Science fiction triple feature

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.

Galactic Detente

The Envoys Shorah and Darsoomi

28mm 

"The Terran philosopher wilrogers reportedly said 'Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock'.  Not surprising, as Terrans are among the least diplomatic species I've ever met.  Still, they captured the existential importance of interstellar negotiation where, if consensus cannot be reached, the rocks sometimes arrive at a good fraction of the speed of light." - 3S'lith, Calamite historian

Shorah is a Bad Squiddo Games figure of Phoolan Devi.  This paint job is definitely inspired by the Expanse's Crisjen Avasarala... and her amazing wardrobe.

 

Darsoomi is a Stargrave figure, the distinctive hat made me think of the work of French graphic artist Moebius (Jean Giraud), so I tried to pay homage to his rich soft pastel palettes.

"Greetings, Envoy. What a generous gesture for you to travel
so very far for this meeting."

We Can do It!

Wanda the Welder
28mm

All the day long, whether rain or shine,
She's a part of the assembly line.

"I always tell them how long it will ACTUALLY take to fix up their pile of flying trash... these space cowboys think they can fly in here with life support offline, hull plates falling off, and the engine mounts cracked, and be up in the air again in a day.  Well... it doesn't work that way.  And in business, it never pays to make promises I can't keep".

This great WizKids Starfinder plastic figure is half of a blister pack called "Human Mechanics".  I really like how perfectly greasy and working-class she looks, as well as the fact that the character is completely non-combatant... not all that common.  Not even a holster.

It's an extremely detailed sculpt, but honestly not very crisp.  I had to emphasize details with some strong contrast... which fortunately is my style anyway.  And I didn't get all the mold lines, but oh well.  This line seems to fit in nicely with the Stargrave minis I've been painting recently; it's thinner and more gracile but not enough to appear out of scale.

"I don't normally work on bots, but I'll see what I can do to help you."

Treasure planeteer

Captain Karzen Alessandro
28mm

Do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate!

The right of salvage falls to any spacers who find a wrecked ship with no survivors.  But some are not above bending that condition, including the part about it being wrecked in the first place...  Karzen is a veteran captain who has survived numerous close quarters shootouts, explosions, and decompressions, though not without horrendous scars.  His cybernetically-attached plasma blaster is a brutal but effective weapon, and he never misses.

 This is a Stargrave figure from North Star Military Figures.

 

"Trying to poach my salvage, space squid?  I stole it fair and square!"

Dear Murderbot Diary

Freelance Murderbots
28mm

So, I’m awkward with actual humans. It’s not paranoia about my hacked governor module, and it’s not them; it’s me. I know I’m a horrifying murderbot, and they know it, and it makes both of us nervous, which makes me even more nervous. - "All Systems Red" by Martha Wells

 

 Designed as tough, obedient cybernetic fighters, a few SecUnit AI's were able to circumvent their own programming and become truly autonomous beings.  Some of these came to eschew violence altogether, preferring to live as civilians and binge-watch episodes of Sanctuary Moon.  But others chose to earn a living in the way they were still best-equipped to - as guards, mercenaries, and bounty hunters.

These stylish miniatures are Stargrave "Old Rogues: the Robots" from North Star Military Figures.

Hard-hitting Hannah

Hannah (Stargrave cyborg)
28mm 

Once I wanted to be the greatest
two fists of solid rock

A climate refugee born with tiny arms and hands in the chaotic, sprawling Frankfurt Displacement Zone, Hannah Gupta seemed destined for a hard life.  But her father scavenged and repaired a mismatched set of adult prostheses for her, and she grew up as the kid others came to if something needed to be fixed... or a bully needed to be taught a lesson with a very long right hook.

Now she works the ships, traveling across the solar system from Venus to Triton, but never too far to send her parents a video message and a credit transfer.  And she earns enough that her new arms are custom fitted, with swappable heat- and chem-resistant titanium hands for work, and tactile synthskin ones for play.

And these?  These are her fighting hands.

"A boxing match?  I think I pass, Earther... Perhaps we go drink instead?"

A Stargrave figure from North Star Military Figures.