This was a hard article title to decide on because I’m going to show you not one, not two, but three different things I’ve been working on. I figured a surprise title might entice readership. I wasn’t really planning on dipping into Hellboy but I’ll explain how that came about eventually. The short version is: I had a little downtime in working on Lokaris and so I grabbed another Nazi Knife Fighter and got it done in pretty short order.
Truthfully, this one has some bad mold lines and sometimes with Hellboy miniatures you can’t see them in my pictures but I wanted to go out of my way to highlight one of the mold lines which is pretty bad, I’m sorry to say. This guy has a mold line on his cheek!
That is just not a good area for that kind of thing and the mold lines are tough to fully remove on Hellboy. I did what I could in a reasonable amount of time and its still pretty obvious unfortunately. Hopefully that is an area where Mantic can improve in the future. And finally, here is a look at the triplets. Hopefully, I can get the remaining three done in due time as I’ve not made much progress on painting Hellboy stuff this year sadly.
The other thing I got done was the last card holder for the Arkham Organizer. I don’t have cards to put in it yet and you’ve seen a nearly identical version of it already, so I didn’t bother to take a picture. Instead, I thought I’d put away all of the pieces that belong in one of the two boxes and see how it works. This is not the greatest picture but it shows off how snugly everything fits in the organizer.
This should really make setting up a game a breeze in the future and to have four game boxes condensed into two will be fantastic as well. I look forward to buying the final expansion and more card sleeves so I can put the rest of the organizer pieces away in the hobby closet.
And that brings us to what I’ve mostly been working on and that is Lokaris. I’m still not done with it, though I’m getting closer and closer. I assembled the final piece which is his second cloak and that was a disaster, I’m sorry to say. I had no idea where to apply glue and I ended up putting on way too much and I’m going to have to try and hide that with paint. None of this is in an area that’s visible but I still want to do what I can to cover it up since this is a competition piece. I was also a bit surprised because there was a considerable gap in the cloak in a spot where it is pretty noticeable. Here is a photo of I took of the gap.
That is no good at all! Fortunately, I contacted Dynamic Dave Stone, who hopped in his Concord Jet for a hobby emergency house call and he got me sorted out. I needed some new sculpting tools as I only have a dental set and with the aid of some clay shapers, I was able to patch the gap and get it painted up. You would never know that gap was there and I can’t believe I was able to work green stuff well enough to do this. Of course, its all courtesy of Dave’s sage advice as well so a big thank you to him for his help!
The cloak is shiny pretty shiny from glazing with Lahmia Medium and I need to put some matte varnish on it but I think the pattern of random scratches turned out pretty well considering I was just making it up as I went along. The one thing I have to decide is whether to adding any soiling like from dirt along the bottom. For example, the studio version has it.
It is very light and it looks good. If I’m going to attempt it, I need to use the same light touch. I’ll give it some thought as I try finish up the miniature this week. The tufts I purchased still haven’t shipped and MMSI is about three weeks from now so I guess I’m going to have to inquire about that soon too because I’m not too far off from needing them. All in all though, I’m in a good place to finish this up on time and no corners will be cut which is the way I prefer it.
That is all the hobby progress I made this week. I did promise that I would share pictures of the 75mm Odyssey miniatures when I saw them and that just so happens to be now. Here is Odysseus, which is a stunning miniature.
I love how this one comes with so much scenery and his victim as well. It really is a complete scene which very few 75mm miniatures achieve. You can also switch out his head for a non-helmeted version and you can have him with a sword and shield instead of the bow so its a fairly versatile kit.
And here is the other one for Athena.
That shield is a real work of art and so is her armor and helmet for that matter. The only thing I don’t like about this one is her face which is not bad but its lacking a little something to my eyes. I’d almost rather see her with the helmet on than with it halfway up. That’s just my personal taste though.
Unfortunately, these are limited edition miniatures and they cost over $100 a piece and that doesn’t include shipping (from Europe, I’m pretty sure) and tariffs. And yes, you’re going to start seeing this lovely sticker every time the T-word is mentioned from now on.
All that is to say, it is going to be pricey and I don’t need big new display projects right now. You can also argue that Athena has a lot of similarities to Minerva so I might be treading familiar ground there too. The Odysseus miniature is very tempting though and if it wasn’t Limited Edition, I could see myself getting it in a couple of years, if it were still available then.
The big reason why I don’t have a ton of spending money currently is that Modiphius has a surprise Clearance sale going this week that included a lot of Fallout minis. And yes, that includes the ones pictured above. It seems me that Modiphius is getting ready to retire quite a few sculpts and the only way to get them in the relatively near future will be by 3D printing STL’s which isn’t super convenient for me right now so I decided to buy up pretty much everything that was available. It was $160 with shipping and I got something like 9-10 sets of miniatures (3-6 miniatures in a box) and 3-4 special promo miniatures on top of that. It was an incredible deal in other words. The kind I felt like I couldn’t pass up. If I remember correctly, the website said I saved something like $440 in total and most of the minis were 60-75% off so as cheap as they’ll ever be. With this purchase, my backlog continues to grow which I’m not necessarily thrilled by but its all stuff I would have wanted to paint and own eventually so it made sense to get them. I’m certainly going to be busy with Fallout in the coming months which is a good way to be.
