Supervillain: The Draugr

Here we have two versions of The Draugr, both on foot and riding in his Gorva mechsuit. It isn't often that I make two miniatures for the same character (various The Wardens notwithstanding), but I wanted armored and less-armored versions of this guy, either for different difficulties or to allow for a two-stage battle.

Draugr, Val Wyman, is a tough-as-nails supermercenary. Apart from tactical and combat skills developed as a special operations soldier, he also has the power of runic magic, stolen from his brother. Beyond merely enhancing his weapons and abilities, the energy of the runes powers his mechsuit, the Gorva. (The Gorva heavy battle armor was previously mothballed since its energy requirements were impossible for the designers to meet.)

I really love the way these miniatures came out. Both use the same head from Wargames Atlantic Einherjar sprues. It's a tech-viking look that's pretty hard to find. The Gorva mechsuit is a plastic "IMEF Bulldog I" from Reaper Miniatures. The on-foot version is a Stargrave body with Einherjar arms and shield. The carbine on his back is from Anvil Industry. The paint scheme wouldn't look out of place with my Stargrave crew, so he could serve as a Veteran captain or first mate.

The bases are painted up like roads, though the mechsuit has clearly already destroyed a lot of stuff. There's also a bike lane on the mechsuit's road, because I thought it would look interesting.

Draugr is not a street-level villain like most of the ones I've done up recently. He's definitely a medium to heavy-weight. If someone can afford his services, he'll get the job done—top tier heroic intervention notwithstanding.

Supervillain: Claire Volante

Claire Volante was born with tremendous psionic abilities. At a young age, she was kidnapped by possibly-rogue government scientists, whose experiments increased her powers tenfold. Since her escape, she's enacted revenge on those who she believes wronged her and turned into a destructive force leading an army of like-minded minions; they're like-minded because of all the mind control.

This is a metal Stargrave miniature, one of the two in the Psionicists pack. I got it free with the Stargrave Nickstarter. To make her more human, I shaved off a ridge that ran back across her head and trimmed down her pointy ears. I like the pose of this figure and it works well for a superperson.

As for the colors, she's got a purple jumpsuit with black coat and boots. Black is a hard color for me to paint, since I prime with black and it just looks unfinished. But overall, I think she turned out well. I also used some crackle paint on the base, to make it look like the street is damaged; I'll probably do some more of this in the future, just to break up the bases.

Supervillain: The Augur

Another supervillain (slash Frostgrave wizard). The Augur bears many mystical fortune-telling artifacts, like a deck of cards, a crystal ball, a planchette, and more! He uses his powers of foresight for evil, planning crimes for the most auspicious times.

The figure is a Reaper Bones miniature from the Bones IV Kickstarter. It was originally a Pathfinder Iconic character, but now the website has it renamed as "Erasmus, Human Bard." Sure, Reaper, he's just a bard; collecting all those divination tools is just a hobby.

We have a green coat with a yellow scarf, so mainly a secondary color with a splash of primary. Villainous. Fear the Augur!

Supervillain: Boomtown

Boomtown, an explosives-themed villain. He's got a detonator in hand (with red button) and four grenades on his belt. He's also dropped a grenade, but the pin is still in, so he should be safe. Overall, I get the vibe of an average Joe who's not too bright but good with explosives. Maybe he got kicked out of the army and spent some time on a demolition crew? He's a B-list villain at best.

The figure is built with a Stargrave body and Frostgrave cultist head and arms. I cut off the right hand and added a hand from Anvil Industry. The grenades are old; I think they're from Games Workshop Catachan Imperial Guard.

He's got that villainous secondary color palette. Interestingly, while green and purple are often combined (Joker, Lex Luthor, Green Goblin, Mysterio, Riddler), green and orange aren't very common. There's Kobra and... that's all I can come up with quickly.

This fellow's codename, Boomtown, may be temporary if I can find a better one. Ideas: Short Fuze, Demolitionist, Detonator, Detonathan, Bombardier, Green Grenadier, Flashpoint, Shockwave, Mr. Munition, Pyrotech, Shrapnel, Shrapnelson... I could go on.

