Eldar Rangers

I've always liked these 1989 Jes Goodwin sculpts, and found some on eBay. I did them in the white & green Biel-Tan scheme which I think is quite striking, and made their camo cloaks reversible.

Thirty years of scale creep. I'm not the only one affected by the snapping of this rifle, and haven't got around to fixing it.

"Stay away from me and my son!"

Éowyn, Dernhelm and Merry

Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm laughed, and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. 'But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn am I, Éomund's daughter.'

JRR Tolkien, The Return of the King (1955)

Éowyn masquerades as the Rider Dernhelm, pulling the wool over the eyes of Théoden, Merry and the Witch King. This is a gorgeous 2019 plastic kit. You get a mounted Dernhelm and Merry- and Merry is detachable. He sits solidly without pinning or magnets and is easily removable. The join is not apparent. I enjoyed painting the cloaks, with a more grey tone for Merry's elven one.

sans Merry

avec Merry

You also get a dismounted Dernhelm and Merry.

"Her eyes grey as the sea were hard and fell,
and yet tears were on her cheek."

I also had a metal Éowyn - if I'm already painting two Éowyns, what is one more?

"... the helm of her secrecy had fallen from her,
and her bright hair, released from its bonds,
gleamed with pale gold upon her shoulders."

And I dug up an older metal Éowyn and Merry for completeness. I painted these over ten years ago, and was really happy with her face. I prefer my old Merry's underjacket colour.

"... maiden of the Rohirrim, child of kings,
slender but as a steel-blade, fair yet terrible."

Firefly

I got a copy of Firefly Adventures: Brigands and Browncoats. I painted it rapidly using mostly Contrast paints and by lowering my standards appropriately. I'm very happy with the outcome. The game comes with cardboard boxes that can double as terrain- even the box base is a big hangar/ warehouse.

Each crew figure comes in a 'Casual' and 'Heroic' pose that have different actions available to them. The 'Heroic' abilities will tend to attract the attention of the baddies!

Serenity crew- Heroic

Serenity crew- Casual

Cowboys

Thugs

Dr Simon Tam

Shepherd Book

Captain Mal

Kaylee

River

Inara

Zoe

Jayne

Wash

These were pretty quick to paint. The female face sculpts lack a lot of definition. The Cowboys and Thugs would be great for Stargrave.

I haven't had time to play it yet...

Season’s greetings!

Snowflake the Black-Heart Paindeer is a 3D print from Imitation of Life. I almost repainted his red trews, but they went down a storm at the AHPC XII.

All the best for 2022!

40K Ryza Ruins

I've had these for a few years, but following a surge in my interest in grimdark skirmishes, it was time to get them painted. I prefer my scenery to merge with the tabletop rather than plonk directly onto it, so cut and sanded some MDF bases. I had a flash of inspiration and used Renedra square bases to make some interior floor tiling for texture. I also had a 3D printed crater floating about which I glued down on one base and I think works well. I built up the groundwork using Sculptamold for the first time, which I was pretty happy with. Then I glued down rubble and sand with a lot of watery PVA. I sprayed them black, then an overspray of gunmetal. I sponged on some orange, then a watery coat of red-brown craft paints. Finally I dry brushed the bases in browns and creams. There is plenty of detail I have not picked out.

The collection

The raised hoarding gives a slight Old West feel to this one building only, but I am not sure if I really like this.

I left the roofs separate for ease of painting with the intent of gluing them later, but they are a snug and secure fit so I have left them unglued.

The buildings can match with GW pipes, but they are a little offset due to my MDF bases.

I cannot decide if I prefer the modularity of two separate corners, or if I would have preferred the aesthetic appeal of one larger base.

Overall, I like these sturdy pieces and you will see them often.

Five Parsecs: Campaign Game 6. Rogue servitors

Lady Heldecryn's patron sets a new task -to investigate anti-mining activities in the sub-hive. The crew is reduced after their last firefight, so Lady H. is accompanied by the void-cross'd lovers, Julio and Roma. The mining interest representative assures her it will be a simple task.

The sub-hive is empty and claustrophobic. Why have the denizens left?

"There's something odd in this chamber.
 And those servitors are coming for us!"

"Don't hit the device!"

The terrifying servitors ignore the hail of fire and trudge forward.

Roma takes one down with her swift moves.

Overconfident, she takes out the second but it wallops her as well- luckily, nothing serious.

Lady Heldecryn is able to disarm the device.

The mining interest representative is shocked by the discovery of an infernal device in the sub-hive. Who placed it, and why? Who overrode the servitors' protocols? The Innominate's crew is issued a sector permit for expanded activities as a bonus and token of appreciation.

I resin-printed these characterful figures from Red Warden. I encountered a significant issue with two of them a few days after printing, when incompletely cured resin caused a gas buildup that split the hollow print. Luckily I only needed two for this scenario, but I do like the creepy concept of this lobotomised cyborg workforce and I will print more.

Servitors

These cracks spiral all the way up the back...