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A nice clean sculpt from Crooked Dice's Fishfolk Stars. Grenouille here looks surly and pop-eyed, straight out of the Gilman Inn, but could pass for a full human with poor job satisfaction. And that is exactly what he is doing, here at the Hotel Metropole! I love his slouched posture. He will work for you but will not be servile, or even solicitous. Other personnel at the Hotel Metropole, most of whom we have seen elsewhere. The maids and footman are from Artizan, as is the barkeep. The chef, of course, is Reaper (77462). The head of housekeeping is also Crooked Dice, and will get her own post.

Lots of pics here, a story's worth. Turnaround pics in spoiler areas. You should imagine Ennio Morricone playing the soundtrack, slow-paced to start with. Diegetic horse noises, hooves plodding. Scraping, dragging sound. A glow of a cigarillo and a long inhale as we slowly zoom in on the horse's master. The smoke exhales out of his nostrils, and the camera pans down to show it jetting from multiple holes in the Revenant's torso as well. The rendezvous at hand, the Revenant knocks on the coffin once or twice. It is the only sound besides the horse breathing. Panning the camera around to the other side of the tree we see a couple boys from the Red Hand posse. "Two against one, fella. You might be too stubborn to die, but you ain't gotten any better at counting." He retreats. Hoofbeats recede behind the mesa. (music gets tenser, speeds up) "Boss! Good to have you back." "Thought we'd lost you! Now let's get back to San Cascarion and drain those vatos dry!" "<untranslatable screech>" Other, different hoofbeats make the Red Hand thugs stop celebrating. They look around, This, they did not expect. (Morricone music just goes bananas here) [fight choreography ensues, guns shot and whipped out of undead hands, etc,] Camera zooms in on the Revenant again holding a cigarillo to withered lips. He holds up first one cracked and flaking finger, then another, then a third and finally a fourth. The barest hint of a smile crinkles his mummified cheek. Counts just fine. Roll credits. *** Ooowee these were fun to do! The Revenant, an undead Man with No Name, is from Artizan, as are Brothers Thomas and Martin and Fra Benedict, the Holy Inquisitors 3-pack. I used a pin vise to drill a few extra holes in the Revenant. The bad hombres in red and the Nosferatu are from Dracula's America, the Red Hand coven 3-pack. Horses are from Nolzur's Adventurer's Campsite. They've been on my Shelf of Shame for too long. The Coffin and Skeleton are Reaper, 77633. The Tree of Despair and the signpost from Western Sophie make an appearance as well. Here's Part 1, from a WHILE back. Hope you enjoy!

Brothers Roberto (03561) and Louis IV (02087) are excellent sculpts suitable for multiple time periods. I've painted a couple of Nuns With Guns and a couple of priests, but not a bishop or a cardinal! "Your Exellency, I apologize for the short notice. It's worse than we had thought." "You are forgiven, Bishop. Is it the old Priory at St. Wulfstan's?" "Indeed. The Creature has at last gotten loose from the bindings put down in 947 and broken through the 16th-century salt rings." "God in Heaven. I had prayed those wards would outlast me. We knew this day would come." "Mercifully, we have one of our best men on the scene. God willing he can contain the beast until the rest of the team arrives." Father Sweeny, again from Artizan's 'Thrilling Tales' line, had better be a man of strong faith and iron will. The Beast, ornery after centuries of durance : Hold the line... (Guest appearances by Fr. Thomas, Sr. Maria, Order of St. George Nun, and Fra Ximenez from Black Cat.)

My miniatures list has more varieties of pulp than a paper-mill town grocery's orange juice aisle. Mad scientists, apes, cultists, cosmic horrors, spacemen, sky pirates, zeppelineers, two-fisted heroes, etc. But not a lot of what was for several decades, the most common pulp villain. Let's paint something for our heroes to fight! Artizan's Thrilling Tales line comes through once again. Here are two horrible and officious jerks, on a pre-dawn hunt for Resistance agents. "Oberst von Stroop" is the one with the gun; "Major Kreipe" the one with the satchel and the dueling scar. We've seen a couple of the Resistance before, but I believe this is the first time I've posted a picture of "Georges." I had fun with the argyle sweater-vest. Georges' briefcase contains a surprise! Some more baddies: "Colonel Braun," a perfectly pompous sculpt, and the "Kaiserin" from Brigade Games. (Also Erwin Rommel, previously posted elsewhere). (Couple more pictures of Zenith's commandoes, from 50075, if you click below.) And on another, stranger front... This is "Private Trummer," an old and not particularly motivated soldier sent on special detail with a special unit. He sees nothing, he hears no-othing, and he knows NO-O-O-OTHING! It doesn't do to see, hear, or know too much when you're out with the armored Sturm Battalion Zorn. (Pictured: Flamethrower and Rifleman III. I added an extra gas tank from Bombshell to the Flamethrower unit.) Battalion Zorn is led by "Captain Rohr," a merciless and ambitious creep. Funnily enough, for a man who sees and hears nothing, Private Trummer has a knack for not being around in a crisis... Finally, a group shot, as such groups should be.

