Happy New Year!

2017 already.  Just seems weird.

I've kicked off the year right by working on some more great characters from the MHI world.

First up is Heather Kerkonan.  She's the feisty deputy we first meet in MHI:ALPHA.

SPOILER ALERT (storylines will be discussed below.)

She has quite a trying time in that story, but develops a relationship with Earl Harbinger, who helps her through her new found 'change'.

Heather also becomes conscripted into a secretive Government called Special Task Force: Unicorn (yeah, that acronym is STFU), which was led by probably the coolest bad guy in all the MHI series, Agent Stricken.  I'm still struggling to find a miniature that will fit his odd demeanor, but I've not given up yet.

Here's Heather and her alternate ego, a red haired werewolf.  Since Heather was infected during the Vulkodlak (see earlier blog posts for that), it has somehow imbued her with control over her monstrous form.

I used a Hasslefree miniature for the basis of Heather, and a Reaper miniature for the wolf form. 

Next up, and my 2nd painted miniature of the year, is a character known as Rick Armstrong.  He makes his first appearance in MHI: Legion.  He's the cocksure CEO of a competitive hunter group that calls themselves Paranormal Tactical Consulting.   The rivalry heats up throughout the Legion storyline, and hopefully continues in future installments.

I used a miniature from Fenris Games to help represent the leader.  There's a few more figures I have already painted that I may add to the PT (potato tasters?) crew.   More will follow on this.

The last miniature I painted up today was another Hasslefree miniature.  He is obviously mutating into something else, so I thought I'd use him as a Nemesis soldier.  The Nemesis soldiers are first mentioned in MHI: Nemesis.  It's the novel that tells an Agent Franks story.  In a nutshell, Stricken has began to build slave type troops using Agent Franks' blueprint as a starting point.  Since evil entities are always looking for empty bodies to inhabit, some of the Fallen (as in demons from Hell) have staked their claim on these super soldiers.

Later in the story, the demons gain control and are able to mutate themselves into their more demonic forms...Thus, this mini seems to fit the bill for a generic Nemesis soldier.

For Christmas, I received a very cool rulebook called Fear and Faith.  It's a compact little set of rules that are based off the popular Fantasy skirmish rules called Song of Blades and Heroes. I think I'll use this to try to actually play a game in the MHI setting.

A couple of other cool Christmas gifts that pertain to my hobby.  First is a magnifying visor.

Yes, I look like a complete dork while wearing this, but the fact that I can see the details on the miniatures again will make it all worth it.    I've used reading glasses, and those do help, the these changeable magnifier lenses will make a huge difference.  Add the fact that it has an ultra bright LED headlamp, and this will be a great tool to improve my painting, sculpting, and even just cleaning mold lines off the miniatures.

The next uber cool give is the MHI Limited Edition Leather bound hardcover.  

And, it's signed by the author, Larry Corriea!  At least I think it's signed, it's just kinda a scribble, but the Monster smiley face is all the confirmation I need. 

I'm still working on that HIND from last blog post, and it'll be updated sometime soon.  I think the building part is over, but I got to now paint the beast...Yikes!

Anyhow, thanks for reading my rather lengthy New Years blog post.  I'm hoping to keep this rolling for a while, and would love to hear comments, criticisms, or suggestions for the project.

See you soon.

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 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.

Owen Pitt: Rough concept, mini ideas.

As I work on painting up some of my miniatures and shoehorning them into the MONSTER HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL world, I think I should also start planning out the main characters from the stories.

Owen Zastava Pitt, or 'Z' to his friends, is the protagonist of three of the five books, and the first character we meet in the series.

I suppose if you ever want to read these books, I should at least be as kind as putting up a spoiler alert.  

Spoiler Alert for the rest of my blog!  Discussing these characters and settings will certainly give plot points away.  If you are at all interested in a spoil free story, go read the books, and then come back and visit!


Owen is one big dude, described as a power lifter type guy, around 25 or so.  He's 6 foot 5, and well over 300 lbs.  He had a tough childhood, raised by a militant father who wanted Owen and his brother David to be able to survive anything.  Owen was a competition shooter at an early age, and worked as a bouncer and illegal pit fighter to put himself through college.

In a fight where he lost his cool, and almost killed another fighter, he decided to find the most boring career and get away from violence for good.  So, he became an accountant.

