From Curt: Mar-a-Lago Militia - The Boggs (25 Points)

Hey Y'all,

I return to my ACWII project with these colourful denizens from the dark, dank swamps of south Florida. I give you the Bogg family. 

In my wondrous, fictitious, fantastical and terrifying 'Merica they they are part of the local Mara-a-Lago Militia, fiercely loyal to Father Dagon and 'The King in Orange' (Yellow being so very passe these days). 

The Boggs (distant cousins to their Yankee Innsmouth relations, the Marsh family) are a spiteful, vain, and oily clan. They revel in their own stupidity, are selfish, hate outsiders and rarely listen to reason.

Yes, they very much have 'the Mar-a-Lago look'.

Cyrus

Cletus

Ruffus

Festus

Jo Lean

These figures are Deep One Hybrids, 3d prints from KLT Studio. I had fun working with their flesh tones, giving them a fishy look about them, but in the end they sort of have a Simpson vibe going on, which makes me smile as I can easily envision an episode where he Boggs cause chaos amongst the good folk of Springfield. :)

The Boggs will give me 25 points and one point for the Squirrel Duel ('ACWII Red Forces'). 

Thanks for dropping in for a look!

- Curt 

From Barks: HP Lovecraft (Literature)(25 points)

In the eldritch confines of my study, I unearthed a diminutive relic of unspeakable provenance—an accursed miniature that defied the feeble constraints of mortal comprehension. The blasphemous sculpt depicted an otherworldly figure, a ghastly visage that whispered of realms beyond the ken of human perception. In the sickly luminescence of my dimly lit chamber, the colors upon my palette seemed to shift and writhe, revealing cyclopean landscapes and nameless horrors. The twisted sculptor, a shadowy adept in the forbidden arts, had rendered the accursed author with a fiendish precision that echoed the cosmic malevolence of the Great Old Ones. As I gazed upon the diabolical creation, a palpable chill gripped my very soul, and I could discern the spectral murmurs of eldritch entities weaving their inscrutable tales within this infernal masterpiece. The mere act of contemplating the arcane artifact threatened to plunge my psyche into the abyssal depths of cosmic horror, leaving me teetering on the brink of sanity.*

HP Lovecraft

Howard Philips Lovecraft age 43 (1934)

"I am Providence."

HP Lovecraft and his friend LP Hovercraft, from Impact! Miniatures. They've done a good job of capturing HPL's eldritch chin. I picked this up years ago as a potential coach for a Blood Bowl team. The 'Literature' part of the Challenge is perfect for this. I don't have access to all my paints, and haven't been able to highlight his suit or fix up the base rim.

1 x 28mm miniature (5 points)

Literature (20 points)

*I used ChatGPT as a very strong starting point for this paragraph. Wow.

From Millsy: Everything about this post screams eldritch horror and that's before we even talk about the miniature! If his long face is anything to go by then he was looking into a bleak future where our lives are governed by unimaginably powerful beings that see us as mere playthings. I'm talking about AI of course but maybe Cthulhu would be preferable?

That's a great miniature Barks and he'd make a brilliant coach for a Bloodbowl Team. Maybe that's his playbook tucked under his arm and the "waterboy" wrapped around his leg? 25 points it is!

From BartekR: Free-fire squirrelly dash for cover – 1980s, Superhero, Casting Couch and Arthouse Studios [187 points]

Okay, with the clock ticking down, a last dash through some studios, compiled in the one post. Apologies in advance for the length and the photos (the IT curse continues - managed to CTRL-Z the folder with all photos into non-existence, prompting a late night redo)

The 1980s…

I grew up in the 80s so it’s a rich topic for me: playing on plinthed T-34s back in the old country pre-emigration to Australia, the Vic-20 (we couldn’t affort a C-64), my first sets of Airfix, Esci, Matchbox and Tamiya, discovering D&D then Call of Cthulhu, purchase of my first ever Citadel minis set (1985)….then later being sucked into the worlds of Warhammer through Rogue Trader and 3^rd ed Fantasy Battle. Among other stories. But how to capture the zeitgeist in miniature?

