28mm X-Commandos

A set of 10 commandos from Crooked Dice.  These are listed in the CD catalog as X-Commandos, with the intended purpose of using them as as part of a Department  X cast in 7TV.  In that game setting, they are the good guys who are ready to repel an alien invasion or foil an evil mastermind's plan to conquer the world / corner the market in marmite .  I have also used them as special forces or Torchwood troopers (for games set in the Doctor Who universe).  They are available individually or in groups of 2-4.

They are split into 2 groups of four, each in body armor with 3 rank and file armed with rifle or SMG and a leader armed with pistol.  They come with separate heads which allows for a lot of variations as CD has a large selection of heads available separately.  I painted them in 2017.  Note: I touched these miniatures up in 2025 and have inserted new photos.

The first squad.

The advanced weapon team have an experimental laser.  Some might call it a death ray.  The laser and right hand come as a separate piece and need to be attached.  They can also be based as individual figures.  I like having them on the larger base.

The second squad.

The leader of the X-Commandos, a mysterious Scottish Colonel.  This miniature may bear a resemblance to Sean Connery's character in the 1965 movie The Hill, which is worth watching.

All together now!

Thanks for looking!

Jason

28mm Heroes

Reinforcements for the good guys!  I painted these for use in my Doctor Who and 7TV games.

Two heroes from Crooked Dice.  They make a number of heroic archetypes for use in their 7TV game.  Pandora King is on the left, ready for fisticuffs.  CD make 2 versions of her, this the classic version and my favorite; there is another version with a pistol and different features.  I believed she is modeled after Mrs. Peel from 'The Avengers'.  A veteran police detective is on the right, ready to restore law and order with his trusty revolver.  I just received 16 policemen from Crooked Dice this week so backup is en route.  I painted these in early 2017.

Seen here are 2 new additions to my UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) faction.  They are based in my new city style, and I have converted the older ones to match.  They are a corporal (left) and sniper (right). Both are by Crooked Dice, who make a variety of 70s/Falklands-era British Army models. They mix well with the Black Tree miniatures that make up the bulk of my UNIT troops; I also have some MoFo Falklands range mortars and crew.  I painted these in early 2017.

This is a Reaper Bones miniature I bought from the Reaper stand at Historicon 2016.  Although my daughter has painted a number of Bones models, this was the first one I painted myself.  It is on the tall side compared to Heresy/Crooked Dice/Black Tree, but I like it.  It fits in perfectly with the 1960s/1970s 7TV setting.  I painted in it late 2016.

Thanks for looking!

28mm Firefly Crew, Rogue Agents and Vehicle

Some more additions to my 28mm collection I use for Doctor Who and 7TV games.

Three of the ‘inspired by Firefly’ minis by Heresy.  From left to right: Mal, Book and Kaylee.  These were fun to paint and of course it was a great show.  I may get the rest of the crew from Heresy the next time I order something from them.

These are a pack of 3 ‘Rogue Agents’, from Copplestone's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang range.  They can fill a lot of roles; I especially like using the one on the right as a Double Agent in 7TV games.  His eyepatch gives his dastardly intentions away!

A vehicle by Crooked Dice.  It is also available with an astronaut driver.  I actually bought this already painted from someone online.  I rarely buy painted miniatures, preferring to paint my own.  However, it was high quality, a good price and looked like it would match my existing security guards.  All I did was to give it 2 quick coats of Testor's Dullcote.

With one of my Artizan Wolverine Security guards for scale.

Cybermen Reinforcements

Since I posted my Cybermen way back in 2010, I have made a few additions.  I have also redone the basing on all the old models to a concrete style, instead of the earth & grass style I originally used.

These are 3 Cybermen from Crooked Dice, listed as 'Robo-minions' on their website.  They are great models and come with separate heads and some separate arms.  They are useful as newly-converted Cybermen in DW games, or as the experiments of a mad scientist in 7TV.  The one on the left reminds me of the Borg from Star Trek.  Crooked Dice sell the heads and arms separately, and I bought some that I intend to use to convert a few extra models into more Robo-minions.  I painted these several years ago, maybe 2013?  FYI, Phalanx Consortium now carries Crooked Dice products in the US.  I visited their stand at Historicon recently.  http://www.thephalanxconsortium.com/

5 Cybermats from Crooked Dice.  These are sadly no longer available.  They are based on 20mm round bases and were painted in 2016.  The first time I remember seeing these these was in 1975's 'Revenge of the Cybermen'.  That would make for a fun scenario.  I do have some unpainted Vogons in storage.  Perhaps a future project?

Thanks for looking!

28mm Civilians

Over the years I have painted a lot of civilians for my Doctor Who and 7TV games.  They come in handy as objectives, obstacles or just a nice addition to the scenery.

From Lead Bones (l-r): skater, waitress and 4 clerks.  I purchased these from Recreational Conflict.  The skater has a knack for appearing in the oddest places during games.

The first 2 on the left (waitress and cook) are from Ainsty; the other 3 are from Killer B's 'Geezer' range.  Also purchased from Recreational Conflict.

This intrepid BBC reporter and cameraman can often be found in harm’s way.  I bought these secondhand and loose; I later learned they are part of a Copplestone Future Wars pack along with 3 other models.

4 Pulp miniatures.  I do not know the manufacturer.  I bought them at a Cold Wars convention ages ago, from a gentleman in the flea market selling lots of loose Pulp miniatures.  The one on the left still has my old style of earth & grass basing since he looks like a gamekeeper or poacher.  The second one from the left reminds of me of the old officer from the 1939 version of ‘The Four Feathers’ who keeps retelling a tale of his exploits in the Crimean War; “On the right, the British infantry.  The thin red line”.

