Colony87 Starport Ogre Crew

 

In the middle of preprations for a WE of Stargrave, I picked the opportunity o pick some Colony87 models to put on the table because frankly, who doesn't love NPC's ? I'm also all for taking any excuse to get models painted so when my friend Sho3box mentionned he was making a Starport table, I jumped on the opportunity.

Stargrave Loot Tokens

 

Hey all ! Bit of a palette cleanser today. I have an upcoming Stargrave week-end with friends in april and though I have painted my Stargrave band a while ago, I still haven't used it for its intended purpose so here's the perfect occasion !

Now amongst the few things one needs to play Stargrave, there are of course a ruler/tape measurer/anything to give you distances on the tabletop, dice (of the 20 sided kind) AND because this game is like its fantasy big brother, a treasure hunt game, you need treasure tokens !

Caryatids - Hive angels or demons

Every new release for Necromunda seems to be aimed directly at me. I guess I'm either someone super important or more likely we live in an age where people like me have the chance to be targeted right at their weak spots in the entertaining industry.

And I have to confess amongst many others, one of my weak spots is naked blue winged mutant babies... That's just how I roll.

Now I'm ashamed it took me that long to get this one painted honestly but I will probably come up with excuses if I have to.
Now this one was even better since it was a freebie from the latest Colony 87 KS so it was a shame not to have it painted really !

The doctor is in ! - Mad doctor for 40k

OK, I've been working on a project lately which has proven to take more time and energy than anticipated so I've decided to treat myself with a candy model just for fun.

See, I often read about hobby burn outs but it seems to me that generally doesn't come from a lack of pleasure more than anything. Just to break the monotony of working on many models at once, getting a stand alone out just for fun makes you complete something which is the kind of rewarding feeling that fuels me at least.

So while you'll have to wait a bit for this bigger project, here's what I decided to do.

Astro-porter and complete Colony 87 range painted (so far)

I can tell you that was quite a haul but I've finally managed to finish the complete colony 87 range (both 1st and 2nd waves) with this gorgeous little porter (I know I'm ignoring some familiars) !

In all honesty, this was a bit unusual for me to work on so many model one at a time since I'm usually a great supporter of taylorism applied to the hobby (One sesion for a given colour on models from many different projects...) but since all those are so full of character, they just required the extra attention and I'm quite happy with the result !

The underhive baller

Hey all !

Another model done and like many of teh last, it's a Colony 87 one from the first wave released last year. I've been quite balanced as to how to paint this one, it's nearly been an ash waste nomad, a desert trader or even a humble merchant but nothing was exactly capturing my attention. When I got back to the model to start it as a stand alone, things got a bit clearer !

The Ash waste pilgrim

So after all these Colony 87 models and Mordheim games, I thought it was time for me to get to work with... more colony 87models ! This time I'm going back to wave 1 because with 10 models done out of the 12 available, I feel compelled to finish the whole set (and it's more a pleasure than a chore really).

Colony 87 Adviser and completetion of Wave 2 !

I'm pretty sure many of you like that thrill of achievement when painting models. For me it's all about those finishing touches, correcting a detail, painting the base rim or adding the grass tuft. Those moments really fuel me with a great feeling of satisfaction so when those happen at the end of a warband or army, they taste even better ! This time I got an extra kick out of this model for completing the whole Wave 2 of the coming Colony 87 models by Jon/Axiom !

You'll be accustomed now to seeing the great sketches from Will Beck (above) and how the sculpt from Michael Anderson is close to it.

Colony 87 Priestess

That's 5 out of 6 now ! The new model for the coming Colony87 range by Jon/Axiom is a priestess, We've explored many types of characters so far so after those who work and those who study, here are those who pray (we already have plenty of those who fight).

Sketch by Will Beck

Priestesses are a concept we find in plenty of iconic sci-fi settings, think about the Bene-Gesserit in Dune or the Shabda-Ouds in the Metabarons, they're a sort of equivalent of the sorceress of fantasy but with a cosmic dimension !

