“Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”
I bought these Modiphius Borg Collective miniatures at the end of last year, since the price was right at $24 for the set. You get 10 Borg drones, an even mix of male and female. A good amount of them are one-piece castings requiring no assembly (beyond basing), so that’s a plus. The ones that do require assembly are just as fiddly as ever to put together. Sigh.
Six of the models are duplicates (three male, three female), while the remaining four have different poses. Since one Borg drone is pretty much the same as any other (kinda the Borg raison d’etre), this lack of variety doesn’t really bother me much. Same goes for the “scenic” bases; they’re standard deck plates, which makes sense for the Borg as they’re constantly assimilating starships.
Painting them was ridiculously easy, although tedious. I used mostly Citadel paints: the skin (what little there is of it) was based in Rakarth Flesh, then washed with Agrax Earthshade. Then I applied a highlight of Flayed One Flesh and a final highlight of Pallid Wych Flesh. This is the same skin recipe I used for Solomon Grundy. He’s a pasty fellow, too.
The Borg “uniform” was based in Vallejo Heavy Charcoal, drybrushed with Citadel Celestra Grey. washed with Citadel Nuln Oil, then given a final highlight of Citadel Longbeard Grey. The metal bits were based in Vallejo Gunmetal Grey and highighted with Citadel Mithril Silver.
Between composing this post and actually publishing it, I acquired another box of Borg (part of a two-box deal with the Next Generation-era away team). I didn’t plan it, but I guess having more Borg isn’t a bad thing, as every time they assimilate someone, they make a new Borg.
Since the price was also right ($18.97), I bought the Star Trek Iconic Villains set, too (I wouldn’t have bought it, otherwise). I’ll eventually get around to painting that set, but it’s a pretty low priority. I mention it here because three of the iconic villains are Lore, Locutus of Borg and the Borg Queen, who actually does have a scenic base other than a deck plate, complete with snaking cables and power conduits. Since I can’t see using either Locutus or the Queen without some standard Borg drones (and since I painted them at the same time as this set) I included them here, along with Lore.
These make up the entirety of the miniatures I have painted thus far in 2020, which is a pitiful output, considering current circumstances are pretty much confining me to my home. I have been wholly preoccupied with The Witcher 3 and running my Star Trek Adventures campaign (game tonight! woohoo!), and thus my painting has suffered.
BUT: Around the corner is May, which has traditionally been “Monster Month” over here at Dead Dick’s Tavern. This year I think I’ll open it up as a painting challenge to any and all who want to participate. More on that soon.
For this year, I decided to “reset the clock” on the Insanity Pile, that way it will give me a more accurate account at the end of the year.
Insanity Pile Progress
Miniatures Purchased in 2020: 20
Miniatures Painted in 2020: 23
Total +3
I have to say the Borg were one of the few things I actually liked about the “Next Gen” series, its a shame they didn’t get more screen time to be honest. Lovely renditions of them too by the way. The Borg Queen I know by “Lore” is a mystery to me I’m afraid.
I would love to be able to take part in “Monster May(hem)”, but as you already know I have some 15mm fig’s with my name on! I’ll try and find something for later in the month if I can.
Best of luck with the game tonight, hope the net doesn’t let you down. Cheers Roger.
Yeah, the Borg are pretty cool, considering the Ferengi were intended to be the big baddies in TNG. Thanks for the compliment. Lore is an earlier Soong-type android; basically Data’s evil twin brother. He’s mean.
Monster month is open to all, even those with smaller (i.e.15mm) monsters!
Working on tonight’s game as I write this (well, technically not, but you know what I mean). Hope to have it written up and posted by the weekend.
Wow, Keith, Good job!
Thanks. Love you, boo.
Nice job on these! I can see your point about them being a bit samey but the still look evil and cool. Like Dick Garrison, the Borg were pretty much the only thing in TNG that got me worried as they seemed so unstoppable.
Can anyone join in Monster Month?
Thanks for the kind words, Matt, and for stopping by again. Warning: three comments makes you a regular!
Monster Month is open to all! I will be posting the “rules” soon, both here and on TMP. Basically, it’s paint at least one monster in May. And by monster, I mean something monstrous. (Think Owlbear, not Orc.)