Dark Tower: What lies beneath...

Many caverns, not to mention a great maze of sewers lie beneath the city, shunned by the sane as the abode of many horrors even more terrifying than those that dwell on the surface. Some, the brave and foolhardy, still seek the depths in search of treasure and mystery. It's been a little while since I've posted on my Dark Tower miniatures, and I've gotten a few more encounters painted up.

Among the many strange inhabitants of the depths is this, a Cloaker. Able to change color like a chameleon, they live on the ceilings of vast, damp caverns far beneath the surface, where flocks of hundreds can often be found. 

This miniature is available for sale on Etsy, providing an excellent encounter for Frostgrave or D&D, and even if it sells out, you can always request a custom order to your own specifications. I really like how the stalagmite it's balanced on turned out, moss-covered, with water running off in pools to the floor. 

Equally at home above the surface or below, undead, often skeletal dogs run in feral packs seeking food. This is a Grenadier model from the mid-eighties, a sculpt I really like. I used a good bit of washes on it, particularly around the mouth to give it a nasty, dirty look.

A rusted collar still hangs around its neck, a relic of its former life- or current service in the warband of some dark necromancer...

Statues from a forgotten age lie mourning in ancient courtyards... but are they just stone? After painting my Weeping Angels, I went back and added more detail to a pair of Reaper's Angels of Sorrow, making them more suitable for the Dark Tower. These are true 'weeping' angels, with small streams of water coming down from the eyes, pooling at the statues' feet.

These can serve as mere statues or constructs as well, adding a great accent to any game. Thanks to Georgia Ballard of Loot the Dead Things for tips on the weathering of these, and the cloaker's stalagmite.

You blinked.

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Exterminate! The New Dalek Paradigim

I painted up some more Doctor Who figures, the infamous Daleks!

Emotionally unstable pepperpots with plungers, the Daleks are the oldest, and perhaps most iconic recurring Who villain, featuring in the second-ever story-arch. They've gone a long way since 1963, and this is the most recent, although short lived, incarnation of the Daleks- the brightly colored new Paradigim from Victory of the Daleks.

 The different colors denote function on-show. This is the lowest rank, the Drone. They were a straight forward paint job and some I think turned out quite well. The balls around the hemis were time consuming, but really add to the effect.

These are from the same set as my Weeping Angels, sold with Doctor Who Adventure Magazine as a special. While not my favorite Daleks, these stand out well against a muted setting, perfect for something like the Dalek Invasion of Earth's ruined London.

Here's the gruff-voiced Supreme, highest in the Dalek hierarchy. The Paradigim consists of five different Daleks, all of which I have models for. These three also appeared briefly in The Pandorica Opens, transmatting down to Stonehenge to help imprison the Doctor.

The main problem with these models, to me, is the oversimplified rear- still, it's an excellent, to scale model for a cheap toy!

Lastly, the Dalek Eternal. A strange Dalek with a mysterious function, said to be involved with the purified continuation of the Dalek race. Whether a fanatic priesthood or serious-minded genetic scientists, plenty of scenarios spring to mind based around this Dalek!

In addition to the bright reds and yellows, I think the gunmetal on the shoulders and neck also turned out well, setting the dominant color off to good effect.
I have started on some terrain to go with them, based on the main set from Daleks Take Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks, from which these three will be well prepared to launch their schemes of galactic domination and extermination!

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Your Life May Depend on This...

Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you can believe. Don't look away, don't turn your back, and don't blink!
Good luck,
-The Doctor

The Weeping Angels, the most deadly life-forms in the universe... statues until you look away, or even blink...
These are from the BBC television show, Doctor Who, and are among the Doctor's most dangerous enemies- and my favorites. While no official Weeping Angel miniatures exist as yet, Doctor Who Adventure Magazine ran a freebie pack of monsters from the series with one of their issues, some of which, including the Weeping Angels, are scaled almost perfectly for 28mm wargaming.

They are molded out of a rubbery eraser-like plastic and flash is a pain to remove, but well worth the effort, as they paint up really well. I have six total, three of which are left to paint.

