Works In Progress!

Merry Christmas Monster Hunters!

I'm desperately trying to get this little goodie built before my wife orders me out of the Dining room.  We're having Christmas Eve Dinner with our kids, who'll be coming home for Christmas, and I doubt they'll want to share space with this.

Please pass the salt, hey is that a Hind?

If you are familiar with the MHI books, you'll probably be able to guess what this will be (and who'll be flying it!)  If not, I think I'll just tease it here to say STAY TUNED!!  It's just such a cool addition to the Hunters arsenal.  It's a MI-24 Hind, the Russian workhorse Helicopter.  It's a 1/48th scale model by Revell (which works pretty nicely with 28mm minis)

I was able to score it seriously cheap off of Ebay (10 bucks!) so, it's well worth the investment in time to stick it all together.   I've not built a proper military model kit in probably 30 years, I forgot how fiddly they can be.  Still, actually kinda fun!

Also got a nice bunch of Hasslefree miniatures from their Halloween sale.

Metal for the Metal God.

I have specific plans for some, and they will represent the missing Characters I have from the MHI world. Others, I just got cuz they were cool, and I have the 'shiny new toy' syndrome that is so rampant in our hobby.  I'm supervike, and I have a problem.

Lots of prep work before they'll see paint, however.

Hopefully, 2017 will be a bit more productive on working on lessening the 'unpainted' pile.  My hobby room has been a shambles for some time (thus, me working on the Dining room table).  I am slowly redoing our Family room, so a lot of the furniture got pushed into the hobby room, making it an unusable mess.

I will definitely be revamping the entire hobby room as well, setting it up to more more productive, and less....tornado damage-ish.  Plus, I need to invest in a bunch of real lights, and get a proper lighting setup for both painting and photography.

Thanks for reading.  I'd love to hear comments, or suggestions!

Chad 'Ironhand' Gardenier, A. Martin Hood, A combat exorcist.

Seasons Greetings!

With Monster Hunter: Memoirs, SINNERS hitting the shelves last week, I decided to work on the main character from the books.

Oliver Chadwick Gardenier, retired Marine, friend of Sasquatches, zombie killer, and victim of an Elf Curse.  He goes by Chad in the books, and has picked up the nickname Ironhand.

Mono Ken takes center stage.

Watch your step!

Spider!!

Honestly, he's kinda an annoying character, but has enough likable traits to make me want to keep reading about him.  I'm only part way into SINNERS, where the action changes from the Seattle area to the Big Easy of New Orleans.  I am liking his character more in this second book.  However, all and all, it's all still incredibly fun because the world of MHI is so enjoyable.

One thing I have learned from the new book is that I'm going to need more werewolf models...or as they call them in Nawleans "Loup Garous".

I used a Hasslefree figure for the basis, and added a katana strapped on his back.  His Katana, known as Mono Ken (Sword Of Mourning) actually plays a big part in the series, and I'm glad I had one floating around the bits box.  The spider was a leftover from an old GW sprue, and works well with the first book of Grunge.  The base was a scrap piece of plastic, also in that bits box that I thought looked like a sewer grate or drain.

Next up is A Martin Hood, the big bad from MHI:Vendetta.  He's such a great bad guy, which has become a real hallmark of all the Corriea written MHI books.  A Martin Hood is a Necromancer as well as some sort of Shadow Elemental/Demon.  If he is in shadow, he can take an ethereal form at will.  That makes him rather hard to hit.  However, if a light is on him, he's as vulnerable as any other human.

Another Hasslefree mini fits the bill!

I don't really like the transitions from light to dark on the side profile..I'll have to rework them.

 So, to represent this ability, I tried to paint him as if he's got a light on him, and he's caught a bit off guard by it.  I also plan on a few other versions of him, one as the complete shadow demon, one as his 'former' self, and one as a decked out cult leader.

