"Few Can Forget His Automated Argonauts..."

"...Marching up the steps of the British Museum."

This 28mm scale resin model of a Titan is produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought as SKU: MINI 93 Titan B (Standing) from their Villains and Monsters range. The kit comes in three parts, including two separate arms. However, as I wanted this particular robot to be carrying a sword and shield, I gave it the appropriate limbs from the company's marvellous Titan Weapon Arms (SKU: DEAL 85) instead.

Having assembled my 'infamous mechanical monster' with some copper wire, green-stuff, and super-glue, the large figure was primed using plenty of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, and later base-coated in Bronze. According to the "7TV" ruleset, this metallic minion is part of Doctor Ulysses Argo’s nefarious criminal arsenal. But, having already painted a pair of unarmed Titans last year, I decided to maintain the heavily-weathered palette I'd used on those - which was inspired by the "living giant bronze statue" seen in Don Chaffey’s 1963 film “Jason And The Argonauts”.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - This Titan has been weathered with “Citadel” Nihilakh Oxide

Resultantly, the miniature was shaded using plenty of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade, before being dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Bronze. Finally, I applied various amounts of “Citadel” Nihilakh Oxide in between its numerous joints and ridges. These areas were later roughly blended back in with the rest of the fearsome figure using a (third) dry-brush of “Vallejo” Bronze. I also considered 'picking out' the robot's sword blade (and potentially round shield) in a steel-colour. However, I liked the notion of the grim-faced golem appearing to be a metal sculpture which had simply sprung to life.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I have also made some significant progress on a second Titan I have found in my dust-covered backlog. This model is armed with a gladiator-like trident/net combination, and should soon be fully-pigmented in the same well-weathered fashion. Disconcertingly though, I do appear to have bought a third model, presumably equipped with hammer and shield. But having had a good rummage around my more accessible storage areas, I've failed to find hide nor hair of the blessed sculpt.

"Wargames Atlantic" WIPs - These Vlad Dracul figures are slowly having their details 'picked out'

Alongside my somewhat sudden foray into my pile of potential by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio", I have also busied myself working on some more Vlad Dracul miniatures produced by "Wargames Atlantic". Produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer, I'm currently toying with the notion of somehow using these multi-piece kits as a Transylvanian force for some Weird War One wargaming - probably as an ally of the German Kaiser.

For now though, I've just been having some fun following actor Gary Oldman's blood-soaked shenanigans as the vampire in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 horror film "Bram Stoker's Dracula" - even if the actor's spear-head didn't snap off in the movie like mine did whilst priming the fellow. The manufacturer is currently producing an awful lot of STL (Standard Triangle Language) files to supplement their plastic Great War range, so I anticipate having many more of their figures on my painting table come the start of the new year...

"Larger And Fiercer Than Ordinary Wolves..."

"...They have been trained in warfare tactics and enable Orr’ug archers to shoot arrows with precision."

This 28mm scale Orr'ugs Wolf is produced by "Artisan Guild" and can be downloaded for free as part of a multi-piece set of STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from their "Patreon" subscription service, or alternatively bought via "MyMiniFactory" as part of the company's Nomad Orr'ugs range. The second of four different poses available, this impressive thick-coated steppe wolf is 83mm from nose to tail, and was produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer.

Permanently attached to a "Citadel" 50mm plastic circular base, the miniature was undercoated using a couple of layers of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, before being treated to some random applications of Sombre Grey and German Grey. The fearsome beast was then drowned in "Citadel" Nuln Oil and had all its detail 'brought back to life' via a simple make-up brush loaded with "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, Sombre Grey or German Grey.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - This Titan is slowly being weathered

To better blend the different coloured areas together, I also took the time to allow the "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey to slightly 'snag' the edges of the animal's Sombre Grey hide, and likewise let the Sombre Grey dry-brush occasionally drift over the German Grey areas too. Finally, I 'picked out' the beast's eyes using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, and dabbed White Star by "Two Thin Coats" over all its teeth and claws. These parts were later dirtied up with a splodge or five of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

