot Dog Runs', Joe Dredd ran behind a small rocky outcrop just northeast of a small grave marker [Objective One], and steadied himself ready to start shooting at any T-800s which unwisely approached his position from the southwest. Mad Max set about collecting data from the robot remains [Objective Two] and 'bagged' three points of intelligence regarding the long lost 2T(FRU)T virus vaccine. He then sprinted towards the Badlands Plateau. Furiosa, realising it would be some time until a Terminator entered her sniper rifle's range, headed west to give Dredd some added support. Judge Giant continued moving south.

AS MAX APPROACHES THE PLATEAU, A T-800 SIZES UP JUDGE DREDD

A T-800 marched towards Judge Dredd's position and opened fire. The robot's target was thrice its assault rifle's range and in cover, so it took a hefty -3 penalty, but because the weapon itself carried a +2 Combat bonus it was still a potentially lethal attack. Indeed, the outcome initially showed "Old Stoney Face" would have died a Gruesome Death, if he hadn't utilised his "once per game" Hero ability, which allowed him to "re-roll a single Combat or Quality roll." This 'second chance' fortunately lead to both the shot simply missing its target and the robot's weapon jamming.

A second Terminator joined the 'momentarily weaponless' T-800 intending to destroy some nearby oil barrels [Objective Three]. Whilst another of the Neural Net Processor CPU-driven automatons stalked past the Wrecked Car towards the Badlands Plateau.

As Judge Dredd calmly waited for a Terminator to enter his lawgiver's range, Furiosa moved ever further west into to provide him with even more firepower support. Max athletically hauled himself up onto the top of the Badlands Plateau and approached a rusty Dr. Pepper drinks machine [Objective Five]. Judge Giant continued south, trying to put the small ruin [Objective Four] between himself and the robots' assault rifles.

MAD MAX REACHES FOR A REFRESHING DRINK AS THE TERMINATORS TAKE UP FIRING POSITIONS

The Terminator with the weapons jam failed to clear his firearm. The 800 series beside him fired at Dredd, missed his target and reached the oil barrels [Objective Three]. The robot closest to the Badlands Plateau started to clamber up the rock formation's natural steps.

Taking a bit more 'heat' than he liked in his current position, Judge Dredd moved back behind a rocky outcrop a bit further northwest. Furiosa moved to take up his vacant position. Mad Max collected two points of data from the derelict Dr. Pepper drinks machine [Objective Five], whilst Giant, having reached and subsequently searched the ruin [Objective Four] for one point of intelligence, ineffectively fired his lawgiver at the T-800 climbing the Plateau's rocky stairway.

With a demoralising explosion, a Terminator destroyed the oil barrels [Objective Three], setting four points of data alight in the process. To the east one robot fired at Judge Giant but missed (and also ran out of ammunition), and another 'hunkered down' beside the Wrecked Car.

MAD MAX BATTLES A T-800 TERMINATOR ON TOP OF A BADLANDS PLATEAU

Sensing the moment had come for decisive action, Dredd broke cover and rushed south towards the grave marker [Objective One]. The Senior Street Judge had left himself badly exposed, but his effort could win him the day, if there was enough vaccine data buried beneath the tiny tombstone. Furiosa fired her sniper rifle at the closest Terminator and found her weapon jammed. Max rushed towards the T-800 clambering up the Badlands Plateau and at almost point-blank range discharged his shotgun at the automaton. The firearm ineffectively clicked... it had misfired!! Judge Giant also tried to dispatch the robot fast-approaching Rockatansky, but also failed to hit his target.

The Terminator stood by the remains of the oil barrels and took an aimed shot at Dredd. Incredibly, the T-800 momentarily staggered back as its assault rifle blew up in its hands. The robot with the jammed firearm finally cleared its chamber, and the 800 series by the Wrecked Car harmlessly fired towards Judge Giant. The endoskeleton in front of Max raised its weapon and momentarily appeared to have gunned the road warrior down. But using his "once per game" Hero ability, Rockatansky, despite still being Knocked Down, actually cheated death and saw the Terminator's weapon blow up!

