Both these figures were painted using the underpainting and glaze technique I've been practising to try and do "quick, fun" paint jobs. It results in satisfying deep contrast (eg. my WWI style Tau) but I think I'm learning to use it for a variety of subjects, both "grim/dark", and more brightly coloured.
Wererat Duelist
28 mm
With his two blades, he'll challenge you to defend his honor, or the last slice of pizza...
Ghoul Queen
28mm
To her, you ARE the last slice of pizza.
Harriet Tubman
28mm
“I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land; and my home after all, was down in Maryland; because my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were there. But I was free, and they should be free."
Harriet Tubman, born an enslaved person in 1822 in Maryland, finished her life as an American hero who personally liberated over 70 other Black people from slavery, and guided a Union naval raid of Black troops that freed 750 others and destroyed their enslavers' plantations.
After escaping slavery as a young woman she secretly returned again and again, on foot, to guide others north to Union states where they would be free. She worked as a nurse and spy for the Union Army and was an associate of abolitionists like Frederick Douglass, and armed anti-slavery insurrectionst John Brown.
Later in life she was a suffragette, working alongside activists like Susan B. Anthony to demand the vote for women.
This figure is from Bad Squiddo Games as part of their "Community Miniatures project".
I had fun painting up a few Halloween themed minis this year! I kept them fun and quick, and I think they turned out pretty well! All of these are from my stash of old minis, and several had made it as far as being cleaned up and glued to a base before my attention... wandered.
Skeleton and Wolfman
28mm
A bone-chilling pair! The classic Wolfman is a Reaper figure, the gangly skeleton is Confrontation.
Man-Bat
28mm
And this Orctober Orc soldier, which is a very deep dive into the lead pile indeed...
Who knows where this guy is from, though a good guess might be pre-slotta Citadel... I love his hangdog attitude and crude appearance, he's really the most expendable tier of greenskin grunts.
Chaugnar Faughn
(sort of) 28mm scale
"Originally from a dimension very different from our own, Chaugnar Faugn travelled to Earth in its far distant past. Chaugnar Faugn appears as a 'statue' made from an unidentifiable element of a disgusting humanoid hybrid creature which combines the very worst aspects of the octopus, elephant, and human being. His proboscoid trunk sports a horrible lamprey-like mouth at the tip, which Chaugnar uses to drain his prey of their essence. This process also causes the victim to slowly transform into the likeness of The Elephant God himself." - Monster Wiki
This monstrosity is a Cthulhu Wars plastic figure. It was my first paint job done using underpainting, so I painted the whole thing black, dry brushed it in light gray and white, and then glazed over it with thin colors. I made the gore stretching from its proboscis to its claws using hot glue.
Pharaoh Eddie
Cyborg Eddie
28mm
There's a time to live, and a time to die
When it's time to meet the maker
There's a time to live, but isn't it strange
That as soon as you're born, you're dying...
These amazing models are from the Iron Maiden Zombicide box set. In addition to a bunch of game cards to use in a variety of different table top games, it comes with six detailed figures of Eddie in his different guises: Pharaoh, cyborg, Reaper, trooper, samurai and undead. And there's a whole other box I didn't get, with six more!
"I don't want to die, I'm a god, why can't I live on?"
Dr. Luwazi Elsebo
Zan usu Zan usu Midaxon
Brett Solaris
28 mm
Well, we had a lot of luck on Venus
We always had a ball on Mars
We're meeting all the groovy people
We've rocked the Milky Way so far
We danced around with Borealis
We're space truckin' round the the stars
I recently finished this fun trio of science fiction figures: very different concepts and designs but I think they'll all fit into my collection nicely. Dr. Elsebo is a Starfinder figure, an explorer and scholar seeking to discover new things and unravel mysteries of the universe. The other two... it's less obvious. I see the non-human Zan usu Zan (Stargrave) as a telekinetic/psionic or Force user, and "Brett" (Ganesha Games) as a neutral-good leaning rogue or freelancer. Like Han Solo... but with a lightsaber.
Astro Princess Warrior
28mm
Must be an alien, swear to god I am
dropped down, from another planet
With her laser jezail, this alien princess warrior is ready to defend her space kingdom from all enemies!
I deliberately went with a highly colorful campy look for this character, because the whole concept is pretty reminiscent of something from Buck Rogers or even "John Carter of Mars". Or... Astonishing Science Fiction.
