Star Trek: The Motion Picture – “Citadel Miniatures”

"Citadel Miniatures" WIPs - A Security Guard, Captain Kirk and Mister Sulu

One of the best things about the wargaming hobby is undoubtedly the generosity of some of its members, and their beautiful benevolence in bestowing gifts upon their fellow gamers. One such fellow is my Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge comrade-in-arms, Iain White, who just this week sent me an extremely well-received box of miniatures from the early Eighties.

I plan to leave my review of its two well-cared for boxes of officially approved 15mm figures for “Traveller” for another day, and focus this posting’s attention upon the fantastic array of old “Citadel” Star Trek models my present contained. These truly are something of a holy grail for me, as they’re based upon the original U.S.S. Enterprise’s bridge crew during Robert Wise’s 1979 American science fiction film “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”, and were released over forty years ago in early 1980.

"Citadel Miniatures" WIPs - A repositioned Mister Sulu, a Security Guard and an Enterprise Crew member

The Paramount Pictures Corporation licenced 25mm figures were sold in twenty-four pairs, including both the central characters from the Constitution-class starship’s bridge, and a “multitude of background aliens seen in the feature [film].” Iain’s box did contain a few Vulcans and Klingons, but I thought I’d tackle Admiral Kirk and his crew first and foremost, as at least one of the Qo'noS-born warriors requires some conversion work before being pigmented.

To be honest, time has not been terribly kind to these “white-metal” models, as many of them have the remains of an all-blue uniform painted on them, which seems strangely reminiscent of the Federation attire worn in “Star Trek: Enterprise” than Robert Fletcher’s somewhat monochrome two-piece tunics. In addition, the actual detail on the sculpts is incredibly soft, almost as if they’ve been worn smooth by over-handling and Father Time himself. They’re certainly nowhere near the crispness of the castings which were advertised way back in Issue Eighteen of “White Dwarf” by “Games Workshop”.

"Citadel Miniatures" WIPs - Captain Kirk, Lieutenant Uhura and Lieutenant Ilia

I had initially considered simply throwing the miniatures into a bath of detergent or some such in an effort to remove the remnants of their former paint-jobs. However, I’m really a little unsure as to just what impact such a dunking would have upon such old metal figures, especially as those which have suffered the odd hard impact during their lives would appear to be a little crumbly in places.

As a result I’m planning to treat the models as simply being pre-primed, and use both some watered-down layers and shades to bring out what detail remains on them. In addition, I don’t actually have all the Bridge Crew characters, so intend to use some of the duplicates for Spock and McCoy, whilst utilising some of the alternative casts of Admiral Kirk for the likes of Captain Willard Decker…

“The Valkyrie Was Originally Planned For Use By The Star League Defence Force.”

“But production of the BattleMech did not begin until 2787, after the fall of the Star League."

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Valkyrie is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Marauder, Archer, and Stinger in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Command Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Focke-Wulf class German War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly blue-grey palette.

Resultantly, the 33mm tall figure was initially primed using two layers of “Vallejo” Luftwaffe Uniform WWII and shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil. It was then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Luftwaffe Uniform WWII with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its tiny windows ‘picked out’ with a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"Battletech" WIPs - A Shadow Cat and Adder Prime are being painted as British War Walkers

In order to add a bit of interest to “the standard light Mech of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns” I decided to apply a coat of “Vallejo” Gunmetal to its right gun-arm, chest-housed missile system, arm joints, rear rocker launcher and calf-mounted dual jets and later treat these areas to a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I also pulled out a German cross and some numerals from my collection of “Decal Details” and managed to squeeze them onto two flat pieces of armour plating on the sculpt's legs.

I did consider whether to add a swastika transfer to the model too, but ultimately decided against this as I intend to make the origins of my Third Reich war walkers’ manufacturing quite distinctive from one another for my games. In my Weird War Two campaign this particular Mech has been designed, developed, built and is being used by the German Air Force, whereas some of the other machines will belong to either the Wehrmacht or Waffen-SS, and it’ll be the latter military branch’s ‘Bots who’ll be adorned with the controversial emblem.

