(Lead) Mountain Musings - Monster May(hem) 2025

"In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the term monster refers to a variety of creatures."

Having taken a few weeks sabbatical from my hobby table, I thought I would step back into my painting and wargaming 'guns a blazing', and take up Angry Piper's invitation to join his annual "Monster May(hem)" monthly challenge over on the "Dead Dick's Tavern and Temporary Lodging" blog. Resultantly, I have dusted down a few intimidatingly large models which have been unceremoniously side-lined over the years, as well as selected a few (semi-new) miniatures I may well assemble/paint alongside them.

In addition, I fully intend to crack on with a number of partially-pigmented Napoleonic figures I was toying with just last month. Indeed, whilst I aim to get a few "big and mean" monsters completed for the aforementioned non-competitive contest, my main aim over the next four or so weeks is to at least get a couple more (tiny) units tabletop ready for my "Black Powder" Coalition forces. This should then encourage me to work on a similar number of the Emperor Bonaparte's soldiers throughout June (and maybe July too).

"Terrorist! Kill him!"

Speaking of long-running projects, I have completed another 28mm metal figure by "Athena Miniatures" from their Apocalypse Survivors range. This particular sculpt is from the company's AS12 Russian NBC four-figure set, and is the eleventh such soldier I've got tabletop ready since first encountering the Swindon-based manufacturer at "Warfare" 2024. 

As with all the other Soviet Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence troopers, the model was initially undercoated using a couple of layers of “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, and shaded in "Citadel" Nuln Oil. The 'invader' was then dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII so as to bring out all the folds/creases in his rubber suit, and subsequently had his buttons/rifle butt 'picked out' with a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

April 2025 - A less than productive time has caused little change in my favourite manufacturers

Despite a fairly encouraging start last month, my productivity completely dried up by the end of April, leaving me with a semi-successful output when compared to what I usually achieve annually at this time of the year. However, I did finish enough Moscow Militiamen by "Wargames Foundry" for a four-man unit, and 'chewed' through a fair few 10mm Xenomorphs by "Pendraken Miniatures".

This dalliance with the smaller scales probably won't stop any time soon either, as I'm really enjoying the simplicity of such figures when compared to the complexity of Napoleonic uniforms. Together, I think they make a good combination to help me push through some time-consuming paint-jobs, and should also help me maintain my enthusiasm whilst tackling the "big jobs" I have planned for "Monster May(hem)" too...  

"Well... Not Bad!"

"At least the mask should spare me any personal embarrassment."

This 28mm scale pre-painted plastic model of Monica Rambeau was produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 210 from their Marvel “Heroclix” Sinister range. Able to convert her body mass into any form of energy of the electromagnetic spectrum, Captain Marvel was created by Roger Stern, John Romita Junior for the August 1982 Annual of "Amazing Spider-Man" by "Marvel Comics".

Mercilessly clipped from the figure's 'clicky' base and super-glued upon a plastic 25mm circular base, the harbor patrol officer was given a couple of licks of "Vallejo" White and splash of some heavily watered-down of Carchardon Grey by Two Thin Coats”. She was then enthusiastically dry-brushed with "Two Thin Coats" White Star, before having her black leggings and hair 'picked out' with "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"Big Mr Tong" WIPs - This Laputian Robot Trooper has been primed, base-layered and shaded

I also attempted to apply a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade to her lower face, as well as give the Avenger's former chairwoman some eyes with a little "Citadel" Abaddon Black. However, despite trying to make my acrylic coats thin, the figure's thick pre-paint job had already decimated any trace of detail on the super-hero's head; including her eye sockets. Indeed, to my alarm I actually noticed some of my layers starting to crack and flake over the top of the model's original goopy pigmentation.

I therefore decided to simply leave well enough alone, and focus upon placing a small black star from US-112 US Armour Stars w/Stencilled & Solid Circles by "Decal Details" on Monica's chest. This wasn't quite the emblem Captain Marvel usually sported. But I hoped due to the sculpt's overshadowing pose, that it would suffice - and that perhaps at some point in the future I might attempt to improve upon it with a few thin lines of "Citadel" Abaddon Black. Disappointingly though, there was no way I could apply the transfer in the right place without it disintegrating, so for the second time I gave up upon a notion for Monica's miniature in order to retain my sanity.

"Games Workshop" WIPs - These Space Marines have been primed and shaded

Overall, this has to be one of the most frustrating models I've ever put my brush-tip too, and having initially been seen as a 'quick win' to help get my hobby mojo back, has actually turned out to have caused me to lose even more enthusiasm. If I can source a second copy of the miniature I may well try again at some point, as Rambeau is one of my favourite comic book characters from the Eighties, even if the New York City-based publisher has desperately attempted to retcon her origin story so as to better suit her modern-day exploits as the woeful Photon.

