Sinbad: Cyclops

Probably like most gamers of a certain age, I grew up watching the Sinbad films made using the stop motion monsters by the late, great Ray Harryhausen. The one that really caught my attention was the 7th Voyage of Sinbad complete with the fabulous horned cyclops

When I saw that Crooked Dice had released a 7th Voyage game, this got me thinking of figures. Even though I'm not likely to game with the rules, when I saw an old Ral Partha cyclops up for sale on the Lead Adventure forum I just had to snap him up. Turns out he's no longer made so I'm glad I grabbed him when I did ..


So, after a few days of painting here is the best looking cyclops miniature I've seen. Standing on a new 50mm base and over 60mm tall he's a beast

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Here is a screen grab I found of the original in the film to compare

On other news, I'm still struggling a bit with my health following the appendix operation. I think I've been more in the doctors & hospital the last month then I have the rest of my life :/

More Odds & Ends

I'm still trying to stick to my plan for February, painting odds & ends to clear a few projects. I probably spent a week just assembling, cleaning and undercoating quite a few figures, including ones I'm not likely to get onto painting this month :/

So, with the project clearing in mind, to start with I painted these four 'eavies from Crooked Dice that finishes off the last of their figures. These are obviously inspired from characters from the film, A Clockwork Orange

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Next, I painted up another one of the Bushido Savage Wave figures I have. Kano is a smaller oni, standing on a 40mm base this time. Finishing him leaves me just four more Bakemono to clear that project as well

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Robot Santa

Arriving just a bit late for the festive season, here's another one of Armorcast's robot townies miniatures. Again obviously influenced by Futurama, this one is Robot Santa. A large figure, he comes in three parts (arms separate) with a 30mm base but I have pinned him to a 40mm resin base as it suits the size of the figure better

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Whilst I was putting some paint on him I quickly painted these resin tree stumps that also came from Armorcast, just to get them done & out of the way

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Now, back to the Firestorm Invasion painting ..

The Last Painting of 2012

I planned so much painting for the holiday break but it seemed to go so fast I never got anywhere near completed what I was hoping to. The biggest failure was the Firestorm Invasion set I was planning, I completely forgot to get some larger brushes to paint the vehicles with. I must try and get some this weekend when I get to a model shop ..

Still, here is my last mixed bag of figures for 2012. No real plan on what to paint, just grabbed some figures that I fancied getting done

First up is the last of Crooked Dice's Timelift agents I have, converted using the weapon/helmet/backpack option into a specialist weapon trooper

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Next we have Olag Gan, again from Crooked Dice. He is another of their not Blake's 7 characters that they have started doing. Just waiting for more to appear now

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This beauty is a limited edition figure from Soda Pop Miniatures, Candy & Cola. They are in the middle of the designs for their Relic Knights game that I have Kickstarter backed and should be having delivered in a few months time

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Next we have another of the scary clowns that I started on a few months ago for 7TV games. This one comes from Comfy Chair Games and is from their Spinespur dark horror game setting. I wouldn't want to meet him on a dark night!

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Finally, a pair of figures from Mantic Game's Dreadball sports game that I again backed via Kickstarter (I really must refrain from doing so many this year). The game arrived just before Christmas so I haven't had much of a chance to do much yet. The one surprise were the figures are closer to 25mm that I had imagined, certainly smaller than any of the figures shown above ..

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These are No88, a special player you can 'buy' for your team and the refbot. Obviously I now have a lot of these figures to paint <sigh>

7TV: Feeling Crabby

The weekend resulted in a burst of painting activity on some more outstanding Crooked Dice figures (how did I end up with so many?!) I managed to get a set of alien envoy figures fully completed, think crab men for what they look like

There are a pair of envoys, large bulky armoured crab warrior types. They come with seperate weapons, if you want to use them, but I thought I would do these 'au naturel' as they will probably get more use that way

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In the same set as the two envoys there were a pair of conch-kin. These little crustations act a bit like the face huggers in Alien but grab on to the victims back and control them. They are on 15mm bases so are fairly diminutive!

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7TV: Diana Dare

Just a quick update, with one more Crooked Dice figure completed. This is Diana Dare, one of the sisters to Katrina who I painted a few weeks ago

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Hopefully more painting will be finished over the weekend

Dr Zoidberg

I managed to finish a new figure last night, one of the latest robot townies figures from Armorcast. These are obviously (not) based on Futurama and any resemblance is purely coincidental...

To add to the robots that I posted in an earlier post, here is an alien doctor figure who is obviously Dr Zoidberg. I've attached him to a resin base that came with the Fantascape hockey girl I posted last week

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I now see that Armorcast have now released an evil Santa robot armed with a machine gun. Will the lead mountain never be cleared?!

Jolly Hockey Sticks Comparison

Here you go guys, comparison picture of the two figures from yesterday

As you can see the Fantascape figure is big at about 32mm whereas Mysty, the Crooked Dice girl, is about 28mm in size. I'll use the blond as the school hockey captain to allow for her being taller

Apologies for the flash reflection on the ruler, I must find a white plastic one to use....

