Optimus Prime--28mm

"I am Optimus Prime"
-Optimus Prime (duh)

Optimus is the best Transformer ever; the one character that is unarguably a pop-culture icon and tremendous character, and not just a toy. If I could pick a fictional character to be president, it would be Optimus.

Gushing concluded, then, let's look at the figure.

The figure chosen is the Optimus Prime figure I showed off last post.
As noted in that post, there wasn't a lot of modifications necessary to make the figure look like the iconic character: just some modifications to the sword, the faceplate, and then filling up the screw holes in the body.



The tones I chose were washed out to demonstrate Prime's age and experience. Prime has always struck me as a very old and very sad character, being the leader of the heros' never-ending grind against an unstoppable evil in a several-million year war. Thus, the reds are dark, the blues are greyed, and both are scratched up with silver.



Even the eyes turned out fairly sad looking... I feel like it caught the character I was going for.



His army card is here (excuse the pink markings on the left. You'd just cut that off when printed.)



Well, what do you think? Penny for your thoughts, Autobots?

-BG

28mm Aubot Project WIP 1

"Autobots, roll out."
-Optimus Prime, Every Transformers Iteration Ever.

Seeing as to how warmly my gaming group received by Bumblebee figure, I wanted to continue on with my transformers project. Knowing that some of my audience--on another platform--has requested WIP shots, I decided I would post some here as well. Enjoy!

I'm not what you would call a purist when it comes to Transformers. When you grow up on Simon Furmans's 'Armada' comics and TF Animated, you're a bit of an alien to both Bayformers and G1. As a result, you'll see a variety of Transformers styles in this project. For the most part, you will see a Bayformers aesthetic, this being because the Bayformers designs are most recognizable by the members of my group, with them being most familiar with the films and Transformers Prime.

But enough bloviation. A picture is worth a thousand words.



The first shot is of my figure for the Autobot Hound, a character I'm tackling for no reason other than the fact I love his actor and his aesthetic. Had I known how much greenstuff it would take to give him his signature beard, potbelly and belt, however, I wouldn't have tried it. It took about two inches to patch up the holes in this 'Bulkhead' happy meal, with Bumblebee for scale. The result is pretty nice though, so I can't complain too much.


Far less extensive has been my work on this Optimus Prime happy meal. I cut the sword off his ugly gun and put it on his knuckles, where it belongs. After that, I patched up some holes and gave him a new facemark, as I feel the facemask is the most prominent feature of Prime's face, and the original sculpt had it sunken in. It's a happy meal, so I didn't expect perfection, but that had to be fixed!

That's where I'm at with the modding. Painting time!

-BG

Captain Barbossa--32mm Black Scorpion Pirate

"Y'er off the edge of the map now, mate. Here there be monsters!"
-Barbossa, Curse of the Black Pearl

Objectively, Pirates of the Caribbean is not the best franchise in the world. Personally, however, it is one of the all time greats in cinema history, and Captain Hector Barbossa helps make it so. His arc from main antagonist to redeemed anti-hero is magnificent, and Rush's acting sells all the pirate stereotypes as an actual threatening character.

So, when I saw Black Scorpion sold an undead pirate with a huge hat, I knew Barbossa would be a must.



I had to make some modifications to the figure, namely in giving him hair and a beard, and sculpting a little Jack the monkey his shoulder.

One thing that worked really well is making the color palette totally washed out with the exception of the bright yellow rag hanging from his belt. It adds a nice pop to an otherwise grey character.



Not as clean as I'd like at the coattails, but I'm pretty pleased with how the caribbean beach baseplate turned out.

Not much, but a fun return to the world of piracy on the high seas... but a penny for your thoughts, mates?

-BG

Dr. J.H. Watson and Mycroft Holmes 32mm Miniatures

"I hear of Sherlock everywhere since the publication of your stories."
-Mycroft Holmes

Sherlock and his world captivates me, and seeing that he is the single most adapted character in history last I checked, I have no shortage of renditions of the character and his world to enjoy. From Cumberbatch to Downey to the time a mouse named Basil lived under 221b Baker Street, the character and his world delights me in nearly every form.

An observant reader, however, may have noted how I keep stating that the character AND HIS WORLD excite me so. The reason for this is that my Sherlock Holmes miniature--the last one for me to receive in the mail--isn't quite ready for me to show you. So, allow me to begin by rounding out the supporting cast of Holmes' world with Dr. Watson and Mycroft Holmes!