Very exciting post here, I must say! I haven’t looked too close at my Hellboy stuff, but I guess I’d not been seriously considering painting it. Mouldlines down the face are never good, so that is a real shame. He still looks good though, especially I suppose if you’re looking from the tabletop during a game?
The organiser is looking fantastic, and your work on the big man looks amazing, too! Best of luck for the completion itself, here’s hoping the tufts make it in time!
The Fallout sale also sounds like an exciting time, I do enjoy getting a bargain like that, so hopefully they’ll be a wonderful addition to the pile of potential! I’m trying to studiously ignore other games since getting back into Shadows of Brimstone, but Fallout does still keep cropping up. Is Modiphius launching a new edition or something? They seem to be popping up in ads quite a lot recently…
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Cheers, mate! The Hellboy minis are kind of all over the map. You’ll have some of the same sculpt that are pretty good and then others that are rough. The mold lines are really hard to remove on these minis because of the hard plastic that Mantic favors. I tried a Kings of War mini and had the same issues with it a number of years ago. And yes, from most angles he looks fine so I don’t sweat it too much. There’s no point in spending tons of time modeling on a gaming miniature, I reckon!
The end is nearly in sight on Lokaris and I’m glad for it. I won’t miss the competition whether I get the tufts or not. I’ll figure out some kind of a solution either way.
And yes, the new edition of Fallout is just about to launch. There are new starter sets for it and they’re essentially replacing most of the previous miniatures with new sculpts in plastic which have a slightly different scale. I’ve yet to try any of Modiphius’s plastic since they used resin for so long. Well that and I’ve basically committed to getting everything from the 1st Edition that I can since I like the rules and content pretty well from it.
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There’s a lot of temptation out there at the moment, with new models for the Middle Earth strategy battle game as well as new stuff for Fallout… it’s going to take a lot of willpower to resist! Though fortunately (?) with the global insanity going on right now, I don’t think I’ll be having as much disposable income to lavish on these things… 🥴
I feel like a game of Hellboy could be in the near future for me, as we are getting to that time of year when it crops up, so I’ll have to check out the minis for that! I don’t think I’ve come across any other Mantic games, but it’s a shame it seems to be a theme with them…
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Temptation is everywhere all the time, I’m sorry to say! Staying focused and making goals with what you have can help but even the best of us have a wandering eye from time-to-time 🙂
A game of Hellboy sounds splendid! It fits the Halloween season pretty well. Not sure how big that is in the UK and but it is inescapable here for better and worse. Mantic bills themselves as a more affordable version of GW and they are in many respects, but you get what you pay for and their sculpt quality is noticeably worse. I think their Walking Dead miniatures are the most fun to paint but they’re pretty simple and have a slightly cartoony look so that probably helps the overall quality.
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I think I’ll be setting out some goals soon, for sure! But wait, there’s a Walking Dead miniatures game?! 🤪 I never watched the show, but I’ve had a quick look now and they do look like some decent minis, to be fair!
I think I’d say that Halloween has gotten bigger in recent years, I think we’ve largely been importing it from across the pond, really. But it’s definitely the excuse for some horror-themed games, so I’m sure I’ll be getting round to some Hellboy soon, for sure! Might get it down from the loft soon and figure out a casefile to investigate…
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Sounds good and yes, there is. I tried to get into it a number of years ago and I found the solo rules lacking. The game is best played 1 vs. 1 and the zombies are a kind of random, unpredictable element that makes it harder on both sides. I wanted something more focused on survival of your characters so in that sense, I found it to be disappointing. I fully admit that I had a specific style of play in mind and probably set myself up for disappointment.
It is very commercial and out of control here in many ways but that is capitalism for you! That sounds like a great idea and it will be interesting to see what you come up with! I will try to work on Hellboy stuff a bit more in the coming months as I haven’t made much progress on it as of late.
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You know, it’s almost like the game you’re looking for there is Zombicide… 👀
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It could be! I also have a lot of post-apocalyptic terrain so some kind of miniature wargame rules could be a great fit too. I don’t own any zombie miniatures currently though so it would be a project. Perhaps one day, it will happen! 🙂
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Excellent work on the knife fighter Jeff, what you could do with that mold line is turn it into a scar and actually make it a feature as scars can end up higher than normal skin tissue.
Great work getting more of the organiser finished, must be close to being complete now.
So glad the advice helped on Lokaris, and the painting on the cloak looks awesome, hopefully it all comes together in time for the competition.
With all the models you managed to get hold of, I think you made the right choice on what to spend your budget on, and always look forward to seeing more Fallout posts.
