Friday, 17 September 2021

Pulp War 35 Kickstarter - Final 48 Hours!



Kitbash Games has launched a Kickstarter for its new range of 1/35 scale pulp-influenced Weird War II miniatures - Pulp War 35!


Link to the campaign (click for link).


The campaign has now unlocked 5 characters with more 

Pulp War is a digitally sculpted range of 1/35 scale Weird War miniatures which will be cast in high quality resin.

For gamers, there is a free set of alpha version, 'no frills' rules to use if you don't have a preferred set already! You can find the rules here: click for link


Please join us and make yours Pulp War 35!









Saturday, 24 August 2019

Supers Unlimited Kickstarter From Kitbash Games Is Underway!


My Supers Unlimited Kickstarter is live here: link

There are just over 24 hours remaining on the Early Bird pledge level.

All characters will come with Pulp City and Super Mission Force profiles!


Tuesday, 20 August 2019

Supers Unlimited! Kitbash Games Kickstarter!

The Kitbash Games Supers Unlimited Kickstarter is ready for launch on August 22nd.

This is a campaign to put the Supers Unlimited range into production, and all characters will have dual Pulp City and Super Mission Force profiles!

At launch there will be a 72-hour early Bird deal on the main Super War pledge level for 9 miniatures; other pledges will be for Teams of 4 minis or a single mini.

Please join us to help launch this brand new range.

Saturday, 30 March 2019

Evil Warriors (MotU)

Here together are my first six Evil Warriors for my MotU project: Skeletor, Beast Man, Mer-Man, Hordak (Spirit) and two Shadow Beasts.

I have written a set of rules for Masters of the Universe gaming, and in those characters are rated in value in terms of Power - this group is neatly 400 Power. Skeletor is the most powerful, with magic and abilities representing his dark lord aspects. Mer-Man, Beast Man and the Shadow Beasts are the muscle of the Band. Finally, Hordak (in his spirit form) acts a buffer to the Leader (Skeletor), and has some magic at his disposal, but he cannot resolve objectives or count as a scoring unit.

I have started work on Trap Jaw too, but I really need to add some more Heroic Warriors to get enough models to field two bands to face each other.

Wednesday, 27 March 2019

Hordak (Spirit Form)

While scanning various bit of canon and background information on Masters of the Universe, I came across a Hordak action figure (which you can see below the painted mini pics) representing him in spirit form when he corrupts Keldor to eventually become Skeletor. This is before Hordak consolidates his power on Etheria or invades Eternia, having been banished from Eternia long in the past.

Now before you have doubts, I promise I don't collect action figures these days - I am a proper grown up who plays with toy soldiers! Pew-pew!

I managed to snag a couple of different interpretations of Hordak from private commissions, and was able to get more than one copy of this one. When I found out about the Hordak in spirit form, my mental cog (just the one!) slowly started turning, and found a use for the extra copy of the mini.

The painting for this Hordak was a process I don't normally use - essentially mostly glazes and washes. I looked up some processes used by other hobbyists for painting their LotR Army of the Dead minis.

The mini was undercoated with my usual grey primer, with additional priming in white from directly overhead. I then used 4 or 5 various red washes, choosing different shades for different areas of the mini, as well as a little Ogryn Flesh and some Tamiya Clear Red. There was some regular painting involved, but mostly the mini was coloured with washes and glazes. The overall effect is certainly a little more pink overall than I envisaged or wanted when I thought about using washes/glazes, but nonetheless I think I am generally happy with how it turned out. I am not sure what i would really do differently and won't likely be revisiting it now.

In building rules to represent this form of Hordak, I found it took a few attempts to get right what should essentially be a 'spirit adviser' Consequently, in this form Hordak is counted as an Evil Warrior instead of a member of the Evil Horde since he is manipulating Skeletor to free him from the dimension of Despondos.




Sunday, 24 March 2019

Shadow Beasts (MotU)

These Shadow Beasts are part of a private commission from which I was really fortunate enough to be able to get copies, and I am very glad that I did. They were nice and simple to paint, just the kind of welcome diversion from my recent painting block. They also mean that I can tick off a couple more minis for my MotU Project.