Alas, I don’t have many miniatures from back then. And still wonder what happened to the 40K Rogue Trader Imperial guard army I had (and sold): shiny helmets, gang tattoos, imperial beastmen, commissar training squad and – problematically – ‘human bombs’. I do have a box of ex-Citadel Foundry Miniatures which are of the period (I assume) but it didn’t feel ‘just right’.

Then I got onto the TV of the period – in the halcyon days before interactive screens.  the various miniatures inspired by shows like The A-Team, V, Dr Who. I almost got a box of CMON’s He-Man miniatures game. But what I really wanted was The Equalizer (also having discovered Callan in the 1980s). Or maybe Buck Rogers, Battle of the Planets, Star Blazers*, or Danger Mouse. That took me down to the thinking journey to this triptych: the 1980s through screen, game and page. Enjoy.    

1980s - Screen: Saturday ‘toons: Robotech

Being a kid of the 80s I can point to so many shows - some listed above (nd many the vanilla-ised version of their Japanese originals). But Robotech nee Macross was a standout – the tales of plucky UN Spacy pilots in space jets slash mech armour battling the Zentraedi invaders. Happy days.  So, courtesy of Kids Logic 1/285 licensed Harmony Gold range, here we have: a VF-1S Skull Squadron Super Veritech in Battloid Mode; Zentraedi Officer’s Glaug (Battlepod); and one of the undervalued workhorses of the UN world government’s space defence force – a Destroid Tomahawk.

 

 

These miniatures are high detail, to an annoying point (missed so many fine but deep panel lines and with the undercoat!) and the resin can be brittle but they are really nice also. Painted using Citadel, Vallejo and with some Ammo of Mig crystal acrylics and filters. The VF-1S intentionally left looking mostly dirty. There is an ongoing debate in the scale model community as to how clean modern jets on ops are and I wanted to tap into that…and because dry brushing became a pain! The Tomahawk could do with some decals but is otherwise stock, and not much to add about the Battlepod. 

 1980s - Game: Second sci-fi fiddle: Battletech

Of course, the Macross mechs (and other anime designs) would see another life in Battletech, at least for a while.

Though it didn’t hook my friends and I in like 40K Rogue trader, Battletech was the backup game (circa 1988). It was easy to throw the box – with all the card minis and maps – in a backpack, jump on the bike and ride over to a friend’s house. we never expanded with City Tech and Aerotech), I liked the art and the story was almost as gripping (though I was also attracted by FASA’s other offering – Renegade Legion). 

 

The Destroid Tomahawk, renamed the Warhammer in Battletech, was the mech of the game for me. This one – same Kids Logic as the one above – has been painted in black with red accents as a mount of (Battletech sex symbol/poster gal), the notorious and enigmatic mercenary sub-unit commander Natasha Kerensky, aka the Black Widow. The one regret I have of this is that the Wolf Dragoon’s decal on the lower right leg is lost – I didn’t underpaint a light colour effectively enough. 

 ***INTERMISSION***

Armed with my fresh Blue pass, jumping in to...

The Superheroes Studio.

In the dedicated peak of my comic book reading (pre- through later teens), there were three ‘heros’ I followed diligently, going down to the newsagent each week and buying the latest releases: Judge Dredd, Batman and The Punisher. (now I think about it, might say something about my mindset in those years). If I was to add a fourth, it would The Nam. So, for this entry, 2000AD’s iconic and ironic (anti-)hero Judge Dredd. 

 And what superhero would be complete without a nemesis, in this case Judge Death (although I wonder if Death isn’t really the nemesis for PSI Judge Anderson?). 

 Sing along moment…

Both figures are Warlord releases from their Judge Dredd game, in Warlord resin (which I understand has been improved, thankfully). Death was mostly slapchop and kept to a faded tone – in keeping with his not-alive and not entirely corporeal state. Dredd was  a slapchop/traditional hybrid (clearly, having kicked off a few minis with it, slapchop is not the ‘last technique you’ll ever use’ in my book).

