A very strange and unsettling graveyard

This is a project I started about 18 months ago, although I'd bought the various bits and pieces months before I started work on it. I finally completed it last week. Here is the overall piece, looking down from above;

 The model is around 40cm by 30cm, based on a sheet of MDF. The perimeter is made of Renedra railings and gate pieces and the pieces inside are all from Fenris Games with a couple of extra gravestones from Bad Squiddo. Below are some closer views of the graveyard, with Jon Hodgson backgrounds.

Now, this is clearly not your common or garden graveyard and who knows what kind of people, if people they are, might lie under the ground in such a place? Those gravestones seem to be slowly sinking into the ground and some of them a clearly very old indeed.

The various obelisks and columns hint at some very unusual religious practices and one really has to ask "Why is the water in the pool bubbling?". Of course, another relevant question might be "Who lies here and why are all the interments carried out at night under the baleful light of a gibbous moon?".

I'm really happy with how this piece has turned out. I think it is the perfect place to carry out some investigations into the practices of the locals and examine the sacred books kept under lock and key in the crypt of the local church.

The rest of my completed figures, six in total.

All rephotographed in better light. First, two Copplestone female archaeologists (yes, I know I already have these, but I wanted them in more tropical attire;

And here are their armed companions (who I also already have);

Next up is a Bad Squiddo Community mini, Queen Zenobia of Palmyra. You can read about her HERE;

And finally, here is a Steampunk version of the Marvel super baddie, Doctor Octopus. He is from Ironclad Miniatures;

He is a suitable colleague for another Ironclad Miniatures bad guy, who I pained ages ago and called The Mad Inventor. I'm going to assume that this chap has been given these extra limbs by the former. The pair of them, plus their Automata should be a real handful in Steampunk, In Her Majesty's Name and Pulp games.

So, that is me finished with painting until I get back from holiday.

A few more finished figures

These would have been finished a week or so ago but an arthritic flare-up in my right wrist made painting difficult and painful. Anyway, here are two angry Yetis from the Copplestone Back of Beyond Adventurers set.

Blue skin and white fur seems to be de rigueur for a Yeti these days, but I wanted mine to be more naturalistic colourwise. I thought that a Yeti living in the woods or below the level where everything is covered in snow would need to blend in with its surroundings, so I chose a brown palette. I think that these are terrific figures which could fit into many different games and locations. I am particularly pleased with their reddish skintone.

The next figure is from Bad Squiddo. It is a Forest Spirit.

I've had this figure for absolutely ages, maybe as long as three or four years and it has been undercoated for most of that time. I thought I really ought to get it finished. It is a resin figure, cast by Ristul and is a sort of manifestation of the forest in animal form. I think it is a lovely piece, a spirit inhabiting a body that is both tree and creature combined.

I've got a few more figures finished, but I'm not happy with the photos, so I'll have to redo them tomorrow.

By the by, I don't recommend having arthritic wrists. It is not only very painful but it really limits what you can do.

Anyway, I won't be starting anything else off because I'm off on holiday soon.

Copplestone Back of Beyond British infantry

Well, I've done the officers, so here are some rank and file for them to command. There are ten figures in total.

The group above are led by an NCO (with raised arm). The following two groups make up the rest of his section of riflemen.

As with the officers, I think that their KD tropical uniforms are slightly too green, but I don't think it matters that much. One thing that I think does matter is that they are wearing shorts, which I don't think were introduced with the tropical KD service dress until the mid-1930s, so these infantrymen might be a bit of an anachronism in the period immediately after the First World War and in the 1920s. Still, these are intended for all manner of games, some of which will involve Egyptian mummies that walk, unspeakable eldritch horrors and all manner of other weird things, so nit-picking over uniform details seems a bit pointless.

I bought a blister pack of Lewis gunners to add some firepower to this rifle section, hoping that I might get two gunners and two loaders/spare magazine carriers. Sadly, the set only comes as pictured, three gunners plus one loader. I enquired from North Star as to whether it might be possible to buy two loaders alone but apparently this isn't possible, which means I have one Lewis team and two extra gunners that I doubt I'll bother painting up, which is a shame. I'm not sure what I'll do with them.

Copplestone Back of Beyond British officers

Following on from the archaeologists, here are four British officers from the excellent Back of Beyond range, available from North Star. 

