Just about everything that could go wrong this week did but this blog is not about whining or complaining about one’s lot in life so instead let’s talk about hobby stuff. I have some things to show off this go around that are a bit different than usual. I will freely admit that beating Metro: Exodus for the third and final time cut into my painting time a bit. I got the last achievement for it and am moving on to some less intense video games so I’ll try and be more productive this upcoming week.
The first thing I worked on and got done in no time at all really is this Johann Marker for Hellboy: The Board Game which shows Johann when he’s left his suit and is a roving specter. It is odd to paint something so flat but I did what I could. The biggest challenge is the helmet which is empty. I tried to find some references and paint it as realistically as I could though I will freely admit that I was just kind of making it up as I went along. Here is a look at the two markers which could appear in the game side-by-side like this, if I understand his abilities correctly.
If you’re a fan of Johann, don’t worry, there’s yet another miniature of his I need to paint. It’d be nice to field him in games so I should probably work on that sooner or later, I suppose.
I was going to start on a Fallout miniature as I’m quite keen to get some stuff done for Wasteland Warfare but the mini I was going to paint has me a bit confused. Does anyone have any idea what the square corner part of the base is? Obviously, the rest of the base is some kind of wood flooring but I can’t figure out what the other part is supposed to be portraying. The paint job on the box isn’t really any help either. If I can work that out, I’ll give Cait a go sometime soon as she’s a companion who I grew to really like in my second playthrough of Fallout 4.
I did start on another miniature and so I’ll show you a teaser of what I’m probably working on next.
This is the last raider in the Core Set and she’s obviously in Power Armor. I’m trying to do something ambitious and match the game art more closely than I’ve seen anyone manage. It is going to be time consuming as essentially Raider Power Armor is a bunch of random scrap metal that has been welded together to offer a modest amount of protection in battle. Most people, including the commission painters that Modiphius hires just paint the raiders in metallic paints and add some washes, rust, and edge highlighting and call it a day. Nothing wrong with that approach and its certainly more sensible than what I’m going to do. I’m going to try paint every different subtle variation of metal and carefully apply rust to it too. Getting your brush into all of the crevices of this model is a bit of a pain but my biggest problem is that its a bit tedious to work on right now but hopefully once I get the armor basecoated, it will start to get more interesting and exciting to work on. I should have a better idea next week.
Speaking of Raiders, Modiphius is finally getting ready to redo a lot of the faction Core Set boxes in hard plastic. This is exciting because it should be more durable than the resin and it will also allow more build and conversion options as well. I’m excited to get my hands on some of these new kits just to see what they can do. It could be a good opportunity for me to work on my converting skills which are pretty minimal so there’s plenty of room to grow there..
Rereleasing these kits with new sculpts makes for an interesting decision for longtime Wasteland Warfare fans. Do you buy both boxes in resin and in plastic, for example? The resin kits are likely to be discontinued and fully replaced by the plastic ones so those models will be the first to go out of print in the game, unless I’m mistaken. At the same time, if you own both Core Sets, while you’ll have more options to field in games and its more likely you will have a model that represents whatever weapon loadouts you’re using, you don’t really NEED that many miniatures ever in a single game. And therein lies the dilemma. Do you buy them because you’re a collector and you don’t mind have extra models that you don’t really need? I don’t have an issue with doubling up on the boxes and I’d like to have more model variety in my collection for battle report purposes but I can certainly see where some people might feel like if I’ve got the resin Core Set, I’m not going to buy a plastic version. Its a waste of money and resources. I don’t know if anybody else out there has run into a situation like this but I’d love to hear your thoughts, if so.
Kuribo's Painting 
Looks great Jeff! Funny to have a mini that’s just the empty suit, is there a mechanic where he can wear it again?
For the fallout mini, that corner looks like guide rails for a sliding door or something like that. Interesting to have that as a corner. Maybe some sort of armoured door/wall that is currently open? You probably can’t go wrong with some good old hazard stripes, never know when that might close and catch you in it!
Cool to see mophidius get a plastic core set together, the game must be going pretty well!
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I forgot to comment on the power armour! I think you have the right approach and I’m really keen to see how it turns out. It’s like orks, if you paint it all in one colour it looses that patched together aesthetic which is part of the identity of the models.
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I’m hoping that I’m on the right track and we should see enough progress to judge by this weekend. I completely agree that you have to make the armor look like random scrap metal to make it look properly haphazard. It is a bit of a pain to execute but hopefully worth it in the end.
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I should have taken the time to explain how Johann works in my post and I forgot. I don’t know if he can attack directly with guns or melee weapons, but I do know that he can leave his suit and possess regular enemies and have them attack on your behalf which sounds pretty fun and powerful to me. These markers help you track that when it occurs.
I think a doorframe is a great interpretation on the base. That would be very easy to paint considering the terrain project I just wrapped up so I am likely to go in that direction. Thanks for mentioning it!
