Hasslefree Miniatures HFSF202 LT Thoran

This is LT Thoran - a figure is from Hasslefree Miniatures' line of original power armored sci-fi troopers. The line currently contains eight figures, including one of Merys Thoran in an earlier phase of her career. I purchased a couple figures from the line as test pieces. I figured that I could get the rest later if the first ones worked out.

Front view. I'm thinking she looks a little startled.

I mulled over possible paint schemes for awhile before deciding on dark red for the armor. Grey has been done better than I can manage. I was concerned that the figure's details might get a little lost with a metallic paint. The blood red armor is inspired by the color scheme I used for Commander Shepherd during my Mass Effect play-through.

Cleaning
Starting with a good scrubbing with a brush and warm soap and water removes any manufacturing residue.

Basing
I glued the tab of the miniature into the slot of a Reaper 30mm round plastic base, leaving space between the bottom of the figure's feet and the base. This prevents the figure's nicely sculpted boots from getting buried by the sand I use for texturing the base in a later step.

Priming
Having run out of auto body primer, I used Krylon Krylon COLORmaxx Paint + Primer in Matte Deep Gray.

Underlayer
I've gotten poor results from painting skin tones and red directly over grey primer. This time, I experimented with a coat of Formula P3 Menoth White Base over the entire figure. It provides a good base for skin tones and I hoped it would do the same for the red armor.

Skin
Reaper 09047 Fair Skin works reliably to produce pale skin, especially over a coat of brown or Formula P3 Menoth White Base. A coat of Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash brought out the figure's facial features.

Side view. I had to straighten the rifle a little before priming, but that's not unexpected for a metal miniature.

Hair
I purchased a bottle of Reaper 09257 Blond Hair recently and decided to give it a try. It's lighter than the Reaper 09074 Palomino Gold I usually use, which might have been a better choice for this figure. I applied a layer of Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash to slightly darken the color and accentuate the hair texture.

Armor
The base color for the armor is Reaper 09278 Gory Red. Reaper 09279 Fresh Blood was used as highlight.

Weapon and Armor Details
I used Citadel Codex Grey for the weapon, armor joints, boot soles, and helmet visor. The neutral color contrasts with the red armor without standing out too much.

Weapon and Armor Wash
Next came a coat of Secret Weapon W001 Soft Body Black Wash over the armor and accessories. This darkened the reds and greys as well as bringing out the details.

Basing
Not everyone likes sand - it's coarse and rough and gets everywhere - but it works well to texture a base with a mix of glue, FolkArt 231 Real Brown paint, and water to hold it in place. I forgot to tape the bottom of the base to keep the sand mix from flowing around the hole between the tab and slot. That resulted in a gap appearing in the sand texturing. I resolved the issue by gluing a small rock over the gap. I brushed a little FolkArt 420 Linen over the sand to simulate the appearance of dry or sandy soil.

Rear view.

This is the fourth Hasslefree miniature I've completed and I had a fun time with all of them. They are detailed enough to be challenging, but not intimidating for my current skill level. I'm looking forward to beginning the next one!

Hasslefree and Effigy - A Couple of Quick and Fun Photos

Two exploration teams encounter each other on the surface of a barren world.

I had a little fun the other day with these figures, a GW Moonscape Crater terrain piece, and my camera.

The Figures

After finishing all three figures in Hasslefree Miniatures' "Retro Sci-Fi Crew" set, I wanted to see how they went with some other figures using a similar paint scheme. The other figures are from the now defunct Effigy Miniatures' "Havoc Girls" set. I painted them a few years back using the division colors of a later generation of space explorers.

Both sets hit some of the same notes. They are both all woman teams. There's a member posing with her sidearm. Another member is equipped with a portable device, although one is a handheld scanner and the other has an input device on the arm and a display visor. Of course, the influences are different - 1960s for one and anime for the other.

The Havoc Girls set did serve as an Away Team in our Star Trek Adventures campaign. They may return to the table when play resumes. Or I might offer to go old school with the Hasslefree Miniatures set. I'll have to give it some thought.