Thankfully, my aforementioned trials and tribulations haven't completed eradicated my hobby time, as I have made some progress on a pair of 28mm scale Laputian Robot Troopers by "Big Mr Tong". Furthermore, I've found a little time to dilly-dally with some more Sons Of Horus Space Marines by "Games Workshop" for my Horus Heresy traitor's legion...

"An Eyeless Eidolon Awakened By Thieves."

"A few glorifying statues of the duke with faint remnants of power existed deep in ancient dungeons."

This 28mm scale plastic model of an Eidolon Possessed Sacred Statue is produced by "Wizkids" and can be found as Code RPG-WZK90167 from their Nolzur's Marvellous Miniatures range. The 70mm tall figure is clearly based upon the statue of Moloch which appears on the cover for the "Dungeons & Dragons" (First Edition) Player's Handbook, and even depicts the iconic monster missing one of his jewelled eyes. 

Having based the animated guardian onto a "Games Workshop" 50mm circular stand, the entire figure was treated to a double-helping of "Vallejo" Earth, followed by a positive drenching in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. It was then dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Earth and given a lighter dusting of Heavy Sienna to help bring out the sculpt's excellent details.

"Encounter Terrain" WIPs - Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman and the Seventh Doctor

I did consider applying some red to the effigy as seen in the June 1978 illustration. But as this colour was caused by a close by fire (which sadly wasn't part of this plastic piece), I decided against such a palette. Instead, I simply used a combination of "Scalecolor" Speed Metal and "Citadel" Contrast colour Flesh Tearers Red for the statue's sole remaining eye.

With my latest Gary Gygax inspired acquisition finished, I have spent some more time progressing a trio of 40mm resin sculpts by Nikola Stankovic I had 3D printed by "Encounter Terrain". The two horror film-based figures are being painted for this month's Zomtober Challenge, whilst I'm planning on using the Seventh Doctor's miniature as a Captain for the "Space Station Zero" rules by "Snarling Badger Studios".

Abe Sapien is unable to save Hellboy from a fiery fate, and is soon overwhelmed by Frog Minions himself

Rather embarrassingly, I have also finally managed to play some "Hellboy: The Board Game" by "Mantic Games" after the Kickstarter exclusive edition has sat untouched on one of my shelves for three and a half years. I had actually hoped to enjoy more of the "fully cooperative experience for one to four players", but ending up spending a good hour or so beforehand looking for some non-existent cardboard Investigation (Clue) Tokens - which were apparently replaced with plastic 3D models for my box during the fund-raising campaign. Doh!

Sadly, the opening scenario proved equally as unsuccessful despite Hellboy and Abe Sapien initially starting out well enough, courtesy of Anung Un Rama's formidably-sized pistol and his companion's deadly harpoon. However, we only managed to move into a single room before a sudden firestorm, followed by a Frog Monster ambush knocked both of our B.P.R.D. Field Agents unconscious. The rule-book suggests that this might not be the end of the game, and perhaps simply initiates the Boss fight much earlier than we'd have liked. But as it wasn't clear if this was the case or not, we called it quits there...

"The Humble Vexilla Displays The Heraldry Of A Particular Squad..."

"...Proclaiming not only its designation in the Legion but also its proud legacy in the annals of the Great Crusade."

This 28mm plastic Space Marine is produced by "Games Workshop" and comes from the now OOP (Out Of Production) Burning Of Prospero boxed game. The multi-part figure has been assembled wearing MK III armour and is carrying a Legion Vexilla (Legion Standard) which will allow its unit to add +1 "to the Wounds score used to determine if they win a Combat in the Assault Phase."

Due to the miniature forming part of my first Sons of Horus Tactical Squad for the Horus Heresy, it was undercoated with "Citadel" Sons Of Horus Green, before being heavily washed with Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) Sons Of Horus Green. I then applied some "Citadel" Abaddon Black to his shoulder-pads, as well parts of his backpack and Bolter.

"Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" WIPs - Four more Slicks from their Corporate Wars range

The model's power tubes and firearm were subsequently treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Whilst I 'picked out' all the ridges on his shoulder-pads, helmet brow and Legion Vexilla with a little "Vallejo" Gold. These areas were later given a splash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade and highlighted with some additional touches of "Vallejo" Gold on the sharpest edges and rivets.

As a final touch I applied some "Scalecolor" Speed Metal to the Space Marine's eye slits, and then a single layer of the "Citadel" Contrast colour Flesh Tearers Red. I also fixed a couple of the many decals found on the "Games Workshop" Sons of Horus Legion transfer sheet onto his right shoulder-pad and on the central emblem of his standard.

