Gunslinger: Doc Muldoon

Here's a wild west gunslinger by the name of Dr. Chauncy Muldoon. Armed with a dashing derby and a pair of Colt Single Action Army revolvers, Doc Muldoon is a steel-nerved surgeon on and off the battlefield. Like White Hat in the previous post, Doc Muldoon is built entirely from the Dead Man's Hand Gunfighter sprue. Doing his entire outfit in brown may have been my mistake, but he turned out pretty nice anyway. 

This year has been odd for my mini-painting so far. Everything I've done has been either a superperson or, now, a gunslinger.

Supervillain: White Hat

Most of the supervillains I've been building and painting have been "all-new," based on the miniatures I had available. This fella, on the other hand, is at least 14 years old; his original picture is in a document last modified in 2008. Below is the original version I made of White Hat, in a now-seemingly-defunct version of Fábrica de Heróis (an online, Flash-based superhero designer that originally created characters in the style of Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series, etc.)). I've wanted to make this guy for a while, but I only recently got the parts needed. I think he turned out really well, especially given the color scheme.

White Hat is a cowboy-themed supervillian who started out his career by pretending to be a hero (a white hat). He's a sharpshooter and has been known to take jobs as an sniper and assassin on the side. During his time masquerading as a hero, he utilized a number of trick bullets, but as a villain he's just as likely to use normal bullets.

The model is entirely built from Great Escape Games' "Dead Man's Hand: Gunfighters" box of plastic, multi-part models. There are only enough parts to make ten models in the box, but the quality is pretty good, and it looks like the bits could easily be used with a lot of other kits. There is a head in the box with a bandana covering the face, but it didn't look great, so I switched to a Lone Ranger-style domino mask; the contours molded into the face really made it easy.

White is a difficult color to paint, but I did my best. Paired with the orange, grey, and black, it's a striking color theme.

The model is based with desert crackle paint because (a.) it looks more appropriate, (b.) it hides the integral puddle base the model stands on, and (c.) he can be used in Wild West genre games now.

Supervillain: Devil Mayfair

These 360° shots are the very devil to make.

There are many rumors about Mayfair, most of which are contradictory. He or she may have been a talented West End actor, cursed for their hubris to forever stalk the shadows. Or perhaps Mayfair was a petty criminal, sentenced to death in Newgate Prison over a century ago, who made a dark pact by selling a soul (possibly someone else's) for power. Perhaps Mayfair is nothing more than a trickster, a gifted illusionist who only simulates the terrifying abilities attributed to the legend. Maybe Mayfair really is the devil. If anyone knows the truth, it's Devil Mayfair, and they don't seem keen to share.

With tremendous powers of illusion and a devil-may-fair-care attitude, Mayfair is a manipulative villain. The closest analogue I can think of might be Mysterio crossed with Scarecrow, but with a more magical twist. While I think of Mayfair as a solo act, if a plot needs minions, my robed cultists match pretty well.

This figure was kitbashed with no preparation, just going through my bits to get some ideas. The body is from a Bolt Action Soviet Winter Infantry sprue. I went to that sprue to find a longcoat body, but ended up with this one instead. Originally, I planned to do alternating vertical stripes, but ultimately I chose to do a solid color with a bright accent color on the straps and accessories. The arms are from the Frostgrave Wizards II sprue, which is a kitbasher's dream. I picked matching arms that give a sense of showy menace (and/or jazz hands). Finally, the head is a demon skull from the Citadel Skulls box; there are 340 skulls in that box! I originally went in there for just a normal human skull, but the demon skull really stood out and provides a unique silhouette. I used some putty to fill out the back of the skull and turn it into either a helmet or an actual head (who knows?), and it turned out great.

And, as a side note, the horns may just be illusory, since standard doorways would otherwise become Mayfair's nemeses.

Henchmen

Every self-respecting supervillain needs a few minions to help carry out their plans. I speed-painted these five henchmen to fill that void.

The bodies are from Wargames Atlantic Cannon Fodder sprues. I really wanted to like these bodies, but they're not as cool as I'd hoped. The high collar also really limits what heads can be easily applied.

The arms are from Warlord Z Male Survivor sprues. There are four pistol guys and one AK-47 guy (clearly the leader). The Cannon Fodder guns are just ludicrous and ugly, so I used what I had instead.

The heads are from... Saxon Fyrds, maybe? I painted on domino masks because, again, any head with a domino mask is instantly converted into super-something.

These guys aren't that great, but they look good enough to try and rob a bank--before subsequently being knocked unconscious by a hero in the first two pages of the comic (before the real story starts).