Xmas-a-tron

This was my first entry in the 13th Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. It's a free 3D sculpt from Imitation of Life. I used Contrast paints over a metallic undercoat- fast but not wonderful, especially under harsh LED lighting. I retook the pictures under a more natural light which I prefer.

The original lighting

Season's greetings, meatbags!

Batman: 0-100 years and in-between

Today, various Batmen reflecting different stages in his 'career':

Zero Year

This Batman is an early, starting out Wayne. He doesn't have his bat-gadgets refined- he's carrying at least three knives, an axe, a crossbow, and a torch. The purple gloves are homage to the first appearance of the 'Bat-Man' in Detective Comics #27 (1939).

Zero Year Batman

Zero Year (2013)

Detective Comics #27 (1939)

Thrasher Bat-suit

The Thrasher power armour has appeared occasionally in recent years.

Thrasher Bat-suit

The Dark Knight Returns

DKR (1986) was a tale that brought Batman back into seriously serious territory after the Adam West years. A 60ish Bruce Wayne takes up the cowl again because he misses the violence. Highly recommended. I did a dark blue cowl and cape that I'm pretty happy with; it is a more interesting colour than black.

The Dark Knight Returns

Dark Knight Returns #2 (1986)

Year 100

Every now and then DC lets an author off the leash to do something with Batman. Year 100 is a tale of Batman in 2039, fighting a dystopian police state. He's got a decidedly retro look with leather lace up boots and shorts, and memorably wears fangs to terrify baddies.

Year 100 Batman

Year 100 (2006)

Bat robots

The Ro-bats popped up a couple of times in the late 2000s.

Bat-robots

Bat-tally 136/ 215 (63%)

Imperial Assault- Heart of the Empire Imperials

Heart of the Empire is the latest expansion for Imperial Assault. Here are the Imperial forces from that release, starting with the reason for it all:

Emperor Palpatine

Finally, a chance to use the Royal Guard!

Next, some Riot Troopers. I really like these figures, although I'm unaware of any canonical source. I've neatened up the bases since this picture was taken.

Riot Troopers

The next figures are Sentry Droids from the Rebels series. They're a little prone to twisting at the waist, but a simple paint job serves well.

Sentry Droids

The All Terrain Defence Pod (AT-DP) is a bit of a crowd pleaser, standing even taller than my AT-ST!

AT-DP

AT-DP

Finally, not Empire, but some mercenary scum of the shapeshifting Clawdite variety. They're based on the forgettable Episode II bounty hunter Zam Wesell. I wasn't really enthused by these figures so they got a quick paintjob only.

Clawdite Shapeshifters

Don't be fooled- she's an alien shapeshifter!

Next week: Rebel heroes!

Star Wars: BT-1 and 0-0-0

Marvel publishes a Darth Vader comic, and on the whole it's not too bad. Set between Episodes IV and V, Vader feels the Emperor's displeasure and is trying to work out who the pilot was who evaded him and took out the Death Star. He enlists some allies, in the form of unimaginative Artoo/ Threepio knockoffs, BT-1 and 0-0-0.

BT-1 and 0-0-0

BT-1 (Beetee) is an blastomech- an astromech with a hidden arsenal. He loves destruction and often has to be restrained from excess. Very easy to paint.

0-0-0 (Triple Zero) is a protocol droid with Threepio's mannerisms and a penchant for torture and sadism. I used blue and black washes for an oily gunmetal sheen. The eyes were a struggle.

Despite being a lazy twist on Artoo and Threepio, BT-1 and 0-0-0 do have character and often steal the scene. I have seen gloss black interpretations of them, but I see them as metallic.

Art by FFG

As a bonus, here's a jawa! He really came to life when I painted the eyes.

Marvel Star Wars Comics

Star Wars: Hera and Chopper

Hera Syndulla is a strong leader and skilled pilot. I struggled with her orange flight suit, but really enjoyed her overall. She's got a good colour scheme, and her skin is an interesting tone. I freehanded some concentric rings onto her lekku, which I'm pretty happy with.

C1-10P makes R2-D2 look like a model of decorum. He's a grubby astromech who is constantly grumbling, and his defining moment is when he callously pushes a rival droid out of an airlock in front of witnesses. There are Reddit threads about how many people Chopper has killed... I'm a fan, and he too was fun to paint.

Both these characters got cameos in Rogue One. I do hope I can complete the rest of the Ghost's crew.

Addendum:

I've been asked to show Hera's lekku patterns, and took the opportunity to show her face with better lighting. The patterns are a rough simplification, but I think they suffice.

Imperial Assault- Return to Hoth baddies

Here are more figures associated with the latest Imperial Assault expansion, Return to Hoth. The droids and tank are from non-canon sources such as computer games. See my previous post for how I did the snow bases.

I enjoyed the monochrome Snowtroopers, they look sinister.

The Repulsor tank. I hate painting vehicles. I repeatedly found myself washing it down and highlighting it up but just couldn't get happy with it.

Concept art by MoonSkinned

General Sorin. My work on his face makes him look like a bit of a sourpuss.

Dengar the bounty hunter. I liked doing the scar on his face.

Wampas! Not the most difficult paintjob, drybrushing over a blue-grey.

HK Assassin droids. I like their appearance and copper colouring. They were fun to paint up.

Imperial Assault- Return to Hoth Rebels

I picked up Return to Hoth, the latest Imperial Assault expansion, at CanCon. Here are the rebel forces:

Verena Talos is a close-combat specialist, starring on the box cover. I enjoyed painting her hair and her coat.

Loku Kanoloa is a Mon Calamari sniper. Rather than the character art, I painted him in the same camouflage as the Endor Strike Team. He's got the same duster and gaiters, after all. I really enjoyed painting the head patterns, they help sell the figure.

MHD-19 is a medi-droid. I think he's seriously creepy. Check out some of the character art, the Imperial officer is terrified!

I can end your pain. Forever.

Echo Base Troopers. I like the effect on their goggles.

This was my first ever attempt at snow basing, and I've been scouring the internet for tips for several months prior. Here's my final recipe:

• Builder's plaster to build up the groundwork
• Paint pale blue-grey, then drybrush white
• Paint the figure, then varnish
• Concoction of Woodland Scenics' 'Realistic Water' and 'Soft-flake snow' and Secret Weapon 'Ground glass'

Finally, Leia. I like her attitude, and the contrasting pale tones.

All art FFG

The droids I was looking for

I can't say why, but Artoo and Threepio really sell the Star Wars saga to me. I am so happy with these iconic droids.

R2-D2 and C-3P0

15mm rogue androids

The Ghosts of Hefei scraped through its crowdfunding goal a couple of years ago, and the miniatures associated with it just came out.

I believe these were sculpted by PF (check out his blog). They are mounted on 20mm washers. They are well proportioned, finely detailed figures. The heavy weapon droid is wearing an oni mask and is a head taller than his (its?) colleagues.

I don't know if these will be more widely available in the future, but are very compelling generic figures.

There are some hackers and enforcer figures as well, I will put them up here when I get them done! In the meantime, check out my Department figures.