"Wizkids" WIPs - This Eidolon Possessed Sacred Statue has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

In addition to finishing the last of my currently planned MK III armoured Sons of Horus traitors, I have started working on another four of the Corporate Wars Slicks I received from the most recent "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" Kickstarter. These bald-headed hitmen will be painted up in the same colour scheme as the trio I've previously painted. However, as I couldn't resist taking advantage of the Lincolnshire-based manufacturer's decision to put the figures up for general sale individually on their webstore, I have now ordered another three miniatures to help 'fill out' their criminal crew to an even ten members - and might have done something similar with the other gangs too.

Lastly, a recent trip to "A Fistful Of Dice" saw me get super-excited about "Dungeons & Dragons" as the large store had fiendishly dedicated an entire wall to all the different models, scenic pieces and gaming accessories a Dungeon Master could ever wish for. As a result I now plan to reacquaint myself with the Fifth Edition rule-set and walked away with an awesome plastic miniature of an Eidolon Possessed Sacred Statue by "Wizkids" to keep my enthusiasm for the project going...

"The Most Ancient Black Puddings..."

"...Are vast pools of inky death."

This pre-painted 28mm scale plastic miniature of an Elder Black Pudding is by "Wizkids" and is one of the "randomly assorted monsters" found in their "exciting line of Dungeons & Dragons miniatures, Icons Of The Realms." Happily however, I didn't need to attempt to collect all forty-five of the "Boneyard" models, and instead picked it up from a dealer at this year's Southampton Comic Con.

Reaching an impressive 95mm in height, and sculpted so as to allow a 'normal-sized' foot figure to be placed inside its grisly expanse, the model was actually left on its transparent stand and simply super-glued to a "Citadel" 100mm circular base. The creature was then primed with two coats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal and finally drenched in "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"The Warmaster's Own"

Alongside my "gargantuan Ooze" I have also pigmented three more 15mm metal miniatures taken from "The Ion Age" range by “Alternative Armies”. These 'beakies' are all from IAF008 Retained Knight Post Charlie and are carrying Angis Rifles. Ordinarily, the sci-fi soldiers are fielded in Lances of twenty-two men by the Prydian Army, but as I intended to use them as proxy Sons Of Horus space marines they were super-glued upon a medium-sized plastic "Flames Of War" base by “Battlefront Miniatures”.

Each model was undercoated with two layers of "Citadel" Sons Of Horus Green, before being shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and later dry-brushed with (more) Sons Of Horus Green.  I next applied some "Citadel" Abaddon Black to their shoulder-pads, as well as the tops of their backpacks and firearms. All the miniatures' power units and rifles were subsequently treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

"Twisted Pinnacle 3D" WIPs - These four Sentry Robots have been dry-brushed and base layered

Finally, I carefully placed a thin line of watered-down "Citadel" Abaddon Black into both models' visor slits and 'picked out' the ridges of  the occasional shoulder-pad with a little "Vallejo" Gold and a dash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Due to the thickness of their single-cast stands, the Retained Knights required a few sausages of Green-stuff to encircled them before I could grit (and flock) their bases.

Staying with science fiction, I have made some more progress on the Sentry Robots sold under licence by “Twisted Pinnacle 3D”. The models have now all had their metallic eyes and blasters layered with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, ready for some "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil...

Top Ten Manufacturers Of 2019 - A "Fantorical" Viewpoint

There can be little doubt that 2019 was a wonderfully surprising year for my painting, with the sudden emergence of several new miniature ranges which somewhat shockingly overshadowed my usual mainstay manufacturers. “Lucid Eye Publications”, “Modiphius Entertainment”, “Fantasy Flight Games”, “Knight Models”, and “Kitbash Games” all arguably came out of nowhere to challenge the annual dominancy of my traditional Big Four - “Warlord Games”, “Wizkids”, “Black Tree Design” and “Games Workshop”, and as a result made this period my most productive ever.

In addition, there was a noticeable increase in the amount of Fantasy-based models I pigmented that weren’t from the Mortal Realms of “Age Of Sigmar”. Science Fiction and super-hero figures have repeatedly governed my hobby-time over the past decade, yet due in large to the characterful sculpts of the “Toon Realms” range, Skeletons, Treemen, Spiders, Knights and assorted forest-bred wildlife increasingly ‘cropped up’ on my online shopping trolley too…

No.10 - "Wizards Of The Coast" - "Star Wars Miniatures Game"

There can be absolutely no doubt that I would never have painted anything concerning either the "Star Wars Miniatures Game" or "Wizards Of The Coast" during this year if it wasn't for the generosity of Phil Curran, who along with a formidable array of other science-fiction based miniatures, kindly gifted me an enormous Commerce Guild Homing Spider Droid and four Super Battle Droids. Indeed, despite owning a significant box full of models from the collectable miniatures tabletop game, I have predominantly focused on simply re-basing the figures in the past, not re-painting them. However, I felt it was only right to put my brush-tip to these lovely sculpts as soon as possible, and score some much needed points during the Ninth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge as well.

