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Fallout – A Nuka Girl in a Nuka World

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Sorry for the lack of activity here lately. It was a combination of needing more than the usual week’s time to get something interesting painted, coupled with traveling this past weekend. Its nice to be back home and its even better to be getting back to fun things like painting.

First up, we have a very humble miniature. It is another tiny one from Kingdom Rush. I tried to give this little kitten some fur but it really doesn’t look all that great on such a tiny mini. The upside is that this one didn’t take long to complete. The wildcat actually pairs with another miniature that I’m working on now and you’ll hopefully see it sometime soon!

Here’s a size comparison so you can see just how tiny the wildcat is.

As the title suggests, I did manage to get something a little more impressive finished this week too. Its none other than Nuka Girl who is basically a model or spokeswoman for Nuka Cola in Fallout 4. Modiphius cleverly made a mini for the character that you can use in the game. I think she might be fun for a campaign since the mini has a lot of character.

In terms of painting, she is a good challenge because she has latex black clothing which is among the harder things to paint accurately. To make things worse, she also wears white which is not the easiest color to paint. I tried using some light to determine where the highlights should be and I think that led to some pretty realistic results. I also tried to make sure that the shadows on the white parts are dark enough that she has pretty decent contrast. Here is a look at Nuka Girl with a little bit of a background.

And finally, there was some big news in the last couple of weeks that took me by surprise. Adepticon is moving out of Chicago and heading north to Milwaukee. In some ways, this isn’t a total shock. The venue where Adepticon is held didn’t have enough parking so they had to shuttle people from other parking lots. I think they might have started to outgrow the venue overall too. However, the venue is far from the largest convention center in Chicago so it would have been great if they should have stayed in the city. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Apparently, Milwaukee used to host GenCon before it moved to Indianapolis so it does make sense that Adepticon decided to migrate North in that sense.

I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed by this change for a few reasons. Milwaukee is the closest city to Chicago but its still almost two hours drive away. As someone who mostly went to Adepticon to shop, its really hard to justify driving two hours just to buy some miniatures at slightly reduced prices. The cost of gas (which is expensive in Chicago compared to a lot of other places in the US besides New York City and the West Coast) makes it so any money I’d save on miniatures will be offset in gas money. I can’t help but wonder if some of the European vendors will stop coming as well. Chicago has a ton of international flights but I bet Milwaukee doesn’t. For example, vendors from Poland like Neko Galaxy would have to fly to Chicago and then take a really short flight to Milwaukee or rent a car and drive two hours. Its an extra bit of difficulty that might make the difference in whether they want to attend and whether they can make money from the convention.

In conclusion, I doubt I will be going to Adepticon next year and unless it comes back to Chicago, it may not be something I do again anytime soon which is a bummer.

24 thoughts on “Fallout – A Nuka Girl in a Nuka World”

    1. Thanks, mate! I had a feeling that you would like this one. I have to admit that knowing the Fallout show is so popular helped motivate me to work on this mini, especially since it took longer than normal to finish. I’m glad to hear you’ve been enjoying the show as well!

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  2. The kitten has a lifelike feel to it, so well done on that especially being so small a mini. Nuka Girl looks stunning, and congrats on the contrasting colours and materials you’ve gone for.

    Shame the con has moved, and it will no longer be viable for you, as for the vendors, the travel probably wont make a massive difference for them, as over here we regularly travel distances far greater for shows, the biggest drawback will always be import duties

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    1. Thanks for the kind words, Dave! I’m glad to hear you like both of them.

      It is good to get your perspective on the venue change. I was thinking the inconvenience and increased cost might be a problem but it sounds like not. Truthfully, I doubt a vendor or two dropping out (because there aren’t many smaller ones who come from Europe anyway) will make any difference on where they hold Adepticon too.

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  4. Nice work on that tiny, tiny, tiny kitten! Your painting on Nuka Girl looks great..but something about the mini is really off to me. Most of the stuff in Fallout has that sort of naive wholesome 50s vibe (with a dark undertone), but this mini looks more like centerfold cheesecake stuff. The costume is the same, the proportions are about the same. Maybe it’s a combo of the pose and being in 3d instead of a 2d ad?

    Soooo, I guess I’ll being seeing you at Reapercon next year?! I can tell you which paints you REALLY need to buy!! 😉

    Honestly, that does suck that it moved out of Chicago. And there was a chance I could make it to Adepticon next year, but not if it’s in Milwaukee. I guess that means I’ll be missing out too.

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    1. Thank you, Brian! Nuka Girl is used in advertisements like billboards and never actually appears in Fallout 4, I don’t think. So the miniature is made from the 2D art and that might be why she looks a little off to you. Her pose is not especially realistic but it is kind of iconic like how she appears in the advertisements, if that makes sense.

      Hahaha, well Reapercon wasn’t on my radar but I suppose it is slightly more on my radar now that Adepticon has moved locations. I feel fortunate that I’ve moved on from Golden Demon because it feels like its moved on without me, if you know what I mean.