Hood commands all kinds of dead and undead things, and only wants to make a deal with the old ones, until that mean MHI team keeps trying to thwart him.  So, I'm going to have to make him a small zombie army as well...

Lastly, is a character that really only gets a mention in Monster Hunter International: Nemesis.  During the finale of that book, there is a big battle with a shedload of demons.  The 'good guys, led by Agent Franks' also employ help from the Vatican's own Swiss Guard, Demon fighters, and Combat Exorcists.
So, taking a cue from the idea of "Combat Exorcists, I slightly converted an Artizan Priest by adding a small machine gun.

I like the dichotomy it sets up.  He's trying his faith first, but has the gun at the ready, just in case.  The Combat Exorcists weren't really described in the story, but my take on it is what makes this project fun for me.  I think a squad of Vatican Monster Hunters will be a must do at some point into this project...

With Christmas coming up, I'll probably have to put my minis aside for a little bit.  I also have some other painting to attend to (painting the family room).  That's not nearly as fun, but at least I can use a big brush for that!

Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear comments or any feedback.

You can also 'like' my facebook page, if you'd want.

https://www.facebook.com/supervike/

I post most all my minis there as well, but I like to give a more detailed rundown here on the old bloggy blog!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!

Earl Harbinger Redo.

Seasons Greetings!

Christmas is quickly moving in on us, but I still found a few spare moments to work on my MHI Project, so I wanted to do a quick update.

From my last post, I had decided to do a reboot of the Earl Harbinger character, using a HeroClix as the basis.  I added a Tommy gun and a cigarette to the mouth.

I think it came out more 'cartoony' than I intended, but it works for me.  I will eventually do a decal for the MHI patch on the back, so for right now it's just a placeholder.

I like this version more than the Hasslefree one I had finished earlier.

And, as I still wait for more Hasslefree minis to show up, I have began to prep and convert some others to represent various characters throughout the series.

In this motely crew is going to be the main character from MHI Memoirs: Grunge, A recurring character (and Earl's favorite gal), a version of the Big Bad from Vendetta, and a couple of side characters from MHI: Nemesis.

I'll share more about these cool characters as I get them worked up.

Thanks for reading, and head over to my 'Super Hero' blog to see some of the other things I've been working on lately.

http://supervikessuperstuff.blogspot.com/

Have a great Holiday season!!

Earl Harbinger and a few others.

As I've mentioned before, I'm using Hasslefree Miniatures' Capt Isseki as Earl Harbinger, CEO of Monster Hunter International.  I've finally finished him, and here's proof!

Yes, that is a werewolf penis.  I didn't have the heart to cut it off.

I've also finally finished Tripp Jones, adding a place for the MHI patch and doing some touchup.  I attached a little blob of putty to make a patch, and have only painted it green so far.  My other freehand attempts at the patch have been poor, so I'm thinking of making a few decals to use.  Earl has the same putty patch on his sleeve, which isn't too obvious in the pics.

Earl and Tripp, coming and going.

Also, I did get my hands on a Heroclix 'Rick Jones' to do a second version of Earl Harbinger.  (really a third if you count the Werewolf).   I think that mini 'fits' better with the description of Earl.  I found a few images online of Earl.  The first is from the book/game called 'The Monster Hunter International Employee Handbook and Role Playing Game"  I'm not really a role player but I did buy the book, mostly for the art and fiction scattered throughout it.  Plus, it has fantastic character descriptions in it, which have been pretty handy for my project.

The second image here is from Larry Corriea himself.  He posted this on his Monster Hunter Nation blog.  Larry likes to model and paint little miniatures (yeah, it's a weird hobby) and he's actually a pretty decent painter.  He's mostly into Infinity and Privateer Press stuff.  Anyhow, this is a GI JOE sized 'action figure' he converted into his version of Earl.  Pretty nifty.

Larry Corriea's Gi Joe converted Earl.

So, as I was saying, I got a Rick Jones Heroclix and began to convert it.  I added a little cigarette butt to the corner of his mouth, and added a tommy gun.  But, then for some weird reason I primed it black.  I hate painting over black, and I'm not entirely sure of what I was thinking.