No.9 - "Crooked Dice Games Design Studio" - "7TV"

Despite having played numerous games of "7TV" by "Crooked Dice Games Design Studio" when the "cinematic style" skirmish game first came out several years ago, it wasn't until the end of 2019, with the release of "7TV: Apocalypse", that I finally became enamoured with its second edition. As a result, except for a quartet of Gabriel Hounds, I barely picked away at the Lincolnshire-based company's range until the very end of the year, when I finally finished a partially-painted female X-Commando who had been lurking in my queue for months, as well as their excellent Protoplasmic Terrors.

No.8 - "Reaper Miniatures" - "Chronoscope"

Whilst my plans to host a campaign loosely set in James M. Ward and Gary Jaquet's mid-25th century “Gamma World” never materialised, the science fantasy world did encourage me to pigment a plethora of models from "Reaper Miniatures" Chronoscope range. These varied from some distinctly "Dungeons And Dragons" stalwarts, such as the Gelatinous Cube, Stone Golem and Mind-Eater, through to some surreal adventurers, like Sherlock Holmes and a Deep Sea Diver, as well as the formidable "Bones" sculpt of Ape-X.

No.7 - "Warlord Games" - "Doctor Who: Exterminate!"

Quite possibly the biggest disappointment of 2019 was the utter lack of new releases by "Warlord Games" for their "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" Miniatures Game. Admittedly, this absence of fresh sculpts did offer the opportunity for me to pigment my quite considerable backlog of time travelling figures, but without the persistent 'buzz' of new foes to fight I soon found my enthusiasm dwindling for what is a somewhat overly-clunky rule-set. As a result, perhaps my most notable success was completely painting the range's "Tomb Of The Cybermen" set, complete with its Cyber-Leader for the Ninth Analogue Hobbies Challenge.

No.6 - "Fantasy Flight Games" - "Star Wars: Legion"

Undoubtedly one of the biggest surprises of the year, especially considering how poorly my attempt to paint the Minnesota-based company's previous "Star Wars" game had gone, was the sheer number of figures I completed for "Star Wars: Legion" by "Fantasy Flight Games". Initially wowed by the attention to detail on the range's dynamically-posed Wookie Warriors, I soon transferred my attention over to the Dark Side of the Force, by applying my brush-tip to the likes of General Maximilian Veers, some Imperial Royal Guards, a complete squad of Imperial Death Troopers and Emperor Palpatine himself.

No.5 - "Games Workshop" - "Age Of Sigmar"

Two significant-sized projects lead to me pushing through a considerable number of "Games Workshop" models for "Age Of Sigmar". On the one hand I added enough Bloodletters and Heralds of Khorne to allow me to field a 1,000-point strong Blades Of Khorne army for the miniature game's second edition, and on the other I stubbornly forced myself to complete enough of the Nottingham-based manufacturer's overly-complicated plastic figures to deploy an Iron Golem warband for "Warcry".

No.4 - "Wizkids" - "Heroclix"

Ever a stable part of my annual output, my interest in super-hero based gaming surprisingly didn’t really ‘take off’ until somewhat late in the year, with my sudden determination in October to clear my painting queue of eight old(ish) Ultron Drone figures. Before that point I had simply been 'picking away' at the pre-painted plastic figures, momentarily fixating upon the Spaceknight Firefall's fearsome battle against a clutch of Dire Wraiths, before flitting over to the odd "HorrorClix" miniature such as the Reaper of Souls and a Carnage Bot.

No.3 - "Modiphius Entertainment" - "Star Trek Adventures"

Having become increasingly frustrated by the extraordinarily long delays affecting their Robert E. Howard’s Conan Role-Playing Game Kickstarter, which was supposedly meant to deliver in June 2016, I actually once swore I would never buy another “Modiphius Entertainment” product again. But then the London-based manufacturer released their “Star Trek Adventures” miniatures and I quickly found myself neck deep in Borg drones. Two fully-painted boxes of the Collective later, as well as a half-strength raiding party of Romulans, and even I must admit that the 32mm scale resin figures had an enormously positive impact upon my productivity during 2019.

No.2 - "Black Tree Design" - "Doctor Who"

Enthused by a lengthy series of battles using some homemade rules and my desire to potentially field numerous opposing factions, as well as an increasingly nostalgic love of classic “Doctor Who”, it was perhaps inevitable that I would continue to steadily work my way through this ageing company’s (back) catalogue. A formidable force of Sharaz Jek Androids, Silurians and Monoids all helped motivate me throughout the year, and even kept my passion going when the delivery service of “Black Tree Design” left a lot to be desired, courtesy of some incredibly poor communications and month-long delays.