      With all due respect to Milwaukee, there is much less to do there and it is a fairly modest sized city as far as I can tell. So if someone was going to Adepticon because they wanted to do some non-convention stuff, this is a step down. Its also not as convenient to get to since Milwaukee is really only close to Chicago. I’m not so secretly going to hope that they decide to move it back to Chicago in the future, though I have no idea when that would actually happen…

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      1. I’m not sure if the original TSR building still exists or Gary Gygax’s home. But that would be another hour from Milwaukee and the only other thing I can think of to check out. Even though I’m a D&D nerd, I think I’d rather go to Chicago. So much more to do there.

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      2. Agreed! I’ve been here for six years and there’s still plenty of stuff that I haven’t done before or have barely scratched the surface of. And besides, you can’t be eating a Chicago hot dog in Milwaukee either! 🙂

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      3. Haha, I hate to say it…but the best Chicago dog I’ve had was in a place in Portland. Sadly, it’s gone now. But if I head back that way, I’m hitting you up for recommendations. There was a good dog place, but I liked the other types better than the Chicago one. My main focus when I was there, was to get real deep dish. Which was really different but good. Though if I had known about Portillo’s at the time, I probably would have ate there everyday! 😂

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      4. If you keep talking like that, the city of Chicago won’t have you back haha! What deep dish pizza did you get? I think I’ve been to the best deep dish restaurant in the city and not many outsiders know to check it out. I’m not that into deep dish pizza overall though. I prefer California style pizza myself! 🙂

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      5. I know, I felt so bad even saying that! I’m sure there are better places, and I only went to the one. I got deep dish from Giordano’s in Indianopolis, but they have the same place in Chicago. I only knew deep dish as the thick, pie style pizza that some places have. But Giordano’s tasted totally different, almost completely different from regular pizza even. It was great to try something different, but not something I would eat often. My favorite style is NY. A nice slice of hot, cheesy, greasy pizza with a thin, slightly chewy crust, yum! We have a place near my work that makes great NY style. Lucky for me. California style is thin, crunchy, and/or cauliflower crust?

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      6. Giordano’s is a chain and I’ve never been that impressed by it. I hate how long it takes to get your food and everything is slathered in butter and oil! I would recommend trying Pequod’s as an alternative. Its popular with locals so that’s a good sign! California-style is usually thinner crust pizza but also more interesting and creative toppings. I have nothing wrong with traditional pizza ingredients but some of the best pizza I’ve had thinks outside the box!

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      7. You mentioned Pequods before, and I’ve seen it on a few lists before. If we get out that way again, I’ll give it a try. Different pizza toppings, are hit and miss. I really don’t like bbq chicken pizza or taco pizza or a lot of crap they come out with. But we used to have a place that would usually serve a veggie and a meat special. There was a pear and Gorgonzola slice that was really delish. We also have a place that makes a thick pizza with a cornmeal crust that is so yummy. Never seen anything like it. https://yelp.to/9Wd005uodm

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      8. I thought I might have but figured it couldn’t hurt to mention it again! BBQ Chicken pizza can be really good if done well though I haven’t had any in 10+ years since becoming vegetarian. That pizza you shared looks delicious! That is more along the lines of the kind of pizza I like, instead of deep dish. There is a place or two here where you can get pizza that is similar so I prefer to get that over deep dish, unsurprisingly.

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      9. I generally don’t like chicken on pizza at all. There have been some rare exceptions. I think you nailed it when you said “done well”. It really depends on the place and the ingredients they use. Dove Vivi’s pizza with corn on it is amazing, but if I had it at most places, it would suck.

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  5. That cat is tiny! Nice job on Nuka Girl, she has a bit of Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica to her, maybe it’s the slicked back hair. I remember dreading black latex when I went to paint Darth Vader for Star Wars Legions, it’s a tricky one but you sold the effect here.
    I did see an announcement on adepticon moving, unfortunate that it means you’re unlikely to go in the future.

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    1. Thanks, Nic! The hair does remind me of Starbuck as well. I know other people have worn their hair that way but its still a pretty distinct look. Truthfully, I could use more practice on shiny black surfaces to get even better. This is one of the first times I’ve done it and I did kind of wish for a larger surface area to work with but I’ll take what I can get.

      In regards to Adepticon, you don’t always know what you have until its gone! I certainly thought it wouldn’t leave Chicago since its the third biggest city in the US but I was wrong in that regard. If you have a good show near you, don’t assume it will be there next year. Go when you can!

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  6. Whaddya cute whittle puddy cat!
    the Mika girl looks great too. I still haven’t watched the show though it’s on my list to get to one of these nights. I’ve also never played the video games so I have no history. 

    shame the con moved but bound to happen it getting so big. 2 hours isn’t a terrible long drive if spending the night. I wouldn’t want to drive there and back in one day but I’m getting older. 😀

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    1. Thank you, Stew! I’ve only played the video games though I know many people are really enjoying the show which is great to hear. I’ll be curious to hear what you think of it.

      I think the people behind Adepticon didn’t want to pay higher costs to go to a bigger venue in Chicago, which I can understand. McCormick Place is absolutely massive and probably pricey to have a show in. I’m too old and tired to do all that driving too. Especially because I don’t go all day like a lot of people do. It was fun while it lasted anyway!

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