"The Yeti Has Become An Icon Of Cryptozoology."

"Supposed evidence of the Yeti's existence include anecdotal visual sightings, video recordings, photographs..."

This 40mm tall "collector's miniature" of a Yeti is produced by “Zealot Miniatures” and can be bought from their Litchmyre Dungeon Collection range. Cast in "quality PU Resin" and sculpted by Boris Woloszyn, the figure comes in three separate pieces which can easily be super-glued into place without the need for pinning.

The Meh-Teh was initially undercoated with two layers of "Vallejo" White, and then somewhat drowned in Pale Grey. The "large, bipedal ape-like creature" was then thoroughly dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" White, before having both its teeth and claws pigmented in "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"Privateer Press" WIPs - These three Paladin Annihilators have been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

I was actually tempted to leave the Abominable Snowman alone at this stage, but in the end thought that its teeth should probably be ivory(ish) in colour. As a result I picked all its sharp fangs out with "Vallejo" White and subsequently washed them using a little "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. I did also contemplate doing something with the monster's sunken eyes. But decided not to do anything special in these areas in order to draw the on-looker's attention straight to the Yeti's formidably-sized mouth.

Having finished the third of my models taken from the "Zealot Miniatures" catalogue, I have also managed to make some progress on the first three of six Paladin Annihilators which I own. These two-piece "Privateer Press" castings for "Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika" were actually reasonably simple to assemble, and didn't require any extra pinning. Indeed, at least one arm-peg fitted into its hollowed shoulder so tightly it arguably didn't even require super-gluing.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - This Treant is slowly have all its mushrooms and leaves 'picked out'

Although these welcome reinforcements for my Iron Star Alliance will predominantly follow the "Vallejo" Gunmetal and Brass palette of my other Paladins, I've yet to decide whether the three-soldier unit's heavy support status should be marked out in some way other than them just carrying their rapid-fire harbinger cannons. I've recently acquired a few more metallic paints from the "Metal N' Alchemy" paint range by "Scale 75", so may well decide to 'pick out' either their helmets or a shoulder-pad in a noticeable blue or red.

Lastly, I've almost completed working on a Treant "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" recently released as part of their ever-increasing Fantasy range. Having patiently dry-brushed my way around the 72mm tall miniatures with different shades of Brown, I have now almost finished painstakingly pigmenting the peaceful creature's eyes, mushrooms and numerous leaves...

"So Much Death."

"What can men do against such reckless hate?"

This pair of 28mm scale metal Uruk-hai were manufactured by "Games Workshop", and could be bought as part of their Uruk-hai Command and Uruk-hai Warriors randomly populated blisters respectively. Disappointingly, neither figure now appears to be available as part of the Nottingham-based company's current "The Lord Of The Rings" range for the Forces of Isengard, and were actually purchased in various states of disrepair second-hand at a gaming show or two many moons ago.

In order to eradicate its previous partial paint-job the Uruk-hai Captain was first treated to a couple of layers of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before being given a coat of "Scale 75" Decayed Metal. This "Metal N' Alchemy" water-based acrylic was then dry-brushed with "Scale 75" Thrash Metal, shaded with plenty of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and given a second, much lighter dry-brush of (more) "Scale 75" Thrash Metal.

"The Uruk-hai are too many."

Having reasonably replicated the old OOP "Citadel" Tin Bitz colour scheme I used on my decade-old, modestly-sized Forces of Isengard army I attempted something similar with the brutal warrior's flesh by applying a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to his arms, legs, and chin. I also 'picked' out the soldier's loincloth, hair and gloves with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and (more) "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

The Uruk-hai Warrior was painted in a very similar way, albeit I had apparently already painted the Isengarder's armour, sword and shield ten years ago. However, as this particular minion of Saruman was actually going to be a Uruk-hai Scout Captain in my army for the "Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game", I free-handed a rough replica of the White Wizard's emblem upon his shield in "Vallejo" White, and then weathered it with a quick dry-brush of "Scale 75" Thrash Metal.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - The Treant is ready for detailing

In addition, it appears that I probably bought this model without its metal tab, and had resultantly propped the figure up on its circular base using the odd piece of plastic sprue and some metal shavings. I therefore pigmented these parts to resemble stone, courtesy of a "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey undercoat, a splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and a careful dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey.

