Another Bad Squiddo mini - a cyborg

 I finished this Bad Squiddo figure off yesterday afternoon and spray-varnished it this morning.

She is a cyborg, therefore containing robotic/synthetic components mixed with a human biological core. My vision for her is that she is an ancient warrior cyborg, perhaps trapped for centuries on a forgotten world, the last living remnant of the crew of an abandoned spacecraft or perhaps the guardian of some long-abandoned habitat.

To give her the appearance of great age, I decided on a bronze-based colour palette, so that her outer carapace, which protects the small amount of biological tissue inside, looks like an ancient set of powered armour. I wanted her to look battered, with an air of antiquity, a relic of a now-vanished imperial power. 

I dry-brushed her bronze armour with some old gold paint and also gave some small parts of her armour a very light dry-brush with a pale green colour. I also painted some of her mechanical components gunmetal with a raw steel dry-brush for highlighting purposes. The coppery effect on her face mask and "hair" was done with a wash of burnt sienna drawing ink over old gold paint.

The scrap of green fabric around her upper torso is all that is left of a once magnificent long cloak.

Who can imagine the life of such a being? A flickering remnant of humanity forever locked inside an ancient bio-mechanical frame and covered in power armour of great age and complexity. What thoughts, if any would such a being have? Would she even be sane after so long? 

I must say that I really love this mini.

Taking the post-apocalyptic dog for a walk

 I've not really had the painting mojo for a while. I keep starting things and then abandoning them either once they are undercoated or part way through painting them.

However, I knew I had to do something about this sorry state of affairs, so I got to work on a few things I got for Christmas. 

These are a set from the Bad Squiddo Ghosts of Gaia range and they are listed as "Wrenchmouth and handlers" but I prefer to think of them as two residents of the post-apocalypse taking their dog for a walk. I like the cute little puppy the figure on the left is holding up. Clealy the little 'un hasn't had its injections yet.

Here they are again, on their way back from the park.

These figures are the usual fabulousness that we have come to expect from Annie's sculptors and casters and they really are very nice minis to paint.

I shall be finding a use for them in all sorts of science fiction games, including my own ROTOR skirmish rules, once we are actually allowed to meet up and play with our toys again.

I have a few more figures primed and waiting for a brush session, so hopefully I'll have something ready to post in a day or two.

I think the key to getting stuff finished at the moment is just painting something I like, rather than painting for a specific project.

A couple more Victorian Science Fiction figures

I actually painted these two last year, but somehow forgot all about them until now. As some regular readers might remember, I had a lot of turmoil and anguish last year with one of my dogs, so I am pretty sure that is why they never got onto the blog. I have given the photo the title of "A Steampunk Hero and Heroine". They are from the North Star Steampunk range.

These two feature heavily in the illustrations in the original In Her Majesty's Name rulebook, so I felt like I really ought to have them in my collection.

As an aside, a new edition of the revised and updated rules will soon be available. Personally, I am really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy.

Anyway, such characters need names and a background, so here are;

Captain George Ruff-Diamond, late of the Rifle Brigade, is now employed by an undisclosed Mysterious Government Agency in an unspecified capacity. Capt. Ruff-Diamond travels widely across Europe and beyond and is a noted bon viveur, sportsman and explorer. He lives on private means although the source of his wealth is shrouded in secrecy. Capt. Ruff-Diamond is a close friend of Professor Henry Hardy and was once romantically-linked to his sister Miss Amelia Hardy, with whom he remains on friendly terms.

Miss Felicity Ward. Miss Ward is a noted writer of fantastical romances and books on such matters as Spiritualism and the Occult. A former student of Archaeology and History at Brichester University and the École Nationale des Sciences Arcanes in Bordeaux, Miss Ward has travelled widely in the Near East and Eastern Europe and is the daughter of the noted American Anthropologist Professor Charles Phillips Ward of Arkham, Massachusetts and his second wife, Lady Jacquetta Melchett, the noted painter and poet. Miss Ward is a noted fencer and horsewoman and is considered to be an excellent markswoman with both pistol and rifle.