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7TV: Jolly Hockey Sticks

A week since the last post? The reason was a nasty stomach bug that hit me for several days, I was even off work with it :(

Anyway, picking the latest random selection of figures to be painted, I went for a pair of similarly themed figures from different manufacturers. The theme being schoolgirl hockey players (don't ask..)

First up, and the figure that prompted both of these to be done, is Mysty from Crooked Dice. She appears in their latest ZombieTV supplement, For Ghouls & Colleges

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At the same time as this figure was released I found the following zombie survivor available from Fantascape. She is a big girl, and the hockey stick is more ice rather than field, but I think she fits in nicely. The zombie head is a nice touch!

 

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Hopefully I've seen the back of the bug and can get some serious painting in now...

 

 

7TV: Blake

One more new Crooked Dice figure completed last night. This is the first of their pair of miniatures based on the heroes from Blake's 7, a TV series from the 1970's here in the UK

For anyone who hasn't seen the show, it's worth checking out. Yes it looks a bit shaky after all these years (who wouldn't?) but the story lines are well put together. There is actually talk of a new re-imagining of the show but I haven't heard anything for a while

So, here is titular hero himself, Roj Blake

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I have one more character to paint, Olag Gan, then I'm waiting for Crooked Dice to release the rest

Previously, I painted the following Blake's 7 related figures. These are not Servalan and Travis, two lead baddies plus a group of Federation guards from CP Models. Crooked Dice produce their own guards as well now, I shall have to add a few of them to the mix...

 

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7TV: A Couple More

I seem to have slowed up painting the last week or two. I can't really put my finger on the reason though. Maybe it's the darker evenings and just wanting to sit down when I get in from work?

Still, I forced myself to start painting again over the weekend. As I didn't go to Warfare this year (a decision made as I have plenty to paint en-hand as it is) I grabbed a few new Crooked Dice 7TV figures that I had arrive recently

First up is one of the not-Angel pilots, Katrina Dare. Painted in the scheme that is reminiscent of the show she is taken from. I must get the other two figures they do and add to the set sometime...

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The other figure I painted is one of their arch villains, Dr Ulysses Argo, complete with his electro gauntlets

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I must try and keep up the painting now I have started again  :/

7TV: Moonbase Alpha

Yes, I know that I said there would be more Chinese figures for the next post but it's some more 7TV cult TV ones this time

I was given a set of surplus Crooked Dice astronauts, by Steve at the Wells club, a week or two ago. I've already painted a set of these (see below) based on the Dr Who stories Silence In The Library and the follow up Forest Of The Dead. Not wanting to duplicate figures I already have done, I scanned around for something to do with them

Now, cunningly enough, Crooked Dice do a set of scientist figures (again I previously painted them) and those heads when attached to the astronaut bodies bear a striking resemblance to the three lead characters in the 1970's TV show Space: 1999. So that is what they ended up becoming

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Painted using one of the old Citadel Foundation colours for the orange for their suits plus Vallejo paints for the rest. I did change from my usual base colour to grey as it seemed to suit

Here's the three figures I previously painted, with the original heads, done up as the Albion Rocket Corporation

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Another great thing about the Crooked Dice range is the selection of heads they produce allowing you to create all sorts of wonderful figures like the one I did below :)

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Clowning About

Digging through the pile of figures that still need painting, I came across a set of armed clowns I got from Black Cat Bases a while ago. These will be destined for use in 7TV games, one of the sample scenarios in the Summer Special supplement is based in a carnival with clowns involved

These clowns aren't your usual family friendly ones but seem more reminiscent of Pennywise the clown from the Stephen King story/film It. Picking the first one from the set that I liked the look of, I went for the first colour scheme that came to mind. Suitably scary I think...

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Whilst I was waiting for him to dry, I quickly painted up these power units from Fenris Games. They are designed for use with the Incursion weird WW2 boardgame but will be useful in tabletop miniature games as well

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Finally, if anyone is going to Colours at Newbury Racecourse this weekend, I'll be there on the Sunday. I'm helping out on the Spartan Games demo table, just look for the confused looking person :)

7TV: More Painted Characters

As my break from the Dystopian Wars painting, I stepped up to my favourite figure scale of 28mm. I had a few new figures from Crooked Dice recently that needed to be done so I took the opportunity over the weekend to get them painted

Here are the Man From 2000, Hugo Soloman and a Daughter of Shiva

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I've basically followed the Crooked Dice paint schemes for the first couple, they are based on existing characters so it made sense. The Daughter of Shiva I've given a more subdued colour scheme though as it should make her fit into other things that I have planned

I finished the bases of these last night after returning from a monthly Sunday boardgame session at Wells. Invasion From Outer Space resulted in a win for the invaders on the last game turn whereas I somehow managed to win the Killer Bunnies card game despite my first three bunnies dying out as soon as they were brought out 

Next up, maybe one or two more 28mm's before dropping back to Dystopian Wars scale