I see a mini and I want to paint it black.

The details were pretty soft, and I hope I can salvage this with paint.  We'll see, and I'll keep you posted.

The Monster Hunter Memoirs: Sinners is now available for Pre-order at Audible, and much to my delight, Oliver Wyman is back as narrator.  Although the first installment of John Ringo Co-authored story wasn't quite as good as Corriea's solo stuff, I still enjoyed it, and am working on a mini for the lead character, Chad 'Iron Hand' Gardenier.  I'm looking forward to listening/reading the newest effort.

Hopefully, I can stay focused on this project, as I have many other mini related projects cooking right now.  Painting Zombicide minis, assembling a Batmobile, sorting through my Conan Kickstarter.

Lastly, I just wanted to post up the Wolfman from the Monster Squad I had been doing.  It only seems fitting he appears in Earl's post.

Bark at the Moon

As always, thanks very much for taking the time to read this!!  I hope you find some enjoyment out of my ramblings.

Hunters, Monsters, and more.

In the world of MHI, there are plenty of other Hunter groups out there competing with MHI for bounty money.  Several of these have appeared throughout the novels such as Grim Berlin, the very proficient German team led by Klaus Lindamen.

Another team that shows up is Briarwood.  A Chicago based team that wants to compete with the big boys, but is severely out of their league.

The idea of all these teams throughout the world would work well for a skirmished base miniatures game.  I've been checking out differing rules systems, and I think Ganesha Games' Fear and Faith may fit the bill for a modern monster hunting game.  I'll discuss this more as I get the set and read through the rules.

Anyhow, the fun of that would be building my own teams to fight the ever growing hordes of Monsters.  I've had a few older miniatures, painted years ago, that fit nicely into this world.  I'm not sure if pics exist anywhere out there on the internet, so I'm going to put them back up here.  All the pics are clickable to make them bigger.

That Puff bounty is mine.

The design I painted on the back is a globe with a sword through it.
Dunno why I did, it just sounded bad ass.

My tattooed little Stubbs.  If you have keen eyes, you can spot the flat spot on the top of his head.  That's where I dropped him on the floor.  Curse words did indeed follow.

Vampire Killer

The top pics are a range of minis now in the Fenris catalog, and the stocky fella is an old Copplestone, I think.  All three work well in this setting, complete with the 'team logos' on the backs of the jackets.

Updating a few vampires I had shown WiP awhile back.  I'm not overly fond of these.  I was going to use them as Susan and Ray Shackleford, but now I think they'll be generic Vamps to cause Hunters fits.

Huge hands, (unlike our new President)

I'm also adding this Vampire to the group.  He'll work as a Master Vampire.  He's an old Grenadier Miniature, and holds up pretty well, even with today's standards.

I vant to suck your blood.

Earlier in the year, I participated in a Kickstarter held by Studio Miniatures.  They are most known for their very nice line up of Modern zombies (some that will show up here soonish)  Anyhow, some of the Kickstarter minis were 'Classic' monsters, and I couldn't pass up.  The set arrived just a few days before Halloween, and I'm just not a quick enough painter to have them done by then, but here's what I've got so far.

Frankie

He did the Mash.  He did the Monster Mash.

I snapped this before the 'liquid water' resin dried.  It should dry clear.  I wanted a 'swampy' look.

Are you my Mummy?

Wolfman doesn't get any paint love yet, just a quick blackline.

The funny thing is, although I snapped these guys up right away, I was wondering why they didn't look so much like the 'Classic Universal' miniatures.  Then I realized what they were really inspired by.

Monster Squad is a late 80's cult classic movie.  I haven't seen it in years, but I recall it being pretty good, in a cheesy sort of way.  Check it out if you get the chance.