Long story short, he ends up with a werewolf for a boss, has a horrific fight with it, wins, and is introduced to the wonderful world of Monster Hunting.

As I'm working in roughly the 28mm size, I want a mini that stands head and shoulders above the average man.  Unfortunately, I'm not having any great luck in scouring the various manufacturers for a miniature that could serve as a basis.

I may have to try my hand at some massive conversion work, or even having a go at sculpting.

I've drawn a real rough little sketch on what I'm going for:

 I'd like my combat version of Z to be big and beefy, having a huge knife, wearing armor, and a shotgun strapped to him.

Normally, Monster hunters will wear a hockey type helmet, fitted with some Nightvision optics.  The armor has a removable neck guard (used especially when fighting Vampires) and has MOLLE straps to affix a wide range of pouches and gear.

The big knife Z uses is called a Kukri, a wicked curved machete popular with Gurkas.

In addition to a pair of STI .45s strapped to his hips, he is also very fond of his custom made Saiga fully automatic shotgun.  The shotgun also features an under mounted 40mm grenade launcher, and a side switch blade bayonet, inlayed with silver.

This is his boomstick

Lastly, for Z's normal load out, he straps a .357 to his ankle.  The man has a thing for guns.

Actually, the author of the series, Larry Corriea, is a self described Gun Nut, and he knows his stuff.

Owen is very loyal to his friends and family, even to the point here he would put himself in danger (which he often does) to protect them.  He also has a short temper, which gets him into trouble at times.

A couple of minis that could be promising for a basis for Z are from the Hasslefree Line:

Nomad

Hasslefree miniatures are freakin great!

Mordekai

Not included in the Orange box...

Unfortunately, I don't really know how big these guys are to the rest of the line.  Nomad seems the most promising, but still there would be a lot of conversion work.  Definitely a head swap, removing that big honking gun, and possibly making him taller.

Mordekai just has that side of beef look for sure.  But, he is a bit on the cartoony side, and those guns are just ridiculous.  He's an over the top, halfway down the other side type mini.

The search continues, and I have plenty of more of the inhabitants of the MHI world in the pipeline and ready for paint already, so I may just hold off for awhile to include Owen in the lineup.

Any mini suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

This weekend, I plan on painting up some Bigfoots (feet?) and some Werewolves...so watch this space!

I'm BAAAAACK! Beginning of my Monster Hunter International project.

It's been a long while since I updated the old Blog.  In fact it's been a long while since I stepped into my little paint room to work on some hobby fun.

But, it's all a changing!

I've seemed to recapture the mood to mess around with my weird little toys once again....

I think I'll do a REBOOT of the blog and concentrate more on specific areas of what I want to do with my hobby, more of a focused approach.

First, is a 'gaming world' inspired very very heavily by the MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL book series.  If you've not  read them, there are currently five books out in this excellent series, written by Larry Correia.   In a nutshell, monsters are real, folks hunt them for bounties, madness ensues.  I highly recommend the books (or better yet, the Audible Version of them).  They can be a bit cheesy at times, but overall just fun 'action movie' style reading.  I'm sure I'll blabber more about them as I work on my project.

First up for my MHI setting are the Monster Control Bureau.  This is the arm of the government that actively pursues and tries to quell any monster related badness.  The Government has decided that the public does NOT need to know about the existence and goes to great lengths to dissuade witnesses or victims from speaking out (up to and including death).

"You saw nothing."
Click for Bigger.

These were great figures to get back into the swing of painting.  I wanted simple, and that's what I got.    I did these guys in the traditional Men In Black type scheme.  They are nothing special, just at a gaming standard, but it marks the first time I've painted in almost 3 years!!  So, to me, they seem to be a bit of a milestone.

The figures are from EM4 Miniatures.  Old sculpts by Marc Copplestone, I think, and they are cheap and hold up surprisingly well, even by modern sculpting standards.  These particular guys will just  be the 'common Agents' of the MCB.  Agents working the field to stop monsters and intimidate witnesses.

One of my favorite parts of making a gaming project fit within a particular story is searching for and finding miniatures that will represent the characters.  As I progress with this new blog direction, I hope to show you my planning process, conversion, and selection of miniatures for the characters I want to portray.

Here's some art that was used in the Monster Hunters International Role Playing Game just to show a bit more flavor of the series.

"Down Boy"

Anyhow, I'm excited about this project and a few others I'm stewing over, so please watch this space!