Light show

Firepower

15mm

Aim for the target
With laser and lights
Releasing the trigger
Puts victory in sight

This was a fun one-day project I did last week on a day off work.  The figure is an Alternative Armies "Star Viking" I've had for a while but was never inspired by before.  I just saw it in the pile, and the idea to paint it up with a gun blast effect and OSL just came to me.  The result, I think, is actually pretty badass.

Witch's Cauldron

28mm scale

 

I picked up a couple of WizKids Deep Cuts sets recently: "Witch's Den" and "Wizard's Room".  so now I have a fun assemblage of arcane dungeon dressing that I'll probably use to embellish bases or set up some fun photos.  The coolest item was a cauldron with a clear insert for the "potion" inside!  So I did the obvious :)

 

This was actually pretty easy, just a bit of drilling and positioning to get the LED snug inside.  The hardest part was fitting the wires under the very thin base I used.  I'd suggest a regular 30mm base if you want to make something like this.

Lady Liberty

Sunrise on Liberty
28 mm

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

 

I've had this great little Hasslefree Miniatures model for ages, I probably got it in a mini exchange back when I was a regular on Cool Mini or not.  It's not a perfect replica of the actual Statue of Liberty, rather it's one of a range of figures modeled after the proprietor Kev's wife.

Anyway, for some reason I felt like now was the time to paint it up.  I wanted something a bit more dramatic than "statue on pedestal", so I tried some heavy directional lighting here, as if the statue is facing dawn over the water, complete with an unlit back and a shadow cast behind it.  I'm not super happy with how the "light" looks on the rocks or water, but the statue itself has a good warm glow that I'm satisfied with.

The "rocks" are obviously just cork, and the waves are haphazardly sculpted from clear acrylic gel medium.

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 🎶

 

Murphy's Law

RoboCop
15 mm

"My program will not allow me to act against an officer of this company".

Another Khurasan figure painted as a favour.  I tried for a subtle purple ambient light effect as requested, but it's hard to see.  Maybe the reflection of red/blue police lights?

"No sense of humour, huh Pinocchio?"