"Now That I've Created The Badballs..."

"The world is ours, Snivelitch!"

These five 28mm scale resin models of some Microclopia are produced by "Precinct Omega", and can be bought as Code BM051 from their Ballmonsters! range. Designed to be used for a "mad-cap gaming experience that mixes board-game, wargame and bar billiards for an experience unlike anything you've ever played before", the miniatures also each came supplied with a clear plastic flying stand.

"Not if the Madballs can help it, Doktor!"

Having decided that my team of Ballmonsters would simply bounce towards their opponents along the ground rather than fly through the air (on easily breakable stands), I super-glued each helium-filled beachball onto a 25mm circular base, and primed them all "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I then drenched the cyclopean bonces in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, before dry-brushing the lot with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

"Black Tree Design" WIPs - Three Autons have been based, primed and 'boxed off'

Next I 'picked out' all the carnivorous balls' teeth using a combination of "Vallejo" White and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and the majority of their eyes with "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and a smidgen of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. Finally, I applied a dot of "Citadel" Abaddon Black over a layer of pure "Vallejo" White to one of the Ballmonster's pupils so as to make it appear more like a normal eye.

With my first "Ballmonsters!" team completed, I've once again turned to "Black Tree Miniatures" and their extensive range of "Doctor Who" figures for a science fiction fix. I've a number of their sculpts on the painting table currently, including some Quarks and Sea Devil Warriors, but its a handful of classic factory floor Autons which has particularly caught my imagination; doubtless aided by repeated listenings to "Spearhead From Space".

"Otherworld Miniatures" WIPs - Two Barrow Guardians and a ('propped up') Death Worm

In addition, I am continuing to plough through my collection of "Dungeon & Dragon" models by "Otherworld Miniatures". The Hertfordshire-based manufacturer has very generously gifted me with two more of their excellent Barrow Guardians. So perhaps unsurprisingly the pair of stone custodians have gone straight to the top of my queue, and have already been assembled, pinned, based and primed.

I've also tried my hand with one of their Death Worms, but found the necrophidius to be an absolute swine to pigment. Not however, because the crisp detail is hard to reach with a brush-tip, but because the very nature of its pose seems to make it incredibly inclined to break wherever one vertebrae meets another. Having pinned the 'blessed beast' back together after one misfortune, and then had it snap to pieces again, I've super-glued it to an old plastic tombstone by "Renedra Limited".

"Green Slime... The Deadliest Denizen Of All!"

"Don't touch it! It is certain death!"

This 28mm scale pewter model of some Green Slime is produced by "Otherworld Miniatures", and can be bought as Code DM7a from their range of Dungeon Monsters. Hand-sculpted by Paul Muller, the creature made its first appearance in the original 1974 Dungeons & Dragons set and represents "a large colony of green slime; a very unpleasant plant-based life-form that lurks on the floors, walls and ceilings of dark dungeons, ready to drop on careless low-level adventurers."

Despite being advertised as only being 45mm wide, I soon found the "bright green, sticky, wet moss" to actually overlap the edges of the "50mm round plastic slotta-base" it came supplied with. So in the end I decided to super-glue it to a 60mm circular base instead. I then applied a basecoat of "Vallejo" Russian Uniform over the deadly ooze and washed it with copious amounts of "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

A trio of adventurers battle a pool of Green Slime, a mound of Yellow Mould, and two Barrow Guardians 

As I wanted to use the mindless monster as a test piece for my recently acquired "Vallejo" Green Fluorescent Model Color, I first dry-brushed the miniature with some (more) "Vallejo" Russian Uniform, before individually 'picking out' each and every lethal blob with some "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. These pustules were later repeatedly dry-brushed using an increasingly lighter combination of "Vallejo" Russian Uniform and White.

Once I felt the "horrible, fetid growth" was highlighted enough, I dabbed the entire thing with "Vallejo" Green Fluorescent and allowed it to dry. As a final touch, I went back in and reapplied more "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade to the highly corrosive creature's numerous bumps and bulbous stalks.

"Wizkids" WIP - The Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight has had all its shading finished

Due to being firmly in the "Dungeons & Dragons" zone currently, I have also made some quite appreciable progress on my 300mm tall Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight by "Wizkids". Considering that this plastic stone construct actually came pre-painted and cost in excess of forty quid, I have definitely had to push through a phase in its pigmentation where I strongly questioned why I had stupidly decided to re-do the huge figure in the first place.