Supervillain: The Racketeer

This is The Racketeer, another supervillain based entirely around a pun (which was itself based entirely around what I had on hand).

This is another figure constructed from bits of the Project Z female survivors sprue. She's wearing comfortable athletic clothes because villainy tends to involve a lot of running and exercise. The only thing I specifically did to make her a super-person was to paint a domino mask on her face. My working theory is that any miniature can be superpowered simply by painting the domino mask. And this way, you don't have to paint pupils on the eyes!

I painted blue hair because she needed another color. It's a wig, to further obscure her identity. Her shorts will be less shiny when it warms up outside and I can apply a matte spray varnish. I painted the road lines on the base by using very, very thin strips of painter's tape as a stencil; it's very simple basing, but I didn't think she would look right standing in either mud or a desert like I normally do these days.

2021 in Review

The books have closed on 2021, so here's a look back at what I've painted this year. My goal was to paint at least 52 miniatures, but I ended up finishing a whopping 127. Goodness. That seems excessive. Anyway, let's take a gander. (Also take a gander at my sweet new display case to the right.)

• Leland's Fusiliers (11)
• Wolfhound
• Blackjack
• Hunchback
• Wolverine
• Trebuchet
• Zeus
• Longbow
• Cyclops
• Archer
• Centurion
• Hatchetman
  
• Generic Mechs (4)
• Cicada
• Vulcan
• Shogun
• Stalker
  
• Aka-Oni Irregulars (18)
• Flea
• Locust
• Commando
• Urbanmech
• Panther
• Jenner
• Shadow Hawk
• Wolverine
• Griffin
• Dragon
• Quickdraw
  
• Thunderbolt
• Catapult
• Marauder
• Awesome
• BattleMaster
• Scorpion Light Tank (2)
  
• Clan Ghost Bear (9)
• Executioner
• Ice Ferret (2)
  
• Nova
• Timber Wolf
• Adder
• Grendel
• Elementals (2)
  
• Embers of Alexandria (28)
  
• Ashes with Assault Rifles (8)
• 
  Ashes with Pistols (6)
• Ashes with Shotguns and Axes (3)
  
• Coal with Flamethrower
• Coal with LMG
• Coal with RPG
• Coal with Sniper Rifle
• Coal Hacker
• Coal Stalker
  
• Sparks with Assault Rifle (2)
  
• Alien Hybrid
• Gaping Maw-nstrosity 
• Summoner
  
• 
  Noble Retinue (22)
  
• Pikemen (2)
• Greatswords (2)
• Swordsmen with Shields (2)
• Arquebusiers (6)
• Marksman with Long Rifle
• Cavalry Pistolier
• Cavalry Lancer (2)
• Dwarf Cleric
• Wizard
• Apprentice
• Skeleton Swordsmen (2) 
• Musician/Herald
  
• Hivewarden
  
• Giant Frogs (4)
  
• Beastmen (4)
  
• Scavengers (5)
  
• 
  Stargrave Crew (11)
• Dwarf Engineer (Captain)
• Dwarf Gunner (First Mate)
  
• Dwarf Scout (Pathfinder)
  
• Dwarf Driller (Burner)
• Dwarf Sentry
• Dwarf Trooper
• Human Trooper
• Setla Chisler
• Setla Hacker
• Rudulian Runner
  
• Engineer's Turret (Drone)
  
• 6Gun Mercenary Aliens (4)
• 
  Setla Psion
• Setla Soldier
• Setla Technician
• Rudulian Axeman
• Unaffiliated Aliens (4)
• Rudulian Businessman
• Rudulian Sheriff
• Setla Stillsuit
• Setla "Tilly"
• 15mm Epic Battles: ACW Stands (2)
• Union Infantry stand
• Confederate Infantry stand

I noted at the start of this year that I might focus on scifi miniatures, and that more or less happened. Between the Stargrave crew, assorted aliens, and especially all the Battletech miniatures, there's a lot of scifi. I'm not going to try and pick a project to focus on for the new year. Who knows what 2022 holds?