Its hard to tell sometimes but it seems like Fallout is doing well if they’re essentially re-releasing sets in hard plastic to me too. Since Fallout doesn’t have a tournament scene to speak of, it isn’t popular in game stores like most other miniature games which makes it fly under the radar a bit, but at the same time, something clearly is going right with how much Modiphius supports it which is nice to see.
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Fantastic work on the suit marker Jeff, and can see the dilemma with the helmet and trying to represent it with paint on a solid model, so I think your option works well.
As for the base It looks like a frame for a hatch, maybe to an underground bunker, as it has no grain I would imagine its supposed to be metal, the other thing it could be is a stress support beam to make the floor more solid, but it’s open to interpretation, as it’s your model.
Old weathered NMM should be an interesting challenge for you, and I’m intrigued to watch this develop.
As for the last question, I guess it would come down to what do you want, do you want more models to play around with, and have a go at converting, or are you happy with what you’ve got. I know it bugs me that there is two Kroot I never managed to get hold of, but as they are both shapers, it’s not a massive issue, but my OCD would still really like them in my collection ! LOL
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Thank you, Dave! The helmet was basically guesswork which happens sometimes in our hobby.
That is a great theory on the base. I hadn’t thought about any of those possibilities. I’ll be doing some photo reference work in the coming days so that I have a decent idea of how I want to paint it. It could be a good opportunity to try something new as well.
For all of the people out there who can and do paint NMM, a small fraction actually paint weathered and rusty stuff so I might be in rarefied air if I actually pull it off, we’ll see!
I tend to be more of a completionist too so I’m leaning towards doubling up on the new Core Sets. I know I sometimes get tired of seeing the same miniatures on the table for certain factions and so doubling up on the boxes will help with that. Finding the time to paint all of the minis is perhaps the bigger challenge but I’ll do what I can anyway!
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Those Johann markers are pretty funny. I actually rather like the empty suit, but there is just something unexciting about the ghost mini.
I hope you have fun with the next Fallout minis; they look like they should be interesting to paint your way through. And I always love to see your Fallout content 🙂
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You’re not a fan of the ghost mini! I remember you saying the same thing when I originally painted it 😀 I think the flat, empty suit is less exciting but that’s just me 🙂 It is a challenge to paint the suit though. You really have to be neat with your brushwork.
I don’t know if the Raider will be fun but I’m hoping the final results speak for themselves. I’ve got plenty more Fallout minis lined up after this one so it should be a busy year for me with Fallout!
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hope things shape up soon on the non hobby front.
the suit marker looks great and suitably (hehe) empty.
good luck with the fallout stuff. 😀
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It seems to come and go a lot for me lately. Some of the biggest factors that would help, I can’t really control right now so I suspect it will be up and down for a good chunk of 2025, unfortunately.
Very nice pun work there, Stew! I’m glad you like the suit despite how flat it is.
Maybe if my Fallout painting is good enough, you’ll crack open that box you got for Christmas and shock the hobby world by having a blast painting it 😉
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Nice work on the markers, Jeff! 🙂 I really like ’em! I had the same thought as Dave about the floor being a hatch or trapdoor!
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Thank you, John! I’m glad I asked because I hadn’t considered that sort of thing. Now I’ve got some inspiration and research to do 🙂
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I like the empty suit myself. It’s got more interest to it and you did a good job with the paint. The “wraith” is well painted (though out of focus) but the sculpt just looks like Generic Ghost #42.
The odd thing on the corner of the floor looks like it could be a trapdoor for a shelter or a cellar in the floor. Plenty of those in the Fallout games!
Painting the raider suit in different metals makes sense. Doing it in lots of shades of NMM will be a test in not making it look like shades of grey. Not something I’d be doing! 😀 Though I’d probably do something with heat discolouration on several base metal paints.
As for the boxes, I’ve bought two (or more) of many, many games’ starter sets – even when the figures are identical. I’d basically ask the following questions:
Do you WANT the models? Yes -> Can you AFFORD the models? Yes -> Buy it.
Note: I don’t ask if I NEED or can STORE the models. Those questions are irrelevent. 😉
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Cheers, mate! It was a good challenge to paint the suit to be sure. And yeah, Johann’s spirit is very much out of focus but I painted it a while ago so I was lazy and didn’t retake the photos this time around. As you said, perhaps it isn’t worthy of such treatment too haha
I think the trapdoor won so I’m going to try and come up with a way to paint as such. Should be an interesting challenge!
Haha, it is a crazy goal in some ways but I hope the end result makes it worth the effort. If nothing else, I’ll learn something from it, I’d guess.
I like your decision flow chart! I suspect I will end up rebuying/doubling up on the new starters. It should be fun to see if I can come up with any interesting conversions out of them, if nothing else.
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I’m mostly metal minis guy, but I’d buy bothplastic and resin in your situation if needed.
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Its good to hear your thoughts on this issue, Mark. I think I’ll go for both!
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