"Rocket Pig Games" WIPs - This Fungal Giant is slowly having its fungi picked out

In addition to my Axis forces, I have made some more progress on the Shadow Cat “Battletech” model I aim to paint up as a British Hawker-class War Walker. My intention is to get both this medium-sized mech and a similarly-sized French-flavoured one finished, and throw them into a battle against three smaller Axis machines to test out my homebrew rule-set. I have though, added a recently purchased Adder Prime model to my painting queue, in the hopes of providing the British with an additional attacking option during the early days of my Weird War Two campaign.

Lastly, I am desperately trying not to get overwhelmed with too many new projects, and persevere with a number of “Rocket Pig Games” resin figures 3D printed by "FullyCycled". This Fungal Giant should have been a fairly straightforward subject, but my enthusiasm for it was somewhat wilted upon its arrival when I saw that the 40mm scale model was disappointingly only 38mm in height…

“Bow Down Before My Majesty…”

“…And feel my flame!”

This 28mm scale resin model of Immolator is manufactured by "Kitbash Games", and was produced as part of the company's highly successful "Supers Unlimited" Miniatures "Kickstarter" in August 2019. “Banished from the Krellan Empire by order of her mother, the Grand Majestrix Immah’lashan XXII”, I actually plan on using the alien princess’ sculpt as an American super-hero known as Mistress Mississippi for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules.

Having securely attached Immah’latar onto a 28mm lipped base, I initially primed the figure with two layers of "Vallejo" White, shaded the miniature with “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green and dry-brushed her with (more) “Vallejo” White. This technique gave the model the appearance of being some sort of spectral ghost, and for quite a while I was actually contemplating leaving her at that.

"Stay where you are."

However, I eventually decided that such an effect would probably contrast better if the treacherous royal herself was properly pigmented, so applied a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Green” and “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green to her thigh-length boots, gloves and costume. In addition, I steered far away from the yellow-flesh of the Immolator’s ‘official’ palette, and instead went with “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.

I did consider going with some sort of green effect for the character’s long, flowing hair. But ultimately decided upon my fairly generic recipe of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, a dry-brush of “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal, and a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Finally, I dotted Immah’latar’s eyes with a couple of dabs of “Vallejo” White and then treated them to some dollops of Fluorescent Green.

"Battletech" WIPs - This Shadow Cat has been primed, washed and dry-brushed

Alongside my latest Super-hero, I have also finished the last of my 28mm Federated Security Mutaints originally produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”. This figure will form a six-woman formation which will accompany Space Commander Travis during my “Blake’s Seven” campaign, and nowadays is available from "Beast In The Broch" - along with many other 'dead-ringers' from the BBC science fiction television series.

Lastly, I’ve managed to get cracking on a Shadow Cat “Battletech” model I aim to paint up as a British Hawker-class medium War Walker. I’m really enjoying working on these pre-built 6mm scale (1:285) models by “Catalyst Games Labs”, and soon hope to have enough finished for an initial play-through of my home-brew Weird War Two rules…

“The Stinger Was A Light BattleMech…”

“…Built in 2479 as a direct competitor to the Wasp.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Stinger is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Marauder, Archer, and Valkyrie in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Command Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Curtiss-class American War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly dark yellowish-green palette.

Resultantly, the 32mm tall figure was initially primed using two layers of “Vallejo” US Olive Drab and shaded in “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. It was then carefully dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” US Olive Drab with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its windows ‘picked out’ with a little “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"We exist only to serve."

In order to add a bit of contrast to “the second-ever mass-produced recon 'Mech” I applied a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil to the vehicle’s head antenna and gun-arm. I also stuck an American Star and Stripes transfer by “Decal Details” onto both of the machine’s shoulder-pads.

Alongside my second (6mm) "Battletech" Mech, I have also finished working on the first of two 28mm Federated Security Mutaints originally produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”. This figure will form a six-woman formation which will accompany Space Commander Travis during my “Blake’s Seven” campaign, and nowadays is actually available from "Beast In The Broch" - along with many other 'dead-ringers' from the BBC science fiction television series.

