Redroom's Miniatures and Mayhem

2010 Miniatures Painted

2012-01-18T17:45:00.000-08:00

2011 was not a very productive year for me painting miniatures, in fact I only painted one, a 15mm sci fi Marine that I purchased from Shapeways that was in Admiralducksauce's shop. Really nice mini, my pictures don't do it justice. I also picked up some 15mm Frogan warriors he had. I tried to "ink" the mini to show detail, but it did not quite work. I think I had them printed in frosted ultra detail, lines in the armor are very straight and the face has some good details that did not show up in my pictures.

$2.08 Bradley IFV are now $1.48...

2010-05-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

The Target in Houston, TX on FM1960 and Eldridge now has their FOV smaller vehicles for $1.48 USD. I am curious about the size of the US M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer in the line, as I haven't seen that model in person yet. The AAVP7A1 looks like it would make a nice jawa-esque vehicle for some smaller 15mm minis.

$2.08 Bradley IFV

2010-05-13T17:51:00.001-07:00

Target is dumping some of their smaller Forces of Valor vehicles and I picked up a US M3A2 Bradley IFV for $2.08 USD. The scales of the Forces of Valor vehicles can vary widely, but this looked like it would fit in with some of the Peter Pig and Rebelminis US Marines I have. I think it turned out pretty well, especially considering the price. I will probably pick a couple more up:

What I did...
- removed a couple really small mold scars
- GW Devlan Mud wash
- dry brush of Americana Khaki Tan (cheap acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby)
- highlight of some of the rivets with the Americana Khaki Tan
- painted headlights and some gear

QRF Aliens
Below are my two favs of the QRF aliens hunter guys. These are taller than most 15mm, but that is not a problem with me. The pack came with 8 figures with a lot of variety. I also picked up some modern Germans and some various armor that I also need to paint. I finished a Bedford Truck, but I need to try a better way of painting headlights, mine look too white.

Khurassan Miniatures

My sea scout craft, really a nice clean resin/plastic mini. I used a tine(sp) from a clear plastic fork to make the aerial stand. Works pretty good and adds some stability to the mini.

Critical Mass Games

I ordered some walkers and dog soldiers from CMG. Only Finished the walkers, but need to start working on the soldiers. I went for a dark brown as I pictured these guys working scorched earth battle zone.

What I am working on now...

- a squad of Karks (think shark commandos)

- Peter Pig Modern French

- QRF armor (Leopard Tank, Mastiff)

- GZG Sci fi dwellings

- remaining Frothers Zombies

Humvee, Alien Walker and Zombie

2010-03-07T17:56:00.000-08:00

My painting subjects were all over the board as I finished a Humvee from the Irish Serb (see previous post for link), an Alien Walker from Rebel mins and a Frothers Zombie.

The Zombie

I decided that he looked like he'd been deceased longer than the other 2 Frothers zombies that I painted, so I tried to make his clothes look more tattered and grungy. Was very happy on how the victim's leg came out, the colors I used were:

GW Elf Flesh
GW Ogryn Flesh wash
GW Bleached Bone and White for the leg bone

GW Blood Red and Baal Red Wash for the chewed on parts

The Hummer

Photos shown with 2 previous Peter Pig US Marines that I had painted last year. This was a really nice model and easy to assemble. I also picked up another Humvee with a 50 cal in a cupola mount that I have to finish too. Very impressed with his work and prices. The colors I used were:

Krylon Ultra Flat Khaki for the base coat
GW Devlan Mud wash
GW Bleached Bone for highlights

The Walker

The smaller version from Rebelminis, really a nice model. I used a hand dremel to pin the legs on and it is pretty sturdy. I tried to make the top hatch look like an eye, inspired by an old Johnny Quest episode. ALien shown below is one of the Greys also from Rebel minis.

What I am Working On...

Irish Serb Humvee w/ 50 cal
GZG SciFi Dwellings
Peter Pig Modern FFL
QRF Bedford Truck

Coming Soon...

