Doctor Mao and the Autons

The Autons are an old monster from Doctor Who.  First appearing in 1970s 'Spearhead from Space'. they have shown up as villains several times in both classic and new stories.  They are made from plastic, have guns in their hands and are controlled by an alien being, the Nestene Consciousness.  They have appeared as living mannequins and more realistic impersonations of humans.  I use mine as Autons in Doctor Who games and in 7TV games either as the original Autons or creations of Doctor Mao.   I painted them at different times in 2016 and 2017.

Doctor Mao on the right with one of his creations in metal, rather than the standard Auton plastic.  The mad Doctor's origins are unknown but he does bear a resemblance to a certain North Korean family.  Perhaps a distant relative?

Four Autons from Black Tree Design in work uniforms.  They come in two different poses.  Based on the early 70s shows, these were originally made by Harlequin and are still available.

Four more Autons.

Two mannequin-like Autons in fashionable clothing.  These are from Crooked Dice and sold as Plastons.

Two more from Crooked Dice.  The one on the right has security tags attached to his shirt, pants and jacket, which is a nice touch.

Fear the Autons!

Every Villain Wants to Rule the World

I am of the opinion that you can never have enough villains.  I have collected a variety of them for my 28mm 'spy-fi' games using the 7TV rules.  Evil masterminds, secret agents, mad scientists, henchmen, mercenaries, aliens, I have them all.  The names below are from the manufacturer's catalog unless otherwise noted.

The model on the left is sold by Crooked Dice as Jack Booted Sadist.  I think it is a dead ringer for the James Bond villain Xenia Onatopp played by Famke Janssen in Goldeneye (1995).  My favorite of the Pierce Brosnan Bond movies.

The model on the right is a Heresy miniature originally sold as the Jon Simm version of The Master in new-era Doctor Who, now sold as Edward Arterton, Supervillain.  He comes with an alternate right hand holding a pistol.

Lancelot Cray, secretive CEO of the international corporation United Radionics (left) and his bodyguard and fixer Lionel (right).  The perfect model for a conniving industrialist in an expensive suit.  Both by Crooked Dice.

Two villains who can be used in a wide variety of roles, sold by Beast in the Broch as FedSec Commander (left) and FedSec Supreme Commander (right).  The robotic hand and eye on the model to the left cast him as an alien or evil cyborg.

Kali (left) and Bolo (right), two specialists in hand-to-hand combat.  Kali has a sword in her right hand that is hard to see at this angle.  Bolo is wearing very sharp claws on his hands in case his feet don't finish the job.  If only someone made a model of Patrick Swayze from 'Roadhouse' to fight Bolo!

Two ninjas from Crooked Dice, sold as Daughters of SHIVA (Secret Headquarters of International Villainous Agents).  I was surprised at how stable the one on the left is given the pose.

"Hey, what are we doing in this post?  We're not villains, just scientists crossing ethical and legal boundaries in pursuit of forbidden knowledge."  Three scientists from Crooked Dice.

The deadly mercenary Kohner (left), from Crooked Dice and an Afghan from Artizan's 2nd Afghan War range.  

These two models should look familiar to any Roger Moore-era James Bond fans.  Jaws (left, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker) and Nick Nack (right, The Man with the Golden Gun).  I think these are very accurate representations of the characters by Crooked Dice.

A regular 28mm model in the middle to show the scale.  I think Jaws is about to crush his head with his bare hands.

Two miniatures from Black Cat.  On the right is a mad scientist with a penchant for hideous experiments.  He has a half-lizard, half-cat in his lap. He doesn't have an official name yet, but I think Devious Doctor Finn has a nice ring to it.  His butler is on the left.  I think he is required to go by Jeeves.

 Never trust a mad scientist's butler, he may be holding a pistol behind his back.

Two of the mad doctor's test subjects.  These are great models, sold as Failed Experiments by Crooked Dice.  The heads and non-human arms are separate; there is also an ape-like head and a mechanical claw arm that I haven't used yet.  Was the one on the left transformed in a horrible accident or did he anger the doctor once too often?

 

 

 

Thanks for looking!

Jason

28mm Vikings - Ragnar Lothbrok & Shieldmaidens

I bought a variety of miniatures from Brother Vinni (located in Bratislava, Slovakia) back in late 2016.  Their website is at:http://www.brother-vinni.com

While most of them were for my post-apoc project, I also got 5 Vikings, which I painted in late

 2017.  Four of them came as a set of shieldmaidens.  I already have a Viking army for Saga and thought they would add some variety.  Now that the 2nd edition of Saga is out, there is a special shieldmaiden mercenary unit that you can include your army.  Of course the unit requires 6 female miniatures, so I will need to get 2 more from Brother Vinni or Bad Squiddo.

All of the BV models are made of resin.  These are the first resin models I've painted outside of vehicles, buildings or large creatures.  The sculpting quality is excellent and the separate arms attached easily.  I did pin them for a stronger bond.  The only drawback I experienced was with the weapons.  One sword blade snapped at the hilt when I was gluing the arm on.  It superglued back on easily and I can't tell that it was ever broken.  A second sword blade started to bend during painting and I am hesitant to try and fix it for fear of breaking it.

If you are a fan of the Vikings tv show, you may recognize Ragnar Lothbrok.

 

 

The one on the left had to have the sword blade reattached.

 

The one on the left has the bent sword blade.

 

 

Attack!

28mm Cargo Ship and Jetty

I haven't been painting many miniatures the last month or so.  Instead I have been building terrain.  I have a number of kits, mostly mdf, that I have been working through.  They are in various stages of construction and painting and I took pictures of two of the completed ones this week.

The first item I finished is a cargo ship made by TT Combat.  I bought it from Wargames Tools at Historicon 2016.  It measures 48.25 cm long and 15.25 cm wide.  They also make a longer version.  I have plenty of containers, boxes etc. to place on deck but left them off for the pictures.  It went together quickly and the pieces fit well.

The second piece is a Wooden Jetty set by Sarissa that I bought direct from them in March along with a fountain that is still being painted.  I've been looking for something to use as a pier for the ship.  It is in their Far East range but looks generic enough to be used in many settings.  It assembled easily into 4 pieces, two of which have a detachable ramp on one end.  Each piece is 22 cm long and 6 cm wide; the end ramp adds another 5 cm of length.

 Cargo ship and jetty together.  This used 3 of the 4 jetty sections.  There are two 28mm Artizan miniatures to show the scale.

 

 

All four of the jetty sections.  The left section has the ramp detached; the next one has the ramp attached.

 

 

 

 

 

 Detail of the bridge.

There is a second interior room under the bridge.  The bridge and roof are to the right of the ship.

 Thanks for looking!
Jason