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Thanks, Dave! You certainly could make the mold line look like a scar. I didn’t think of it but that’s something I’ll try to remember for the future.
The organizer is 98% done. There’s only one small tray left that I will get around to eventually.
I’m pretty confident that Lokaris will be done on time and I can find other solutions to the tuft problem, if need be, so we’ll see what this week brings and go from there.
You make a good point. I spent roughly the same amount of money on Fallout miniatures as one of the 75mm miniatures would have cost and I think I got the best value I could hope for. Once Lokaris is done, I am certainly going to try and focus on Fallout for a while as it has been neglected for a few months now.
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I’d thought that you might be able to paint the mould line as a scar and then found Dave had beaten me to it in the comments! 🙂 I had to look at the cloak pictures a few times to work out where the gap was mind you, but the finished result is excellent!
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That seems to be the consensus on the mold line scar! I was trying to get the mini done as quickly as I could so it hadn’t dawned on me. If I hadn’t put some black paint around that gap before taking the picture, it would have been easier to spot. Unfortunately, adding black paint didn’t fix the problem so I’m very glad green stuff did the trick! 🙂
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Third time is the charm, my immediate thought was to turn the mold line into a scar also 🙂
Glad to see you took advantage of the discounts! I’m sure it was time to replenish your unpainted pile, can’t let it get too low.
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It seems as if I’m the only one who didn’t think of it at this point haha. In my defense, I was trying to get it done as quickly as I could so I could get back to Lokaris.
While I don’t have TONS of Fallout minis to paint, I still have a lot of Hellboy minis to work on and now I have a lot more Fallout to work on so there is no danger in me becoming bored!
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Missed opportunity to turn that mould line into a scar! Jokes aside that’s a really unfortunate spot for a mould line, especially on a soft plastic model. You’ve done a great job on the paint work as usual!
Nice job fixing that cloak gap, clay shapers have been a game changer for me too, I could never get a smooth finish on my models before I started using them.
And good job grabbing those fallout models that’s a lot of stuff for very reasonable prices!
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Thanks for piling on about the scar haha! 🙂 Its always nice to know that a marginally historically accurate looks good to someone who at least dabbles in WWII wargaming as well.
I was the same way with life pre-clay shapers. Its hard to believe that such a cheap tool makes a huge difference!
It was financially irresponsible to buy the Fallout minis but I’m glad that every single person who has commented on this article has given me plaudits for doing it all the same haha!
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We’re all toeing the financially irresponsible line here so you’re in good company 😉
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Haha, that’s the truth!
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I was going to point out that some scars on models can be painted to look like mold lines…
I’ll show myself out!
I was so excited to see that there was a sale on Fallout minis, then devastated to find that everything was sold out, so those evil geniuses had an evil genius plan pay off!
Nice work on the knife fighter, frankly, I’m always impressed when a boardgame mini comes out looking good!
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It is a Muppets style running gag at his point! I put my order in the same day as the sale started, probably 6-8 hours after it was announced and I missed out on a few things so I know what you mean. I don’t think they had a ton of stock to sell through overall. This is a bit of a tangent, but I hope Modiphius eventually gets around to making their webstore easier to navigate as they retire the older Fallout sculpts. Its been a nightmare for years now, I’m sorry to say!
Thanks for the kind words as well. Mantic’s sculpts are pretty uneven so its a nice surprise when I take a subpar one and can make it blend in with the better ones like I did here.
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Oh man, I was reading this thinking “you could turn that mold line into a scar” but reading through the comments and seeing how unpopular the idea is I guess I’ll keep it to myself.
Nice work on the nazi though, mold line or not he’s come out looking good. Well done fixing the cloak on Lokaris too, and the Fallout models sound like a great bargain. I remember getting a load of Confrontation stuff cheap (some of it for literal pennies) when Rackham went under and although it’s sad to see the models going off sale for good you can’t pass up a bargain like that. The thrill of suddenly having a heap of new models is great too it must be said!
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Thanks, mate! Don’t join the mob! 😀 And thanks for the kind words too.
You described how the sale felt to me really well. Its got me thinking about buying more stuff when I can before it disappears and has to be 3D printed. It seems like I’m constantly being pulled down the dark road of having an ever growing backlog. I used to be such a role model for self-discipline and spacing purchases out and in the end, I’ve fallen prey to the most insidious and compelling Chaos god of all, FOMO! 🙂
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You have been busy! You’re really churning through that backlog of knife-wielding Nazis; hopefully you’ll soon be ready to tackle some of the more esoteric of Hellboy’s baddies. The gap-filling on Lokaris is evidently perfect because I can’t see any gap at all in your photos.
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Unfortunately, I have a lot of Nazis to paint. Probably something like 27 more of the “troops” but there will definitely be more esoteric miniatures to paint in the near term too. I’ve got a few primed and ready to be painted on my desk now actually. That is fantastic to hear on the gaps. With a display mini, that is exactly what I hope to accomplish!
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