Sticking with J.R.R. Tolkein's Middle Earth, but moving across to "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio", I have also found the time to do some groundwork on their recently-released Treant miniature. This multi-part resin kin has been assembled, pinned, primed, shaded and repeatedly dry-brushed in preparation for the 72mm tall model's leafy detail to all be 'picked out'...

This posting and many others can now be viewed on the main "Fantorical" website.

"Brain Moles Hunger For Psionic Energy."

'They will attack victims by psionically burrowing into their brains.'

These three 15mm long pewter models of some Brain Moles are produced by "Otherworld Miniatures", and can be bought from their Dungeon Monsters range under Code DM30. Sculpted by Paul Muller, the single-piece castings depict the burrowing animals watching for the approach of their psionic prey.

"Small, furry, and nearly blind", the tiny creatures were attached to 25mm plastic slotta-bases and primed with two layers of "Citadel" Abaddon Black. Their furry hide was then dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal before being shaded in "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Brain moles eat small insects when they can't get psionic energy."

I picked out out their tiny webbed feet, tails and star-shaped noses with a little "Vallejo" Heavy Warmgrey, and later washed these areas with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. As a final touch I dotted their diminutive eyes with a dab of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and (more) "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

"Zealot Miniatures" WIPs - This Yeti has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

Having finished this trio of power leeching dungeon denizens, I have turned my attention to another of my alternative sculpts for "Frostgrave" by "Zealot Miniatures". This Dorset-based manufacturer has really fired my imagination with its incredible range of snow-based monsters, and this particular 40mm Yeti was the first of Boris Woloszyn's figures to catch my eye.

I've only currently purchased a few resin models from the Litchmyre Dungeon Collection, as I wanted to see just how well the company's "quality PU Resin" worked as a modelling medium. But having now assembled and pigmented a couple of figures, my long term-plan is to acquire a fair few more of their wandering monsters, as well as enough heroes with which to form an adventuring warband.

"Privateer Press" WIPs - This Wayfarer is slowly having all of his detail picked out

Fortunately, despite this distraction, I have still found the time to make some healthy progress on the Iron Star Alliance Paladin Weaver I plan to field for my games of Warcaster: Neo-Machinika. This "solo" unit by "Privateer Press" is absolutely covered in intricate detail, but should soon be finished now all its brass-coloured areas have been base-coated with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna.

"In Some Of The Far Eastern Kingdoms..."

"...Houses, temples, and government buildings are often guarded by large, slow constructs called shrieking wolves."

These two 28mm scale Shrieking Wolves are produced by “North Star Military Figures” and can be bought as code FGV337 from their “Frostgrave" range. "Designed as alarms to scare away intruders", the statues can be encountered by adventurers exploring the Collegium of Artistry - "a vast, labyrinthine complex of halls, classrooms, and laboratories built into the mountainside."

Initially primed in "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, the pair of "tough and tenacious" creatures were subsequently treated to a layer or two of Brass and shaded using "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Ordinarily, I then usually brighten my miniatures back up with a dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Brass, yet on this occasion I wanted the statues to remain somewhat darker than normal, so skipped this step in favour of applying a sporadic wash of the "Citadel" Nihilakh Oxide.

"Fleeing is generally the best course of action."

Once this "Citadel" Technical paint had been applied to all of the metal figures' nooks and crannies, I slowly started to blend it in using a dry-brush of "Vallejo" Brass. Finally, I went back to areas such as the beasts' maws and paws with some additional "Citadel" Nihilakh Oxide simply to ensure that they were suitably weathered.

Momentarily stepping across from Joseph A. McCullough's fantasy world of "Frostgrave" to that of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord Of The Rings", I have made some steady progress on an old Uruk-hai Captain figure I plan to add to my 500-point strong Isengard army for the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. The now seemingly OOP metal command miniature by "Games Workshop" won't actually represent a leader for my force, but rather one of Saruman's shield-less brutal warriors who will only cost 9 points...