This sculpt, in particular, looks really sharp as is well shown by the wings and back of the robe. It was a simple, enjoyable paint job, base coat followed by a medium and light grey dry-brushed on and then the same light grey used for highlights and touch-ups. An overall coat of Army Painter soft tone was applied to add depth and a bit of weathering.

This sculpt is by far my least favorite, the arms are way too small for the body - but it's still an Angel!
These will see plenty of service in both true Who games and in Frostgrave as constructs. With all six I need to make a Maze of the Dead scenario for one of my favorite episodes, The Time of Angels.

The Angels have the Phone Box!

Want your own Weeping Angels and other heroes and villains from sci-fi's longest running television show? Check out my Etsy shop for pre-painted miniatures and custom orders.

Don't Blink...

WWII Ostfront: 500pts German Grenadiers Part 2

As I mentioned in part one of this post, I'll cover my German force in greater detail, section by section. Today, I'll start out with the command:

 First up: my officer. He was originally sold with the Armies of Germany book as Otto Skorzeny, but here he's re-purposed as a standard officer, armed with an MP40.

He's painted in a standard German uniform, with 'oak leaf' camouflage trousers. These took a good while to get right, but I'm happy with the effect. His helmet also turned out well, just the right amount of sheen to the black. A Germanic rune was painted on the front, their letter 't', called Tyr, the god of war.

His aide, along with several of my other Germans, is not up to my usual standards of painting, I started this force quite some time ago, and the force has an uneven quality to portions of it.

He has on a Zeltbahn poncho painted with a Heer splinter camouflage - these doubled as tent-halves as well. The splinter, here, is a simple three tone pattern, a base of Vallejo Khaki with V. German Camouflage Medium Green and Army Painter Chocolate Brown added over it. Now I add a second, darker green in light, irregular streaks over areas of the poncho, which is accurate, although not very noticeable.

Lastly, a medic, to try and keep my men alive a little longer. He's all decked out in a white helmet and tunic to avoid being mistaken as a regular soldier, although this was more of a liability on the Eastern Front, where neither side was above taking potshots at the other's medical troops. It was, however, a much more satisfying paint job!

With that second bag, he's a full Sanitater, usually assigned at company, rather than platoon level, but at this late stage of the war he's been called to serve at a lower level, or he's just a platoon-level Krankentrager who happened up on a Sanitater bag.

That's all of my command, next up, I'll start on an infantry squad.

See part 1 of this post here.

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WWII Ostfront: 500pts German Grenadiers Part 1

I finally finished a playable Bolt Action force, 500pts of late-war German Grenadiers. They are based around the Operation Spring Awakening selector from the Armies of Germany supplement. This allows for plenty of Veterans, with good equipment, including StG 44's, Panzerfausts, good armor, and IR sights; and the opportunity to field alongside Hungarians, facing both Soviets and Romanians! I like the good variety offered by this list, in addition to the historical background.

Spring 1945- the Thousand-year Reich lies in ruins, and the Germans are on the verge of losing their last allies, the Hungarians, besieged in their capital of Budapest. Hitler orders what will be Germany's last strategic offensive of the war- Operation Frühlingserwache, Spring Awakening. Its immediate goal is to liberate Budapest, keeping Hungary in the war. They made good progress at first, but they hadn't counted on line after line of Soviet defenses, or the muddy spring thaw...


Here's my actual list for this force:

Command:

Veteran 1st lieutenant with aide - 103pts

(The observer on right is to use in scenarios, the medic at higher point values)

Infantry:

Squad A: five veteran men, two AR, one SMG, two Panzerfaust - 88pts

Squad B: five veteran men, three AR - 80pts

Squad C: five veteran men, LMG, AR - 90pts

Support:

Regular Flamethrower Team - 50pts

Regular SdKfz 251/1 'Hanomag' halftrack- 89pts

I've gone for an offensive force, with good mobility and close firepower. The Hanomag can transport two squads and the flamethrower forward, while the LMG squad provides ranged support. It'll need a good bit of cover to work well, city fighting being ideal, but it should be fun to run.

I'll detail each element; command, infantry, and support in more detail in future posts.

