Bombshell Miniatures 36020 Science Officer Helen Salinger

Here's another 32mm pewter figure from Bombshell Miniatures. I'm pretty sure that Science Officer Helen Salinger is inspired by the lead character of a certain sci-fi franchise featuring hive creatures with parasitic life cycles and two sets of toothy smiles each. Note that I didn't follow up on the idea of a homage to that character when coming up with a paint scheme.

"Sign here."

There's more detail than I expected at first glance, particularly on the suit. The figure should fit into a variety of sci-fi settings. Although the pistol does have a "ray gun" appearance.

I used a mix of techniques on this figure. Some areas were painted in a darker base color with brushed on highlights. Others got my more usual approach of a lighter color darkened with a coat of wash. 

"I shouldn't need to ask you twice."

Priming
Zenithal spray priming using Tamiya Surface Primer L in Gray and White.

Skin Base Color
Reaper 09221 Olive Skin. I wanted to experiment with this color.

Skin Highlight Color
A mix of Reaper 09221 Olive Skin and Reaper 09047 Fair Skin.

Shirt Base Color
Reaper 09183 Cloud Pink. A bright color chosen to stand out from the rest of the scheme.

Shirt Highlight Color
A mix of Reaper 09183 Cloud Pink and Reaper 09281 Brains Pink.

Flight Suit Base Color
A mix of Reaper 09122 Terran Khaki and Reaper 09129 Faded Khaki. Terran Khaki resembles brand new khaki cloth while Faded Khaki is a darker color.

Flight Suit Highlight Color
Reaper 09122 Terran Khaki.

Hair Base Color
Reaper 09088 Stormy Grey.

Hair Wash Color
Diluted Citadel Colour Chaos Black allowed to flow into the recesses and darken the overall tone.

Accessories Base Color
Reaper 09088 Stormy Grey.

Accessories Highlight Color
Citadel Colour Codex Grey. Also applied to the screen of the tablet computer.

Accessories Wash Colors
Secret Weapon W001 Soft Body Black Wash. Diluted Citadel Colour Chaos Black was also applied to the boots to darken them further.

Overall, I think the combination of approaches worked well on this figure. Some of the wash flowed out of the areas they were applied to. I was able to correct this, but I might choose one method or the other for specific projects in the future.

Bombshell Miniatures 36003 Wanda Whitestar

This 32mm scale pewter model is from Bombshell Miniatures and is part of their Counterblast line. Wanda Whitestar would work in a variety of sci-fi settings, but the retro hair style suggests that space opera might be the best fit.

With retro in mind, I decided on a paint scheme influenced by a piece of 1980s sci-fi. Specifically, the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century television series. Many of the costumes worn by Erin Gray as Colonel Wilma Deering were shiny, brightly colored, and form fitting. I picked the pink one as my inspiration.

Preparation
There was no discernible flash or mold lines. I glued the figure to a 30mm round plastic base, being careful to leave a little room between the base surface and the miniature's feet. This space would later be filled by the sand I used for texturing the base.

Zenithal Spray Priming
Tamiya Surface Primer L in Gray and White. This was less for the zenithal priming to show through and more so that I could have a guide for shading later on.

Skin Base Color Coat
A mix of Reaper 09047 Fair Skin and Reaper 09233 Bright Skin. Bright Skin resembles no natural human skin tone I've ever encountered. It works well for non-human flesh, though. In this case, I mixed it with Fair Skin to produce a slightly darker color.

Skin Highlight
Reaper 09047 Fair Skin.

Hair Base Color Coat
Mix of Reaper 09122 Terrain Khaki and Reaper 09139 Faded Khaki. This produces a color that works for dark blonde hair or light tan clothing.

Hair Highlight
Reaper 09257 Blond Hair.

Body Suit Base Color Coat
Reaper 09163 Cloud Pink. This is a medium tone pink.

Body Suit Highlight
Mix of Reaper 09281 Brains Pink and Reaper 09163 Cloud Pink. This produced a cotton candy pink.

Body Suit Wash Coat
The results of the base and highlight were brighter than I liked and the recessed details weren't as clearly visible as I wanted. I applied a light coat of Secret Weapon W025 Just Red Wash to darken down the color and bring out the details.

Jacket and Accessories Base Color Coat
Reaper 09088 Stormy Grey.

Jacket and Accessories Highlight
Citadel Colour Codex Grey.

Jacket and Accessories Wash Coats
Diluted Citadel Colour Chaos Black on the boots, gloves, and weapons to create a subtle difference in shade between them and the jacket. I followed up with a coat of Secret Weapon W001 Soft Body Black over the jacket and areas previously coated with Chaos Black.

Basing
Mix of sand, tacky glue, brown craft paint, and water in the recessed portion of the base. I painted the edge of the base with Citadel Colour Chaos Black.

Overall, I'm happy with how this one turned out. Although I am still debating the merits of hitting the hair and skin with a wash. It would bring out more of the details, but I don't want to change the colors as they are now.