Eureka has a two-pack of figures in their Pax Limpopo line called "Hench and Coach," and they are the most corpulent double-chinned British spherical bastards imaginable; Dickensian caricatures after the style of Nast or Tenniel. I had to have them. Didn't bother affixing the coachwhips. They are about halfling-sized in 32mm scale, and walrus-like giants in 15mm scale. You should be able to hear a bassoon-and-tuba soundtrack when looking at them. I'd also painted up some minis from Artizan's "Thrilling Tales" line: Miss Greentree, Private Campbell, and Tankie Bob. Each of them is full of personality. Greentree I painted as an Agent Carter-type. Campbell was where I found tartan is not my forte. Could have come out worse. Bob is a scruffy fanatic and I love the sculpt. I figured Ungentlemanly Warfare was a good setting for the three of them. More pictures below.

The West, both Wild and Weird, was a diverse place! Apache tribes featured prominently in history and in fiction, but not on my shelves...until now! Artizan has some good Wild West figures, and a 3-pack of Apache characters suited my purposes perfectly. Especially this guy: What a great face. So much caution, circumspection, and tired-of-this-bullbroccoli-ness. More: Here are the other two, warriors and men of renown. Gave them a little more color and pattern, as well as the classic line across the face. More: And because Deadlands monsters are literally made for Weird West settings and these fellows are clearly urging caution regarding SOMETHING, here is Some Thing. A Desert Thing, Bones version (91008). It's delightfully horrid. You want no part of this Thing. Painting the horrible slick teeth and gums of the inner jaw was a treat.

Didn't order this fella; there was a minor mixup in my order (which was corrected, I must say, with incredible speed--thank you, North Star/Artizan customer service!). BUT--I'll not complain about more pulp-era characters to paint! The Desert Fox is pretty useful for a variety of campaigns of varying pulp levels. Tried to make the colors match his official portrait. Here he is in a North African setting, with a toy car that is historically inaccurate but a good color match. A tank would have been better, but as we all know, a field-marshal goes to war with the army he has, not the army he wants. Other angles below. I call this one "Erwin Has A Bad Day." Special guest appearances by WWWOz Lion, Zenith, and Frank Buck.

More nautically-inclined figures! This beautifully-sculpted old salt is from Artizan's Thrilling Tales: Curse of Fairhaven. (He also comes in a 3-pack of Eccentrics, if you also want a swami and a top-hatted vagrant with a meathook.) I give you: Mad Jack the Lighthouse Keeper! The next two are from Black Cat's Fishermen. Old Elias, forever with pipe in hand, and Dockside Dan, a handy man with a chain who will not take anyone disrespecting the sweater his old ma knitted for him. And lastly, the cabin boy, Mikey. He was part of a cheap, poorly pre-painted ArtMinds Diorama Family Set that I got on impulse (because 4/5ths of them are EXACTLY the Rick and Morty family, and Reaper has a Mad Scientist that is exactly Rick). This is the fifth guy; I didn't repaint him, but those eyes are perfect for a young man from Innsmouth before the Change takes place.

From Artizan's Thrilling Tales line, a distinguished academic in kente robes and kufi hat, with a colobus fly-whisk. A venerable elder deserving of respect and attention. I cheated a bit; a lot of the lines are in pen. Tried to make it clear there are at least two different patterns of cloth going on.

Taking a trip further north and east from the Arabian Peninsula! These two are characters from Artizan's Second Afghan War line. The Amir here, in the blue tunic and sheepskin coat, is a leader of men and is dressed accordingly. Look at that old pirate! He remembers many a hard-fought skirmish with the British Raj, many a treasure seized, and many a retreat to the impassable mountains of his tribe. Here he is trying to teach some of his life lessons to his Oxford-bound wastrel of a son, who cares for nothing but fine clothes and lavish parties. His son, meanwhile, is arguing that he *needs* his allowance of walking-around diamonds; if there is a splendid horse or a boat he wants, or an aeroplane or a motor-car and he cannot buy it, what then? What will his friends in the European capitals think? How shameful that would be, a disgrace to their international prestige! Parents never understand these things! But it is a changing, rapidly industrializing world, old Khan will find; and his son will learn the value of physical bravery and diplomatic negotiations soon enough.