Lastly, again speaking of zombies, here's a couple I've had for some time, but just didn't have any decent photos.  These were minis done by Fenris for the FrothersUnite Zombie line from several years ago.  Obviously heavily inspired by the  Left 4 Dead video game.

Zed Smash!

Tanks for the Memories.

I'll certainly be adding these to a cool skirmish game.  Can't wait to see how my Monster Hunters handle these abominations!!

Thanks for reading, see you soon.

And we're back!

My last post was just as we moved the clocks ahead for Spring, it's only fitting that as we move the clocks back, I make another MHI post!

I've been working on a few miniatures here and there, but now as overtime season is coming to an end, I'll hopefully get more time for serious work.

I have been working on a Earl Harbinger, the bossman of MHI.  He's described as a chain smoking, average looking man, wears a leather jacket (made of Minotaur hide) and prefers a .45 Tommy gun.

I chose a Hasslefree miniature for the basis, and have began painting it.

Keep away from full moon

I'm close to finishing it now, and although it 'works' for Earl, I just haven't been real happy with it.

So, like I did with Agent Franks, I think I'll make more than one miniature for him.  I stumbled upon a mini, from the Heroclix ranks, that just looks the part.  And, using ebay, I was able to land two of them for a lowly dollar.  

Rick Jones, soon to be converted to Earl Harbinger.  I figure an addition of a Tommy Gun, a new paint job, and maybe a cigarette in his mouth should do the trick.  I'll keep you posted!!

Heroclix NEVER look anywhere near as good as the renders.

And in other Monster Hunter International news...

Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge came out on August 2nd.  I immediately downloaded it via Audible.  

It was mostly written by John Ringo, and although it was still fun and helps build on the Monster Hunter universe, it seriously wasn't up to the same caliber as Correia's solo efforts.

I think the main character, Chad, was just a bit too perfect.  He

never seems to fail, or really have too much of a struggle with anything.  But, it's still worth the read, especially if you are craving more from this universe.

The setting of 1980's America really works well, and just like the MHI books, attention to weaponry is paramount.  Most of the action takes place in Seattle (thus the Grunge) and I really enjoyed the way it intermingled some Japanese Yakuza into the storyline.  And, it made me have serious sushi cravings for a month or so afterwards.  I certainly will be adding some of the characters into my project as I move forward.

I can't stress enough on how cool the Audible versions' are.  The narrator, Oliver Wyman absolutely makes the characters come to life, and it's probably why the MHI setting has captured my imagination so thoroughly.

The second book in this series  Monster Hunter Memoirs: Sinners will be hitting the shelves next month and will continue the 80's scene with Chad moving on to New Orleans.

The Pre-order is available for the hard back over at Amazon, but I've yet to see anything about an Audible version yet.  I'm sure hoping they have kept Wyman as the narrator.

Lastly, in MHI news, is another pre-order from Larry Corriea.  They are re-issuing the MHI series as leatherbound books.   It's also due in December (just in time for Christmas) and I think a bunch of copies are being autographed by Larry, so if that interests you, order now, since it's a limited edition.

I have place a nice sized order for a bunch of minis to help fill out the ranks, and I'll be showing those off as I get them going.

Thanks for reading!  

Werewolves, orc, and Digger.

Just in time to 'spring forward', a few werewolves have stopped in to create havok.

Monster Hunter Spoilers ahead...

Deputy Heather Kerkonen is a competent law enforcement officer in Copper Lake during the third book in the series, ALPHA.  Unfortunately, for her, that's ground zero for the Werewolf apocalypse.
She gets bit, but, instead of turning into a slavering beast, she transforms into a werewolf that still has control.

Kerkonen, described as a red werewolf, ends up getting conscripted into the super secret Project Unicorn.  She's forced to complete two years of servitude in a monsterized tactical squad.

I used a Reaper miniature for her, and plan to also do a humanized version of the Deputy.