However, having now finished both the model's initial dry-brush of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, and its subsequent weathering using copious amounts of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and Biel-Tan Green, I'm rather pleased I've invested all the energy and time on it. In addition, having managed to get the walking statue's enormous sword and shield shaded too, I now just need to spend a few hours patiently dry-brushing Waterdeep's guardian before the entire project is almost finished...

"Guardians Entombed As Part Of The Barbarian's Funeral."

"Some of the guardians may have been destroyed over the centuries."

These two 28mm scale metal models of a pair of Barrow Guardians are produced by "Otherworld Miniatures", and can be bought either separately from their "Official Barrowmaze Miniatures" range, or the custodian stood upon a plinth can be obtained from The Monsters of Barrowmaze Boxed Set (Code BMB1). Sculpted by Andrew May, the figures were produced back in January 2014, as part of the successful Barrowmaze Complete campaign on "Indiegogo".

Multi-part pieces, I decided to attach a shield to both of my models to indicate that they were Greater Barrow Guardians. This was rather a straightforward process for the stone construct stood upon a circular slab, as there were plenty of 'contact points' for the super-glue to bond to. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for his companion, and in the end I had to patiently pin his shield literally into his hand with some wire after it initially broke free whilst I was gritting the miniature's base.

"A stone statue of a warrior, which can animate to protect the tomb which is has been assigned to guard." 

Both magically animated custodians, along with the plinth, were initially primed using two coats of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey. I then applied some washes of "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green and Agrax Earthshade to each sculpture so as to suggest extreme weathering, and finally tidied each ensemble up with a second (lighter) dry-brush of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey.

In addition to my Barrow Guardians I have completed a 28mm scale pewter model of a Yellow Mould. This is also produced by "Otherworld Miniatures", and is available as DM7g from their range of Dungeon Monsters. Hand-sculpted by Paul Muller, the creature represents "a colony of yellow mould, a nasty fungus-like infestation, often found growing on decaying matter in caverns and dungeons."

"If disturbed... This mould bursts forth with a cloud of poisonous spores."

"Very dangerous if disturbed by unwary explorers", I originally super-glued the furry textured monster to a plastic "Citadel" 40mm circular base, and primed it with "Vallejo" Heavy Brown. I then applied two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown over the entire creature, and shaded it using a copious amount of "Citadel" Gryphonne Sepia.

Lastly, the "deadly threat to adventurers" was dry-brushed using some (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Golden Brown, and a lesser highlight of Heavy Ochre. At this stage however, I suddenly realised that there wasn't any room on the model's base for me to apply wither any sand, grit or static grass. As a result, I therefore carefully prised the Yellow Mould from off of its stand, and permanently attached it to a "Citadel" 50mm circular base instead.

"Egad, Snivelitch! These Madballs Even Gross Me Out!"

"He hasn't seen nothing yet!"

This 28mm scale resin model of a Ballmonster is produced by "Precinct Omega", and was bought as a pair of show specials whilst at "Beachhead" 2020. Designed to be played with the company's "wild and hilarious game of luck and judgement in which players pit teams of giant, carnivorous, helium-filled bad-tempered beachballs against one another", the miniature also came supplied with a clear plastic flying stand.

Having decided against having "my antidote to fantasy sports games" fly through the air in preference of him bouncing towards his opponents across the ground, I super-glued the 'head' onto a 25mm circular base, and primed him "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I then drowned the freakish figure in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, before dry-brushing him with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

"Otherworld Miniatures" WIPs - A second (weathered) Barrow Guardian and a Fighter in plate mail

With the basics done, I 'picked out' the gas-filled sphere's teeth using a combination of "Vallejo" White and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and his puss-filled 'blind' eye with "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. Finally, I dotted in his right 'good' eye with a little "Citadel" Abaddon Black over a layer of pure "Vallejo" White.

In addition to my Ballmonster test piece, I've been plugging away at my collection of "Dungeons & Dragons" figures produced by "Otherworld Miniatures". Disconcertingly, one of the elements missing for my "Fighting Fantasy" themed campaign is a distinct lack of any adventurers, so I have been slowly plugging away at all the metallic areas of a Fighter in plate mail, and dirtying him up a little "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade".