JUDGE DREDD ATTEMPTS TO WIN THE DAY AS MAD MAX IS SHOT BY A TERMINATOR

Miraculously, the assault rifle of the fifth T-800, who had just joined its colleague beside the Wrecked Car and fired at Judge Giant, also exploded in its users hands. Skynet had clearly issued them with some bad stock. With so many ineffective opponents momentarily 'out of action', Dredd continued on to the grave marker [Objective One], collected the five points of data buried beneath it, and sealed a strong victory for his team-mates and Mega-City One's Justice Department.  

"Destro Is The Faceless Power Behind MARS"

"He dons his silver battle mask (a family tradition) and enters battle himself..." 

This 28mm metal miniature of Laird James McCullen Destro XXIV is from a private collection and thus not commercially available. Luckily however, I was fortunate enough to be able to acquire a spare casting of the "state-of-the-art weapons manufacturer" and subsequently chose to paint him in a palette similar to how the cut-throat businessman's carded action figure appeared in 2014.

Originally primed with two coats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, the "Laird of the Castle Destro in the Scottish Highlands" was dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal and later heavily washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. His hand-weapon was treated to a layer of "Vallejo" Gunmetal Grey, whilst his belt buckle, hands and beryllium steel mask were 'picked out' with "Citadel" Ironbreaker. All of these areas were then treated to a wash of Nuln Oil. Finally, his jacket's fleece was painted using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

"Hell Hounds track fleeing prey relentlessly."

With the third of this month's six planned "G.I. Joe" related figures completed, I've actually spent some time rummaging through my old collection of unpainted "Dungeons & Dragons" models, looking for something suitable to add to my "Expedition To Barrier Peaks" collection. Quite remarkably, my search not only revealed an old 2002 sculpt of a Hell Hound from the "Chainmail Miniatures Game" by "Wizards Of The Coast", but a fully based one at that.

Ordinarily, I don't usually dwell upon previously finished pieces, especially ones which come from a time when my painting technique was 'a little simpler'. However, considering that I did a little extra work on this "supernatural dog" by placing a plastic "Games Workshop" tombstone beneath his torso, I thought this particular 'protector of the supernatural' was rather noteworthy. In addition, you can bet he's going to turn up at some point to plague the Grand Duchy of Geoff's party of adventurers.

Mondasian Cyberman WIPs - The silver giant has been washed and had his 'flesh' picked out

Lastly, I have been working on the final miniature found within the "Nightmares In Silver" Cybermen Collector's Set 1966-2013 by “Warlord Games”, the Mondasian Cyberman. Initially a pleasure to paint, despite all its tubes and wires, I'm now somewhat struggling to pick out the silver giant's eyes and mouth.

Admittedly, if one follows the colour scheme shown in the 1966 televised "Doctor Who" serial "The Tenth Planet", then these facial features should simply be black sockets. But I think that would do the sculpt a great injustice, so I'm desperately trying to give the cyborg's mouth slit and eye slots a glimmer of metal around the edges. Unfortunately though, such a noble intention would seem somewhat beyond my skill with a paintbrush...

"If We Cannot Hide We Must Fight."

"The invasion has happened; you're probably surrounded by Zygons."

These two 36mm tall "finely-sculpted" metal Zygons models are produced by “Warlord Games” and can be found within the Nottingham-based company's "Into The Time Vortex" range. Based upon the “fictional extra-terrestrial race” depicted in the 2013 BBC television story “The Day Of The Doctor”, these sculpts are covered in the shape-changing extra-terrestrials' famous suckers and will provide some additional reinforcements to my slowly expanding Zygon "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" faction.

Originally primed with two layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone, these miniatures were then heavily washed with “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson and dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Skintone. As a final touch, and in order to keep their colour schemes consistent with my existing Zygon models, I blended in some "Citadel" Abaddon Black over the ends of their feet and hands; a somewhat contentious palette choice which hopefully implies that these "Nu Who" variants are capable of firing “electrical charges from their hands that can stun or disintegrate”.