The Terrain

The GW Moonscape Craters are coming in handy. A surprising number of sci-fi miniatures look better on a barren, blasted landscape. I had my misgivings about them, but they are holding up well.

The Camera

I'm hitting the limits of what I can do with my current camera gear - a Canon Rebel T7i, a kit lens, and a EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens. An inexpensive tripod helps, but there is no way I can justify the expense of a macro lens just for taking photos of miniatures. I've got a set of extension tubes on the way - they attach to lens and change their focal length, allowing the lens to get closer to the subject. They might do the trick with the lenses I already own.

But that's enough fun with the camera for now. I've got miniatures to put some paint on.

Hasslefree Miniatures HFSF125 Nurse Layla

This is the third and final figure in the HFSFMP04 "Retro Sci-Fi Crew" set. The other two figures in the set were featured in previous posts - HFSF126 Ensign Shay and HFSF124 CommO Misha. The set appears to be an homage to a certain sci-fi series featuring 1960s fashion in its women's uniforms.

I choose to ignore the title of "Nurse" used in the name of this figure when deciding on a paint scheme. As mentioned in the post covering CommO Misha, I wanted each figure in the "Retro Sci-Fi Crew" set to be wearing a uniform of a different color. Gold seemed like a good choice.

Given the difficulties I had with CommO Misha, I decided on a streamlined approach to painting this figure. The number of paint and wash coats was kept to a minimum. In particular, I decided to skip any attempt to simulate the appearance of black sheer stockings on the legs of this figure.

Basing
This set was an experiment in some new techniques. Texturing the bases before priming and painting seemed to be a good way to simplify my process. However, the lack of detail was not a good trade off for the small amount of time saved. I'll be going back to texturing and painting the base as a final step during future projects.

Primer
White auto body spray primer.

Skin
Formula P3 Menoth White Base is a good under coat for lighter colors. I applied a coat of Reaper 09044 Tanned Skin for the actual skin color. The final coat was Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash, slightly diluted with water.

Uniform
As with the skin, I used Formula P3 Menoth White Base as an under coat. Reaper 09074 Palomino Gold is a good approximation of the gold color I was attempting to replicate. A coat of slightly diluted Secret Weapon W005 Flesh Wash was the finishing touch.

Hair and Accessories
The hair, boots, and uniform collar were all painted Reaper 09088 Stormy Grey followed by a coat of Secret Weapon W001 Soft Body Black. I felt that simply painting these features black would make the details - such as the hair texture and the zipper tabs on the back of the boots - too difficult to see.

The three figures of the "Retro Sci-Fi Crew" are the first Hasslefree Miniatures products that I've painted. I've owned a few for awhile, but I never felt that my painting skills were up to the level of detail on many of their sculpts. After almost a year of painting consistently, I decided to challenge myself with this set. The high quality of these figures made them a pleasure to work with and I look forward to putting paint on the other Hasslefree Miniatures products in my collection.

Hasslefree Miniatures HFSF124 CommO Misha

This is member of a future space exploration organization that decided to revive 1960s fashion for reasons unclear. "CommO Misha" is available individually or as part of the HFSFMP04 "Retro Sci-Fi Crew" set. Another figure in that set - Ensign Shay - was featured in a previous post. The figures in that set seem to be an homage to the women of a certain space opera franchise.

"CommO" means "Communications Officer" in the context of an organization that uses military designations. I ignored that since I wanted to use a different color for each figure in the set. Blue seemed to be a good choice since "Misha" is carrying a portable scanner.

Basing

I decided to experiment with texturing the base before priming and painting for the "Retro Sci-Fi Crew" set. The goal was to streamline the whole process of getting miniatures on the table. I'm not sure if this is an experiment I'll be repeating. This method is described in Ensign Shay's post.

Primer
White auto body spray primer.

Skin
I've been using Formula P3 Menoth White Base as an under coat for lighter colors like some flesh tones. In this case, I decided to try using it as the color for the face and hands. Next came a coat of Secret Weapon W010 Dark Sepia to provide a little red-brown shading.