No.1 - "Lucid Eye Publications" - "Toon Realms"

Perhaps my biggest success of 2019 was the completion of a small-sized Undead army for my “Lord Of The Toons” project using the “Dragon Rampant” rule-set. Produced by “Lucid Eye Publications”, a company I was initially utterly oblivious to, this force of skeletons and spiders greatly contributed to my success during the Ninth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, and maintained much of its momentum for almost the entirety of the year due to a positively frantic release schedule. A genuine surprise genre, this particular range also got me as close to doing batch-painting as I have been in almost a decade of hobbying…

"This Won't Hurt A Bit, You Freak."

"Waste recycle on."

These four 28mm U-Men models are produced by “Wizkids” and can (still) be bought as miniature number 002 from their “Heroclix” Marvel Mutant Mayhem range. Dedicated to "using mutant body parts to augment their human bodies, as well as to grant themselves superhuman powers" this "cult of geeks" first appeared in the 2001 "New X-Men" Annual and were created by Grant Morrison and Leinil Francis Yu.

Having previously painted a fair few of this particular model in the past, I thought I'd spend a little time beforehand converting three of the U-Men so they carried some of the more 'specialist weapons' used by Dr. John Sublime's acolytes to harvest mutants. As I result I simply snipped off the barrels to their propulsion guns and attached some spare "Gale Force Nine" bitz I had left over from assembling the vehicles from the "Tanks" World War II skirmish game.

"Precinct Omega" WIPs - Three of the "Ballmonsters!" have been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

I wanted to make these deadly devices as 'weird' as possible, so ended up drilling/pinning all sorts of odds and ends, including the entire barrel of a 15mm armoured fighting vehicle, a combination of a tank's open turret hatch and spare wheel, and some bizarre piece of plastic I really haven't a clue about. In my mind, these choices ultimately gave my U-Men a 'long range' explosive option to force out hidden muties, some sort of wind turbine option to knock over targets or extinguish flaming super powers, and a hand-weapon which looked as if it might fire a debilitating net...

Once assembled, the quartet's environmental suits were initially primed using a couple of coats of “Citadel” Abaddon Black and had all their breathing pipes, apparatus and weapons picked out using a combination of Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. As I haven't yet ever created an actual leading U-Man figure, I did momentarily consider painting one of them with the garish blue face mask found on the "Wizkids" pre-paints. But as I really don't like that look much, I decided to stick with my 'tried and tested' second splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil instead, and have them lead by either the Black Manta or my recently completed Major Maxim.

"Wizards Of The Coast" WIPs - A Lizardman Warrior, Gnome Infiltrator and Human Monk

As something of a colourful distraction from all the U-Men's "Citadel" Abaddon Black and Ironbreaker I have been slowly pigmenting most of the "Ballmonsters!" models I bought from "Precinct Omega" at "Beachhead" 2020. These characterful 'heads' have loads of detail on them, and whilst the fantasy sports rule-set they've been designed for isn't out yet, I have a few ideas in mind to get them onto my tabletop quite soon...

In addition, I have re-primed a number of old "Dungeons & Dragons" adventurers which have been gathering dust in one of my drawers for a good couple of years. Apparently produced by "Wizards Of The Coast" way back in 1999, I've gone for an odd-looking party of adventurers, starting with a Gnome Infiltrator (with repeating crossbow), a Human Monk, and a Lizardman Warrior...

Top Ten Manufacturers Of 2015 - A "Fantorical" Viewpoint

The fourth article covering my favourite miniature manufacturers over the years, this period was clearly dominated by my love of British science fiction television programmes such as “Doctor Who” and “Blake’s Seven”, as well as an affection for the Doug McClure fantasy movies of my childhood. Interestingly, I also found my participation in the “Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge” something of a catalyst to start ploughing through my sizeable collection of Bob Murch’s painter-friendly “Pulp Figures” and a dalliance with the free rule-set “Pillow A-go-go” by “Fiendish Fabrications” a surprising motivator to pigment numerous “Heroclix” super-heroes and villains…

No.10 (Joint) - "Reaper Miniatures” - "Chronoscope"

Bought as an experiment to ascertain the difference between their “Bones” sculpts and metal castings, this particular sojourn into the world of “Reaper Miniatures” pigmenting a pair of Black Mist models certainly helped me make up my mind that I wouldn’t purchase any of the company’s unpainted polymer 28mm-sized humanoid figures in the future, as I found their loss of detail disconcerting. However, it did lead me to eventually purchase a fair few of the range’s larger monsters as the financial savings were quite significant. Sadly, both of my Black Mists actually ended up in Canada as payment for entering the Fifth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, and I have yet to purchase a (second) metal version of the crime-fighting vigilante to use on my own tabletop.

