28mm Colombian Cartel

During Historicon 2022 I was brainstorming ideas for a game to run at Historicon 2023.  One idea was to run a Mimi Vice-themed game using the 7TV rules, which would be perfect for this sort of game.  I estimated that I already had most of what I would need, albeit unpainted  Back in 2020 I had backed a Kickstarter by Brigade Games for their Drug War Z range and had bought all of the Cartel and DEA packs.  They were still in my unpainted pile and this project would give me a reason to paint them.

I started with the 18 Cartel miniatures.  Colombians were frequent villains on Miami Vice.  While I wouldn't need all 18 for this scenario, I wanted to paint them in one batch.  I knew I would need some new pastel and/or bright paints.  By chance, while still at Historicon 2022, I was talking to another flea market seller at the end of a session and I walked over to his table while I was packing up.  He happened to have an old boxed set of Citadel edge paints, 9 pastel colors, for $10.  They were unopened and still liquid, so I decided to give them a try.  

The Citadel paints worked well over white and light colors.  I also used Vallejo and a few GW contrast paints.   I painted these miniatures in winter and spring 2023.  They are nice miniatures, cleanly sculpted with a variety of weapons and good period details such as wristwatches and rings.  There is a mix of facial features, hairstyles, and body types.  They are now available at Brigade Games.

My research for this project consisted of watching the first and second seasons of Miami Vice on dvd, courtesy of my local library.  It certainly adjusted my color palette to feature lots of bright colors and white pants!

Hitman on the left, the Cartel Boss on the right.  Did I mention the white pants?

The guy with the white-and-purple striped shirt is one of my favorites.

If I remember correctly, the Al Pacino Scarface mini on the left was free to early backers.

The one with the hat is another of my favorites.

The whole cartel.