Kickstarter and a New Version of a Thing I Already Own

I'm not as active on Kickstarter as I was years ago. That's a conscious decision. Backer rewards from various long-ago Kickstarters are still cluttering up the place. The Reaper Bones Kickstarters are the worst offenders. My unborn grandchildren might end up inheriting unpainted Bones miniatures at this rate. I have strong disincentives to not back any more Kickstarters unless what is on offer fulfills an existing need. However, I do still check out upcoming Kickstarters from time to time.

This box is taunting me.

That's how I found out about the latest Kickstarter from Bombshell Miniatures - the ISW-71B Scout Ship. Looks great. Scaled to 28-35mm. Might be a little too retro looking to fit seamlessly into every sci-fi setting with space travel, but it's still fairly versatile. Even the interior is modeled.

I would love to support Bombshell Miniatures by backing this Kickstarter. They have never failed to give me quality service in all of my previous dealings with them.

There's just two problems.

I already own the previous version of this product - the ISW-69F Scout Ship. I received it as a reward after backing that Kickstarter in 2013. Looks great. 1/48 scale. A little too retro looking to be a seamless fit for Star Trek or Star Wars, but that wouldn't stop me from putting it on the table. No interior modeling, but it was less than half the price of the new version.

The other problem is that the one I have isn't done.

The resin pieces for the main hull are cleaned up. There's a project folder on my PC with notes on the game plan for assembly and a couple of paint schemes (I need to either figure out how to mix "Electric Mucus" green or just resign myself to painting it silver or gray). I've been considering the pros and cons of mounting it on a base (and finding a base big enough) or letting it stand free on its landing struts (and risk messing up the struts down the line). My goal is to have assembly done when the weather settles down enough to make spray priming and painting practical - April or May.

I just need to finish the Scout Ship I already own. Getting another one doesn't fill a need. I don't even know what I'd do with another one.

Those add-ons for the new Kickstarter look nice, though. And the interior for the new version is sweet.

Bombshell Miniatures Bug Spray

This is "Bug Spray" from Bombshell Miniatures, based on artwork by Matt Dixon. This 32mm scale miniature was introduced as part of Bombshell's "Babes" Kickstarter back in 2012. It is no longer available for purchase from Bombshell Miniatures.

"Bug Spray" going to work.

"Bug Spray" seems to draw from a variety of genre sources. Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley - particularly her depiction in Aliens - may have been the inspiration. The clothes would not be out of place on Tomb Raider's Lara Croft. And the purple hair (as seen on the original artwork) reminds me of Leela from Futurama.

Painting this figure is part of an ongoing effort to complete the out of production products in my collection. I also wanted a straightforward miniature painting project - no hydrophobic plastic to deal with or parts to assemble. This was also a chance to try out a couple of the Secret Weapon washes I picked up awhile back.

Skin
Reaper 09044 Tanned Skin. A clean, even layer was important to provide a foundation for the later wash layer.

Hair
My initial approach was a base layer of Reaper 09025 Burgundy Wine with Reaper 09024 Amethyst Purple applied as highlight. The results were disappointing. There was too much contrast between the two layers. I applied some watered down 09025 Burgundy Wine to better blend the two colors and darken the overall appearance of the hair. Next time I decide to try for purple hair, I might try reversing the initial process - using 09024 Amethyst Purple with some thinned down 09025 Burgundy Wine as a wash.

I'm not sure if the weapon is supposed to be a flame thrower, a plasma projector, or just a BFG.

Shorts
I went with a clean layer of Reaper 09158 Olive Drab and relying on the wash for shading and details.

Top
Reaper 09074 Palomino Gold with 09009 Lemon Yellow for highlighting. There was a strong contrast between the layers, but I knew that the wash I planned on applying later would bring it down.

Leather Accessories
The boots, gloves, and belt all got a clean coat of Reaper 09284 Lonestar Leather. It is a good color for relatively new leather. I would normally apply another color for a more weathered appearance, but I wanted to see what the wash layer would do.

Band Aid
Preserving this detail from the original artwork was a nice touch on Bombshell Miniature's part. Reaper 09233 Bright Skin is too pink to be useful as a skin tone, but works fine for a plastic adhesive bandage.

Weapon
I dipped into my last bottles of old Citadel Colour metallics for this part. Boltgun for the body. Tin Bitz for some of the details with Shining Gold as a highlight. Again, I was relying on the wash layer to bring things together.

Note the adhesive bandage on the right knee. A nice touch on the sculpt!

Weapon - Wash Layer
Secret Weapon W003 Armor Wash. The black-brown brings out the details and gives the weapon a used look.

Almost Everything Else - Wash Layer
Everything except the weapon, the hair, and the adhesive bandage got a layer of Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash. Secret Weapon calls it a "medium orange/brown tint" on their website. The tint turned out darker than I expected, but the dirty look fits the figure. The wash works well with the Reaper 09044 Tanned Skin to produce a sun-kissed tone. There is a shine that I initially found a little annoying, but I realized that it helps sell the idea of sweaty and exhausted woman who is having a bad day.