"Wizkids" WIP - The Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight has been shaded

Alongside this model, I've also managed to finish the 'weathering' on both of my (Greater) Barrow Guardians, and started tidying up their bases ready for my usual application of "Citdel" Doombull Brown, Rakarth Flesh and Agrax Earthshade. I'm actually hoping to get my hands on a third of these excellent Andrew May sculpted stone custodians from the Hertfordshire-based manufacturer's official "Barrowmaze" range soon...

Lastly, after a couple of sessions with a 24ml pot of "Citadel" Nuln Oil and a big paintbrush, I have completed shading my Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight by "Wizkids", including both the custodian's enormous shield and sword. Now I just need to start applying a dry-brush of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey over the entire miniature using my recently purchased makeup foundation brush from the "Abody" Professional Cosmetic Kit.

"Yochlols Were Most Numerous In... The Demonweb Pits."

"Within it they commonly served as Lolth's enforcers, scouts, and appropriately as handmaidens."

These three 28mm scale pre-painted plastic models of some Yochlols are produced by "Wizkids", and can be bought as miniature number 012 from their Storm King's Thunder range of "Dungeons & Dragons" models. A chaotic evil creature, this shape-changing demon were able to slam "away at their foes with their numerous tentacles", and introduced in the 1980 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" game adventure module, Queen of the Demonweb Pits by David C. Sutherland III (with Gary Gygax).

"A type of lesser tanar'ri demon", which were also known as Handmaidens of Lolth, each figure was super-glued to a 25mm circular base, and originally undercoated with some "Vallejo" Heavy Goldenbrown. However, due to the rubbery texture of the Yochlols' figure, this extra opaque Game colour simply didn't take to its surface, so in the end I applied a couple of helpings of "Vallejo" Heavy Brown.

"Otherworld Miniatures" WIPs - These two Barrow Guardians are slowly being weathered

Once this had dried, I then re-applied the "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown once again, and subsequently shaded each 'handmaiden' with an old pot of "Citadel" Gryphonne Sepia. This seemed to pool really well amongst all the sculpts' soft details, and create precisely the yellow, oozy, effect I was after to suggest how their "bodies seemed to be constantly melting and piling back up like a sickening living candle." Later, I gave each miniature a rough dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Goldbrown and 'picked out' their eyes using a combination of Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

Sticking with "Dungeons & Dragons" denizens, I have made some more progress on two Barrow Guardians by "Otherworld Miniatures". These animated stone statues from their official "Barrowmaze" range, are slowly being weathered using a combination of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, Biel-Tan Green and Agrax Earthshades washes. Plus some patient dry-brushing with "Vallejo" Heavy Blue-Grey.

"Wizkids" WIPs - This 115mm x 160mm shield has been primed and partially shaded

I'm particularly pleased I've got these two figures to practice on as I'm also making some significant headway on my Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight by "Wizkids", and plan to use precisely the same palette on that as my Barrow Guardians. Indeed, having finished priming the 300mm tall plastic model, I've put some time in undercoating his separately attached sword and shield, with the intention of actually finishing these 'smaller pieces' first before tackling the 'Big Yin' himself.

Weighing in at a whopping 115mm x 160mm in size, the shield in particular is proving rather difficult to handle and pigment simultaneously, at least without "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey" getting everywhere, as I'm having to hold some part of the piece's surface whenever I apply a brush to it. Resultantly, I'm doing both it and the sword in piecemeal stages, in the hope that I can then apply any tricks I pick up on the Knight's significantly larger plastic main torso.

"This Viscous Heap Slides Like An Inky Spill."

"It's the colour of a starless night sky, and a thick odour permeates the air around it."

This 45mm tall pre-painted plastic model of some Rolling Oil is produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 029 from their Ruins of Lastwall range of "Pathfinder Battles" figures. "A magical compound of pitch and alchemist’s fire", the "volatile and dangerous ooze... hunts in subterranean tunnels and even city sewer systems and waterways for animal and vegetable material to consume."

"Thick, viscous, and resembling a glistening spread of black wax" the mutable creature was re-based upon a "Games Workshop" 50mm circular base and primed using a double layer of "Citadel" Abaddon Black. The Rolling Oil was then enthusiastically dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal, before being drenched with "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Otherworld Miniatures" WIPs - This Barrow Guardian has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

With my latest ooze completed, I have been rummaging around for more models by "Otherworld Miniatures" to use with a possible "Warlock Of Firetop Mountain" flavoured tabletop campaign I have in mind. Russ Nicholson's excellent illustrations for this particular "Fighting Fantasy" gaming novel by "Puffin Books" made a lasting impact upon me when I was a young hobbyist, so ideally I have been scouring through my "Dungeons & Dragons" backlog to see what figures captured the look of the Glasgow-born artist's pencilling.