The Shadow Beasts were featured in the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon, as well the 2002 cartoon of the same name. They are large ape-like beasts living throughout the dark hemisphere. With their great strength and stealthy appearance, Shadow Beasts are described as more than a match for most heroic warriors.

The painting was done in a few hours, but broken into smaller chunks of time, so in reality maybe 2 to 3 hours in total. They were mainly dry-brushed with some washes here and there, and highlights added to hands and feet. It was nice to have a couple of minis done so quickly. the colour scheme was mainly influenced by the Masters of the Universe Classics version action figure from recent years.

I had originally intended to use Shadow Beasts and other creatures as 'wandering monster' types in MotU games, but subsequently decided that they would be best used as an option to be used alongside Beast Man so I adjusted my plans for them accordingly. Now they can only used if Beast Man (or another Beast Controller character) is in the same Band, which feels right to me.

Saturday, 23 March 2019

Mimic (2) & Treasure Chest Markers

It feels good to get something finished, even simple stuff like these Treasure Chest Markers and another Mimic. They were started in December to try and get myself out of the rut that marked much of my 2018 hobby output, but they never got finished in that month as planned, so with a bit of time spare i decided to crack on with them.

I finished the metal-work on the last Treasure Chest this week which meant I could finally finish the basing on all of them collectively and get them cleared from my backlog.

The Mimic is from a Krakon Games Kickstarter (not sure if is on their store yet), and is my second Mimic (after this one from Reaper Bones).

I intend to eventually use it with my other Mimic and the Treasure Chest Markers in either some 28 mm dungeon-based Fantasy Gaming or Chibi Fantasy gaming.

Friday, 22 February 2019

Mer-Man

Mer-Man was always one of my favourite Masters of the Universe characters when I was a young kid, and I am pleased to have painted him up for tabletop gaming as a much older kid!

Ruler of the undersea realms of Eternia, Mer-Man was forced to serve in the armies of Skeletor after his kingdom was destroyed in a battle with rival ocean clans. His allegiance with Skeletor brings him to the surface world more often then he would like. Lurking deep beneath the Sea of Rakash, Mer-Man awaits the evil call to arms of Skeletor!

The miniature is from Quest Miniatures, from their second wave; it is a lot nicer sculpt than then last one I painted (Moss Man from wave 3), and therefore a more enjoyable painting experience - the sculptor of this and the other wave 1 and 2 minis is Boris Woloszyn and I love his evocation of a MotU style, and think his approach is a wonderful fit to the genre (I suspect design choices of weapons were down to Quest Miniatures rather than the sculptor). The only change i made was replacing the spear haft with brass rod.

Finishing Mer-Man brings me to three painted Evil Warriors so far, along with Skeletor and Beast Man. Hopefully I can get a couple more Evil Warriors done soon before turning my attention back to the Heroic Warriors.

Although Mer-Man is often portrayed as somewhat cowardly he also has a history of being an Ocean Warlord, which I have tried to reflect in the rules I did for my personal MotU skirmish game. I need a few more painted up to get started with gaming so it is certainly time to motivate myself.

Sunday, 3 February 2019

Moss Man

Moss Man is the latest in my very sporadic Masters of the Universe (MotU) Project. With much of 2018 focused on developing my own range of minis, painting took something of  back seat to those preparations. I wanted an easy win to get my 2019 painting started (a month late no less!), so this sculpt of Moss Man from Quest Miniatures fit that bill.

Unfortunately Moss Man is not sculpted by the same person who did the first dozen or so MotU minis from Quest, so it looks a little static in comparison as well as having a different sculpting style. In addition, it is possibly half a head short compared to the rest of the line, and I wish it had the action figure's mace.

Nonetheless, tackling Moss Man made for a quick paint job all told as I went for something basic, with some washes, dry-brushing and picked out highlights, and that means I can tick another off the 'to be painted' list.

With my current painting being so sporadic I am not committing to a He-Month like last year as I dismally failed to meet my own expectations; instead I will paint more MotU-related minis as I get the motivation.