7TV: I Shot the Sheriff

Last Thursday, saw the second episode in our on-going Crooked Dice 7TV games based on the Left4Dead computer games. When we left the survivors at the end of episode 1, they had managed to fuel their van and escape the gas station along the road

I Shot The Sheriff

The aim: report the incident to the police, in the nearby town of Keystone and refuel the van

Here is an overview of the entire table, at the top edge can be seen the survivors van, the square cream building to the right is the police station whilst a cinema car park can be seen on the bottom edge

 
The heroes pull up outside of the police station and enter, speaking to Officer Jobsworth to report the attack from the last episode. Understandably, the officer checks the survivors weaponry in before allowing them to proceed. Not believing the strange tell and smelling alcohol, he decides to lock the heroes in the drunk tank overnight

The cell already contains several town residents who appear to have been celebrating rather well. Several of them look rather worse for wear and when Jobsworth steps into the cell he gets bitten!

Knowing what is coming next, the survivors grab any weaponry they can find. The station armoury yields several shotguns and a submachine gun, whilst a confiscated bottle of whisky is put to use as a molotov cocktail, setting a blazing fire going in the cell doorway which takes down most of the walkers. At this point, things suddenly take a turn for the worse when a hulking zombie tank bursts through the flames!

Several well aimed shotgun shells soon puts the creature down and the survivors decide that they need to move quickly. Zoey and Nick take the van to the nearby gas station and begin to refuel. The noise of the pumps alert some unwanted visitors but they are soon dealt with by some sharp shooting from Zoey

Exiting the back of the police station the remaining survivors search for anything of use. Unfortunately the police riot vehicle's keys are no where to be found, 'I hate keys' mutters Francis....

Now bursting out of the cinema come a horde of the dead, with further ones appearing at nearby junctions to cut the survivors off

As their van rushes along the road, the remaining heroes battle their way through the advancing dead. As coach cuts a path through several with a chainsaw he found (it was either that or a lawn mower), Francis beats off a hoodie wearing hunter zombie that leaps at him from the top of a nearby oil tank

Knocking zombies flying, Zoey, Nick and van makes a timely arrival. Making a break for the escape route, Louis, Ellis, Coach and Francis shoot and cut their way to safety and leap aboard. Having to choose which road to take out of town, they decide to leave via the bridge that heads to the docks

 

Episode 2 ends at this point...

7TV: Robots

A couple of weeks ago, Armorcast added some familiar looking robots to their online shop for a limited period of time. These are usually only available from their stand at conventions, obviously meaning being here in the UK I was unlikely to get hold of any. Seeing as they were only available for a few days, I jumped in and purchased the ones I wanted. Delivery was very good, they took a week maximum to arrive here

Anyone who has watched Futurama will recognise the basis for these miniatures. They were all multipart metal castings, the outer pair needing the heads attaching, whilst the middle one (named 'Folder' by Armorcast) needed arms & legs fitting. I attached the figures to some nice 30mm resin bases I had bought previously from Fenris games

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I've tagged these under the 7TV label, I'm not sure where they will get used but the 7TV rules are likely to be the best option

Scenery: Barricades

Getting myself back into the mood for painting, I decided to paint up some resin scenery pieces that have been sat on the side for a while. These were purchased for 'large scatter' for 7TV/Left4Dead zombie type games that are being planned. I have a large collection of this type of scenery and it always comes in useful

First up is a junk pile that comes from Black Cat Bases. It has a dumped fridge, sofa, wheelie bin and a pile of mattresses. I toyed with the idea of putting a tuft or two of grass on it but in the end I left it bare

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These are a pair of car wrecks that come from Foundations of War, via their eBay shop. Each contains a pair of wrecked cars with barrels, bricks and masonry scattered about. The first one has a pair of older cars whereas the second is definitely modern

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7TV: Mutated Scientist

I completed the last of the Crooked Dice 7TV figures I currently have last night, a mutated scientist figure. I pondered using one of the alternate heads he comes with (the fly one especially) but decided that I would get more use from the figure with this particular one

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I painted him using a mid skin tone rather than the usual lighter one I use plus gave him a few washes of thinned green ink to make him look suitably unhealthy

Next to be painted, back to the Gruntz force

7TV: Timelift Commander & Teddy Bears?!

As I'm on a 7TV theme at the moment, I decided to paint the Timelift commander figure from Crooked Dice to complete the squad I (currently) have. Seeing as he is based on Colonel White from Captain Scarlet, it seemed suitable to use that colour scheme

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Just one more Crooked Dice miniature left in the lead mountain to paint, a mutated scientist, so I will probably try and get him done in the next couple of days

Next up, I finished off a few figures that I bought on an impulse recently (are there any other purchases?) These are some Zulu teddy bears from Eureka Miniatures that I got through Fighting15's here in the UK

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Now, you might ask yourself why did I get these? Simple, a year or so ago I got and painted the Rorke's Picnic British bears so they need something to go up against. This does mean I'm likely to need a lot more Zulu bears though....

Here is a picture of the previous British bears I painted

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And the reason for the fight, a pot I bought from somewhere and painted (can't remember the manufacturer)