No.10 (Joint) – “Antediluvian Miniatures” – “Lost World”

Basing their sculpts upon some of my favourite fantasy childhood films, such as the 1976 cult classic “At The Earth’s Core”, this Ross-shire based company completely caught me off-guard with its characterful castings in the Summer and seemed destined to be one of my most popular manufacturers of the year. Disappointingly however, having quite quickly pigmented Professor Peter Cushion, I then found my attention wandering elsewhere, and not even their subsequent release concerning a squad of Guardians of Lemuria (heavily influenced by “The Warlord Of Atlantis”) managed to restore my motivation.”

No.10 (Joint) – “Steamforged Games Limited” – “Guildball”

Intrigued by this alternative to the legendary sports tabletop game “Blood Bowl” by “Games Workshop”, I actually spent quite some considerable time plugging away at the contents of a Union Starter Set for “Guildball”. Yet was ultimately beaten by the incredibly fiddly detail found on each sculpt, an utter aversion to the complexity of the actual rule-set, and a serious dislike for the ‘difficult to reach’ pose of my team’s captain, Blackheart. In fact, my problems progressing the central midfielder with a brush-tip alone were enough to put me off “Guildball” for life, especially after his head fell off part way through the painting process, and I discovered that a far more paintable pose of the player was available; albeit at a significant cost.

No.7 – “Wizards Of The Coast” – “Star Wars”/“Dreamblade”

Fuelled by the speculation concerning the imminent release of J.J. Abrahams’ “American epic space-opera film”, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", this dalliance with “Wizards Of The Coast” was initially confined to just a pair of their models from the long defunct “Star Wars Miniatures Game”. However, as part of my “Zomtober” challenge I later decided to re-paint three plastic “Dreamblade” Gutsoup Golems in order to turn them into proxy Krynoids for a “Doctor Who” flavoured game of “Zombicide” based upon the February 1976 six-part television story “The Seeds Of Doom”. Lamentably, this rather over-ambitious project was never fully finished, and despite some temptation to simply pigment a few more of the collectable miniatures game’s innovative-looking models just for the ‘fun of it’, no more of the “spawning dream creatures” saw a paint-brush.

No.6 – “Nexus Miniatures” – “Super-hero Dinosaur Zombie Apocalypse”

Encouraged by Simon Quinton’s enthusiastic postings over on “Brummie’s Wargaming Blog”, I rather badly fell in love with this company’s D-Rangers and Caprican Legion Troopers courtesy of their sculpts bearing more than a passing resemblance to the main characters from Glen A. Larson’s 1978 “Battlestar Galactica”. Admittedly, the figures themselves were a little crude and mis-proportioned, with the ‘Cylons’ significantly smaller in stature than their human counterparts. But their attention to the detail of a ‘Colonial Warrior’ uniform more than made up for this, and resultantly I eagerly painted up proxies for Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer, alongside a trio of the Imperious Leader’s finest centurions.

No.5 – “SLAP Miniatures” – “Moon Howlers”

Heartily recommended to me by Bryan Scott of “Vampifan’s World Of The Undead” blog fame, I ended up painting eight He-Wolves as an entourage for my repainted “Heroclix” model of the Hyena. Slightly painful to assemble, with plenty of super-glue, green-stuff and pinning definitively required, these furry fiends were still a joy to paint in a multitude of appropriate browns and greys, and were completed within the space of a fortnight before having them subsequently devour Batman in a Caped Crusader-inspired game of “Zombicide” by “Guillotine Games”. Sadly, my plans to pigment Skipper Fred, Bosun Ace and Steward Gladys for the Sixth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge as a (not) “Popeye” entry never materialised into anything more than a trio of colourfully-primed miniatures…

No.4 – “Pulp Figures” – “Lost Tribes”

Originally planned to be part of a much larger “Pulp Figures” contribution to the Sixth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, these Bob Murch sculpts seemed destined to be the start of a significant expedition into the savage worlds of pulp. However, despite both Jai and Cheetah joining Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor for a mid-year “Doctor Who”/“Tarzan” tabletop team-up, my enthusiasm for the somewhat cartoony range of miniatures never materialised into a full-blown painting spree, and resultantly I simply ‘scatter-gunned’ a few hominids here and gun-toting gangsters there.

No.3 – “Black Tree Design” – “Doctor Who”

It’s incredible to think that a New Year clear-out uncovered the vast majority of this “Doctor Who” treasure trove, and lead to the creation of a sizeable Cyberman force for the tabletop. In fact, with hindsight it is hard to imagine my eventual immersion into “Age Of Sigmar” by “Games Workshop” the following year, if I hadn’t been inspired to pigment quite so many Mondasian and Mark II Cybermen during this period and subsequently used them play-test the fantasy rule-set. At the time though, I was simply determined to provide my “Eaglemoss Collections” Cyber-King with a suitably large retinue, and these silver giants were reasonably straightforward to paint.