I took a lot of pictures at the same time so there are more posts on the way.  Thanks for reading!

Final 2016 Purchases

My final wargaming packages of 2016 both arrived Friday, so I thought I'd share the contents.  They should keep me busy for a while.

The first package was from Hasslefree Miniatures, ordered during their post-Thanksgiving sale and en route for several weeks.   Besides the two pieces of candy, it contained ten 28mm miniatures.

The top row (l-r) are for use in post-apocalypse or 7TV games.  The first is a steampunk mini that I just liked.  The second appears to be inspired by the Kate Beckinsale character in the 'Underworld' movies.  The third is an especially nice archer.  Most of my post-apoc miniatures have firearms, so it is good to have some different weapons.  The fourth is a martial artist, and will be used as a 7TV hero.

The bottom row consists of six miniatures in power armor.  I plan on using them with the This is Not a Test rules as the core of a Preserver force.  The third from the left, the one not wearing a helmet, will be the leader.  I really like this mini, seeing it on the website is what gave me the impetus to order the whole group.

The second package was from The Warstore.  I ordered it on Tuesday during their after-Christmas sale and it arrived on Friday; great service from them as always.  In the picture below are (l-r): 1. An issue of Wargames Illustrated from June 2012, they are giving away random old issues for free.  The theme is the Jacobite rebellion, so I'll have something good to read.  2. A set of Army Painter sculpting tools.  3. Some P3 brass rod for pinning.  4. Green stuff.  5. Three Perry Crusader knights (code CU6).  6. A bottle of Vallejo Rust Wash and a bottle of Army Painter Matte varnish.

In the past I haven't done much with green stuff other than filling gaps.  I want to experiment with it in 2017, hence the sculpting tools .  The Rust Wash will be used on some pieces of post-apocalypse terrain.  The  Perry knights will be added to my SAGA Crusader army, I like the overhand pose and have wanted this pack for a while.

Happy New Year!

Pre-Islamic Arabs

I painted this Pre-Islamic Arab DBA army in the early 2000s.  I chose them because they can be an opponent for several of my armies including Seleucid, Abyssinian, Early Imperial Roman, Palmyran, & Arab Conquest.  In the current version of DBA 3, they are classified as list II/23a, Later Pre-Islamic Arab (Nomad version).

The miniatures are 15mm Essex.  They do not have a lot of visual appeal as they are almost entirely in white tunics/loincloths.  They were not much of a challenge to paint, but they did go quickly.

Seven elements of infantry armed with sword and spear (Bd).  I varied the poses on each stand, as there are a good number of pose variants, though you may not be able to tell as they are all dressed alike.

Two elements of Light Horse.  The one on the right serves as the General (he is in red).

An element of archers (Bw) in the center, flanked by two elements of slingers (Ps)

Four elements of Archers mounted on camels (Cm), with an element of camel-mounted scouts (LCm) on the right.  I added a second camel rider to one of the 3 camels on each stand for variety.

The entire army takes the field, looking for a town to raid.

28mm Private Military Contractors

I bought these 28mm miniatures at Cold Wars 2015, after surviving the drive from South Carolina to Pennsylvania through a raging snowstorm.  They are made by Eureka Miniatures and come in a set of 8.  They are listed on their website as 'Private Military Contractors', though the set I bought was labeled as 'Blackwater Contractors'.  They are good castings, with little to no flash and lots of small details.

They are a useful set, and while I originally painted them for use in the post-apocalypse game Across the Dead Earth, they have also seen action in games of 7TV and Doctor Who.  I plan on using them for This is Not a Test as I start learning those rules.

Some of the poses are similar, but they are all different, with varied weapons and heads.  All have body armor.  I used a lot of khaki, olive and gray, adding some blue and red for a bit of color.

Fun fact: for games which require individual stats, I've given them names 'borrowed' from my old gaming group in Ohio.

First Squad: I really like the running pose (second from left).  It is the only one with facial hair.

Second squad: I gave the kneeling one on the left a Hawaiian shirt.  I use the second from the left (with raised hand) as a leader.

Objective in sight.  Move out!

Invasion of the Scarecrows

The Doctor Who stories 'Human Nature' and 'Family of Blood' (2007) feature animated scarecrows terrorizing a village in 1913 England.  At the climax, they attack an English boys' school.  I've painted a dozen scarecrows for use in a scenario derived from this game and for more general use in games of 7TV.

I bought 8 of them on clearance from the now-defunct Architects of War a few years ago.  They are Woodbine Miniatures made by Gripping Beast and listed as 'Scary Scarecrows' in their catalog.  Woodbine has a small range and include several other packs inspired by the aforementioned Doctor Who stories.  There are 4 different poses.

The last 4 are 'Corn Dolls' made by Crooked Dice.  These come as 2 different bodies, with separate arms allowing for more poses.

I painted them all at once in 2014 or 2015, using various shades of brown paint.  The straw was painted with Iron Wind Dun and highlighted with Musket Miniatures New Thatch.  They painted up very quickly.

The red group of Woodbine scarecrows, so called because they all have red neck scarves.  They have some nice details, with random tears in their clothing and straw sticking out.

The blue group of Woodbine horrors shambles forward.

These are the Crooked Dice corn dolls.  They have a bit more detail than the Woodbine ones, and the separate arms allow for more variation.

The entire horde approaches.  Stay out of the fields!