Moss Man is an ancient good of nature in MotU lore, so I have tried to reflect that in the rules I have written for my personal rules set. To find out more about the rules, or other fan-made creations, feel free to look me up on Facebook.

Sunday, 2 December 2018

Gerbil Fighter (Tooth & Sword)

The Gerbil Fighter from the Tooth & Sword range is the first Chibi Fantasy mini I have painted in a little over a year, and it made a nice change of pace from trying to get the Kitbash Games stuff ready for launch (enjoyable though that is - it creates its own pressure), and more importantly clears a part-painted mini from the dreaded painting queue!

In the past week or so I have been tinkering with some rules ideas for fantasy dungeon-bash skirmish game character progression, and that in turn motivated me to finish the Gerbil Fighter. This marks the twentieth mini for my Chibi Fantasy selection (two Adventurers and eighteen Monsters); the total number surprised me when I looked in the figure cabinet - more than I would have estimated.

I would like to get at least four more minis painted this month to at least exceed my second-worst annual painting total (24 in 2012, better than an estimated 18 in 2009); to that end I have a few other fantasy bits and bobs I may try and tackle such as Treasure Chests and another Mimic, and maybe another Adventurer.


Thursday, 29 November 2018

Punchline (Kitbash Games)

Punchline is one of the the Villains for my upcoming Kitbash Games Supers Unlimited launch (January 2019 - stay tuned!), and a sculpt I love.

Punchline was a kids' clown/entertainer whose life was falling apart when he happened upon a pair of super-science gloves in an abandoned secret lair. From that moment on he decided the world would be his punch-bag, not the other way around.

I originally conceived the character around ten years ago, and other than the re-design of his gloves (the originals were very baroque), not a great deal changed when I had more up to date art crafted for him - the core elements all remained the same (clown, power gloved, colour scheme). However, I decided I wasn't brave enough to try the yellow pin-stripes as shown on his updated trousers!

Thursday, 15 November 2018

Street Wars NYC Female Gang: The Mollies (Kickstarter)


This Kickstarter from Funky Skull Games is for a new gang for the Street Wars game.

I can see uses not only for the intended game, but they also offer some excellent options to use as thugs etc. in a supers game.

 The campaign has 48-hour early birds available, adding an extra saving for backers over expected rrp. I am very happy to back this latest addition to Street Wars!

Sunday, 11 November 2018

Blue Scarab (Kitbash Games)

Blue Scarab is another of the minis I have had sculpted for my upcoming range Supers Unlimited. An out-and-put hero, she is based on a public-domain golden age character of yesteryear, and one I was really happy to bring via update into the twenty-first century.

I [plan to launch the range in January, so I am working to try and make sure I have at least one painted copy of each mini, and Blue Scarab is the latest completed.

I opted for a nice and simple blue-yellow colour scheme in keeping with the source character, accentuated by her blonde hair.

The Blue Scarab was a cop wounded in the line of duty, who survives her grave injuries thanks to the intervention of a scientist friend using an experimental procedure. Wishing to do more than allowed in her job, Dani Garret donned cutting bio-mimetic armour (also developed by her friend under Project: Beetle), incorporating a lucky golden scarab, and a mask and became the super-strong Blue Scarab.

Saturday, 10 November 2018

Supers Unlimited Launch 2019 - Kitbash Games


Link
Kitbash Games is delighted to announce that it will launch the Supers Unlimited miniatures range and game in January 2019.

The crowd-funded launch will feature at least 9 miniatures at the start, with more unlocked depending on success. This launch will represent the start of a range of high-quality supers miniatures released alongside fast-play skirmish rules.

The Supers Unlimited miniatures launch will be backed up by a free to download beta rule set and downloadable game cards for all characters.

That is not all! Kitbash Games is very excited that the miniatures will also have rules for Super Mission Force under agreement with Four Color Studios – with downloadable ready-to-play profile cards for all launch characters. Super Mission Force is a highly-regarded, easy to learn, and fast-paced rules system, and Kitbash Games is very pleased to partner with Four Color Studios on this venture.