And now a small vignette from the Gangetic plain! The Thuggee is one of the first minis I ever painted. Didn't have nearly as many paints at the time, and used a tiny bit of blue-black wash in his skin tone (he spends a lot of time outdoors in the sun). Need to touch up the hilt of his tulwar. The Swami (Artizan Thrilling Tales again; the name is accurate) was much more recent. Like a dumb chump, I painted his mudra upside-down, but it came out well enough that I fear repainting it. :-) He is here to find inner peace and chew betel leaf, and, brother, he is all out of betel leaf. I'm not sure what exactly is going on in this sequence, but it will definitely be an instructional parable on the virtues of harmony and tranquility. The Buddha statue was from a "Wonders of the World" Toobz that was on clearance. (Also included a tiny Sphinx and some Easter Island moai; good stuff.)

Just a couple more Artizan minis: Jamal, the Bedouin in traditional garb and Osman in linen suit and fez. Versatile for a number of characters, from late Victorian expeditions to cosmic horror to pulp adventure to Cold War thriller. It's been a long day and I'm too tired for a dialogue story, but I fancy the two are engaged in espionage with a paranormal twist, as in Tim Powers' "Declare." They would CERTAINLY love to get their hands on that coffer Aziz and Farouk stole; there are agencies and empires that would love nothing more than weaponized curses. ...Ah nuts. It has been a long day; this was supposed to go under "Show Off." My apologies.

More class-conscious minis! Featuring a pair of Artizan's Domestic Servants, Reeves and Maisy; Artizan's Remy as the long-suffering waiter and Signor Ferrari as a Titan of Industry, and another of Eureka's 1920's Women as a Bright Young Thing. Remy, unfortunately, had a cat-related fall which gave him an unwanted nose job. The tycoon looks like his paint is abrading; that's an artifact of silver-on-grey pinstriping. Looks good in 3D but did not photograph well at all. TFW you've had about enough of your employer's broccoli: The whole crew

And here we see the manor's inhabitants and staff outside on their spacious grounds. Sir Autumnheath and Rigsby the gamekeeper are played by an RAFM Call of Cthulhu Professor and a Black Cat Townsfolk, respectively. Meg the chauffeuse and Mister Price the groundskeeper are again from Artizan's laudably expressive Thrilling Tales. The car is a Star Wars-themed promotional vehicle, but the lines seemed perfect for the subject. "I say, Rigsby, almost had that dashed fox, what?" "Went to earth in Betton Woods, he did, sir, and if you'll take my advice, sir, that's where you'll leave him. The folk around here tell some queer tales about this place, and won't none of them venture in after dark, not for love nor money neither." "Superstitious twaddle, Rigsby; gin-addled old wives' tales. We 'boys of the bulldog breed' are made of sterner stuff, I should hope!" "Ay, sir, but all the same it don't feel canny. Air smells off somehow here." "Evenin's comin' on, Meg. His Nibs ain't back yet?" "Nay, Mr. Price; Himself took off a-hunting down yonder with the gamekeeper out by Bettonstowe." "That's powerful close to Betton Wood, innit? Won't no good come to the master nor anyone, he goes a-pokin' in there." "..." "Egads, Rigsby, what is THAT? SHOOT IT!" "I am shootin', sir! It don't do no good! Run, sir!" "Suppose as it might be good to go and fetch 'em, afore aught comes to harm, eh Meg?" "Suppose as you might be right, Mr. Price." Also featuring a very special guest appearance from an RAFM Dark Young, and Reaper's own Cairn Wraith as the Statue.

On a whim I decided to do a quick paint job on some Artizan 7th cav figures I've had laying around for a while. We play a game called Dead Mans Hand and since it's a small scale skirmish game it takes just a few minis. Painted jackets and pants then did a wash on both. Also basecoated some leather. Also used Tanned Leather as a basecoat for yellow neckerchiefs. Decided to go with a few different hat colors just so it's easier to differentiate models on the table. Pretty much done. Need to do some rank markings on their sleeves once I'm reminded what the different ranks in the game are. Also need to finish the bases.

Over the past few months I have been slowly working on assembling a Santa-themed warband for Frostgrave that is headed by an Enchanter and his apprentice. This week I finally finished the last figure for it, and while I have shown a few figures here individually in the past, I thought I would present the whole complete group today. First up is the Enchanter wizard himself and his Apprentice, in the form of Santa and Mrs Claus. Both are Reaper figures: Next, up is the Treasure Hunter, and Marksman. These rolls are filled by Yukon Cornelius (From the 60's Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer TV special), and Black-Powder Peter (from the Dutch Christmas folklore). Both are conversions of North Star's Frostgrave plastic figures. Following up is four Thieves, in the form of four of Santa's Elves from the North Pole's Gift Repossession Department. These are Reaper figures. Lastly, we have a pair of Thugs named Blitzen and Donner. Santa's reindeer need something to occupy themselves with when not flying the sled around. :) These are metal figures from North Star in their Frostgrave line. And here's the whole gang in one picture. I'm really pleased with how this band came together, and look forward to getting a chance to try them out on the table.