Uniform
I started with a coat of Reaper 09285 Denim Blue. Next, I used Reaper 09017 True Blue to highlight the raised areas. After that came a couple of washes. I used Secret Weapon W001 Soft Body Black diluted with water to bring out the recessed details. The final step was a coat of Secret Weapon W015 Blue to provide additional shading and better blend the color from the two different blue paints. In retrospect, I could have skipped the Denim Blue, used the True Blue as a base color, and achieved similar results after applying the washes.

Accessories
The boots, portable scanner, and strap were painted with Reaper 09088 Stormy Grey. I applied a layer of Secret Weapon W001 Soft Body Black to darken these areas and bring out the details.

Hair
I used a mix of Reaper 09070 Mahogany Brown and Reaper 09278 Gory Red to achieve a red-brown color. The wash used is Secret Weapon W010 Dark Sepia.

Finishing Touches
I used a touch of Citadel Colour Mithril Silver to pick out the earrings.

A note about the legs of this figure. I was able to simulate the look of black sheer stockings on Ensign Shay by using a black wash. Unfortunately, my attempts to reproduce this on CommO Misha failed repeatedly. The wash just wouldn't coat evenly, resulting in a patchy appearance. After multiple attempts, I decided to just paint over the problem. The legs were painted as if they were bare or covered in stockings matching CommO Misha's complexion.

I got a little ambitious with the figure, trying a more complex approach by layering different color paints. The results don't look bad, but didn't come out as neat as I hoped. Using more straightforward methods might have achieved the same results with less time and frustration. I'll just label this as a "learning experience" and apply my new knowledge as I move forward.

Hasslefree Miniatures HFSF126 Ensign Shay

This is "Ensign Shay" - a member of a space exploration agency that sends women to explore unfamiliar planets in 1960s fashion for some reason. "Ensign Shay" is available individually or as part of the HFSFMP04 "Retro Sci-Fi Crew" set. The figures in the set appear to be a homage to a certain sci-fi franchise.

Retro fashion on a weird, unfamiliar planet.

"Ensign Shay" is the first Hasslefree Miniatures product I've put paint on. I wasn't sure about my ability to do justice to the level of detail on many of their sculpts. The additional practice I've been getting over the past several months gave me enough confidence to give it a shot. My new Winsor & Newton brush also helped.

Basing

The base is a commonly available round slotted base. I left a gap between the figure's feet and the surface of the base to leave room for the sand I use for texturing. That sand texturing was applied over PVA glue brushed on the base. I was experimenting with texturing the base before spraying on the primer as a way of simplifying the overall process. I'm not sure about the results.

Primer Layer

White auto body primer - I don't recall the brand.

Uniform

This took a few layers to get right. I started with a coat of Reaper 09003 Blood Red. Next was some slightly watered down Army Painter Warpaints Dark Tone Quickshade to bring out the recessed details. I used Reaper 09279 Fresh Blood to highlight the raised and upper areas.

Flesh and Hair

The first step was a coat of Formula P3 Menoth White Base. It works well as a underlayer for light colors. I used Reaper 09074 Palomino Gold for the hair and Reaper 09047 Fair Skin for the face, hands, and legs. The hair, face, and hands were finished with Army Painter Warpaints Soft Tone Quickshade. To simulate the appearance of dark stockings, I used Secret Weapon W001 Soft Body Black over the flesh tone.

Accessories

The boots, collar, hair band, and sidearm all got a coat of Reaper 09088 Stormy Grey. Next I used Army Painter Warpaints Dark Tone Quickshade to bring out the details and darken the color. I was concerned that just using black would obscure details like the zipper tabs on the back of the boots.

Finishing Touches

I used Citadel Colour Mithril Silver to pick out the earpiece.

Craft paints in a couple of earth tones were used on the sand texturing. That texturing came out a little muddy looking after painting. The layer of primer over it might be a factor.

The base edges were finished in black.

Looking for previously unencountered life and interstellar cultures.

I enjoyed painting this figure. It was challenging and I made a few mistakes, but I don't think I would have been able to do this good a job a year ago. The new brush helped - I've been frustrated with not being able to put the paint where I wanted it to go with some recent projects. The fine tip helps with controlling the application of paint on the figure.