My kind inlaws sent me some money for my birthday and I sent it to Critical Mass Games for some of their dog warriors and walkers, really looking forward to finishing them.

IrishSerb's 15mm Modern Vehicles

2010-02-15T17:10:00.000-08:00

I ordered 2 VBLs and 2 Hummers from http://bcoleary.home.att.net/salevehicles.html based on some pictures linked a while back on TMP. Very nice resin figures with almost all of the imperfections (ex: bubble holes/pits) on the bottom or covered by the wheels. I've only worked on the VBLs, but from the top picture you can see the only very tiny spot I needed a small bit of green stuff to cover a slight pit.

I wanted these to go with some Peter Pig FFL and I painted the vehicles based on some pictures I was able to find on the web. The colors I used were:

Primed with Krylon Camo Flat Black
Camo (GW Scorched Brown and Tamiya J.A. Green)
Highlights GW Graveyard Earth

One of the pictures below shows a Rebelminis US Special Forces in front of the vehicle (camera angle makes the soldier look a bit larger)

What I Am Working On...

IrishSerb VBL (1/2 CMP)
IrishSerb Hummers (0/2)
Rebelminis Small Alien Walker
Frothers Zombies
HO Civilians (from an EBay seller) - very cheap and pretty nice

Frother's Zombies and SciFi Centaur Ants (Scants)

2010-01-31T17:12:00.000-08:00

I picked up the FU-UK/Frothers miniatures competition zombies and survivors and am really impressed with them. Some really cool zombies and the survivors will work for almost any modern genre (ex: survivors, near/post-apoc, city dwellers, etc). Above are the only two I've finished, I tried to make them look like they were recently departed so they have more life-like skin tones and their wounds are fresher...

Scants

One of my other projects is to try and create an ant-centaur 15mm sci-fi race (Scants == Scifi Centaur ANTS). The idea is a larger bulbous back-end with two segments making up the humanoid body part. I wanted them to have a daddy long legs look to them, but with the legs being closer to their body and not as long. I am by no means a sculptor though, so after looking for suitable plastic ants or spiders and finding none (this may have been an easier task during Halloween...) I decided to try and use small beads and went to a craft store and found a few possible candidates.

What I Learned...

Static electricity with small plastic beads == aggravation!
Super glue sticks to my fingers rather than plastic or metal beads
Using small metal wire through the beads is promising (pinch one end off and feed the beads on top) and it helps the super glue set between the beads better.

I need to find the best reproducible method to create these and then settle on some body styles and weapons.

Static electricity

Note: I live in Houston, TX and we rarely get weather dry enough or cold enough for static electricity to build up, this weekend the conditions must have been just right. I was going bonkers until I realized what was happening (seriously, small plastic beads were flying 6"-10" away when I was dropping them into the container shown above.

First Mini Painted of 2010

2010-01-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

2010

My first miniature painted was a GW Epic Eldar walker that I managed to pick up pretty cheaply on EBay. This will make a pretty nice Grey robot IMO.

2009

I finished the year at a -30 minis painted vs minis bought, still not too bad as I painted 95 minis total (I count a pack of 15mm minis as 1). I did not meet my goal of painting more than I bought, 2010 should go better right?

Pictures of the minis I painted (Khurasan Vampire and Peter Pig US Marines):

Another goal was to wargame with my minis which I did not do, but I did download Stargrunt II last weekend and have started to read it.

2010 Goals

- Play a wargame or two with my minis

- < -20 minis bought - minis painted (should be workable)

- Post at least 2x/month on the blog

- Obtain and paint some 15mm armor (maybe Peter Pig or QRF)

What I Am Working On...
- Khurasan Karks (0 of 8 CMP)

- Heresy Blight Zombie

- Heresy Zombie Halfling

- Rebelminis Zombie Dogs (0 of 6 CMP)

- GZG various from previous sale

Cold Wars Zombie Swat Troopers

2009-12-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

Below are some pictures of the Cold Wars Zombie SWAT Team (http://cold-war.co.uk/) DWW 12 Cop This pack. Nice miniatures, I've painted/purchased 11 of their zombies and have been pleased with them all.

