Batman: Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Assassins

It's some great soap opera stuff today, bat-fans!

Ra's Al Ghul

Ra's Al Ghul, the Demon's Head, is a formidable centuries-old opponent. He is the head of the League of Assassins. He has deduced Bruce's identity, and calls him 'Detective'. I wasn’t supremely impressed with this sculpt. It is what it is. Painting facial hair is a pain.

Ra's Al Ghul

Ra's slish's off Batman's ears...

Hush: Batman #616 (2003)

... and is a sore loser.

Hush: Batman #616 (2003)

These assassins came out pretty nice and quick; the dark red robes are quite nice.

Assassins

Talia Al Ghul

Ra's's headstrong daughter, she seduced Bruce Wayne and bore him a son, Damian/ Robin. She calls Bruce 'Beloved'.

The facial sculpt here isn’t great, but the flowing robes and white/ green combo are great.

Talia Al Ghul

Batman #34 (2017)

Heretic

Rebuffed as to an ongoing relationship with Batman, Talia cloned Damian and vat-grew Heretic. The sculpt shows a moment when he was set alight. Not an exciting figure, but the flames help.

Heretic

Batman Incorporated #8 (2013)

Lady Shiva

The deadliest martial artist in the world, her daughter is Cassandra Cain/ Orphan. The bodysuit is red ink over gold, and looks even better on the miniature than it does in a photo.

Lady Shiva

Hush: Batman #616 (2003)

Ninjas

I sprayed these Panzer Grey and picked out the armour and straps with AP Dark Tone wash.

Ninjas

Batman Season 2 Rogue's Gallery

I have found my painting mojo returning, and so here are some more bat-villains for your enjoyment. A few may be familiar, but most I wasn't aware of before doing a deep bat-dive last year. In no particular order:

White Rabbit

This lingerie-clad lady has the ability to literally be in two places at once.  While I respect the sculptor's attention to detail, I don't know where to look in the age of #MeToo. This character has more of a 1992 feel rather than 2012. Let alone 2020.

White Rabbit

Batman: The Dark Knight #1 (2012)

Catwoman

I started with dark grey and brought some highlights up to white, then used black and blue washes to give quite a satisfying and quick result. If anything, Batman has forced me to work on my approaches to black.

Catwoman

Hush: Batman #619 (2003)

Great White Shark

I know nothing about this guy.

Great White Shark

Batman: The Dark Knight #6 (2012)

The Ventriloquist and Scarface

Is Scarface a possessed gangster doll controlling a hapless victim, or is The Ventriloquist using a doll as an excuse?

Scarface and The Ventriloquist

Batman #13 (2017)

Cluemaster

Cluemaster is a C-grade Riddler wannabe, which actually gives him some interesting motivations. He's also Stephanie Brown's father, and the reason behind her becoming Spoiler- because she wants to spoil his plans.

Cluemaster

Batman Eternal #51 (2015)

Poison Ivy

I'm happy with my approach to painting fiery red hair as well. Ivy comes with some big carnivorous plants.

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy and friends

Detective Comics #14 (2012)

Ultra-dogs

These should be useful generic big guard dogs for other games. I drybrushed a blue-grey over dark grey for their coat.

Ultra-dogs

Batman #18 (2013)

NoBody

Is it a silly name, or is it genius? The figure could pass muster as a Necromunda Spyrer or any type of cyber ninja.

NoBody

Batman and Robin #7 (2012)

KGBeast

Another silly name. His arm is a gun!

KGBeast

All-Star Batman #3 (2016)

Owlman

This guy is a rogue from the Court of Owls, and claims to be Batman's brother. He's very monochrome, but I think the glowing eyes came out OK.

Owlman

Batman #10 (2012)

Carmine Falcone

Finally, Mr Falcone is a mob boss- nothing superhuman or quirky about him at all, which is deeply refreshing. I painted on the characteristic scars on his right cheek, but they don't show unless you really look closely.

Carmine Falcone

Batman Eternal #9 (2014)

Journeys in Middle-earth- more heroes

These are the heroes from the Shadowed Paths expansion. They took me many more weeks to get done than I had anticipated.

Shadowed Paths heroes

You've seen Gandalf before:

Gandalf the Grey

Arwen Undómiel, the Evenstar. A beautiful name that rolls off the tongue. I always try to emulate the breathy way Hugo Weaving says "Ahhhhr-when".

Arwen

Dís is a character named in Tolkien's legendarium. She's the sister of Thorin Oakenshield and the mother of Fíli and Kíli. I don't really like her sculpt; it doesn't fit my vision of Middle-earth. I still don't know how to pronounce her name- I think it rhymes with 'geese', but I suspect it may rhyme with 'this'.

Dís

Eleanor is a made-up character; a Gondorian noble.

Eleanor

Balin is the famous Balin from The Hobbit and the ill-fated expedition to reconquer Moria. I think he's my favourite of this bunch. He has his iconic red hood and white beard, and is accompanied by a raven. I painted this dark blue (like Arwen's hair) as I think blue looks better than shades of dark grey.

Balin

40K Biophagus and field surgery

This chap is a Biophagus, a Genestealer Cultist who dispenses injections of elixir and concoctions to make the brood stronger, faster, and even more aggressive. He comes with a familiar. I really did not enjoy painting all the smoke and glass- it was quite frustrating and unsatisfying, but looks better in the photos than it does in person!

Genestealer Cult Biophagus

"Qualifications? They must be in my other lab coat."

I also painted a Field Medicarium. I based it on 60mm MDF and added some limbs. I am quite happy with the shade of green- it gives that mid-twentieth century antiseptic establishment vibe. I understand Uhu glue gives compelling stringy blood- I may need to try this, but don't want to overdo the gore.

Field Medicarium

"I promise, I won't feel a thing."

These bits would make for a Rogue Doc in Necromunda as well.

Skull-o-meter™: 3

Batman Season 2 heroes

I picked up some more Batman: Gotham City Chronicles heroes:

Batman

The post-2016 'Rebirth'-era Batman has a distinctive purple lining to his cape. I wasn't a huge fan at first, but it has grown on me with time and it was fun to paint.

 Detective Comics #981 (2018)

Red Hood

Red Hood is Jason Todd, a former Robin who is an edgy bad boy anti-hero and uses guns. For more on the various Robins, see my post here.

Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth #1 (2016)

Gang of Robins

The Gang of Robins are teenagers inspired by Robin to become inner-city vigilantes. 

We are Robin #11 (2016)

Some Necromunda bits

The Muse struck me, and I finished off a few pieces for Necromunda. There are also some scenery bits here which haven’t shown up on WwB previously.

Some ammo crates and boobytrap markers

This shrine was an experiment using transfers from Forgotten Chapters, which I am pretty happy with. I have a convoluted process, but the end result is satisfying:

• Gloss varnish
• Vallejo 73.213 Decal Fix
• Apply decal
• Vallejo 73.212 Decal Medium
• Army Painter Anti-Shine

Shrine

Beast lair

Priority marker

Control panels

Barricades and obstacles

Skull-o-meter™: 8