Meanwhile, back in the 1980s Studio

1980s - Page: There is only war: Rogue Trooper

Genetic Infantry, Souther trooper and Nort trooper

 

Mongoose Publishing Rogue Trooper, Nort Trooper, and Southern Trooper. The sharp-eyed will see the Nort and ask ‘what the hell? He’s in black” (rather than brown). Although Rogue Trooper has a long history, I didn’t come to it until the 1989 ‘War Machine’ re-boot which, for all its faults, struck a chord with 14-year old me through its grimdark art and, since I was running them as my 40K army, the Imperial Guard-like look of the Southers and GIs (the helmets and flak armour – a look continued in some mainstream 40K imperial guard to this day!). So, the black rubber chem-bio suited Nort is a nod to that – the shine achieved with Ammo acrylic filter. 

With source material

 

Onto...

The Casting Couch….

The Director leaned back to look up at the casting manager, the now empty whiskey glass deposited on the oversized desk. It had been a long day, he had a headache which the whiskey was barely medicating.

The casting manager leaned in, plucked the cigarette from his lips and exhaled smoke over his notes before speaking.

‘So, Herr Director, I understand you wanted to sign someone versatile. Make them a star and use them through a number of movies on a tight deadline. Dare I say, I feel you need someone with a thousand forms for all the roles you have planned. And, I think I have got the actor you need…’

The Director sighed. His planned release schedule was hectic, and costs needed to be kept down. Signing one actor who could do a variety of roles would save a lot of headaches.

‘Mr N – hmmm, no first name given, seems to just go by the initial - l’Hoptep. A new find. Yet to meet him in person you understand but comes recommended. Has been doing some off broadway and avante garde work, but apparently very impressive. Well, beyond avante garde…if there is such a thing. His solo play ‘The Tick Tock Man’ was something of an underground hit although marred by some drama and scandal at the end. Apparently, the audience went wild. Literally. Tore each other up, some had guns so there was shooting. A bloody mess’.

‘Hmmmm. That’s the avante garde crowd for you. What kind of name is that anyway. L’Hotep – French?”

“I don’t rightly know. Probably made up. His background is…well, you know how these actors like to create an air of mystery. Nevertheless, maybe this is one you should take a look at’.

‘Fine, fine Rudy, get in contact. And find a time to summon him in’.

Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, Messenger of the Outer Gods, God of a Thousand forms and so on. For those not into ‘all that tentacle stuff’ of the Lovecraftian/Cthulhu Mythos, Nyarlathotep is…actually hard to describe…an entity that promotes chaos and destruction, and has a myriad human-like and monstrous forms (‘masks’). And is the main big bad in the Chaosium’s epic (in several senses of the word) Call of Cthulhu RPG campaign, The Masks of Nyarlathotep. Given the many masks, you could not ask for better for versatility in a lead role.

I managed to get two avatars painted up – The Haunter of the Dark and The Bloated Woman. Both miniatures are from the Nyarlathotep expansion to the Cthulhu Wars boardgame (a kickstarter I sold years ago) so boardgames figures, with all the problems that come with those. 

 The Haunter of the Dark is taken from the eponymous short story by Lovecraft

“I see it—coming here—hell-wind—titan blur—black wings—Yog-Sothoth save me—the three-lobed burning eye. . . .”

A large partly corporeal batlike entity that detests light, with its most obvious feature being a tri-lobed eye, it doesn’t lend itself to a lot of use of colour. The eyes are the obvious focal point. Minis was black undercoat highlighted grey, with the eyes painted red then orange. To finish off I used the Ammo of Mig acrylic crystal paint red on the eyes, and Ammo’s acrylic filter ‘Night Black’ to smoothing out the dry brushed greys and get a sheen. 