Zoom ins on the guy that's hunched over on the left-side of the photo. The metal has a lot of good facial detail that is missed in the top photo. Other SWAT guy zoomed in below. Cloth was painted using Americana Deep Midnight Blue (from Michael's or Hobby Lobby for $0.99 a container) and armor was painted with a GW Citadel Foundation grey color (can't seem to find the paint pot atm).

I also managed to pick up 2 GW Tyranids that are coming up from the floor from the Space Hulk set on EBAY for < $5.00 including shipping. Very nice plastic minis. I hope GW releases these and others from the set seperately.

I purchased/watched "Distict 9" today, really a pretty cool movie. Some really good potential wargaming/painting ideas there.

What I Am Working On...

- Rebelminis Civilians (16/21 CMP)

- GZG 15mm Various (from sale purchase earlier this month)

- Khurasan Miniatures Kark Unit (0/8 complete)

Looking forward to finishing up some miniatures while I am off for a few days and catching up on some movies that I would like to rent/see.

Cold Wars Zombies

2009-12-13T14:44:00.000-08:00

I finished some Cold Wars Zombies (http://cold-war.co.uk/) DWW 12 Cop This pack and Z8 from the DWW 8 Run For It pack, I need to take a picture of the SWAT members when it is sunnier out so they won't look all black. I tried to mimic the uniforms of the Texas State Patrol (so they'd fit in with the other TX zombies/civilians I have, no disrespect intended) and am pretty happy with how they turned out. I used a different skin technique on them, going for a more oxygen starved look:

- GW Adeptus Battlegrey for the base

- GW BAAL Red wash/ink

- Highlights using the GW Adeptus Battlegrey and Ral Partha Dragon Tongue Purple

It was pretty fun painting some zombies again, I need to work on the Star Gate that I also purchased.

I painted one of Khurasan Miniatures Pelagic Scout ships (http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/t1208.jpg <== not my work) that I entered in their painting competition; this is the first miniatures painting contest that I have ever entered, curious to see how many others entered and hopefully pick up some tips on how to improve my work. I went for a completely different color scheme than the one on their site.

What I am Working On...

- Rebelmini's Civilians (12/21 complete)

- GZG Kra'Vak (I bought a few things during their sale)

- GZG Complex (the 15mm buildings)

- Khurasan Miniatures Kark Unit (0/8 complete)

- Khurasan Miniatures Pulp Pack (o/3 complete)

- Khurasan Miniatures Felids (0/10 complete)

Peter Pig US Forces+

2009-11-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

I purchased a few packs (a couple of US and French forces) of Peter Pig (http://www.peterpig.co.uk/) 15mm modern minis from their AK47 Republic line (http://www.peterpig.co.uk/range17.htm) from a US distributor (http://brookhursthobbies.com/). Reasonable shipping rates and arrived in TX from CA in a couple of days .

One of the packs I bought was called "Dictator" (http://www.peterpig.co.uk/AK%20character%20dictator.jpg) which had a large general in 3 poses (sitting, standing and dead/prone along with a guard). He is a bit portly and wears a general's uniform; I will let the pictures show how much character this mini has rather than try to inadequately describe it further.

As I started painting him, I realized he really needed some type of vehicle to ride in for the seated mini. While shopping at Target I happened on a $0.97 matchbox vehicle called the "Sahara Survivor" that looked the part (see picture to the upper-left). I removed some of the the roll bars in the back with an exacto knife and then gave it a new paint job, results with the Dictator in the picture to the upper-right above. More shots below:

Other vehicles in my collection (L to R)

GZG, 1:72 prepainted LAV (also a Target purchase, has more head room for the 15mm troops), and the matchbox.

I also finished my second pack of GZG Spacefarers which are some pretty cool minis too.

What I Am Working On...