These four are (obviously) fine upstanding chaps, complete with stiff upper lips, an inherent sense of fair play and are from good schools and families with military backgrounds. All of them have survived the horrors of the Great War and now serve somewhere along the southern fringes of Central Asia or the Northwest Frontier.

Clearly, they must all be named, so left to right, we have; Maj. George Huntley-Palmer (on the staff of the Surveyor General of India), Capt. Hugh Andover-Fiste (twin brother of the notable archaeologist Giles Andover-Fiste), Capt. Oliver Marchmain and Lieut. Archibald "Archie" Walton.

My next post will cover some of the rank and file infantry I have planned.

I really like these chaps, but I'm not sure that the Vallejo khaki drill colour is really right for early- to mid-20th century British Army tropical uniforms. I think it is too green. Of course, we all know about the variations between uniforms from different manufacturers and the effects of weather and wear upon fabrics, so I'm not particularly bothered about this. They'll look fine on the table.

Copplestone Archaeologists

Ages ago, back in 2017, I painted the female archaeologists from Mark Copplestone's excellent Back of Beyond range. Now, much later, here are the male ones, available from North Star;

These guys are quite well tooled-up compared with their female counterparts and I see the two outer figures being more as adventurers and minders than actual academics. Still, all that firepower should come in handy when the inevitable nasties and horrors turn up.

Unlike the female ones, who I gave detailed biographies, I've only got as far as giving these chaps names.  From left to right they are; Giorgi Dolidze, a Georgian soldier of fortune, Giles Andover-Fiste, a member of the MCC and a gentleman amateur archaeologist, Doctor Petros Sarkisian, a famous Armenian archaeologist working at the Sorbonne and Hans Jansson, a Swedish explorer.

They seem a suitable bunch to pitch up almost anywhere looking for rare and arcane artefacts, scruples optional, no doubt.

Clearly, these are highly suitable for Pulp, Cthulhu Mythos, eldritch horror and other similar settings. They were huge fun to paint, because they are such nice figures. 

A few figures that have been hanging around for years

These were figures that I got with the Congo Mungo Ma Lobeh campaign supplement, which features the real female explorer Mary Kingsley.

The picture above is Mary Kingsley and her adversary in the campaign, Uguwa, a powerful sorceror. The picture below features two bearers. Bearers are always useful for all manner of games set in Africa.

I have to admit that I've never actually played the campaign, mainly because we stopped playing Congo at the club ages ago and no one seems interested in picking the game up again. However, all is not lost, because these figures could easily be used in all manner of Pulp games.

I'm happy to finally get these painted up, even if they do end up sitting in a storage box until a suitable need arises.

My final completed thing in 2023

Well, despite my best intentions, I've only finished one last piece this year. This is it.

I bought this at the club's Tabletop Sale back in May for (I think) £3. It is a Warmachines Mariner War Jack, whatever that might be, but I think it will be great for Steampunk and Pulp games, either as a McGuffin, an objective or an enemy.

I undercoated it in black and gave it progressive layers and areas of Vallejo bronze and brass, with oiled steel where appropriate (e.g. on the anchor and chain). Then it got all all-over wash of Nuln Oil.

I then washed the steel with Vallejo orange brown to give an impression of rust and a wash of pale blue mixed with green to create a patina of verdegris.

When I based it, I allowed the sandy basing gunk to stick to the thing's feet, to look like sand.

The Peaky Blinder is only there for scale purposes, but I doubt that his Lewis gun would be much use against such a Behemoth.

Bad Squiddo Undead Things

Well, I've been busy today! I was up before 7 a.m because the dogs were being loud and excitable and I've been at home all day waiting for a parcel delivery, so I thought I'd paint some things that have been lying around for ages. 

All four are Bad Squiddo 28mm figures, and I have to say that they are terrific figures to paint.

First, there are two renaissance skeletons; a Landsknecht Doppelsöldner and a fine gentlewoman, maybe a countess or duchess.

I really love these. They are so animated and full of character.

I decided to try and get a few hints of rust on the Landsknecht's armour and double-handed sword and I think that it has worked pretty well.

