Daily Archives: October 20, 2016

A Handful of Heroclix Repaints

I’m always repainting clix in between my other projects, since I know eventually I will use them for Supersystem 3.  Here are a few I’ve done recently.

First up, Daredevil and Elektra. This Elektra model is from the first Infinity Challenge set, and TBH I like it the best out of all the Elektra sculpts that have come since. While painting her costume I was once again struck by how ridiculous it is. It would take her an hour just to wrap those stupid scarves and sashes around her arms and legs, but hey…I guess it looks cool.

The Daredevil figure is also my favorite clix version of him. These miniatures were very easy to repaint…I just added shading and highlighting to what was already on the miniature. Red is an easy color to work with. I think Daredevil took me about a half hour. Elektra took longer (stupid costume).

Some loser villains, L-R: The Grey Gargoyle, Blastaar, the Wizard, and Batroc “zee Leepair”! I’ll need the first three soon for SS3 games, but I couldn’t resist repainting Batroc just for laughs. He may be one of the most ridiculous villains ever, which is perfect for a fun game of SS3. Apparently, a stray brush strand adhered to Grey Gargoyle and I only just noticed it while messing with the picture. Let’s hear it for hi-res cameras! This assortment of miniatures is a good example of how I repaint batches of miniatures with similar color schemes all at once, even if I won’t be using them anytime soon.

Lastly, a repaint of The Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android! Definitely crying out to be used in a series of linked scenarios. I’ll get on that soon…

Classic Grenadier Wizards

This boxed set was the second set of miniatures I ever bought, the first being the well-known “Tomb of Spells”. I bought them when I was in 6th grade.  Like all of the miniatures I painted back then, I covered them in Testors gloss enamels and thought I did a swell job. Many years later, when I discovered things like acrylic paints and shading, I realized they looked truly horrendous and stripped them with the intent of repainting them later. Years passed and they languished. Then came Warhammer, and all my painting time was taken getting my armies ready for the table. I wanted to paint them last year for WizarDecember, but couldn’t find the time. Now, at age 43, they have finally been repainted.

I painted these first five to resemble the Istari, the five wizards of Middle-Earth. From l-r: Pallando, Radagast, Gandalf, Saruman, and Alatar. Who are Alatar and Pallando, you ask? Well, they are the Blue Wizards, referred to by Tolkien as “lesser” wizards, of which little is known other than their names. After their arrival in Middle-Earth, they quickly “passed into the East”, where nothing was ever heard from them again.

Of course, Iron Crown Enterprises, who once held the license for the Middle Earth RPG and the Middle Earth: The Wizards CCG, did much to expand (i.e. create) the lore of these two wizards. In the CCG, players take the role of one of the wizards. Pallando is portrayed as a diviner/seer, and many of his card effects allow some sort of precognitive ability. Alatar is a very martial wizard who can dish out some heavy damage. So I chose the Illusionist miniature for Pallando and the Druid (with shield and sword) for Alatar. The others were also fairly easy choices: Radagast is a “Druid with dart”; Gandalf (Enchanter)has the big floppy hat, and Saruman (Sorceror) is holding a crystal ball (a palantir?).

I don’t normally rebase these old classics, but I decided to make an exception with this set. I considered adding a sword to Gandalf to represent Glamdring, but chose to leave him unmodified.

The remainder of the set is above. From L-R: Wizard, Cleric, Archmage with spell, Magician, and Warlock. The wizard was my least favorite miniature to paint because his detail is somewhat ambiguous; there are times I didn’t know what I was supposed to be painting. His “familiar” on his shoulder is horribly sculpted as well. I have no idea what it’s supposed to be. The Archmage comes with two “spells”; the hand shown above and  the head of something so poorly sculpted it also defies description. I chose the hand. The Cleric and Magician models are my favorite miniatures in the set, and to this day when I think of a wizard or cleric these guys come to mind. Last is the Warlock; not one of my favorites but I did what I could with him. I decided to paint him as a Bright Wizard; someone who can fling a fireball or two. I hate painting orange, but I think he turned out ok.

Painting old school miniatures like this is always fun. I think I’ll paint another Grenadier boxed set soon.