With my latest Orr'ugs Wolf finished, I've continued to busy myself with a number of 28mm scale figures produced by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". Some of these models, such as two partially-pigmented resin Titans, have rather embarrassingly been sat on my hobby desk for more months (if not years) than I care to remember. But have suddenly re-caught my imagination enough to warrant a serious dusting down with a make-up brush.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Four more 28mm metal figures primed for the AHPC

I actually finished a pair of these 45mm high "bronze behemoths" way back in March 2022, along with their even larger 'boss' Talos. However, despite buying two more of the miniatures, along with some separate Weapon Arms, I never got around to getting them tabletop ready until now. Resultantly, the giant robots have been cleaned-up, dry-brushed in "Vallejo" Bronze and weathered with “Citadel” Nihilakh Oxide. Once completed I fully intend to search out my mechanical Argonauts, and possibly bring an end to a project which has disappointingly sat dormant for many a moon.

In addition, I have also continued to prepare more of the Lincolnshire-based manufacturer's models for the annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC). These figures are a mixture of old and new sculpts, and cover a range of genres like "Doctor Who", "Flash Gordon" and Martial Artists. I'm really hoping to get a good portion of this backlog done over the next three months - albeit for now, all of them have simply been based and primed ready for the AHPC's start on the 21st December...

"All Quarks Report To Flying Saucer."

"All Quarks R-E-P-O-R-T!"

These three 28mm scale metal models are produced by “Black Tree Design" and can be purchased as Code DW211 Quark from the Penzance-based company’s "Doctor Who" miniatures range. Described as being "able to use their guns to kill directly, stun, electrocute, communicate and to power up objects", the robots made their first appearance in Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln's August 1968 BBC Black & White Television story "The Dominators".

Originally, I did contemplate pigmenting this trio of automatons a little differently to the pair I've previously put a brush-tip to, so as to mark them out as the brutal rebel Quarks who would break away from their Dominator masters and attempt to invade the Earth in 1968 (as per the "TV Comic" story "Invasion of the Quarks"). However, as they were already well on their way to completion, following an unsuccessful attempt to get them on the tabletop last year, I eventually decided to stick with the predominantly silver colour scheme I had previously used.

"Black Tree Design" WIPs - Two of the seven Robo-Men primed in preparation for the AHPC

Resultantly, each figure was pulled from one of my many hobby drawers, dusted down, and checked for any chips or other signs of wear or tear I might need to 'touch up'. The miniatures had previously (probably) been primed using "Vallejo" Black Surface Primer and then given a coat or two of “Citadel” Ironbreaker. They had all also been shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) Ironbreaker to help bring out the rather soft-looking detail on their rough casts.

To better tie them in with their two predecessors I used some "Citadel Nuln Oil" to both darken down their internal areas around each sculpt's folding arms, and 'cover' the odd smidgeon of "Vallejo" Gunmetal I applied to 'mask' any unsightly dinks or paint splatters - which they'd presumably received whilst stood in my painting queue at some point. In order to tie this all together, I also gave their rectangular bodies a delicate dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Gunmetal.

"Black Tree Design" WIP - One of four identical Silurian sculpts re-undercoated for the AHPC

The tiny rectangular areas beneath the Quarks' sensory hemispheres were 'picked out' using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Whilst I used some "Scalecolor" Speed Metal for each robots' sensors for “detecting changes in heat, light and motion”. These triangles were later shaded with “Citadel” Nuln Oil and lightly dabbed with (more) "Scalecolor" Speed Metal so as to imply tiny nodules on each area. Finally, I painted the models' directional crystal beam transmitters "Vallejo" White, washed them with "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed them with (more) "Vallejo" White, so they would look a little crystalline.

With these somewhat diminutively-sized figures finished, I have additionally 'hooked out' seven "Black Tree Design" Robo-Men and a quartet of Silurians from the same drawer. The Daleks' "wholly obedient slaves" come in two similar poses, and were immediately earmarked for the upcoming Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC). As for the reptilian humanoids, these had previously been primed and shaded, so I did briefly consider working on them now. However, all four miniatures had areas where their metal surface was once again showing though, so I've simply re-undercoated them in "Vallejo" Heavy Brown and set them aside for the AHPC too...