Rebelminis Civilians (11/21 complete)
Rebelminis Contractors (0/21 complete)
Coldwars Zombie Swat (0/5 complete)

Wish List (Cliff Notes version)...

15mm seated soldiers to go with the dictator (I call him "The General")
2-3 15mm armored humvees with a 50 cal machine mounted in a cupola
2-3 French vehicles and a tank to go with the PeterPig French troops
28mm modern squad, maybe the Eureka French Foreign Legion that I saw the greens for

I've also done some more 28mm lately and hope to post pictures later in the week.

Painted Storage Container and Aliens

2009-10-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

I finished painting the storage container, was going for an old rusted look (still need to find stencils to put shipping markings on, no luck looking at Hobby Lobby yesterday as all were bigger than I was looking for).

I also completed my Khursan Garn Command Pack, really nice figures shown below.

Also finished the pack of Hammerhead Space Demons (also from Khurasan). colors look much better in person. I painted them by:

1. Base coat of Krylon XMetals red Chrome

2. GW Badab Black wash

3. Very light dry brush of GW Red Gore

The Krylon XMetals really has a nice non-metalic wet look to it which I think works well for these guys.

Below is my first 15mm conversion. I took the lady (from the GZG civilians set) with the short coat and hat and filed her chest and hair down. I then lengthend the coat and added a scarf with GW green stuff. Next to him is another GZG figure that I tried to paint up to look like Jayne of the Firefly series.

What I am Working On...

- Rebelminis Civilians (8 of 21 CMP)

- Newbold Space Trolls (sculpted by Bob Olley, 4 of 6 CMP)

- GZG Spacefarers II ( 1 of 6 CMP)

It looks like Bob Olley is opening his own site up again (http://www.olleysarmies.co.uk/home.html),

right now it has a bunch of pictures of some really cool terrain and miniatures, he is a pretty good painter too. I still need to finish a couple of his western looking space scrunts and a guard with guard dog.

Storage Container

2009-10-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

Being a lurker at TMP (theminiaturespage.com), I saw a link to an Spanish site for a guy that makes his own scenery:

http://www.toposolitario.es/workshop/container.html

He made a really cool shipping container that I decided to try and copy for 15mm. I try to save "bits-n-pieces" of things that might be viable for terrain and it looks like I had everything I needed to make a working prototype/proof of concept.

Contents Above:

thick baseball/football card pack cardboard
small nail/braid
metal paper clip
Starbucks cup insulation (also have the Seattle's Best ones)
small piece of left-over plastic card from the DPM building kit

I guesstimated the dimensions and starting gluing things together with supper glue which took pretty well. Below is the assembled container, hope to post some picture this weekend of how it looks painted.

This took about 30-45 minutes to complete. I will take care to keep track of measurements better next time so the containers will be the same size. I also need to find some stencils to put information on the sides.

What I am Working On...
- Rebelminis Civilians (8 of 21 CMP)
- Newbold Olley Space Trolls (2 of 6 CMP)
- Khurasan Hammerhead Space Demons

Seymour Block (DPM HO Scale Building Kit)

2009-09-20T16:27:00.001-07:00

I picked up a HO scale model building while at Hobby Lobby by a company called Design Preservation Models (DPM). This is the first time I have ever tried this, but it looked like it would be fun and I could get my 2 girls involved (9 and 7 yrs old). It really is a neat kit and came out pretty well; the girls liked doing the dry brushing of the bricks and adding some of the larger details. It cost about $17 USD and came with plastic for windows, but I may leave those off. I will probably pick up some other HO scale stuff.

The minis shown above are some GZG Sci Fi civilians and look in scale with the picture displayed on the model (the building has really long windows).

Below is a picture of the building with a matchbox size delivery van I picked up years ago when I worked in Toyko, I think they look pretty good together.

Below are some more pictures of Khurasan Minis 15mm Garn, I used GW Graveyard Earth for the skin. I am working on a command squad that I hope to have finished next week.

I would like to pick up some 15mm police figures (maybe Rebel Minis) and some more modern US forces (maybe Peter Pig Marines or QRF US) to add to the mix.