Both figures were undercoated in black and given a top-down zenithal blast with Army Painter Skeleton Bone spray. I then used a combination of paints and drawing inks to build up the colours. I am really happy with the end results.

The other two figures are Mummies.

These were given the same black undercoat and skeleton bone zenithal treatment and I then built up the finished effects with dry-brushing and dark brown drawing ink. They were pretty quick to complete but I think that they will work well on the table.

These will be good for all sorts of horror and pulp games, as well as 7TV Fantasy and Pulp. I cannot recommend these figures highly enough. They are excellent.

Anyway, even after all the painting, basing, spray varnishing and photography, my parcel still hasn't arrived.

Bah!

 

Another day, another group of figures.

I've been working on these since yesterday morning and now they are done. These are from the Copplestone Castings "Back of Beyond" range. I bought them from North Star.

They are listed in the catalogue as "American Adventurers", which I'd say was a pretty accurate label for them.

The guy on the left with the bullwhip and automatic pistol is, I have decided the famous archaeologist and treasure hunter, Dr. Jackson "Idaho" Smith. Next to him is grizzled former Texas Ranger Captain Ezekiel Hardiman, with his sidekick, ex-Agent Wes "Browning" Westerley. Finally, on the right is Jimmy "Hot Rod" Lincoln, so-called because of his love of fast motorbikes, automobiles and aeroplanes.

These are going to be great when I finally get a chance to put them on the table in some actual games of 7TV Pulp.

I must admit to being increasingly drawn to the Copplestone Back of Beyond figures. They offer up lots of possibilities, not only for Pulp gaming but also for In Her Majesty's Name scenarios, especially those from the "Sleeping Dragon, Rising Sun" supplement. The Chinese Bandits are particularly appealing.

Lockdown painting continues

These two badass ladies are from Bad Squiddo, where they are described as "Action Heroines", which seems pretty self-explanatory in a Ronseal way.

They look like classic hard-boiled crime fighters, the kind with a set of dodgy attitudes when it comes to following the rules. That pretty much says "hardcore TV crime-busting series" to me, and therefore makes them ideal for 7TV. Here is a rear view of them, possibly heading down a Mean Street in pursuit of a perp, after screaming to a halt in their 1971 Chevrolet Camaro and leaping energetically out of the vehicle.

I wanted to give them a beaten-up, tough, streetwise feel, so the colour palette I chose was muted and only used a few colours.

Anyway, they have to have names, don't they? 

So, meet our heroines, Mary Beth Lagney (with the blonde hairdo that needs her roots done) and Christine Casey, who NEVER takes off her mirror shades. They are former NYPD detectives who were kicked off the force for breaking the rules, using excessive methods and having a few too many suspects ending up deceased in suspicious circumstances. Now, the two are available to take on those dirty jobs where no questions are asked and getting the "right" result means they get paid handsomely, with no strings and no audit trail.

A couple of figures from Bad Squiddo

Well, I've been working on a larger project, of which more in a later post, when I have some results to show people, but while I was prepping that stuff, I also took the time to complete these two.

They are from Bad Squiddo and are on the website, here. They are nice figures, clean and flash-free, as is generally the case with all things Squiddo, but are definitely on the small side compared with the Land Girls, although they are nicely proportioned and are of a similar size to some of my Crooked Dice minis.

They painted up really well and I am pretty pleased with them. I especially like the pilot on the left. The details on her flight jacket really pop out.

Some more resin scenic bits and bobs.

Following on from the Fenris Games resin scenic items, here are a few more pieces for Horror and Pulp games. These are all from Crooked Dice. Once again, the intrepid archaeologist is only there for scale.

Here is the complete set; three monoliths, a statue of Cthulhu and a pile of skulls.

The monoliths have a lot of detail and therefore, here is a view of them from behind. Are those green things creepers growing from a crevice in the rocks, or might they be tentacles? Just don't get close enough to find out!

Next up, everyone's favourite tentacled abomination from the stars;

Now, here is a statue of some obscure amphibian deity on a blood-stained plinth;

Or is it just a statue? Might it be some kind of unknown inhabitant of the reefs and caves near one of those fishing villages where the locals have an odd, vaguely batrachian appearance? 

Here it is again, off of its plinth, showing the nice carved effects on the surface. This could be used stand-alone as a sacrificial altar.