32mm Victorian Era miniatures are a pain to find, but I found that certain Black Scorpion Tombstone figures fit the bill just fine, which is what both of these are: Watson on the left, Mycroft on the right.



These figures are based entirely off of how I imagined the characters reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels (which I have read most of if I am not mistaking.)

I wanted to go with bright but plausible colors that popped from the board, but still looked authentic to a certain extent.



Mycroft took a little bit of modification. He had a little holster and a little sheriff badge which I cut off and sculpted over. The shotgun was sculpted onto to be an umbrella with a dangerous British surprise packed within.

Historically, Victorian Era London was filthy, and I wanted to catch that on the baseplate with bits of old British ads on the bases. One ad is for cigarettes, proudly proclaiming that they cure cancer. I couldn't stop laughing.

So there you have it! Tuppence for your thoughts, good British gentlemen?

-BG

Bumblebee--28mm Conversion

"My name... is... Bumblebee,"
-B-127, Bumblebee Movie

Bumblebee reignited my interest in the Transformers franchise. While I have always had some interest or other in the franchise, having owned comics and toys as a boy, I always steered clear of the films despite my interest in them due to their rancid reputation and contradictory lore.

All of that changed with this new prequel/reboot however, which has become one of my favorite films this year, being just loaded with heart.

As a result, while I'll no doubt eventually do a Bumblebee as a Camaro in a more classic look, I wanted a figure that really caught my emotions coming out of that film the second time.



The figure converted was a broken Major Q-10 on a custom 40mm baseplate. I used greenstuff to sculpt on wheels, fenders, and the face mask as well as other small details. Charlie on the other hand is a SceneARama civilian modified to look more like the character from the film and to stand just a liiiiiiitle bit shorter (she was kinda in Bumblebee's spotlight before.)

The film was so motivating to me--after coming out of a flu that really sapped the energy out of my hobby--that I just NEEDED to make a figure, but I couldn't find a cake topper or happy meal that got the gist across (which is what I've done for my other attempts at transformers characters.) I feel like America is in trouble when a movie about the most marketable toy in a line of marketable toys doesn't have enough merch for me to buy!

I've never had a problem converting figures with beards and hair and fur and even robes via green stuff in the past, but metal is a whole other animal. I've only recently felt comfortable making swords for a separate project. Thus, it was truly daunting to add these metallic bits. However, with a whole lot of water (and some plastic bits for the front bumper piece) I created some panels that look like the belong on the character.

I've gotten mixed reviews from the guys in my gaming group about Charlie's inclusion on the baseplate, so I figured I'd have to explain my logic a bit.

Bumblebee since his inception has been the humans' friend on a personal level. From Spike to Sam to Sari to Charlie, Bumblebee has always been the personal pal of the humans, and that's the element of the character that Bumblebee zeroes in on. Thus, in a game, I get the complaint that it looks awkward for Bumblebee to be hovering over this human girl. However, to me that relationship was what made the movie work, and if I wanted to capture that feeling, I had to have Charlie incorporated.

Also, here is his Army Card.



And that's Bumblebee! What do you think of the little guy and also, what do you think of this post, as it is more in depth than what I'd normally do for a figure?

-BG

Bass Reeves--Black Scorpion Tombstone Miniature

Bass Reeves, to me, represents the greatest traits about the American west. If you're not familiar with this historic law marshall, I'd say his story is well worth a Google search, and it is that story that convinced me to make him the first lawman I painted.


The figure is from Black Scorpion's Tombstone range, a lovely range of 32mm Wild West miniatures.

Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the result, but a penny for your thoughts?

-BG

Logan--Heroclix Repaint

"I'm the best there is at what I do."
-Wolverine

Wolverine is not a superhero that I grew up with, but is one that is fast becoming a favorite of mine. After binging Wolverine: The Long Night, I cracked out my paints and snatched my favorite Wolverine heroclix sculpt for some miniature action! I'm more than a little bit pleased with the result.



Being inspired by The Long Night, I wanted to go for a more natural 'Logan' look rather than a superhuman 'Wolverine' look.



I'm very pleased with the blood effects on the shirt/claws. I usually avoid blood effects on minis. Something about it just feels sort of tacky and gory. However, I think it suggests the savagery of Logan,  as well as his stamina, and I think the finished product still maintains a decently natural look.



I also added a little log on the baseplate, to accentuate Logan's connection with the natural world and with the world of animals.

So there you have it! Personally, this might be my favorite Super Hero repaint that I've done, but what do you guys think?