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!!

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!