What I am Working On...

1. GZG Civilians (7 of 8 CMP)

2. Khurasan Garn Command (0 of 2 CMP)

3. Rebelminis Civilians (8 of 21 CMP)

4. Khurasan Space Demon King

Let me know if you have any other suggestions for buildings or your take on painting some of the miniatures that I've shown.

Khurasan Miniatures: SF Aliens

2009-09-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

The pictures I've seen at TMP looked pretty nice, so I bought:

5 packs (all different) of Space Demons
3 packs (2 different) of Garn (space lizardmen)
1 pack of Vampires

The Space Demons had some pretty cool poses and were very nice sculpts. The only problem was that some had some heavy/thick metal by the elbow joint but this removed easily with a file. Other than that most did not require much clean up.

Shown above are an infiltrator (foreground) and assault warrior (background) with a queen behind a Rebelmini special trooper.

I will try to get some more pictures up soon as I've finished 3 of the 5 packs I purchased.

As cool as these guys were, the Garn are my favs. These guys just look brutal and I am really happy with how my color scheme worked out:

GW Dessert Yellow
GW Devlan Wash
GW Dessert Yellow highlight
GW Rotting Yellow highlight (used sparingly on eye ridge and raised scales near the spine)

I finished one pack this weekend, some pictures below:

Really pleased with this purchase, link to their site:

http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/

What I am Working On...

GZG Space Civilians (4 of 8 cmp)
Khurasan Garn (0 of 5)
Rebelminis Civilians ( 8 of 21 cmp)

I am always interested in hearing (and seeing) pictures of how others paint their minis, so let me know if you've done any of the above and what you did.

Armed Rebelminis Greys

2009-08-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

I finished the pack of Rebeleminis Armed Aliens. I used GW tin bits(?) for the base of my leaders (greys w/ cloaks) and then did some washes with GW Baal Red. I was trying to mimic a technique that a guy on TMP used for some of his aliens.

I now have a 40+ greys (all Rebelminis) and a couple of flying saucers that I created from milk carton lids. I need to create a few war machines and the force should be good-to-go.

I've also been working on some GZG space civilians. These come in a pack of 8 (4 poses) and make pretty nice generic humans. They are more hefty than the Rebelminis civilians I have, but they are also wearing heavier clothing so this does not bug me.

I want to pick up some of the other GZG unarmed civilians and techs at a later date also.

My cheap vehicle find came via my 9yr daughter who went to a birthday party and go it as a party favor and then gave it to me. This is really pretty cool and matches the 15mm scale IMO. I will need to weather it, but it looks nice as-is too.

What I am Working On...

GZG Space Civilians (3 of 8 cmp)
Rebelminis Civilians (6 of 21 cmp)
Coldwars zombie in overalls (tried a new color scheme but failed, re-priming ATM)
Buildings - I want to try to make some basic buildings, inspired by some 15mm habitats shown recently on the TMP.

Thanks for reading.

Rebelminis Greys (15mm)

2009-08-02T18:03:00.001-07:00

Here are some Rebelminis Greys (aliens). I want to use these with the Spriggan Miniatures SPUGS (space bugs) so I tried to paint mine to look ant-like. The picture to the left has a 28mm nuclear reactor I picked up from The War Store (thewarstore.com) that looks spot on for 15mm imo.

I painted them using Ral Partha Dragon Tongue Purple and then did washes of GW Ogron Flesh and Baal Red. Next I did some highlights with the Dragon Tongue purple again. I think they have a cool look to them. I have the Greys with weapons to also paint and am looking forward to doing so.

Here are some side-by-sides showing the relative heights of some of the 15mm miniatures that I have. L-R:

Rebelminis Grey
Rebelminis Special Forces
Spriggan Games SPUG
Mech Warrior Clix Infantry
GZG Trooper (SG1 pack iirc)
GZG Space Traveler

Currently working on:

Rebelminis Civilians (5/21 complete)
GZG Civilians
Coldwars Zombie in overalls

Thanks for looking.

