On through another month and this time my painting total is looking a little healthier, but has a major difference between any of the months previous. It’s mostly terrain. My main work was the Mantic terrain crate and this one is difficult to stack onto my model count, so I’ll be starting a new scenery count as well.
Models Painted: 14
Scenery Painted: 65
Model total: 20
Scenery Total: 65
Well it’s been a long year and I have been spotty at best with keeping up with this, hence the delay in getting it out there.
I set out to keep track of how many models I paint in a year, not with a specific goal in mind or as a figure to beat, but to just have a look at the numbers. So without further ado my painted figure count for 2018 was…
175
Not a bad number to be honest, but this year I think I’ll break it down even more. I want to look at how many figures I paint for each game that comes my way, board game, tabletop, or anything else that may happen. This is one ofthe things I’ll be adding to my painting goals for the year, which I’ll talk about soon.
Anyway, enough rambling, here’s the 175 models I painted this year…
I’ve painted a fair bit for the forces of good in the Batman Miniature Game now and wanted to show off some of the Crews I have put together.
First up the Bat Family…
and the GCPD…
These two aren’t crews in their own rights, although the GCPD group could be. The plan was to make up a couple of crews from these two pools. Her’s what I came up with…
The first is a nice and simple Batman & Robin based crew, with as much GCPD back up as I could fit in and, because I adore the mini, Alfred is there to keep an eye on master Bruce.
The second crew I put together looks like this…
This one is based around the Robins; Nightwing, Red Hood and, well, Robin with some GCPD back up and again Alfred keeping an eye on things.
Both of these are standard tournament sized crews (350rep) as I like to make sure that’s what I’ve got to play with once I eventually get to playing the game. Although the first few times will be with a little bit less than this.
Knight Models have really outdone themselves on these pre-order exclusive minis, giving us two models oozing character and perfectly reflecting their comic book counterparts. That’s why I now have two rulebooks 😀
My only wish is that the Red Hood Joker had been given some unique rules like Alfred has, to make him all that more special. But what are you gonna do? As it stands I’ve got a cool Joker to use with the Harley crew I’m planning 🙂
Here’s a closer look at the Red Hood…
And Here is Alfred…
Both of these were a lot of fun to paint, primarily because the sculpts are so superb. As usual with Knight Models stuff the details are crisp and clean, with the occasional dramatic element, like the Red Hood’s cloak, but they never feel overloaded. Really good stuff 🙂
More reinforcements for the Batman and his allies are ready to take control of the streets of Gotham.
I got these guys as they were the only other henchman for my Bat forces that I did not have (until Knight Models announced next months releases :(), and they looked like good fun to paint up. They are some great sculpts, with minimal mold lines but did have a fair amount of gaps when putting these together. Gordon especially had some fairly noticeable gaps where his arms join at the elbow. But a wee touch of greenstuff and they were ready to go :).
Here’s the SWAT…
These were pretty simple, just because there is not a lot of variation in colours and no major detailing. I went with a colour scheme very close to the studio job, as it kept them looking tactical as well as linking well with the police I had already done.
Commissioner Gordon I wanted to do a little closer to the comics and the Animated Series versions, rather than the movie version…
I’m really pleased with how he turned out, a lot better than I expected to be honest. I wasn’t sure I would really use him in game but I like the mini so much I think I’ll have to squeeze him in once or twice 🙂
Next up is my Red Hood Joker and Alfred exclusive minis 😀
Some heroes head over from Star City to help out the Batman!
These two I picked up on a whim just because I really liked the models, and I was very glad that they looked just as good in the flesh. Green Arrow I found was a fairly easy one to paint because the majority of him is green, go figure eh :), and the details are so crisp the highlighting was really easy to get on with.
Black Canary was a bit different. Everything was just as crisp as Arrow except for the tights, the crosshatch pattern was fairly flat in a few areas so it took a good amount of time and a steady hand to get them looking how I wanted. The only other thing I struggled with was the face. Due to the sculpt it is quite difficult to not make her look like a certain type of inflatable ;).
Not being that familiar with the character I painted her up as Knight Models have and I wish I’d researched it a bit more before hand. The models based off the New 52 look, which would mean I would rather have had the main body and arms a lot closer to black as she is in the comics.
Here’s some more pics of them both…
My god I love these two! Red Hood for his sheer bad-ass-ness. The mini just oozes cool intimidation and matches the comic so well. Batwoman on the other hand has such a simplicity to her. No clutter, no ostentation, just simple. This really works for the mini especially combined with the nonchalant but confidant pose. Love it!
These two have probably been the best models I’ve had from Knight so far in regards to mold lines, with only a minor area on Batwoman and one down the inside of Red Hoods legs. Construction is pretty easy on Red Hood with only the arms needing pinned on and a wee bit of filler put in. Batwoman was a bit trickier, but only because of the left leg. This leg joins at the knee but because its a v shaped join it was tricky to pin, so needed to be roughed a bit with a file to get a good stick with the glue.
Onto some more pictures…
As you can probably guess, and I know I say it nearly every time, but these where a joy to paint. I loved every minute. Not just two of my favourite models from Knight Models, but two of my favourite models ever!
That’s four of Gotham’s finest ready to back up my heroes in a fight 😀
I wanted to do something a little bit different with them than to the ‘official’ scheme, but nothing too drastic. So I threw in a little bit of gold to add some colour and let the minis stand out a bit more, and I think it works quite well 🙂
Another lot of minis that were a joy to paint especially the two unnamed officers(the chubby chap with the flashlight and the lady officer), who are now two of my favorite models from the range 🙂
Next up some more of the Bat Family…
I’ve been getting a little painting in where I can on my collection of Batman miniatures and have changed my plans as to what I’ll be painting slightly. The place I go to get my Batman Miniatures Game fix on Facebook; Arkham City Limits, which has just become the official group for the game (meaning it is supported by Knight Models and has regular input from the folks behind the game), is running a painting competition :). The rules are simple; Paint up a new 350 rep force that has not been shown on the web before now. Perfect for me just starting out.
So along with the Bat Family I will be painting up a realised I would need some cops & swat to back em up, which have been ordered and should be with me soon 😀
In regards to the Bat Family I’ve now finished up Batgirl and Nightwing…
There is a couple of things I want ot fix with these; Batgirl’s base needs a black rim and I would like to add the red down Nightwing’s back but other than that they are done :). I had more trouble with Batgirl than I thought I would and am not completely happy, but she’ll have to do. Nightwing on the other hand, I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would, even though it’s quite a simple scheme.
Next up will be some cops to back these folks up 😀
My plan for the Knight Models range was to get and paint up the Bat family and what better place to start than the dynamic duo themselves; Batman & Robin…
I loved painting these up, absolutely loved it 😀
The detail on the models is clean and crisp, something I’ve always loved about metal models. As I’ve said before the scale is glorious, especially considering the little detail of Batman being taller than Robin, something you often don’t see with model ranges. My only complaint was Batmans ears, which seemed a little shorter than they should be, and one looking a little malformed. Only a small problem though 🙂
Next up, Batgirl or Nightwing?