"Games Workshop" WIPs - The Uruk-hai Captain's flesh has now been completed

In addition to this, I have been assembling, priming and layering a handful more "Supers Unlimited" models by "Kitbash Games". I still have quite a backlog of these resin sculpts, including one of Doc Cosmos which quite embarrassingly dates back to before the company ran their first successful "Kickstarter" back in August 2019.

I had originally started painting the protector of Empire City in a blue and red colour scheme somewhat similar to his 'official' palette. However, I've since completely repainted the figure "Vallejo" Silver and "Citadel" Abaddon Black so as to better represent Captain Cosmonaut; a Soviet super-hero from Weird War Two. I do though own a second copy of this miniature, and have been contemplating whether to either pigment him in a less 'sparkly' costume denoting a time before he become so cosmically-powerful, or simply turn him into a statue/objective marker which was erected in honour of his noble, war-time deeds...

"Well, That's No Ordinary Rabbit!"

"Oh, it's just a harmless little bunny, isn't it?"

These two 30mm scale "high quality resin" Dungeon Bunnies are hand cast by “Zealot Miniatures” and can be bought from their Twisting Catacombs range. Sculpted by Eddie Fisher, both the Tame and Vicious sculpts are "suitable for most popular dungeon RPG Games", and stand 7mm and 14mm tall respectively.

The Tame rabbit was primed using a double-helping of "Vallejo" White, before being shaded in Pale Grey. The diminutive animal was then initially dry-brushed with some (more) "Vallejo" White. But I found the miniature to be so tiny that this technique simply didn't work, so in the end I just built up some highlights on the creature's tail, legs, paws, mouth and floppy ears with a size 000 "Windsor & Newton" Series 233 University brush.

"That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!"

I dabbed a little "Vallejo" Heavy Warmgrey on the bunny's tiny nose and later washed it with some watered-down "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. In a break from my usual methodology of separating colours with a thin line of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, I subsequently applied some additional Carroburg Crimson directly to the insides of the rabbit's ears to give them a distinctly pinkish tinge.

"What's he do, nibble your bum?"

As I initially plan to use both Dungeon Bunnies as Imps for "Frostgrave" by "Osprey Games", I decided to pigment the Vicious incarnation with "Vallejo" Heavy Red, shade it with pure "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, and dry-brush it with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I then applied some "Vallejo" White to the animal's sharp teeth, and a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Violet and "Citadel" Druchii Violet to its tongue.

Originally, I was planning on settling upon the demonic rabbit having plain "Vallejo" White eyes just like its cute-looking counterpart. However, I suddenly thought that they'd look even more Hellish if I actually used this colour as a simple base layer for some "Vallejo" Green Fluorescent. Finally, the fiend's nose was finished with a little dab of "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"North Star Military Figures" WIPs - This Wolf has been primed, layered and washed

Sticking with "Frostgrave" I have also started progressing four Wolves by "North Star Military Figures" and hope to use them as test subjects for some experimental sponge-work. To be honest I am not all that enamoured with the actual sculpting on these 28mm sized metal figures though, as they look a little too fox-like in their faces for my liking...

"Now Why Don't You Take A Long Close Look At This Sign."

"Those proportions are correct."

This 28mm scale metal model of a Shark Fin is manufactured by “North Star Military Figures” and can be bought as code FGA415 from their “Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago" range. "Big, powerful, ever-hungry, and attracted to blood" this playing piece is sold along with a resin sculpt of a shark's maw as the creature rises up to spectacularly break the water's surface.

The miniature was primed in "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed using a little (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey. As the big fish's sculpt also contained a few breaking waves swirling around its base, I filled out the rest of it's 40mm circular lipped stand with green-stuff and used the flat blade of a modelling knife to replicate the water's numerous crests.

"Attack in sections, Alpha section leads."