To keep up with all the latest Supers Unlimited news Like or Follow the Kitbash Games Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/KitbashGames/

Sunday, 28 October 2018

Zomtober 2018 (Week 4)

Another Zomtober comes to an end, and it has been great seeing every participant's outputs.

I was supposed to finish another Zombie this week than those I ended up painting, but I really wasn't feeling motivated on it, so I hurriedly prepped these three as an alternative with a plan to finish them all if possible, which I just about managed.

I think all three Zombies are from Studio Miniatures. I chose them primarily because of the two half-body Zeds as offering the possibility of a quick win. The more-intact Zombie (although he is hand-less!) is intended to complete my brown-shirt wearing triad (although I think I have the base brown colour wrong on this one).

I am pleased with doing six Zombies, although that pales compared to the dozens others have done! As usual, Zomtober has helped me paint other stuff and there is a chance I will get another mini finished for my Supers Unlimited range before the end of the month.

Zomtober 2018 blog roll (click names for links):
  1. Four Colour Super Minis - Rob
  2. Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer - pulpcitizen
  3. Brummie's Wargaming Blog - Simon
  4. Cheaphammer!!! - Kieron
  5. Miniature Mayhem - Terry Silverthorn
  6. Dizbusters Gaming Ephemera - Phil Curran
  7. The Wargame Addict - The Wargame Addict
  8. Saturday Mornings - Ivor Evans
  9. The Lost and the Damned and the Stunted - Dai
  10. Dead Lead Project - myincubliss
  11. Colgar6 and the Infinite Legion of Toy Soldiers - Colgar6
  12. Anything But a One! - Clint




Sunday, 21 October 2018

Zomtober 2018 (Week 3)

My Zomtober 2018 week 3, and this one was a bit more of a rush compared to the other two. Not a panicked completion, however my weekend has been occupied with other hobby stuff, not leaving much time for painting.

This Zombie is from Crocodile Games, and completes my 'grey suit triad' (as seen together in the bottom picture). Aesthetically, the feet are a bit on the big side (a funny contrast to the 'small' feet of the Cold War stuff).

I picked up the two packs of Crocodile Games Zombies for the cops that they included (this was before Studio Miniatures did some American cops for their range), which means I have had this mini lurking around since at least 2011, possibly a bit longer...

I don't imagine I will paint more than one Zombie for next weekend, but I hope to get some more painting done this week on my Kitbash Games stuff, with both Alpha Male and Soldier Hex underway.


Zomtober 2018 blog roll (click names for links):
  1. Four Colour Super Minis - Rob
  2. Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer - pulpcitizen
  3. Brummie's Wargaming Blog - Simon
  4. Cheaphammer!!! - Kieron
  5. Miniature Mayhem - Terry Silverthorn
  6. Dizbusters Gaming Ephemera - Phil Curran
  7. The Wargame Addict - The Wargame Addict
  8. Saturday Mornings - Ivor Evans
  9. The Lost and the Damned and the Stunted - Dai
  10. Dead Lead Project - myincubliss
  11. Colgar6 and the Infinite Legion of Toy Soldiers - Colgar6
  12. Anything But a One! - Clint

Wednesday, 17 October 2018

The Cowl (Kitbash Games)

Amid Zomtober outputs, The Cowl adds to my burgeoning development of the Kitbash Games Supers Unlimited range, and even though I love them all, is probably one of my favourites. I hope to launch the range via crowd-funding in January 2019.

The Cowl is the latest in a line of shadowy heroes who have used the power of a mystical cowl in the pursuit of good. The history and experience of each preceding Cowl imprint on the hood, offering guidance to the next wearer until their time finally comes to an end. The current Cowl focuses on street-level super-crime in Louisiana's Rivière Noire, while also serving as  member of the Covenant of Justice. Averse to taking lives unless there is no other option, she primarily relies on special less-than-lethal ammunition for her trusty guns.

In the run-up to the January launch expect to see more detail about rules for the game and range over on the Kitbash Games blog, including this sneak peek here: https://kitbashgames.blogspot.com/2018/10/supers-unlimited-beta-cards.html

Sunday, 14 October 2018

Zomtober 2018 (Week 2)

Two weeks of Zomtober down, and two minis painted, without the usual mad-rush panic setting in!

