"Now, That Really Is The End Of The Cybermen, Isn't It?"

"I shall leave you to the Cybermen. I'm sure they'll have some use for you."

These five 36mm tall metal Cybermen miniatures are sold by “Warlord Games” and can be found inside the Nottingham-based company's "The Tomb of the Cybermen" expansion set for the "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" miniatures game; albeit the box only contains four basic Cybermen figures. Sculpted to closely resemble the likes of heavily costumed actors Hans de Vries, Tony Harwood, John Hogan, Richard Kerley, Ronald Lee, Charles Pemberton, Kenneth Seeger, Reg Whitehead, these Cybermen first appeared in the 1967 television story "The Tomb Of The Cybermen", when the "small army" of silver giants were awoken from their long hibernation by the Brotherhood of Logicians on the planet Telos.

Having previously painted this particular incarnation of the "the fictional race of cyborgs" from the "Nightmares In Silver" Cybermen Collector's Set 1966-2013, I initially undercoated all five figures with just a single coat of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before applying a double layer of Ironbreaker over them. The models were then washed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) Ironbreaker.

"The energy levels are low. We will survive. You will help us. You will help us."

I then spent some considerable time trying to make the Cybermen's eyes and mouth-slit stand out from the rest of their emotionless faces. In the past this has proved somewhat easier said than done as I've always found these particular facial details a little too soft for my skill with a paint-brush, and sadly these five miniatures proved no exception to this rule.

Originally, I did try carefully 'picking out' these tiny areas with "Citadel" Abaddon Black and then pigmenting them with a combination of Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. But afterwards I was rather unhappy with how this approach looked so in the end returned to my 'tried and tested' method of simply painting the Cybermen's faces "Citadel" Ironbreaker, shading the areas with Nuln Oil, and finally 'highlighting' the eyes and mouth with a little touch more of Ironbreaker.

Sea Devil Overlord WIPs - The "Aquatic" leader has been primed, washed and dry-brushed

I did however, having done some additional research into the on-set costumes, only paint the silver giants' upper body-tubing with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, as opposed to all their piping as I did with my previously painted Cyberman. Lastly, each figures' chest-piece light was treated to a dollop of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and washed with some "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade.

With my Tomb Cybermen faction finished, at least for now, I have spent some time working on a single Sea Devil I plan to use as an instantly recognisable Overlord for some forthcoming battles against the Daleks. To my knowledge the "Aquatic Silurians" never wore green vests, but the colour is enough of a contrast to make the faction's "unique" leader stand out on the tabletop, without being too different to the rest of its amphibious brethren.

Doctor Who: Exterminate! Report: The Daleks Verses Sea Devils - Part Two

A REINFORCED SEA DEVIL RAIDING PARTY ATTACKS A DALEK PATROL ON THE BEACH 

"The story so far… It is the year 2164 A.D. and the Daleks have conquered the Earth. However, their invasion has awoken a contingent of Sea Devils from their undersea sleeping chambers. Determined to rid their world of this latest threat to their global domination the Sea Devils launch a huge attack from the sea against the nearest Dalek Metropolis..."

THE ORIGINAL TABLETOP - A BEACH ON EARTH

Doctor Who: Exterminate! Report: The Daleks Verses Sea Devils - Part One

The southernmost Dalek trundled past the Southern Outcrop towards Objective Six and its lucrative four Victory Points. The Dalek Leader headed south-east towards the location of the Sea Devil Overlord, and the lone drone by the North Outcrop moved east towards Objective Two. In response the Sea Devil Ancients hiding in the surf near Objective Six were joined by three Sea Devil reinforcements, whilst their Warlord ducked north behind the Central Outcrop. To the north two Sea Devils made their way towards the lone Dalek drone, readying their Hand Weapons for close combat.

With a harsh-sounding "Exterminate!" the Daleks opened fire upon the slow-approaching Sea Devils, with those drones who hadn't moved being able to utilise their disruptors at "Full Blast"; meaning they rolled eight unmodified dice to hit as opposed to the usual four. Resultantly, one of the Sea Devil Ancients and a member of the Sea Devil reinforcements both fell dead with a brief gurgle. The northernmost Dalek drone also managed to shock one of the Aquatic Silurians near him by Objective Two and then exterminated it courtesy of the Adventure Card "Upgrade: Maximum Extermination".