No.2 – “Wizkids” – “Heroclix”

Arguably initiated by a desire to field the numerous members of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, this range of collectable plastic figures proved consistently popular throughout the year, and helped me add a significant number of models, both large and small, to my ever-growing collection of finished re-painted “Marvel Worldwide” and “DC Comics” characters. In addition, this range of super-heroes and despicable villains caused me to re-imagine the “Pillow A-go-go” ruleset by “Fiendish Fabrications” into a short series of rooftop battles which occurred across both the Gotham City and New York City skylines.

No.1 – “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” – “7TV”

Indisputably down to my love of the BBC science fiction television series “Blake’s Seven” and “Doctor Who”, I not only managed to paint a formidable force of black-clad Federated Troopers, including a heavily-moustached Commander and cybernetically-enhanced Stefan Travers. But also progressed a significant number of Spawn, Robo Rodents and grotesquely-mutated Failed Experiments with which to vex the time-travelling Tweedy Mattinson and his Plucky Assistant. In addition, my enthusiasm for “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” saw me involve their miniatures in a number of popular Battle Reports which either saw their Freedom Fighters teaming-up with the likes of Rocket Raccoon and Judge Dredd, or the company’s Robo Rodents proving pivotal as proxy Runners for “Zombicide” by “Guillotine Games”.

"With These New Battle Droids We Built For You..."

"...You'll have the finest army in the galaxy."

These four 28mm scale plastic "Wizards Of The Coast" Super Battle Droids are all miniature number 32 from the company's now out of production "Star Wars Miniatures" range. "An advanced battle droid used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars", these B2 super battle droids made their first appearance during the Battle of Geonosis in George Lucas’ 2002 American epic space opera film “Attack Of The Clones”.

Having re-based each of models onto 25mm round bases, they were all primed with a coat of "Citadel" Abaddon Black and subsequently treated to two layers of Leadbelcher. I then heavily washed them with "Citadel" Nuln Oil before dry-brushing them with (more) Leadbelcher.

Aztec Style Serpent Statue WIPs - The totem has been primed, washed and dry-brushed

Initially, I was actually tempted to leave the Baktoid Combat Automata-built robots at that, but having looked more closely at some of their 'on-screen' counterparts, took the opportunity to significantly darken their waists with a further application of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and 'spot' a light-emitting diode on their chest using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

In addition to pigmenting a quartet of Super Battle Droids I have also been making some steady progress on a piece of scenery by "Wargames Terrain Workshop" for my "Conan - Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of" project. Dave Stone's formidable-looking Aztec Style Serpent Statue should definitely fit the bill for any scenarios featuring Serpent Men or hooded cultists as it smacks of the Hyborian Age's Stygian serpent-god Set. 

Skulltaker WIPs - The Herald of Khorne is slowly having all his intricate details 'picked out'.

 I've actually settled down to work on this piece a few times in the past, but on this occasion have finally managed to get past its simple "Vallejo" Dark Grey undercoat by using the formidably-sized totem as a testing site for my recently arrived "Citadel" Small Layer Brush; which came courtesy of "Hachette Partworks Limited" and their "Warhammer 40,000: Conquest" magazine. I still haven't made my mind up as to whether I'll actually 'fork out' and buy any more of the "hand made, with pure sable bristles" brushes, as I still much prefer my ever-trusty "Winsor & Newton" University series when it comes to applying the fine black detail lines I tend to rely upon with my miniature painting.

Lastly, I have made some significant inroads on my "Finecast" model of Skulltaker for "Age Of Sigmar". Most of the work on the Bloodletter's numerous skull trophies has been completed, and I now just need to patiently work my way up the miniature, tidying up the legendary Herald of Khorne's significant gold trim as I go...

"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.

"It Is Fortunate That These Clone Troopers Know No Fear."

"After Geonosis, homing spider droids became common staples of Confederate armies."

This huge 83mm tall plastic model of a Commerce Guild Homing Spider Droid was made by “Wizards Of The Coast” and is model 02 from their Bounty Hunters expansion for the manufacturer’s “Star Wars Miniatures Game”. “Effective against both ground-based and airborne targets”, the OG-9 homing spider droid “was designed to transport a large and devastating weapon throughout the battlefield” and made its first appearance during the Battle of Geonosis in George Lucas’ 2002 American epic space opera film “Attack Of The Clones”.

The anti-vehicular walker was initially ‘hacked’ from its ill-fitting circular base using a modelling knife and permanently repositioned upon a 120mm oval “Games Workshop” stand. It was then treated to a double undercoat of “Vallejo” Gunmetal Grey and heavily washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil, in order to ‘cover-up’ the Baktoid Armour Workshop-built robot’s pre-paint scheme.

"Following the execution of the Separatist Council... all droid units used by the Confederacy were deactivated."

With the self-propelled artillery piece’s basic paint-job finished, I subsequently dry-brushed it with (the somewhat brighter metallic paint) “Citadel” Ironbreaker, and then enthusiastically applied some Strong Tone Quickshade by “The Army Painter” over all four of the walker’s all-terrain extendable hydraulic legs, precision homing laser (“mounted atop the droid’s round body) and anti-personnel cannon. These areas were later treated to a further light dry-brush of “Citadel” Ironbreaker.