Once the modelling putty had cured, I painted it with "Vallejo" Heavy Blue, washed it with "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, and dry-brushed it with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Blue. I then increasingly added a little "Vallejo" White to my Heavy Blue, and lightly drew this combination over the surface's raised details. Eventually, I applied a final 'highlight' of pure "Vallejo" White to the waves' crests.

As well as finishing my Shark fin, I have also completed the very last of my FedSec Troopers by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". Unlike the vast majority of my previously-pigmented jumpsuit-wearing soldiers, I swapped out the model's gas-mask head for one wearing a balaclava instead, and painted him up to proxy one of Space Commander Travis' underlings from the BBC television series "Blake's Seven".

"Games Workshop" WIPs - These three Isengard figures are in various stages of painting

With a fair few projects currently on the go, I was little trepidatious when recently asked if I wanted to construct a 500 point army for the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, especially as I haven't actually finished painting a "Games Workshop" miniature in over a year. However, having rummaged through my collection of completed figures from the Nottingham-based manufacturer's "The Lord Of The Rings" range, I realised that I only needed to paint Saruman and a lone Uruk-Hai to bring a legal Isengard force to the table-top. 

In addition, with the temptation of the "Warhammer Underworlds" Skink warband, the Starblood Stalkers, proving too much for me to recently resist, I am in the position where I really need to at least partially clear some of my "Games Workshop" backlog if I'm going to keep abreast of my New Year's Resolution by painting two models for every one bought. As result, I've also devised a second 500 point Isengard army list, which whilst predominantly relying upon my already completed figures, replaces the former leader of the Councils of the Wise with a plethora of Uruk-Hai Scouts, Warriors and Bezerkers...

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Frostgrave" April 2021

"From far and wide, wizards flock to the frozen ruins of Frostgrave..."

Thanks largely to "Osprey Publishing" announcing the release of their new science fiction skirmish rule-set "Stargrave" in four weeks time, this month's attempt to reduce my slightly decreasing stash of metal, plastic and resin models will primarily focus upon my backlog of "North Star Military Figures" for "Frostgrave". Admittedly, I've been trying to paint a (second) warband for my excursions into the frozen city since last December, but I'm hoping my New Year resolution of pigmenting two models for every one newly bought will help better motivate me in this endeavour.

In addition, I'm rather keen to work my way through a rather intimidating array of animals and monsters I have previously bought for my Felstad bestiary. The vast majority of these creatures were purchased to thwart my somewhat snowbound adventurers as random encounters on their travels. However, I have also found a number of tropical-based critters from the wargame's sibling publication, "Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago" too.

"The Paladins are the federation's military elite."

Alongside this 'cunning plan' I hope to completely finish all of my Iron Star Alliance units for "Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika". My collection of these all-metal "Privateer Press" paladins has momentarily got a little out of hand after I lost patience with a long-running pre-order which seemingly was never going to be delivered, and resultantly purchased some Enforcer and Annihilator reinforcements from a different webstore. Incredibly, no sooner had I received these gun-totting extra personnel than I was informed that my long-awaited pre-order had miraculously been posted.

I have though wasted absolutely no time in trying to get these extra soldiers assembled, based, primed and painted. Indeed, I have already completed all three of the recently arrived Paladin Enforcers which make up my second infantry squad, and am currently working on the first of six 'rapid-fire harbinger cannon-carrying' heavy support figures.

March 2021 - "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" sculpts have dominated the month

Progress wise, the past thirty-one days have resulted in an incredible amount of fully-finished miniatures, many of which are still sat waiting in the wings to actually be posted. Indeed, despite only hitting a fairly 'middle of the road' tally for March as far as this website's articles are concerned, on paper I actually managed to equal my highest pigmentation output since my records began a little over seven years ago.

A lot of this success has been due to my high interest in the "Supers Unlimited" range of heroes and villains by "Kitbash Games". But I am equally indebted to "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" for their latest successful Kickstarter, Lurkers From The Deep, which has galvanised me into working my way through some of their model range in anticipation of receiving my pledge's modestly-numbered rewards in two months' time...