THE SEA DEVILS MOVE WESTWARDS FROM THE OCEAN TOWARDS THE DALEK FORCES

Suddenly faced with a surprising shift in fortune which had the Dalek faction leading 6-5 in Victory Points, the Sea Devils utilised the Adventure Card "Sonic Summoning" to "return up to three Exterminated Sea Devil Characters to the game." These emerged from the depths near the south-east corner of the ocean across from Objective Four. To the horror of the amphibious Earth reptiles' Overlord though, one of the few Daleks who hadn't yet fired made its way to Objective Three and revealed it to be worth 5 Victory Points. The Kaled Mutants now had a substantial lead on their prehistoric opponents.

Firing upon the Dalek approaching Objective Six, the Sea Devil Ancients would have felled their opponent if it hadn't played the Adventure Card "Escape Plan" in order "to ignore the Extermination result on one of your characters on a Damage roll." But that meant nothing could save the northernmost Dalek from being cut down by a "scientifically-advanced" Heat Ray, not even the expenditure of a Fate Token to force a re-roll on the damage table.

THE SEA DEVILS TRY TO ENGAGE THE DALEKS AS MORE REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE

With so much slaughter taking place the Daleks seemed to have a commanding position on the battlefield, so remained stationary in order to maximise their firepower. As the (second) group of Sea Devil reinforcements swam towards the shore, the rest of the "humanoid turtles" bravely marched inland, seeking shelter where they could find it. Unfortunately, there was never going to be enough of it, and within moments the two remaining Sea Devils making up the faction's initial reinforcements were dead, as would have been the sole surviving Ancient if not for the cost of a Fate Token. A disruptor blast from a drone near Objective Three also successfully caught the Sea Devil Overlord, and momentarily shocked the Aquatic Silurians' leader to the ground.

Facing defeat the Sea Devils 'exhausted' the Adventure Card "Terror From The Deep" so as to allow their freshly arrived three sonically summoned warriors to disappear beneath the ocean's waves and re-emerge in the Large Pool directly behind the Dalek Leader's position. All three Sea Devils fired at the black Dalek, but despite a number of hits and use of Fate Tokens the best result the amphibious Earth reptiles could achieve was to shock the Kaled mutant onto its side.

THE SEA DEVILS TAKE THE DALEKS BY SURPRISE AND LAUNCH A MASSIVE COUNTER-ATTACK

Desperate to fell the deadly pepperpots, the Sea Devils discarded the Adventure Card "Now We Are The Hunters" allowing them to charge five inches into melee as opposed to their usual two inches. Even across the debilitating sand, this gave the three westernmost Sea Devils distance enough to close with the Dalek Leader and one of his minions, and a tense series of close combat engagements ensued. Incredibly however, despite being shocked the black Dalek still managed to fend off its attackers, whilst the plesiosaur-like warriors failed to damage the drone either.

THE SEA DEVILS RETREAT AS THE DALEKS GLOAT OVER A RESOUNDING VICTORY

Eager to escape the Dalek disruptors, the Sea Devil reinforcements retreated back into the gloomy waters of the Large Pool, and exhausted "Terror From The Deep" again in order to reappear further away in the Small Pool. Sadly, the move wasn't enough to save two of the Sea Devils, as the Daleks swung their weapons upon their position and fired. Whilst the sole surviving Ancient was also gunned down leaving Objective Six totally unprotected. Despite there still being time left for a final turn, the Sea Devil Overlord decided to live to fight another day, and signalled for his remaining people to retreat. The Daleks had won the day...

"We Intend To Make This Planet Uninhabitable For Humans Beings. "

"We shall return to our base and wait in hibernation until the radiation has faded."

These six 28mm scale metal miniatures are manufactured by “Black Tree Design", and consist of Code DW308 Silurian and Code DW315 Silurian Attacking from their "Doctor Who" miniatures range. "Depicted as prehistoric and scientifically advanced sentient humanoids who predate the dawn of man", these "reptile-like humanoids" first appeared in Malcolm Hulke's January 1970 BBC Television story "Doctor Who And The Silurians".