Like last week's Zombie, this one is part of my grey suit triad. This one is another Cold War Miniatures Zombie, however, the mini is intended to be a priest, but as the dog collar wasn't too clear i ended up painting him as a suited Zombie. While I was finishing this one off I started on the final triad Zombie, which I hope to finish next week.

Painting all this grey has also helped with a non-Zomtober mini, as I managed to get some work done on one of my range of supers (The Cowl - I hope to finish her this month).

Zomtober 2018 blog roll (click names for links):
  1. Four Colour Super Minis - Rob
  2. Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer - pulpcitizen
  3. Brummie's Wargaming Blog - Simon
  4. Cheaphammer!!! - Kieron
  5. Miniature Mayhem - Terry Silverthorn
  6. Dizbusters Gaming Ephemera - Phil Curran
  7. The Wargame Addict - The Wargame Addict
  8. Saturday Mornings - Ivor Evans
  9. The Lost and the Damned and the Stunted - Dai
  10. Dead Lead Project - myincubliss
  11. Colgar6 and the Infinite Legion of Toy Soldiers - Colgar6
  12. Anything But a One! - Clint

Sunday, 7 October 2018

Zomtober 2018 (Week 1)

My Zombie for Zomtober Week 1 is done! Thankfully this one wasn't too much of a challenge, so I was able to finish it in a couple of hours while dabbing bits of paint on a couple of other Zeds to get ahead of myself for this year.

My 2018 painting plan is a trio of Zombies in grey suits (returning to my triad approach I used in previous years), plus a Zombie Rabbi. I expect next week's mini to be another grey suit Zombie.

Zomtober 2018 blog roll (click names for links):
  1. Four Colour Super Minis - Rob
  2. Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer - pulpcitizen
  3. Brummie's Wargaming Blog - Simon
  4. Cheaphammer!!! - Kieron
  5. Miniature Mayhem - Terry Silverthorn
  6. Dizbusters Gaming Ephemera - Phil Curran
  7. The Wargame Addict - The Wargame Addict
  8. Saturday Mornings - Ivor Evans
  9. The Lost and the Damned and the Stunted - Dai
  10. Dead Lead Project - myincubliss
  11. Colgar6 and the Infinite Legion of Toy Soldiers - Colgar6

Tuesday, 2 October 2018

Zomtober 2018 - Zomtober VII!!

Zomtober VII - Son of Zomtober!

The seventh annual Zomtober is  upon us - that time of year when bloggers like my buddies Rob (click here for his blog), Simon (click for his blog here), Kieron (click for his blog here) and myself commit to getting some more Zeds or Survivors painted. One can never have enough dead lead!

The rules
The Zomtober rules are simple.

To take part you just need to paint or finish painting one Zombie or Survivor (or more!) each week, in any scale you like, posting it to your blog by that week's Sunday (we use Sunday's as the end of each Zomtober week). These can be minis you started and abandoned, or a brand new project - that is up to you!

What that means posting one or more newly painted/finally finished Zombie or Survivor minis each week on or before the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th of October 2018.

Anyone commenting on this post and who participates will get added to the blog list below (and feel free to do something similar on your own blogs - as the word spreads, more and more bloggers can be involved!). In previous years we have had over 20 bloggers involved, and it would be great to beat that this year. So without further ado, welcome all to this year's Zomtober!

Zomtober 2018 blog roll (click names for links):
  1. Four Colour Super Minis - Rob
  2. Eclectic Gentleman Tabletop Gamer - pulpcitizen
  3. Brummie's Wargaming Blog - Simon
  4. Cheaphammer!!! - Kieron
  5. Miniature Mayhem - Terry Silverthorn
  6. Dizbusters Gaming Ephemera - Phil Curran
  7. The Wargame Addict - The Wargame Addict
  8. Saturday Mornings - Ivor Evans
  9. The Lost and the Damned and the Stunted - Dai
  10. Dead Lead Project - myincubliss
  11. Colgar6 and the Infinite Legion of Toy Soldiers - Colgar6
  12. Anything But a One! - Clint