ZCW-28 The Pinkertons #2 & More

As promised last week, here are the two foot figures from West Wind's The Pinkertons #2 pack. I really like the buckskin-clad fellow and painted him a while ago. He is shorter than most of the other WW figures, so I nicknamed him "Shorty." Just don't call him that to his face, otherwise you'll get a taste of his Model 1855 Colt Repeating Carbine. (What other miniature company has shooters wielding this weapon? Such a nice change of pace from Winchesters and Shotguns!)

 

The photo of ZCW-28 from the Old Glory website.

You can see how Shorty is shorter than other WW figures, which is more realistic to me as long as the weapons don't shrink as well. The John Wayne figure is from ZCW-10 US Marshalls & Deputies #2. The bandito is from ZCW-16 Mexican Rancheria & Vaqueroe #2. The gaunt fellow on the right is from ZCW-22 Western Town Characters; he is my undertaker painted using P3 Coal Black.

I Wanna Be Your Sledgehammer

I wanted to make some posts the past few days, but life has been a bit crazy here at the HQ. My wife took ill yesterday, her blood pressure skyrocketing,  and had to go to the hospital. After a bunch of testing, she came home this afternoon. Luckily, all the tests came back normal. Just one of those weird moments where stuff happens but the docs can't figure why. Of course, I'm am totally wiped!

Anyway, here are some pics of another London Thug figure I finished the other week. I did some wet-blending on his vest, seeing if I could remember how to do it. I liked the results, which gave me the encouragement to paint more figures. I used craft paints, which are more difficult for wet-blending than hobby paints made for it. I painted his hair reddish for a change of pace. One of these days I'm going to write a rebuttal post against people who criticize these figures as inferior because they look too cartoonish. I love the look!

Would anyone be interested in the colors and triads I used for these figures? Just wondering.

Ok, that's enough for today. I'm beat!

West Wind Pinkertons #2

This afternoon, I shot some photos of my latest figures I finished painting last week and this week since I've rediscovered my "mojo." I was actually painting these figures at night--during mid-week no less--something I haven't done in a couple years! I guess we all get a bit frustrated at times. But I still am planning to do more smaller-scale painting.

To Base or Not to Base
By the way, I realize that I have a tendency to take photos of my figures before I take them off their bottle caps or before I finish their bases, but I get so excited when I finish them that I want to get photos posted right away. Plus, I know how long it can take me to finish bases. I really hate getting my fingers in the putty and ballast, especially when the skin on my fingers is going through its monthly peeling like they are now. (Typing isn't much fun today either! Just a bit painful.) So there is my "non-apology apology" for taking pics of un-based figures! LOL! Okay, let's get to some photos.

A Pinkerton Always Gets His Man
Today's figure is from West Wind's pack ZCW-28 The Pinkertons #2. I began this figure way back in the summer of 2008. For the past four years it has been sitting in my painting drawer, nothing but black primer and painted flesh. He's not the most exciting figure in my collection, and his face is not the best sculpted, causing me to shove him to the back of the drawer. He's okay, but I had so many other "cooler" Western figures I wanted to paint before him.

I decided to paint this fellow charcoal grey, allowing him to go good guy or bad guy as players desire. The brown trousers was a custom mix that I can't remember and his vest is a simple red. A fancier paint job using stripes or plaids might have made him a bit more exciting, but I chose to play it safe with solid colors. In the end, I've come to like him. He's definitely not a hero figure, more like an "extra" to fill out a posse, someone that dies easily and quickly. So I guess that "plain" sometimes can be good!

My Glorious Plans for the Future!
Starting tomorrow or this weekend, depending on my schedule, we'll go from this rather basic Western fellow back to my crazy, bloody-knife-wielding and sledgehammer-wielding Victorians. And maybe some more Western fellows. And a few interesting odds-and-ends we've found in the local thrift shops. Due to our schedules, we probably won't be getting in any games until later in March. But I hope to have some surprises in store within several weeks. Trust me, we all have been wanting to get our miniatures on the table and have been working toward that goal. (Hopefully, Agent Abel is listening!)

West Wind Long Riders & Others

Today's pic is four West Wind Cowboys Wars figures. Looks like it's time for me to do some more work on the bases and finally finish them. As you can see, I'm a huge fan of the West Wind figures.

On the same note, I did some more painting this afternoon on my 28s. I got my mojo back pretty good and am trying to clear out these figure. I finished two of the Victorians and one more West Wind cowboy. I just need to varnish them and then take some pics. A short post today. More stuff coming. :-)

From left to right, the figures come from the following packs.
1) ZCW-29 The Long Riders #1
2) ZCW-22 Western Town Characters #2
3) ZCW-10 US Marshalls and Deputies #2
4) ZCW-29 The Long Riders #1

A Peak at the Lead Mountain: Gothic Horror

The other night, I was lamenting about my frustrations getting back into painting my 28mm miniatures. It was one of those weird nights, I guess. Well, here is a photo from my "lead mountain" awaiting painting.

West Wind Gothic Horror
Folks, this is where my painting journey began 5 years ago. At the time, Jeremy and I were enthralled with the Van Helsing movie, which we had seen for the first time. We watched the DVD over and over again. So for my first painting project, I wanted to paint some Gothic Horror figures for gaming the movie. At the time, Old Glory had just lost the  Gothic Horror/Vampire Wars license, so I plunged into the Army Card to get as many of the Gothic Horror figures as I could for Van Helsing and some mummy-hunting Pulp gaming. Some of my first posts on this blog were about these figures, and an Old Glory pirate. As you can see, I haven't progressed very far with the Gothic Horror project! Of course, other things began catching my eye, like 15mm WWII and then 28mm WWII. As you can see, some other odds and ends also are crammed into this box.

GHL-4 London Detectives
Looking at a box full of blisters is boring, so here are photos of some painted West Wind Gothic Horror figures. These are the four figures from the London Detectives pack, which doesn't have any photos online. The fellow second from the right was the second 28mm figure I had painted and was seen back when this blog was new. That's why he looks like he's standing in mud! I also thought he'd make a good Pinkerton for Western games, so he got a duster color for his coat.

The latest figure of the bunch to be painted is the gent on the far right. I was so thrilled with him because for the first time I was able to paint fairly straight stripes on a figure, in his case the trousers! (My hands tend to shake a lot while I paint or do anything--it's a problem I've had all my life--so I have to brace them and the figures like crazy.) The others were done in between over a few year period, which explains why they all look different--I was trying to learn how to paint.

You know, I really love this pack!