15mm Zombies!

2009-07-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

Finally painted up the 15mm zombies I ordered from Rebelminis (http://www.rebelminis.com/). I have been really impressed by their stuff in both its value and quality. I also have some of their modern civilians that are WIP. Below are some pictures with a postcard background (I need to get some scenery done...

Group Shot (22 minis iirc):

Close Ups and Action Shot:

Zombie Hunters/Survivors

I also picked up a pack of their zombie hunters/survivors; the blonde in the one-piece suit just needed to be painted as a member of the Blackhawk team imo...(DC Comics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackhawk_(comics)).

UFO's On-The-Cheap

I came upon a cheap way to make some small UFO's, they would work as "un-manned" drones.

To Make...

1. Drink Milk: not any type, but the cartons that have the plastic screw-off top on the side. We drink a lot of organic, but other seem to have them also.

2. Plastic Pop-Top/Safety-Top in side: Picture shows what it looks like

3. Glue Saucer Halves together, sand edges and paint: totally easy, but if you use super glue on clear plastic then it may frost over like it did in my picture up top. I probably need to get some modelers' cement as I don't remember it doing that to the clear canopies of the model planes I did as a kid...

Cool/Cheap Vehicles

The two trucks/vans are from Hotwheels and cost me $0.97 US each at Target. The porsche cost ~ $3.00 from Walmart, but it is a porsche... I will probably not do much or anything to it, but I will weather the trucks/vans.

What I am Working On...

15mm Civilians (Rebelminis)
15mm Contractors/Mercs (Rebelminis)
15mm GZG Civilians/Colonists (SG15-V2)
15mm GZG Free Trader Crew (SG15-X04 A & B)
http://www.gtns.co.uk/store1/commerce.cgi?product=SG15&exact_match=on&cart_id=9981502.13403
28mm Games Workshop Necromunda Orlock w/ Shotgun

What I Want to Buy Next...

I am trying not to think about it as I have a -23 BTP ratio

BTP = Figures Bought - Figures Painted

on the year (15mm packs count as one figure) and want to be below -20 before I purchase anything.

A Couple Zombies and Some Civilians

2009-06-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

Zombies need something to chase/eat so I picked up a few civilian miniatures; to the left is a pack from Reaper called something like "Modern Children". The girl in the front looks a lot like my youngest daughter who thought I had the miniature "made" for her. I need to find one to do for my oldest dayghter now...

Below is one of the EM4 Troopers that I painted. It is hard (for me) to try to get the dark colors to photo well and it seems my hand lent itself as an adequate backdrop.

I need to try to take a few pictures during the day and see how that turns out...

I've only done 2 zombies lately, the left is a skeletal trooper, to the right is a modified Heroclix; I think he'd work well as a "Left For Dead" mini.

On The Work Bench...

I recently purchased some 15mm miniatures from RebelMinis that I am working on, I really like the quality of their miniatures. I purchased:

Zombies
Aliens
Aliens with weapons
Civilian Contractors
Civilians
2 Modern US Soldiers (freebees - much appreciated)
Zombie Hunters (I finished painting this weekend)

I've found a cool use for some of the plastic safety lids on milk that I hope to write up here next.

On my quest for painting more miniatures than I bought, I am a -25 for the year (I count packs of 15mm as 1 for the bought/painted calc's).

GZG 15mm "Moderns"

2009-05-31T12:32:00.000-07:00

I picked up a few packs of GZG (Ground Zero Games) moderish miniatures and spacefarers and they are pretty nice but much larger than the Rebelminis and Mechwariors that I have (see pic below). I need to find some suitable 15mm decals to put on should pads...

GZG, SPUG, Rebelminis, GZG, Mechwarrior CMG

I also picked up a couple of vehicles that I am really impressed with. I had to use a small bit of putty to fix a problem on the command vehicle, but other than that there weren't any issues. Note that both models required pinning to keep the pieces together.