I also used a Reaper miniature for the 2nd werewolf I worked on this week.  This one is designed as a 'zombie' werewolf, but I'm going to use it as just a werewolf that has been through a vicious fight.  Werewolves can be killed by dishing out massive damage, as long as you can overcome the insane healing factor.

And this guy is right at the edge, being really ripped up.  In honor of that, I decided to name him Cecil Huffman, which was Owen Pitt's boss-turned-werewolf.  As mentioned previously, this werewolf didn't survive.

It is such a cool model, and it was a blast to paint up.

The corporate picnic went pear shaped...

Next up is Skippy.  Skippy makes his appearance as the balaclava wearing MHI Helicopter pilot in the first novel.  Skippy turns out to be an orc, hiding his identity as Orcs are on the Puff bounty table.  However, the orcs are really on the good side, and this particular tribe of orcs, lead by Skippy, is located a few miles from the MHI compound, well hidden in the forest.

Orcs in the MHI world are relatively small (about 5 to 5.5 ft tall or so) greenskinned, yellow eyed, and each one has one ability that they excel at.  Skippy's is being an incredible pilot, and pulls off seemingly impossible aerial maneuvers.

This Hasslefree miniature worked out pretty well, as I wanted to show off Skippy's face (which is usually hidden), have a modern weapon, and be smaller than the average man.

Hopefully, I can find another orc to represent his sword master brother Edward, and one of Skippy's wives, Gretchen.

 Lastly, I just wanted to show the glacial-like progress with the sculpt of the Digger.  The Digger is described as a combination between a robot and a scarecrow.  It has a small roundish head, no eyes, and a flap of loose skin hanging below it's gullet.  I'm not real happy with how it's going, but I'll still see if I can salvage something from it...

Owen Pitt, finally finished!

So, it's been a bit since I updated.  I blame most of that on Fallout 4, but also it's been so damn cold here I couldn't spray prime some of the minis I wanted to get working on.  We've had a bit of a heat wave (slightly above freezing) so I took the opportunity to get to the garage, with minis and spray paint in hand.  Usually, I'd do this outside, but still too cold for that, but the garage seemed serviceable.

I'm green!

Now with body armor, but I'm still green

If you remember, I had been working on my version of Owen Z. Pitt, using a liberal amount of putty and a Heroclix Drax as the basis.




Now, that I've slapped some paint on him, he looks much closer to what I had in mind...

I'm not super happy with his gun, and I'll probably readdress that soon.  I tried ot just putty over the existing gun, as I didn't really have anything to use as Abomination (his trusty shotgun/grenade launcher/bayonet).  I've found something now that may work, so I'll have to try and chop it off.  Also, I think I need to darken the facial scars a bit to define them more.  Anyhow, I'm happy with the overall look.   He really looks ready for action.

Point me towards the Monsters.

Also during my down time from painting, I had ordered some Hasslefree minis to fill out the ranks.

First up is Owen's best buddy, and Monster Hunter International's moral compass, Trip Jones.

John Jermaine Jones (Triple J, then shortened to Trip) was a teacher in a small Florida town, when a zombie outbreak decimated most of his students and fellow teachers.  He found himself initiated into the world of monsters, and ended up in the MHI training class with Owen Pitt.  A self proclaimed sci-fi and fantasy geek, he is surprisingly naive , but has a heart of gold and a serious sense of justice.

I used Hasslefree's Giant for this, and sculpted some dreadlocks onto him.  I still have a bit of touchup to do here, add the MHI patch, and maybe work on the base some more.

Last aren't directly in any of the MHI books, but are just some Lovecraftian Interdimensional baddies I had already primed, so I painted 'em up a few weeks ago.  I kind of liked the idea of painting them like human flies.

puppy-monkey-babies

I may try to add some fly wings to complete the effect, but either way, they are going in the army of monsters I have lined up to fight the good guys (or maybe even the bad guys!)

So, I've got a few more in the pipeline, but no pictures just yet.  Soon, I'll have a version of Holly Newcastle, and a human version of Earl Harbinger.

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!