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...

Undead Master of Knowledge

Count Orlok, Scholarly Vampire
28mm

Immortality... a gift, and yet also a burden.  A vampire can only enjoy rampant carnage for so long before even the hunt becomes a chore.  The weight of centuries can lead to apathy, immobility, descent into near-stasis... or a realization that all that time opens up new potential.  Some like St. Vigeus embark on martial conquest, amassing a vampire army and putting humans to the sword as well as the fang.  But for others, their intellect guides them.  An infinite quest for knowledge, discovery of lore and arcane secrets, and possibly immense power! With nothing but time, they scour the world for obscure tomes, magical artifacts and substances, hideous rare beasts, and other arcana.

A CP miniatures figure, with a scratchbuilt desk and accessories from WizKids Deep Cuts.  I also added a few details to his base, implying some tentacled horror imprisoned beneath his floor.

"Ah... nothing like a bottle and a new book.  It's a pity there's nobody
here to share them with... oh right, I hate company."

Thank You Verra Much

Alien Elvis
15 mm

Yeah man, you know people from outer space
People from outer space they come up to me
They don't look like like Doctor Spock
They don't look like Klingons all that Star Trek jive
They look like Elvis, Elvis

Sometimes I just do things, and I don't know why I do them.  Alien Elvis is a converted CP Models figure, the body is from the "boiler suited alien minions" set and the head is my sculpt.

You'd think the Tweed, Ontario Elvis Festival wouldn't be a draw for
interstellar visitors.  You'd be wrong.  It's not about the scale of the
event, it's about being among other true fans.

Everything, everywhere will be Elvis
Why do you think they call it evolution anyway?
It's really Elvislution, Elvislution

 

Elvis is everywhere
Elvis is everything
Elvis is everybody
Elvis is still the King

Slave to the Power of Death

Tomb of the Screaming Pharaoh
15mm scale

Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave
I don't wanna die, I'm a god
Why can't I live on?

 

 

It was said that the pharaoh Ser-Akh-Aten, seeking to escape not only bodily putrefaction but mortal death itself, entered a pact with forces far older and darker than the gods of his people.  He expired, shrieking in an incomprehensible tongue, his body grotesque and contorted, and was hastily mummified and interred under the Elder Sign by his priests, in the hopes his madness would be buried and forgotten.

It was not forgotten, and did not long stay buried...

 

He knew the Black Pharaoh
Servant to the Faceless Sphinx God
He gave me the book of the dead

 

These figures were a kind gift from CP Models.  I made the tomb from Fimo (the face) and insulation foam (the wall).

(A bit of a "Zardoz" vibe now that I think of it)

Jungle Patrol

Jungle Patrol and monolith
15mm

 

The galaxy is filled with mysterious relics: the structures and artifacts left behind by long-lost peoples on a thousand planets...  Some are crumbling ruins, others are active and even dangerous technologies waiting to imperil the unwary explorer.  This squad of troopers have discovered such a relic in the deep jungle... crumbling ruins, but holding a huge crystal glowing with some inner power...

These figures were a gift from @winnipegmichael, they're apparently "Yenpalo troopers" from Brigade Models.  The CO's "fish head" is from CP Miniatures.  The monolith is just made from an aquarium gem and chunks of cork, with a light dusting of very fine foam flocking (so fine I rarely use it, actually, but it makes good moss).

"Fan out and scan for EM spikes!  There might be more of them!"

Everyday people

Sci-fi civilians
15mm

I am no better and neither are you
We are the same whatever we do

 

Sure, the swashbuckling space smugglers, adventurers, alien death bots, and heavily armored troopers get all the glory... but somebody has to live in the universe of the shiny spacey future.  Those somebodies are all the workers, merchants, spacers and countless other "little people".  And they deserve their own figures :)

I had a lot of fun with these; I think they turned out as real little characters, all unique.  The minis are from CP models and Ground Zero Games, with a few light conversions.

 

Come and play, everything's a-okay
Friendly neighbors, yes that's where we meet
Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?

Doctor Death

Plague Doctor
28 mm

Ah, the classic medieval plague doctor.  Robed and masked to prevent infection, he might show up at your bedside to poke your armpits with a long stick and inevitably deliver tragic news to your loved ones.  Or he might... roam around the muddy streets with a skull on a chain, just being generally creepy.  Since they hadn't invented golf yet.

 

I actually love this figure, despite its odd choice of accessories.  The original CP Models figure had a ball and chain, but I felt that was pretty non sequitur, so I sculpted a (somewhat lantern-jawed) skull over it to provide a visual focus on what I'd already planned to be a very dark-coloured character.

 

 

I mixed a very brownish black for his robes, and a straight black for his mask; a subtle difference that's supposed to indicate the difference between fabric and leather, but is of course completely invisible in these photos.  Oh well...

Of course it's raining... it's always raining...

Happy Spooktober!

The Carceral State

Alien prisoners and guards
15mm

Early one morning
The blues came fallin' down
I was all locked up in jail
And prison bound

 

Technology and culture may evolve but apparently throwing society's rule breakers into confinement always stays in fashion... this group of non-human convicts might be petty hustlers, violent career criminals, or even hapless political prisoners of a despotic regime. Their heavily-armed guards march them around, tolerating no disobedience or attempts to escape.

I think these two CP Models sets (boiler-suited aliens and guards) that come with a choice of heads are such a great idea.  Depending on the head used, the characters really turn out feeling very different, especially the guards who could be anything from simple gas-masked near-future humans to genetically-engineered apes or very weird aliens!  The "boiler suits" can easily be spacers' jumpsuits, uniforms, or as here, prison garb.

"Stay in line, scum, or it's the box for you!"

More human than human

Cyborg Specialist
28mm

I am doll eyes, doll mouth, doll legs

I love this CP miniatures figure!  Is she a remorseless android killer, or a superhuman hero in an era when even humanity itself is a vague designation?  As a "Ghost in the Shell" fan, I obviously chose the latter... But still, the cyborg Major Kusanagi cuts an eerie figure, a living doll with a human brain, who rains destruction on lesser foes and has more in common with her enemies than her allies.  This model isn't the closest version of her out there, but it's close enough, and it has a great transhuman-cyborg aesthetic with the human head and visibly artificial, jointed body.

 

A figure whose body is largely monochromatic isn't always so interesting to look at, so I thought I'd try some ambient light effects on this piece.  I pictured her walking through an area with coloured neon lights on both sides reflected on her skin, and on the wet pavement and detritus beneath her.  Once I'd finished that, it seemed that a painted backdrop would suit her too...

 

🎶 Put on my best Sunday dress
And I walk straight into this mess of mine 🎶