Command vehicle looks a little large with the GZG troopers, but looks spot on to me with the Rebelminis.

My first foray into 15mm...

2009-05-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

I am a lurker at the TMP (theminiaturespage.com) and have been really impressed with how detailed some of the new 15mm moderns/sci fi figures are looking these days. Ones made by Ground Zero Games, Rebel Minis and even the clicky Mech Warrior looked cool to me so I purchased some which are shown below.

15mm is not just a smaller 28mm and it has taken me some work to try to find how much detail to add and such. For example, I based my minis on some 1" washers which looks totally out of place. I found some 1/4" which look a lot better, which you can probably tell from the pictures.

Cool Find: Burger King Star Trek Shuttle - I gave it a new paint job (it had some nice detail that came out well with a black ink wash) and I think it looks pretty cool as a troop transport. Shown below with some clicky Mech Warrior Shock Troopers I repainted (5 to a base for about $0.25 per mini with shipping).

With some Spriggan Miniatures SPUGS (space bugs):

15mm Mech: shown with the clicky Mech Warrior troopers is a 28mm armor from the AT 43 game that looks good as a mech for 15mm (was small for 28mm imho)

Rebel Minis Special Forces: I really like these guys, incredible amount of detail

New Project: Modern Humanoids

2009-04-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

I was a big fan of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" series (the earlier years) and the coolest part was that monsters were real and lived among us. So if zombies are real, monsters being real in a gaming/miniatures setting is not a great leap.

Shown left are some cool Trolls from Newbold (http://newboldworld.com/) scupted by Bob Olley. These guys are large, but that's how Trolls are supposed to be. Really nice figures with very little flash; the company sells miniatures for charity and they clean them up before they send them out. I recently bought some Space Trolls that I need to get painted up to.

Dwarves are done by Bob Olley (http://www.olleysarmies.co.uk/) and were really fun to paint. Check the site out if you're into dwarves.

I have a few other humanoids to paint and will hopefully add them soon.

2008 Miniatures Painted

2009-03-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

I was a net -20 (minis painted -minis bought) and painted 70+ over all. Zombies and their victims/slayers comprised the biggest number. I also starting painting some WOW (World of Warcraft) minis from the board game which has some nice minis. I also re-found my box of Heroquest and painted the heroes.

A couple of new manufacturers entered my horde: Recreational Games (http://www.recreationalconflict.com/) who have their own line of miniatures for zombies and hunters (Lead Bones) and carry other peoples lines like Killer B's. I also purchased some from Black Cat Bases (http://www.blackcatbases.com/) that have some really cool Buffy-esque humanoids that I hope to be painted soon.

Goals for 2009:
1. Finish off the year at a +minis painted vs minis bought.

2. Add another modern force to my Dr Who UNIT troopers (I have DDD Brits and Germans, Black Scorpion US Marines and D&P Italians).

3. Play a Zombies game with my miniatures and write up a batrep on my blog.

More Pictures:

LNOE Hunters (Nurse hopefully done soon):

Hero/Horrorclix -I will really miss this game as it provided so many cool minis. Some of my favs completed last year are shown below:

Hasslefree Miniatures (http://hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/)- Zombie Before/After, really a great idea. Nice minis and even nicer people.

Mongrel Miniatures (http://www.mongrelminis.co.uk/) Northern Alliance - departure from Zombies, but paint up really nice. I also picked up a pack of IDF paratroopers and an Arab militia.

Some minis purchased from Recreational Conflicts (picture did not come out that good):

EM4 - I bought these from a former retailer that gave me a great deal. The minis are really nice

Black Cat Bases - evil kid in front with 2 of their guard dogs. Horrorclix to the left and Hasslefree to the right

What doe we want? Brains! When do we want it? Brains!

2008-07-14T18:14:00.001-07:00

My zombie horde is growing large enough to add some heroes. A member of TMP (theminiaturespage.com) told me where I could order some of the miniatures from the "Last Night On Earth" boardgame. I got 14 zombies (mixture of 3 poses) and 7 (?) heroes for about $20! They take paint well (my pics don't really show it) and are nice sculpts for being cheap.