"The Mighty, Thick-Coated Steppe Wolves..."

"...Have been inseparable hunting companions of the Orr’ug tribes since time immemorial."

This 28mm scale Orr'ugs Wolf is produced by "Artisan Guild" and can be downloaded for free as part of a multi-piece set of STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from their "Patreon" subscription service. One of four different poses, this impressive specimen of Canis lupus is 80mm from nose to tail, and was produced using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer.

Initially superglued onto a "Citadel" 50mm plastic circular base, the miniature was primed using some "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, before being sporadically splodged with Sombre Grey and German Grey. The furry brute was then drenched in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and had all its incredible detail highlighted using a make-up brush appropriately packed with plenty of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, Sombre Grey and German Grey.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - Iceman, Cyclops and Colossus have all been primed

I did at this stage also attempt to blend the different coloured areas together by allowing the "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey to 'catch' the edges of the wolf's predominantly Sombre Grey areas, and likewise letting the Sombre Grey dry-brush drift over the German Grey parts. Lastly, I 'picked out' the beast's eyes using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, and patiently applied some White Star by "Two Thin Coats" to all its teeth and claws. These were later dirtied up with a dousing of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

Having finished with my first Orr'ugs Wolf, I've found some time to undercoat a handful more of the plastic models found inside the "Marvel Zombies: X-Men Resistance" expansion set for Zombicide. These marvellous “CoolMiniOrNot” figures feature three of my favourite mutant super-heroes, and are hopefully the start of a determined effort to pigment my way through the entire "cooperative board game" over the next twelve months.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Girl Saturday and three Temporal Travellers

Finally, I have received and immediately based a quartet of "Doctor Who" flavoured 28mm metal figures made by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". Girl Saturday and Temporal Travellers Four, Fourteen and Fifteen are probably destined to wait until the annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) has started towards the end of December. However, I may not be able to resist the temptation to paint at least one of them in honour of the science fiction television series' sixtieth anniversary.

Surprisingly, my brush-tip hasn't touched many of the Lincolnshire-based manufacturer's miniatures during this year. But considering just how many of their X-Commandos, Mounted Simians, Claws Of Shiva and Lizard Nazi Soldiers I'm currently dusting down, I reckon a fair few will now be headed for the tabletop over the next sixteen or so weeks...

"I Was An Instrument Of The Service."

"So if I'm guilty of murder, of mass murder, then so are all of you!"

This 28mm scale Federated Security Command figure was sold by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio". But is now available as SKU: FED02 Psychotic Renegade from "Beast In The Broch". The sculpt is clearly inspired by actor Brian Croucher's vicious incarnation of Space Commander Travis, during the second season of the BBC science fiction television series “Blake’s Seven”.

The miniature was initially undercoated using a mixture of "Vallejo" Surface Primer Black and "Warlord Games" Pitch Black. It was then roughly dry-brushed with “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal, before being drowned in "Citadel" Nuln Oil. To slightly break up this incredibly dark colour scheme though, I subsequently applied some "Citadel" Abaddon Black to the model's boots, cybernetic eye-patch and belt.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Four Uranian Royal Guards primed with "Vallejo" Heavy Red

In addition I 'picked out' flesh of the "career officer in the Federation military" with a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, splodged his hand-blaster with a dollop of "Two Thin Coats" Skulker Yellow and carefully traced out the soldier's chest insignia using a line of "Vallejo" Gunmetal. Lastly, Travis' hair was given a layer of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and darkened with a liberal wash of (more) “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Sticking with both "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" and classic sci-fi, I have dug out the four figures which make up the Lincolnshire-based company's Uranian Royal Guard for the upcoming Fourteenth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC). This quartet were one of several 'add ons' unlocked during the March 2022 "Rick Rhodes And The Pirates of Luna City" Kickstarter, and will hopefully be the start of a focused push to get as many of my rewards painted from that campaign as possible over the next few months.