Ogrons WIPs - The Daleks' pets have been primed and dry-brushed

Sticking with "Warlord Games" and their "officially approved by the BBC" range of "Doctor Who" figures, I having started work on my latest additions... six Ogrons fresh "from the outer fringes of the Mutter’s Spiral". These "tall, ape-like humanoids of limited intelligence" looked disappointingly thin and malnourished when I first saw them 'in the flesh' at Salute 2017, but have clearly been pleasingly 'beefed up' somewhat since then.

Viewed by many fans as simply the pets of the Daleks, on account of their two television appearances during Jon Pertwee's tenure as the travelling Time Lord, the Ogrons have actually been "used by other species as mercenaries" in the science fiction programme's wider canon. Indeed, I've been especially inspired to get these "mindless" minions painted, having recently listened to their misadventures in the "Big Finish" "Doctor Who" audio story, "The Romance Of Crime", starring Tom Baker, Lalla Ward and John Leeson.

Fenn Signis & Gaarkhan WIPs - The two Rebels have been re-based and undercoated

With so many mini-projects on the go currently, the last thing I really needed was yet another distraction, and so it was with some horror that I recently found my "Star Wars" mojo reignited, courtesy of a review of "Imperial Assault" by "Fantasy Flight Games" over on "The Game Cupboard". To be fair, I already own a copy of the boxed game, and have previously painted a few of the miniatures, but rather ashamedly, I haven't actually ever played a game.

Determined to put that right I have subsequently had a look at the rule-set's Tutorial, and set about re-basing and priming two of the Rebel characters; Gaarkhan and Fenn Signis. This duo will (hopefully) just be a minor detour in my painting plans, as I don't currently intend working on any of the other plastic miniatures in the starter set. Having said that though, the pair might provide me with some George Lucas-inspired practice in time for the release of the Star Wars "army" miniatures game "Legion" next March...

"My People Ruled The Earth When Man Was Only An Ape."

"We shall destroy man and reclaim the planet."

These three 38mm tall metal Sea Devil miniatures are produced by “Warlord Games” and can be purchased from their "Into The Time Vortex" range. Sculpted to resemble the "amphibious relatives of the Silurians" during Malcolm Hulke's 1972 televised six-parter "The Sea Devils", these classic "Jon Pertwee" monsters were made all the taller by the costumed actors wearing the creatures' head masks like "top hats". 

All the models were initially primed with "Vallejo" Verdigris, thoroughly washed with "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade and dry-brushed with more "Vallejo" Verdigris. Their feet were all then painted "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and their legs Heavy Green. These areas were subsequently dry-brushed with Heavy Sienna in order to blend the two colours together, and washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

"There are many thousands of our people in hibernation in this base."

The Sea Devils' weapon belts were 'picked out' using a combination of "Vallejo" White and Pale Grey, whilst the dull metallic look of their hand-weapons was created using "Citadel" Ironbreaker and a heavy shade of Nuln Oil. The Aquatic Silurians' hands and heads were originally treated to a layer of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and the webbing 'slimed' with some Heavy Green. Later, as with the amphibious Earth reptiles' legs, these areas were dry-brushed with Heavy Sienna and washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. 

As a final touch, each Sea Devil's string vest was darkened/dirtied with a random application of both "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. These garments were then re-highlighted in places with some more "Vallejo" Verdigris being slowly drawn across them.

Master Necromancer WIPs - The Dark Confederacy's posse boss has been primed, washed and dry-brushed 

Jonathan Haythornthwaite's alternate Old West skirmish game "Dracula's America: Shadows Of The West" is increasing proving something of a distraction to my currently plethora of ongoing mini-projects. Not least because its gothic horror setting has produced a string of fascinating gunfighters, worrisome monsters, disturbing demons and pale-skinned undead.

As a result I've added this model of a white-suited Master Necromancer to my painting table, with a view to potentially actually creating a Dark Confederacy posse for the rule-set. The thought of the well-groomed, despicably amoral Southern gentleman leading a band of single-pistol armed bloodless Revenants sounds incredibly tempting, especially if I subsequently paint-up an opposing party of Union Cavalrymen lead by George Custer himself...