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From Statuesque's Sci-fi Resistance line, the beautiful and ice-cold Commissar Vespera Venko. Practiced some highlights and shading on this one, and I'm not entirely displeased. Also guest-starring 50221, Nazi Zombie Officer (undead Nazis are easily one of the three worst types of Nazis). Took the opportunity to touch up Ivanetta Kozlov (50226) and a Black Cat Space Dwarf that I'd painted as a Red Army guard. Click for turnaround: How do you kill something that won't die? With OVERWHELMING SOVIET FIREPOWER! More shots: A picture with comrades: Has Comrade Salchow outlived his usefulness to the Revolution?! Is this the "nine-gram pension"? Vespera also comes with an alternate gas mask head, which you may be sure is going in my bits box. I will find a home for it.

"So...Xiao Lu. You have expressed interest in this particular carp. Your purse is sufficient for the purchase. Nevertheless, I will only sell to a man with the proper appreciation of the fish, a scholar who can truly cherish it as it deserves. Tell me, Xiao Lu. What are the Noble Virtues of the carp?" "Truly, Master Fang, only the injudicious man would sell such a precious gift to a fool. The different colors and patterns of the carp indicate different virtues, some those of the father, some of the mother, some of daughters or sons, or scholars or businessmen or soldiers. But the virtues common to all carp are: Firstly, courageous independence. It swims upstream, heading into the current always. An indomitable will to face what comes. A carp swimming downstream bodes ill; this is known to all. Secondly, prosperity. Their scales of gold, silver, platinum, and bronze are all auspicious, reflecting money and attracting luck. Thirdly, fecundity. Their fertility fills the rivers; does not their very name evoke abundance and plenty? Fourthly, success and transformation through diligence and perseverance. As it is said, 'the carp has leapt through the Dragon's Gate.' With enough work, the carp may surmount even the waterfall that streams down the mountain. And does not the carp that passes the Dragon Gate itself become a dragon? So too will the man who applies himself become accomplished and recognized." These are two truly magnificent sculpts. The short fellow with the oval base is from an 80's-era Grenadier set of "Vile Villains." (He comes with a Casper Gutman/Sydney Greenstreet Fat Man and a tall trenchcoated fellow with beard and hat, perhaps a Rasputin figure? All very different heights and builds, which I appreciate.) Anyway, he's the star of the show. Those old minis had some fantastic detail work on the faces. And you have to love his long twisty fingernails. Here's more of him: Dr. Fang was another sculpt I had to get when I heard Statuesque was discontinuing its Pulp Alley line. Very much in the Pei Mei / Fu Manchu line. The exact sort of person you think of when you hear the phrase "undying leaders of the cult in China." Definitely an old man whom it would be unwise to challenge. I had a lot of fun with the gradient (hey, Breast Cancer Pink in action!) and the koi on his robes. Here's a thorough turnaround: The rear wall is GreenstuffWorld's "China" roller on foamboard, airbrushed. Heavily inspired by the opulent color gradients from "Curse of the Golden Flower" (a splendid palace tragedy). The aquaria are of course Chessex dice boxes and some stuff I had lying around. The koi pond is a metal lid from a tube of biscuit dough with a lick of paint and some 'Ardcoat. The lantern comes from the Tortoise Merchant and Drayman.

My love for pulp is deep and well-documented, and when I heard Statuesque Minis was liquidating their Pulp Alley minis I had to check out the sale. This is not one of their pulp minis, but I couldn't resist the little tyke. About half Lucy Pevensie and half Coraline, a charming sculpt. "The lights must never go out... / ...lest we should see where we are, / Lost in a haunted wood, / Children afraid of the night / Who have never been happy or good." --W. H. Auden, "September 1, 1939" "Come, wayward souls that wander through the darkness! There is a light for the lost and the meek..." --the Beast, from "Over the Garden Wall"