One such model is a Barrow Guardian from Greg Gillespie’s ‘Barrowmaze’ RPG setting. This particular sculpt would appear to be 'out of production' these days, and I only managed to 'bag one' myself because "Otherworld Miniatures" very kindly sent me for free when I ordered their heavily discounted Barrow Guardian II (Code DM30b). The metal figure was actually a bit of a pain to assemble, as its shield is (understandably) separate, so had to be pinned in place due its minimal surface contact with the monster's wrist.

"Sally 4th" Elite Paint Storage Shelving Unit

I have also spent some time assembling one of three Elite Paint Storage shelves produced by "Sally 4th" to try and help 'tidy up' my painting area. I'm very much aware that I've not played anywhere near as many games as I had hoped to by this stage of the year, and a large part of this is because my considerable painting queue, along with my numerous paints, brushes, glues and varnishes have significantly encroached upon my table space.

Assembled using copious amounts of Titebond Original Wood Glue by "Franklin International", this multi-piece MDF painting accessory can accommodate fifteen "Vallejo"-sized dropper bottles of paint and comes with two clear fronted drawers as well. The wooden kit also comes supplied with some "ultra strong rare earth magnets" with which to securely hold any adjoining shelves in place. I won't be attaching mine yet until I've built the other two storage units, to ensure their polarity matches the next rack...

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Dungeons & Dragons" March 2020

"Wizkids" WIP - The Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight has been primed

This month's themed attempt to try and reduce my embarrassing backlog of metal, plastic and resin models will be a little different from normal as I plan to simply focus my efforts upon a single miniature, namely the Walking Statue of Waterdeep: The Honorable Knight by "Wizkids". Clocking in at an impressive 300mm in height this Icons of the Realms "premium" figure will be receiving quite a straightforward 'stone' paint-job, but will doubtless provide plenty of unforeseen challenges on account of his sheer size.

Indeed, originally I had planned to re-base the pre-painted plastic model onto a freshly-ordered "Citadel" 170mm x 105mm oval stand. But when it arrived it was too small for such a towering behemoth, so I've subsequently reattached it to the 175mm circular base it came with. I have also resisted the temptation to assemble the "gargantuan construct" prior to painting, and will therefor pigment its sword and huge shield separately.

"Otherworld Miniatures" WIPs - Two Goblins and a Fighter in Plate Mail

One of the side-effects of currently being so badly bitten by the "Dungeons & Dragons" bug is that I have also found myself flicking through some of the old "Fighting Fantasy" gaming books published by "Puffin Books", and as a result I thought I might give some of these old classics a re-read or four. However, I rather fancied having some models at hand to bring the games more to life, and as a result turned to a box of "Otherworld Miniatures" which I own.

This Hertfordshire-based manufacturer actually used to own the licence to "a range of 28mm [Limited Edition] miniatures based on characters and monsters from the Fighting Fantasy series of game-books." But that seems to have stopped now, probably due to "Atlantis Miniatures" and their highly successful Fighting Fantasy Legends: 28mm Resin Miniatures "Kickstarter" late last year. For now therefore, I'm going to stick with what I've got, picking up any necessary pieces as and when I need them for my adventures...

February 2020 - "Wizkids" dominated the month with a plethora of "Heroclix" miniatures

Statistics wise, the past four weeks have proved to be a fairly bog standard February for me, disappointingly only completing just over half the models I 'powered through' this time last year. However, that doesn't mean the month was in any way a disappointment, as I both finally got started on my "Marvel Crisis Protocol" backlog by "Atomic Mass Games", and whittled away more than a handful of old "Heroclix" sculpts by "Wizkids".

In fact, my love of super-heroes, or rather comic book villains, led to me polishing off quite a few dastardly denizens of the criminal world, such as Major Maxim, Black Manta, the Abomination and Zzzax. As well as providing them with a plethora of rubber-suited henchmen with which to do their bidding, including a few converted U-Men. I was also able to get plenty of progress made on a few "Dungeons & Dragons" themed pre-paints which will undoubtedly populate the posts of March 2020...