All of the "three-eyed land-dwellers" were primed with "Vallejo" Heavy Brown, heavily washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Brown. They were then treated to some strategically-placed spots of "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green in and around their heads, necks and hands, before being given a second, lighter dry-brush of (even more) "Vallejo" Heavy Brown.

"Our leader is dead. I killed him. I am the leader now."

Their claws, which were somewhat difficult to 'pick out' at times due to some occasional miscasting in these areas, were given a coat of "Vallejo" White and subsequently washed with Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter". Lastly, their 'third eye' was spotted with "Vallejo" Heavy Red and later shaded with either a little "Citadel" Bloodletter or Carroburg Crimson, depending on which was closest to hand at the time.

Temporarily stepping away from my painting queue I have also managed to play a couple of games of "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" by "Warlord Games" at the LVL Up Gaming Store in Bournemouth. This independent venue has an impressively sized underground 'dungeon' packed with tables, scenery, rule-sets and enough snacks to sate even the hungriest of wargamers. In addition its street-level shop shelves are absolutely bursting with an incredibly diverse range of manufacturers, genres and miniatures, ranging from a mouth-watering array of "Games Workshop" products, through to "Heroclix", "Dungeons & Dragons", "Kings Of War" and "Infinity" models.

The Cyber-Leader and Dalek Commander meet head-on, as some Cybermats engage the sucker arm of a drone.

Game-wise I twice managed to watch my three Recruitment Card-strong Cyberman faction fall to the might of a Dalek force whilst playing repeatedly the scenario "A Meeting Of Metal". The Skaro mutants really are the master of the long-range Full Blast, which allows them to hurl eight unmodified dice at that foes per Shooting Phase in any turn where a drone doesn't move beforehand. This firepower is incredibly difficult to overcome without some cunning forethought and even a small 'screen' of Cybermats couldn't save my brave cyborg warriors from being badly whittled down in numbers before they could reach their well-armoured opponents.

Interestingly a number of the game's Adventure Cards came to the fore during these battles with the Dalek "Upgrade: No Mercy!" proving particularly potent as it allows "all fully operative Daleks" an incredibly destructive "additional Shooting sub-phase at the beginning of the Upkeep Phase." Admittedly, with hindsight I feel the card's term "fully operative" probably means only Daleks that aren't Shocked or carrying any Under Fire tokens, which would lessened its impact upon our scraps somewhat. For the Cybermen, I found "Request Reinforcements" to be quite useful to bring on another base of Cybermats when one had been destroyed. These fast-moving hunters arguably seemed little more than an annoyance to my opponent, but at least momentarily kept the Dalek disruptors away from my silver giants.

"Release The Myrka."

"The Myrka can deal with it."

This 46mm long metal miniature of a "genetically modified... unknown deep-sea creature" is produced by “Black Tree Design", and can be bought as Code DW509 Myrka from the manufacturer's "Doctor Who" miniatures range. "A large species of reptile used by the Silurians for heavy backup in times of war", the "bullet-resistant" beast which can attack using a powerful electrical charge first appeared in Johnny Byrne's January 1984 BBC Television story "Warriors Of The Deep".

The Myrka was first super-glued onto a "Citadel" 75x42mm oval base, primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Green, and drenched in Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter". The monster was then heavily dry-brushed using (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Green, so as to bring out the detail of its "strange kelp-like growths" under its chin and around its "rubbery" body, before subsequently being washed with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

"Age Of Sigmar WIPs" - The three Bloodletters just need their teeth and tongues to be shaded

After a second (and final) dry-brush of "Vallejo" Heavy Green, the Myrka's "wide, pale eyes" were 'picked out' using a combination of "Vallejo" White and Pale Grey. Lastly, the four-legged reptiles's base was gritted with sand, undercoated "Citadel" Abaddon Black, dry-brushed in Doombull Brown and Rakarth Flesh, then washed with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

Momentarily setting aside my month-long “Doctor Who” marathon, I have also found some considerable inspiration to press on with my Khorne war-host for “Age Of Sigmar”, courtesy of “Games Workshop” announcing the imminent release of a “brand new Blades of Khorne Battletome… along with some awesome new kits!” I’ve actually been pottering away to take my Bloodletter-based army core to 500 points over the past few weeks, and the news of some “expanded rules” for them has helped me make more progress on the final three figures I need to complete a twenty-strong infantry unit of Khorne’s Chosen.