 

The Bloated Woman - Pure body horror that appears first in Chaosium’s The Masks of Nyarlathotep. I’ll draw on that for the description of this avatar (all rights reserved etc Chaosium Publishing):

This particularly disgusting form of Nyarlathotep is known on Earth only among the Order of the Bloated Woman. The avatar crudely resembles a human woman, even though she appears as a 600-pound (270 kg), 7-feet (2 m) tall horror, with tentacles in place of arms, and more tentacles sprouting from rolls of sickly yellow-gray flesh. Below her eyes waves another tentacle, and below and beside that are four lumpy chins, each sporting a mouth; all a perfect bow made hideous by clusters of fangs. Multiple smaller tentacles sprout from the rest of her body…tucked into the belt is the Black Fan which, when held just under her eyes, permits her to take on the appearance of a slim and beautiful Chinese maiden. The fan pulls all attention to her gaze and somehow conceals the avatar’s bulk and her true form—everything but those lovely eyes. When the fan is removed, her full monstrousness is gruesomely apparent. Assisted by the Black Fan, the Bloated Woman may seduce men and women alike, giving her victims unearthly and degenerate pleasure before smothering them in her flabby bulk.

 

 

The miniature is different to this description but still, not something you want to run into. Ever.  

Arthouse

I was struggling what to do for Arthouse until the conversation on the back of one of Curt’s posts about Mork Borg and then Cy-Borg. The cover of Cy-Borg, Stockholm Kartell’s Mork Borg-esque rules light take on cyberpunk. Johan Nohr’s cover art prompting this neon flouro-tastic arthouse entry, painted in a new technique which I am sure will create as much a buzz on the socials as ‘slapchop’ did: I like to call it slapdash’. 

 

(Ok, I’m taking the micky here).

The miniature started as a GW 40K chaos cultist but was wantonly Borg’ed with green stuff until it looked suitably chaotic, undercoated black and then…well the technique literally involved: remind self it is the last night before the end of the challenge, simultaneously accept that one has had one or two too many adult beverages to paint with much degree of skilled coordination, defiantly declare ‘f it, we’ll do it live’, get a bit Jackson Pollack with flouro paints, wake up the next morning and redo some sections being a bit more deliberate.

 If I was to redo I’d use less colours and starker white (there is a few bits of art in the Cy-Borg rules in which Nohr uses just black, white and one other colour – normally yellow – with good effect, in keeping with the ‘Borg aesthetic and also on black (which helps).

  So, do I think it works? Yeah, kinda. Placing the mini on the rulebook cover  – the palette is ballpark, the figure has the offbeat look that could be Borgian? Borgish? Ultimately there is nothing (I’m gonna use the term again) avante garde about the figure…until the UV light goes on 😊

 

Conclusion (and points)

With my with my lower back about to write a letter of complaint over some longer-than-usual days in the office and late nights at the bench, I am drawing a line under my entries for AHPC XIII. But obviously not before calculating the points:

•  Robotech Zentraedi Officers Battlepod (60mm) – 1x 54mm miniature: 10 points
• Robotech/Battletech mechs – 3 x 40mm miniatures @7pts ea: 21 points
• 2000AD and Cy-Borg – 6 x 28mm minis @5pts ea: 30 pts 
• Lovercraftian nasties – this is where it gets awkward since there is no ‘monster’ category I’m going to pitch for 15 points each: 30 pts (welcome adjucation on this)
• Studios Bonuses x4 (1980s, Superhero; Casting Couch and Arthouse) @20pts ea: 80pts
• Total: 187 pts

 

Challenge wrap-up post to follow some time. 

________________________________

Bartek, from my reading of your post I think you and I would get along just fine. We are of the same vintage and have many of the same hobby recollections. It was nice going down memory lane with your last submission. So much to like here, from the Battletech to the Cy-Borg, Robotech to Call of Cthulhu, it's all wonderful stuff. Thanks for pitching in with us this year, Bartek, I hope to see you in the ranks for Challenge XIV.

- Curt

From BartekR: That is not dead...and nuke 'em from orbit (Sci-fi) (80 points)

Submissions for the "Studio Challenge", found among the papers of BartekR of Canberra, Australia...

Black and White Studio: WizKids Star-Spawn of Cthulhu

"The Thing cannot be described--there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order" - H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

 

I'm a sucker for the Cthulhu Mythos, have been since I discovered them as a 12 year old: the literature, the art, boardgames, RPGs. If the topmost bookshelf above where I sit at the computer failed, I would be crushed by the combined weight of Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green RPG books, or even just the lone Centipede Press A Lovecraft Retrospective artbook tome. I should add - I do draw the line at Cthulhu plush toys and the like however. Cthulhu etc should not be cute. Ever.