"The Ion Age" WIPs - These three 15mm Retained Knights have been primed "Vallejo" Heavy Red

Lastly, I’m making some progress with this month’s somewhat sizeable entry for the “Forgotten Heroes” challenge over on the “Carrion Crow’s Buffet” website. The main thrust of this submission admittedly revolves around a (converted) Retained Knight and Noble of Prydia taken from “Alternative Armies” 28mm “The Ion Age” range.

However, I also plan to complete a few stands of the manufacturer’s 15mm Retained Knights range, which will be pigmented to (hopefully) represent the Blood Angels Adeptus Astartes from the Horus Heresy. Ideally, I’d like to get sixteen of the armoured followers of Sanguinius finished before the month is out, and then turn my attention to perhaps getting a brush-tip on a few of Horus Lupercal’s forces too…

Resin Miniatures Seconds Box - “We Print Miniatures”

Resin Miniatures Seconds Box - Filled with an assortment of figures and 'bitz'.

Recently I spotted an advertisement from “We Print Miniatures” stating they were now selling their Resin Miniatures Seconds Box at a 60% discount for just £20. This box was described as containing “a random selection of faulty or imperfect miniatures from our range” where each of the miniature’s 3D printing went a “little wrong” so were “maybe missing a foot or a head or something more drastic.”

As I’ve become increasingly interested in this new method of manufacturing models, and been very impressed with the figures “We Print Miniatures” have in their different ranges, I thought purchasing a box would probably be worth it. After all, at the very worst I expected to be sent a selection of damaged models which I could at least hopefully use as dilapidated statues for my “Frostgrave” or some generic fantasy-based tabletop.

Some Shark/Lizard Space Helmets, Twelve Cat Warriors and a one-footed Scholar

Upon its arrival I must confess my first impressions were a little tepid due to the lack of size of the actual box. Measuring approximately 17cm x 11cm, and only being 2.5cm deep, I was somewhat concerned as to just how much it could contain. Yet upon opening it up, I did feel that the company had tried to live up to their hype of it being “crammed with as many of our failures as possible.” In addition, it clearly contained a number of weapons, heads and other hand-held items which I wasn’t expecting.

I therefore started sorting out the figures in an effort to establish which ones could actually be used as gaming pieces with a little tender loving care, and which miniatures would be condemned to becoming either statues or just spare parts. One model I was especially delighted to spy was Billy the Bone; a skeletal pirate captain who was clearly missing his pistol arm. This excellent sculpt ordinarily retails for £10 from “We Print Miniatures”, and frankly, despite his limb loss, I’m planning to just paint him up as is.

What did both surprise and disappoint me though was the sheer number of failed prints I received of a female cat warrior. I was entirely prepared to receive two or three ‘castings’ of the self-same sculpt, as I did for both the aforementioned Billy the Bone and some sort of Dwarf Librarian/Mage. But I certainly wasn’t anticipating twelve of this particular feline figure; whose biggest fault seems to have been the printer’s inability to finish the final few strands of rope she is carrying in her right hand.

Billy the Bone, an assortment of sci-fi weapons/tools, and one of three Dwarf Librarian/Mages

Of course, I should be able to 'save' a fair few of these Bast-headed models by replacing the broken appendage with either a hand-weapon or, in some cases, a foot taken from one of the numerous plastic “Frostgrave” sprues produced by “North Star Military Figures”. However, I do get the distinct impression that someone simply ‘bunged in’ a dozen just to fill up my box without too much rhythm or reason, rather than believing a gamer could somehow turn them into a nice-looking Egyptian-themed unit with a bit of drilling/pinning, or use them for other conversion projects.

Perhaps this deal’s biggest asset though, was found amidst all the predominantly science-fiction based ‘bitz’ and consisted of eight Shark/Lizard helmet heads. These are just awesome, and will soon be put to use on either some extra-terrestrial “Stargrave” crew members, or perhaps even a semi-small squad of Carcharodon Space Marines for “Warhammer 40K”...

“A Fast And Manoeuvrable Recon BattleMech.”

“The Wasp was revolutionary for being the first Mech capable of jumping..”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Wasp is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Warhammer, Rifeman, and Phoenix Hawk in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Battle Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Dacha-class Soviet War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly green palette.