Skulltaker WIP - The Lord of Skulls has had all his gold parts shaded and dry-brushed

In addition, my paint-brush has managed to finally get to grips with my Chaos force’s leader, the brutal herald Skulltaker, whose “particular hunger for the heads of heroes” means his miniature is absolutely covered in numerous skulls. Of course, as part of their “complete guide to fielding your very own army dedicated to the Blood God” “Games Workshop” have re-sculpted the Slayer Sword wielder as a multi-part hard plastic figure. But fortunately, I own the old “Finecast” version, which despite being made of resin is far more compactly posed than its successor and subsequently looks infinitely more painter-friendly.

The Lord Of Skulls is definitely getting a lot of love from its Nottingham-based creators currently, and I couldn’t help also pre-ordering the Blood God’s Judgements along with his new battletome and Skull Altar. These “Blood Blessings are Khornate equivalents of endless spells, summoned to battle by Slaughterpriests” and should quickly go to the top of my painting queue once they arrive within the next few days…

"I am Ultron-13!"

"I triumphed even in battle with Ultron-12, who tried to usurp my identity and my station."

This 28mm tall plastic “Wizkids” model of Ultron-13 is miniature number 216 from the "Marvel" Armour Wars "Heroclix" range, and depicts the robotic super-villain when he fought the West Coast Avengers at the end of 1990. "The first Marvel Comics character to wield the fictional metal alloy adamantium" Ultron made his first appearance in the July 1968 issue of "The Avengers".

Having removed the figure from its 'clicky-base', the Avengers' arch-nemesis was super-glued on to a 25mm circular stand, and undercoated using a layer of "Citadel" Abaddon Black in order to mask its decidedly substandard pre-paint job. He was then treated to a lick of Ironbreaker before being thoroughly shaded in Nuln Oil.

"You know the power an android can exert, Doctor. After your arms, they will remove your legs."

Following on from this I dry-brushed Ultron-13 with (more) "Citadel" Ironbreaker, and subsequently 'picked out' his small internal nuclear furnace using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and the "Citadel" glaze Bloodletter. As a final touch, I tried to tidy up the area around the homicidal robot's mouth and eyes with a thin line of "Citadel" Ironbreaker.

With the Ninth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge now entering its last thirty six hours, I have actually finished submitting all the miniatures I needed to complete in order to attain my annual target of 500 points. One such entry has been some additional Sharaz Jek Android figures by "Black Tree Design", which I needed to help defend Androzani Minor's  spectrox refinery against its twin planet's federal troops.

"Wizards Of The Coast" WIPs - The B2 Super Battle Droids have been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

These four 28mm figures can be bought as Code DW518, and were primed using two layers of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before being energetically dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal. The robots' clothing was doused in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, whilst their submachine guns were treated to a combination of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. Lastly, I applied two coats of watered-down "Vallejo" White onto their heads, shaded these areas with "Vallejo" Pale Grey, and then dry-brushed them with (more) White.

Sticking with science fiction-themed models I have also tapped back into the many, many marvellous miniatures Phil Curran generously gifted me with, and begun work on a quartet of Super Battle Droids by "Wizards Of The Coast". These pre-painted plastic "Star Wars" models are already close to completion, and given me ample opportunity to try out the pot of "Citadel" Leadbelcher I recently received inside one of my Warhammer 40,000: Conquest magazines.

"You Will Bring The Curse Of Aggedor Upon Us!"

"So, the spirit of Aggedor has risen again. The ancient curse of Peladon will be fulfilled."

This 28mm metal miniature of "the protector of the Peladonian king and the guardian of all of Peladon" is manufactured by “Black Tree Design", and can be bought as Code DW329 Aggedor from the company's "Doctor Who" miniatures range. Described as 'a large, powerful creature, like a bear with the head of a boar, the alien was played by actor Nick Hobbs in both the January 1972 BBC Television story "The Curse Of Peladon", as well as the March 1974 adventure, "The Monster of Peladon".

The "sacred symbol of Peladon" was initially primed with two coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, washed with copious amounts of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna. I then applied some "Citadel" Abaddon Black to the royal beast's paws, snout and forehead, before 'dotting' his tiny pig-like eyes with a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Bloodletter.