Mail Truck

2008-07-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

The US Mail Truck was a $5 find at Walmart. It is from the DUB City line and looks pretty nice! Definitely one of my better vehicle finds.

Figures (L to R): Hasslefree, Horrorclix, LNOEx2, Zombiesmith

Horrorclix Zombies Review

2008-07-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Notes: Nice sculpts, wide variety. Readily and cheaply available from ebay. Easty to convert.

Cost: Cheap, ~$1 per figure

Value: Very exceptional

Last Night On Earth Zombies Review

2008-07-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

Notes: These are nice sculpts, but not much variety in the zombies. The plastic is a bit bendy and soft, but arms/heads come off easier and are easily pinned back on. They take/hold paint well, too.

Price: $0.80/figure

Value: Exceptional

Victory Force Miniatures Zombies

2008-07-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

Notes: only about 4-5 sculpts in the line currently. They add some good characterful alternatives; we all "need" zombie purple dinosaurs! These are metal/pewter.

Cost: $4+/figure

Value: OK; would need more rank and file for hordes to get a higher mark, but nice figures.

Zombiesmith Zombies

2008-07-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

Notes: some very nice miniatures, but they've been working on their rightfully popular Quar line more than zombies lately. Their minis range from ultra-cool to average, though. Pro: They have zombies from all walks of un-life...

Cost: $3-$5/figure IIRC

Value: High

Cold Wars Zombies

2008-07-14T17:43:00.001-07:00

Notes:

These come from the UK, so the price is high with the low value of the USD. Very nice range and poses. They've had problems with some of their moulds for months, and dealers haven't been restocked in that time. I hope they get the problems fixed, as I'd like to get some more.

Cost: high/currently unavlbl

Value: Good, when avlbl. Could be higher if the exchange rate were better.

Hints on Zombie Minis

2008-05-03T19:52:00.001-07:00

Hints On Converting CMG Minis
-- I am probably not the original source of these, just passing on my knowledge.
1. Removing From Base: put mini in freezer for about 10 minutes and most will easily snap off their base. Thin minis may break at weak spots (ex: thin ankles) though.
2. Base Coat: I like to use Rustoleum's Black Cammo with a non-reflective finish as it works well on plastic or metal. This makes your other paint "hold" on to the minis much better.
3. Pinning: using a small pin (ex: a thin paper clip or thin metal wire) will help your mini retain its shape or parts to stay on better when glued.

Cons to CMG Minis:
1. Bendy: arms and other original appendages want to go back to their original pose. I've tried the repeated heating and freezing method, but they still move back over time. Pinning with cutting and gluing also helps.
2. Details: some are better than others, but their faces and other parts can be nondescript.
3. Scale: the minis can vary widely. The Matron Mother one is tiny with its head being smaller than the fist of the Brain Eater.

Zombies

2008-05-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is a Wizkids Brain Eater rookie. To bring your rookie with head and base removed, the head is replaced with a GW zombie head.

Wizkids Horrorclix Insect Man (Rookie) with GW zombie arms and head. The guy could fit in as a prisoner from the Umbrella Corp.

Wizkids Horrorclix Frothweiler (rookie) -- I call him my "Rotted-weiler". I cut off the annoying boney spikes and tail and trimmed the ears. Again, this could be a lab dog or security dog for the Umbrella Corp. I know this was not the greatest zombie flick ever, but it had great zombie content from in miniatures/customization standpoint.

The CMG rookie clix stuff is great for making zombies with, and it's cheap! The Horrorclix listed above go from $0.14 - $1.09 on Ebay each. Prices are usually like that for the others, except for the Corp Response guys and their Zombies that go in the $2.26 - $9.99 range (cheapest)! Really wish they were more common, as they are really nice looking in the pics.

First Post

2007-03-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

I'd been wanting a blog for a while, to show off the miniatures I've painted. So here it is!