"The Lord Of The Rings" WIPs - Three Black Numenoreans undercoated with "Vallejo" Surface Primer Black

Heavily influenced by both Mike Hodges' 1980 movie "Flash Gordon" and Universal Pictures' 1936 superhero serial film, this project is doubtless going to cause me to get neck-deep assembling an (Arborian) Marsh Beast, a horde of Mechanical Men, a Uranian Death Ray and even a huge resin Rocket Ship. Plus I aim to 'field' plenty of Forest Fighters, Uranian Troopers, Otherworldly Guards, lion-headed Shieldmasters and Alien Legionnaries if time (and enthusiasm) allows.

Furthermore, I've continued basing more of the twelve Black Numenoreans from "The Lord Of The Rings", which I recently purchased from "eBay". Despite first appearances, these 28mm 3D printed 'cruel oppressors over the more primitive Men of Middle-Earth' are not officially licenced figures for the "Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game" by "Games Workshop". But should still serve as suitable-looking proxies for the "fallen group of Númenóreans" in my Barad-Dur army...

3D Printing - Replacing The Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) Sheet

My twelve-month old FEP film is badly scratched, scuffed and starting to crack

Recently I've noticed that the number of failures with my trusty Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer have started to increase. In my experience during the past twelve months, this issue usually boils down to the "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin getting too cold (during late night sessions), the build plate being unlevel/overloaded (preventing the resin from flowing into the gaps between each exposure), or the models having insufficient supports.

The underside of my Resin Tank showing the wear and tear upon my FEP Sheet

However, the fact I was simply getting shapeless splodges where my miniatures should have been, especially when the figures were positioned close to the centre of my build plate, made me think it was probably down to my Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) Sheet finally 'giving up the ghost'. This non-stick transparent film stretches across the bottom of a 3D Printer's resin tank, and needs to be scratch-free so as to best ensure successful prints. It's replacement is arguably one of the scariest pieces of maintenance a user must carry out, so I thought some might appreciate a guide as to how I do it.

To begin with I simply wanted to ensure my current FEP sheet was as clean as possible so I could visually check it over for faults. To do this I used the Mars 3 Pro tank clean function to create a thin film of cured resin on the bottom of my resin tank and then simply peeled it off. This operation not only showed that the FEP was so badly scratched in places that they had created non-transparent, smudge-covered areas. But that the plastic was actually cracking in places too. These faults didn't come as much of a surprise though, as it's probably been close to a year since I last changed it - having really struggled to complete the task the first time round.

My Resin Vat with its four large corner screws removed

With my mind made up I unfastened my resin vat and set about freeing the FEP film from its bottom by removing the four large screws which sit in the rectangular-shaped tank's corners. I currently use a sheet from the "Elegoo" Five Piece Release Liner Film PFA for the Mars Series LCD 3D Printer as it can supposedly last up to "50% longer than the regular version of release film." I don't know about that, but this last piece has been merrily mullered over the last twelve months without too many woes so definitely has stood the test of time.

My Resin Vat with its ten medium-sized screws removed

I also utilise a set of hex screwdrivers by "Engineer", which come in the required sizes of 2mm, 2.5mm and 3mm. In addition, the kit contains a useful 1.5mm head too, which is great for piercing the new FEP whenever a screw struggles to penetrate its surface. These are so much better than the Allen keys which come with the 3D printer, and make disassembling/reassembling the resin vat so much easier - albeit I do like to still use the Allen Keys at the end to really tighten up screws.

With the four main screws sorted, it's time to remove the ten (slightly smaller) screws which fix the squash in place. This should then allow you to completely remove the FEP sheet and its two-piece metal frame from the bottom of the resin tank, before tackling the fourteen (even smaller) screws keeping the structure together. Once this has been completed you can now separate the film from its mounting and replace it with a fresh one.

My FEP Film after I've removed the fourteen small screws and separated the Squash.

Peel the protective film off of the new FEP sheet and place it over the squash allowing a little 'give' in the tension. This 'give' has caused some considerable consternation in the past as "Elegoo" themselves recommend deploying a 50x35x5mm piece of foam underneath the FEP film - a clearly useful item which doesn't come supplied with the 3D printer. I however, simply use 32 playing cards as my spacer, having picked up the tip from a fellow hobbyist. Whatever you use, ensure the FEP sheet is carefully placed between the two-piece metal frame and fasten the smallest screws back in position.