Slade, Cyborg Hero
28 mm
Man Machine
Pseudo-human being
Man Machine
Superhuman being
I knew I had to add some color accents to this figure, because otherwise he's extraordinarily similar to the DC comics character Cyborg, from the Teen Titans. And since orange is the best color... 😄
Both of these are Reaper Bones miniatures, acquired in my very first expedition to the incredible Meeplemart in Toronto.
Rhox Gangster
28mm scale
"Can I go in?"
"Are you on the list?"
"Not... technically."
"If you're not on the list, then you can't go in. Now, shove off!"
This rhino man puts his muscle to work as a gangsters' thug, guarding, fighting, or intimidating as the need arises...
Rhox lawyer
28mm scale
Single rhino lawyer
Filing an objection
Up at night and reading law
For his clients' protection
Single rhino lawyer
Working pro bono cases
Got some brand new evidence
So back to court he races!
(w. apologies to Futurama)
... While his law-abiding brother argues in court. His clients may be guilty, innocent, or something in between, but either way he'll make sure they receive the toughest defense he can muster.
This pair of thick-headed fantasy figures are a set from Magic the Gathering.
Smegatron the Pallid
28mm scale
Once his armor was gleaming and white, now a mass of scraping rust and foul suppurations. On the battlefield he swings a deadly flail, its spiked heads spewing contagious vapors even as they crush his enemies. One chain has snapped, but a helpful Nurgling has leapt up to take its place...
I popped into my local game store a while back and there was, by Father Nurgle's poxy benevolent hand, a single Series 3 Space Marine Heroes box left there. So I bought it. GW blind-boxing these is cynical bullsh*t, but I will not lie, the model is a good one. It avoids most of the problems with plastic sprue figures, and its icky, Nurgley design is uncompromising. I love it!
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| "Scabboth". I chose the other head option and it's definitely better. |
Shipping containers
My Instagram buddy @winnipegmichael generously sent me a bunch of nice corrugated craft paper, so naturally the first thing I made with it was that classic terrain piece, intermodal cargo containers. If you own something manufactured, there's a good chance it once traveled in one of these...
I tried to make them look used but not totally abused. The graffiti was fun, I did some of it with my child's Posca paint markers.
Wind turbine and solar unit
These two pieces were surprisingly easy for how good they came out looking. They're made from cardstock, corrugated paper, printed papercraft designs, and some toy parts. The techy turbine blades are from a Kinder egg toy; there's a bit of Lego in there too.
Stake-Wielding Friar
28mm
The peasants come to his door, telling tales of a fiend risen from the dead to drink blood. Christian and pagan alike bolt their doors and tremble in the night. So the friar does the only thing he can do: finds a mallet and sharpens a wooden stake, and ventures forth to destroy the creature, protected only by his faith... and the largest silver cross he can find, hung around his neck. Finding the vampire's crypt, he impales it through the heart and stuffs a consecrated wafer into its mouth. "By the body of Christ I send you back to hell, unholy abomination! Prey upon my flock no more! Domine deus, libera nos a malo!
Amen!" With a hideous screech, the bloodsucking demon withers and disintegrates into stinking dust...
The Friar is a Midlam Miniatures figure.
Ogron Foulbreath
35mm
I could not tell what or who was behind the giant helm: man, orc, ogre, or fell thing; alive or undead... but every warrior's instinct told me to fall back, that to fight it head-on would only be madness and death.
This is "Ogron Foulbreath, orc champion" from Citadel's 1983 catalogue. A battered old lead figure I got in a trade years ago; I always wondered where it was from. I always thought his crested helmet and shield designs were really cool. IMO he makes a better Chaos warrior than an orc.
Salamanders Techmarine
28mm
Yours is to heed the machine as others heed their kin. Tend to the war spirits all about, but do so in the knowledge that you do the Emperor’s duty. Without your ministrations, no bolt may be fired, and no enemy slain.
Another old Citadel/GW figure, though not quite as vintage! This Techmarine was one of a group of (in my opinion) really great sculpts that appeared in the 1988+ catalogues. They're simpler and have more character than the overdone modern ones. I have a couple more of these squirreled away from when I could afford to splurge on eBay:
Kisathi Gunslinger
28mm
"If you're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk."
I recently entered this figure in a painting contest at my local game store, The Dragon. It didn't win, but I did have a lot of fun conceptualizing the character of an alien spaghetti Western gunfighter and capturing the look I wanted.
His poncho is a piece of "Kimwipes" brand lint-free tissue soaked in PVA glue and paint, and carefully draped over the already-basecoated and shaded figure. I had to paint over it one it was dry, but pre-tinting it saved a lot of work. In the end, I think I created a nicely Clint Eastwood "Blondie"-like character...