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Dark Tower Encounters: Demons, Constructs,

All heroes need plenty of monsters to vanquish, and my Dark Tower is no exception! Since, in my last Dark Tower post I focused on my noble Church Militant, it's time the creatures got a post or two. I'll start out with some demons, and a couple of others.

First: a couple of Reaper Bathalians. These were mis-ordered while I tried to obtain a Mind Flayer, but I liked them, almost like Lovecraft's Mi-Go, so I kept them, knowing I'd figure out some use for them. They were pretty difficult to paint. Especially all of the crevices under the exoskeleton/shell, and the tentacles. That really made me wish for a spray primer!

These are Sarmen, evil, scheming outsiders, who polymorph themselves into the shape of a Mind Flayer to wreak havoc in this dimension. This one, their leader, Khranov, controls the cult of the Flail Brethren, mortal enemy of the Church Militant. It's hard to get a good shot of the back, the angle is really difficult, but you can see the exposed brain under the tall, miter-like face.

Another, lesser Sarmen, Reaper's exarch. The more red in its coloration, the higher its rank. Most of the body, once a base coat was applied, was dry-brushed, which turned out well, giving about the same effect as standard brushwork (better looking, in this case) and taking a fraction of the time.

Here's a good shot of the back showing the brain and red lacing on the head well. I'm pleased with how these turned out, they stand out well, easy to see but not too bright in the primarily grey city.

Next up is a Caryatid Column set, perfect for medium constructs, or statues to add some accent to a building, until they spring to life... To get the effect of stone, I dry-brushed the darker grey, than painted the statue itself with a tinned lighter grey. I wanted a dryer look to them, so I didn't put any washes on.

The back has a system of hairline cracks, which really stand out well. These make good guardians of treasure and doorways, making anyone think twice before attempting to win past them. The other was done the same way, although the pedestal and final were painted the same as the statue.

Last is another complete homebrew, the Serith. An amphibious beast, the Serith lurks in the sewers during the day, emerging at night to hunt. It's fast moving, and extremely agile, able to climb vertical surfaces with no penalty. The belly was painted with my base three flesh tones, with a dark red beneath to give some depth.

 The head, like the Sarmens' backs, is difficult to photograph, the eyes are a really light white-green, raised one tone from the scales. The molded on bases of this model, in addition to the Sarmen, were just base-coated when I took these pictures, they are now a medium grey to fit in with the cobbled streets of the Dark Tower.


Want your own Sarmen? Check out my Etsy shop for custom commissions, and a growing range of prepainted miniatures.

Check out my other Dark Tower posts Here and Here

Blew Cap for me! English Civil War Clubmen

Clubmen were hastily assembled militia, banded together to defend their homes, in this case against Montrose's Highland marauders! I painted them up as part of the same commission as four of my previously posted Highlanders, from Warlord Pike and Shotte plastic infantry.

These particular clubman have been fortunate enough to gain, through one way or another, seemingly military-grade gear, unlike most of their ill-equipped comrades. Their clothes, however, are an assortment of colors - civilian work clothes re-purposed. The idea of a uniform was still emerging, even among the regular armies.

This particular model carries a matchlock musket, and all the necessary equipment to fire it, as well as a hunting sword, called a hanger on a baldric at his side. Also, a knit cap protects against the cold northern winds. While fairly simple to paint, I enjoyed researching this period, learning more about the campaigns in which these soldiers fought.

His face is almost hidden under a broad hat, but you get a good shot of the gun. While inaccurate, the matchlocks offered a measure of protection to the slow-moving pike blocks, often grouped at the flanks.

Speaking of pikes, here's a pikeman. The size (some six inches long on this model) was startling to me at first, this is a weapon I'd not like to cross! He also wears a large, round helmet, the origin, as I recall of the New Model Army's nickname 'roundheads'. I had a few models left over from this commission, mostly musketeers, which I'm painting, eventually, as New Model Army.

There was one exception to the clubmen, I painted this one in the hodden grey of the Covenenters, soldiers of the Presbyterian Kirk of Scotland. A very interesting force, who switched sides during the conflict, fighting with the Cromwell-led parliament, turning over King Charles to them, before switching sides and supporting the king's son, Charles II.

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Also, check out my Highlanders here