Colony 87 Botanist

Dr. C.R Beachcomber, Egregious Professor of Cruel and Unusual Botany

I guess it will come as a habit now,  here's another model from the coming Colony 87 range by Jon/Axiom. After the recordist last time, here's another character from the scientific field. Take a look at the splendid sketch by Will Beck :

Like the other models of the range, it's been sculpted by Michael Anderson and it's an absolute pleasure to paint. Painting a lot of models from a single sculptor really helps understand how he approaches things. I've always been familiar with the work of Jes Goodwin and have got used to Bob Olley's unique style these last few years but getting to work on Michael's work is proving just as pleasant. It's great to have model that bear the touch of their creator. Though I full y get the need for coherence in a model line, I do miss a little personnal touch in some modern productions. Here, you have something with a bit more soul. As always on the models from Michael, the face is absolutely great.

Colony 87 Recordist

Alright, here's another painted model from the excellent Colony 87 by Jon/Axiom that's coming our way in Febuary ! After having dealt with the working forces, let's have a go at those who study ! This model like the ones before was designed by Will beck (see sketch below) and sculpted by Michael Anderson.

I think this model is really cool as you can find plenty of uses for that kind of scientific/searcher/ administrative kind. I like that he's equipped with all sorts of devices for which you have absolutely no idea what the possible use might be ! The only device that might make sense is actually the recording device in his hands ! He probably needs the headlight to explore archives and old libraries, who knows !

Boyz n the scrapyard - Colony 87 Junker

After the mechanic from a couple of posts ago, let me introduce to the 2nd model from the 2nd wave of the colony87 range from Jon/Axiom. This model, like the previous one is based on sketches from Will Beck and sculpted by Michael Anderson. Like the previous models, this one will come in handy to represent a junker or rogue mechanic.

You can see below the model is very faithful to the sketch and I find nice to have models with a different bulk in this range. His broad chest and large head really give you the sense he's not here for fun...

Giiirls just wanna have... work ? - Colony 87 Mechanic

Today's is a special model... what's so special about it ? Well this model hasn't been released yet ! You might remember the Colony87 range run by Jon/Axiom and the splendid miniatures released in the Colony87 Kickstarter last year ? Well, there's another wave due for Febuary and this model is part of it. I've been kindly given the opportunity to paint those in advance and I have to say it's both an honour and a pleasure to be able to get my brushes on those !

Lady Greiss - Imperial Noble and a very good reason to buy more models

Here's Lady Greiss, another wonderful model from the Colony 87 range sculpted by the talented Michael Anderson and initiated by the wonderful Jon/Axiom.
As for all other models of the range, this one was a real pleasure to paint though due to some poor choices I've had to suffer at the end of the painting process.

Concept sketches by Will Beck

Lord Sergei of House Kalente - Rogue trader Noble

Ok so after painting my Space amphibian from the Colony 87 range in June, I have left the 5 other models aside for an unknown reason. It seems even more odd when you know how wonderful all those sculpts are.

After getting another load of models done for my Helmawr gang, I found it would be an excellent opportunity to paint a Noble from the upper hives, you know, those kind of places (see right at the top) :

I wanted the model to be visually coherent with the Helmawr gangers but with a richer approach and I wanted it to be significantly different to show those don't operate on the same level. To achieve this, I kept the same colour scheme but I worked on a much deeper red, darker and yet richer.
I broke the whole scheme by giving him a nice piece of exotic feathers. I first wanted to paint it like fur (like Tiger or Leopard fur) fut given the texture, I felt like making something even more exotic. I can imagine he decided to sport the feathers of an extinct species just for the pleasure to display his social status...

Space slanns are back !

Zaba Krobosh, emissary for the intergalactic Slann committee.

So here we are, I got my set of Colony 87 models on Sunday night and couldn't help but rip the package open to see them in the lead !

Boy I can tell I wasn't disapointed ! Sculpted by Michael Anderson from sketches by Will Beck and under the most excellent supervision of Jon Boyce/Axiom, these models have been released via a massively successful Kickstarter that will grace us with another wave !

When I opened the package, not only did I find a little gift inside in the form of a badge but I also found 6 perfectly well sculpted and cast models.

I prepared the models and based them the morning following and tried to decide which one I was going to paint first...