As a result, the 32mm tall figure was initially primed using two layers of “Vallejo” Russian Uniform WWII and shaded in “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green. It was then carefully dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Russian Uniform WWII with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its windows ‘picked out’ with a little “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"The Ion Age" WIPs - A (converted) Retained Knight and Noble of Prydia 

In order to add a bit of interest to “one of the most numerous 'Mechs in existence” I decided to apply a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Red and “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson to the vehicle’s left fist. I also gave the long-barrelled weapon on its gun-arm a coat of “Vallejo” Gunmetal, and washed this area with “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Finally, I decided to search through my collection of “Decal Details” and apply four Russian Stars to the machine’s shoulder-pads and outer thighs. These transfers are specifically designed for 1/285 air or 15mm armour, but I still struggled to find a sufficiently large flat surface on the Wasp to apply them without a lot patience and precision.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - These two Mutaints have been base layered

Following on from the first (6mm) “Battletech” figure I’ve ever painted, I have been cracking on with the first two 28mm models I plan to submit for this month’s “Forgotten Heroes” challenge over on the “Carrion Crow’s Buffet” website. This (converted) Retained Knight and Noble of Prydia will hopefully make some quite reasonable-looking proxies of Sanguinius and Horus Lupercal for a 15mm Horus Heresy project I’m slowly building using "The Ion Age" range by "Alternative Armies".

In addition, I’ve assembled the last pair of 28mm Federated Security Mutaints I own by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio”. These figures will form a six-woman formation which will accompany Space Commander Travis during my “Blake’s Seven” campaign, and are actually available these days from "Beast In The Broch" - along with many other 'dead-ringers' from the BBC science fiction television series.

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Forgotten Heroes" June 2021

"The Horus Heresy is a dark, far future military space opera."

Due to this month's effort to chisel away at my ‘elevation of inspiration’ being strongly influenced by the annual “Forgotten Heroes” challenge over on the “Carrion Crow’s Buffet” website, I will be chiefly focusing my hobby time upon a selection of 15mm figures from “The Ion Age” miniatures range by "Alternative Armies". However, rather than simply paint the human soldiers up in the colours of the Prydian Army, I’ll actually be turning them into suitable proxies with which to refight the famous Horus Heresy of Warhammer 40,000 lore.

As I’ve previously started just such a project in the past, I thought I’d initially crack on with an already partially-pigmented 28mm Noble of Prydia and a converted Retained Knight with an Octa Powered Sword. Despite the fact that the ratio between these Primarchs’ great size in comparison to the range’s 15mm knights is somewhat off, I thought the duo would still rather nicely replicate the dastardly traitor Horus Lupercal and the Emperor of Mankind’s eternally loyal Sanguinius respectively.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - Saruman is slowly having his detail 'picked out'

In addition, I hope to get a lick of “Vallejo” Heavy Red paint upon a handful of other figures from “The Ion Age” range so as to create a small contingent of Blood Angels, whilst doing something similar, potentially using Heavy Bluegrey with a "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green shade, for the Sons of Horus. I might even manage to stretch to the odd vehicle, battle-tank or armoured suit, as I have done previously when building a small force of Crimson Fist Adeptus Astartes and Imperial Guard.

Lastly, I still have a handful of models from “The Lord Of The Rings” by “Games Workshop” to finish off so as to complete my 500 point Isengard army for the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. All the figures are already half-complete, albeit my figure of the White Wizard, Saruman, will need some rework on his robes after the watered-down wash of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade proved far less successful in projecting a slightly grubby cloth than I had hoped.

May 2021 - "Games Workshop" elbow their way into my Top Five Manufacturers for the first time in years

The next few weeks should prove particularly productive due to my first foray into the wonderful world of 3D printed models, utilising “FullyCycled” services to manufacture me several sculpts taken from “Rocket Pig Games” brilliantly visualised fantasy range. Despite having had a few problems snapping off the wrong bit here and there whilst cleaning the disconcertingly brittle figures up, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying applying a brush to them, and have several more planned for the very near future.

Likewise, it would seem my enthusiasm for easily the hobby’s most recognisable brand has finally returned with something of a vengeance, so along with my partially-pigmented Uruk-Hai from J.R.R. Tolkien’s world, it may well be that a few more “Blood Bowl” players might be readied for a lick of varnish and static grass…