Having completed work on the first of several science fiction-based vehicles which Phil Curran has very generously gifted me with, I have momentarily turned my attention towards some more partially-painted "North Star Military Figures" which have been sculpted to use with either "Frostgrave" or "Ghost Archipelago". My increasing interest in these two "Osprey Games" has been significantly increased recently by the arrival of some more expansions for the "Conan - Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of" role-playing game by "Modiphius Entertainment", and perhaps unsurprisingly I have 'dug out' Mark Copplestone's Hunter to represent the Cimmerian on my tabletop.

"North Star Military Figures" WIPs - A Minor Demon, a Hunter and a Zombie Snow Troll

Considering that the "Kickstarter" for this series of hard-backed volumes "based on the incredible character of Conan and of the Hyborian age" was actually due to deliver way back in July 2016, I admittedly didn't hold out much hope that I was ever going to receive my full pledge's worth of merchandise. But "Nameless Cults", "Horrors Of The Hyborian Age", Conan The Pirate" and "Conan The Brigand" certainly goes a long way to achieving two thirds of it, with the promise of my remaining books being sent in a third wave...

Alongside my version of Robert E. Howard's barbarian hero, I have also started to try and block out all the decaying innards, hair and bone on a Zombie Snow Troll, whilst simultaneously progressing a Minor Demon I received as a Secret Santa present a couple of years ago. I've rather embarrassingly actually uncovered quite the untouched horde of "Frostgrave" goodies, so intend to 'churn out' quite a few miniatures from the range over the next few weeks in a concerted effort to clear some drawer space.

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Blades Of Khorne" February 2019

Bloodletter WIPs - The Hellblade-carrying daemons have all been assembled, primed, shaded and dry-brushed

This month's themed attempt to diminish my ever-increasing "landform" of metal, plastic and resin models will see me painting up a number of "Games Workshop" plastic figures from their "Age Of Sigmar" range. I'm hoping to settle down and fight plenty of "fantasy, tabletop miniature" wargames using this rule-set's second edition over the next several months so as to help better familiarise myself with all the changes it made last year to its gaming mechanics, and felt building a small 500 point strong Blades Of Khorne force to face my already painted 1000+ points Nurgle Host would be a good way to start the ball rolling. 

Admittedly, I own a few finished Khorne units already for my large(ish) Chaos army, so I won't even be starting from "Square One" for this project. Yet I will still need to assemble, based, prime, paint and flock a good dozen or so models to achieve my required goal. Indeed, for now, I don't even plan on using all of my previously pigmented models, such as the unique leader Karanak, as I really want to keep my battletomes nice and simple.

"Toons Realms" WIPs - Lord Rascal, Rookie The Drangonlord and Tully The Toll Troll

As a result, I'll only currently be counting both my unit of Bloodletters (120 points) and Garrek's Reavers (60 points) from my existing forces, having taken their unit size, costs, battlefield role and any notes from the "General's Handbook 2018". This means I need to find both a Leader and at least one more Battleline unit, so I've recently bought the Blood God's immortal "Finecast" champion, Skulltaker (100 points) and assembled another ten Bloodletters (120 points) which have long sat upon the sprue in one of my drawers.

In addition, I have dusted off my almost complete Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne (80 points), which will not only take me close to my force's target cost tally for this month, but should also be pretty quick to get on the tabletop too. Of course, the Blades Of Khorne aren't simply all about daemons, and as I bought the original "Age Of Sigmar" Boxed Set when it was first released in 2015 I have plenty of plans for the Blades Of Khul's mortal minions in the future...

"Star Wars" WIP - A large Commerce Guild Homing Spider Droid ready for shading and dry-brushing

Momentarily stepping away from the Mortal Realms, I also aim to continue progressing my collection of "Toon Realms" inhabitants by "Lucid Eye Publications". The company have just announced their imminent "Caverns Of The Frog King" expansion, so I really need to finish painting all of Lord Rascal's Icky Spiders, Skeleton Swordsmen and Skeleton Warriors as soon as I can, along with the likes of Tully the Toll Troll, and then get them all submitted into the Ninth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.

Similarly, I still have a fair few "Star Wars: Legion" figures by "Fantasy Flight Games" to complete, along with the many, many marvellous miniatures Phil Curran recently generously gifted me with when he arrived at my doorstep one night with a big box in his hands. In the past I've only taken a brush to a couple of my old "Wizards Of The Coast" "Star Wars" figures. However, I simply couldn't help immediately re-basing and undercoating a Commerce Guild Homing Spider Droid I spied, and hope to have it battling some Wookie Warriors on ‎Kashyyyk very soon.