Similarly, I'm fascinated by how Cthulhu Mythos uber-gribblies are represented in miniature. For my money, Cthulhu: Death May Die does it best, very much on the back of Adrian Smith's art.

This WizKids "Pathfinder Battles Deep Cuts" mini is a symptom of that interest - quality isn't great, and its in a softish plastic, but bought at a con because...well...its Cthulhu. After at least half a decade of it bouncing around my study it seemed the right subject for my first attempt at greyscale/b&w painting: Cthulhu or its Star-Spawn ilk rising from the waters under the Gibbous Moon. Clearly the Stars were Right. (I was also thinking of the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's B&W film of Call of Cthulhu as part of my thinking).
 

 

Then came the troubled dreams of how to get the right grey tones, nightmares of eldritch rites involving black washes...SAN-loss followed.

Sweet dreams

I joke but this was plagued by a few instances of things going well (eg, good undercoating of black and white sprays for dark and light tones, or managing to pull off green glowing eyes) before I'd do something that screwed the overall effect. Mostly not knowing when to stop - overdoing washes - or ending up with a monotonal grey that didn't work at viewing distance. Thus, on the third attempt I called it quits - end result a slightly abstract, maybe comic book like effect...suitable for a B&W movie.

 

 

Black, white and grey paints (mostly Citadel) aside, I also used grey filters by Ammo and Vallejo transparent water effect (hence the shine). I have found the latter, even when dry, attracts cat fur quite well.

The lightbox helps with the dramatic effect

 

A pure aside, but there are some great images of Cthulhu rising from the water (Sam Lamont's cover to the Call of Cthulhu 7th ed Keeper Rulebook being one) but recommend checking out Darren Tan's 'Operation Starfish' graphic which appeared in the Osprey Adventures (Delta Green-esque) The Cthulhu Wars, written by Kennon Bauman and Ken Hite (of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff podcast, and plethora of RPGs including Trail of Cthulhu and The Fall of Delta Green).

 

Size comparison photo - chap at the front has the right idea

 

Interlude

Oscar and I haven't worked come to an accommodation as to how i can paint with him on my lap - hence his determined look

Sci-Fi: Gale Force Nine xenomorph Queen and Warriors 

 

 

The GF9 Aliens minis were a bit of an impulse buy (because I never make many of those!!!). Originally released for the Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps? boardgame, I picked up the standalone minis boxes for potential use in sessions of Free League's Alien RPG.  

These were another try and try again subject. As far as I can tell from trawling images, the xenomorph is generally black, with a metallic tinge (and some very silver teeth) - also in keeping with H.R. Giger's art style. So...silver undercoat and black washes it was. Which produced a very accurate looking alien. Problem was, it left them too dark and plain.

GF9 box art has some glorious looking minis - dark with soft blended blue (respectful of Ridley Scott's Alien palette). Alas, given I am still over reliant on drybrushing rather than blending, there was no way I was going to achieve that in the time I'd allocated. And, to be honest, it looked too bright. I know, "too dark...too light" - I sound like Goldilocks! But these are ambush from the shadows predators, not genestealers or tyranids. It was enough to prompt me to add a blue wash, and some blue highlighting before toning it down with a thinned black wash (maybe it was Contrast or Speedpaint, further diluted with thinner). End result, better (maybe not 'just right'). Bases are Gunmetal, blash wash, rust wash (comes out a bit too gold or copper in the photos) and Ammo's 'starship filth' filter. 

Running this way and that...

And a lot darker outside the light box

Realised reading over this draft how effectively the light box is at washing out colours - for good or bad (maybe will stop using the max light setting!)

Points

Star Spawn (54mm?) 10 points

B&W Studio bonus 20 points

Alien Queen (54mm?) 10 points

Xeno warrior gang (28mm x 4) 20 points

Sci-fi Studio bonus 20 points

Total: 80 points

In next week's episode: ???

Kissy kiss

THe aliens are great and so is the octopus thingy - don't really get Cthulhu, kinda passed me by. Top work