My new FEP Sheet being screwed in place over my 'spacer' and then cut to size

This is where the aforementioned 1.5mm hex head I bought can come in useful, as you're twisting the screws straight through the FEP film - something which is almost impossible to accomplish if you're just using the Allen keys supplied. So whenever I struggle, I just pop the 1.5mm hex head through the hole first and then fasten the screw. With the fourteen screws now in place, it's time to carefully trim the excess FEP sheet flat against the frame with a sharp modelling knife.

Next up is to attach the entire squash back to the bottom of the resin tank using the ten medium-sized screws. This is probably the most dangerous part of the process as sometimes I find the screwdriver can occasionally fail to push the screw straight through the FEP and resultantly its head will flail towards the pristinely taut sheet threatening to pierce or badly scratch it before you've even printed a single miniature. This part does produce a highly satisfying popping sound though, whenever a screw successfully penetrates the sheet. Lastly, fix the four corner screws back in position and the resin tank is once again fully assembled and ready to be filled for 3D printing.

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge” December 2023

"There are fixed points throughout time where things must stay exactly the way they are."

This month's increasingly desperate drive to 'whittle away' at my bloated backlog was originally going to see me start a sixteen week 'purge' of any half-finished or simply 3D printed miniatures surrounding my hobby space.  However, having been kindly contacted by Curt Campbell, I have decided to significantly change this plan and join the Fourteenth Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) instead.

Luckily the event doesn't actually begin until the first day of Winter (December 21st), so I intend to spend the intervening period busily 'priming up' enough models to successfully complete my usual 500-point target - albeit I do intend to significantly lessen this burden by gaining bonus points throughout the event's various themed challenges. In addition, I also aim to begin completing a number of the aforementioned 'nearly-done' figures and vehicles I have already set aside for my own personal Partially-Painted project, predominantly focusing upon a number of miniatures by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio".

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Three Sci-Fi figures at various stages of completion

An embarrassingly large number of these models have sat gathering dust within my storage drawers for far too long, and should 'close some gaps' in a few of my tabletop ready collections. First up are the two Federated Security Command models I recently re-primed, shaded and dry-brushed after a seven and a half year delay. I'm hoping this pair of "Blake's Seven" influenced villains will be pretty straightforward, even if I have decided to apply a predominantly red colour scheme to the Supreme Commander figure - having already used Servalan's more usual all-white palette on the range's Classic FedSec sculpt some time ago.

To mix things up though, I've now added one of the Lincolnshire-based company's 28mm metal science fiction Heroes to the queue, who was perhaps unsurprisingly Out Of Production (OOP) for quite a while whilst "Warlord Games" owned the official licence for "The Doctor Who Miniatures Game". Like the Psychotic Renegade and his evil mistress, this silver-haired time traveller's initial undercoat had become somewhat chipped over time, so he has received a "Citadel" Abaddon Black 'touch-up', before having his smoking jacket base-layered in "Vallejo" Heavy Red.

November 2023 - Little movement amongst my Top Five Manufacturers of the year

Despite getting many a model ready for the battlefield over the last thirty days, I must confess to being a little disappointed in my overall output. This was perhaps somewhat due to so many figures stemming from the Napoleonic range of "Wargames Foundry" and resultantly requiring some considerable time to fully complete. I did intend to off-set this 'burden' with some much more straightforward 3D prints, such as a giant Laputian Robot by "Big Mr Tong" and Vlad Dracul by "Wargames Atlantic". But clearly such 'quick' paint-jobs were not enough.

Furthermore, towards the end of November I became rather distracted by the plastic 32mm miniatures found inside the "Marvel Zombies" starter sets for Zombicide. Of particular note was the cooperative board game's undead Hulk sculpt, which took an incredible amount of patience to pigment - especially after a varnishing mishap meant the large figure required some significant touch-ups. I am admittedly hoping to get some more completed before the New Year kicks in. However, I doubt I'll be willingly tackling any models quite so formidable to put a brush-tip too...