"Doctor Who" WIPs - A Monoid, Drathro and Monoid (II)

Later I 'picked out' Aggedor's numerous teeth, his tusks, claws and horn with "Vallejo" White, before generously shading them using some additional Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter". The mammal's base was gritted with sand, undercoated "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and then dry-brushed in Doombull Brown and Rakarth Flesh. As a final step the circular stand was washed with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, protected with a coat of PVA glue, and covered in static grass.

Sticking with "Black Tree Design" and their "Doctor Who" figures, I have made a start on a handful of Monoids from the March 1966 serial "The Ark". I actually recall painting a couple of these one-eyed humanoids back when the models were first released by "Harlequin Miniatures" for their "Doctor Who Invasion Earth" wargame, and at the time probably predominantly pigmented them using the likes of Bestial Brown from the "Citadel" Colour Monster Paint Set.

"Heroclix" WIPs - A Dire Wraith and Ultron Drone

However, having recently perused the appropriate issue of the Doctor Who Figurine Collection magazine by "Eaglemoss Collections", it would seem that current thinking is that the "dark and scaly" aliens with "mop-top hair" are actually green-skinned, so I have resultantly undercoated my Monoids using "Vallejo" Dark Green. In addition, I have managed to base and prime one of my favourite Sixth Doctor villains, Drathro; an L3 maintenance robot from the September 1986 four-parter "The Mysterious Planet".

Lastly, I have also managed to assemble an impressive number of Ultron drones and Dire Wraiths by "Wizkids" with which to bolster the forces of both the Avenger's robotic arch-nemesis and the Queen of Rom the Spaceknight's main opponents. All of these plastic "Heroclix" models are reasonably straightforward to paint, so should help me finally attain my target tally for the Ninth Analogue Hobbies Challenge before the event comes to an end in a few days time.

"Khorne Is The Chaos God Of Warfare, Battle And Bloodshed."

"For his followers, war is no means to riches, lands or glory..."

These three 28mm plastic multi-part models have been assembled from sprues found inside the "Start Collecting!" Daemons Of Khorne set produced by “Games Workshop”, and were all based upon "Citadel" 32mm round bases so as to fit in with the rest of my Blades of Khorne "Age Of Sigmar" warhost. Armed with their formidable-looking Hellblades, all of the "finely detailed plastic" have been assembled using the instructions found within their box; albeit I did eventually need to buy an additional slithering forked tongue after I dropped one whilst super-gluing a figure together and simply couldn't find where it had gone...

Having finished building the models, each of the Blood God’s Slaughter-kin was given a double undercoat of “Vallejo” Heavy Red, extravagantly washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Red. Following on from this basic stage I then turned my attention to their “jagged” hand-weapons and primed them all with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna before applying a double-layer of Gold over them.

"...War is an end in and of itself, a quest to spill blood and take skulls for their infernal lord."

These bright metallic swords were subsequently dulled down using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade and had their keen edges 'highlighted' with a thorough dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Gold. This process allowed me to then ‘tidy up’ any frustrating splashes of “Vallejo” Gold I had inadvertently deposited on their horns, hands, hooves, spines and sword hilts with a little “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

In addition I used this opportunity to gently blend these blackened areas in with the rest of the Bloodletters' red coloured limbs and head. To finish the daemons off, I carefully picked out their sharp teeth using a combination of “Vallejo” White and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade, and ‘spotted’ their eyes with a few dabs of “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre. Finally, I gave their tongues a base-coat of “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre and later drenched them in “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade.

"Doctor Who" WIPs - A Slyther, Scibus the Silurian, and the first of three Krotons

Stepping away from the Mortal Realms, I have also been slowly progressing more miniatures manufactured by "Black Tree Design" as part of their "Doctor Who" range. To begin with I have dug out and primed a Slyther; a creature native to Skaro which "were occasionally utilised by the Daleks to act as guards at their installations."

The bizarre-looking monster is actually described on the "Tardis Data Core" website as being black in colour, but bearing in mind it appeared during William Hartnell's black and white TV tenure, I have always imagined the rubbery brute to be dark green. The Supreme Controller's pet should prove a reasonably straightforward figure to paint, so alongside it I am currently also working on the Silurian leader Scibus, and three armed Krotons...