Is there Life on Mars

Lord Izlyr and Sssorg, Ice Warriors

28mm

Oh why, oh, why should love ever come
To couples, like you and me
Whose cold, cold wars are never done

The Martian "Ice Warriors" were second tier villains in Doctor Who starting with the Second Doctor.  Their first appearance was in a serial where Earth scientists thawed them from beneath glacier ice and they sought to conquer the planet.  

I first saw them in the 1972 Third Doctor serial "The Curse of Peladon", which these figures are inspired by.  Alien delegates (quickly joined by the Doctor and his companion Jo Grant) are meeting on the planet Peladon to decide whether to admit it to the Galactic Federation.  When the Peladon High Priest uses a hidden monster to attack the delegates and prevent the admittance, the Doctor and his companion are suspected of murder.  But the Martian delegate Lord Izlyr defends them, telling the Doctor that his people have embraced peace.  Along with his underling Ssorg, he helps the Doctor reveal the murderous plot.

The Ice Warriors returned more recently for two episodes, "Cold War" and "Empress of Mars" featuring the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors.

These figures, from Black Tree Design, sat half-painted in my lead pile for a good fifteen years until I decided to finish them off last weekend.  As they say, it's never too late to do the right thing 😄

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!"

"But if she's the Earth representative, then who are YOU?"
"Gosh, look at the time!  Gotta go!"

Early Men and the Mother of All

The Mother Goddess and her Guardians

28mm scale

A goddess on a mountain top
Was burning like a silver flame
The summit of beauty and love
And Venus was her name 

 

The ancestors had carved the tribe's idol of the Mother-Goddess Lah with awe-inspiring skill.   From her womb had sprung the moon and sun, the world, all the animals, and finally, the People.  To their protector and creator they bring offerings, in the hopes of good hunting, good health, and safety in a world full of daily perils.

Today, Bergar the Elder and Vorlu the Fire Holder guard the idol
and its sacred grove from desecration by outsiders

The Goddess is a Reaper Bones model, the Neolithics are from Pulp Figures... a very deep dive into my lead pile!  These were passed on to me in 2002 by Bob Murch, when I worked with his wife.

"Thag no!  Is not good idea!"

Another Orctober Surprise

Bad Moon Boyz

15mm

The wealthiest and most ostentatious of the Ork klanz, the Bad Moons are idle, venal Orks with a reputation for showing off and using their wealth and status like a club to bludgeon other, less fortunate Orks into line.

Some CP Miniatures space orks, painted up as Bad Moonz from Warhammer 40,000.  Goofy little guys, but still definitely dangerous...